It has been a little while since I have been able to write reviews- back to school can keep a librarian busy! But I am so thrilled to come back from a short sabbatical with this amazing book. Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill by Lee Wind is a witty and wonderful (LGBTQ+) novel. I put the LGBTQ+ in parenthesis because this book is amazing for all aspects of the book, not just because it represents LGBTQ+ but also it is amazing because it does such a great job at representation as well. Wyatt is from Lincolnville, Indiana. As a ninth grader, he cannot wait until he is older and can be himself outside of his rural town. It is only when the town librarian gives him a book that turns out to change his life. While doing a project on everyone's favorite president, Abraham Lincoln, he was given a book on Joshua Fry Speed the president's intimate friend. Wyatt quickly realizes the truth behind this book- America's Favorite President was gay (or at least Bi). This is not a popular opinion and despite all of the proof from the book and other artifacts, this fact started a whole bunch of turmoil in his home town. This was the first audiobook I was able to preview using Netgalley. The audio was good, I wasn't the biggest fan of the actor, but the story was so great! After a little while I was able to ignore if the actor annoyed me or not.I have been looking for more LGBTQ+ realistic fiction for my library and I think this book would be a great addition to my school!
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This book is a fun and delightful ROM COM with tons of misunderstandings and variations of love. Aubrey is a bit of a cynic- After seeing her parents fight for most of her life and her best friend fall in love and fall out of love just as often- she does not really believe it exists. She is a top notch student who would rather use statistics and math to understand love than let her feelings take the lead. This book is like a mixture of observations (think The Nanny Diaries), explanations of why love doesn't work ( Ten Things I hate about you) and undeniable attraction between rivals. The narrative flows through all five ways to fall out of love without breaking up the narrative. Therefore the five ways that are mentioned seem more like categories, interruptions r afterthoughts. This might have been impacted by the ebook format- so I would hold that judgement until I saw the print version. Overall the story is one that you get swept up in like most good romances. Aubrey is relatable and recognizes that her view point is impacted by trauma. I think this book is a realistic romance that shows how difficult it can be to keep working when everything feels lost. This book comes out in March of 2021. This was my first finished book after a bit of a reading slump. It is back to school time right now, and the stress and anxiety seem to be taking over most educators right now. So if you follow me and like my reviews, please understand that things will be slowing down for a bit if only because the demand on teachers and librarians are high right now. Love is for Losers by Wibke Brueggeman is a cute story of Pheobe who is just a bit socially awkward. She does not like emotions and finds them repulsive mostly. The story begins with her falling out with Polly her best friend who has just started dating a guy very seriously. Pheobe just does not get it- why does Polly dating a guy have to change their friendship and why is Polly suddenly annoying with mentionistis constantly? Pheobe has never had feelings for another person in the romantic sense and she never wants to. She is worried that when she turns sixteen she will turn into those love sick girls. Pheobe also lives with her godmother, Kate, while her mom is out saving the world with a group similar to Doctor's Without Borders. Pheobe ends up falling in love with her new friend Emma, and is trying everything she can think of and google to fall out of love. This story is fun and quirky, with tons of British phrases that are just adorable. Phoebe learns that more people care about her than she ever expected. Love is For Losers by Wibke Brueggeman will be coming out In Feb of 2021. It will be a great addition to any romance collection and LGBTQ+ titles. I have been waiting for access to this book. I am happy to report how this book 100% meets the hype. I met Tiffany Jackson a few years ago when I lived in Greenville, SC- she was a speaker at a local YA conference called Read Up Greenville. I was one of the moderators and escorted both her and other authors to the different panels. I remember she was promoting Monday's Not Coming and talking to the panel and guests about how thrillers play out when the main character is black (in particular a girl). The level of distrust between the main character and the police- the police never willing to listen. This thriller will be a killer in the YA business. It is both heartbreaking and important. I both devoured the book and continuously had to put it down and take breaks so that I would not throw my phone across the room. The situations the main character, Enchanted, gets put in is truly appalling and horribly realistic. This book will set the precedent for other thrillers like this one. It draws not on outlandish twists and turns that could never happen in real life that you sometimes see in thrillers. This book instead draws on terrifyingly realistic situations- the ones every girl has worried about at some point, but hopes to never fall into