Category Archives: Contemporary

Review: If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come by Jen St. Jude

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , ,
If Tomorrow Doesn't Come by Jen St. Jude

If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come
Jen St. Jude
Bloomsbury YA
Published May 9, 2023

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If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come

WE ARE OKAY meets THEY BOTH DIE AT THE END in this YA debut about queer first love and mental health at the end of the world-and the importance of saving yourself, no matter what tomorrow may hold.

Avery Byrne has secrets. She’s queer; she’s in love with her best friend, Cass; and she’s suffering from undiagnosed clinical depression. But on the morning Avery plans to jump into the river near her college campus, the world discovers there are only nine days left to an asteroid is headed for Earth, and no one can stop it.

Trying to spare her family and Cass additional pain, Avery does her best to make it through just nine more days. As time runs out and secrets slowly come to light, Avery would do anything to save the ones she loves. But most importantly, she learns to save herself. Speak her truth. Seek the support she needs. Find hope again in the tomorrows she has left.

IF TOMORROW DOESN’T COME is a celebration of queer love, a gripping speculative narrative, and an urgent, conversation-starting book about depression, mental health, and shame.

My Review

One of the things I’m learning about the way I manage reviews is that it doesn’t allow me to be a mood reader as often as I’d like. Lots of times, I don’t think it matters, because I have pretty broad interests. Books like this, though, which touch on deeply painful issues like depression and, you know, the literal end of the world, would probably be better suited to a mood read experience.

That said, I liked a lot of things about this book even with its heavy topics. Much of the story is told in two timelines, which gives us a chance to see Avery’s backstory play out in real time. We get to experience her plunge into depression and loneliness. We are with her as she realizes she’s in love with her best friend. Getting to experience those moments with her firsthand means that as we zip back to the present, a scant few days before an asteroid will destroy life on earth, the relationships with her family and with her best friend Cass feel fraught and raw, as if those other memories just happened. I thought that was a smart way to tell the story and give the relationships and history a centerstage feeling without letting the whole end-of-the-world element upstage everything.

Avery’s brother and his family? His wife and their three year old son? OMG. They absolutely wrecked me. I mean, completely demolished. I loved them even though thinking about parenting a small child in a moment like that is heartbreaking and terrifying.

On the whole? I think in concept, this book reminds me a little bit of THIS IS NOT A TEST by Courtney Summers because that’s also about a girl who is suicidal and faced with the potential end of the world, in this case a zombie apocalypse. The emotional depth of the story really moved me, and the relationships between characters and moments showing the beauty of life and humanity made this a lovely read.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Avery has undiagnosed clinical depression and is suicidal. She’s also in love with a girl. Cass is a lesbian and biracial. She’s Mexican American and Indian American. A minor character is a Muslim.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls. Sex between two girls.

Spiritual Content
Avery is raised Catholic. She prays and volunteers with the church and has a pretty deep guilt complex over things. She’s been raised to believe that being gay is a sin. A priest tells her this and also that suicide is the greatest sin. (Super yuck.) She later tells the priest this is harmful and not to do this to anyone else. A family member also publicly affirms her in front of the church.

Violent Content
In the opening scene, Avery is on the brink of killing herself. There are rumors of shootings, riots, and other violence once news spreads of the asteroid heading toward earth. Two men with guns tie up a couple and steal their stuff. A man with a gun and another man threaten and chase two girls.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol. References to smoking pot.

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 IF TOMORROW DOESN’T COME in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

Review: Last One to Fall by Gabriella Lepore

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

Last One to Fall
Gabriella Lepore
Inkyard Press
Published May 9, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Last One to Fall

Six friends. Five suspects. One murder.

Savana Caruso and Jesse Melo have known each other since they were kids, so when Jesse texts Savana in the middle of the night and asks her to meet him at Cray’s Warehouse, she doesn’t hesitate. But before Savana can find Jesse, she bears witness to a horrifying murder, standing helpless on the ground as a mysterious figure is pushed out of the fourth floor of the warehouse. 

Six teens were there that night, and five of them are now potential suspects. With the police circling, Savana knows what will happen if the wrong person is charged, particularly once she starts getting threatening anonymous text messages.

As she attempts to uncover the truth, Savana learns that everyone is keeping secrets—and someone is willing to do whatever it takes to keep those secrets from coming to light.

My Review

I liked a lot of things about this book. First, I liked that the murder doesn’t happen until later in the story. This creates a lot of time for the reader to get to know the person who’s killed, and to get to see the dynamics in the friend group in action. I can’t remember if I’ve read another murder mystery like that before. I can really only think of stories in which the person is murdered either before the story begins or very near to the beginning. So I thought that was a cool, different way to tell this particular story.

