#teenagereading

[teenageread]

Review: Just Happy to Be Here

Trigger Warning: Homophobia and Racism 

Initial Thoughts: 

I really wanted to love this book, but Naomi Kanskia made it hard with probably the worst plot of 2024, and a main character who has no backbone because they were just happy to be here. Tara, a recent trans girl, starts her first year at the all-girls school and wants to join the Sibyl's Society, an exclusionary club with massive scholarships that could get Tara out of her homophobic small town. Unfortunately for Tara, she does not have the grades or talent for the group, but think she should get in because she is BIPOC and trans? This is honestly a question, as throughout the entire book Kanakia did not make it clear whether Tara thought she truly belonged with the Sibyls or not, as even Tara debated back and forth whether she was deserving of a position. Kanakia wanted to write this story to give an honest depiction of what it was like being trans, and the struggles that go with it, but the book was so inconsistent and lacked depth that it made it difficult to read and comprehend at times. 

Characters: 

As a main character, Tara is someone you can root for and support, and feel pity for everything bad that happens to her. I wish Kanskia gave Tara someone she could be real with, but because Tara, essentially, has no friends, or someone trusting relationship with her parents, there is one Tara could be herself with for the entire novel. Like I get that this is a real situation of having no one close to you to share your inner thoughts and be your most ethnic self with, but it made it such a painful read. Even as the reader, Tara held you at arm's length, making you want to shake her and tell her to actually share her thoughts and feelings, instead of bottling them up all the time. I hated how mean Tara was towards Liam, and even doubting his trans identity at points, but then getting mad when Liam tells Tara she does not stand up for their (as trans people) rights enough. She thinks Liam is over-exaggerating the trauma he faces, and dismissing his feelings does not put Tara in a good light. I get that the point of this novel was that Tara did not want to be a political pawn, or leader of an LGBTQ+ movement, but having Tara do nothing every time someone attacks her, just makes you feel sad and provides no hope.  The romance Kanakia also tried to start with Felicity seemed so fake, that honestly even at the end I felt as if Felicity would turn on Tara, as their friendship seemed ice-thin the entire novel.    

Plot and Writing:

Now even if Tara came with her flaws, and the plot had some holes, Kanakia could have saved this novel with some expert writing skills - which they did not. The writing of this novel was inconsistent, fell flat, there were little to no heart no heart conversations, and pacing was inconsistent. Tara does not trust anyone with her feelings, including the readers, so it makes the time she does give emotion rare, too late, and at a weird timing. It was just so hard to keep up with this novel and be invested where the plot kept turning in on itself, and the only thing Tara was consistent on was getting hormone medication, which when her parents finally agreed was not even that big of a plot moment that Kanakia wanted it to be. 

Conclusion 

I wanted to love this novel, and for Tara’s story to be one I recommend it to every one of the real-life situations trans girls find themselves in. But with the bad writing, inconsistent plot, and weak characters, it's a hard book to recommend despite its important message

[lovecourageforeternity]

Creep☠ (on Wattpad) https://my.w.tt/UiNb/OKdgIWAE1I Lia's 18th birthday has finally come and she couldn't be any happier. This was the moment she was waiting for since she was a little girl. Nothing could go wrong... right? Not unless someone crashes the party which happens to be a stalker...

[generalbreadstarfish]

Young author reveal.... Drum 🥁 roll please... Join me to congratulate and welcome teenage author, Zaman Shadhan @_zamansj I have been inspired working with this young author and I know you will too. More to come on her first book, “Quotes:All in my Head” #youngauthor #authorofcolor #teenageauthor #teenager #teenagereaders #booklovers #voraciousreaders #books #kidsbooks https://www.instagram.com/p/BvXYMXjHub1/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1waprq48gevya

[madcapster]

A New Years gift to youngest cost centre. She’s a teenager. She needs to know the fine art of insulting. #books #bookstagram #teenagereading #london https://www.instagram.com/p/BsIZnbzAhQc/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=97hcn2hwtg7c

[themoonshineworld-blog]

[teenageread]

Darker by Four

Initial Thoughts:

June Tan essentially wrote an anime into a story. The whole concept screamed anime, with the character's name, location, and the whole action/fantasy/battling darkness, it would be cool to see what this would look like in show form. After all, this show has ties to Chinese mythology. How cool could this story be! Unfortunately, it was very underwhelming and lacked the depth that Tan could have out there. Nothing regrettable, but also nothing notable either. 

