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2.51k reviews by:
popthebutterfly
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: The Love Report
Author: BeKa, Maya
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: Black MC, BIPOC characters
Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, graphic novel, upper middle grade, romance
Publication Date: June 13. 2023
Genre: YA Contemporary Graphic Novel
Age Relevance: 14+ (sexual content, romance, violence, sexual assault, bullying, divorce, language, child abuse, depression)
Explanation of Above: There are vague mentions of sexual content and one scene of sexual assault and harassment mentioned. There is some romance. There are scenes with bullying and divorce is mentioned. There is one curse word. There are mentions of emotional child abuse. There are mentions of depression.
Publisher: Astra Publishing House
Pages: 192
Synopsis: BFFs Grace and Lola try to unravel the mystery of romance with a plan to observe, study, and analyze the ways of love at their middle school in the first book in this addictive graphic novel series.
BFFs Grace and Lola talk about everything related to romance—and have lots of questions: What about the mysterious allure of the popular girl at school? And the rebellious goth with the reputation? And boys. They don’t quite understand what makes some school romances soar to legendary heights, while other flirtations fizzle. Lola has an idea—they’ll observe, study, and analyze all the couples at their Junior High—and compile their findings as The Love Report. Surprises await them, and force them to learn to see beyond appearances in this fast-paced series opener. They’ll also discover secrets between themselves.
Review: This was such an amazing graphic novel. This book is about two friends and in a duel POV switch it shows the two’s friendship through the ups and the downs. The book focuses on the two learning about love through the scientific method, but finding some hard truths along the way. The book is extremely well written and I loved every second of it. The world building was amazing, as well as the character development, and I can’t wait to see a second book to compliment this one.
The only issue I had with the book is that it was a bit slow in a couple of places, but other than that it was a perfect read.
Verdict: I loved it so much. Highly recommend!
Book: The Love Report
Author: BeKa, Maya
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: Black MC, BIPOC characters
Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, graphic novel, upper middle grade, romance
Publication Date: June 13. 2023
Genre: YA Contemporary Graphic Novel
Age Relevance: 14+ (sexual content, romance, violence, sexual assault, bullying, divorce, language, child abuse, depression)
Explanation of Above: There are vague mentions of sexual content and one scene of sexual assault and harassment mentioned. There is some romance. There are scenes with bullying and divorce is mentioned. There is one curse word. There are mentions of emotional child abuse. There are mentions of depression.
Publisher: Astra Publishing House
Pages: 192
Synopsis: BFFs Grace and Lola try to unravel the mystery of romance with a plan to observe, study, and analyze the ways of love at their middle school in the first book in this addictive graphic novel series.
BFFs Grace and Lola talk about everything related to romance—and have lots of questions: What about the mysterious allure of the popular girl at school? And the rebellious goth with the reputation? And boys. They don’t quite understand what makes some school romances soar to legendary heights, while other flirtations fizzle. Lola has an idea—they’ll observe, study, and analyze all the couples at their Junior High—and compile their findings as The Love Report. Surprises await them, and force them to learn to see beyond appearances in this fast-paced series opener. They’ll also discover secrets between themselves.
Review: This was such an amazing graphic novel. This book is about two friends and in a duel POV switch it shows the two’s friendship through the ups and the downs. The book focuses on the two learning about love through the scientific method, but finding some hard truths along the way. The book is extremely well written and I loved every second of it. The world building was amazing, as well as the character development, and I can’t wait to see a second book to compliment this one.
The only issue I had with the book is that it was a bit slow in a couple of places, but other than that it was a perfect read.
Verdict: I loved it so much. Highly recommend!
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Lo & Behold
Author: Wendy Mass, Gabi Mendez
Book Series: Lo & Behold Book 1
Rating: 4.5/5
Diversity: Hispanic character
Recommended For...: middle grade readers, graphic novel, contemporary
Publication Date: May 2, 2023
Genre: MG Contemporary Graphic Novel
Age Relevance: 8+ (parental incarceration, grief, the Holocaust, addiction)
Explanation of Above: Parental incarceration is vaguely mentioned and there is some scenes showing addiction to pain killers. Grief is shown and discussed. The Holocaust is mentioned.
Publisher: Random House Graphic
Pages: 224
Synopsis: When you're named after a 250-year-old tortoise, you grow up believing life is full of possibilities and wonder. But ever since Addie's family got turned upside down, those things have been harder for her to see.
The last thing Addie wants to do is make a new friend, but when her dad's summer job takes them across the country, she meets Mateo and finds herself caught up in an exciting project. With the help of a virtual reality headset, she's suddenly scaling castle walls, dodging angry kittens, and seeing the world in whole new ways. Plus, she has an idea that could be bigger than anything she's imagined before, but can she right some wrongs first . . . or is it too late?
Review: I thought this was such a cute read! The book is about our MC who is taken across country when their dad gets a new summer job, and she’s caught up in working on technology that has her doing all sorts of wild adventures. I loved seeing all of the VR tech and technology and geocaching references. I loved seeing the discussions about moving. The book had well done message, with good world building and pacing and I loved reading every picture of this book.
My only issue is that I thought the character development could have been a bit better, but overall it was well done!
Verdict: Loved it!
Book: Lo & Behold
Author: Wendy Mass, Gabi Mendez
Book Series: Lo & Behold Book 1
Rating: 4.5/5
Diversity: Hispanic character
Recommended For...: middle grade readers, graphic novel, contemporary
Publication Date: May 2, 2023
Genre: MG Contemporary Graphic Novel
Age Relevance: 8+ (parental incarceration, grief, the Holocaust, addiction)
Explanation of Above: Parental incarceration is vaguely mentioned and there is some scenes showing addiction to pain killers. Grief is shown and discussed. The Holocaust is mentioned.
Publisher: Random House Graphic
Pages: 224
Synopsis: When you're named after a 250-year-old tortoise, you grow up believing life is full of possibilities and wonder. But ever since Addie's family got turned upside down, those things have been harder for her to see.
The last thing Addie wants to do is make a new friend, but when her dad's summer job takes them across the country, she meets Mateo and finds herself caught up in an exciting project. With the help of a virtual reality headset, she's suddenly scaling castle walls, dodging angry kittens, and seeing the world in whole new ways. Plus, she has an idea that could be bigger than anything she's imagined before, but can she right some wrongs first . . . or is it too late?
