#YA Books Central

[unconventionalquirkybibliophile]

Children's Books for Back to School 2024

Check out my Children's book recommendations for Back to School

I’ve been reading quite a few children’s books lately to review for YA Books Central and wanted to provide y’all with a few recommendations. I know that the school year is beginning for all you educators out there and these are a few I think you will like for your classrooms. Parents who are having their children go back to school soon these are some great stories to read together at…

[martianbugsbunny]

honestly I really love that Rick Riordan made his first trans character (or at least his first trans main character, I don't remember if there was anybody minor before Alex) MtF

like those are the trans people that terfs/transphobes have labelled as the "scary" ones, not just misguided or some shit like that, but actively threatening to women and society, and Richard Riordan made a MtF trans person a hero, a beloved sister, a valued friend, a desired girlfriend who was only scary because of her skill with a garrote and her salty attitude and she was everything to me just as a nonbinary trans person bc she was the first real trans hero I found, so I can only imagine what it was like for trans girls my age reading Gods of Asgard and having that

he really said this is the queerest series yet and that includes the queer people who have some of the most active demonization directed at them and whether or not he meant it as a protest against MtF persecution it's literally so important to me

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

Smile And Be A Villain

queer character-driven historical fantasy, reimagining Hamlet before the events of the play

follows prince Hamlet who has been sent away to Wittenberg after being caught in a compromising position, meeting new people and discovering magic

and Ophelia, back in Denmark, dealing with the rise of the corrupting by-product of magic

while a war is brewing, and they have to figure out how much they are willing to sacrifice to save their country

duology

bi hamlet, aspec ophelia

[ya-world-challenge]

Libertad (🇭🇳 Honduras)

[image 1: book cover: a hand holds a Molotov cocktail - a bottle with a cloth on fire sticking out of it. The background is yellow and the title graffiti-like; image 2: a map showing Honduras in Central America below Mexico; image 3: streets of Tegucigalpa - a small shop with a shaded awning and advertisements, source: wikimedia]

Libertad

Author: Bessie Flores Zaldívar

YA World Challenge review for 🇭🇳 Honduras

Review

I'll preface this with that due to life issues I read this in two chunks months apart.

The first thing is - I think the cover sets up the book for the wrong expectations. Libertad never goes out with a Molotov cocktail - she never goes to a protest at all. While her brother is involved, the protests are mostly in the background. So while it is maybe a less exciting book than the cover promises, it is much more realistic.

The book starts with the rigged election of Juan Orlando Hernandez in 2017 and follows high-schooler Libertad (named for being born on Independence Day) through her daily life, her family life, and things like what do about that drunken kiss with her best friend. The theme of a poem she writes - whether to leave Honduras or stay - is a constant nagging in the background as she mulls over scholarship applications to US colleges, and how to be gay in a homophobic country, but at the same time she is rich with family and friends and just a normal teenager.

The book deals with family tragedy and grief, ultimately ending on an open-ended note for most questions raised. I like that it presented the sapphic relationships and teenage uncertainty without going heavy on the relationship drama. While I found it a bit slow at times, this was a compelling, character-driven look at teen's life in Central America among all the political and economic issues. In the afterwords I found out the author is 27 and would have been only a few years older than the protagonist at the time of the book setting.

(If you were in the US when stupid politicians were fear-baiting over "caravans", this is the other side of the story - the shadow of no future, the people who lost relatives, etc.)

Genre: #contemporary #family #romance-ish

Other reps: #lesbian MC #other sapphic characters

★ ★ ★ ★    4 stars

Content warnings:

Death of family member, grief, homophobia, mention of political murders, minors with alcohol

[dreamertrilogys]

this is so mean i’m sorry. but it needs to be said. the way some of you talk about trc is like you were shown this plot diagram in 2nd grade and never moved past it. & that you think all stories MUST have only one (1) simple main narrative that follows this diagram to the tee in order for them to have what you consider to be a “plot”

[satanfemme]

so I've been listening to the hunger games audio book lately (it's good imo), and rn I'm watching the movie (at least up to where I am in the book), and man I kinda don't like it </3 why does katniss look like a model with plucked brows and lip gloss from the get-go. why does every scene need nauseating shaky cam and 10000 jump cuts. why is the characterization.... weird and off? idk how to place it. ofc I'm aware that the movies are shallower than the books but I do not remember it feeling this... rushed? sloppy? sticking thru it for the costuming tho, the costuming is spectacular so far and I know there's a lot of fun stuff in the capitol.

[umbrellahat07]

Another thing I feel like the movies really missed was the conditions in the districts themselves. A lot of Katniss's backstory from before the Games in District 12 was just left out of the movies entirely. The fact that people regularly starved to death, the lack of medical care available (Katniss's mom was an apothecary because there weren't enough doctors in District 12), the way the reaping system worked, the working conditions. In District 11 the situation was worse, they grew all the food but were still starving. In book 2 it talks about abusive Peacekeepers (the name for the district police force) and is implied they come from the districts the careers are from. It talks about bad conditions in other districts as well, though in less specifics. We see with Effie how painfully oblivious everyone from the Capitol is to the condition of the Districts.

In the books Katniss talks about her dad dying in the coal mines, her mom falling into catatonic depression, her and Prim not having food to last the winter, being overjoyed when dandelions start sprouting because it's something she and Prim can eat. She mentions that even with a more stable source of food, Prim is 12 and would weigh "ninety pounds soaking wet." She says the same about Rue later.

With Rue, in the first games, we find out about District 11, how Rue had several siblings, all growing up in poverty. How the other districts used extensive child labor. Katniss offers her the drumstick from a bird she hunted and Rue can't believe it, she had never eaten that much at once before. And soon after Rue and Katniss started comparing experiences, their plans went wrong and Rue was killed. We already know the Games are rigged, the Game designers may have killed Rue to silence her stories of District 11 before she said anything too incriminating. That may be why President Snow was so angry when Katniss publicly acknowledged the situation in District 11.

