Concrete Rose - Angie Thomas

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"If there's one thing seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter knows, it's that a real man takes care of his family. As the son of a former gang legend, Mav does that the only way he knows how: dealing for the King Lords. With this money he can help his mom, who works two jobs while his dad's in prison. Life's not perfect, but with a fly girlfriend and a cousin who always has his back, Mav's got everything under control.

Until, that is, Maverick finds out he's a father.

Suddenly he has a baby, Seven, who depends on him for everything. But it's not so easy to sling dope, finish school, and raise a child. So when he's offered the chance to go straight, he takes it. In a world where he's expected to amount to nothing, maybe Mav can prove he's different.

When King Lord blood runs through your veins, though, you can't just walk away. Loyalty, revenge, and responsibility threaten to tear Mav apart, especially after the brutal murder of a loved one. He'll have to figure out for himself what it really means to be a man."

I would give this a thousand stars if I could. Even just typing this description after finishing reading it, I'm tearing up a little. This is a book that will stick with you. I haven't been able to stop thinking about Maverick and his experiences since I finished reading it. Angie Thomas, you've done it again. 

You do not have to have read The Hate U Give to read this, but having read both, one of the things I appreciate about this book existing is that while so often in YA you get the teenager's perspective and see very little of the parents, this gives us a look into Maverick's experience as a teenager and helps us understand his background and where he's coming from as a parent in The Hate U Give. It made me appreciate Maverick even more. (And appreciate Lisa even more, which...I already loved her, but god damn. She's incredible.)

Something else that really stood out to me was the role that Mr. Wyatt played in Maverick's life. The characters in this book may be fictional, but there are Mavericks all over the place in the US, and we all hear people folx in situations like his as though they aren't even human and don't deserve basic decency. I've done a lot of research and training about Adverse Childhood Experiences and how trauma can impact kids' lives as they grow through adulthood, and reading this was a kick in the gut thinking about how many children grow up being fed the same messages that Maverick is, basically telling them not even to try because they're worthless and no matter what they do they won't ever amount to anything. But watching Maverick interact with Mr. Wyatt also reminded me of the studies that show how much of a positive impact having just one adult outside of their family circle who believes in them and who they can trust can have on kids in traumatic situations. Mr. Wyatt is that person for Maverick. We need to be those people for the kids in our lives.

Anyway...sorry, this really isn't so much a book review as it is me getting teary eyed thinking about how important trauma-informed practices are and how all kids deserve to be loved and believed in. Just trust, this book is incredible. Read it and sit with it awhile. 

(And also, always wear a condom. Maybe two, just in case. 😉)

Unbirthday - Liz Braswell

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Alice is different from other eighteen-year-old ladies in Victorian Kexford, which is perfectly fine with her. She'd rather spend golden afternoons taking pictures with her trusty camera, chatting with her outrageous aunt Vivian, or visiting the children in the Square than receiving visitors or doing embroidery, thank you very much. She's also interested in learning more about the young lawyer she just met, but only because he's rather curious - not because he's rosy-cheeked and charming.

But when Alice develops the latest photographs of her neighbors, strangely familiar faces appear instead - the Queen of Hearts, the Mad Hatter, even the Caterpillar! There's something quite off about them, even for Wonderland creatures. And in her self-portrait, Alice finds the most disturbing image of all: an imprisoned and injured dark-haired girl begging for Alice's help.

Returning to the place of nonsense from her childhood, Alice finds herself on a mission to stop the Queen of Hearts' mad military march across Wonderland...and to find her place in both worlds. But will she be able to do so before the End of Time?"

I'll admit, I am not an Alice in Wonderland fan, and consequently I wasn't sure what to rate this or even how to talk about it. Consider this a disclaimer - if Alice is your thing, you may enjoy it more than I did, but the Wonderland storyline did not captivate me. It seemed like a lot of traveling back and forth for no real reason, and while I acknowledge that Wonderland's whole Thing is that it is built on nonsense, it all felt very pointless and overly long. The book is just over 500 pages, and honestly, most of that is Alice walking somewhere. I know it's about the journey and not the destination, but like...not literally?