Characters:

First off, I love Nikai, even if he's a reaper. Tan opens the story with Nikai, his best friend Four, who promptly disappears leaving Nikai trying to save the kingdom as it is run by Ten. Ten is also a cool guy, a good anti-hero/god looking out for himself, vibe, as Ten is the true catalyst in story advancement. I would get the second book in this series just to continue on with the hunt for Four, and to dive deeper into what Four and Nikai’s friendship looked like. Unfortunately, this was only a side plot as the main story was taken from the point of view of Rui and Yiran, who were just alright. Rui, our strong girl, is meant to be the best exorcist in her class, and she carries that in this noble with her cocky attitude and her flirtation with the law. Rui is looking out for Rui, with her hard outer shell that she does not let anyone in, even Zizi, despite that being her romantic interest. Because of this, it is hard to get to know Rui, and it's hard to contact her as she feels aloof even with us readers. Zizi loved him though, but definitely did not get enough page time, however, it was extremely weird and almost offputting how they went from friends to lovers with absolutely no chemistry.  Same with Yiran, she tried to make him the bad rich boy, who's actually a sweetie but failed in the latter half making you still see him as this jerk. Plus, our characters spent so much time alone, that it made it hard to have a found family feel, as their storylines all seem disconnected.  

Plot and Writing:

This book is meant to be a series, and it felt that, as Tan opened up so many different threads of the plot, but left them to be solved in the next book, making this one feel rushed and, kinda pointless. The plot is there as this story has such a cool concept with lots of room to grow, it is just unfortunate that Tan made this novel a bit too big leaving it disconnected, as again, our characters all had their own plot going on with rare interaction between them. The writing was good, as Tan kept up a fairly good pace with multiple action scenes and several twists; the majority were predictable but still fun.   

Conclusion: 

This is an okay novel, and I think it would be worth reading if on vacation (like me) and after Tan released the others in the series to ensure that these plot holes are addressed promptly. I love Nikai and Zizi, Rui and Yiran, where boarding, are not hateable, and if you can get over not caring about the characters, the plot has some cool elements with it and I am excited to see where Tan goes, if I do not forget this novel in the meantime. 

[teenageread]

Review: Good in Bed

Initial Thoughts:

Holy that novel took a lot out of me, and honestly one I thought I would never finish. Jennifer Weiner sets this novel to be a novel about self-love, where our main character, Cannie Shapiro, a plus-size 28-year-old woman, is going to love herself and know she is worthy of love despite her father leaving her as a child. Which does happen, but goddamn it took a while (aka to the end of the book) to get there, and in the meantime, you had to watch Cannie make the worst decisions at every possible turn, pine over a loser man who probably can’t even tie his shoes (no offense Bruce), and have the most wacko situations work out in her scenario. In this novel, Weiner tells the story in a way like you should be rooting for and loving Cannie, but instead, I find myself rolling my eyes at this impossible novel, and a hated main character who spent the novel being weak, selfish, and the opposite of the screenplay Cannie wrote, because this girl needs to be helped at every turn.

Characters:

Cannie, who is the only first-person perspective you hear from in this story, is a crybaby, who never learned life is unfair, and that you need to love yourself if you expect anyone else to love you. As a character, she is quite witty, smart, and can hold fantastic conversations with others, but her self-deprecation at every turn for her size and the fact that she does not have a boyfriend at 28, really brings the novel down. Any time a character does not agree with her, she does a 180 and says the worst things to them, and then cries about how no one likes her, especially Bruce, whom she broke up with, but Weiner never decides to expand on besides that Cannie was just “done” with him. No one holds Cannie accountable for her actions in this novel, as she is allowed to flaunt, complain, cry, and fight with everyone, and then in the end, it is them who are begging Cannie for her forgiveness. 

Plot:

Honestly, the plot of this novel is so confusing, however, there are some steady themes in this novel that keep the plot going. First is that this novel centers around Cannie's life, so the main plot climax is Cannie realizing she needs to love herself, which happens far too late in the novel. Within this novel following Cannie’s life, there are the dumb choices she makes that bring us mini plot lines that conclude within their own part. Oh yes, this novel had to be that extra and have the story divided into parts. 

Writing:

Speaking of those parts, yes, Weiner felt this book had to be even more extra and divided itself into five parts of Cannie’s life, each featuring its own plot point. Now you would think these parts would be interesting, except Weiner writes them to be dull and with nothing happening, except for the last chapter. The last chapter of each part has some cliffhanger ending, making you want to read the next part, only to find the issue quickly fixed and back to the daily boring schedule of Cannie’s life. 

Conclusion: 

Overall this novel sucks and leaves a bad taste in your mouth, and despite its New York Times recommendation, Weiner writes this story about a victim-complex main star, who thinks everyone else is the problem, makes the worst decisions ever, and has everything work out to her advantage despite not growing to be a better person.

[teenageread]

Review: Destroy All Cars

Initial Thoughts:

This novel is delightful and hilarious if you get past Blake Nelson's sharp and witty writing. The novel is taken from the first-person perspective of James Hoff, a teenager who is against consumer America. Destroy All Cars, titled after James’s AP English class essay on how to save the environment we need to eliminate all cars, James is forced to live his hippy lifestyle in suburban America with peers who do not get it. Now I do not know why James got into AP English. If this is the best writing he can do, I do not believe he will be able to pass the course. I do believe he has good ideas about the environment, and as a fellow environmentalist, I do understand where James is coming from. However, purposely cutting holes into your shirt, and complaining about CONSUMER AMERICA (always in all caps), without actually trying to educate your peers is where I think James went wrong. This is why Nelson introduces Sadie, our activist girlie who James loves but also does not think she’s actually making a difference. This comparison of James knowing what's wrong but does not try to help, vs. Sadie who does not see the full picture but is still willing to try, made for an interesting dynamic, plus threw in a past relationship to add some drama. Unfortunately, this novel has a lot of whine and very little plot, This novel is very teenager that my mid-twenties could not handle, as I found James and Sadie to take themselves too seriously despite the fact that their doing low-scale good community work, and treating it like their at the white house. 

