Category Archives: Blogger’s Favorites

Review: If You Were Here by Abigail Johnson

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , , ,
If You Were Here by Abigail Johnson

If You Were Here
Abigail Johnson
HarperCollins
Published April 28, 2026

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About If You Were Here

A charming and emotional standalone grumpy/sunshine romance set during a Nantucket summer. Lili needs Wren’s help to complete her father’s research and save her family’s reputation–but working together leads to more discoveries than either of them bargained for.

Lili Gardner hasn’t been back to Nantucket, her dad’s favorite place, since her parents divorced six years ago. But Dad passed away recently, leaving her a house on the island and an unsolved mystery about a maligned Gardner ancestor. Lili is determined to finish his life’s work, and convinces her mom and sister to spend the summer in Nantucket with her while she looks for answers, and for a connection to her dad.

Wren McCleave has a passion for history, but his father refuses to showcase anything real in their tourist trap of a “museum.” So when Lili asks Wren for help with her research, Wren can’t resist the opportunity to throw himself into something real, even if he dislikes tourists on principle.

Lili and Wren only have a summer to find out the truth about Lili’s ancestor. But the most surprising truths they uncover aren’t about the distant past, but about themselves right here in the present, and about what they want out of the future.

My Review

If you’re looking for a summer beach or vacation read, this one would be perfect. It takes place during the summer on Nantucket, in a small island community. Expect pizza on the beach, boat trips, and plenty of simmering romance.

I really enjoyed Johnson’s debut novel, so when I saw that she had a new one coming out this summer, I really wanted to read it. I like the way that she writes tender moments and the scenes filled with yearning, where the characters haven’t figured out how to be together yet and aren’t even sure their feelings are reciprocated. It’s so easy to get lost in the anticipation of those moments.

Wren has needed a wheelchair since an accident years before the story begins. For the most part, though, this book really doesn’t focus on his disability. There are a couple of scenes where it becomes a focus. At one point, Lili invites him to a place that isn’t accessible. She feels horrible when she realizes, and the two have a conversation about that. For the most part, though, we are busy thinking of Wren as a potential museum curator who is struggling to set boundaries with and express his wishes to his family.

Lili also has some family relationship matters to sort out. She’s trying to solve a mystery her dad left behind, which leads her to grapple with some of the wounds in the relationships her dad left behind. The story doesn’t explore him as a character in depth beyond his obsession with his family history. Lili’s relationships with her mom and sister are important, and she wrestles with how to balance those connections with her passion to uncover the past.

Wren and Lili have a little bit of a grumpy/sunshine vibe going, especially at the beginning of their connection. I love that they bond over their shared love of history. The relationship isn’t without its bumps and flaws. I could see part of the story being challenging for some readers, especially those who prefer neat, simple romances. But I appreciate that mistakes were made, and consequences happened. I like that Lili and Wren each had to reckon with the fallout of their choices, and that leads them to reconnect with other characters in ways that they needed to. Sorry that’s so vague– I don’t want to spoil anything.

All in all, this was a fun summer romance. It feels like a perfect book to take on vacation or to the beach for an afternoon.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to an accident in which Wren broke his back. (Happened before the story began.)

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: Shards of Silence by Brian Lee Young

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

Shards of Silence
Brian Lee Young
Heartdrum
Published May 5, 2026

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Shards of Silence

In his first YA novel, award-winning author Brian Lee Young (Diné) bridges the generational divide between a Navajo teen at an elite prep school and his great-grandmother’s experience at a federal boarding school for Indigenous students. The book is an eye-opening call for community healing and a profound coming-of-age story.

Even if it hurts to leave behind his friends and family in Navajo, New Mexico—especially his great-grandmother, Mildred—Derrick knows his scholarship to an elite East Coast boarding school is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Sagefield Academy is totally different from life on the rez: His new classmates vacation in Europe and take study drugs. Derrick wants to stick to caffeine, but handling sports, school, and a twenty-page term paper, all while dodging comments about his hair and heritage, feels straight-up impossible.

