Tag Archives: grief

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

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

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

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

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

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

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

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

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

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

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

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

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

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

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!

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

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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 Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway by Ashley Schumacher

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The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway
Ashley Schumacher
Wednesday Books
Published March 14, 2023

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About The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway

Since her mother’s death, Madeline “Gwen” Hathaway has been determined that nothing in her life will change ever again. That’s why she keeps extensive lists in journals, has had only one friend since childhood, and looks forward to the monotony of working the ren faire circuit with her father. Until she arrives at her mother’s favourite end-of-tour stop to find the faire is under new management and completely changed.

Meeting Arthur, the son of the new owners and an actual lute-playing bard, messes up Maddie’s plans even more. For some reason, he wants to be her friend – and ropes her into becoming Princess of the Faire. Now Maddie is overseeing a faire dramatically changed from what her mother loved and going on road trips vastly different from the routine she used to rely on. Worst of all, she’s kind of having fun.

Ashley Schumacher’s THE RENAISSANCE OF GWEN HATHAWAY is filled with a wise old magician who sells potion bottles, gallant knights who are afraid of horses and ride camels instead, kings with a fondness for theatrics, a lazy river castle moat with inflatable crocodile floaties, and a plus-sized heroine with a wide-open heart… if only she just admits it.

My Review

Is there anyone who writes complicated grief like Ashley Schumacher? I’ve read all three of her books, and loved all of them. THE RENAISSANCE OF GWEN HATHAWAY introduces Madeline, a girl who’s approaching the first anniversary of her mom’s death– and her mom’s favorite Renaissance Fair, which has been redesigned by new owners. So, her grief over losing her mom and how it’s changed her life irreversibly gets kind of mirrored by this other big event. I thought it was really clever to pair those two things so closely together.

I really liked Maddie’s character, too. She’s a loner, but not in a sad, get-that-girl-some-friends kind of way. She’s an introvert who treasures close relationships with a few people.

The only thing that worried me at first was Arthur’s approach to Madeline. He gives her a nickname she doesn’t like, and plays the “I know what you need better than you do” card, which tends to rub me the wrong way. It’s a little too close to refusing to respect someone’s “no.”

However, in several scenes, Arthur listens to Madeline’s preferences and quickly adjusts his behavior in response to her boundaries, so I liked that. And I liked that it became clear that wasn’t his whole approach to relationships with girls.

One of the subplots of the story is the evolution of how Madeline feels about her body and how she behaves in response to those feelings. She’s a curvy girl who still carries some hurts from unkind things people have said to her. When Arthur first asks her to be the Fair princess, she has a hard time believing he’s serious, or that accepting the role won’t open her up to ridicule. But as she begins to explore what makes her comfortable in her own skin, she realizes that some of the things she’s been thinking about herself aren’t reality-based. And she finds ways to shop and dress that make her feel good. I liked that journey, and I especially liked that while it didn’t happen in a vaccuum– there were people who influenced her here and there– it was still her journey.

Conclusion

All in all, I loved this book. It had lots of goofy moments and starry-eyed love. I think fans of Jenn Bennett should definitely check out THE RENAISSANCE OF GWEN HATHAWAY.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Arthur has two dads.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Madeline carries a coin that, according to family lore, predicts the future. She flips the coin before making big decisions. She feels bound by the coin’s predictions, especially since it predicted her mom’s death from cancer.

Violent Content
None.

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 THE RENAISSANCE OF GWEN HATHAWAY in exchange for my honest review.

Review: My Dear Henry by Kalynn Bayron

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My Dear Henry: A Jekyll and Hyde Remix
Kalynn Bayron
Feiwel & Friends
Published March 7, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About My Dear Henry

In this gothic YA remix of DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, a teen boy tries to discover the reason behind his best friend’s disappearance—and the arrival of a mysterious and magnetic stranger—in misty Victorian London.

London, 1885. Gabriel Utterson, a 17-year-old law clerk, has returned to London for the first time since his life— and that of his dearest friend, Henry Jekyll—was derailed by a scandal that led to his and Henry’s expuslion from the London Medical School. Whispers about the true nature of Gabriel and Henry’s relationship have followed the boys for two years, and now Gabriel has a chance to start again.

But Gabriel doesn’t want to move on, not without Henry. His friend has become distant and cold since the disastrous events of the prior spring, and now his letters have stopped altogether. Desperate to discover what’s become of him, Gabriel takes to watching the Jekyll house.

In doing so, Gabriel meets Hyde, a a strangely familiar young man with white hair and a magnetic charisma. He claims to be friends with Henry, and Gabriel can’t help but begin to grow jealous at their apparent closeness, especially as Henry continues to act like Gabriel means nothing to him.

But the secret behind Henry’s apathy is only the first part of a deeper mystery that has begun to coalesce. Monsters of all kinds prowl within the London fog—and not all of them are out for blood…

My Review

I’ve read two other books by Kalynn Bayron before, one that I absolutely loved and another that I liked, so I was really interested to see where on that spectrum MY DEAR HENRY would fall.

The tone of the story drew me in pretty quickly. It reads in a style similar to the original story, but a little simpler and warmer, too. I liked that balance of a nod to the old with a fresh, accessible feeling, too.

Gabriel Utterson is a great character. I felt like he was easy to identify with and easy to root for. I also liked Henry Jekyll and Hyde, too. So, the characters pulled me into the story as well.

The author lists a content warning at the opening of the book, letting readers know that a medical experiment with an effect similar to conversion therapy takes place within the story. While that part of the story is heartbreaking, I loved that there are voices challenging the director and participant.