Characters:

James Hoff, a junior in high school and a hater of all things America. Sure he lives in society, has friends, goes to school, and consumes, but James hates it. Refusing to get a car or think about college, James writes mediocre essays in AP English, telling Mr. Cogwiller all the things going wrong in the world, and how there is nothing they can do. Pessimistic and a realist, I think James is the kind of person you either like or hate. He is whiny, he does think he's better than his peers and is content with watching the world burn and not doing anything about it. Thus I love how Nelson gave us Sadie and tied her to James for being his ex-girlfriend, and something James cares about. Sadie is a do-gooder, she tries her best, is involved in everything, and believes that she can make a difference. Both are strong characters who are self-assured in their abilities to do something (Sadie) or do nothing (James). They are well-developed enough characters, in the sense that Nelson wrote them as true teenagers - self-absorbed, no real idea of consequences, and kind of just going through life. Sadie wanting to feel her “freedom”, and James feeling like “no one understands him”, and more classic teenage ideologically that after a time does get boring. 

Plot and Writing:

The plot in this novel is not consistent, as there is really nothing going on, no big event, not one conversation that gives this novel its climax. Nelson truly just gave readers a glimpse into James’s life, and what he is going through in middle America. Divided into six parts, what I absolutely love is how fast-paced Nelson kept the novel with barely a page per chapter. Starting from January with the first essay on destroying all cars, Nelson takes readers into early June with James, with each day almost being like a diary entry from James as he just seems to talk to the readers about life, thoughts, and his conflicted feelings towards Sadie. Not that I would call this novel a romance, but that is a part of the plot, same with how James is an environmentalist, and this novel, I think, is just a realistic take on society in a pessimistic way.   

Conclusion: 

This novel is really about a teenager with no real plot. We have emo boy James Hoff who hates consumer America despite being part of it, wants to love Sadie but does not know how, and all in all just trying to survive and pass AP English. With its short chapters, I would recommend this novel, but not for readers to take it seriously and to just enjoy this silly ride. 

[teenageread]

Review: It Ends With Us

Initial Thoughts:

Ahh the book that was written for Tik Tok. Seriously, Hoover even had to add a blur at the start of the novel to remind readers to read the first novel first, because that is how the series works. Honestly, Hoover gets a lot of love and hate, but I personally loved It Ends With Us, as Hoover’s take on ending the cycle of domestic abuse. Thus, I was interested to see how Hoover would continue the story now that Lily got herself out of that cycle, along with her and Ryle’s baby Everson. And Hoover continued it. With this novel full of fluff, with a few deep moments, this novel does not ruin the series, but it also adds very little. Sure it was nice to see Atlas and Lily get back together, and experience that familiar type of love again. It was also beautiful to hear from Atlas’s perspective on how much he truly values Lily, but other than that, this novel did not contain a whole lot, nor progress the story any further than the first novel.

Characters

This novel was written from two first-person points of view: Lily and Atlas. Lily’s was the same as the first novel, with thankfully far fewer Ellen entries, and lacking flashbacks to her and Atlas’s past. Sure there were some diary entries read here and there, and even Atlas wrote some letters describing his side of past events, but in general Lily’s voice was the same as it was in the first novel, as she lacked any character development, besides growing the tiniest backbone to Ryle for Emmy’s sake. Reading from Atlas’s perspective, now that was the treat. Hoover wrote Atlas to be a book lover's dream boy by having him be extremely nice to Lily, just wanting to love her, and willing to accept her with all her baggage, including Ryle. He was just good, inside and out, and when Hoover tried to give Atlas his own plot perspectives like his mom coming back, Josh, and even the restaurants, it was nothing to distract him from his love of Lily. He just did it all, and not in an over-the-top way, but just did it, and it kind of made him bland. Don’t get me wrong Atlas’s love for Lily was amazing and what she deserves, but I just wish Atlas held her accountable for things, especially involving Ryle. Like the whole plot point where Ryle thought Lily went to the lawyer, our Atlas really should have pushed her to do that, instead of watching her struggle to handle the emotions of her ex-husband while still trying to live her life. Atlas was good for Lily, but Lily should be better for him, and that is done by getting her stuff together and dealing with the hard issues instead of letting Ryle, her ex-husband, control her life still. Now for everyone's most hated character Ryle, in which I wished Hoover made him more. Either more toxic, or better, Ryle in this novel is the same as the last, where his anger does get the best of him, he shows somewhat remorse, but not a whole lot. I just wish Hoover made him so toxic that he goes to jail, or in recovery where he is doing things to be a better person for his daughter, instead, Hoover has Ryle in the same place as in the last novel. This, like Lily, does not give him any character development, and nothing new for you to root for, or hate against. He is simply the same guy from the last novel with new things to pick fights with Lily about and hurt her in extreme ways.  