The friend group also had some interesting dynamics. I guess the downside of telling a friend group story like this is that it makes for a large cast to introduce all at the beginning. Once I grasped the relationships between the characters, though, I felt like I was able to follow things pretty quickly.

In terms of the mystery– I can honestly say I kept thinking I had it figured out, and I definitely didn’t. I liked that there were clues I could look back at and recognize after I knew what to look for. So that was nicely done, I thought.

I liked the romantic moments, too. It made sense why the characters kind of danced around each other for so long, and I think it also added to my anticipation of seeing them finally work things out between them.

On the whole, I think fans of Diana Urban or Karen McManus will find a fast-paced mystery with a splash of romance in LAST ONE TO FALL.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Jesse’s friend Freddie is Black. Jesse’s dad is an alcoholic.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Brief sexual assault in one scene when a boy forces himself on a girl, kissing her against her will.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A girl witnesses a person’s fatal fall from a fourth story window. Boys get into a fist fight. In one scene, two boys attack another boy, beating him up. A boy and girl fight, and his behavior certainly has some red flags for abuse. He’s controlling, jealous, and grabs her arm at one point.

Drug Content
School officials find steroids in the locker of one of Jesse’s friends and expel him. 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 LAST ONE TO FALL in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, , , , , , , ,

Imogen, Obviously
Becky Albertalli
Balzer + Bray
Published May 2, 2023

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About Imogen, Obviously

With humor and insight, #1 New York Times bestseller Becky Albertalli explores the nuances of sexuality, identity, and friendship.

Imogen Scott may be hopelessly heterosexual, but she’s got the World’s Greatest Ally title locked down.

She’s never missed a Pride Alliance meeting. She knows more about queer media discourse than her very queer little sister. She even has two queer best friends. There’s Gretchen, a fellow high school senior, who helps keep Imogen’s biases in check. And then there’s Lili—newly out and newly thriving with a cool new squad of queer college friends.

Imogen’s thrilled for Lili. Any ally would be. And now that she’s finally visiting Lili on campus, she’s bringing her ally A game. Any support Lili needs, Imogen’s all in.

Even if that means bending the truth, just a little.

Like when Lili drops a tiny queer bombshell: she’s told all her college friends that Imogen and Lili used to date. And none of them know that Imogen is a raging hetero—not even Lili’s best friend, Tessa.

Of course, the more time Imogen spends with chaotic, freckle-faced Tessa, the more she starts to wonder if her truth was ever all that straight to begin with. . .

My Review

I feel like I have so much to say about this book. First, let me talk about the romance and self-discovery story that the author expertly delivers. I think I’ve only read maybe half of the books Becky Albertalli has written, but every one I read is well-crafted. And every one seems to be better than the ones before. Which isn’t to say I didn’t like the earlier books… just that I’m even more engaged with each subsequent one.

Imogen’s character pretty much had me at hello. She’s a sweet, anxious girl who struggles with people-pleasing (totally relatable!), and she continually strives to listen and learn as a queer ally. I adored the connection she makes with Tessa and the way their friendship and the possibility of more develops. I couldn’t wait to see how things would turn out for them.

Can There Be Too Much Emphasis on Politics?

Like Immy in one scene of the book, I feel a little uneasy even seeing that headline. Let me, hopefully, explain what I mean. One thing the book (deftly, if sometimes painfully) explores is the gatekeeping that can sometimes happen in the queer community. Who’s allowed to call themselves queer? Who’s faking? When is it okay for someone to remain closeted? Is there a threshold of prejudice someone must face for being queer before they can be respected for their identity?

The book asks a lot of questions like this, and gives readers a lot of time to think about their answers. I like that because of the identities of the chosen cast of characters, the story gives space to people having different viewpoints. Without ever stating that queer people aren’t a monolith, we see this in action. I loved that, though at times some of the ideas discussed were painful or toxic.

I also felt like the painful/toxic ideas got addressed. Sometimes it didn’t happen as immediately as I hoped, but it did happen. Sometimes this meant Immy speaking up for herself, and other times it meant someone else challenging a hurtful idea she’d internalized. Which feels like evidence of a healthy friend group to me.

Writing From Experience

In 2020, Becky Albertalli released an essay on Medium in which she talked about some of the issues that come up in this book, specifically about the way that people assume things about someone’s identity and how damaging that can be, even when the conversation is part of a larger, important one. I couldn’t help thinking about this article when I read certain scenes of IMOGEN, OBVIOUSLY. I don’t want to judge which things were incidental to the story and which were things she purposely included from her own experience. But I’m grateful for the things this book will add to those conversations about identity.

