Bad Things Happen Here by Rebecca Barrow

Pages: 352

Publisher: Hot Key Books 

Released: 28th of June 2022 

The island of Parris: paradise or poison?

Luca Laine Thomas lives in Parris, the beautiful island plagued by the unsolved deaths of young women - most significantly, Luca's best friend. All Luca wants is to heal from the traumatic loss and leave her feelings of guilt and helplessness behind.

Then Luca comes home to find the police at her house. Her sister, Whitney, is dead.

Luca and Naomi, the new girl next door, decide to take the investigation into their own hands, and along the way their connection deepens. Soon, their casual touches and innocent flirtations become something way more real. But finding out what happened on the night of Whitney's disappearance reveals lie upon lie.

Nothing is as it seems. Will Luca's search finally reveal truth about her sister's murder? And will she unravel and escape the clutches of the curse and survive Parris?

What I Have to Say 

I didn't really dislike this book, but I wasn't into it. It fell very flat for me. I liked the relationship between Naomi and Luca in the first half and I was shocked when certain things were revealed. But everything else I just wasn't feeling. 

The main character annoyed me a lot at one point in the book. I felt she believed that a particular person had done it too quickly, even though there were reasons why I thought she should be less likely to believe it. It really put me off the character. I get the author's reasons for doing it and maybe it's realistic to life, but it annoyed me. 

I don't have anything more to say really. There was nothing bad about this book, I just wasn't into it. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Hot Key Books for providing me with this copy for review. 

The Dance Tree by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

 

Pages: 304

Publisher: Picador

Released: 12th May 2022

In Strasbourg, in the boiling hot summer of 1518, a plague strikes the women of the city. First it is just one – a lone figure, dancing in the main square – but she is joined by more and more and the city authorities declare an emergency. Musicians will be brought in. The devil will be danced out of these women.

Just beyond the city’s limits, pregnant Lisbet lives with her mother-in-law and husband, tending the bees that are their livelihood. Her best friend Ida visits regularly and Lisbet is so looking forward to sharing life and motherhood with her. And then, just as the first woman begins to dance in the city, Lisbet’s sister-in-law Nethe returns from six years’ penance in the mountains for an unknown crime. No one – not even Ida – will tell Lisbet what Nethe did all those years ago, and Nethe herself will not speak a word about it.

It is the beginning of a few weeks that will change everything for Lisbet – her understanding of what it is to love and be loved, and her determination to survive at all costs for the baby she is carrying. Lisbet and Nethe and Ida soon find themselves pushing at the boundaries of their existence – but they’re dancing to a dangerous tune . . .

What I Have to Say 

I liked this book but it didn't blow me away. It was a calm read for me. I wasn't desperate to find out what happened next, but I was interested enough in the characters and their stories to want to know how the story progressed. I really liked Nethe's character and I liked Lisbet's perspective and her relationship with the bees. 

I guessed very quickly what Nethe's "sin" was and was happy with the way it was revealed and the hints that were given along the way. I didn't feel cheated because I guessed it at all. It worked well with the theme of rebelling against the constraints of a very Christian society. 

I do wish there'd been a bit more lightness and hope at the end though. It was not a completely unhappy ending but it felt very futile and the characters seemed to have lost so much. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Picador for providing me this copy for review. 

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

Pages: 352

Publisher: Doubleday Books

Released: 3rd May 2022

Learn about the Mass Dragoning of 1955 in which 300,000 women spontaneously transform into dragons...and change the world.

Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours. But this version of 1950's America is characterized by a significant event: The Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales and talons, left a trail of fiery destruction in their path, and took to the skies. Seemingly for good. Was it their choice? What will become of those left behind? Why did Alex's beloved Aunt Marla transform but her mother did not? Alex doesn't know. It's taboo to speak of, even more so than her crush on Sonja, her schoolmate.

Forced into silence, Alex nevertheless must face the consequences of dragons: a mother more protective than ever; a father growing increasingly distant; the upsetting insistence that her aunt never even existed; and a new "sister" obsessed with dragons far beyond propriety. Through loss, rage, and self-discovery, this story follows Alex's journey as she deals with the events leading up to and beyond the Mass Dragoning, and her connection with the phenomenon itself.

What I Have to Say 

If there was anything the 1950s needed more of, it is definitely dragons. I loved this concept. It's an absolutely beautiful idea and the execution was fantastic. It showed the breaking down of societal boundaries as hundreds of thousands of perfect 50s housewives became big unruly creatures that society did not want. The idea of women, frustrated with their lots in life, turning into beautiful fire breathing creatures and destroying the homes, and often husbands, that kept them there was inspired. 

Alex was a great character, she was perfect to show the way society kept things quiet. As a child who witnessed everything and was kept quiet and shushed when she asked questions, she was able to tell us everything that happened at the time of the dragoning and after. I also adored Beatrice. She was an absolute gem and the perfect way to show the pressure to keep dragons from being talked about. 

