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while i liked this book initially, i found out that the author is pro i$r@3l... no thank you.
tw: murder, blood, death of loved ones, bullying, animal cruelty, and use of the r-word (idk i'd it's the translations fault but yeah that's a thing)
the rollercoaster of emotions that i felt in those last few chapters whew!!
cw: death of a loved one, grief, school shooting, mentions of gun violence, suicide, islamophobia and racism
rep: Lebanese American, Muslim MC, MC with a Speech Impediment.
Jasmine Warga did it again y'all!! This book was so beautifully written. Warga brings up very serious and difficult theme with gun violence which is something that plagues America every single year. I loved how the novel doesn't expand on the event itself. But, leaves the reader to understand what happened with the brief mentions and conversations that the characters have. It shows the aftermath between the family of a victim and the family of the shooter. And how that affects even the strongest of bonds.
I loved this book so much. Between the gorgeous writing and the characters. This is definitely a book i would recommend to everyone that's not triggered by any of the themes that this book hits.
Also can I just say that I love the adults in this book. Especially Cora's dad and Grandma. I loved how involved and how they were always there for her. On the other hand... throw Quinn's dad away lol.
Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the e-ARC in exchange of an honest review.
Wow! I was already a huge fan of Elizabeth's spoken word poem this is based on. But wow, the poem paired with the illustrations made me love it even more.
“We are the best at swallowing amnesia in a cup of morir soñando: DIE DREAMING. Because it seems easier to do that than live in this REALITY”
That hits different.
I recommend watching her spoken word version if you liked this and viceversa.
read with the kid i tutor.
this one was much better than the bad seed. it was so cute. i really loved the message of self care and that you can't change people. it was so wholesome. the kid also really loved it she gives it 5 stars
I have no idea what i just read. This book was weird yet i liked the weirdness. The themes the author touched were great and well done. But, this book just left me with more questions than answers. The train of thought writing style left me confused as to in who's head we were in. It went from one character then the next. Honestly, by the end everyone meshed together for me and i didn't know who was who. I am a fan of open endings but this one was way too open not enough explanation of the context that the characters were dealing with at the end. I do see how this book can work for other readers. It isn't a bad but it just wasn't for me.
i read this with the kid i tutor
i really liked it!!! the kid really liked it she gives it 5/5 stars
Elizabeth Acevedo has done it again guys. She can do no wrong and anyone who disagrees and keep your opinions to yourself and let me be okay? okay.So where do I even begin? Liz's writing is beautiful, it's simple yet poetic, she really has a way with words. This book has some of my new favorite quotes like “The world is a turntable that never stops spinning; as humans we merely choose the tracks we want to sit out and the ones that inspire us to dance.”And“I'm constantly having to give people geography and history lessons on how my grandmother's hometown is 65 percent Afro–Puerto Rican, on how the majority of slaves were dropped off in the Caribbean and Latin America, on how just because our Black comes with bomba and mofongo doesn't mean it isn't valid.”That last one hit me hard. As an Afro-Latina myself I often have to explain the same thing to people.JUST BECAUSE MY BLACK COMES WITH MERENGUE AND MANGU DOESN'T MEAN IT ISN'T VALID!!!I love how this book focus's on Emoni's love life. Not only with the love interest that comes into her life. But mainly with her Daughter and her love of cooking. This is a story of family and how you're not only born into it. But, you can also find it in people you would never think of finding it. Emoni starts off with just her Daughter and Buela. And by the end of the book she grows to accept that she isn't alone in the world. That there's so many people who are willing to help and support her in the next step of her life. And that my friends is beautiful!Also can we talk about how the baby daddy is actually in the baby's life. That made me happy so see that we're breaking the “missing baby daddy” stereotypes!! Even though Emoni wants to lowkey smack him upside the head but tbh same lmao!! Tyrone isn't the best character, he says and does dumb things. But you can see that he try's his best to be in Babygirl's life, and I love that. I will link my full review here that I will post on YouTube later this month!PS: Read [b:The Poet X 33294200 The Poet X Elizabeth Acevedo https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1498766234s/33294200.jpg 54024746] if you haven't already hehhehe
Techinically a 3.5/5 but this book deserves the added .5 because my heart!!!
This book had me in a rollercoaster of emotions. But I'm so happy to see more books about black love that doesn't center trauma. I mean yes these characters went through a lot between their relationship, their family, and life in general. The author takes the overdone white cishet insta love trope and made it her own and I love that. I definitely recommend this book to EVERYONE!!! please don't sleep on this book yall.
TW: the death of parent, parents divorce, surgery, racism, ableism, and mention of attempted suicide.
I will post a mini review later this week and full in depth review closer to the release date. Thanks to HarperCollins for sending me an ARC.
what. the. heck. i'm absolutely floored. like what!!
Books CW: Murder, Mentions of attempted rape, Gang rape, Abuse, Ablest, Racist, Fatphobic and Homophobic comments.
I was initially very intrigued by this book because it's the only book by Tiffany D. Jackson that I haven't read yet (she's rapidly becoming a favorite). I really enjoyed my time reading it. There were a few things that I didn't like. Like the ableist, fatphobic, and homophobic comments some characters made. Also the mc was (apparently) diagnosed with ADHD but that couldn't be because she was “too smart”(??). I have ADHD and that lowkey hurt a bit i'm not going to lie. The ending left me for a loop it was a what's the truth? my whole life is a lie, type of situation. And I was kinda here for it. I loved that the author left us with more questions than answers. And how the end was left to the readers interpretation.
