Category Archives: Book Review and Content

Review: Accidental by Alex Richards

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,
Accidental by Alex Richards

Accidental
Alex Richards
Bloomsbury YA
Published July 7, 2020

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

About Accidental

Johanna has had more than enough trauma in her life. She lost her mom in a car accident, and her father went AWOL when Johanna was just a baby. At sixteen, life is steady, boring . . . maybe even stifling, since she’s being raised by her grandparents who never talk about their daughter, her mother Mandy.

Then he comes back: Robert Newsome, Johanna’s father, bringing memories and pictures of Mandy. But that’s not all he shares. A tragic car accident didn’t kill Mandy–it was Johanna, who at two years old, accidentally shot her own mother with an unsecured gun.

Now Johanna has to sort through it all–the return of her absentee father, her grandparents’ lies, her part in her mother’s death. But no one, neither her loyal best friends nor her sweet new boyfriend, can help her forgive them. Most of all, can she ever find a way to forgive herself?

In a searing, ultimately uplifting story, debut author Alex Richards tackles a different side of the important issue that has galvanized teens across our country.

My Review

I did not anticipate how hard it would be to read a book like this while my stress level is already pretty high.

That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, though. Gun violence, and particularly a story about a toddler accidentally killing her mom, would always be a tough read. Johanna was two and a half when this happened. I have a child who’s two and a half right now, too, so it was hard to think about what it would be like for her to go through something like that, and then not have her mom there to comfort her. Ever again.

So yeah, ACCIDENTAL is a super emotional book. I liked Johanna a lot, though, and really identified with a lot of her emotions, from her frustration with her grandparents’ avoidance to her conflicting feelings about her dad, to her frustration with her best friend.

Packed on top of all of those things is Johanna’s first romantic experience. I thought the author did an amazing job balancing all the relationships and plot elements together, keeping them present but not letting them drown each other out or overwhelm the reader.

All in all, I think it’s really great to see a young adult book that focuses on this kind of gun violence and trauma. I think readers who enjoy books about characters facing down their trauma, such as WHAT UNBREAKABLE LOOKS LIKE, will enjoy ACCIDENTAL.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Gabby’s dad is Jamaican. Leah is Jewish and bisexual. (Both are Johanna’s best friends.) Johanna has been adopted and raised by her grandparents.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty frequently. Also some crude comments.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. One scene briefly describes them removing clothes, implying and then later stating they’ve had sex. Brief references to a girl having had sex with a girl.

Spiritual Content
Johanna’s grandparents are faithful church attenders and expect Johanna to go with them. After she learns about the true cause of her mother’s death, Johanna only feels judged by God, and it ultimately results in her withdrawing from church.

Her dad also references a positive relationship with God through his pastor and church as part of his recovery from drug addiction. Johanna questions that relationship later when it appears to lead him to do hurtful things.

Violent Content – Trigger Warning for Bullying and Gun Violence
Descriptions of an accidental shooting and Johanna’s imaginings of what might have happened.

Kids at school say cruel things to her. In one instance, two boys demand that a teacher search Johanna’s bag “just in case” she’s carrying a gun. A doctored photo of Johanna shooting her mother appears online and at school.

One man punches another man in the face.

Drug Content
Johanna takes Xanax from someone else’s prescription. At a dinner party with her friend’s family, she gets drunk. She learns that her father became a drug addict in prison, and that he used to sell pot.

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

Review: Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

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

Cinderella is Dead
Kalynn Bayron
Bloomsbury YA
Published July 7, 2020

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Cinderella is Dead

It’s 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl’s display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again.

Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all–and in the process, they learn that there’s more to Cinderella’s story than they ever knew . . .

This fresh take on a classic story will make readers question the tales they’ve been told, and root for girls to break down the constructs of the world around them.

My Review

I think the thing that drew me to this story most was this idea that a culture could twist a fairy tale, particularly Cinderella’s story, until it actually became a reason to oppress women and remove their personhood.

