Tag Archives: small town

Review: What Happens Next by Claire Swinarski

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What Happens Next by Claire Swinarski

What Happens Next
Claire Swinarski
HarperCollins
Published May 19, 2020

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About What Happens Next

In this heartfelt and accessible middle grade novel perfect for fans of THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH, a young girl throws herself into solving a local mystery to keep from missing her older sister, who has been sent to an eating disorder treatment facility.

Astronomy-obsessed Abby McCourt should be thrilled about the solar eclipse her small town of Moose Junction is about to witness, but she’s not. After her older sister Blair was sent away for an eating disorder, Abby has been in a funk.

Desperate to dull the pain her sister’s absence has left, she teams up with a visiting astronomer to help track down his long-lost telescope. Though this is supposed to take Abby’s mind off the distance between her and Blair, what she finds may bring her closer to her sister than she ever thought possible.

My Review

This book celebrates some amazing things: the bonds of sisterhood, small towns, and the study of astronomy. Abby has two sisters, and complex relationships with each of them. She feels like she’s losing them for different reasons.

As she tells her story in two different timelines, we learn what her relationships with her sisters looked like before, and how they’ve changed. One timeline follows the present, where Abby’s sister is at a rehab facility and Abby is working toward helping a famous astronomer find his telescope. We also get scenes moving further into the past that show Abby’s sister’s downward spiral and hint at what led the astronomer to her small town in the Northwoods.

I loved the story of Abby and her sisters and her plans to fix everything through finding the telescope. Abby is sweet and strong and quietly grieving for her relationships with her sisters. She drew me in right away and I couldn’t help rooting for her through every page of this story.

Readers who enjoyed THE SPACE BETWEEN LOST AND FOUND by Sandy Stark-McGinnis or THE QUEEN BEE AND ME by Gillian McDunn need to check this one out!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
All the main characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of WHAT HAPPENS NEXT 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.

Review: Not Your #LoveStory by Sonia Hartl

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

Not Your #LoveStory
Sonia Hartl
Page Street Kids
Published September 1, 2020

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About Not Your #LoveStory

Macy Evans dreams of earning enough income from her YouTube channel, R3ntal Wor1d, to leave her small, Midwestern town. But when she meets a boy named Eric at a baseball game, and accidentally dumps her hotdog in his lap, her disastrous “meet-cute” becomes the topic of a viral thread. Now it’s not loyal subscribers flocking to her channel, it’s Internet trolls. And they aren’t interested in her reviews of VHS tapes—they only care about her relationship with Eric.

Eric is overly eager to stretch out his fifteen minutes of fame, but Macy fears this unwanted attention could sabotage her “real-life” relationships—namely with the shy boy-next-door, Paxton, who she’s actually developing feelings for. Macy knows she should shut the lie down, though she can’t ignore the advertising money, or the spark she gets in her chest whenever someone clicks on her videos. Eric shouldn’t be the only one allowed to reap the viral benefits. But is faking a relationship for clicks and subscribers worth hurting actual people?

My Review

Lots of things about this story are so much fun. Macy is spunky and surrounded by fierce and loyal friends and family members. I liked the circle of quilters her grandmother was part of best of all, I think.

NOT YOUR #LOVESTORY doesn’t shy away from the gross awfulness that the internet can be. Macy becomes obsessed with her social media feeds and the need to boost her income from her YouTube channel even further. As her story with Eric goes viral, the trolls come out in droves, insulting her clothes, her looks, and shaming her for things they assume she did.

Her friends rally around her, but it’s clear they’re not fans of the fake dating relationship with Eric. Like it or not, though, her internet fame has changed things between them, and Macy has to figure out how much of her real life she’s willing to give up for her YouTube stardom.

Underneath the explorations of the cost of social media fame and the pressure of growing up poor in a small town, this is a simple story about a girl falling in love with her best friend.

I think readers who enjoyed WILD AND CROOKED by Leah Thomas will enjoy the small town setting and exploration of harmful assumptions. Fans of Hartl’s first book, HAVE A LITTLE FAITH IN ME, will find another sex-positive, spicy romance layered with social issues.