involving abuse. This book burrows deep into your soul and the ending is perfect! I don't want to give away much of this book, because I think it will be important for so many to read. Grown by Tiffany Jackson comes out September 15th, 2020- no doubt I will be buying multiple copies for my library. The Mall by Megan McCafferty is a delightfully fun read. It encompasses 90's culture, adventure, romance, and friendship in an environment we all know and love- the Mall! This book is chock-full of music references and pop culture from the 90s: my childhood - so (of course) I LOVED it! This novel takes place the summer between Cassie's senior year and going off to college. She had a bad case of mono and had to miss out on a lot of milestone events like prom and graduation. But despite this, she has been released to see her boyfriend and start at her job in the mall so that the plan can move forward. Cassie is the type of person who has a plan and always figures out a way to achieve it. It is when she goes back to her first day at work in the mall that things all seem to fall apart. Her boyfriend, Troy, left her and she lost her job= the plan is ruined. But she is determined to salvage her summer and the plan to get her life back on track. She reunites with a childhood best friend and the plan begins to change. This book perfectly encompasses friendship, adventure (picture Goonies but in a mall), loss of innocence (in more ways than one), and how the bonds we make are only as strong as the work you are willing to put into them. I can picture this book as a favorite among both my students and some of my teachers. This is a light fun read- The Mall releases on July 28, 2020! ***Trigger Warning: if you have ever experienced trauma from a natural disaster this might be a difficult book for you to read*** I will say that this book was a bit difficult for me to read, but that is because of the statement above. Being from Louisiana originally, I have lived through quite a few natural disasters. While I am not familiar with earthquakes the severity and anxiety that the characters portray are spot on. This book hurts my heart, like suffocating, crippling despair, when I think of what Ruby goes through in this book. I am pretty much speechless. With that said, I think this book will hold a place in my heart for a long time. It is gripping, heart-wrenching, and shows both tragedy and strength in a way that only those who live through this type of trauma can explain. Ruby is living through the "big one" the earthquake that all Californians talk about- the one they all know is coming sometime. While being trapped under debris and collapsing walls, Ruby makes an unlikely friendship that will stay with her for the rest of her life. This book explores the trauma of natural disasters, triviality of everyday life even when you think you are prepared, and the strength of character to make it through such unthinkable situations. This book made me bawl, which hasn't happened in some time. Tread lightly if you have experienced a trauma from natural disaster, as it can reawaken those feelings. This will be a great read- cathartic for some and traumatic for others, but important nonetheless. Aftershocks by Marisa Reichardt will be coming out Sept. 29, 2020. I was going to wait and write this review Monday morning, but I literally could not wait to share this book with people. A Shot at Normal by Marisa Reichardt is one of my new favorite books. It is so poignant during this uncertain time in our lives. This book does not come out until February of 2021 and I cannot wait- like publishers, get this out AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. It is that good- lighthearted, romantic, and important to understanding each other during a time like COVID-19. Juniper James has always known she was different and just wanted to be normal. The problem was that she was born to some "hippies" who went to the 'wannabe Woodstock'. Her parents have very important moral convictions- no sugar, all organic, reuse, recycle, life and experience is the best educator. So as a sixteen year old you would expect some teenage rebellion from Juniper, but it is focused on the fact that her parents are anti-vaxxers. She and her siblings are not vaccinated. After Juniper and her siblings get sick with the Measles and Juniper ends up in the hospital, she realizes how dire her situation is. There are a lot of key factors in this- similar to My Sisters Keeper- she is going to have to go through the legal system to get rights that should automatically be hers in the first place. She struggles with family issues as her parents do not listen to her very reasonable arguments because they do not align with their views. This story is very timely- focusing on how vaccines protect her, but more importantly protect others who are more at risk. I loved Juniper, Nico (her love interest who always supports her needs), and her family. The ending is open enough that Marisa could even follow up with a sequel, if she wanted or there was enough demand for it. There will definitely be demand for this book!. A Shot at Normal by Marisa Reichardt is available February 2021. I know it will be in my library as son as I can get a physical copy. For once, I am kinda at a loss for words when it comes to this book. I cannot seem to make up my mind how I feel about this book- Do I like it? Do I hate it? Did I just not get it? I feel like the jury is still out on this one. This is the kind of book that needs to sit with you for a few