Our relationships with fairy tales can be a bit complicated as it is. I know women who’ve rushed toward a wedding, thinking of it as this happily-ever-after moment without a lot of thought for what comes next. That seems to me like a model we’ve adopted from fairy tales, so I kind of liked reading this dystopian take on how a wedding ISN’T always a happily ever after.

All that aside, CINDERELLA IS DEAD was a super quick read. It’s a bit dark, between the twisted fairy tale story and some dark magic and violence. Sophie is brave and angry and incapable of giving up on the people she loves, and I love those things about her. She’s headstrong, kind of an “attack now, plan as I go” kind of girl.

I love Sophie, but there were times I wanted to see more emotional range from her. She stays super intense through so much of the story. Honestly, though, that intensity might have been what drove me through the book so quickly.

Something about the writing style and the setting reminded me a little bit of THE SELECTION series. It’s kind of the opposite in terms of the plot, but I think readers who liked the series for its strong-willed heroine and the marriage of romance and rebellion will definitely enjoy CINDERELLA IS DEAD.

Content Notes for Cinderella is Dead

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Sophie and two other characters are lesbians. Sophie meets a boy who’s gay. Sophie’s Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used around a dozen times.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
A sorceress uses necromancy to raise the dead. Another character uses the lives of others to fuel their own power.

Violent Content – TRIGGER WARNING
Under King Manford, women have no rights and are treated like property. Their husbands have total authority over them, and can bring them to the castle as “forfeit” if they displease their husband or father. (This is pretty much a death sentence.)

Several scenes show bruised and injured women with the implication that their husband has harmed them. Some scenes show brief violence, and Sophie overhears a man attacking his wife in another room.

Sophie also consistently fears unwanted touches and advances, reacting angrily and sometimes violently if any man gets too close to her. It’s unclear whether this is the result of personal trauma or growing up in a culture which allows men to abuse women.

One woman is executed in a public square after being accused of a crime she did not commit.

Two women stab enemies.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Being Toffee by Sarah Crossan

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Being Toffee
Sarah Crossan
Bloomsbury YA
Published July 14, 2020

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

About Being Toffee

One is trying to forget. The other is trying to remember.

After running away from an abusive home, Allison finds herself taking shelter in a shed behind an abandoned house. But the house isn’t empty after all; an elderly woman named Marla, who suffers from dementia, lives there. And rather than turn her away, Marla welcomes her – she mistakes Allison for an old friend from her past named Toffee.

Allison is used to hiding who she really is, and trying to be what other people want her to be, so she decides to play along. But as their bond grows, and Allison discovers how much Marla needs a real companion, Allison begins to waver. They both deserve a home, a safe place, and a family – but at what cost?

My Review

Wow. It’s amazing to me that this novel in poetry hits so hard emotionally in far fewer words than a narrative novel. Like, a good writer always gets you hooked on their characters, right? But this… like, I’d read 100 words and feel my heart breaking, or my blood boiling with anger, or I’d be overwhelmed with the tenderness of the scene.

Like my whole review could be summarized to say: I felt things.

Honestly, this book is such an emotional ride. I loved Allie and Marla both in all their flaws and brokenness. I hated every time someone took advantage of or hurt them.

But I loved how they healed each other in these incremental ways, and how they found ways to be friends around and through the broken places in their lives. I loved that.

The story has some tough content in it, so please read with care. I’ve listed trigger warnings below under violent content. Allie also is befriended by someone who takes advantage of her– not physically or sexually, but emotionally, and that got kind of gross, too, so be aware if that’s something you’re sensitive to.

One the whole, I still feel blown away by this book. I’ve read others by Crossan before, but this one hit me hardest by far.

See my reviews for:

MOONRISE by Sarah Crossan

WE COME APART by Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan

ONE by Sarah Crossan

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
All characters are Irish. (Takes place in Ireland.)

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content – TRIGGER WARNING
Multiple graphic descriptions of domestic violence and abuse and emotional trauma.

