Category Archives: Contemporary

Review: Now a Major Motion Picture by Cory McCarthy

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Now a Major Motion Picture by Cori McCarthy

Now a Major Motion Picture
Cory McCarthy
Sourcebooks Fire
Published April 3, 2018

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About Now a Major Motion Picture

Fandom and first love collide for Iris on the film set for her grandmother’s famous high-fantasy trilogy.

Unlike the rest of the world, Iris doesn’t care about the famous high-fantasy Elementia books written by M. E. Thorne. So it’s just a little annoying that M. E. Thorne is her grandmother—and that Iris has to deal with the trilogy’s crazy fans.

When Iris gets dropped in Ireland for the movie adaptation, she sees her opportunity: if she can shut down production, the Elementia craze won’t grow any bigger, and she can finally have a normal life. Not even the rascally-cute actor Eamon O’Brien can get in her way.

But the crew’s passion is contagious, and as Iris begins to find herself in the very world she has avoided her whole life, she realizes that this movie might just be amazing…

My Review

Cory McCarthy is one of those authors who makes me want to read everything they write. So far I’ve read both YOU WERE HERE and NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE, and I can’t wait to read more.

Both books feature characters who are recovering from trauma and trying to understand elements of their pasts. I found them so easy to connect with, and even though they wrestle with intense topics, the rest of the cast brings humor, wisdom, and banter, making the books a lot of fun to read in addition to being really moving.

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE has a little bit of a feminist vibe running through it, which I loved. The director of the movie is a young woman who’s very frank about the struggles women face in the arts industries. She encourages Iris with her own dreams, too. I loved her character. She felt so real and exactly like the kind of mentor I’d want to have and want to be.

Another theme that really resonated with me had to do with Iris’s family. She and her brother live with their dad, who refuses to talk about or read his mother’s books. As Iris wrestles with who her grandmother was to the community of fans, she begins to wonder about who she could have been as a grandmother, and why she wasn’t allowed to have that relationship.

I also loved the on-set scenes and descriptions of filming and all the behind-the-scenes stuff. I definitely think anyone who’s interested in the film industry would find this book fascinating. Fans of GEEKERELLA by Ashley Poston absolutely NEED to read this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
One minor character is a lesbian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used with moderate frequency.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. At one point a boy and girl spend the night together. Iris discusses a girl’s crush on another girl with her.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Iris and her brother survived a kidnapping attempt that happened before the story begins. There are some references to that event, and it’s obvious that both are (understandably) still shaken.

Drug Content
Some characters drink alcohol. (I think they’re of age.)

Review: Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers

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Cracked Up to Be
Courtney Summers
Wednesday Books
Published (re-release) February 4, 2020

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About Cracked Up to Be

When “Perfect” Parker Fadley starts drinking at school and failing her classes, all of St. Peter’s High goes on alert. How has the cheerleading captain, girlfriend of the most popular guy in school, consummate teacher’s pet, and future valedictorian fallen so far from grace?

Parker doesn’t want to talk about it. She’d just like to be left alone, to disappear, to be ignored. But her parents have placed her on suicide watch and her conselors are demanding the truth. Worse, there’s a nice guy falling in love with her and he’s making her feel things again when she’d really rather not be feeling anything at all.

Nobody would have guessed she’d turn out like this. But nobody knows the truth.

Something horrible has happened, and it just might be her fault.

My Review

I’m a fan of Courtney Summers’ writing and the often heartbreaking stories she boldly tells of girls who are angry and sad and recovering from trauma.

It’s interesting to me that there’s so much emphasis on the characters as unlikeable. I totally see why people classify them that way. And there’s one of her books where I really struggled with liking the main character, but it’s definitely not this one.

Parker’s clearly a mess and in the midst of a pretty sharp downward spiral. There’s a constant tug of war in her over punishing herself for her past mistakes and yet still wanting to be loved despite them, even though she doesn’t feel like she deserves it.

