In an effort to catch up with reviews, I've decided to review all the books I've read at the midpoint of the year. This time I am reviewing YA which has gotten a major uptick in my reading once again. I always go back to YA... My goal this year was to read diversely and for YA that meant mostly reading LGBTQIA+ books. I had a great time reading all these books!
Audre & Bash Are Just Friends by Tia Williams - I really wanted to read this book after knowing it was by the bestselling author of Seven Days in June which I've wanted to read but I also want to steer clear of any sad books. This was the best bet to get a feel for her writing and it was such a winner! The mother-daughter dynamic was compelling. Audre's mom recently had a baby with her stepdad and there's been this disconnect with them so much so that she's anticipating leaving to spend time with her dad during the summer. When that falls through, she ends up going on this journey of being brave and doing this list of things that her perfectionist rule follower self will never do. She meets Bash who she has no ties with but believes would be the perfect person to help her be brave. I thought the list itself had one element that was a little too much for the age group. I think that's one of the only gripes I had with this book other than wanting a little more of a resolution to her relationship with her mom. Overall, had such a good time. Loved following both characters for the summer. 4 stars
Love Bullet Vol. 1 by inee - One of the only manga I read this year about a girl who dies before she can tell the person she loved that she loved her so she becomes a cupid. There's a group of girls who use weapons to compete with each other and get a couple together. Their goal is to get as many matches as possible until they can go back to the land of the living but it's also like when they are older and stuff. It's an interesting concept. I would continue. I just need to get my hands on the second volume. 4 stars
Hazelthorn by CG Drews - This had autism rep, which is an area in my reading (well, disability rep in general) that I would like to read more of. This was real weird but the good kind. I honestly didn't realize what was happening until a good halfway through the story if I am remembering correctly. Evander basically never leaves this mansion. He was taken in after his parents died by this man named Byron who is very eccentric. Evander is sickly so that's why he stays at Lennox-Hall. Byron suddenly dies and Evander's the only one who seems to care. He makes it his mission to figure out who killed him while trying to keep his emotions in check because he's been told all of his life to not get too emotional. Also, his ex-best friend Laurie (he was Byron's nephew) who tried to kill him when they were younger, is hanging around. There's a lot of mystery, a good deal of flowery writing, and some gore. Very interesting story. I enjoyed myself. I can't wait for Scorpion Deep! 4 stars
The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko - Once again, my book club theme influenced me reading something I don't think I would have ever picked up. The theme had to do something with water. Honestly, I can't remember, but I know my choice was a stretch. I thought crocodile was close enough. I was very happy that I chose this story as it follows along Small Sade, who has a limp and is trying to find a job in the city. She is trying to get a job as a sweeper, and she has a power where she can remove bad energy. All around her, these things like doubt, shame, and even guilt are things that she can eat or sweep out of people's lives. She also gets entangled with the Crocodile god who supposedly eats women. It's such an interesting world and it's so emotional. She tries to blend in and not create issues because she has her own guilt about things that happened in the past. So she lets herself be small. You really root for her to gain confidence and make a lasting change in the world. She has it in her to do so and as a reader it's plain to see. Such a wonderful story with a fascinating world. 4.5 stars
Heart Check by Emily Charlotte - Harper doesn't like the hockey team that everyone in her town loves. She tries to advocate for smaller clubs to get money but it all goes to getting a larger facility for the hockey team. She wants to get more money for the art department so she can pursue her dreams of owning a bracelet business. So of course she doesn't like Luke who is the star of the team and ironically she works with him in his parents' restaurant. I liked this story but I did feel like it was more on Harper realizing, oh, this popular group is so much nicer than I thought and she was the mean person all along. I didn't love that but I will admit that I did like her and Luke together. Luke has to deal with a lot of pressures and at first blames Harper for outing his coach for mismanaging the hockey teams funds (which why would you be mad at someone else for the coach's illegal activities?), but gets to know her and squashes those thoughts. He's a really good guy. I just don't like how they portrayed Harper at times. It's very teen angsty and with the rise of love for hockey a perfect pick for teen girls to read. 3.5 stars
Leave it on the Track by Margot Fisher - I had recently gotten into rollerblading so once I saw this cover it was an immediate need to read. Such a tragic beginning chapter where Morgan "Moose" is at the roller rink I believe her parents own and a fire breaks out. She's trying to find them and she talks about her shoes being stuck to the ground because the fire has melted them. She finally blacks out trying to escape and wakes up to being told that her dad and stepdad are dead. Now her older sister is taking care of her and encourages her to do roller derby. She used to do rhythm skating I think but she never wanted to do that again. She actually had a song that triggered her memories at one point that made me want to hug her. I didn't find it realistic that she basically immediately caved and got into roller derby but it was fun learning about the sport. She made some mistakes (she's very headstrong) that made her realistic. One thing I wanted to see more of was her emotions about losing her dad and stepdad throughout the story. At times, it was played up, but this was mostly about roller derby. Now that I think about it, she might have come out as nonbinary. I know Moose falls for another girl, whom I wasn't sure about, but she has Moose's back in the end. Worth the read. 4 stars