Review: I thought this was such a cute read! The book is about our MC who is taken across country when their dad gets a new summer job, and she’s caught up in working on technology that has her doing all sorts of wild adventures. I loved seeing all of the VR tech and technology and geocaching references. I loved seeing the discussions about moving. The book had well done message, with good world building and pacing and I loved reading every picture of this book.
My only issue is that I thought the character development could have been a bit better, but overall it was well done!
Verdict: Loved it!
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Spell Bound
Author: F.T. Lukens
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: BIPOC side character, Main Character with Anxiety, Non-Binary Asian American Main Character, Non-Binary side character
Recommended For...: young adult readers, paranormal, fantasy, LGBT, romance, magic, queer, urban fantasy
Publication Date: April 4, 2023
Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy
Age Relevance: 14+ (language, grief, anxiety, gore, death, romance)
Explanation of Above: There is some cursing in the book. There are scenes with grief and anxiety. There is some slight blood gore. There are mentions of death. There is a romance.
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Pages: 336
Synopsis: Edison Rooker isn’t sure what to expect when he enters the office of Antonia Hex, the powerful sorceress who runs a call center for magical emergencies. He doesn’t have much experience with hexes or curses. Heck, he doesn’t even have magic. But he does have a plan—to regain the access to the magical world he lost when his grandmother passed.
Antonia is…intimidating, but she gives him a job and a new name—Rook—both of which he’s happy to accept. Now all Rook has to do is keep his Spell Binder, an illegal magical detection device, hidden from the Magical Consortium. And contend with Sun, the grumpy and annoyingly cute apprentice to Antonia’s rival colleague, Fable. But dealing with competition isn’t so bad; as Sun seems to pop up more and more, and Rook minds less and less.
But when the Consortium gets wind of Rook’s Spell Binder, they come for Antonia. All alone, Rook runs to the only other magical person he knows: Sun. Except Fable has also been attacked, and now Rook and Sun have no choice but to work together to get their mentors back…or face losing their magic forever.
Review: I thought this was a really great fantasy read! I loved the story, which is a duel POV narrative featuring rivals. One main character is trying to break into the witch world in order to feel closer to his late grandmother and another main character who is just trying to complete their apprenticeship with a rival magic shop. The two continue to have a rivalry until they are forced to work together to help free their rival employers. The world building was well done, the way the story was laid out was amazing, and I want more! I love magical paranormal contemporary set reads and I can’t wait for another read in this genre.
The only issue I had with the read is that I felt like the book was a bit too fast paced in some parts, but overall it was an evenly paced read.
Verdict: I loved this read! Highly recommend!
Book: Spell Bound
Author: F.T. Lukens
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: BIPOC side character, Main Character with Anxiety, Non-Binary Asian American Main Character, Non-Binary side character
Recommended For...: young adult readers, paranormal, fantasy, LGBT, romance, magic, queer, urban fantasy
Publication Date: April 4, 2023
Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy
Age Relevance: 14+ (language, grief, anxiety, gore, death, romance)
Explanation of Above: There is some cursing in the book. There are scenes with grief and anxiety. There is some slight blood gore. There are mentions of death. There is a romance.
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Pages: 336
Synopsis: Edison Rooker isn’t sure what to expect when he enters the office of Antonia Hex, the powerful sorceress who runs a call center for magical emergencies. He doesn’t have much experience with hexes or curses. Heck, he doesn’t even have magic. But he does have a plan—to regain the access to the magical world he lost when his grandmother passed.
Antonia is…intimidating, but she gives him a job and a new name—Rook—both of which he’s happy to accept. Now all Rook has to do is keep his Spell Binder, an illegal magical detection device, hidden from the Magical Consortium. And contend with Sun, the grumpy and annoyingly cute apprentice to Antonia’s rival colleague, Fable. But dealing with competition isn’t so bad; as Sun seems to pop up more and more, and Rook minds less and less.
But when the Consortium gets wind of Rook’s Spell Binder, they come for Antonia. All alone, Rook runs to the only other magical person he knows: Sun. Except Fable has also been attacked, and now Rook and Sun have no choice but to work together to get their mentors back…or face losing their magic forever.
Review: I thought this was a really great fantasy read! I loved the story, which is a duel POV narrative featuring rivals. One main character is trying to break into the witch world in order to feel closer to his late grandmother and another main character who is just trying to complete their apprenticeship with a rival magic shop. The two continue to have a rivalry until they are forced to work together to help free their rival employers. The world building was well done, the way the story was laid out was amazing, and I want more! I love magical paranormal contemporary set reads and I can’t wait for another read in this genre.
The only issue I had with the read is that I felt like the book was a bit too fast paced in some parts, but overall it was an evenly paced read.
Verdict: I loved this read! Highly recommend!
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Disclaimer: I bought this copy for myself. Support your authors! All opinions are my own.
Book: Go Hex Yourself
Author: Jessica Clare
Book Series: Hex Series Book 1
Rating: 5/5
Spice: 5/5
Diversity: Gay side character
Recommended For...: romance, paranormal, fantasy, witches, contemporary, adult
Publication Date: April 19, 2022
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Age Relevance: 18+ (pregnancy, language, animal death, child financial abuse, sexual content, romance, suicide)
Explanation of Above: There is pregnancy mentioned off and on but it is not a trope. There is some animal death, parts and stuffing hunted ones, mentioned. There is cursing. Child financial abuse is shown and mentioned. There is a lot of romance and sexual content mentioned and shown. There are a couple of vague mentions of suicide.
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 384
Synopsis: When Reggie Johnson answers a job ad in the paper, she's astonished to find that she's not applying to work at her favorite card game, Spellcraft: The Magicking. Instead, she's applying to be an actual familiar for an actual witch. As in, real magic.
The new job has a few perks - great room and board, excellent pay, and she's apprenticing to a powerful witch. Sure, the witch is a bit eccentric. And sure, there was that issue with the black cat Reggie would prefer to forget about. The biggest problem, however, is warlock Ben Magnus, her employer's nephew and the most arrogant, insufferable, maddening man to ever cast a spell.
Reggie absolutely hates him. He's handsome, but he's also bossy and irritating and orders her around. Ben's butt might look great in a crystal ball vision, but that's as far as it goes. But when someone with a vendetta targets the household, she finds herself working with Ben to break a deadly curse. Apparently, when they're not fighting like cats and dogs, things get downright...bewitching.
