Category: Contemporary

Title: A Love Hate Thing
Author: Whitney D. Grandison
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: January 7, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

When they’re stuck under one roof, the house may not be big enough for their hate…or their love.

When Tyson Trice finds himself tossed into the wealthy coastal community of Pacific Hills, he’s ready for the questions, the stares and the feeling of not belonging. Not that he cares. After recovering from being shot and surviving the rough streets of Lindenwood, he doesn’t care about anyone or anything, much less how the rest of his life will play out.

Golden girl Nandy Smith has spent most of her life building the pristine image that it takes to fit in when it comes to her hometown Pacific Hills where image is everything. After learning that her parents are taking in a troubled teen boy, Nandy fears her summer plans, as well as her reputation, will go up in flames. 

Now with Trice living under the same roof, the wall between their bedrooms feels as thin as the line between love and hate. Beneath the angst, their growing attraction won’t be denied. Through time, Trice brings Nandy out of her shell, and Nandy attempts to melt the ice that’s taken Trice’s heart and being. Only, with the ever-present pull back to the Lindenwood streets, it’ll be a wonder if Trice makes it through this summer at all.

Review:

This is a great modern romance.

I loved that Nandy and Tyson came from two completely different worlds, yet they made such a good couple. Nandy is from Pacific Hills, which is a wealthy community. Tyson came from Lindenhood, where he was involved with dangerous people. They still found common ground, though they had very different upbringings.

The story was fast paced. Though it was long, there were so many ups and downs, so I was always kept guessing as to what would happen next. There was loads of tension between Nandy and Tyson, so I kept wondering if and hoping that they would get together.

I was a little confused about the ending. I had an ARC of the book, so it may have been different in the final edition. My copy had it ending in the middle of a conversation. I’m not sure if that’s what was supposed to happen because it was kind of abrupt.

I really enjoyed this book!

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

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Have you read A Love Hate Thing? What did you think of it?

Title: On the Come Up
Author: Angie Thomas
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: February 5, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least make it out of her neighborhood one day. As the daughter of an underground rap legend who died before he hit big, Bri’s got big shoes to fill. But now that her mom has unexpectedly lost her job, food banks and shutoff notices are as much a part of Bri’s life as beats and rhymes. With bills piling up and homelessness staring her family down, Bri no longer just wants to make it—she has to make it.

On the Come Up is Angie Thomas’s homage to hip-hop, the art that sparked her passion for storytelling and continues to inspire her to this day. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; of the struggle to become who you are and not who everyone expects you to be; and of the desperate realities of poor and working-class black families.

Review:

This is another amazing book from Angie Thomas! I read it in one day because I couldn’t put it down.

There were some elements of this story that reminded me of The Hate U Give. It is set in the same community, though the characters don’t know each other. They do mention the shooting that happened in THUG a year previously.

Bri goes viral with a rap song she wrote, but it gives people the wrong impression of her. It’s compared to an incident that’s she had in school where the security guards threw her down when she was entering the school. Bri has the conflict of being who she is, versus becoming famous for something she didn’t do.

Even though this book is similar to The Hate U Give, Bri and Starr come from different backgrounds. Starr comes from a middle class family, and she goes to a predominantly white private school. Bri’s father was shot when she was a child, and her mother is a former drug addict. Though they have different backgrounds, they come from the same community and fight for social justice.

I loved this book! I can’t wait to read what Angie writes next!

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Have you read On the Come Up? What did you think of it?

Title: 10 Blind Dates
Author: Ashley Elston
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Source: Indigo Fall Preview
Format: Paperback
Release Date: October 1, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Sophie wants one thing for Christmas-a little freedom from her overprotective parents. So when they decide to spend Christmas in South Louisiana with her very pregnant older sister, Sophie is looking forward to some much needed private (read: make-out) time with her long-term boyfriend, Griffin. Except it turns out that Griffin wants a little freedom from their relationship. Cue devastation.

Heartbroken, Sophie flees to her grandparents’ house, where the rest of her boisterous extended family is gathered for the holiday. That’s when her nonna devises a (not so) brilliant plan: Over the next ten days, Sophie will be set up on ten different blind dates by different family members. Like her sweet cousin Sara, who sets her up with a hot guy at an exclusive underground party. Or her crazy aunt Patrice, who signs Sophie up for a lead role in a living nativity. With a boy who barely reaches her shoulder. And a screaming baby.

