Tag Archives: sisters

Review: You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , , ,
You Don't Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino

You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P!
Alex Gino
Scholastic Press
Published September 25, 2018

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P!

Alex Gino, the Lambda Literary Award-winning author of Melissa, is back with another sensitive tale based on increasingly relevant social justice issues.

Jilly thinks she’s figured out how life works. But when her sister, Emma, is born deaf, she realizes how much she still has to learn. The world is going to treat Jilly, who is white and hearing, differently from Emma, just as it will treat them both differently from their Black cousins.

A big fantasy reader, Jilly makes a connection online with another fantasy fan, Derek, who is a Deaf, Black ASL user. She goes to Derek for help with Emma but doesn’t always know the best way or time to ask for it.

As she and Derek meet in person, have some really fun conversations, and become friends, Jilly makes some mistakes . . . but comes to understand that it’s up to her, not Derek to figure out how to do better next time–especially when she wants to be there for Derek the most.

Within a world where kids like Derek and Emma aren’t assured the same freedom or safety as kids like Jilly, Jilly is starting to learn all the things she doesn’t know–and by doing that, she’s also working to discover how to support her family and her friends.

With You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P!, award-winning author Alex Gino uses their trademark humor, heart, and humanity to show readers how being open to difference can make you a better person, and how being open to change can make you change in the best possible ways.

My Review

I’m so grateful that middle grade fiction includes work by Alex Gino. They are an incredibly talented writer, but more than simply having a gift with words, they have a wonderful way of bringing important conversations into the middle grade sphere and creating opportunities for MG readers to talk about these important things. I love how they never talk down to their readers, and I appreciated the author’s note at the end of this book acknowledging some components of the story and revealing some of the research done along the journey to bring it to the page.

You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P! is the second book by Gino I’ve read. I started with Melissa, and I knew before I’d finished that I would want to read more by this author.

In this novel, Jilly hears troubling news stories about Black teens and children being shot by police. In one instance, a Deaf Black girl is shot after she does not respond to police commands she cannot hear.

At the same time that the news stories unfold around her, Jilly experiences uncomfortable family gatherings. Relatives say sometimes well-meaning but racist things to her aunt, a Black woman. When a rift in the family occurs, Jilly wants to understand why. She wants to know what she can do to support her aunt and cousins.

Additionally, Jilly’s parents have a new baby who was born with hearing loss. As the family navigates medical questions and decisions, Jilly discovers she doesn’t understand a lot about Deaf culture.

It might seem like the book has a lot of threads running through it, and it does. Gino ties all these ideas together nicely through Jilly’s experience trying to learn the right things to say and sometimes making big mistakes.

Ultimately, Jilly learns that avoiding mistakes isn’t the solution. Learning to try, make changes, and brave uncomfortable conversations help her form closer bonds with people from different communities. I love this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One instance of mild profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Jilly has a crush on a boy.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Reference to police brutality and the deaths of two Black children at the hands of police. (Nothing happens on scene.)

Some racist or ableist comments. (No slurs used. These are more like microaggressions and ignorance, but still harmful and hurtful.)

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Come As You Are by Dahlia Adler

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

Come As You Are
Dahlia Adler
Wednesday Books
Published May 27, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Come As You Are

Hot on the heels of a broken heart, Everett “Evie” Riley arrives at Camden Academy ready for a new beginning – one far away from her cheating ex-boyfriend, the sister who stole him, and the best friend who let it happen. But her fresh start is stopped in its tracks when she’s accidentally placed in an all-boys dorm, with no choice but to stay.

When rumors and gossip about Evie’s housing predicament spread like wildfire, she decides the only way to survive is to lean into her questionable new reputation… but she’s definitely going to require help. Her grumpy emo dorm mate Salem Grayson isn’t exactly her first choice, but he does need her help to repair his relationship with his parents every bit as much as she needs his to learn how to be cool. And so they make a pact – he’ll teach her how to be bad, if she teaches him how to be good.

It’s a flawless plan, except while Salem thrives academically, even romantically, and – annoyingly enough – even physically, Evie’s quest feels like one dead end after another, and the girl she’s becoming certainly doesn’t feel remotely cool. But when Evie realizes what she wants more than anything, she’ll have to contend with her thrice-broken heart and figure out how to become someone capable of chasing happiness.

Dahlia Adler’s Come As You Are is about refusing to accept less than you deserve, and realizing that the best relationships are with people who know exactly who you are.

My Review

Okay, y’all. I feel like Dahlia Adler is one of those authors who just doesn’t get enough recognition for writing emotionally real, genuine, and hilarious characters and character casts. I mean, I know she gets recognition. But like… every time I read one of her books, I go in expecting high entertainment and a fun story, and I get so much more. She seems to hit the perfect balance between humor and vulnerability. The friendships between characters feel as real and complex as those we encounter in real life. I love the antics between friends and the banter between characters with the potential to be more.

