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Review: Ode to My First Car by Robin Gow

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Ode to My First Car by Robin Gow

Ode to My First Car
Robin Gow
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Published June 20, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Ode to My First Car

By the critically praised author of A Million Quiet Revolutions , this YA contemporary sapphic romance told in verse is about a bisexual teen girl who falls in and out of love over the course of one fateful summer.

It’s a few months before senior year and Claire Kemp, a closeted bisexual, is finally starting to admit she might be falling in love with her best friend, Sophia, who she’s known since they were four.

Trying to pay off the fine from the crash that totals Lars, her beloved car, Claire takes a job at the local nursing home up the street from her house. There she meets Lena, an eighty-eight-year-old lesbian woman who tells her stories about what it was like growing up gay in the 1950s and ’60s.

As Claire spends more time with Lena and grows more confident of her identity, another girl, Pen, comes into the picture, and Claire is caught between two loves–one familiar and well-worn, the other new and untested.

My Review

Last year I read A MILLION QUIET REVOLUTIONS, which is also a novel in verse by Robin Gow. I really enjoyed the epistolary format in which the story is written. ODE TO MY FIRST CAR also has an epistolary feel to it since every poem is addressed to Claire’s first car, which she wrecks just before the story begins.

It felt really easy to understand Claire’s feelings and needs. Even though I didn’t always agree with her, I still totally understood where she was coming from and what led her to conclude certain things. I also really liked her brother and the relationship that develops between them.

Her relationship with Lena was really great, too. I feel like I have seen a lot more stories featuring mentorship lately, whether that comes in the form of a teen having a mentoring relationship with an adult, or a teen having a mentor relationship with an older teen. It’s a cool element to see in books, and those are often some of my favorite relationships. I liked that Lena isn’t a grouchy old lady (though I love the stories about those, too!). She’s a little bit closed up, and obviously has some wounds in her past, but I loved the gentleness in her approach to Claire and in the way Claire kept showing up for her, even though Lena didn’t want to intrude into her life.

All in all, I think I might like this one even better than A MILLION QUIET REVOLUTIONS, but I think they’re both really well done.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Claire is bisexual, but her family doesn’t know. Her best friend Sophie is transgender. Other characters are queer as well.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls. Two girls talk about wanting to have sex and challenge each other to have sex that summer. In one scene, two girls make out in the car, and Claire reports they also have sex (off-scene).

Spiritual Content
Claire is supposed to go to Mass with her family but hasn’t been going. After her car is wrecked, she has to ride with them to church, but she doesn’t enjoy it or feel connected to it in any spiritual way.

Violent Content
Brief descriptions of a car accident. References to homophobic or biphobic comments. One peripheral relationship has a lot of flags for toxic/abusive behavior. Claire doesn’t witness any of that happening, but she hears about it and is worried/unsure of what to do.

Drug Content
None.

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 ODE TO MY FIRST CAR in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston

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Amari and the Night Brothers (Supernatural Investigations #1)
B. B. Alston
Balzer + Bray
Published January 19, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Amari and the Night Brothers

Quinton Peters was the golden boy of the Rosewood low-income housing projects, receiving full scholarship offers to two different Ivy League schools. When he mysteriously goes missing, his little sister, 13-year-old Amari Peters, can’t understand why it’s not a bigger deal. Why isn’t his story all over the news? And why do the police automatically assume he was into something illegal?

Then Amari discovers a ticking briefcase in her brother’s old closet. A briefcase meant for her eyes only. There was far more to Quinton, it seems, than she ever knew. He’s left her a nomination for a summer tryout at the secretive Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Amari is certain the answer to finding out what happened to him lies somewhere inside, if only she can get her head around the idea of mermaids, dwarves, yetis and magicians all being real things, something she has to instantly confront when she is given a weredragon as a roommate.

If that all wasn’t enough, every Bureau trainee has a talent enhanced to supernatural levels to help them do their jobs – but Amari is given an illegal ability. As if she needed something else to make her stand out.

With an evil magician threatening the whole supernatural world, and her own classmates thinking she is an enemy, Amari has never felt more alone. But if she doesn’t pass the three tryouts, she may never find out what happened to Quinton.

My Review

I remember hearing about this book before it came out, and my calendar was too full to fit in a release date review– which I have since regretted! Finally, I was able to read it, though.