Death in the Cards by Mia P. Manansala - Absolutely. Amazing. From start to finish I was hooked. Danika runs a tarot card business at her school, where she is suddenly confronted by the sister of her last customer, who questions her about the sister's reading. Come to find out, right after her reading, this girl disappears. Danika and the concerned sister, Gaby, work together to try to find Gaby's sister. I have read Arsenic and Adobo and I enjoyed it but I think I need to read it again and continue the series because I had so much fun. It's not like a thriller or anything but there are some interesting elements other than tarot that make this book stand out. I also liked that Danika was bi which I don't see much often. This is set up to be a series but I don't think it's happening which is unfortunate. No matter what this was an engaging story. 4.5 stars
Family Force V Vol. 1 by Matt Braly - This was about a family that has a generational responsibility and power to stop alien invaders. Just think Power Rangers which is what I was hoping and suspecting when I read the summary. Maise just wants to be a normal teenager who doesn't want to stop everything she's doing to fight the bad guys. She loves her family but she doesn't know whether she wants to be a part of her family legacy. One choice leaves ripples of pain throughout their whole family. Now there is even more pressure to be part of this legacy. It's whether she can embrace the positive aspects of being a superhero, will she let her family down again, or will she choose herself? I was kind of iffy about this for a while. It does have an emotional impact in the beginning. I felt for Maisie, and I've always hated the idea of being forced to do something just because your family wants you to. In the end, it was very enjoyable and a good story featuring family. 4 stars
Daybreak Vol. 2 by Moosopp - This wasn't as cute as the first Daybreak book. I think just because one of the characters was completely oblivious to the other's romantic interest. It was very endearing. This is a cute story featuring Marcus, who I just realized reading this volume, is a trans character, and Cog who is nonbinary. They are both aware of each other's feelings to an extent. Cog tries to impress Marcus, I believe. He's at least more active in wanting to pursue Marcus on a date. There's a lot of silly hijinks. Very cute. 4.5 stars
If I Were a Movie by Zakita N. Jamal - I picked this up because I've been wanting to go to the theater more this year. I've only gone 3 times BUT I haven't gotten in the theaters for years. This is ex-best friends, turn enemies, turn coworkers, turn lovers. Rochelle has just started working at an iconic black theatre but she never would have taken the job if she new Amira worked there. Worst of all she's her boss! I found it hilarious how oblivious Rochelle was about how she didn't stop talking to Amira because she was distracting but because she liked her. Very cute romance. There's also a plotline of trying to save the theatre from being sold but someone is sabotaging them with "pranks" that are hurting the business. This also spoke about Amira being a black latina and not being less because she was Latina as well, which I appreciated. A great read for movie lovers. 4 stars
Carnival Fantástico by Angela Montoya - Ooh, I wanted to like this because I've got to hype up Latina authors when I can but this wasn't the best. I really couldn't get over the miscommunication trope which I feel like no reader likes, so... Otherwise, I liked the competition and magic of it all. Both characters were compelling. This would have rated higher if not for that trope and I still rated it pretty high so you know the writing and world-building are good. 3.5 stars
Eliza, from Scratch by Sophia Lee - This was... heartbreaking. The mother-daughter relationship got to me hard. There was also an element of not feeling connected to your heritage which always gets to me because same. I also love the foodie aspect and the two main love interests were wonderful characters to follow along. I wrote more about this somewhere else but this is a five-star book for a reason so go check it out if the summary appeals to you. 5 stars
Estela, Undrowning by René Peña-Govea - Another banger. Oh my goodness how was this a debut? So many emotions are coming up when thinking of this story. The main character, realizing she has bias herself even while trying to be the "perfect" immigrant's daughter was wild. Estela's voice rang out true. She made mistakes and had to confront her own biases that were put upon her when in America... it doesn't matter that you got to a school based solely on your high-achieving grades. Racist people will still look down on you because you are Latina. Just beautiful. I am still in complete awe of this story and I read it months ago. 5 stars
Marisol Acts the Part by Elle Gonzalez Rose - And the Latinas do it again. I know I've described this book before a little better so all I can really say is this was an amazing read. Marisol wasn't going to let a guy and anyone else see her as a lesser actress. She gets dumped by her boyfriend because she's supposedly just a TV actress who doesn't do anything serious so like Elle in Legally Blonde, she walks up to audition for the second season of a show her ex is on which supposedly is very prestigious and she nails her role. Like it's hard? But it is hard in a way. The producer is an ass and doesn't like anything about her. Marisol learns to find the strength to take back her voice and her individuality. And she is a bi character who happens to be crushing on her ex's co-star. So good. Everyone should read it and thank me later. 5 stars
