Category Archives: Book Review and Content

Review: Flyboy by Kasey LeBlanc

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Flyboy by Kasey LeBlanc

Flyboy
Kasey LeBlanc
Balzer + Bray
Published May 14, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Flyboy

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda meets the speculative twists of The Night Circus in this standout debut YA novel, about a boy who visits the magic-filled circus of his dreams each night in order to escape his daily reality where his trans identity remains a secret.

After an incident at his school leaves closeted trans teenager Asher Sullivan needing stitches, his mother betrays him in the worst possible way—she sends him to Catholic school for his senior year. Now he has to contend with hideous plaid skirts, cranky nuns, and #bathroomJesus.

Nighttime brings an escape for Asher when he dreams of the Midnight Circus—the one place where he is seen for the boy he truly is. Too bad it exists only in his sleep. Or at least, that’s what he believes, until the day his annoyingly attractive trapeze rival, Apollo, walks out of his dreams and into his classroom. On the heels of this realization that the magical circus might be real, Asher also learns that his time there is limited.

In his desperation to hang onto the one place he feels at home, Asher sets both worlds on a collision course that could destroy all the relationships he cares about most. Now he must decide how far he’ll go to preserve the magical circus, even if it means facing his biggest challenge yet—coming out.

My Review

I love the concept of this story. Ash’s daytime life in Catholic school, the constant pain of being misgendered and living unseen juxtaposed against his life in the Midnight Circus, in which his body matches his identity and people truly see him, is brilliantly done. When he arrives at the circus at one point, Ash takes a full breath and notes that this is something he can’t do in his waking life. It’s a powerful moment.

His relationship with his mom is complex. He hasn’t come out to her at the story’s start, and he experiences so much frustration with her. It’s like he wants her to figure out that he’s a boy without telling her, even though he also knows he’s keeping her from knowing by not speaking up himself. That internal struggle felt so raw and so real.

The only thing in the story that I struggled with at all is the pacing. This is a big story, with two different worlds and casts, plus a romance subplot, plus a coming-out. There’s school drama, family drama, and friend drama, too. That’s a lot to fit into 364 pages.

There are a few big moments that I wish had had more space to breathe. For example, when we finally learn what happened that day in the bathroom, which left Ash needing stitches. That resolution was so important to the story, and it felt a little bit rushed to me.

On the whole, I think that’s a small thing. This is still an incredible debut novel that draws readers into understanding the pain of a closeted life and allows us to join in Asher’s triumph as he embraces his identity. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I’m truly excited to see what the author writes next.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Some swearing and a handful of F-bombs.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Asher attends Catholic school and mass with his grandparents.

Violent Content
Homophobia and transphobia, including the use of a slur. Ash is misgendered by people who don’t know his identity, and he describes the hurt and dysphoria this causes. He witnesses a fight between three boys. He hears rumors that someone burned down a school. One scene shows a fire with people inside the building. References to a fatal car accident. Ash witnesses someone having what appears to be a stroke or heart attack. Ash punches a boy in the face.

Drug Content
Ash attends a party where teens drink alcohol. In one scene, Ash and two friends drink cheap wine and get very drunk.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Wishbone by Justine Pucella Winans

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Wishbone
Justine Pucella Winans
Publisher
Published September 17, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Wishbone

Coraline meets Ghost Squad in this terrifying story about what happens when you aren’t careful what you wish for.

Ollie wishes things could be different. He wishes his parents would stop fighting. He wishes his sister Mia didn’t have to worry about paying for college. He wishes people would accept him for who he is. Most of all, he wishes he wasn’t so angry about all of this.

When he and Mia find a two-tailed cat they name Wishbone, Ollie takes comfort in telling him everything he wishes would change—then, it does. Everything Ollie and Mia wish for comes true, and it’s like all of their problems are solved. But magic comes at a price. Their wishes have consequences, and a mysterious shadow man called The Mage is after Wishbone. Darkness is overtaking their world, and worst of all, it threatens to take over Ollie, too. Can he let go of everything he’s ever wanted, or will he let evil win?

My Review

I read The Otherwoods by the same author in 2023, and I enjoyed the spine-tingly elements of the story and how they ultimately played out. I’ve been meaning to read more by Winans, but it has taken me too long to get back to another of their books.