When Griffin turns up unexpectedly and begs for a second chance, Sophie feels more confused than ever. Because maybe, just maybe, she’s started to have feelings for someone else . . . Someone who is definitely not available.

This is going to be the worst Christmas break ever… or is it?

Review:

This is the cutest holiday story!

When Sophie and her boyfriend break up, her family decides to set her up on 10 blind dates over Christmas. Some of the dates were good, such as going to a hockey game. Others were not so good, but kind of hilarious. While these dates were happening, Sophie reconnected with her cousins who she used to be her best friends.

The story also had a lot of tension. Sophie’s parents were staying with her sister, who was having a complicated pregnancy. It was tense and scary at times. However, the light tone of the blind dates kept the story upbeat.

I loved this book! It’s the perfect book to read over the holidays!

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

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Have you read 10 Blind Dates? What did you think of it?

Title: Jackpot
Author: Nic Stone
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Crown Books
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: October 15, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Dear Martin–which Angie Thomas, the bestselling author of The Hate U Give, called “a must read”–comes a pitch-perfect romance that examines class, privilege, and how a stroke of good luck can change an entire life. 

Meet Rico: high school senior and afternoon-shift cashier at the Gas ‘n’ Go, who after school and work races home to take care of her younger brother. Every. Single. Day. When Rico sells a jackpot-winning lotto ticket, she thinks maybe her luck will finally change, but only if she–with some assistance from her popular and wildly rich classmate Zan–can find the ticket holder who hasn’t claimed the prize. But what happens when have and have-nots collide? Will this investigative duo unite…or divide?

Nic Stone, the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martinand Odd One Out, creates two unforgettable characters in one hard-hitting story about class, money–both too little and too much–and how you make your own luck in the world. 

Review:

This book was heartbreaking and beautiful.

There was so much tension throughout the story. I kept holding my breath, waiting for Rico to find the ticket. I hoped she hoped she would find it every step of the way. There was the added tension of Rico’s family’s hardships. Their finances were stuck in a downward spiral, and the only way out appeared to be the lottery jackpot.

There were some lighter parts of the story too. The main narrative was narrated by Rico, but there were brief passages narrated by inanimate objects, such as hundred dollar bills or a wood stove. These little interludes were a funny break from the serious story.

This is another great book from Nic Stone! I loved it!

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

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Have you read Jackpot? What did you think of it?

Title: Our Wayward Fate
Author: Gloria Chao
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 15, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Ali Chu knows that as the only Asian person at her school in middle-of-nowhere Indiana, she must be bland as white toast to survive. This means swapping her congee lunch for PB&Js, ignoring the clueless racism from her classmates and teachers, and keeping her mouth shut when people wrongly call her Allie instead of her actual name, pronounced Āh-lěe, after the mountain in Taiwan.

Her autopilot existence is disrupted when she finds out that Chase Yu, the new kid in school, is also Taiwanese. Despite some initial resistance due to the “they belong together” whispers, Ali and Chase soon spark a chemistry rooted in competitive martial arts, joking in two languages, and, most importantly, pushing back against the discrimination they face.

But when Ali’s mom finds out about the relationship, she forces Ali to end it. As Ali covertly digs into the why behind her mother’s disapproval, she uncovers secrets about her family and Chase that force her to question everything she thought she knew about life, love, and her unknowable future.

Snippets of a love story from nineteenth-century China (a retelling of the Chinese folktale The Butterfly Lovers) are interspersed with Ali’s narrative and intertwined with her fate.

Review:

This is an amazing second novel from Gloria Chao!

Ali had to deal with a ton of racism, living in a predominantly “white” town. I couldn’t believe the way that her peers and teachers would talk to her, including commenting on how good she must be at math and putting on a Chinese accent in front of her. She was born in America so she was just as much of an American as them. These racist people also assumed that she must date the new Asian boy in the school. It was heartbreaking to read the way people spoke to her.

I learned a lot about Chinese culture in this book. There was a Chinese folktale that was threaded throughout the story and united with the main plot in the end. It had to do with Ali’s mother’s secrets, which was another amazing and suspenseful subplot!

I liked that the Mandarin words weren’t translated directly into English. It brings the reader into Ali’s position of being on the outside of the culture she lives in. I could figure out what most of the words meant from the context, but I liked that it kept Ali’s culture prevalent in the story.

I loved this book!

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

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Have you read Our Wayward Fate? What did you think of it?