And all the cruelty of the Districts and the true long lasting effects of the Games are hidden from the Capitol. Katniss sanitizes the stories she tells Peeta of her childhood because she knows the Capitol audience can hear. The audience sees the fighting and the bloodshed, but after the Games, they only see the pretty sparkling victors. Katniss wakes up after the Games to find all her scars, even ones from before the Games, are completely gone. The audience doesn't want to see any yucky lasting effects, they want to see the gleaming victors, pretty young things about to parade around the Districts.

We know it's supposed to be secret too, because the tributes' voices are constantly suppressed from the moment they're chosen at the reaping. The pre-Games interviews are leading question after leading question. They're coached on what to say at all public appearances. During the Games, they can't talk too much about the Districts, or risk getting killed by the deus ex machina of the arena. Katniss and Peeta's victory speeches were written for them, and straying from the script to honor Rue was a huge act of rebellion.

The Capitol citizens are kept in the dark about what really goes on in the Districts, and the rebellion is kickstarted by Katniss, and to some extent, Rue, exposing it during and after the games.

Also, I noticed the movies only briefly mention (if that) the Avoxes, who are prisoners forced into slavery in the Capitol, whose tongues are cut out so they, too, can't talk about their horrible conditions. Katniss was horrified by the Avoxes, especially because she recognized one of them, a girl who her and Gale saw running away outside of District 12 who got caught by a helicopter, who later was the Avox sent to Katniss's room before the Games. It was one of the more horrifying details to me when I read the books, and it doesn't get discussed a lot because they were pretty much left out of the movies.

The Hunger Games, Actual Teen style!

On the left, 15-year-old Josh Hutcherson.

On the right, 16-year-old Jennifer Lawrence.

Think how much creepier it would be to see them killing other kids when they look so squishy-cheeked and little.

[doomboogie]

finally watched shadowbone show and read the first crow book since those were the most interesting characters in the show

mat/thias and neena sure do exist huh

[bunnys-kisses]

show-off (johnny's version)

john "soap" mactavish

cw: smut/pwp, filming, choking, missionary, rough sex, dirty talk (johnny's got the mouth on him), dom!johnny, sub!reader, messy & rough sex, (partial) crying kink, overstimulation

simon's version | price's version | kyle's version

johnny just loved you. you met at the central branch of the public library in edinburgh. you worked as a librarian, even though most of your days were spent hauling carts of returned books around, you felt happy about it. it was a fulfilling job.

but the sargent adored you. the first thing he did when he came home from anytime away as picking you up a nice bouquet of flowers and waiting around the library till you finished up work for the day! it was a charmed little life, and you were a missing piece in johnny's life.

which is why, on a sunny summer morning, the rest of 141 found an interesting video in the team's group chat. a hefty little film that piqued the interest of the three men. the file was labeled "070824_babygirl.mp4".

the video started simple, it was a shot of you in your apartment. in the bed you shared with johnny. but what was interesting was that you were on your back, with the phone's flashlight beaming on your face which gave a clear sight of johnny's other hand around your throat.

it was a erotic sight, you were laid in the soft bed while johnny looked like he was about to fuck you well into the mattress. johnny asked, "how does it feel, baby girl?"

you nodded.

"nah, nah, use yer words." he encouraged as the pressure around your throat grew. you whimpered and he only chuckled, the camera still pointed on you.

"it feels good, johnny."

"nuh uh, uh." he said as he pushed the phone a little further towards you and said, "it ain't johnny tonight, bonnie. don't make me smack ya."

"no, sir." you swallowed, "it feels good, sir." you whined and arched your back a little.

the camera cut down to the sight of johnny's erect cock teasing your pussy. his cock was painfully hard, it was a deep red in colour and leaking precum. your pussy was soaked, with your wetness gleaming in the light of the flashlight.

"pretty thing, huh? don't cha think boys?" he laughed, "take me like a fuckin' champ too. she shouldn't countin' books, she should be countin' how many loads i can get in 'er in a day!"

you whimpered, the language johnny used was definitely not the kind he used when he was bringing you flowers at the library. this was reserved for the dirtiest depths of your bedroom at the most depraved hours of the evening.

he was such a gentleman. but behind the camera as he teased your pussy, he was a menace. mean and crass.

"i see how the boys look at ya." he chuckled darkly, his hand a little firmer on her neck, "i bet they got their pants dropped to the floor and their leaky cocks out to jerk themselves off."

you whined and arched your back. he never fully cut off your air, but the racing in your chest as the possibility of him doing that was immense.

johnny got a good shot of him feverishly making out with you. you whimpered and groaned against him. your pussy throbbed as you could feel his weight on top of you.

"pretty girl." he groaned, "fuckin' beauty. ya like that boys?" he asked the camera before he pulled away and got in position to fuck you properly. his special bonnie deserved to have his cock buried inside of her.

"sir." you whined, "please, please, please!"

johnny chuckled, he pulled his hand away from your throat and slipped his thumb between your lips. the camera trained on you, "my bonnie."

filming this was a surprise, but in a way it was johnny laying proper claim on you. the video would never leave the group chat, it would be saved under a virtual lock and key. no prying eyes except for the task force. he wanted to show that the lovely little librarian was his and his only.

as he slipped his cock into you with rather ease and watched your face scrunch up from the weight inside of you, johnny wanted his teammates to see how much of a good girl you were for him.

"ain't she just special." he purred, egging his teammates on through the camera as he fucked you. he knew he'd probably get some interesting messages once this was sent to the others. but he'd never tell you what those dogs through of you taking his cock so well.

you gripped the bed under you and you could feel the oppressive gaze of the camera on your bare body. you trusted johnny and you trusted the task force that this little video would stay safe. the last thing you wanted was the embarrassment of knowing that you took cock like a champ!

