Fight + Flight - Jules Machias

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Avery Hart lives for the thrill and speed of her dirt bike and the pounding thump of her drum kit. But after she's diagnosed with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a disease that affects her joints, Avery splits her time between endless physical therapy and worrying that her fun and independence are over for good.

Sarah Bell is familiar with worry, too. For months, she's been having intense panic attacks. No matter how much she pours her anxiety into making art, she can't seem to get a grip on it, and she's starting to wonder if she'll be this way forever.

Just as both girls are reaching peak fear about what their futures hold, their present takes a terrifying turn when their school is seemingly attacked by gunmen. Though they later learn it was an active shooter drill, the traumatic experience bonds the girls together in a friendship that will change the way they view their perceived weaknesses - and help them find strength, and more, in each other."

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The five-star MGMASFMRS review streak continues! (It's two reviews. Counts as a streak. Don't @ me.) I bought Fight + Flight in January of last year, along with Both Can Be True by the same author, which I chose for a Read Harder Challenge and which was also a five-star review. Guess Jules Machias is a pretty good author! This book in particular hit close to home for me in a multitude of ways. For starters, that active shooter drill. I pretty frequently skip synopses, which yields mixed results at times, and for this one, that drill fucking got me. 

I mean...I work at a school. I've seen firsthand the anxiety and fear some kids go through during lockdown drills, I've had conversations with students about how I'll do everything I can to keep them safe if anything bad happens. It's some real shit, and if my school district instituted drills like this, I would be flooding the governing board members' inboxes with emails. Even just reading about it, I was SO. MAD. Like, I had to take a break from reading. I messaged my best friends to rant about it. I was furious for these kids. I know they're made-up characters, so maybe I shouldn't be so upset, but real kids deal with that shit, and I fucking hate it. I hate it. I hate it.

Gahhhh just writing about it is making me mad all over again.

Moving on to other things that resonated strongly with me. First, Avery's worry about losing control after being diagnosed with hEDS and dealing with progressing issues. Disclaimer, I have not been diagnosed with EDS and don't plan on seeking a diagnosis, but my cousin has it and, in talking and reading about it with her, I'm fairly sure I have it too. If I do, I'm very fortunate that mine is much more mild than either my cousin's or Avery's, but it still really sucks, and it's incredibly frustrating dealing with seemingly random digestive issues, pretty constant injuries, etc. So, yeah, I felt for Avery and her worries about basically being perma-injured and unable to do the things she loves.

Then there's Sarah, her anxiety, and in particular her parents' insistence that she needed to lean on God to fix it. I mean, if that wasn't ripped straight from my lived experience with my parents...oof. I just wanted to hug her and sneak her to talk to a therapist about how she was feeling. Also, Sarah's brother and his struggles with his anger and clashes with their parents...my sweet, darling children, you deserve parents who give you what you need and don't just pressure you to fall in line and believe a certain way in order to feel the way you're "supposed" to feel.

Deep breaths.

Look...in fairness to Sarah's parents, I feel like toward the end of the book they got slightly more nuanced, but even so, they were my least favorite characters, and I think they kind of suck as people. Their presence and attitudes lent some additional realism to the book, I suppose, since there are people like that, who suck just as much as Sarah's parents, and who need a serious reality check. Avery's moms were infinitely better characters and people, though. Much prefer them, just like I much prefer people like them in real life.

Anyhow, this review is getting pretty off the rails. As you can probably tell, this book made me feel a lot of emotions. Some of them were bad, but many of them were good, and I really loved how the characters grew as the book carried on. Not just Avery and Sarah, but Mason, Avery's best friend, and Sarah's brother. Honestly, it was not a main storyline, and I haven't gotten into it because I really don't want to get too deep into story details and spoil anything, but Mason's arc was probably one of my favorite parts of the story, and he and Avery's moms were my three favorite characters. Only semi-story related, I also enjoyed how Sarah's art was incorporated into the book. I thought it was very unique and really helped to develop her character. 

So...yeah. This book is very good, and you should read it. Go ahead and do that.

Wildoak - C.C. Harrington

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Maggie Stephen's stutter makes school especially hard. She will do almost anything to avoid speaking in class or calling attention to herself. So when her unsympathetic father threatens to send her away for so-called "treatment," she reluctantly agrees to her mother's intervention plan: a few weeks in the fresh air of Wildoak Forest, visiting a grandfather she hardly knows. It is there, in an extraordinary twist of fate, that she encounters an abandoned snow leopard cub, an exotic gift to a wealthy Londoner that proved too wild to domesticate. But once the cub's presence is discovered by others, danger follows, and Maggie soon realizes that time is running out, not only for the leopard, but for herself and the forest as well. Told in alternating voices, Wildoak shimmers with beauty, compassion, and unforgettable storytelling as it explores the delicate interconnectedness of the human, animal, and natural worlds."

