#ya reads
★★★★★
The Middle Passage: White Ships | Black Cargo is unlike any picture book I’ve ever encountered. There are stories that tell the horrors of slavery after they had reached their destination, but I can’t think of any others that tell the story of the journey. There are a few pages of commentary from the author, and an introduction—but the story itself is told solely with illustrations, and honestly, I can’t see that words would have added anything to the story. Each illustration conveys the horror, pain, and struggle that African men and women experienced during the Middle Passage. This book is one that can be used alongside various history lessons to help gain a deeper understanding of what this experience was actually like. It can also be used to help readers think critically about certain aspects of history they were taught that sugar coated or glossed over the horrors of the slave trade.
★★★★
Skim was a compelling coming of age graphic novel that showcases what it is like to be a teenage girl. It highlights tough issues that many teenagers face on a regular basis: body image, depression, suicide, first love, sexuality, and outgrowing your friends. This is a realistic graphic novel that many teens will be able to relate to, and it can serve as a source of reassurance that they are not alone in feeling like they don’t fit in. It could also help in advanced emotional intelligence in teens by helping them recognize their own emotions in the face of issues they are dealing with. Also, because teens are likely experiencing many of the things Kim is, they can also see their emotions reflected in other people, helping them become (more) empathetic.
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★★★
I really, really wanted to like this book, but I didn’t. I guess I expected it to be a little like The Serpent King, but other than the weirdly “religious” dad it was nothing like what I expected. First, the cover is actually pretty nice. It’s a dark matte red, the title is written in a way that the first line is Con, which I thought was fitting, and the ‘t’ is a cross—also, there is a car that has obviously been in an accident of some type, and illuminated by the headlights is “A lie will set him free.” Braden is a wealthy, white teenage boy, who happens to be a really good pitcher with a bright future in baseball. From the outside, Braden’s life looks pretty envy worthy—but things are never what they seem. Braden’s dad is abusive, manipulative, and just generally awful—not to mention he’s been accused of murdering a cop, because he did literally murder a cop. Braden does a lot of soul searching, he punishes himself for so many things, and he tries to bargain with God regularly throughout the story. He has been conditioned to think that everything that does wrong is his fault, and that if he were a better kid, a better pitcher, a better student, a better Christian—just generally better—then the bad things would be rectified. This book was incredibly realistic, but I guess I still hoped for something good to happen. I hated that Braden literally had no one tell him that the things happening weren’t his fault, and that no matter what he did terrible things would just happen sometimes. I was also incredibly disappointed that he chose to testify the way he did—though I likely would have done the same thing, if I am being honest. I had hoped for more from the ending, but realistically it was probably about as good as it could have been—anything different would not have fit with the rest of the story.
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★★★★
Some Girls Are is very similar to other books by Courtney Summers. It was sort of a Mean Girls (on steroids) meets Speak. Regina, the main character, is self-admittedly a mean girl. She, along with her group of friends are basically the Plastics from Mean Girls, but worse. They are awful to pretty much anyone outside of their group—and even pretty awful to each other. One night at a party Regina is almost raped Anna’s boyfriend, Donnie. Anna is the leader of their little group; she is probably the most awful of them all, but that’s still up for debate. For some reason, instead of going to the police or some other adult who could have helped her, Regina runs to Kara—who still (rightfully?) holds a grudge for Regina suggesting she develop an eating disorder if she wanted to be a part of their group. Kara sees this as the perfect opportunity for payback and tells Anna that Regina slept with Donnie. Chaos ensues, and Regina is ostracized from the group and bullied by her ‘friends’ among others at school—many of whom she had bullied in the past. I wanted to be shocked at how awful these kids were to one another—I wanted to be shocked that not a single adult realized that this level of bullying was going on—but after thinking about it for a bit I realized it was entirely realistic and the shock wore off. I still don’t understand why these girls got off on ruining other people’s lives, just like I don’t understand why it happens in real life. The thing that was most disappointing to me is that a teen who is experiencing something like this might pick up this book and still have no idea how to help themselves or get help. At least in Speak Melinda had someone offer to listen to her—in Some Girls Are there was basically no encouragement to reach out to an adult for help.
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Back by Popular Demand! Megan O'Russell’s Young-Adult Coming-Of-Age fantasyThe Girl Without Magic is on sale for 99 Cents from November 3 - 12 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078WY9W7K
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Jordan Elizabeth’s Young-Adult fantasy ESCAPE FROM WITCHWOOD HOLLOW is on sale for 99 Cents; October 28 - November 3. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OWAZ5T0
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Megan O'Russell’s Young-Adult, coming-of-age fantasy The Girl Without Magic is on sale for 99 Cents from October 18 - 21. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078WY9W7K
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Goodreads Giveaway Enter for a chance to win one of 100 digital copies of Christopher Francis’ YA coming-of-age paranormal novel REMEMBERING KAYLEE COOPER.
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/282267-remembering-kaylee-cooper
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These magical books look great. Loving all the minimalist, text-based covers!
https://www.bookbub.com/blog/2016/12/09/books-for-harry-potter-fans-holiday-wish-list/?popupdelay=0
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Melissa McShane’s YA UrbanFantasy The Last Oracle 2: The Book of Peril is out now! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F7CZYBZ/
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Check out this 4 Star review of Melissa McShane’s YA UrbanFantasy The Last Oracle 2: The Book of Peril, and grab your copy when it hits retailers tomorrow! https://www.netgalley.com/book/141440/review/475452
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The Author Spotlight Questions and Answers is here with a new addition - this time we have a post from Simon Kewin, who is talking about his new book ENGN, and life in the English countryside.
https://curiosityquills.com/column-posts/simon-kewin/
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Teaser Tuesday Simon Kewin’s YA SciFi novel ENGN is Out Now! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DNNYT8L/
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The Heir
By:Kiera Cass
The selection trilogy is one of my absolute favourite series. Its romantic scenes are beautifully written but the story also has exciting aspects of rebelling castes, family values, and what makes a good leader.
Because I loved the selection trilogy so much of course I wanted more but I was a little hesitant to read the next 2 books following America’s daughter. My first impression of Eadlyn was she was a bit of a Brat. However Cass developed her beautifully into an admirable and strong woman trying to make her own way in the world.
I absolutely fell in love with Eadlyn’s story just as much as I loved America’s, and I would highly recommend the whole series to anyone.
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Tale as old as time
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Absolutely one of my favorite fairytale retellings. I finished this book in one sitting, I couldn’t put it down! The story line was rich. The world building was amazing within the first couple of chapters. Rosamund Hodge was very descriptive Which I loved. It created vivid scenes and made me feel all the feels. Beautiful read. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on more of her retellings.
“Don’t look at the shadows too long or a demon might look back”
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are you planning on reading any spooky books next month? which ones? do you think i can read 25 in one month i just uploaded my october 2020 tbr to my booktube channel! check it out
