Contemporary – Page 31 – Jill's Book Blog

Review: The Girls Are All So Nice Here

Title: The Girls Are All So Nice Here
Author: Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
Genre: Thriller, Contemporary
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: March 9, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two former best friends return to their college reunion to find that they’re being circled by someone who wants revenge for what they did ten years before—and will stop at nothing to get it—in this shocking psychological thriller about ambition, toxic friendship, and deadly desire.
The Girls Are All So Nice Here opens when Ambrosia Wellington receives an invitation to her ten-year college reunion. Only, slipped in with all the expected information about lodging and the weekend’s schedule is an anonymous letter that says: “It’s time to talk about what we did.” Instantly, Ambrosia realizes that the secrets of her past—and the people she thought she’d left there—aren’t as buried as she’d thought. Amb can’t stop fixating on what she did—and who she did it with. Larger-than-life Sloane Sullivan (“Sully”), who could make anyone do anything. The game they played to get a boy who belonged to someone else, and the girl, Amb’s angelic roommate, who paid the price.
Amb had thought that she and Sully had gotten away with what they did their first semester at Wesleyan. But as Amb receives increasingly menacing messages during the reunion, it becomes clear that she’s being circled by someone who wants more than just the truth. Amb discovers that her own memories don’t tell the whole story, and that her actions and friendship with Sully had even more disturbing consequences than she ever imagined.
Told in alternating timelines between the reunion and Ambrosia’s turbulent first months of college, The Girls Are All So Nice Here is a gripping rollercoaster ride of a novel that examines the dark complexities of female friendship and the brutal lengths girls can go to take what they think they are owed.

Review:

Ambrosia Wellington gets an invitation to her ten year college reunion, but she isn’t planning on going until she gets a threatening note that says, “It’s time to talk about what we did.” When Ambrosia was at college, she was roommates with Flora Banning, a sweet and innocent girl with a boyfriend at another college. Ambrosia was interested in getting a more exciting college experience so she became friends with Sloan “Sully” Sullivan, the party girl. Sully liked to play games with girls and boys, and always have a good time. While Ambrosia is at the reunion, she continues to get threatening messages. She has to come to terms with what she did in school, and realize that maybe her memories aren’t as reliable as she thought.

This story was so intense. Throughout the first half of the story, I was certain that I had figured out the ending. However, there was a twist halfway through that showed me that I was completely wrong. The final chapters were so suspenseful that I was holding my breath. This was definitely a wild story.

This story had a very dark tone. There is some potentially triggering content, such as bullying, suicide, overdose, rape, and cheating. This content was quite intense at times and difficult to read. It was discomforting to read, but these are things that do happen on college campuses. These topics made for an uncomfortable read at times, but the story was so intricately plotted, that I had to give it five full stars.

This was a dark and intense thriller.

Review: Hana Khan Carries On

Title: Hana Khan Carries On
Author: Uzma Jalaluddin
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: HarperCollins Canada, Berkley Romance
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: April 13, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the author of Ayesha at Last comes a sparkling new rom-com for fans of “You’ve Got Mail,” set in two competing halal restaurants
Sales are slow at Three Sisters Biryani Poutine, the only halal restaurant in the close-knit Golden Crescent neighbourhood. Hana waitresses there part time, but what she really wants is to tell stories on the radio. If she can just outshine her fellow intern at the city radio station, she may have a chance at landing a job. In the meantime, Hana pours her thoughts and dreams into a podcast, where she forms a lively relationship with one of her listeners. But soon she’ll need all the support she can get: a new competing restaurant, a more upscale halal place, is about to open in the Golden Crescent, threatening Three Sisters.
When her mysterious aunt and her teenage cousin arrive from India for a surprise visit, they draw Hana into a long-buried family secret. A hate-motivated attack on their neighbourhood complicates the situation further, as does Hana’s growing attraction for Aydin, the young owner of the rival restaurant—who might not be a complete stranger after all.
As life on the Golden Crescent unravels, Hana must learn to use her voice, draw on the strength of her community and decide what her future should be.