Back home, Másání Mildred’s health is fading quickly. On the phone, she begs Derrick to leave Sagefield. When he realizes her fear comes from her time in federal Native boarding schools, he knows he’s finally found the term paper theme he believes carrying her voice into the future.

Derrick will need to shatter a steadfast generational silence to untangle his great-grandmother’s memories—though her story might change him, and his family, forever.

My Review

What struck me most in reading this story is the parallel the author draws between Derrick’s experience at a boarding school and his great-grandmother’s at a residential school years earlier. His experience gives him the opportunity to ask about her history. It also prompts him to learn more of the history surrounding the schools and to read more survivor stories.

As a character, Derrick is pretty likable. He’s straightforward and open, takes care of his family, and works hard to protect his future. He’s not perfect, certainly, but he is committed to following his heart.

His own experience at boarding school challenges him, too. He must decide how and when he wants to educate others about his beliefs and traditions. He has to decide when to speak up and offer a new perspective on the history curriculum he’s expected to learn in class. It was easy to follow his feelings as he sorted out how he felt in those instances and wrestled with how to respond.

I also really liked his relationships with his family, especially his mom and his great-grandmother. I think the softness in his interactions with them helped balance some of the harder edges of his character with his teammates and friends.

All in all, I can see this book appealing to readers who enjoy contemporary fiction that explores social issues. Readers looking for contemporary stories that don’t center on romance will also enjoy this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used somewhat frequently. Two instances of stronger profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
References to Indigenous spiritual practices and religious beliefs.

Violent Content
Reference to a drunk driving accident with fatalities. This happened before the story begins.

Drug Content
Brief use of stimulants to aid in studying. The user regrets this later. Derrick hears rumors that a close friend has started using and/or selling drugs.

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: Brownstone by Samuel Teer and Mar Julia

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

Brownstone
Samuel Teer
Illustrated by Mar Julia
Versify
Published June 11, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Brownstone

An exciting teen coming-of-age epic from author Samuel Teer and debut graphic novel artist Mar Julia, Brownstone is a vivid, sweeping, ultimately hopeful story about navigating your heritage even when you feel like you don’t quite fit in.

Almudena has always wondered about the dad she never met.

Now, with her white mother headed on a once-in-a-lifetime trip without her, she’s left alone with her Guatemalan father for an entire summer. Xavier seems happy to see her, but he expects her to live in (and help fix up) his old, broken-down brownstone. And all along, she must navigate the language barrier of his rapid-fire Spanish—which she doesn’t speak.

As Almudena tries to adjust to this new reality, she gets to know the residents of Xavier’s Latin American neighborhood. Each member of the community has their own joys and heartbreaks as well as their own strong opinions on how this young Latina should talk, dress, and behave. Some can’t understand why she doesn’t know where she comes from. Others think she’s “not brown enough” to fit in.

But time is running out for Almudena and Xavier to get to know each other, and the key to their connection may ultimately lie in bringing all these different elements together. Fixing a broken building is one thing, but turning these stubborn individuals into a found family might take more than this one summer.

My Review

The graphic novel format of this story really worked in terms of making Almudena’s experience at her dad’s house really immersive. It was so easy to imagine the scenes playing out in my head. I liked seeing the ways the characters reacted to her and some of the things that she might not have noticed herself.

At the beginning, Almudena doesn’t know anything about her Guatemalan heritage, and she doesn’t speak Spanish. This makes connecting with her dad even more challenging. The language barrier really highlighted the estrangement between Almudena and her dad, too. As she gets to know him, her opinion about him changes, and she begins to find ways to connect with other people in the community as well.

One of my favorite relationships was between Almudena and the shopkeeper who lives alone. I liked the friendship they developed and how that connection ultimately impacts the whole neighborhood.

If you like stories about family connections and exploring cultural heritage, definitely put Brownstone on your reading list!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong language used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Almudena realizes her dad is in a romantic relationship and has some feelings about it.

Spiritual Content
Almudena’s dad shows her his altar, where he prays according to his own ideas about faith, pulling elements from his culture and Christianity.

