Category Archives: Contemporary

Review: Under the Neon Lights by Arriel Vinson

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Under the Neon Lights by Arriel Vinson

Under the Neon Lights
Arriel Vinson
G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Published June 3, 2025

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About Under the Neon Lights

In this sparkling and heartfelt debut YA novel in verse, a young Black girl discovers first love, self-worth, and the power of a good skate. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Joya Goffney.

Sixteen-year-old Jaelyn Coleman lives for Saturdays at WestSide Roll, the iconic neighborhood roller rink. On these magical nights, Jae can lose herself in the music of DJ Sunny, the smell of nachos from the concession, and the crowd of some of her favorite people—old heads, dance crews, and other regulars like herself. Here, Jae and other Black teens can fully be themselves.

One Saturday, as Jae skates away her worries, she crashes into the cutest boy she’s ever seen. Trey’s dimples, rich brown skin, and warm smile make it impossible for her to be mad at him though. Best of all, he can’t stop finding excuses to be around her. A nice change for once, in contrast with her best friend’s cold distance of late or her estranged father creeping back into her life.

Just as Jae thinks her summer might change for the better, devastating news hits: Westside Roll is shutting down. The gentrification rapidly taking over her predominantly Black Indianapolis neighborhood, filling it with luxury apartments and fancy boutiques, has come for her safe-haven. And this is just one trouble Jae can’t skate away from.

Debut author Arriel Vinson’s lyrical and contemplative story of young Black love and coming of age in Indianapolis ushers in an exciting new voice in YA literature.

My Review

The descriptions of the skating rink were so perfect. My memories of going skating and the sounds, smells, the stickiness in the air, all of that, came springing back to life in my head as I read this book. The descriptions of the music let you know what’s going on without ever slowing down the story. I felt like I was right there with Jae.

What’s really awesome, too, is that the story paints the picture of the skating rink as this hub for community. It’s a space where people gather and celebrate music, relationships, and the joy of roller skating. I loved every one of those scenes.

The story also makes space to explore the ways that relationships change. Sometimes things break, and we don’t know how to fix them. Sometimes people let us down. And sometimes people change. Figuring out when to fight or confront versus when to let things go is not easy, and Jae faces several complex choices in her relationships.

Jae also lives in a town that’s facing increasing gentrification. It’s no the theme of the story. This isn’t a book about mobilizing the community to stop what’s happening. It’s about figuring out how to be who you are in an ever-changing world, and how to hold onto the things that matter to you even when the world keeps changing. There are some great moments in which Jae calls out gentrification and acknowledges the harm it’s causing. So while it’s not a story that centers on saving the skating rink, it does address the impact of the closure on the community.

I was engaged from the first page to the last. The verse lines move quickly, drawing our attention to the perfect amount of detail and creating a rich emotional story. I cannot wait to see what the author writes next.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A few instances of strong profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Scenes show people falling while skating. References to racism and prejudice. Jae’s neighborhood faces increasing gentrification.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me
Mariko Tamaki
Illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell
First Second
Published May 7, 2019

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About Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me

Author Mariko Tamaki and illustrator Rosemary Valero-O’Connell bring to life a sweet and spirited tale of young love in Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, a graphic novel that asks us to consider what happens when we ditch the toxic relationships we crave to embrace the healthy ones we need.

Laura Dean, the most popular girl in high school, was Frederica Riley’s dream girl: charming, confident, and SO cute. There’s just one problem: Laura Dean is maybe not the greatest girlfriend.

Reeling from her latest break up, Freddy’s best friend, Doodle, introduces her to the Seek-Her, a mysterious medium, who leaves Freddy some cryptic parting words: break up with her. But Laura Dean keeps coming back, and as their relationship spirals further out of her control, Freddy has to wonder if it’s really Laura Dean that’s the problem. Maybe it’s Freddy, who is rapidly losing her friends, including Doodle, who needs her now more than ever.

Fortunately for Freddy, there are new friends, and the insight of advice columnists like Anna Vice to help her through being a teenager in love.

My Review

I think I first heard about this book on the 100 Best YA Books of all Time list by Time Magazine. I’ve currently only read 49 out of the 100 books, but I’m trying to add a few to my reading list each year.

I liked a lot of things about this book. For one thing, each character had a well-defined emotional feel to them. It’s definitely one of those graphic novels in which the sum is greater than its parts, because there is something about the combination of spare text and the characters’ expressions or position within the panels that makes each one feel like a real person. Laura Dean? Yeah, I know some people who act like her. I feel like I’d recognize her on the street. And Freddy? I wanted to hug her. Doodle, too. I loved how much of the story happened in the expressions on the characters’ faces, too. I felt like whole conversations happened just in Doodle’s expressions in particular.