Review:

Hana Khan works at her mother’s restaurant, Three Sisters Biryani Poutine, in Toronto. She also has an unpaid internship at a Toronto radio station. But what she wants to do is tell her story on the radio. She hosts an anonymous podcast, where she has made a friend out of one of her listeners. Her mother’s restaurant is failing. With her pregnant sister no longer able to work there and a competing restaurant opening on the same street, Hana has to figure out how to save their restaurant. On top of that Hana has to deal with racist attacks and potentially falling for the owner of the rival restaurant. Hana has to learn to use her voice and follow her dreams.

This was a fabulous story set in my hometown, Toronto. Hana was part of a tight knit community in the east end of the city. All of the businesses had a strong relationship with each other, and they felt threatened when the rival restaurant was opening. There were some shocking twists at the end of the story that I didn’t expect. Hana’s family had some secrets that were hinted at throughout the story, but one secret that was revealed close to the end really surprised me. I love it when a story has a shocking reveal that I didn’t predict.

This story addressed anti-Islamic racism. There were multiple attacks, one personally against Hana and another on her community. Hana also had to deal with discrimination at her internship. These racist moments were so upsetting to read because they are things that happen in real life. This is a reality for many people in their daily lives, even in a diverse city like Toronto. I hope that one day stories that have racist events like this will be part of the past and no longer be relevant.

I really enjoyed this story!

Thank you HarperCollins Canada and Berkley Romance for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Blog Tour Review: Just My Luck

Title: Just My Luck
Author: Adele Parks
Genre: Thriller, Contemporary
Publisher: MIRA
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: April 6, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

It was supposed to be the lottery win they’d always dreamed of…
For fifteen years, Lexi and Jake have played the same six numbers with their friends. Over drinks, dinner parties and summer barbecues, the three couples have discussed the important stuff—kids, marriages, careers—and they’ve laughed off their disappointment when they failed to win anything.
But then the unthinkable happens. There’s a rift in the group. Someone is caught in a lie. And soon after, six numbers come up that change everything forever.
Lexi and Jake have a ticket worth millions. And their friends are determined to claim a share.
#1 Sunday Times bestselling author Adele Parks returns with a riveting look at the dark side of wealth in this gripping tale of friendship, money, betrayal and good luck gone bad…

Review:

For fifteen years, a group of six friends have bought a lottery ticket every week using the same numbers. Lexi and Jake always buy them for the group. One night, they have a fight, breaking the group apart. However, the following week, their numbers come up, and Lexi and Jake have the winning ticket. Despite their fight, their four friends want a share of the winnings. This is only the start of a series of devastating events, which they can’t recover from.

Everyone dreams of winning the lottery, but it doesn’t have the dreamy outcome everyone imagines. Once you come into a lot of money, everyone you’ve ever met expects some of it. This happened in this story when Lexi and Jake won the lottery. It was complicated since they had been in a group, buying tickets together for many years. The question is did they really had a fight and dissolve the group or are Lexi and Jake just saying that to keep the money. This prize of 18 million pounds led their lives to spiral out of control, with affairs, a kidnapping, and many betrayals.

This story had some shocking and disturbing scenes. There was some abuse of a teen and a miscarriage. These scenes were intense and made the story suspenseful, but there were many flashback scenes which slowed down the pacing. There was a lot of unnecessary information that gave a full story of all the characters, but wasn’t necessary to understand the whole plot. It would have had much faster pacing if some of the flashback scenes were shortened or cut.

This was an intense thriller that will make you think twice about buying a lottery ticket.

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

Other books in the series:

Adele Parks is the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of twenty novels, including Lies Lies Lies and Just My Luck, as well as I Invited Her In. Just My Luck is currently in development to be made into a movie. Her novels have sold 4 million copies in the UK alone, and her work has also been translated into thirty-one languages.

Have you read Just My Luck? What did you think of it?