Review: Overall, I really enjoyed this read. It’s a very adult romance book but with the perfect amount of comical fantasy for someone who’s not big into the fantasy trope but wants more than the normal contemporary reads can give them. This book follows our main character as they unknowingly take a job with witches as a familiar and are then thrust into a world of secrets and trickery and a man they can’t seem to forget about. I thought the story was really cute, with it playing into the grumpyxsunshine trope, and I really thought the world building was excellent. The book was intriguing from beginning to end and I’d definitely read it again.
The only issue I had with the book is that the beginning is a bit slow, as it sets the stage for the rest of the books.
Verdict: It’s really good! Love it.
Book: Go Hex Yourself
Author: Jessica Clare
Book Series: Hex Series Book 1
Rating: 5/5
Spice: 5/5
Diversity: Gay side character
Recommended For...: romance, paranormal, fantasy, witches, contemporary, adult
Publication Date: April 19, 2022
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Age Relevance: 18+ (pregnancy, language, animal death, child financial abuse, sexual content, romance, suicide)
Explanation of Above: There is pregnancy mentioned off and on but it is not a trope. There is some animal death, parts and stuffing hunted ones, mentioned. There is cursing. Child financial abuse is shown and mentioned. There is a lot of romance and sexual content mentioned and shown. There are a couple of vague mentions of suicide.
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 384
Synopsis: When Reggie Johnson answers a job ad in the paper, she's astonished to find that she's not applying to work at her favorite card game, Spellcraft: The Magicking. Instead, she's applying to be an actual familiar for an actual witch. As in, real magic.
The new job has a few perks - great room and board, excellent pay, and she's apprenticing to a powerful witch. Sure, the witch is a bit eccentric. And sure, there was that issue with the black cat Reggie would prefer to forget about. The biggest problem, however, is warlock Ben Magnus, her employer's nephew and the most arrogant, insufferable, maddening man to ever cast a spell.
Reggie absolutely hates him. He's handsome, but he's also bossy and irritating and orders her around. Ben's butt might look great in a crystal ball vision, but that's as far as it goes. But when someone with a vendetta targets the household, she finds herself working with Ben to break a deadly curse. Apparently, when they're not fighting like cats and dogs, things get downright...bewitching.
Review: Overall, I really enjoyed this read. It’s a very adult romance book but with the perfect amount of comical fantasy for someone who’s not big into the fantasy trope but wants more than the normal contemporary reads can give them. This book follows our main character as they unknowingly take a job with witches as a familiar and are then thrust into a world of secrets and trickery and a man they can’t seem to forget about. I thought the story was really cute, with it playing into the grumpyxsunshine trope, and I really thought the world building was excellent. The book was intriguing from beginning to end and I’d definitely read it again.
The only issue I had with the book is that the beginning is a bit slow, as it sets the stage for the rest of the books.
Verdict: It’s really good! Love it.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Disclaimer: I bought this copy for myself! Support your authors!
Book: Self-Made Boys
Author: Anna-Marie McLemore
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 4/5
Diversity: Trans Latine MC, Latine Character, Trans Latine Character, Lesbian Characters, Lesbian Latine Character, Jewish Lesbian Character
Recommended For...: young adult readers, historical fiction, retelling, The Great Gatsby, LGBT, romance
Publication Date: September 6, 2022
Genre: YA Historical Fiction Retelling
Age Relevance: 15+ (colorism, racism, classism, alcohol consumption, underage alcohol consumption, romance, domestic violence, violence)
Explanation of Above: There are mentions and showings of colorism, racism, and classism. There are scenes of alcohol consumption and underage alcohol consumption. There is romance shown in the book. There are mentions of domestic violence and there is some slight violence shown.
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 336
Synopsis: New York City, 1922. Nicolás Caraveo, a 17-year-old transgender boy from Minnesota, has no interest in the city’s glamor. Going to New York is all about establishing himself as a young professional, which could set up his future—and his life as a man—and benefit his family.
Nick rents a small house in West Egg from his 18-year-old cousin, Daisy Fabrega, who lives in fashionable East Egg near her wealthy fiancé, Tom—and Nick is shocked to find that his cousin now goes by Daisy Fay, has erased all signs of her Latina heritage, and now passes seamlessly as white.
Nick’s neighbor in West Egg is a mysterious young man named Jay Gatsby, whose castle-like mansion is the stage for parties so extravagant that they both dazzle and terrify Nick. At one of these parties, Nick learns that the spectacle is all for the benefit of impressing a girl from Jay’s past—Daisy. And he learns something else: Jay is also transgender.
As Nick is pulled deeper into the glittery culture of decadence, he spends more time with Jay, aiming to help his new friend reconnect with his lost love. But Nick's feelings grow more complicated when he finds himself falling hard for Jay's openness, idealism, and unfounded faith in the American Dream.
Review: I really liked this retelling. I wasn’t ever one for the original story (this being based off of The Great Gatsby) but I do absolutely love this retelling of it. The book does so well to incorporate the trans identity to the main character and love interest, as well as effortlessly slide in other sexual orientations of other notable characters that differ from the original. I loved the details in how a trans person would be able to pass in the 1920s and I loved the dialogue between all of the characters. I also really liked the added detail of Daisy being ashamed of her family and her personal journey to come through that and all of the little things that the characters are having to change about themselves to fit into a majority white society, for example: language to fit in better with white people. This book was absolutely marvelous, the depth and characterization are amazing, and I can’t wait to reread it already.
The only things I really didn’t like about this book is that it felt a little confusing like the original and I feel like it was a bit too slow for my tastes.
Verdict: It was great! Highly recommend!
Book: Self-Made Boys
Author: Anna-Marie McLemore
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 4/5
Diversity: Trans Latine MC, Latine Character, Trans Latine Character, Lesbian Characters, Lesbian Latine Character, Jewish Lesbian Character
Recommended For...: young adult readers, historical fiction, retelling, The Great Gatsby, LGBT, romance
Publication Date: September 6, 2022
Genre: YA Historical Fiction Retelling
Age Relevance: 15+ (colorism, racism, classism, alcohol consumption, underage alcohol consumption, romance, domestic violence, violence)
Explanation of Above: There are mentions and showings of colorism, racism, and classism. There are scenes of alcohol consumption and underage alcohol consumption. There is romance shown in the book. There are mentions of domestic violence and there is some slight violence shown.