I was also thrilled that the idea of trans dragons was mentioned. It was only a tiny bit and unfortunately there were no actual trans characters, but this book acknowledged and accepted that they would be involved in these events. I honestly expected the book to not mention them at all, so I was pleasantly surprised. I also felt there were parallels later in the book with transitioning and dragoning. 

It's also worth mentioning that this book is Sapphic! The main character is gay and though the romance was only a small part of the book, it was there and it made me very happy. 

My thanks go to Negalley and Bonnier Books UK for providing me with this copy for review. 

Girls of Storms and Shadows by Natasha Ngan

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 416

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton 

Released: 5th of November 2019 

Lei and Wren have escaped their oppressive lives in the Hidden Palace, but soon learn that freedom comes with a terrible cost.

Lei, the naive country girl who became a royal courtesan, is now known as the Moonchosen, the commoner who managed to do what no one else could. But slaying the cruel Demon King wasn't the end of the plan---it's just the beginning. Now Lei and her warrior love Wren must travel the kingdom to gain support from the far-flung rebel clans. The journey is made even more treacherous thanks to a heavy bounty on Lei's head, as well as insidious doubts that threaten to tear Lei and Wren apart from within.

Meanwhile, an evil plot to eliminate the rebel uprising is taking shape, fueled by dark magic and vengeance. Will Lei succeed in her quest to overthrow the monarchy and protect her love for Wren, or will she fall victim to the sinister magic that seeks to destroy her? 

What I Have to Say 

This series keeps breaking my heart over and over, and I couldn't be more addicted to it. I just want Lei and Wren to be happy and free and in love, and all this thrilling, captivating and incredibly upsetting stuff keeps happening to them. It's not often that I get quite so invested in certain characters and relationships, but when it happens it is always a sign of an incredible series that I will love forever. I'm so attached to Wren and Lei, and also some of the other girls, that their victories and defeats thrill and hurt me. Ngan is a genius with a pen and her words are truly magic, if cruel, vicious magic that makes me want to cry and scream in frustration, especially with her cruel, heartless endings.

I really liked exploring more of the world in this book after spending so much time trapped in the palace in the first book. It was fascinating to see the different kinds of demons and the way they lived. I especially liked the birds and the way that their palace was set up and streamlined for flight, while also having stairs in place for the steel and paper castes to allow them to walk between levels.

I also loved seeing the different viewpoints throughout the book; seeing glimpses of what was happening with the Demon King and the paper girls who remained back at the palace. It feels weird to say but I think the Demon King's voice was one of my favourite viewpoints as it showed a glimpse into the mind of a monster, showing the way he thinks and also the fact that Lei has gotten under his skin, an incredible victory that I took so much pleasure in.  I also really liked Aoki's chapter even though it was so heartbreaking to read. Her feelings towards the Demon King show the trauma bond that can form between a victim and their abuser and this was a well written insight into those kinds of feelings.

I can't wait and am also dreading the third and final part of this trilogy and seeing how everything comes together. The heartbreak, betrayal, death and beautiful writing make this series such an incredible edge-of-your-seat journey.

My thanks go to Hodderscape for providing me with this free copy! 

Mooncakes by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 256 

Publisher: Lion Forge 

Released: 15th October 2019 

A story of love and demons, family and witchcraft.

Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers' bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town.

One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any town home.

Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery. 

What I Have to Say 

My first graphic novel review and it is definitely a must read! A fantastic story of adventure, family and love combined with a gorgeous art style full of colour and magic. It was a perfect combination of the two showing a vibrant world with fully shaped and relatable characters who burst out of the page with every word and image.

There was so much representation in this book and it flowed perfectly into the story. Tam is non-binary which informs so much of their past and relationship with their parents. Nova is deaf, and with hearing aids, which is a fact important to the story and her relationship with Tam, who comments on how Nova has changed hearing aids and that they like the colour. Both Tam and Nova are also Asian-American and their queer relationship is a major part of the story.

One of the things I loved most was seeing how Nova's deafness and magic interacted. How the magic is used to highlight her deafness and her experience of both. My favourite scene was one where the characters linked psychically and Nova talks about the way that she gets a taste from it of how her life could be without deafness. It was done in such a beautiful way, showing the impact being deaf has on her life but without denying how much a part of her identity it is or showing her as some poor trapped, disabled character wanting to be free (a trope that is used so often and is extremely harmful for people with disabilities).

This is such a great book full of magic and excitement whilst also showcasing the intricacies of regular life. Definitely a must read.

My thanks go to Lion Forge and Netgalley for providing me with this free copy for review. 

PROUD blog tour: Recommendations

The authors of PROUD reveal their recommendations of LGBTQ+ lit! 

For this post, I asked Stripes for some recommendations of books that some of the authors featured in the anthology would recommend to readers looking for some more LGBTQ+ to read and boy did they deliver! So get something to take notes on because you'll want to jot down some of these amazing titles they came up with! I'm adding a bunch of them to my own list! 

1) What was the Queer book or poem you connected with personally as a young reader and why did it connect with you?

