Tag Archives: LGBTQIA

Review: Leap by Simina Popescu

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Leap by Simina Popescu

Leap
Simina Popescu
Roaring Brook Press
Published November 12, 2024

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About Leap

A coming-of-age graphic novel following two dancers at a conservative performing arts school―exploring friendship, first love, and what it means to fall out of step with your own dreams.

Ana has been studying contemporary dance since she was little, but her heart isn’t in it anymore. Instead her focus is on Carina―a beautiful, ambitious ballerina whose fear of being outed keeps Ana in the closet and their fragile relationship from seeing the light of day. Risking her own career, Ana gives up more and more in order to fit into the shadows of Carina’s life.

Sara, on the other hand, is fielding whispers she may be the best dancer their school has produced in years. Much of that is thanks to her mentor and instructor, Marlena, who plucked Sara from the classical track and encouraged her to blossom as a contemporary dancer. Sara has always been in awe of Marlena, but recently, that admiration has sparked into something more, and Sara’s not sure what to do about it.

As junior year at their performing arts school begins, Ana and Sara are assigned as roommates. What starts off as a tentative friendship soon becomes a much-needed anchor.

My Review

It was so fun reading a dance book this week. Earlier tonight (the day I’m writing this), I started taking a tap class, which marks the first dance class I’ve taken in a long time. I’m excited about it. So the timing of reading Leap was really great for me.

One of the things that’s truly incredible about this graphic novel is the way that the panels capture the motion of dance. Some characters are in a contemporary dance program, and others are in a ballet program, so it shows two different kinds of dance, and I think the illustrations differentiate them well. I only spotted one panel in which I think the position of a dancer’s foot wasn’t right for the ballet move that she seemed to be performing.

The story is really sweet, too. It follows two characters. One, Ana, is in a long-term relationship that started out really well but has hit some bumps. The other character, Sara, has a huge crush on someone she shouldn’t, and she’s trying to understand her feelings and figure out what to do. When the girls become roommates, they bond as friends, and it isn’t too long before they begin speaking hard truths to one another. I loved getting to see their friendship flourish and to see the journey they each had with dancing.

I think readers who enjoy books in international settings or books about dance and relationships will find a lot to love in Leap.

Content Notes for Leap

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Ana and some other characters are queer.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A few F-bombs and some other swearing used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
One character makes some negative comments about her body. Ballet instructors also say cruel things to the dancers about their weight and bodies. Some homophobic comments, usually well-meaning, but hurtful. The girls talk about someone whose career was ruined after she was outed.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol in several scenes. (They’re underage.)

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: This Day Changes Everything by Edward Underhill

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This Day Changes Everything
Edward Underhill
Wednesday Books
Published February 13, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About This Day Changes Everything

Dash & Lily meets Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in Edward Underhill’s new whirlwind rom-com about two queer teens who spend one life-changing day together in New York City.

Abby Akerman believes in the Universe. After all, her Midwest high school marching band is about to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City—if that’s not proof that magical things can happen, what is? New York also happens to be the setting of her favorite romance novel, making it the perfect place for Abby to finally tell her best friend Kat that she’s in love with her (and, um, gay). She’s carefully annotated a copy of the book as a gift for Kat, and she’s counting on the Universe to provide an Epic Scene worthy of her own rom-com.

Leo Brewer, on the other hand, just wants to get through this trip without falling apart. He doesn’t believe the Universe is magical at all, mostly because he’s about to be outed to his very Southern extended family on national TV as the trans boy he really is. He’s not excited for the parade, and he’s even less excited for an entire day of sightseeing with his band.

But the Universe has other ideas. When fate throws Abby and Leo together on the wrong subway train, they soon find themselves lost in the middle of Manhattan. Even worse, Leo accidentally causes Abby to lose her Epic Gift for Kat. So to salvage the day, they come up with a new mission: find a souvenir from every location mentioned in the book for Abby to give Kat instead. But as Leo and Abby traverse the city, from the streets of Chinatown to the halls of Grand Central Station and the top of the Empire State Building, their initial expectations for the trip—and of each other—begin to shift. Maybe, if they let it, this could be the day that changes everything, for both of them.

My Review

I enjoyed Edward Underhill’s debut novel, but this one is my favorite of the two. It has so many fun references to New York City, marching band nerdiness, and a celebration of books and fanfiction. I had a lot of fun reading this one.

The story alternates between Abby and Leo’s points of view, so we get to watch them get to know one another and learn to read one another as they experience a wild “lost in New York” kind of adventure. Abby’s relationship with Leo starts out as a bond between people who got on the wrong train, but it becomes so much more. I thought the pacing of the relationship was really nicely done.

