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Review: This May End Badly by Samantha Markum

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,
This May End Badly by Samantha Markum

This May End Badly
Samantha Markum
Wednesday Books
Published April 12, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About This May End Badly

Pranking mastermind Doe and her motley band of Weston girls are determined to win the century-long war against Winfield Academy before the clock ticks down on their senior year. But when their headmistress announces that The Weston School will merge with its rival the following year, their longtime feud spirals into chaos.

To protect the school that has been her safe haven since her parents’ divorce, Doe puts together a plan to prove once and for all that Winfield boys and Weston girls just don’t mix, starting with a direct hit at Three, Winfield’s boy king and her nemesis. In a desperate move to win, Doe strikes a bargain with Three’s cousin, Wells: If he fake dates her to get under Three’s skin, she’ll help him get back his rightful family heirloom from Three.

As the pranks escalate, so do her feelings for her fake boyfriend, and Doe spins lie after lie to keep up her end of the deal. But when a teacher long suspected of inappropriate behavior messes with a younger Weston girl, Doe has to decide what’s more important: winning a rivalry, or joining forces to protect something far more critical than a prank war legacy.

THIS MAY END BADLY is a story about friendship, falling in love, and crossing pretty much every line presented to you—and how to atone when you do.

My Review

The cover copy on this book made me think of an older favorite: THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN ME IS YOU by Lily Anderson. It’s also a boarding school story with an enemies to lovers arc and loads of banter and snark. I LOVED that book when I read it, so I as soon as I read about this book, I knew I wanted to read it.

And it totally delivered on all my hopes for it. I loved Doe’s character with her single-minded passion. I loved Wells with his mysterious sorrow peeking out beneath the “I don’t care” attitude he had going on. On top of that, I loved Doe’s friends, when they pushed her, made room for her, loved her despite her misguided or hurtful actions. I loved the way they operated as a team and protected one another.

I also loved the banter! The pranks. The teasing comments. The awkward, hilarious conversations. I laughed out loud more reading this book than I have in a long time. It was exactly the story I needed this week.

If you like fake dating, boarding school stories, or prank wars and banter, this book is one you won’t want to miss.

Content Notes for This May End Badly

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white. Doe has a diverse friend group. Her dad is bisexual. Some discussion about how single gender schools exclude trans and nonbinary students.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to sex. In one scene, a boy and girl take their shirts off.

A teacher is rumored to be a sexual predator. The girls try to warn new students and look out for each other. One girl comes forward with details about inappropriate behavior on the teacher’s part. The scene is brief, but the girl is obviously (understandably) traumatized when she describes what happened.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Two boys get into a fistfight.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol at a party and in other circumstances.

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 THIS MAY END BADLY in exchange for my honest review.

Review: This Rebel Heart by Katherine Locke

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

This Rebel Heart
Katherine Locke
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Published April 5, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About This Rebel Heart

A tale set amid the 1956 Hungarian revolution in post-WWII Communist Budapest.

In the middle of Budapest, there is a river. Csilla knows the river is magic. During WWII, the river kept her family safe when they needed it most–safe from the Holocaust. But that was before the Communists seized power. Before her parents were murdered by the Soviet police. Before Csilla knew things about her father’s legacy that she wishes she could forget.

Now Csilla keeps her head down, planning her escape from this country that has never loved her the way she loves it. But her carefully laid plans fall to pieces when her parents are unexpectedly, publicly exonerated. As the protests in other countries spur talk of a larger revolution in Hungary, Csilla must decide if she believes in the promise and magic of her deeply flawed country enough to risk her life to help save it, or if she should let it burn to the ground.

My Review of This Rebel Heart

The author’s note at the beginning of the book warns that Hungary’s revolution does not end in victory, so I felt like I read this entire book holding my breath, waiting for that shoe to drop. Which wasn’t a negative for me– just added a lot of intensity.

Csilla was my favorite character, but I loved the other characters, too. I loved the way that magic is woven into the story through Csilla’s relationship with the river. The way that color (or a lack of it) is used in the story, too, is really powerful and cool.

