I love Ben Philippe's writing--he's successfully pulled off the POV voice of a character who's defined by being super charming (as a verb). Henri also feels authentically teenage as he grapples with his Haitian-American upbringing and the privileged world he's adjacent to--when he makes mistakes I clawed my face and said noooooo aloud but you get where he's coming from. In a word...charming.

This is a book that I think will resonate with a lot of teens. I'm not the biggest sports fan but it's good for me to be reminded how important football is to the lives of some teens, and especially the way sports scholarships can be a path to college for poor kids who might not otherwise have one. I appreciated that Russell explicitly names Colin Kaepernick as an inspiration and the text here directly engages with Kaepernick's protest and the consequences thereof in a way that again, I think a lot of teens, especially teen athletes, will enjoy reading. The book gives a good sense of how unjust white supremacy is and how the odds are stacked against young Black men (and like, all Black people) in the US while still ending on a hopeful note.

Spoiler

Also there are some things where as an adult reader you're like OBVIOUSLY, OBVIOUSLY GABBY IS ~DANTE'S SHADOW~ IT'S SO OBVIOUS ahem but it's a teen book for teens! also Russell later explicitly acknowledges that he was biased by assuming it was a man. Just wanted to get on top of that, ok bye

also I really thought Marion would be killed and it was such a relief that he wasn't. whew.

CW: I think every story in this is about either sexual assault or miscarriage...maybe not every but definitely most of them

Roxane Gay is a wonderful, powerful writer, of course, and I was so looking forward to reading this book! I...won't say I enjoyed reading this, exactly, since most of the stories are pretty heavy. But I appreciated the weight of her words and the resonance I felt with these fictional difficult women, for all their struggles and small victories (and large ones)

ps I know not to judge a book by what I wish it was, rather than what it actually is, but also....I hope she does another essay collection soon b/c that is my true jam

I just loved this! Adrian is a really endearing narrator. His anxiety just oozes off the page, as well as his good intentions and difficulty in achieving them. And I really loved seeing the elder Montagues in action. Really satisfying character and plot work! I couldn't put it down.

A funny and enjoyable read! I appreciated her honestly and open weirdness-sharing. Like sometimes you have people be like "haha I was so weird as a kid, I played with DOLLS, can you believe" and you're like uhhh that's normal. Rachel shares some stories that are like, legit weird, and that I can imagine felt very personal and revealing to share. If you're a fan of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend etc I would defo recommend this book. (There's also SOME behind the scenes type stuff about the making of CXGF but it's mostly about Rachel's earlier life.)

This book has what [b:Every Day|13262783|Every Day (Every Day, #1)|David Levithan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356993940l/13262783._SY75_.jpg|18464379] wanted, without the aggressive fatphobia!! And with the addition of pandemic-acknowledging timeliness. I think it's a book that's going to be kind of mindblowing for a lot of teens, especially, yes, white teen boys. (I'm sure for some teens of color they will not find a white teen's sudden understanding of white privilege to be so eye-opening but they may find it a validating read.) This is a really compelling page-turner and I think there would be MUCH to discuss with a classroom or teen book group.

oops I read this earlier in the summer and forgot to put it on the ol GR. It's great though, a mix of funny and poignant, memoir and advice. Basically what you'd expect if you're a fan of the Hola Papi column, which I am.

This is a cute read and a great addition to the DC Ink lineup! I don't know a ton about the Starfire character but I think this story works fine if you don't, and that a lot of teens will be into this kind of "fish out of water, my mom doesn't understand me" story with higher stakes.

This is a bit more fantasy-y than is my usual cup of tea. I did immediately connect with Lena and her Rogue-from-X-men-like tragedy, but I got a little in the weeds with the worldbuilding stuff personally. BUT I know a lot of readers look for that. I also enjoyed the rush of feelings connected with learning the workaround to Lena's no-touch curse and I liked that she was able to separate out "love" from "finally able to have sex without killing anyone" and I think that distinction is good to make and that teen readers will connect with those big horny emotions, and it's nice to have bi representation in this kind of fantasy story. That said, I didn't like...fully buy in to either romantic option? But I suppose it is a fairy tale retelling so some level of love at first-ish sight is to be expected.

Anyway, not toootally my cup of tea but definitely something I could see being beloved by the right reader.

I got this ARC on a whim since it's based on rural central Illinois, which is where I'm from. But nobody goes to Steak N Shake in this story so like, does it even count? Also, Bliss has been living there for 6 years and doesn't know what corn detasseling or bean walking are??? Sus tbh

yeah this is my equivalent of people nitpicking like New York subway stops in fiction, minor details that won't matter to most readers!!

Anyway...yeah, I think this is something that teens in small towns with some fraught family relationships might relate to. It is kind of wild that one of Bliss's main problems is that she is TOO BEAUTIFUL and her flaky model mom is jealous of her and then her agent sees Bliss on a Zoom call and is like "this teenager is so beautiful, she MUST MODEL." But OK fine some wish fulfilment. OR
IS IT. (it is and the wish is "teenager whose emotional labor has been undervalued will find someone who values it and understands that she has had a uniquely hard life".)

Spoiler

I think I also found it kind of unsatisfying that Bliss never really figured out what she wanted to do? Which I guess is also realistic because teens like, don't have to have things figured out. But it's maybe not the most satisfying fiction. Also the title is bc she wanted to learn how to play "Rainbow Connection" on what she thought was her mom's ukulele and she thought it was her mom's favorite song but then like...it wasn't? Or her mom lied about it being her favorite song I guess? IDK but then it wasn't like Bliss really discovered a love of music after that or anything.........so.........ok.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