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 336
Synopsis: New York City, 1922. Nicolás Caraveo, a 17-year-old transgender boy from Minnesota, has no interest in the city’s glamor. Going to New York is all about establishing himself as a young professional, which could set up his future—and his life as a man—and benefit his family.
Nick rents a small house in West Egg from his 18-year-old cousin, Daisy Fabrega, who lives in fashionable East Egg near her wealthy fiancé, Tom—and Nick is shocked to find that his cousin now goes by Daisy Fay, has erased all signs of her Latina heritage, and now passes seamlessly as white.
Nick’s neighbor in West Egg is a mysterious young man named Jay Gatsby, whose castle-like mansion is the stage for parties so extravagant that they both dazzle and terrify Nick. At one of these parties, Nick learns that the spectacle is all for the benefit of impressing a girl from Jay’s past—Daisy. And he learns something else: Jay is also transgender.
As Nick is pulled deeper into the glittery culture of decadence, he spends more time with Jay, aiming to help his new friend reconnect with his lost love. But Nick's feelings grow more complicated when he finds himself falling hard for Jay's openness, idealism, and unfounded faith in the American Dream.
Review: I really liked this retelling. I wasn’t ever one for the original story (this being based off of The Great Gatsby) but I do absolutely love this retelling of it. The book does so well to incorporate the trans identity to the main character and love interest, as well as effortlessly slide in other sexual orientations of other notable characters that differ from the original. I loved the details in how a trans person would be able to pass in the 1920s and I loved the dialogue between all of the characters. I also really liked the added detail of Daisy being ashamed of her family and her personal journey to come through that and all of the little things that the characters are having to change about themselves to fit into a majority white society, for example: language to fit in better with white people. This book was absolutely marvelous, the depth and characterization are amazing, and I can’t wait to reread it already.
The only things I really didn’t like about this book is that it felt a little confusing like the original and I feel like it was a bit too slow for my tastes.
Verdict: It was great! Highly recommend!
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc, arc, and finished copy from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: The Next New Syrian Girl
Author: Ream Shukairy
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: Syrian American Muslim MC, Syrian Muslim MC, Syrian Muslim characters, Syrian American Muslim characters
Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, Syrian refugees, Syrian War
Publication Date: March 14, 2023
Genre: YA Contemporary
Age Relevance: 13+ (violence, Islamaphobia, animal death, gore, PTSD, death, parental death, grief, racism, religion, drugs, sexism, romance, illness, cursing, panic attacks, bullying, depression, suicide)
Explanation of Above: There is some violence mentioned in the book in detail, along with some blood gore and the mention of the death of a family’s cat in depiction of the Syrian war as well as death and parental death. There are depictions and mentions of Islamaphobia, racism, and sexism. There are some scenes that show PTSD, grief, depression, and panic attacks. The Islamic religion is shown and mentioned and the detail in the book is beautiful. There are some small references to drugs once. There is a small side plot romance. Illness is mentioned and briefly shown. There are a couple of instances of cursing. There are a couple of small mentions of bullying. There is also a scene where someone who committed suicide is found before death and they are saved.
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 416
Synopsis: Khadija Shami is a Syrian American high school senior raised on boxing and football. Saddled with a monstrous ego and a fierce mother to test it, she dreams of escaping her sheltered life to travel the world with her best friend.
Leene Tahir is a Syrian refugee, doing her best to adjust to the wildly unfamiliar society of a suburban Detroit high school while battling panic attacks and family pressures.
When their worlds collide the result is catastrophic. To Khadija, Leene embodies the tame, dutiful Syrian ideal she's long rebelled against. And to Leene, Khadija is the strong-willed, closed-off American who makes her doubt her place in the world.
But as Khadija digs up Leene’s past, a startling and life-changing discovery forces the two of them closer together. As the girls secretly race to unravel the truth, a friendship slowly and hesitantly begins blooming. Doubts are cast aside as they realize they have more in common than they each expected. What they find takes them on a journey all the way to Jordan, challenging what each knows about the other and herself.
Review: This book was absolutely beautiful. The book is a duel POV narrative between two girls who are so alike but so different at the same time. Khadijah is a Syrian American Muslim girl who is into boxing and is gathering money to travel the world with her best friend… and to also escape her extremely sheltered home. Leene is a Syrian refugee who is just trying to survive America while being the adult for both her and her mom. The two girls live at the same house when Khadija’s mother hosts Leene and her mother and, though it takes some time, the girls start to bond over their mutual interests. However, their friendship is put to the test when Leene finds a photo online that might lead to reunification between a lost family member she thought was dead. The book was expertly written and the two voices felt so different but the same at the same time. The characters were wonderfully developed and the world building was magnificent. The book offers a lot of insight into the Syrian refugee crisis and I think it should be a must read for high schoolers.
The only issue I had with the book is that the pacing felt a little slow until the very end, then things started to really pick up. Realistically, I think the author could have went another 100 pages or so with the amount of detail that she added.
Verdict: I highly recommend this one!
Book: The Next New Syrian Girl
Author: Ream Shukairy
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: Syrian American Muslim MC, Syrian Muslim MC, Syrian Muslim characters, Syrian American Muslim characters
Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, Syrian refugees, Syrian War
Publication Date: March 14, 2023
Genre: YA Contemporary
Age Relevance: 13+ (violence, Islamaphobia, animal death, gore, PTSD, death, parental death, grief, racism, religion, drugs, sexism, romance, illness, cursing, panic attacks, bullying, depression, suicide)
Explanation of Above: There is some violence mentioned in the book in detail, along with some blood gore and the mention of the death of a family’s cat in depiction of the Syrian war as well as death and parental death. There are depictions and mentions of Islamaphobia, racism, and sexism. There are some scenes that show PTSD, grief, depression, and panic attacks. The Islamic religion is shown and mentioned and the detail in the book is beautiful. There are some small references to drugs once. There is a small side plot romance. Illness is mentioned and briefly shown. There are a couple of instances of cursing. There are a couple of small mentions of bullying. There is also a scene where someone who committed suicide is found before death and they are saved.
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 416
Synopsis: Khadija Shami is a Syrian American high school senior raised on boxing and football. Saddled with a monstrous ego and a fierce mother to test it, she dreams of escaping her sheltered life to travel the world with her best friend.
