Tag Archives: friendship

Review: Impossible Music by Sean Williams

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,
Impossible Music by Sean Williams cover shows a silhouette of a boy with an ear bud cord wrapped around his face and wrists.

Impossible Music
Sean Williams
Clarion Books
Published July 2, 2019

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About IMPOSSIBLE MUSIC

Before the stroke that left him deaf, music was Simon’s life. Now, his band breaks up and even his future college career studying musical composition is in jeopardy. How can a deaf student study music?

The only bright spot in all of it is a fierce girl Simon meets at Auslan class, where he learns sign language to communicate. G seems just as angry to be there as Simon feels, and the two strike up a friendship that inspires Simon to find new ways to pursue music. He begins developing ideas that would allow Deaf and hearing audience members to experience music in the same way, desperately hoping to impress a music professor in a composition program that Simon hopes to enter.

My Review

The concept of IMPOSSIBLE MUSIC totally hooked me. I love books about angsty musicians, so I knew I’d like Simon. I like fierce female characters, so I suspected I’d like G and Simon’s little sister, Maeve, also stole my heart. She’s strong and sometimes pushy, but you really get the sense that underneath that is a lot of love for her family.

In terms of the plot, this must have been a tough book to write. I felt like it dragged sometimes, but I don’t think that actually had to do with the pacing of the plot. I think it had more to do with the stakes. Simon’s goal is to find a way to celebrate/study/participate in music as a young deaf man. If he fails, he’ll be very sad. It’s not that that isn’t compelling. But I didn’t feel like the stakes ratcheted up as the story progressed.

I like the way the story braids together Simon’s love for music and his love for G. In lots of ways her emotional journey seems to be a mirror of his, sometimes revealing things to Simon that he wasn’t ready to face about himself. But she also calls him out on things he’s not ready to face, too. They make a good pair.

Readers who liked THE SCAR BOYS by Len Vlahos will like the gritty, emotional writing and the “diary of a band boy” style of the story.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Simon and G are Deaf. IMPOSSIBLE MUSIC is set in Australia.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used frequently. I struggled with the amount of swearing in the book, I think because it really felt gratuitous to me.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Simon and G spend nights together, and it’s hinted that they’re having sex but not explicitly described.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to a suicide attempt.

Drug Content
Simon and his friends drink alcohol, which is legal at eighteen in Australia.

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

Review: Past Perfect Life by Elizabeth Eulberg

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

Past Perfect Life
Elizabeth Eulberg
Bloomsbury YA
Published July 9, 2019

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About PAST PERFECT LIFE

Small-town Wisconsin high school senior Allison Smith loves her life the way it is-spending quality time with her widowed father and her tight-knit circle of friends, including best friend Marian and maybe-more-than-friends Neil. Sure she is stressed out about college applications . . . who wouldn’t be? In a few short months, everything’s going to change, big time.
But when Ally files her applications, they send up a red flag . . . because she’s not Allison Smith. And Ally’s-make that Amanda’s-ordinary life is suddenly blown apart. Was everything before a lie? Who will she be after? And what will she do as now comes crashing down around her?

My Review

Ally starts the story with this cute life in a small town. She and her dad don’t have money, but they share daily rituals that show how close they are and how much they love each other. Taco Tuesday, movie night, Packers games. Things like that. The Gleason family makes up the larger part of Ally’s inner circle. I think those characters had the most spark and variety in them. The banter between Rob and the rest of the group made those scenes a lot of fun to read.

I felt like the story stalled out a little bit around the 3/4 mark. Ally’s kind of just trying to get by and biding her time until she comes up with another idea. I think that was a necessary moment in the story, but I felt like it dragged on longer than it needed to.

Other than that, PAST PERFECT LIFE is a pretty smooth read. I’m a sucker for a story that touches on themes about the importance of family and community, so this book definitely scratched that itch for me.

Overall, I’d say PAST PERFECT LIFE is perfect for fans of IN ANOTHER LIFE by C. C. Hunter or WHERE THE STARS STILL SHINE by Trish Doller.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 15 up.

