Winterwood - Shea Ernshaw

 My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Be careful of the dark, dark wood...especially the woods surrounding the town of Fir Haven. Some say these woods are magical. Cursed, even.

Rumored to be a witch, only Nora Walker knows the truth. She and the Walker women before her have always shared a special connection with the woods. And it's this special connection that leads Nora to Oliver Huntsman, the same boy who disappeared from the camp for wayward boys weeks ago - and in the middle of the worst snowstorm in years. He should be dead, but here he is alive and left in the woods with no memory of the time he'd been missing.

But Nora can feel an uneasy shift in the woods at Oliver's presence. And it's not too long after that Nora realizes she has no choice but to unearth the truth behind how the boy she has come to care so deeply about survived his time in the forest and what led him there in the first place. What Nora doesn't know, though, is that Oliver has secrets of his own - secrets he'll do anything to keep buried, because as it turns out, he wasn't the only one who went missing on that fateful night all those weeks ago."

I'm not a huge fan of spooky stuff, but this book is eerie in the most perfect way. The world-building is excellent, and the scene is set so well that from the first page I found myself transported into Nora's cold, snowy, dimly-lit world. The moment Oliver's green eyes snap open, I was enthralled, and from the first page to the last, I didn't want to close the book.

I pride myself on being someone who sees twists coming and can call the end of a book, movie, TV show, what have you early on, but this one kept me guessing. There were multiple scenes that had me gasping out loud, and even a few "ohhhh shit"s that got out before I could stop them. Shea Ernshaw will keep you on your toes! Ultimately, even if you are able to call twists and turns where I wasn't, this book is worth it for the ambiance, the mood, and the excerpts from the Walker spell book interspersed throughout the story.

Plus, as a bonus, you know I judge books by their covers, and THAT COVER THOUGH.

Whichever version you get, I could eat it with a spoon. And I don't know about the dark cover, but the white also features blue sprayed edges to match, and my god, it is a thing of beauty. Even if I hadn't loved the story from start to finish, I would keep this on my shelf for the cover alone. Everything about this book is art.

Last five books of the year!

 I don't have anything I'm particularly excited to review this week, so I figured instead I would share the last six books I'll be reading this year. (Related: I still kind of can't believe 2020 is ending in two weeks. This was simultaneously the shortest and longest year ever.) I'm a little shocked that I'll be meeting my goal of 150 books read this year, but I'm going to do it, and these are the books that will get me over the finish line!

1. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

My sister and I have been reading this series three chapters at a time over the course of the year and messaging back and forth about it, and we've finally made it to the last book! Real talk, we aren't going to finish this book by December 31st, so it doesn't really count toward my 2020 total, but I have almost finished City of Bones, the first book in the series, on audio for the second time back-to-back, so I'm applying credit for that toward this one. P.S. if you're interested in listening to City of Bones on audio, don't make the mistake I did and get the CD version. It's a different narrator than the digital version, and it's garbage. Digital audiobook, all the way - Mae Whitman is amazing.

2. Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw

Nora is a Walker, finder of lost things, and one of the only people who can enter the woods without going mad or wandering lost forever. When she discovers a boy from a local camp who went missing weeks before, still alive, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to him. But Oliver Huntsman may have secrets neither of them know about... This book is chilling in an awesome way, and I'm really enjoying it, although I may at some point regret choosing it for my bedtime read. Also, I was scrolling through Goodreads and saw that my uncle added this to his "want to read" list a month before he passed away in 2019, so in a weird way I feel like I'm reading it with him, and it brings me a bittersweet joy.

3. Remembrance by Rita Woods

This book bounces around several time periods, following multiple women: Gaelle, a Haitian refugee in present-day Ohio struggling to rebuild her life, Abigail, an enslaved woman in Haiti during the 1790s, and Margot, an enslaved women in New Orleans in the 1850s. Three women learning how to claim their power in a world hell-bent on keeping them down. I think I've had this book checked out since February, waiting to be read and now I'm a little less than halfway through and can't believe I didn't read it earlier. It's a great one to end the year with.

4. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

This was on a list of the next ten books on my TBR a long while back, and yes, I am still working my way through it. It's heavy, but enlightening, and so much of what I am learning is obvious as soon as I read it. It's infuriating realizing how blind I've been to the injustices of mass incarceration, and this should be required reading for everyone in the United States.

5. It's Not Like It's a Secret by Misa Sugiura

I'm reading this to my husband before bed, and we are greatly enjoying it. It follows sixteen-year-old Sana Kiyohara, who is moving across the country just before her junior year of high school, and it's wonderful.

So...those are my last five books of the year. What are you reading to wrap up 2020?

Lycanthropy and Other Illnesses - Kristen O'Neal

 My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Priya worked hard to pursue her premed dreams at Stanford, but a diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease during her sophomore year sends her back to her loving but overbearing family in New Jersey - and leaves her wondering if she'll ever be able to return to the way things were. Thankfully she has her online pen pal, Brigid, and the rest of the members of "oof ouch my bones," a virtual support group that meets on Discord to crack jokes and vent about their own chronic illnesses.

When Brigid suddenly goes offline, Priya does something out of character: she steals the family car and drives to Pennsylvania to check on Brigid. Priya isn't sure what to expect, but it isn't the horrifying creature that's shut in the basement. With Brigid nowhere to be found, Priya begins to puzzle together an impossible but obvious truth: the creature might be a werewolf - and the werewolf might be Brigid. As Brigid's unique condition worsens, their friendship will be deepened and challenged in unexpected ways, forcing them to reckon with their own ideas of what it means to be normal."

Whew, this book was a bit of a ride! We start off following Priya, who is learning to live with the chronic pain, brain fog, and other symptoms brought on by Lyme disease. She finds solace and support in an online community of others with chronic illnesses, invited by her online BFF. When Brigid goes dark online for several days, Priya finally gets worried enough that she drives across state lines to check on her...and discovers not her friend, but a giant wolf. 

Yep, that's right. Brigid's chronic illness is lycanthropy. I was curious how O'Neal would blend this fantasy thread into the real world, and she does a great job. There were a few moments that require a little suspension of disbelief, but overall I thought it was fantastic. What really sells it is the friendships - Priya and Brigid primarily, but also between the other members of "oof ouch my bones," the animal control employee they meet along the way, and honorary mention goes to Priya's siblings, who melted my heart. Also, it's just wonderful to read a book where a bunch of people with chronic illnesses are able to talk frankly about their experiences and commiserate with others who understand what they're dealing with, without the ableism and garbage that pops up on Twitter and other social spaces. I look forward to reading many more books with such awesome disabled representation in the future!

Caverns - Kevin O'Donnell Jr.

This week we've got a special visitor, Jacob Pearce, who has taken a break from streaming on his YouTube channel to share his thoughts on book one of The Journeys of McGill Feighan, by Kevin O'Donnell Jr., Caverns. Interested in books and video games? Visit his channel and subscribe for some great content! Now, on to the review!

Jacob's rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Back Cover Excerpt: (establishes the weirdness early)

“April 1,2083. A gastropod sent to Earth by the Far Being Retzglaran swallows McGill Feighan, age 4 days, and studies him for 71.4 hours.”

Caverns is the first in a series of four science fiction novellas about a young McGill Feighan. The series starts on day four of McGill's life and continues into his adulthood. It is interesting to watch McGill grow, but with his growth comes the growth of his problems.

As a child, McGill is viewed as an oddity due to being swallowed by a space slug. Then he learns he has the mystical abilities of a Flinger (super sciency teleportation). However, we all know the quote about power and responsibility.

With this new gift, McGill is given another societal brand. Now he is both a freak and a flinger. Not all is bad, though. Due to his abilities, he meets one of his primary role models and is given more opportunities. He makes friends and generally grows as a person.

Through all of this the book, it periodically cuts away to “the Far Being Retzglaran,” a description-less alien on a distant planet who seems to have malicious intentions for our young protagonist. Honestly, you learn very little about the FBR in the first book. It mostly just serves to create intrigue and put obstacles in McGill’s path.

As weird as this book, and the rest of the series, is I enjoy them very much. Definitely worth the confusing, tear-jerking read.

Jo & Laurie - Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"After the publication of her first novel, Jo March is shocked to discover her book of scribbles has become a bestseller, and her publisher and fans demand a sequel. While pressured into coming up with a story, she goes to New York with her dear friend Laurie for a week of inspiration - museums, operas, and even a once-in-a-lifetime reading by Charles Dickens himself!

