Renata Sancken
This was overall not really my cup of tea tbh–this kind of sci-fi story isn't necessarily something I'd be drawn to. But I like these characters and I like Mackenzi's other books so I checked it out. I think it is a great insight into Gamora and Nebula's relationship and I looooved the little bits of Grandmaster cameo. I think readers who are more into exploring these characters' trauma are going to enjoy this, also readers who like a more...traditional? ish? sci-fi story.
I gotta say the enemies-to-lovers trope is not one of my favs in general, and this book like...didn't change that? I think I'm just so conflict-averse that I'm like “why are you guys bickering with each other when you could just ignore each other?” which I mean I guess, the reason why is that they are ~secretly crushing~ or whatever, but it just–it's just not a trope I like. If you like that, there is a lot of that.
Like that said, the friendship between Brad & Celine felt very real to me as did the reason why their friendship faded, and I liked them both as individual characters a lot. So, if enemies-to-lovers is your jam I suspect you'll LOVE this.
man I LOVED [b:Miles Morales: Spider-Man 32793053 Miles Morales Spider-Man Jason Reynolds https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1495746889l/32793053.SY75.jpg 53387226] but this didn't hit as hard for me–it felt a lot like retreading the same material without adding a lot. Which on one hand, I know, that's kind of the whole superhero thing. But I guess I expected more after how great the first one was–I really really loved the way it blended superhero shenanigans with institutional racism and I thought the Big Bad was so clever. This book felt like repetitive enough that it didn't hold up to the first one, but also SO immediately a sequel to the first one that I don't think it would necessarily stand on its own. And also the pacing–it basically all takes place in one day (of In School Suspension, which he got from events of the previous book) and it just.....yeah it felt rushed and odd. I did still really like Miles' poems–Jason Reynolds is OBV a great writer I just don't think this is his best.
this is soo funny and sweet!! A lovely early chapter book that will entertain and inspire young storytellers, and make kids who get teased by white kids for bringing ~~ethnic food~~ to school feel seen. and hopefully encourage white kids to not be dicks about other culture's foods. Also a great read for currently-only children who are about to become big siblings. just really charming and sensitive!!
This was funny and had great character voices–I loved Stephen and Marco's friendship and squabbles. It's like a combination of [b:Winger 11861815 Winger (Winger, #1) Andrew Smith https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1367927656s/11861815.jpg 16818567] and [b:The Great Greene Heist 17928557 The Great Greene Heist Varian Johnson https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1432313463s/17928557.jpg 25129212]?Another way this reminded me of Winger is that I thought it was a Fun Guy Friendship story but SURPRISE IT'S ABOUT HATE CRIMES!Ultimately it's nice to have another good, fun, realistic MG-appropriate story about a gay (multi-racial!) kid in my mental arsenal.
I started reading this with an eye toward maybe booktalking it to junior high kids. After the first few chapters I was pretty sure it wasn't quite appropriate for most kids at that grade level, but tragically I was hooked and had to keep reading! It was such a page-turner and such an interesting use of the mixed-media format. It reminded me a little bit of [b:Chopsticks 10710392 Chopsticks Jessica Anthony https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1364073067s/10710392.jpg 15620818] in that way. And also, like [b:Paper Towns 6442769 Paper Towns John Green https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349013610s/6442769.jpg 3364505], it felt a bit like an investigation into the “manic pixie dream girl” trope and what that means for the dream girl in question. Also like [b:I Am Princess X 17408897 I Am Princess X Cherie Priest https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415300641s/17408897.jpg 24250459] it's a mixed media mystery with important friendships! ALSO it's a little bit paranormal... or is it?! I think a lot of tweens & teens looking for a mystery would really get into this. There's some non-explicit sex and some partying and just, well, adult behavior that made me reluctant to booktalk to a whole group of junior high kids but I don't think it's more than the kind of stuff in, say, John Green's books, which a lot of junior high kids have already read.
I reviewed this for the library blog, but basically: if you're going to have a narrator on the autism spectrum, commit to it. Colin Fischer has a weird meandering 3rd person omniscient narrator that undermines Colin's POV and seems really odd for a mystery to use.
According to GoodReads, I started reading this in May and got 20% through it, which is the point where I realized it was a concentration camp story and I had to put it on hold until I felt emotionally prepared to read it. I guess I decided that this weekend I was prepared to finish it, though this pile of used Kleenexes begs to differ.
