#than pressing upon them the idea that it should be this epic battle of tension and painful pining and everything

[thesandisfalling]

my official take on the moon/qibli/winter love triangle is that winterwatcher is a much grander, epic romance, and moonbli is a much more level, sweet-and-simple romance, but ultimately i think it was a better decision to have the latter be the canon romance in a series primarily marketed towards children and teens than fall into the "bad boy" romance trope, and instead romanticize the earnest, genuine, sweet relationship

obviously there's way more nuance to this involving internalized/unconscious bias, and winter doesn't even REALLY fit into the "bad boy" archetype, but purely based on genre conventions, the gruff, rude, brooding, tortured hero VERY often falls into that category, and at the ages of 7-14 most of us were very LIKELY to be romanticizing that archetype, which again is very often treated as interchangeable with the "abusive bad boy" trope, and while i might have a few gripes with the writing of moonbli and i ENJOY winterwatcher a whole lot, i DO appreciate the more gentle, "safe" romance being treated as the ideal, rather than the tense and angst-filled nature of the alternative

[richincolor]

New Releases

With summer break almost upon us, or for those of us already lucky to be out, these new releases are perfect for road trips or sitting by the pool.

Virtually Yours by Sarvenaz Tash Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers

Modern love plus online anonymity is a recipe for romantic disaster in this lighthearted new romance from the author of The Geek’s Guide to Unrequited Love.

How bad can one little virtual lie be?

NYU freshman Mariam Vakilian hasn’t dated anyone in five months, not since her high school sweetheart Caleb broke up with her. So, when she decides to take advantage of an expiring coupon and try out a new virtual reality dating service, it’s sort of a big deal.

It’s an even bigger deal when it chooses as one of her three matches none other than Caleb himself. That has to be a sign, right?

Except that her other match, Jeremy, just happens to be her new best friend IRL.

Mariam’s heart is telling her one thing, but the app is telling her another. So, which should she trust? Is all fair in modern love? — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Five Midnights by Ann Dávila Cardinal Tor Teen

Five friends cursed. Five deadly fates. Five nights of retribución.

If Lupe Dávila and Javier Utierre can survive each other’s company, together they can solve a series of grisly murders sweeping though Puerto Rico. But the clues lead them out of the real world and into the realm of myths and legends. And if they want to catch the killer, they’ll have to step into the shadows to see what’s lurking there—murderer, or monster? — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Not Your Backup by C.B. Lee

Emma Robledo has a few more responsibilities that the usual high school senior, but then again, she and her friends have left school to lead a fractured Resistance movement against a corrupt Heroes League of Heroes. Emma is the only member of a supercharged team without powers, she isn’t always taken seriously. A natural leader, Emma is determined to win this battle, and when that’s done, get back to school. As the Resistance moves to challenge the League, Emma realizes where her place is in this fight: at the front.

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian Balzer + Bray

It’s 1989 in New York City, and for three teens, the world is changing.

Reza is an Iranian boy who has just moved to the city with his mother to live with his stepfather and stepbrother. He’s terrified that someone will guess the truth he can barely acknowledge about himself. Reza knows he’s gay, but all he knows of gay life are the media’s images of men dying of AIDS.

Judy is an aspiring fashion designer who worships her uncle Stephen, a gay man with AIDS who devotes his time to activism as a member of ACT UP. Judy has never imagined finding romance…until she falls for Reza and they start dating.

Art is Judy’s best friend, their school’s only out and proud teen. He’ll never be who his conservative parents want him to be, so he rebels by documenting the AIDS crisis through his photographs.

As Reza and Art grow closer, Reza struggles to find a way out of his deception that won’t break Judy’s heart–and destroy the most meaningful friendship he’s ever known.

This is a bighearted, sprawling epic about friendship and love and the revolutionary act of living life to the fullest in the face of impossible odds. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest Roaring Brook Press

“In a world where it’s easy to lose faith in love, I WANNA BE WHERE YOU ARE is a brilliant burst of light. A dazzling debut.” ― Nic Stone, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin and Odd One Out

When Chloe Pierce’s mom forbids her to apply for a spot at the dance conservatory of her dreams, she devises a secret plan to drive two hundred miles to the nearest audition. But Chloe hits her first speed bump when her annoying neighbor Eli insists upon hitching a ride, threatening to tell Chloe’s mom if she leaves him and his smelly dog, Geezer, behind. So now Chloe’s chasing her ballet dreams down the east coast―two unwanted (but kinda cute) passengers in her car, butterflies in her stomach, and a really dope playlist on repeat.

Filled with roadside hijinks, heart-stirring romance, and a few broken rules, I Wanna Be Where You Are is a YA debut perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sandhya Menon.