All in all this was a good debut and I know that TDJ's books just keep getting better. Which has me even more excited for what she has in store in the future.
Before I start let me state the trigger warnings on this book: mentions of rape, murder, blood and substance abuse. So if you're triggered by any of these please go into this book with caution.
I gave this book 4/5 detectives I really enjoyed this book guys! I was lowkey surprised because I am picky with my mysteries. But I was really shooked at how dark it got at tiimes. It was really well done.
I loved the characters so much I just wanted to protect them. Charlotte and her sarcastic smartass sense of humour and her can fight for herself badass attitude. I loved her character, she was smart and kick butt at the same time. She don't need anyone to fight for her. And then Jamie, my cinnamon roll of a son. He is caring, sometimes a bit clueless, but will fight if you get on his bad side. I loved that their relationship in this book for the majority is their friendship and how disfuncional it could be. It had a but of lovey feels at the end but it was mainly how their friendship developed.
I liked how the author implemented the actual tales of Sherlock in the book. I personally never read or watched anything of Sherlock. But it was cool to see the stories being sprinkled in here and there in the book.
I will say I wish there was a bit more diversity. And also the ending was a bit predictable. I guessed who did it a chapter or two before. But the events that happens in the end were interesting enough that still had me surprised
3.75/5 stars
Lets ignore the fact that it took me almost TWO WEEKS to read this...
Anyways.. I really enjoyed this book, it was cute and fluffy. BUT it was also not what i was expecting.
WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!
Things I loved
- Percy and Felicity
They were my faves I love them so much and they deserve the world.
- Percy and Monty's relationship development
Yes I'm not the biggest fan of Monty but their development is adorable and the letter he sent his dad about them running away together is the softest thing everrr!!!!
- The adventure
I had a love hate relationship with the adventure. I liked the concept of a grand tour of Europe but it was nothing like what I was expecting.
Things I didn't like
- M O N T Y (dont @ me)
I disliked him 90% of the time
- THE ADVENTURE???
Like I was saying i literally went into this book thinking it was going to be a cute read about three pals in a tour of Europe. BUT NO It was nothing like that. It had pirates and a weird ass family it was lowkey a mess.
- Monty's Dad....
he can choke okay..
All and all I enjoyed reading it and i would recommend it. I'm excited for the next book because its in felicity's pov and i neeeeeedddd it.
ps.. do y'all think that fel is aroace? I think so because of the way she was like eh about kissing and all that but Idk what do y'all think?
*4.5
This book was so beautiful I made me cry, laugh, and make me be more thankful for my brother and sister. This book is easily one of my new favorites and I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes one of my top favorites of the year.
Writing: I personally read this book by a combination of audiobook and ebook. From the parts that I physically read I really liked Robin Benway's writing. I felt like I was there with Grace, Maya, and Joaquin.
Plot: This book was different for me because I've never read a book that centers around adoption. Personally I thought that this book executed it very well. Although I cannot really give my opinion about if its represented well or not because I don't know much about adoption. I do recommend to look for a review from someone that has been through it, because its very important.
Characters: I loved the characters soooo much they deserve the world. I cried a lot in Grace's PoV because sometimes I just wanted to jump into the book and give her a hug. Maya was annoying at times but I loved her sense of humor and the fact that she was queer. I liked how accepting her parents were when she came out. And Finally my baby Joaquin, THIS BOY DESERVES ETERNAL HAPPINESS!!!!. Also buddy was half latinx so you already know!!. An honorable mention is Rafe he was so pure and really cares about Grace, he was there when she needed someone.
Enjoyment: If you haven't noticed yet, I reeeaaaallllyyy enjoyed this book. Please read it!
Trigger warnings: Slut Shaming
TW: Slut Shaming
I gave this book 3.5/5☆
I really enjoyed myself while reading it but it wasn't mindblowing or AMAZING... it was just okay. Most of the characters annoyed the heck out of me. Especially the main character. I hated that people in her town slut shamed her, that's not okay. But sometimes I just wanted to smackahoe because she would make the DUMBEST decisions and she didn't think about how others would feel if the would find out. She just did it and would act the victim when people found out. I also COULD NOT STAND Patrick, he was an asshole and he can choke.
The writing was okay, it was quick and easy to read. I liked the day by day consept and it made it fast paced but, there's one thing I will say. I felt like the storyline was a little confusing at first because its like you're thrown into the middle of a story. I wish there was a prologue that explained what happened in the past a bit.
Personally, I would only recommend this book if you like fluffy contemporary or if you're in a reading slump. Because this book helped me get out of one.
edit: this review aged like milk lmao no
My heart.. I loved this book since the second I picked it up. It was an easy read but I had to pause just to take it all in. I love Maxon and America so much. I don't know why people dislike America she is so genuine, so what if she had feelings for Maxon too. Aspen broke up with her and hurt her. She didn't expect to fall for Maxon but it happened. I SHIP SOOOOOO HARD LIKE MY BABIES I CRY