Category Archives: Contemporary

Review: No Perfect Places by Steven Salvatore

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No Perfect Places by Steven Salvatore

No Perfect Places
Steven Salvatore
Bloomsbury YA
Published May 30, 2023

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About No Perfect Places

From lauded author Steven Salvatore comes a YA about twins whose incarcerated father dies and leaves behind a life-changing secret.

When their father was imprisoned for embezzlement, twins Alex and Olly Brucke lost everything except their strong bond with each other. But after their dad dies unexpectedly, the twins start to fracture. Alex is spiraling, skipping classes to get drunk or high. Olly is struggling with a secret his dad ordered him to keep: they have a secret half-brother, Tyler.

So when Tyler shows up in their lakeside town for the summer, hoping to get to know his siblings, Olly hides the truth from Alex. But as Alex and Tyler start to form a friendship, the lies become harder to juggle. If they can’t confront their father’s past and fix their relationship, Olly and Alex each risk losing two siblings forever.

A thought-provoking novel about grief, family secrets, and figuring out how to belong against the odds.

My Review

Okay, so you know how there are just certain authors whose books just hit you deep? Steven Salvatore is one of those authors for me. I have loved all of their books so far, and I’m both delighted and unsurprised to say the same of NO PERFECT PLACES.

The relationship between siblings absolutely melted my heart. The wildly different experiences and feelings they each had for their father made perfect sense from each character’s perspective. Alex’s destructive grief was heartbreaking. As was the wreckage from Olly’s protective need to try to control everything.

And let’s not skip the romantic relationships because this, again, is something Salvatore does SO WELL. Olly and Khal have this great balance in their relationship. It’s not that things are perfect. It’s not even that they have their whole relationship figured out. They are always on the same side, though. I loved that. Alex has a whole rollercoaster-on-fire of romance, and while it hurt to read some of those scenes, I felt like they were so well done. As Alex begins to process her grief and process her feelings about herself, she begins to see the relationship in a different light. The change felt organic and had me cheering for her so hard.

I also want to say that the romantic storylines never stole the show. They were absolutely subplots, and they stayed in their lanes, so I felt like the story struck a great balance there.

Another thing (yes, more!) that Steven Salvatore does brilliantly well is how they present art within a story. In AND THEY LIVED, they told us the story of Chase’s college animation project.

In NO PERFECT PLACES, we get Olly’s journey of creating a short film to submit to a contest. The movie scene descriptions are great, and I loved how the final product echoed the themes of the larger story.

All in all, such a great book. I loved it so much. It’s the story of three siblings and their journey through a very particular kind of grief, and the community they build which helps them heal.

Content Notes for No Perfect Places

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Olly is gay and uses he/they pronouns. Alex uses drugs and alcohol to numb her grief. She also experiences domestic violence at the hands of a partner. Olly’s boyfriend is Iranian American and Muslim.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Boy/boy kissing and boy/girl kissing. References to sex, and some brief explicit statements about sex.

Spiritual Content
Brief references to Muslim faith. Alex and Olly both says “goddess,” as in “Oh my goddess.”

Violent Content
A man dies while denied access to medical care. Some scenes show domestic violence and emotional abuse in a relationship. A boy punches other characters and attacks them with few consequences. A girl punches a boy after he slaps her. In one scene, a girl overdoses and dies. A girl knees a boy in the groin after he tries to grab her.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol, smoke pot, and use other drugs in a few scenes. It’s shown in a way that highlights the destructiveness of the behavior. A girl dies of an accidental overdose.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of NO PERFECT PLACES in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Something Like Possible by Miel Moreland

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

Something Like Possible
Miel Moreland
Feiwel & Friends
Published May 23, 2023

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About Something Like Possible

In this compelling YA contemporary from author Miel Moreland, a bisexual teen’s path to political staffer stardom is in jeopardy, until she convinces a cute new candidate to team up with her on the campaign trail.

On the worst day of her life, Madison is dumped by her girlfriend, then fired as said (ex)girlfriend’s campaign manager… plus she accidentally rear-ends the student government advisor—the one person whose good word might help her win a spot at a prestigious youth politics summer camp.

But Madison is nothing if not a girl with a plan, and she isn’t going to let a little thing like heartbreak (or a slightly dented bumper) get in her way. Soon, she has a new junior class president candidate to back—although the two of them might be getting a little too close on the campaign trail. Between navigating her growing crush and corralling a less than enthusiastic election team, Madison has had it with unexpected changes to her carefully laid plans. But when she and a group of queer classmates discover a pattern of harassment within the student government, Madison’s forced to shift gears once again.