From the very beginning, this book hooked me right in. I felt Amari’s pain at her brother’s disappearance. And her wonder at discovering the supernatural world. I loved the exploration of human rights and equality through the way that people saw her as a magician. As soon as people learned she was a magician, they made assumptions about her values and character. Being a magician wasn’t something she could control, but it also did not dictate her beliefs or her behavior.

There were a few moments in this book that reminded me so much of the movie MEN IN BLACK. When Amari did her training session where she had to identify which monsters/situations were a threat, that reminded me so much of Will Smith’s character’s similar experience in the movie, and I definitely grinned at that.

I really enjoyed the cast of characters, especially Amari’s roommate Elsie and Agents Fiona and Magnus. All in all, this was a really fun book to read, and a great start to the series.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Amari is Black and a born magician. In the supernatural world, being a magician, meaning someone has a high percentage of magic in their blood, is illegal.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
An Irish character says a British swear word a couple times.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Amari has the ability to create illusions. A friend has the ability to manipulate technology with magic.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Brief battle scenes. Some descriptions of injuries from monsters called hybrids, which are part animal and part human.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Sense and Second-degree Murder by Tirzah Price

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Sense and Second-Degree Murder (Jane Austen Murder Mystery #2)
Tirzah Price
HarperCollins
Published April 5, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Sense and Second-Degree Murder

When eighteen-year-old aspiring scientist Elinor Dashwood discovers her beloved father slumped over the desk of his office study, she knows his death means dire straits for the Dashwood women. To make matters worse, an outdated will entails his estate—including Norland & Company, the private investigation firm where her younger sister Marianne worked as her father’s partner and protégé—to their half-brother and his haughty wife, who waste no time in forcing the Dashwoods out of their home and into a cramped apartment on London’s Barton Street.

But before they go, the Dashwood sisters make a startling discovery that points to foul play, and the killer might be family.

Obviously, the girls must investigate. It could be dangerous; it could ruin their reputations; and most importantly, it won’t bring back their father. But if the Dashwood sisters can combine their talents and bring their father’s murderer to justice, it may bring them all some comfort—and it might even lead to love.

Three of Jane Austen’s classic novels receive a murder mystery makeover in this romantic and thrilling three-book series that’s perfect for fans of THE LADY’S GUIDE TO PETTICOATS AND PIRACY and STALKING JACK THE RIPPER. In SENSE AND SECOND-DEGREE MURDER, aspiring scientist Elinor Dashwood and her sister Marianne, a budding detective, work together to solve the mystery of their father’s murder.

My Review

From the first page, I was excited about the way the author captured the spirit of the characters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. I loved Marianne’s willfulness and passion and Elinor’s keep-it-together practicality. I found it easy to get carried away by the pursuit of the mystery of who murdered their father, especially in the midst of the Dashwoods being forced from their home and struggling to navigate their grief over their father’s sudden death.

The only character that I felt got really shortchanged in the story was Mr. Brandon (Colonel Brandon in the original). He doesn’t play much of a role at all other than as a past client of Marianne and Elinor’s father until late in the story. And even then, he doesn’t really play much of an active role in the story. He’s more of a convenient guy to have around? A good resource for the investigation. A guy who knows how to treat a bullet wound. So that was a bit disappointing, since he’s a favorite character of mine. I can understand why the story was told that way (the murder is really the central plot, not romance), and I like other things about the story enough that it wasn’t a deal breaker for me by any means.

SENSE AND SECOND-DEGREE MURDER is the first book in the Jane Austen Murder Mystery series that I’ve read so far. They definitely don’t have to be read in order, as the only connection that I noticed was a one line reference to the law office in PRIDE AND PREMEDITATION.

All in all, I think this is a clever remix of the classic story, and I loved reading it. I think readers who enjoyed MY LADY JANE or ONE FOR ALL by Lillie Lainoff should absolutely check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Elinor and Marianne believe their father was murdered. Before his death, he and Marianne investigated other murders. One scene shows a building catching fire. A woman shoots someone fleeing the scene.

Drug Content
Several characters use laudanum or similar substances.

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 SENSE AND SECOND-DEGREE MURDER in exchange for my honest review.



Review: The Gray by Chris Baron

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The Gray
Chris Baron
Feiwel & Friends
Published June 13, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Gray

The Gray is a sensitively told middle grade story from Chris Baron about living with anxiety and finding ways to cope.

