I had problems with this book, honestly. I know it was tackling a difficult subject. I know that I am not the one to be evaluating and judging the well-being of suicidal teens, and the protagonist of this book is literally a boy planning to commit suicide, and he wants to take some people with him. Leonard’s confessional is all cynicism, antipathy, and naive self-centeredness, and right out of the gate his corrosive rationalizations for wanting to kill his classmate and himself are brashly laid […]
Am I getting to old for this shit?
As I tiptoe closer to my 30s I am constantly reminded that I am not a Young Adult. This isn’t to say The Upside of Unrequited isn’t a wonderful fine YA novel, I’m just old. I just struggle to connect to today’s teen stories although I wish YA had been this diverse when I was an actual young adult. Also, I had to google to difference between pansexual and bisexual (used in Being Jazz and Upside) which made me feel old and out of touch. “I mean, here’s the thing I don’t […]
“The trouble with denial is that when the truth comes, you aren’t ready.”
I’ve been somewhat slow with my reviews lately, mostly because the books that I’ve been reading have taken me a bit of time to process. In fact, I’m not quite sure I’m done figuring them out yet. I first saw We are Okay at the library on the new YA shelf. The cover drew me in, it had those same dreamy pinks and blues as the Paper Girls cover, and it just looked so familiar to me. Going in to read it, I had no […]
“Her voice carried the voices of a hundred thousand souls in it; a whole history of resistance and rage moved with her.”
3.5 stars And my cantankerous/ambivalent streak continues. Shadowshaper had so many the elements of a book I should have really liked: an inventive, unique fantasy and magic practice, a foundation in folklore that hasn’t been done to death, a dynamic protagonist, and a diverse, reliable, realistic support system for that protagonist. Additionally, the audiobook was masterfully performed by Anika Noni Rose, making Shadowshaper a joy to listen to. But something about the book, that I can’t quite put a finger on other than having this […]
Meeting new friends and reuniting with old
This is a collection of short stories, most of which take place in Tamora Pierce’s Tortallan Universe. Well, six do, and four take place in other fantasy settings, and there’s one nonfantasy story that was inspired by one of Pierce’s early jobs. I liked all of them, although one of them was a bit spoilery for me, as I haven’t read the books that it follows. (They’re sitting in my TBR pile right now, actually.) “Student of Ostriches” This story follows Kylaia, a young […]
A Twisted Trip Down the Yellow Brick Road
I should start this review by saying that I am a huge Oz nerd. One of my favorite books when I was a kid was the Wizard of Oz and I went on to read most of the sequels. I have seen the movie so many times because I was born in the 70s and it was always on TV at least once a year. Plus I’ve seen the Wiz, read Wicked, and probably think about how awesome life would be in Oz. But since […]
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