Something Like Possible is a love letter to ambitious girls, queer solidarity, and how to keep moving forward when the world seems set on pushing you back.

“For every ambitious girl who has been told that they are “too much,” Something Like Possible is a validating promise that you are enough.” —Marisa Kanter, author of As If On Cue

My Review

I think the book’s strongest part is its characters, especially Victoria, Amrita, and Madison. I love how they relate to one another and their different mannerisms and voices.

Madison is fifteen years old throughout the story, which is an interesting choice for YA and one I don’t see often. I liked the decision to tell the story from a younger character’s perspective, and at first, I thought maybe that was to position the book for lower YA audiences. It did have some f-bombs in it, though, which maybe means it’s not intended for lower YA? I’m not sure.

I enjoyed the political campaign elements of the story a lot more than I expected. I liked that Madison was so thoughtful and had such specific ideas and plans. It was cool watching her figure out how to be flexible with what she wanted, too. I liked that she was unapologetically nerdy about politics. It’s so much fun to read books about a topic where someone is really passionate, and you kind of learn things along the way without setting out to do that.

Overall, I liked many components of the book: the school campaign, the solidarity that grew between characters, and the sweet romance between Madison and Victoria. I think fans of THAT’S DEBATABLE by Jen Doll will love this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Madison is bisexual. Diverse cast of minor characters.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls.

References to sexual assault. Some descriptions of inappropriate hugs, touches (on top of clothes), and grooming behavior.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
See sexual content. Madison sees cuts on another girl’s arm and realizes they’re from self-harm.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Julieta and the Romeos by Maria E. Andreu

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Julieta and the Romeos
Maria E. Andreu
Balzer + Bray
Published May 16, 2023

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About Julieta and the Romeos

You’ve Got Mail meets a YA Beach Read with a bookish mystery at its heart in the newest rom-com from Maria E. Andreu. The ideal next read for fans of Emily Henry, Kasie West, and Jennifer E. Smith.

Julieta isn’t looking for her Romeo–but she is writing about love. When her summer writing teacher encourages the class to publish their work online, the last thing she’s expecting is to get a notification that her rom-com has a mysterious new contributor, Happily Ever Drafter. Julieta knows that happily ever afters aren’t real. (Case in point: her parents’ imploding marriage.) But then again, could this be her very own meet-cute?

As things start to heat up in her fiction, Julieta can’t help but notice three boys in her real life: her best friend’s brother (aka her nemesis), the boy next door (well, to her abuela), and her oldest friend (who is suddenly looking . . . hot?). Could one of them be her mysterious collaborator? But even if Julieta finds her Romeo, she’ll have to remember that life is full of plot twists. . . .

From the author of Love in English comes a fresh take on love and romance, and a reminder to always be the author of your own life story.

My Review

I haven’t read anything by Emily Henry, but I definitely see the comparisons between this book and books by Kasie West or Jennifer E. Smith. It has a fluffy romance anchored in family life like I’ve seen in Kasie West’s books.

I loved the references to writing. Julieta is a writer and often thinks about a moment in terms of how she would write it. One of the things she wrestles with is the way that internalizing or imagining takes her out of the present and sometimes leads her to overlook what’s right in front of her.

My favorite thing about the book is the way the mystery of the identity of Happily Ever Drafter unfolds. I also loved the way the romance develops in her life. At first, I thought I knew exactly how the story would go– I’ve read enough romance novels to pick up some clues. And I was right about some elements, but I was completely blown away by others.

Julieta’s family owns a restaurant which she discovers isn’t doing all that well since the pandemic. She also lost her grandfather during the pandemic (I think) and since then, her grandmother has moved to town to be closer to the family. The relationship between Julieta and Abuela is so great. I absolutely bawled through one of the tender scenes in which Abuela opens her heart to Julieta and delivers some much-needed encouragement and wisdom.

On the whole, I had such a great time reading this book! It’s my first time reading anything by Maria E. Andreu, but I can tell it won’t be the last. I found the story really entertaining and tender. It’s a great book to start the summer with.

Content Notes for Julieta and the Romeos

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Julieta and her family are Argentinian Americans.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mostly mild profanity used fewer than ten times. One instance of stronger profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. In one scene, Julieta sees a boy on top of a girl and references that he’s touching her. She doesn’t say where but implies it’s sexual.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol at a party.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of JULIETA AND THE ROMEOS in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Constellations by Kate Glasheen

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Constellations
Kate Glasheen
Holiday House
Published May 23, 2023

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About Constellations

A debut graphic novel about a queer teen living in the margins who is determined to find their way ahead.