Review: Lucky

Title: Lucky
Author: Marissa Stapley
Genre: Thriller, Contemporary
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: April 6, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

For fans of The Flight Attendant, a compelling and thrilling road-trip novel about a talented grifter named Lucky whose past comes back to haunt her.
What if you had the winning ticket that would change your life forever, but you couldn’t cash it in?
Lucky Armstrong is a tough, talented grifter who has just pulled off a million-dollar heist with her boyfriend, Cary. She’s ready to start a brand-new life, with a new identity—when things go sideways. Lucky finds herself alone for the first time, navigating the world without the help of either her father or her boyfriend, the two figures from whom she’s learned the art of the scam.
When she discovers that a lottery ticket she bought on a whim is worth millions, her elation is tempered by one big problem: cashing in the winning ticket means the police will arrest her for her crimes. She’ll go to prison, with no chance to redeem her fortune.
As Lucky tries to avoid arrest and make a future for herself, she must confront her past by reconciling with her father; finding her mother, who abandoned her when she just a baby; and coming to terms with the man she thought she loved—whose complicated past is catching up to her, too.
This is a novel about truth, personal redemption, and the complexity of being good. It introduces a singularly gifted, complicated character who must learn what it means to be independent and honest…before her luck runs out.

Review:

Lucky Armstrong is a talented con artist. She’s ready to leave her grifter life behind and move away with her boyfriend, when he disappears and leaves her wanted by the police. Lucky goes on the run. Then she discovers that the lottery ticket she bought has won the jackpot. The problem is that she can’t cash it in since she’s wanted for scamming people out of millions of dollars. To avoid being captured, Lucky has to travel around the country to see her father who raised her, her mother who abandoned her, and other people from her past to figure out her future.

This was a gripping thriller from the start. I started reading it before going to sleep and I was tempted to stay up all night to finish it. There were twists that surprised me. Lucky’s past was full of secrets, which were revealed in flashbacks throughout the story. There were shocking reveals right until the last pages.

I loved the ending of this story. There was a part in the opening of the story that didn’t seem related to the rest of the story. I was hoping it would all come together in the end and it did. It was a great ending that left me satisfied with the whole story.

This is such a great thriller! I highly recommend it!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Undercover Bromance (Bromance Book Club #2)

Title: Undercover Bromance (Bromance Book Club #2)
Author: Lyssa Kay Adams
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Berkley
Source: Purchased
Format: Ebook
Release Date: March 10, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Braden Mack thinks reading romance novels makes him an expert in love, but he’ll soon discover that real life is better than fiction.
Liv Papandreas has a dream job as a sous chef at Nashville’s hottest restaurant. Too bad the celebrity chef owner is less than charming behind kitchen doors. After she catches him harassing a young hostess, she confronts him and gets fired. Liv vows revenge, but she’ll need assistance to take on the powerful chef.
Unfortunately, that means turning to Braden Mack. When Liv’s blackballed from the restaurant scene, the charismatic nightclub entrepreneur offers to help expose her ex-boss, but she is suspicious of his motives. He’ll need to call in reinforcements: the Bromance Book Club.
Inspired by the romantic suspense novel they’re reading, the book club assists Liv in setting up a sting operation to take down the chef. But they’re just as eager to help Mack figure out the way to Liv’s heart… even though she’s determined to squelch the sparks between them before she gets burned.

Review:

Braden Mack is an expert on romance novels, and the creator of the Bromance Book Club. Liv Papandreas is a pastry chef at a restaurant owned by a celebrity chef in Nashville. After spilling a thousand dollar cupcake in Braden’s date’s lap, Liv discovers her boss harassing the hostess of the restaurant. Liv is fired and she vows to expose her former boss for the harasser that he is. Since Braden is an owner of new clubs in Nashville, she goes to him for help in bringing down the celebrity chef. Braden enlists the Bromance Book Club to help with Liv’s plan and to help him figure out his love life.

This is such a great series. The Bromance Book Club get together to study romance novels. Braden is the founder of the club, and he uses the novels to guide his romantic life. However, he doesn’t have a girlfriend, so his plan isn’t working. The guys in the club study the romance books, but they don’t always realize when their lives are following a romance novel plot.

