I only read seven books in July, not including my seven picture book reads. I am hoping this slower pace of reading will help me read a whole bunch of books for the upcoming Little Café Readathon. I am excited to start reading for Team Apple, which is my team for the readathon. Go Team Apple! 📣🍏 I'll be on vacation next visiting my brother next week, so I hope that doesn't mess me up my reading progress too much.
Up Close and Personal by Ana Holguin - I enjoyed seeing Jo dealing with her anxiety and learning how to be brave and step out of her comfort zone despite her fear of change. However, the chemistry between her and Silas was nonexistent to me. I couldn't understand why she liked him; plus the conflict at the end felt added on to make the story keep going. 3.5 stars
You Sound Like a White Girl by Julissa Arce - I found Arce's experiences being a Mexican American woman so fascinating because I never got the sense my family cared about whether you were darker or lighter. Where I live most of the people around me are either Latino or Black (although that changed when I was older). There were also events that she described where Latinos were killed that I did not know about. She also identifies as Indigenous and writes about how she tried so hard to be white but in the end she would never be accepted in that group so why not be yourself? 4.5 stars
Brewed with Love by Shelly Page - Two ex's end up having to work together to find out who purposely gave an unverified potion to a fellow classmate who lost their memories. This had some interesting mystery elements. But it was ridiculous that the teen witch couldn't figure out her ex was a werewolf the whole time, especially since it was obvious from the jump and created unnecessary conflict between them. 3.25 stars
Bad Cheerleaders by Alex Thayer - This older middle-grade story follows Bag as she tries to solve the mystery behind her sister Minerva's suspicious behavior during cheerleading practice. I really enjoyed Bag's personality, and I loved that she was an avid reader despite having dyslexia, a secret she hid out of fear of being teased by her sister. While the heavy parental drama affected both sisters in different ways, I didn't like how hot-and-cold Minerva was to Bag for no reason. It took a while for Bag to catch onto the mystery, but the suspense around the cheerleading secrets kept me hooked and is perfect for preteens/early teens. It was a little too dramatic for me. 3.5 stars
Safety Net by Deanna Grey - I enjoyed Celeste and Lincoln as individual characters, especially following Celeste's perspective and exploring her severe social anxiety, a possible demisexual identity, and passion for making her musical. As for Lincoln, he felt a bit directionless and hard to read at times, but I guess that was the point since he was struggling with school and feeling stuck before finally reaching out for help. While I liked them both individually, I just didn't feel the spark between them because they barely had moments where they were together to build that chemistry. 3.25 stars
American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures edited by America Ferrera - This was an amazing anthology featuring Indigenous, Asian, Black, Latino and queer celebrities sharing their experiences as immigrants or first-generation Americans. I don't usually read short stories, but this book was so impactful that there way only one story I didn't care for, and the rest made me want to go back and take notes on each one. My absolute favorite story followed a woman who played basketball as a teen with a diverse group of friends where she faced racism. She later channeled her grief in losing her sister into a passion for social justice. Loved this one! 4.5 stars
Elfie's Grimoire by Audrey Alwett and Christophe Arleston - This was my first ARC in a long time, and I am so happy to finally be getting back into reading advanced reader copies. It's a cozy fantasy book with a lot of drama, a great magic system, and a wonderful sisterhood dynamic that you can read about in my full review post. 3.75 stars
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