One of the things I knew I’d love about Wishbone is that it has a cat-who-is-not-a-cat character. Wishbone is a cat with two tails that has the inexplicable magical ability to grant wishes. He is feisty and prone to biting people, which makes sense, considering the trauma that he’s been through. I like the unpredictable nature of him as a character. For a long time, I wasn’t sure whether he was supposed to be good or bad. Eventually, he makes his alliances known and says pretty loyal to his people.

The book has a nicely inclusive cast. Ollie is a trans boy, but the book isn’t at all about him explaining his identity or existence. We enter his story past all of that, and he simply is who he is. He has other LGBTQIA+ friends and allies, too. The story touches on the impact of bullying and anger issues, and takes readers through a Twilight Zone kind of experience.

If you like scary stories like The Darkdeep by Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs, definitely check out Wishbone.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to a crush between Ollie and another character.

Spiritual Content
Another place/dimension Ollie calls The Backward Place contains magic and curses, including the ability to grant conditional wishes.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some characters try to kill other characters while under the influence of a curse. In one instance, a parent character tries to kill a child because of the curse. References to and a brief scene showing animal cruelty in an apparent science experiment.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Whale Eyes by James Robinson

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Whale Eyes: A Memoir About Seeing and Being Seen
James Robinson
Illustrated by Brian Rea
Penguin Workshop
Published March 18, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Whale Eyes: A Memoir About Seeing and Being Seen

From Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker James Robinson comes a breathtaking illustrated memoir for middle-grade readers (and adults, too) inspired by the viral, Emmy-nominated short film Whale Eyes.

Told through an experimental mix of intimate anecdotes and interactive visuals, this book immerses readers in James’s point of view, allowing them to see the world through his disabling eye conditions.

Readers will get lost as they chase words. They’ll stare into this book while taking a vision test. They’ll hold it upside down as they practice “pretend-reading”…and they’ll follow an unlikely trail toward discovering the power of words.

With poignant illustrations by Eisner Award-nominated artist Brian Rea, James’s story equips readers of all ages with the tools to confront their discomfort with disability and turn confused, blank stares into powerful connections.

My Review

I loved this book. It’s kind of written in two parts. The first part is really accessible to kids, packed with a lot of illustrations and examples of how James Robinson sees the world. Some of the illustrations show words written upside down or at different angles. One page includes an eye test that readers can perform by folding the page a certain way.

The second half of the book is a little more dense and is where Robinson talks more deeply about his journey with documentary filmmaking. It describes how he began filming about a passion project and then, in college, made a twenty-four-minute video about his visual disability, strabismus. That project led him to collaborate with the New York Times to make a series of videos about different people’s experiences living with disabilities.

Even though this part of the book will appeal more to older readers, I think Robinson relates important reflections about his childhood, what he’s realized about disability, and what he wishes adults had told him about it when he was younger. The writing throughout the book is smart and appealing.

Documentaries Mentioned in the Book

Here are some links and brief descriptions of video documentaries that James Robinson made and released as NYT Opinion pieces. All three are mentioned in the book. These are YouTube links, so they are available to watch for free. I watched all three. They are thoughtful and deeply engaging. I spent the afternoon after I watched them sending the links to friends and family members.

I Have a Visual Disability, And I Want You to Look Me In the Eye NYT Opinion Piece: This is a twelve-minute documentary about James and how he sees the world and how we see him. He writes about filming this video in the book.

I Have Face Blindness. This is How I Recognize You. NYT Opinion Piece: This documentary, also produced by James Robinson, introduces viewers to a man named Paul who has prosopagnosia, or face blindness.

I Stutter. But I Need You to Listen. NYT Opinion Piece: Another documentary produced by Robinson about writer John Hendrickson.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to thoughtless and hurtful comments made by kids or adults about James’s eyes.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Bad Graces by Kyrie McCauley

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

Bad Graces
Kyrie McCauley
Publisher
Published

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Bad Graces

Yellowjackets meets House of Hollow in award-winning author Kyrie McCauley’s gripping and magical YA thriller following a group of young women as they face the stress of harsh elements, a mysterious monster, and an unraveling of secrets after their yacht is wrecked off the coast of North America.