But Laurie has romance on his mind, and despite her growing feelings, Jo's desire to remain independent leads her to turn down his heartfelt marriage proposal, and she sends the poor boy off to college heartbroken. When Laurie returns to Concord with a sophisticated new girlfriend, will Jo finally communicate her true heart's desire or lose the love of her life forever?"

Buckle up, this is going to be the shortest review ever.

If someone had told younger me that one day I would be reading published Little Women fanfiction, I never would have believed it, but here we are, and I fuckin LOVE it. There are heavy moments, but overall, the description says it all. It's straightforward, light, and delightful. What more could one ask for? It's a perfect holiday read.

True or False - Cindy L. Otis

 My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Discovering the truth has never been easy...from ancient Egypt to the French Revolution to today, fake news has always been around. And in today's world, with our unprecedented access to information, the phenomenon is more powerful and present than ever. But finding the truth is still possible.

In True or False, former CIA analyst Cindy L. Otis guides readers through the impact of fake news over the centuries and empowers them to fight back by sharing lessons learned in over a decade working in intelligence. With this comprehensive guide, you too can learn to find the truth and fight back against fake news!"

I was going to put together a list of books, including this one, that will make you mad (in a good way!), but I decided on an individual review instead. So here goes! 

Part I of True or False reviews the long, illustrious history of fake news in fucking up the world (😐), which, although super interesting, may leave you feeling a little (a lot?) frustrated and hopeless. Fortunately, Part II gets into how to combat said fake news, which is super important, since as the Thucydides quote that kicks off Part II reminds us, "most people, in fact, will not take trouble in finding out the truth, but are much more inclined to accept the first story they hear." 

So...how do we combat fake news? The tl;dr version is by focusing on facts, recognizing biases in ourselves and others, and doing research before sharing things. But Otis includes not only more detail, but also exercises to practice doing those things, so don't rely on my tl;dr - read the book and learn more. And please, for the love of all that is holy, don't share obviously false shit on social media because you're "saving it to read later" or for friends to debunk for you.

Alex, Approximately - Jenn Bennett

 My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Classic movie fan Bailey "Mink" Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online as Alex. Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush. Faced with doubts (what if he's a creep in real life - or worse?), Baily doesn't tell Alex she's moved to his hometown. Or that she's landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she's being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth - a.k.a.  her new arch nemesis. 

But life is a whole lot messier than in the movies, especially when Bailey discovers those tricky fine lines dividing hate, love, and whatever it is she's starting to feel for Porter. And as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex...Approximately."

Our story starts off with an online exchange between Alex and Mink where Alex invites Mink to fly out to California over the summer and join him for his town's annual film festival. Mink brushes it off and jokes about considering, but all the while, in the wake of her mom's bitter divorce from her stepdad, she is actually moving to that very town to live with her dad, a sci-fi loving accountant who I could not possibly adore more. As noted in the summary, Mink, better known by most as Bailey, is reluctant to tell Alex that she is coming because regardless of how well they get along, she has no way of knowing whether he is who he says he is, and after a bad experience several years ago, she is cautious about who she trusts and what information she shares with strangers. (Good call, Mink! Always better to be safe than sorry.)

So...Bailey arrives in sunny Coronado Cove and promptly begins her search for Alex, relying on the few clues she has to where she might find him. Her search time, unfortunately, is limited by her summer job at The Cavern Palace, a museum better known by locals as "The Cave." Her first day comes with highs and lows - high, she meets gregarious, foul-mouthed Grace Achebe, and the two become fast friends; low, she has her second run-in with Porter Roth, grandson of local surfing legend Pennywise Roth, and as far as Bailey can tell, a complete and utter douchebag. The two butt heads immediately, and Bailey is certain working with him will make her time at The Cave unbearable. But the more time they spend together, the more Bailey realizes that there's an odd sort of compatibility to their bickering. And that she might actually look forward to their regular sparring sessions.

As Bailey and Porter start spending more time together, her search for Alex shifts to the back burner. At first she feels guilty, but he's pretty much ghosted her right back, so does it even matter that she never told him she was coming to California? After all, she and Alex got along online, sure, but an anonymous internet friendship can't compete with what she feels for Porter in real life. Can't get too comfortable, though, because of course things can't stay perfect for long...

Ultimately, this is one of those books where you know from the first page that things are going to end up all right and you're totally fine with that. It's a light read, a happy ending, and the type of feel-good story that many of us need right now. Bonus, it's super quick, so if you've been in a reading slump (like I may have been this week), it's a good one to dive into and shake the reading doldrums off. Read and be happy, my friends. (Also, bonus points for excellent modeling of what consent should look like!)

The Accident Season - Moira Fowley-Doyle

 My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"The accident season has been part of seventeen-year-old Cara's life for as long as she can remember. Towards the end of October, foreshadowed by the deaths of many relatives before them, Cara's family becomes inexplicably accident-prone. They banish knives to locked drawers, cover sharp table edges with padding, switch off electrical items - but injuries follow wherever they go, and the accident season becomes an ever-growing obsession and fear. But why are they so cursed? And how can they break free?"

As I'm sure is the case with many people, I'm having a hard time concentrating on anything but election results at the moment, but since I didn't post last week (😬sorry, I ended up working 6 days last week, my brain was very tired), I didn't want to miss this Friday too. I was thinking about what book I could review and lamenting to myself that I had already reviewed The Accident Season, because I just finished reading it again and it was fresh in my mind. Then I thought, "wait a second, have I reviewed The Accident Season?" And...I haven't. Which. How did that happen?

Anyway...here we are, and at long last, I'm reviewing it. I first discovered this book in October of 2016, perfect timing to read it during the accident season. I read it, fell in love, and I've read it every October since then. I highly, highly recommend listening to the audiobook, because while I enjoy both, there's something about the audio that just makes it that much better. 

No matter how many times I listen to The Accident Season, it never fails to give me chills. From the changelings and the wolves to the mystery surrounding Elsie being in all of Cara's pictures to the accident season itself...whew. It all gets me. I love Cara and Bea and their witchy ways, everything about Sam, Alice in all her exasperated practicality. And the story has the perfect amount of unexplained supernatural weirdness tied in with realistic fiction. I know I said I read it every October, but why wait? Give it a listen now!

Memento - Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

 My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"AIDAN is the AI you'll love to hate. The advanced AI system was supposed to protect a fleet of survivors who'd escaped the deadly attack on Kerenza IV. AIDAN was supposed to be infallible. But in the chaotic weeks and months that followed, it became clear that something was terribly, terribly wrong with AIDAN..."

I have been waiting to read this novella for SO. LONG. I'm still a little in disbelief that it actually happened. Some background: this is a prequel of sorts to Illuminae, and it was initially offered as an incentive to preorder the first book in Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff's newest series, which, heartbreak of heartbreaks, I was unaware of. Consequently, while I knew it existed, I couldn't find it ANYWHERE. 

At long last, though, it was released for everyone to enjoy, and I couldn't be happier. It came at the perfect time, too, because I've been rereading the series, so I was able to listen to Memento and then return to Gemina with new knowledge of AIDAN's journey. And what a journey it has been! As if AIDAN's character weren't chilling enough, some of the background you get on what goes down immediately after the attack on Kerenza IV, WHEW! Just...incredible writing. I can't even handle my love of this series or these authors, how are they so good?

Honestly, need I even tell you to read this? Do it. And if you haven't read the Illuminae trilogy, get on it. Fantastic.

One to Watch - Kate Stayman-London

My rating: ⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Bea Schumacher is a devastatingly stylish plus-size fashion blogger who has amazing friends, a devoted family, legions of Insta followers - and a massively broken heart. Like the rest of America, Bea indulges in her weekly obsession: The hit reality show Main Squeeze. The fantasy dates! The kiss-off rejections! The surprising amount of guys named Chad! But Bea is sick and tired of the lack of body diversity on the show. Since when is being a size zero a prerequisite for getting engaged on television?

Just when Bea has sworn off dating altogether, she gets an intriguing call: Main Squeeze wants her to be its next star, surrounded by men vying for her affections. Bea agrees, on one condition - under no circumstances will she actually fall in love. She's in this to supercharge her career, subvert harmful anti-fat beauty standards, inspire women across America, and get a free hot air balloon ride. That's it.