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I just had to go so far back to find what I was calling all my middle grade book reviews, because I hadn't actually included it in a middle grade post since mid-November. That's what I get for picking such a mouthful, which I fully did on purpose...but it's really coming back to bite me. Anyway, I've been making an effort to work my way through the huge stack of books I've accumulated and actually get them read and added to my school library, and I feel like I'm making solid progress with Operation Middle Grade Mega Awesome Super Fantastic Massive Review Spree, or MGMASFMRS for short. Magmas of Mars? No, Magma-Safe Mars. Or Mug Ma's Foamers.

We're getting off topic here. Come on, y'all, focus, please.

A lot of the middle grade books I have in my TBR pile came from random book subscriptions, but this is one I specifically bought with the plan to read and then add to my school library. It ticks multiple boxes - engaging historical fiction, excellent disability representation, addresses issues relevant to my students, AND one of the alternating perspectives is the abandoned snow leopard cub. My kids are huge animal lovers, so I think they'll adore being able to read a story like this, with alternating human and animal points of view. I know I did.

Overall, this story is a pretty simple one - it centers around one main conflict and takes place over the course of just a couple weeks, so there's not a lot to it. The way it's told is so good though, and I loved the way the characters developed, even Maggie's parents, who were really only in the book for the very beginning and the very end. We got to read a lot about Maggie, who is brave, resourceful, and intelligent, and see in interactions with him that her grandpa was gentle, kind, and firm in his convictions, but with what little we saw of her parents initially I was worried they, especially her father, would fall flatter. Happy to report that was not the case. 

I do think some of the other people who lived in Cornwall with her grandpa were kind of caricature-y, but I also think it would have been hard to create a whole village of well-rounded, realistic people within the confines of this story, so it's understandable that people who barely featured weren't as fully developed. Also, frankly, I live in an area with people who, if I were reading about them in a book like this, I would absolutely think were flat, caricature-y characters...some people are just ignorant assholes, I suppose, and perhaps that's the case here.

As noted, this story takes place over a fairly short span of time and focuses primarily on one conflict. I wondered if the simplicity would hurt the story, but I don't think it did. I found the pace to be pretty solid and engaging, and I thought the swaps between Maggie's and Rumpus's perspectives were perfectly timed. Also, many of the POV swaps during more tense moments included very short chapters, which really ramped up the intensity and sense of anxiety around what was happening. So well done. Those moments in particular made it hard to put the book down, and while it clocks in at a pretty robust 336 pages, I found it to be a very quick read. I'm looking forward to adding it to my library and recommending it to students!

The Kiss Quotient - Helen Hoang

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆

Character Development: ☆☆

Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases--a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.

It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice--with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan--from foreplay to more-than-missionary position...

Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but crave all of the other things he's making her feel. Their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic..."

 

I picked this book because, aside from the outdated reference to Asperger's, the plot sounded intriguing. From the description, I expected it to be sweet, maybe a little nerdy, and something of a slow burn romance-wise. Imagine my surprise when I turn on the audiobook for the first time on my drive to work and within the first two chapters Michael is gripping his cock and masturbating to just shy of completion in preparation for his first "date" with Stella.

I mean...I know it's a romance but it read more contemporary fiction and less bodice-ripper to me, so it took me a lot by surprise being auditorily accosted by cocks at like 6:30 in the morning pulling into an effing ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Slow burn this was decidedly not. Also, I take issue with "before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but crave all of the other things he's making her feel..." in the description because "before long" is basically immediately. And that brings me to my biggest issue with this book: Every bit of the plot felt manufactured.

I mean, we start off with Stella eating with her parents, hearing about the pressure from her mom to have grandkids (even though Stella has never actually dated anyone) and witnessing firsthand Stella's discomfort with being touched. Alright, I'm following. If you don't like being touched in general, you're probably not going to be super comfortable with doing the sex, particularly if you've never been in a relationship.

Then we're treated to a description of the last time she'd had sex (which I believe was her third time ever), and we learn that her only sexual encounters thus far have been obligatory sex with random blind dates who have essentially sexually assaulted her after it was clear that she was not enthusiastically consenting to anything they were engaging in. Ummmmmmm. That's certainly...something.😐

Enter Michael, the cock gripper himself. They meet up for the first time, and while there is a little tension and anxiety on Stella's part, she almost immediately is going weak-kneed and horny for him. Which is hard for me to wrap my brain around, both taking into account her aversion to touch in general and keeping in mind that literally her only other experience with intimacy has been so decidedly negative. I mean, at the risk of getting into TMI, I have been sexually assaulted before, and while everyone reacts differently, I just do not buy being instantaneously comfortable with someone just because they take things a tiny bit slow. Nope. No way.