"you're so beautiful." he said, "fuckin' beautiful. don't want anyone else but you, i want to fuck you until i can't anymore. you're my bonnie, my sweet girl." his voice was laced with heavy lust, "how much you take of me, you just take it all so good."

you whimpered, "johnny."

"ah, ah, ah, don't slip up now, bonnie." he said as he squeezed your thigh, "i'd hate for this to turn into a punishment video. i know ghost would love the sight of your bruised ass." he chuckled as he continued to fuck you.

the sounds of sex filled the bedroom and picked up on the camera's microphone. it was in crystal clear audio. the boys knew that your pussy was being bruised from his heavy thrusts.

"please, sir!" you whimpered as you laid under him. you tried to keep up with his pace but it was hard, johnny could be so erratic in bed. he fucked you like a man on a mission. it was messy and loud.

"i like how you say that, girlie.' he laughed as he held your face to look at the camera. he held you jaw tightly as he watched pretty little tears form in your eyes form the over stimulation.

your core throbbed with an insistent need to have every last inch of your boyfriend's cock buried inside of you. you were just so painfully cute.

"so cute when you cry." he leaned in and kissed you on the forehead. he held your face as he pulled away to get the best angle of filming. he wanted the experience to be pleasurable for his team too. he huffed through his nose as he felt the heat in his body.

"sir." you blubbered.

johnny chuckled and watched you cry. the flashlight on the phone was so bright and made you whimper even more. but johnny just adored the sight, "pretty thing." he purred, "fuck yer little brain out so you can't even go to work tomorrow." he laughed as he bounced you on his cock.

you tried to use the sheets as leverage to keep you steady but johnny's hard thrusts just sent you into overdrive. he was battering your cute little cunt and you were practically drooling on it.

"no one at the library would've ever guessed that she was such a fuckin' hound for me cock.' he laughed, his language was degrading but it made you squeeze around his cock, "those cute little skirt hide those soaked panties. i keep tellin' 'er that i should be fuckin' 'er in the bathroom durin' 'er break! maybe the boys can give me a lil advice on how to make you more agreeable. how do ya feel about that?"

you looked up at him, tears still twinkled in your eyes as you tried to say another word, but it died in your throat as your body tensed up. you squeezed your eyes shut and your mouth opened a little as a healthy moan left your lips.

"good, bonnie." he said, "cum fer me."

you clawed at the covers and arched your back as you felt your head go into a spin. you came around his cock. you panted heavily, your lungs burned for air as you hit your peak. the drop down from it left you dizzy and your tongue hanging out of your mouth like a dog.

johnny patted your face, happy he caught your climax on camera. he turned his attention to his cock spearing you open. he pointed the device to your pussy that was still so greedy for his cock. the milky rim around the base of his cock that dripped down his hairy balls was a sign that he was treating his missus right.

he continued to bounce you on his cock. he even played with your clit a little which caused you to kick your legs out and almost yelp from the shock of pleasure. maybe that would be a little overkill (for tonight).

his pace staggered, as if it wasn't an disorganized mess already. he looked down at you with hunger as he felt his cock twitch inside of your sweet heat. you were an all consuming force and johnny was obsessed with you.

not in a stalking in a bushes sense, but rather follow you to the ends of the earth. he watched you shed a few more tears as he felt his climax in the back of his throat.

"good girl. a good little slut for me." he purred, "i bet the rest of the team is going to love it." he got in closer and asked, "do you have a little message for the boys?"

"si..sir." you whimpered.

johnny chuckled, "poor, lass." he rubbed your head by your forehead, jerking it around playfully as he continued his assault on your cunt, "fuck those last few brain cells out." his pat on your face was almost patronizing.

his orgasm pulled at him as the tight heat of your cunt lured him in. he could feel the seat down his back as he gave it a last few strokes before he slammed himself to the root and finished inside of you.

he licked his lips and slowed down. it felt so good. he swallowed in an attempt to compose himself after the intense feeling. he was still filming your sweet pussy.

"wanna tell the boys how yer doin'?" he asked after a few moments of silence with a chuckle, "pretty girl, face full of tears." his accent hung heavy as wiped your tears away with the scratchy pad of his thumb.

"feels good, sir."

"that's what i like to hear. pretty bonnie under me, legs spread up. lettin' me fuck her for ma boys." he laughed, "got me goin' all over again."

"johnny please." you whimpered.

'alright, alright." he said, his voice a little softer, "i'll turn the camera off and make sure you get fucked right to sleep. say goodnight to the team."

you blinked up at the camera, you looked like a debauched little slut as you said, "goodnight simon, goodnight captain price, goodnight kyle."

johnny patted your cheek and you melted into his touch. he said, "ma girl knows her manners." then the video cut off.

there was a message that was sent after the video was sent, it said, "pretty little thing, eh? you can only look don't touch!" <3

[supersoakerfullofblood]

Point of View: the Biggest Thing You're Missing!

Point of view is one of the most important elements of narrative fiction, especially in our modern writing climate, but you rarely hear it seriously discussed unless you go to school for writing; rarely do help blogs or channels hit on it, and when they do, it's never as in-depth as it should be. This is my intro to POV: what you're probably missing out on right now and why it matters. There are three essential parts of POV that we'll discuss.

Person: This is the easiest part to understand and the part you probably know already. You can write in first person (I/me), second (You), and third person (He/she/they). You might hear people talk about how first person brings the reader closer to the central character, and third person keeps them further away, but this isn't true (and will be talked about in the third part of this post!) You can keep the reader at an intimate or alien distance to a character regardless of which person you write in. The only difference--and this is arguable--is that first person necessitates this intimacy where third person doesn't, but you still can create this intimacy in third person just as easily. In general, third person was the dominant (and really the only) tense until the late 19th century, and first person grew in popularity with the advent of modernism, and nowadays, many children's/YA/NA books are written in first person (though this of course doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't write those genres in the third person). Second person is the bastard child. Don't touch it, even if you think you're clever, for anything the length of a novel. Shorter experimental pieces can use it well, but for anything long, its sounds more like a gimmick than a genuine stylistic choice.

