Jill lives in Toronto, Canada. She has studied English, Creative Writing, and Publishing. Jill is the creator and content producer of Jill’s Book Blog, where she has published a blog post every day for the last four years, including 5-7 book reviews a week. She can usually be found with her nose in a book.
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 As If on Cue by Marisa Kanter. The expected publication date is September 21, 2021.
Goodreads Synopsis:
A pair of fierce foes are forced to work together to save the arts at their school in this swoony YA enemies-to-lovers romance that fans of Jenny Han and Morgan Matson are sure to adore.
Lifelong rivals Natalie and Reid have never been on the same team. So when their school’s art budget faces cutbacks, of course Natalie finds herself up against her nemesis once more. She’s fighting to direct the school’s first ever student-written play, but for her small production to get funding, the school’s award-winning band will have to lose it. Reid’s band. And he’s got no intention of letting the show go on.
But when their rivalry turns into an all-out prank war that goes too far, Natalie and Reid have to face the music, resulting in the worst compromise: writing and directing a musical. Together. At least if they deliver a sold-out show, the school board will reconsider next year’s band and theater budget. Everyone could win.
Except Natalie and Reid.
Because after spending their entire lives in competition, they have absolutely no idea how to be co-anything. And they certainly don’t know how to deal with the feelings that are inexplicably, weirdly, definitely developing between them…
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 Books I Wish I Could Read Again For The First Time. Here’s my list:
1. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
2. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
3. Shadowland by Meg Cabot
4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
5. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
6. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
7. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
8. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
9. City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
10. Vampires Never Get Old by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker (editors)
(All book covers from Goodreads)
What’s your list of books on your Top Ten Tuesday?
Title: Witch For Hire Author: Ted Naifeh Genre: Young Adult, Graphic Novel Publisher: Amulet Books Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: August 24, 2021 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
When a series of high school pranks get out of hand, teen witch Faye Faulkner is the only one who can solve the case in this spooky YA graphic novel
Faye Faulker isn’t popular, and that’s just fine by her. She spends her lunches at the Loser Table with the other social rejects, aka her best friends, and brushes off the uninspired taunts from the cool kids. But when lonely freshman Cody finds her way to Faye’s corner of the cafeteria, it sets off a peculiar chain of events . . . To Cody’s surprise, these kids aren’t so bad; an overdramatic theater nerd, a handicapable girl in a wheelchair, an overweight boy, and Faye, who comes to school every day dressed like a witch. But it’s no costume, Fay really is a witch!
While high school can be hell for many reasons, this year the ante has been raised when a series of pranks swiftly go from mischievous to downright dangerous. From the lowliest debate team nerds to the prom queen, no one is safe, not even the teachers! When things start to really get out of hand, Cody owns up to Faye: in a moment of desperation, she signed up for an online challenge that promises to grant popularity to those who follow the website’s twisted demands.
Now Faye is faced with a choice: Reveal her witchy nature to Cody and help her or stand aside and keep her secret identity safe. Despite her misgivings, Faye takes on the case, but will her powers be strong enough to solve this mystery? And will people ever stop asking her if she puts newts’ eyes in her homemade baked goods? Witch for Hire is a gothic whodunnit about resilience, magic, and the power of friendship.
Review:
Faye Faulkner isn’t popular. She sits at the “loser” table and wears her witch’s hat. When Cody starts going to that school, her popular older sister sends her to the loser table, so Cody befriends Faye. Then a series of pranks begin happening, targeting students and teachers. The pranks take a dangerous turn, which makes Faye decide to figure out who or what is behind these pranks.
This story showed the dangers of cyber bullying. The students who were targeted by a social media account were told to do dangerous things at school. Some of the pranks became life threatening. This story had a magic side to it as well, but the bullying began with a social media account, which was realistic.
I liked that Faye was unapologetically herself. She was called names because of the witchy way she dressed, but she insisted on being herself and wearing her witch hat. It is so important to show a character in a teen book that doesn’t cave to peer pressure. With all of the cyber bullying that encouraged students to do dangerous pranks in this story, it was nice to see a strong, confident character.
Witch for Hire is a YA graphic novel with an important message.
Thank you Amulet Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
Cheer Up!: Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier
Have you read Witch For Hire? What did you think of it?
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 Witch For Hire by Ted Naifeh.
What I’m currently reading:
I’m currently reading From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout.
What I’m reading next:
Next I will be reading Both Sides Now by Peyton Thomas.
What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?
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 Witch For Hire by Ted Naifeh.
Goodreads Synopsis:
When a series of high school pranks get out of hand, teen witch Faye Faulkner is the only one who can solve the case in this spooky YA graphic novel
Faye Faulker isn’t popular, and that’s just fine by her. She spends her lunches at the Loser Table with the other social rejects, aka her best friends, and brushes off the uninspired taunts from the cool kids. But when lonely freshman Cody finds her way to Faye’s corner of the cafeteria, it sets off a peculiar chain of events . . . To Cody’s surprise, these kids aren’t so bad; an overdramatic theater nerd, a handicapable girl in a wheelchair, an overweight boy, and Faye, who comes to school every day dressed like a witch. But it’s no costume, Fay really is a witch!