In Come As You Are, Evie has enrolled in boarding school to escape a horrifically toxic family situation. The only emotional hiccup for me as I read the whole book was that I wanted to grab Evie’s parents by the ears and shake them, or I wanted her to be able to do that. And the truth is, as the kid in the situation, it’s not her job to address the problem. She did fine. And the truth is that sometimes, we do not have the power to initiate a healthy confrontation within our family circles. Sometimes the healthiest thing is to find a way to create boundaries and space. That’s really what Evie did, and bravo to her for it.

I had a great time reading this book. Every book I read by Adler is my new favorite of hers, and this one is no exception. If you’re looking for a smart, funny summer romance, grab this one immediately.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used periodically.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. References to sex (not shown on scene). Evie notes that she caught her sister and ex-boyfriend in bed together.

Spiritual Content
References to Christian and Jewish faith services and practice.

Violent Content
List.

Drug Content
References to smoking pot.

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: Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea by Ashley Herring Blake

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea
Ashley Herring Blake
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published May 25, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea

A poignant yet hopeful novel about a girl navigating grief, trauma, and friendship, from Ashley Herring Blake, the award-winning author of Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World.

Hazel Bly used to live in the perfect house with the perfect family in sunny California. But when a kayaking trip goes horribly wrong, Mum is suddenly gone forever and Hazel is left with crippling anxiety and a jagged scar on her face. After Mum’s death, Hazel, her other mother, Mama, and her little sister, Peach, need a fresh start. So for the last two years, the Bly girls have lived all over the country, never settling anywhere for more than a few months.

When the family arrives in Rose Harbor, Maine, there’s a wildness to the small town that feels like magic. But when Mama runs into an old childhood friend—Claire—suddenly Hazel’s tight-knit world is infiltrated. To make it worse, she has a daughter Hazel’s age, Lemon, who can’t stop rambling on and on about the Rose Maid, a local 150-year-old mermaid myth.

Soon, Hazel finds herself just as obsessed with the Rose Maid as Lemon is—because what if magic were real? What if grief really could change you so much, you weren’t even yourself anymore? And what if instead you emerged from the darkness stronger than before?

My Review

This book has been on my reading list for a long time. I finally managed to read it in a book club with other KidLit reviewers, which was a super exciting experience. I get to talk about a book that I read with other humans who have read it! JOY!

Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea is one of those books that has a lot going on in it, but the author manages the flow of information, character development, and pacing so well that I didn’t really notice just how much was going on until sitting down to write this review.

The book has a hair of magical realism in it, which I loved. It’s kind of there and up to you what you believe about what happened. It’s left open to interpretation, which I loved.

The characters were really nicely done. Hazel meets three kids who are all part of an Ocean Club summer program. One girl, Lemon, is so enthusiastic. I loved the way that her enthusiasm made her resilient and helped her bulldoze past some of Hazel’s grief-driven frostiness. I also loved Lemon’s two closest friends. They’re protective of Lemon in a way that makes so much sense as we learn about their lives and the history of their friendship.

Hazel’s relationship with Mama was such a tender part of this book, too. It was hard to read some of the earlier scenes with those two in them. It’s so clear they are not communicating and that Mama doesn’t grasp what’s going on with Hazel and the deep, unhealed grief and trauma she’s carrying. It feels like she thinks if she ignores Hazel’s anxiety, it’ll go away. That struck a chord for me.

I loved the overall message about how grief changes you and how we need each other as we grieve. I also loved how new relationships, while scary, can be healing, not only for ourselves. In new relationships, we find opportunities to bring healing to others, too.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some feelings of attraction between one character and another. Adults kissing.

Spiritual Content
Hazel’s mom attends a Summer Solstice party.

Violent Content
Hazel describes a kayaking accident that left her injured and her mum dead. References to a boat sinking and killing passengers a long time ago. Hazel experiences a panic attack.

Drug Content
Hazel hears her mom agree to another glass of wine while on the phone with her.

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

Review: Loveboat Forever by Abigail Hing Wen

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

Loveboat Forever (Loveboat, Taipei #3)
Abigail Hing Wen
HarperCollins
Published November 7, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Loveboat Forever

Return to the sparkling world of Loveboat, this time with Pearl Wong, on an entirely new, romantic, whirlwind adventure from Abigail Hing Wen, New York Times bestselling author of Loveboat, Taipei!

Pearl was ready for a worldwide stage. Instead, she needs to stage a comeback.

Seventeen-year-old music prodigy Pearl Wong had the summer of her dreams planned—until a fall from grace leaves her in need of new plans…and a new image.