This Ain't Our First Rodeo by Liara Tamani - For some reason, I've been wanting to read cowboy romances. I believe I have 2 still on my radar, and I have read 2 this year. This one was enjoyable but a little too instalove. I wish there were a little more time with each character. There was some talk about Christianity, which I have no problem with, but others might. I didn't find it preachy, though. I liked the characters and their fighting for each other. It just needed some polishing and possibly more foreshadowing of the big climax at the end of the story. 3.5 stars
You Only Live Twice by Autumn Allen - This is for muslim teens and muslim teens only. I was very interested in reading Zakiyyah's perspective because I haven't read many books with muslim characters. I for sure want to read more. However, it felt like when Spanish isn't translated in fiction books. I love that because I am Latina and it feels like home to me to get to read in my family's language. However, I don't know Zakiyyah's world so this would feel more like it would be a perfect coming-of-age story to muslim teens only. I also wasn't as interested in the story until halfway through. Zakiyyah somehow had convinced her mom to drop out and take college classes. She also convinced her parents that she was ready to find the one. To me, that's completely opposite of the way I grew up and I just couldn't understand it. But it did get me turning the pages faster because I needed to know what would happen between her and Musa. This was set during my high school years, back when I graduated in 2012, where there was (let's be honest, there still is) fear and hatred towards muslims. Zakiyyah decided to wear a burka so you can imagine what looks she got. I loved that she was authentically herself and was bold in her decisions. This is a great teen read for muslim girls to see themselves in. Thanks to Penguin Young Readers Group for letting me read this ARC in exchange for a review. 3.25 stars
The Chismosas Only Book Club by Laekan Zea Kemp - This was Sisters of the Traveling Pants but make it Latina and set in a magical bookshop. This was the perfect read. Cat, Sofia, Ana, and Mari are all going to high school. They created the Chismosas Only Book Club so that they would always be together, even in the margins of a book. Each book is being picked out by what is supposedly the ghost of Cat's great-great-great-grandmother, who started Milagro's Bookstore. The book seems tailored to what the girls need at the time. I admit I got confused a lot with the different characters' names, only because they all had it rough! I really felt for Ana the most. She was the girl who was obsessed with getting good grades because she felt like a failure otherwise. She felt this immense pressure and couldn't say no to her mother who expected her to take extra shifts at the family restaurant even if she had schoolwork, because "you'll figure it out." It's also the fact that she helps take care of her siblings and even her grandmother. I hate when parents put any type of adult responsibility on a child. And it's great she's working because she gets to earn some cash. And it's nice that she's building a relationship with her siblings, but it always goes too far. She is not the parent or the mother. She should have none of that responsibility because it always ends up negatively affecting the child, either then and there, like it did Ana or later on in therapy as an adult. This also explored Cat's relationship with her parents, who always fight. She's the judgy one of the group and unfortunately, I understood her completely. And then there's Sofia, whose grandmother hates everything and anything she loves, which has to do with tarot and brujeria. On top of that, she likes a girl, which is a big no-no to a lot of Catholic abuelas. Mari has her worries about her mother's health and discovers a huge secret about her family. So they are all growing through it and it's such a wonderful journey of heartache, love, discovery, identity, and through it all - friendship. Have tissues on hand when reading this one. Thanks to Penguin Young Readers Group for letting me read this ARC in exchange for a review. 5 stars
Sunflowers and Lavender by Maisy Valais - Another themed book club book where the theme revolved around the library's (not mine, unfortunately) summer reading theme of Plant a Seed, Read. This was about two flustered girls who liked each other but didn't believe it. It was cute. Nothing out of this world. It was a perfect light read that I needed at the time. 4 stars
Everything She Does is Magic by Bridget Morrissey - Why did I read a witchy book story in summer, you may ask? I had to read one for a readathon. And I am so glad I did because this was the most perfect Halloween small town vibes story that I could have read. Darcy is a ver positive person who is skilled at everything. She works at her parents' art shop. Her parents helped make the town grow with tourists retelling stories of magic and wonder within Fableview, but there are no real witches here, right? Enter Anya who is wrapped up in mystery and is a witch with the skill of mending. She needs to find a human friend to promise to protect her or her magic will be stripped. She convinces her parents that Darcy is her friend when secretly she's her crush. With a little push of this impending doom clouding her, Anya starts a tentative friendship with Darcy. Anya is surprisingly the sweetest person. She's just been hurt before and is an introvert so that's why she might come off as brooding. I loved her the most and her quiet positivity. They were such a great match. They both learned to stand up for themselves and become more confident together. A lovely read for any time of the year (but it really is perfect for spooky season). 4 stars
I read a bunch of LGBTQIA+ YA books. It's the coming-of-age of it all that appeals to me. I'd love to continue on this trend. I also want to explore more Muslim stories. And of course, Latino books. This has to be the year I've read the most Latino books in my life. I'm living the good life.
Up next... Middle grade!
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