Violent Content
Almudena gets lost in the city at one point. At another point, she goes out alone and feels threatened or unsafe in a couple of situations.

Drug Content
One teen character smokes.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I borrowed a copy of this book from my local library. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Genius Under the Table by Eugene Yelchin

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Memoir, Middle Grade 8-12, Nonfiction, , , , , , ,

The Genius Under the Table
Eugene Yelchin
Candlewick Press
Published October 5, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Genius Under the Table

An Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Honor Winner

With a masterful mix of comic timing and disarming poignancy, Newbery Honoree Eugene Yelchin offers a memoir of growing up in Cold War Russia.

Drama, family secrets, and a KGB spy in his own kitchen! How will Yevgeny ever fulfill his parents’ dream that he become a national hero when he doesn’t even have his own room? He’s not a star athlete or a legendary ballet dancer. In the tiny apartment he shares with his Baryshnikov-obsessed mother, poetry-loving father, continually outraged grandmother, and safely talented brother, all Yevgeny has is his little pencil, the underside of a massive table, and the doodles that could change everything. With equal amounts charm and solemnity, award-winning author and artist Eugene Yelchin recounts in hilarious detail his childhood in Cold War Russia as a young boy desperate to understand his place in his family.

My Review

I read I Wish I Didn’t Have to Tell You This by Eugene Yelchin last year, and then had the unexpected and amazing opportunity to interview him earlier this year. I’d wanted to read this book before the interview, and couldn’t make that happen, but I bought a copy to read at my earliest opportunity, and now, here we are.

It’s interesting to see the difference between the way that I Wish I Didn’t Have to Tell You This, which is for an older audience, is written versus The Genius Under the Table. Each story has an underlying current of humor and playfulness. The young adult memoir brings some of the frightening aspects of living in Soviet Russia to the forefront, whereas they’re kept a little more in the background in the middle grade memoir, though they’re still present.

As a former ballet dancer, I found the descriptions of Yevgeny’s mom’s work and her connection to Baryshnikov really interesting. I felt deeply for Yevgeny, who internalized pressure from his parents to find his artistic talent in an artistic family at a time when that could mean a huge difference to a family. I loved how that talent made itself known.

It was cool to see Yevgeny’s mom and grandmother and the similarities and differences in their characters in both books. His grandmother is probably my favorite character.

All in all, I am really glad I read this book. I loved the pairing of the text and illustrations, and the narrative’s inquisitive tone.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Yevgeny and his family are Jewish.

Violent Content
References to persecution against Jewish people in Russia.

Drug Content
One character smokes cigarettes.

Spoiler (highlight the text below to reveal the spoiler.

Death of a parent. Yevgeny’s dad dies in a chapter late in the book.

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

Review: The History of Everything by Victoria Evans

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

The History of Everything
Victoria Evans
HarperAlley
Published February 18, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The History of Everything

Best friends Agnes and Daisy must learn to say goodbye in this coming-of-age YA graphic novel perfect for fans of Booksmart and Pumpkinheads from debut creator Victoria Evans.

Daisy and Agnes have always had each other.

And that’s all they’ve ever needed—or wanted, at least. So when Agnes’s mom drops the bombshell that she and Agnes are moving at the end of the summer, the girls are crushed.

All seems lost until the pair unearth “The History of Everything,” an old friendship scrapbook with the ultimate bucket list to make their last summer together unforgettable. But when Daisy starts dating a charming drummer, her social calendar suddenly has less room for her best friend. Insecurities bubble to the surface, and Daisy and Agnes begin to question if their friendship is meant to last the summer, much less forever.

In this tender graphic novel debut, Victoria Evans delves into the heart of a best friendship and explores what it means to grow up without growing apart.

My Review

I love that this story centers on a best friendship between two girls in high school. We’ve seen this kind of story done for middle grade readers before, but I love that this is aged up for a teen audience and still keeps the friendship the focus of the story. Right from the beginning, it’s easy to feel the long history of Daisy and Agnes’s friendship. They have rituals, they have inside jokes, and a highlight reel of memories they share together. As a reader, it was easy to feel a part of their story.

