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Review: You Wouldn’t Dare by Samantha Markum

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You Wouldn't Dare by Samantha Markum

You Wouldn’t Dare
Samantha Markum
Wednesday Books
Published March 28, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About You Wouldn’t Dare

A rom com about trying to have the summer of your life before everything changes – only to realize change might be exactly what you need…

When Juniper Nash Abreheart kissed Graham Isham for the first time, she had no idea it would nearly be the end of their friendship.

More specifically, she had no idea that the terrible, unforgivable thing she did to keep their summer fling a secret wouldn’t just ruin their friendship, but also Graham’s entire life. Now, months since the fallout, Junie and Graham spend most of their time sidestepping conversational landmines on the journey back to normalcy.

Junie is sure the strangeness between her and Graham is her biggest problem – until her mom hires Tallulah, her boyfriend’s surly teenage daughter, to work at their family café, and then announces they’ll all be moving in together at the end of the summer. The only bright spot ahead is Junie’s dad’s upcoming visit, just in time for her community theater production. And then poor turnout soon threatens that.

But when Junie starts to realize the feelings she swore to take care of last summer have lingered, saving her production and managing her hostile relationship with Tallulah might be the least of her problems. Graham isn’t just off limits – their friendship has been mended to barely withstand a breeze, and the gale force of Junie’s feelings could be just what breaks them.

Samantha Markum’s YOU WOULDN’T DARE is about the risks and triumphs that come with being brave enough to take a chance at what you really want, including love.

My Review

YOU WOULDN’T DARE is set in Florida, on a (made up) island called White Coral Key that’s about four hours from Jacksonville. One side of the island is ocean-facing, and the other is bay-facing, so I’m guessing the island would be either somewhere just south of Tampa on the Gulf side of FL or somewhere around West Palm Beach on the Atlantic coast. Anyway. I live a pretty short drive from both of those places, so it was fun to read about a place so similar to my own hometown.

Besides the beachy summer setting, there’s so much to love about this book. There’s the fun community theater production, which Junie ropes all her friends into helping with. There’s the banter between her and her three best friends, and the simmering tension between her and Graham.

This book literally made me laugh out loud (twice) and cry (also twice). I loved the messages about community, found family, and the bravery it takes to have the relationships you want. I also loved Samantha Markum’s debut, THIS MAY END BADLY, but I might have actually enjoyed this one even more?

If you like friend banter, antics, and summer fun plus angsty friends-to-lovers romance, you do not want to miss this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Junie is white. She has a diverse group of friends. One is bisexual. One is biracial, and one is Latine.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Kissing between two girls. References to hands up shirts in the kissing sessions between the boy and girl. Vague reference to Junie’s friends having sex.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to a car accident in which someone was killed. References to characters stung by jellyfish.

Drug Content
Junie and her friends drink alcohol at parties. One gets very drunk and sick.

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 WOULDN’T DARE in exchange for my honest review.

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books to Read if You Loved The Perks of Being a Wallflower

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Though THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER came out more than twenty years ago, it wasn’t until last year that I actually read it for the first time. It’s a favorite of a friend, so I decided to give it a try on his recommendation.

It’s one of those books that kind of punches you in the heart? Like, there were things I saw coming, and things I definitely did not see. Some moments left me feeling like my soul was lighter, like I was remembering the best moments a good friendship can bring. And other moments just wrenched my guts to pieces. WALLFLOWER also has a prominent openly gay character, which was a pretty big deal for a young adult book published in 1999. So, for my topic this Top Ten Tuesday, let’s talk about 10 books to read if you loved THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER.

Note: Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. This post contains affiliate links which don’t cost you anything to use but help support this blog. (And help support local bookstores, if you use the Bookshop links!)

10 Books to Read if You Loved The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Tonight We Rule the World by Zack Smedley

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: A loner finds love and friendship, but after he’s sexually assaulted, all the relationships in his life feel at risk. Totally under-hyped. This one blew me away.

Published October 12, 2021 | My Review

First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera

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What you need to know: A loner meets his person in NYC and learns one of them will die the next day. The prequel to THEY BOTH DIE AT THE END, though personally I fell harder for the story in this one.

