en-US Sat, 19 Apr 2025 19:50:17 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Review7502501047 Sat, 19 Apr 2025 19:50:17 -0700 /review/show/7502501047 Matteo gave 5 stars to Fathom Fall (Hardcover) by Matteo L. Cerilli
]]> Review5728526185 Mon, 24 Feb 2025 01:48:03 -0800 /review/show/5728526185 Matteo gave 5 stars to Lockjaw (Hardcover) by Matteo L. Cerilli
I mean I think it's pretty good. So much of the story is inspired by summers in the suburbs, riding around in a little bike gang with my sister and friends, buying slushies at the Macs (or the Fortinos, which is far more niche), going on 'adventures' in the very short, very safe sewer tunnel under the road. But once I outgrew that, the teenage characters in this novel show the experiences I could only have as a teenager and young adult: exploring an abandoned paper mill, understanding the hard truths about being a trans youth, struggling to understand forgiveness and transformative justice while the world gets pretty damn scary, building a home in the big city and realizing that the suburbs weren't the shining paradise I pretended they were. I knew that as a kid, but didn't get the language for it until I wrote this book during the COVID-19 lockdown, when I had to bunker down at my parents' place.

This book is both summer nostalgia and childhood innocence, and the hard truths we learn when we're older. Plus there's a very good dog. ]]> ReadStatus8708414535 Thu, 05 Dec 2024 07:53:46 -0800 /review/show/6786910104 Matteo finished reading Necrology by Meg Ripley
]]> ReadStatus8643169488 Sun, 17 Nov 2024 15:56:23 -0800 /review/show/7013330322 Matteo wants to read Anger Is a Gift by Mark Oshiro
]]> ReadStatus8641552428 Sun, 17 Nov 2024 08:37:34 -0800 /review/show/7012217112 Matteo wants to read Into the Light by Mark Oshiro
]]> ReadStatus8639529385 Sat, 16 Nov 2024 18:08:48 -0800 /review/show/7010785305 Matteo wants to read Breathe and Count Back from Ten by Natalia Sylvester
]]> ReadStatus8638236204 Sat, 16 Nov 2024 11:09:35 -0800 /review/show/7009880755 Matteo wants to read Miguel Must Fight! by Jamie Ofelia
]]> Review5884341728 Tue, 12 Nov 2024 07:45:52 -0800 /review/show/5884341728 Matteo gave 5 stars to The Curse of Eelgrass Bog (Unknown Binding) by Mary Averling
bookshelves: to-read
Oh. My. God.

I thought this would be a weekend cottage read, but once I hit that part (you'll know what part I mean), I was absolutely glued in and couldn't stop reading until I figured out exactly what was happening. I ate this book is one day. Averling builds an absolutely gorgeous world full of spine-tingling whimsy, equal parts terrifying and intriguing, and manages to pack an emotional punch while doing it.

I was so painfully attached to Oliver and Kess's relationship. The misogyny in horror does brother-sister relationships so dirty: sisters are made into pure innocence figures, robbing them of autonomy and leaving brothers as either stock heroes, or antagonistic foils. Refreshingly, Averling gives us two messy, complex, struggling kids doing their best to support themselves and each other, even when they get it wrong. I couldn't help but think about my own little sister when I was Oliver's age, which is how I know a book got it right--their relationship is so human.

This should be a standard summer read for all middle grade readers. ]]> Review6928470684 Tue, 15 Oct 2024 07:41:49 -0700 /review/show/6928470684 Matteo gave 5 stars to Cope Field (Paperback) by T.L. Simpson
Simpson's sophomore novel steps up alongside STRONG LIKE YOU to define a new age of sports literature. With a cast of complex and heart-wrenching characters, raw insight into the triumphs and tragedies of teenage masculinity, a no-pulled-punches look at life in the Ozarks, and a voice so authentic you could call it poetry, COPE FIELD strikes hard until the nail-biting finish. A must have for all the angry kids trying to find their way through. ]]> ReadStatus8509849358 Fri, 11 Oct 2024 19:41:31 -0700 /review/show/6919519846 Matteo wants to read The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong
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