Leene Tahir is a Syrian refugee, doing her best to adjust to the wildly unfamiliar society of a suburban Detroit high school while battling panic attacks and family pressures.
When their worlds collide the result is catastrophic. To Khadija, Leene embodies the tame, dutiful Syrian ideal she's long rebelled against. And to Leene, Khadija is the strong-willed, closed-off American who makes her doubt her place in the world.
But as Khadija digs up Leene’s past, a startling and life-changing discovery forces the two of them closer together. As the girls secretly race to unravel the truth, a friendship slowly and hesitantly begins blooming. Doubts are cast aside as they realize they have more in common than they each expected. What they find takes them on a journey all the way to Jordan, challenging what each knows about the other and herself.
Review: This book was absolutely beautiful. The book is a duel POV narrative between two girls who are so alike but so different at the same time. Khadijah is a Syrian American Muslim girl who is into boxing and is gathering money to travel the world with her best friend… and to also escape her extremely sheltered home. Leene is a Syrian refugee who is just trying to survive America while being the adult for both her and her mom. The two girls live at the same house when Khadija’s mother hosts Leene and her mother and, though it takes some time, the girls start to bond over their mutual interests. However, their friendship is put to the test when Leene finds a photo online that might lead to reunification between a lost family member she thought was dead. The book was expertly written and the two voices felt so different but the same at the same time. The characters were wonderfully developed and the world building was magnificent. The book offers a lot of insight into the Syrian refugee crisis and I think it should be a must read for high schoolers.
The only issue I had with the book is that the pacing felt a little slow until the very end, then things started to really pick up. Realistically, I think the author could have went another 100 pages or so with the amount of detail that she added.
Verdict: I highly recommend this one!
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Someone Had To Do It
Author: Amber Brown and Danielle Brown
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 3/5
Diversity: Black MC and characters, gay character
Recommended For...: mystery readers, thriller readers, crime
Publication Date: December 27, 2022
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Age Relevance: 18+ (death, alcohol consumption, gore, cursing, racism, sexual content, cancer, drugs, classism, micro aggressions, suicide, parental death)
Explanation of Above: There is death mentioned and shown in this book including parental death. Suicide is mentioned in the form of attempted, ideationized, and completed. There is some graphic description of how it was performed. There is some blood gore. There are scenes of alcohol consumption. There is cursing. There are scenes of racism, micro aggressions, and classism. There are some sexual content shown and mentioned in the book. Cancer is mentioned. There are scenes of drug usage and mentions of drugs.
Publisher: Graydon House
Pages: 352
Synopsis: Brandi Maxwell is living the dream as an intern at prestigious New York fashion house Simon Van Doren. Except “living the dream” looks more like scrubbing puke from couture dresses worn by hard-partying models and putting up with microaggressions from her white colleagues. Still, she can’t help but fangirl over Simon’s it-girl daughter, Taylor. Until one night, at a glamorous Van Doren party, when Brandi overhears something she shouldn’t have, and her fate becomes dangerously intertwined Taylor’s.
Model and influencer Taylor Van Doren has everything…and is this close to losing it all. Her fashion mogul father will donate her inheritance to charity if she fails her next drug test, and he’s about to marry someone nearly as young as Taylor, further threatening her stake in the family fortune. But Taylor deserves the money that’s rightfully hers. And she’ll go to any lengths to get it, even if that means sacrificing her famous father in the process.
All she needs is the perfect person to take the fall...
Review: For the most part this was an interesting book. The book is a duel POV between two characters, one a rich heiress who is on her father’s bad side and is desperate to get his money and back the man who left her years ago. The other is a woman who is just trying to live her life with her boyfriend and trying to break into the fashion world when she’s met with the other narrator of our tale and… well the other has it outs for her. The book quickly turns to a story of revenge and desperation as we see how far the heiress is willing to go to ensure she gets what she wants. For the most part, I found the book interesting and I loved the duel POV usage in this read. The book had a lot of good moments as well that I thought were thought provoking.
However, I didn’t feel like the book was fully fleshed out. There were some moments to have great characters but it wasn’t achieved in my opinion. I also felt like the beginning was a bit too complex for the story and the set-up took much longer than the actual mystery of the novel.
Verdict: It was ok.
Book: Someone Had To Do It
Author: Amber Brown and Danielle Brown
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 3/5
Diversity: Black MC and characters, gay character
Recommended For...: mystery readers, thriller readers, crime
Publication Date: December 27, 2022
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Age Relevance: 18+ (death, alcohol consumption, gore, cursing, racism, sexual content, cancer, drugs, classism, micro aggressions, suicide, parental death)
Explanation of Above: There is death mentioned and shown in this book including parental death. Suicide is mentioned in the form of attempted, ideationized, and completed. There is some graphic description of how it was performed. There is some blood gore. There are scenes of alcohol consumption. There is cursing. There are scenes of racism, micro aggressions, and classism. There are some sexual content shown and mentioned in the book. Cancer is mentioned. There are scenes of drug usage and mentions of drugs.
Publisher: Graydon House
Pages: 352
Synopsis: Brandi Maxwell is living the dream as an intern at prestigious New York fashion house Simon Van Doren. Except “living the dream” looks more like scrubbing puke from couture dresses worn by hard-partying models and putting up with microaggressions from her white colleagues. Still, she can’t help but fangirl over Simon’s it-girl daughter, Taylor. Until one night, at a glamorous Van Doren party, when Brandi overhears something she shouldn’t have, and her fate becomes dangerously intertwined Taylor’s.
Model and influencer Taylor Van Doren has everything…and is this close to losing it all. Her fashion mogul father will donate her inheritance to charity if she fails her next drug test, and he’s about to marry someone nearly as young as Taylor, further threatening her stake in the family fortune. But Taylor deserves the money that’s rightfully hers. And she’ll go to any lengths to get it, even if that means sacrificing her famous father in the process.
All she needs is the perfect person to take the fall...
Review: For the most part this was an interesting book. The book is a duel POV between two characters, one a rich heiress who is on her father’s bad side and is desperate to get his money and back the man who left her years ago. The other is a woman who is just trying to live her life with her boyfriend and trying to break into the fashion world when she’s met with the other narrator of our tale and… well the other has it outs for her. The book quickly turns to a story of revenge and desperation as we see how far the heiress is willing to go to ensure she gets what she wants. For the most part, I found the book interesting and I loved the duel POV usage in this read. The book had a lot of good moments as well that I thought were thought provoking.