Published October 4, 2022 | My Review

Arden Grey by Ray Stoeve

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What you need to know: As Arden’s best friend falls in love, she questions whether the relationship is safe and begins to wonder the same about a relationship at home. Powerfully written.

Published April 26, 2022 | My Review

The Minus-One Club by Kekla Magoon

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: After losing his sister in a car accident, Kermit gets invited to a grief support group of sorts, where he finds love and friendship, until the group faces a crisis that could undo them all. Such great storytelling here.

Published January 17, 2023 | My Review

The Cartographers by Amy Zhang

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What you need to know: Ocean tries to lose herself in the Big City, but a chaotic boy, and two roommates in denial about their feelings for one another may be just the recipe to help Ocean find her way forward. This one is as angsty as it is thought-provoking. I loved it.

Published January 31, 2023 | My Review

This Place is Still Beautiful

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What you need to know: A racist incident makes it impossible for Annalie, who has always handled adversity by being as invisible as she can, to disappear. New friends and a new romance help her find confidence in her own voice. To me, best part of THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER is the way his friends help him find his voice. This book captured that, too, in such a great way.

Published June 7, 2022 | Review to Come

Brighter Than the Moon by David Valdes

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What you need to know: Jonas met the girl of his dreams online, and now wants to bring the relationship into real life. She talks her best friend Ash into meeting him first, and the three embark on a wild, emotional ride. This one has such great friendship energy.

Published January 10, 2023 | My Review

How We Ricochet by Faith Gardner

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What you need to know: After Betty and her family survive a shooting incident, she wrestles with why it happened. She builds a friendship with the brother of the shooter, trying to learn about the boy who tried to kill her sister and mother. An unforgettable, timely story.

Published May 24, 2022| Review to Come

We Can Be Heroes by Kylie McCauley

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: Two rivals join forces after their best friend is killed in a domestic violence shooting when they both begin to see the ghost of their lost friend. This one has made me a huge fan of this author’s books.

Published September 7, 2021 | My Review

All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir

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What you need to know: Two best friends, estranged by grief. Reckoning with past and present abuse. Falling in love just as things fall apart. This book absolutely wrecked me.

Published March 1, 2022 | My Review

What books would you add to my list?

Have you read THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER (or seen the movie)? If so, what stories does it make you think of?

If you’ve written a “if you like this, read that” type of post about a book you love, share it in the comments so I can check it out!

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Middle Grade Books Featuring a Magic School

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Happy Tuesday, everyone! This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is to pick a past topic to reboot. I made it easy on myself, and kind of went for a freebie type post because I’ve been wanting to do a Middle Grade Books Featuring a Magic School list for a little bit. In case you’re unfamiliar with Top Ten Tuesday, it’s a weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. It’s a great way to connect with other bloggers and find new books for your reading list.

So, I’m going to assume you’re already familiar with the boy wizard series and Rick Riordan’s books featuring magic schools, as well as the Ever After High series, which was a favorite in our house. Instead, I’ll talk about some really great, more recently published middle grade books featuring a magic school. Here we go!

10 Middle Grade Books Featuring a Magic School

Skandar and the Unicorn Thief by A. F. Steadman

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: A magical school that trains unicorn and rider pairs! A boy who must stop a powerful thief from stealing unicorns. This one is a lot of fun.

Release Date: May 3, 2022 | My Review

The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: Magic and friendship. A boarding school packed with secrets. Girls who are told they’re broken discovering their true strength. Still a favorite of mine.

Published October 12, 2021 | My Review

Rise of the School for Good and Evil Series by Soman Chainani

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: This series tells the origin story of The School for Good and Evil and the two brothers tasked with maintaining a balance between good and evil magic. Packed with the same twisty storytelling and fun energy of the original series.

Published May 31, 2022 | Full review coming soon!

Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: A magical town, and an opportunity to join one of five covens… unless you’re a Spare like Seven, forced to complete an impossible task in order to keep her powers.

Published April 5, 2022

A Taste of Magic by J. Elle

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: A Black girl with prowess in the kitchen on top of newly discovered magic fights to save her magical school from closing. A super fun read packed with delicious food and family.