Lots of things make this a great read, but there is a lot of mature content. Check the content section for details.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 17 up.

Representation
Macy’s best friend is dating another girl.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used throughout the book.

Macy also spends a great deal of time reading through nasty comments about her on her social media streams. There are some really ugly, shaming comments on there.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to two girls kissing and being intimate. Macy’s mom raised her to be proud of her sexuality and reject any attempts at shaming her for wanting to have sex. At the same time, her mom also expects her not to have sex while she’s in high school. (Macy already broke that rule with a past boyfriend.)

There’s also some reference to masturbation while fantasizing about a different sexual experience.

After Macy meets Eric at the baseball game, rumors that she hooked up with him in the bathroom go viral, and Macy’s social media feeds fill with judgment and cruel comments.

Late in the story, Macy shares, in detail, having sex with her boyfriend.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Two boys bully and threaten Macy. She later learns that one boy’s dad brutally beat his mom and sometimes him.

Drug Content
Macy and her friends drink alcohol. Macy’s grandma and her friends smoke pot outside the house. Macy hangs out with them for a few minutes.

Note: I received a free copy of NOT YOUR #LOVESTORY 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.

Review: The Summer We Found the Baby by Amy Hest

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The Summer We Found the Baby
Amy Hest
Candlewick Press
Published August 4, 2020

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About The Summer We Found the Baby

On the morning of the dedication of the new children’s library in Belle Beach, Long Island, eleven-year-old Julie Sweet and her six-year-old sister, Martha, find a baby in a basket on the library steps. At the same time, twelve-year-old Bruno Ben-Eli is on his way to the train station to catch the 9:15 train into New York City. He is on an important errand for his brother, who is a soldier overseas in World War II. But when Bruno spies Julie, the same Julie who hasn’t spoken to him for sixteen days, heading away from the library with a baby in her arms, he has to follow her. Holy everything, he thinks. Julie Sweet is a kidnapper.

Of course, the truth is much more complicated than the children know in this heartwarming and beautifully textured family story by award-winning author Amy Hest. Told in three distinct voices, each with a different take on events, the novel captures the moments and emotions of a life-changing summer — a summer in which a baby gives a family hope and brings a community together.

Set during World War II, this poignant, briskly paced historical novel relays the events of one extraordinary summer from three engaging points of view.

My Review

THE SUMMER WE FOUND THE BABY is one of those books where what’s not said on the page is as important as what is. A girl and her sister find a baby. A boy follows them. How they’re connected and why the girls feel drawn to the baby changes tells a moving story that I know I won’t soon forget.

One point-of-view is from Martha Sweet, the younger sister of Julie, who first finds the baby. Martha is sweet, enthusiastic, and energetic. She doesn’t always understand what’s going on around her, but she loves the people in her little community.

Julie also tells part of the story, and in her sections, we see a girl trying to be so much more than she is, and determined to do it perfectly. She cares for her little sister while their dad works, possibly interviewing soldiers at a local military base. And then there’s Bruno, a boy whose older brother has gone to war, leaving him behind.

The story begins with the three finding the baby and loops backward, to tell us how they came to be on the steps of the library that morning and why the baby was there.

It’s such a sweet, heartfelt story. I love that what’s on the page hints at so many things that aren’t there, things that the narrators probably wouldn’t have pieced together. It’s a really quick read, too– I think I read it in a little over an hour.

I think fans of STAY WHERE YOU ARE AND THEN LEAVE by John Boynton or PAX by Sarah Pennypacker will enjoy this book– though it’s a bit less dark than those stories.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Bruno’s family is Jewish.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Hints at a romance between Bruno’s older brother and a girl.

Spiritual Content
At one point, Bruno’s parents touch the place where they believe his brother’s battalion to be on a map and say, “God bless.”

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of THE SUMMER WE FOUND THE BABY 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.

Review: Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston

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Bookish and the Beast (Once Upon a Con #3)
Ashley Poston
Quirk Books
Published August 4, 2020

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About Bookish and the Beast

In the third book in Ashley Poston’s Once Upon a Con series, Beauty and the Beast is retold in the beloved Starfield universe.

