#Alyssa B Sheinmel

[angria]

Book lists are so fun! Albeit so hard to choose! Thank you for the tag lovely @chelseahotelntwo 💜💕 Tagging anyone who wants to do this!

Last book I read: Starling House by Alix E. Harrow (pretty decent gothic horror/fantasy, wouldn’t necessarily read again)

Book I would recommend: Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt (excellent and read multiple times. About a young girl and her relationship with her uncle who has AIDS. One of my faves)

Book I couldn’t put down: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (I devoured this once I got into it. Read at your best judgment and massive TWs. Still absolutely beautiful writing)

Book on my TBR: Ever Since by Alena Bruzas (I've already read this, but need to reread it because it was so good. TW for abuse).

A book I’ve put down: I’ve put down a lot recently…all super popular adult fiction that I am dumbfounded by their horrible writing. The latest was Circe by Madeline Miller (I do not understand the hype. Poorly written and average plot)

A book on my wishlist: The Glass Girl by Kathleen Glasgow (coming out in October! So excited!)

A favorite book from childhood: anything by Tamora Pierce as well as The Wrinkle in Time quartet by Madeline L'Engle

A book you would give to a friend: Loveless by Alice Oseman (this was the last book I gave a friend, who is aro/ace. I try to tailor any books I give to friends)

A book of poetry/lyrics you own: Pansy and You Better Be Lightning by Andrea Gibson (absolute faves)

A non-fiction book you own: Dust In The Blood: A Theology of Life with Depression by Jessica Coblentz (best theological text on mental health I have ever read. She debunks common Christian ablest arguments in a thoughtful, creative way that is not grounded in redemptive suffering)

Currently reading: Weyward by Emilia Hart (so far intriguing. Plot split across three time periods with three related women and generational magic)

Planning to read next: What Kind of Girl by Alyssa B. Sheinmel (her other book was well-done, so looking forward to this one)

[chloeseriously]

who do u think jj is closer with-

john b

or

pope

when i first found out about obx it was through a long edit of why jj and pope had the best friendship and so that was what i thought until i actually watched the show.

It was then very clear to me that jj and john b were best friends

and reading the OBX book- Outer Banks Lights Out by Alyssa Sheinmel only added to the point

would love to know wat u think

i definitely think jj is closer with jb, even though jj and pope are a great duo. i always have thought jj and jb were friends first, then came pope and kiara. also, THERE IS AN OBX BOOK HEBDKWAIJSBDKANA!?!!?? in s4 i definitely want more jj & jb content and (unpopular opinion) jb & pope (bc they are so underused), and ofc jb and kie (i just want a scene with jb conforting kiara PLATONICALLY from something cause maybe jj fucked up (pardon my french) and kiara needs comfort bc that would be so cutee!!)! thanks for asking, send in asks!

[feminexisting]

Book Rank List 2023

I really dropped the ball for 2023, at least at the end of the year. I just got overwhelmed, and then my stomach started hurting again, and I didn't have the time nor the motivation to read... I really need to start back up on it. My dream is to read enough to catch up on the time I missed in 2023, as well as to catch up on what I haven't done for 2024 so far. We'll see if it happens.

Overall Best Book of 2023

1. This One Time With Julie by David Lampson (5/5)

2. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (5/5)

3. My Favorite Band Does Not Exist by Robert T. Jeschonek (4/5)

4. Over the Moon by Elissa Haden Guest (3/5)

5. The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams (3/5)

6. One of the Survivors by Susan Shaw (3/5)

7. Arclight by Josin L. McQuein (2/5)

8. The 13th Reality: The Journal of Curious Letters by James Dashner (2/5)

9. The Beautiful Between by Alyssa B. Sheinmel (1.5/5)

Unranked in list but ranked here from greatest to least: Can You Keep a Secret? by various authors - 4/5 , The Valentine's Day Disaster by Brandi Dougherty 4/5 , Totally Crushed by Eliza Willard 3/5 , Callie For President by Robin Wasserman 3/5

Unranked in list and unranked here, but still included because I read them: Ben 10: Mecha Madness, Ben 10: For Science, Ben 10: The Manchester Mystery, Ben 10: The Creature From Serenity Shore

