Take a photo of a barcode or cover
1.38k reviews by:
emilyisoverbooked
Thanks to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends for the copy of this book.
"No one ever tells you that Sorrow doesn't grab you by the throat.
it opens the door, offers a warm fire, says--Have some candy.
& I step inside (again)."
I am SO glad We Are All So Good at Smiling is out in the world. Short, powerful, and written in verse, this book is going to impact so many young readers who struggle with depression. Amber McBride's writing is enchanting, clever, and beautiful, even though the story has dark fairytale storyline, with Sorrow personified, Hansel & Gretel, Baba Yaga, Anansi, Mama Wata, Snow White, Adze, and Ursula. There is an amazing friendship and words that are necessary to hear - both to learn about what it's like to live with clinical depression, and to know that there's hope and healing and people out there rooting for you if you struggle with depression. I love that Amber explored clinical depression in a story combined with magic and folklore, and that our MC is a Black girl - because this isn't a common narrative in YA stories. This is really masterful writing and absolutely worth reading.
"No one ever tells you that Sorrow doesn't grab you by the throat.
it opens the door, offers a warm fire, says--Have some candy.
& I step inside (again)."
I am SO glad We Are All So Good at Smiling is out in the world. Short, powerful, and written in verse, this book is going to impact so many young readers who struggle with depression. Amber McBride's writing is enchanting, clever, and beautiful, even though the story has dark fairytale storyline, with Sorrow personified, Hansel & Gretel, Baba Yaga, Anansi, Mama Wata, Snow White, Adze, and Ursula. There is an amazing friendship and words that are necessary to hear - both to learn about what it's like to live with clinical depression, and to know that there's hope and healing and people out there rooting for you if you struggle with depression. I love that Amber explored clinical depression in a story combined with magic and folklore, and that our MC is a Black girl - because this isn't a common narrative in YA stories. This is really masterful writing and absolutely worth reading.
Thanks to the author for the gifted copy of this book!
Do you love pirates going on adventures and watched Pirates of the Caribbean on repeat when you were younger? The Captain of Nemain’s Revenge is for you!
When Captain Phantom steals a stone from Samsara with ulterior motives to help the people of Kheli, he ends up on quite the adventure where his inner demons are challenged, people he cares for are put at stake, and he might fall in love unexpectedly. The world-building is well done where it’s layered and based on ruling goddesses, but written to be easy to understand and blend well with the pirate vibes. I stayed up super late multiple nights in a row because I didn’t want to put it down… and now I NEED BOOK TWO.
Read if you:
- Adore Captain Jack Sparrow
- Ship Jack with Elizabeth Swan
- Want to read a compelling adventure
- Are ready for an endearing band of pirates
- Enjoy a good slow-burn romance subplot
- Are all about strong female characters
- Are up for an exclusively male main character POV
Do you love pirates going on adventures and watched Pirates of the Caribbean on repeat when you were younger? The Captain of Nemain’s Revenge is for you!
When Captain Phantom steals a stone from Samsara with ulterior motives to help the people of Kheli, he ends up on quite the adventure where his inner demons are challenged, people he cares for are put at stake, and he might fall in love unexpectedly. The world-building is well done where it’s layered and based on ruling goddesses, but written to be easy to understand and blend well with the pirate vibes. I stayed up super late multiple nights in a row because I didn’t want to put it down… and now I NEED BOOK TWO.
Read if you:
- Adore Captain Jack Sparrow
- Ship Jack with Elizabeth Swan
- Want to read a compelling adventure
- Are ready for an endearing band of pirates
- Enjoy a good slow-burn romance subplot
- Are all about strong female characters
- Are up for an exclusively male main character POV
“What made a good mother? Maybe there wasn’t a perfect mother. Perhaps you just did the best you could.”
A really wonderful and accurate picture of adoption and finding yourself.
A really wonderful and accurate picture of adoption and finding yourself.
Thanks to Atria for the advanced copy of this book.
This was one of my more anticipated reads of the year, as I really enjoy a good multi-generational story like this. However, I definitely found myself gravitating toward some of the storylines versus others, which made it a bit hard to pick back up at times, so it took me awhile to finish this one. Overall, the writing was very good and I appreciated the story and narrative on the effects of trauma through the generations and how easy it is for this cycle to continue, even into the present day.
This was one of my more anticipated reads of the year, as I really enjoy a good multi-generational story like this. However, I definitely found myself gravitating toward some of the storylines versus others, which made it a bit hard to pick back up at times, so it took me awhile to finish this one. Overall, the writing was very good and I appreciated the story and narrative on the effects of trauma through the generations and how easy it is for this cycle to continue, even into the present day.