Title: My Ideal Boyfriend is a Croissant Author: Laura Dockrill Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Publisher: Delacorte Press Source: Publisher Format: Paperback Release Date: July 16, 2019 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
This honest, laugh-out-loud novel brimming with body positivity, bite-sized nuggets of feminism, and commentary on eating will have readers rooting for sixteen-year-old BB as she navigates her world while maintaining her plucky zest for life even in the most trying of times.
It’s a food diary. I have to tell the truth. That’s the point.
Sixteen-year-old Bluebelle, also known as BB or Big Bones, lives her life unapologetically. She loves life! She loves food!
When BB has a worse-than-usual asthma attack, her mom insists she go to the doctor. There, she is told that she is overweight (no surprise) and prediabetic (big surprise) and must lose weight, move more, and keep a food diary. To get out of this immediate health crisis, she agrees to make an effort.
Then a tragedy occurs in the family, and things get seriously complicated. Suddenly, losing weight and moving more are the least of her worries. As for the food diary, though, BB doesn’t just document what she’s eating, she documents what she’s feeling–and she has a lot to say!
Review:
This story was both hilarious and heartbreaking.
Bluebelle is told that she is obese and needs to lose weight after a serious asthma attack. A nurse gives her a food diary to keep track of her diet. The diary ends up turning into a journal where she talks about everything in her life. It takes a serious accident for her to rethink her life choices.
There was so much delicious food described in this book! This is definitely not a book to read when you’re hungry. There was a paragraph that described toast, which made me crave it. I’ve never read toast described in such detail before!
The only thing that bothered me about this book was the cover. The character is supposed to be so obese that she is unhealthy, or at least that is the way she is described. However, the girl on the cover looks like she’s a healthy body weight. I wish her size was represented with a more appropriate model on the cover.
I really enjoyed this story!
Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy
Ordinary Girls by Blair Thornburgh
Have you read My Ideal Boyfriend is a Croissant? What did you think of it?
This is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and Reading Reality. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!
I received a book from HarperCollins Canada:
Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite
I was approved for a book on NetGalley from Graydon House Books:
The Widow of Pale Harbor by Hester Fox
I was approved for a book on NetGalley from Bookouture:
No-One Ever Has Sex on Holiday by Tracy Bloom
I was approved for a book on NetGalley from Avon Books UK:
The Love Solution by Ashley Croft
I received 6 books from Penguin Random House Canada:
Jackpot by Nic Stone
One of Us is Next (One of Us is Lying #2) by Karen M. McManus
Gravemaidens by Kelly Coon
American Royals by Katharine McGee
Wildfire by Carrie Mac
The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams
Thank you HarperCollins Canada, Graydon House Books, Bookouture, Avon Books UK, and Penguin Random House Canada for these books!
Title: Heartwood Box Author: Ann Aguirre Genre: Young Adult, Thriller Publisher: Tor Teen Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: July 9, 2019 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
A dark, romantic YA suspense novel with an SF edge and plenty of drama, layering the secrets we keep and how appearances can deceive, from the New York Times bestselling author.
In this tiny, terrifying town, the lost are never found. When Araceli Flores Harper is sent to live with her great-aunt Ottilie in her ramshackle Victorian home, the plan is simple. She’ll buckle down and get ready for college. Life won’t be exciting, but she’ll cope, right?
Wrong. From the start, things are very, very wrong. Her great-aunt still leaves food for the husband who went missing twenty years ago, and local businesses are plastered with MISSING posters. There are unexplained lights in the woods and a mysterious lab just beyond the city limits that the locals don’t talk about. Ever. When she starts receiving mysterious letters that seem to be coming from the past, she suspects someone of pranking her or trying to drive her out of her mind. To solve these riddles and bring the lost home again, Araceli must delve into a truly diabolical conspiracy, but some secrets fight to stay buried…
Review:
This book was a combination of genres. It was mostly a young adult thriller, but there were aspects of paranormal fiction, science fiction, and even historical fiction. Though this seems like a large mix of genres, it worked in this story.
The story was quite creepy at the beginning. I couldn’t figure out what was going to happen. It was heartbreaking to see Araceli develop a relationship with a boy from a different time, while knowing that they couldn’t be together. It was strange, the way this story resolved into science fiction. I thought it would just be a paranormal or supernatural story, but it had science behind it.
I really enjoyed this story!
Thank you Tor Teen for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman
The Dark Beneath the Ice by Amelinda Bérubé
Have you read Heartwood Box? What did you think of it?