Most Interesting Premise, Regardless of Execution

My Favorite Band Does Not Exist by Robert T. Jeschonek

Arclight by Josin L. McQuein

The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams

Best Cover

Arclight by Josin L. McQuein

Over The Moon by Elissa Haden Guest

The 13th Reality: The Journal of Curious Letters by James Dashner

Want To Rewrite

Arclight by Josin L. McQuein

The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams

Over The Moon by Elissa Haden Guest

Best Protagonist

Melinda - Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Joe - This One Time With Julie by David Lampson

Idea Deity (not including Reacher Mirage) - My Favorite Band Does Not Exist by Robert T. Jeschonek

Best Villain

Honoria - Arclight by Josin L. McQuein

(the rest of the books either didn't have actual villains, or else the villains weren't good enough to go here. The only one that even came close was Cyrus from The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams)

Best Deuteragonist or Side Character

Mattie - Over The Moon by Elissa Haden Guest

Anne Marie/Annie - Arclight by Josin L. McQuein

Kate and Alexis - The Beautiful Between by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

Sato - The 13th Reality: The Journal of Curious Letters by James Dashner

Donate Pile (No Specific Order)

The Beautiful Between by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

Arclight by Josin L. McQuein **

The 13th Reality: The Journal of Curious Letters by James Dashner ^

Keep Pile (No Specific Order)

Over The moon by Elissa Haden Guest

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

This One Time With Julie by David Lampson

One of the Survivors by Susan Shaw

My Favorite Band Does Not Exist by Robert T. Jeschonek

The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams

(All of my Valentine's books)

(All of the Ben 10 comics)

^ = originally this book was in the Keep Pile, but after some debate, I decided that I couldn't see any reason to keep it.

** = This book as it CURRENTLY STANDS is in the Donate Pile, but I find myself debating whether or not it should be moved to the Keep Pile in the end

[-outofcontext-]

What Kind of Girl #OutOfContext

[theartsybookwitch]

The Castle School (for Troubled Girls) by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

Tw // blood, tattoos, death, ADHD, anorexia, drugs, addiction, heroin, eating disorders, PTSD (briefly mentioned), alcoholism, depression, knives, razor blades, self sabotage, cutting, needles, self violence, OCD, food, selective mutism, forced to leave, mention of experimentation, cancer, car accident, brain cancer, drugs 

Spoilers below 

“Saying what if never helped anyone. You can’t undo the bad things that have happened. Pain can’t be avoided, but it can be accepted.”��

YALL. I went into The Castle School thinking it was a mystery novel, but what I got was so much better. 

The Castle School took a deep dive into the taboo subjects ((grief, depression, alcoholism, to name a few)) and in my opinion turned it into something beautiful. 

I loved reading the chapters of how all the girls were subjected to coming to The Castle School, and how each girl deals with her vice in their own ways.

I feel like this couldn’t have come to me a better time, as I am dealing with grief and death over half a year later. Sheinmel describes grief with a stunning outlook.

Moira’s journey and self discovery was dynamic and reflective of how she was feeling. I feel like Moira was good as a main character but I would’ve loved to see the others as main characters as well. 

Overall, TCS has a slow pace but is so powerful and beautiful. 

"For one second before I fall asleep, I think I hear music. But maybe I’m already dreaming." 

"Natural beauty, Mei decided, was not a straight thing, not a right-angled thing. Beauty was alphabetization and carefully laid plans. Beauty was counting each bristle on a toothbrush, each slat in the blinds hanging above the living room windows. What was beautiful about something as random as the looks she’d been born with? Something over which she had no control, over which her parents had no control?" 

"I always hated it that teachers got to choose what books we read during the school year—I firmly believe that what you read is a deeply personal choice—but I quickly realize why our English classes were structured that way. It’s very dull—not to mention confusing—to listen to eleven girls talk about books I’ve never even heard of." 

"In stories, things always go wrong at midnight. That’s when Cinderella’s coach turned back into a pumpkin, when she was exposed for who she really was."