If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann Swoon Reads

High school finally behind her, Winnie is all set to attend college in the fall. But first she’s spending her summer days working at her granny’s diner and begins spending her midnights with Dallas—the boy she loves to hate and hates that she likes. Winnie lives in Misty Haven, a small town where secrets are impossible to keep—like when Winnie allegedly snaps on Dr. Skinner, which results in everyone feeling compelled to give her weight loss advice for her own good. Because they care that’s she’s “too fat.”

Winnie dreams of someday inheriting the diner—but it’ll go away if they can’t make money, and fast. Winnie has a solution—win a televised cooking competition and make bank. But Granny doesn’t want her to enter—so Winnie has to find a way around her formidable grandmother. Can she come out on top?

This Time Will Be Different by Misa Sugiura HarperTeen

Katsuyamas never quit—but seventeen-year-old CJ doesn’t even know where to start. She’s never lived up to her mom’s type A ambition, and she’s perfectly happy just helping her aunt, Hannah, at their family’s flower shop.

She doesn’t buy into Hannah’s romantic ideas about flowers and their hidden meanings, but when it comes to arranging the perfect bouquet, CJ discovers a knack she never knew she had. A skill she might even be proud of.

Then her mom decides to sell the shop—to the family who swindled CJ’s grandparents when thousands of Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps during WWII. Soon a rift threatens to splinter CJ’s family, friends, and their entire Northern California community; and for the first time, CJ has found something she wants to fight for.

When the Ground Is Hard by Malla Nunn G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

In this stunning and heartrending tale set in a Swaziland boarding school, two girls of different castes bond over a shared copy of Jane Eyre.

Adele Joubert loves being one of the popular girls at Keziah Christian Academy. She knows the upcoming semester at school is going to be great with her best friend Delia at her side. Then Delia dumps her for a new girl with more money, and Adele is forced to share a room with Lottie, the school pariah, who doesn’t pray and defies teachers��� orders.

But as they share a copy of Jane Eyre, Lottie’s gruff exterior and honesty grow on Adele, and Lottie learns to be a little sweeter. Together, they take on bullies and protect each other from the vindictive and prejudiced teachers. Then a boy goes missing on campus and Adele and Lottie must rely on each other to solve the mystery and maybe learn the true meaning of friendship.

The Boxer by Nikesh Shukla Hodder Children’s Books

Told over the course of the ten rounds of his first fight, this is the story of amateur boxer Sunny. A seventeen-year-old feeling isolated and disconnected in the city he’s just moved to, Sunny joins a boxing club to learn to protect himself after a racist attack. He finds the community he’s been desperately seeking at the club, and a mentor in trainer Shona, who helps him find his place in the world. But racial tensions are rising in the city, and when a Far Right march through Bristol turns violent, Sunny is faced with losing his new best friend Keir to radicalisation.

A gripping, life-affirming YA novel about friendship, radicalisation and finding where you belong.

[musicprincess655]

Sometimes, Jun felt like he had to be the absolute dumbest person on the planet.

Sure, he’d mostly gotten into university on the backs of his good grades, and sure, he was generally a good student, but that didn’t erase the fact that he made some stupid ass decisions.

Namely, telling Yuuki that his next day off was Saturday without remembering why he’d had to trade shifts to make sure he had that Saturday off.

He needed a full twenty four hours to recover from a full moon.

Full moons had never been fun. It always felt like bugs were crawling under his skin and all he wanted to do was get outside and run, but there were laws about doing that around people and as a resident of Tokyo, Jun was around a lot of people.

And then he always ended up breaking something. Even though he never lost himself, despite what terrible erotic novels tried to say otherwise, it was like he had no impulse control. No matter what he told himself beforehand, he always woke up the next morning with something smashed. His family all had the same problem, and they’d had to pack away valuables every month just in case.

No one wanted a repeat of the year they’d broken Grandma’s good vase.

And, of course, Jun felt like shit the next day. Shifting from a human to a wolf was one thing, but when he couldn’t run the shift off, his muscles got all cramped up and he could barely move the next day, which was only made worse by a mostly sleepless night.

And on top of everything else, he had a cold.

But Jun had promised he’d meet Yuuki, and they’d never actually exchanged phone numbers or email addresses, so Jun had no way of cancelling. He just had to throw a medical mask on and hope he didn’t look like he was in pain the entire time.

He felt worse when he saw Yuuki on his phone in front of the coffee shop, clearly having been there for more than a few minutes. He couldn’t even take advantage of the chance to observe Yuuki without being observed.

Jun really wished he’d done literally anything other than yelling at Yuuki immediately upon meeting. Namely, politely offering to let Yuuki sit on his face.

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” Jun said, wincing at how hoarse his voice sounded. From the looks his neighbors had given him that morning, he’d done his fair share of howling last night.