Where better to revamp her “brand” than at Chien Tan, the Taipei summer program for elite students that rocketed her older sister, Ever, on a path to romance and self-fulfillment years ago.

But as the alumni know, Chien Tan is actually Loveboat—the extravagant world where prodigies party till dawn—and there’s more awaiting Pearl there than she could have ever imagined, like a scandalous party in the dark, a romantic entanglement with a mysterious suitor…and a summer that will change her forever.

Sweeping, glamorous, and deeply soulful, this companion to the New York Times bestselling novel Loveboat, Taipei and Loveboat Reunion will reunite readers with their favorite characters, in a thrilling new journey of romance, self-discovery, and empowerment. Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen.  

My Review

I really enjoyed Loveboat, Taipei, but this book is truly something special. Pearl, who appears as a minor character in the first book, takes the lead in this story. She’s a musician, so lots of the ways she describes things have a connection to music. She also plays the piano in several scenes and learns a new instrument called a pipa, or a Chinese lute.

True to Loveboat form, Pearl has a summer romance and finds herself drawn to two different boys for very different reasons. One is open and friendly and interested in the kind of music she’s trained so hard to play. The other is surly and frank and doesn’t seem interested in her until he teaches her to play the pipa.

But as she gets to know both boys and learns more about her own family history, she discovers that there’s more to her than being a classical pianist, and she wants to explore these things. She begins examining her feelings about music (her preference for Western composers, for example) and what it means to be a Chinese American musician.

At one point, she meets her mom’s extended family while trying to track down proof of her connection to her great-grandmother, a professional pipa musician. I loved those scenes and how they changed her path forward in the book.

Conclusion

Honestly, this has to be my favorite book in the series so far, and I absolutely need to read more of Abigail Hing Wen’s work. This story has layers for days. From the romance to the explorations about a musician’s identity to how we treat Chinese American artists to the power and strength of community, this book has so much to offer.

If you haven’t read the other books in the series, you could still start with this one, but it will spoil the endings of the other books. If you plan to read all three, start with Loveboat, Taipei first.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 13 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Few instances of profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing and brief touching under a shirt.

Spiritual Content
Pearl’s family is Christian. She references her family history and her grandfather’s conversion to Christianity and her questions about the context of that conversion after she visits a place where he lived and worked.

Violent Content
Pearl’s social media post goes viral, labeling her photos racist. At first, she is furious, but as she learns more about how racist tropes have harmed Chinese people, she realizes why she triggered some hurt with her images.

Drug Content
References to drinking alcohol, smoking, and vague references to drugs. It’s legal for eighteen-year-olds to drink alcohol in Taipei, so some do, mostly off-scene. No drug use happens on-scene. A tabloid magazine reports drugs were used at a party, but it’s unclear whether that happened or is a rumor.

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: Bad Graces by Kyrie McCauley

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

Bad Graces
Kyrie McCauley
Publisher
Published

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Bad Graces

Yellowjackets meets House of Hollow in award-winning author Kyrie McCauley’s gripping and magical YA thriller following a group of young women as they face the stress of harsh elements, a mysterious monster, and an unraveling of secrets after their yacht is wrecked off the coast of North America.

Liv Whitlock knows she doesn’t belong there. But after years of stumbling between foster homes, often due to her own self-destructive tendencies, Liv desperately needs to change the trajectory of her life … so she steals her perfect sister’s identity.

Liv starts to rewrite her story, winning a prestigious internship on a movie set filming in Alaska, and finds herself on a luxury yacht alongside pop star Paris Grace, actress sisters Effie and Miri Knight, Olympic gymnast Rosalind Torres, and social media influencer Celia Jones. Liv tries to find common ground with her famous companions, but just as the group starts to bond, a violent storm wrecks their vessel, stranding them on an island in the North Pacific Ocean.

Among the threats of starvation and exposure, they learn there is a predator lurking in the forest, unlike anything they’ve seen before—until they begin to see it in themselves. Every injury they suffer on the island causes inexplicable changes in their bodies. With little hope for rescue and only each other as their final tether to humanity, can the girls endure the ominous forces at work on the island? Or will they lose themselves to their darker natures?

My Review

This is the third novel by Kyrie McCauley that I’ve read. The first was a contemporary YA, and the second was her first horror novel. I loved them both, so I could not wait to read this one.

As a character, Liv pretty much had me right from the beginning. She’s been in the foster care system, and she warns us that she’s violent. Even at the beginning, it seemed like there was more to the stories she shared in which she acted out.

The story gets creepy at times. Several characters share stories about past trauma (without going into much detail) in which adults harmed them as children. In one instance, it was a teenager verbalizing intent to harm a younger teen. In the others, the perpetrators were adults.