Immediately comfortable Stella is, though, and after a tiny bit of turbulence, the book basically becomes nonstop filthy sex. Not only that, but Michael and Stella have pretty much fallen in love at their first meeting, and they're essentially dating, but of course they're not actually dating because [insert trivial manufactured reason Stella thinks Michael doesn't actually like her] and [insert trivial manufactured reason Michael thinks Stella doesn't actually like him]. It didn't even feel like there was plot conflict for like 80% of the book because it was just Stella and Michael boning down in between forced introspection about how much they liked being together and how sad they were that it could never possibly work out for real because mumble mumble mumble...

Things do finally come to a head, probably 85% of the way into the book, in an incredibly convincing and not at all contrived way (insert sarcmarkⓒ here). The not-couple breaks up, sending both of them into a vicious downward spiral in which Michael contemplates fucking someone else, since Stella totally is (?), while Stella decides she needs to quit her job (?) to become a doctor instead. Fortunately, while all these dark thoughts are going down, Stella goes out to dinner with a trashbag of a coworker, Michael runs into them, and after totally necessary shenanigans, the couple is happily reunited. Not only that, but Michael informs her the moment they get back together that he will be proposing to her in three months, so she has time to mentally prepare. I'm sorry...what?! How incredibly Mormon of you, Michael.

Anyway, congratulations to the happy couple, but even more congratulations to me for not having to listen to this book anymore. Did I hate it? No. Did I want to finish it? Also no. Did it make me like it approximately 78% less than I would have otherwise that Michael on multiple occasions dictated to Stella that her vagina MUST be referred to as a pussy and that he basically ordered her to wear her hair down and wear sundresses at one point? Absolutely. Did I also not love that in one chapter there were approximately infinity references to Stella's "sex," which is possibly my least favorite euphemism for a person's bits? I truly did not. Am I just asking rambling questions now because there were so many little gripes I had with this book? You nailed it.

Read this book or don't, I don't care. If you do, I recommend avoiding reading in public, since so much of it is extra spicy, but you do you.

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!

Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens - Marieke Nijkamp

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"This anthology explores disability in fictional tales told from the viewpoint of disabled characters, written by disabled creators. With stories in various genres about first loves, friendship, war, travel, and more, Unbroken will offer today's teen readers a glimpse into the lives of disabled people in the past, present, and future.

The contributing authors are awardwinners, bestsellers, and newcomers including Kody Keplinger, Kristine Wyllys, Francisco X. Stork, William Alexander, Corinne Duyvis, Marieke Nijkamp, Dhonielle Clayton, Heidi Heilig, Katherine Locke, Karuna Riazi, Kayla Whaley, Keah Brown, and Fox Benwell. Each author identifies as disabled along a physical, mental, or neurodiverse axis―and their characters reflect this diversity."

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This anthology is amazing! So many different voices, writing styles, and characters in one book did my little book nerd heart good. It's hard to do justice to a review of an anthology with one umbrella review, so I'm going to do my best to review each short story below. Overall, though...wonderful.

The Long Road by Heidi Heilig

Lihua is a young woman from Xi'an who once had a garden, an engagement, and a life. Now, seeking treatment for an illness referred to as her "bad fate," she finds herself riding through the desert with her parents, hoping to survive the dunes of the Takla Makan, the Place of No Return, and find a cure in Persia. The depth to the characters and the world they live in that Heidi developed in such a short story is a lovely way to start off this anthology. I loved the young woman Lihua meets at their stop along the road and the conversation the two share, highlighting their similar fates and vastly different outlooks on life. 5 stars.

Britt and the Bike God by Kody Keplinger

Britt, like her dad, has loved cycling since she was a child. After she started to lose her sight, her dad started a cycling club and found a tandem racing bike so Britt could still enjoy riding. Another member of the club always rides with her as captain, and she worries that those who are assigned to captain for her, especially her crush Andre, see her as a burden. When she learns that night before a big ride that Andre will be captaining for her, this worry will kick into overdrive, feeding every insecurity Britt has tried to suppress since losing her sight. This story was sweet and light, and I loved it. 5 stars. 

