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Review: Anything But Fine by Tobias Madden

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Anything But Fine by Tobias Madden

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

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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.

Review: Wrecked by Heather Henson

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Wrecked
Heather Henson
Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Published on March 22, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Wrecked

For as long as Miri can remember it’s been her and her dad, Poe, in Paradise—what Poe calls their home, hidden away from prying eyes in rural Kentucky. It’s not like Miri doesn’t know what her dad does or why people call him “the Wizard.” It’s not like she doesn’t know why Cal, her one friend and Poe’s right-hand man, patrols the grounds with a machine gun. Nothing new, but lately Paradise has started to feel more like a prison.

Enter Fen. The new kid in town could prove to be exactly the distraction Miri needs…but nothing is ever simple. Poe doesn’t take kindly to strangers. Fen’s DEA agent father is a little too interested in Miri’s family. And Cal isn’t satisfied with being just friends with Miri anymore. But what’s past is prologue—it’s what will follow that will wreck everything.

Shining a klieg light on the opioid crisis coursing through this country, WRECKED will have readers on the edge of their seat right up until the explosive ending.

My Review

First, let me say that this book is an incredible, wild ride. I love Fen and Miri! Clay broke my heart. For a short book (272 pages) it packs a huge punch in emotions and action.

So I’m not generally the biggest insta-love fan, but I think the whole, “Fen and Miri have just met, but they share this instant connection” actually worked for me in this book. In part it worked because it felt like an emotional connection between outcasts and oddballs, not a connection based on their physical attraction for each other. It wasn’t even overtly romantic at first. That definitely hooked me.

The secrets Miri keeps are huge. Just being friends with Fen could blow her whole life apart. Fen is used to people’s eyes glazing over when he tries to explain his love for his soundscapes, so he’s kind of given up on anyone understanding him, ever, when he meets Miri.

The third POV character is Clay, a boy in love with Miri. A childhood friend of hers who has been brought into the family by Miri’s dad. I liked his character, too. He has such a tragic past. He’s fiercely loyal to Miri and her family. He needs to be recognized as valuable to someone.

All that comes together in a high-intensity story set just outside a meth lab. I’m a little confused because the cover copy talks about this story bringing attention to the opioid epidemic, but I didn’t think meth was an opiate? I thought it was a stimulant? So I don’t know if it’s been reclassified (a quick google search seems to indicate no?) or if that’s kind of a marketing thing. Connect the book to the opioid crisis because it’s higher profile right now than meth addiction? I don’t know.

Conclusion

All in all, I enjoyed the story and read it really quickly. I didn’t want to stop because it felt like all the dominoes were always about to fall. I think fans of books by Ellen Hopkins will like the gritty writing (though this isn’t written in verse) and the gripping characters.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. At one point they both take tops off.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
More than once a boy is threatened at gunpoint. A boy walks into a burning building because his friends are inside.

Drug Content
Several characters abuse crystal meth and/or drink 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 WRECKED in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Great or Nothing by Joy McCullough, Caroline Tung Richmond, Tess Sharpe, and Jessica Spotswood

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

Great or Nothing
Joy McCullough, Caroline Tung Richmond, Tess Sharpe, and Jessica Spotswood
Delacorte Press
Published March 8, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Great or Nothing

In the spring of 1942, the United States is reeling from the attack on Pearl Harbor. While the US starts sending troops to the front, the March family of Concord, Massachusetts grieves their own enormous loss: the death of their daughter, Beth.

Under the strain of their grief, Beth’s remaining sisters fracture, each going their own way with Jo nursing her wounds and building planes in Boston, Meg holding down the home front with Marmee, and Amy living a secret life as a Red Cross volunteer in London–the same city where one Mr. Theodore Laurence is stationed as an army pilot.

Each March sister’s point of view is written by a separate author, three in prose and Beth’s in verse, still holding the family together from beyond the grave. Woven together, these threads tell a story of finding one’s way in a world undergoing catastrophic change.

A reimagining of Little Women set in the spring of 1942, when the United States is suddenly embroiled in the second World War, this story, told from each March sister’s point of view, is one of grief, love, and self-discovery.

My Review

I think the idea of this book is really cool. It seemed (I have zero experience to back this up) pretty thoroughly researched– there were lots of descriptions of clothes, food, and common words or phrases that either fit with other things I knew about the 1940s or felt pretty on point for what I expected from a story set in that era. There were also lots of references to historical facts and events, from the attack at Pearl Harbor to women working in factories and flying planes (not in combat).