Viewpoint Character: This is a simple idea that's difficult in practice. Ask yourself who is telling your story. This is typically the main character, but it needn't be. Books like The Book Thief, The Great Gatsby, Rebecca, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and the Sherlock series are told from the perspective of a side character who isn't of chief importance to the narrative. Your viewpoint character is this side character, the character the reader is seeing the world through, so the main character has to be described through them. This isn't a super popular narrative choice because authors usually like to write from the perspective of their most interesting character, but if you think this choice could fit your story, go for it! You can also swap viewpoint characters throughout a story! A word of warning on that: only change your viewpoint character during a scene/chapter break. Switching mid-scene without alerting the reader (and even when you do alert the reader) will cause confusion. I guarantee it.

Means of Perception; or, the Camera: This part ties the first two together. If you've ever heard people talk about an omniscient, limited, etc. narrator, this is what they mean. This part also includes the level of intimacy the reader has with the viewpoint character: are we in their heads, reading their thoughts, or are we so far away that we can only see their actions? If your story is in a limited means of perception, you only have access to your character's head, eyes, and interpretations, where an omniscient narrator sees through all characters' heads at once. (This doesn't eliminate the viewpoint character--most of your writing will still be in that character's head, but you're allowed to reach into other characters' thoughts when needed. You could also be Virginia Woolf, who does fluidly move through everyone's perspectives without a solid viewpoint character, but I would advise against this unless you really are a master of the craft.) Older novels skew towards third person omniscient narration, where contemporary novels skew towards first person limited. You also have a spectrum of "distant" and "close." If omniscient and limited are a spectrum of where the camera can swivel to, distant and close is a spectrum of how much the camera can zoom in and out. Distant only has access to the physical realities of the world and can come off as cold, and close accesses your character's (or characters', if omniscient) thoughts. Notice how I said narration. Your means of perception dramatically effects how your story can be told! Here's a scene from one of my stories rewritten in third-person distant omniscient. The scene is a high school football game:

“Sometimes,” he said. “Not much anymore.” “It’s not better, then?” She shivered; the wind blew in. “A little.” His tone lifted. “I don’t know if it’ll ever be better, though.” She placed a hand on his arm, stuttered there, and slipped her arm around his waist. “Did it help to be on your own?” He raised an eyebrow. “You were there.” “Yes and no.” “And the guys, the leaders.” “Come on,” she heckled. “Okay, okay.” Carmen sighed. “Yeah, it helped. I don’t think—I don’t know—I’d be me if they’d fixed it all.” She grinned. “And who might you be?” “Oh, you know. Scared, lonely.” He fired them haphazardly, and a bout of laughter possessed him which Piper mirrored. “Impatient.” “And that’s a good thing?” “No.” He sat straight. “Gosh, no. But I don’t want to be like him, either.” He pointed to the field; Devon recovered a fumbled ball. “He’s never been hurt in his life.” She met his eyes, which he pulled away. “You don’t mean that," Piper said. “Maybe not. He’s too confident, though.” The cloth of Carmen's uniform caved and expanded under Piper's fingers.

With distant-omniscient, we only get the bare actions of the scene: the wind blows in, Piper shivers, the cloth rises and falls, Carmen points, etc. But you can tell there's some emotional and romantic tension in the scene, so let's highlight that with a first person limited close POV:

“Sometimes,” he said. “Not much anymore.” “It’s not better, then?” Frost spread up from her legs and filled her as if she were perforated rock, froze and expanded against herself so that any motion would disturb a world far greater than her, would drop needles through the mind’s fabric. A misplaced word would shatter her, shatter him. “A little.” His tone lifted. “I don’t know if it’ll ever be better, though.” She placed a hand on his arm, thought better, and slipped her arm around his waist. “Did it help to be on your own?” He raised an eyebrow. “You were there.” “Yes and no.” “And the guys, the leaders.” “Come on,” she heckled. “Okay, okay.” Carmen sighed. “Yeah, it helped. I don’t think—I don’t know—I’d be me if they’d fixed it all.” She grinned. “And who might you be?” “Oh, you know. Scared, lonely.” He fired them haphazardly, and a bout of laughter possessed him which Piper mirrored. “Impatient.” “And that’s a good thing?” “No.” He sat straight. “Gosh, no. But I don’t want to be like him, either.” He pointed to the field; Devon recovered a fumbled ball. “He’s never been hurt in his life.” “You don’t mean that.” She spoke like a jaded mother, spoke with some level of implied authority, and reminded herself again to stop. “Maybe not. He’s too confident, though.” Piper felt the cloth of his waist cave and expand under her fingers and thought: is this not confidence?

Here, we get into Piper's thoughts and physical sensations: how the frost rises up her, and how this sensation of cold is really her body expressing her nervous fears; how she "thought better" and put her arm around his waist; her thought "is this not confidence?"; and how she reminds herself not to talk like a mother. Since I was writing from the close, limited perspective of a nervous high schooler, I wrote like one. If I was writing from the same perspective but with a child or an older person, I would write like them. If you're writing from those perspectives in distant narration, however, you don't need to write with those tones but with the authorial tone of "the narrator."

This is a lot of info, so let's synthesize this into easy bullet points to remember.

Limited vs. Omniscient. Are you stuck to one character's perspective per scene or many?

Close vs. Distant. Can you read your characters' thoughts or only their external worlds? Remember: if you can read your character's thoughts, you also need to write like you are that character experiencing the story. If child, write like child; if teen, write like teen; etc.

Here's another way to look at it!

This is a confusing and complex topics, so if you have any questions, hit up my ask box, and I'll answer as best I can. The long and short of it is to understand which POV you're writing from and to ruthlessly stick to it. If you're writing in limited close, under no circumstances should you describe how a character other than your viewpoint character is feeling. Maintaining a solid POV is necessary to keeping the dream in the reader's head. Don't make them stumble by tripping up on POV!

