I am done.  I have made it 65% of the way through this audiobook and cannot take it anymore.  There are still 3 and a half hours to go, and I just cannot do it anymore.  This book is a nothing but whinny drama.  The reason I stuck with it for so long is that it has excellent fat representation.  When Winnie goes to the doctor for a school blood test, a battle of wills ensues over her weight and standing on the scale.  I have been that fat teenager, and I completely get this section of the book.  I had to share it with friends it is so accurate.  And it was these moments, like the grandmother who made her exercise and would only feed her “healthy” food while her siblings got what ever they liked that made me feel seen.  However, our gal Winnie is dealing with more than her weight.  Cara, her best friend, her “ungirlfriend” is not making the summer any easier.  Cara and Winnie have been best friends for years.  They only see each other in the summers but they are bonded for “life”.  The “ungirlfriend” think is a bit hard to wrap your head around.  It is explained 3 different times, and the best short explanation given by Winnie herself is “queer platonic”.  It’s confusing, but I can roll with it, let me learn new things and ideas.  Winnie also really likes Dallas, but Cara is in the middle of that too.  This book is a character study, which I rarely like, but to me what makes this one worse is the “whininess” of the two main characters.  I cannot stand it.  However, saying that, this book isn’t without merit.  I can see patrons liking and even loving this book.  It being exactly what a young fat teen girl needs, that girl was just never me. 

 

This Sapphic rom com retelling of the movie Can’t Buy Me Love, is so much fun.  Scottie is on the basketball team but is not doing well.  She cannot get over her ex Tally.  It has become a complete mental block that is taking away from every aspect of her life.  After the demo game against her school rival, where Tally is now going, she runs her car in to the car of the Head Cheerleader Irene. The same head cheerleader who had Scottie’s car towed last year at a party for no reason.  This starts off an enemies to lovers’ adventure that keeps readers smiling throughout.  Scottie offers Irene the money she needs to repair the car if she pretends to be her girlfriend for 4 months.  Scottie has two main reasons for this offer, one to make Tally jealous, and two to make her basketball team play better.  After all, don’t all teams play better when they have a cheering section?  

 

While this book is quite typical for the genera, its written well and keeps the readers wanting to turn the page.  This is a read in one sitting book.  It’s short and quick, but does not lack in emotion or problem management.  Scottie has a dream family. They are so loyal and supportive in all things.  Irene’s parents are also supportive, but this book does a great job of showing how Irene does’t always feel that support.  I think it also handles Scottie’s mental anguish over her breakup really well.  Her family talks things over, her friends let her take the time and do the things she needs to do to find herself again.  This is not an “issue” book, it is instead a book filled with events that feel true life.  They fell real, and youth could see themselves and their friends as different characters living these lives.  

 

One of the great things about this book is that the pop culture references are already dated so it keeps the book fresh.  For example, Irene, actually says : is this a Can’t Buy Me Love thing (classic Patrick Dempsey movie from the 80’s). One of the main characters actually references the movie this book retells.  The title come from the Fine Young Cannibals song of the same name, and Irene is called Regina George (from Mean Girls) more than once.  It is all tongue in cheek, but it all works together seamlessly.  Nothing feels pushed or too cheesy. 

 

Overall this book was a joy to read.  If you are looking for more Sapphic rom-coms try: You Should See me in a Crown by Leah Johnson, or Late to the Party by Kelly Quindlen.  If you want more Can’t Buy me Love retellings (fake relationships) in all sexualities try: Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan or Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao. 

 What the heck did I just read.  Alice in Bishounen (Beautiful Boy) Land is a graphic novel about being sucked into a video game.  This is a role playing game where a real person becomes a producer and must get their Idol team to be number one to be get back out into the real world.  This book is all over the place.  The main character Alice even admits that the story is all over the place, as she is actually a player in the story and just as clueless as the reader.  Over all I am not impressed.  This has been done better by Skeleton Knight in Another World and by Fairy Tale Battle Royal.  I barely understand the idea of idol, in my head they are like a US boy band like Back Street Boys or NSync.  Neither of which I was ever into.  Can I see others liking this book and continuing the series, sure….just not me.  No thank you.  Interesting concept but lack luster completion. 

 

I liked this more than I was expecting. I do wish they changed the cover so it would appeal to more people. The cover makes it look like a Mortal Kombat situation. Which in a way it is, as the humans have to fight the gods in order to ensure humanity survives for the next thousand years. There’s more information about Norse mythology, particularly Thor ,then in other books and information on the human competitor Lu Bu.  I believe he is from Chinese mythology. Overall this was a fun and exciting read and I cannot wait to see the other pair ups. Particularly I’m looking forward to seeing who Nicola Tesla fights and how he fights. 

 

I’ve lost which number in the series this is. It is exactly what we come to expect from Dana, Phoebe, and Marigold Heavenly Nostrils. The book is a fun daily look at the life of a little girl and her not so imaginary unicorn. In this installment they go to unicorn family reunion and meet Marigold’s parents for the first time ever. Interesting concept, great fun, though not as good as some other compilations in the series. 

 

This book is not quite a graphic novel not quite a chapter book, it falls comfortably someplace in between. The art work is all done and pink black and gray and is just a real joy to read. These three sparkle dragons are out to save the world, in particular their queendom. This queendom is run by a bratty princess. The mystery is simple enough but still interesting enough to keep your kids actively reading and wanting more. 

 

Another find entry into the bad guys who really just want to be good guys. There are tons of zombies running around and they’re trying to destroy the world. However the only way to save the world is to go to space. And space is going to be an interesting adventure for the bad guys. They’ll be danger, they’ll be action, and they’ll be a lot of farting. But can a fart save the world? You’ll only find out by checking it out. 

 

There are some kids who believe that carrots grow on trees. The start of the story is a bunch of kids in school listing the vegetables they don’t like. This causes an argument that carrots grow on trees and they find out in class that, no carrots grow in the ground. Then the main girl goes home and tells her mom so they elastic some carrots into a tree and invite the over to prove that carrots grow on trees. This book isn’t very well written. It reads like it was written by somebody in elementary school and if it was that’s great if not no. Not a book I would buy to add to our collection. 

 

This book took a bit of getting used to. It has a lovely cadence but that cadence sometimes does not flow as well as it should.  It staggers and mumbles in parts. Overall the star story is quite lovely of a girl who goes off to find the monsters in the woods. She finds them, they make friends, and she learns their secret. While this book was lovely and enjoyable it falls short. It almost feels like there should be another page or two of her going home and there isn’t. Overall this was a fun read but the execution could have been better. 

 

This rhyming picture book is more of an idea poem than a narrative story. Stanza after stanza,  page after page, is where you would find love. It’s how you would see love. It’s even a bit about love hiding and needing to be found. Overall I can see this being a story time hit that used for years to come. However it’s not this reviewer‘s favorite story. The art is great and the story is nice it’s just not my thing.