Ivy

I've loved Sharon Draper since I read Out Of My Mind, and this was just as good. I'm still trying to decide whether I'm unhappy with the ending or not. As a reader, I like happy endings, something where the world gets better in that moment and we close the book feeling like it's only going to get better from there. At the same time, that wouldn't be fair to the context, which just isn't happy. We're still working on the whole “things getting better”.
I feel like I'd be less bothered by a hopeful, but not necessarily happy, ending if there were more options for middle grade black kids that did have happy endings.

Oh I aggressively love the decision to situate this within the concept of Cinderella. I'm a fan of fairy tales being twisted around and told in a new way already, but like. Very much enjoyed that. I felt echoes of The Selection series, of course, but more aggressive and justified not just by tradition, this is how it's always been, but almost by religion, if you can consider the worship of Cinderella and her story to be that. It did take a bit to get off the ground-I feel like tdd he author was trying to make it Very Clear that our girl had no other option than to leave her friend behind, by giving us like three repetitions of ‘Come away with me, to be free and gay!' ‘No, we can't, we mustn't!'

Also, gay, I do appreciate the gay.

I'd had no idea they made Wishbone books and now I've come across at least three different series. This is a super sweet adaptation that does reasonable justice to the original, considering it's a kids book.

Oh, that was spectacular but poor Kaylee, I wanted her to get to do her exploring and geeking out, she's precious and wonderful! I love her.

Nothing spectacular, but I do love Clark's books. They're formulaic, but fun. I swear I fall into the trap of suspecting the obvious suspect every damn time.

This is Romeo and Juliet levels of tragic. Everyone's keeping secrets, for this reason and that, and not only is it pointless, but it leads to heartwrenching resolutions. I deeply appreciated the stubborn chronically ill character-I loathe books where one of the characters is ill or disabled in some way and leads their life as a kind and giving soul because of it. Let disabled people be angry and stubborn and scheming.

Only been trying to read this book for probably a decade now. I love WW, and her backstory is fascinating, but keeping track of several different names, sets of initials, kids and who their parents are, gets confusing after a while, and I've always gotten bogged down trying to get through it. Had to give in and buy a copy just so I could take my time and get through a bit here and there! I did very much enjoy it, however, and I'm glad I've finally gotten through it.

This one's a reread. I have loved everything written under the name Claire North, and if I get a chance to read the author's other works under her own name, I'm willing to bet I'll love them too.

It's fascinating reading this one working a retail job. Anyone who has will understand that by about half an hour into any given shift, I hate all people always and forever, the whole species is irredeemable. And I love Charlie just going through everything with this curiosity and fascination with people. For a bit after reading, it's not that I like people that much more, but that I'm full of the understanding that people are fascinating and complicated and, yeah, exhausting and terrible on a regular basis, but isn't it amazing to see other people existing.

It has to be good writing if it's giving a retail employee during a pandemic a measure of faith in humanity.

I love all of the Eve Dallas books, and outside of a few of them (which can mess with me a little) they're my go-to rereads to download onto my ipod when I need a book and forgot to bring one.

I forgot how damn lonely this book is! It's lovely and good, and I enjoy it, but at the same time, being Alone, entirely alone, in space, knowing there are only three other people out there with you. I love Chambers' work. All of the gentle kind lonely space feels.

A reread, since apparently I'm getting into “horrific events treated gently and kindly” at the moment. This lives up to the rest of Roberts' novels. I think my only quibble was with the concept of every bad guy coming out of the woodwork in the span of a couple months, just to throw themselves upon the barricades and get hauled to jail. I know that's just the nature of a story, but it was right there at the edge of my suspension of disbelief. The characters, though, are believable and a delight, as always.

I'd found this while researching books coming out in early 2018 for a display I was doing, and the description sounded interesting, even though it didn't work for my display. And it was interesting-sad in the way that sticks with you after you close it. It's not my favorite book ever, and I'll probably never re-read it, but I'm glad that I did read it.

Cool, another Jonny Sun book! I needed my heart to be broken and gently pieced back together, the way his books do! I will be loaning this one to my friends, because honestly everyone needs to read it.

God, I love when I find fiction that reads like an emotion. This one's a ghost story and historical fiction at the same time, and I just. So good. There's a lot of catch-your-breath lines where it manages to express something so well that you have to pause for it.

Love Mary Higgins Clark, have since I started reading her when I was like 12, will continue to do so. I have read this book before, many times, and I still couldn't actually figure out who the bad guy was. I swear, all of her books I find myself wanting to reread it as soon as I've finished so I can see the all the hints properly.

That was great and not at all what I expected. I would like how much I love Sydney to be registered officially, please.

I shouldn't be surprised that Becky Chambers has yet another book that gives me all kinds of fuzzy heart feelings. I loved all of the Wayfarers books, and saw someone recommending this one and had to give it a shot. It gives me vibes of “Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn too” with the robot trying to learn what it is that humans/humanity needs. I have a great deal of love for Dex, and I think the sweetest thing I've read in ages is Dex not being able to eat their meal without giving some to their guest.

Read this a few times before, but during a plague seemed like a good time to reread it. Frightening but well done, and I always find myself forgetting that it's set in New Zealand and then being delighted again that there's some really wonderful plot points that hinge on that.

So this was...weird. Really lovely and enjoyable, pretty realistic characters-find a sixteen year old who isn't awful on occasion-but y'know, weird.

I knew of Virginia Hall via the Rejected Princesses series, which gives a good overview of her life and how utterly badass this woman was. This book pays effective tribute to her, and gives a better view of her life, including just how frustrated this poor woman must have been on such a regular basis.

Okay, so this is not a book to read if you're already sad! You might be smiling by the end but the middle is just a whole lot of gut punches. Triggers for suicide and homophobia as well. Silvera is a great writer but, yeah, just really excels at the painful stories.

An impressive balance between having a real point and being funny. Paulsen managed to build a whole, adorable family relationship and world in a short story, and I wish it were longer.

So that hurt a LOT.
Also she's right, Idaho sucks, it's ragingly conservative and boring and the only good parts were the writing camp I went to in a state park two years running and the random creek in the middle of nowhere that ran perfectly clear and was just precisely deep enough to swim in.

Comfort reread.

I like pretty much all of Levine's work, but she doesn't skip the rough bits. This might not be a book to read if you're currently dealing with body image stuff. Like, the ending message of “you're beautiful how you are!” is great, but uh. There's a lot of internal monologue of self hatred before we get to that bit. I would love to have learned more about Aza's specific history and how she came to be a foundling, though, I think that would be fascinating.

Very satisfying ending, and I appreciate seeing how our characters handle their new freedom. This one was less horrifying, mostly because this is the end of it all.