While high school can be hell for many reasons, this year the ante has been raised when a series of pranks swiftly go from mischievous to downright dangerous. From the lowliest debate team nerds to the prom queen, no one is safe, not even the teachers! When things start to really get out of hand, Cody owns up to Faye: in a moment of desperation, she signed up for an online challenge that promises to grant popularity to those who follow the website’s twisted demands.
Now Faye is faced with a choice: Reveal her witchy nature to Cody and help her or stand aside and keep her secret identity safe. Despite her misgivings, Faye takes on the case, but will her powers be strong enough to solve this mystery? And will people ever stop asking her if she puts newts’ eyes in her homemade baked goods? Witch for Hire is a gothic whodunnit about resilience, magic, and the power of friendship.
Title: Sugar Town Queens Author: Malla Nunn Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: August 3, 2021 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
From LA Times Book Prize Award Winner and Edgar Award Nominee Malla Nunn comes a stunning portrait of a family divided and the bonds that knit our communities.
When Amandla wakes up on her fifteenth birthday she knows it’s going to be one of her mother’s difficult days. Her mother has had another vision. If Amandla wears a blue sheet her mother has loosely stitched as a dress and styles her normally braided hair in a halo around her head, Amandla’s father will come home. Amandla’s mother, Annalisa, always speaks of her father as if he was the prince of a fairytale, but in truth he’s been gone since before Amandla was born and even Annalisa’s memory of him is hazy. In fact many of Annalisa’s memories from before Amandla was born are hazy. It’s just one of the many reasons people in Sugar Town give Annalisa and Amandla strange looks–that and the fact her mother is white and Amandla is brown.
But when Amandla finds a mysterious address in the bottom of her mother’s handbag along with a large amount of cash, she decides it’s finally time to get answers about her mother’s life. But what she discovers will change the shape and size of her family forever.
Review:
Amandla is a fifteen-year-old girl in South Africa. Her mother has visions of the future that don’t often come true. She also has missing memories from her past, including the identity of Amandla’s father. Amandla and her mother stand out, not just because of her mother’s strange visions, but because her mother is white and she is half-Black. When Amandla finds a paper with an address in her mother’s purse, she decides to go there to learn more about her mother’s past. She discovers deeper family secrets than she could have predicted.
Race was an important issue in this book. There is a history of race tensions in South Africa which was depicted in this novel. Amandla had to deal with that first hand, since she had a different appearance from her mother.
There were class prejudices that went along with the race prejudice. The white people were considered “good” and upper class, while the Black people were “bad” or dangerous and lower class. However, one of Amandla’s white relatives was arguably one of the worst characters in the book and treated her mother horribly. Money, power, and skin colour don’t determine if a person is good or bad.
Sugar Town Queens is an eye opening young adult novel.
Thank you G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
Your Corner Dark by Desmond Hall
Hurricane Summer by Asha Bromfield
Have you read Sugar Town Queens? What did you think of it?
Title: Never Say You Can’t Survive: How to Get Through Hard Times by Making Up Stories Author: Charlie Jane Anders Genre: Nonfiction Publisher: Tor Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: August 17, 2021 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
From Charlie Jane Anders, the award-winning author of novels such as All the Birds in the Sky and The City in the Middle of the Night, this is one of the most practical guides to storytelling that you will ever read.
The world is on fire. So tell your story.
Things are scary right now. We’re all being swept along by a tidal wave of history, and it’s easy to feel helpless. But we’re not helpless: we have minds, and imaginations, and the ability to visualize other worlds and valiant struggles. And writing can be an act of resistance that reminds us that other futures and other ways of living are possible.
Full of memoir, personal anecdote, and insight about how to flourish during the present emergency, Never Say You Can’t Survive is the perfect manual for creativity in unprecedented times.
Review:
This book is about using your personal struggles to write. It referenced the pandemic, and the way it has changed the way we write. Some people were more creative and inspired last year, while others couldn’t write at all. Writing can be a therapeutic way to express your feelings, or it can be an act of resistance.
I appreciated how current the writing tips were in this book. There were many references to the way our lifestyles have changed in the past year. Even if they weren’t personally impacted by Covid, everyone had to alter some part of their lifestyle. Though I’m not ready to read a fictional book set during the pandemic, this writing book was so informative for writing in 2021.
There were references to a variety of types and styles of stories. There were plenty of science fiction examples, such as Doctor Who and Star Trek, but there were other types of stories as well, like The Baby-Sitter’s Club. A wide range of authors were also mentioned, from Neil Gaiman to Alyssa Cole. I loved seeing all of these familiar works referenced in this writing book.
There were so many great writing tips in this book. I highlighted many passages in my digital copy, which I’ve never done before. I will have to get a physical copy to reference while I write, because I know I will be returning to this book again and again during my writing career.
Never Say You Can’t Survive is a fabulous writing book!
Thank you Tor for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
Have you read Never Say You Can’t Survive? What did you think of it?
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