When Agnes learns she’s moving at the end of summer, it kicks her focus on her friendship with Daisy into high gear. Suddenly, she’s looking to the friendship as an escape from the problems she doesn’t want to face. And she needs their summer adventure to perfectly recapture the high points of the friendship.

The problem, of course, is that people don’t stay the same. Daisy still thinks of Agnes as her best friend, but she’s caught in the grip of a huge new crush, and she wants to widen her social circle, instead of keeping things just her and Agnes.

The tension builds to an explosive level as Agnes’s move date draws near. I felt that rising tension so much in the scenes leading up to that moment. Even before the characters’ frustrations spill over, you feel it coming.

I also loved the homage to early 2000s Goth fashion. That was a really fun element to the story that I hadn’t expected. The color palette reinforces the difference between the girls’ personalities, too. The illustrations are super expressive, so even in panels without text, lots of story is going on.

If you’re looking for a story that dabbles in a bit of romance on the side, but mainly focuses on the evolution of a childhood best friendship, definitely grab this graphic novel.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
One panel shows a kiss.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: The Last Best Quest Ever by F. T. Lukens

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

The Last Best Quest Ever
F. T. Lukens
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published May 26, 2026

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Last Best Quest Ever

A fraudulent teen quester must team up with a brooding, royal rival on a perilous adventure to save her brother’s life in this cozy young adult romantasy full of mythical creatures by the New York Times bestselling author of Spell Bound and So This is Ever After.

Seventeen-year-old Ellinore has the best questing record of anyone in the kingdom’s history. She also has a secret: her fame is built entirely on lies. Tired of the charade, she shocks the kingdom by retiring at a royal feast. But her plans for a quiet life are disrupted when her twin brother Zig bets his life that Ellinore can retrieve the horn of the mythical Elder Beast. To save Zig, she reluctantly sets out on one last, perilous quest.

Accompanying her are Zig, determined to help despite his recklessness; Aven, her envious rival eager to prove their superiority; an ambitious bar maiden turned adventurer; and a young, magic-wielding bard. Together, they face an arduous journey fraught with mythical challenges and shifting alliances. As they search for the Elder Beast, Ellinore grapples with her growing feelings for Aven, her fear of losing Zig, and her identity as a reluctant hero.

With time running out, Ellinore must confront not only the legendary creature but also her own truths. Can she save her brother, embrace her potential, and finally decide her path?

My Review

This was my most-anticipated read for 2026, so I was delighted to get a free copy from the publisher. I’ve been a huge fan of the author’s books since I first read Spell Bound in 2023. I think all three of their books that I’ve read would be considered contemporary fantasy, so I was excited to try this more traditional fantasy story. Though the story doesn’t make any overt Dungeons and Dragons references, it very much felt like the kind of quest one might play.

I grew up reading Blue Moon Rising by Simon R. Green, and though this story is more on the cozy side of fantasy, some of the humor reminded me of that book. I love a fantasy that pokes fun at genre tropes, and Lukens does that beautifully, if more subtly here.

The romance between Ellinore and Aven develops believably. It takes some time for Ellinore to recognize the feelings she’s having about Aven, and then it takes time for the two to actually talk about or acknowledge their feelings, but things roll out in a satisfying way.

I wish that the whole confrontation to acquire the horn of the Elder Beast had a little more going on in it. I won’t say it was anti-climactic, but it definitely kept to the cozy fantasy landscape rather than building to a peak of tension. The confrontation between Ellinore’s party and the mages toward the end of the book is really funny, though. I appreciated the humor in that scene and the tension that built up in that moment quite a bit.

All in all, I would say this only further cements my love for Lukens’ books. I think I have copies of the two they’ve written that I haven’t read, so hopefully I’ll get to those soon.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Mythical creatures and the use of magic. Some creatures are deities and created others. There’s a simple heirarchy in the story that’s very easy to follow.

Violent Content
Situations of peril and brief battle violence. It’s all pretty PG level.

Drug Content
References to visiting a tavern where people are presumably drinking alcohol, though none of the main characters do this.

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.