However, I didn’t feel like the book was fully fleshed out. There were some moments to have great characters but it wasn’t achieved in my opinion. I also felt like the beginning was a bit too complex for the story and the set-up took much longer than the actual mystery of the novel.
Verdict: It was ok.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Midnight Strikes
Author: Zeba Shahnaz
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: BIPOC coded MC and characters, Bisexual BIPOC coded character
Recommended For...: young adult readers, fantasy, time travel, groundhog day
Publication Date: March 14, 2023
Genre: YA Fantasy
Age Relevance: 15+ (racism, terrorism, violence, gore, alcohol consumption, cursing, sexual content, romance, suicide, death, grief)
Explanation of Above: There are moments of racism being mentioned or expressly said/acted upon in the book. There is a terroristic event that, because this is a groundhog day book, keeps happening over and over again. There is violence in the form of bombs, guns, and knives and there is a lot of blood gore. There are scenes of alcohol consumption. There is some cursing. There is some very vaguely referenced sexual content and a slight romance that doesn’t overpower the plot. There are a couple of incidents of suicide vaguely mentioned, death is shown and mentioned, parental death is said and mentioned, and there is a lot of grief.
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 448
Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Anaïs just wants tonight to end. As an outsider at the kingdom’s glittering anniversary ball, she has no desire to rub shoulders with the nation’s most eligible (and pompous) bachelors—especially not the notoriously roguish Prince Leo. But at the stroke of midnight, an explosion rips through the palace, killing everyone in its path. Including her.
The last thing Anaïs sees is fire, smoke, chaos . . . and then she wakes up in her bedroom, hours before the ball. No one else remembers the deadly attack or believes her warnings of disaster.
Not even when it happens again. And again. And again.
If she’s going to escape this nightmarish time loop, Anaïs must take control of her own fate and stop the attack before it happens. But the court's gilded surface belies a rotten core, full of restless nobles grabbing at power, discontented commoners itching for revolution, and even royals who secretly dream of taking the throne. It's up to Anaïs to untangle these knots of deadly deceptions . . . if she can survive past midnight.
Review: I really really liked this book! The plot of this book revolves around my MC who is attending a fancy ball that she’s not really looking forward to but participates for her parent’s sake. There it’s quickly seen she’s an outsider, her peers looking down on her because of her country of origin. She has a dance with the prince and things start to look up, when bombs go off. She’s quickly thrown into a terrorist attack and, after surviving the initial blast but then getting killed by other means, she wakes up in her bedroom and it is hours before the ball. Our MC finds themselves trapped in a Groundhog Day like scenario and makes it her mission to stop the terrorist attack before midnight strikes. The book was so well done and, having a love of Groundhog Day like media, I was immediately in love with the premise of this read. The book was extremely well written and an amazing read overall, with interesting characters, a not-so-steamy romance that didn’t overpower the plot, and political intrigue.
The only thing I didn’t like about the book is that it was a tiny bit confusing but I think that was because my book accidently wasn’t saved on the correct page and I ended up reading some pages over again. I was having my own Groundhog Day moment LOL.
Verdict: I highly recommend this book!
Book: Midnight Strikes
Author: Zeba Shahnaz
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: BIPOC coded MC and characters, Bisexual BIPOC coded character
Recommended For...: young adult readers, fantasy, time travel, groundhog day
Publication Date: March 14, 2023
Genre: YA Fantasy
Age Relevance: 15+ (racism, terrorism, violence, gore, alcohol consumption, cursing, sexual content, romance, suicide, death, grief)
Explanation of Above: There are moments of racism being mentioned or expressly said/acted upon in the book. There is a terroristic event that, because this is a groundhog day book, keeps happening over and over again. There is violence in the form of bombs, guns, and knives and there is a lot of blood gore. There are scenes of alcohol consumption. There is some cursing. There is some very vaguely referenced sexual content and a slight romance that doesn’t overpower the plot. There are a couple of incidents of suicide vaguely mentioned, death is shown and mentioned, parental death is said and mentioned, and there is a lot of grief.
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 448
Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Anaïs just wants tonight to end. As an outsider at the kingdom’s glittering anniversary ball, she has no desire to rub shoulders with the nation’s most eligible (and pompous) bachelors—especially not the notoriously roguish Prince Leo. But at the stroke of midnight, an explosion rips through the palace, killing everyone in its path. Including her.
The last thing Anaïs sees is fire, smoke, chaos . . . and then she wakes up in her bedroom, hours before the ball. No one else remembers the deadly attack or believes her warnings of disaster.
Not even when it happens again. And again. And again.
If she’s going to escape this nightmarish time loop, Anaïs must take control of her own fate and stop the attack before it happens. But the court's gilded surface belies a rotten core, full of restless nobles grabbing at power, discontented commoners itching for revolution, and even royals who secretly dream of taking the throne. It's up to Anaïs to untangle these knots of deadly deceptions . . . if she can survive past midnight.
Review: I really really liked this book! The plot of this book revolves around my MC who is attending a fancy ball that she’s not really looking forward to but participates for her parent’s sake. There it’s quickly seen she’s an outsider, her peers looking down on her because of her country of origin. She has a dance with the prince and things start to look up, when bombs go off. She’s quickly thrown into a terrorist attack and, after surviving the initial blast but then getting killed by other means, she wakes up in her bedroom and it is hours before the ball. Our MC finds themselves trapped in a Groundhog Day like scenario and makes it her mission to stop the terrorist attack before midnight strikes. The book was so well done and, having a love of Groundhog Day like media, I was immediately in love with the premise of this read. The book was extremely well written and an amazing read overall, with interesting characters, a not-so-steamy romance that didn’t overpower the plot, and political intrigue.
The only thing I didn’t like about the book is that it was a tiny bit confusing but I think that was because my book accidently wasn’t saved on the correct page and I ended up reading some pages over again. I was having my own Groundhog Day moment LOL.
Verdict: I highly recommend this book!
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher and bought two copies of the finished book. Thanks and support your authors! All opinions are my own.
