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Review: Heartstopper: Volume 5 by Alice Oseman

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,
Heartstopper: Volume 5 by Alice Oseman cover shows two boys sitting on the ground facing each other and embracing, faces turned away from the audience.

Heartstopper: Volume 5
Alice Oseman
Hodder Children’s Books
Published December 19, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Heartstopper: Volume 5

Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. The bestselling LGBTQ+ graphic novel about life, love, and everything that happens in between: this is the fifth volume of the much-loved HEARTSTOPPER series.

Nick and Charlie are very much in love. They’ve finally said those three little words, and Charlie has almost persuaded his mum to let him sleep over at Nick’s house … But with Nick going off to university next year, is everything about to change?

By Alice Oseman, winner of the YA Book Prize, Heartstopper encompasses all the small moments of Nick and Charlie’s lives that together make up something larger, which speaks to all of us.

Contains discussions around mental health and eating disorders, and sexual references.

My Review

I’ve been a fan of this series since the irresistible first book, which introduced readers to a shy and bullied Charlie and the sweet rugby player, Nick. Through the first four volumes, we’ve seen the two boys make decisions about their identities, decide when and how to go public with their relationship, and navigate preconceived ideas and prejudices of friends and family members. They’ve spent time together at school, home, and abroad on a class trip. We’ve gotten to know their friends and seen romance and friendships blossom among others in their group, too.

One of the cool things about the books in this series is that the story truly celebrates love and identity while speaking openly about issues like disordered eating, homophobia, and bullying. HEARTSTOPPER: VOLUME 4 explores Charlie’s disordered eating, and it’s referenced in VOLUME 5, but not as deeply explored here. One scene shows Charlie speaking with his therapist. Another couple of scenes show him feeling anxiety about his body. The story doesn’t center around this issue in this book, though.

At this point, Charlie and Nick have been together for a while, and things have been getting a bit intense between them physically. Both boys start to wonder if they’re ready to have sex. They talk to their friends, who offer a variety of suggestions and input. One tells them that having sex isn’t a big deal. Another friend says they haven’t yet because they want their first experience to be with someone special. They briefly discuss using condoms and the risk of STIs.

One thing that didn’t resonate with me so much was when Charlie basically demands to spend the night at Nick’s house, saying he has a right to since he’s sixteen. I can totally see a teenager saying that, so I suppose it’s realistic in that sense, but I thought it was kind of a weird argument.

Conclusion

Because the book is building up to whether Charlie and Nick will journey into this next stage in their relationship, there are a LOT of panels that show them snuggling and kissing and wanting to kiss. I think in terms of plot points and in the exploration of the side stories of the other characters, VOLUME 5 is a lot less dense than the other books in the series. I missed some of the other characters’ stories, and I think the book could have condensed some of the scenes between Nick and Charlie. They’re adorable, as always, but I’d have liked to see more of an exploration of conflict or character development in this one.

Still, I am glad to visit Charlie and Nick’s world again. I’d thought that this book would be the final book in the series, but a note on the final page says that HEARTSTOPPER will conclude with book six.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Charlie is gay. Nick is bisexual. They have friends of other queer identities.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two boys. References to sex and sexual touching. (Not shown in panels.)

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to Charlie’s past disordered eating.

Drug Content
Charlie and other teens drink alcohol at a party.

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

Review: Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

Cemetery Boys
Aiden Thomas
Swoon Reads
Published September 1, 2020

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Cemetery Boys

Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.

When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.

However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school’s resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He’s determined to find out what happened and tie up some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.

My Review

CEMETERY BOYS is another one of the books that’s been on my To Be Read list for a while. I wasn’t able to get a pre-release copy, but I did order a copy when it released. Yay! Recently, a friend gifted me an audiobook version, so I listened to that version and loved it.

I loved Yadriel’s character and especially his friendship with Maritza. I tend to love characters who say the thing that everyone is thinking, even if it’s a hard truth, so Maritza was pretty much guaranteed to be a favorite with me.

It took me a little bit to fall in love with Julian, though. At the beginning of the story, he keeps himself closed off and it takes a while for him to thaw. So I felt braced not to like him, but as he opened up, I found that I loved his strength and loyalty to the people he loves.

I liked the way the story explored Maritza’s veganism and how it impacted her place among her people and her relationship with magic. It brought up some interesting things and was cool to see a vegan represented in a YA story. I haven’t seen that very often.

In terms of the plot, I felt like it moved along at a really good pace. I liked where the story went and the speed at which things unfolded. It definitely kept me reading.

All in all, I enjoyed reading CEMETARY BOYS and I would love to read the next book in the series and/or other books by Aiden Thomas.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Yadriel is Mexican and Cuban American. Julian is Colombian American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two boys. In one scene, a girl comments on the fact that boys are wearing hospital gowns which are open in back and she can see their butts.