But when the cameras start rolling, Bea realizes things are more complicated than she anticipated. She's in a whirlwind of sumptuous couture, Internet culture wars, sexy suitors, and an opportunity (or two, or five) to find messy, real-life love in the midst of a made-for-TV fairy tale. In this joyful razor-sharp debut, Bea has to decide whether it might just be worth trusting these men - and herself - for a chance to live happily ever after."

I was pretty eager to read this one, but it fell flat for me. Spoilers ahead, so beware.

Things get off to a rocky start when toward the beginning of the story, Bea sleeps with her "best friend" WHO IS ENGAGED, and then proceeds to moon over him and whine about how he disappeared after that went down. Uhh yeah, he's very clearly a garbage person, and I officially have zero sympathy for you now that you've somehow managed to convince yourself that you're the wronged party here. Following this, the entire book centers around Bea talking about how closed off she's kept herself because of all the bad things that have happened to her, but literally nothing has happened to her that she didn't do to herself! It was really hard to feel any kind of sympathy for her. 

Added to that, for a book that is about body positivity, it's uh...a little rough. Bea spends a significant portion of the book basically being like "I know my body isn't attractive, but I've accepted that and I'm happy." Which...what? She also spends the bulk of her time on Main Squeeze griping about how the guys they chose for the show are people who would never date someone like her, because they're hella attractive and she's *gaaaaasp* fat. Obviously attractive guys don't date women in larger bodies! Bea, you need to watch some fucking Shrill. You're the one with the fat ass and the big titties, so you get to decide what y'all do.

While we're talking about the fatphobia included in a book supposedly celebrating larger bodies, let's talk about the choice to include several excerpts of the truly repugnant shit being said about Bea online. I understand the thought process behind it, but honestly, all women are familiar with the vitriol directed at women by gross men online, and larger-bodied women in particular are intimately acquainted with the awful things some people say to them behind the shield of keyboard anonymity. Do we really need multiple scenes featuring such vile comments? Yuck.

Next up, there were some weird, jarring stereotypes included (in addition to the many, many stereotypes about fat people, which...ugh). For starters, it felt like the author was trying to shoehorn in "diversity," which not only fell very flat but also resulted in shitty generalizations for several of the characters, including three of the four main love interests, her best friend, and the son of one of the love interests. Representation is great when it's good, but this was not it. There was also a lot of reinforcing traditional gender roles, like when her family gets together and the men gather to watch football while the ladies drink wine, because obvi women no likey the sports ball. 

Finally, and this is petty, but I have to get it off my chest. Toward the end of the book, Chris Evans makes an appearance. When one of Bea's love interests sees him, he comments that he looks vaguely familiar, but he doesn't know who he is. Perhaps by then I was just thoroughly over this book, but that irritated the shit out of me. He's CHRIS FUCKING EVANS. Even if you aren't a fan, how do you not know who Captain America is? Get out of here with that shit.

Bottom line, if you're looking for a book celebrating bodies of all sizes with a main character who owns her hotness and doesn't let diet culture dupe her into thinking she is somehow less than because she lives in a larger body, look elsewhere. This one isn't going to do it for you.

Star Daughter - Shveta Thakrar

 My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"If the night sky holds many secrets, it holds Sheetal Mistry's secret the closest. A secret that explains why her hair is the silver of starlight, or why some nights the stars call Sheetal by name. Stars like her mother, who returned to her place in the constellation Pushya years ago. Since that day, Sheetal has been forced to hide.

But as her seventeenth birthday draws near, the pull from the sky is growing stronger. So strong that Sheetal loses control, and a flare of starfire burns her human father - an injury only a full star's blood can heal. Sheetal has no choice but to answer the starsong and ascend to the sky. But her celestial family has summoned her for a reason: to act as their human champion in a competition to decide the next ruling house of the heavens. 

Desperate to save her father, Sheetal agrees. But nothing could have prepared Sheetal to face the stars' dark history - or the forces that are working to shut the gate between the realms for good."

Try to resist diving into this book after taking in the beautiful cover. I couldn't do it. We all know I'm a sucker for a gorgeous cover.

The story is also different from a lot of what I've read before, so I was really intrigued getting into it. A teenager who is half mortal, half star...what does that even mean? As it transpires, one of the things it means is that she has out-of-this-world glowing silver hair, which, I'll be honest, I am very jealous of. Something else that it means is that Sheetal has star fire, which, as the description indicates, gets her into some hot water after she accidentally uses it on her dad.

Things get a little strange after Sheetal's father is injured. Journeying to the star world and learning about what it means to be a star was pretty fascinating, but I wish there was a little more action, particularly in the second half of the book. The world-building and descriptions were vivid, but the bulk of the book takes place over the course of two days while Sheetal trains for a contest, and it got a little thin after a while. Still, though, at the end of the day it was a worthwhile read, and I enjoyed it.

Yes No Maybe So - Aisha Saeed and Becky Albertalli

 My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"YES.

Jamie Goldberg is cool with volunteering for his local state senate candidate - as long as he's behind the scenes. When it comes to speaking to strangers (or, let's face it, speaking at all to almost anyone), Jamie's a choke artist. There's no way he'd ever knock on doors to ask people for their votes...until he meets Maya.

NO.

Maya Rehman's having the worst Ramadan ever. Her best friend is too busy to hang out, her summer trip is canceled, and now her parents are separating. Why her mother thinks the solution to her problems is political canvassing - with some awkward dude she hardly knows - is beyond her.

MAYBE SO.

Going door to door isn't exactly glamorous, but maybe it's not the worst thing in the world. After all, the polls are getting closer - and so are Maya and Jamie. Mastering local activism is one thing. Navigating the cross-cultural romance of the century is another thing entirely."

I've been reading this out loud with my husband, and we are both in love. I am a well-documented fan of Becky Albertalli, and her strength remains developing characters that pull you in and immediately have you falling in love. I really thought I had read Aisha Saeed before, but after double checking it turns out I haven't - better believe I'll be reading more of her stuff after this. Yes No Maybe So pulled me in right off the bat, and part of me wishes I wasn't reading this with someone else, because it's hard to put down. The husband really needs to get on my level when it comes to staying up late reading.

Things I loved: 

1. The characters. Basically everything about Maya, how up-front she was, that she calls it like she sees it with zero self-consciousness. I aspire to be more like her. Jamie pushing himself out of his comfort zone. As a fellow painfully awkward person, I saw a lot of myself in Jamie, and I wish I had his courage when I was in high school. Jamie's little sister. It thrills me that there are so many books coming out with confident, empowered young characters to serve as role models. 

2. The empowering message. Maya and Jamie are both too young to vote, but they're canvassing for the election, engaging with their representatives, and standing up for what they believe in. Sophie and her friends are even younger, but Sophie is researching the policies being introduced in her district, talking to her friends about what they think of those policies, and making her voice heard. It's easy to tell ourselves what we think doesn't matter and give up on trying to make a difference, and this book was a powerful reminder that this is a marathon, not a sprint, and that our efforts to make a difference are the difference. 

3. Jamie's grandma. I know I already said the characters, but InstaGramm gets her own shout-out.

The one gripe I have is that I wish we dug a little deeper into Jamie and Maya's lives. We spend a lot of time with them both and get to know them and their banter pretty well, but despite a portion of the book being set during Ramadan and the majority of the book taking place leading up to Sophie's bat mitzvah, we really didn't get far beneath the surface of either teen's religious beliefs and upbringing. That's a huge part of their lives that basically just gets left out, and it would have added even more depth to the characters.

Ten Books in my TBR Pile

It's been an exhausting few days, so all I've got in me this weekend is a peek at some of the books I'll be reading soon. I'm glad there are so many amazing books out there, but man, the pile of books I have waiting for me to get to them never seems to get any smaller! Here we go, the next ten books in that never-ending stack.

1. The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander - I actually started reading this one months ago, but then I hit a cloudy period where it was too hard to focus, so I've been listening to a lot of audiobooks over reading physical books. I am eager to get back into it, this is such an important topic right now, and there is so much I didn't know about mass incarceration.

2. Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez - I checked this one out from the library before we closed due to COVID, so it has been waiting for a while. 😬 I need to get to it!

3. Remembrance by Rita Woods - So...I believe this was one of the books on a 52 Books by Women of Color to Read in 2020 listfor January. I am very clearly doing AMAZING with my reading this year.

4. Little Gods by Meng Jin - See above. Another of the January books that I requested from the library in January to read in January. I am amazing at keeping up with reading.

5. The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu - I've been eager to read this book about Nannerl Mozart for a long time. I've found with Marie Lu I either love her storytelling (Legend) or I hate it (Warcross), so maybe this book will be the tie breaker. 

6. Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw - I don't even know what this book is about, but I am very much in love with its cover.

7. Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim - It's a book about revenge, and I'm into that!

8. All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace - The description for this one feels sort of Peter Pan-esque but without the straight up racism, which is always a bonus. I'm a little nervous it's going to creep me out, since I don't do well with creepy generally speaking, but I'll keep y'all posted.

9. Goddess in the Machine by Lora Beth Johnson - I've got a thing for weird space stories where people go into cryo sleep and wake up far into the future with unfathomable things happening, apparently, between this and the Aurora Cycle books. Also, this is another gorgeous cover, and it's got gold sprayed edges. I'm a sucker for sprayed edges.

10.  We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry - Once upon a time, I joined the Fantastic Strangelings virtual book club, which was amazing, but as I have proven, I am not great at keeping up with the books I want to read. This was the second book the group read, I think back in March? I ended up canceling my membership when COVID hit, but I am still eager to finally read this book!

Let's Read about Ruth

Earlier this afternoon, I was contemplating which book I was going to review this week when I got a notification on my phone from Washington Post. I swiped down to see what it was, and my stomach dropped when I read that Ruth Bader Ginsburg, trailblazer and fierce defender of justice, had passed away. Like countless others across the United States, I am feeling heartbroken and defeated. 

Even in moments of hopelessness I am, to my core, a librarian, so I thought maybe compiling a list of recommended reading about this great lady might help me feel the tiniest bit better. After taking a moment to pull ourselves together and contact our representatives reminding them of the precedent set in the last election year to wait until a new president has been elected to nominate a new Justice, let's spend some time being inspired by RBG's tenacity, intelligence, and courage. After all "reading is the key that opens doors to many good things in life."

"I would like to be remembered as someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability."

 

Free to Be Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Story of Women and Law by Teri Kanefield tells the story of how Ruth Bader Ginsburg became one of the most powerful and influential women in the United States.

"My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent."

My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Mary Hartnett, and Wendy W. Williams is Ruth's first book after becoming a Supreme Court Justice. It is a collection of her writings and speeches throughout her life.

"Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn't be that women are the exception."

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik takes a behind-the-scenes look at the life of this feminist pioneer.

"I'm a very strong believer in listening and learning from others."

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life by Jane Sherron De Hart is a comprehensive biography of the experiences that sculpted RBG's advocacy for gender equality and passion for justice.

"People ask me sometimes, when - when do you think it will be enough? When will there be enough women on the court? And my answer is when there are nine."

Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World by Linda R. Hirshman tells the story of the first two women to serve on the Supreme Court.

"Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time."

 The Unstoppable Ruth Bader Ginsburg: American Icon by Antonia Felix is a pictoral retrospective celebrating Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the 25th anniversary of her appointment to the Supreme Court.

 

"I tell law students...if you are going to be a lawyer and just practice your profession, you have a skill...but if you want to be a true professional, you will do something outside yourself...something that makes life a little better for people less fortunate than you."

Rest in power, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Thank you for everything you did for us, and may your memory be a blessing.

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett - Chelsea Sedoti

My rating: ⭐

From the cover:

"Hawthorn wasn't trying to insert herself into a missing person's investigation. Or maybe she was. But that's only because Lizzie Lovett's disappearance is the one fascinating mystery their sleepy town has ever had. Bad things don't happen to popular girls like Lizzie Lovett, and Hawthorn is convinced she'll turn up at any moment - which means the time for speculation is now.

So Hawthorn comes up with her own theory for Lizzie's disappearance. A theory way too absurd to take seriously...at first. The more Hawthorn talks, the more she believes. And what better way to collect evidence than to immerse herself in Lizzie's life? Like getting a job at the diner where Lizzie worked and hanging out with Lizzie's boyfriend. After all, it's not as if he killed her - or did he?"

Sooooo this book is problematic as hell, and I'm shocked that none of the reviews I looked through when I first started reading it mention that (rest assured, I'll be getting into why, and be warned - it will involve spoilers). There were some that mentioned how unlikable Hawthorn was as a character, which I will heartily second. She's a senior in high school, but I kept forgetting that because of how childish and bratty she was. I'm all for writing teenagers like they are teenagers and not miniature adults who happen to still be in school, but this was so far beyond that...even Hawthorn's best friend, brother, and parents spent pretty much the entire book begging her to not be so self-involved and immature. Eesh.

Then we get into the whole inserting herself into Lizzie Lovett's life to "investigate" her theory (her theory, by the way? That Lizzie is a werewolf. I mean, for fuck sake, a young woman is missing and, being realistic, probably dead, and Hawthorn is like lolz she's not missing, everyone, she's a werewolf!) She goes to the diner where Lizzie works and takes Lizzie's job, and then when Lizzie's boyfriend comes in to get a little quiet time away from the missing person's investigation for his long-time girlfriend, she immediately brings Lizzie up and tells him her werewolf theory. Which takes us to the first reason I found this book so problematic: Enzo goes along with it, and the two end up in a relationship.

Why is that problematic, you ask? Well, Lizzie was a senior in high school when Hawthorn was a freshman. Three years later, Lizzie is at least 20, and if I'm recalling correctly, Enzo was a few years older. Even to begin with, it was weird to me that a grown ass man in his early/mid twenties was like "ok, yeah, let's hang out with a high school kid and pretend my missing girlfriend is actually a werewolf," but then it progresses to the point where Enzo and Hawthorn SLEEP TOGETHER, and I was like um. What.

And not only that, but later on in the book after the two have "broken up" (it's never a conversation, it just kind of...happens...) Enzo gets into a relationship with a classmate of Hawthorn's. I mean, I get that your girlfriend disappeared and was later confirmed to be dead, which is traumatic as hell, but again, this is a GROWN. ASS. MAN. Dating not one but TWO seventeen-year-old girls. How did this not come up in ANY of the reviews I read?! 🤮

CW before proceeding: Discussion of suicide

So we've got predatory behavior from a traumatized adult man, why not throw more problematic content in. Toward the end of the book, after a far too long werewolf investigation, we learn that some hikers discovered Lizzie's body. While everyone suspected some kind of foul play, it turns out Lizzie died by suicide the night she went missing. I'm not going to get into the particulars, but the book sure as shit did, including speculation about why it happened the way it did, which is bad enough on it's own. But then following the discovery of her body, there are multiple comments to Hawthorn about how Lizzie gave up and how Hawthorn is stronger than Lizzie was, so she needs to fight, and I just...

Fuck anyone who talks about suicide like that. Lizzie wasn't weak because of the way she died, and shaming someone for their mental health struggles is pretty fucking despicable. I thought we got garbage books about suicide out of our systems in 2016 with Thirteen Reasons Why, but apparently not. This book was infuriating, and I know I've already said this, but I'm stunned that this doesn't come up more in reviews of this book. 

If you are having suicidal thoughts, please do not feel shame. Your experiences and emotions are valid. You are valid. If you need someone to talk to, you can reach someone day or night at 1-800-273-8255. If texting is more your speed, you can also text HOME to 741741 to reach a crisis counselor. When you call, you'll hear an automated message and be asked to wait on the line until a trained crisis worker answers. Workers don't follow any kind of script, so once someone is on the line, you'll be able to talk to them about whatever you need. No judgment, just support. 

Dear Justyce - Nic Stone

 My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Shortly after teenager Quan enters a not guilty plea for the shooting death of a police officer, he is placed in a holding cell to await trial. Through a series of flashbacks and letters to Justyce, the protagonist of Dear Martin, Quan's story unravels.

From a troubled childhood and bad timing to a coerced confession and prejudiced police work, Nic Stone's newest novel takes an unflinching look at the flawed practices and ideologies that discriminate against African American boys and minorities in the American justice system."

Nic Stone's author note says it all when she says the hardest thing about telling this story was "knowing the most fictional part is the support Quan receives." The entire time I read this, all I could think about was how different life would be for countless young people in the United States if they had a support system. Even Quan, although he connects with a solid support system while awaiting trial, could have gone down a completely different path if he had that kind of support earlier on. (Spoiler incoming)

There were big things that went wrong for Quan, but there were so many tiny ways society let him down, too. Imagine, for instance, if when Quan's math teacher went on maternity leave, the substitute who replaced her was as supportive as she had been instead of being actively the opposite. How different could things have been? This book shines a light on so many of the ways we as a society have let each other down. It shines a light on our broken criminal injustice system, as Justyce refers to it, and how badly it needs to be improved.

