I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. You can read my full review here: https://www.jasbeingjas.com/post/impersonation

This was a really quick read so it was hard not to rush through it but really enjoy it. A beautiful story about loss, lies, and finding family.

This is the first in the Breakbeat Poets series. It's an incredible collection and an amazing foundation for what is a thoughtful and diverse series. Some of my favorites in this collection are "duck, duck, redux,""global warming blues," "I have a drone," and "100 bells." There were definitely parts of breakbeat and hip hop culture that I am not familiar with and that I bookmarked to go back to and look into.

I am not a fan of suspense/thriller/mystery but the way the story unfolds is beautiful. I want to get the rest of the books in the series immediately!

I love Antoni! You can read my full review and see the recipes I’ve tried so far here: https://www.jasbeingjas.com/post/antoni-in-the-kitchen

This is one of the best memoirs I have ever read, and I don’t know what could be done to top this. Whereas so many memoirs become self indulgent, Valerie Kaur weaves the personal with community and systems. The memoir/manifesto touches on a lot of things but is woven together in a way that is effective and efficient and can bring lasting change for a reader. It’s thought provoking. I highly recommend reading this with someone because there will be so many things that you want to discuss.

I love these books! You can read my full review here: https://www.jasbeingjas.com/post/the-lady-of-the-cliffs-the-bury-down-chronicles-2 I can't wait for #3!!
Content warning, there is violence and blood, most notably that there is a cut wrist which could be triggering for some readers.

This book was a quick read so I powered through but I wasn’t really a fan. For a while the time line was frustrating. Also I didn’t like Jule or Immie. Both seemed so terrible, and everyone else just seemed like collateral damage. So there wasn’t really a character for me to root for either. Overall I’m not crazy about thrillers, so I think this book just wasn’t my kind of thing to begin with.

This is such a cute book! I devoured it. I love all the characters. I love that there wasn't some magical happy ending or vague everything will be alright. The characters got professional help to deal with very real feelings of anxiety and depression. This is something that I feel like a lot of YA stories are missing. I kind of really wish I could read Monstrous Sea.