The story takes us on a roller coaster ride through Freddy and Laura’s relationship. At one point, Doodle takes Freddy to see a psychic, and I love how the woman sums up the problem in their relationship, comparing it to being caught in the middle of a square dance step (the two met while square dancing at school). Having been caught in a toxic relationship before, I thought that was a powerful metaphor for the way that it feels. The lack of closure and how you can’t get your feet under you because you got dropped mid-step. That made perfect sense to me. It also signaled to Freddy that she needed to take ownership of her feelings and the relationship narrative rather than feeling one step behind, following Laura’s lead.

Conclusion

All in all, I think Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me is really well done. Freddy’s emails to the advice columnist frame things nicely and show her grappling with questions for which she doesn’t have answers. I think anyone who’s survived a toxic relationship will find some things that resonate with them in this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A few F-bombs and other swearing used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. References to sex. One character has an abortion. (Off-scene.)

Spiritual Content
Freddy and a friend go to see a psychic who gives Freddy advice on how to stop feeling miserable.

Violent Content
Freddy kisses someone without consent after seeing Laura with someone else.

Drug Content
Freddy gets drunk at a dance after spotting Laura making out with someone else. She throws up on the counter at a bakery and feels super embarrassed about it afterward.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. All opinions are my own.

Review: When Love Gives You Lemons by Steven Salvatore

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , ,

When Love Gives You Lemons
Steven Salvatore
Bloomsbury
Published May 13, 2025

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About When Love Gives You Lemons

In this exuberant YA romance from the critically acclaimed author of And They Lived…, a budding social media influencer sets out to win back his first love at a family wedding in an Italian lemon grove.

Ever since he was a kid, Fielder Lemon’s large, opinionated Italian-American family has lived next to Ricky DeLuca and his large, opinionated Italian-American family. For almost as long, Fielder has known that he wants to marry Ricky one day. And he thought Ricky felt the same way-until Ricky breaks up with Fielder, saying he needs to figure out who he is on his own.

One year later, Fielder is asked to be one of the best men in his cousin’s destination wedding on the Amalfi Coast in Italy, but there’s a twist: his cousin is marrying Ricky’s sister. Fielder hasn’t talked to or seen Ricky once during the last entire, terrible year, but he hasn’t given up on his first love quite yet-and isn’t a wedding in an Italian lemon grove the perfect setting to rekindle their relationship? Except Ricky might have already moved on.

Now, Fielder has less than a week to win back Ricky’s heart while also trying not to ruin his cousin’s wedding. But if there’s one thing Fielder knows, it’s that when life gives you lemons, take a bite!

My Review

I feel like this is going to be a tough review for me. I have loved every book by Steven Salvatore more than their last, so I went into this one with sky-high expectations.

Which proved tricky because I really struggled to like Fielder’s character in those early chapters. He’s really focused on his social media. Clearly he’s missing signals from his boyfriend. He doesn’t seem like a great listener. I wanted to be totally on board with his quest to get his ex back, but I found myself having real questions about whether restarting the relationship would be what was best for Ricky, his ex.

I stuck with the book because it had so many other things that I was enjoying. References to My Best Friend’s Wedding? I’m SO here for it! Big Italian family does wedding in Italy?? YES PLEASE! So I definitely had things I was enjoying. I just really wanted to like Fielder more than I did at the beginning.

However!

Whew. Okay. Does Salvatore know what they’re doing? Yes. Yes, they do! Because wow, the story hit that half-way mark, and Fielder all of a sudden starts to see himself and his life in a different light. His passion to help someone else ignites. It’s like, all these pieces click into place. And in that moment, when Fielder is in the lemon grove, finally understanding how he wants to use his social media account and what he willdo to learn and grow himself, I became the biggest Fielder fan.

From there onward, I just couldn’t get enough of this story. It makes room for complexity and nuance, but it delivers those big romantic moments, too. It was great celebrating the whole adventure with those families.

This book unapologetically centers young gay men, and I’m so happy to celebrate that. We need it.

Ultimately, I am really glad I read this book. I loved the references to My Best Friend’s Wedding. Those quotes and chapter titles referencing the movie were fabulous. If you’re looking for a messy summer rom com with big Italian families, don’t miss this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Some instances of strong profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to sex. Kissing. One scene leads into a sex scene with a vague description.

Spiritual Content
References to prayer.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
References to underage drinking (happened off-scene).

