Category Archives: Contemporary

Review: Ways to Grow Love by Renée Watson

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Ways to Grow Love by Renée Watson

Ways to Grow Love
Renée Watson
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published April 27, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Ways to Grow Love

Ryan Hart and her family are back in another installment of stories about a Black girl finding her way and her voice as she grows through change and challenges. In this book, Ryan finds herself waiting on lots of things — like for her new sister to be born healthy, for her new recipes to turn out right, for that summer camp trip to go better than she fears! And of course Ryan is facing these new challenges and new experiences in her classic style — with a bright outlook and plenty of spirit!

Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award winner Renée Watson continues her charming young middle grade series starring Ryan Hart, a girl who is pure spirit and sunshine.

My Review

I loved Ryan Hart’s debut, WAYS TO MAKE SUNSHINE, but I feel like Renée Watson really hit her stride with WAYS TO GROW LOVE. Every page is packed with energy, love, and summertime fun. Ryan navigates her changing role in her family from little sister to big sister with poise and pizzazz.

The story also explores changing friendships as one of Ryan’s two best friends brings a new girl into the mix at summer camp. When Ryan shares her worries about camp with her grandmother, her grandmother responds not only by encouraging her to show kindness and be open to allowing another girl into her friend group, but also empowering her to be strong and not let anyone else make her feel small or less valuable. I love that she brought that balance to her advice, and it made me wish my own parenting advice had been as solid and as validating in those moments. Honestly, I want to take that speech and frame it where every girl can read it, because it’s so exactly what we all need to hear at some point: encouragement to find the balance between being open and kind but not letting ourselves be trampled or made small.

Ryan’s growth in her relationships with her family and friends and her reflections at the end about the summer she had and how it was different than the one she expected wrapped up the story in a powerful, positive way. All in all, this is a fantastic book about resilience, friendship, and summertime fun.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Ryan and her family are Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Ryan attends a summer camp through her church. References to prayer before bedtime and Easter services.

Violent Content
Ryan’s older brother teases her about ghosts haunting the summer camp in an attempt to scare her. Ryan and her friends play a return prank that results in someone falling down a short set of stairs. (No serious injuries.)

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Kisses and Croissants by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau

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

Kisses and Croissants
Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau
Delacorte Press
Published April 6, 2021

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Kisses and Croissants

Seventeen-year-old Mia, an American girl at an elite summer ballet program, has six weeks to achieve her dreams: to snag an audition with one of the world’s best ballet companies. But there’s more to Paris than ballet—especially when a charming French boy, Louis, wants to be her tour guide—and the pair discover the city has a few mysteries up its sleeve.

In the vein of romances like LOVE AND GELATO, this is the perfect summer adventure for anyone looking to get swept away in the City of Love.

My Review

I couldn’t resist this book on so many levels: a summer in Paris, ballet dancing, mysterious rumors about a Degas painting, and of course a whirlwind romance. It didn’t take me long to read through the whole thing. In fact I ended up staying up far too late one night, telling myself, “just one more chapter” all the way until the end. I loved the way the relationships developed– especially the friendship between Mia and Audrey. But I also loved the relationship between Mia and her teacher (not a romantic relationship) as well as the one between Mia and her mom.

Reading about ballet was also super fun. One summer when I was a teenager, I went to a professional ballet camp, so it brought back a LOT of memories and I found myself nodding along with some of the things Mia goes through. I felt like it really nailed the whole ballet camp experience. I also loved the way the search for a Degas painting pulled the story forward and tied a lot of the individual pieces– her relationship with ballet, her mom, and her relationship with Louis– together.

The romance between her and Louis was really sweet, too. Having the adventure of finding the painting helped it feel really big and more essential than just hanging out and falling in love. I thought that was super clever the way that played out.

On the whole, I think fans of Jenna Evans Welch, Jennifer E. Smith, and fans of ONE PARIS SUMMER by Denise Grover Swank will love this book.

Content Notes for Kisses and Croissants

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
One of the instructors gives harsh criticism to the students.

Drug Content
Mia and her friends (who are around 16 years of age) drink alcohol several times.

More Books Like Kisses and Croissants

One Paris Summer by Denise Grover Swank

My Review | Goodreads | Bookshop

A young pianist is forced to spend the summer in Paris with her dad and his new wife and unexpectedly finds love.

Love and Olives by Jenna Evans Welch

My Review | Goodreads | Bookshop

Liv travels to Greece to help her estranged father film a documentary about Atlantis myths and finds love along the way.

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

My Review | Goodreads | Bookshop

After one night spent on the rooftops of Manhattan, Lucy and Owen go separate ways, traveling the world but longing to find their way back to each other.

In a Perfect World by Trish Doller

My Review | Goodreads | Bookshop

When her mother moves the family to Egypt to open an eye clinic, the last thing Caroline is expecting to find is love.

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

Review: Saints and Misfits by S. K. Ali

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Saints and Misfits
S. K. Ali
Salaam Reads
Published June 13, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Saints and Misfits

How much can you tell about a person just by looking at them?

