Enrique (aka Quique) is in love with his best friend, Saleem. But Saleem doesn't know it. When Saleem goes on a trip for the summer, to meet a girl his parents set him up with, Quique decides to get over his feelings for Saleem. How, do you ask? By getting his dating game on for the summer.

The only problem is Quique is really only out as bisexual to his other best friend, Fabiola, and a few others. And also, he's only been romantically with Fabiola (which turned out to be a mistake). As Quique tries to find love and the courage to be himself, he's bound to make some mistakes along the way. When summer really starts to heat up, Quique has to figure out if he truly has the courage to be himself.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy of This Is Why They Hate Us to review! Can we start by talking about this gorgeous cover? I am absolutely in love with the color palette. That pink to purple fade? One of my favorite things ever.

But I digress. At first, I wasn't quite sure about this book. It jumps right into the action and doesn't look back. However, it did not take me long to fall in love with Quique as the narrator. Quique is an absolute mess of a teenager. He knows he's bisexual, but he doesn't know how to convey that to the people he loves most (i.e. Saleem and his parents). He's trying to gain romantic and sexual experience, but doesn't really know how to do that either. I just loved him as a narrator because he felt so absolutely relatable.

Yes, there are hilarious moments in this book, but man, there are heartbreaking moments too. Quique struggles with severe anxiety and depression, and we get to see him getting help for these. There are also moments where he thinks about reasons why he's so focused on dating guys as a teenager, and guys. The reasons will probably just about break your heart.

I haven't talked about the side characters! Fabiola and Quique are two bi best friends, just trying to be there for each other. I loved that they tried the romance thing, but it wasn't for them. I don't think I've seen that very often. And Quique's obvious love and care for Saleem was adorable. Everything about it was just so well done.

All in all, this is a book I think I'm definitely going to have to buy. Because I just loved it so much.
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Oh my god, I loved this. I wasn't expecting to love this as much as I did, but wow. Stay tuned for a full review once I can process all my thoughts!

If you like anything royalty related, you are abolustely sure to love this. Especially if you love the early 2000 movies The Princess Diaries or What a Girl Wants. It's like the perfect read-a-like for those. While I'm not a huge fan of love triangles (which is why this isn't getting 5 stars), I do understand why it was introduced into this story. It added to the drama and the conflict and made for a more interesting read! It also paralleled Izumi's own journey really well.

I also enjoyed all of the Japanese culture infused into this book. There's a lot I learned while reading it, and it made the book feel more realistic and more engaging. I will definitely read anything Emiko Jean writes after the success of this duology!

After a fight with her best friend Taylor, Victoria has lost her desire for horse riding. Taylor was getting more focused on competitions and Victoria doesn’t want the high stakes anymore. So, Victoria has decided to get a fresh start at a new horse stable. One where she doesn’t have to feel the pressure of competition. And one where she doesn’t plan on making friends.

However, her fellow riders are suspcious of that at first. Victoria doesn’t mind getting shunned. It just means that she can’t get hurt again. Until she realizes that there can be more to friendships than just horses. And maybe going friendless isn’t the perfect solution she thought it was.

Thanks to NetGalley and First Second for an advanced copy of Ride On by Faith Erin Hicks to review! I’m a huge fan of Hicks’ art and writing, so I was excited to pick this one up. I am happy to say that I wasn’t disappointed!

Let’s be honest, almost every girl had a horse phase growing up, right? You read all the horse books, imagined having your own. Maybe even riding lessons! This graphic novel fufills all those fantasies. Honestly, this works so well as a middle grade graphic novel because of the themes. Middle school is such a trying time, and changing friendships is one of those reasons. Victoria learns the hard way that all friendships aren’t meant to last.

Additionally, the new friendships she makes are adorable. Not only do they bond over horses, but also their favorite sci-fi show! Each of the side characters also has their own journey, making them feel fully fleshed out. I loved the little group they formed, and I’m sure readers will too!

Hicks’ art style is also one of my favorites. It is so unique, and lends itself well to this story.

All in all, you’ll definitely want to pick this one up when it comes out next month!

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This is cute! And I always love Faith Erin Hicks' art style. Stay tuned for a full review to come!

