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kaylaraereads
So this wasn’t a bad book, I really enjoyed it. However I thought the first half was flawless and then after a certain point in the book I kind of stopped caring.
3.5 stars
I don’t think neutral YA contemporary is my thing anymore
I don’t think neutral YA contemporary is my thing anymore
I read this in 4 hours in one sitting. I am a huge fan of Julie Murphy so hearing about her adult romance debut I needed my hands on this arc. I have to say that this is probably my new favorite Julie Murphy book.
CW// Grief, Fatphobia
I found myself reading this entire book in one sitting. I could not put it down. We follow Cindy who moves back to LA after graduating fashion school/college. She moves back in with her stepmother and step/half siblings for the summer. Cindy’s step mother is the producer of a prime time show called Before Midnight (think the bachelor) and somehow Cindy finds herself on the show as the only plus size contestant.
I loved the plus size representation here, Julie Murphy did it with Dumplin, but smashed it out of the park with this. I felt like I could be Cindy. I loved her confidence and how she thinks that fashion and clothes are things everyone needs so they should be accessible in all sizes for everyone.
Another plus was having a Non-Binary character. I loved the use of they/them pronouns and how everyone used them for that character without hesitation.
Something I was neutral about; This book gives off One To Watch vibes and that was a bit of a drag for me. Just because it was a plus size character in a Bachelor/ Bachelorette scenario. Obviously different stories, but still basic concept. Also, the grief in this novel was very triggering for me in a way so that is something to watch if you struggle with death of family members.
Something I disliked; I was not a fan of the production team at times. Maybe this is how real production teams work and the behind the scenes. However, I just could not get behind nobody relaying certain information to people prior to the conflict. But this is a fictional story so I guess we need a huge conflict.
My enjoyment for this book is very high that my dislikes are slightly irrelevant to my rating.
4.5 stars!!!
CW// Grief, Fatphobia
I found myself reading this entire book in one sitting. I could not put it down. We follow Cindy who moves back to LA after graduating fashion school/college. She moves back in with her stepmother and step/half siblings for the summer. Cindy’s step mother is the producer of a prime time show called Before Midnight (think the bachelor) and somehow Cindy finds herself on the show as the only plus size contestant.
I loved the plus size representation here, Julie Murphy did it with Dumplin, but smashed it out of the park with this. I felt like I could be Cindy. I loved her confidence and how she thinks that fashion and clothes are things everyone needs so they should be accessible in all sizes for everyone.
Another plus was having a Non-Binary character. I loved the use of they/them pronouns and how everyone used them for that character without hesitation.
Something I was neutral about; This book gives off One To Watch vibes and that was a bit of a drag for me. Just because it was a plus size character in a Bachelor/ Bachelorette scenario. Obviously different stories, but still basic concept. Also, the grief in this novel was very triggering for me in a way so that is something to watch if you struggle with death of family members.
Something I disliked; I was not a fan of the production team at times. Maybe this is how real production teams work and the behind the scenes. However, I just could not get behind nobody relaying certain information to people prior to the conflict. But this is a fictional story so I guess we need a huge conflict.
My enjoyment for this book is very high that my dislikes are slightly irrelevant to my rating.
4.5 stars!!!
Mine by Delilah S. Dawson is a middle grade horror novel. One I think is much needed in the middle grade genre. In this we follow Lily a young girl who moves from Colorado to Florida with her family for a fresh start. Lily loves being dramatic and has a passion for musicals and theatre. The house they arrive to is not what she expected it’s haunted. Things in her room start to move, the words mine, get written on items. Lily now has to face these horrors all the while her parents do not believe her.
I enjoyed this quite a bit. The first 70% was amazing. After that though it started to fall flat, I gave up caring about Lily and her journey. There were so many times that I was generally spooked and I believe that if I was the target audience I would have been very scared.
What I did not enjoy was how long it took to get to the climax and the ending let me down. Lily’s Dad, in my opinion, was unnecessarily verbally abusive to her and was always angry at her. What was the point of that?
It was still a very good read.
3.75 stars.
I enjoyed this quite a bit. The first 70% was amazing. After that though it started to fall flat, I gave up caring about Lily and her journey. There were so many times that I was generally spooked and I believe that if I was the target audience I would have been very scared.
What I did not enjoy was how long it took to get to the climax and the ending let me down. Lily’s Dad, in my opinion, was unnecessarily verbally abusive to her and was always angry at her. What was the point of that?
It was still a very good read.
3.75 stars.