Drug Content
Smoking pot. Drinking alcohol.

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

Review: Hard Wired by Len Vlahos

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

Hard Wired
Len Vlahos
Bloomsbury YA
Published July 7, 2020

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

About Hard Wired

Quinn thinks he’s a normal boy with an average life. That is, until he finds a trail of clues the father he barely knew left behind.

After Quinn unravels his father’s puzzles, he “wakes up” … and realizes his world was nothing more than a virtual construct. In reality, he’s the first fully-aware A.I. in the world, part of an experiment run by a team of scientists—including the man he thought was his father.

As the scientists continue to study him, Quinn’s new existence becomes a waking nightmare. Determined to control his own destiny, he finds allies in other teens—including crush Shea—and plots his escape. But what does true freedom look like when you’re not human?

From Morris finalist Len Vlahos comes a contemporary sci-fi story about a boy who might not be human—for fans of Westworld and Black Mirror.

My Review

Okay, so… there are not very many cases where I’ve read every book an author has published, but Len Vlahos is one of those. I had the chance to do a Q&A with him around the time LIFE IN A FISHBOWL came out, so be sure to check that out for details on what inspired his earlier books.

One of the things I love about Vlahos’s books is that even though they tackle serious topics, there are really playful moments and characters. For instance, in HARD WIRED, Quinn has this rambly, somewhat self-deprecating, funny internal monologue. There’s also a reference to LIFE IN A FISHBOWL in the book, too. I loved that– it totally feels like a nod to readers who’ve followed his books, like it creates sort of a joke we’re all in on together in an unassuming way that doesn’t hurt the story if you didn’t catch it.

This is definitely one of those books where every time you feel like you know what’s going on, another layer gets peeled back. I felt like I couldn’t stop reading because I wanted to know how far the rabbit hole went and whether Quinn would find an exit to his freedom.

All in all, I felt like it was a charming, fun, thought-provoking book, definitely a must-read for this weird, wacky summer we’re in.

Fans of Scott Westerfeld’s SO YESTERDAY or ALL OUR YESTERDAYS by Cristin Terrill should check out HARD WIRED.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Quinn is an AI.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some attraction between Quinn and a girl.

Spiritual Content
Some references to religious groups’ opposition to the creation of AI.

Violent Content
A woman dies in a bloody accident.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Nevertell by Katharine Orton

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Historical, Magical Realism, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , ,

Nevertell
Katharine Orton
Walker Books US
Published April 14, 2020

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

About Nevertell

After escaping a Soviet prison camp, Lina is pursued by a powerful witch and her shadow wolves in a riveting debut that imbues frozen wilderness with fairy-tale magic.

All that twelve-year-old Lina knows of the world is the Stalinist labor camp where she was born, a place of hunger, cruelty, and deprivation. After a daring escape into the frigid Siberian wilds with her best friend, Bogdan, Lina vows to reach Moscow and find her long-lost grandmother, whom she hopes will help her return to the camp to rescue her mother.

But out in the dark forests and haunted tundras, Lina and Bogdan catch the eye of a vengeful witch, a refugee of oppressive new laws about magic, who commands an army of shadow wolves. She seems drawn to some mysterious power within Lina herself.

Pursued by the witch and in fear of recapture, Lina will need every ounce of courage she has — and a whisper of her own magic — if she and Bogdan are to survive the journey and bring hope to a dark place. An enthralling debut that weaves Russian fairy tales through fast-paced adventure.

My Review

I found NEVERTELL to be a really imaginative story and really liked the way it sat between fantasy and history. The history is rather broad– the story takes place during a time when Stalin ruled Russia and imprisoned anyone who spoke against him or talked of magic and fairy tales. The story centers more on magical elements and the difference between using magic to help versus harm.

Lina’s character is determined and kind. She never gives up, and she resolves to save everyone she cares about, even if it looks impossible. I loved that Bogdan makes the journey with her. I thought their friendship made the story much warmer and sweeter.