The way the story is written completely captivated me. I felt like I couldn’t stop reading, and like so many of the scenes were just aching– achingly beautiful or haunting or tragic. I feel like it struck something in me really deeply, a kind of connection with a book that I haven’t felt since reading THE BOOK THIEF years ago, where it made me want to call people and read them pages of the story.

I’m trying not to buy any new books right now because SHELF SPACE, but I really want a hard copy of this one. THIS REBEL HEART is the first book I’ve read by Katherine Locke, but obviously I need to read all their other books immediately. I absolutely loved it.

I think readers who enjoyed THE GIRL IN THE BLUE COAT by Monica Hesse or books by Ruta Sepetys would love THIS REBEL HEART.

Content Notes for This Rebel Heart

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Csilla is Jewish. Other characters are gay or bisexual.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Reference to a kiss between two men. Kissing between two boys. Kissing between a boy and girl. Two boys and a girl are in a romantic relationship together.

Spiritual Content
References to Jewish holidays and practices. One character is an angel of death.

Violent Content
References to genocide, some brief graphic references to death in gas chambers. References to torture and suicide. Brief description as a mob beats a young man to death. Soldiers shoot into a crowd of protestors, killing someone. Some battle violence and other situations of peril.

Drug Content
Characters drink socially at a community dance.

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 THIS REBEL HEART in exchange for my honest review.

Review: She Gets the Girl by Rachel Lippincott and Alyson Derrick

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

She Gets the Girl
Rachel Lippincott and Alyson Derrick
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published April 5, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About She Gets the Girl

Alex Blackwood is a little bit headstrong, with a dash of chaos and a whole lot of flirt. She knows how to get the girl. Keeping her on the other hand…not so much. Molly Parker has everything in her life totally in control, except for her complete awkwardness with just about anyone besides her mom. She knows she’s in love with the impossibly cool Cora Myers. She just…hasn’t actually talked to her yet.

Alex and Molly don’t belong on the same planet, let alone the same college campus. But when Alex, fresh off a bad (but hopefully not permanent) breakup, discovers Molly’s hidden crush as their paths cross the night before classes start, they realize they might have a common interest after all. Because maybe if Alex volunteers to help Molly learn how to get her dream girl to fall for her, she can prove to her ex that she’s not a selfish flirt. That she’s ready for an actual commitment. And while Alex is the last person Molly would ever think she could trust, she can’t deny Alex knows what she’s doing with girls, unlike her.

As the two embark on their five-step plans to get their girls to fall for them, though, they both begin to wonder if maybe they’re the ones falling…for each other.

My Review

This one started a teeny bit rough for me. I don’t know if it was the writing or the fact that I’d just read two other books in which a parent was an alcoholic, so I was kind of worn out on that idea? It didn’t feel quite authentic in those opening chapters, but maybe that’s because at that point, Alex was her most inauthentic self.

At any rate, once I was three or so chapters into the book, I felt like things smoothed out and I started to really like both Molly and Alex a lot. I loved watching their friendship develop and watching Molly find her confidence and Alex find the ability to open up and let herself genuinely care about someone.

One of the things I think SHE GETS THE GIRL does really well is deliver complicated relationships. Natalie isn’t the perfect girlfriend, so Alex’s goal of reuniting with her isn’t as simple as it looks, and I found I had a lot of feelings about that, in a good way. I also thought the relationship between Alex and her mom was well done. At first I thought it would be kind of one-dimensional, but I liked that Alex began to unpack her feelings about her relationship with her mom and how she was responding to her mom’s behavior.

Molly also had a complex relationship with her mom. I felt like there was a good balance there, too, of giving enough time and space in the story to bring up some of those issues without it dominating or taking over the whole book.

On the whole, I can say this wife-wife duo delivered exactly the sweet romance I was looking for. I really enjoyed this one and would definitely recommend it.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Molly is half Korean American. Both she and Alex are self-described lesbians.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls. References to sex between two girls.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Molly tries out for a rugby club and gets flattened when another girl tackles her.

Drug Content
Molly attends a party where people are drinking alcohol. Alex and Natalie get drunk after a show. Alex’s mom is an alcoholic.

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 SHE GETS THE GIRL in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Year on Fire by Julie Buxbaum

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

Year on Fire
Julie Buxbaum
Delacorte Press
Published April 5, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Year on Fire

Can a single kiss change everything?