[malerek]

Book Review & Blog Tour | The Castle School (For Troubled Girls)

📚 NEW BOOK REVIEW 📚 Thanks to @TBRandBeyond for welcoming me on my first blog tour, for The Castle School (For Troubled Girls), a poignant portrayal of how fragile mental health can be. #BookBlogger #BookReview

Title: The Castle School (For Troubled Girls)Author: Alyssa B. SheinmelGenre: YA | ContemporaryPublisher: Sourcebooks FireFormat: eARC Release Date: March 2nd, 2021Trigger Warnings: Mental health issues | Blood | Cancer | Death of a friendSpoilers?:  A minor one. When Moira Dreyfuss’s parents announce that they’re sending her to an all-girls boarding school deep in the Maine woods, Moira isn’t…

[dontrestonyourlaurels-blog]

“I look down into the water, surprised that it’s clear enough to see my feet kicking out beneath me. ‘I have a lot to worry about.’ Pete shakes his head. 'You can’t bring all that with you here.’ He taps the board. 'Worries weigh you down. You need to be light enough to fly.’” Second Star by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

[i-breathe-therefore-i-read]

booksforthoughts September BPC Day 26: Modern Day Retelling

[awkwordreviews]

Faceless by Alyssa D. Sheinmel | BOOK REVIEW

Faceless by Alyssa D. Sheinmel | BOOK REVIEW

Book: Faceless

Author: Alyssa B. Sheinmel

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Edition: Paperback

Published: January 7th 2016

Publisher: Chicken House

Pages: 346

Buy: Amazon | Book Depository | Wordery

Faceless by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

  “My mother wants me to be the kind of strong and special patient you read about in books, the kind who doesn’t get cranky even when she can…

[elenasreviews]

A danger to herself and others by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

My rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐

My review: A danger to herself and others is a great book about a girl with a mental illness. It was written very beautifully! It caught my attention immediately. I think Hannah is a special and interesting main character. She has a lot of confidence, and she thinks that she is smarter than anyone else. I would definitely recommend it!

I received an ARC of A Danger to Herself and Others from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[libertyreads]

October Wrap Up-

This month was a mix of Spooky Season reads and Christmas-y reads which was fun for me. I enjoyed a lot of what I read. There are a few ARCs that aren’t in this photo so let’s get into what I read this month.

1. Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite by various authors.-- Rating: 3.34 Stars Averaged

2. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson--Rating: 4.0 Stars

3. Meet Me at Fir Tree Lodge by Rachel Dove (NetGalley ARC)-- Rating: 2.25 Stars

4. Lock Every Door by Riley Sager-- Rating: 3.5 Stars

5. A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir-- Rating: 4.25 Stars

6. Mistletoe and Mr. Right by Sarah Morgenthaler-- Rating: 4.25 Stars

7. The Diviners by Libba Bray-- Rating: 3.75 Stars

8. In the Study with the Wrench by Diana Peterfreund-- Rating: 3.75 Stars

9. All I Want for Christmas by Wendy Loggia (NetGalley ARC)-- Rating: 3.75 Stars

10. Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody-- Rating: 4.0 Stars

11. The Castle School (for Troubled Girls) by Alyssa B. Sheinmel (NetGalley ARC)-- Rating: 3.25 Stars

12. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince-- Rating: 5.0 Stars.

Which all averaged out to a 3.76 Star rating.

[feminexisting]

The Beautiful Between by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

I've presumably owned this book for a few years now, though I don't remember buying it. It's an Advanced Readers copy as proclaimed by print on the cover, and I bought it for $0.50. I assume it came from a garage sale or a thrift shop, but not one that I usually go to. I think I chose to read this book because I wanted something short and fast because I knew I wouldn't be in the mood for reading a book since my father had a double bypass surgery for his heart this month. In fact, I almost didn't read any book at all this month, but managed to read this one in less than two weeks after feeling bad for nearly breaking the streak.

The premise is that Connelly Sternin has lived for almost her entire life not knowing how her father died, only that he was dead. After his death, she and her mother became a little more distant following young Connelly's asking about his death, and ever since then Connelly has avoided the subject, instead telling classmates that her father and mother had a bad divorce rather than admitting his death and not having answers for the questions that were sure to follow. Then, everything changes when Jeremy Cole, the most popular boy in the school, befriends Connelly, and, with him, his little sister, Kate. As Connelly and Jeremy become closer, she learns the real reason he sought out her friendship: because Kate is sick with leukemia, the same thing that killed Connelly's father. She's shocked when Jeremy tells her this, because she didn't even know that he was sick. But, there's more to the story she learns as she digs deeper. Finally, when Kate succumbs to her sickness, Jeremy pleas for Connelly to find out the truth for her own sake, and she has a hard conversation with her mother that ultimately reveals the truth: her father was depressed and went off of his antidepressants for chemotherapy, but because of this, he killed himself by overdose. The truth finally sets Connelly free.