Are you supposed to be a boy or a girl?

It’s a question that follows Claire everywhere. Inescapable on the street, in school, and even at home. A black hole forever trying to pull them in. But as long as they have ride-or-die best friend Greg at their side and a drink in their hand, everything will be okay. Right?

Except, Claire can never have just one drink. And when harassment at school reaches a fever pitch, Claire begins a spiral that ends in court-ordered rehab. Feeling completely lost, Claire is soon surrounded by a group of new friends and, with the help of a patient counselor, finds a space to unpack all the bad they’ve experienced. But as Claire’s release gets closer so does the Can Claire stay sober and true in a world seemingly never made for them?

Set in 1980s Troy, New York, Constellations is a portrait of a queer teen living in the margins but determined to find their way ahead. Done in watercolor and ink, debut author-artist Kate Glasheen has created a world where strong lines meet soft color, and raw emotions meet deep thought in this story of hope, humor, and survival.

“A unique journey that doesn’t turn away from hard truths; courageously honest and vulnerable.”—Iasmin Omar Ata, the Ignatz Award winning creator of Mis(h)adra.

My Review

What a moving story. At the beginning, we meet Claire and get a view of the town, which has kind of shrunk in on itself following factory closures. There are people Claire once felt connected to that aren’t here anymore. I love the those people and missing things are drawing as though they’re on a piece of notebook paper that’s been torn out of a notebook. Like pages ripped out of a journal– perhaps the one we see Claire sketching in from time to time. I thought that whole idea was really clever.

A lot of the story takes place while Claire is in rehab. I liked the way those chapters were presented, too. It felt like going on the journey with Claire and peeling back layers of why this happened. Why alcohol? Why is it so hard to stop? What are you running from? I felt like the way the story unfolded really drew me into those questions and made me feel Claire wrestling with the answers.

Overall, I think CONSTELLATIONS contains some powerful visual storytelling, and I’m really excited that I got to read it. I hope this author writes a lot more.

Content Notes

Brief depiction of sexual assault and references to abuse. Alcoholism and addiction.

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Claire has questions about gender identity. Neither of the labels “boy” or “girl” are a good fit. Claire is also an alcoholic. Other characters have addictions to drugs and alcohol and are attending rehab.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
A couple of girls kiss Claire.

At one point, a group of boys begin taunting Claire and one grabs Claire’s groin.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A boy in the rehab program talks about how his father beats him. Others describe emotional abuse or neglect. These are brief descriptions. Panels show teens fighting a couple of times.

Claire remembers an instance in which a nun forced Claire to stand outside in front of others with no pants on.

Drug Content
At the start of the story, Claire drinks alcohol at every opportunity. Claire shares the number of family members who are also alcoholic. At rehab, others share their addictions. Some of the rehab participants return to using drugs or alcohol after they leave the program.

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

Review: Rubi Ramos’s Recipe for Success by Jessica Parra

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

Rubi Ramos’s Recipe for Success
Jessica Parra
Wednesday Books
Published May 16, 2023

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About Rubi Ramos’s Recipes for Success

Graduation is only a few months away, and so far Rubi Ramos’s recipe for success is on track.

*Step 1: Get into the prestigious Alma University.
*Step 2: Become incredibly successful lawyer.

But when Alma waitlists Rubi’s application, her plan is in jeopardy. Her parents–especially her mom, AKA the boss–have wanted this for her for years. In order to get off the waitlist without her parents knowing, she needs math tutoring from surfer-hottie math genius Ryan, lead the debate team to a championship–and remember the final step of the recipe.

*Step 3: Never break the ban on baking.

Rubi has always been obsessed with baking, daydreaming up new concoctions and taking shifts at her parents’ celebrated bakery. But her mother dismisses baking as a distraction–her parents didn’t leave Cuba so she could bake just like them.

But some recipes are begging to be tampered with…

When the First Annual Bake Off comes to town, Rubi’s passion for baking goes from subtle simmer to full boil. She’s not sure if she has what it takes to become OC’s best amateur baker, and there’s only one way to find out–even though it means rejecting the ban on baking, and by extension, her parents. But life is what you bake it, and now Rubi must differentiate between the responsibility of unfulfilled dreams she holds, and finding the path she’s meant for.

My Review

One of the things I loved about this book is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. There’s a lot of celebration of puns and baking and the goofy awkwardness of first relationships and love. I loved those parts of the story.

RUBI RAMOS’S RECIPE FOR SUCCESS has a lot more than that to offer, though. We experience the pressure Rubi faces in her parents’ expectations for her, and her conflicting desires for her own life. She wants to do what’s right by her parents and honor the sacrifices they’ve made for her. But she also wants to find a way to make room for her own dreams. The struggle felt so real.