I’m often really moved by the community element in the stories I read, and the community around Parker in CRACKED UP TO BE definitely moved me. Her friends and teachers aren’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But they care about Parker, and in their sometimes weird, sometimes broken, sometimes imperfect ways, they continue to reach out to her and try to help her in her recovery. That really got to me. And in a way I thought it showed other sides of Parker than she wanted to show us in her version of her story.

I saw other readers comment that they were driven to know what had happened to Parker. It remains a mystery through most of the book, but it drove me forward. Her behavior convinced me that something terrible had happened, and I knew that either she would have to face it or be destroyed by it.

CRACKED UP TO BE is, at times, a difficult/dark read, but I spent every page rooting for Parker, hoping for her to find a breakthrough and be able to start healing. It’s a great book for fans of angsty stories like WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart and YOU’LL MISS ME WHEN I’M GONE by Rachel Lynn Solomon.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Most of the characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty frequently. Some crude/sexual comments.

Romance/Sexual Content – Trigger Warning
Kissing between boy and girl. References to sex. Brief, disjointed description of a rape. It’s more a snapshot description of the scene and then the realization that it’s a rape.

Spiritual Content
Parker and her friends attend a private Catholic school. One scene takes place in the school’s chapel.

Violent Content – Trigger Warning
A couple very brief, violent moments. See romantic content. Also at one point a boy starts to attack a girl. References to two suicide attempts.

Drug Content
Several scenes show teens drinking alcohol. There’s some reference to taking pills as part of a suicide attempt.

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

Review: Chirp by Kate Messner

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Chirp
Kate Messner
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published February 4, 2020

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About Chirp

From acclaimed author Kate Messner comes the powerful story of a young girl with the courage to make her voice heard, set against the backdrop of a summertime mystery.

When Mia moves to Vermont the summer after seventh grade, she’s recovering from the broken arm she got falling off a balance beam. And packed away in the moving boxes under her clothes and gymnastics trophies is a secret she’d rather forget.

Mia’s change in scenery brings day camp, new friends, and time with her beloved grandmother. But Gram is convinced someone is trying to destroy her cricket farm. Is it sabotage or is Gram’s thinking impaired from the stroke she suffered months ago? Mia and her friends set out to investigate, but can they uncover the truth in time to save Gram’s farm? And will that discovery empower Mia to confront the secret she’s been hiding–and find the courage she never knew she had?

In a compelling story rich with friendship, science, and summer fun, a girl finds her voice while navigating the joys and challenges of growing up.

My Review

I got kind of nervous as I started to read this book. The way it talked about Mia having a secret, I assumed it had something to do with an adult having inappropriate contact with her, and I wasn’t sure how explicit or intense that would be. Since I’m pretty sensitive to the topic, I felt a little tense until I got to that part of the story. It didn’t include anything nightmarishly explicit. I don’t say that to downplay what Mia experienced at all, simply that as a reader, it didn’t end up being something I couldn’t handle reading.

Mia’s grandmother made me smile so much. She’s strong and brave and pretty committed to her course. I liked the relationship she has with Mia, and the way each encouraged the other. Mia’s friendships with Clover and Anna were great, too. I loved how they bonded over their shared passion for their Launch Camp projects and then over other experiences.

Solidarity Between Women

At one point in the book, after Mia has heard from several of the women in her life about experiences where they were harrassed or treated inappropriately by men, she wonders if this is something that all women experience. I felt like it’s such a reasonable question, and such a hard part about growing up, right? Because too many women do have those stories. I know I do.

While it’s heartbreaking watching someone realize something troubling about the world, I loved the way it becomes part of Mia’s healing, too. She’s not alone. She’s not wrong for feeling the way she did, even though at the time, she felt completely alone and ashamed for feeling uncomfortable.

I also loved that, even though I thought the topic was really well-addressed, the story wasn’t only about these things. Mia is never defined by that experience. She’s always many things– a girl with lots of interests and talents and relationships.

Plus I have to talk about the cricket farm. I know I say this every time I read a book with a protagonist with an unusual interest or talent, but I love that the author brought such a different family business to the story– not only a cricket farm, but crickets for a food source! I thought that was really fun.