My other major gripe with this book, which admittedly may just be me being too picky, is that this is less a fractured fairytale and more a sequel. You tell me there's going to be a Twisted Tale for Alice in Wonderland, I expect it to be a different spin on Alice in Wonderland...not Alice going back to Wonderland eleven years later. It felt a little bit like they didn't have any ideas for how to revamp the original story, so instead they were like "uhhhhh...let's just do this instead." Again, possibly a nitpicky gripe, but...it was a bit of a letdown for me.

The saving grace of this book for me was the real-world storyline. I wish we had spent less time in Wonderland and more time in the real world, because Alice navigating her sister and her man-friend supporting a horrible xenophobic bigot of a political candidate (shocker) connected with me immediately, and I would have loved to read more about her navigating that, spending more time with Katz and her amazing aunt, and finding ways to make an impact in her real world.

Overall, not a bad book, but it was not my favorite of the series. I'm looking forward to Go the Distance in April...although it looks like that will also be more of a sequel than a fractured fairytale. Le sigh. I guess I'm going to have to move past that.

It's Not Like It's a Secret - Misa Sugiura

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Sixteen-year-old Sana Kiyohara has too many secrets. Some are small, like how it bothers her when her friends don't invite her to parties. Some are big, like the fact that she's pretty sure her father's having an affair. And then there is the one that she barely even admits to herself, the one about how she might have a crush on her best friend.

When Sana and her family move to California, she begins to wonder if it's finally time for her to be honest with her friends and family, especially after she meets Jamie Ramirez. Jamie is beautiful and smart and unlike anyone Sana's ever known before. The only problems are: Sana is pretty sure Jamie's friends hate her, Jamie's ex isn't totally out of the picture, Sana's new friend Caleb has more-than-friendly feelings for her, and things with her dad feel like they're coming to a head. She always figured that the hardest thing would be to tell people that she wanted to date a girl, but as Sana quickly learns, telling the truth is easy...what comes after it, though, is a whole lot more complicated."

Spoilers included in this review. You have been warned.

The first half of this book:

The second half of this book:

So...I split the difference, averaged out the 4-star start and 2-star ending, and gave it 3 stars overall. It set out with such promise. Sana finds out over the summer that she'll be moving to California before the start of the new school year. Sad face, except that her friends are kind of shitty and openly racist, so she bucks up, makes the best of it, and quickly makes better friends at her new school. Yay! One of those friends is Jamie Ramirez, who she has a meet cute with while purchasing new sheets and immediately develops a crush on. Then you learn that Jamie likes Sana back, and...😍. Sana comes out to (most of) her friends, who are super supportive, and things seem all set to proceed in a blissfully happy manner.

This, of course, is when it goes off the rails. And not off the rails in the typical book fashion, where obviously conflict must take place to further the plot, otherwise why are we even reading the book? But off the rails like the author tried to do WAY too much, which led to a rushed, unsatisfactory ending and to some of the plot points not even being wrapped up. What disappointed me most was that out of what I would consider the three main plot points - Sana's dad cheating, Sana saying and believing racist stuff about Latinx people, and Jamie spending time with her ex, leading to Sana cheating on her as a result - the most compelling storyline was the one that ended up not being addressed. 

Frankly, Sana's dad "cheating" didn't serve the story and should not have been included at all, which of course meant it featured most heavily and was dragged out for far too long. Sana cheating on Jamie with Caleb is handled horribly, and I've got to say, let boys and girls just be friends, for fuck sake! I liked Jamie and Caleb as friends, and I didn't understand pulling Caleb into a manufactured conflict when an actual, great, needs-to-be-addressed conflict was right there in the form of internalized racism. This comes up about halfway through the book, Jamie and her friends confront Sana about it, and then...nothing. It literally disappears until the last chapter of the book. 

Sana listening to her girlfriend and making an effort to unlearn the things she grew up believing would have been way more engaging than watching Sana stalk her dad and treat everyone she cares about like shit. I get that Sana is a teenager, and remembering myself as a teenager, there are definitely things she did that I would have handled just as poorly. That said, even teenagers live and learn, and that was my biggest problem with this book. Throughout the story, Sana goes through repeated cycles of contemplation, epiphany about how to do better, and then proceeding with the same course of action she was on before. Wrapping everything up super neatly in a last chapter that was basically an unnecessary epilogue does not equal development as a character, and without the main character changing and growing throughout the book, what is even the point?