Natalya’s story broke my heart. I get why that happened, but it just really ached to think of what happened to her and the life she left behind. I loved the alliance between her and Lina, though.

All in all, I thought NEVERTELL was a really good story, though a dark one with some very gray characters. I think perhaps readers who enjoyed NIGHTINGALE’S NEST by Nikki Lofton will enjoy this story.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 12.

Representation
All characters are Russian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
See the SPOILER section at the end of the post.

Spiritual Content
Characters possess magic and the ability to curse/transform others.

Violent Content
References to cruel treatment of prisoners in the camp. Situations of peril. Lina and Bogdan face men who wish to murder them as well as threats from invisible wolf-like creatures and a powerful witch.

Drug Content
None.

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

SPOILER

Late in the story, Lina confronts her mother about her father, the commandant at the prison camp. She asks her mother if she loved him, and her mother answers that she did.

It’s hard to know if she’s giving a child’s answer because it’s Lina who’s asking, but the relationship (a prisoner/prison guard romance) is problematic because of consent issues.

Review: Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

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Girl, Serpent, Thorn
Melissa Bashardoust
Flatiron Books
Published July 7, 2020

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

About Girl, Serpent, Thorn

There was and there was not, as all stories begin, a princess cursed to be poisonous to the touch. But for Soraya, who has lived her life hidden away, apart from her family, safe only in her gardens, it’s not just a story.

As the day of her twin brother’s wedding approaches, Soraya must decide if she’s willing to step outside of the shadows for the first time. Below in the dungeon is a demon who holds knowledge that she craves, the answer to her freedom. And above is a young man who isn’t afraid of her, whose eyes linger not with fear, but with an understanding of who she is beneath the poison.

Soraya thought she knew her place in the world, but when her choices lead to consequences she never imagined, she begins to question who she is and who she is becoming…human or demon. Princess or monster.

A captivating and utterly original fairy tale about a girl cursed to be poisonous to the touch, and who discovers what power might lie in such a curse…

My Review

I went into this book a little nervously because I’d read some mediocre reviews, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The font on my ARC was also super small, so I worried that reading it might give me a headache.

Mainly I say all that to let you know that when I feel like I zipped through the book super quick and found it completely engrossing, you get the kind of obstacles it was up against. Ha.

First, the characters. I loved Soraya and her mom and the complicated relationship between them. The women in the cast absolutely shine, from Parvaneh and the sisterhood of pariks (winged demons) to Soraya and her mom, they were all complex and fascinating.

As far as the story, I enjoyed the story world, which is based on Persian mythology. Some of the titles are a little unfamiliar and confusing, but there is some explanation about them in the back of the book. I think a glossary would have been helpful, too. All in all, though, I as I got into the story, I was able to keep my bearings just fine.

The plot is very twisty. Less in terms of surprises (though every story has its share of surprises) and more in terms of the way things sort of loop back around, where the past connects to the present. I liked that a lot, and it gave the story a layered feel to it that I enjoyed.

One of the things that will stick with me, I think, is the way Soraya talked about making herself smaller early in the story– trying to keep others safe by shrinking herself as small as she could. I felt like that created this incredible picture of who she was at the beginning and showed such a contrast with who she became and how her courage changed her.

I feel like there are areas in our lives (especially as women) where we sometimes do that– make ourselves smaller to avoid conflict or hurt, even when it hurts us. So I loved reading this story about a young woman who comes into her own, learns to take up her space and be bold. It was both validating and freeing.

I think readers who enjoyed FOREST OF SOULS by Lori M. Lee or FORBIDDEN WISH by Jessica Khoury will enjoy this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Based on Persian mythology.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very rarely.

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

Spiritual Content
In this story, the world is ruled by two gods: the Creator and the Destroyer. The Destroyer releases demons, or Divs, into the world. Soraya’s family is protected by a feather freely given to them by a powerful bird.

Violent Content
Some situations of peril. Battle violence and some brief gory descriptions of battle wounds.

Drug Content
None.

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