I'm leaning more a 4.5 rating. I didn't feel this is quite 5 star worthy but I did enjoy it very much! I really love a book with mutiple POV's and this book had that! This was laugh-out-loud hilarious and I loved it. I also loved that this wasn't a typical romance story, it has you following Naomi, Ely, & their friends/boyfriends throughout New York.

Naomi did bother me because of her attitude towards Ely. She constantly kept her heart on her sleeve and was unnecessarily mean to him.

I'm obsessed with Rachel Cohn and David Levithan co-writing books together, they compliment each other excellently and I just wish they wrote more books together!!!

Naomi and Ely have the best friendship, it's definitely one that every girl wishes they had!

I would highly recommend this book because it's hilarious and meaningful in every p.o.v.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Representation: trans man (P) as love interest, qenderqueer mc, disability
*P has a prosthetic leg
*Jalen has lost some of their fingers

Set in Melbourne, Australia & they go to Sydney.

This story was interesting, but I felt it as just okay for my liking. Since the story was only 44 pages, there wasn't much time for the author to really fully introduce you the characters. You're only told the bits and pieces of their personality and life story to fit the story line i.e. how they became disabled, their love for shitty sci-fi movies and coffee. Also, as a trans guy there were some word choices that really bothered me. For instance, mentioning the trans character's female parts when describing a sex scene or any sexual activity. Also, you're not really told much about how the genderqueer character likes to present as side from them being asked their pronouns and saying "they/them", I felt off when P is talking to Jalen's sister and refers to Jalen as her sister. Jalen and P's romance was insta-love, which I can normally handle but this was too much for me. P was abrasive and it was a love at first sight romance.

That being said, there were times I could relate to this book such as when the characters talk about the feeling of being misgendered, & P's relationship with his mother.

3.75/5

TW: slut shaming, a character is outed, homophobia, pansexual erasure, alcohol poisoning, cat calling, depression
rep: pansexual, aro/ace, autism spectrum, mexican-american character

This book was just okay for me. The beginning felt slow for me and I had a hard time getting into the story at first. I appreciated the message the story was telling, that you never truly know what someone is dealing with. Told from the POV of seven high school teenagers, most of who are outcasts, dealing with family life and other personal issues such as drugs, alcohol & sex. Some of the characters decisions infuriated me, especially Claire. She was my least favorite character by far.

I also loved Matt's story line, probably one of my favorites of the book. He finds a love for reading by trying to find something to help escape his parent's constant arguing.

Juniper's chapters were told in poem which really captured what she was going through.

Kat - my new favorite female protagonist, a gamer, anti-social, dealing with her mother up and leaving. Her character development was amazing. I was rooting for her all the way!

Also, I still can't figure out who is each Seven Deadly Sin!!

Overall, the book was mediocre, but I'd like to read more of Riley's other works.

TW: transphobia from parents
CW: graphic blood scenes & there's fighting with knives and swords

What if Peter Pan was transgender? Born as Wendy Darling, Peter ventures out to Neverland to be his true self who is Peter Darling. I'm not a huge fan of the fantasy genre, so some of this book had me skimming. Luckily, I already knew the story of Peter Pan before diving into this story. Austin Chant will never disappoint me with his writing, his writing kept me reading. The action scenes were so descriptive and the imagery was excellent, I could picture the creatures Hook and Pan had to defeat.

I also liked the way Chant added to Peter's origin story

the addition of The Lost Boys being fictional and Peter's imaginary friends was SUCH A GREAT THEORY. I was blown away.

As a trans man myself, I could relate to Peter so much. Many of his anecdotes about being born in the wrong body really resonated with me, so much that I was on the verge of tears.

I wanted more of Peter's origin story and maybe less of him and Hook? I enjoyed the storyline between Peter and Hook, but I think I was craving more of Peter being the leader of The Lost Boys like in the original story.

TW: homophobia, panic attack
CW: There are many graphic sex scenes, so if that's not your vibe - this book isn't for you!
REP: POC mc - half Mexican & they're bilingual, bisexual mc, trans woman, pansexual character

*enemies to lovers trope

This was the most entertaining read this year! I was hooked from beginning to end & devoured Henry and Alex's story. I have so many feelings about this book that I can't properly put them all into words but I want to note that this is my favorite cast of characters I've ever read. The characters were so fun to read, especially that the cast was vast. Each character had their own story and Casey gave them just enough page time.

Henry and Alex's romance was instant and I wished it would've been more of a slow-burn romance but nonetheless, their romance was fire. We get to see the hardships of how living in the limelight and the political world, you have to hide most of your life because it could quickly ruin you and your family. Henry and Alex go through wits end to be together and it was cute af.