Book: The Sunbearer Trials
Author: Aiden Thomas
Book Series: The Sunbearer Duology Book 1
Rating: 3.5/5
Diversity: Hispanic Trans MC, Hispanic Trans-Questioning character, Hispanic characters, Black Hispanic characters, Deaf Black Hispanic character, Non-binary Hispanic character, Black Hispanic Lesbian character.
Recommended For...: young adult readers, fantasy, mythology, Mexican mythology, LGBT, queer
Publication Date: September 6, 2022
Genre: YA Fantasy
Age Relevance: 15+ (cursing, parental death, racism, classism, religion, death, grief, violence, body dysphoria)
Explanation of Above: There is some cursing in this book. There is violence shown in the book and death. There’s parental death mentioned. There is some racism, prejudice, and classism shown in the book. The book is based off of Mexican mythology and gods are shown and mentioned. There is some grief shown. There is a scene where body dysphoria discussed.
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 401
Synopsis: As each new decade begins, the Sun’s power must be replenished so that Sol can keep traveling along the sky and keep the evil Obsidian gods at bay. Ten semidioses between the ages of thirteen and eighteen are selected by Sol himself as the most worthy to compete in The Sunbearer Trials. The winner carries light and life to all the temples of Reino del Sol, but the loser has the greatest honor of all―they will be sacrificed to Sol, their body used to fuel the Sun Stones that will protect the people of Reino del Sol for the next ten years.
Teo, a 17-year-old Jade semidiós and the trans son of Quetzal, goddess of birds, has never worried about the Trials…or rather, he’s only worried for others. His best friend Niya―daughter of Tierra, the god of earth―is one of the strongest heroes of their generation and is much too likely to be chosen this year. He also can’t help but worry (reluctantly, and under protest) for Aurelio, a powerful Gold semidiós and Teo’s friend-turned-rival who is a shoo-in for the Trials. Teo wouldn’t mind taking Aurelio down a notch or two, but a one-in-ten chance of death is a bit too close for Teo’s taste.
But then, for the first time in over a century, Sol chooses a semidiós who isn’t a Gold. In fact, he chooses two: Xio, the 13-year-old child of Mala Suerte, god of bad luck, and…Teo. Now they must compete in five mysterious trials, against opponents who are both more powerful and better trained, for fame, glory, and their own survival.
Review: I really liked this book for the most part. The book revolves our MC who is a semidios in a world where every decade a trial is replenish the sun’s power and keep the evil gods at bay. However, one person must be sacrificed in the trial and their body is used for fuel for the sun stones to protect the people for the next decade. Our MC is selected for the trial and the book goes through his journey through the trials and trying to figure out the best way through this predicament. I thought overall that the story was great and I was interested in it throughout the read. The book reminds me a lot of Percy Jackson and it’s like it and The Hunger Games had a baby. The characters are well written and the book has amazingly detailed world building.
However, the book takes awhile to get into and the amount of characters in the book is very overwhelming. I did have to read the synopsis to understand the basics of the book and the prologue made me a tad more confused than I thought it would.
Verdict: It was good! I highly recommend it!
Book: The Sunbearer Trials
Author: Aiden Thomas
Book Series: The Sunbearer Duology Book 1
Rating: 3.5/5
Diversity: Hispanic Trans MC, Hispanic Trans-Questioning character, Hispanic characters, Black Hispanic characters, Deaf Black Hispanic character, Non-binary Hispanic character, Black Hispanic Lesbian character.
Recommended For...: young adult readers, fantasy, mythology, Mexican mythology, LGBT, queer
Publication Date: September 6, 2022
Genre: YA Fantasy
Age Relevance: 15+ (cursing, parental death, racism, classism, religion, death, grief, violence, body dysphoria)
Explanation of Above: There is some cursing in this book. There is violence shown in the book and death. There’s parental death mentioned. There is some racism, prejudice, and classism shown in the book. The book is based off of Mexican mythology and gods are shown and mentioned. There is some grief shown. There is a scene where body dysphoria discussed.
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 401
Synopsis: As each new decade begins, the Sun’s power must be replenished so that Sol can keep traveling along the sky and keep the evil Obsidian gods at bay. Ten semidioses between the ages of thirteen and eighteen are selected by Sol himself as the most worthy to compete in The Sunbearer Trials. The winner carries light and life to all the temples of Reino del Sol, but the loser has the greatest honor of all―they will be sacrificed to Sol, their body used to fuel the Sun Stones that will protect the people of Reino del Sol for the next ten years.
Teo, a 17-year-old Jade semidiós and the trans son of Quetzal, goddess of birds, has never worried about the Trials…or rather, he’s only worried for others. His best friend Niya―daughter of Tierra, the god of earth―is one of the strongest heroes of their generation and is much too likely to be chosen this year. He also can’t help but worry (reluctantly, and under protest) for Aurelio, a powerful Gold semidiós and Teo’s friend-turned-rival who is a shoo-in for the Trials. Teo wouldn’t mind taking Aurelio down a notch or two, but a one-in-ten chance of death is a bit too close for Teo’s taste.
But then, for the first time in over a century, Sol chooses a semidiós who isn’t a Gold. In fact, he chooses two: Xio, the 13-year-old child of Mala Suerte, god of bad luck, and…Teo. Now they must compete in five mysterious trials, against opponents who are both more powerful and better trained, for fame, glory, and their own survival.
Review: I really liked this book for the most part. The book revolves our MC who is a semidios in a world where every decade a trial is replenish the sun’s power and keep the evil gods at bay. However, one person must be sacrificed in the trial and their body is used for fuel for the sun stones to protect the people for the next decade. Our MC is selected for the trial and the book goes through his journey through the trials and trying to figure out the best way through this predicament. I thought overall that the story was great and I was interested in it throughout the read. The book reminds me a lot of Percy Jackson and it’s like it and The Hunger Games had a baby. The characters are well written and the book has amazingly detailed world building.
However, the book takes awhile to get into and the amount of characters in the book is very overwhelming. I did have to read the synopsis to understand the basics of the book and the prologue made me a tad more confused than I thought it would.
Verdict: It was good! I highly recommend it!