Published August 30, 2022 | My Review

Spell Sweeper by Lee Edward Födi

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: Quirky characters. A fun and fantastic story about the under-appreciated crew trained at their school to clean up after spellcasters.

Published November 30, 2021 | My Review

Mystwick School of Musicraft by Jessica Khoury

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: A school that teaches musicians to create magic. A student on her last chance, who just might be the only one who can save her school from a mysterious, powerful storm. Music and magic make a great pairing here.

Published September 5, 2019

The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: A magic school where students gather to practice cultural arts, and a girl who’s first of her ability to be admitted to the school. When her teacher goes missing, it’s up to her and her new friends to rescue him.

Published May 3, 2022

The Storybook of Legends by Shannon Hale

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: A magical school that trains warriors to use their hidden powers. A girl with powerful magic that links her to an infamous traitor who’s determined to find her parents, no matter the cost.

Published March 1, 2022

Secret of the Shadow Beasts by Diane Magras

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: Night is ruled by toxic beasts which can only be defeated by children who are immune. When Nora reluctantly joins their ranks, she uncovers secrets that leave her questioning everything. A wild ride of a story.

Published June 14, 2022

What are your favorite magic school books?

Do you like middle grade books featuring a magic school? What are your favorites? Let me know if you’ve read any of the books on my list, or if there are others I should add.

Review: I Will Find You Again by Sarah Lyu

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I Will Find You Again
Sarah Lyu
Simon & Schuster
Published March 14, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About I Will Find You Again

All the Bright Places meets Ace of Spades in this twisty teen thriller about finding a way to live after losing the one person who feels like home.

Welcome to Meadowlark, Long Island—expensive homes and good schools, ambition and loneliness. Meet Chase Ohara and Lia Vestiano: the driven overachiever and the impulsive wanderer, the future CEO and the free spirit. Best friends for years—weekend trips to Montauk, sleepovers on a yacht—and then, first love. True love.

But when Lia disappears, Chase’s life turns into a series of grim snapshots. Anger. Grief. Running. Pink pills in an Altoids tin. A cheating ring at school. Heartbreak and lies. A catastrophic secret.

And the shocking truth that will change everything about the way Chase sees Lia—and herself.

My Review

For some reason, I find I’m always drawn to books about complicated grief. This one is no exception. It’s an intense story, both in its exploration of grief, but also in the way that it’s written like a thriller. I feel like all the stories I want to compare it to give things away about the plot, though.

After Lia’s death, Chase finds herself trying to sift through her memories and those of her friends to piece together what happened and understand why. She feels someone must be responsible, or that there must be an explanation that will make Lia’s death make sense, and she’ll do whatever it takes to find the truth.

I liked those things about her. Her desperation was palpable. Her grief exploded off the page. I couldn’t help rooting for her, even though sometimes she did self-destructive things.

The story explores the pressure that Chase and her friends feel at school. All of them have ambitious AP course loads plus extracurriculars. They decide that drugs and a cheating ring, in which one person completes an assignment or test and distributes the work to the others, is the only reasonable way to survive.

While obviously cheating is wrong, I couldn’t help pausing to think about why they chose that course and whether certain high-achieving academic programs do push kids too hard. I don’t know. It’s still something I’m thinking about.

All in all, I WILL FIND YOU AGAIN has perfect pacing in a deep, emotional landscape. Fans of E. Lockhart or Matthew Quick totally want to check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Chase is Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Taiwanese. Lia is Korean and adopted by white parents.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Mentions of suicidal thoughts. Brief mention of a suicide attempt.

Drug Content
Chase takes an upper called Focentra (a fictional drug) which she buys from a classmate.

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 I WILL FIND YOU AGAIN in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Girl and the Galdurian by Tim Probert

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , ,

The Girl and the Galdurian (Lightfall #1)
Tim Probert
HarperAlley
Published September 1, 2020

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Girl and the Galdurian

Deep in the heart of the planet Irpa stands the Salty Pig’s House of Tonics & Tinctures, home of the wise Pig Wizard and his adopted granddaughter, Bea. As keepers of the Endless Flame, they live a quiet and peaceful life, crafting medicines and potions for the people of their once-prosperous world.