Janna Yusuf knows a lot of people can’t figure out what to make of her…an Arab Indian-American hijabi teenager who is a Flannery O’Connor obsessed book nerd, aspiring photographer, and sometime graphic novelist is not exactly easy to put into a box.

And Janna suddenly finds herself caring what people think. Or at least what a certain boy named Jeremy thinks. Not that she would ever date him—Muslim girls don’t date. Or they shouldn’t date. Or won’t? Janna is still working all this out.

While her heart might be leading her in one direction, her mind is spinning in others. She is trying to decide what kind of person she wants to be, and what it means to be a saint, a misfit, or a monster. Except she knows a monster…one who happens to be parading around as a saint…Will she be the one to call him out on it? What will people in her tightknit Muslim community think of her then?

SAINTS AND MISFITS is an unforgettable debut novel that feels like a modern day My So-Called Life…starring a Muslim teen.

My Review

This book made me think a lot about the way that we tend to reduce people to being just one or two things– because it did the opposite so well. Each character is so different and has so many layers. I feel like we often see people of faith represented in sort of cookie cutter ways, and I loved seeing all the varied representations of different types of people here. It might be the most honest, authentic stories centered around a faith community that I’ve ever read. (I loved ONCE WAS LOST by Sara Zarr, too.)

Janna faces her own misjudgments about the people around her as well as being pleasantly– and sometimes unpleasantly– surprised by those around her. I loved her relationship with her elderly neighbor and the way his friendship impacted her and her friendships with Tats and Sarah and Sausun. Janna learns a lot about courage, finding her voice, and learning to speak up for herself. It’s about confronting evil even when it emerges in what should be a sacred space.

The book doesn’t just tackle hard issues and relationships and faith questions, though. It’s quirky and funny and so much fun to read. Janna’s voice is often self-deprecating and wry and smart. I loved that.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading SAINTS AND MISFITS, and I totally bawled through the big climactic scenes where Janna does the thing she most needs to do. MISFIT IN LOVE, a new adventure about Janna and her family and friends, comes out soon, and I really can’t wait to read it.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Most major characters are Muslim.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content – Trigger Warning
A boy grabs a girl and pins her down, groping her against her will.

Spiritual Content
Janna references prayer and attends several events at the mosque with her family. Her uncle is the imam, and as part of her job helping with the mosque website, she helps with the grammar of some answers to questions people in the community have asked about Islam.

Violent Content
See romance trigger warning. There are also some instances of online bullying. Girls post pictures of Janna without her hijab and others post cruel comments on the photos.

Drug Content
Janna and her friend attend a party where teens are drinking. Janna does not drink alcohol.

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

Review: Breathing Underwater by Sarah Allen

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Breathing Underwater
Sarah Allen
Farrar Strauss & Giroux
Published March 30, 2021

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Breathing Underwater

Olivia is on the road trip of her dreams, with her trusty camera and her big sister Ruth by her side. Three years ago, before their family moved from California to Tennessee, Olivia and Ruth buried a time capsule on their favorite beach. Now, they’re taking an RV back across the country to uncover the memories they left behind. But Ruth’s depression has been getting worse, so Olivia has created a plan to help her remember how life used to be: a makeshift scavenger hunt across the country, like pirates hunting for treasure, taking pictures and making memories along the way.

All she wants is to take the picture that makes her sister smile. But what if things can never go back to how they used to be? What if they never find the treasure they’re seeking? Through all the questions, loving her sister, not changing her, is all Olivia can do—and maybe it’s enough.

Breathing Underwater is a sparkly, moving middle grade novel from Sarah Allen, and a big-hearted exploration of sisterhood, dreams, and what it means to be there for someone you love.

My Review

I love so many things about this book. The relationship between sisters Olivia and Ruth. The road trip. Olivia’s photography. The descriptions of the places they visit. The perspective of someone watching a beloved sibling struggle with depression.

Some parts of the story are hard and sad. Ruth’s depression is so present and real. Olivia’s love for her sister, her frustration and grief over the things she’s lost in her relationship with Ruth because of her illness, and her agony and guilt over feeling invisible and lost as her family focuses on her sister’s needs all felt so real and searing and raw.

In spite of those hard/sad things, though, Olivia is a bright, optimistic person at heart. She rallies and tries again. She finds beauty and humor. And she watches the people around her, looking for the ways they reach her sister that seem to work and to help. I love her ingenuity and her love for her sister.

I think fans of CHIRP by Kate Messner or ASTER’S GOOD RIGHT THINGS by Kate Gordon will love this story.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Olivia’s sister Ruth has been diagnosed with depression.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A pedestrian has a near accident with a car.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: The Last Secret You’ll Ever Keep by Laurie Faria Stolarz

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

The Last Secret You’ll Ever Keep
Laurie Faria Stolarz
Wednesday Books
Published March 16, 2021

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About The Last Secret You’ll Ever Keep

Bestselling author Laurie Faria Stolarz returns with a thrilling novel where an eighteen-year-old girl’s search for answers lands her in one of the most terrifying situations imaginable.

Four days…
Trapped in a well, surrounded by dirt, scratching at the walls trying to find a way out.
Four days of a thirst so strong, that when it finally rains, I drink as much as possible from the dripping walls, not even caring how much dirt comes with it.