Plot

Like the first novel, this book’s main plot is a love story between Lily and Atlas, with a few extra details thrown in the sequel. The first is that Lily’s old love interest, Ryle, is still there and very much present, thanks to the baby that he shares with Lily. This novel has Lily fall in love with Atlas, go on a  few dates, have some drama because Ryle mostly scares Lily to run to Atlas, and so on and so on. Nothing original, and honestly runs pretty much the same as the first novel, only in this one Hoover gives us the impression that Lily will not break up with Atlas 

Writing:

I truly do enjoy Hoover’s writing style, of being easy to read, easy to follow along to, and just light and breezy with a few good moments in there. Perfect, easy read, and honestly the essence of a beach novel, or in this case, a book written for TikTok, as Hoover made that one pretty clear. 

Conclusion: 

Truly did not need this novel, but I am not mad that Hoover did write it. Sure it was all unnecessary, the plot drama unneeded, Atlas’s storyline irrelevant to the main plot. Honestly, Hoover could have attached this epilogue to the epilogue of the first novel and called it quotes, and it honestly would have worked. Sure it was nice to see Lily and Atlas get together, to have the Ryle situation somewhat sorted, and just get more time in this Boston world Hoover created. However, Hoover clearly lacks what makes a sequel a sequel, as they do not extend the world, give us more background of our characters (besides Atlas which they do), or expand the plot, as this novel, like the first one, is another love story where Lily gets to fall in love again, and this time, we hope, she sticks with it, and Atlas is not an abuser like Ryle was.

[teenageread]

Review: American Dirt

Initial Thoughts:

What a stellar novel that Jeanine Cummins brings to life, despite its bleak topic. We all heard tales of people illegally immigrating to the United States by crossing the Mexican desert for a better life. Cummins brings one of these stories to life in her story of how Lydia and her son, Luca, must do this dangerous journey as she escapes her family killer. The story is raw and powerful, bringing together the concepts of love, family, and survival as Lydia will do anything to make sure Luca survives the horrors that have befallen their family. 

Characters:

Written in the third person, Cummins starts the story following Luca as Lydia hides him in the bathtub when the cartel comes and guns down their entire family at Luca’s cousin's birthday party. Then switching to following Lydia, as she packs up her life to move Luca far away from Javier, leader of the cartel, former friend of Lydia, and the man that is out for their blood based on an article Lydia’s husband wrote about him. Lydia is a strong character, a dreamer who finds herself in a waking nightmare, longing for the life she had, as she pushes through for Luca’s survival. The grief she feels flies off the page, as she is tossed into an unknown world and has to see the unspeakable to survive. There is nothing not to love about Lydia, as you only feel pity about how her friendship has gotten her into this mess. Throughout the story, the past is revealed of Lydia and Javier's friendship, and where Cummins does not make him an active character in this novel, the past and his actions lead him to become a noticeable threat to Lydia and Luca’s safety. Where I wish for more Javier interactions, the past makes up for that, but I felt he could have been more of a player in this story, than just a lurking threat in the shadows. The real story stealers were the sisters Lydia and Luca ran into Soledad and Rebeca. I loved them from the first time Cummins introduced them, and loved them more once their past was revealed. These girls were strong, heroic, and genuinely lovely people who took Lydia and Luca on with warmth; showing good in a world that has seen too much bad. 

Plot and Writing: 

I love how fast-paced this story is, and how Cummins adds twists and turns at every possibility as Lydia and Luca make this treacherous journey to safety. Starting with the death of the family, Cummins had our characters running from day one, giving us a chase right until the end, and an epilogue to tie the story up into a neat bow. The writing was graphic and dark, making this not a light read, as Cummins does not shy away from the horrors that both Lydia and Soledad had faced. Yet, this novel was written with hope, as despite the horrors the women in this story have gone through, they were willing to fight for the next day, to survive, and to make sure those they are in charge of (Luca and Rebeca) saw a better future than their past. 

Conclusion: 

It was not until I finished the book that I began understanding the controversy behind this story, and the hatred for it. Cummins is not Mexican, nor has any strong linkages to the story she wrote about a Mexican family crossing the border. Yes, it is a good story, and Cummins does an excellent job writing it; however, there are plenty of Mexican authors who could have written a truer story based on their own family experiences. Where American Dirt is a work of fiction, we should be reading and celebrating the stories of those who have the experience, and ensure the world knows about their story and not a person who wrote about something they have no business interfering with. That being said, Cummins writes a powerful tale, and one that, I think, deserves to be read and enjoyed as a literary piece, deserving of its awards because it is a decent story, and Cummins is a talented author for crafting such a tale. 