The Leap and the Fall by Kayla Whaley

Eloise and her best friend, Gemma, go exploring and find an abandoned carnival in the middle of the woods. Something about the place unsettles Eloise, but she follows Gemma through the dilapidated grounds...is it just the lingering air of disuse and decay setting Eloise on edge? Or is there more to the fairgrounds than meets the eye? This one might have been my favorite. 5 stars, hands down.

Per Aspera ad Astra by Katherine Locke

Lizzie is a genius coder and landed an internship with Dr. Shaw, an electromagnetic physicist assigned to develop a defense system for their planet. Lizzie helps develop a powerful shield to keep Lo safe, but her debilitating anxiety becomes too much, ultimately forcing her into a leave of absence. When Lo is attacked and her shield overpowered, will Lizzie be able to battle her anxiety and do what she can to help protect her planet and her family? As a person with anxiety, this one really hit home for me, and I felt for Lizzie and her struggle with knowing that everyone around her thought she was exaggerating or lying about the things she was experiencing. 5 stars.

Found Objects by William Alexander

A drama student with a powerful gift inadvertently leaves too much of their latest character on the stage, and a ghostly King Richard III lingers after the performance concludes. This one was interesting, but through no fault of its own was not my cup of tea. 4 stars.

Plus One by Karuna Riazi

Hafsah has the chance to go on a pilgrimage, but will her plus one, dubbed "It," weigh her down and prevent her from forming a deeper connection with her beliefs? I wasn't into this one at first, but I liked it more the further I read, and by the end I really enjoyed it. 4 stars.

The Day the Dragon Came by Marieke Nijkamp

Alix is a bonded servant to a wealthy member of the weaver district who dreams of escaping her bond and her city. Delfin is an apprentice thrilled to be a part of the construction of the city's newest tower. After the two meet, will waiting be enough? Or will Alix still do anything she can to escape her servitude and explore more of the world? This one...it's Marieke Nijkamp, guys, it was amazing, of course. 5 stars.

Captain, My Captain by Francisco X. Stork

Alberto is a teenage undocumented immigrant in the United States, living with his sister, her boyfriend, and their baby. Alberto works as a painter for his sister's boyfriend, making half what the other painters on their crew do and sending most of what he earns back to his family in Mexico. This won't be the case much longer, though, if Captain America has anything to say about it. Cap started talking to Alberto, two months ago, whispering to him that he deserved a better life and explaining to him how to get it...will Alberto listen, abandoning his sister and her baby to life with abusive Wayne? This story really tugged at my heart, and I felt Alberto's powerlessness and uncertainty. 5 stars.

Dear Nora James, You Know Nothing About Love by Dhonielle Clayton

Nora does not date. Ever. But she does write a regular column in the school newspaper called "Madame Amour," dispensing relationship advice to her fellow students. When her best friend convinces her to go on a double date with Marcus, a guy who has been crushing on her for a long time, she realizes that romantic comedies and novels aren't enough to teach her everything about relationships. Listen, guys...Dhonielle Clayton is basically a goddess. This short story was wonderful. 5 stars, duh.

A Play in Many Parts by Fox Benwell

E, pronouns they/them, doesn't want much. They just want a chance to act in one more play. Faustus. Alright, maybe they want a little more than that...they want to put together the perfect interpretation of the play, giving it everything they have and making their final performance count. Will the final production be everything E dreams of? This one was really lovely, and I enjoyed the format, a mix of narrative and script. 5 stars.

Ballad of Weary Daughters by Kristine Wyllys

River had the perfect family, until her preacher father left out of nowhere to start a new life with his mistress. Her mother started working extra hours to make ends meet, and River has to step in to care for her siblings. Lucy, her best friend, helps. The stress of trying to hold everything together will always be there, but so will Lucy.  This one was simple and sweet, and I enjoyed it. 4 stars.

Mother Nature's Youngest Daughter by Keah Brown

It's imperative that Mother Nature's children keep the secret of their powers or nothing will ever be the same. Millie, tormented by a group of popular girls at school, isn't sure she can resist finding a way to get even with the mean girls. But what will her mother say if she uses her powers over weather to get revenge? Honestly, this one was probably the one I enjoyed least. It was fine, but a little simple and just...kind of lacking when taken with the rest of the stories included in the anthology. 3 stars.

A Curse, A Kindness by Corinne Duyvis

Sienna was cursed years ago into a life as a sort of genie...if someone shows her kindness, she must repay it by granting the person three wishes. When Mia returns her chapstick and is granted the wishes, she offers to find a way to help free Sienna. Sienna, after years of seeing even the best people turn greedy in the face of such limitless options, doesn't believe freedom is possible. Will the two be able to come up with a plan to free Sienna from her curse? Loved. This. One. 5 stars.