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If We Were Having Coffee: A Fall 2024 Update

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If We Were Having Coffee: A Fall 2024 Update - image shows two white paper Starbucks cups on a circular table next to a clay pot with a lavendar plant in it.

If We Were Having Coffee: A Fall 2024 Update

I first saw Jamie at Perpetual Page Turner do an If We Were Having Coffee post in 2019, which is an idea she got from a life coach. Since then, I’ve been doing them periodically, though it’s been a lot longer since my last one than I thought! We are overdue for an update, friends.

If we were having coffee…

I would tell you that Don’t Let the Forest In is as good as the hype. Do you like creepy, psychological horror books? If you do, you need to read it. If you’ve already read it, we have to talk about it! I’ve been a fan of the author for a long time, but this book truly blew me away. At its core, this is a book about fighting monsters that feel unbeatable and about the stories we tell ourselves. I loved it so much.

If we were having coffee…

I would tell you this last semester has been one of the busiest of my life. Between both kids, I’m on the road almost every day, doing the Taxi Mom thing. It’s a good life, but it’s also a lot for me. I often feel like I’m fitting my life in around the edges of everyone else’s needs. For a while, that’s okay. But it doesn’t seem like a sustainable way for us to live.

I’m making changes. Next semester, the older child’s school schedule will be a lot more friendly, and hopefully, she’ll be able to drive herself at some point during the semester. I’ll be reducing some of the outside tasks that I take on, which will help, too.

If we were having coffee…

I would tell you that I feel like I’ve been really neglecting this space. Reviews are great, but my vision for this blog has always included more than that. I miss writing up lists of book recommendations and putting together chatty posts and updates. Next year, I hope to prioritize doing more of those things.

If we were having coffee…

I would tell you that after a silly number of years blogging… I am making some blogging friends! I’ve been part of a KidLit group that does monthly Zoom calls and have kept in regular contact with a few people from the group. I’ve really enjoyed talking to people familiar with some of the books and authors that I read, so it’s been a LOT of fun.

I didn’t realize how much I wanted to connect with people and talk about books we’ve both read. It’s great to talk about books with my friends and family, who humor me and let me talk about what I’m reading even though they aren’t familiar with the books. But, wow! I have been having such a great time connecting with people who’ve read a book I want to talk about. It’s also really fun to talk to people who have a passion for talking about books via a blog space. It’s a pretty niche thing, so it’s been awesome to talk to people who also enjoy it.

If we were having coffee, what would you want to tell me?

What’s on your mind today that you want to share with me? Have you recently read anything you love? Is there a niche interest in your life you wish you could talk to more people about?

Thanks for catching up with me. I appreciate you. <3

Review: A Bánh Mì for Two by Trinity Nguyen

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

A Bánh Mì for Two
Trinity Nguyen
Henry Holt & Co.
Published

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About A Bánh Mì for Two

In this sweet sapphic romance about two foodies in love, Vivi meets Lan while studying abroad in Vietnam and they spend the semester unraveling their families’ histories—and eating all the street food in Sài Gòn.

In Sài Gòn, Lan is always trying to be the perfect daughter, dependable and willing to care for her widowed mother and their bánh mì stall. Her secret passion, however, is A Bánh Mì for Two, the food blog she started with her father but has stopped updating since his passing.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese American Vivi Huynh, has never been to Việt Nam. Her parents rarely talk about the homeland that clearly haunts them. So Vivi secretly goes to Vietnam for a study abroad program her freshman year of college. She’s determined to figure out why her parents left, and to try everything she’s seen on her favorite food blog, A Bánh Mì for Two.

When Vivi and Lan meet in Sài Gòn, they strike a deal. Lan will show Vivi around the city, helping her piece together her mother’s story through crumbling photographs and old memories. Vivi will help Lan start writing again so she can enter a food blogging contest. And slowly, as they explore the city and their pasts, Vivi and Lan fall in love.

My Review

If you’re looking for a sweet romance set in a beautiful city and packed with tantalizing descriptions of food, you will not want to miss this book. It’s also a super quick read at a little over 200 pages.

I love the descriptions of the city of Sài Gòn. The author describes the book as partly her love letter to the city, and that affection comes through on every page of this novel. I felt like I could hear the noise of the city and smell the food made by the street vendors.

Lan and Vivi’s relationship is really sweet. Spending time together and showing an actual person the things she loves about Sài Gòn reinvigorates Lan. The fog of writer’s block that surrounded her begins to dissipate, and she begins writing again. Lan also helps Vivi find her family through her connections with people and her knowledge of the city.

The only thing that seemed a little odd was that we never really see anything about the educational part of Vivi’s study abroad program. I don’t remember there being descriptions of the university or even her traveling to and from classes. It wasn’t a major part of the story, so it wasn’t a big deal. Just something I noticed.