“It’s fine, I wasn’t waiting long,” Yuuki replied, finishing off his text message. “Hope you’re…are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Even Jun could tell he didn’t sound fine.

“You look sick,” Yuuki said, reaching out a hand to feel Jun’s forehead. Jun was so surprised that he let it happen. “You’re a little warm, but I don’t think you’re feverish.”

“I’m not,” Jun said. “It’s just…a cold?”

“Sounds like a nasty cold,” Yuuki said. “Sorry for making you come out.”

“Come on, you didn’t know I was gonna get sick,” Jun said, waving it off and then wincing as the motion pulled one too many sore muscles.

“Do you like soup?” Yuuki asked. Jun nodded. “I know a place close by that’ll still serve miso. Want that?”

Soup actually sounded like a pretty good idea right then.

Jun followed Yuuki into a small family restaurant tucked away from the main street. It had cozy booths, low lighting, and best of all, almost nobody around. It was quiet and peaceful, and Jun released some tension he hadn’t even realized he’d been carrying.

He let Yuuki handle the ordering of soup and some hot tea, looking around the place.

“Do you know the area?” Jun asked. He never would’ve noticed this restaurant on his own, hidden away as it was.

“I grew up around here,” Yuuki told him. “I’m not familiar with all of Tokyo, but this area I know pretty well. You?”

“I’m from Kanagawa prefecture,” Jun said. The waitress placed a cup of tea on the table, and Jun scooped it up gratefully. He wasn’t cold, especially not with summer on the brink of breaking outside, but the heat soothed his sore muscles anyway.

“So you’re just here for university?” Yuuki asked. Jun nodded.

“Seidou is one of the best schools for magic in the country,” he explained. “One of the only schools. And there are more people with magic here.”

“I always wondered why that was,” Yuuki mused.

“Probably just because it’s a big city,” Jun suggested. “More people, more jobs, more opportunities. It’s the same with Sendai up north. And it’s easier for us to be around other people like us.”

Yuuki just studied him, for long enough that Jun felt his cheeks flushing and the waitress brought soup for him and some kind of rice bowl dish for Yuuki.

“What’s it like living here and being human?” Jun asked. Even in Tokyo, after all, only about half of the residents had some kind of magic in their blood. Yuuki shrugged.

“Sometimes it feels like half the city is in some secret club I’m not invited to,” he said. “Most of the time, though, it just feels normal. I’ve always lived here. This is just how life is.”

Jun decided that was fair enough.

“So what exactly do you study at magic school?” Yuuki asked. “I’ve always wondered.”

“You know Seidou has a website, right?” Jun asked. Yuuki looked surprised at the information, so maybe he hadn’t. “Well, I’m a practical magic major. Doesn’t mean much, something like three fourths of the school is practical magic. There’s a lot of ways you can specialize. The people who want to be teachers have a few extra classes, and there’s a program for people who want to specialize in combat and go into the police. I think you have to take a special exam to get into that.”

“So what are you?”

“Just general practical magic for now,” Jun said. “I can choose to specialize later, or I can just graduate with the general degree. I haven’t decided yet.”

“What do you do with a degree in practical magic?”

“Honestly, just about anything you want, but if you know a specific field you want to go into, you should probably pick a specialization.”

“So what do you want to do?”

Jun gave him an unimpressed look, because he was eighteen and fuck if he knew. Yuuki’s expression didn’t change much, but he also didn’t press the question. It was almost too easy for Jun to direct them in another direction.

“What about you, what do you study?” Jun asked, almost surprised to find he was actually interested in the answer. What did arguably the hottest man Jun had ever met with a penchant for sugary coffee study.

“Classical literature.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“No.” Yuuki gave him a confused stare. “I like classical literature.”

“Sometimes I think you picked the most unpredictable thing you could do and then did it just to mess with everyone,” Jun told him.

“Plenty of people study classical literature.”

“Not people who look like you.”

“What do I look like?”

Someday, Jun was going to learn to watch his mouth, but clearly today wasn’t that day.

“Like…a jock?” he tried, and breathed a quiet sigh of relief when Yuuki let it go.

“I wanted to go to Meiji because that’s where my high school coach went,” Yuuki explained. “He gave up a professional career because he wanted to give back to his school and coach the new baseball team. I always really looked up to him.”

“Is that what you want to do?” Jun asked. “Go back, teach classical literature, coach the baseball team?”

Yuuki shrugged.

“I haven’t decided yet,” he said. “It’s a nice idea, but maybe I also want to go pro. I’ve had offers.”

“You must be good.”

“I’m a starter for Meiji. Mostly, though, it’s just because I worked hard.”

