Dragonboy - Megan Reyes

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

From the cover:

"Blue, River, Wren, and Shenli grew up on different sides of a war they didn't start. Their land has been torn apart over centuries of conflict, with humans taught to fear all things magical, dragons driven to near extinction, and magic under attack. But an ancient prophecy has put the four of them on a collision course with destiny - and with each other - in a mission to heal the fractured realm once known as Haven.

All of them must follow the threads of Fate, leaving behind the lives and homes they know to discover the truth about the seemingly endless war - and the truth about themselves. As the barriers between them begin to crumble, can they unravel the lies they've been taught to believe in order to restore the balance between humans, dragons, and magic before it's too late?"

📚📚📚

It's MGMASFMRS time! I was really hoping to keep up more of a regular rhythm with these posts, but this one took me a long time to read, and I don't think it was just the slump. This is the first book in the Heroes of Havensong series, so I expected it to be heavier on the world building than a standalone, but it went so far beyond what I had anticipated. It's 416 pages (that's too long for middle grade!), and the majority of it felt like setup for the actual story, rather than story itself. I like the premise, and I really wanted to enjoy the book, but it was too much. A lot of repetition of things introduced early, granular detail about some things and then almost no information about others, tons of exposition while light on the action...it needed more balance. 

I would say this book's greatest strength was its character development. Blue is a hugely sympathetic character, and I immediately felt a connection to him. Wren, River, and Shenli are also great, and I loved their relationships with their family members. I think if we had gotten the prophecy referencing all of them working together to save the world and then hit the action earlier in the book, this would be a much different review. Instead, we get reference after reference to the prophecy, we inch toward their paths connecting, we get a couple pages of action, and then...the book is over. I finished it, but it took me almost two months to do so. I don't see any of my students putting that much effort into getting to the end of the story, and even if they did I don't think they would be motivated enough to pick up the next book, even though it ends on a pretty big cliffhanger. 

The second book came out in January, and the completionist part of me wants to get it and find out what happens next, but the part of me that spent so long slogging through this one doesn't think it'll be worth it. If this was a duology I might be willing to give it a shot, but I looked it up and there's going to be at least three books. That's too much commitment after a lackluster first book.

Reboot Rereads Recap

I wasn't sure when to post this, because I was writing reviews for my rereads and it seemed weird to post a recap and then post some reread reviews...so anyway, mid-June recap, here we are! Emotionally, I declare Operation Reboot Rereads a success. Even if the quantity of time I read or total number of books finished didn't go up, I found myself wanting to read more, and that's a victory.  That said...

Emotionally and statistically, Reboot Rereads was a rousing success. I reread a total of seven books, which surpassed my goal, and I also finished Not "A Nation of Immigrants," which I had been working on for quite a while, and read three* other Read Harder books, plus At the End of Everything for my book club. (Very good book, by the way, so many emotions). And now it's summer break, so hopefully this new reading energy carries over into June and July - think of all the books I can enjoy! Delightful.

*I wrote this after my last day of work, a few days before the end of May. Since then, I've read two more Read Harder books, so even MORE impressive!

Belladonna - Adalyn Grace

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

From the cover:

"Nineteen-year-old Signa Farrow, orphaned as a baby, has been raised by a string of guardians, each more interested in her wealth than her well-being - and each has met an untimely end. Her last remaining relatives are the Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at the glittering and gloomy estate of Thorn Grove. Thorn Grove's patriarch, Elijah, mourns his late wife, Lillian, through wild parties and drink, while eldest son Percy grapples for control of the family's waning reputation and daughter Blythe suffers from the same mysterious illness that killed her mother. And when Lillian's spirit confronts Signa and claims she was poisoned, Signa realizes that Blythe could be next to die.

Signa's best chance of uncovering the culprit and solving Lillian's murder is an alliance with Death himself - the very man she hates most. And Death, that fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side, shows her that their connection may be more powerful than she ever dared imagine."

Remember when I joked about starting a series where I reviewed books that are not YA but get classified that way because they're fantasy, written by a woman, with a female MC? Seriously, I need to do it. Because again, I find myself typing a review of a "YA" book that IS 👏 NOT 👏 YA. Truly, begging publishers to stop calling things YA just because women are involved.

Now that that's out of the way...I put this audiobook on hold at the library because I got something in my Owlcrate subscription box that referenced it, and I figured hey, if I have things that quote books, maybe I'll try to read some of them! (Sidenote: Maybe Owlcrate choosing this book to reference should have tipped me off that it was FauxYA, since Owlcrate so clearly loves curating a selection of not-actually-YA books). The premise sounded interested, so why not give it a shot? I'll tell you why not...

It's kind of boring. 

Like, I'm three-quarters of the way through and the narrative has not progressed past the information provided in the synopsis. I know it's the first in a sequel, so there's some world-building that has to happen, but GOOD LORD, pick up the pace. I kept waiting for a reveal or for some actual action, but...no. Lots of outfit descriptions though - not that I don't love a good gown description, but I like them more when they're balanced by actual things happening. I finally gave up on it, I just did not care enough to slog through another several hours of story in hopes that maybe something would happen.

The one good thing I'll say about this book is that I enjoyed the audiobook narrator, Kristen Atherton. She did such a great job that sometimes I got lost in her narration, even though nothing was really happening. Sadly, a great narrator wasn't enough to drive me to finish the book, but snaps to her for being such an engaging narrator anyway!