Conclusion

All in all, I think this was a sweet, engaging story of romance and self-discovery. I love that it explored some queer issues and discourse often debated online, and that it gave readers a minute to pause, digest, and challenge ideas at their own pace.

Content Notes for Imogen, Obviously

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Imogen’s sister is a lesbian. She has a Brazilian American friend who identifies as pansexual, and another who identifies as bisexual.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
One character is Jewish and mentions attending holidays and celebrations.

Violent Content
Some homophobic and biphobic comments.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol before and during a college 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 IMOGEN, OBVIOUSLY in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Warrior Girl, Unearthed by Angeline Boulley

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

Warrior Girl, Unearthed
Angeline Boulley
Henry Holt & Co.
Published May 2, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Warrior Girl, Unearthed

From the New York Times bestselling author of Firekeeper’s Daughter comes a thrilling YA mystery about a Native teen who must find a way to bring an ancestor home to her tribe.

Perry Firekeeper-Birch was ready for her Summer of Slack but instead, after a fender bender that was entirely not her fault, she’s stuck working to pay back her Auntie Daunis for repairs to the Jeep.

Thankfully she has the other outcasts of the summer program, Team Misfit Toys, and even her twin sister Pauline. Together they ace obstacle courses, plan vigils for missing women in the community, and make sure summer doesn’t feel so lost after all.

But when she attends a meeting at a local university, Perry learns about the “Warrior Girl”, an ancestor whose bones and knife are stored in the museum archives, and everything changes. Perry has to return Warrior Girl to her tribe. Determined to help, she learns all she can about NAGPRA, the federal law that allows tribes to request the return of ancestral remains and sacred items. The university has been using legal loopholes to hold onto Warrior Girl and twelve other Anishinaabe ancestors’ remains, and Perry and the Misfits won’t let it go on any longer.

Using all of their skills and resources, the Misfits realize a heist is the only way to bring back the stolen artifacts and remains for good. But there is more to this repatriation than meets the eye as more women disappear and Pauline’s perfectionism takes a turn for the worse. As secrets and mysteries unfurl, Perry and the Misfits must fight to find a way to make things right – for the ancestors and for their community.

My Review

I’ll admit I didn’t really know much about this book when I asked to review it. Mostly, I knew the author’s name, because her debut, FIREKEEPER’S DAUGHTER was all anyone was talking about for a while when it came out in 2021. So I wanted to read it on the strength of that praise.

And… all I can say is that no one who was blown away by Angeline Boulley’s writing exaggerated. I mean, wow.

The story has a lot of moving parts. Perry and her sister are doing this summer internship (Perry only under duress). Girls keep going missing from their community. Perry begins learning about laws and processes governing the way that ancestral remains are identified and (ideally) returned to tribes and decides she must help return the remains of a woman knows as Warrior Girl. There’s the possibility of romance for Perry with one of the other interns.

So there’s a lot going on. The beginning builds a little bit slowly. I remember not being sure what the story was going to really be about. It took some time for me to feel like I got oriented within the story.

Once I did, though, the story took off. Roadblocks, and setbacks, and raised stakes, and twists kept coming one after another. And every single one seemed to pull the story more into focus.

All those pieces came together to show a more complete picture, and all of it illustrated a powerful theme about the value of life and the need to honor community and ancestry.

Conclusion

I loved this book. I’ve already got a copy of FIREKEEPER’S DAUGHTER, and I am really excited to read it. Some of the minor characters in this book are in FIREKEEPER’S DAUGHTER, so I’m curious what blanks reading that one will fill in. I hope there are more stories about Sugar Island and Perry’s family in the works, because I will definitely read them.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Perry and most other characters are Ojibwe citizens. Perry’s grandmother was Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Perry wonders who her sister and her aunt are having sex with. A person Perry is close to reveals that she was raped by a man Perry knows by name.

Spiritual Content
References to Ojibwe tribal ceremonies, histories, and traditions.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Girls in the community have been going missing. One girl’s body is found. Someone discovers a murdered man’s body. Another girl appears to have died from a fatal injury. A boy and a man both suffer head injuries. A girl describes how she was tied up and escaped.

Drug Content
Perry’s twin sister eats gummies with marijuana in them to manage her anxiety. References to adults drinking alcohol.