[kingkatsuki]

— babysitting

Just a silly little piece about Bakugou looking after his nephew when Kirishima and his wife are both working, and him being the cutest little wingman.

Warnings: fluff!, implied!older Bakugou, Bakugou’s behaviour could be construed as stalking but it’s not really, he just proper fancies you.

Pairing: implied!Bakugou Katsuki x f!reader.

Word Count: 2.1k.

“Please, Kats. I promise it won’t be for long, we didn’t realise we were both working this afternoon and I can’t take him on patrol with me—” Kirishima pleaded on the phone.

“I’m busy,” Bakugou replied bluntly.

“Busy doing what?” His best friend almost whined, and Bakugou could tell the hulking tank of a man was pouting on the other side of the line.

“None of your damn business.”

Bakugou didn’t want to admit the real reason he was busy today. It was the same reason he was now busy every day he was off.

A few weeks ago he’d made his way into Musutafu mall on his lunch break to pick up a copy of a new romance book his favourite author had just released. And while he was checking out he noticed you filling up one of the displays near the back of the store, giving him the cutest smile when he’d passed you to leave.

Since that day he’d come back every week on one of his days off, just to get a simple “hey” from you as he bought yet another book. Bakugou was certain he’d soon have so many unread books in his house that he’d have to build an extension to store them, but he couldn’t help it.

And today was going to be the day that he was actually going to talk to you— possibly.

“Can’t you reschedule? It’ll only be for a few hours until I can get off patrol and he can spend the afternoon at the agency with me.”

“What about Mina?” Bakugou offered.

“She’s got that photoshoot with Hero Weekly today, remember?” Of course she fucking does, “And Sero’s out on patrol with me.”

“Denks?” Bakugou was certain he already knew the answer to that one though, as he ran a palm down the length of his face.

“You know I’m not allowed to leave him unsupervised with Denki anymore, Bro.” Kirishima groaned, “The wife still hasn’t forgiven me for them almost setting the kitchen on fire.”

Bakugou couldn’t help but snigger at the memory, the panicked phone call that he’d heard coming through on the central emergency line that there was a fire in Red Riot’s neighbourhood, and when Backdraft had turned up at the scene he’d found a singed Denki standing inside a murky kitchen with some burnt cookies. Kirishima had to replace two cabinet units and the oven after that debacle and it was no wonder his wife no longer trusted Denki as a babysitter.

“Please, man. I already told him, and he’s real excited to spend the day with you.”

Bakugou couldn’t deny he missed spending time with his little nephew, and Kirishima knew his best friend couldn’t deny the pleas of his son. Silently fist pumping the air in relief when Bakugou finally responded on the other end of the phone.

“Fine, I’ll pick him up now.”

“Uncle Kats, let’s get these!” His nephew picked up a water gun from a wire dumpbin of toys outside the toy store, turning around in a crouched motion with eyes squinted as he pretended to shoot Bakugou.

He put his hands up in mock surrender as he grabbed at the plastic barrel, holding it in the air as he took it out of his nephews hands to place it back inside the bin.

“Your parents don’t like you having guns, remember squirt.”

“But what if I need one for protection.”

“You don’t need that shit for protection,” He shook his head, “I’ll be there to protect ya.”

“But wouldn’t it be cool to have a water gun fight outside. It’s summer.” His young nephew whined as Bakugou began to lead him away from the toy store, noticing that your work was approaching on the right side of the mall.

“I’ll talk to them about it.” Bakugou reached down to ruffle his hair as his nephew shouldered his leg wrapping an arm around one thick thigh to squeeze him into a hug in thanks, “How about a book? You like reading, don’tcha?”

“Not really,” He shook his head, immediately making a beeline for the confectionery inside the shop.

“What? Why not.” Bakugou raised a brow before he began to search the store for you, hoping that you weren’t on your lunch break.

You were usually in one of the back aisles around this time of day, tidying the shelves as he pretended to flick through the various hero books that you sold. Like he’d ever actually buy one of them— perhaps the book Miruko had released on unabashedly being yourself despite the critics, or the memoir Edgeshot had put together before he passed away, but never the unofficial Deku books that seemed to line the shelves of your Pro-Hero section and were always on sale. Bakugou snorted when he noticed a large bright red “half off” sticker covering Deku’s face on one.

“It’s too many pages.” His nephew scoffed, picking up a chocolate bar as Bakugou placed a palm on the back of his neck to lead him away from the sweets.

“You just gotta find a book that doesn’t feel like too many pages, that’s all.” He began to walk towards the manga aisle, wondering if there might be something there that would interest the young boy.

“You like reading, uncle Kats?”

“Course I do,” Bakugou scoffed, “Way better than TV. That shit’ll rot your brain.”

He had an entire bookshelf of his favourites lined up at home. All in alphabetical order by author and spines outward facing, a few of his favourite covers turned forward to show off the artwork. Some spines were more worn than others, an indication of the sheer number of times he’d sought comfort in those stories after a long day at work, or a lonely night at home.

“What kinda books do you like?”

Bakugou chewed on the inside of his cheek before answering. It would be so easy to lie and say action or fantasy, certain that half the people who claimed their favourite book was Lord of the Rings or a Game of Thrones had never actually read them. Or the pretentious people who would pretend their favourites were non-fiction books about bettering yourself or hyper-specific topics that would never come up in normal conversation. But there was a part of him that didn’t want to lie to his nephew— the boy was always so open and honest with him, even at his young age.

“Romance.” Bakugou shrugged, leaning forward to pick up one of the new manga books that sat on a top shelf.

“Eww yuck,” Bakugou’s nephew immediately scrunched up his face, making a show of sticking his tongue out in distaste, “I didn’t think you’d like books like that.”

“What did ya think I’d like?”

“I dunno, like action or kicking villain ass.”

“Don’t say ass.” Bakugou frowned, his eyebrows narrowing as he glared down at the young boy.

