Category: Reviews

Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From by Jennifer De Leon

This book is so good. It’s good in a way that pulls you right into the story, that unabashedly talks about issues of race, and has characters that could walk right off the page. Right now, books about Black trauma are being gobbled up, but there isn’t enough conversation about subtle daily racism. Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From is not a Black book, but it approaches racism from a latinx view and pays respects to Black voices as well. And it should not be ignored. I think of most people, the most difficult thing about Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From […]

Posted June 30, 2020 in Reviews // 0 Comments //

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

When I read this book in high school, I remember two things very distinctly. Firstly, I remember really enjoying it. Second, I remember believing fully that Phineas loved Gene. These are the memories I took away from this book, and I haven’t touched it in fifteen years. But I wanted to read it again. And now I think… I think A Separate Peace is a great book and I enjoyed it. And, try to look for LGBTQ+ undertones as I might, I don’t think there are any. There is so much to unpack in A Separate Peace. There’s a lot of underlying […]

Posted June 28, 2020 in Reviews // 2 Comments //

Highfire by Eoin Colfer

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from LibraryThing Early Reviewers and HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This book was such an unexpected delight. It’s almost just… super insightful as to the maturity of my sense of humor. Honestly. I am so refined. Only the most elite of jokes. Oh, who am I kidding? Highfire is overrun with balls-jokes, a violence-hungry crooked cop, and a dragon that loves Flashdance and honestly I am here for it. It’s a little crude but utterly ridiculous, and […]

Posted June 25, 2020 in Reviews // 1 Comment //

Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

Something Strange and Deadly falls squarely into the realm of the forgettable. With an intended audience of 14 y/os, this feels more like a paranormal romance for older teens. It’s a little dark, but ultimately it’s a distracted story with a frail protagonist and just… not Susan Dennard’s best work. For those who enjoy paranormal romance, this isn’t so bad. Particularly for the YA genre, if you’re looking for something “clean”, with nothing heavier than kissing. It’s a bit sappy and with that paranormal romance tendency of giving you a compelling setting (zombies!) but rich with fluttering eyelashes and […]

Posted June 24, 2020 in Reviews // 0 Comments //

Alanna by Tamora Pierce

This book is my everything. Which is kinda funny, actually, because if they average reader picked it up, they’d be totally confused by that statement. Why?, they would ask, side-eyeing the cartoony mass market paperback cover and skimming over eh decidedly simple writing. Alanna is a YA novel with a strong female protagonist breaking gender norms in 1983, back when the YA genre didn’t really exist and strong female protagonists didn’t really exist and breaking gender norms in fantasy REALLY didn’t exist, and my little self read this in 1998 when a lot of these things still didn’t exist, and it was everything. Now. […]

Posted June 23, 2020 in Reviews // 0 Comments //

Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier

I am sitting outside on a brick wall in a charming little courtyard in the shade of trees. It is precisely 76-degrees out and the skies are blue and sunny and there’s a perfect, quaint little wind. It is an absolutely perfect day, and I am ever so slightly miserable. Why? Because after lovingly dragging it out over the course of the last few years, I have finished finished the Ruby Red trilogy. I adored this story. The only bad thing I can really say about it is that it’s a bit silly. I like that silliness, though, I think it […]

Posted June 21, 2020 in Reviews // 2 Comments //