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea by Ashley Herring Blake

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Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea
Ashley Herring Blake
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published May 25, 2021

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About Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea

A poignant yet hopeful novel about a girl navigating grief, trauma, and friendship, from Ashley Herring Blake, the award-winning author of Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World.

Hazel Bly used to live in the perfect house with the perfect family in sunny California. But when a kayaking trip goes horribly wrong, Mum is suddenly gone forever and Hazel is left with crippling anxiety and a jagged scar on her face. After Mum’s death, Hazel, her other mother, Mama, and her little sister, Peach, need a fresh start. So for the last two years, the Bly girls have lived all over the country, never settling anywhere for more than a few months.

When the family arrives in Rose Harbor, Maine, there’s a wildness to the small town that feels like magic. But when Mama runs into an old childhood friend—Claire—suddenly Hazel’s tight-knit world is infiltrated. To make it worse, she has a daughter Hazel’s age, Lemon, who can’t stop rambling on and on about the Rose Maid, a local 150-year-old mermaid myth.

Soon, Hazel finds herself just as obsessed with the Rose Maid as Lemon is—because what if magic were real? What if grief really could change you so much, you weren’t even yourself anymore? And what if instead you emerged from the darkness stronger than before?

My Review

This book has been on my reading list for a long time. I finally managed to read it in a book club with other KidLit reviewers, which was a super exciting experience. I get to talk about a book that I read with other humans who have read it! JOY!

Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea is one of those books that has a lot going on in it, but the author manages the flow of information, character development, and pacing so well that I didn’t really notice just how much was going on until sitting down to write this review.

The book has a hair of magical realism in it, which I loved. It’s kind of there and up to you what you believe about what happened. It’s left open to interpretation, which I loved.

The characters were really nicely done. Hazel meets three kids who are all part of an Ocean Club summer program. One girl, Lemon, is so enthusiastic. I loved the way that her enthusiasm made her resilient and helped her bulldoze past some of Hazel’s grief-driven frostiness. I also loved Lemon’s two closest friends. They’re protective of Lemon in a way that makes so much sense as we learn about their lives and the history of their friendship.

Hazel’s relationship with Mama was such a tender part of this book, too. It was hard to read some of the earlier scenes with those two in them. It’s so clear they are not communicating and that Mama doesn’t grasp what’s going on with Hazel and the deep, unhealed grief and trauma she’s carrying. It feels like she thinks if she ignores Hazel’s anxiety, it’ll go away. That struck a chord for me.

I loved the overall message about how grief changes you and how we need each other as we grieve. I also loved how new relationships, while scary, can be healing, not only for ourselves. In new relationships, we find opportunities to bring healing to others, too.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some feelings of attraction between one character and another. Adults kissing.

Spiritual Content
Hazel’s mom attends a Summer Solstice party.

Violent Content
Hazel describes a kayaking accident that left her injured and her mum dead. References to a boat sinking and killing passengers a long time ago. Hazel experiences a panic attack.

Drug Content
Hazel hears her mom agree to another glass of wine while on the phone with her.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. All opinions are my own.

Review: On the Block: Stories of Home edited by Ellen Oh

Anthology or Collection, Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , ,

On the Block: Stories of Home
Edited by Ellen Oh
Crown Books for Young Readers
Published October 22, 2024

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About On the Block: Stories of Home

From We Need Diverse Books comes a heart-warming middle-grade anthology that follows the loosely interconnected lives of multigenerational immigrant families inhabiting the Entrada apartment building. Edited by Ellen Oh, a founding member of WNDB.”The beauty of their shared home does not come from any single person, but instead from the sum of their experiences” -Meg Medina, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature

12 Families. 12 Cultures. 1 Building.Welcome to the Entrada, home to these everyday Americans, includingthe new kid on the block, who is both homesick and curiousa Popsicle-bridge builder, a ghost hunter, and a lion dancer their families, friends, and neighbors from all around the world!

Published in partnership with We Need Diverse Books, this uplifting anthology features award-winning authors Tracey Baptiste, David Bowles, Adrianna Cuevas, Sayantani DasGupta, Debbi Michiko Florence, Adam Gidwitz, Erin Entrada Kelly, Minh Lê, Ellen Oh, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Andrea Wang, and Jasmine Warga.

These inspiring stories celebrate family, friendship, culture, and American immigrant life today.

My Review

I love how cleverly this story collection is put together. Each story is identified by the apartment number where the main character lives (or the story takes place… sometimes it’s a grandparents’ apartment) rather than a traditional title. The stories intersect and reference characters appearing in other stories, but each one could be read independently.