Simon James Green: BEAUTIFUL THING by Jonathan Harvey. It’s not actually a novel, it was originally a play, and then later a film. It’s about two teenage boys growing up on a council estate in South London, and it was written in the 90s. The dialogue is so real, and the story is so tender and, indeed, beautiful. You can buy the script (and you can watch the film) and I’d highly recommend it.

Michael Lee Richardson: Recently, Casey Plett’s Little Fish, about a trans woman finding out that her religious grandfather might also have been trans. Casey Plett is so good at character, and this book - her first novel - is so sharp and honest and witty.

Karen Lawler : My Real Children by Jo Walton - an alternate history title that follows its main character through two different versions of post-WW2 history (neither matches ours) and two versions of her life. In one she finds love, but the world is much worse than the one we know. In the other she finds heartbreak, but we have colonies on the moon. I was particularly moved by the questions it raised about individual happiness vs collective good, inevitability and the ways in which small actions can have huge consequences.

Moïra Fowley-Doyle: Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue -- a collection of queer fairytale retellings that I first read & fell in love with at 14

Cynthia So: Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake. A 12-year-old girl has a crush on another girl and realises she likes girls - I realised I was queer at about the same age!

2) Share a current book that you think someone who enjoys your story in PROUD would like to read next.  

Simon James Green: Check out FLYING TIPS FOR FLIGHTLESS BIRDS by Kelly McCaughrain, RUNNING WITH LIONS by Julian Winters, OUT OF THE BLUE by Sophie Cameron, and JACK OF HEARTS by L.C. Rosen.

Michael Lee Richardson: Simon James Green’s books, Noah Can’t Even and Noah Could Never, are fab! There should be more funny books about GBT boys.

Moïra Fowley-Doyle: Ask the Passengers by AS King -- a gorgeous contemporary YA with a dash of magic realism about a queer teen girl figuring herself out

Cynthia So: Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert, a contemporary realistic story about a Chinese-American boy who's an artist and in love with his best friend.

Karen Lawler: Simon vs the Homosapien Agenda. Contemporary gay teen romance for the win.

3) What Queer books do you love?

Simon James Green: BOY MEETS BOY by David Levithan. The final line of that book is probably my favourite final line, ever.

Michael Lee Richardson: I’m hoovering up Alice Oseman’s books at the moment - so much stuff about queer friendships and relationships and fandom and internet culture - love ‘em!

Moïra Fowley-Doyle: Jeanette Winterson has been one of my favourite authors since my secondary school English teacher lent me her copy of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit after I wrote a short story in class when I was fifteen about two girls falling in love. Every copy of her books I have has been heavily underlined by me at various ages since.

Cynthia So: The Miseducation of Cameron Post by emily m. danforth!

Karen Lawler: Sarah Waters and more specifically Fingersmith are my favourites. Fingersmith has it all - a brilliant, pacey, surprising plot, excellent and well-developed characters, a historical setting that completely comes alive, and a hot lesbian romance.

Author Bios: 

Simon James Green is an author and screenwriter. His debut YA novel, Noah Can’t Even, was published by Scholastic in May 2017, followed by the sequel, Noah Could Never, in June 2018. The books have also been optioned for TV by Urban Myth Films. Simon’s screen credits include co-writing feature-length rom-com Rules of Love (BBC), and a short stint directing Hollyoaks (C4).

Michael Lee Richardson is a writer and youth worker from Glasgow. As a screenwriter he has written comedy for CBBC and BBC Alba. His original work has been shortlisted for BBC Scotland’s Frank Deasy Award and the BAFTA Rocliffe Comedy Award, and his young adult comedy ‘Real Life Experience’ was ‘highly commended’ for BBC Writersroom’s Trans Comedy Award. In 2015 he won the Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award in the Children and Young Adult category. As a youth worker, he set up and ran Trans Youth Glasgow, part of LGBT Youth Scotland. He currently works for LEAP Sports Scotland on Trans Team, a project aimed at encouraging transgender young people to engage with sport and outdoor activities. www.hrfmichael.co.uk

Karen Lawler is an American living in London with her awesome wife and extremely cute dog Buffy. She loves reading, especially sci-fi, fantasy, YA, and historical non-fiction, and she funds her book habit by working in children’s publishing. She loves a good teen movie (10 Things I Hate About You is the best and she will fight you on that). This is the first time her writing has appeared in print.

Moïra Fowley-Doyle is the author of The Accident Season, which was shortlisted for the 2015 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, and Spellbook of the Lost and Found, which was shortlisted for the 2017 Irish Book Awards. Moïra is half- French, half-Irish and lives in Dublin with her husband, two daughters and two cats.

Cynthia So is bisexual and proud to be queer. She is Chinese, born in Hong Kong and now living in London. She studied Classics at university. Her writing has appeared in speculative fiction magazines including Anathema: Spec from the Margins, which publishes work by queer people of colour.

To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 304 

Publisher: Egmont 

Released: 21st of February 2019 

Avery (Night Owl) is bookish, intense, likes to plan ahead, and is afraid of many things. Bett (Dogfish) is fearless, outgoing, and lives in the moment. What they have in common is that they are both twelve years old, and their dads are dating each other.