Six months…
Since my escape. Since no one believed I was taken to begin with – from my own bed, after a party, when no one else was home…
Six months of trying to find answers and being told instead that I made the whole incident up.

One month…
Since I logged on to the Jane Anonymous site for the first time and found a community of survivors who listen without judgment, provide advice, and console each other when needed.
A month of chatting with a survivor whose story eerily mirrors my own: a girl who’s been receiving triggering clues, just like me, and who could help me find the answers I’m searching for.

Three days…
Since she mysteriously disappears, and since I’m forced to ask the questions: will my chance to find out what happened to me vanish with her? And will I be next?

My Review

One of the things I really liked about this book is that there is no sexual trauma in it. I was nervous at first, picking it up, because I like this type of suspense, mystery, trauma recovery story, but I’m just really sensitive to sexual trauma, so I didn’t want to end up in over my head with this book. The good news is, I didn’t.

It’s an interesting story. For a long time, I felt unsure about Terra. It seemed plausible that what happened to her was in her head– not on purpose, but that it was the result of previous trauma. Even Terra herself sometimes doubted what she’d experienced. So I felt like the story kept a really good balance there, keeping me really uncertain where it was headed and what would be around the next bend, as a good suspenseful story should.

I also thought the timeline– some sections from the present and others from the past– added to the scattered feel of Terra’s mind. Her chat logs on the Jane Anonymous site added a lot, too, from giving her a safe space to share her feelings to also creating a strong support network.

I read THE LAST SECRET YOU’LL EVER KEEP pretty quickly, only stopping once (because I got food poisoning, gross). I think readers who enjoyed PAST PERFECT LIFE by Elizabeth Eulberg or THE LOST AND THE FOUND by Cat Clarke will enjoy this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white or not described.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used just over a dozen times through the story.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Descriptions of kidnapping. Graphic descriptions of hunger and severe thirst.

Drug Content
Terra attends a college sorority party held by one of her friends’ older sisters and drinks punch, probably containing alcohol.

Note: I received a free copy of THE LAST SECRET YOU’LL EVER KEEP in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.

Review: Can’t Take That Away by Steven Salvatore

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

Can’t Take That Away
Steven Salvatore
Bloomsbury YA
Published March 9, 2021

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Can’t Take That Away

An empowering and emotional debut about a genderqueer teen who finds the courage to stand up and speak out for equality when they are discriminated against by their high school administration.

Carey Parker dreams of being a diva, and bringing the house down with song. They can hit every note of all the top pop and Broadway hits. But despite their talent, emotional scars from an incident with a homophobic classmate and their grandmother’s spiraling dementia make it harder and harder for Carey to find their voice.

Then Carey meets Cris, a singer/guitarist who makes Carey feel seen for the first time in their life. With the rush of a promising new romantic relationship, Carey finds the confidence to audition for the role of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, in the school musical, setting off a chain reaction of prejudice by Carey’s tormentor and others in the school. It’s up to Carey, Cris, and their friends to defend their rights–and they refuse to be silenced.

Told in alternating chapters with identifying pronouns, debut author Steven Salvatore’s CAN’T TAKE THAT AWAY conducts a powerful, uplifting anthem, a swoony romance, and an affirmation of self-identity that will ignite the activist in all of us.

My Review

I had a lot of fun reading this book, but I’m not going to lie– some parts were hard, not because of the storytelling, but because they were hard things. I cried more than once. But I laughed a lot, too. Carey has the best friends. I loved how they rallied around them and offered support and solidarity.

This will surprise exactly no one who knows me, but I LOVED the relationship between Carey and their grandmother. I was super close to my grandmother who also had a form of Alzheimer’s Disease, and the feelings of support and that intergenerational connection totally resonated with me.

Also the food! I’m the most curious about the mint in the meatballs and sauce– which is apparently totally a thing! I also grew up with (and now make) homemade marinara and meatballs, but I’ve never used mint in them. Now I want to experiment.

Also the music. I loved the homage to Mariah Carey and the way that music is such a huge part of this story. I also loved that while Carey’s audition for Wicked was important, the story didn’t center around that moment. Rather, I felt like it elevated Carey’s participation in the musical to be a part of something so much bigger and really, more essential: their right to respect and equality.

Books that craft a meaningful community always seem to stick with me, and I think CAN’T TAKE THAT AWAY will be no exception. I loved that Carey’s what began with Carey’s friends and family expanded to touch their whole community. I felt like the book ended on such a huge high note, and really left me feeling inspired and hopeful.

I think readers who enjoyed MUSIC FROM ANOTHER WORLD by Robin Talley or books about theater and music will love this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Carey is genderqueer. Another character identifies as bisexual, another as lesbian, and another as pansexual.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used regularly through the book.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between a genderqueer teen and boy. Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
One character talks about a person who has died watching over them, feeling them present at a significant moment.

Violent Content – Trigger Warning
References to queerphobic terms a few times without the words being named. In one instance, a slur is used.

There are also some instances of bullying and physical assault.

Drug Content
Carey’s mom offers Carey’s friend group small glasses of champagne to celebrate a victory.

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