It’s been a tough year for Sasha―he’s been bullied at his middle school and his anxiety, which he calls the Gray, is growing. Sasha’s dad tells him to “toughen up”―and he does, but with unfortunate, hurtful results. His parents and therapist agree that a summer in the country with his aunt might be the best medicine, but it’s the last place he wants to be. He’ll be away from his best friend, video games, and stuck in the house that reminds him of his beloved uncle who died two years earlier.

His aunt is supportive, and there are lots of places to explore, and even some potential new friends. When Sasha is introduced at a local ranch to a horse coincidentally–incredibly–nicknamed the Gray, he feels he’s found a kindred spirit.

But his own Gray is ever-present. When one of his new friends disappears, Sasha discovers that the country is wilder and more mysterious than he imagined. He tries to muster enough courage to help in the search . . . but will the Gray hold him back?

My Review

I’m so excited to FINALLY get to read a book by Chris Baron. I’ve heard so many positive things, and I actually think I have his other books, but this is the first I’ve read.

From the beginning, I definitely felt pulled into Sasha’s story and his anxiety symptoms. Some members of his family are super supportive, and he has a friend who has his back. But he has other relationships that are really challenging.

I loved the descriptions of his aunt’s home and property and the surrounding area. It sounded so green and peaceful (except for the ghosts!) and I loved the relationships he formed with other kids.

For Sasha, his anxiety manifests in kind of a physical way– in which his vision goes gray and foggy. Those descriptions made what he experienced so tangible. I liked that it kind of threw a veil between him and what was happening around him and made it clear what happened as he surfaced from that space.

I also loved the connection between him and his uncle. Even though he’d passed away, his memories of his uncle and the stories he shared helped Sasha see himself in a new, more positive way. They helped him feel less alone, too. So cool.

All in all, this is definitely a book I’d recommend not only for kids with anxiety but for anyone who’s felt alone or gone through painful changes in friendships.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Sasha’s dad’s family immigrated to the US. Sasha and his family are Jewish. One minor character’s mom is in a relationship with another woman.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Rumors say that the ghost of a missing girl visits the empty buildings of what used to be a Jewish summer camp. Sasha learns about what his uncle refers to as “worlds within worlds”, something that refers to the unexpected connections that happen in life and to some of the ways he experiences anxiety and the world around him.

Sasha’s aunt shares a story of Rabbi Akiva, who learned about the power of water to carve a stone over a long period of time. She shares this story in part to remind Sasha that change takes time and patience, but it is possible, even when it seems not to be.

Violent Content
Some instances of bullying. More than once, a group of kids surround Sasha. One boy hits him.

Another boy tells Sasha about an encounter he had in which he saw evidence that someone had hurt a little kid. Sasha learns what really happened to a boy who is rumored to be violent.

Drug Content
None.

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 THE GRAY in exchange for my honest review.

Top Ten Tuesday: Super-Fun Summer Camp Books

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Top Ten Tuesday: Super-Fun Summer Camp Books

It’s Top Ten Tuesday again! This week’s theme is best books for summer, which is a perfect chance to talk about beach reads… but I’m not much of a beach girl? I burn way too easily. So, instead, let’s talk about another favorite summer activity: summer camp!

Whether it’s the story of a first-time camp experience or simply the tale of camp attendance as a means to an end, excellent summer camp books capture the immersive experience of being away from home. They spin stories of unexpected friendships and wacky inside jokes. They remind us to celebrate being in nature and being part of a team or group.

I’ve included six middle-grade books and twelve young adult books in this list, so technically it’s my top eighteen, but I couldn’t help it. They’re all great books that made me feel big summer camp vibes.

Note: Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl in which bloggers share their top ten favorites in the week’s theme. Check out this week’s list of posts about summer reading!

Also: This post contains affiliate links that don’t cost anything for you to use but help support this blog. Thank you for shopping with them!

Super-Fun Summer Camp Books: Middle Grade

Here are six middle-grade books featuring summer camp adventures. From LARPing to twins swapping places to discovering a hidden world of magic, all these books immersed me in summer camp feelings and celebrated the unexpected friendships and adventures that a few weeks away from home inevitably bring.

Monster Camp by Sarah Henning

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Review

What you need to know: A girl signs up for what she thinks is a LARPing (live-action roleplaying) camp only to discover the other campers are actually monsters. Totally fun. The camp setting makes this a perfect summer read, but the monster elements would make this a good fall/Halloween season read, too.

Release Date: May 9, 2023

Mirror to Mirror by Rajani LaRocca

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Review

What you need to know: A richly written novel in verse about twin girls who’ve grown apart and dare one another to switch places at summer camp. One twin has undiagnosed anxiety. I loved the relationship between the sisters in this one.

