Hi everyone! I have been reading a lot of YA books in the last few months. It has been one of the ways I’m dealing with quarantine.
Late to the Party by Kelly Quindlen
4/5
This book instantly intrigued me. A teenager who hasn’t done most things other kids her age are doing out there? Definitely can relate. But this book wasn’t just that. It had a really cool friendship dynamic and a very sweet romance.
Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith
3/5
Pony, the protagonist of this book, is a transgender teenager and this book opened my eyes to the many struggles a trans person goes through. I loved the bond Pony formed with an old actor whose house he gets a job at. I didn’t really like his love interest Georgia. To me, the ending felt disconnected from the rest of the book.
tw – transphobia, violence, physical assault
The Infinite Noise (The Bright Sessions #1) by Lauren Shippen
3/5
I thought this book was just going to be a YA book about a boy who is an empath, who empathizes with people more than others. But this turned out to be a book that featured people with ‘superpowers’ and it took a different turn than I expected. I am not a fan of magical realism and that is the main reason this book didn’t work out that well for me. I enjoyed Caleb and Adam’s friendship and later, romance. I loved reading about the bond they developed and how they helped each other through the difficult situations they were dealing with (Adam suffered from depression).
Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner
3.5/5
I had really really high hopes for this book and for the most part, I enjoyed it. This book features a romance between a Hollywood screenwriter and her assistant. I loved their friendship. I loved their banter. I liked both characters. What irked me is that the whole will-they-get-together-or-not thing was stretched on for so long that it lost that anticipation.
Darius the Great Is Not Okay (Darius the Great #1) by Adib Khorram
4/5
This is a beautiful book. Darius and his family spend a summer at his grandparents’ house in Iran. I really enjoyed reading a story that took place in Iran. I loved reading about Persian culture and food. This book also talks about mental health and the stigma around it. Darius and Sohrab’s friendship was very pure and heartwarming.
Openly Straight (Openly Straight #1) by Bill Konigsberg
3.5/5
What drew me to this book was that it takes place in a boarding school. The protagonist Rafe shifts to an all-boys’ boarding to have a fresh start since at his previous school, people only identified him with being gay. Rafe struggles with a lot of things in this book including hiding from his friends that he is gay and his feelings for his friend Ben. I didn’t love the author’s writing style in this book. I recently read his book The Music of What Happens and I enjoyed it a lot more.
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell (Illustrations)
3/5
Books with infidelity are just not for me. It was sad reading about it and also very frustrating. The protagonist’s character development was very rushed. It seemed like Freddy had a change of heart all of a sudden. I couldn’t feel bad for her at all. The characters weren’t fleshed out properly. The latter half was very rushed too. I did love some of the art but some looked unfinished and was very confusing. I loved reading and seeing so many queer and diverse characters. The ending did make me a little happy.