Sexual harassment was a prominent topic in this book. Liv’s former boss was known among his female staff for sexually harassing them. Once Liv discovered it, she wanted to expose him right away, but it wasn’t that easy. The women who had experienced his harassment weren’t eager to go after him. Liv thought she knew the answers from where she was standing on the outside of the situation, but she couldn’t see the perspective of the women who had been attacked. Liv had to wait for the appropriate time to reveal her former boss’s secrets.

I really enjoyed this story! I can’t wait to read the next one.

Other books in the series:

The Bromance Book Club
Crazy Stupid Bromance

Have you read Undercover Bromance? What did you think of it?

Blog Tour Review: Tigers, Not Daughters

Title: Tigers, Not Daughters
Author: Samantha Mabry
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Magical Realism
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: March 24, 2020
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Torres sisters dream of escape. Escape from their needy and despotic widowed father, and from their San Antonio neighborhood, full of old San Antonio families and all the traditions and expectations that go along with them. In the summer after her senior year of high school, Ana, the oldest sister, falls to her death from her bedroom window. A year later, her three younger sisters, Jessica, Iridian, and Rosa, are still consumed by grief and haunted by their sister’s memory. Their dream of leaving Southtown now seems out of reach. But then strange things start happening around the house: mysterious laughter, mysterious shadows, mysterious writing on the walls. The sisters begin to wonder if Ana really is haunting them, trying to send them a message—and what exactly she’s trying to say.
In a stunning follow-up to her National Book Award–longlisted novel All the Wind in the World, Samantha Mabry weaves an aching, magical novel that is one part family drama, one part ghost story, and one part love story.

Review:

A year ago, Ana Torres fell out of her bedroom window to her death. Her younger three sisters, Jessica, Iridian, and Rosa, are dealing with their grief in different ways. Jessica acts out and has a dangerous relationship with her boyfriend. Iridian finds comfort in books and writing. Rosa tries to help animals. Strange things begin to happen in their house, and the girls decide that it must be Ana’s spirit communicating with them. They have to figure out what Ana is trying to tell them.

This was an intense story. The sisters were grieving for their sister, but their dad had other ways of dealing with the pain. He checked out of their lives, so they had to look after themselves. They had to grow up quickly, but they each had their own ways of coping.

I really liked the magical realism aspects of this story. Ana’s ghost appeared to her sisters and to the neighbors next door. She didn’t always appear as a person, but she would do things around the house to let them know she was there. There were also some storms that happened around her appearances, which added to the spooky atmosphere.

This was such a beautiful story!

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

Review: A Taste for Love

Title: A Taste for Love
Author: Jennifer Yen
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Razorbill
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: February 2, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

For fans of Jenny Han, Jane Austen, and The Great British Baking Show, A Taste for Love, is a delicious rom com about first love, familial expectations, and making the perfect bao.
To her friends, high school senior Liza Yang is nearly perfect. Smart, kind, and pretty, she dreams big and never shies away from a challenge. But to her mom, Liza is anything but. Compared to her older sister Jeannie, Liza is stubborn, rebellious, and worst of all, determined to push back against all of Mrs. Yang’s traditional values, especially when it comes to dating.
The one thing mother and daughter do agree on is their love of baking. Mrs. Yang is the owner of Houston’s popular Yin & Yang Bakery. With college just around the corner, Liza agrees to help out at the bakery’s annual junior competition to prove to her mom that she’s more than her rebellious tendencies once and for all. But when Liza arrives on the first day of the bake-off, she realizes there’s a catch: all of the contestants are young Asian American men her mother has handpicked for Liza to date.
The bachelorette situation Liza has found herself in is made even worse when she happens to be grudgingly attracted to one of the contestants; the stoic, impenetrable, annoyingly hot James Wong. As she battles against her feelings for James, and for her mother’s approval, Liza begins to realize there’s no tried and true recipe for love.

