Thank you to Marisa, netGalley and Legacy Lit Books for a a gifted eCopy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I am fortunate in that I’ve not yet suffered big grief yet in my life. However, I find myself constantly worrying about losing a close loved one or friends. And I took away so much from this book.

This book is much needed in the world. Marisa shares so much of herself, her story, and her life to demonstrate ways for navigating grief. She uses real-life examples and all the feelings of anger, hurt, sadness, and loss that go with losing someone.

This isn’t a typical self help book in that it’s not repetitive or preachy. Marisa teaches us that grief does not go away and is not something that you ever “leave behind.” It’s something we carry with us always.

I enjoyed how Marisa discusses how society deems certain emotions as “bad” and her discussion on how society makes us afraid to show certain emotions too much or for too long. And especially how this disproportionately affects Black women.

This book made me feel more equipped to handle grief going forward, and to support loved ones who experience loss as well.

Thank you to @netgalley and @rebelgirls for the advanced eCopy of this book in exchange for a fair review

I absolutely adore the Rebel Girls books! This is the second one I’ve read, and love the concept so much. The content is great and am so glad young readers have these books to show them what they can accomplish in this world.

This book in particular, Climate Warriors, is right up my alley, showcasing women who are or who have been a party of the fight for climate justice. The illustrations are beautiful and the stories so inspiring.

I highly recommend this for middle grade readers!

In this book, Essie covers various aspects of body image not just from a size aspect, but also from living in a queer disabled body. I so appreciated how they covered many aspects of accepting your body, beyond just learning to live in a fat body. Essie conveys the message so many of us feel growing up, of not knowing how to feel comfortable in your own skin in a world that seems to want to reject your body (and in turn, you) at every turn. As someone on the asexual spectrum, nonbinary, fat, and bisexual, Essie is able to share their lived experiences in a way that makes the reader feel less alone. And not only do they share their experiences, they interviewed other marginalized folks about their experiences. I think these interviews added so much and allowed Essie to shed light on marginalized groups they don’t belong to.

It’s hard for me to explain how much I related to this book and how much I got from it. So I thought I’d share some of the discussions that especially stuck out to me:

- the importance of self-reflection. A reflection at the end on what you would say to your younger self had me teary eyed.
- the intertwining of ableism and fatphobia
- the discussion on how trauma related to being queer increases vulnerability to eating disorders/body dysmorphia
- how food scarcity leads to food restriction and negative thoughts surrounding food and body image
- how accepting your body is more doable when you accept your identity
- the lack of fat liberation for men, especially queer men

 

Firstly, no one told me this book was going to be emotional and would make me cry. I was not expecting that! 

 

I am really not sure if I liked this book or just think it’s OK. The first 80% of the book dragged for me, and I almost DNFed multiple times. Ultimately, I am glad I finished it. The ending is really good. But it was as if the first part of the book was slow and dragged out, then the ending was rushed. 

 

But the ending. Sigh. It made it all worth it. 

 

This book is beautifully written. I love the strong themes of family, love, friendship, and loyalty. Overall, a good read! But would not recommend for those not a fan of historical fiction. 

Thank you to OrangeSky Audio and NetGalley for an advanced listeners copy of this audiobook! The audiobook releases on 5/10/22

Ah, teen love! This is an enemies to lovers story of two high school girls who hate each other over a (sort-of) miscommunication. This story was cute and easy to read. The audiobook narration was OK - it was sometimes difficult to tell which character was speaking. I did love the interspersing of family backgrounds and the Los Angeles setting. I also enjoyed how this focused on the two main characters' goals and dreams just as much as their budding romance. The struggle to please families was relatable to my high school self, as I am sure it will be for many teens! 

I love to see YA with lesbian rep!

Irby is so hilarious and so relatable. I enjoyed this audiobook and laughed out loud at multiple parts. I love Irby's easy-to-follow writing style. 

This book had me hooked from the beginning. Definitely not my usual genre, so I was hesitant. But this book is so well written. The flashbacks in the form of retrieved memories are so well done. I didn't expect to get emotional at parts of this book, but I did!

A wonderful children's book with chronically ill and disabled characters

This book taught me so much! It didn't feel too YA throughout the book. I learned so much about Islam and the practices associated with Ramadan. I loved that the romance of this book wasn't a main focus, yet I had lots of feels (especially towards the end) from the love stories in this book. Highly recommend reading!

 

Sigh. This book made me so happy. 

 

The is one of, if not the only, first book with a nonbinary main character I’ve read. And what a book it is. London and Dahlia meet as competing contestants on a cooking competition show. More than the food ends up getting steamy! (HAH!) But seriously, the writing in this book is so good and the chemistry between the two jumps off the page. 

 

I don’t like cooking or cooking shows, and even still I loved this book! 

 

CW for struggle with gender norms (just this part): This book challenged me in that, at the beginning of the book, I found myself so curious to know what gender London had been assigned at birth. I did a lot of reflecting and am working on breaking down the internalized norms around gender after reading this book. It was a good reminder that we always have work to do.