Readers who are looking for a balance of light and heavy topics will enjoy CHIRP a lot, especially fans of BE LIGHT LIKE A BIRD by Monika Schröder or FLORA & ULYSSES by Kate DiCamillo.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
Mia’s friend Anna is Indian. A couple other minor characters are also Asian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Mia recalls situations in which a man made her uncomfortable and left her feeling icky.

Spiritual Content
A brief mention that Mia’s family has gone to church on Sunday.

Violent Content
A man verbally threatens a girl.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: The Map from Here to There by Emery Lord

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The Map From Here to There
Emery Lord
Bloomsbury YA
Published January 7, 2020

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About The Map From Here to There

Acclaimed author Emery Lord crafts a gorgeous story of friendship and identity, daring to ask: What happens after happily ever after?

It’s senior year, and Paige Hancock is finally living her best life. She has a fun summer job, great friends, and a super charming boyfriend who totally gets her. But senior year also means big decisions. Weighing “the rest of her life,” Paige feels her anxiety begin to pervade every decision she makes. Everything is exactly how she always wanted it to be–how can she leave it all behind next year? In her head, she knows there is so much more to experience after high school. But in her heart, is it so terrible to want everything to stay the same forever?

Emery Lord’s award-winning storytelling shines with lovable characters and heartfelt exploration of life’s most important questions.

My Review

This is the first book I’ve read by Emery Lord, though her books have been on my “must try this” list for a long time. I thought the writing was great– Paige is a sweet sort of people-pleaser who’s just beginning to assert her own desires and goals, so it was a great moment to step into her life.

I loved all the script-writing stuff. Though I know nothing about that process, it felt believable and Paige’s enthusiasm for it was contagious. I absolutely bought in and needed her to get into a great college program where she could continue to pursue that dream.

Especially in the early chapters, the narrative referred back to things that had happened before, and kept thinking, wait, why isn’t that a novel? Why aren’t I reading that other story, because it sounds really compelling.

And then I had a duh moment. There IS a book telling that previous story. It’s called THE START OF ME AND YOU. So now I need to read that one!

For the most part, I followed the story just fine without having read the first book. The only things I found confusing were the backstories of Paige’s friends. There are several to keep straight, and I didn’t always have them right. I think I would have been more on the ball there if I’d read THE START OF ME AND YOU first.

But overall, I liked THE MAP FROM HERE TO THERE. The writing was strong but accessible. I never felt like Paige was being pretentious or that the writing didn’t suit her voice. And, as I mentioned above, her passion for script-writing absolutely came through. I felt it as I was reading. Same with her anxiety and her confusion and frustration with her feelings. I thought she was super relatable.

If you liked STARFISH by Akemi Dawn Bowman or THIS ADVENTURE ENDS by Emma Mills, definitely add THE MAP FROM HERE TO THERE to your list.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
One of Paige’s best friends is a lesbian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Kissing between two girls. In a couple scenes, Paige experiments with contact beyond kissing — the details are kept vague.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Brief description of a car accident.

Drug Content
A couple scenes show teens (including Paige) drinking alcohol.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of THE MAP FROM HERE TO THERE in exchange for my honest review.

Review: It’s My Life by Stacie Ramey

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It’s My Life
Stacie Ramey
Sourcebooks Fire
Published January 1, 2020

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About It’s My Life

If she wants a future with him, she’ll have to make peace with her past.

Jenna’s never let her cerebral palsy get her down. But when she discovers that her condition was actually caused by an injury at birth, she’s furious with her parents, who withheld the truth. And as they push her to get yet another difficult procedure, Jenna feels her control over her life starting to slip.

Enter Julian, Jenna’s childhood crush. He’s just moved back to town, and he’s struggling in school, so Jenna reaches out to him—anonymously— to help. Soon, their conversations are about so much more than class. She’s falling for him all over again, hard and fast. But would Julian still be interested in her if he knew who she really was? And can she find a way to take back her own narrative before she pushes away everyone she loves?

My Review

You know, just leave it to Stacie Ramey to create still more characters that I can’t help falling in love with. I really, really needed a solid, heartfelt contemporary book, and IT’S MY LIFE totally had me covered. I love Jenna’s awkwardness and her tendency to overthink things. I love her passion and her relationship with her mom.

