Tag: contemporary

Review: The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

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18295852The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Published by: Headline
Pages: 337
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★
More: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight | Hello, Goodbye, and Everything In Between

I almost always only give Jennifer E. Smith’s books 2 stars, and yet they’re fun and quick to read that never stops me from picking up her next book. The Geography of You and Me was no different! It’s about a girl and boy who get trapped in an elevator together and fall in love pretty much instantly. Nothing about this story was particularly surprising but that’s what I’ve come to expect from these sugary sweet contemporaries.

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Review: Cherry by Lindsey Rosin

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30168148Cherry by Lindsey Rosin
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Published by: Hot Key Books
Pages: 288
Format: ARC e-book
Rating: ★★★
Note: We received this book from the publishers in exchange for an honest review. 

This is the story of four friends who decide that before they graduate high school they MUST lose their virginity. They call it ‘The Sex Pact’. The premise in general – the whole we need to have sex by a deadline thing – was the main issue we had with this book. But there are so many pros that make this a real must-read for teenage girls who don’t want to feel ashamed for enjoying sex or don’t feel comfortable talking about sexual content with their own friends. It’s going to give you a dialogue to help understand how you might be feeling about sex, and that in itself is a wonderful thing.

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Review: The Deviants by C. J. Skuse

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23126437The Deviants by C.J. Skuse
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery
Published by: Mira Ink
Pages: 320
Format: ARC e-book
Rating: ★★★★
Note: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Now, I have read a LOT of YA mystery/thriller kinds of stories, but when I read the blurb for this one, I just couldn’t resist; the mystery pulled me in! Although, I wouldn’t recommend reading the Goodreads blurb, because I think it gives a little too much away, so here’s mine instead: The Deviants follows five teenagers who used to be best friends until everyone’s favourite older sister Jessica died. Years later the fearless five find themselves back together, playing their old tricks and seeking revenge. But Ella, the narrator, is hiding something from the rest of her friends, including her boyfriend Max. If they knew the truth it would surely rip them apart, because it seems like she has an explanation for Jess’s death, and no one is going to like it.

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Review: We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen

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25124140We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen
Genre: Contemporary, Family-Orientated
Published by: Anderson Press
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★★
Note: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

We Are All Made of Molecules is a two perspectives story. There’s Stewart, who recently lost his mum and whose dad is moving in with his new partner, Ashley’s mum. Ashley is struggling with her own new situation as her dad came out as gay and is now living in the annex at the bottom of the garden. It’s a beautiful story of a blended family, full of rich characters and really touching moments.

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Review: The Boyfriend List and The Boy Book by E. Lockhart

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https://heartfullofbooks.com/2016/07/25/review-the-boyfriend-list-and-the-boy-book-by-e-lockhart/

The Boyfriend List and The Boy Book by E.
Lockhart
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Published by: Hot Key Books
Pages: 256 | 224
Format: e-book
Ratings: ★★
Note: We received these books from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

I’ve been seeing this series floating around Goodreads with a ceramic frog on the cover, and since then, I’ve been intrigued. After writing about such strange teenagers in We Were Liars, I wanted to see how E. Lockhart portrayed an average teenage girl.

The answer?

Extremely stereotypically.  Continue reading “Review: The Boyfriend List and The Boy Book by E. Lockhart” →

Review: My Favourite Manson Girl by Alison Umminger

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28231373My Favourite Manson Girl by Alison Umminger
Genre: Contemporary, Coming of Age
Published by: Atom
Pages: 288
Format: ARC e-book
Rating: ★★★
Note: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

Somehow, this book was so much more and so much less than I was expecting, which seems like a bit of a weird statement to begin with, but bare with me. I was expecting the ‘researching the Manson murders’ to be a bigger thing that it was. I was constantly expecting a new murder to take place, which just shows how I’ve come to expect things from this genre, when what I should actually be doing is expecting surprises. So, although My Favourite Manson Girl was not the books I was expecting, I really enjoyed the gritty realism and conflicting emotions of Anna’s life. In America the book is titled American Girls  and I think all the images that come that are a lot more accurate than My Favourite Manson Girl, because I was constantly expecting some Nancy Drew mystery to pop up.

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Review: George by Alex Gino

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28213561George by Alex Gino
Genre: Contemporary, LGBT+
Published by: Scholastic Children’s Books
Pages: 215
Format: Hardback
Rating: ★★★★

Another book with a LGBT protagonist! Yippee! I’ve really been seeking them out lately and I’m so pleased that everyone’s voices can be heard in Middle Grade and YA fiction.

For a short book, this one packs a might punch, so let’s go!  Continue reading “Review: George by Alex Gino” →

Review: Rebel, Bully, Geek, Pariah by Erin Lange

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25582820Rebel, Bully, Geek, Pariah by Erin Lange
Genre: Contemporary, Adventure, Thriller
Published by: Faber & Faber
Pages: 359
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★

I’m pretty much a sucker for anything that tries to be The Breakfast Club. TBC is one of my favourite movies and The Breakfast Bunch episode of Victorious is probably one of the most beautiful episodes of any TV show ever. So, four kids whose personalities you don’t think will mix end up running for their lives together? Sounds like my jam. But here are couple of reasons why it failed to live up to my expectations, even thought it was still a fun and exciting read.

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Review: Me Being Me Is Exactly As Insane As You Being You by Todd Hasak-Lowy

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Me Being Me Is Exactly As Insane As You Being You by Todd Hasak-Lowy
Genre: Contemporary
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Pages: 656
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★.5

I picked this book up after seeing it on a list of YA LGBTQ+ books over at Maximum Pop Books. I thought you can never read too many LGBTQ+ books, so I’ve made it my mission to try and read as many on this list as physically possible. Another selling point with this book was the note that it was ‘a novel in lists’. Now, that’s an interesting story-telling method. So, as a list-lover, and an aspiring LGBTQYA reader, I had high hopes for this one. But, you know what they say about high hopes. You’re bound to be disappointed. Continue reading “Review: Me Being Me Is Exactly As Insane As You Being You by Todd Hasak-Lowy” →

Review: Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

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15937108Counting By 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Genre: Contemporary, Middle-Grade
Published by: Puffin Books
Pages: 380
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★★

I’ve seen this book in quite a few libraries recently, and I never bothered to pick it up until now because the cover seemed a little odd, and I thought because it was middle-grade that I wouldn’t enjoy it. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I should know better than to judge a book by its cover, because Counting By 7s is a story I won’t be forgetting any time soon.

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