Listen, I... really don't have a lot to say about this book. I read this book once a decade ago, when I was a teenager, probably roughly 15. I only know this because I actually corrected a few grammatical/spelling/punctuation errors and dated the corrections back then. I can, I believe, remember actually thinking the book wasn't very good even back then. About 60 pages from the end, I see a remnant of the past, from the first time I read this book - I had finally noticed (or, perhaps, had noticed before and only finally decided to mention it) one of the numerous typos the book had and deigned to correct it in pencil, then dated it: 10-8-2023. A few pages later, I corrected another mistake and dated it 10-18-2023, ten days later. A little over a month short of a decade, from the time I was writing this observation originally (rewriting it for the summary puts me at about a week, give or take a few days, out). This book doesn't wow me at all, doesn't impress me, and up until this point I was positive it would be on the donate pile. It still is, but... I also kind of want to keep it, just for the past that's there. How funny.

Now then, on to the meat of the story. Or, rather, the main character: Connelly Sternin. Connelly goes to a rich private school, the type that children of celebrities go to, is raised by her single widowed mother, in a two bedroom apartment in New York City. This, of course, all speaks to money. Connelly of course is quick to admit that she ISN'T rich, not like those other rich people and celebrities, just that they're comfortable. A rich main character isn't really an issue, I don't think (although, make no mistake, most of the YA books I've read with rich main characters have been pretty bad), but the richness is the last in a line of things that make Connelly unbearable. Connelly acts as though she's no big deal, often putting herself down, but she also simultaneously tries to stand apart from the crowd and separate herself, acting very high and mighty. She laments not having any friends, while simultaneously refusing to get close to anybody, not even her classmates/lunchmates. She's nearly obsessed with comparing herself to a fairy tale princess; her most favorite is Rapunzel, but I'm pretty sure she also mentioned Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Cinderella, and Snow White. She feels like she's "locked up in a tower" (her apartment, by her mother, whom she admits isn't really an evil witch, but still a jailer of sorts, although I believe the mother's only real sin was grieving- though I digress) and like she's "been waiting for a prince to save her all her life". Everything about her screams entitled and the like the type of girl who thinks she isn't "like other girls". She laments her loneliness while simultaneously trying to push away everybody who she deems unworthy of her attention. She's very grating, very annoying, and exactly what you might expect the type of nerdy girl who goes to a private rich kid school would be like.

Connelly admits multiple times throughout the book that she doesn't see her lunchmates/classmates as being her friends. Her closest acquaintances are Alexis Bryant and Emily Winters. Emily Winters seems to be the one to start conversations more often with Connelly, and they've known each other since they were very young girls, probably at least first grade. When Emily asks Connelly if she and Jeremy are dating at one point later in the book, Connelly wonders if she and Emily are even close enough to talk about that, or if she only cares because she wants gossip. I have to say, the fact that she didn't know speaks a lot. I don't know if Emily actually sees Connelly as a friend or just an acquaintance, but even I felt hurt at the insinuation that Emily wasn't allowed the curiosity. As for Alexis, well... where do I begin? Alexis has anorexia. We know this not just because of the rumors of it flying around school, but also because every day at lunch Alexis will spend the entire lunch period cutting up a single leaf of lettuce into tiny pieces and then eating them as slowly as possible. In fact, this behavior is something that Connelly and Jeremy, once he befriends her, sit and stare at for multiple days. They even talk about it and make jokes about it and liken it to watching a train wreck because they can't look away. Connelly thinks Alexis secretly likes the attention. Connelly also says that nobody cares about Alexis's anorexia because it is, and I quote, "so 90s." At one point in the book, Alexis is sent to hospital/rehab for her anorexia, and all Connelly says about it is that she hears rumors that people aren't sure if it's rehab for meth or if it was for the anorexia. And to this all I have to say is... wow. I know I shouldn't be surprised at these types of attitudes, especially from a book written in 2010 or earlier, but still. I felt so, so painfully bad for Emily and especially for Alexis. For Emily, it was sad because she seemed to genuinely think she and Connelly were friends, whereas for Alexis it was sad because seemingly nobody really worried about her, or, at least, the person she ate lunch with every day didn't, and only cared enough to watch her eat. Connelly laments "never having had a best friend", but to me it seems as though she brought it entirely on herself. She is the one to blame.

