Little Café Readathon Week 1 // Reading for Team Apple

I recently got back from my trip to Minnesota where I visited my brother and his fiancé. I always find it incredible how different other places are compared to Florida. I was able to read 2 books for Team Apple which is my team which means I was able to complete 1 order. TBH I thought I would read more so I need to plan out my Team Pineapple reads a lot better this week.

Apple Spritz: A Book Published This Year

For 16-year-old Ellie, beach volleyball camp is a disaster until she's paired with Sierra, an athletic prodigy who teaches her that volleyball...and love are about taking the right shot in this sporty sapphic romance.

Ellie dates the Right Guy, says all the Right Things, and acts the Right Way to avoid being ridiculed for her autism. When that Right Guy unceremoniously dumps her right before they're supposed to go to beach volleyball camp together, Ellie's perfectly curated world comes crashing down and she's labeled the boring, weird girl. 

Desperate to regain her good reputation (and yeah, sure, the boy...), Ellie goes to Camp SMASH, which is nothing like she expected. There, she's paired with Sierra, a mysterious, standoffish volleyball legacy who makes Ellie's quest to get her boyfriend back even more complicated...

Dive into this sporty summer romance full of the a ragtag group of friends, a tense game of capture the flag, and a swoon-worthy sapphic love story.

At only 245 pages, this was on the shorter end for a YA book. Although it would have been nice to have some background scenes of Ellie being the popular girl and more build-up for the reveal of the rules, I ultimately got what I came for - a cute, summery sapphic book. Reading Ellie's rules for herself to basically stop being bullied in High School was heartbreaking. She limited so much of what made her her to make herself more palatable to others, but after she goes to camp you see her open up, make new friends, and not care if she laughs too loud. I liked her perspective as an autistic character discovering her interests in girls.

Ellie's love interest is Sierra, a grumpy volleyball legacy who is dealing with her own issues of seeking approval from her father and pushing people away to focus on volleyball. Their romance is very cute and supportive of each other. Even with their grumpy x sunshine dynamic, I would say they both were very caring and likable characters. They had a deal where Sierra would teach Ellie how to be vulnerable again, and in return Ellie would take extra volleyball lessons. There was also an extra layer to the story with a sibling dynamic, since Ellie and her twin brother, Noah, were trying to reform a bond Ellie broke just to fit in. Noah loves camp, has a good group of friends there he can feel like himself around, and is such a good brother who would warn Ellie about her best friend even when she pushed him away. I did not understand how she immediately told her brother her rules and decided right then and there to find herself again without any development, but it still turned out to be a light, fluffy, and very enjoyable summer romance.

Apple Tart: A Book with 2 POVs

Imogen Quinn is a chaotic bisexual with dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian, crushing stereotypes about autistic people. When she decides to put on a pride festival that’s accessible for everyone, she enlists the help of the openly gay captain of the football team, Ollie Armstrong.

Dealing with the fallout from his parents’ divorce, Ollie is initially hesitant. But it doesn’t take long for him to be swept up by Imogen’s passion, and he’s not the only one. Joined by the (infuriatingly perfect) head girl, musicians, an artist and a star baker – a dream team soon assembles to help plan pride and tackle injustices in their school and beyond. You’d better listen out – they’re getting ready to make some noise.

Imogen Quinn jumps off the page with her dry humor and her determination to create an inclusive Pride festival. She is a bisexual, autistic character who tells it like it is. After her ex-friends abandon her at a Pride festival, she very directly tells them why they are no longer friends, which prompts her to start an activist group. And who better to co-host her group than Oliver, the openly gay captain of the football team? He reluctantly agrees, trying to be a good role model for his younger sister after his parents' marriage implodes. Together, they go through ups and downs but come together with their fellow members to create a better, more inclusive community around them, despite pushback from school administrators.

Both Imogen and Ollie are dealing with their own issues at home. Imogen has a father on the local town council who she argues with daily. She feels misunderstood by both of her parents, but she doesn't let that stop her from being herself. Ollie and Imogen become fast friends, even working together to find out why Ollie's parents are divorcing. I really liked Ollie as a friend and a big brother; he was so sweet and owned up to the mistakes he made within his friendship with Imogen.

The group of friends in the activist group was very diverse. I liked how it wasn't just about making an inclusive Pride festival, but also tackling other problems like gendered bathrooms. I've never given the bathroom issue great thought, but it was interesting to see how limiting it is when only one single "family" bathroom is provided for both nonbinary people and people with disabilities. There was also a romance subplot between Imogen and another member of the group, which I saw coming right away. I loved that they were both strong-willed people who cared about justice and fighting for the underrepresented. Overall, this was a wonderful story about friendship that really made me think!

Final Thoughts

All right, now it's time for me to plan my reading for Team Pineapple. Hopefully, I get to more books now that I am home this week. I did read 36 pages of Always be My Bibi for Team Apple so I will try to finish it on the last week of August. So far I have banked 13 points for my team. I really need to do more mini events!