It was a year on fire. They fell in love. Someone was bound to get burned.

The Spark: Just days before the start of junior year for twins Arch and Immie and their best friend, Paige, a spontaneous kiss shakes the very foundation of their friendship. But some ties run too deep to be broken by accidental betrayal.

The Fuel: Enter Rohan, new to Wood Valley High by way of London, who walks into school on the first day completely overwhelmed by his sudden move halfway around the world. When Paige calls dibs on him—he’s too cute to ignore—Immie is in no position to argue, certainly not after taking the fall for the disloyal kiss. Too bad for Immie that Ro feels like the best kind of familiar.

The Kindling: Former lab partners Arch and Jackson, Paige’s ex-boyfriend, have never considered themselves more than friends. But sometimes feelings can grow like wildfire.

The Flames: When the girls’ bathroom at Wood Valley is set ablaze, no one doubts it’s arson. But in this bastion of privilege, who’d be angry enough to want to burn down the school? Answer: pretty much everyone.

YEAR ON FIRE explores the blinding power of the lies we tell others and those we tell ourselves, the tight grip of family secrets, the magic of first love, and the grounding beauty of friendship.

My Review

I loved this book for its complicated relationships, the unspoken fears, the drama of falling in love unexpectedly, and the celebration of the close bond of siblings. The writing also swept me away. It’s lyrical and gorgeous and there were so many lines I wanted to sit and savor.

I can’t even choose a favorite character because I liked them all. Ha. I loved the way that Arch and Immie related to each other. It was so comforting to them when they were on the same page about something and so frightening when they weren’t. I was captivated by Ro’s feelings about his parents and the uncertainty of their future as well as feeling helpless and like he had no say in moving to Los Angeles from London.

The whole story sort of circles around fires at school and rumors about who set them. I liked the way that plot slowly unspooled in the midst of all the friendship drama and tension. I felt like it was paced really well– this was a book that I read in two sittings but would have read in one if I hadn’t started the first few chapters at midnight the night before I finished it.

All in all, I think fans of WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart or WE ARE THE GOLDENS by Dana Reinhardt will love this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
YEAR ON FIRE is told from four points of view: Immie and Arch are twins. Arch is gay. Paige is “three quarters Jewish American and a quarter Chinese American.” Rohan is from England and is maybe Indian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two boys. Kissing between a girl and boy.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Someone starts several fires at school. Arch and Immie’s dad becomes violently angry at home.

Drug Content
References to teens 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 YEAR ON FIRE in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Shelter: Homelessness in Our Community by Lois Peterson

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Middle Grade 8-12, Nonfiction, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Shelter: Homelessness in Our Community
Lois Peterson
Illustrated by Taryn Gee
Orca Book Publishers
Published October 12, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Shelter: Homelessness in Our Community

There are 150 million people experiencing homelessness worldwide, and that number is increasing every year. Homelessness is not a choice, yet it exists in almost every community. But why are people homeless? Who are they? What can you do? In SHELTER: HOMELESSNESS IN OUR COMMUNITY, readers will get answers to these complex questions. They’ll learn about the root causes of homelessness and its effects, and what people and organizations around the world are doing to address the problem.

It shares the personal stories of people who live on the street and the adults and kids who work with them. As a former homeless-shelter worker, author Lois Peterson encourages young people to approach the issue with knowledge and compassion. She dispels some of the myths about homelessness and makes the case for why everyone deserves a safe, permanent place to call home.

My Review

The author of SHELTER has been both a librarian (where she encountered homeless people regularly) and the executive director at a homeless shelter. So, she brings a lot of personal experience to the book. She also includes bits of stories about different people she’s met and their situations. This helps to illustrate some of the information and statistics presented about the homeless.

Since the author is Canadian, a lot of the information relates to how homelessness is viewed and handled there. She also includes statistics and information about homelessness in the United States. The book is full of facts and ideas for how to help. It discusses what kinds of interventions have been shown to work and how people can help in their own communities.

Possibly one of the coolest parts of the book is that over and over the author tells about kids who’ve been inspired by volunteer work to create their own charities or inventions to help homeless people receive care and services. I thought that was particularly inspiring. There are also some great lists, both for additional nonfiction resources and fictional stories highlighting the challenges of poverty and homelessness.

