Little Cafe Readathon TBR

Any food-based readathon or challenge, you can count me in! This'll be the second time I participate in the Little Cafe Readathon, but this time I am Team Apple 🍏

Rules: 

The goal of this readathon is to read a book for each category: food and drink.

The pairing of a drink and food, for our purposes, is called an order. After completing an order from your team's menu, you can either complete your own team’s menu or start reading prompts from other teams.

Points System:

• +5 points if you read your team's prompt
• +50 points if you finish your team's menu
• +4 points if you read the other team's prompt
• +40 points if you finish the other team's menu
• +4 points for attending 1 reading sprint (on Discord)
• +1 point for completing a mini challenge
• Bonus: +1 point for reading a book that matches your team's color

There are co-hosts and baristas. You can find all their info and more about the readathon on their Instagram page. 

 I want to try to do every prompt. That is 18 books... but I'd rather go big and still read a lot of great books than aim low and be disappointed for not trying.

For Team Apple 🍏 (Go Team! 📣) I'll be reading the following books:

🍏 Apple Pie | Please Pay Attention by Jamie Sumner

      Middle Grade | Disability Rep | Grief | Realistic Fiction

• Summary: Bea, who has cerebral palsy, deals with the aftermath of a school shooting that took the lives of her classmates and teacher.
• Why I'm Reading It: I've been meaning to read a Jamie Sumner book for a while now. She takes on tough topics for kids with so much care, and this one features great disability representation.

🧃 Apple Juice | Just Ask, Elsie by Ari Koontz

     Middle Grade | LGBTQ+ Rep | Coming of Age

• Summary: Embarrassed when her church’s body-positive puberty class turns into school gossip, Elsie ends up launching a secret, underground advice board after her classmates start coming to her for real answers.
• Why I'm Reading It: I told myself to read more middle grade LGBTQ+ rep, so I am. Her church is pretty progressive, and they talk about sex and gender as well as consent. Elsie also has a crush on a cute girl in her class. Should be a cute one!

🥧 Apple Tart | Something to be Proud Of by Anna Zoe Quirke

      Young Adult | Autism Rep | LGBTQ+ Rep | Friendship Story

• Summary: Imogen Quinn, a chaotic bisexual teen with autism, enlists the help of an openly gay football captain to throw a Pride festival that is accessible to everyone.
• Why I'm Reading It: This seems like a positive and light read. I don't think I've read many dual POV's where they are friends, which will be a nice change of pace.

🍹 Apple Spritz | Smash or Pass by Birdie Schae

      Young Adult | Autism Rep | Sports | Summer Romance | LGBTQ+ Rep

• Summary: After getting dumped right before beach volleyball camp, autistic teen Ellie tries to win her ex back but ends up falling for her mysterious teammate.
• Why I'm Reading It: Summer is winding down, but I still want to read cute summer romances. Also, this book has a lot of high ratings on Goodreads and already has 1,500+ reviews even though it came out in May.

🥟 Apple Turnover | Hopeless Aromantic by Tim Chan

      LGBTQ+ Nonfiction 

• Summary: A guide to understanding aromanticism and navigating life and relationships outside traditional romance.
• Why I'm Reading It: This is something I am potentially exploring. I might switch this out with a nonfiction I was supposed to read - Sounds Fake But Okay - but we'll see.

🍎 Apple Cider | Always Be My Bibi by Priyanka Taslim

      Young Adult Rom-Com | Wedding Sabotage | Enemies to Lovers | Muslim Representation

• Summary: Grounded for breaking her dad’s no-dating rule, Bibi gets dragged to Bangladesh for her sister's wedding, where she teams up with the groom’s infuriatingly cute brother to stop the marriage.
• Why I'm Reading It: I happened to see this on a summer romance display at my library and it looked cute. I've also been wanting to read more books with muslim representation.

Now for the opposing team. I was on Team Pineapple the last time I did this readathon. I would have picked it again, but it took me forever to find a book with a bodyguard that I would enjoy.

For Team Pineapple 🍍 I'll be reading the following books:

🥧 Pineapple Pie | The Pumpkin Princess and the Buried Castle by Steven Banbury

      Middle Grade | Cozy Fantasy | Found Family | Supernatural

• Summary: Almost a year after being adopted by the Pumpkin King, Eve must figure out the strange new magic awakening inside her following the events in Hallowell - a mystery that forces her to choose between her friendships and her responsibilities.
• Why I'm Reading It: It's time I get back to this series. I reread the first book last year in preparation for this one. I love the father-daughter relationship sooo much, which I am really looking forward to reading more about.

🍹 Piña Colada | Behind Five Willows by June Hur

      Young Adult | Historical Fiction | Romance | Book-Banning | Jane Austen Retelling

• Summary: Set in historical Korea, a reader and a transcriber secretly team up to fight government book banning and find themselves falling for each other in this loose retelling of Pride and Prejudice.
• Why I'm Reading It: This made the rounds on TikTok and I've been wanting to read it ever since first seeing it. I love Pride and Prejudice, and it's giving those vibes. The summary even says it's a "romantic homage to Jane Austen."

