From the critically acclaimed author of Mascot comes this heartfelt novel, perfect for fans of John David Anderson and Cammie McGovern, about a girl searching for the meaning of family.
Lola and Momma have always been a team of two. It hasn’t always been easy for Lola, being one of the only kids she knows with just one parent around. And lately she’s been feeling incomplete, like there’s a part of herself that she can’t know until she knows her dad.
But what will happen—to Lola, to Momma, to their team of two—if she finds him?
My Review
This was such an enjoyable book to read. I laughed and teared up and loved every minute of Lola’s story. The way she pieced together things happening around her, from things like brunch meaning a meal you make when you’re feeling lazy and planning to use a lot of dishes to her empathy and understanding toward a prickly classmate, made me fall totally in love with THE OTHER BETTER ME.
I love the community elements in the story. Lola feels like her family is just herself and her mom, but all the way through the book, she’s surrounded by friends and mentors. All have their own baggage or issues, but they all care for Lola and her mom, too. I love when a book creates a believable, tight-knit community like this.
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 THE OTHER BETTER ME in exchange for my honest review.
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.
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.
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About Saving Sex for Marriage in a Fifty Shades World
“A world that respects sex . . . ” Can you imagine a society molded around the principle that sex is a gift? An awesomely amazing gift from GOD? You know, the guy who created it? A place where people totally get that sex is more than simply a pleasurable physical act. Oh, everyone knows that sex is incredible. But because it’s so good, sex is protected from anything or anyone who would try to abuse it. Can you even imagine such a place? Barely, right? Because instead, ours is a “Fifty Shades of Grey” world where sex has been so trivialized that saving sex for marriage is labeled old-fashioned, unnecessary, unimportant. Even worse ridiculous or dumb. But I’m here to convince you that GOD’s design for sex is amazing. That waiting does matter. That sex is worth saving for marriage. Even in this Fifty Shades world. My Review
This first book in the Waiting Matters series talks a lot about why waiting until marriage to have sex is important and why it makes sense from a Christian perspective. Steury is practical and firm but not unkind in the way she addresses the issue. Obviously it will mostly appeal to readers with a Christian worldview.
I liked that the tone of the book is very positive and encouraging. While Steury doesn’t leave a lot of room for excuses, she continually encourages readers to reaffirm a commitment to abstinence and never berates anyone for having made other choices in the past.
The Waiting Matters books make a nice introduction to reasons for abstinence (book 1) and practical strategies for maintaining a successful commitment to abstinence (book 2). They make a great companion to Steury’s novel (and soon-to-be series) Before I Knew You, book one in the Choices Matter series.
Recommended for Ages 12 up.
Content Notes
No profanity. Obviously the book contains some references to sex, but no graphic details.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
The Who, What, When, Where, How and Why of Saving Sex for Marriage (Waiting Matters #2)
Beth Steury
Life Matters Publishing
Published on September 12, 2017
About The Who, What, When, Where, How and Why of Saving Sex for Marriage
Saving sex for marriage is the best decision you’ll ever make.
No matter who you are, how old you are, or where you live. Doesn’t even matter what’s in your past.
“But I already didn’t wait!”
Then a commitment to “renewed waiting” is the second-best choice you’ll ever make. Nothing makes more sense than stopping behavior that puts you at risk physically, emotionally and mentally.
“But it’s hard to wait . . . ”
Of course it is. Waiting is tough, but it’s not impossible. You can do it.
These practical strategies and candid conversations from the “Waiting Matters . . . Because YOU Matter” blog series will help you navigate the choppy waters of saving sex for marriage.
Because sex is worth waiting for. You are worth waiting for. My Review
I liked that this book talks about practical strategies for walking out a commitment to abstinence. Often I hear people talking about how important a commitment to abstinence is without really talking about how to live out that kind of commitment. Steury also doesn’t mince words about what abstinence really means and how a relationship between two people committed to waiting until marriage to have sex should look.
Each chapter opens with a quote or question about sex that a person in a relationship might ask or believe about sex. Steury responds in a clear, concise narrative with explanations that are easy to follow.
I think this book would be a great resource for a church small group study or a lead-in to a discussion about boundaries and ground rules for teens beginning to have dating relationships. Of the two Waiting Matters books, this one was definitely my favorite.
While I think kids 12 and up could read this book, it’s probably best-suited to teens 15 or 16 years old up through college years.
Recommended for Ages 12 up.
Content Notes
No profanity. Obviously the book contains some references to sex, but no graphic details.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
About Before I Knew You
After a series of bad choices rocked his world, seventeen-year-old Preston charts a new course as far from his ladies’ man ways as he can get. He distances himself from the dating scene and avoids his party-loving friends—the things that once dominated his life. Then he meets Maggie, the new girl in town, the first day of their junior year. She’s beautiful on the inside and out, knows nothing of his past, and he can’t get her out of his mind.
When a disastrous first date leaves her skeptical about the guys at Madison High, Maggie slows down her pursuit of a guy to trust with her white-wedding-dress future. She wants a boyfriend, sure, but he’d have to be nothing like the jerk who forced her first kiss. Someone more like Preston, who’s been nothing but sweet and helpful, not to mention, easy on the eyes. But he is so out of her league.
Can Maggie afford to let her guard down around the charming Preston? Will Preston’s past jeopardize his chances with the one girl who could anchor his future?
My Review Before I Knew You has a strong message. At its heart, the story is about two teens who make a commitment to abstain from sex before marriage. Both have made the decision independently and because of their faith.
