Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas My rating: 5 of 5 starsCW: violence, mis-gendering, exploration of parent death, references to blood magic and ritualsFirst things first, narrator Avi Roque does an amazing job reading this book. I was glad to see that not only is the book #ownvoices, but so is the narration! Please note that… Continue reading Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas is a wonderful queer YA debut novel
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston My rating: 4 of 5 starsOur protagonist August is a 23-year-old student who's been college and major-hopping for a while because she doesn't know what she wants to do with her life once she's done with college. That's partly because she grew up with a mother entrenched in the… Continue reading One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston is a fun queer romantic comedy with a lot of diverse representation
Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words by Annika Sharma My rating: 4 of 5 starsThe Chai Masala Club series by Annika Sharma, which begins with Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words, has a lovely premise. Four South Asian friends with various backgrounds are living in New York City. They're all in their thirties, and decide… Continue reading Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words by Annika Sharma is a cute multicultural slow-burn/strangers-to-friends-to-lovers
Fairest by Gail Carson Levine My rating: 4 of 5 starsI remember enjoying Ellla Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine when I was younger, so I was excited to try Fairest, another book in that universe. In this installment, Levine uses several plot elements from the classic Snow White story.Our first person point-of-view character, Aza, is… Continue reading The full-cast recording of Fairest by Gail Carson Levine is a great YA fantasy for Broadway-lovers
Girl, Unstrung by Claire Handscombe My rating: 4 of 5 starsGirl, Unstrung is a contemporary YA book about Clara, a high school freshman who has three siblings and semi-famous parents in her blended family. She auditioned as a violist to attend LACHSA, the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, but did not make… Continue reading Girl, Unstrung by Claire Handscombe is a pleasant contemporary YA novel that shows needed love to violists
Off the Grid by Kay Richard My rating: 3 of 5 stars 2.5 stars that I'm rounding up to a 3. The author tells 90% of the time and shows 10% of the time and that isn't a pleasant ratio for me. The worldbuilding is also lackluster.I read the ebook version of Off the Grid,… Continue reading Off the Grid by Kay Richard is a debut novel that tells more than it shows
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