🍍 Candied Pineapple | Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee

      Young Adult | Fake Dating Trope | Foodie Fiction | LGBTQ+ Rep

• Summary: Teen chef Dylan enters a mooncake competition in memory of his mother and to save his aunt's restaurant, only to be thrown off balance by a major distraction when a wealthy boy asks him to be his fake date to a wedding.
• Why I'm Reading It: Lots of drama and food descriptions are what I am hoping for. I am not that interested in this story, but maybe it's a sleeper agent and ends up being a favorite? You never know.

🧃 Pineapple Juice | Embrace by Bal Khabra

     New Adult | Sports Romance | Forbidden Romance

• Summary: Determined to earn his degree to fulfill his late dad's wish, Kian, a college hockey player, joins a study group to pass his classes and ends up in an unexpected romance with his coach's daughter.
• Why I'm Reading It: I love when books incorporate a sport and if I can have a romance in there? Now that's a win-win. One of my most anticipated reads. I can finally read this once it's released on August 4th!

🍰 Pineapple Upside Down Cake | A Rival Most Vial by R.K. Ashwick

      Cozy Fantasy | Rivals to Lovers | Forced Proximity | LGBTQ+ Rep

• Summary: Two competing potion shop owners are forced to work together for a local potion-making contest and end up falling in love.
• Why I'm Reading It: Absolutely love this book! I haven't been able to get in the mood to read the rest of the series, so I thought a reread would help.

🥊 Pineapple Punch | Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai

      Adult Romance | Bodyguard Romance | Forced Proximity | Friends to Lovers

• Summary: After a stranger live-tweets her coffee shop conversation and turns her into a viral hashtag, shy former-model Katrina dodges the internet chaos by hiding out at a remote home with her protective bodyguard friend.
• Why I'm Reading It:  I initially didn't like this prompt, but when I saw Alisha Rai wrote a bodyguard romance, I knew I had to read it. I loved Enemies to Lovers, so although this is rated lower than I would like and it has the friends-to-lovers trope (not my favorite trope...) I think I'll enjoy this one.

The other opposing team is Team Cherry. I like all my picks for each prompt. I'll mostly be reading light-hearted books with two thoughtful, realistic middle-grade books.

For Team Cherry 🍒 I'll be reading the following books:

🥧 Cherry Pie | Kaya Morgan's Crowning Achievement by Jill Tew

      Middle Grade | Renaissance Faire | Grief | Realistic Fiction

• Summary: Kaya goes to a Ren Faire camp hoping to win Junior Queen in memory of her dad, only to end up getting cast as a court jester instead.
• Why I'm Reading It: I've been wanting to read this one since it came out last year. It only has 95 ratings on Goodreads! I tried ordering it for my library a year ago, but it must have gotten canceled. Now that I've ordered it for the second time, I can finally read it. This story deals with grief but also racism.

🥤 Cherry Cola | Oh My Affogato! by Daphne Ang & Donna Ghorbanpoor

      Young Adult | Summer Romance | Italian Vacation | Secrets & Drama

• Summary: Soraya follows her messy situationship to Italy for the summer, only to realize he might not be the guy of her dreams while catching feelings for the sweet Italian boy running her B&B.
• Why I'm Reading It: An Italian summer getaway with a sweet romance sounds like the perfect summer read. This gives off The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Mama Mia! vibes.

🍬 Cherry Sours | By the Bootstraps by Alexa Martin

       Adult Romance | Cowboy Romance | Small-Town Romance | Grumpy x Sunshine

• Summary: Luna moves to a Texas farm to live out her cowboy romance dreams, but she's totally in over her head until a cowboy-hating (even if his family owns the biggest ranch in town) handyman named Tate steps in to help with renovations.
• Why I'm Reading It: I am determined to read this book by the end of the year! I keep putting it off for other books, but I really want to read a cowboy romance even if the male lead doesn't like cowboys (I'm sure it'll come up since his family owns a ranch. Maybe he teaches her how to ride a horse?).

🍹 Shirley Temple | K-Jane by Lydia Kang

      Young Adult | Cultural Identity | Drama

• Summary: Realizing everyone around her knows way more about Korean culture than she does, Jane starts a secret social media page to help her baby brother stay connected to their roots until her online world and real life collide.

• Why I'm Reading It: I saw this when we received a box of new books at the library. The cover looked so cute and fun; it felt like the perfect summer read. I also like that it explores the main character's heritage.

🍰 Cherry Coffee Cake | Kamila Knows Best by Farah Heron

      Adult Romance | Friends to Lovers | Jane Austen Retelling

• Summary: In this modern Emma retelling, Kamila spends all her time matchmaking for everyone else, only to watch her plans unravel when a rival decides to flirt with her favorite family friend.
• Why I'm Reading It: I've also been wanting to read this for forever now, even before I got into my romance phase. I love Jane Austen's Emma thanks to Emma Approved (I miss the days of video series retellings...) I want to capture that feeling again with Kamila Knows Best.

🥤 Cherry Limeade | Shark Teeth by Sherri Winston

      Middle Grade | Realistic Fiction | Family Dynamics

• Summary: Sharkita "Kita" is always worrying about when the other shoe will drop with her family, but what if her worst fear is actually the best thing that could happen to them?
• Why I'm Reading It: This is a Schneider Family Book Honor winner. I have told myself I need to read more award and honor winners in the many kids' literature awards. I didn't initially want to read this when it first came out, even with the high praise, because the mom being an alcoholic seemed too depressing. I'm in a better mood this year, so I want to give this one a shot. I'm sure I'll be crying by the end.