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Audiobook Review: The New David Espinoza by Fred Aceves

September 16, 2020 Leave a Comment

Audiobook length: 7 hours 50 min. | Publisher: Harper Audio | Genre: YA Contemporary| Release Date: 2/11/20

Jess gave a glowing review to Fred Aceves debut, The Closest I’ve Come, making me particularly eager to pick up his sophomore novel.

After a video of 17-year-old David Espinoza getting slapped unconscious goes viral, David is too embarrassed to ever show his face around town. He’s tired of being bullied for how thin he is and spends the summer of his senior year working out to attain a physique like his favorite action movie stars. He joins a bodybuilding gym where he is slowly pulled into the insanely toxic community of professional bodybuilding and steroids.

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We Set The Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

June 29, 2019 Leave a Comment

9 hours 54 minutes| Dystopian YA | Harper Audio | Release Date: 2/26/2019

On the island of Medio, young women are trained to take up positions as sister wives to the island’s highest ranking men. 17-year-old Daniella Vargas is paired with her bully Carmen and the two are married to Mateo Garcia–a boy being groomed to become president of their island country.

Dani’s life looks picture perfect but she has a secret. She’s an illegal immigrant and was bought over from the wrong side of Medio’s border as a child. This secret makes her vulnerable to the resistance group La Voz, who begin blackmailing her for information to help their cause. As Dani embarks on this new life full of discovery and danger she begins to understand her own privilege and that there is more to life than what she ever imagined–including her feelings for her sister wife, Carmen.

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Book Review Bundle : The Closest I’ve Come by Fred Aceves

December 29, 2017 Leave a Comment

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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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More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

December 29, 2016 Leave a Comment

Release Date: 6/2/16

Audiobook Length : 8 Hours 25 minutes

Genre: Contemporary

Publisher: Soho Press

The expectation to be happy can be overwhelming, but Aaron Soto is going to try. He is going to happily spend the summer hanging with his friends, nerding out over comics and finally telling his girlfriend he loves her. He won’t think about the things that threaten his happiness like his father’s suicide or Tomas, a neighborhood boy whose friendship could spark something more. Looming in the background of this happy summer is the divisive Leteo Institute, a facility that claims that can make memories go away.

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Mini Reviews : Life Hacks

November 30, 2015 Leave a Comment

These mini reviews feature my informal thoughts on two non-fiction books I’ve been reading and pulling tips and advice from all year long.

Skinny Taste by Gina Homolka

In 2015 I wanted to start eating healthier, so I picked up Gina Homolka’s Skinny Taste after seeing the beautiful cover in Target. Plus this Target edition had extra recipes.

I loved the recipes in this book so much that I actually gave it to my brother, BC, as a birthday gift. It features colorful and flavorful recipes that are so good you won’t believe they are healthy. Even in my tiny kitchen they bring out my inner Top Chef.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup !

One of the first recipes I made was the chicken pot pe soup. I also highly suggest her beef and broccoli plus I’ve made her chicken marsala on multiple occasions.

If you’re not sure if Gina’s recipes are for you check out her blog SkinnyTaste.com it’s how I first discovered her ! I co-sign on her Skinny Chicken Enchiladas!

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Mari Kondo

This is the little book that was everywhere this year. This book outlines the KonMari method for tidying. I grabbed it on audio performed by Emily Woo Zeller. It’s a shortie at around four hours and I listened to this audiobook while doing the KonMari method. I really embraced her philosophy on discarding and organization.

As a book blogger I couldn’t quite commit to her ideas behind book organization. Just no. I can’t say I’ve kept up with tidying but I do find myself folding stuff into rectangles and throwing out things that don’t have that spark.

Kondo seems to realize her ideas and thoughts on organization may be a bit radical and I couldn’t help but to side-eye some of the lengths she goes to in the name of order.

One of my criticism of this book is that Kondo’s book doesn’t fully take into account individuals who might have non-familial roommates or who share a house. Her book is very focused on homeowners or those who live with parents. I enjoyed the audio but if you’re not sure if it’s for you this is a book I’d grab it from the library.