So all that made the story feel really immersed in the time period, and I liked that. What I struggled with, though, is that sometimes I felt like the atmosphere or the setting dominated the story. This happened to me especially with Amy’s character, I think, but not exclusively. Her way of thinking and speaking was so steeped in lingo from the period that sometimes I just felt like I didn’t connect with her.

I thought the decision to tell the story beginning after Beth’s death but still include her as an observer was really interesting. Her chapters are written in verse, and often they add something to what’s happening with her sisters. Sometimes they reveal more things about who she was and her own hopes and dreams. I liked those moments a lot.

One of my favorite things about the book is that in this story, Jo finds another writer, a woman who’s goal is to be a war correspondent. They bond over challenges in their relationships with their sisters, writing, and being dissatisfied with what they’re told are the conventional roles of women. I think seeing the connection between those two as writers and women finding where they belong in the world made for a powerful story to read.

On the whole, I’m not sorry I read the book as there are several things I really enjoyed. It wasn’t what I expected, though.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Jo and Charlie are lesbians. One minor character is Japanese American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
Joe, Meg, Amy, and Beth’s father is an Army Chaplain.

Violent Content
Some racist comments toward a Japanese American girl and about Japanese Americans. Some racist comments about Black soldiers. Two men get into a fight in a hotel ballroom.

Drug Content
Characters often drink champagne. Amy is underage at sixteen.

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 GREAT OR NOTHING in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Finding Refuge by Victorya Krouse

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

Finding Refuge: Real-Life Immigration Stories from Young People
Victorya Krouse
Zest Books
Published September 7, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Finding Refuge

What is a refugee? This anthology recounts the personal immigration experiences of teenage refugees from around the world, including where they came from, why they left, how they arrived in the United States, and what happened next. These writers know firsthand it means to leave a beloved but unsafe homeland for a distant place where everyone speaks another language.

English teacher Victorya Rouse has assembled a collection of real-world stories essential for our times, complete with maps, context, and background on the refugees’ home countries. As immigration has catapulted into the current discourse, this poignant collection emphasizes the USA’s rich tradition of welcoming people from all over the world.

My Review

I started reading this book the week that Russia invaded Ukraine. Listening as the number of refugees escaping the country continues to grow, watching reports of people trapped in their homes with little to no food or water due to constant warfare happening around them, has truly been heartbreaking.

This book is filled with stories, some very much like what we’ve seen and heard in the first days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. These are stories of families who loved their cities and homes, forced to flee due to conflict or other life-threatening situations. Every story is moving.

I liked that the book is organized by continent or area of the world. The individual stories are preceded by a short list of facts about the country where the person is from and a little bit of historical information about that area and why people have left. I felt like that kind of helped me build a little more understanding of what was happening. It also gives a little bit of a sense of how the individual stories fit into the larger global history.

For some reason, I assumed all the stories would be from refugees who’ve entered the United States within the last ten years or so, but that isn’t the case. Some of the stories are about people who arrived in their teens as far back as 1975. Most are from the last 20 years, but several are from the 1990s. It depends on the conflict and the part of the world that caused someone to become a refugee.

On the whole, I feel like I learned a lot reading this book. It seems to be a collection of stories from refugees in their own words. The stories sometimes read like a high school assignment meant to answer a series of questions. I think I expected something more like brief memoirs written from interviews between the author and the refugees.

Reading FINDING REFUGE made me want to read WE ARE DISPLACED by Malala Yousafzai. I haven’t read it yet. It seems like it would be along similar lines, but written by a a refugee herself.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
FINDING REFUGE tells the stories of refugees from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and North America. All traveled to the United States to make new homes.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to getting married.

Spiritual Content
Some references to faith like Christianity or Islam.

Violent Content
References to war. A few brief mentions of a family member being killed. A couple mentions of human trafficking and drug trafficking.

Drug Content
A few mentions of drug trafficking.

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 FINDING REFUGE in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

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

Daughter of the Pirate King
Tricia Levenseller
Feiwel & Friends
Published February 28th 2017

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Daughter of the Pirate King

There will be plenty of time for me to beat him soundly once I’ve gotten what I came for.

Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map—the key to a legendary treasure trove—seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship.

More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has only one thing standing between her and the map: her captor, the unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive first mate, Riden. But not to worry, for Alosa has a few tricks up her sleeve, and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King.

My Review

I really enjoyed a lot of things about this book. First, I loved Alosa. She’s fierce and smart and knows how to bide her time and wait for the right moments to do what she needs to do. I also loved Riden. He’s so conflicted, so caught between what he wants and protecting people he cares about and doing the right thing. But he’s also a pirate, so kind of unpredictable, definitely living by his own code of ethics. Once I understood how that code worked, I was a huge fan of him.