Release Date:

Amari and the Night Brothers (Supernatural Investigations #1) B. B. Alston

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Review to Come

What you need to know: Men In Black meets Percy Jackson, but better. Amari learns her missing brother was part of a supernatural organization (think FBI plus magic) which she joins after learning it can help her discover what happened to him.

Release Date: January 19, 2021

The Girls of Firefly Cabin by Cynthia Ellingsen

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Review

What you need to know: Four girls meet for the first time when they’re assigned to Firefly Cabin. Will secrets, competition, and other classic summer camp adventures bind them together as friends or tear their cabin apart? Perfectly captures and celebrates summer camp experiences.

Release Date: May 28, 2019

Chirp by Kate Messner

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Review

What you need to know: Not all summer camps are sleep-away– here’s one celebrating day camp for a girl whose family has just moved to a new town. Discusses grooming and consent in a clear, age-appropriate way. Great family elements.

Release Date: February 4, 2020

Ways to Grow Love (A Ryan Hart Story) by Renée Watson

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Review

What you need to know: The second book in the Ryan Hart series. Ryan braves her nerves about summer camp and changing friendships. A perfect blend of the power of resilience, friendship, and summertime fun.

Release Date: April 27, 2021

Super-Fun Summer Camp Books: Young Adult

Julieta and the Romeos by Maria E. Andreu

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Review

What you need to know: An elite writing summer intensive challenges Julieta to post her writing publicly. A mysterious collaborator begins contributing to the story. She’s determined to figure out which of the three boys she’s maybe interested in could be her online partner. Perfect for fans of Kasie West or Jennifer E. Smith.

Release Date: May 16, 2023

You Don’t Have a Shot by Racquel Marie

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Review

What you need to know: Soccer camp! Rivals to lovers! A layered story exploring romance, pride, and perfectionism. I loved the relationships between characters, and the descriptions of the soccer practices and games made me feel like I was right there on the sidelines.

Release Date: May 9, 2023

Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Review to Come

What you need to know: First love and Deaf pride… at summer camp. A book about embracing identity and finding the friends you didn’t know you needed. This one is at the top of my summer reading list.

Release Date: July 11, 2023

It Looks Like Us by Alison Ames

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Review

What you need to know: Summer camp… horror! A research trip to Antarctica turns deadly when an unidentified something tries to kill the retreat members. One of the best books I read last year, and I’m not a big horror girl. Check my review for content warnings.

Release Date: September 13, 2022

Long Story Short by Serena Kaylor

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Review

What you need to know: A homeschooled girl whose parents decide she needs more experience with peers attends the Connecticut Shakespearean Summer Academy in exchange for their permission for her early admission to Oxford. Competitive antics and rivals-to-lovers romance ensue. Great for fans of Lily Anderson.

Release Date: July 26, 2022

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Review

What you need to know: An intense summer program for aspiring web developers. A suitor in a potential arranged marriage. A girl who couldn’t be less interested in romance. All the fun of Sandhya Menon’s fluffy romance… at summer camp!

Release Date: May 30, 2017

You Have a Match by Emma Lord

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Review

What you need to know: When a DNA service reveals a younger sister, Abby signs up for summer camp to meet her unknown sibling. Packed with secrets about to burst and an adorable friends-to-lovers romance. My favorite of Emma Lord’s books so far.

Release Date: January 12, 2021

Have a Little Faith in Me by Sonia Hartl

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads | Review

What you need to know: Jesus camp… but not from a religious perspective. This one tackles issues concerning consent, celebrates girl friendships, and delivers a simmering summer romance.

Release Date: September 3, 2019

Kisses and Croissants by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Review

What you need to know: Ballet camp! In Paris! Plus, a sweet romance and a quest to prove family lore that says her relative sat for a painting by Edgar Degas. Perfect for fans of Jenna Evans Welch.

Release Date: April 6, 2021

No Place Like Here by Christina June

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Review

What you need to know: A girl desperate to escape from under her controlling father’s thumb. A rustic team-building retreat center in the middle of nowhere. Awkward, cute, and fun.

Release Date: May 21, 2019

Last Summer at Eden by Christina Hergenrader

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Review

What you need to know: It’s been a while since I’ve read this one, but I remember it being a fun read packed with references to camp songs and the emotional highs and lows of being in close quarters with strangers for weeks. It’s a Christian book and has a faith-positive message.