“But you say it all the time, I hear you.”

“Yeah, because I’m an adult.” Bakugou grinned, “I see enough of that crap when I’m at work, don’t need to read about it too.”

“You say ‘shit’ a lot too.”

“Oi, you little—” Bakugou lost his train of thought the moment he saw you past a corner, words disappearing into nothing as he noticed the same focused look on your face as you sorted through a delivery of new books.

Bakugou was certain you were wearing a new pair of jeans today, or at least a pair he’d never seen before. You looked real good in them. He felt his heartbeat increase when you placed a book back on the shelf, stopping to talk to one of your colleagues as your lips curled in to the prettiest smile, and he couldn’t stop himself as he felt himself beginning to mimic your smiling face.

“Oh,” The kid nudged his thigh, shamelessly standing around the shelves to stare at you, “Is that the real reason why you brought me into a bookstore? Not because you want me to read.”

“What?” Bakugou wasn’t even sure he heard the question as he kept his gaze on you. Feeling his cheeks begin to heat up as you bent over to pick up more books, the angle had your jeans tightening against the curve of your ass and he felt like a pervert for ogling you so shamelessly.

“The lady you’re staring at.” His nephew snorted, pointing over at you “You’re so obvious.”

“Piss— shut up,” Bakugou caught himself, grabbing the kid by the collar of his shirt to tug him back behind the shelves, “I ain’t starin’.”

“Yeah you are!” His nephew sniggered, “You’re giving her the same look my dad gives ma.”

“No I ain’t.” Bakugou almost pouted, crimson eyes still peeking at you through the shelves in the aisle he was down as you continued to place more books onto the table in your section.

“You so are,” His tone increased, and Bakugou had to stop himself from slapping a palm over his big mouth to shut him up, “You’re so obvious. Look how red you are!”

Was he that obvious? Bakugou had done everything he could to be subtle each week when he visited your bookstore, trying to stick to the same shelves and strategically picking up books so he didn’t seem like was just staring at you all the time. Not that it was his fault anyway, you were so fucking pretty.

“Why don’t you go and talk to her?”

“She’s workin’.” Bakugou replied as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. He’d probably said a total of five words to you since he’d started coming into your book store a few weeks ago, and the thought of saying any more had a ferocious pit growing inside his stomach.

“So? If you like her you should tell her,” His nephew tried to nudge him towards you, “That’s why my dad asked my ma out.”

“That’s different,” Bakugou grumbled, “This is…”

Kirishima knew his wife liked him back, they’d been friends long before they started dating so they had a foundation to build upon. This? This was completely new to him, and the thought of being rejected, especially by a girl as pretty as you, petrified him.

“Wait, you read all those romance books and you don’t know how to ask a girl out?”

“I do know,” Bakugou sneered, “I ain’t a total dumbass.”

“So why don’t you?”

Because he was a coward, that’s why.

Not that he’d even be able to talk to you long enough to do it if he could. His throat seized up and his heart practically ricocheted off his rib cage whenever you were near, your perfume lingering in the air as it had him wishing he could bring you into a warm embrace. He’d ask you out one day, just not today—

“Because I told ya, she’s workin’.” Bakugou began to steer his nephew away from the manga section, trying to get him to leave the store.

It had been a bad idea to still come to your store on his day off even though he was babysitting, but he couldn’t help it. The routine he’d settled into on his days off no longer felt complete if they didn’t include you, the small time he’d spend in the bookstore each week were enough to become the highlight of his day. And he would ask you out— just not today.

“Don’t tell your parents about this,” Bakugou grumbled, “Your dads too frigging nosy.”

“Alright,” His nephew practically sung the word, and Bakugou knew exactly what was coming, “But it’ll cost you.”

“I’m sure it’s a crime to blackmail a Pro-Hero, squirt.”

“So I’ll just tell the pretty lady you fancy her then.”

“Fine, fine,” Bakugou snarled, the corner of his lip curling to bare his gum, “Whaddya want?”

“That water gun we saw at the toy store.”

God, Kirishima was gonna kill him.

“Fine.” Bakugou groaned, walking towards the cash register to pay for the candy that he’d picked up.

“But you have to get one too so we can play together, alright?”

Two guns. Kirishima’s wife would definitely kill him before he even attempted to sweet talk his best friend.

“I was going to say the loser has to tell that girl from the bookstore that you like her, but you’ll probably lose because you’re old.”

“Oi, you cheeky little shit,” He ruffled his nephew's messy black hair, “Watch who you’re callin’ old, squirt. I’ll kick your ass and ask her out.”

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

The Loudest Silence

YA contemporary

a newly Deaf-Hard of hearing girl moves across the country and starts a new school, struggling with navigating her disability and love for singing and lost friendships - determined to not make any new friends for the year she’s in Florida

and a boy struggling with family expectations and anxiety, after being made the fútbal captain even though he secretly ways to be on broadway, who quickly befriends her

bi & aroace-coded MCs

[ya-world-challenge]

Book Review - Our Shadows Have Claws

Trying to catch up on some older Netgalley reviews!

This is a compilation of Latin American monster stories by YA authors - many known names as well as new writers. I’m a little late as it’s past Halloween but this is a great anthology for any season. Note that it isn’t billed as horror stories - while some of them are a bit creepy depending on your tolerance, others are tales involving folkloric creatures and legends, so exactly that: Latin American monster stories.

The stories vary in length and at 15 total, this a great volume to pick up and read a story every once in a while. From Haitian lougarou to Columbian la patasola to completely original creatures, this anthology is a rich bundle of creativity and culture.

My favorite, while not at all creepy, was probably Blood Kin by Ari Tison, a captivating tale of family, heritage, and eco-exploitation where the real monsters are the evil oil companies.