[teenageread]

Review: L.A. Candy

Initial Thoughts:

Lauren Conrad took forever to get the plot started, or it could be me just forgetting this novel is the first of the series every page of the way. Conrad started the novel with two best friends who recently moved to LA and got discovered for this new reality show. An interesting enough concept, that just took forever to get going. Pages upon pages would go by before they got the contract, more pages before the first episode aired, and then finally when the girls began getting famous - that was the end of this novel. If shows had filler episodes, then this entire novel was a filler for the actual content of the series, which must be seen at a later date. This novel had so much potential, it just feels like Conrad filled it with enough junk to save all the drama and excitement for the next novel in the series, leaving the opening kind of bland.

Characters 

Where this novel is third-person point of view all the way around, we do follow specific characters around to see their daily interactions, the majority of which is following Jane, followed up by her number two Scarlett. Jane is your goodie, the girl next door, who wants to make it big in LA as an event planner. She is the one excited about LA living, and even more excited to be on the TV show “L.A. Candy” and for her shot at being famous. Scarlette is our go-getting, super smarty, super hottie, who where she can get any guy she wants, typically goes to those who will not challenge her - at least for one night. She is done with the California blondes and LA clubs, and where she is sassy she has a lot of likable qualities, like her loyalty to Jane. Where [in this novel] Jane and Scarlet are still besties, we see their character develop as they grow apart due to the show, with Jane becoming more of a reality star, whereas Scarlet is trying to erase herself for the season. Along with our girls, there are two others to make up the show, Madison and Gaby, however, Gaby does not get the spotlight (or plot lines), at all throughout the novel. Madison is the antagonist as she rivals Jane for the spotlight in the show, however, Jane does not see her that way as Madison hides her true intentions. 

Plot:

Like I said, the plot should be good, if Conrad could have gotten it going faster. Our girls are the prime stars of the hit new TV show “L.A. Candy”, a true reality show that follows four girls around L.A As they work and party; it should have been a fast catchy plot. However, Conrad wrote it slowly, maybe saving the juicy plot points for later on in the series, but from this novel we were halfway done before we even met the producer of the show and got contracts signed. There should have been more fights, more TV being invasive in their lives, and more relationship drama, than leaving it all to the last few pages. Sure Conrad did end off on a high note, with a cliffhanger ending leading to promises of excitement and plot twist in the next novel; but this one was not exciting enough to make that want a need. 

Writing 

Fun and easygoing, but very slow as Conrad filled this novel up with a small time plot and not enough character development to push the novel forward. Plus as a third-person point of view, it was hard to get read where the characters were mentally throughout the novel, as we only got to see their actions without hearing their plot process. 

Conclusion: 

Interesting plot, and likable characters, but slow writing makes this novel drag on. Still, I am excited to see where Conrad takes the girls in this series, as the cliffhanger ending is interesting enough to make you want to pick up the second book and see what is going on to the hit reality star girls, as LA Candy is about to get more wild.

[teenageread]

Review: Kill Joy

Initial Thoughts: 

For those of you who were missing Pip, or want to learn about her and her crime-solving abilities, Holly Jackson has this for you. A fun murder mystery party, starring Pip and others from the series, a night during the summer before senior year. This is before Pip even thinks of solving Andie Bell’s murder, as the novel ends with Pip deciding this factor, allowing this novel to be just a short made-up mystery of who killed Regional. With added factors such as character cards, and having the characters run around Connor’s house looking for clues, this novel is a fun throwback to simpler times in Pip’s life as she puts on the detective hat for the first time, and discovers that she is actually really good at solving cases. 

Plot:

A murder mystery party where friends dressed in the 1920s to attend Reginald’s 74th birthday party, each being a character within the house. When Ronald (aka Connor’s brother), shows up dead, the friends have to find clues and point fingers during conversations to uncover who the killer is. With Pip having her own ideas, and plot points being revealed throughout the novel, this mystery is highly addicting and makes the novella fly by.   

Writing

Unlike the other novels in the series, this one is light and full of good fun, compared to the other novels as the series holds a much darker tone. Taken from the third person point of view of Pip, we see her run around Connor’s house, as she and her friends try to solve the mystery. Happening in the short period of only one night, it makes sense as this novella only takes play during the entire Murder Mystery game. 

Conclusion: 

For fans of the series, short mysteries, or those who just thought the cover was cool, this novella is definitely worth the read. Written in ways for fans of the series to enjoy, and for others to pick up the series, Jackson writes this stand-alone prequel to be a fun mystery for all to enjoy. 