This is a weekly meme hosted by Wandering Words, where you give the first few lines of a book to hook your readers before introducing the book.
Here are my first lines:
“I’m in the water. Only my eyes are visible, and I blow bubbles to ensure the rest of me stays submerged until the opportune time. Besides the lifeguard watching from his perch, theres a gaggle of girls my age patrolling the beach with younger siblings in tow. They pace in their flip-flops and bikinis, and I wait.”
Do you recognize these first lines?
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And the book is… Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali.
Goodreads synopsis:
Saints and Misfits is an unforgettable debut novel that feels like a modern day My So-Called Life…starring a Muslim teen.
How much can you tell about a person just by looking at them?
Janna Yusuf knows a lot of people can’t figure out what to make of her…an Arab Indian-American hijabi teenager who is a Flannery O’Connor obsessed book nerd, aspiring photographer, and sometime graphic novelist is not exactly easy to put into a box.
And Janna suddenly finds herself caring what people think. Or at least what a certain boy named Jeremy thinks. Not that she would ever date him—Muslim girls don’t date. Or they shouldn’t date. Or won’t? Janna is still working all this out.
While her heart might be leading her in one direction, her mind is spinning in others. She is trying to decide what kind of person she wants to be, and what it means to be a saint, a misfit, or a monster. Except she knows a monster…one who happens to be parading around as a saint…Will she be the one to call him out on it? What will people in her tightknit Muslim community think of her then?
Have you read Saints and Misfits? What did you think of it?
Title: Genie in a Bottle (Whatever After #9) Author: Sarah Mlynowski Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy Publisher: Scholastic Press Source: Library Format: Ebook Release Date: April 26, 2016 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Be careful what you wish for…
When my brother, Jonah, and I travel through our mirror into the story of Aladdin, we’re excited. There will be magic lamps and genies granting wishes. Right?
Wrong.
The genie we meet isn’t QUITE as helpful as we expected. And if Aladdin’s wishes don’t come true, he won’t get to marry the princess and live happily ever after!
Now we have to:
– Escape an enchanted cave
– Find forty buckets of jewels
– Plan a parade
– Learn to fly a magic carpet
Otherwise we’ll run out of wishes… and never get home!
Review:
There has been a renewed interest in the story of Aladdin since the live-action remake of the Disney movie came out, so it is the perfect time to read this story.
I love that there have been some fairytales featured in this story that have boys as the main characters. Many fairytales are geared towards girls because they are about little girls or princesses. There are some stories, like Aladdin, which are about boys.
I couldn’t figure out how this one would end while I was reading it. Abby and Jonah messed up the fairytale so many times, and I couldn’t guess how they would fix it this time. As always, it worked out in the end.
I loved this story! The next one is about Hansel and Gretel, and I’m excited to read it!
What to read next:
Sugar and Spice (Whatever After #10) by Sarah Mlynowski
Flunked (Fairy Tale Reform School #1) by Jen Calonita
Have you read Genie in a Bottle? What did you think of it?
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 Bunny by Mona Awad.
Goodreads Synopsis:
“We were just these innocent girls in the night trying to make something beautiful. We nearly died. We very nearly did, didn’t we?”
Samantha Heather Mackey couldn’t be more of an outsider in her small, highly selective MFA program at New England’s Warren University. A scholarship student who prefers the company of her dark imagination to that of most people, she is utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort–a clique of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other “Bunny,” and seem to move and speak as one.
But everything changes when Samantha receives an invitation to the Bunnies’ fabled “Smut Salon,” and finds herself inexplicably drawn to their front door–ditching her only friend, Ava, in the process. As Samantha plunges deeper and deeper into the Bunnies’ sinister yet saccharine world, beginning to take part in the ritualistic off-campus “Workshop” where they conjure their monstrous creations, the edges of reality begin to blur. Soon, her friendships with Ava and the Bunnies will be brought into deadly collision.
The spellbinding new novel from one of our most fearless chroniclers of the female experience, Bunny is a down-the-rabbit-hole tale of loneliness and belonging, friendship and desire, and the fantastic and terrible power of the imagination.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
Title: I’ll Be There For You: The One about Friends Author: Kelsey Miller Genre: Non-Fiction Publisher: Hanover Square Press Source: Purchased Format: Hardcover Release Date: October 23, 2018 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
This definitive retrospective of Friends incorporates interviews, history and behind-the-scenes anecdotes to offer a critical analysis of how a sitcom about six twentysomethings changed television forever
When Friends debuted in 1994, no one expected it to become a mainstay of NBC’s Must See TV lineup, let alone a global phenomenon. In the years since, Friends has gone through many phases of cultural relevancy, from prime-time hit to 90s novelty item to certified classic. Ross, Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe have entered the pantheon of great television characters, and millions of people around the globe continue to tune in or stream their stories every day.