This book would make a great resource for a classroom, public or home library. It would also serve as a helpful resource guide for youth at religious institutions. I think it’s a great way to begin to get more educated about homelessness and learn ways to help in a local community.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Representation
The book includes short snippets of stories from people who are or have been homeless, including Indigenous and Black interviewees.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Some references to churches and other spiritual centers offering support or services for homeless people.

Violent Content
Brief references to risks associated with homelessness, such as being assaulted or robbed.

Drug Content
Reference to some homeless people struggling with addiction to drugs or 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 SHELTER: HOMELESSNESS IN OUR COMMUNITY in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Anything But Fine by Tobias Madden

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

Anything But Fine
Tobias Madden
Page Street Kids
Published March 29, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Anything But Fine

All it takes is one missed step for your life to change forever.

Luca Mason knows exactly who he is and what he wants: In six months, he’s going to be accepted into the Australian Ballet School, leave his fancy private high school, and live his life as a star of the stage—at least that’s the plan until he falls down a flight of stairs and breaks his foot in a way he can never recover from.

With his dancing dreams dead on their feet, Luca loses his performing arts scholarship and transfers to the local public school, leaving behind all his ballet friends and his whole future on stage.

The only bright side is that he strikes up unlikely friendships with the nicest (and nerdiest) girl at his new school, Amina, and the gorgeous, popular, and (reportedly) straight school captain, Jordan Tanaka-Jones.

As Luca’s bond with Jordan grows stronger, he starts to wonder: who is he without ballet? And is he setting himself up for another heartbreak?

My Review

If you know me at all, you know that as a former dancer myself, I can’t resist a book about ballet. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with a dancer as the main character who was also a boy, so this is a first for me.

Honestly, I was nervous going into the book because I figured the injury and grief part of the story would hit me really hard, and it definitely did. I cried through so many pages of this book. So many of Luca’s thoughts and feelings about ballet resonated with me. It brought up some stuff for me that I don’t think was resolved, either. So I definitely had a very personal experience with this book.

In addition to that, I loved the story. The relationships are messy and complex, which made them seem very real. Sometimes relationships like that leave me frustrated because of toxic behaviors that don’t get addressed within the scope of the story, but I feel like ANYTHING BUT FINE really hit a great balance with those issues. Even if the offending character never accounted for or apologized for their behavior, other characters condemned it. Luca also did a lot of growing and processing himself, so I felt like even where there wasn’t a neat resolution, I could see him at least processing things and learning and growing.

Lots of moments in this book surprised me. There’s one moment with Luca in the ballet studio where he describes what it’s like to be there and how he’s feeling, and I didn’t expect anything about that whole scene, but it made so much sense. I think I cried the most in that scene, too. Ha.

I laughed a lot reading this book, too. Luca’s awkward insights and silly comments added a lot of fun to the story. Can I just say the description of a ballerina trying to do normal people party dancing looking like a baby giraffe learning to walk is so one hundred percent right on. I have never felt so seen.

Now that I’m thinking about which other ballet books I can compare this one to, I’m realizing that most of the other dance books I’ve read are much more angsty and dark than this one is. I love that about ANYTHING BUT FINE, too.

I think readers who enjoyed KATE IN WAITING by Becky Albertalli would enjoy this book.

Content Notes for Anything But Fine

Recommended for Ages 16 up

Representation
Luca is gay. Another character has relationships with girls and then a boy. One character is Indonesian and a Muslim. One character’s mom is Japanese.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Two boys kissing. One scene shows brief sexual touching.

Spiritual Content
Amina is a Muslim and wears a hijab. She describes celebrations and holidays like Ramadan and Eid. Jordan talks about celebrating a Japanese holiday, Bon, with his family.

Violent Content – Trigger warning for homophobic and Islamophobic slurs.
Two boys get into a fistfight. Boys say homophobic slurs to Luca multiple times in multiple scenes. Two characters say Islamophobic and xenophobic insults to Amina.

Drug Content
Teen characters drink alcohol in multiple scenes.

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 ANYTHING BUT FINE in exchange for my honest review.