Category: Young Adult

Title: Permanent Record
Author: Mary H.K. Choi
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: September 3, 2019
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Emergency Contact, which Rainbow Rowell called “smart and funny,” comes an unforgettable new romance about how social media influences relationships every day.

On paper, college dropout Pablo Rind doesn’t have a whole lot going for him. His graveyard shift at a twenty-four-hour deli in Brooklyn is a struggle. Plus, he’s up to his eyeballs in credit card debt. Never mind the state of his student loans.

Pop juggernaut Leanna Smart has enough social media followers to populate whole continents. The brand is unstoppable. She graduated from child stardom to become an international icon and her adult life is a queasy blur of private planes, step-and-repeats, aspirational hotel rooms, and strangers screaming for her just to notice them.

When Leanna and Pablo meet at 5:00 a.m. at the bodega in the dead of winter it’s absurd to think they’d be A Thing. But as they discover who they are, who they want to be, and how to defy the deafening expectations of everyone else, Lee and Pab turn to each other. Which, of course, is when things get properly complicated. 

Review:

I really enjoyed this new novel.

Pablo straddles two different cultures, Korean and Pakistani. Since he is part of two different backgrounds, he doesn’t really feel accepted by either one. He hasn’t even travelled to either of his parents’ birthplaces, making him feel even more left out. This affects the rest of his life, leaving him unable to finish school and even abandoning his job.

I loved how realistic this book felt. It felt like I was reading about someone’s real life. Pablo has a pretty ordinary and unexciting life until he meets a pop star and they begin a relationship. Even though this extraordinary event happens to him, he is drawn back to his real life. The ending was perfect for this ordinary boy.

This is a great young adult novel!

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

What to read next:

Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo

Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi

Have you read Permanent Record? What did you think of it?

Title: Dear Haiti, Love Alaine
Author: Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: September 3, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Co-written by sisters Maika and Maritza Moulite, and told in epistolary style through letters, articles, emails, and diary entries, this exceptional debut novel captures a sparkling new voice and irrepressible heroine in a celebration of storytelling sure to thrill fans of Nicola Yoon, Ibi Zoboi and Jenna Evans Welch!

When a school presentation goes very wrong, Alaine Beauparlant finds herself suspended, shipped off to Haiti and writing the report of a lifetime…

You might ask the obvious question: What do I, a seventeen-year-old Haitian American from Miami with way too little life experience, have to say about anything?

Actually, a lot.

Thanks to “the incident” (don’t ask), I’m spending the next two months doing what my school is calling a “spring volunteer immersion project.” It’s definitely no vacation. I’m toiling away under the ever-watchful eyes of Tati Estelle at her new nonprofit. And my lean-in queen of a mother is even here to make sure I do things right. Or she might just be lying low to dodge the media sharks after a much more public incident of her own…and to hide a rather devastating secret.

All things considered, there are some pretty nice perks…like flirting with Tati’s distractingly cute intern, getting actual face time with my mom and experiencing Haiti for the first time. I’m even exploring my family’s history—which happens to be loaded with betrayals, superstitions and possibly even a family curse.

You know, typical drama. But it’s nothing I can’t handle.

Review:

This story had it all! It had romance, mystery, drama, and a little bit of magic. Each of these parts worked seamlessly together.

I fell in love with Alaine immediately. She was hilarious and confident. I loved that she would go to extremes to get her point across, even when it backfired on her. I got so comfortable with her character that I was as shocked as her when she received some devastating news at about a quarter of the way through the book. I had a hard time putting this book down because I needed to know how it ended!

Another thing I loved about this story is that it was told using various different forms of writing. There were letters, texts, emails, and diary entries. I love stories that are told through many forms like this because it gives different perspectives of events.

This was a fabulous book! I can’t wait to read what the Moulite sisters write next!

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

What to read next:

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

Have you read Dear Haiti, Love Alaine? What did you think of it?

Title: Fan the Fame
Author: Anna Priemaza
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Indigo Fall Preview
Format: Paperback
Release Date: August 20, 2019
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Equal parts Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl and Jennifer Mathieu’s Moxie, this fiercely crafted feminist YA novel takes on fandom, accountability, and doing the right thing. Even when it hurts.

Lainey wouldn’t mind lugging a camera around a video game convention for her brother, aka YouTube superstar Codemeister, except for one big problem. He’s funny and charming online, but behind closed doors, Cody is a sexist jerk.

SamTheBrave came to this year’s con with one mission: meeting Codemeister—because getting his idol’s attention could be the big break Sam needs.

ShadowWillow is already a successful streamer. But when her fans start shipping her with Code, Shadow concocts a plan to turn the rumors to her advantage.

The three teens’ paths collide when Lainey records one of Cody’s hateful rants on video. Because she’s determined to spill the truth to her brother’s fans—even if that means putting Sam and Shadow in the crosshairs.

Told through three relatable voices and arriving on the heels of the author’s widely praised debut novel, Kat and Meg Conquer the World, this sophomore novel is a nuanced and timely story about followers, fame, and fighting for what’s right.

Review:

This was a great story!

This story drew a lot of attention to problems in the online gaming community. Lainey wanted to take her brother down from his high position in the community by proving that he is a misogynist and a racist. At the same time, ShadowWillow has to fight for her position in the community even harder just because she is a woman. ShadowWillow even comments on how the panel of all girls at the convention was in the morning, at the least popular time slot.

The character SamTheBrave had a disorder that caused him to pick at his skin. He was bullied because people couldn’t understand his disorder. Even his family bullied him about it. Even if a disorder doesn’t have a “pretty” image, it is important for it to be present in fiction, because it is present in real life. I really liked that Sam had this uncommon disorder, to bring awareness to it.

One thing that would have made this story much more effective was if there were people of colour and LGBTQ characters represented in this story. People of colour in the gaming community were mentioned briefly and there were some very minor LGBTQ characters, but I think there should have been some more representation because they are also part of the community.

I really loved this story!

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

What to read next:

Kat and Meg Conquer the World by Anna Priemaza

Have you read Fan the Fame? What did you think of it?

Title: Red, White and Royal Blue
Author: Casey McQuiston
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 14, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A big-hearted romantic comedy in which First Son Alex falls in love with Prince Henry of Wales after an incident of international proportions forces them to pretend to be best friends…

First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations.

The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. Alex is busy enough handling his mother’s bloodthirsty opponents and his own political ambitions without an uptight royal slowing him down. But beneath Henry’s Prince Charming veneer, there’s a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humor and more than one ghost haunting him. 

As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. And Henry throws everything into question for Alex, an impulsive, charming guy who thought he knew everything: What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?

Review:

This book definitely lived up to the hype!

I loved this parallel universe with a queer romance between a prince and a first son. They were such a cute couple! It really didn’t feel that far off from the future. Things are changing everyday, and I can imagine these kinds of changes in these historical institutions. However, it was heartbreaking that these two boys, who were perfect for each other, could have been kept apart because of some people’s prejudice.

Some of the parts were predictable, but that’s what I loved about the story. I could tell that Alex and Henry would get together, because of the tension between them. I also predicted that they would be caught in some way because that was the danger of their relationship becoming public.

I’m so glad I read this story! I loved it!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Royals (Royals #1) by Rachel Hawkins

Her Royal Highness (Royals #2) by Rachel Hawkins

Have you read Red, White and Royal Blue? What did you think of it?