I've never watched Riverdale and am only vaguely familiar with the Archie comic series (new or old). So this was an introduction for me. I enjoyed the book and it has piqued my interest in the series. I do feel that this book had too many plot points and "twists" for its length. I felt like the book, at least as it stands on its own, bit off more than it could successfully chew, so to speak.

This is one of the best books I've read this year. I was in a bit of a slump where what I was reading, for the most part was good, but not what I wanted - a roaring fantasy with characters I wanted to fall in love with and go visit.

That's exactly what this was. Nathaniel, Elisabeth, and Silas are the best. Even the secondary characters are well done. There's so much in this book that it's hard to believe it isn't a complete series instead of a standalone book.

I need someone who has read this to have spoiler-y conversations with me. I need fandom items for this book. I need to hug Silas and Nathaniel and Elisabeth, and probably in that order.

I'm so glad I finally got to read this book. I'll be reading it again soon.

This is a difficult book to rate. Since only about 25% of the book was about the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 (and not the bigger issues of the 100 years preceding it), I felt this was a bit misrepresented. The first 20% or so of the book really grabbed me. The narrative of the five young boys who went swimming at the lake on a hot summer's day was relatable and captured my interests. Then, the book spiraled back to slavery and onward as it related to Chicago's ethnic makeup and conflicting interest groups. I appreciated this background information, but it quickly became too much and I lost the interest built up from the narrative. I wanted to know how the surviving boys dealt with the death of their friend and how that led to a race riot. Unfortunately, I had to slog through an information dump about Chicago's packing houses to get to it, and when I did get to the aftermath of Eugene's death, it was rushed and told only in bare-bones facts.
The poem at the end was probably the best part of the book, and it didn't belong to the author.
So, if it weren't for my reading challenge and the fact that this is a short book, I probably would have put it down around halfway through, just because this book wasn't what I thought it would be.
But hey, I did learn a lot about slaughter houses that reminded me of Upton Sinclair's [b:The Jungle|41681|The Jungle|Upton Sinclair|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1332140681l/41681._SY75_.jpg|1253187], so maybe the author should have retitled the book and focused on Chicago's meat packing industry instead of the Race Riot of 1919.

Beautiful, painful, captivating, moving - the stories of these young women will touch your heart and teach you so many things about the world. Each woman's story, although full of loss, trauma, and pain, is so much more. This is a must read for all junior high and high school students. The vocabulary and language are very simple and friendly to students on lower reading levels.

Librarians, please put this in your libraries. Teachers, please booktalk this book to your students. Books like this one and stories like these are how we come to see our fellow humans as brothers and sisters, and how we come to respect and serve one another.

This book was very well written, and for a memoir, was very easy to follow. It was so fun to follow along on Simone's journey. Other reviewers have said she isn't candid. I disagree. I believe Simone discusses her issues just as she experienced them - warts and all. She's just a genuinely positive person, I believe.

I know I'm going to have to youtube binge several specific performances now. Given her 2019 World's performance, I'd say she's a strong contender for the Olympics in 2020. I look forward to watching her compete live!

I'll be reading this one again.

I may read it aloud to my students. There are so many gems in this graphic novel. George's father is really the star of this story.

Full review to come.

Yi-yi-yikes.

This book completely covers Donald J. Trump's life up until this point, including the background on the family fortune. It's a fascinating story that every voter in America needs to know.

The author also compiles evidence of entanglements with Russia, racist dealings, and Trump's business entanglements into an easy-to-read narrative. Again, every voter in America should read this and make up their own minds. The author provides plenty of source information from Trump himself. It's almost like the book wrote itself in that regard. It lost me in a couple of points, but overall, it was an excellent and informative read.

If you're looking for a super cute f/f rom-com, look no further. Fat and fashion obsessed Abby Ives is here to take you on a fun summer journey of friendship and first love. Confident in her style, Abby both runs a fashion blog and is interning in one of LA's hottest boutiques that caters to all sizes. The only problem? She has to share the internship with Jordi Perez... and she's pretty sure Jordi Perez is a criminal.

It's an adorable light and almost squeaky-clean read (there is some underage drinking and a couple of f bombs, but that's pretty clean now days - nothing sexual). I'm happy to recommend it to students.

A slow first half with no likable characters.
An intriguing last half with characters I couldn't stand the thought of losing.

Overall, an excellent story. More review to come later.

I read this as a part of the "Big Library Read". I wasn't expecting to read it yet and it wasn't really on my radar, but I wanted to join in and read this when a friend told me she was making her way through it.

I greatly enjoyed it. The pacing is fast. The book is always moving. That means that it does sometimes blur together, but that's to be expected given the content of the book. The characters often know little about the conflict, except that they are in danger. It comes across as very realistic, especially from Lena's and Campbell's points of view.

The book does an excellent job of bringing these characters and the world views they represent together. It is an excellent opening into why rioting and violence occur and what perpetuates these issues. The book shows us that Lena and Campbell are very different, but that they can help and support one another without either of them having to change who they are at their core. Their strengths come from their different outlooks and the different ways they react to situations ultimately helps them both to make it.

Contrary to some, I thought the ending worked well and didn't really feel that I needed more information. For such a short read, I felt the characters developed well. For a novel where all the action happens in the space of a few hours, it worked out very well.