Abby loves a romance novel set in New York and wants to celebrate her love for the book on her trip to the city. She thinks about the scenes in the book set in different places and wants to capture the magic of reading the book and falling in love, but things keep unfolding in ways that are at odds with her plans. I liked the way she and Leo navigated the unexpected moments.

Both Leo and Abby are from marching band groups that visit New York City to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I’ve never read a book with that kind of plot before, and I felt like this one did really capture both the essence of marching band rehearsal and what I imagine the parade is like.

I think the only thing odd about this book is the timing of the release date. It came out in February. Because of the story centering around the Thanksgiving Parade, I would have thought it would come out in the fall or closer to the holidays.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book so much. It’s got lots of sweet moments and fun antics. If you love visiting New York City, this is definitely one to put in your reading list!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Main characters are white. One close friend is Black. Another is Asian American. One main character is a trans boy. The other has questions about her sexual identity.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
When something goes right or wrong, Abby comments that the Universe is sending her a message either supporting or redirecting her.

Violent Content
A few people misgender Leo. A school policy won’t allow him to be roommates with the other boys. Leo’s parents don’t want him to tell his extended family about his identity and instead expect him to tolerate being misgendered and deadnamed at family events.

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 THIS DAY CHANGES EVERYTHING in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

Review: A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft

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A Fragile Enchantment
Allison Saft
Wednesday Books
Published January 30, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About A Fragile Enchantment

In this romantic fantasy of manners from New York Times bestselling author Allison Saft, a magical dressmaker commissioned for a royal wedding finds herself embroiled in scandal when a gossip columnist draws attention to her undeniable chemistry with the groom.

Niamh Ó Conchobhair has never let herself long for more. The magic in her blood that lets her stitch emotions and memories into fabric is the same magic that will eventually kill her. Determined to spend the little time she has left guaranteeing a better life for her family, Niamh jumps at the chance to design the wardrobe for a royal wedding in the neighboring kingdom of Avaland.

But Avaland is far from the fairytale that she imagined. While young nobles attend candlelit balls and elegant garden parties, unrest brews amid the working class. The groom himself, Kit Carmine, is prickly, abrasive, and begrudgingly being dragged to the altar as a political pawn. But when Niamh and Kit grow closer, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more—until an anonymous columnist starts buzzing about their chemistry, promising to leave them alone only if Niamh helps to uncover the royal family’s secrets. The rot at the heart of Avaland runs deep, but exposing it could risk a future she never let herself dream of, and a love she never thought possible.

Transporting readers to a Regency England-inspired fantasy world, A Fragile Enchantment is a sweeping romance threaded with intrigue, unforgettable characters, and a love story for the ages.

My Review

I’ve been a fan of Allison Saft’s books since her debut, DOWN COMES THE NIGHT. She is so good at delivering intricate story worlds and complicated characters navigating some kind of mysterious circumstances. In A FRAGILE ENCHANTMENT, a tailor who can imbue the clothes she makes with magic and a younger prince fight their growing attraction to one another as an entire kingdom seems ready to crumble around them.

It’s got a bit of a grumpy vs. sunshine vibe, which I really enjoyed. The story also explores chronic illness and addiction pretty openly. Neither of those is often explored in fantasy novels, so that was nice to see.

The romantic arc absolutely hooked me. I read this book in two sessions because I really could not stop thinking about it and needed to know how it would end. I loved the directions the story took, especially the ones I hadn’t anticipated. There were a couple of times that things took me by surprise. That was fun.

All in all, I had a fabulous time reading this book, and I’m as big an Allison Saft fan as ever. I’m already excited about whatever story she has coming up next. I think fans of Kiera Cass would like this book a lot.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Regency-England inspired. Some people groups seem to be inspired by Spanish or Irish people. The main character had a past relationship with a girl. Some characters are interested in same-sex relationships, but it’s stigmatized in their society. One character is an alcoholic in recovery. Another is chronically ill.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Kissing between two girls. One scene contains explicit sexual content.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have the ability to perform magic. This is passed down in families from the old days when the Fair Ones walked among people.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. One character can control plants and threatens violence through them. Another can control lightning and tries to kill someone.

Drug Content
One character is a recovering alcoholic who has been sober for a year. In several scenes, people around him drink alcohol. Sometimes, people make disparaging remarks about his drinking or assume he is drunk again.

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 A FRAGILE ENCHANTMENT in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

Review: We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds

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We Deserve Monuments
Jas Hammonds
Roaring Brook Press
Published November 29, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About We Deserve Monuments

Family secrets, a swoon-worthy romance, and a slow-burn mystery collide in WE DESERVE MONUMENTS, a YA debut from Jas Hammonds that explores how racial violence can ripple down through generations.

What’s more important: Knowing the truth or keeping the peace?