I‘ll Be There for You is the definitive retrospective of Friends, exploring all aspects of the show from its unlikely origins to the elusive reasons why we still watch it. Journalist and pop culture expert Kelsey Miller relives the show’s most iconic moments, analyzes the ways in which Friends is occasionally problematic and examines the many trends it inspired, from the rise of coffee-shop culture to Friendsgivings to the ultimate 90s haircut, the Rachel.
Weaving incisive commentary, revelatory interviews and behind-the-scenes anecdotes involving high-profile guest stars, I’ll Be There for You is the most comprehensive take on Friends, and the ultimate book for fans everywhere.
Review:
I loved this book!
I’ve been a fan of friends for as long as I can remember. I always had to be home from my dance classes on time on Thursday nights so I could watch the new episodes. It was a huge part of my life, and it’s still a comforting show to watch.
This book had so many fun facts of the show, including how the actors were cast. I loved all of these little anecdotes.
I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, but I’m so glad I read this book. I flew through it, because it was so entertaining. I highly recommend this book for fans of the show!
What to read next:
Big Girl: How I Gave Up Dieting and Got a Life by Kelsey Miller
Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud: The Rise and Reign of the Unruly Woman by Anne Helen Petersen
Have you read I’ll Be There For You: The One about Friends? What did you think of it?
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 to Hack a Heartbreak by Kristin Rockaway. The expected publication date is July 30, 2019.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Swipe right for love. Swipe left for disaster.
By day, Mel Strickland is an underemployed helpdesk tech at a startup incubator, Hatch, where she helps entitled brogrammers—”Hatchlings”—who can’t even fix their own laptops, but are apparently the next wave of startup geniuses. And by night, she goes on bad dates with misbehaving dudes she’s matched with on the ubiquitous dating app, Fluttr.
But after one dick pic too many, Mel has had it. Using her brilliant coding skills, she designs an app of her own, one that allows users to log harrassers and abusers in online dating space. It’s called JerkAlert, and it goes viral overnight.
Mel is suddenly in way over her head. Worse still, her almost-boyfriend, the dreamy Alex Hernandez—the only non-douchey guy at Hatch—has no idea she’s the brains behind the app. Soon, Mel is faced with a terrible choice: one that could destroy her career, love life, and friendships, or change her life forever.
Title: Moth and Whisper Vol. 1 Author: Ted Anderson and Jen Hickman Genre: LGBT, Graphic Novel Publisher: Aftershock Comics Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: April 16, 2019 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Everyone knows that the two greatest thieves in the city are the Moth and the Whisper. Very few know that the Moth and the Whisper disappeared six months ago. And what nobody knows is that the new Moth and Whisper are actually one person pretending to be both of them. One supremely skilled but uncertain young genderfluid thief: Niki, the child of the Moth and the Whisper.
Niki has been trained by their parents in the arts of stealth and infiltration, but they’re still just a teenager, and now they’re alone, searching for their parents in a hostile cyberpunk dystopia. Corporations run the streets while crime lords like Ambrose Wolfe run the alleys-identity is a commodity and privacy is impossible. The truth about Niki’s parents and their disappearance is out there, but can Niki survive long enough to find it?
A YA cyberpunk thriller starring a genderqueer super-thief, MOTH & WHISPER is the brainchild of Ted Anderson (My Little Pony, Adventure Time) and Jen Hickman (Jem and the Holograms, The Dead), that just HAD to be told at AfterShock!
Review:
This is an amazing new graphic novel with a genderqueer main character.
I was hooked on this story right from the beginning. It started with Niki pulling off some stealth thefts by changing their identity. It was so exciting to see them change their entire look with a special mask that draws on make-up. The plot was very exciting and the book was hard to put down!
It is so important to see genderqueer characters in books so that readers can relate to the characters. Niki’s genre idenity is only a small part of their story, but it helps out when they can change their look into either a man or a woman. It made the thefts more intense when they could disappear into a crowd by changing their identity in that way.
I loved this story!
Thank you Aftershock Comics for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 1: Apocalypse Suite by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá
Have you read Moth and Whisper Vol. 1? What did you think of it?