[teenageread]

Review: ASAP

Initial Thoughts:

Wow oh wow, Axie Oh can write a novel. Featuring another XOXO member, this time we focus on Nathaniel's inappropriate relationship, aka just having one, with another soon to be K-pop idol, Sori. Now I do not know why Oh did not make this a series, but technically this is the second novel, as the first (titled XOXO), told us Jenny and Jaewoo love story, this one focuses on Sori, and her old flame Nathaniel. Unlike for Jenny, Sori knows about the k-pop world, and what it means to her mom, the CEO of the Joah Entertainment, this gives Sori's story a bit more depth because she knows what she is doing is wrong, and still does not care. Oh writes this very cute, heartwarming, and second chance love story, featuring fame on both sides of the story, and the duty for Sori to not create a scandal for her mom. With Sori’s complicated family life adding a bit of subplot, Sori also figuring out what she wants to do in life, makes this story not just about Nathaniel, but something more. The only thing I wish Oh flushed out more was Nathaniel and Sori’s past relationship, as it mention it a few times in the novel of them dating previously, the reason why they broke up, I just wish we had a bit more flashbacks to really fall in love with Nathaniel, before reading about Sori falling in love with him again.

Characters:

God I wish we could get inside Nathaniel’s head, but at last Oh likes to keep us guessing by only giving us a first person point of view of Sori for the entire novel. This is fine as Sori is a fantastic character, with strong morals, a good head on their shoulders, and a bit of jealousy to keep her glued to Nathaniel’s side even when their relationship was a bit rocky. Featuring the other XOXO, Sori’s family, and Jenny from time to time, and the girls from ASAP. Mostly though the story focuses on Sori, and really highlights the interactions she has with Nathaniel, as he is the main love interest. These conversations are what I live for as it just made the story peak, and have you swooning for them to get together ASAP (haha get it). 

Plot:

Now where the main plot line is the romance between Nathanial and Sori, there is also a secondary plotline of how Sori’s mom's record company is going broke. To save it they need a wealthy investor who is willing to fund the company, if his daughter becomes a K-pop idol. Thus the girls group ASAP, which Sori was supposed to be in, until she tells her mom she does not want to be a K-pop idol anymore. Thus her role as trainer trying to ASAP K-pop ready, while falling in love with nathaniel, keeping it a secret from the world, and desperately trying to make everyone in her life happy. 

Writing:

Oh’s writing is super easy to follow, as it does stick with Sori’s point of view, with easy writing to understand. I also love Oh’s usage of Korean names, not only for the characters, but how they address each other in a formal and informal setting. For example, Sori used and was referred to as Eonni, which means big sister. Obviously Sori does not have younger siblings, thus this word is used as endearment by those who respect Sori and whom Sori respects. This novel does a really good job at introducing readers to some South Korean customs. 

Conclusion: 

Overall this novel is a cute romance between two young adults who happen to be in the spotlight of Korean entertainment. With Sori dealing not only with her love life, but who she wants to be, Oh makes it pretty obvious that whatever Sori’s life will lead her, Nathaniel will be at her side, and this novel shows you how that can happen.

[teenageread]

Review: This Summer Will Be Different

Initial Thoughts:

Never before have I wanted to go to PEI (the smallest province in Canada) so badly, and if Carley Fortune does not make you book a ticket (or drive like me), we did not read the same novel. I know Fortune in the literature world writes these epic romances that make you not only fall in love with the characters, but the location as well, and this novel can be a testament to that statement. Fortune makes you fall in love with Lucy and PEI at the same time as this novel not only spans before the summer of Bridget getting married, but the past five summers, and some thanksgiving. As Felix and Lucy try to deny the chemistry they feel for each other, this secret romance has you gasping for the conclusion. The thing is though, where Felix is the perfect book boyfriend, and I loved his and Lucy’s relationship, that is not the romance this novel is about. Taking inspiration from Anne of Green Gables (PEI classic story), this novel is an ode to female friendship that makes you more emotional than anything Felix does or could do. This is a love story of Lucy and Bridget, two best friends who found each other in college and helped through the toughest challenges of young womanhood. This type of friendship has not been told before (by novels that I’ve read) because it's not about a group of friends or a found family, but that single person that makes you feel more seen and heard than anyone else in a truly platonic sort of way. That is to me what makes this novel phenomenal, not only a good romance and a beautiful location, but as an ode to female friendship that makes you hold your girlfriends close and want to treasure the friendship you created. 

Characters:

I honestly think Lucy is the perfect character and an excellent POV for this novel. Lucy is in her mid-twenties and like every mid-twenties girl she has some things figured out, but not all, and is desperate to cling to what she knows. With the novel flashing back to summer five years before, four years before, and Thanksgiving three years before, we get to see the growth Lucy has done in her life, while simultaneously experiencing the growth within this novel. Past Lucy has already dealt with the hard drama of choosing a job her parents disagree with and dealing with the passing of her close aunt, allowing this novel to be about her relationship with Felix and Bridget. Yes both of them, because as much as Lucy spends the novel crushing on Felix, Bridget is also a main focus of the novel. Fortune's ability to make this novel equally about Lucy falling in love with Felix, and about her friendship with Bridget is one of the reasons why I fall in love with this novel and Lucy herself. Lucy is a well-developed character who does not take drama and is honestly a good friend to Bridget the entire novel. Felix and Bridegt, the dynamic siblings are also extremely well developed in both the past and present of this novel. Felix shows a fantastic arrange of emotions and behaviors as you tell throughout the years when Lucy and him are friends or there is tension. Bridget, who is lofty in this novel due to her secret, has a close connection with Lucy and her brother and is also a good friend despite the secrets behind her. My favorite part of Fortune’s story is that Lucy and Bridget are such strong characters with such a strong base that no matter the secret they are holding, it does not break their friendship, thus, no third-act reunion where they become besties again, they are always friends. The need for female friendships to withstand any hardship is displayed beautifully within this novel, in which Lucy and Bridget show that at every single point during this novel, neither character ever lets us down! 