Bett and Avery are sent, against their will, to the same camp for the summer vacation. Their dads hope that they will find common ground and become friends – and possibly, one day, even sisters.

Against all odds, the girls soon can’t imagine a life without each other. But when the worst happens, and their dads break up, Avery and Bett must figure out a way to get them to fall in love again. Is keeping a family together as easy as they think it is?

From two extraordinary authors comes this moving, exuberant, laugh-out-loud novel about friendship and family, told entirely in emails and letters.

What I Have to Say 

This beautiful reverse Parent Trap style novel was just perfect. I loved the two girls and their voices so much. Their emails back and forth to each other while they tried to split up their dads made me smile and laugh.  They both had such distinct voices and the way they kept saying that they would never meet each other and they were obviously going to be complete strangers at the same time as asking each other random get to know you questions and becoming best friends was completely wonderful. It felt really real and genuine, the way that young girls really interact. 

It was great to see a gay relationship between the parents of the girls. Both had single dads, Avery's dad having never married and Bett's having been married but had his partner die. It was a great way to show the different types of relationships that gay parents can be in. It was nice to see the representation go beyond two gay people in a committed relationship having a child. 

I adored the email format of this book as well. I don't know what it is about a book told through letters or emails or even diary entries, but I just find them so fun to read. They're a bit of a change from the regular style of story, I suppose. I'm not sure I'll ever get bored of all the interesting and different ways that people find to tell a story. 

Perfect for anyone who loves plucky young girls trying to change their parents dating lives. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Egmont for providing me with this free copy for review. 

Fated by Teri Terry

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 448

Publisher: Orchard Books 

Released: 7th of March 2019 

I'm just one girl. What can I do?

Sam's cosy life as daughter of the Deputy Prime Minister is about to end. These are turbulent times. Borders have closed and protests are turning violent. The government blames the country's youth, and is cracking down hard. Mobile phones are blocked, gatherings are banned and dissent is brutally crushed.

Sam is torn between family loyalty and doing what is right. when she meets Ava and Lucas her mind is made up.

One girl, one choice. She can make a difference: she must. Even if her life - and her heart - are on the line 

What I Have to Say 

I loved the Slated series so much and though my reread put me off it a bit, I was still really excited to read the prequel. It caught the feel of the original series really well while giving us a really good look into what happened to change everything into the Dystopian society we see in Slated. 

It felt a bit bleaker reading this book than it did originally reading Slated. For one thing, some of the things that triggered the world to change are actually happening, most importantly Britain Leaving the EU. Slated was always a world where things were startlingly close to real life, but reading Fated , things felt way too close for comfort! 

I really liked seeing how the world came to be. How little things that change, slowly taking away the rights of teenagers, can change the country into something so scary and controlling. A lot of dystopia takes place after major wars or world changing events, but Slated showed little things that can be used to slowly place control on people while they don't notice. It's the way that real places change, real dictators take control, so it's both fascinating and really interesting to see. 

I loved the characters. The two girls had great voices and made the story really good to read. I loved them both so much. They were also both super attracted to each other and f/f relationships make my heart melt from happiness, so that made it even better! 

If you're a fan of the Slated series then this is a must read!! 

My thanks go to Orchard books and Netgalley for providing me with this free copy for review. 

Proud edited by Juno Dawson

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 320 

Publisher: Stripes 

Released: 7th of March 2019 

A stirring, bold and moving anthology of stories and poetry by top LGBTQ+ YA authors and new talent, giving their unique responses to the broad theme of pride. Each story has an illustration by an artist identifying as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Compiled by Juno Dawson, author of THIS BOOK IS GAY and CLEAN.

A celebration of LGBTQ+ talent, PROUD is a thought-provoking, funny, emotional read.

Contributors: Steve Antony, Dean Atta, Kate Alizadeh, Fox Benwell, Alex Bertie, Caroline Bird, Fatti Burke, Tanya Byrne, Moïra Fowley-Doyle, Frank Duffy, Simon James Green, Leo Greenfield, Saffa Khan, Karen Lawler, David Levithan, Priyanka Meenakshi, Alice Oseman, Michael Lee Richardson, David Roberts, Cynthia So, Kay Staples, Jessica Vallance, Kristen Van Dam and Kameron White.

Following A CHANGE IS GONNA COME, winner of the YA BOOK PRIZE SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2018

What I Have to Say 

This was a fantastic anthology. The fact that I loved almost every single one of the pieces (I just wasn't that fond of the first poem) is something that I've never experienced in an anthology before. Some of my particular favourites were:   Penguins by Simon James Green (and the adorable artwork to go with it by Alice Oseman), The Phoenix's Fault by Cynthia So (a new author found for this collection and a beautiful story from a Asian-inspired fantasy world), I Hate Darcy Pemberley (another new author with a lesbian retelling of Pride and Prejudice) and the Courage of Dragons by Fox Benwell (a lovely story of D & D players sneaking around the school to make everything in it gender neutral).