days before you can fully appreciate it. Kind of a Big Deal follows Josie Pie, who was a big deal in high school, as she grapples with the cards life has dealt her. She was a star in high school and was encouraged to leave high school and go for it on Broadway. She did at seventeen, and wracked up a ton of debt. Now she is in Montana, out of happenstance, acting as nanny and responsible adult. It is here that she falls back into reading and finds the magic in reading. Now here is where I end up having some qualms. I can 100% get on board with the magic of books and magic in general, but it seemed like this book could not choose a side. Josie thinks she is going crazy, then thinks she has an active imagination, or maybe it is a super power. I am not sure. The jumping between genres when she visits all of her books is pretty intriguing, and I haven't really read much like it. But when you get to the reveal part, the switch to a more high fantasy genre just seems out of place. There were definitely part of this book that I loved, but I was confused overall. It isn't that I don't understand what happened, more so that the premise didn't mesh for me. I will say that right now the jury is still out on this one for me- I definitely want to see what others think before I invest in this for my school library. Kind of a Big Deal will be release late August 2020- let me know what you think! I nominate this book for best female and nonbinary characters, positive portrayals of women (and librarians), and overall bad a** nature of what women can do! This book did take me a little longer to finish (silly IG kept distracting me), but that in no way means I didn't love this book. The story follows our two main characters Raina and Millie; both of whom just experienced major heart break. Raina just got dumped by her boyfriend of five years, and has lost interest in nearly all things. Millie was just dumped by her entire Mock Trial team, even though she did all of the work. This all of course happening spring semester of their senior years. Very unfortunate. One thing they realize quickly is that angry girls can get stuff DONE! Millie decides to create a rival all girls Mock Trial team, which she enlists Raina (major drama nerd) to help create. Fueled by all of the wrong doings and problems in the patriarchy- they make a winning team. One of my favorite characters (I am biased) is Ms. McClain the school librarian turned Mock trial sponsor who helps out along the way. The girls realize very quickly that the librarian knows all things and is a force to be reckoned with. I have bookmarked quite a few quotes about the library/librarian from this book so that I can use them all when this book is published. I believe that a large amount of my school would read this book- we have a large speech and debate team, and other activities that are similar to Mock Trial. The positive themes that run throughout make it a feel good book- knowing that even if we don't win the battle, we can win the war. Six Angry Girls by Adrienne Kisner - comes out on August 18th, just in time for school to start! I will definitely consider adding this to our school library- positive, activism, camp, puns, knitting, libraries- what else could you ask for? How do I describe a love story that makes you all mushy inside? More than Maybe- the air of potential in the title is everything, expectation, and wanting. I am going to preface; like Luke Greenly, I have a thing for Gingers. I do not dye my hair with fidelity to mask the fact that my red locks do not grow naturally. *sarcasm* I loved everything about this book- the music, the British accents, nerdy awkwardness between the two main characters. It is like an amplified version of who I wish I could be cool enough to be, Vada. This is a sickly cute story that deals with self-confidence, defying expectations, music (did I mention that already?), family issues and expectations. This dual perspective narrative is everything, because I love being able to know what is going on in each of their minds. There have been quite a few dual perspective narratives that I have read recently, and I think this is one of the better written ones. Vada has always had a plan for her music career: Taking over the music review blog, working for Phil (the owner of the best dive bar Loud Lizard), study under Phil to absorb his amazing taste in music, and lastly, run Liberty Live the big summer live concert event before she goes off to California for college. Luke has always wanted to stay in the background: he has a podcast with his effervescent Twin brother Cullen, he composes music (but hates performing), has a dad who was a famous British Punk rocker in the 90s. Luke is always the first one to read Vada's reviews as soon as they are posted, and Vada (would never admit it to them) listens to Luke and Cullen's podcast every night before bed. Both are super awkward and have a hard time reading and giving signals. Slowly they become closer friends through a top secret school project. Luke starts working on Loud Lizard to continue getting close to her. This adorable love story is amazing. With some issues that both main characters face there is enough conflict while also showing how love can overcome all of the problems. Erin Hahn's new novel will be coming out in late July 2020. It will be a fun read for all who are interested. |
Kaitlyn R CarpenterWriter. Reader. Librarian. Blogger. Teacher. YA lover. Archives
September 2020
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