Month: July 2021

Review: Cici’s Journal

Title: Cici’s Journal
Author: Joris Chamblain, Aurélie Neyret
Genre: Middle Grade, Graphic Novel, Contemporary, Mystery
Publisher: First Second
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: July 20, 2021
Rating: ★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Cici dreams of being a novelist. Her favorite subject: people, especially adults. She’s been watching them and taking notes. Everybody has one special secret, Cici figures, and if you want to write about people, you need to understand what’s hiding inside them. But now she’s discovered something truly strange: an old man who disappears into the forest every Sunday with huge pots of paint in all sorts of colors. What is he up to? Why does he look so sad when he comes back? 

In a graphic novel interwoven with journal notes, scrapbook pieces, and doodles, Cici assembles clues about the odd and wonderful people she’s uncovered, even as she struggles to understand the mundane: her family and friends.

Review:

Cici dreams of becoming a writer, so her author friend tells her to watch people and make up stories about them. Cici notices a man carrying paint cans into the woods every weekend, and she needs to find out what he’s doing. She follows him and eventually discovers a beautiful secret. In another mystery, Cici finds a library book card for a book that has been taken out by the same woman over and over again. Cici’s curiosity takes over again and she has to investigate why the woman keeps reading the same book.

Cici was quite a curious child. She often seemed nosy, when she would watch people and want to find out what they were doing. I didn’t really like this quality, but Cici ended up helping the people who she investigated, so it worked out in the end.

I liked that this story featured elderly characters. There aren’t a lot of older people in children’s books. Cici was able to help them relive their pasts and create some nice memories. Though Cici was nosy, she ended up helping people.

Cici’s Journal is a good middle grade graphic novel.

Thank you First Second for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

The Case of the Loathsome School Lunches by Angie Lake

Premeditated Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce

Have you read Cici’s Journal? What did you think of it?

TBR Thursday – July 15

TBR Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly Faye Reads, where you post a title from your shelf or e-reader and find out what others think about it.

My pick this week is I Speak Boy by Jessica Brody.

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Goodreads Synopsis:

A phone-obsessed twelve-year-old girl, frustrated by the cryptic boys in her life, discovers a magic app that can read boys’ thoughts in this modern-day retelling of Emma by Jane Austen.

After a matchmaking attempt for her best friend, Harper, goes wrong, Emmy is fed up. Why are boys so hard to figure out? But then something amazing happens–she wakes up with a new app on her phone: iSpeak Boy! Suddenly Emmy has the information every girl wants to know–the super-secret knowledge of how boys think . . . and who they like!

Now Emmy is using her magical app to make matches left and right. But can she use it to help Harper, the only person who doesn’t seem to buy into Emmy’s gift? And when her secret gets out and the app ends up in the wrong hands, can Emmy figure out how to undo the damage she’s caused?

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Blog Tour Review: The Right Side of Reckless

Title: The Right Side of Reckless
Author: Whitney D. Grandison
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: July 13, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

He’s never met a rule he didn’t break… She’s followed the rules her whole life… When they meet, one golden rule is established: stay away. Sparks fly in this edgy own voices novel, perfect for fans of Sandhya Menon, S. K. Ali, and Kristina Forest.

They were supposed to ignore each other and respect that fine line between them…

Guillermo Lozano is getting a fresh start. New town, new school, and no more reckless behavior. He’s done his time, and now he needs to right his wrongs. But when his work at the local community center throws him into the path of the one girl who is off-limits, friendship sparks…and maybe more.

Regan London needs a fresh perspective. The pressure to stay in her “perfect” relationship and be the good girl all the time has worn her down. But when the walls start to cave in and she finds unexpected understanding from the boy her parents warned about, she can’t ignore her feelings anymore.

The disapproval is instant. Being together might just get Guillermo sent away. But when it comes to the heart, sometimes you have to break the rules and be a little bit reckless…

Review:

Guillermo Lozano’s family moved to a new neighbourhood in Akron, Ohio so he could have a fresh start while on probation. He has to do community service at a local community centre, and he has to stay away from girls. Regan London works at the community centre with her mom, who is Guillermo’s probation officer. Regan is under a lot of pressure to be perfect, with her father insisting she become an accountant and have the perfect relationship with a football star. Regan is officially off limits to Guillermo, because he isn’t allowed to have a girlfriend, especially not the daughter of his probation officer. Regan soon discovers that her life isn’t heading in the direction that she wants to go, and Guillermo may be exactly what she needs to change it.