It was interesting reading the book and thinking about the location of each apartment in the building. I think it would have been really cool to have a table of contents or a kind of map that organized the stories visually, so that readers could note where each one takes place in relation to the others. A map of the overall building and surrounding area would have been fun, too. Maybe someone will make one online (or has already!).

Several of the stories center on immigrant families sharing traditional celebrations, food, and forming connections across cultural lines. The underlying message about community and neighborliness repeats in each story, sometimes subtly and other times more overtly.

As someone who grew up in a suburban neighborhood, I’m always fascinated with stories about apartment life. I imagine the same is true for other kids who grew up in similar ways.

Ellen Oh, CEO of We Need Diverse Books, edited the collection which features some well-known middle grade authors, and many that I’ve been meaning to read. The only author featured in the collection that I had read before is David Bowles. I will definitely read more by several of these authors.

I also own an e-book version of another collection edited by Ellen Oh, Flying Lessons and Other Stories, so I’m excited to read that now as well.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to a middle school student with a crush on someone.

Spiritual Content
One character lights incense and prays to their ancestors.

Violent Content
Reference to a child dying of pneumonia. (Happens off-scene.)

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

MMGM Review: Just Lizzie by Karen Wilfrid

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Just Lizzie
Karen Wilfrid
Clarion Books
Published November 14, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Just Lizzie

A 2024 LAMBDA AWARD FINALIST

In this beautifully written contemporary middle grade debut, an eighth grader’s study of asexuality in science class leads her to understand her own asexual identity as she embarks on a journey toward self-discovery and self-advocacy. For readers of Alex Gino and Ashley Herring Blake.

“There’s the part of me that doesn’t understand kissing or cuteness or attraction, and then there’s the part of me that feels so lonely. How do I make sense of those two parts? Maybe I’ll never make sense of them.”

What do you do when there’s a question inside you that feels so big, you don’t know how to put words to it? How do you even begin to ask it?

Fourteen-year-old Lizzie is experiencing a lot of change: Her family had to move after the incident with their neighbor, leaving behind not only her beloved apple tree but what feels like her childhood along with it. Lizzie’s brother is too busy for her in his first semester of college, and her friends are more interested in dating than dolls. It’s hard not to feel left behind, especially as she tries to explain the fact that she still has zero interest in boys, girls, or the baffling behavior known as “flirting.”

But just as Lizzie’s world feels like it’s closing in, a class lesson on asexual reproduction in plants piques her curiosity, leading her to look up whether people can be asexual too—and suddenly her world opens up. Lizzie finally finds an identity, a word for all her messy, unnamable feelings that feels like it fits, although she quickly realizes that a label isn’t enough if no one believes it’s real.

Accessible, moving, and compassionate, Just Lizzie effortlessly braids a nuanced individual journey of identity with the bittersweet angst of growing up, growing apart, and learning there are many ways to live and love.

My Review

I have zero surprise that this book was nominated for awards.

This is one of those books that has so much going on in it, but it’s paced so perfectly that the story never feels cluttered or too busy. It never feels like a thread is dropped only to awkwardly reappear later.

At the start of the story, Lizzie is in the midst of a lot of changes. Her family recently moved from a house she loved because of an incident with a neighbor. This incident left Lizzie and her mom traumatized. Lizzie’s best friend has also just started dating a boy from school. Dating and attraction don’t make sense to Lizzie, so she struggles to respond to her friend’s relationship troubles and questions about who she likes.

One really cool part of the book is that Lizzie takes a self-defense class on Saturdays. In the class, she learns about fight, flight, and freeze responses. Learning to defend herself makes her feel more empowered. She also builds surprising connections with a couple of mentors through the class.

Adults in Lizzie’s life don’t always respond to her in the ways she expects. She faces disappointments, but she also has experiences where adults she thought would brush her off take time to see her. I loved that.

I don’t think I went into this book expecting it to be a favorite, but this is a story I’m going to hold onto for a long time. Just Lizzie perfectly captures that middle school experience where so many changes happen so quickly that it’s hard to keep up. I loved the ace representation. It’s an incredible book, and I hope that a lot more people discover and read it.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very rarely.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to kissing and feelings of attraction. Boys show each other diagrams of the human body from their science textbooks, giggling and trying to make people uncomfortable. Vague references to making out or touching. (Nothing is described in the scene.)

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A neighbor pushed Lizzie’s front door open after being asked to leave, scaring Lizzie and injuring her mom. Lizzie takes a self-defense class and practices defensive maneuvers. A boy at school repeatedly kicks Lizzie’s chair and, at one point, shoves her.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday

I’m sharing this post as a part of a weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday. Check out other blogs with posts about middle-grade books today on Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle.