Kate Mester
As always, Bahni Turpin delivered a genius audio performance. I appreciated the meditative interiority of this novel and how Gyasi deliver yet another masterclass in novel structure and narrative layers. Some truly gorgeous writing at the sentence level as well, enough to stop the book repeatedly and listen a few times over to appreciate. Tragic and contemplative, with some humorous wry observations, and ruminations on science and religion and selfhood that will stick with me. Very different from Homegoing but just as impressive.
Heartbreakingly beautiful when as she's engaging with her emotions and unearthing deeper understanding about her mother's death. Really hard to read when she's writing from the actual transcripts of what happened to her mother and the communication between her mother & Big Joe.
I too felt like 12 gerbils in a skin suit in my 20s, and am definitely glad they're over! This is getting compared to an American version of Queenie (unfavorably to Luster, I think) but other than they're both about a Black woman in her 20s figuring out work and relationships they're not similar at all in tone, writing style, or really even content. The remove/cold observation of the style wasn't really for me. I finished the book to see it through, and liked some of the writing, but the audiobook was just ok.
Great audio by actress Carey Mulligan. It got a bit repetitive and the conclusion was clear about halfway through, but it was uplifting in a way that feels particularly needed now. Read a little about the book/author after completion and it added a little more complexity knowing Matt Haig is open about his own mental health journey and how that informed the book.
Really well written and believable, with a few laugh-out-loud lines. As a Midwesterner, Johnson nailed the Indiana setting/atmosphere to the wall, it was so right. Liz felt like a real teenager, and all the secondary characters had nuance and depth. This book is light-hearted enough to sell to romance or prom fans, but has enough grit to also sell to fans of drama/realistic stories. Queer and intersectional in such a loving and supportive way, with an #ownvoices author who hits it out of the park for a first book. Snarkily - this is what Smash It wanted to be - definitely hand kids this instead!
4.5 Great audio performed by Atta himself, I'll have to look at the book for the illustrations! Enjoyable novel-in-verse on finding yourself and your identity when you feel between/not enough in so many of your identities. UK setting will be a nice window for US teen readers. Loved the ending and freedom of the drag performance and how Atta took some time to give thoughtful explanations for what drag is and can be.
4.5 Thoughtful memoir about his years growing up, high school, and into college. I appreciated his frank discussion about his first sexual encounters and believe we need more of that for teens and especially queer teens. Will be a great mirror text for many kids, even if he did a little more telling than showing (though he did write manifesto in the title so this was intentional). I could definitely listen to stories about Nanny all day!
3.5 Park Hong narrates the book herself. The first essay is the standout, I'd reread that again and it definitely should have a place in high school and college classes. I liked her more personal essays, especially the essay about her college friends and their relationships. In the second half where she deviated from the personal didn't feel as strong, but her exploration of the concept of minor feelings was memorable. I need to seek out her poetry next.
ALC thanks to Libro.FM: The audiobook was really well done, with a full cast reminiscent of Sadie's podcast-style audiobook. Teens will definitely enjoy this one, and I've heard good feedback from some of my students. Pippa's a bit modern-day-Nancy-Drew, where everything comes too easily to her (everyone just confesses everything to a teenager?!) and there's no real character depth, but the mystery is light and satisfyingly twisty. And I say light, but really there's murder/suicide/drug use/date rape/bullying/animal cruelty, but as nothing is graphically described, and there's no real character development other than Pippa's a good girl/savior type, you're allowed as the reader to kind of float above any bad stuff that would make reading this too realistic (very much unlike Sadie).
Loved Bone Gap, and this was a Printz silver, so I wanted to like it more than I did. The parallel stories were sometimes a little jarring on who was narrating, and though there are many deep and emotional incidents happening and revealed to have happened, I never felt fully moved by or connected to the characters. I think part of the lack of engagement was that Ruby, in a book of ghosts and magical realism, hammered away at the main point so obviously that it detracted from the experience..
I was so excited for this book and it delivered, but could definitely have used some editing/tightening up. Excited to see what the Obama's will do for the TV adaptation. I appreciated how immersive the reading experience was, and that's credit to Boulley's world building and cultural teachings and sharing, but this book tried to do too much at once and didn't truly move until the last quarter. Daunis is such a fully realized character and there's so much of this book that I'll keep thinking about. Would recommend for upper high school - college - adult.
This. Audiobook. THIS. AUDIOBOOK! His work here is stellar. His writing is always phenomonal and humane and funny and current and real, but as a poet by trade he performs this book like a prose poem and it is a treat. I'm planning to re-read it as a physical copy as well, because some of his asides must look really interesting on the page. I very much appreciated that this was a remix, not just a straight YA retelling, of Dr. Kendi's work, with Jason's voice all over it. Because of this, he really focused on his own idol, Angela Davis, and highlighted her journey in each chapter. I definitely need to read more of her work, so I appreciate a lens on her. This would make an excellent lit circle book, and parts of the audio would be great integrated into Social Studies lessons. A must read for all ages. Thanks to Libro.FM for giving free audiobooks to librarians/educators - if you haven't signed up for their program, do it!
Really enjoyed reading this, a thoughtful and engaging experience. I like how Bennett wove the stories through time and how real the characters felt.
Well written, moving, suspenseful, and so engaging, this is a fictionalized version of the Latasha Harlins murder and the LA Uprisings of ‘92 . Cha weaves the plot and character threads so deftly. There were some passages that I read a few times and thought - yes, yes that's EXACTLY how you explain that feeling, WOW, Cha! A strongly recommended read.
“Family, whether biological or not, is supposed to support you, but that doesn't mean no one can ever tell you that you're wrong, or that any form of critique is an attack. And yes, sometimes the words involved are harsh. But as adults, as people who are doing hard work, you cannot expect your feelings to be the center of someone else's struggle.”
An excellent critique of white-centered feminism and the feminist movement overall. I learned and shifted some thinking on many of the topics. The chapters on schools, parenting, and how we adultify young girls are particularly relevant to teachers. Stongly recommended to every adult.
All the stars. I loved every single second of this audiobook.14 hours that I truly savored and didn't want to end. I laughed and smiled and shook my head and cathartic cried. James McBride & Dominic Hoffman - this writing, this humanity, this story weaving and performance - thank you, this is a masterpiece.
Good world building in this fantasy centering around ancient Arabia. The plot points were a bit by-the-numbers, it was VERY long, and not all of the characters get depth, but I thought the audiobook was so well done; I think it kept me going when parts were dragging. Recommend for fantasy lovers, have already had some kids grab this after booktalks.
The audio book (thanks to LibroFM's eARC program!) was fantastically done with a full cast, including some of my faves (looking at your Bahni Turpin, Michael Crouch, and January LaVoy!). Done in this way, it helped to integrate the StarWatch interstitials into the narrative and make that tension more suspenseful. It had enough great details about NASA and space flight that Liz, a NASA fangirl, was mostly interested listening in the car (that's my litmus about how real the space sections were). The queer romance was well done and I appreciated the focus on navigating anxiety and depression in relationships, whether romantic, friend, or familial. The only piece that grated was Cal always felt overly-entitled and that didn't seem to be on purpose. It didn't sit well and often overshadowed other parts of the narrative that were supposed to be the focus. A great first book, will definitely find an audience, can think of kids already who'd pull this after a booktalk.
Anika Noni Rose almost rivals Queen Bahni Turpin in her audiobook performance! She should definitely be narrating more books, she creates fully differentiated characters with tone, accent, and pacing, it's really impressive. I think I would have been a true 4 for this book if I had read it closer to finishing the 2nd book in the series, which I really enjoyed. Too much time had passed and it wasn't until about halfway through that I clicked back in. Characters are great, good to see the origin story of the Shadowshaping powers and tying everything back to the Puerto Rican homeland/El Yunque power narrative, but I didn't think he did a great job actually explaining why those powers fought against one another. His dialogue ranges from spot on to slightly cheesy, but the friendships and romance ring true. A solid conclusion to the series.
Great continuation of this series. Liked the addition of the space pirates and the growth of Grix/Vess's relationship. The art & coloring is seriously top notch. Some of the dialogue is clunky and there were some writing errors that made it in. Definitely still in for the 3rd & final part!
Good audio, best sped up. I was initially SO annoyed at how the narrator was pronouncing Alix until I understood it was part of the plot, lol. Really liked this one, a strong debut worth the hype.
The audio performance by Perdida Weeks matched the tone of Circe perfectly. Lush and complicated with excellent pacing. Very interested to hear what BOB kids think of this title on this year's list.
(Trigger warning: abusive relationship) Absolutely beautifully written memoir about a queer abusive relationship. This is the first book I've read by Machado (whose voice I could listen to all day) and I will be seeking out her other writing. So detailed, so thoughtful, and I appreciated the figurative writing and structure so much, as it added the right gravitas to such an intense subject.
Thanks to #NetGalley for the eARC. 4.5, rounding up here. There is SO much to love here in this fully realized, well written, feminist #ownvoices novel about an Argentinian teen who dreams of becoming a professional fútbol player. Camilia, known as Furia on the field for her gifted and aggressive style of play, is hiding her participation on the team from her family, even though her own brother is a respected player moving up in the ranks. The reasons for her keeping this secret are nuanced, and Saied Méndez really excels at depicting Camila's complicated family life and Argentinian gender struggles as a whole, with a window (for me) into the Green Handkerchief movement. Beyond money and gendered familial/societal expectations and opportunities, a further complication on Camila's pathway to her dream is her burgeoning relationship with a childhood friend who is now famous and playing for Juventus F.C. Every choice Camila makes here feels authentic and earned, and the afterward that flashes into the future feels empowering. A truly impressive debut novel, I can't wait to recommend this book and I know that we'll all be looking out for more by Saied Méndez.