If you, like me, are interested in reading more books with Japanese or Japanese American main characters, below is a list of books I'll be adding to my TBR list. (Also, for anyone interested in nerding out on racism in punctuation and why many folx are advocating for dropping the use of a hyphen when referencing individuals of dual heritage, this is a fantastic article about it!)

1. We Are Not Free by Traci Chee - Historical fiction about the wrongful incarceration of Japanese Americans in camps during World War II.

2. Displacement by Kiku Hughes - A graphic novel about a teenager pulled back in time to witness her grandmother's incarceration in a World War II internment camp.

3. I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn - A present-day realistic fiction about a fashion-obsessed teenager who takes a trip to Japan to visit her estranged grandparents over spring break.

4. Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman - A present-day realistic fiction about the main character's anxiety and mental health struggles in the wake of not getting into the school of their dreams.

5. Ink and Ashes by Valynne E. Maetani - A mystery about a teenager who discovers shortly after her father's death that he was...GASP!...a member of the yakuza.

6. Keep it Together, Keiko Carter by Debbi Michiko Florence - Realistic middlegrade fiction about starting seventh grade and navigating the friend drama that inevitably comes with it.

7. Xander and the Lost Island of Monsters by Margaret Dilloway - A middlegrade fantasy about two boys who find themselves pulled into a mythical adventure they may not be quite prepared for.

What to read if you're obsessed with Animal Crossing

Animal Crossing has been around for years, but with the release of New Horizons corresponding so nicely with sheltering in place at the start of the pandemic, the game has become a way for countless people to keep themselves occupied and try to stay sane during the dumpster fire that has been the last year. 

If you, like me, are obsessed with Animal Crossing, check out the below book recommendations, chosen based on some of my favorite things about the game.

🍁🍁🍁

Into the terraforming/shaping a new world aspect of the game?

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

Alright, reading the description you may be thinking "strange pick, Dewey." But hear me out! When Tierney and the other young women her age are sent into the woods for their grace year, they are forced to shape their new world into a functioning society or risk starvation, illness, or murder at the hands of poachers. Animal Crossing may not be quite so dire, but that Tom Nook is a shady character...similar vibes, friends. Similar vibes. 

Starbound trilogy by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

These Broken Stars, This Shattered World, and Their Fractured Light follow characters on different planets as they uncover suspicious activity coming from one of the organizations responsible for terraforming new planets and race to stop the corrupt organization from accomplishing its nefarious goals. Look...I wasn't sure how to sum up an entire trilogy in one sentence, so that may sound a little dry, but trust. It's a great trilogy.

🌴🌴🌴

Obsessed with growing hybrid flowers?

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

A mysterious teenage girl rescued from cryo-sleep after centuries? Strange, seemingly sentient flowers? This is the first book in Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff's latest series, The Aurora Cycle. Book two, Aurora Burning, is also out, and both are thrilling. Be warned, there is not yet a date for the third book, so something to look forward to! Something else to look forward to? This series is apparently being made into a TV series! (Although The Illuminae Files was optioned for a movie in 2015 and that never happened, so...I'm keeping my expectations low.)

Beauty by Robin McKinley

It's a retelling of Beauty and the Beast! And the Beast grows the best roses, of course. I can only hope that my hybrid blue roses grow as beautiful as his.

🌷🌷🌷

All about the critters?

Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett

Over the summer, Zorie's mom encourages her to go on a group camping trip with a friend, but imagine Zorie's horror when she discovers that Lennon, her former best-friend-slash-attempted-boyfriend, is also invited on the trip. Then double that horror when, after a fight, the rest of the group abandons Zorie and Lennon in the woods, leaving the pair to bicker as they backpack their way through wilderness, caves, and snake bites to civilization.

Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw

After discovering the missing boy from the Camp for Wayward Boys in the woods, Nora Walker begins seeing a bone moth, an omen of death, everywhere she goes. Does it mean death is coming for her? Or is the moth a message of some kind? (Hopefully the moths in Animal Crossing aren't death omens.)

🐞🐞🐞

Eager to add art to your museum?