Reboot Rereads - To All the Boys I've Loved Before

I've never written an individual review for this book/series, but BOY OH BOY have I included it in an excessive number of book lists! I mentioned it in one (as a case for polyamory over love triangles), and I've featured it in at least four, including my top ten favorite series, books to read if you like Animal Crossing, easy to read books (hello, reboot rereads!), and books that feel like a hug. This series is so cozy and comforting, and I continue to adore it. (Also the movies, although I don't know why, but it endlessly bothers me that they decided in the movie series to change the setting to the Pacific Northwest instead of Virginia. Just, why? And I wish they had left it being Peter that got the video taken down.)

Lara Jean, so sweet, so firm in her standards. Kitty, possibly the best character ever written. Margot, eh. But everyone else...wonderful. It's low stakes that feel high stakes, because who amongst us doesn't remember when minor teen dramas ruled our lives? Lovely series to revisit, and I recommend it to anyone looking for something low-stakes and comforting to get into.

Reboot Rereads - Alex, Approximately

I reviewed this book way back when, in 2020, and gave it five stars. I also mention in the review that reading it back then got me out of a reading slump, so what a coincidence that I chose it this time around for the same reason! I still love it - there are serious moments, but you know when things get rocky that it will all turn out okay, so it's such a comfort read. My appreciation for Grace grows every time I read this, and I really love her dad and how supportive and encouraging he is, as well as Porter's parents, who are both so wonderful. In my first review, I gave bonus points for modeling consent in a very natural way, which I still greatly appreciate, and I also give bonus points for the inclusion of roller derby, even if Jenn Bennet does refer to it as "the derby," which in all my years of roller derby participation I have never heard it referred to as.🤣

Anyway, if you're looking for a light, feel-good read, stop sleeping on Jenn Bennett. Her writing is delightful. Three rereads down, baby! And I've been making fairly steady progress on Not "A Nation of Immigrants," so it seems like the reboot is working!

Reboot Rereads - Foolish Hearts

It's been six and a half years since I first read and reviewed Foolish Hearts, and I'm happy to report that it holds up, and I still adore it. For anyone who doesn't want to go back to 2017 to find the original review, here's the summary from the cover:

"The day of the last party of the summer, Claudia overhears a conversation she wasn't supposed to. Now on the wrong side of one of the meanest girls in school, Claudia doesn't know what to expect when the two are paired up to write a paper—let alone when they're both forced to try out for the school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

But mandatory participation has its upsides—namely, an unexpected friendship, a boy band obsession, and a guy with the best dimpled smile Claudia's ever seen. As Claudia's world starts to expand, she finds that maybe there are some things worth sticking her neck out for."

This book has everything. Pining over a new crush, online roleplaying games, rock climbing even?! What more could you ask for from a book, jokes that make you laugh out loud, maybe? Because it has those too - I read this out loud to Joel a while back, and there were at least two exchanges that I was laughing too hard to get through. And I laughed just as hard reading those exchanges this time around.

Also, Gideon continues to be a perfect love interest and one of the sweetest characters that has ever been created. I'll never stop loving him. And it isn't just him! It's everyone! Claudia is excellent, her whole family is so good, Zoe is amazing, don't even get me STARTED on Noah...Emma Mills knows how to create a lovable character, it's possibly one of her greatest strengths. Definitely what I love the most about her books.

So, anyway, two rereads done! The brain reboot is working!

Reboot Rereads - Emergency Contact

Hahaaaaaaa, I checked to see if I had reviewed this before and was like "whoa, I haven't?!" And then I read the blurb that I wrote when I included it on a book list:

"I double checked whether I had reviewed this book on the blog before, and at first I was a little surprised that I hadn't. Then I realized that of course I haven't reviewed it here, because I don't know what to say. This book is hard to describe, but perfect to read. It's Penny's first year of college, and...that's what it's about. Navigating somewhere new. Learning how to live with roommates, making new friends. Managing your anxiety. It's a book about real life. If you read this one and don't like it, I'm begging you, please don't tell me, because it is probably in my top three favorite books of all time, and I love it so much that it makes me nervous even recommending it."

It's great that after 38 years together, I continue to surprise myself. Anyway, yes, I have not written an actual review of Emergency Contact before, but I have included it on not one but two recommendation lists, so there's that. As quoted above, it's a great story about new experiences, figuring out how to handle anxiety (and depression), and navigating life. While I will note that it came out in 2018 and consequently suffers from an overuse of ableist terms that many of us have since learned are words you shouldn't use, overall the book is still solid and I still greatly enjoyed the story. Do what I do and substitute a different word in your head, and then it totally holds up.

While there's a lot that I adore about this book, one thing that jumped out at me more upon this read than it did in prior reads is the way that our perception of ourselves differs from the way others see us. Sam, for example, hates his body and has a ton of self talk about how ugly he is. Meanwhile, both Penny and Mallory are falling over themselves at how hot he is. Penny tells herself how weird and boring she is, that she's short and her thighs are too big, et cetera. But Sam finds her quick-witted, funny, and beautiful, and a classmate is also into her and asks her out, so clearly her perception of herself isn't true. Watching that all play out is a great reminder that we often are our own harshest critics. It can be easy in a world where we're being inundated with messages about not being good enough to pick ourselves apart, compare ourselves to others, and constantly look for things that are "wrong" with us...but damn, wouldn't it be more fun and a lot less burdensome to try to see the amazing things in ourselves that other people see in us?

Anyway, just something the book made me think about. For the record, if you're reading this, know that I think you're incredible.