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Disclaimer: I received an e-arc and arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Imogen, Obviously
Author: Becky Albertalli
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: Bisexual Questioning MC, Hispanic characters, Hispanic pansexual characters, Lesbian Jewish character with ADHD, Lesbian characters, Queer characters, Sapphic Romance
Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, romance, queer, LGBT, Sapphic romance
Publication Date: May 2, 2023
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Age Relevance: 14+ (homophobia, romance, sexual content, internalized homophobia, biphobia)
Explanation of Above: There are scenes showing and mentioning homophobia, internalized homophobia, and biphobia. There is some romance and very slight sexual content.
Publisher: Balzar & Bray/Harperteen
Pages: 432
Synopsis: Imogen Scott may be hopelessly heterosexual, but she’s got the World’s Greatest Ally title locked down.
She's never missed a Pride Alliance meeting. She knows more about queer media discourse than her very queer little sister. She even has two queer best friends. There's Gretchen, a fellow high school senior, who helps keep Imogen's biases in check. And then there's Lili—newly out and newly thriving with a cool new squad of queer college friends.
Imogen's thrilled for Lili. Any ally would be. And now that she's finally visiting Lili on campus, she's bringing her ally A game. Any support Lili needs, Imogen's all in.
Even if that means bending the truth, just a little.
Like when Lili drops a tiny queer bombshell: she's told all her college friends that Imogen and Lili used to date. And none of them know that Imogen is a raging hetero—not even Lili’s best friend, Tessa.
Of course, the more time Imogen spends with chaotic, freckle-faced Tessa, the more she starts to wonder if her truth was ever all that straight to begin with. . .
Review: This is such a sweet and powerful book that will always be special to me. The book revolves around our MC who is visiting her friend up at college and staying for spring break. However, when she arrives she finds out her friend told a lie about them having once dated because she wanted to fit in better with the cool queer circle of friends she found on campus. Our MC goes along with the act, but soon starts catching feelings for one of the college kids. The book focuses on her wrestling with her identity and figuring out if she’s actually queer or not. I felt like the book spoke to me and I related to the book so hard, having had my own conflict of identity just a year ago when I was struggling to figure out if I was actually bisexual or just faking it. And then again when I was figuring out the degree of my asexuality. It’s a really hard thing to do nowadays, especially when there are those in the queer community who aren’t so very welcoming to those who are “late to the game” so to say. There sometimes exists a “purist notion” in some of the queer community, the thought that if you have been identifying as straight or if you’ve never been oppressed in the same manner as others means that you’re automatically not “queer enough” or at all. That mindset really kept me from coming out... which I’ve still not officially done until now I guess. So… here’s me, coming out, thanks to a book that said to me “queer identity isn’t cookie cutter”. I really shouldn’t be surprised I did this in a Becky Albertalli review since her own personal struggle, which she used for this book, opened my eyes to the possibility that I was bisexual awhile ago. Anyways, besides the personal stake I have in this book I feel like the book did well with the character development and world building. The story was compelling, as all of Albertalli’s books are, and I couldn’t put it down (literally, I was at an event and couldn’t set it down to stop reading it while the event was ongoing lol).
The only issue I had with the book is that I had wished for more of that confrontation that the MC has with the “antagonist” of the story earlier on, but otherwise the book is perfect as is.
Verdict: I absolutely 100% recommend this book.
Book: Imogen, Obviously
Author: Becky Albertalli
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: Bisexual Questioning MC, Hispanic characters, Hispanic pansexual characters, Lesbian Jewish character with ADHD, Lesbian characters, Queer characters, Sapphic Romance
Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, romance, queer, LGBT, Sapphic romance
Publication Date: May 2, 2023
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Age Relevance: 14+ (homophobia, romance, sexual content, internalized homophobia, biphobia)
Explanation of Above: There are scenes showing and mentioning homophobia, internalized homophobia, and biphobia. There is some romance and very slight sexual content.
Publisher: Balzar & Bray/Harperteen
Pages: 432
Synopsis: Imogen Scott may be hopelessly heterosexual, but she’s got the World’s Greatest Ally title locked down.
She's never missed a Pride Alliance meeting. She knows more about queer media discourse than her very queer little sister. She even has two queer best friends. There's Gretchen, a fellow high school senior, who helps keep Imogen's biases in check. And then there's Lili—newly out and newly thriving with a cool new squad of queer college friends.
Imogen's thrilled for Lili. Any ally would be. And now that she's finally visiting Lili on campus, she's bringing her ally A game. Any support Lili needs, Imogen's all in.
Even if that means bending the truth, just a little.
Like when Lili drops a tiny queer bombshell: she's told all her college friends that Imogen and Lili used to date. And none of them know that Imogen is a raging hetero—not even Lili’s best friend, Tessa.
Of course, the more time Imogen spends with chaotic, freckle-faced Tessa, the more she starts to wonder if her truth was ever all that straight to begin with. . .
Review: This is such a sweet and powerful book that will always be special to me. The book revolves around our MC who is visiting her friend up at college and staying for spring break. However, when she arrives she finds out her friend told a lie about them having once dated because she wanted to fit in better with the cool queer circle of friends she found on campus. Our MC goes along with the act, but soon starts catching feelings for one of the college kids. The book focuses on her wrestling with her identity and figuring out if she’s actually queer or not. I felt like the book spoke to me and I related to the book so hard, having had my own conflict of identity just a year ago when I was struggling to figure out if I was actually bisexual or just faking it. And then again when I was figuring out the degree of my asexuality. It’s a really hard thing to do nowadays, especially when there are those in the queer community who aren’t so very welcoming to those who are “late to the game” so to say. There sometimes exists a “purist notion” in some of the queer community, the thought that if you have been identifying as straight or if you’ve never been oppressed in the same manner as others means that you’re automatically not “queer enough” or at all. That mindset really kept me from coming out... which I’ve still not officially done until now I guess. So… here’s me, coming out, thanks to a book that said to me “queer identity isn’t cookie cutter”. I really shouldn’t be surprised I did this in a Becky Albertalli review since her own personal struggle, which she used for this book, opened my eyes to the possibility that I was bisexual awhile ago. Anyways, besides the personal stake I have in this book I feel like the book did well with the character development and world building. The story was compelling, as all of Albertalli’s books are, and I couldn’t put it down (literally, I was at an event and couldn’t set it down to stop reading it while the event was ongoing lol).
The only issue I had with the book is that I had wished for more of that confrontation that the MC has with the “antagonist” of the story earlier on, but otherwise the book is perfect as is.
Verdict: I absolutely 100% recommend this book.