 To read the official synopsis, click here.
This is a historical mystery set in the 1920s. Martha is working with her mom in a large house. The owner seems kind enough but there is something odd about how he has his wife locked away in a room. Is the wife really crazy or is there something wrong with the husband? This was very entertaining. The book starts off with Martha being an old woman living in a nursing home being interviewed by a young bored journalist. Martha pretends to fall asleep, just to get rid of her. But that interview sparked something in Martha. For years she lived with a secret of what happened in the old house she worked at when she was a girl. The story really kicks off from there. I was actually really surprised by this book. Through Martha we learn about the politics of this time, how race and religion played a role in everything. She entered every situation with a suspicious but optimistic look. I really enjoyed the mystery of this book and how mental illness was treated. There was a different family and living dynamic that we don’t see a lot in middle grade books. I gave this book a B.
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 To read the official synopsis, click here.
Arturo wants to spend his summer working at his family’s restaurant and hang out with his friends. But a new developer comes to town promising the community a new luxury living. Normally Arturo would see nothing wrong with that but developer wants to take over the block here the restaurant is at. I really enjoyed this book. This book had a proud multi-generational Latin family at the forefront. I loved how close Arturo is with his family and how proud he is to work in the family business. For the most part I thought this was an entertaining book about a boy becoming a young man. Arturo would be starting 8th grade, I believe, so he is noticing girls more and paying attention to his own looks. His family is changing as well. Their grandmother, the matriarch, who holds their family together is as healthy as she once was. When the restaurant gets threatened by a rich developer, Arturo wants to take action but isn’t sure how to go about it. His family riled behind him. This was such a wonderful book about family, I just thought it was going to talk about gentrification a bit more as well. The book touched at the negative parts of gentrification but it didn’t expand about it. I gave this book a C.  To read the official synopsis, click here.
Andrew was always being pushed around and bullied by his classmates. After a horrific assault something breaks in Andrew and another boy appears. This boy may look exactly like him but he is a lot more viscous. This book is dark. It is really dark and really screwed up. This is a horror novels that surrounds kids being cruel to one another and a victim getting revenge. I had to double check the genre for this book before I started reading this book. I went into it blind, so I didn’t know if this Andrew was being helped by a supernatural being or if he was mentally ill and hallucinating the other version of himself. For some people that might not be a big deal but for me it kept pulling me out of the story. This was a book that I wish I had gathered more information on. I don’t normally mind horror stories, but it is always tough to read about kids being brutally violent to one another. I was not in the right headspace to read this and I did not have a great reading experience. I gave this book a D.  To read the official synopsis, click here.
Eden used to be a happy girl, she used to be in band and paid attention to her studies. After she was raped she became a different person. She didn’t know how to trust people. She didn’t know how to form relationships. This book through me for a loop. Eden went through something that was truly traumatizing at such a young age and she didn’t know how to cope. She made very destructive decisions and put herself in risky situations. She wasn’t a likeable character. She was mean. She was cold. She was manipulative at times. She is the type of character that will polarize readers. Eden isn’t what people expect when they hear rape victim. It is why her story is important. Trauma affects and alters people in many different ways. Eden was trying to gain some control over her life the only way she knew how. The book follows her along her entire high school life and the reader gets to see how the rape affects all aspects of her life. My heart ached for Eden. I gave this book a B. I wish this book was longer that we got to see an epilogue. I want to see how Eden is after high school.  To read the official synopsis, click here.
In the future there is a service that calls you to let you know you have 24 hours to live. Matteo and Rufus meet on their end day through the last friend app. Adam Silvera has made me cry with each and every one of his books. Two weeks later, I still broke out into tears because American Pie started playing on the radio . . . I may have traumatized my mother. Matteo and Rufus are two very different boys. Matteo has a lot of anxiety and is scared to take any risk, Rufus is more fearless. They truly balance one another out and bring out the best of one another. It was beautiful to see their friendship flourish in such a short time span. This book talked about death, family, and love. It was heartbreaking and almost equally hilarious. Silvera has a truly magical ability of writing on such heavy topics and making them so relatable. I related to Matteo and Rufus’ insecurities. Silvera's books are tough to get through at times, there were many crying breaks. But once I finished the book and turned that last page, I always feel a sense of peace with his books. Bad things happen every day and to good people, but somehow his books always make me feel like it will be ok. I gave this book an A. I know Silvera has a new book coming out that he cowrote with Becky Albertelli and I can’t wait to read a potentially “happy” book.  To read the official synopsis, click here.