This was a fun forbidden romance story. There were a few reasons Guillermo and Regan were forbidden from seeing each other. The incident that got Guillermo in trouble involved a girl, so he was supposed to stay away from all girls. Regan’s family had plans for her future with her football star boyfriend, so they didn’t want her being with anyone else. Their races weren’t part of the reason they weren’t allowed to be together. Guillermo was Mexican and Regan was Black, but their different races weren’t an issue. This was a love story with diverse characters, but their diversity didn’t cause any conflict.

There was a lot of discussion about consent in this story. Regan’s boyfriend was pressuring her to do things she didn’t want to do. Right away I noticed that she didn’t feel comfortable with the way he treated her. Guillermo was much more respectful, though some people couldn’t see past his history to realize that he was a respectful young man. Though Guillermo was the one with the criminal record, he was more respectful than the boy who was considered a rising star.

The Right Side of Reckless is a great young adult romance!

Thank you Inkyard Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

A Love Hate Thing by Whitney D. Grandison

The Meet-Cute Project by Rhiannon Richardson

About the author:

Whitney is dedicated to telling stories about teens of color and teens in difficult but relatable situations. Some of her works can be found on Wattpad, one of the largest online story sharing platforms, where she has acquired over 30,000 followers and an audience of over fifteen million dedicated readers. Outside of writing, she is a lover of Korean dramas, all things John Hughes, and horror films. Whitney currently lives in Akron, Ohio. She is the author of A Love Hate Thing and The Right Side of Reckless. Visit Whitney’s website http://www.whitneydgrandison.com and follow her on Twitter @whitney_dg and Instagram @wheadee.

Have you read The Right Side of Reckless? What did you think of it?

‘Waiting on’ Wednesday – July 14

This is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. In this post we highlight a book that’s highly anticipated.

The book that I’m waiting on this Wednesday is How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland. The expected publication date is August 10, 2021.

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Goodreads Synopsis:

The Hating Game meets I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter in this irresistible romance starring a Mexican American teen who discovers love and profound truths about the universe when she spends her summer on a road trip across the country. 

When her twin sister reaches social media stardom, Moon Fuentez accepts her fate as the ugly, unwanted sister hidden in the background, destined to be nothing more than her sister’s camerawoman. But this summer, Moon also takes a job as the “merch girl” on a tour bus full of beautiful influencers and her fate begins to shift in the best way possible.

Most notable is her bunkmate and new nemesis, Santiago Phillips, who is grumpy, combative, and also the hottest guy Moon has ever seen.

Moon is certain she hates Santiago and that he hates her back. But as chance and destiny (and maybe, probably, close proximity) bring the two of them in each other’s perpetual paths, Moon starts to wonder if that’s really true. She even starts to question her destiny as the unnoticed, unloved wallflower she always thought she was.

Could this summer change Moon’s life as she knows it?

What books are you waiting on this week?

Top Ten Tuesday – Book Titles That Are Questions

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and it is now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is Book Titles That Are Questions. Here’s my list:

1. Dear Ally, How Do You Write a Book? by Ally Carter

2. Isn’t It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams

3. What’s Up Maloo? by Genevieve Gadbout

4. Who Is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews

5. What’s Not to Love by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

6. Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella

7. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

8. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee

9. Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman

10. Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie

(All book covers from Goodreads)

What’s your list of books on your Top Ten Tuesday?

Happy Pub Day – July 13

Happy Pub Day to all of these new books!

XOXO by Axie Oh

The Right Side of Reckless by Whitney D. Grandison

Such a Quiet Place by Megan Miranda

Faking Reality by Sara Fujimura

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

Flash Fire by T.J. Klune

Up All Night: 13 Stories between Sunset and Sunrise by Laura Silverman (editor)

Wings of Shadow by Nicki Pau Preto

When All the Girls are Sleeping by Emily Arsenault

Radha and Jai’s Recipe for Romance by Nisha Sharma

The Mythic Koda Rose by Jennifer Nissley

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

What books are you most excited for this week?