Plot / Writing:

Fortune holds readers' attention with the countdown to Bridget’s wedding, which may or may not happen. Where the novel begins talking about how five summers ago, Lucy slept with Felix before learning that the handsome local she met at the restaurant was Wolf, Bridget’s little brother, someone who Bridget said not to fall in love with, you would think the secret would crack their friendship, but it does not. Thus, the plot and current starting point of the novel, show the countdown to Bridget’s wedding, one that days prior has Bridget fleeing to PEI from Toronto (Canada geography - they are not close) and begs Lucy to come. Thus, during the flashbacks to summers (and Thanksgiving) previous on PEI, we get the present-day countdown of whether Bridget will get married or not. Fortune is amazing at this, keeping the novel in the present, but giving us flashbacks when needed, all to stir along this mystery of what is going on with Bridget. Amongst the romance of Felix and Lucy growing closer into something more, we have Bridget who is losing her mind, one that Fortune does not tell us why until near the end of the novel, giving us it at the crux, and then kept going. That’s right; why Bridget fled to the island is revealed as a third act, but it's not the end of the novel, allowing us to get a full conclusion to the problem, plus an epilogue to wrap everything up nicely. The multiple plots felt needed in this story, and as I said before, Fortune does a superb job at sharing the romance in this novel between Lucy and Felix, and Lucy and Bridget, as this novel is equally about friendship as it is about love.  

Conclusion: 

This novel is a testament to summer, love, and female friendship as Fortune makes you fall in love with PEI, Lucy, Felix, and Bridget, and makes you wish for your own summertime bliss in PEI. Lucy never met to fall for Felix, but she did mean to fall for Bridget, and where I was not expected to fall for this novel, Fortune knew what they were doing, and I fell hard. 

To my own version of Bridget (or Lucy), Normy I love you forever and you truly are the best parts of me.

[teenageread]

Review: People We Meet on Vacation

Initial Thoughts:

This is a classic summertime read! Emily Henry held nothing back as this novel contained romance, adventure, traveling trips, and a lot of sun. What I loved most about this book was all the summer adventures Henry put on characters through, and how we actually got chapters dedicated to the previous summer. Alex and Poppy, friends from freshman year of university, had twelve beautiful summer adventures with each other, in which Henry starts the novel off with them not talking due to what happened two summers ago. This was the best part, and especially how these trips were realistic based on their age and what was happening in their life. There was no jetting off to Mexico fresh out of college, but a realistic mid-America adventure with cheap hotels and even cheaper meals. Henry wrote this novel moving between the present-day Palm Spring trips, past summer vacations marked by their year number, and slowly getting closer from summer 12 to summer 2 which is what ended our dynamic duo before the present day. This added suspense to this novel, as while you were having fun learning about the previous trips and current adventures, you were itching to know what happened during that summer, which made this novel fly through your hands.

Characters:

Henry wrote Poppy and Alex to be complete opposites in style and manner, yet kindred spirits in their hearts. When told from Poppy’s perspective, Henry gave us insight into our loud and colorful girl, who was looking for love in all the wrong places. Her cheery personality made the story shine, and you wanted what was best for Poppy, and supported her as she tried to make this disaster of a trip into the “good old days” despite being too old to go without A/C in July. Unfortunately Poppy is too stuck in the past to see what is happening in front of her, as she tries to make something that is clearly not working work, to hold onto Alex and get their friendship - or relationship - back on track. As we explore previous summers Poppy admits to herself when she first fell in love with Alex, and you can tell he was in love with her from the beginning. After all, how could Alex, our dressed coded, agenda planned, ruler follower of a human, agree to go on a trip that they definitely cannot afford, yet through the sketchy deals and Facebook groups, managed to get there on the cheap. Alex, despite his strictness to life and routines, is someone you can also easily fall for, and I loved that throughout the novel he is consistently nice and gentle in every situation. Side characters in this novel also really pop off, making this story enjoyable for all of Poppy and Alex’s relationships. I love Poppy’s best friend, Rachel, she was a delight every time I heard about her, and I loved how she brought out another side of Poppy that Alex did not. Poppy’s boss, Swpna, was also a delight who added more to Poppy’s idea of the future in a career, which this novel needed. Not many side characters stuck out from Alex’s point of view, besides his ex-girlfriend, who was only a character to give Poppy someone to hate and blame for Alex and her break up. Henry had a knack for characters, and I just loved the connections they built with them throughout the novel through great conversations, and plotlines that make sense, as this slow burn of a romance was built off of years of anticipation. 