Rosie Thorne is feeling stuck—on her college application essays, in her small town, and on that mysterious General Sond cosplayer she met at ExcelsiCon. Most of all, she’s stuck in her grief over her mother’s death. Her only solace was her late mother’s library of rare Starfield novels, but even that disappeared when they sold it to pay off hospital bills.

On the other hand, Vance Reigns has been Hollywood royalty for as long as he can remember—with all the privilege and scrutiny that entails. When a tabloid scandal catches up to him, he’s forced to hide out somewhere the paparazzi would never expect to find him: Small Town USA. At least there’s a library in the house. Too bad he doesn’t read.

When Rosie and Vance’s paths collide and a rare book is accidentally destroyed, Rosie finds herself working to repay the debt. And while most Starfield superfans would jump at the chance to work in close proximity to the Vance Reigns, Rosie has discovered something about Vance: he’s a jerk, and she can’t stand him. The feeling is mutual.

But as Vance and Rosie begrudgingly get to know each other, their careful masks come off—and they may just find that there’s more risk in shutting each other out than in opening their hearts.

My Review

I’ve been really looking forward to reading this book, and it did NOT disappoint! Just like I did in GEEKERELLA, I love the quirky, nerdiness of the characters and their obsession with Starfield in BOOKISH AND THE BEAST. I love the banter between Rosie and Vance. And I love her best friends and the enthusiasm they put into everything from teasing her about her dad to Quinn’s quest to become Homecoming Overlord.

There was one tiniest bump in my reading road. At the beginning, of course, Vance is a total jerk. It makes complete sense because this IS a Beauty and the Beast retelling. I can tell you now, it’s so worth those early scenes to watch the cracks in his armor form. To watch his heart change and know how big that is.

Another thing that I loved were the references to Beauty and the Beast. There are a couple of places where there references to minor lines in the Disney version of the movie, and some other references to the story as a whole that were too fun for me to spoil them here.

If you’re looking for a pick-me-up book, something light to take your mind off reality for a bit, look no further! I highly recommend reading BOOKISH AND THE BEAST.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Rosie and Vance are both white. Rosie’s best friend Quinn is nonbinary.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used very infrequently. A couple crude comments.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Some reference to feelings of attraction between two men.

Spiritual Content
Rosie thinks of her mother, who has died, and repeatedly notes that she no longer exists.

Violent Content
Reference to a car accident. Two boys get into a fist fight. A girl punches a boy.

Drug Content
References to Vance getting drunk in the past.

Note: I received a free copy of BOOKISH AND THE BEAST 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.

Review: Finally, Something Mysterious by Doug Cornett

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Finally, Something Mysterious
Doug Cornett
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Published April 14, 2020

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About Finally, Something Mysterious

Paul Marconi has always thought that Bellwood was a strange town, but also a bit of a boring one. Not much for an 11 year old to do. Fires are burning nearby, Paul’s parents are obsessed with winning a bratwurst contest, his best friend, one of the founding members of their only-sibling detective club, The One and Onlys, is about to have a younger sister, sort of undoing their whole reason for existing. But then! Hundreds of rubber duckies have appeared on the lawn of poor Mr. Babbage without any explanation. Finally! There is something that Paul and his friends can actually investigate.

In the face of all these strange occurences, Paul is convinced that solving who put the duckies on that lawn will finally bring some sense to what has become an upside down world. Soon the three friends have a long list of suspects, all with their own motives, but no clear culprit. When everything comes to a head at the town’s annual Bellwood Bratwurst Bonanza, Paul discovers some that some things don’t have an easy explanation and not everything can be solved.

A perfect summer story about friends, amateur sleuthing and a whole lot of rubber duckies.

My Review

You can probably guess from the title that FINALLY, SOMETHING MYSTERIOUS is going to be a funny book, and you’re right! These three friends won’t back down in the face of weird alibis, scary teachers, or midnight tuba solos. I had so much fun reading this book. I loved the friendship between Paul and the One and Onlys. His small town is packed with quirky people sharing interesting connections.

I love that the mystery they’re solving involves loads of rubber ducks. It’s random and strange and a great representation of the kind of goofy humor that fills the pages of the story. If you’re looking for a good laugh, this book delivers.