Spiritual Content
Yadriel is part of a community of magic wielders who have the ability to heal or interact with spirits of the dead. Those roles are decided by gender and both involve the use of animal blood in order to complete the magic. In a special ceremony at fifteen, boys or girls are welcomed into their new abilities by Lady Death, the goddess who governs their magic. Spirits who linger may at first have the personalities they had in life, but the longer they remain, the more they risk becoming corrupted and turning violent and evil if they’re not released.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. References to murder. Rituals involving the use of blood. In one scene, a character finds a boy with a knife in his chest, slowly bleeding out. One man loses his life to a ritual gone awry.

Drug Content
Yadriel and Julian go to a beach party where kids are drinking alcohol, but they leave after a short while when police break up the gathering.

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

Review: Honestly Ben by Bill Konigsberg

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

Honestly Ben (Openly Straight #2)
Bill Konigsberg
Arthur A. Levine Books
Published March 28, 2017

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Honestly Ben

Ben Carver is back to normal. He’s getting all As in his classes at the Natick School. He was just elected captain of the baseball team. He’s even won a big scholarship for college, if he can keep up his grades. All that foolishness with Rafe Goldberg last semester is over now, and he just needs to be a Carver, work hard, and stay focused.

Except…

There’s Hannah, a gorgeous girl who attracts him and distracts him. There’s his mother, whose quiet unhappiness he’s noticing for the first time. School is harder, the pressure higher, the scholarship almost slipping away. And there’s Rafe, funny, kind, dating someone else…and maybe the real normal that Ben needs.

My Review

I’ve had OPENLY STRAIGHT for years, but I finally read it recently. While I was looking up links for my review, I noticed that it had a sequel– HONESTLY BEN.

Lots of times when I finish the first book in a series, I’m super excited about the sequel, so I add it to my list, and even then it takes forever for me to read it. This time, though, I bought HONESTLY BEN right away and immediately started reading it. I finished it that same day.

I loved Ben’s character in OPENLY STRAIGHT, so I was really excited that not only was there a follow-up to the first book, but also that the story is told entirely from his point of view. As I read the book, though, I realized he’s kind of a hard character to write from. He spends a lot of time thinking about things, which didn’t always translate very well in a scene. Sometimes I found myself wishing there were more scenes that showed him interacting with someone else and learning stuff by doing it.

I feel like where Konigsberg’s writing really shines the brightest is in scenes with dialog. Those are always my favorite. The characters feel so real, and there’s always some deep thing being unearthed, and often it’s couched in lots of silliness and goofy fun. I love that. Same with scenes where there are arguments or conflict. I found those to be the most compelling.

That said, one of the things I liked about OPENLY STRAIGHT was that it waded into some thoughts about identity and how much or little that is a part of who someone is. How knowing someone’s sexual orientation can change how people treat that person.

In HONESTLY BEN, the story explores the tendency for people to immediately jump to a label for someone based on the current relationship they’re in and how hurtful that can be. I loved that exploration a lot, and I wish there were more books that honed in on that so well.

For Ben, sexual identity is a complex issue. He wrestles with homophobic ideas that come from his family. He wrestles with what his attraction to Rafe actually means. He’s uncomfortable rushing to a label for himself, and frustrated when people around him assume they know his identity better than he does.

I really identified with a lot of the things he went through in the story. I enjoyed it a lot.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Ben, the main character is unsure of his identity. He has dated mostly girls, but has romantic feelings for a boy. Rafe is gay and Jewish. Another friend is also gay and genderfluid.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to sex. Kissing between two boys. Brief reference to oral sex.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Ben’s father is a domineering person who says things that cut Ben and his family members pretty deeply. Some of the boys on the baseball team make jokes about rape and say homophobic things. Ben challenges them.

Drug Content
Ben drinks alcohol and later regrets it.

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

Review: A Million Quiet Revolutions by Robin Gow

Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

A Million Quiet Revolutions
Robin Gow
Farrar, Strauss, & Giroux
Published March 22, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About A Million Quiet Revolutions

For as long as they can remember, Aaron and Oliver have only ever had each other. In a small town with few queer teenagers, let alone young trans men, they’ve shared milestones like coming out as trans, buying the right binders–and falling for each other.

But just as their relationship has started to blossom, Aaron moves away. Feeling adrift, separated from the one person who understands them, they seek solace in digging deep into the annals of America’s past. When they discover the story of two Revolutionary War soldiers who they believe to have been trans man in love, they’re inspired to pay tribute to these soldiers by adopting their names–Aaron and Oliver. As they learn, they delve further into unwritten queer stories, and they discover the transformative power of reclaiming one’s place in history.