When Code Name Verity first started getting buzz, I admit I thought, “Do we really need another WWII story? What's left to tell?” Then, of course, it was a fresh and brilliant novel and I loved it and so did basically everyone.
Same with Rose Under Fire–did we really need another concentration camp story? Well–maybe we needed this one.
Wein's frame is smart, having Rose narrate her story after the fact. I haven't seen as many WWII novels deal with a character's trauma like this. So many books focus on how horrible being in a camp was--which, yes, it was--but less time is spent on how horrible being out of the camp was, too. Too, setting it in Ravensbruck, focusing on the Rabbits (who were medically experimented on)--all of this is a different take on the standard WWII narrative and important history. And including the Nuremburg trials, and how survivors might respond, and how gendered everything was, and, and, and...! It's all so richly nuanced and powerful, without ever feeling didactic. Unsurprisingly from the author of Code Name Verity, the friendships--sisterhood--between the prisoners is so beautiful and important and moving.
I saw some reactions that were disappointed that this didn't have the same suspense/twists as Code Name Verity, but I... mean, I wouldn't want to read the same story twice, I guess, and I'm not sure how that kind of narrative would play out in this story.
Oh, also, as a longtime Girl Scout, I was VERY moved by reading all of Rose's Girl Scout songs and traditions and realizing how many had survived to present day. Such a powerfully humanizing and relatable element–I am sure many other present day Girl Scouts would respond similarly.
I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. I'm not a huge fan of zombies or unicorns, per se, but I flipped through it and Holly Black and Justine Larbestier's commentary seemed entertaining, so I went for it. There's an amazing range of stories here on both topics, from lighthearted to serious social commentary (and a few zombie stories that I shouldn't have read right before bedtime). A few faves... Maureen Johnson's story strongly suggests that maybe Brangelina have adopted ZOMBIE children and Meg Cabot's story features a unicorn named Princess Prettypants, need I say more?
mmm I wish this had been a movie instead of a book, I think it would have a lot of fun glamorous scenes to look at and less waffle-y inner monologuing that way
CBB was one of the first podcasts I really got into, but over time my listenership faded. This book both reminded me why I loved it and also why my interest waned. There are some real literal laugh out loud moments in this (Fourvel really sent me), but also some clunkers. Some the things benefitted from images/formatting while others seemed less funny than their audio counterparts because of not having the voice performances. Basically: fun for existing fans! Probably will not convert many new listeners!
Man, I really wanted to love this one but it ended up feeling kinda sweaty to me? I love the Code Name Verity Cinematic Universe but for me to have three characters from the CNVCU independently end up in the same tiny town felt implausible, even though I was happy to see them. In her author's notes at the end Wein notes that some of what this story was based on involved a recovered piece of radar equipment from a German plane but she felt that writing about the radar equipment would require too much detail to explain its importance so she wrote it about an enigma machine instead, but to me it ended up feeling hard to swallow because the enigma machines were SO important that it was like......this is a lot for one 15-year-old girl to stumble upon?!
That SAID I still enjoyed this–Wein's research and eye for historical detail is sharp, and I really loved Louisa as a new main character, and I love a historical fiction that shows that people of color like...lived in England in WWII and can be in this kind of historical fiction story in addition to the usual Civil War and civil rights movement stories.
(read as single issues)
my precious children have gone to space and they are very brave and I love them
This is a funny graphic novel (~perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier~ etc etc) with Dominican American specificity yet everybody can relate to arguing with their parents about some aspect of their desired style. And the art is so fun!
Sometimes I read a review of an upcoming book and place a hold on it at the library and forget about it, and then months later I get an arrived hold notice and I'm like “wait, what? Oh I guess this does sound like something I'd read...” It's like a surprise book of the month club that I run for myself.
Anywho, this was one of those, and I'm glad I did! Really engaging, thought-provoking and insightful essays. It was especially interesting for me to read about her work organizing voters in Georgia in 2018 and 2020.
This book reminded me of David Levithan's YA stuff, in these girls are way too smart and well-spoken to resemble real teenagers in any way. They all talk like they are in a graduate level women's studies seminar at all times. Which is fine–I love reading sassy teen girls talk about representations of sexuality in hip hop. (I love David Levithan's overly-educated teenagers, too.)
The friendship between the members of Sister Mischief, an all-girl hip-hop crew in suburban Minnesota, felt realistic, even if their dialogue didn't. Their dialogue (and raps) are hilarious and heartfelt.
