YA – Page 11 – Cannonball Read 17

“Like any dealer he was watching for the card that is so high and wild”

Every Gift a Curse (2023) by Caroline O'Donoghue

February 18, 2023 by drmllz Leave a Comment

“I can feel our bravery fall away as we journey into the wood. We are not built for this. We are not the folksy teenagers you see in adventure stories. There is no one who’s a dab hand at archery, or who can chart our journey by looking at the last few visible stars.” (371-372) Every Gift a Curse is the third and final in Irish author Caroline O’Donoghue’s YA ‘Gifts’ trilogy, following All Our Hidden Gifts (2021) and The Gifts That Bind Us (2022). […]

At the very crowded intersection of Black History and Banned Books

Black Was the Ink by Michelle Coles

February 13, 2023 by ElCicco Leave a Comment

CBR15passport new to you authors On February 1, the first day of Black History month, the news hit that fascist Governor DeSantis disapproved of the curriculum for the AP African American History course and would ban it from being taught in Florida. Not long after this story aired, it was revealed that Florida officials and AP officials had been negotiating the content of this course for some time and it looks like the AP/College Board basically caved to reactionary political demands and agreed to censor […]

A lovely little book.

Lucky Caller by Emma Mills

February 6, 2023 by narfna Leave a Comment

There’s just something about Emma Mills’s writing. I don’t read a lot of contemporary YA because it doesn’t do much for me, but her stuff does. It’s just so lovely and well-written and full of characters that seem very real, and her writing is always funny and addictive. This one also has a fun premise that really called to me. Our main character, Nina, lives with her mom and two sisters in a small Indianapolis apartment. Her dad is a rather famous morning radio host […]

A Little Women “Re-miss”

So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. Morrow

February 4, 2023 by jomidi Leave a Comment

My YA book group selection for February is So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. Morrow. It is a take off of Little Women where the family is recently freed slaves and the time period is the civil war. I assume it was selected for Black History Month. The March family in this book are Mammie and her 4 girls: Meg a teacher, Jo a writer, Beth a seamstress, and Amy a dancer (although these nicknames are based on different names […]

I do love the cover of this book, especially paired with the title. It makes me laugh.

The Feeling of Falling in Love by Mason Deaver

February 1, 2023 by narfna Leave a Comment

This was a cute story and well written, but I didn’t connect to it emotionally as much as I did with Deaver’s first book, I Wish You All the Best. Deaver still plays with themes of gender nonconformity and coming of age while queer and discovering your sexuality and gender identity, but their main character is a much more difficult and complicated person (read: kind of an asshole). This is also a romance, though as with their first book, the main character’s emotional growth is […]

A lot to unpack in this short, supernatural mystery

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

January 30, 2023 by genericwhitegirl 2 Comments

There is nothing in this book that I relate to. I am not a 16-year old, gay, black, male. And I definitely don’t see ghosts or ghouls. But Jake is and does. And as extraordinary as he is, he still deals with all the other ordinary things a teenager deals with. So Jake’s life is…complicated…to say the least. Jake’s ordinary life concerns living in the shadow of his big brother, growing apart from friends, and getting to know the cute new student at his school […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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