Elliot Starr
If you like dinosaurs you NEED to read this book. It is perfect for all ages (I'm 17 and absolutely loved it) from 5th grade and up. The illustrations paired with lot of scientific information was amazing and the explanations were easy to understand. It was funny informative, showed an ACCURATE depiction of mesozoic creatures, and overall a joy to read.
Dear YA authors, please please PLEASE stop trying to use "Gen-Z" slang, I promise you it does absolutely nothing for us.
That being said this was a really entertaining murder mystery thriller and I couldn't put it down. I very much enjoyed this book.
Contains spoilers
This is definitely one of my new favorite books. Queer romance in a time loop?! Yes please. The themes of friendship family, mental health, and stepping outside of your comfort zone were beautifully explored throughout the novel and I personally though the time loop sci-fi aspects were really cool. Needless to say I couldn't put the book down since starting it and I was engaged the whole way through. I really like how we started already over 300 days into the time loop but still get to hear about the early days a bit.
I loved the main character - Clark - he was so likable and so sweet from the start and his character development with his family dynamics and friendships was amazing (Clark has incredible emotional maturity?!?!). I also loved Beau, I wish we got to learn more about him though because his character was so interesting. I am mad about him ditching Clark who was nothing but kind and understanding to him for like 50 days but I get that he was scared of not being able to escape and he mostly made up for it in the end. The last quarter of the book had me breathless due to the anticipation and when the end finally came tears were shed (happy tears!!)
Rep: Gay POC main character (described as having olive skin), gay black love interest, poc side characters
Content/trigger warnings: death of a child to illness (past), divorced parents & strained family relationships
This was very much a guilty pleasure read for me... and I loved it. I knew exactly what was going to happen all the way up to the end but it was just such an entertaining story. I really liked the ending, this was a very fast, drama-filled, and feel good book.
As someone who likes collecting stuff (everything dinosaur related, rocky horror related, and coins I find on the ground) the entire concept of this book was really intriguing to me.
This was a really cool and strange anthology with each story vastly different from the next. My personal favorites were Take it From Me (by David Levithan) (nonbinary protagonist and love interest!!), Ring of Fire (by Jenny Torres Sanchez), and Sweet Everlasting (by M.T. Anderson)
Some stories get a bit dark so content warning for racism, abuse, and death/abandonment of family but nothing too triggering in my opinion.
I absolutely loved this one of a kind fantasy anthology featuring EXCLUSIVELY nonbinary/ genderqueer protagonists by EXCLUSIVELY nonbinary/genderqueer authors. Made me tear up in some places. I truly enjoyed reading every story even if I connected with some more than others. Some personal favorites were: Breathe (by Brian Wolf) (I don't like fireworks wither Shirley!!), Finding Alex (by Joamette Gil and Corey Ranson), Love Letters (by Rii Abrego), and The Lungs of Jeju (by Sunmi) but I really loved them all.
- bipoc rep!!
- nondivergent rep!!
- stories about grief and loss (tw loss of parents and friends)
- queer romance
- list of possible triggers for each story in the back!!
Contains spoilers
This was a classic post-apocalyptic YA book centered around a friends- to-lovers slow-burn queer romance (that was written by an actual queer person!!!) and I truly loved it.
One of the biggest things that made it such a good read is the authentic YA voice with current pop culture references scattered throughout (for example The Good Place and The Avengers) that teens can actually relate to without it seeming juvenile or "cringy". I loved the writing style and didn't want to put it down. The characters were both so loveable and Andrew was SO funny and their relationship with just so sweet and realistic and even though she was only introduced towards the end I loved Cara.
My only real complaint is that it felt like a LOT was squeezed into the last few chapters of the book and I wish it was maybe more spread out.
Content warnings- many deaths due to illness or guns (note that this is a post-apocalyptic novel), mentions of suicide (not graphic at all), and encounters with a white supremacists group who try to hurt the protagonists for being gay.
Would very much recommend for lovers of post-apocalyptic novels and slow but sweet gay romances.
I love this book so much. The writing style is beautiful to me and the plot around the pandemic is just so interesting to me. I am so curious to know what happened to Kirsten in Year One but I don't think there's going to be another book sadly. If anyone has any recommendations for similar books I would love to hear it.
This is a warning sign for our future in the form of a post-apocalyptic dystopian novel.
Reading The Electric Kingdom was like putting together pieces of a jigsaw puzzle (note that I LOVE puzzles). There is some light romance, a theme of family, and note a slight trigger warning for sexual assault (it is not described at all just mentioned).
This book reminds me in a strange way of the 2016 movie Arrival... I won't give too much away but you should really really read this book.
Also the story of Kit calling Dakota "my Dakota" is so heart-meltingly sweet.
Really solid anthology- I think I enjoyed every story (except the House of Usher retelling just because I'm not really into crypto/hacking/computer stuff). I really appreciated the normalization of queerness and all the different cultures represented authentically (Caribbie, Filipino, etc.)
Obviously since these are Poe retellings they are about dark stuff like murder but here are some more specific content warnings for stories that need them:
Night-Tide: Homophobia, suicide attempt (?)
The Glittering Death: Kidnapping, drugging, torture, violence against girls
Changeling: Abuse, implied SA
Lygia: Cancer
I did not expect much for this book. I saw it at the library and wasn't going to check it out but I'm so glad I did. It was so different from any other dystopian/apocalyptic novel I had ever read, set several generations after the disaster, and that made me unsure if I even wanted to finish it but something about the writing kept drawing me in and eventually I couldn't put it down if I wanted to. I won't give away anything but the twists and turns of this book were completely unexpected which made it so fun to read. Overall really great writing and an amazing plot, definitely one of my new favorites.
I feel seen.
I feel seen through my nonbinary-ness, I feel seen through my queerness, and I feel seen in my neurodivergence.
I absolutely adored this book, I think it might just be my favorite. The characters felt so realistic and relatable and the magical realism explored through a beautiful use of imagery was enticing. It was like a breath of fresh air to read something so respectful to transgender identities and I love that while trauma was addressed, nothing severely tragic to the main characters which I feel is rare in queer romance books. Their love is so healthy, they love everything about each other even the "flaws".
Can't recommend enough especially to trans/nonbinary and neurodiverse folks. 10/10
Content warnings: Bullying, homophobia/transphobia
If you are doing a deep dive into Rocky Horror history for a research project then this is the book for you- but if you are looking for a fun book because you like the movie and want to know more I would recommend The Rocky Horror Picture Show Book by Bill Henkin instead.
I'm a super nerd who loves Rocky Horror and even for me this was hard to get through because while the depth it goes into is commendable, it makes it very boring and difficult to read (in the most respectful way).
I read this book back in 6th grade before I knew what anorexia or SA or abuse even were. Flash forward to my high school years and I have experienced all the things that this book covers and the memory of reading it in 6th grade came back to me because it accurately depicted how I felt and it made me feel less alone, like someone understood. Amazing, inspiring, heartbreaking, lifechanging book.