Gloria Steinem opens up about her childhood, her close friendships and how she became an activist. This book left me feeling so empowered. While Steinem also talked about her love of traveling and childhood it was her activism that really stuck out to me. Not only did she fight for women’s right she learned early on about intersectionality. She wrote and worked for the inclusion of all. I gave this book an A. After I finished this book, I immediately wanted to read more about her writing and her life.  To read the official synopsis, click here.
Evan has been keeping a secret from all his friends. There is a reason why they have never been to his house. There is a reason why he is constantly wearing long sleeves even in the summer. No he isn’t that clumsy of a kid. The bruises aren’t from random falls. They are from his mother. I am so torn about this book. On the one hand, I do think it is important that books talk about tough subjects. Physical, verbal and emotional abuse is something that many people have and are going through. The fact that this book has the abuser being the mother is something I don’t read a lot about. I am glad that the author is bringing this to attention. I was not a fan on the execution of this book. I don’t want to get into spoilers so I will give this book a D. If you want to know why I gave it a D, continue reading. This book was Evan’s best case scenario for escaping his home. He has no real support system, there is no talk about mental illness and there was an unnecessary and unhealthy love story. I did not like how Evan’s love interest wanted to “save him”, I wanted this to be a book about Evan finally taking a stand for himself. I wanted this book to be about Evan and his family. I think that the romance really hurt this book. While I am sure it wasn’t the author’s intent this book came across as a romance will be able to save all problems.  To read the official synopsis, click here.
The world forgot all about Tommy. Ozzie doesn’t know what is going on or why everyone forgot about his boyfriend. All he knows is that the universe is shrinking and that the world doesn’t seem to care. Shaun David Hutchinson is now on the list of instabuy authors, with each novel he pushes the blurs the lines between genres. This book was no exception. Ozzie knows it in his bones that Tommy is real. Even when others around him can’t remember him, Ozzie knows the truth. The entire novel felt like a coming of age story set with a possible scifi twist. There are so many changes happening in Ozzie’s life. His senior year is almost over, his best friend is starting to hit it off big with her band and he is trying to navigate his life without his best friend and first love. On top of this relatable story, the author is populating his story with a realistic diverse cast (There is an interracial relationship between Ozzie and Tommy and Ozzie’s best friend is gender fluid). Hutchinson makes a conscious effort to include diversity while making it feel completely natural. He talks about tough subject between race, sexuality and gender but he doesn’t preach. His characters aren’t going through identity crisis. They are just living. This book had me laughing and crying. I gave this book a B.  To read the official synopsis, click here. Aliens have been living amongst us for years. When Tao’s host gets killed he must find a new host. Roen isn’t Tao’s ideal host. He is fat, insecure and less than coordinated. Roen is not someone who can help Tao defend the his people from other alien threats. This was such a fun alien book. I am very happy, I decided to pick this book up on a whim.  I really like this type of alien being. An alien needing a human host is one of my favorite types of story trope. I liked that Tao was trying to make the Roen the best version of himself while also using Roen to help battle an evil alien sect.
The story was well balanced between Roen’s training and Tao’s life history. Roen’s initial laziness and self-consciousness really helped bring a lievity to Tao’s much more serious demeanor. But as the story progressed we see the two form a real friendship. This book was fun, filled with great fight scenes and so much sarcasm. I gave this book a B+  To read the official synopsis, click here. The is a behind the scenes look at the making of the Princess Bride. This is perfect for any fans of this much beloved movie. I high recommend listening to the audiobook. Not only does Cary Elwes speak about his time, but he invites members of the cast and crew to speak as well. This was a very entertaining read and I can’t recommend it enough. I gave this book an A.  |
Becca "Buho"I devour worlds with each new book. I am making up for lost time as a late bloomer of the reading world. Archives
January 2018
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