All that changes one day when, while walking through the woods, Bea meets Cad, a member of the Galdurians, an ancient race thought to be long-extinct. Cad believes that if anyone can help him find his missing people, it’s the Pig Wizard.

But when the two arrive home, the Pig Wizard is nowhere to be found—all that’s left is the Jar of Endless Flame and a mysterious note. Fearing for the Pig Wizard’s safety, Bea and Cad set out across Irpa to find him, while danger fights its way out of the shadows and into the light.

Will these two unexpected friends find the beloved Pig Wizard and prevent eternal darkness from blanketing their world? Or has Irpa truly seen its last sunrise?

My Review

What a fun book! I loved the dynamic between Bea and Cad. Bea is more timid and anxious, and Cad is the epitome of a can-do guy. He always believes they’ll get free from every trap or bad situation. I loved the way the two of them worked together as a team.

The illustrations are gorgeous. I feel like I’m really picky about graphic novels. I tend to love ones that have a more epic fantasy feel to them with more woodsy or nature-centered artwork. So this one scratched all those itches for me. I thought there were a few panels that were maybe a little dark or lower contrast that were a bit hard for me to see, but only a very few. The whole of the story more than made up for the fact that I had to slow down a bit a few times.

I think readers who enjoyed ESTRANGED by Ethan Aldridge or the Amulet series will like this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Cad is a Galdurian, a race of people thought to be extinct. Bea is adopted by her wizard grandfather.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have magic.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some cartoonish battle sequences fighting giant crabs, a tentacled monster, and hungry lizards.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Castelon by Alyssa Roat

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

Castelon (Wraithwood #3)
Alyssa Roat
Mountain Brook Ink
Published March 15, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Castelon

Fifteen hundred years of Arthurian legend come to a head in the final installment of The Wraithwood Trilogy.

The sword of legend, ancient magic, and a dead man’s secrets—together they could save Brinnie’s world or end it forever.

Brinnie barely escaped Mordizan with her life. Battered and broken in body and soul, she knows she’s running out of time. And though she has discovered the identity of Mordred’s bane, no one knows where to find the legendary weapon.

To discover the truth, she and Marcus must journey to Castelon and seek the aid of the Council. However, their actions at Mordizan brand them as enemies and war criminals. Between Mordred’s armies engaged in full-scale war and the political machinations of the Council, Brinnie struggles to balance the battlefield and the courtroom while estates fall before Mordred’s wrath.

As magic ravages her own body, threatening her survival, the allure of ancient, forbidden power grows brighter. And only one man holds the knowledge of the weapon that could destroy Mordred once and for all—a man they buried in the gardens of Wraithwood.

My Review

CASTELON is the last book in a series I’ve closely followed. I love the way the author reimagined or was inspired by Arthurian legend. I also loved Brinnie and some of the other characters, too.

In CASTELON, we get to know Brinnie’s mom a bit more, and see the return of a character we thought was lost. We also say tough goodbyes to a few beloved characters. I liked the way the relationships between each character unfolded and especially the ones that I didn’t expect. In the second book in the series, MORDIZAN, Brinnie befriends a girl named Lana. I really liked the friendship between them, so I was excited to see her in this book, too.

The first two books in the series have built up to a battle against Mordred and his forces, which are bent on ruling the wizard world and destroying the human one. Brinnie and her allies struggle to find the weapon a prophecy calls Mordred’s Bane, believing only it holds the power to kill their enemy. The search takes them behind enemy lines, and gives Brinnie lots of opportunities to make brave but reckless moves.

Her bond with Marcus grows stronger chapter by chapter. Though he disagrees with her choices sometimes, he always respects her as her own person. They are partners in war and love. I adored him.

The conclusion of the book was both really exciting and also different than I expected, in a good way. I loved the wedding scene and all that represented, and the sort of open-ended way that the last pages concluded.

All in all, I thought this was a fantasy series both fierce and sweet. I think it’s perfect for readers just dipping their feet into young adult fantasy, especially those who enjoy reimagined fairy tales or Arthurian legends.

Content Notes

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
Some characters reference their Christian faith. Brinnie draws battle inspiration from Bible stories like the story of Gideon.

Some characters have the ability to perform magic.

Violent Content
Battle scenes and some references to torture.

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 CASTELON in exchange for my honest review.