Actually, I want to say more about her and her mom. Because I felt like that was a really complex relationship, since Jenna’s really pushing back against her parents’ assumptions about her medical treatment and care. She’s feeling lied to by her parents and unable to communicate to them her need to make her own medical decisions.

Though we only see Jenna’s point-of-view, I felt like it was easy to see that so much more was happening between the lines. Her mom felt like this real, complicated character with conflicting desires but a consistent commitment to her daughter. I don’t know if that makes total sense, but I just found myself having a lot of respect for Jenna’s mom because clearly she had a lot going on in her head and heart.

IT’S MY LIFE is at its core, a personal journey story. At the beginning, Jenna feels like her perfect life starring the cooler, better version of herself is completely out of reach. Jenna has two choices: she can sit back and let that life stay a fantasy, or she can pull together all her courage and figure out a way to make things happen for herself.

I love that theme in the story so much, and I think Stacie Ramey does real justice to the part of life where we must choose to become the main character in our own stories. I’m so glad I read this book, and I think it will really stay with me for a long time.

If you liked MY SISTER’S KEEPER by Jodi Picoult or IMPOSSIBLE MUSIC by Sean Williams, or just find yourself in the mood for an uplifting contemporary story featuring a strong protagonist, make sure you check out IT’S MY LIFE.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Jenna has Cerebral Palsy. Jenna and her family are Jewish. Her best friend Ben is gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used fairly frequently. A couple instances of stronger profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Jenna has some daydreams about lying in bed with a boy.

Spiritual Content
Some references to Jewish traditions and holidays.

Violent Content
Jenna witnesses a fistfight between two boys.

Drug Content
Jenna and a friend drink alcohol at a dance.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of IT’S MY LIFE in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Not if I Can Help It by Carolyn Mackler

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Not If I Can Help It
Carolyn Mackler
Scholastic Press
July 30, 2019

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About Not If I Can Help It

Willa likes certain things to be certain ways. Her socks have to be soft . . . and definitely can’t have irritating tags on the inside. She loves the crunch of popcorn and nachos . . . but is grossed out by the crunch of a baby carrot. And slimy foods? Those are the worst.

Willa can manage all these things — but there are some things she can’t deal with, like her father’s big news. He’s been keeping a big secret from her . . . that he’s been dating the mom of Willa’s best friend Ruby. Willa does NOT like the idea of them being together. And she does NOT like the idea of combining families. And she does NOT like the idea of her best friend becoming her sister overnight. Will she go along with all of these changes? NOT if she can help it!

My Review

Just when I needed a spunky heroine in my life, I found Willa in NOT IF I CAN HELP IT. She has fierce opinions and specific ideas about how she wants things to go. Some of these things are related to her Sensory Processing Disorder, like her needs for clothes to fit a certain way and feel a certain way, but others are simply her own personal preference, like where she wants to go to school next year, and who her dad happens to be dating.

After her dad and her best friend Ruby’s mom announce that they’re dating, Willa realizes she and Ruby aren’t on the same page about it. This begins a big challenge to their relationship and a challenge to Willa’s way of looking at things. She begins to learn that situations and relationships don’t a;ways look the same from other people’s points of view.

For me, that process is precisely what makes this book amazing. Willa navigates that tug-of-war between her own preferences and needs and those of the other important people in her life, mainly her dad and her best friend. She remains a fierce person, fiercely committed to her way of thinking, but also fiercely committed to the people she loves, which makes her all the more lovable and amazing.

NOT IF I CAN HELP IT makes a great read for kids navigating transitions to blended families in their own lives or helping them develop empathy and understanding for the transition in the lives of people close to them. It’s also a great pick for encouraging understanding and empathy toward children with sensory issues. I highly recommend it.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 up.

Representation
Willa has Sensory Processing Disorder. Another character battles anxiety. Willa’s best friend, Ruby in Indian-American. One minor character is gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of NOT IF I CAN HELP IT in exchange for my honest review.