Review:

Liza Yang helps out at her family’s restaurant and bakery, Yin and Yang. Her mother holds a competition every year for young bakers, with the prize of a scholarship. Mrs. Yang is eager to find husbands for her daughters. Her oldest daughter, Jeannie, is attending school in New York and is working as a fashion model. Liza has always been the rebellious daughter who dated American boys, rather than Asian boys. Liza is given the opportunity to help her mom judge the baking competition for the first time, but as soon as she sees the contestants, she realizes this year’s competition has been set up as a dating competition for her. Each of the contestants is an eligible Asian teen boy. One of the contestants is James, who has already gotten off on the wrong foot with Liza. Despite that, and even though Mrs. Yang approves of him, Liza can’t help but be attracted to James.

I’ve been binge watching the Great British Bake Off in the last few months, so this book was on trend for me. The competition that Mrs. Yang holds in the story is very similar to that baking competition. There was even an episode of the Bake Off that was referenced in the book that I watched a few days ago. The characters made a wide variety of baked goods in this story. I had to look up some that I had never heard of but they all sound delicious so I’ll have to try them!

This book also had me hooked when I realized it was a retelling of Pride and Prejudice. There have been so many retellings that it’s hard to get an original story. This one definitely worked for me. I really enjoyed this story because it wasn’t an exact copy of Pride and Prejudice. Some of the plot points were rearranged, but it followed the general story of the Jane Austen classic.

This was such a fun story. I recommend having sweet treats on hand while reading it!

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

Review: Bruised

Title: Bruised
Author: Tanya Boteju
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBT
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: March 23, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

To Daya Wijesinghe, a bruise is a mixture of comfort and control. Since her parents died in an accident she survived, bruises have become a way to keep her pain on the surface of her skin so she doesn’t need to deal with the ache deep in her heart.
So when chance and circumstances bring her to a roller derby bout, Daya is hooked. Yes, the rules are confusing and the sport seems to require the kind of teamwork and human interaction Daya generally avoids. But the opportunities to bruise are countless, and Daya realizes that if she’s going to keep her emotional pain at bay, she’ll need all the opportunities she can get.
The deeper Daya immerses herself into the world of roller derby, though, the more she realizes it’s not the simple physical pain-fest she was hoping for. Her rough-and-tumble teammates and their fans push her limits in ways she never imagined, bringing Daya to big truths about love, loss, strength, and healing.

Review:

Since Daya’s parents died in a crash that she survived, she has given herself bruises. She keeps bruising herself so she can physically feel the emotional pain from losing her parents. Daya learns about roller derby teams, and she realizes that’s an activity that will give her lots of bruises. The sport is more physically grueling and painful than she expected. She idolizes the star of the team, Kat, and she befriends Kat’s sister, Shani. Roller derby opens up Daya to exploring her own feelings and finding her personal strength.

This was a coming of age story. Daya had to learn to accept the death of her parents, and she also was coming to understand her own romantic feelings. Daya blamed herself for her parents’ death, since she survived their car crash, so she self harms by bruising herself. Daya also discovered her sexual identity. She became vulnerable by beginning a relationship with a girl that she didn’t expect to have. Daya had a lot to discover about herself in this story.

Despite the serious subject matter for most of the book, there were some entertaining characters. Daya’s aunt and uncle who were her guardians were quirky actors. They would dance and play games without worrying about how they looked to the outside world. Daya met some older characters through her roller skating. They were former roller skaters who still liked to get dressed up and help the younger skaters. They were all funny characters who lightened the mood of the story.

This was a great young adult story!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review: The Dating Plan

Title: The Dating Plan
Author: Sara Desai
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Berkley Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: March 16, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Daisy Patel is a software engineer who understands lists and logic better than bosses and boyfriends. With her life all planned out, and no interest in love, the one thing she can’t give her family is the marriage they expect. Left with few options, she asks her childhood crush to be her decoy fiance.
Liam Murphy is a venture capitalist with something to prove. When he learns that his inheritance is contingent on being married, he realizes his best friend’s little sister has the perfect solution to his problem. A marriage of convenience will get Daisy’s matchmaking relatives off her back and fulfill the terms of his late grandfather’s will. If only he hadn’t broken her tender teenage heart nine years ago…
Sparks fly when Daisy and Liam go on a series of dates to legitimize their fake relationship. Too late, they realize that very little is convenient about their arrangement. History and chemistry aren’t about to follow the rules of this engagement.