Red, White & Royal Blue - Final thoughts

 My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"When his mother became President of the United States, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius - his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There's only one problem: Alex has a beef with an actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex/Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse.

Heads of family and state and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: Stage a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instagrammable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the presidential campaign and upend two nations. It raises the question: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through?"

Before we get started, I've got to qualify my rating a bit. I would rate about the first 150 pages of this at three, but the last half is a solid five, and so...here we are at four. My biggest wish for the start of the book is that the rivalry between Alex and Henry was better. Obviously it couldn't be anything gigantic, otherwise it would have been pretty unbelievable that the pair would develop feelings for each other, but it swung way too far the other direction and was less a "beef" between rivals and more a secret one-sided dislike because as teenagers Henry was a little rude to Alex once. Not the most compelling start to a story. It didn't hook me.

That said, if you can move past that weak rivalry tea and press on, I ended up shipping Alex and Henry hard (also June and Nora, but that's a blog post for another day, I suppose). Honestly, I would read 400+ pages JUST of Alex and Henry's emails. Most of my biggest laughs came either from those exchanges or their texts earlier on, and their email postscripts never failed to leave me teary-eyed. I also bawled for like the last 75 pages of the book, which...granted, I am known to cry at a book, but not usually that excessively. 

I don't even know what to say about why this story got me so far into my feels, beyond that the relationships Casey McQuiston developed were beautiful. Whether its Henry and Alex fighting for each other or their loved ones positioned fiercely at their backs no matter what, I am here for all of it. It was also strangely uplifting to spend some time in this alternate reality in which the US didn't elect a fascist garbage human as President and instead went with the candidate who had the best interests not only of the country but also of her family at heart. In her acknowledgements, McQuiston admits that after the 2016 election she gave up on writing the book for months, and I'm so glad she ultimately decided to keep going. This book was a much-needed reminder for me that even when things feel hopeless, there are people who genuinely care and want what's best for their country and the people around them. 

#FlashbackFriday - We Are Not Yet Equal

Instead of a review this week (NOT because I haven't finished anything, I swear! I have, but I don't have a new review in me right now.), we'll be celebrating #FlashbackFriday and looking back on a review I wrote two years ago, almost to the day, on August 17th, for We Are Not Yet Equal by Carol Anderson. It seemed like an appropriate review to revisit.

We Are Not Yet Equal is the young adult adaptation of Carol Anderson's New York Times Bestseller White Rage. White Rage was published in 2016, following commentary on "black rage" after the murder of Michael Brown in 2014 and an op-ed Anderson wrote in response. We Are Not Yet Equal came out two years later, in 2018. Now here we are, in the dumpster fire that is 2020, and these books remain every bit as relevant as they were upon being published. And I can't help but keep coming back to the quote I pulled for my original review from the epilogue.

"Imagine if, instead of continually refighting the Civil War, we had actually moved on to rebuilding..."

Is this the time? Is this finally the year that white people like me reckon with the power we unfairly hold and the ways in which we reinforce the white supremacist ideals the United States is built on and start contributing to the work dismantling systems designed to oppress people who don't look like us? Is this the year people complaining about keeping "politics" out of whatever sphere they find themselves in recognize a. what a privilege it is to be able to do that and b. that human rights and basic decency are not "politics"? We've all seen the energy picking up these last couple months, and I hope that keeps up. A few ways I am trying to educate myself and stay engaged:

• Contacting my representatives. You can find scripts for issues you feel strongly about at https://5calls.org/, as well as contact information for your local reps. And while we're at it, fucking VOTE, y'all, in federal and local elections. Want change? The best place to start is in your local sphere.
• Unlearning the fake history I grew up being taught and relearning ACTUAL history using resources like this.
• Showing my support for protesters from a distance by donating to bail funds and community organizations.

What are you doing to keep yourself energized and engaged?

Red, White & Royal Blue - Update 1

I started a new position on Monday, so it's been a slow reading week. I managed to get a little over 100 pages into Red, White & Royal Blue, though, and I figured I would share my thoughts so far.

At first, Alex seemed, frankly, like a bit of a dick. We come into his story basically at the height of his "feud" with Prince Henry, and with zero backstory, it really seems like he dislikes Henry for being more attractive (?) than him, so he starts a bunch of shit even though Henry is perfectly civil to him.

Of course, we later find out that this isn't exactly the case, and while Alex still isn't my favorite MC ever, once I got a better read on the situation, he didn't seem like such a jerk. I'm a big fan of his exchanges back and forth with Henry, actually, and sometimes they even make me laugh out loud. Also, their first kiss?

Perfection.

I'm looking forward to reading more...and crossing my fingers I have more time this week!

Red, White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston

From the cover:

"When his mother became President of the United States, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius - his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There's only one problem: Alex has a beef with an actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex/Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse.

Heads of family and state and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: Stage a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instagrammable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the presidential campaign and upend two nations. It raises the question: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through?"

This is a bit of an unusual blog post because today I'm not reviewing a book I've already read, I'm sharing a book I WANT to read! Why? Uh...because! This is a book that I have been waiting to read for quite some time, and I badly wanted to have a review ready to go for today. That wasn't in the cards, but I decided hey, there are no rules! I can still talk about it! So, here we go.

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. What is it that drew me to this book? First and foremost, a lovely friend and former colleague of mine with whom I love to talk books recommended it to me. Both of us enjoy Young Adult fiction, and we are particular fans of LGBTQIA stories, so when he shared this book with me, I was pretty much already like alright, I don't even need to know anything else about it. Basically an LGBTQIA version of First Daughter or Chasing Liberty? Hello, nostalgia - I'm in. I added my name to the wait list at my library and settled in to wait.

While I waited, Red, White & Royal Blue kept popping up on book lists, so I read a little more about it here and there, I started following the author on social media, and I discovered that there is a bot account on Twitter that tweets random lines from the book! I may very well have spoiled myself without realizing it at some point, but reading some of those one-liners really whet my appetite for the book. 

Finally, there's the cover. I don't know what it is, but sometimes I see a book cover and am like I. Need. That. Often it happens without knowing anything about a book at all - I just see the cover and something irresistible inside me says "read that book." It happened with Emergency Contact, for instance. Literally knew nothing about the book, had never heard of it or of Mary H.K. Choi, but I saw the book when I was working in our teen section one day and could not get it out of my head. Granted, with this book I knew a little bit about it, but still. I saw the cover, and something about it made my brain or my heart, whichever makes my book-reading decisions (both?) latch onto it. It isn't even a choice at this point, really, I'll never be able to rest if I don't read it! 😉

So...there you have it. I'll be starting Red, White & Royal Blue today, and I cannot wait! (Side note: If you are friends with me on Goodreads, please don't look at my "currently reading" list after seeing that. I may or may not be concurrently reading too many books right now, but I can't help it.) Maybe I'll update when I finish to let you know if it lived up to my internal hype. In the meantime, what are you looking forward to reading?

I'm Not Your Manic Pixie Dream Girl - Gretchen McNeil

My rating: ⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Beatrice Maria Estrella Giovannini has life all figured out. She's starting senior year at the top of her class, she's a shoo-in for a scholarship to MIT, and she's got a new boyfriend she's crazy about. The only problem: All through high school Bea and her best friends, Spencer and Gabe, have been the targets of horrific bullying.

So Bea uses her math skills to come up with the Formula, a 100% mathematically guaranteed path to social happiness in high school. Now Gabe is on his way to becoming student body president, and Spencer is finally getting his art noticed. But when her boyfriend dumps her for Toile, the quirky new girl at school, Bea realizes it's time to use the Formula for herself. She'll be reinvented as eccentric and lovable Trixie - a quintessential manic pixie dream girl - in order to win her boyfriend back and beat Toile at her own game.

Unfortunately, being a manic pixie dream girl isn't all it's cracked up to be, and "Trixie" is causing unexpected consequences for her friends. As the Formula begins to break down, can Bea find a way to reclaim her true identity and fix everything she's messed up? Or will the casualties of her manic pixie experiment go far deeper than she could possibly imagine?"