OK so a minute ago I said that romcoms aren't my thing... THIS is my thing. If meta-humor about fantasy kingdoms isn't your thing, you probably won't like this, but if they are.... oh man, this book NAILS it.SO SO funny. I kept tweeting lines from it as I read–they aren't as funny out of context but I didn't care. “I'm sorry, what did you say?” “Ngggththtthh? The name of our kingdom.” “Gark said the kingdom didn't have a name.”“It doesn't. But there are times where, grammatically, it makes sense to speak the name of the kingdom aloud. And since it does not have a name, it is traditional just to mumble unintelligibly for the length of the average kingdom name.”It reminds me of [b:The Magicians 6101718 The Magicians (The Magicians, #1) Lev Grossman https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1313772941s/6101718.jpg 6278977] but funnier and less scary. Like not scary at all really. But it has that same kind of vibe, of someone who's consumed a lot of fantasy novels finally getting to write their own and using every trope to its best advantage. And then... without spoilers... even the parts that at first I was “meh” about evolved into awesomeness.I'M 20 GHOSTS ABOUT THIS BOOKPS the best part is how it's a fantasy book that did not force me to look at a map of a madeup country. good job Crap Kingdom!
It took me a little while to get into this because I'm not much of a sci-fi reader, but once I got into it I was hooked! I loved these characters (especially, of course, the cat) and their journeys (literal and emotional). I would recommend it for fans of Becky Chambers and Martha Wells (aka fans of cozy-ish queer sci-fi)!
ok wow a bunch of people said this book was awesome but I was like “oh idk it's about monster hunting?? idk not my thing” but then I finally read it and wow!! it's so good!! It reminds me of A.S. King in the best way. NOBODY TOLD ME IT WAS ABOUT METAPHORICAL MONSTER HUNTING JEEZ.
Aww, so fun! I think I liked this more than the first one. I liked seeing a slightly more grown-up Ginny. I liked the European adventure. And I'm soo glad we got to read the last letter!
THIS IS SO WEIRD, I LOVE IT.I loved the audiobook of [b:Cold Cereal 11595220 Cold Cereal Adam Rex https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1321973206s/11595220.jpg 16537151] but apparently the rest of the trilogy hasn't been recorded, so I read the print copy. Which was cool too, because it has illustrations! (Illustrations of awesome black pixies with Afros!) Also one of the discs of the audiobook was jacked up so reading this made me realize that I had missed some fairly significant plot twists, but I felt like I was able to get up to speed pretty quickly. I think these books would make fun family read-alouds because there are a lot of references that will probably fly over a lot of kids' heads, such as the introduction of Sir Richard Starkey of the Quarrymen, as a character. But I also think they're fun enough that kids will dig them even if they don't get everything. (And then maybe one day when they're older they'll realize, oh, I read Beatles RPF fanfiction when I was a kid, weird.)
I thought this was fine. It's giving Dollar Store Jodi Picoult. It would be great for a book club of nice white ladies to discuss in the summer of 2020. The conceit of splitting narrative between Black and white narrators and being co-written by a Black and white author is interesting but I think for me it still doesn't quite land. The bestieship between the two main characters felt more Told than Shown and it made it hard to understand what Riley was getting out of this friendship in the first place.
But the drama did keep me reading.
This was a quick, compelling read although not that much actually happens in it? There's a lot of just kind of the day to day drudgery of, well, being held hostage.
I understand it was a personal narrative as-told-to Guy Lelisle–I kind of wish it had a little more backmatter or something to give a little more historical context to the story? (I understand that for Christophe André, in the moment, it was confusing and he wasn't sure exactly why he was being held hostage, but at the end of the book...I wasn't, especially, either? I know I don't know a lot about Chechen rebels, but I have to suspect...that a lot of American readers don't either? And I know this is a translated import, so maybe the average French reader knows more? But, uh...well anyway I guess I'm off to Wikipedia.)
I thought I knew a fair amount about Greek mythology, but I learned a LOT from this. And it was a fun read with cool, gory adventures. I'd definitely recommend this to tween, teen, and adults who are interested in mythology–especially those looking for Percy Jackson readalikes. I'll be checking out the rest of O'Connor's Olympians series for sure. (This volume contains a story of the OG Perseus.)
Oh, and it was awesome that the art Andromeda was a beautiful black woman. Like, duh, she's Ethopian, but do they usually show her that way? Representation, holla.