Seventeen-year-old Avery Anderson is convinced her senior year is ruined when she’s uprooted from her life in DC and forced into the hostile home of her terminally ill grandmother, Mama Letty. The tension between Avery’s mom and Mama Letty makes for a frosty arrival and unearths past drama they refuse to talk about. Every time Avery tries to look deeper, she’s turned away, leaving her desperate to learn the secrets that split her family in two.

While tempers flare in her avoidant family, Avery finds friendship in unexpected places: in Simone Cole, her captivating next-door neighbor, and Jade Oliver, daughter of the town’s most prominent family—whose mother’s murder remains unsolved.

As the three girls grow closer—Avery and Simone’s friendship blossoming into romance—the sharp-edged opinions of their small southern town begin to hint at something insidious underneath. The racist history of Bardell, Georgia is rooted in Avery’s family in ways she can’t even imagine. With Mama Letty’s health dwindling every day, Avery must decide if digging for the truth is worth toppling the delicate relationships she’s built in Bardell—or if some things are better left buried.

My Review

I love intergenerational family stories, and at its core, that’s what this story truly is. In reconnecting with the grandmother she barely knows, Avery learns of her family’s painful history. That history impacts others in the small town of Bardell as well, including her two new best friends, Simone and Jade. The threads connecting each girl to her family’s past weave together to form a tapestry that’s both beautiful and terrible.

The story unflinchingly faces the complicated grief of thwarted justice. Jade’s mother’s murderer was never held to account. Neither were the men who murdered Avery’s grandfather. That grief binds the girls together and drives a wedge between them at the same time.

WE DESERVE MONUMENTS is also a love story. It celebrates the connection between grandmothers and granddaughters, even when they only have a short time together. Avery’s relationship with her grandmother anchors her in her history in a way that no other relationship in her family does. The book also celebrates romantic love—perhaps even second-chance love—as Simone and Avery fall for one another and learn to embrace the hope that the previous generation could not.

I wouldn’t call this book an easy read, but I loved the way it explored family history and relationships and the hopefulness that it leaves with its readers.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Avery is biracial (Black mom and white dad) and a lesbian. Her friend Simone is also Black and queer.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between girls.

Spiritual Content
Simone gives Avery a tarot reading. She pulls tarot cards to help her set expectations for the day. She also believes in astrological signs. Simone’s mom attends church often, and when she feels Simone has done something wrong, she makes her attend church several times per week and prays over her repeatedly.

Violent Content
References to a woman’s murder and the racist history of the South and the town of Bardell.

Drug Content
Avery and her friends smoke pot together. They get drunk one night.

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: Valiant Ladies by Melissa Grey

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

Valiant Ladies
Melissa Grey
Feiwel & Friends
Published June 14, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Valiant Ladies

Two teen vigilantes set off on an action-packed investigation to expose corruption and deliver justice in Valiant Ladies, Melissa Grey’s YA historical novel inspired by real seventeenth century Latinx teenagers known as the Valiant Ladies of Potosí.

By day Eustaquia “Kiki” de Sonza and Ana Lezama de Urinza are proper young seventeenth-century ladies. But when night falls, they trade in their silks and lace for swords and muskets, venturing out into the vibrant, bustling, crime-ridden streets of Potosí in the Spanish Empire’s Viceroyalty of Peru. They pass their time fighting, gambling, and falling desperately in love with one another.

Then, on the night Kiki’s engagement to the Viceroy’s son is announced, her older brother―heir to her family’s fortune―is murdered. The girls immediately embark on a whirlwind investigation that takes them from the lowliest brothels of Potosí to the highest echelons of the Spanish aristocracy.

My Review

Okay, so the premise completely sold me on reading this book. It pretty much had me at “real seventeenth-century Latinx teenagers known as the Valiant Ladies of Potosí.” I also really liked THE GIRL AT MIDNIGHT by Melissa Grey, so I was excited to read another book by her.

The cover copy also mentions them taking on the patriarchy, and like, I guess they do fight some individual men. I kept waiting for that to solidify into a larger conspiracy or something. For them to have a more overt victory over a system that oppressed women. I don’t know. Maybe I missed something.

I liked Ana and Kiki’s characters. I felt like the romantic storyline was a little uneven. There was a lot of focus on it at the beginning and then almost no focus on it for a while and then lots of focus on it again. I don’t know if that was supposed to be because Kiki got engaged, and so Ana backed way off, and Kiki repressed her feelings? It wasn’t really clear to me, but maybe I missed some more subtle clues.

Unanswered Questions

There are several places in the story where the girls make choices that really don’t make sense to me. At one point, they go to a brothel looking for a girl who lives there. This is the same place Ana grew up, so the girls are familiar with it. For some reason, they go at night. Guards won’t let them in. They get caught when they break into the girl’s room (which they find completely destroyed). The owner (who raised Ana) asks the girls to leave quietly.