Along with each story is a piece of artwork to go with it. The art made a really great addition to each story or poem, though art can be a lot more subjective than stories, so I did find some of them were just not art styles that I liked. I really liked their inclusion though, it made the book so much more than most anthologies.

With all the contributors, writers and artists alike being LGBTQ+, this is an amazing book based on many different perspectives and experience.

Whether you're LGBTQ+, questioning or an ally, this book is definitely a MUST READ,

My thanks go to Netgalley and Stripes Publishing for providing me with this free copy for review. 

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 374 

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Released: 6th of November 2018 

Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It's the highest honor they could hope for...and the most cruel.

But this year, there's a ninth girl. And instead of paper, she's made of fire.

In this lush fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most oppressed class in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards still haunts her. Now, the guards are back, and this time it's Lei they're after--the girl whose golden eyes have piqued the king's interest.

Over weeks of training in the opulent but stifling palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charm that befit being a king's consort. But Lei isn't content to watch her fate consume her. Instead, she does the unthinkable--she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens the very foundation of Ikhara, and Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide just how far she's willing to go for justice and revenge.

Trigger Warnings: Kidnap, sex trafficking, forced prostitution, rape, animal death.

What I Have to Say 

I have been looking forward to this book ever since I heard about it, which was a very long time ago. Every step in between from seeing the cover to finally getting hold of a copy at YALC this year has added to the excitement. It was so, so amazing to read it after all this time. I'm so glad it was good, because with that amount of hype it would have been a huge letdown! But it lived up to my excitement and now I'm desperate for the sequel. 

So lets talk about girls. This book is LGBT and the girl that Lei falls in love with is my new crush. A beautiful, bad-ass girl with hidden secrets that just make me love her more. The LGBT representation in YA has been so much more geared towards male pairings that it's just so amazing for me to have such a beautiful fantasy book that has two girls who are madly in love at it's centre. 

The world building was beautiful. Gorgeous and inspired and so wonderful to see so many of the different parts of Asia represented in the girls. I hope we'll get to see more of the world in the next book. I could do a whole paragraph on the world-building, but the girls are at the heart of this novel and I've only had time to talk about two of them! Every one of the girls is wonderful. I loved all of them. It was interesting because I couldn't help but love each character for the way they affected me, but at the same time I found myself hating a couple of them because of their actions.  I am fully invested in all of them though. I want to see them reach their full potential and get out of the horrible position they're in!

I really cannot wait to find out what happens next. These girls have far from reached their full potential, because like the title says, they may be paper, but at their hearts they are fire.

My eternal gratitude goes to Hodderscape for having ARCS on their stall at YALC. 

What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 433

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's UK

Released: 18th October 2018 

Arthur is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it.

Ben thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things.

But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them?

Maybe nothing. After all, they get separated.

Maybe everything. After all, they get reunited.

But what if they can’t quite nail a first date . . . or a second first date . . . or a third?

What if Arthur tries too hard to make it work . . . and Ben doesn’t try hard enough?

What if life really isn’t like a Broadway play?

But what if it is? 

What I Have to Say 

This is the perfect blend of an exciting, beautiful love story and the more realistic portrait of how hard relationships can actually be. It's a romance to gush over with Arthur and Ben seeming to be so, so perfect for one another; meeting through a twist of fate; finding one another again against all odds, but it doesn't shy away from the fact that dating is hard. Dates can go wrong easily, the stuff you planned can be something the other person isn't good with, the restaurant you picked can be all wrong and in the end, there may be compatibility issues that need to be worked out. But despite showing all the roadblocks that can come between two people starting a relationship, What If It's Us continues to keep a hopeful feel to it that one day, these two wonderful boys can work it all out! 

 I loved Arthur and Ben so much. Their individual lives and family and friends were so well built up around them. It added so much to the story to see what their lives were like. Sometimes in books like this I find that the characters can be whisked very quickly from their home lives or have vague friends and family who are never really built up. I loved the fact that not only did Arthur and Ben have such well built up families, they spent time with them, they informed their characters, it showed exactly where they came from and the differences between them. 

I loved the ending. I can't go into why I loved it without spoiling it and I don't know how happy other people are with it, because it could have disappointed some people, but personally I thought it was brilliant and completely in  keeping with the whole style of the book. 

This is definitely the big LGBT release of the year and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did (though we need more LGBT books about girls!!!!!). 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for providing me with copy for review. 

Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) by Lev A.C. Rosen

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 352 

Publisher: Penguin 

Released: 30th of October 2018 

My first time getting it in the butt was kind of weird. I think it's going to be weird for everyone's first time, though.

Meet Jack Rothman. He's seventeen and loves partying, makeup and boys - sometimes all at the same time. His sex life makes him the hot topic for the high school gossip machine. But who cares? Like Jack always says, 'it could be worse'.

He doesn't actually expect that to come true.

But after Jack starts writing an online sex advice column, the mysterious love letters he's been getting take a turn for the creepy. Jack's secret admirer knows everything: where he's hanging out, who he's sleeping with, who his mum is dating. They claim they love Jack, but not his unashamedly queer lifestyle. They need him to curb his sexuality, or they'll force him.