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

Isobel is a prodigy, commissioned to paint a portrait for the Autumn prince of the fair folk. When she paints mortal sorrow into the prince's eyes, she is taken to the Rook's kingdom, forced to stand trial for her crime, and finds herself pulled into the world of the faeries in ways she could never have expected.

Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott

Will and Stella both have cystic fibrosis, and while Stella has spent most of her life focusing on regular treatments and focusing on staying as healthy as she can, Will is tired of hospitals and uses his drawing skills to cope with a life centered around his chronic illness. Be warned: this book will make you cry harder than being tricked into buying a fake painting from Redd.

🎨🎨🎨

Hoping to build a closet to rival Cher's in Clueless?

The Belles and The Everlasting Rose by Dhonielle Clayton

Camille is a Belle, blessed by the Goddess of Beauty to make the people of Orleans beautiful. She is proud to serve the kingdom, until she realizes that life as Belle, and life in Orleans in general, may not be everything she was raised believing it was. (The outfits, though, are amazing.)

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

This trilogy follows Lara Jean as she finds her place in high school, learns how to let people in, and tries to find love after her younger sister mails several old love letters written to Lara Jean's past crushes. Lara Jean's love life may suddenly be a mess, but her wardrobe never is.

Fable - Adrienne Young

 My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"For seventeen-year-old Fable, the daughter of the most powerful trader in the Narrows, the sea is the only home she has ever known. It's been four years since the night she watched her mother drown during an unforgiving storm. The next day her father abandoned her on a legendary island filled with thieves and little food. To survive she must keep to herself, learn to trust no one, and rely on the unique skills her mother taught her. 

The only thing that keeps her going is the goal of getting off the island, finding her father, and demanding her rightful place beside him and his crew. To do so Fable enlists the help of a young trader named West to get her off the island and across the Narrows. But her father's rivalries and the dangers of his trading enterprise have only multiplied since she last saw, and Fable soon finds that West isn't who he seems. Together, they will have to survive more than the treacherous storms that haunt the Narrows if they're going to stay alive."

This is my third Adrienne Young novel - I liked the first, but was not a fan of the second. If you'd asked me in the first few chapters of Fable how I saw it going, I would have guessed somewhere in between, probably a three-star not the best but not the worst situation. Color me shocked when I got a little further in and couldn't put it down! 

Fable is smart, tough, and determined, and once the story gets going her quest to find not just her father but her place in the world pulls you in. West and the rest of his crew are intriguing and easy to feel a kinship with, and I lived for glimpses of Fable's mother and father in flashbacks. My only gripe with this story is that I have to wait another two and a half months to read the next book!

Goodbye 2020, hello 2021!

I was going back and forth about which book to review this week, and I decided what the hell, it's January 1st, why review a book at all? Instead, let's talk about reading goals.

Last year, I had two goals. First, read 150 books - any 150 books. Second, read (at least some of) the books on this 52 week challenge. I mean really my goal was to read most, if not all, of the books on that list, but then COVID hit and...yeah, that didn't really happen. Turns out in the midst of an international pandemic, living in a country where people are basically like **shrug, guess people are gonna die then, what could we possibly do to slow the spread** it gets a little tough to concentrate. I did just barely manage to hit my 150 book goal, largely by rereading some old favorites, so that's something! I also managed to squeeze in a couple of the books from the list before everything went to shit, and I've got a few others set aside to read, so I'll get there.

And now here we are, 2021, the year that everyone is pinning their hopes on. 150 seems like a good number of titles to stick with for books read overall, so I'm keeping that one. I debated going with 151, but...I dunno. Let's call 150 the official goal, and 151 can be the secret goal that only we know about. In an effort to expand my horizons a bit, I'll also be participating in Book Riot's Read Harder challenge. There are twenty-four challenges total, although keeping in mind the 2020 lesson I hope we all learned, to be gentle with ourselves, I probably won't do them all. Challenge #1, for instance, is to read a book you've been intimidated to read, and unless I can come up with something good, I may skip that one...partially because any books that would be "intimidating" to read seem like that's probably for a good reason (i.e. seems boring), and partially because I can't think of a book that I've been too intimidated to read. So. We'll see. January's prompts are below - what would you choose for each challenge? 

1. Read a book you’ve been intimidated to read
2. Read a nonfiction book about anti-racism