I worried a little bit that the story would be message-driven or dominated by the agenda of promoting abstinence. But honestly, I felt like it had a great balance between the message and the story. The message elements were pretty effectively integrated into the story, so that it didn’t feel preachy. It felt like observing two people as they try to navigate how to have a healthy dating relationship which includes these moral values.
Preston feels pressure to hide the fact that he used to drink and has slept with a past girlfriend from Maggie, which creates lots of problems and tension. Maggie is new to dating relationships and has never had a serious relationship at all before she begins dating Preston. Her struggle is much more emotional. Her feelings for Preston dominate her thought life, and sometimes her value depends a lot on his behavior and how he feels about her.
Maggie’s feelings about Preston were sometimes a little much for me. She’s a realistic teen character—I remember feeling consumed by relationships the way she is in the story. I kind of wished that someone at some point told her she needed to find her value in other things besides Preston. It also kind of rubbed me the wrong way when Preston decides to handle a past situation by planning to confront someone else’s parents about it. At the time, he is dead-set on hiding the whole situation from his own parents, and I kept hoping someone would call him out on that hypocrisy or encourage him to be honest about it with his parents. It didn’t happen, but the conflict did get resolved. (Sorry to be so cryptic… I don’t want to give too much away.)
Another thing I did like about Before I Knew You was that as the relationship between Preston and Maggie deepens, Preston rekindles a mentoring relationship with a sports coach. He and some other guys his age start spending time together and talking about how to maintain their commitment to abstinence. This was another point where I felt like the message could have overtaken the story, but it didn’t. In fact, I liked that the characters were pretty real about how they needed to have a plan and boundaries in place if they were going to have a successful and lasting commitment to wait until marriage to have sex, and how the story showed those playing out.
This book may not appeal to everyone. But especially for teens interested in waiting to have sex, it’s a great “you’re not the only one” kind of story with some practical examples of things to do that can help support the choice to wait to have sex.
Recommended for Ages 13 up.
Cultural Elements
Major characters are white.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Romance/Sexual Content
None.
Spiritual Content
Both Maggie and Preston are Christians. Their faith comes up now and again in mostly small ways – references to church or prayer or Bible verses. The biggest faith element in the story is Maggie and Preston’s commitments to wait until marriage to have sex.
Violent Content
None.
Drug Content
Preston goes to a party where teens are drinking alcohol. He only drinks Mountain Dew, as he’s made a commitment not to drink alcohol anymore. Maggie attends a similar party but doesn’t drink alcohol either.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
About Your Destination is on the Left
Dessa Rhodes is a modern day nomad. Her family travels in an RV, their lives defined by state lines, exit signs, and the small communal caravan they call home. Among them is Cyrus, her best friend and long-time crush, whom she knows she can never be with. When your families are perpetually linked, it’s too dangerous to take a risk on romance.
Instead, Dessa looks to the future. She wants to be a real artist and going to art school is her ticket to success and a new life. There’s just one problem: she hasn’t been accepted…anywhere. Suddenly her future is wide open, and it looks like she’s going to be stuck traveling forever.
Then an unexpected opportunity presents itself: an internship working with a local artist in Santa Fe. Dessa struggles to prove to her boss—and herself—that she belongs there, but just as she finally hits her stride, her family suffers an unexpected blow. Faced with losing everything that she has worked for, Dessa has a difficult decision to make. Will she say goodbye to her nomadic lifestyle and the boy she loves? Or will she choose to never stop moving?
My Review I liked that Dessa’s major goal wasn’t to find true love or be in a relationship. While romance is an important element of the story, Dessa’s real goal is to go to college and craft a future for herself. This creates some problems between her and her family as her parents want her to stay with them and continue traveling. It also strains her relationship with her best friend Cyrus, because he reads her desire for another life as a rejection of the life he’s chosen. So Dessa faces a difficult journey as she tries to find a way to do what she feels is best for her without hurting the people she loves most.
At one point, Dessa’s dad asks her to keep a secret from her mom. Dessa keeps the secret, but feels guilty about the lie and frustrated that her dad continues to lie to the family, too. I loved her relationship with her grandmother, who acts as a pillar of strength and a sort of home base for Dessa and her family. She doesn’t direct the story, but she sometimes serves as a mirror, reflecting Dessa’s true desires back to her sometimes without any words.
Dessa’s artwork also plays a major role in the story. I loved that. The descriptions of her artwork and the art of the woman who mentors her had me wishing for a studio and paintbrushes or a day at the museum.
On the whole, I liked the balance between Dessa’s dreams for the future, which she won’t compromise for a relationship that might only be for right now, and her relationships. I loved the way art was represented in and played a role in the story, too. Readers who liked Stacie Ramey’s The Sister Pact and How to Be Brave by E. Katherine Kottaras will want to check this one out.
Recommended for Ages 16 and up.
Cultural Elements
Dessa’s family is Greek. Cyrus’s family is black.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used regularly throughout the book.
Romance/Sexual Content Kissing between boy and girl and tops removed. Dessa says they don’t have sex but come close.
Spiritual Content Dessa’s grandmother is Greek Orthodox. There are a couple mentions of her going to church or passing mentions of her faith. At one point, she and Dessa plan to spend time alone together, and her grandmother says, it’s going to be her, Dessa, and the Lord.
Violent Content Dessa throws a cup of beer in the face of a cruel boy.
Drug Content
Dessa drinks beer with a friend after they both sneak into a bar together, and later drinks champagne (provided by her grandmother) with Cyrus.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