My Review

I was delighted to discover that A MILLION QUIET REVOLUTIONS is a novel in verse! Somehow I missed that when I agreed to review it, and as soon as I started reading the lines of poetry, I was immediately carried away by the story of these two boys.

I loved the connection between their present day lives and the things they read about Revolutionary War soldiers who may have been transgender. The story mentions reports of some women who dressed as men to fight and then continued to live as men after the war. There wasn’t language for those soldiers to describe themselves as transgender, and the author is clear to point out that we don’t know for sure what their intentions or reasons were. It made an interesting thing to think about and kind of pointed up the fact that being transgender, while the term may be relatively new, the identity isn’t.

The story flips back and forth between Aaron and Oliver’s points of view, relating things they experience and think about in sparse, emotive verse. Oliver’s parents are supportive of his identity, but Aaron’s parents are not. The journey through the experiences of both definitely communicated moments of pain and validation for each of them. I thought the relationships between characters, especially the boys and their families, felt real and layered.

On the whole, I very much enjoyed reading this book. I read the whole thing in one sitting because I really wanted to keep going all the way until the end of the story. I think readers who enjoyed JESS, CHUNK AND THE ROAD TRIP TO INFINITY or MUSIC FROM ANOTHER WORLD should check this one out, too.

Content Notes for A Million Quiet Revolutions

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Oliver is Jewish and Aaron is Puerto Rican. Both are transgender boys.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content – Trigger Warning for mentions of sexual assault.
Kissing between boys. One scene references sexual touching and another shows some graphic sex.

Oliver and Aaron learn about another character who has been sexually assaulted and reports it to the police.

Spiritual Content
References to Jewish celebrations and attending services. References to Catholic services and ceremonies.

Violent Content
Some transphobic and homophobic comments.

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 A MILLION QUIET REVOLUTIONS in exchange for my honest review.

Review: It Came From the Sky by Chelsea Sedoti

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

It Came From the Sky
Chelsea Sedoti
Sourcebooks Fire
Published August 1, 2020

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

About It Came From the Sky

This is the absolutely true account of how Lansburg, Pennsylvania was invaded by aliens and the weeks of chaos that followed. There were sightings of UFOs, close encounters, and even abductions. There were believers, Truth Seekers, and, above all, people who looked to the sky and hoped for more.

Only… there were no aliens.

Gideon Hofstadt knows what really happened. When one of his science experiments went wrong, he and his older brother blamed the resulting explosion on extraterrestrial activity. And their lie was not only believed by their town―it was embraced. As the brothers go to increasingly greater lengths to keep up the ruse and avoid getting caught, the hoax flourishes. But Gideon’s obsession with their tale threatened his whole world. Can he find a way to banish the aliens before Lansburg, and his life, are changed forever?

Told in a report format and comprised of interviews, blog posts, text conversations, found documents, and so much more, It Came from the Sky is a hysterical and resonant novel about what it means to be human in the face of the unknown.

From the author of The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett and As You Wish comes the unforgettable story of the one small town’s biggest hoax and the two brothers who started it all.

“A page-turner as engrossing as any classic Twilight Zone starring two spirited brothers who run circles around the Hardy Boys.” – Ben Philippe, Morris Award-winning author of The Field Guide to the North American Teenager

My Review

I have mixed feelings about this book. The whole situation– the explosion that leads to the alien encounter hoax– is kind of funny. I’m generally a fan of stories in which the characters land themselves in bizarre situations and then have to panic-slash-mastermind their way out of them only to have unanticipated consequences result. So this story definitely scratches that itch for me.

I just… didn’t like Gideon. I appreciated his intelligence. And I sympathized with his struggle to communicate his emotions and his aversion to sticky foods. But all of it seemed so selfish to me. He seemed so selfish. Even the idea that he could perpetrate this large-scale lie without any remorse, because it’s for science! I had a lot of trouble connecting with him.

Even though I didn’t connect with Gideon, I read the whole book because I hoped that it would have the kind of resolution that would make it all make sense and that if he really learned his lesson, it’d be worth the investment in the book.

And he does learn some things and make some changes. There’s growth. One of the things I didn’t like (and I’m going to be vague for spoilers reasons) was that toward the end, Gideon is faced with someone who has committed two different types of crimes. In my mind, one was much more personal and damaging than the other. But it felt like because the other frustrated Gideon more, he prioritized reporting it.

All in all, I thought the idea was fun, and the story was interesting, but this one isn’t for me. If you like goofy heist or prank stories, though, IT CAME FROM THE SKY is one I think you’ll want to check out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Gideon is gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two boys. References to sex between an adult and minor.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Gideon discovers an adult who is drunk and behaving unsafely.

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