Review:

Daisy Patel works as a software engineer at a startup company. When she’s at a tech conference to find funding, she runs into her old boss (who is now dating Daisy’s ex) and her aunt (who has brought an eligible bachelor to introduce to Daisy). Daisy runs right into a childhood friend, Liam, who she hates. Liam was Daisy’s brother’s best friend, but after he stood her up for her prom, she never heard from him again. In the spur of the moment, she kisses him to get away from her former boss and her aunt. When Liam realizes he needs a fiancé to get his inheritance from his grandfather, he asks Daisy to be his fake fiancé in exchange for helping her company. Daisy puts together a dating plan so they can convince their families that they are really engaged before they get married. It will take a lot for Daisy to forgive Liam for what he did to her when they were teens but they both need their fake engagement to work out.

The fake dating trope is one of my favourites. The characters have to keep many secrets from others and from each other. Some of these secrets were kept until the end, such as the real story behind why Liam didn’t go to the prom with Daisy.

I loved the families in this story. Both Daisy and Liam had large extended families who were involved in their relationship. Neither of their families believed they are actually getting married so quickly because it doesn’t seem like something they would do. Liam’s family was visiting following the death of his grandfather. They were a loud, funny, boisterous family. Daisy’s family was very big. She had relatives that worked all over the city, at every place she visited with Liam. It was so funny to see how she had connections everywhere. I really enjoyed seeing their large, entertaining families.

This was a fun rom com!

Thank you Berkley Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Other books in the series:

The Marriage Game

Have you read The Dating Plan? What did you think of it?

Review: Love in English

Title: Love in English
Author: Maria E. Andreu
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: February 2, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Ana has just moved to New Jersey from Argentina for her Junior year of high school. She’s a poet and a lover of language—except that now, she can barely understand what’s going on around her, let alone find the words to express how she feels in the language she’s expected to speak.
All Ana wants to do is go home—until she meets Harrison, the very cute, very American boy in her math class. And then there’s her new friend Neo, the Greek boy she’s partnered up with in ESL class, who she bonds with over the 80s teen movies they are assigned to watch for class (but later keep watching together for fun), and Altagracia, her artistic and Instagram-fabulous friend, who thankfully is fluent in Spanish and able to help her settle into American high school.
But is it possible that she’s becoming too American—as her father accuses—and what does it mean when her feelings for Harrison and Neo start to change? Ana will spend her year learning that the rules of English may be confounding, but there are no rules when it comes to love.
With playful and poetic breakouts exploring the idiosyncrasies of the English language, Love in English tells a story that is simultaneously charming and romantic, while articulating a deeper story about what it means to become “American.”

Review:

Sixteen-year-old Ana moved to New Jersey from Argentina. She likes to write poetry, but now she’s somewhere that she doesn’t speak the language. She meets Harrison, a cute American boy, who needs her help with math. Then, she meets Neo, a cute Greek boy, in her ESL class. Harrison is the ideal boyfriend she imagined having in America, but she has a lot in common with Neo, as they both help each other with English. Ana has to navigate this new world with a new language, while also dealing with the usual issues of growing up.

English is the only language I speak, so I’ve never had the experience that Ana had. However, everyone at some point in their lives has felt left out of a group, whether at a new school or a new workplace. When I was a child, most of my friends spoke English as a second language. I was reminded of them while reading this book. After reading this story, I feel like I have a better understanding of how they felt coming to a new country and learning English.

This story gave an interesting view of the English language. There are so many strange things in the language that really don’t make sense. Some sayings, such as “have your cake and eat it too,” were mentioned a lot because Ana thought it was so strange. She also pointed out how the words dough, rough, and bough look so similar but have completely different pronunciations. I don’t usually examine these parts of English, since it’s the only language I know. It was fun to see all these unusual parts of language pointed out in this story.

This was a fun and beautiful story!

Thank you HarperCollins Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Review:

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