Cleves has moved from Cleveland to Lancaster, which isn't as bad as it could be because her best friend Henry goes to school there. Henry is incredibly popular, but also has a track record of blowing through relationships really quickly. Two of his ex-girlfriends have in fact ended up dead. Were either his fault? I found this book a little hard to get through. Part of it was that I wanted to be more familiar with Henry VIII and his court than I was, so I found myself going to Wikipedia to figure it out. The other reason was that it does sort of dawdle a bit around 1/4 to 1/3 of the way in, and then picks up again just past the halfway point. I also had a moment where I was frustrated with Cleves because of how blinded she was by Henry that she confuses something Parker is saying as the opposite. I did end up enjoying it in the end, but it felt a little like work for me to get there.

I actually didn't like this one very much. Maybe it was my mood? I just wasn't into the dreamy meandering feeling of it.

I much preferred this one to the other graphic novel I read this week. Meconis gives an overview of life in a nunnery as a child, the chores you might do, the food you might eat, how the time is spent. In this book, she also gives each nun an inner life, a reason why they are there. And then you throw in Eleanor, a fictionalized Queen Elizabeth I, and it all just really works for me. I understood Elizabeth's prickliness and fire.

This is a 4.5 star book. Ben comes out to their parents as nonbinary, and they kick them out of the house. They goes to live with their sister, Hannah, who they haven't seen in 10 years. Though out to her and her husband, Ben decides not to be out at school. Is that a secret they still want to keep?

I thought the therapy scenes were very accurate and well done, and I liked the friendships and romance. I think a lot of teens will enjoy this one. I found it helpful in terms of learning more about the way a body can feel weird to a nonbinary person. As a cisgender individual, there have been things I haven't necessarily liked about my body but it always felt like mine. These stories are important for me to read to remember that, as well as being a mirror for those who feel that way.

Some of the scenes with the parents could be triggering, I think, so take care with those.

This was a pretty cute road trip story. Chloe really wants to audition for her dream dance academy, but her mother has forbidden it. She sneaks away while on her mother is on vacation, but there's just one problem--neighbor boy Eli wants to tag along and he can ruin the whole thing if he tells her mom. Chloe and Eli don't get along, but what choice does she have?

I didn't fall for Eli the same way Chloe eventually does, but I also don't have her history with him. It was enjoyable, but I'm not sure the fluff will last for me.

I did spend a lot of this book thinking that Simon needs therapy, but it was fun to see how much he enjoyed the road trip versus Baz. Can't wait to see what the third one brings.

Why did this book have to end? I immediately went online to see if I could find more, but alas, this appears to be it. I want more Nimona adventures.

I loved "The Velveteen Rabbit" as a kid, and for some reason (despite the words "a novel" on the cover and it being shelved in the fiction section at the library) I thought I was reading a true story. Once I got over that hurdle, I did overall enjoy the story. I found the structure to be confusing, despite naming which character was talking. They jumped back and forth in time, and sometimes you couldn't always figure out what times things were happening in. It was interesting to learn about Pamela Bianco and her life.

I thought this novel was in verse, so I am doing really well lately at figuring out what books are. This is the story of Hang (wish I knew how to do the dialectics, there's my privilege showing) and her almost single-minded quest to get her brother Linh back after accidentally giving him away during Operation Baby-Lift. She gets some reluctant help from LeeRoy, a wannabe cowboy who currently has a romantic idea of what that life will be like. They find her brother, now named David, who has forgotten much about his life in Vietnam and only knows his life here in Texas. It's a quiet story about Hang dealing with trauma and re-connecting with someone who doesn't remember her, and LeeRoy discovering that the life of a cowboy may not be what he wants. The story is told from a few different perspectives in third person, but mostly Hang and LeeRoy. I really liked it.

Super cute story about an out gay teen named Charlie and his growing friendship with Nick, a member of the rugby team who is a year or two older. Their friendship/maybe romance is super cute to watch, and it's fun to see Charlie grow as a character. I did find the British school terms a little confusing (what is a form versus a year? and it wasn't clear from context.).