The story alternates between Lan and Vivi’s points of view. Both share complicated relationships with their moms. After losing her dad unexpectedly, Lan wants to protect her mom and support her so much that she’s closed off other parts of her life. Vivi desperately wants to know about her mom’s past in Việt Nam, something her mom refuses to talk about despite their closeness in other ways. I like that the book explores different mother-daughter relationships and the roles of parents and children.

On the whole, I enjoyed this book for its sweet romance (it does get a bit sappy in a scene or two, but I didn’t mind) and fabulous descriptions of the city of Sài Gòn.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Most characters are Vietnamese. Cindy is Latine.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A few F-bombs. Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
Lan’s family lights incense on an alter for her dad as part of celebrating the anniversary of his death. References to other holidays.

Violent Content
References to war and torture. References to hard times after the war in Việt Nam.

Drug Content
Vivi drinks a beer with her peers. (The legal drinking age in Việt Nam is 18.)

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: You Truly Assumed by Laila Sabreen

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You Truly Assumed
Laila Sabreen
Inkyard Press
Published February 8, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About You Truly Assumed

Sabriya has her whole summer planned out in color-coded glory, but those plans go out the window after a terrorist attack near her home. When the terrorist is assumed to be Muslim and Islamophobia grows, Sabriya turns to her online journal for comfort. You Truly Assumed was never meant to be anything more than an outlet, but the blog goes viral as fellow Muslim teens around the country flock to it and find solace and a sense of community.

Soon two more teens, Zakat and Farah, join Bri to run You Truly Assumed and the three quickly form a strong friendship. But as the blog’s popularity grows, so do the pushback and hateful comments. When one of them is threatened, the search to find out who is behind it all begins, and their friendship is put to the test when all three must decide whether to shut down the blog and lose what they’ve worked for…or take a stand and risk everything to make their voices heard.

In this compelling and thought-provoking debut novel, after a terrorist attack rocks the country and anti-Islamic sentiment stirs, three Black Muslim girls create a space where they can shatter assumptions and share truths.

My Review

There are so many great things about this book. I loved that Sabriya, Farah, and Zakat form close bonds over blogging. I’ve had a couple blogging friends over the years, and those are always really cool relationships, so I loved getting to read about them. I also loved that they were so different from one another. Sabriya is a dancer, and I loved getting to see her in class and working on performances. It was cool seeing her world through the eyes of a Black dancer and all that meant to her. She’s also the blog founder and main writer.

Farah is super gifted at coding, so she brought some specific talent to the blog, too. I think from an emotional perspective, her story resonated with me the most. She reluctantly reconnects with her estranged father and meets his family for the first time. She also meets other Black Muslim girls in Boston, where he lives, and works with them on a vigil for a girl who was murdered.

Zakat has a totally different experience from the other girls as she grows up attending a Muslim school and surrounded by a lot of support for her faith. She’s an artist, and the descriptions of her work were really cool. I found myself wishing that the book included drawings or graphic panels representing her pieces, especially alongside the blog posts. I think that would have been really cool.

All three girls experience Islamophobic behavior in the wake of the attack in Washington DC. At first I thought it was an odd choice that we’re following three different girls from three different states, but as the events unfolded after the DC attack, choosing characters from different places made a lot of sense, because it showed how far-reaching the effects of the rising Islamophobia were and how it affected so many different communities.

I really liked the story and enjoyed all three main characters. I’m not even sure I could pick a favorite. They were all compelling stories. The only thing that tripped me up at all was the dialogue. I felt like a lot of characters sounded the same. It seemed like a lot of times the dialogue was written in long sentences or long paragraphs that didn’t feel very natural to me. That could just be me– I have definitely gotten spoiled for stories with a lot of blank space on the page around choppy, fast-paced dialogue. So that’s probably not a flaw, just a preference.

On the whole, though, I really enjoyed reading this book. I think readers who enjoyed MISFIT IN LOVE by S. K. Ali will enjoy this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
All three main characters are Black Muslim girls.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kiss between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
References to Ramadan and Eid. Shows characters attending services, prayer, and receiving counsel from spiritual leaders.

Violent Content – Trigger warning for Islamophobia
Most of the physical violence happens off-scene. There are references to more than one violent attack which left people injured and killed. Other instances of vandalism occur. An alt-right site lists the girls’ blog on their website and people begin flooding the blog comments with Islamophobic and racist statements. Some of those are included in the text. The girls also experience Islamophobic comments in their daily lives, too.

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 YOU TRULY ASSUMED in exchange for my honest review.

Review: What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter

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What I Like About You
Marisa Kanter
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published April 7, 2020

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

About What I Like About You

There are a million things that Halle Levitt likes about her online best friend, Nash.

He’s an incredibly talented graphic novelist. He loves books almost as much as she does. And she never has to deal with the awkwardness of seeing him in real life. They can talk about anything…

Except who she really is.

