Review of What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo

 

 

 This book is about Eleanor, who has spent many years away at boarding school, and bloodthirsty family. She must figure out how to fit back into her family and control the darkness within her in order to save her family from distruction.

I found the premise of this book to be very interesting and something I haven't really read before and I was very excited to read this, however I had a hard time actually getting through the book once I got about 40% of the way through. The story, while good, just moved a bit too slow and made it feel as though it was dragging. I did find that the last 50 or so pages were really good. I think that for what the premise of this story is, there just was not enough action throughout the book. The last chapter and epilogue did make it so that I was glad that I did stick with the book and finish it but I would have liked it to have moved at a bit of a quicker pace.

Review of Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

 

          Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley is a thriller about Daunis Fontaine who gets convinced to help the FBI investigate the meth trade that has started coming from the nearby Ojibwe reservation when she witnesses her friend's murder.  She is able to use her knowledge of chemistry and traditional medicines to help track down the source of the new lethal meth.

I found this book to be completely riveting and was completely drawn in and once I got about a quarter of the way in, I could not put this down!  The descriptions of places in Michigan's Upper Peninsula had me homesick, especially Tahquamenon Falls.  The way in which the struggles of identity and the reality of violence against women (especially indigenous women) are interwoven into the larger story makes everything feel so much more real and high stakes.  When the plot twist and reveals happened, I couldn't believe how amazingly it all came together!

Thank you Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and BookishFirst for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
       

Review of A Pho Love Story by Loan Le

 

Disclaimer: I was given an eARC by Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

From the Publisher:
When Dimple Met Rishi meets Ugly Delicious in this funny, smart romantic comedy, in which two Vietnamese-American teens fall in love and must navigate their newfound relationship amid their families’ age-old feud about their competing, neighboring restaurants.

If Bao Nguyen had to describe himself, he’d say he was a rock. Steady and strong, but not particularly interesting. His grades are average, his social status unremarkable. He works at his parents’ pho restaurant, and even there, he is his parents’ fifth favorite employee. Not ideal.

If Linh Mai had to describe herself, she’d say she was a firecracker. Stable when unlit, but full of potential for joy and fire. She loves art and dreams pursuing a career in it. The only problem? Her parents rely on her in ways they’re not willing to admit, including working practically full-time at her family’s pho restaurant.

For years, the Mais and the Nguyens have been at odds, having owned competing, neighboring pho restaurants. Bao and Linh, who’ve avoided each other for most of their lives, both suspect that the feud stems from feelings much deeper than friendly competition.

But then a chance encounter brings Linh and Bao in the same vicinity despite their best efforts and sparks fly, leading them both to wonder what took so long for them to connect. But then, of course, they immediately remember.

Can Linh and Bao find love in the midst of feuding families and complicated histories?

Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book. It was a really cute Romeo and Juliet retelling. I would suggest that unless you can speak Vietnamese to listen to this as an audiobook because there are lots of parts that are in Vietnamese and can be difficult to get through otherwise.

If you enjoy YA romance, this is a good quick read. 

 

Rating: 4/5

Review of Revenge of the Sluts by Natalie Walton

Disclaimer: I was given an eARC of this book by Wattpad Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating 3.5/5

This book covers cyber-bullying, internet privacy debates, and censorship issues. It starts with an email sent out to the entire school with nude pictures of seven female students. When Eden covers the story for the school paper, censorship comes from the school administration. Eden is determined to get to the bottom of who sent the email and why not matter the cost. 

This book tackles a lot of issues that are prevalent in schools today. Though I thought that this book has a good premise and plot, there were parts that didn't feel completely fleshed out or felt rushed. I didn't think this was bad but I didn't find it to be amazing either.

Review of Pretending by Holly Bourne

 

Disclaimer: I was given an ARC of this book from Mira and Harlequin Trade Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

This book does have some heavy conversations about abusive relationships and rape.

This book did take me a while to get through because I had to take a break from it after reading the first third due to the heaviness of the beginning. Once I picked it back up, I was able to finish it in an afternoon.

April is an advisor for a sex and relationship charity and was raped by an ex-boyfriend which has caused her to believe that she hates men. However, she hasn't completely sworn off men so she creates Gretel as an alter-ego so she can date without the emotional baggage that April has. Once she meets Joshua and begins to really fall for him, things get complicated.

I would recommend this book but if you find conversations about abusive relationships and rape triggering, you may want to skip this book.

Review of The Deep by Rivers Solomon, Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes

 

 

The Deep is an interesting take on mermaid mythology, where mermaids came from pregnant women who were thrown overboard slave ships.  In their society, a historian stores all the memories of their people and shares them with everyone once a year and then takes them back.  This is so that everyone can live without the weight of the memories.

I did enjoy this story but at times felt lost and many aspects of it could have been expanded for a more full story.  The part that I enjoyed the most was Yetu's time on the surface when you got to see the character development.  I wish there had been more character development throughout the rest of the story because it gave the general impression to me that this story was complete and still needed to be fleshed out.

I did enjoy this and would recommend it to someone that is interested in unusual mermaid stories.
       

Review of Starfish by Lisa Fipps

 

Starfish by Lisa Fipps is about Ellie who has been bullied about her weight since her fifth birthday party, and ever since then she has lived by the "Fat Girl Rules" which are meant to help her not stand out.  Ellie does have a small network of people who support her in a sea of bullies.  

I absolutely loved this book!  I read this book in a single sitting, once I started I couldn't put it down.  I wish that this book had been around when I was in middle school.  A book about body positivity is unfortunately few and far between.  I had tears going down my face for most of the book.  There were some really heartbreaking parts of this, like when her mom keeps putting weight loss articles on the fridge for Ellie to see and ending a lot of things she says to Ellie with "if only you lost weight".  This book really points out how much more hurtful people's words are especially when they come from the people in our own families.

As I was reading this, I kept thinking about all the people that I want to give this book to and I will definitely be recommending this to just about everyone!