Plot / Writing:

Again, I absolutely love the plot of this novel, the focus of two friends and their yearly summer adventures, that Henry actually gave us in every other chapter split from the present day (Palm Springs Trip), to previous summers, as we make our way to the end of the novel, where Henry finally tells us what happened that second summer, and we complete the romance of Poppy and Alex of if our two best friends are meant to be more than friends. With the switching between present days and summer pasts, Henry keeps the plot moving quickly, leaving you wanting to know what their next summer adventure is, and figure out if the tension will ever cool it in Palm Springs. With great banter between Poppy and Alex, the characters felt real, and thus the decisions they made mattered to you as a reader. Where there was a bit of sex in the novel, I felt it was fine enough and late enough in the novel to make sense, and where graphic, Henry made it appropriately timed to really add more flair to the story. With some unexpected twists happening throughout, this book reads and feels like a rom-com and is the perfect read for any summer vacation. 

Conclusion: 

Emily Henry wrote the perfect summer story of sunny beaches, adventures, misadventures, and a whole lot of romance and missed opportunities and Poppy and Alex, two summer best friends, finally open up about their feelings in the best possible way. Truly a summer rom-com in a novel, and I cannot wait for the movie to come out! 

[teenageread]

Review: Just for the Summer

Initial Thoughts:

It took me a while to get into this novel, but once Abby Jimenez had the plot moving, and gave me someone to love, I was down for the count. My struggle with the novel was its unbalanced ratio of deep-dark family drama and its light and fluffy summer romance. It felt like we finally had plot moving in the family drama section, only for the novel to flip back over being cute and fluffy and not address the headway we made in the drama. This drama was also too much. Like if Emma had her thing, that's fine. If Justin had his thing, that's fine. But together? At the same time? It just made them overly dramatic and made the novel feel more made up than reality. 

Characters: 

Justin was a lot easier to like than Emma, hands down. Jimenez would have deep stuff come out from Emma about her mom and her abandonment issues and anxious attachment style, and then had her flip the switch and go on a cute date with Justin. I know it was part of Emma’s character to not get attached, and compartmentalized her emotions, but it was annoying and made Emma a harder character to love and made her plot line a bit boring. Like it was hard to relate to her, or care about her issues as Emma herself did not and chose her “empathy over hatred” which ended up being nonchalant over drama. It is not that she was a bad character, as her interactions with Justin and Maddy were great. Even with Emma coming to terms with her relationship to her mother, had some heart tugging emotions. But those were far and inbetween as most of the time Emma stayed cool and distant and took a lot to make her react and show emotion.  Justin, on the other hand screams “if he wanted to he would”, and honestly without Justin I would not have finished the novel. He is this summer's new book boyfriend as he was sweet, caring, chose his family despite it being against his own wishes, and showed Emma an unbeknownst amount of kindness. Yes, his family drama was a lot and unneeded, but it had an easier solution than Emma that Jimenze actually took the time to develop and give an actual throughout ending. With Justin his drama had outcomes and goals, with Justin slowly building his life to accept it, where Emma just seemed to run away from each other. It also made both their characters, sorry Jsutin, solely based on the drama that has happened to them. Their “deepness” was simply trauma that made them, and it was really hard to feel the happy carefree romance that Jimenez was trying to make around all these deep family issues that may (Justin) or may not (Emma) get resolved.   

Plot and Writing: 

The whole reddit thing and Justin’s supposed “Good Luck Chuck” methods of relationships was a way to get Emma and Justin to meet and then causal bring up like two to three times throughout the novel and only done from Emma so that she can tell Justin he is not End Game, when clearly he is. Emma then decides to take six weeks to spend near Justin so they can “fake date” to break their curse, before she is off and about doing what travel nurses do. Everything about that worked, it's cute, a bit of a fake-date, with a meet-cute, and the title “Just For the Summer” is the length of time Emma is planning on giving Justin. Besides Justin what did it for me was the plot message of: Meet Me Where I Am. So often stories tell us that we have to love ourselves before we find love, or to work on self improvement and then prince charming will come. But meeting someone where they are at? The good, the bad and the ugly? That takes guts, and I love that it came from Justin asking Emma to stay put and meet him in the life he’s forced to live, now that took some serious growth from Emma, and I would have loved if it happened in the middle of the novel and not, what seemed, as the very end. Which is why, Jimenez had the set up with the plot, but let readers down with the writing as it was inconsistent, focus heavily on the family drama and rushed the romance, and then speed up the romance to meet with the end of the book and what the epilogue was supposed to be. Like I said before, if it was just Emma drama, that would have been fine, or just Justin, again fine, but since it was both, and trying to build a new romance; it was too much for this book to take. 

Conclusion: 

This cute summer romance filled with family drama has Emma and Justin trying to break their curse and find their soulmates, which if it was Justin it would be Emma all the way. Meeting each other where they are at, Jimenez failed this novel by making it overtly complicated, but saved it in the end by giving us another book boyfriend (hey Justin baby), and gives you a cute ending that is fitting of the novel.