I had mixed feelings while reading this book and couldn't decide how I felt about it, but after spending some time post-read pondering, I've come to the conclusion that Bea's friends were the only redeeming part of this story. Bea herself was unlikable to a shocking degree - she was judgmental, selfish, and a genuinely horrible friend. What's more, while the whole premise of this book is built upon the "horrific bullying" she and her friends experience, the only character who is actually the recipient of horrific bullying is Gabe. I'm sorry, but from one nerd to another, being called "Math Girl" is neither horrific nor bullying, particularly when a. literally the only thing she cares about is math and b. she openly admits partway through the book that she decided upon starting high school that everyone there was mean and horrible and decided not to talk to any of them. Making the choice to assume the worst of everyone and isolate yourself without any attempt to make friends isn't bullying.

Then there's the whole manic pixie dream girl thing, the whole concept of which irritates the shit out of me. Because women aren't analyzed under a microscope and torn apart for everything they do already, let's definitely let a man coin a term to describe a certain type of woman and use it to tear each other down further. And while we're at it, how many times did Bea need to shit talk Dakota and Noel and their vocal fry or insinuate that Cassilyn is stupid or a bitch? I frequently choose books based on title or cover without reading the description, and in this case it really bit me in the ass because what I expected to be a story shining light on the "manic pixie dream girl" trope as something that applies not to women but to men and their expectations actually ended up being almost 350 pages of Bea tearing down other young women and treating her friends like shit, only to learn basically nothing but still manage to get the guy in the end. Hard pass.

Bookish and the Beast - Ashley Poston

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Rosie Thorne is feeling stuck - on her college application essays, in her small town, and on that mysterious General Sond cosplayer she met at ExcelsiCon. Most of all, she's stuck in her grief over her mother's death. Her only solace was her late mother's library of rare Starfield novels, but even that disappeared when they sold it to pay off hospital bills. 

On the other hand, Vance Reigns has been Hollywood royalty for as long as he can remember - with all the privilege and scrutiny that entails. When a tabloid scandal catches up to him, he's forced to hide out somewhere the paparazzi would never expect to find him: Small Town USA. At least there's a library in the house. Too bad he doesn't read.

When Rosie and Vance's paths collide and a rare book is accidentally destroyed, Rosie finds herself working to repay the debt. And while most Starfield superfans would jump at the chance to work in close proximity to the Vance Raines, Rosie has discovered something about Vance: he's a jerk, and she can't stand him. The feeling is mutual.

But as Vance and Rosie begrudgingly get to know each other, their careful masks come off - and they may just find that there's more risk in shutting each other out than in opening their hearts."

💬    💬    💬

Sooooooooo story time. Way back in March (March 16th to be exact) my colleagues and I reported to work and learned that we were temporarily closing due to COVID. Being the library nerds we are, a lot of our staff (me included, obvi) took the opportunity to stock up on books before we headed home. Of course, as has been well-documented on this blog, I wound up having a difficult time focusing on books after this closure, and most of those books have sat unread for months, waiting for me to be able to concentrate. 

Recently, my focus has been getting better, so I've started working my way through this mountain of books. Of course, one mountain isn't enough, so I also requested some advanced reader copies. The stars aligned, and I decided to read Geekerella, one of the books I randomly chose off our shelves because it sounded interesting, followed by Bookish and the Beast, one of the ARCs I requested because I'm a sucker for Beauty and the Beast.

Y'ALL. This is an effin series! And there's a book in between! WHICH I HAVE NOT READ. So...weird coincidence that I happened to read two books in the same series one right after the other without realizing it, and also now I have to read The Princess and the Fangirl. Another book to add to the mountain.

Anyway, about the book itself. The description does a pretty thorough job of breaking down what to expect, and there aren't a whole lot of surprises in the plot, but its beauty is in its simplicity. There are ups and downs, but it's a light read, and it'll probably make you happy. Honestly, particularly right now, what more could you ask for?

Oh, what was that? If you said great characters, I agree 100%, and Bookish and the Beast has them in spades. Vance was ok - he didn't have me wowed, but he was a serviceable MC. Rosie, on the other hand...can I get a hell yes? She is feisty, outspoken, and assertive, and I. LOVE. HER. There's a moment where she punches the Gaston character in the face, and I just... 

Also, huge shout out to Space Dad, her silver-haired, hella rad children's librarian father. 😍 Authors, do you want me to immediately fall in love with your book? Include an awesome librarian character. Impossible for me to resist. Then, of course, rounding out the fantastic character list, we have Quinn and Annie, Rosie's best friends. We should all be so lucky as to have a pair of BFFs as loving and supportive as they are. (I mean, I am so lucky, not to rub it in or anything. 😉)

But back to the book. Whether you're a Beauty and the Beast fan, a sucker for retellings, or just a fan of pleasant reads, this is a good book to add to your shelf. Give it a shot!

Chasing Lucky - Jenn Bennett

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐✯ (That's supposed to be 3.5, I did the best I could with what I had)

From the cover:

"Budding photographer Josie Saint-Martin has spent half her life with her single mother, moving from city to city. When they return to her historical New England hometown years later to run the family bookstore, Josie knows it's not forever. Her dreams are on the opposite coast, and she has a plan to get there.

What she doesn't plan for is a run-in with the town bad boy, Lucky Karras. Outsider, rebel...and her former childhood best friend. Lucky makes it clear he wants nothing to do with the newly returned Josie. But everything changes after a disastrous pool party and a poorly-executed act of revenge lands Josie in some big-time trouble - with Lucky unexpectedly taking the blame.

Determined to understand why Lucky was so quick to cover for her, Josie discovers that both of them have changed, and that the good boy she once knew now has a dark sense of humor and a smile that makes her heart race. And maybe, just maybe, he's not quite the brooding bad boy everyone thinks he is..."

I am so conflicted about this book. Parts of it had me all in, but others it felt like the book version of a scratched DVD, experiencing the story in fits and starts and filling in the details I missed. We kick off with Josie and her mom arriving in Beauty, where almost immediately Josie runs into her childhood best friend, Lucky - now Lucky 2.0, Tall, Dark, and Brooding. 

I am here for this - hooked and prepared for their first real confrontation! Except after revealing that Lucky and his family now own a boat repair shop across the street from the Saint-Martin bookstore, we fast-forward four months. We're told that Josie's welcome to Beauty was less than warm, and while she has dodged rumors and kept her distance from her classmates at school, Lucky has been her mysterious shadow, constantly popping up on the outskirts wherever she goes, watching her with those dark, bad-boy eyes but never saying a word.

"We never talk. Not really. He's never said, So, let's catch up! Or, How's life been treating you? Nothing normal like that. We don't acknowledge that we were once best friends and spent every Sunday eating dinner at his house. That we used to secretly meet up after school at an abandoned cedar boatshed at the end of the harbor...No. He's just...around."

Intriguing behavior to be sure...I only wish we had been able to watch this unfold. Instead, we get a couple of chapters telling us Lucky is ruggedly handsome but surly and mysterious, and then we get Lucky taking the fall for Josie accidentally committing an act of vandalism. I need more character building, damn it! And speaking of character building, given what a huge part she plays with basically everything that happens, I wish Josie's mom had been fleshed out a little more. Don't just tell me your mom is horrible...paint me a word picture. 

 

Again, we get story in fits and starts - Winona immediately forbids Josie (based on...what, exactly?) from seeing Lucky, then is reliably absent from the story except to pop up and remind us that Josie is Not Allowed to see him. Until (fits and starts!) with zero discussion, suddenly it's fine. Sigh. I just...don't teleport me from A to Z, take me all the way through!

My desire to see more of the story play out aside, Chasing Lucky did pull me in, and Jenn Bennett continues to do what she does best, which is capturing the longing and uncertainty of a budding possible relationship. Honestly, it says a lot about her ability as a writer that my complaint essentially boils down to "why didn't you make this book longer?" I felt every tug of the heart and flutter of butterflies (or in Josie's case, bats?), and with one glaring exception, I was swooning. 

(For the record, that glaring exception was the most awkward euphemism I've ever read - "I'm achingly aware of the hard outline pressing against the place in my jeans where my seams converge" - but we don't need to talk about that.) 

I want to go to all of the Karras family dinners, be best friends with Evie, and punch Adrian Summers in the face. Possibly more than once. Chasing Lucky isn't going to dethrone Starry Eyes or Alex, Approximately on my mental list of best heart-eye emoji books, but it's still a good read, and I will still eagerly read any YA that Jenn Bennett writes.

Revenge of the Red Club - Kim Harrington

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Riley Dunne loves being a member of the Red Club. It's more than a group of girls supporting each other through Aunt Flo's ups and downs; it's a Hawking Middle School tradition. The club's secret locker has an emergency stash of supplies, and the girls are always willing to lend an ear, a shoulder, or an old pair of sweatpants.

