Diverse Reads

American Panda by Gloria Chao

April 25, 2018 Leave a Comment

7 hours 32 mins | Simon & Schuster Audio | Contemporary YA | 02/06/2018

I’ll admit I didn’t mean to read this book. I was listening to audiobook samples on Scribd, trying to find something to listen to when I accidentally clicked on American Panda. By the time I started driving I couldn’t change it and before I was home… I was really into it.

At seventeen years old, Mei Lu is starting her first year at MIT. She is just a few steps away from completing her parent’s plans for her to become a doctor, marry a good Taiwanese man and have Taiwanese babies. But now that she is on her own Mei is starting to feel the tension between the Taiwanese and American cultures she straddles. She starts to question the things she’s always believed and to make things worse she’s falling for a spiky-haired Japanese co-ed named Darrin.

American Panda is a story about family, empathy and discovering who you are; it’s perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, especially because of how the romance and mother/daughter storyline evolves. Darrin even has a little “manic pixie dream dude” in him. I have always struggled with YA romances but this one was perfectly executed.

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The House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara

April 12, 2018 Leave a Comment

15 hours 35 mins | Harper Audio | Adult Fiction | 02/06/2018

Spanning the late 70s to early 90s, The House of Impossible Beauties is a fictionalization of the real-life figures at the center of House of Xtravaganza–a Puerto Rican drag queen family.

If you’re wondering if this is the documentary Paris is Burning in book form, let me tell you–yes, yes, that is literally what this is. In interviews, the 28-year-old author Joseph Cassara has said he was inspired to write this book after watching the documentary. I really don’t know how to review a book like this, so I’m just going to do a feels dump and start with what I liked.

I came across this book because I was looking for something narrated by Christian Barillas after Jess gave him a glowing review last year.In this 15 hour behemoth of an audiobook Barillas gives a wonderfully emotional and varied performance. New York City is diverse and he was doing everything from old-school Italian accents to the “Nuyorican” accents to several dead on “white guy” voices.

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The Sidekicks by Will Kostikas

February 3, 2018 Leave a Comment

This Aussie YA follows three boys at a Sydney private school who have nothing in common except their dead best friend, Issac Roberston.

The boys in this book are labeled as the swimmer, the rebel and the nerd and they each share their unique perspective on the aftermath of Issac’s death. Of the three boys, Harley, the “rebel”, feels partially responsible for the death (and who is just asking to be compared to Holden Caulfield) and Miles, the loner “nerd”, have the most compelling stories because of how Issac’s death changes the way they navigate the world.

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The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice and Virture by Mackenzi Lee

December 30, 2017 Leave a Comment

10 hours 47 minutes | Harper Audio | Historical/Fantasy | 06/27/2017

In The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice and Virtue an all around scoundrel is about to embark on a dangerous high stakes road trip to self discovery. It’s hard out there for a YA historical to top the YA bestseller list (I mean except for Ruta Sepetys and just reading the synopsis of her books makes me sad) and I think what helps this book stand out is it’s outstanding originality,

The book is primarily told in a semi-anarchistic self deprecating tone that emanates from our narrator, Henry “Monty” Montague. Monty is about to embark on his Grand Tour, where he plans to spend the year drinking and partying, all while trying to keep the fact that he is madly in love with his best friend a secret.

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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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