It reminded me a little bit of THREE TIMES LUCKY by Sheila Turnage and Lemony Snicket’s All the Wrong Questions series. If you liked either of those, or you just need a good laugh, you’ll want to check out FINALLY, SOMETHING MYSTERIOUS.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
I think all three main characters are white kids.

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 the costs of running this blog.

Review: Hope is a Dangerous Place by Jim Baton

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, , , , , , ,

Hope is a Dangerous Place
Jim Baton
Published February 5, 2020

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About Hope is a Dangerous Place

Seventy-five years ago, fifteen-year-old Hope McCormick disappeared. To remember her, the newly incorporated town was named “Hope.” When high school friends Kelsey and Harmonie begin looking into this unsolved mystery, they discover that someone will do anything to make sure the town’s secrets never come to light. Which neighbors are allies, and which face masks a violent enemy? And what will it take for their struggling town to fulfill its original destiny of hope?

My Review

The thing that drew me to HOPE IS A DANGEROUS PLACE was the idea that the town is named Hope and the whole mystery of her disappearance and its affect on the town so many years later. I think I was looking for a kind of ON THE JELLICOE ROAD-slash-THE HUNDRED LIES OF LIZZIE LOVETT kind of story? Or maybe, on the spiritual side, something reminiscent of Frank Peretti’s THIS PRESENT DARKNESS?

I liked that the story has multiple narrators that tell some of the things happening behind the scenes. Lots of the narrators are adults, though, and many times those characters take the actions that cause major events in the story to happen. The teen characters– Kelsey and Harmonie– often stay interested but passive players in the story that’s unfolding around them.

The town is interesting– it definitely has that closed-circle, small-town feel that reminded me of Ashton in THIS PRESENT DARKNESS. I thought the pursuit of the missing girl helped to keep the story moving forward, but sometimes things unfolded in a weird way. At one point a character discovers a death in her family while taking a walk past a relative’s house– I guess that could happen, it just seemed weird the way it played out. Sometimes deeply sad things would happen and it didn’t seem like they really had a lasting effect on the characters, which made them feel shallow to me.

The cast is fairly diverse, which was really nice to see. I don’t really have any expertise on representation being good or bad, but something felt weird to me in some moments. Like there are a couple moments where the black characters kind of stop everything and have this big gratitude response to the white characters. I don’t know. Something about it just felt… icky… to me.

Like, one girl discovers that in the town’s past, a white man broke up a lynch mob gathering to murder a black man, and then the black community starts gifting food to the grandson of the guy and talking about how they owe him a debt of gratitude. Breaking up a lynch mob definitely sounds like a brave thing to do, but it’s also the right thing? The response of the people seemed a little over the top. I don’t know. Again, I’m no expert on representation, but it felt weird to me.

I don’t think the author meant to create disparity between the white and black or white and Latino communities in the story, but I felt like there were some unequal relationships and situations. It made me wonder if the author had had black or Latino sensitivity readers? Maybe so, and maybe I’m off in my perceptions. I can only speak to how it affected me.

I wouldn’t really say that HOPE IS A DANGEROUS PLACE is young adult fiction, even though there are a couple of teen narrators. I think this is really adult lit. It’s got a lot of Christian content but some swearing and drinking, so I imagine it’s hard to put it solidly into one genre or another.

On the whole, there were some things I enjoyed about the story and some things I found problematic.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Harmonie is black. Kelsey and Harmonie’s teacher is Latina. Other minor characters are Latino and black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to a man who solicits a woman thinking she’s a prostitute.

Spiritual Content
Characters attend church and prayer services. Those scenes often relate the sermon being preached. Some discussions about the presence of angels and demons. One minor character offers to contact a dead spirit and comments on a girl’s aura.

Violent Content
Some references to abuse by a parent and by a law officer. An unknown person makes a creepy threat to the girls using a doll. Someone starts a fire in a building the girls are in. References to a lynch mob and a police officer who shot a man after claiming he tried to escape custody.

Drug Content
More than one adult in the story drinks a lot of alcohol. One character is a recovered alcoholic.

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 HOPE IS A DANGEROUS PLACE in exchange for my honest review.