While Astrid isn't one of the heroes you see on TV, she does have one superpower. A perfect sense of time. After all, that's how she's getting through her premed program at Columbia. By maintaining an absolutely perfect schedule. Everything she does fits into her carefully planned life. Even her meals and downtime have a place.

However, Max Martin messes all that up. Max Martin, who she knew from high school, and who just so happens to be a superhero. And Astrid's current boyfriend. After getting kidnapped by a supervillain one night, Astrid learns her boyfriend's secret identity. And now she has to decide if living a double life is worth it. Especially since it doesn't fit into her schedule.

Thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for an advanced of How to Date a Superhero (And Not Die Trying) to review! As an avid superhero fan, I was super excited to pick this up. It sounds like such a fun time, and I wasn't wrong about that. It's such a quick fun read!

The dynamic between Astrid and Max in this book was great. You can tell that they really care about each other, even if Max is a bit absentminded. Which you know, is bound to happen if you're off saving the world half the time. For the most part, the setting in college also felt realistic, and the inclusion of Astrid's schedule helped with laying out the passage of time.

However, I really wanted the characters to be more developed. Outside of her obsession with schedules, I didn't think we got a lot of depth from Astrid, even as the main character. The same with Max. He's just a "good guy" out saving the rest of the world. I wanted them to be more complex. This would have made the book even more enjoyable for me.

Despite that, I did have a fun time reading this! It makes me want to pick up some more comics again. If you're looking for something fun that will be a quick read, I'd recommend picking this up for an end of summer book!

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This is great if you want a quick, lighthearted read for sure. I just wanted a little more development regarding the characters. Stay tuned for a full review to come later this week!

A lovely little story about a couple opening a bookstore in a small town in the south. I appreciated the way that the author pointed out that independent bookstores (and of course, libraries) are more than just the books they house on the shelves. They are also about being community hubs, places where people can connect with other people and resources. I've worked in both bookstores and libraries and both are absolutely true.

There are some real gems throughout this book, and it definitely fit the prompt for the summer reading swap I'm a part of. If you like memoirs about books, bookstores, and just community in general, you're sure to enjoy this one!

The anime vibes in this I think will definitely draw in some middle grade readers! The characters were also great, struggling with things that a lot of people struggle with in middle school. Especially balancing different friend groups and trying to find where exactly you fit in.

However, I do think it longer than it needed to be. I appreciated everything Lilico was struggling with, I just think some of the plot lines could have been taken out. But other than that, if you're looking for a middle grade sports graphic novel, I'd recommend picking this one up!

This was adorable! I do wish it would have been a little longer so some of the other background characters could have been developed a little more, because they all kind of blended together. But the story was great, and I loved the friendship between Manu and Josefina. It was so cute.

This kind of gave me The Witch Boy vibes, and I think middle grade fantasy graphic novel readers will love it. It's quirky and fun and just a great story about learning to accept yourself.

I mean, did we expect anything but perfection in an Elizabeth Acevdeo poem? Also, I highly recommend listening to Acevedo recite this poem while reading the book because it is a totally different experience. The way the illustrations, the size of the text, the formatting all fit her performance of it? Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

I'm okay with this trend of illustrating popular YA poets (see Jason Reynolds' Ain't Burned All the Bright from earlier this year). Especially if you take the time to listen and read at the same time!

If you're a fan of Greek mythology in any way, you definitely have to check out Madeline Miller. Admittedly, I am a bit behind on the hype train, but this was picked as the Big Read book for this fall. So obviously I had to read it! Listen to it, actually. The narrator is phenomenal for the audiobook!

Where most Greek mythology is focused on the male perspective, I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that this focused on Circe's perspective instead. As a reader, you'll get to see a lot of familiar stories thorughout, with Miller's unique spin and beautiful writing.

Can't wait to see what programs they have for the Big Read coming up in November!

This was such an interesting new fantasy! The world building in this was fantastic; I felt like I was sucked right in from the very first page. The whole magic intertwined with tea thing was really cool. And with that ending, I need the next book right now!

The characters and the plot don't suffer at the cost of the world bulding. Ning, Kang, and all the other main characters were well fleshed out. And there are some nice twists and turns in here that keep you guessing from page to page. I'd definitely recommend this to any YA fantasty fan!