Jun privately thought that Yuuki would be saving a lot of people a lot of grief by shelving his plan to go into teaching and going into the pro leagues. Every female student that was even remotely interested in men would have an epic crush on him, but there were probably a group of male students that would learn a thing or two about themselves from having Yuuki as a teacher.

Jun honestly had no clue how he would’ve gotten through high school if he’d had a teacher that looked as good as Yuuki did.

It was almost soothing, the way their conversation turned to baseball, Jun asking questions because he understood the game in the broad sense but didn’t understand the finer points of strategy, Yuuki telling him about their chances against other universities based on how the spring had gone and how their new first years were integrating in. Apparently the next tournament wouldn’t be until the fall, well after Jun was done with the coven battle against Inashiro in the summer. He made a mental note to mark the games in his calendar, if only because Yuuki had worked damn hard to apologize for something he hadn’t done, and if nothing else Jun could go watch him play at least once.

It was for purely selfless reasons.

Jun barely noticed the time passing, almost shocked at how easy it was to talk to Yuuki, despite how stoic he looked. He volunteered information easily enough if asked, and Jun was almost certain he had an incredibly dry, sarcastic sense of humor, but he wasn’t sure. Yuuki’s poker face was really good.

In fact, it wasn’t until the waitress left a check pointedly at Yuuki’s elbow that Jun realized they’d been there for almost three hours. He hadn’t felt his sore muscles since they’d started talking.

“Let me get part of that,” Jun said, reaching for the check. Yuuki held it out of reach, and damn him, he was tall enough that it worked.

“I’m buying you food to apologize to you,” Yuuki insisted.

“That’s the other thing,” Jun said. “You really have nothing to apologize for. I was being a dick and I had a long shift. If anything, I should be apologizing to you. And buying you dinner to thank you for not getting me fired.”

“I don’t know, my teammates said that was a pretty obnoxious drink,” Yuuki said, steadfast deadpan expression in place as he left money on the table and stood to offer Jun his hand. “Maybe I deserved to get yelled at for it, and maybe this is me apologizing for asking for a ridiculous drink.”

This time, Jun was looking for it, and he caught the barest quiver of a lip and a shaking shoulder.

“You’ve been fucking with me this entire time!” he accused. “I saw you laugh!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Yuuki said, breaking down into quiet laughter that barely counted as laughter. “You make really interesting faces, I wanted to see how long it would take you to notice.”

“But…you weren’t teasing me when you asked to buy me dinner.” It was less question and more statement.

“No.”

“So why did you feel like you had to apologize this much?”

“Maybe I just wanted to buy you dinner.”

Jun had no clue what to do with that, because now that he knew what to look for, he could see the little quirk in Yuuki’s lips. He held out his hand.

“Phone.”

“What?”

“Give me your phone.”

Yuuki didn’t even argue, just handed his phone over. Jun scrolled through to the ubiquitous LINE app, typing his own ID into the search bar.

“There,” Jun said, handing Yuuki his phone back and pulling his own out to accept the friend request he’d just sent himself. “Now you can text me instead of stalking me at my workplace.”

“Maybe I had fun doing that.”

“Maybe it’ll be easier on both of us if you just text me next time you want to hang out.”

“Is that an open invitation?”

“Yes,” Jun said without thinking. “Well, no. Exams start for us soon, and I have to study. But after that. Yes.”

“I’ll text you.”

And the thing was, Jun really did need to study, but he was the most relaxed he’d ever felt the day after a full moon, and he was going to enjoy it for as long as it lasted.

[peace-love-and-french-toast]

Yeah, I totally agree with this. I actually do prefer Moonbli just in general, but I thought that it was a cool thing that Tui and Moon were just like ‘ok. So Winter is the friend but he was like. Super racist when they first met and also mean for like nearly 1/2 the series and he CAN change but also it’s a process and plus just like. Let Moon be happy’.

Yk?

my official take on the moon/qibli/winter love triangle is that winterwatcher is a much grander, epic romance, and moonbli is a much more level, sweet-and-simple romance, but ultimately i think it was a better decision to have the latter be the canon romance in a series primarily marketed towards children and teens than fall into the "bad boy" romance trope, and instead romanticize the earnest, genuine, sweet relationship

obviously there's way more nuance to this involving internalized/unconscious bias, and winter doesn't even REALLY fit into the "bad boy" archetype, but purely based on genre conventions, the gruff, rude, brooding, tortured hero VERY often falls into that category, and at the ages of 7-14 most of us were very LIKELY to be romanticizing that archetype, which again is very often treated as interchangeable with the "abusive bad boy" trope, and while i might have a few gripes with the writing of moonbli and i ENJOY winterwatcher a whole lot, i DO appreciate the more gentle, "safe" romance being treated as the ideal, rather than the tense and angst-filled nature of the alternative