As the pressure mounts, Jack must unmask his stalker before their obsession becomes genuinely dangerous...

What I Have to Say 

This book was so filthy! I probably should have expected it more, but I didn't expect it to be quite so filled with sex. The sex advice column was really good though and a great resource for people look for advice about all sorts of sex things. It sucks that kids, especially gay kids, have to hunt so hard for this sort of information, but now there's a handy book complete with an addictingly creepy stalker plot to make it a good read. The only thing missing was advice for lesbians, maybe in the sequel one of the gay girls in the background could take over the column for a couple of weeks and dispense wisdom about being safe with other girls. 

But as useful as it was, this wasn't for me. I'm just not a big fan of sex and it didn't just stay in the columns and necessary sex scenes. It made it hard to get into the book. When the stalker plot started up that got me into it and I liked the rest of the book fine, but it's not going to be one that I reread. I don't want to put you off though. I really liked the characters and the plot. 

Definitely a must read for gay guys and for anyone who needs the sort of sex ed that's harder to find, but otherwise I'd probably give it a miss.

My thanks go to Penguin and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review 

You Only Live Once by Jess Valance

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 400

Publisher: Hot Key Books 

Released: 23rd of August 2018 

Gracie Dart has always worked hard and she's got a wall covered with revision timetables and French verbs to prove it. But now GCSEs are behind her and she suddenly starts to think: what was the POINT of it all?

When Gracie thinks she's dying of a disgusting tropical illness, she starts to worry she's been wasting her best years being sensible. It's like people say: you only live once - so isn't it about time she started LIVING?

(OK, so the tropical illness turned out to be a fake-tan miscalculation. Anyone could make the same mistake.) 

When Gracie decides to do something, she does it properly. Gracie Dart is about to live out her dreams. However embarrassing.

What I Have to Say 

This is cringe done right! I've talked before about secondhand embarrassment and just feeling uncomfortable when characters have embarrassing moments and how I just don't like it, but this is a book that I really enjoyed because the character was pretty much a complete failure at so many things. I think it was written really well. The things that happened were genuinely funny and the whole book was filled with humour of all kinds. It felt like I was being encouraged to laugh with the character rather than at her. And she often laughed at herself. 

Gracie was so great in general. She was funny, smart and she tried hard, even if she did get carried away sometimes. She was easy to like and root for, I think. I took to her voice straight away. The other characters were really great as well. The granma was amazing and the little brother was great if a bit gross sometimes. Alsom Sarah was so cool and I want to see more of her! I want to see her and Gracie get together in the next book, they're so perfect together. 

I did feel a bit put out by the way Til's mum was discussed and the way her mental health was treated throughout the book. I hope that this changes for the next one. It made me really uncomfortable to have her dismissed as nuts when she obviously has really bad difficulties. 

All in all though, I loved the book and can't wait for the next one! 

My thanks go to Hot Key Books for providing me with this copy for review. 

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 480

Publisher: Penguin 

Released: 16th of August 2018 (first published 2012) 

The night Cameron Post's parents died, her first emotion was relief. Relief they would never know that hours earlier, she'd been kissing a girl.

Now living with her conservative Aunt in small-town Montana, hiding her sexuality and blending in becomes second nature to Cameron until she begins an intense friendship with the beautiful Coley Taylor.

Desperate to 'correct' her niece, Cameron's Aunt takes drastic action.

Now Cameron must battle with the cost of being her true-self even if she's not completely sure who that is.

Trigger Warnings: homophobia, conversion camp, d slur, parent death

What I Have to Say 

This is such an important book, but I'm sad to say I found it a bit slow. I felt like I was always waiting for something to happen. I think it's because it's not the sort of book that I normally read. It's not written to be full of action. It's written to show a girl exploring her sexuality in the place where most people would look at that sexuality as a sin. 

Other than the pace, it was really good. The characters were well crafted. Cameron herself is such a perfect character for the subject matter. It was great to see her develop throughout the book.Though Ruth is a character full of judgement, I really liked the way she was described throughout the book. It was obvious that she did do what she felt was best. It really showed that the parents that send their kids away to be "fixed" often do think it is the best for them, even though they are so completely misguided. It's so easy to paint these homophobic parents as hateful, so it was really interesting to see the relationship between Cam and Ruth. 

The camp was interesting too. I was expecting more of a boot camp, when in fact the conversion was more subtle. It was really scary how the concepts they were introducing to Cameron sunk into her head, even though she wasn't engaging with it like some of the other kids there. 

I would have preferred more action, but this is not a book meant to sensationalise. It's a thorough exploration of identity and sexuality told from the point of view of a beautiful character. 

My thanks got to Netgalley and Penguin for providing me with a copy for review. 

Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 183
Publisher: Open Road Media
Released: 5th of September 2017 (first published 1982)

When Liza Winthrop first lays eyes on Annie Kenyon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she knows there’s something special between them. Soon, their close friendship develops into a deep and intimate romance. Neither imagined that falling in love could be so wonderful, but as Liza and Annie’s newfound sexuality sparks conflict in both their families and at their schools, they discover it will take more than love for their relationship to succeed.

What I Have to Say 

This book was truly amazing. What struck me the most was how different it was from modern LGBT books.  Because it wasn't all about the struggle of being gay and coming to terms with it and all the other things that go along with it. I wasn't expecting such a positive book. Obviously there were struggles and a lot of hardship that the girls had to go through, but for the most part it was about two people just falling in love. The gender of them didn't matter until later.

You see that's what I want to see more of and it's so interesting that a book from the 80s can capture exactly what the genre is missing. Because so many LGBT books act like the gay characters can only possibly be defined by being gay. That all their story has to be about struggling to come to terms with it, or fighting to be accepted. It's never about just two people falling in love naturally. It's never about the gradual discovery of what it means to be gay.

Obviously there was drama at the end and it got very sad, but it ended on a hopeful note. And the characters were just beautiful. I have to say that I fell in love with Annie a bit too during this book. She was so lively and well rounded. I loved the made up games they played and the way they both were together. They fitted together so greatly and made a very beautiful, very realistic couple.

This is definitely a must for anyone interested in the LGBT genre, whatever your sexuality, it's a truly wonderful story.

My thanks go to Open Road Media and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

Satellite by Nick Lake

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 464

Publisher: Hodder Children's Books 

Released: 5th of October 2017 

A teenage boy born in space makes his first trip to Earth.

He’s going to a place he’s never been before: home.

Moon 2 is a space station that orbits approximately 250 miles above Earth. It travels 17,500 miles an hour, making one full orbit every ninety minutes. It’s also the only home that fifteen-year-old Leo and two other teens have ever known.

Born and raised on Moon 2, Leo and the twins, Orion and Libra, are finally old enough and strong enough to endure the dangerous trip to Earth. They’ve been “parented” by teams of astronauts since birth and have run countless drills to ready themselves for every conceivable difficulty they might face on the flight.

But has anything really prepared them for life on terra firma? Because while the planet may be home to billions of people, living there is more treacherous than Leo and his friends could ever have imagined, and their very survival will mean defying impossible odds.

What I Have to Say

 I really enjoyed this book. It was a surprise since I often find Nick Lake books to be a little slow, but this one had such a good concept and was written well enough for to hold my attention. It went into things that I would never even consider. No sci fi book I've ever read has even touched upon the significant differences in the way a child's body would develop when they have spent their entire life without gravity.

It was still slow, but I found that the slowness just didn't matter. I enjoyed taking my time over it and discovering more about Leo and how he adapts to life on Earth. The fact that there were always mysteries surrounding their birth and why Leo couldn't get in touch with Orion and Libra helped a lot, but I do think that the main thing was just the fact that it was so interesting and well thought out.

The only thing I didn't like was the fact that it was written with u instead of you and c instead of see. It's something that just really annoys me. I'm not even sure teenagers write like that anymore. Without constraints on the number of characters, why would they need to?

In all though this was an amazing book, so different from anything else I've read.

My thanks go to Negalley and Hodder for providing me with this copy for review. 

A Storm of Strawberries by Jo Cotterill

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 240

Publisher: Piccadilly Press 

Released: 29th of June 2017 

Darby loves summer on her family's strawberry farm - but is the weather about to turn?

Darby's favourite things are listening to music - preferably The Beatles - picking strawberries on the farm and spending time with her big sister. She is looking forward to doing all three over the long weekend, but when Kaydee has a friend to stay and the sunshine disappears, everything gets turned on its head. When the storm clears, will Darby find everything is back to normal, and what is 'normal' anyway?

What I Have to Say 

I loved Darby so much. Even with all the drama going on. Even with all the worries and shouting, reading things through Darby's point of view made everything feel warm and cuddly. Because even when she's upset, Darby's world is simple. She knows what she likes and what she doesn't. And she loves her family so much. It's beautiful and endearing and it just made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. 

It was really interesting that a lot of the drama was happening in the background. The parents were rushing around trying to protect the Strawberries from the storm and there were various snatches of conversation around that, but Darby zoned in and out of it, mostly staying in her own world with her painting and her music. It was an interesting way to tell the story. 

Lissa was a very interesting element of the book, which I won't say much of in case of spoilers. But it was such a disruption of everything in Darby's world that it was interesting to see them interact and how their attitudes towards each other changed throughout the course of the book. 

This book had so much to say and such a beautiful way of saying it. I think a lot of people need to remember that sometimes things are really just that simple. 

My thanks go to Piccadilly Press for providing me with this copy for review. 

Like Other Girls by Claire Hennessy

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 288

Publisher: Hot Key Books 

Released: 25th of May 2017 

Here's what Lauren knows: she's not like other girls. She also knows it's problematic to say that - what's wrong with girls? She's even fancied some in the past. But if you were stuck in St Agnes's, her posh all-girls school, you'd feel like that too. Here everyone's expected to be Perfect Young Ladies, it's even a song in the painfully awful musical they're putting on this year. And obviously said musical is directed by Lauren's arch nemesis.