Liv Whitlock knows she doesn’t belong there. But after years of stumbling between foster homes, often due to her own self-destructive tendencies, Liv desperately needs to change the trajectory of her life … so she steals her perfect sister’s identity.

Liv starts to rewrite her story, winning a prestigious internship on a movie set filming in Alaska, and finds herself on a luxury yacht alongside pop star Paris Grace, actress sisters Effie and Miri Knight, Olympic gymnast Rosalind Torres, and social media influencer Celia Jones. Liv tries to find common ground with her famous companions, but just as the group starts to bond, a violent storm wrecks their vessel, stranding them on an island in the North Pacific Ocean.

Among the threats of starvation and exposure, they learn there is a predator lurking in the forest, unlike anything they’ve seen before—until they begin to see it in themselves. Every injury they suffer on the island causes inexplicable changes in their bodies. With little hope for rescue and only each other as their final tether to humanity, can the girls endure the ominous forces at work on the island? Or will they lose themselves to their darker natures?

My Review

This is the third novel by Kyrie McCauley that I’ve read. The first was a contemporary YA, and the second was her first horror novel. I loved them both, so I could not wait to read this one.

As a character, Liv pretty much had me right from the beginning. She’s been in the foster care system, and she warns us that she’s violent. Even at the beginning, it seemed like there was more to the stories she shared in which she acted out.

The story gets creepy at times. Several characters share stories about past trauma (without going into much detail) in which adults harmed them as children. In one instance, it was a teenager verbalizing intent to harm a younger teen. In the others, the perpetrators were adults.

On the island, Liv and others see bones pinned to a tree. The changes to their bodies involve body horror elements as well. (You may not want to read this book if you are squeamish about mushrooms or fungi.)

The book’s themes were really interesting. The girls discuss whether they’re being punished by being stuck on the island. They wonder if there’s a connection between the changes in their bodies and the trauma they’ve experienced. At one point, Liv asks whether people can change. Her girlfriend tells her that’s the wrong question, because people are always changing. The question should be whether people can remain the same. I thought that was an interesting way to put that and an interesting thought experiment, and it dovetailed with the story in a cool way.

While some parts of the story are dark, there’s a lot of light in this book, too. It’s about the healing power of sisterhood, found family, and love. The cast is super inclusive, including characters from various backgrounds, and the story highlights a queer romance. If you liked Don’t Let the Forest In, definitely check out Bad Graces.

Content Notes for Bad Graces

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Several characters are queer. One is Black. Another is Latina. Several are British. One is American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Profanity used pretty moderately.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing and references to sex.

Spiritual Content
Some supernatural elements.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Someone dies after jumping off a yacht in a storm. Someone else dies attempting to rescue them. References to an adult man whom the girls hint is unsafe with women. A teenage boy verbalizing an intent to harm a younger girl (we don’t know precisely what he says). References to an adult responsible for an athlete’s health and well-being who did not protect her. The girls hear an attack on someone in the woods from a distance. A predator appears. The story contains body horror elements. A girl’s toe is nearly severed. Someone else suffers a serious injury to her shoulder. Someone falls from a great height. Characters attempt medical care, including giving stitches and removing dead tissue.

Drug Content
References to alcohol use. Some characters appear drunk in a couple of scenes.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran

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They Bloom at Night
Trang Thanh Tran
Bloomsbury
Published March 4, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About They Bloom at Night

The author of the New York Times bestselling horror phenomenon She Is a Haunting is back with a novel about the monsters that swim beneath us . . . and live within us.

Since the hurricane, the town of Mercy, Louisiana has been overtaken by a strange red algae bloom. Noon and her mother have carved out a life in the wreckage, trawling for the mutated wildlife that lurks in the water and trading it to the corrupt harbormaster. When she’s focused on survival, Noon doesn’t have to cope with what happened to her at the Cove or the monster itching at her skin.

Mercy has never been a safe place, but it’s getting worse. People are disappearing, and the only clues as to why are whispers of underwater shadows and warnings to never answer the knocks at night. When the harbormaster demands she capture the creature that’s been drowning residents, Noon finds a reluctant ally in his daughter Covey. And as the next storm approaches, the two set off to find what’s haunting Mercy. After all, Noon is no stranger to monsters . . .

