Wow. This was recommended by one of my aunts who lives in Vermont. Definitely a good read I will recommend to others in the future. I've already recomWow. This was recommended by one of my aunts who lives in Vermont. Definitely a good read I will recommend to others in the future. I've already recommended it to someone yesterday. I really like Ian's voice in this and how he tells the story. I like how real this is. I like a lot about it! ...more
I really enjoyed this action packed story! The art is great, the plot is engaging, and the characters are very likable. I found myself rooting for JaiI really enjoyed this action packed story! The art is great, the plot is engaging, and the characters are very likable. I found myself rooting for Jaime, Paco, and Brenda!...more
I really liked this. A truth that we don't hear very often, if at all. I do wish it had been a little bit more in chronological order. In a way, it waI really liked this. A truth that we don't hear very often, if at all. I do wish it had been a little bit more in chronological order. In a way, it was, but he still bounced around in time which was a tad confusing. Otherwise, this was great and it's good this is out there for teens to read! ...more
Damn. I’m floored by how amazingly this was written and how deep and dark it is without actually spelling anything out. The audiobook narrator was reaDamn. I’m floored by how amazingly this was written and how deep and dark it is without actually spelling anything out. The audiobook narrator was really good too.
I read this for the BPL Winter Reading Challenge 2023 - Africa....more
Title/Author: The Reckless Kind by Carly Heath Series/Standalone: S³Ù²¹²Ô»å²¹±ô´Ç²Ô±ð Genre/Sub-Genre: Teen Historical Fiction Book Format: Print Length:â€�336 pagTitle/Author: The Reckless Kind by Carly Heath Series/Standalone: S³Ù²¹²Ô»å²¹±ô´Ç²Ô±ð Genre/Sub-Genre: Teen Historical Fiction Book Format: Print Length:â€�336 pages LGBTQ+ Orientation: Asexual & gay Content Warnings: This is a quote directly from the author’s note at the start of the novel: “As a writer and reader, I firmly believe in the importance of content warnings. Look away now if this is information you don’t wish to know. This book features a character who copes with his trauma by making glib remarks that allude to child abuse, alcoholism, suicide, and self-harm. There is a depiction of physical violence and bodily injury. The existence of sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia is briefly mentioned. Something I often want to know as a sensitive person entering a fictional world is does it end okay? Meaning: Will the book end in tragedy and death? I assure you, it doesn’t. No tragic ending here. No death for the main three. In this story, their supportive love prevails.â€� â€� Carly Heath Well-Written/Editor Needed: Well-written except that most everything could have been solved with one conversation at the start of the book. When Asta determines that she can find a way to save Gunner’s family farm, she has no idea how she’ll do it, but never once does it occur to her to ask their mutual friend, Erlend, for help or ideas. Instead, Erlend, who has the means to buy property, spends it elsewhere and they must find another way to save the farm. Would I Recommend?: The LGBTQ+ representation in this was good, as was the disability rep. If you can get over the one plot issue mentioned above, and if none of the content warnings are triggering, then yes, go for it! Personal thoughts: As I said, the representation here was good! Here is a rundown of the disability representation: Asta is deaf in one ear with Waardenburg Syndrome (as is the author, Carly Heath). Following a riding accident, Fred has Post-Concussion Syndrome (his symptoms were inspired by Heath’s own experiences with PCS). Also following that same riding accident, Gunnar suffers from Brown-Sequard Syndrome where a lesion in the spinal cord results in weakness or paralysis on one side of the body and a loss of sensation on the other. Heath drew on her experience with lumbar spine trauma when writing about Gunnar. None of these maladies are named as this is a historical novel and the characters wouldn’t have had the modern terminology for them in 1904, but Heath has a section at the end that briefly talks about each one and why they made the decisions they did when writing it.
I liked the three main characters: Gunnar, Erlend, and Asta. Each stood out from the others, but they also worked well together as a group, both complimenting each other’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as annoying the heck out of each other, as good friends do at times. That said there were some things about their relationships that bothered me. First, the romance between Erlend and Gunnar needed more time and space on the page to grow, or should have been established prior to the start of the book. Second, Gunnar’s depression hits hard, especially when he believes that he’s taken Erlend from his loving parents and decides he doesn’t want to be with Erlend anymore, even as Erlend pushes to stay together. Toward the end, I began to wonder, at what point should you take a step back and respect a friend’s decisions, even if you think it’s wrong?