Under it all though, Lauren's heart is bruised. Her boyfriend thinks she's crazy and her best friend's going through something Lauren can't understand... so when Lauren realises she's facing every teenage girl's worst nightmare, she has nowhere to turn. Maybe she should just give in to everything. Be like other girls. That's all so much easier ... right?

Trigger warnings: Transphobia, Sexual Harassment. Abortion 

What I Have to Say 

Claire Hennessy likes to take on important issues, as she comes at it from a way that walks on a knife edge between being problematic and really showing how the issues work. In Nothing Tastes as good, this worked quite well. It would be very triggering for someone reading with an eating disorder, but as a book written to show readers what it feels like to have a eating disorder, it did it really well. 

Like Other Girls though, I think goes across the line on some issues. The transphobia really put me off. It horrified me completely and made me dislike Lauren as a character. Considering the ending, I kind of understand what Hennessy was going for, especially as Lauren and Evan have a lot of their own issues which somewhat explained the transphobic comments that Lauren was making and how much she didn't understand what Evan was going through. But I'm not sure it really made it any better. I don't think it was really addressed enough. 

The main plotline was obviously very important and I found it very emotional and interesting. It gave me the connection to Lauren as a character that I hadn't managed to find due to her transphobia, If the book had just been this storyline and there hadn't been the transphobic plotline then I think I really could have enjoyed it. 

I think this is an important book, especially being set in Ireland, but Hennessy just stepped over the line with what she was trying to show with the transphobia. I think it's good that she tried but it just didn't turn out well. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Hot Key Books for providing me with this copy for review. 

Close Your Eyes by Nicci Cloke

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 304

Publisher: Hot Key Books 

Released: 23rd of February 2017 

Southfield High School is oh so normal, with its good teachers, its bad, and its cliques. But despite the cliques, there's a particular group of friends who have known each other forever and know that they can rely on each other for anything. 

There's the twins: Aisha, rebellious, kind, and just a tiny bit worried about what the hell she's going to do once this year is over, and Vis, smart, quiet and observant. Then there's Remy, the loudmouth, and Gemma, who's more interested in college boys and getting into the crap club in town. And then there's Elise: the pretty one.

But at the start of Year 11, when the group befriend the new boy, Elijah, things start to change. The group find themselves not as close as they used to be. 

What I Have to Say 

This was such an interesting read. I love the way that it was set out, so that the even though we knew from the start what was going to happen, it wasn't revealed until later exactly who was involved and how it would unfold. It was so fascinating to be introduced to the characters and get to know them in the time leading up to the event so we could see what drove the events to happen. 

It was told in several different ways as well, There were twitter feeds and blog posts were a good way to show what was going on and the way that the people both inside and outside the school would react. 

The I was quite excited by the twists as well. It was a good way to separate this book from others with the same topic. 

 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Hot Key Books for providing me with this copy for review. 

Margot & Me by Juno Dawson

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 417

Publisher: Hot Key Books 

Released: 26th of January 2017 

Sometimes love has to cross all kinds of barriers . . .

Fliss is on the way to visit her grandmother in Wales - the grandmother who she doesn't get on with - with her mother who is recuperating from chemotherapy. But her mum is getting better, that's the main thing, so Fliss can concentrate on being grouchy and not looking forward to meeting her grandmother Margot, who is so cold and always so unforgiving of Fliss's every mistake . . . But when the six months is up, Fliss consoles herself, she and her mum will go back to London and back to Real Life!

In the meantime Fliss needs to get used to her new school, not upset the scary girls, and just keep her head down (whilst still making sure that everybody knows she is from London, of course). Then Fliss discovers a diary at the back of her bookcase. It is from the 1940s and is set in World War II, and, Fliss realises, is actually Margot's diary from when she was a young woman during the Blitz. Intrigued, Fliss begins to read. There she discovers a whole new side to Margot, a wartime romance and also Margot's deepest, most buried secret. And it is then that Fliss discovers something terrible in her own life that she is going to have to come to terms with...

What I Have to Say 

This book has everything both in modern times and Margot's diaries. It looks into race, homosexuality and outsiders versus insiders in a little town in Wales and of course cancer. It deals with relationships crossing through three generations, the relationship between Fliss and her Mum and with Margot, showing the different relationships that can be had between family members. 

Margot and me was beautifully written and wonderfully constructed, with diary entries from Margot breaking up the modern day story of Fliss having to move in with the cranky modern day version of Margot. 

My only complaint would be that at one point it almost felt like Juno Dawson forgot about the war during part of the diaries. There was a part set in London in 1941 where there was no mention of the blitz. It felt odd that it was forgotten about, since the rest of the diaries were very accurate. As the rest of the book was so great though, I'm willing to put it down to Margot's memories of the time differing or artistic license on Dawson's part. 

All in all though, I think this is probably my favourite of Juno Dawson book so far.