The romantic elements of the story are really sweet. It’s a simpler plot element, so there’s not a lot of drama or big trope-y conflict. That made for kind of a refreshing read, actually.

I think fans of baking stories like SALT AND SUGAR by Rebecca Carvalho or sweet romances, like books by Kasie West will enjoy Rubi’s tale of culinary confections and family connections.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Rubi and her family are Cuban American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A white girl on Rubi’s debate team and in another leadership group with her makes some racist comments.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of RUBI RAMOS’S RECIPE FOR SUCCESS in exchange for my honest review.

Review: All the Dead Lie Down by Kyrie McCauley

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All the Dead Lie Down
Kyrie McCauley
Katherine Tegen Books
Published May 16, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

All the Dead Lie Down

The Haunting of Bly Manor meets House of Salt and Sorrows in award-winning author Kyrie McCauley’s contemporary YA gothic romance about a dark family lineage, the ghosts of grief, and the lines we’ll cross for love.

The Sleeping House was very much awake . . .

Days after a tragedy leaves Marin Blythe alone in the world, she receives a surprising invitation from Alice Lovelace—an acclaimed horror writer and childhood friend of Marin’s mother. Alice offers her a nanny position at Lovelace House, the family’s coastal Maine estate.

Marin accepts and soon finds herself minding Alice’s peculiar girls. Thea buries her dolls one by one, hosting a series of funerals, while Wren does everything in her power to drive Marin away. Then Alice’s eldest daughter returns home unexpectedly. Evie Hallowell is every bit as strange as her younger sisters, and yet Marin is quickly drawn in by Evie’s compelling behavior and ethereal grace.

But as Marin settles in, she can’t escape the anxiety that follows her like a shadow. Dead birds appear in Marin’s room. The children’s pranks escalate. Something dangerous lurks in the woods, leaving mutilated animals in its wake. All is not well at Lovelace House, and Marin must unravel its secrets before they consume her.

My Review

I completely fell in love with Kyrie McCauley’s writing in her book WE CAN BE HEROES, so when I saw she had a new book coming out, I didn’t even read what it was before requesting a copy for review. Ha.

The cover copy gave me some THE TURN OF THE SCREW vibes– a girl comes to an old estate to work as a nanny for two children who have some creepy habits. This isn’t a retelling of that play, though. The setup is similar, but the plot goes a whole lot of other places.

I liked the dark, endlessly creepy vibes. It definitely has that edge-of-your-seat, something-really-bad-is-about-to-happen kind of feeling all the way through the book.

The characters really hooked me into the story, too. It’s a very predominantly female cast. I think the only male named characters are the Lovelace girls’ father and a neighbor man who kind of looks out for danger in the woods. The younger sisters are mischievous and odd. It’s easy to tell they’re lonely and grieving, and that they’re keeping some kind of secret. I liked the push and pull feeling of the relationship between them and Marin, who feels drawn to them because of their sorrow and loneliness but wary because they can be capricious and cold.

As Marin tries to untangle the mystery around the Lovelace estate and the complicated history between her mother and Alice Lovelace, she also meets a girl her age, and a tenuous romance develops between them. I loved the sweetness of that love against the darkness of the rest of the story.

Conclusion

I feel like ALL THE DEAD LIE DOWN left me with a lot of questions. Not in the sense of the story seeming unfinished– I liked the end a lot. It just left me with a lot of questions about how to weigh out someone’s motives versus the outcomes of their choices.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book for readers looking for a romance with a really dark edge to it. I could see fans of WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart or IT LOOKS LIKE US by Alison Ames really liking this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Marin and a girl have a romantic relationship. Major characters are white. Marin has anxiety and panic attacks.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls. References to more than that. They sleep in the same bed overnight.

Spiritual Content
Marin sees animals who are critically, even fatally, injured limping around. At first she isn’t sure whether they’re dying or if something else is happening to them. Several birds in this state end up in her room.

See spoiler section at the end for more.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. See spoiler section.

Drug Content
Marin and Evie drink alcohol together one night.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of ALL THE DEAD LIE DOWN in exchange for my honest review.

Spoilers Below

Spiritual Content
Marin encounters creatures that are undead… they were dead but are somehow alive, even in their decayed state. Some descriptions of partially rotted or decrepit animals and people. She learns that someone has the ability to bring back the dead.

Violent Content
Sometimes the creatures who are reanimated come back “dark”, meaning they are bent on causing harm to people. Marin and her allies fight more than one undead creature intent on harming them.