I thought the story fit very well within this particular reimagining, and that it’s a very timely version. The writing makes me want to read more work by this author– I think I have THIS POISON HEART on my shelf, but I haven’t read it yet. This book may be the push I needed to change that!

I think readers who enjoy reimagined classics or dark Victorian stories should definitely check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Gabriel and Henry are both Black and gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two boys.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Some homophobic statements. References to sexual assault and attempted sexual assault. Forced participation in a medical experiment meant to repress feelings of same gender attraction.

Drug Content
A man makes an elixir from purple flowers.

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 MY DEAR HENRY in exchange for my honest review.

Review: When Sea Becomes Sky by Gillian McDunn

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When Sea Becomes Sky
Gillian McDunn
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published February 28, 2023

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About When Sea Becomes Sky

In this heartfelt summer story, acclaimed author Gillian McDunn paints a stunning portrait of the bond of siblings and the love we’ll always carry with us.

Bex and Davey’s summer in the saltmarsh is different this year, thanks to the record-breaking drought. Even the fish seem listless–and each day the water level lowers farther. When they discover a mysterious underwater statue, they’re thrilled at the chance to solve the puzzle of its origin. This is the summer adventure they’ve been waiting for.

When they learn of a development plan that will destroy their special spot, they’ll need to act quickly. Unfortunately, sometimes progress happens whether you’re ready or not. What will it mean if Bex and Davey lose their corner of the marsh where otters frolic and dragonflies buzz–their favorite place to be siblings together?

As Bex and Davey attempt to save the statue and their beloved marsh, they come to see that the truth is not as simple as it seems . . . ultimately discovering so much more about life, permanence, love, and loss than they ever expected.

Award-winning author Gillian McDunn crafts a gorgeous story of love and siblinghood, of secret statues and island life, of holding on and letting go.

My Review

I’ve been a fan of Gillian McDunn’s books since her debut, CATERPILLAR SUMMER. That one was really special to me because of the main character and her bond with her family over fishing– something also special to me. So while I am always on the lookout for her next book, and I’ve enjoyed all of them, I don’t go into the books with the expectation that they’ll replace CATERPILLAR SUMMER in my heart.

This one really came close, though! You know that feeling, reading a book, where the setting becomes part of the story, and the characters feel so real you can’t help but get lost in what they’re feeling, and you catch yourself not breathing because you’re waiting for something to happen? Yeah. WHEN SEA BECOMES SKY definitely achieves that.

I really liked the way the environmental dilemma resolved and the way all the pieces of the story fit together. There are a lot of things that at first don’t seem related to one another that we discover are actually connected. I loved that, too.

This is a sad book. By the time I got to the Author’s Note, I was outright bawling. I think when an author can do that to you (I’m totally looking at you, Ashley Schumacher!!) and you love the book even more, that’s a great book.

I think readers who loved NEST by Esther Ehrlich or THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH by Ali Benjamin.

Content Notes for When Sea Becomes Sky

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

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 WHEN SEA BECOMES SKY in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Junkyard Dogs

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Junkyard Dogs
Katherine Higgs-Coulthard
Peachtree Teen
Published February 21, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Junkyard Dogs

Some people dream of happily ever after, but all 17-year-old Josh Roberts wants is a roof over his head and for his little brother to be safe.

Josh’s father has gone missing without a trace. Now Josh and his 9-year-old brother, Twig, are stuck living with Gran in her trailer. Problem is, Gran didn’t ask to take care of any kids, and she’s threatening to call social services unless Josh can find his dad. After paying off Gran to take in his little brother, Josh risks truancy and getting kicked off his basketball team to take to the streets and hunt for his dad. But when Josh digs too deep, he suddenly finds himself tethered to a criminal scrapping ring that his father was accomplice to. If Josh wants to keep Twig out of the system and return to some sense of normal, he’ll have to track his dad down and demand honest answers.

My Review

I have some mixed feelings about this book. First, I found the writing super compelling. I could feel my heart beat faster as I read some of the intense scenes about Josh and his desperation to keep his brother out of the foster care system. His fear when he discovers what’s happening to the people on their crew who’ve “disappeared”.

I also found the characters believable. There were some who didn’t get what Josh was going through, and some who figured it out. They didn’t all respond the same way. Even Josh’s grandma, who was cruel and neglectful, also had some pretty deep layers. I liked that depth.

The one thing I struggled with, though has to do with a character Josh describes as having OCD. He does things like avoiding cracks on the sidewalk, repetitive hand motions, and rituals. So that fit some of the stereotypical presentation of OCD. He’s kind of the only character really portrayed as having mental health issues. Some of the directions the story takes align with some stigma about mental health issues. That made me a bit uncomfortable. I found myself wishing that his OCD had been left out of the story or that maybe a different character had those symptoms.

I do really like that the author drew attention to the plight of homeless children and teens in the United States. There’s also an author’s note that explains that there are more than one million kids in the US who are homeless. More than any other industrialized nation in the world, according to the author’s note.

If you want to learn more about homelessness and how to find ways to help in your community, I recommend SHELTER: HOMELESSNESS IN OUR COMMUNITY by Lois Peterson.

Content Notes for Junkyard Dogs

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Very few physical descriptions. I’m not sure what race the characters are.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
A kiss between a boy and girl. References to a boy and girl kissing under a blanket.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to people getting stabbed. An armed man and his crew confront Josh and his friends. Josh discovers the bodies of two men who’ve apparently been murdered. He has some scattered memories of the fire that burned down his house and killed his mom.

Drug Content
Josh’s grandmother and reluctant guardian smokes pot and drinks alcohol.

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 JUNKYARD DOGS in exchange for my honest review.