Instead of asking her what happened to the obviously destroyed room and where the girl is, they attack the guards and kill one of them. It just seemed weird to me that it didn’t occur to them to ask the owner what was going on or to assume maybe she hired guards to protect the rest of the girls. At the least, they might want to know why the room was destroyed or what happened.

There are some other places where it felt like maybe some scenes got deleted, and the information in them maybe didn’t make it back into the surviving part of the story if that makes sense? When Kiki’s brother is murdered, for some reason, everyone assumes he died by suicide, but no one really explains why they think this? It was kind of odd. There were other instances where characters made assumptions that didn’t really make sense to me, too. It left me wondering if these were things that had been more obvious to the author but just weren’t as clear to me.

I’m not sure what happened.

Conclusion

On the whole, I love that this book raises awareness about Ana Lezama de Urinza and Dona Eustaquia de Sonza. If you’re interested in knowing more about them, Broads You Should Know has a podcast episode on them.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
All characters are Latinx. The main characters, Anna and Kiki, are attracted to women.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing and attraction between two girls. Ana grew up in a brothel. Both girls are friends with a sex worker.

Spiritual Content
A family seeks to have a loved one buried, but the church refuses since it’s believed that the man died by suicide. References to demonic rituals. Kiki and Ana attend a funeral service at a church.

Violent Content
Situations of peril and battle scenes. Ana and Kiki fight criminals together. A group of men attack Ana. One punches her in the face. They find the body of a murdered young woman. A woman reveals scars that indicate someone tortured her. Men kidnap two women, threatening them.

Ana attacks a man who then sends his accomplices to beat her up. Ana discovers a man’s body hanging from a tree.

Drug Content
Several characters drink alcohol, including Ana. While drunk, she makes some choices she regrets later.

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

Review: The Otherwoods by Justine Pucella Winans

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The Otherwoods
Justine Pucella Winans
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published September 12, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Otherwoods

The Otherwoods is calling. And it won’t be ignored.

Some would call River Rydell a ‘chosen one’: born with the ability to see monsters and travel to a terrifying spirit world called The Otherwoods, they have all the makings of a hero. But River just calls themself unlucky. After all, it’s not like anyone actually believes River can see these things–or that anyone even believes monsters exist in the first place. So the way River sees it, it’s better to keep their head down and ignore anything Otherwoods related.

But The Otherwoods won’t be ignored any longer.

When River’s only friend (and crush) Avery is kidnapped and dragged into The Otherwoods by monsters, River has no choice but to confront the world they’ve seen only in their nightmares–but reality turns out to be more horrifying than they could have ever imagined. With only their cat for protection and a wayward teen spirit as their guide, River must face the monsters of The Otherwoods and their own fears to save Avery and become the hero they were (unfortunately) destined to be.

Justine Pucella Winans will have you cowering and cackling as you follow River’s reluctant hero’s journey, perfect for fans of Doll Bones, Ghost Squad, and Too Bright to See.

My Review

Without a doubt, the most charming part of this book is River’s aversion to danger and the evolution of their beliefs about themself. At first, River believes they aren’t brave because they ignore monsters instead of confronting them and won’t enter the Otherwoods. Right away, I doubted their assessment– it would take an enormous amount of bravery for me to keep sleeping in a room where a monster lived under my bed. River instead names the monster and tries their best to ignore it. It makes sense, though, why River sees themself as not brave since they find themself constantly afraid. I love River’s inner monologue. They piece together the things happening around them in what is often a very kid-like, funny way.

I also like the way that River’s journey into the Otherwoods makes them realize there’s more to being brave than feeling brave. I like the way the story turns our perceptions of things on its head with unexpected moments and humor.

Also: the cat. If you know me, you know this was coming. But seriously. Mr. Fluffy Pancakes is fantastic. Not just for his name, which cracked me up. That cat has a huge personality. He never does anything without some cattitude. His love for River is also very clear and endearing. I adore him. Yay for books with cats!

On the whole, this one has some scary, intense moments, but it also shows a character who feels deeply afraid find ways to deal with those fears and learn to speak up about them. I love the way the story invites readers into River’s fears and shows us what it means to be brave in the face of them. While it’s not for every reader, I think THE OTHERWOODS has a lot to offer. I’d recommend it for readers who like portal stories or anyone looking for books about kids in tough circumstances who must learn to speak up for themselves.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
Main character is nonbinary. A couple of minor characters are also queer. One girl identifies as pansexual.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
River has a crush on their friend, Avery.

Spiritual Content
River sees monsters and spirits of the dead. They learn this is because they possess some magic.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Monsters come very close to River. A few scenes show confrontations between characters and monsters. In a couple, monsters are killed.

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 OTHERWOODS in exchange for my honest review.