Other favorites were the opening tale, The Nightingale and the Lark by Chantel Acevedo, a Romeo and Juliet forbidden romance in Cuba with a monster-hunting twist; Dismembered by Ann Davila Cardinal, a horrifying but touching tale set in Puerto Rico; Beware the Empty Subway Car by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite, an emotional and lovely-written take on the lougarou legend; Leave No Tracks by Julia Alvarez, a feminist-focused story of finding magical heritage.

The Other Side of the Mountain by Claribel A. Ortega is unique for being the only male protagonist in the collection, otherwise the stories exclusively feature Latina teens. ¿Dónde Está el Duende? by Jenny Torres Sanchez is arguably the creepiest of the stories, next to Dismembered.

Altogether this was a very high-quality collection of spooky stories, also made interesting by being spread across a wide variety of locales in both Latin America and the United States. Each story also has its own illustration, which were a nice touch and added to the atmosphere.

★  ★  ★  ★   ★    5 stars      

[tea-cat-arts]

(Disclaimer: this is a vent post)

Jiang Cheng discourse is frustrating because I feel like it always boils down to a debate on whether he's a good or bad person when like-

Such a central idea throughout all her books is that everyone has the capacity for good and evil. The cannibal who's been sewing political discourse for centuries is also a halfway decent dad, the prince who once tried to save all the common people ended up turning on them and releasing a plague, the guy who schemed and killed his way to chief of cultivation sacrificed himself to keep his best friend safe, the world's most dedicated internet hater also improves the lives of almost everyone around him... trying to force this narrow frame of good and bad people on her stories just doesn't work.

When it comes to Jiang Cheng in particular, I feel like the context for his actions gets completely thrown out the window in favor of focusing on the ways in which he was an asshole, but Jiang Cheng isn't really in a position where he can afford to be kind to everyone. The man has a whole clan to watch out for- as a kid, he couldn't just stand up to the Wens because every action he took would be interpreted as a reflection of the Jiang Clan's stance (and they were not in a position to go to war with the Wens). As an adult, he thought he couldn't afford to stand up for either wwx or the remaining Wens because it would risk putting his very freshly reformed clan who just finished a war in conflict with 3 other major clans. He is shown to have the capacity for love and the capacity for kindness (ex: getting all the hiers out of the cave and running all the way back to Yunmeng for help, putting himself in danger to draw the Wen scouts away from wwx, co-parenting Jin Ling with Jin Guangyao, being an attack dog against anyone who hurts his family, guarding wwx from dogs as a kid, standing up to his mom and asking her to stop when she berates wwx), but he rarely has opportunities where he can just follow all of his own values without it putting his clan at risk. I also feel like the ways in which he's kind get dismissed because he doesn't act nice. Like, he's not willing to put on a smile or be chatty like either Lan Xichen or Jin Guangyao. He's an anxious, rage-filled, asshole who hates losing, and that is on display at all times.

And ya- he's absolutely done some awful shit. He's fallen for propaganda, he's hurt and killed both wwx and potentially hundreds of innocent people, he doubles down on his mistakes instead of reflecting, and he votes with the leapords eating your face party, and he'll be spending a lot of time alone and filled with rage and regret because of it. I do not deny that all that shit is true about him, but what I'll argue against is the idea that it's all he ever was and all he'll ever be

Normally, I believe in death of the author, but in this case mxtx's comments from a 2016 interview support my stance on him, so I'm gonna bring it up (Link to full interview. It's a fun read)

But ya: shout out to my fellow Jiang Cheng fans who like him, but think he's an asshole and want to push him down a flight of stairs

[bookcub]

Hey hey, I was wondering if you have any ace book/books with ace characters recommendations? I’ve only read Loveless so far (since it is as you said The Ace Book), but I want to read some more for pride month and I don’t know where to start. I know you’ve read a couple but I can’t remember which ones you liked so I was hoping you could help me out?

ooooo yes I absolutely can! I will start with my favorites and then some others I enjoyed. Let me know if you have any questions about content warnings or genres I didn't cover!

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger- urban fantasy, Ellie's ace identity isn't the focus but is canon and the central relationships are familial and platonic. it's part murder mystery, part magical journey

(Little Badger's A Snake Falls to Earth also has an ace mc but I remember less of the plot)

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen- goose girl retelling from the maid's perspective and she's demisexual!! high fantasy and action packed.

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan Mcguire- a magical school book where kids who come back from their portal fantasy adventures. Nancy is ace and there's a murder mystery plot within.

Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee- my favorite ace contemporary ya romance

How to Be a Normal Person by TJ Klune- contemporary adult romance. the love interest is explicitly ace.

Aces Wild: A Heist by Amanda DeWitt- a group of ace internet friends plan a heist.

How to Be Ace by Rebecca Burgess- A graphic memoir

(I liked Ace by Angela Chen and Refusing Compulsory Sexuality by Sherronda J Brown for heavier reading)

That Kind of Guy by Talia Hibbert- adult contemporary romance, one of the mcs is demisexual (he knows before the book starts)

Role Playing by Cathy Yardley- adult contemporary romance, one of the mcs is demisexual (he realizes within the book)

That's Not What Happened by Kody Keplonger- YA contemporary, follows a group of students after a school shooting.

Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann- ya contemporary romance.

[marvel-ous-m]

Eddie Munson’s Guide for How to Adopt a Jock in Four Easy Steps (2/5)

Part One 

Part Three

A.N.: Um... guys, WHAT?! The outpouring of love and support for a blurb I had sitting in my Notes app for the last two months has been absolutely wild. I’ve been writing for the better part of the last day, and this is now a ~7k, five chapter fic that I will be posting to Tumblr as well as my AO3. I can’t thank y’all enough for all of the support, and I hope you like where this is heading! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  

After Steve finished ranting about the middle schoolers he spent time with, Eddie launched into a description of the campaign he was working on for Hellfire. Steve listened intently as Eddie spoke, slowly making his way through Eddie’s sandwich and the bottle of water until both were finished. Eddie kept talking after Steve finished his food, distracting himself by going on a tangent about goblins in D&D. He was pulled from his rant at the sound of a soft thump- which, Eddie realized with surprise, was Steve’s forehead slumping down far enough to hit the tabletop. 

