This is where MG and YA contemporary come together. I’m here for this.

This was a nice little piece of book candy!

Ok so I’m all in.

This one pleasantly surprised me and I am so glad I read it. Full RTC

I kept coming back to this one and just never connected to it.

Book Rewind Review: Scream All Night by Derek Milman

Review:

Scream All Night is a quirky and quotable contemporary tale juxtaposed over a b-movie production company. The first chapter of this book sets the tone for the journeys of the cast, crew, and one young man who is figuring out who and what he is. All of this is how it landed on my best of 2018 (and FOREVER) list.



I’m definitely a character-driven reader, making Scream All Night a treat for me. Dario is so tangible and you can feel his emotions coming off the page. He’s got stuff to contend with, and we are on the journey to him facing his abusive father. As you can imagine, this story shines the light on many sad moments and yet there’s so much humor. Sometimes I was laughing, sometimes I was crying. He’s called home to attend his dad’s funeral, and by funeral I mean he’s going to be buried alive. Let that sit for a minute. 



The setting in this story functions as a character. As you can imagine, being on the set of a horror studio comes with its own set of intricacies. A castle for a home, a forced acting career, cast who Dario look at as family…Returning to this place is one horror story after another. 



As a person who went through emancipation, I related heavily to the emotions Dario experienced through the book. I can’t wait to see what Derek Milman brings to the literary world next!

A coming of age tale told through the journal of a Latinx girl living in LA. I loved seeing the world through Gabi's eyes and the worldbuilding around Latinx-American culture! This book is funny, heartwarming, and a solid addition to the YA space.

FINALLY a 2019 release that I am obsessed with. I suspected everyone and no one and found this story to be absolutely riveting. Good job diverting attention and also bringing in the unexplainable. This story will be one I won’t soon forget.

This series is a great example of a well done sci-fi duology. Full review to come

Nothing Left to Burn landed on my radar as a Californian living in the time of frequent and terrifying wildfires. I consumed it like a wildfire was licking my heels because it was unputdownable.

Oof. This book. You will cry. You will scream. You will shake the book as if it will listen. NO IT CAN NOT BE. This book is messy and relatable and complicated. The characters. The situations.

We get both the present timeline and the backstory, slowly weaving, causing unease the whole time. I loved Audrey and hated Brooks. But I also understood why Audrey was into him, as a person who has been in a similar relationship.

Audrey spends much of the book trapped and trying to escape. Trying to escape a wildfire that is after her whole life. Trying to escape a boy who is an abusive, manipulative liar. Escaping her own insecurities and worries.

Heather Ezell does an excellent job of describing the devastation, emotionally and physically, of a wildfire. The urgency of the evacuation. I felt myself tensing up while reading.

This book is intense, to say the least.