On the island, Liv and others see bones pinned to a tree. The changes to their bodies involve body horror elements as well. (You may not want to read this book if you are squeamish about mushrooms or fungi.)

The book’s themes were really interesting. The girls discuss whether they’re being punished by being stuck on the island. They wonder if there’s a connection between the changes in their bodies and the trauma they’ve experienced. At one point, Liv asks whether people can change. Her girlfriend tells her that’s the wrong question, because people are always changing. The question should be whether people can remain the same. I thought that was an interesting way to put that and an interesting thought experiment, and it dovetailed with the story in a cool way.

While some parts of the story are dark, there’s a lot of light in this book, too. It’s about the healing power of sisterhood, found family, and love. The cast is super inclusive, including characters from various backgrounds, and the story highlights a queer romance. If you liked Don’t Let the Forest In, definitely check out Bad Graces.

Content Notes for Bad Graces

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Several characters are queer. One is Black. Another is Latina. Several are British. One is American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Profanity used pretty moderately.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing and references to sex.

Spiritual Content
Some supernatural elements.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Someone dies after jumping off a yacht in a storm. Someone else dies attempting to rescue them. References to an adult man whom the girls hint is unsafe with women. A teenage boy verbalizing an intent to harm a younger girl (we don’t know precisely what he says). References to an adult responsible for an athlete’s health and well-being who did not protect her. The girls hear an attack on someone in the woods from a distance. A predator appears. The story contains body horror elements. A girl’s toe is nearly severed. Someone else suffers a serious injury to her shoulder. Someone falls from a great height. Characters attempt medical care, including giving stitches and removing dead tissue.

Drug Content
References to alcohol use. Some characters appear drunk in a couple of scenes.

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: Layers: A Memoir by Pénélope Bagieu

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

Layers: A Memoir
Pénélope Bagieu
Translated by Montana Kane
First Second
Published October 17, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Layers: A Memoir

Following the Eisner-award-winning Brazen, Pénélope Bagieu pens her first autobiographical work in this hilarious and bitter-sweet graphic memoir.

Pénélope Bagieu never thought she’d publish a graphic memoir. But when she dusted off her old diaries (no, really―this book is based on her actual diaries), she found cringe-worthy, hilarious, and heartbreaking stories begging to be drawn.

In Layers, Bagieu reflects on her childhood and teen years with her characteristic wit and unflinching honesty. The result is fifteen short stories about friendship, love, grief, and those awkward first steps toward adulthood.

My Review

I have to agree with the endorsements calling this book “hilarious.” Pénélope’s recollections about her childhood and transition to adulthood are so relatable. She’s awkward and earnest, and I both laughed and cried reading this memoir in vignettes.

The book opens with a chapter about when her parents got her and her sister two kittens. Her cat is exceptionally clingy and causes all sorts of mayhem, but Pénélope absolutely loves her. She recalls the phases of cat ownership, and how hard it is when we have to say goodbye to our furry friends. She captures the emotions of pet ownership so perfectly.

Several of the chapters or stories focus on Pénélope’s adventures in romance. She has unrequited crushes, friendship betrayals, and a wild week with an early boyfriend, which culminated in her hitchhiking to see a gynecologist. She has an incredible way of showing that confident naïveté that feels so classic to a teen experience. I felt so much nostalgia reading this book.

This is the first book by Bagieu that I’ve read, but after reading about her other work in her author biography, I’ve already got more of her books on my reading list. I’m pretty sure I’m going to need sources of joy in the coming year.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Brief, strong swearing.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing and references to sex. A couple of panels show topless ladies (one image references something shown on TV on certain days when the author was growing up). One scene shows Pénélope and her boyfriend nestled together. We infer that they’re having sex based on body positions, but there’s no graphic nudity other than the above.

A couple of scenes reference sexual assault. It’s two stories told side by side, one when Pénélope was a child and one when she was older. In the younger scene, she spends the night with friends, and a boy gets out of bed and comes to her in the middle of the night. All we see are their eyes, but it’s clear Pénélope is scared and uncomfortable. She sneezes loudly and wakes up her friend, and the boy goes back to his own bed. Similarly, in the later scene, she’s gone to sleep, and a man touches her. She tells him to stop, and he acts entitled to her body. When she refuses him again, he kicks her out of his apartment. In both instances, she worries about telling someone else and being blamed for what happened.

Spiritual Content
A loved one promises Pénélope that she’ll sense her presence with her after she dies. Pénélope imagines or senses arms wrapped around her later when she feels sad. One image shows two angels who’ve sent the translucent, hugging arms.

Violent Content
References to unwanted sexual advances and feeling unsafe.

Drug Content
Pénélope and her friends smoke cigarettes in some scenes.

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