Steve sat up almost immediately when his head hit the table, cheeks flushing in embarrassment. 

Eddie snorted at Steve’s antics, piling his books together. “Damn Stevie, I didn’t realize I was that boring.” 

“Stevie?” Steve whispered under his breath, then shook his head, shooting a sheepish smile Eddie’s way. “You didn’t bore me- I liked it, really, I just-”

“Hey, Steve?” Eddie cut Steve off, smirking at him. “You don’t need to make excuses. No offense man, but you kinda look like shit, I can tell you haven’t been sleeping well. Speaking of which- why are you even here? You should probably be at home resting, not zombie-walking your way through a day of classes.”

Steve hummed at that, shrugging and resting his cheek on his palm. “S’better here than it is at home.”

Eddie frowned at that, his brow creasing. Steve had just told him a few minutes ago that his parents hadn’t been home in three months, and all of Hawkins knew he was the only child of the Harringtons. What was so bad about spending the day in a giant mansion that most definitely had central heating? Eddie would kill to spend these winter months in a house like that instead of under approximately fifty blankets (while somehow still freezing his ass off) in the trailer. 

Steve breathed out a small puff of air, and Eddie noticed that his eyes had slipped shut in the minute-or-so that Eddie had been distracted by his internal monologue. Shit, Steve was really exhausted. Eddie sighed and stood, quietly loading his books into his backpack. After zipping up his backpack and pulling it onto his shoulder, Eddie gently shook Steve’s shoulder, wincing sympathetically. The last thing he wanted to do was wake Steve up, but Mrs. Boliene would have a fit if she saw Steve like this.

He was definitely not expecting Steve to practically jump out of the chair, or for his breathing to suddenly grow erratic, in response to being woken up. There was something in his eyes- a kind of fear that Eddie could only associate to something he saw in Wayne’s eyes after waking his uncle from a particularly bad nightmare. 

Eddie held his hands up, taking a step back from Steve. “Hey- sorry, it’s just- Ms. Boliene can be kinda a bitch about people sleeping in the library. I know a place you can rest for a while if ya want. Let’s be honest, you probably aren’t going to be learning anything if you go to the rest of your classes today.” 

Steve clenched his right hand a couple times- Eddie would file that particular coping mechanism away to ask about later- then nodded, his breathing (mostly) back to a normal pace. “Sorry about that. Yeah man, whatever you say.”

Eddie nodded, let his arms drop, then cleared his throat. “Right, just go ahead and follow me, King Steve.” 

Steve sighed and stood with a wince, gathering the garbage from his (Eddie’s) lunch before following the other boy out of the library. He tossed the trash in the garbage bin outside the library then took a couple of long strides forward to catch up to Eddie. “Can you um- maybe, like… not call me that?”  

“Sure thing, Steve-o. Here, hang a right.” Eddie turned down a hallway and Steve followed, eyebrows raised in surprise. 

“That’s it?”

Eddie stopped walking when they reached the drama room door, shrugging. “Yeah man, that’s it. You don’t wanna be called something, I’m not gonna call you that. Nicknames are supposed to be fun, dude.” 

Steve nodded in understanding, but his brow was furrowed- he was clearly deep in thought. Eddie stood there a moment, waiting for Steve to say something. When it became apparent that the jock was going to keep his thoughts to himself, Eddie smiled tightly and opened the drama room door, walking past the gaggle of students sitting together and eating lunch at the front of the room. He ignored their stares and walked to the back of the room to a set of double doors, which he opened and then led Steve through. “This is where Hellfire meets. You can lay down in the corner over there on the couch cushions and blankets. I set that up last year for my mid-morning, skip-P.E. nap time.” 

Steve blinked in surprise, then turned to Eddie with a playful smirk. “Is that why you’re repeating this year? Slept through too much P.E.?”    

Eddie chuckled at that. Harrington had some sass to him, huh? “One of the many reasons. What can I say, getting sweaty for some dumbass P.E. teacher just doesn’t agree with me.” ‘There are much better things to get sweaty for’, a distant voice in Eddie’s head whispered. Eddie pushed that thought away, shaking his head at himself. Harrington was not the kind of guy to think those kinds of things around. 

Steve giggled to himself- honest to god giggled, it was quite possibly the best sound that Eddie had ever heard- then stepped into the room, taking in the variety of chairs surrounding the giant table and the various decorations on the walls. Suddenly, Steve’s playful smile disappeared, turning to a grimace. “Um, are you sure it’s okay for me to sleep here, Eds? Don’t you have Hellfire here later tonight? I wouldn’t want to intrude-” 

“Stevie, I promise it’s fine. You’ll probably be awake by the time we’re in here playing through the campaign anyways. Just don’t worry about it and get some rest, okay?” 

Steve nodded, walking to the corner and sitting down on the cushions. Eddie smiled reassuringly at him from his place at the doorway, then waved goodbye to Steve. “I’m off to English and Chem. I’ll be back in about two hours, but I could lock the doors in the meantime?” Eddie pulled a lanyard out of his pocket, grinning. “Perks of being club president. I’m the only one with a key other than the drama teacher, and he never comes in here. I just figured- maybe you would sleep better knowing that no one can get in? You would be able to get out, obviously, but- y’know what? Maybe this is creepy, pretend like I didn’t say anything-”

“-Thank you, Eddie. I… would appreciate that.” Steve cut off Eddie’s (admittedly awkward) rant and punctuated his request with a yawn, scrubbing a tired hand over his face. 

“Yeah, yeah of course dude, whatever you need.” Eddie stepped out and locked the door behind himself, then slumped his back against the door. Step One: Get Steve Harrington to Take Care of Himself, complete. Time for Step Two.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A.N.- tagging those who requested/insinuated a request, lmk if you’d like to be added/taken off the tag list.

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