This book is not like, super well-written or anything, I think it's basically just Big Freedia told a bunch of anecdotes to Nicole Balin and somebody transcribed them, but a bunch of anecdotes from Big Freedia is like, all I want.

Also it's kind of a micro-history of the history of Bounce music, which I was into.

If you are charmed by lines like, "Wow, this shit is serious. That night I made a promise to myself and to God not to engage in drama. I also asked Nobby to be my gay son. He needed my help, this boy." then you would probably enjoy this book.

If not, Freedia doesn't need you, ya heard?!

Between this and [b:The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Young Readers Edition|22504703|The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind Young Readers Edition|William Kamkwamba|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403194068s/22504703.jpg|41951493], this month in the Teen Scene we've been yelling about local students not being impressed enough by our booktalks about #BlackExcellence. This is a really visually interesting volume about some lesser-known black men who accomplished great things. Each individual story is interesting and inspiring, highlighting the way these men (and they are all men--hopefully Vol 2 gets some ladies) overcame Jim Crow without focusing too much on the tragedy.

ugh I WANTED TO LIKE THIS BOOK



I'm excited about the trend of YA books about fandom! Fandom is an important part of the lives of many teens and it's cool for it to be reflected in the literature they're reading! But this is.... not.... that?? IDK?

It's about 4 teens who are united in their love of a band called The Ruperts, who are basically a One Direction-y thing, born from a British reality TV competition and put together because they are all named Rupert.

I can't decide how satirical this book is supposed to be and I don't think it can decide either? Because on one hand, the Ruperts are all pretty ridiculous, and so are the Strepurs (fans of the Ruperts--it's Ruperts spelled backwards). But also, our narrator, whose real name I don't think we ever actually know? (she keeps introducing herself as different characters from 80s movies), gives some pretty decent little speeches about how fandom brings people together and how fun it is to be a fan of something even though you know it's silly. And these speeches seem like they are sort of the ~moral~ of the book and not satire.

anyway so these 4 girls would normally not be friends because they are soo opposites but they all love the Ruperts so they got a room together at the hotel where the Ruperts are staying so they can stalk the Ruperts. The girls are:
- ??? narrator, loves 80s movies (btw usually I am annoyed when YA stuff is 80s-obsessed because like I am onto you authors, I also was born in the 80s but today's teens barely give a shit about the 80s, but in this case it was like the least worst thing about this book so w/e)
- Erin, narrator's best friend, super hot and popular, mean girl
- Apple, VERY RICH, adopted Chinese girl, fat, like hilariously fat, hahahah she's fat
- Isobel, Latina, angry, runs a popular gossip site

each of the 4 has a different favorite Rupert obviously

Spoiler

anyway so Apple sees her fave Rupert (Rupert P.) at the ice machine and excitedly tackles him with lust, but because she's sooo fat (she weighs 254 pounds) she tackles him to the ground and knocks him unconscious and drags him back to their hotel room

they tie him up and blindfold him and stuff, and they go through his phone and discover that he is SECRETLY GAY which Apple is upset about because she is obsessed with him, anyway then they get his hotel room key and go through the Ruperts' room

when they come back Rupert P is DEAD

the girls all kind of suspect each other

I was actually interested in the mystery aspect of it and it kept me turning pages to find out what happened, but overall this is a mess and it seems really unnecessarily fat shamey toward Apple, and also slutshamey (while also... lampshading it and having a little discussion about how Erin doesn't trust ?? because she might slutshame her), and also sort of.... blase about mental illness and ???'s hallucinations and the fact that she was in a mental institution for some time???

bLEH

oh also it keeps talking about how Erin and Isobel have gotten ~super close~ and want to ~share a bed~ and I figured their secret was that they're dating, but apparently... not? ugh whatever

anyway, disappointing, there are some funny lines and ideas in here but overall it feels like it's mainly punching down... at teenage girls... especially fat ones... so.... not great.

and sadly I do think this would appeal to a lot of teenage girls, especially ones who are in boy band fandoms OR ones who are in other types of fandoms and think boy bands are silly... but then to read this and see the teen girls so poorly represented is just like :///////

This was fine. It's the first "I Survived..." book I've read and I get why they are popular with kids. It's not the most nuanced historical fiction or whatever, but for the intended audience it's a decent introduction. It doesn't shy away from the fact that slavery and the Civil War were horrible but it's not too gruesome.

This is cool, and I think teen sci-fi fans will really be into it. It had the feel of the first season of new Battlestar Galactica to me. I didn't love the chat transcript format of it--I felt like it made the action kinda drag and I ended up skimming a lot of it--but I think a lot of teens will like that.

Also the ~mission report~ format or whatever was a cute way to bleep all the swears without it seeming too gimmicky, I'd feel comfortable booktalking this to 7th/8th graders. (I will be sure to show off the unique page format so they understand that this book isn't really as long as it looks.)

(read as single issues) Totes adorbs! I enjoyed the single-issue stories although I kind of missed the ongoing mythology arc.

(read as single issues)

I just....... would have rather had more regular Captain Marvel than this Secret Wars business????? like..... why.......did this happen

But also I still kinda teared up at the end, dammit Kelly Sue

(read as single issues)
like... these are all characters I like, and Willow Wilson has some awesome dialogue and bits that I loved, but, just... WHY SECRET WARS

SHRUG

uh I mean

this is more competently written than a lot of Worst Bestsellers books? It's perfectly serviceable hurt/comfort romance Bible AU fanfiction. But also... it's...problematic...for reasons discussed in this almost 2-hour podcast!

http://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-43-redeeming-love/

Aww, I was so happy to have a little more time with all these characters :) I think some of these stories were available before online or as bonus content, but I'd never read any of them before. Some of them were SO SAD (but good) but I loved the last story, which serves as an epilogue to the whole series :')

A great collection for devotees of the series! Not something that I think would stand alone very well. But hey, if this sounds good to you and you haven't read the rest of the Lunar Chronicles... get on that ;)