There were so many times were I was easily going to give this a 4 or 4.5 star because of some issues I had but the ending really sealed the deal for me! However, I was often confused because I thought they would try to hide their relationship? Yet they would go to places where they could get caught, text, and EMAIL. I was baffled because I assumed they would be really trying to hide their relationship but they didn't really try. I was also confused by the emails because if they had each other's numbers why didn't they just text? Hm. Last, I wished the chapters would've been shorter which was just my personal preference and reading taste, but the chapters were too long for my liking.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed this book so much! Highly recommend.

TW: misgendering, panic attacks, queerphobic comments, gender dysmorphia/dysphoria,

A sweet, heartbreaking novel about a non-binary teen who gets kicked out of their home when they come out to their parents. Frazzled and unsure of where to go, Ben calls their sister who they haven't spoken to in ten years and goes to live with her and her husband. Ben learns how to live without their parents and goes through a lot of mental health issues and learns coping mechanisms for anxiety and
panic attacks.

As a trans person who has been in Ben's shoes, I could relate to their struggles so much. This book was so relatable because it showed the truth for many trans and gender non-conforming people when they come out to their parents. The way Ben's parents reacted to them before and after their coming out was so real for me. Mason Deaver shows how Ben's parents reaction effected them afterward with severe anxiety and panic attacks and being afraid that others won't like you because of the gender you are. This novel shows how hard it is for trans people. I am constantly avoiding my pronouns and telling people I'm trans because it's not something I'm proud of and Ben constantly feels like this. GAH. This was just so relatable and enjoyable.

Alas, Nathan & Ben are my OTP.

Rating: 3.5/5

Trigger warning: stress, academic pressure & anxiety
Representation: Jewish, bisexual MC, Muslim side characters
This book is #ownvoices for Jewish representation.

This book was mediocre for me. I was torn between DNFing in the middle because I felt like this story needed more development. I also believe that I wasn't the target audience because I am a 25 year old in college and high school is behind me.

You Asked for Perfect follows Ariel in his senior year of high school as he tries to juggle his academics, extracurricular activities, volunteering at the local animal shelter, religion, family and friends. Ariel is the top of his class and eager to keep his title for Valedictorian and get into Harvard. Ariel is constantly stressed and anxious about his several AP classes and keeping up with playing violin for the orchestra at his school to get first chair. Ariel has a lot on his plate and struggles SO MUCH to try to get everything done for school and it starts to put a toll on him. I was never a student who wanted to be the best, I was an outcast, for sure. So, I couldn't relate to Ariel at all . I felt that he was super dramatic and just needed to chill out? His anxiety gave ME anxiety. But, I understand why Ariel's character was like this, he was pressured by everyone around him to be the best.

This book is pitched as a budding romance between two teen boys, one of which needs tutoring. So, basically a tutoring romance? But, I felt that the romance REALLY LACKED. I was super confused because it felt rushed, one day Ariel was flipping out and having an anxiety attack that he just leaves their first tutoring session being rude to Amir because he ONLY HAD A 97.5 IN CALCULUS AND THOUGHT BECAUSE HE BOMBED A TEST HE WOULD BE FAILING?? AND DIDN'T WANT ANYONE TO KNOW HE WAS GETTING TUTORED??? WHAT?? CONFUSING. Then, about maybe 3 tutoring sessions in they are out to dinner and they go outside to the parking lot and have their first kiss?? There was no flirting or anything that I picked up on that seemed like they were both into each other. AND this is a short book, so this happened in the middle of the book! It was half way over. So, it took longer than it should've in my opinion.

Overall, I enjoyed this book for the diversity and having a bisexual male!! I thought the second half of the book was better than the first. I'm glad to have stuck through reading it all, but I didn't have much closure? I really needed an epilogue.

A great book about the different ways people grieve. If you’re looking for a darker contemporary about music , I recommend this one. My favorite music genre is pop-punk and I loved the element of pop punk music incorporated into this book. I could relate to it a lot! There’s also a lot of diversity; m/m romance, adopted Korean character, POC.

I was sent this novel from Scholastic in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in any way.

CW: suicide, homophobia, death (graphic).

Heartbreaking, comical, and a real tear-jerker. This novel was so good and pulled at my heart in many ways. Marley and Christopher have a relationship that I became easily invested in (like Marley). Through flashbacks of two months and the present "now", we learn about Marley's very, very bad thing and his relationship with Christopher, a new student at his school who comes from a famous Reverend, therefore, a conservative family who is very unaccepting of his sexuality.

The characters are very fun and realistic. Overall, I just really enjoyed this novel yet it broke me into a million pieces. It's rare that I cry at a book and it was inevitable by reading the title that I'd cry but I definitely wasn't ready for this tearjerker.

Highly recommend if you're looking for an LGBTQ+ novel.