Frankly, Jeremy was a more interesting character than Connelly. He was the "prince" of the high school (in Connelly's words), able to easily flit between all the social groups. His family is the top of the pecking order, the highest of the high. His little sister is dying but he's trying to put on a brave face and can't tell anybody about it. He seeks out Connelly because he just so happens to hear that her father also had the same sickness Kate had, and he needs help to understand, or, at least, to come to terms with it all. He was on top of the world until it all came crashing down with her death. Still, despite it all, he tried to be there for Connelly. I think all of that makes him much more interesting than the actual main character we had.

Four things I thought were good or interesting about the book: the first is that, knowing that Kate was going to die thanks to the previous time I read the book, the blatant foreshadowing of her death was kind of funny. Two, Kate and Jeremy's families were both Jewish. Theoretically, I could point out that making your rich characters Jewish could be a slippery slope, but I think the author might be Jewish, so it's okay. Although I wish there was more talk about Jewish cultural practices and things, what little we got was interesting, so it's okay. Third, Connelly's dad dying from suicide was genuinely a surprise. I truly did not expect it, and only caught on to it about two sentences before it was explicitly stated. My running theory, up until that point, was that he was executed in prison after getting incarcerated and put on death row for a terrible crime, like rape or murder or something. This was because throughout the book it was described as though his death was something horrible, never to be spoken of. I was relieved when that was all it was. Fourth, and finally, I liked Kate. She was very endearing, which was exactly what she was meant to be, so I guess the author did a good job at that.

This book had a lot of errors (typos and punctuation errors mostly). I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and assume that a lot of them were cleaned up before final printing, since this was an advanced reader's copy, but it was VERY noticeable while reading. One other thing I want to say which wouldn't fit elsewhere in this review and which I don't want to give it's own paragraph, is that Connelly had taken a picture of her mom and dad when they were roughly her age and kept it in a copy of A Farewell To Arms, a book which, if I remember correctly, was one of her dad's favorites. She also mentions that her mom often goes into her room to borrow things, including her books. I greatly wish that her mom would've borrowed that book from her and opened it to see that picture, a picture which was kept locked away in her mom's desk and which her mom would've immediately recognized as being a picture that she shouldn't have had. I think that would've been a good time for a confrontation, either the main confrontation (asking how the father died), or even just the mom slightly-hysterically asking why she's got that picture. That's all.

One final grievance was that I felt that Connelly and her mom's reconciliation was too fast. The entire book has led up to this moment, this exact moment, but we were rushed to it. Rather than taking place immediately after Kate's funeral (as in, her body is barely in the ground and they're doing this), it should have happened at a different time. Before the funeral, afterwards, I don't care so long as it doesn't happen at just that time. By happening at that time, it overshadows the funeral and Jeremy's own grief. One thing I did like, however, about the reconciliation, was the talk that Connelly's mom had with her, about how she will eventually grow to hate her father for leaving them, and how she's going to think he abandoned them, and how her mom had to admit that she also felt that way at first, but eventually she was able to look past it and see the truth that he was deeply hurting and tortured.

In the end, really not a great book, and I'm left remembering why exactly I disliked reading it the first time. 1.5/5.

My bookmark for this book was a neon yellow-green ribbon knotted at both ends. I also found a post-it note, white, with what looked like intelligible imprints of pencil or pen upon it, which I presumably used while reading the book the first time, and which I used for the last few pages of the book.

[annelisreadingroom]

January wrap up. Did you read many books in January? I finished Becoming by Michelle Obama and Ice by Anna Kavan which I had started earlier.

📗📘📙

In addition, I read Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, A Danger to Herself and Others by Alyssa B. Sheinmel, and Noir Reformatory - The Beginning by Lexi C. Foss and J.R. Thorn.

[-outofcontext-]

The Castle School #OutOfContext

[cassie-the-hopeless-optimist]

You have to learn to love yourself before you can love someone else. Because it's only when we love ourselves that we feel worthy of someone else's love.

Alyssa B. Sheinmel, Faceless