Representation
Characters are white and straight.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Ally’s family is Catholic and goes to mass on Christmas.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content 
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links which cost you nothing but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of PAST PERFECT LIFE in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe

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

Field Guide to the North American Teenager
Ben Philippe
Balzer + Bray
Published January 8, 2019

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About Field Guide to the North American Teenager

Norris Kaplan is clever, cynical, and quite possibly too smart for his own good. A black French Canadian, he knows from watching American sitcoms that those three things don’t bode well when you are moving to Austin, Texas. Plunked into a new high school and sweating a ridiculous amount from the oppressive Texas heat, Norris finds himself cataloging everyone he meets: the Cheerleaders, the Jocks, the Loners, and even the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Making a ton of friends has never been a priority for him, and this way he can at least amuse himself until it’s time to go back to Canada, where he belongs.

Yet, against all odds, those labels soon become actual people to Norris. Be it loner Liam, who makes it his mission to befriend Norris, or Madison the beta cheerleader, who is so nice that it has to be a trap. Not to mention Aarti the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, who might, in fact, be a real love interest in the making. He even starts playing actual hockey with these Texans.

But the night of the prom, Norris screws everything up royally. As he tries to pick up the pieces, he realizes it might be time to stop hiding behind his snarky opinions and start living his life—along with the people who have found their way into his heart.

My Review

My favorite thing about this book is Norris’s voice. I’m a total sucker for witty banter, and he’s full of quips and side comments. Some tender moments completely sneaked up on me, too. His conversation with his mother about his mistakes had me in tears. I couldn’t help asking myself how many moms have exactly that conversation with their black sons. It shouldn’t be that way.

I felt like Aarti and Madison had really similar voices, so that sometimes I couldn’t tell them apart. I also didn’t totally follow the sharp turn where Norris ends up apologizing to Aarti toward the end. (Sorry, trying not to include spoilers.) They start a conversation where Norris feels pretty righteous in his anger and then suddenly Aarti flips the situation and he feels like he’s the bad guy. Not that he did nothing wrong, but I guess I didn’t feel like the story supported Aarty’s view of what happened.

I loved Norris’s relationships with Liam and Eric. They felt like real friendships, and added a lot of depth to Norris’s character, too, because we got to see things like loyalty and dedication.

On the whole, I enjoyed reading THE FIELD GUIDE TO THE NORTH AMERICAN TEENAGER quite a lot. The fast-paced dialogue and banter between characters combined with lots of heart and tough lessons about love and growing up made it a great read. Perfect for fans of THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN YOU IS ME by Lily Anderson.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 15 up.

Representation
Norris is a black teen from Canada. His mom is from Haiti. Aarti’s parents are Indian immigrants to the US. They share a bond over the pressures of being minority kids who are also the children of immigrants. Norris’s best friend Eric is gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used regularly but not super frequently. One instance of a slur used.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between girl and boy. A couple brief mentions of Norris feeling aroused in response to something. Norris’s best friend makes a comment about whether his boyfriend might intend for them to have sex and wondering if he’s ready for that. No descriptions of anything beyond kissing but Norris carries condoms with him just in case he might possibly need them.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Someone slaps Norris.

Drug Content 
Scenes include teens drinking alcohol. Norris makes some mistakes while drunk which land him in some trouble.

Note: This post contains affiliate links which cost you nothing but which help support this blog.

Review: Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig

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

Last Seen Leaving
Caleb Roehrig
Feiwel & Friends
October 4, 2016

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About LAST SEEN LEAVING

Flynn’s girlfriend has disappeared. How can he uncover her secrets without revealing his own?

Flynn’s girlfriend, January, is missing. The cops are asking questions he can’t answer, and her friends are telling stories that don’t add up. All eyes are on Flynn—as January’s boyfriend, he must know something.

But Flynn has a secret of his own. And as he struggles to uncover the truth about January’s disappearance, he must also face the truth about himself.

My Review

LAST SEEN LEAVING is the first of three murder mystery/suspense type books that I’ve read lately, which is a little odd for me only in that I read them almost in a row. Most years I maybe read one or two, tops. I actually really enjoyed all three books, though.

Earlier this year I read WHITE RABBIT by Caleb Roehrig, and loved it. I love the unusual choice of character names he uses in both books. I thought WHITE RABBIT was a more polished book, which makes sense since it’s Roehrig’s second novel. In both books the main character totally drew me in so I felt connected to his emotional journey.

In LAST SEEN LEAVING, part of Flynn’s journey is recognizing something he’s not ready to admit to himself. While it may clear him of involvement in January’s disappearance, admitting it undoubtedly changes his life.

But Flynn’s not the only one who has secrets. As he looks more deeply into January’s disappearance, he discovers she may have played a role with him and perhaps he was too busy protecting his secret to notice hers.

I liked that element to the book. Again, it made Flynn reevaluate whether keeping his secret was the right choice. Was it causing him to hurt other people in ways he hadn’t considered?

Another thing that comes up in the book is unreported sexual assault. While nothing happens on scene in the story, some of the characters have really strong, evocative responses when (briefly) describing their experiences. Sensitive readers should be aware. Check my content notes section for more information.

Overall, I liked LAST SEEN LEAVING a lot, and I’m very much looking forward to reading DEATH PREFERS BLONDES because it totally looks as though it will have the same serious murder mystery packed with quirky, fabulous characters.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 15 up.

Representation
The main character is gay. One of his friends is also gay and from a conservative Muslim family.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
So there’s a LOT of really strong profanity in this book. More than 70 instances of f*** and many instances of other words.

Romance/Sexual Content – Trigger Warning
A boy and girl kiss. She pressures him for sex. He refuses. Two boys kiss. Rumors spread about a girl making a sexual advance at an older man. A man faces accusations about sexually abusing teenage girls.

Some of the accusations come from victims who only relate brief stories of their experiences, but they’re pretty shocking. It’s not the detail but the way you can tell the girls are still in the midst of dealing with the trauma. This might be triggering for some readers.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content – Trigger Warning
In a pretty intense scene, two characters battle for a gun.

In one scene, Flynn witnesses a man fatally shoot himself.

Drug Content 
Flynn comments in one scene that he hopes to be able to sneak beer at a family celebration. He references a tradition where kids all go for a hay ride and then sit around a bonfire where they drink alcohol and eat s’mores.

Note: This post contains affiliate links which cost you nothing but which help support this blog.

Review: A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstrom

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

A Tragic Kind of Wonderful
Eric Lindstrom
Harper Collins Publishers
Published December 29, 2016

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About A TRAGIC KIND OF WONDERFUL

For sixteen-year-old Mel Hannigan, bipolar disorder makes life unpredictable. Her latest struggle is balancing her growing feelings in a new relationship with her instinct to keep everyone at arm’s length. And when a former friend confronts Mel with the truth about the way their relationship ended, deeply buried secrets threaten to come out and upend her shaky equilibrium.

As the walls of Mel’s compartmentalized world crumble, she fears the worst—that her friends will abandon her if they learn the truth about what she’s been hiding. Can Mel bring herself to risk everything to find out?

My Review

So many thoughts on this book keep rattling around in my head. On the one hand, I loved that A TRAGIC KIND OF WONDERFUL shows a positive representation of medication to regulate mental health issues. Mel wants to be on medication. She recognizes that it helps her be more herself and helps keep her safe.

Also, Mel’s a fixer. She likes everyone to get along. She soothes people, avoids conflict, and will take herself out of a situation if she feels like her presence is only adding conflict to it. I really identified with her in that regard. My favorite parts of A TRAGIC KIND OF WONDERFUL are about Mel learning how to fight– for herself, for her friends, for permission from herself just to be. A lot of those struggles hit home in a big way for me.

If you know anything about books, you probably guess that while Mel wants to be on her meds and is in regular therapy appointments, she has a pretty big crash. I feel like I’m not qualified to speak to the authenticity of her experience, but it felt very real reading each scene where she unravels. The writing allowed me to feel both in her head and like an observer, watching and hoping someone noticed what was going on before she completely spiraled out of control.

It’s weird– I keep noticing the presence of community in stories lately and the message that we need a community around us, and often, our community will stand by us through things we sometimes thought would scare them off. I loved those elements of A TRAGIC KIND OF WONDERFUL, too, from the sweet watchful residents of the nursing home where Mel works to her friends and even her mom.

