I'm going to have to think about this one for awhile. I'm not entirely sure I like the ending or who ends up together. I'm just... unsure. I would maybe have been happier if the ending made me feel anything other than a giant version of the shrug emoji...

Powerful and emotional in equal measure. These poems are beautifully put together, punching the reader with their images and metaphor. This is maybe the perfect collection of poetry for the modern world, pulling white readers out of our comfort zone. I will for sure reread this because there is a lot to unpack and I'm sure with each reread I'll see something new.

I forgot how much I love this world. It was fun playing in it again and seeing the characters I love through Opal's gaze. I am glad I jumped back in, it reminds me that I really need to read the Ronan stories, oops....

I wasn't sure that Dear Martin really needed a follow up. It's a great book and as a stand alone worked very well. But almost as soon as I started reading I realized that I was completely wrong, that this story needed telling, was important to tell. I love how much love is in these pages, how Nic Stone speaks with so much compassion about young people the world seems to have nothing but contempt for.  We need stories that allow us to look at others complexly and this book is that. I'm so glad it exists in the world. I know that we need more stories about black teens that isn't about prison and police brutality but talking about young incarcerated black folks is still really important, a way to remember that not just "perfect angel" black folks deserve justice, love, and respect. 

This is a really good novella with lots of solid world building built in to such a compact spot. Honestly I had heard this was really good and part of me was unsure if it would live up to the hype, but I'm so glad I decided to buy this book instead of just borrowing it from the library because it is so good. I love how much of a punch it packs, I love the characters and their depth. I love how real everyone seems, how solid.  I would read so many more books set in this same world, y'all.

I did like this book better than the first. I thought it moved at a better pace and I think the mystery was way more solid. I liked the overall themes about what can and cannot be forgiven, how the weight of the past is always there, pressing in on those it has harmed and helped alike. The ending is just as open ended as the first novel, however, with some of the major over arching plot still is unresolved with even more elements of uncertainty added on.  I'm not entirely sure I will continue this series. It isn't that the series itself is bad it is just that I really want some of the major plot to be resolved and the lead character keeps making choices that make me hate him a little.

Longer review to come.

This is one of those very rare moments when the movie far outshines the book. To say I strongly disliked this book is to put more passion into it than I actually feel. This is, and I cannot emphasizes this enough, a story with more coincidence that actual mystery solving. Almost all the pieces of the plot fall into her lap as opposed to her going out and finding clues. Enola herself is not a particularly enjoyable character to follow nor is her POV a particularly interesting one. It's incredible that they made the movie so much better than the book but here we are. ALSO this book has heavy uses of the G slur as well as being graphically and openly races towards Travelers/Roma people. I didn't realize this was going to be a Thing but I should have particularly since the G slur is, apparently, in the title of a later book in this series. Just skip it, folks. The movie is pretty "white feminist" but at least it's better than this book.

A challenging read focusing on trauma both shared and private. Those themes seem to be a specialty of this author considering Anger is a Gift. I liked a lot of the world building and I thought the plot tied up well. I thought there were times when things could have been explained but I was alright with most of the way the story went. I thought it was about fifty to sixty pages longer than it should have been. It feels like the "ending" arrives multiple times before the actual end arrives. 

oh noooooo this is so cute! I knew I was going to love this story but I REALLY liked it. The art isn't as good as I usually like from my graphic novels but it wasn't necessarily bad. The characters are cute, the storyline is cute, I just like it a lot.