But when the school administration shuts the Red Club down because of complaints, the girls are stunned. Who would do that to them? The girls' shock quickly turns into anger, and then they decide to get even."

EVERY MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL SHOULD HAVE A RED CLUB!

I had to get that out before I started reviewing the actual book. Truly, I can't even imagine how different my life would be if growing up I had a group of peers to talk frankly with about periods and other mysteries of life. Shit, I would be down to start a Red Club now, and I'm a full-grown adult.

Anyway, to the book. I have to admit, I may have been sleeping on Middle Grade recently. The two most mind-blowing books I've read in the last few months have both been MG, and rest assured, I will be stepping up my TBR game! My very first thought upon learning about this book was "A book about periods?! Sign me up!" And while I need to clarify that this is SO much more than a book about periods, my enthusiasm was not misplaced. I loved Riley from the second I started reading, and I cheered for her throughout the book. She's a role model I wish I had in middle school, and my library may not be open to the public right now, but when it is I'll be doing everything I can to get Riley's story into the hands of as many middle schoolers as possible.

Riley is feisty as hell, not afraid to stand up for herself, and when things at school start getting bad for the girls who go there, she and her friends refuse to take it lying down. Banding together, they plan a week-long protest to bring awareness to what the female students have been facing and bring about change, and Riley uses her super skill - a gift with words - to fight for change. She and her friends are an inspiration and a reminder that we can all use our super skills to affect change. Changes that, like in Riley's life, may feel small but often have a ripple effect. Now let's carry some Red Club energy into the injustices we see in our own circles!

First Page Friday - Easy to Read Books

My ability to focus is a little like a badly-tuned radio. Sometimes it seems like it's getting better (like today, when I sat down and read an entire book in basically one sitting!), but then it goes fuzzy again and I re-read the same sentence eight times because I can't concentrate. So if you, like me, still can't seem to get it dialed in, I hope some of these books help.

1. Beauty by Robin McKinley

This retelling of Beauty and the Beast is delightful. I first read it probably in my tweens, and I've been in love with it ever since. I still re-read it regularly, and every time I do it's as good as it was the first time.

2. Between Shades of Gray or Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

I have recommended Between Shades of Gray to library patrons many times, and a pretty significant portion of responses are a strange look followed by some variation on, "is that like a Fifty Shades book?" Rest assured, my friends, it is not. Both books take place during World War II - Between Shades of Gray follows a Lithuanian family fighting for survival at a work camp in Siberia, and Salt to the Sea tells the story of the greatest yet relatively unknown maritime tragedy ever to take place, the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustlaff at the hands of a Soviet submarine.

I'm sure some of you are thinking right about now "easy to read books? How are either of these easy to read?" And yes...the subject matter is not easy to read. It's ugly, and it's a gut punch. Ruta Sepetys does a masterful job of showcasing the best and worst that humanity is capable of. In the case of these books, "easy" may not be the right word...but they pull you in, and they're hard to put down. You should read them.

3. Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Aw yeah, getting some Middle Grade on the list! A fantasy series about hidden sanctuaries for magical creatures under attack by a secret organization? Sign me up!

4. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I know, I know, I include this on every list I do, but honestly, if you're looking for an easy to read book, they don't come any easier than this. Devour it in a day.

5. Legend by Marie Lu

This was on my list for a pretty long time before I read it, and then I ended up getting a copy with one of my book subscriptions, started reading that night, and just...didn't stop. It's intense, it's exciting, and it's a quick read because you can't help but be sucked in right away. For a long time, it was a trilogy, and now there are four books, since Rebel came out last year. Woohoo!

6. Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu

I reviewed this a while back if you'd like to read my full thoughts on the book, but the short version is while I think it wrapped up a little too neatly, this book is amazing. 

7. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

This book is amazing. Written in verse, it's Xiomara's experience in high school, navigating assholes, her first relationship, and her super strict, religious mother. It's her discovery of slam poetry, sharing her voice, and being true to who she is. I can't read it without crying, Xiomara is incredible.

8. Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Ok, I cannot tell a lie. I haven't actually finished this series. But I read the first one, and I loved it! Then I got a new job and things got hectic, so Thunderhead fell by the wayside, and now The Toll is out, and I need to read them all. Ooh, maybe we could do a read-along to motivate me! We'll see!

9. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

It's pretty well-documented that I love anything and everything Becky Albertalli writes, so if you're still sleeping on the Creekwood books, please remedy that ASAP. For the record, this includes Love, Victor on Hulu. I'm watching it right now (literally, as I type), and it makes my heart so happy. I mean I know that isn't necessarily written by Becky Albertalli, but...still.

10. The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Great movie, even better book! It's told from the alternating perspectives of two high school students, one unwillingly preparing for his college interview, the other fighting like hell to stop her family from being deported. It's a beautiful story.

11. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

I'm obsessed with this series, both the books and the movies. Obsessed. Light, low-risk, heartwarming. 

12. The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo

This book makes me so hungry. And so happy. I tried to combine happy and hungry to make a hybrid word meaning you're happy but feeling snacky and couldn't. Hacky, maybe? That doesn't sound very nice, though. Whatever, read the book. It's marvelous.

13. We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

Alright, this is another one I need to qualify because there's a high probability it will make you cry. It's not an easy to read book in the emotional sense, because it's heavy and it packs a punch, but it's short and it pulls you in and won't let you put it down. And it's beautiful.

14. When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Yessssss, girls who code! This book caught my eye because of its cover, and the book is just as good as the cover art. Personally, I recommend the book over the audio, but either option is great. And I fell out of the loop a little bit and didn't realize there were MORE BOOKS! Another read-along option, I guess!

15. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Was that a record scratch I just heard? Yeah, this one is a little bit of an outlier. But I love it! I read it for the first time in elementary school, and I'm a little ashamed to admit that I fell so hard for it that I stole the copy from my classroom library. (Mrs. Johnson, I know you're not reading this, but I'm so sorry). That copy was pretty beat up, so eventually I had to buy a new one, and every time I reread it I enjoy it just as much as the first time.

Guest Review - The Grace Year

This week I've got a special guest here to share her thoughts on The Grace Year by Kim Liggett. Just in case my review was not enough to convince you to give it a shot, my sister Molly Whoremon (friends call her Whore) dropped by to provide a second opinion.

From the cover (for anyone who needs a refresher):

"No one speaks of the grace year. It’s forbidden.

In Garner County, girls are told they have the power to lure grown men from their beds, to drive women mad with jealousy. They believe their very skin emits a powerful aphrodisiac, the potent essence of youth, of a girl on the edge of womanhood. That’s why they’re banished for their sixteenth year, to release their magic into the wild so they can return purified and ready for marriage. But not all of them will make it home alive.

Sixteen-year-old Tierney James dreams of a better life—a society that doesn’t pit friend against friend or woman against woman, but as her own grace year draws near, she quickly realizes that it’s not just the brutal elements they must fear. It’s not even the poachers in the woods, men who are waiting for a chance to grab one of the girls in order to make a fortune on the black market. Their greatest threat may very well be each other.

With sharp prose and gritty realism, The Grace Year examines the complex and sometimes twisted relationships between girls, the women they eventually become, and the difficult decisions they make in-between."

💬    💬    💬

I honestly do not know how to even begin to review this book. I don't read synopses for books so I never really know what to expect, but as I made my way through this book it felt like a totally different experience than other books.

It's such a chilling tale of oppression, heartbreak, misunderstanding, love, fear, realization, and so many other emotions. I don't think I've ever been so moved and truly connected to a story before. I felt every emotion of the main character, Tierney, as she did and was briefly a part of her journey through this book.

I know this really doesn't explain what the book was about at all. I don't think I could ever do it justice. I will say though that nothing is ever what it truly seems. 🖤

10/10 would recommend.

Anti-racist Reads

In light of everything going on this week (this week, and basically every day, week, and hour since the pilgrims came over on the Mayflower), I've decided to hold off on the post I was planning to make this week and instead focus on books about racism and how to be anti-racist. I also figured that since so many better-informed people than I have already put in the work to share such resources, I should take this opportunity to amplify some of those voices. So, let's get to it.

First things first, while this is not a book, it is an incredible resource. Brianna Wallace and Autumn Gupta (@Autumn_Bry on Twitter) created Justice in June, a month-long curriculum designed to be a starting point for allies to use in educating themselves. Please use and share this, because it is truly phenomenal.