Blog Tour Review: Up All Night: 13 Stories between Sunset and Sunrise

Title: Up All Night: 13 between Sunset and Sunrise
Author: Laura Silverman (editor)
Genre: Young Adult, Short Stories
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: July 13, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

When everyone else goes to bed, the ones who stay up feel like they’re the only people in the world. As the hours tick by deeper into the night, the familiar drops away and the unfamiliar beckons. Adults are asleep, and a hush falls over the hum of daily life. Anything is possible.

It’s a time for romance and adventure. For prom night and ghost hunts. It’s a time for breaking up, for falling in love—for finding yourself.

Stay up all night with these thirteen short stories from bestselling and award-winning YA authors like Karen McManus, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nina LaCour, and Brandy Colbert, as they take readers deep into these rarely seen, magical hours.

Full contributor list: Brandy Colbert, Kathleen Glasgow, Maurene Goo, Tiffany D. Jackson, Amanda Joy, Nina LaCour, Karen M. McManus, Anna Meriano, Marieke Nijkamp, Laura Silverman, Kayla Whaley, Julian Winters, Francesca Zappia.

Review:

Up All Night is a collection of young adult short stories set from sunset to sunrise. The teens in these stories have a variety of experiences, including late night parties, prom night, and ghost hunting. The stories were a bunch of different genres, including romance, thriller, and horror.

All of these stories had diverse representation. Many of the main characters were people of colour. There were many stories about queer and non-binary characters. There was also a story with a main character in a wheelchair, so there was a perspective of a character with a disability.

A couple of my favourite ones were Never Have I Ever by Karen M. McManus and Shark Bait by Tiffany D Jackson. In Never Have I Ever, a group of kids play the drinking game and end up snooping at a haunted house in the neighbourhood. They discover something life changing in the house. In Shark Bait, a couple spend the night together on a beach in Martha’s Vineyard. They have to come to figure out what their futures will be after the summer ends. Both of these stories had shocking endings that gave me chills!

Up All Night is a great collection of short stories for young adult readers!

Thank you Algonquin Young Readers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

A Universe of Wishes by Dhonielle Clayton (editor)

Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker

Have you read Up All Night? What did you think of it?

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? – July 12

This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week.  It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!

What I just finished:

This weekend I finished Up All Night: 13 Stories between Sunset and Sunrise by Laura Silverman (editor).

What I’m currently reading:

I’m currently reading The Right Side of Reckless by Whitney D. Grandison.

What I’m reading next:

Next I will be reading Vengeful by V.E. Schwab.

What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?

Jill’s Weekly Wrap-Up – July 11

Here are my reviews for the week with my ratings:

I did 7 weekly blogging memes:

How was your week? What did you guys read?

Sundays in Bed With… Up All Night: 13 Stories between Sunset and Sunrise

The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.

This Sunday I’m reading Up All Night: 13 Stories between Sunset and Sunrise edited by Laura Silverman.

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Goodreads Synopsis:

When everyone else goes to bed, the ones who stay up feel like they’re the only people in the world. As the hours tick by deeper into the night, the familiar drops away and the unfamiliar beckons. Adults are asleep, and a hush falls over the hum of daily life. Anything is possible.

It’s a time for romance and adventure. For prom night and ghost hunts. It’s a time for breaking up, for falling in love—for finding yourself.

Stay up all night with these thirteen short stories from bestselling and award-winning YA authors like Karen McManus, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nina LaCour, and Brandy Colbert, as they take readers deep into these rarely seen, magical hours.

Full contributor list: Brandy Colbert, Kathleen Glasgow, Maurene Goo, Tiffany D. Jackson, Amanda Joy, Nina LaCour, Karen M. McManus, Anna Meriano, Marieke Nijkamp, Laura Silverman, Kayla Whaley, Julian Winters, Francesca Zappia.

What book are you in bed with today?