3.5 Star

Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough

May 20, 2018 Leave a Comment

298 pages | Dutton Books For Young Readers | Historical Poetry? | 3/6/2018

Trigger warning: Rape / Sexual Assault

In her debut novel, Joy McCullough gets inside the head of 17-year-old Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi, a real historical figure, as she struggles against the overbearing patriarchal society she was born into. Written mostly in verse from Artemisia’s perspective it blends in prose stories of the biblical figures Susanna and Judith–two figures featured prominently in Artemisia’s work.

I think it is really helpful for readers to have some context about Artemesia before going into this book because I’m not sure how much teens know about art history and the art world during the Baroque period. But also, it’s helpful if you are like me and have taken art history classes but just never heard of Artemisia *side eyes college syllabi*or her infamous rape trial. I felt like I was only getting half of what was going on and it wasn’t until I used some Google-fu that is all clicked.

This book is actually an adaptation of a play also written by McCullough, this book is so cerebral and really focuses on Artemisia’s internal emotions and senses like a play script. If anyone doesn’t understand why women need feminism just go ahead and throw this book at them because holy crap, it was difficult to be a woman back in the day. Needless to say, this is not a happy time book.

In this timely debut, McCollough develops a sharp feminist perspective to the life of Artemesia, a talented young woman who shows the patriarchy exactly what a woman can do.

Between this book, Jason Reynold’s Long Way Down sweeping award shows and Kwame Alexander’s new verse only imprintI wonder if verse novels are about to become the next trend in YA ? If anything, I like that they can be read in one sitting.

They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

November 25, 2017 Leave a Comment

Release Date: 09/05/17 | Contemporary-ish ? | 8 hours 29 minutes

They Both Die At The End is the Final Destination meets The Sun is Also A Star you didn’t know you needed.

It’s a little after midnight in New York City when 17-year-old foster kid Rufus Emeterio and 18-year-old Mateo Torrez get the phone alert from Death Cast, a mysterious service that somehow knows that within 24 hours you will meet an untimely death. When they both find themselves unable to be with their loved ones on their End Days they connect on the The Last Friend app. With less than 24 hours left to live these two unlikely strangers are going to have to try the best last day and they’re doing it together.

I’m a little conflicted over this book. Silvera is an great storyteller; his characters are interesting and he creates this great alternate universe that is only a few ticks off from our own world but you never feel confused or like you are getting an info dump. He just eases you into his imagination perfectly. But there were times when the story felt slow and stagnant and the over earnestness levels were at an all time high. Like at one point these New Yorkers bury a dead bird on the street and later they sing American Pie at karaoke, which if you aren’t familiar is a song with the chorus “Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die.”

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Audiobook Review: Saint and Misfits by S.K. Ali

October 19, 2017 Leave a Comment

Release Date: 07/11/17 | Contemporary | 8 hours 5 minutes

High school sophomore Janna Youself feels like a misfit; at home she’s boxed out by her brother and mother’s relationship, at school she’s the only hijabi Muslim. In her mosque’s youth group she is surrounded by perfect Muslim saints–including Farooq. Farooq is held up as a golden boy but what no one knows is he’s really a monster who tried to sexually assault her.

We follow Janna through the last weeks of her sophomore year and at the heart of the book is Janna learning how to open up about her sexual assault. There is a ton going on in this book; including an Islamic quiz bowl competition, Janna’s crush on a non-Muslim, bullying from mean girls, her brother’s sudden engagement, her parents divorce and also a there’s a new boy at the mosque who’s caught her attention.

Audiobook narrator Ariana Delawari has this great bright, sharp voice that fits the nervous energy of Janna but she does read slow, this was the first time I’ve ever listened to an audiobook at a faster speed.

This book is from Salaam Reads, an imprint at Simon & Schuster created specifically to publish Children’s/YA featuring positive portrayals of Muslim characters.

Saints and Misfits is a voice-y, coming of age story and I’m curious to see what debut author Ali does next.

Audiobook Review: Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner

August 24, 2017 Leave a Comment

Release Date: 03/03/17 | Contemporary | 10 hours 45 minutes

17-year-old writer Carver Briggs believes in the power of words, but he never imagined a few words, written in a text, would kill his three best friends.

Goodbye Days opens with Caver at the last funeral for Sauce Crew–the nickname for his friend group. From there the book is almost a little too prescriptive as Carver has a final day with each of Sauce Crew’s family members sharing and learning about the sides of his friends he never knew. The time between the goodbye days is punctuated with some mini-plots plot about Carter facing possible manslaughter charges, therapy session and his budding relationship with, Jesmyn, a Sauce Crew member’s girlfriend.

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Audiobook Review: Perfect Ten by L. Phillips

August 1, 2017 Leave a Comment

Release Date: 06/06/17 | Contemporary(ish ?) | 10 hours 4 minutes | Listening Library

17-year-old Samson Raines is ready to get back in the dating game but his options are limited, seeing as he’s already broken up with the only other gay boy in his school. He reluctantly turbs to magic (er, magick ?) for a little help. With a list of 10 traits for a perfect boyfriend and a Wiccan spell, Sam’s life is about to be turned upside down.

I picked this book up because the slightly zany romance plot and gay-story-not-about-coming-out synopsis gave me early David Levithan vibes. But I had such a hard time investing with this book and it’s mostly because I really could not with Sam, the main character. He was an arrogant, snobby hipster and as these super hot boys with these big personalities start falling for him it’s just hard to see what they see in him, especially when one of them is a 21-year-old rock star.

This book follows a lot of the same beats as genre romance, so for me Sam didn’t get enough redemption to earn his HEA. The development of the supporting characters felt underwhelming because at the end of the day they only exist to prop up Sam. And now that I think about it literally every character’s HEA gets shafted for Sam to get his HEA.

Kirby Heyborne is a favorite narrator of mine for his youthful voice and emotional deliveries. He brings out full range of male voices for each of Sam’s suitors although he struggles a bit with a French exchange student.

It look like L. Phillips has a 2018 book in the works that is described as #AlexfromTarget meets queer Prince Charming. Now, L. Phillips is the psuedonym of author Laura Wettersten, and I think it’s really curious that she is using a gender ambiguous penname to write these books and It feels a lot like what is happening in the world of M/M romance where books about gay boys arewritten mostly by and for straight women. There are just a lot of unfortunate implications.

A Silent Voice by Yoshitoki Oima

May 7, 2017 Leave a Comment

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