Plot-wise, this is a very slow moving story with most of the action happening near the end. The slow plot didn’t bother me too much. What did bother me was that many large decisions were made in a rush where everything either worked out perfectly or there were more injuries heaped on top of the injuries or disabilities they already had. There’s a lot of misery piled on these characters before everything can get better. Perhaps a bit too much.
I didn’t get a strong sense of Norway from this, but I was also distracted by all the injuries and the depression and anxiety that filled the book so I didn’t notice the lack of Norway until I’d finished the book.
In short, I loved the disability and LGBTQ+ representation a lot and even though the execution of the plot could have used some help, the writing itself was enjoyable and easy to follow. ...more
This was a slow start for me, but I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. YA is not really my thing anymore, so I’m not sure if I’llThis was a slow start for me, but I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. YA is not really my thing anymore, so I’m not sure if I’ll continue it, but there’s a possibility of it someday....more
Didn’t realize this, but the plot in this one is open at the end with a lot of questions to be answered later. After the first book, I assumed these wDidn’t realize this, but the plot in this one is open at the end with a lot of questions to be answered later. After the first book, I assumed these were sorta standalone stories. They’re not. But I only own one and two so we’ll see how far I get after this. Maybe I’ll borrow the last two from the library. But it’s not something I can wait long on, or I’ll likely forget what happened previously.
I also slightly enjoyed the first book more than this one. The case was a bit more interesting there....more
Title/Author: Jackaby by William Ritter Series/Standalone: Jackaby #1 Genre/sub-genre: Historical Paranormal Mystery, YA/New Adult Book Format: paperbackTitle/Author: Jackaby by William Ritter Series/Standalone: Jackaby #1 Genre/sub-genre: Historical Paranormal Mystery, YA/New Adult Book Format: paperback Length: 299 pages Violence: Yes, there is some on page violence. Well written/Editor Needed: Definitely well written. Would I Recommend?: Yes! Personal thoughts: Loved this! Jackaby is clearly a young Sherlock in New England, who can see paranormal creatures. I appreciated that this incarnation of the great detective has a heart and occasionally shows that he cares, unlike others I’ve seen recently. Abigail makes for a good enough Watson, though she is a very different character. She is simply a young woman in search of an adventure and in desperate need of a job. But I like her. She has grit and determination with just enough unsuredness, if that’s even a word, to make it believable and realistic. I also really liked all the other characters who were well rounded and interesting. I was sad to see some of them go, and hope to see some of them again in the next book. The mystery was quite gripping and Jackaby did a lot of solving using Sherlock’s traditional method of deducting, but tuned to the paranormal, and it was all well done and believable. The budding romance between Abigail and another character, not Jackaby, was sweetly adorable, and I’m interested in seeing where it goes in future books.
As I was gifted the second book along with the first, I’m very excited to dive into it. This came out when I was still a teen librarian, and my library has it, which has me wondering how on earth I missed this until now? Some deducting might have to take place I think......more
Unfortunately, I had a lot of issues with this book. I won’t list them all. But the biggest one was that I never understood why Lai had to become a prUnfortunately, I had a lot of issues with this book. I won’t list them all. But the biggest one was that I never understood why Lai had to become a priestess. This was never explained. Then she decides, in the blink of an eye, to become a Keeper of the Dawn when that seems her only option to serve the gods. Why does she feel the need to serve them so much?
I loved the cover of this book! And the description had me intrigued. But, the description on the back pretty much tells everything that happens through most of the book.
The Ace parts were done well enough. But beyond that, it’s not worth reading....more
Not sure how I feel about this one. Too much frustration, especially near the end. And that ending... I'm not sure I can handle more of the same to foNot sure how I feel about this one. Too much frustration, especially near the end. And that ending... I'm not sure I can handle more of the same to follow in the next book as the ending makes it seem. ...more
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