So… consent stuff. Alosa is a captive aboard a pirate ship. She arranges for herself to be captured and makes it clear (to the reader) that she can come and go from her cell pretty much at will. When she experiences a romantic advance from one of the other pirates, it’s not clear whether she wants him to behave like he does. I guess it’s clear she could stop him if she wanted to, but it felt a little weird to me. Maybe I’ve just come to appreciate the recent books where consent is made really clear.

There’s also some backstory referring to the way sirens treat their victims that isn’t ever really addressed in the story. At one point, a character comments on the sirens’ behavior (See below for details.) and Alosa kind of dismisses it like, yeah, but the pirates had harmful intentions, too. I don’t know. I wish the book addressed this in the story more clearly.

Conclusion

Aside from that, I liked a lot of other things– the adventure on a pirate ship, the enemies to lovers romance, the banter between characters, and the fierce heroine. I want to read the second book in this duology, DAUGHTER OF THE SIREN QUEEN. Some of the reviews on Goodreads indicate that this book better addresses consent issues.

Readers who enjoyed SIEGE AND STORM by Leigh Bardugo or IMPRISON THE SKY by A. C. Gaughen will like this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content – Trigger Warning for Mentions of Rape
A pirate captain implies that he will let his crew rape Alosa. One of the crew members is a serial rapist. He stands guard over Alosa’s cell and continually leers at her. He reaches into the cell (she stands out of his reach but is unable to sleep while he’s there.). At one point he grabs her and licks her neck.

Sirens live in the ocean, but journey to the surface to capture men before dragging them to the bottom of the sea, raping, and killing them. The story states this more than once, but no graphic description.

Kissing between a boy and girl. It’s an enemies to lovers situation, and it’s not really clear if some of the kisses/touches are welcome or not. I had weird feelings about it.

Spiritual Content
Sirens are powerful beings whose song controls men.

Violent Content
Graphic battle violence. Some scenes include references to torture and some descriptions of it.

Drug Content
One pirate is clearly an alcoholic. There’s reference to others drinking alcohol, too.

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

Review: The Summer We Forgot by Caroline George

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

The Summer We Forgot
Caroline George
Thomas Nelson Publishing
Published March 8, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Summer We Forgot

Some memories are better left forgotten.

Darby and Morgan haven’t spoken for two years, and their friend group has splintered. But when the body of their former science teacher is found in the marsh where they attended camp that summer, they realize they have more questions than answers . . . and even fewer memories.

No one remembers—or no one is talking.

The group of reunited friends begins to suspect that a murderer is stalking the coastal highway 30A, and they must try to recover their memories as quickly as possible . . . before the history they can’t remember repeats itself.

Everyone has a secret.

As tensions rise and time runs out, Darby and Morgan begin to wonder if they can believe one another… or if they can even trust themselves.

Caroline George once again transports readers with lush, evocative prose, leading them to ask the question: what happens when we can’t even trust ourselves?

My Review

Going in, this book reminded me of something in the realm of R. L. Stine books. I liked the small beach town and all the descriptions of how things smelled and felt. That made me feel really present in the story.

The simmering romance between Darby and Morgan was also really well done. I liked that it drove the story forward, though a couple times I was like omg, figure this out already, guys! Haha. Looking back I feel like it was pretty well done, though.

I think one of my pet peeves with mystery/suspense books is when adults do all the heavy lifting and kids solve the mystery in conversations with them. There were a couple of moments in the book where I would have liked to see Darby and Morgan play a more active role in collecting clues and piecing things together. They did make some major moves, though, so all the solving didn’t happen in dialogue.

I also thought the cast of friends was kind of big. There were a couple characters that I kept getting confused, and I wonder if it would have been better to combine two of them?

On the whole, though, I felt like the dynamics between the members of the group felt pretty realistic. I enjoyed reading the banter between them and the goofy things they did together.

All in all, I think this book was enjoyable. I think fans of ONE OF US IS LYING by Karen McManus will enjoy the murder mystery and friend dynamics of the book.

Content Notes for The Summer We Forgot

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
A teacher’s body is found in a march and police begin a murder investigation. Someone appears to be following Darby and her friends. Darby has a traumatic memory of her brother holding her underwater when she was ten years old. A masked person attacks two boys, beating them up. Another person throws a girl into the trunk of a car. Someone jumps from a moving vehicle, injuring themselves.

Drug Content
Teens consume alcohol at a party in several scenes. Reference to smoking pot.

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