Release Date: March 1, 2017

The Honeys by Ryan LaSala

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Review to Come

What you need to know: This is one from my current summer reading list! When his twin sister dies after running all the way home from her summer camp experience, he vows to go to the camp himself and find out what happened to her. Looks creepy and intense. I’m excited about it.

Release Date: August 2, 2022

The Honeys by Ryan LaSala

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Review to Come

What you need to know: Another one that just came out! A bookish girl forced into summer leadership camp. Girl friendships and an unexpected summer romance that may demand she learn to stand up for herself and, well, lead.

Release Date: May 16, 2023

What are your favorite summer camp stories?

Do you have favorite stories about summer camp? What books feel like summertime to you? Leave a comment and let me know! I would love to chat about them.

Review: Time Out by Sean Hayes, Todd Milliner, and Carlyn Greenwald

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

Time Out
Sean Hayes, Todd Milliner, and Carlyn Greenwald
Simon & Schuster
Published May 30, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Time Out

Heartstopper meets Friday Night Lights in this keenly felt coming-of-age story about a teen hometown hero who must find out who he is outside of basketball when his coming out as gay costs him his popularity and place on the team.

In his small Georgia town, Barclay Elliot is basically a legend. Here basketball is all that matters, and no one has a bigger spotlight than Barclay. Until he decides to use the biggest pep rally in the town’s history to come out to his school. And things change. Quickly.

Barclay is faced with hostility he never expected. Suddenly he is at odds with his own team, and he doesn’t even have his grandfather to turn to the way he used to. But who is Barclay if he doesn’t have basketball?

His best friend, Amy, thinks she knows. She drags him to her voting rights group, believing Barclay can find a bigger purpose. And he does, but he also finds Christopher. Aggravating, fearless, undeniably handsome Christopher. He and Barclay have never been each other’s biggest fans, but as Barclay starts to explore parts of himself he’s been hiding away, they find they might have much more in common than they originally thought.

As sparks turn into something more, though, Barclay has to decide if he’s ready to confront the privilege and popularity that have shielded him his entire life. Can he take a real shot at the love he was fighting for in the first place?

My Review

This is the kind of story that takes a minute to digest. From the cover copy, I knew that Barclay was going to come out at a very public pep rally and that it was going to go badly. And so, in the scenes leading up to that moment, I couldn’t help wanting to shield him somehow from the hurt that was obviously coming. But I could also really see why he wanted to do this and why he felt like it would be okay and would be safe.

And then it wasn’t. This left him not only dealing with people’s reactions to his identity but also a lot of judgment about how he came out. He was called selfish, attention-seeking, all kinds of things, and those judgments blindsided him as much as the withdrawal of support, and the surge of homophobia among the people he thought would have his back.

I felt like that emotional arc– Barclay unpacking his own motives and learning when to stand up for himself and call people out versus calling people in and helping them see him better– was the strongest part of the story.

Another thing the story addressed really well is the way that, initially, Barclay felt like he had to choose between being out and playing basketball. As he explored his boundaries and what he wanted, he began to think about what place basketball would have in his life. I liked that exploration as well.

I also thought the story was well-balanced in terms of the characters. There are some big personalities on the page, from his best friend Amy to the possible love interest and even his grandfather, Scratch, who passed away before the story began. Yet the story really remains Barclay’s. I liked that, too.

All in all, I think TIME OUT would have slipped under my radar if the publisher hadn’t sent me a copy. I’m really glad I read it. Coming out and facing homophobia aren’t exactly new stories, but I think this version brings some necessary pieces to the conversation, and it’s a well-balanced novel packed with interesting characters. I think fans of Bill Konigsberg (author of OPENLY STRAIGHT and THE MUSIC OF WHAT HAPPENS) will enjoy this one.

Content Notes for Time Out

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Barclay and another character are gay. One of Barclay’s friends is Japanese American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two boys. Vague/brief references to sex.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
After coming out, Barclay faces an onslaught of homophobic comments. The F-slur is insinuated multiple times but only printed once. Barclay charges at a boy after he continually makes homophobic comments and threats to him and about him online. A boy punches another boy. A car slams into the back of a boy’s bicycle, injuring him. For a moment, it’s unclear whether the driver intends to hurt the bicyclist further.

Drug Content
Barclay goes to a college party with his older brother and drinks a lot of beer before making a fool of himself. He briefly references taking a friend’s CBD gummies between classes when he’s feeling stressed out.

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 TIME OUT in exchange for my honest review.