My Review

I heard so many incredible things about Tran’s debut that I’ve been eagerly anticipating reading their books. I still need to read She is a Haunting, but after reading They Bloom at Night, I seriously cannot wait. Just wow.

The balance between the elements of this book– its characters, the setting, and the tension in the horrific elements is absolutely perfect. The mostly abandoned town of Mercy feels incredibly real. It was so easy to picture where things happened and feel completely immersed in the landscape of this story. Noon is also a fabulous main character. Her relationships with others are so layered. She loves her mom but feels trapped by their life and grief over her brother and dad’s deaths. She reconnects with an estranged friend and has mixed feelings about that, too. When circumstances force her into a reluctant alliance with a girl, Noon is surprised by the relationship the two forge.

I loved the themes in this book about identity, specifically about being more than one thing that happened to you. I loved the message about having a found family or community to protect you and help you face uncomfortable truths. One line in particular says it well: “Sometimes we need people to hunt the things inside of us that need to die but that we aren’t ready to kill.”

They Bloom at Night is a tightly plotted story that doesn’t waste a single word. This would be a perfect (or terrifying) book to read during a hurricane or big storm. Fans of The Shadow Sister by Lily Meade or Don’t Let the Forest In by C. G. Drews will not want to miss this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used pretty infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
There are some supernatural/paranormal elements to the story, including characters with an ability to communicate nonverbally and change form.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. References to sexual assault (not shown on the page). Some homophobic comments. At one point, several people perform surgery on another person (with consent) and try to remove something from their body. Noon finds a dead body. She also encounters others who seem to be transforming and for whom it’s unclear if they’re alive.

Drug Content
References to drinking alcohol (not shown on the page).

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Divining the Leaves by Shveta Thakrar

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

Divining the Leaves
Shveta Thakrar
HarperTeen
Published March 4, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Divining the Leaves

From critically acclaimed author Shveta Thakrar comes a beautifully imagined contemporary fantasy about two teens, one a believer of magic who yearns to belong, the other a skeptic searching for an escape, who find themselves embroiled in a twisty world of court intrigue when they venture into a forest ruled by yakshas, mysterious woodland spirits drawn from Hindu and Buddhist folklore.

Plant-loving Ridhi Kapadia and popular Nilesh Batra were friends once.

Now, seventeen and alone, Ridhi blends natural perfumes, wears flower crowns, and wanders her local woods, listening for the leafy whispers of her beloved trees. Pleading for the yakshas to admit her into their enchanted forest kingdom, where she knows she truly belongs.

After learning his parents’ perfect marriage is a sham and getting suspended from school, a heartsick Nilesh lands at Ridhi’s doorstep—the last thing either of them wants. So when a pretty yakshini offers him the distraction of magic, the same magic he mocked Ridhi for believing in, he jumps at it.

Furious, Ridhi strikes a bargain with a noblewoman named Sulochana. In return for helping restore her reputation, Sulochana will turn Ridhi into the yakshini she yearns to be—and teach her to divine the trees’ murmurs.

But when Nilesh ends up trapped in the yakshas’ realm, Ridhi realizes the leaves might be telling a disturbing story about the forest her heart is rooted in—one that, even if the two of them band together, threatens to shred the future like so many thorns.

My Review

My favorite thing about this book are all the descriptions of flowers, trees, and plants. I also love the way that the author incorporates dance into this story so centered on nature and plants. In one scene, Ridhi dances so that her body tells the story of the forest she’s standing in. Because of the lush descriptions of the woods and magic, I that description really came to life. I’ve never seen anything like that so well-captured in a scene before. It’s something I think I’ll remember for a long time.

I also enjoyed the unfolding of the relationship between Ridhi and Nilesh. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I had certain expectations when I started the book, and for a minute, I was not sure I was going to like the way things unfolded. It took longer for him to grow on me as a character, but eventually, I felt like I understood him more and appreciated him. Ultimately, I love where the author took the story and the hints at new relationships in the ending. (Also hooray for the reference to tabletop games there at the end!)

So, yeah. I’ve got Star Daughter on my shelf, but haven’t gotten to it yet. Divining the Leaves is the first book by this author that I’ve read, and I am sure I will read more.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 13 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
The story contains magic and mythical beings from Hindu and Buddhist folklore.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. One scene very briefly shows a character being tortured.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.