There are a couple of rough scenes that might be difficult for sensitive readers. I’ll include some notes on those below in the content section, so be sure to check those out.

If you loved STARFISH by Akemi Dawn Bowman or THE UNLIKELY HERO OF ROOM 13B by Teresa Toten, you will want to check out A TRAGIC KIND OF WONDERFUL by Eric Lindstrom.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 15 up.

Representation
One of Mel’s best friends is Japanese. She makes friends with a Chinese boy at the nursing home where she works. Mel has bipolar disorder. Her brother had the same diagnosis and Mel’s aunt has many of the same symptoms, though she’s undiagnosed and refuses medication.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
At least a dozen instances of profanity, including f***.

Romance/Sexual Content
A boy and girl kiss. A girl and girl kiss and grope each other under their shirts.

Spiritual Content
Brief reference to Buddhism. Mel plays piano with a retired reverend. Sometimes they play hymns together. He asks her to play as his way to lift her up.

Violent Content – Trigger Warning and Spoiler
Mel resists memories of her brother’s death, something she witnessed that’s obviously really traumatic for her.

He did a super dangerous thing and died doing it. She wonders if he did it on purpose. Then she returns to the scene of his death with the intention of repeating what he tried to do. She isn’t thinking of killing herself, but she repeatedly does things which behaviorally are suicidal.

Drug Content 
Mel drinks alcohol with her friends and ends up with a terrible hangover.

Note: I received a free copy of A TRAGIC KIND OF WONDERFUL by Eric Lindstrom in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links which cost you nothing but which help support this blog.

Review: The Queen’s Secret by Jessica Day George

Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , ,

The Queen’s Secret (Rose Legacy #2)
Jessica Day George
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published May 14, 2019

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About THE QUEEN’S SECRET

Bestselling author Jessica Day George continues her heartfelt fantasy series about a girl who can communicate with horses and a kingdom on the brink of collapse.

Anthea knows the truth about horses. They’re not carriers of deadly disease like everyone in their kingdom thinks; they’re majestic creatures who share their thoughts and feelings with her through The Way. Anthea has convinced the king of this, but at a cost–he demands that horses and riders with The Way do his bidding.

But when a deadly plague breaks out, the people believe that horses are the cause. As more fall ill, it’s up to Anthea and her friends to transport medicine, all while keeping out of reach from Anthea’s wicked mother. And when Anthea discovers a secret that could change the kingdom forever, she must risk everything to reveal the truth before it’s too late.

Continuing the sweeping storytelling of The Rose Legacy, bestselling author Jessica Day George delights readers–especially horse lovers–once again.

My Review

I’ve been a Jessica Day George book fan since DRAGON SLIPPERS, so following the Rose Legacy series has been kind of a no-brainer for me. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a girl-and-her-horse book, but THE QUEEN’S SECRET definitely scratches that itch and brings back all the fond memories of those horse books I loved when I was younger.

THE QUEEN’S SECRET picks up near where THE ROSE LEGACY left off. With Anthea and her friends now in the service of the queen, they work to reintroduce horses to the people of the south kingdom and dispel the myth that horses are extinct or diseased.

I love the strong female characters in the cast. Jilly, Anthea’s best friend, is fierce and a bit snarky, but with a heart of gold. Anthea herself is smart and a great leader. And omg the mothers in this book. From the queen, who works as hard as she can for the good of her people, to her Rose Maidens, who may also be spies, to Anthea’s mother, the spy with her own agenda, women definitely pull the strings throughout the book.

All the great things in THE ROSE LEGACY continue on in THE QUEEN’S SECRET. If you enjoy horse books or middle grade stories with strong female characters, I recommend getting your copy of this book today.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
The story takes place in a sort of re-imagined England. Most characters are white or lack race descriptions.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
A girl and boy exchange kisses on the cheek.

Spiritual Content
Anthea and others have the ability to telepathically communicate with horses, called the Way.

Violent Content
References to villagers shooting at Anthea and her friends. It happens off-scene.

Drug Content 
None.

Note: I received a free copy of THE QUEEN’S SECRET by Jessica Day George in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links which cost you nothing but which help support this blog.