Victoria Alexander also shared some fantastic book lists on Twitter, subdivided by topic no less! Follow the link for a thread of start recommendations, intermediate recommendations, a topic-specific list, biographies and personal narratives, Black feminism, Black LGBTQ+ literature, and Black-centered fiction. For anyone interested in adding to their personal book collection, Victoria also provided a list of Black owned indie bookstores you can support, AND, as if that wasn't enough, put together an anti-racist resource guide. (Note: The book lists on Twitter are images, so I'll be sharing the titles featured on each list in the comments for anyone unable to view those images.)

Then there is this comprehensive compilation of resources for all ages put together by Dr. Nicole A. Cooke. It includes a variety of formats, so peruse and learn! 

And finally, since everyone deserves to see themselves in the books they read, and since Black and Indigenous People of Color deserve books that celebrate their lives in addition to books that document their struggles, below are two great reading lists highlighting authors of color. In addition to educating ourselves on how to be anti-racist, let's also celebrate some of the excellent stories being told about experiencing joy and success.

52 books by women of color to read throughout 2020.

14 Incredible Books to Read When You Need a Dose of Black Girl Magic

The Cousins - Karen M. McManus

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins, but they barely know each another, and they've never even met their grandmother. Rich and reclusive, she disinherited their parents before they were born. So when they each receive a letter inviting them to work at her island resort for the summer, they're surprised . . . and curious.

Their parents are all clear on one point--not going is not an option. This could be the opportunity to get back into Grandmother's good graces. But when the cousins arrive on the island, it's immediately clear that she has different plans for them. And the longer they stay, the more they realize how mysterious--and dark--their family's past is.

The entire Story family has secrets. Whatever pulled them apart years ago isn't over--and this summer, the cousins will learn everything."

I was stoked when I got an advanced copy of this book to read, because I love Karen M. McManus, and WHEW, let me tell you, she has done it again! Right off the bat we get into it with the discovery that Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah's uber-rich grandmother very abruptly cut their parents off with a mysterious one-lined letter - "You know what you did."

Uh, yeah. I'm hooked! What did they do, y'all? I must know!

As more pieces of the story came together, I cycled through a variety of theories, and I was pretty proud of myself when one of my theories ended up being half right - nailed it! Sort of. Basically.

   

I don't even want to talk about the book itself for fear of saying something that accidentally gives away part of the mystery and ruining it for someone else, so let me just say that Karen McManus's super power seems to be writing ending scenes that are so intense they force a gasped "OH SHIT!" out of me as I read. Seriously, it's 4/4 at this point. Karen knows how to put pedal to the metal when the mystery starts coming to a head and then not let up until the final pages.

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Howdy all! In this week's Adventures in Times of COVID, I have been wringing my brain out for work on a couple of time-sensitive and intricate COVID-related projects, and y'all, my brain can only handle so much! In lieu of a blog post this week, please enjoy this GIF reminding you to breathe...

Maybe He Just Likes You - Barbara Dee

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Barbara Dee explores the subject of #MeToo for the middle grade audience in this heart-wrenching - and ultimately uplifting - novel about experiencing harassment and unwanted attention from classmates.

For seventh-grader Mila, it starts with some boys giving her an unwanted hug on the school blacktop. A few days later, one of the boys, Leo, tells Mila it's his birthday and and asks for a birthday hug. He's just being friendly, isn't he? And how can she say no? But Leo's hug lasts a few seconds too long and feels...weird. According to her friend, Mila is being immature and overreacting. Doesn't she know what flirting looks like?

But the boys don't leave Mila alone. On the bus. In the halls. During band practice - the one place Mila could always escape. It doesn't feel like flirting - so what is it? Thanks to a chance meeting, Mila begins to find solace in a new place: karate class. Slowly, with the help of a fellow classmate, Mila learns how to stand her ground and how to respect others - and herself.

From the author of Everything I Know About You, Halfway Normal, and Star-Crossed comes this timely story of a middle school girl standing up and finding her voice."

I put this ebook on hold as soon as I heard about it, and WHEW am I glad I did. My difficulty focusing on reading material is well-documented at this point, but let me tell you, I sat down to read this and ended up finishing the entire thing in one sitting. The description from the cover ends by calling this a timely story, but I have to say, whenever this book had come out, it would have been timely. Books about women, especially young women, dealing with sexual harassment are always timely. Maybe that will change in the future (I fucking HOPE that will change in the future!), but my god, I wish there had been a book like this to read when I was in seventh grade. Really, truly, this should be required reading - for middle school students, for teachers, for librarians, for any adult who interacts with young people, for any men who interact with people who are not men...basically for everyone on the face of the earth. Books like this are so important.

"Why is that, Dewey? What makes this book so special?"

I'm glad you asked!

Firstly, and probably most importantly, because it gives young people the language to not only recognize harassment but also to label it. While all this weird stuff is happening to Mila, she knows it makes her uncomfortable, and even when some of her friends downplay its seriousness, she understands that it's wrong because it makes her feel wrong. But she doesn't know how to name it, and that causes a lot of problems for her, both in communicating with her friends and in knowing if or how she should talk to an adult about it. As much as we might want to believe that seventh grade (or sixth grade...or fifth grade...or fourth grade...) is too young to talk about this stuff, shit happens, and kids need to be empowered with the vocabulary to speak out and stand up for themselves or their friends when they experience things like this. It's also super important that they know that something doesn't have to be HUGE to be sexual harassment...if it's unwanted and makes you uncomfortable, it qualifies. There is no metric it is required to meet.

Mila's experience also highlights the importance of being an ally. This can happen in all different ways - encouraging your friend to talk to someone, like Mila did with Max the year before and Max does for Mila now, speaking up when you see something happening that you disagree with, or making sure that you are there to offer support when you know a friend needs it - but whatever your allyship looks like, it's necessary, and it helps. Believe people when they say they are being harassed.

Another thing we see throughout Mila's story is the importance of young people having trusted adults that they can talk to. Mila's mom obviously loves and cares about her, but she has a lot going on, and even if she didn't, I think we all know that kids don't always feel comfortable going to their parents when they have things going on. Unfortunately, she's still pretty new to the seventh grade, the guidance counselor she felt comfortable talking to has just gone on maternity leave, and there isn't anyone else that she trusts to listen and understand what she is dealing with. That's why I think it's so important for adults who work with kids to read this book...to remind us that we need to do our best to be that person for the kids we work with, so they don't have to keep shit like this to themselves. I know it meant the world to me when I was in junior high and had teachers I could rely on, and I also felt that absence when I didn't. Having a trusted adult in their lives has a measurable positive impact on young people.

Finally, (be warned, here there be spoilers) something the book touches on that is very close to my heart is restorative justice. I read a few different reviews that talk about the too-perfect ending because in the *real world* the boys wouldn't have just stopped being jerks after one conversation. And in fairness, maybe they wouldn't have. We never know. But for anyone who feels it was too Disney-esque an ending, I'd like to invite them to consider that perhaps what the boys said was true, and they really didn't realize that what they were doing was so wrong. After all, how often do we hear "boys will be boys" or, as our title suggests, "maybe he just likes you" in reference to shitty behavior from young men? If someone is constantly getting a pass and having their behavior excused, when do they learn that behavior is wrong?

That is why I love that Barbara Dee resolved the conflict by having Mila's band teacher and two of the guidance counselors hold a version of a restorative justice circle with the involved students, rather than just doling out punitive justice like suspension or expulsion. After all, what would have happened if they had been suspended? They might have spent their time out of school thinking about Mila and realizing that what they had been doing was wrong...or they might have just been pissed that they got in trouble, blamed Mila, and been even worse to her when they came back. Punitive justice is great for telling people they did something wrong and they need to pay a penance for it, but it doesn't do much to improve behavior or allow for growth. By giving the boys involved an opportunity to talk things out, not only were they able to confront how their actions affect other people and learn from what had been happening, but Mila was also given an opportunity to begin to heal from what she had experienced. I'm not saying there aren't instances where punitive justice needs to take place, but I wish more organizations defaulted to restorative justice first. And for that matter, imagine how different this story might have been if the Vice Principal had taken a restorative approach when Mila kicked what's-his name. Restorative Justice forever!

Alright, alright, this is getting super long, and I know I already said "finally" but one last thing I have to bring up is how much I love that part of what helps Mila is karate. HELL YES to strong girls and women! Hell yes to Mila falling in love with karate!