I really loved this book, although I don't think it's as good as the other two that I've read (Five Feet Apart & All This Time). It didn't rip my heart out like the other two did, but it did give me butterflies in my stomach. I loved all of the small scenes that added up to building the relationship between the two girls. I loved how they didn't like each other at first and then built a friendship, which lead to something more. It was wonderful pacing and each scene stitched them together just a little bit more.

I also loved their characterization. This is something that I think Lippincott does extremely well, with all of her stories! I felt like I knew Molly and Alex on a deep level and it makes me sad to jump into a new book because I know that they're not going to be there.

(As a side note, the pre-order print is fucking beautiful!)

Answers in the Pages by David Levithan teaches us about banned books in this queer middle grade masterpiece. It hits the shelves on May 10, 2022 and trust me: it’s worth the preorder.

David Levithan tells such a rich and deep story within this middle grade that’s entertaining to adult readers, making it perfect for classroom teachers. That being said, this is a novel about a book being banned for classroom use and Answers in the Pages will likely get banned because of it.

Why You Should Pre-Order
First of all, I’d like to thank NetGalley, David Levithan, and Knopf Books for Young Readers (an imprint of Random House Children’s) for an e-galley of this book. I can assure you that all opinions are my own.

There’s so much more to this story than the A-plot, but essentially we have a parent who is trying to ban a book from her child’s curriculum. Donovan brings home his copy of The Adventurer’s and sets it on the kitchen counter. Donovan briefs us on a reading common practice that his mother often engages in: she reads the back of the back, the first few pages, and then flips to the ending before committing to a book.

After reading the ending, she immediately scoops up the book and casually walks into school with Donovan the next morning. He knows where she’s heading: the principal’s office.

This is where the story begins and it frankly sucks that I can’t quote ARCs because I’d love to quote this ending paragraph for you. Essentially, the two main characters in this book end up admitting the love that they have for each other.

Now, this can be completely up to interpretation. It could be friendship love, but Donovan’s mom thinks it’s romantic. Two boys admitting their feelings for each other in her son’s fifth grade classroom? No, sir.

(Rolls Eyes)

From there, we follow a few other storylines, which I love seeing in middle grade fiction. We jump to Gideon and Roberto’s perspective and I fell in love with them immediately. These two kids are working together on this assignment involving a notebook, where they take turns sharing things that the other didn’t already know about them.

I loved this assignment. It reminded me of Dash & Lily, which I didn’t realize was written by the same author until writing this review. Roberto and Gideon used this notebook as a journal, not just an info dump.

It doesn’t take a genius (I figured it out in the first chapter, so I don’t think it’s a spoiler) to realize that they were going to become more than friends. For a middle grade novel, the romantic scenes were super cute and swoony. I found myself grinning from ear to ear and I’m almost thirty. Beautifully written.

I loved this perspective, but I was so confused on what it had to do with the book banning situation… and guys. When I figured it out, my head exploded. I don’t know if it was really that hard to figure out (I may just be thick), but it was the greatest feeling when it was revealed.

The third type of storyline we get is from the banned book itself! I adore when authors include chapters of the books their characters are reading or writing. It’s one of my favorite tropes, so I was elated to find these chapters in here. Although, I wasn’t a huge fan of The Adventurers. It was corny and it felt like Levithan was kind of making fun of the middle grade audience, which may have been intentional.

However, I loved the sentiment.

You should preorder because Answers in the Pages promotes a great conversation about censorship and how the process of banning a book in a classroom setting. The characters are extremely well rounded and there’s awesome LGBTQIA+ representation present.


Read the Whole Review:
https://thetoweringtbr.wordpress.com/2022/05/01/this-queer-middle-grade-novel-will-make-you-want-to-look-up-banned-book-reading-lists/

Started off super strong. It reminded me of a Paranormal Activity movie at first with the build up, the history, and then the small things happening around this large house... it was beautifully done. The house itself is gorgeous and well described.

I didn't like the plot twist. At all. Some parts were predictable and I really didn't like how it ended. I'll describe in more detail below the spoiler tag.

Spoiler

Okay. A an evil twin zombie witch? Really? I rolled my eyes so hard that my fiance noticed and asked what was wrong. That's when this book really lost me. I saw it coming since I knew that Edith wasn't the zombie witch in the woods. I was hoping that Coates wouldn't go with the evil twin thing, but here we are.

I really did enjoy the last chapter, though.

Spoiler

When our main character (I literally forgot her name five minutes after finishing the book) sits down with ghost Edith in the mirror to read a novel with her, it warmed my heart. That was sweet.

Overall... I probably wouldn't recommend this book. It wasn't terrible, but I didn't like it much. I wanted a haunting and this... wasn't really it.

This was a cute graphic novel about a first love with selkie mythology, themes of coming of age and coming out as gay. It's an adorable story that can be consumed in one sitting. The illustrations are incredible and I loved the dynamics between Morgan and her friends and family.

All the summer vibes.

The main plot holding the story together, though, was a little weak for me.

[spoiler] I didn't really connect Keltie lying about her reasoning to come on shore. To save the seals from this damaging boat was decent, but it was too easily resolved with, "I'll change the course, so it'll still leak dangerous materials into the water... just not my side of the ocean." I felt like that was an opportunity missed to talk about how harmful boats like those can be to our oceans. I also didn't really like the insta-love in the beginning. I DNFed it for a few days because of the insta-love. [/spoiler]

“And we shall finally talk, lovely Loulie, of stars and stories.”

✨ 1001 Nights retelling involving a thief, a legendary merchant, magic, and a quest for the illusive lamp.
✨ Told in multiple POVs, which I loved.
✨ Terrific world building with a magic system that I adored. I loved the idea of relics and the strain between jinn and humans.
✨ Family drama was so-so. I grew tired of secrets that various characters where keeping from each other.
✨ The twists and the ending weren’t really surprising, but I found myself not caring much because the writing was that good.
✨ I loved the characterization and backgrounds of each character.

Overall, I would rate this 3

Wasn’t great. :( Better than Survive the Night, but not by much.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cfff-_4LKaw/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

It was okay, but it didn't give the butterflies I wanted and it was confusing to read with the back and forth timelines. The summer vibes though. Those were amazing.

Not a book for me. >.< It was written beautifully and definitely belongs in the horror genre, but I'm discovering my taste in horror and I found that I can't do gross shit. If you're into body horror and all sorts of yucky things, this book is a must read.

Come chase after a cursed owl, backpack through a magical wood, and be stuck in a tent with someone you hate.

https://shortgirlreads.wordpress.com/2022/07/29/wild-is-the-witch-by-rachel-griffin-a-book-review/