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 WARRIOR GIRL, UNEARTHED in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

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The Black Flamingo
Dean Atta
Balzer + Bray
Published May 26, 2020 (orig. 2019)

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Black Flamingo

A fierce coming-of-age verse novel about identity and the power of drag, from acclaimed poet and performer Dean Atta. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, Jason Reynolds, and Kacen Callender.

Michael is a mixed-race gay teen growing up in London. All his life, he’s navigated what it means to be Greek-Cypriot and Jamaican—but never quite feeling Greek or Black enough.

As he gets older, Michael’s coming out is only the start of learning who he is and where he fits in. When he discovers the Drag Society, he finally finds where he belongs—and the Black Flamingo is born.

Told with raw honesty, insight, and lyricism, this debut explores the layers of identity that make us who we are—and allow us to shine.

My Review

Early on in the pandemic, I placed a couple of book orders with independent bookstores, and THE BLACK FLAMINGO is one of the books I ordered. Obviously it took me a while to read it, but I’m so glad I finally did.

One of my favorite things about this book is how personal Michael’s journey is. I think part of what makes that work is that he’s a poet himself, and the novel is written in verse, too. Some of the poems are meant to be his, things he has written and performs. I felt like that made the story a lot more intimate if that makes sense?

I also loved the characters, from Michael’s mom and sister, Anna, to his best friend Daisy, to Jack, the repressed construction worker. Even the characters who only appeared for a few moments seemed rich and knowable.

The story begins when Michael is a child and runs through his early time at college, so I think it’s more of a coming-of-age story than traditional young adult fiction. I liked having that long span of time to see different moments in Michael’s life and how they affected him at the time and upon reflection.

All in all, this is a powerful story about self-discovery and courage and learning how to be true to yourself. I think fans of Elizabeth Acevedo will love THE BLACK FLAMINGO.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Michael is Greek Cypriot and Jamaican and a citizen of the UK. He’s also gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two boys. References to sex between two boys (not shown).

Spiritual Content
A couple minor characters state their belief that being gay is a sin. (Later one person apologizes for this.)

Violent Content
Older boys bully Michael into fighting another boy. Someone leaves homophobic notes in Michael’s backpack. Girls say homophobic things to him.

Drug Content
Michael smokes pot and uses an inhalant with another boy in one scene. He smokes pot and drinks alcohol in several scenes.

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

Review: Together for Never by Marilyn Kaye

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,

Together for Never
Marilyn Kaye
Holiday House
Published March 14, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Together for Never

The Parent Trap meets Mean Girls when two polar opposites are squeezed into a tiny vacation house just because their parents are dating.

Charlotte is the queen bee of her 8th grade class—popular, confident, always wearing the trendiest clothes—and judging others for what they wear. Lily is a loner who dreams of becoming a writer—and she wants nothing to do with Charlotte and her snobby crowd.

Then Charlotte’s divorced father starts dating Lily’s single mother. Neither one of the girls even notices—until the day they learn that they are going on vacation together. Worse than that, they’ll have to share a small bedroom for two whole weeks. 

When The Parent Trap meets Mean Girls , can two girls ever make peace, or will they drag their vacations—and their parents’ romance—into disaster?  Every teen girl’s nightmare becomes an entertaining, surprising and heartfelt story in the hands of seasoned middle grade pro Marilyn Kaye.

My Review

This is a super quick read at about 150 pages. I liked that the girls were so different from one another– it created a lot of opportunities for misunderstandings and conflicts. The relationships between the girls and their parents were interesting, too. Charlotte’s relationship with her mom definitely broke my heart a bit. You could really feel Charlotte’s need to connect and that plus her mom’s behavior leading to Charlotte trying to act older than she was.

When Charlotte gets involved with the older kids at the beach, I couldn’t help feeling nervous for her. There were clear warning signs that this was going to go badly, but it made sense why she persisted in hanging out with them. I loved the way Lily was strong and independent, but that her independence and not caring what anyone thought about her left her vulnerable to some mistakes, too.

Ultimately, I thought this was a cool story about divorce and blended families as well as peer relationships. For a short book, the author really packed a lot in. Every scene, every page felt essential to the story.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Major characters are white. A minor character is gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One instance of mild profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between a boy and girl. He’s older and in high school, while she’s in eighth grade. Lily’s mother makes a comment about needing to look “beneath the suit” to discover that Charlotte’s dad is a good person. Lily feels embarrassed at the double entendre.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A girl is injured in an accident.

Drug Content
Charlotte’s mother pressures her to drink wine with her. Charlotte pretends to enjoy it, but doesn’t like the taste or the pressure.

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 TOGETHER FOR NEVER in exchange for my honest review.