Because online, Halle isn’t Halle—she’s Kels, the enigmatically cool creator of One True Pastry, a YA book blog that pairs epic custom cupcakes with covers and reviews. Kels has everything Halle doesn’t: friends, a growing platform, tons of confidence, and Nash.

That is, until Halle arrives to spend senior year in Gramps’s small town and finds herself face-to-face with real, human, not-behind-a-screen Nash. Nash, who is somehow everywhere she goes—in her classes, at the bakery, even at synagogue.

Nash who has no idea she’s actually Kels.

If Halle tells him who she is, it will ruin the non-awkward magic of their digital friendship. Not telling him though, means it can never be anything more. Because while she starts to fall for Nash as Halle…he’s in love with Kels.

My Review

I have so many feelings about this book. First, I thought the story was great– I’m pretty much a total fan of the whole they fall in love but don’t know who the other person really is trope. (If you love that, too and haven’t read them, I recommend P.S. I LIKE YOU by Kasie West and ALEX APPROXIMATELY by Jenn Bennett– review coming soon.)

I thought the stuff about the book blogging sphere and how painful the drama can be as well as how amazing it is when you get to share the excitement about a favorite book or author were super real. All of that definitely hit home for me.

If I’m honest, I really struggled with Halle’s comments about adults reviewing YA. At one point she vents frustration at adults who review YA and forget that they’re not the target audience. At another point, she makes it clear that she feels YA reviews need to be written by teen book bloggers, and that once she’s no longer a teen, she’ll stop reviewing and instead elevate other teen review voices. Which I think is a good thing– teens who review YA should get that platform.

I guess it just kind of rubbed me the wrong way, especially when she was so hurt that an author was offended by teens liking her book and basically told them to calm down, the book isn’t for you. Then she kind of did exactly the same thing to adult reviewers who read YA?

Honestly, it was not at all the main point of the book, and really, I think, was meant to highlight that there are lots of strong opinions and values within the book blogging community. It makes sense that as a leader, she’d have thoughts on who belongs and what best practices were.

I guess it just felt weird then as a not-teen reviewer to then have to decide how to review this book without it being colored by my feelings about those parts, because to be honest, I did find it hurtful, even if that wasn’t the author’s intent.

At any rate, I felt like I couldn’t honestly review the book without including this as part of my reading experience. I liked the story, the romance, the humor. Also, I loved seeing the Jewish rep, because there is so not enough of that in the book world. I think fans of Kasie West and Jenn Bennett will really enjoy WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Halle’s family (and several of her friends) are Jewish. One friend is Black. Halle’s brother has dated both a boy and girl, but doesn’t want to be labeled.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between a boy and girl. At one point they remove their shirts. References to sex.

Spiritual Content
Halle and her family celebrate several Jewish holidays and Shabbos with other community members.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Geekerella by Ashley Poston

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Geekerella
Ashley Poston
Quirk Books
Published April 4, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About GEEKERELLA

Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic science-fiction series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck and her dad’s old costume, Elle’s determined to win – unless her stepsisters get there first.

Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons – before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he has ever wanted, but Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake – until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise. But when she disappears at midnight, will he ever be able to find her again?

Part-romance, part-love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom.

My Review

I’ve been seeing lots of love for GEEKERELLA on social media and other book blogs lately. From first glance, a lot of things appealed to me about GEEKERELLA: the sci-fi fan stuff (I loved this element of THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN ME IS YOU), the re-imagined fairy tale (no magic, all contemporary, like IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE), and the comic con scenes. Plus, Elle’s a blogger! Yay! I loved seeing a character I could identify with in that way.

On the fairy tale retelling side, I felt like GEEKERELLA was both faithful to the original Cinderella story but also re-imagined it really creatively so that as I read, I felt like I was following both stories and loving every minute.

Several of the characters really shined and made their scenes extra great. I loved Darien’s bodyguard and Elle’s coworker at the Magic Pumpkin food truck. I also found it really moving the way so many of Elle’s memories of her dad were tied in with the Con and his love for Starfield. It made the contest so much more than just a hopeful fan wanting to win. It was like she needed to win as a nod to her dad and how much she missed him.

On the whole, I totally loved this book. I read it pretty quickly (and stayed up way too late– no regrets), and I’m super interested to check out Poston’s next book, THE PRINCESS AND THE FANGIRL, which is a retelling of the Prince and the Pauper.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Darien, who plays Prince Carmindor, is Indian on his mom’s side. Elle talks about how important it is that the role of Prince Carmindor gets played by a person of color, since that’s who he is. She worries that some white guy will get cast as Carmindor in the reboot, but that doesn’t happen. Two minor characters are lesbians.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
No profanity. A few crude remarks about some discomfort Darien experiences wearing gear for his stunts, and a director makes a crude comment meaning that he thinks Darien’s pretty brave.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Two girls have crushes on each other.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Some descriptions of Darien acting in fight scenes and doing dangerous stunts.

Drug Content 
None.