Go Luck Yourself

Go Luck Yourself

by Sara Raasch

 

A satisfactory and fun sequel to Nightmare Before Kissmas.

 

Becoming a Queen

 

Becoming a Queen

by Dan Clay

 

Mark has always been sure of two things: he is gay and his older brother loves him no matter what.

What Mark isn't sure of is how he will feel wearing a dress. He feels like he will love it with all of his heart but he's not sure that anyone else will. 

Luckily, Mark's brother supports him 1000% with the encouragement to, "Be yourself! Your full sequin-y self.”

Just as Mark is starting to find his footing and figure out who he may be, tragedy strikes and he must start to find himself all over again.

Final thoughts: Poignant, sad, sometimes depressing, and sometimes frenetic, this book has a real 'voice' and is a solid story. Some of the moments were a little odd and others just didn't always read well, but the overall story is well done. This book can be very raw and real and there should be some trigger warnings somewhere, but it's worth the read.

Rating: 4/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Strictly No Heroics

Strictly No Heroics

by B.L. Radley

Riley has never had the best luck. Raised by a drunk and abusive mother who died in a fiery car crash that left Riley traumatized and her half-sister disabled, she is just trying to get survive a world of superheroes and villains who battle for supremacy in her city. 

When Riley offends the wrong supe at her job, she is suddenly unemployed and desperate to find something to pay for the therapy that she needs, as well as help her sister's dad take care of the three of them financially after he took the girls in. 

A flyer promising that they hire everyone comes her way and Riley discovers that she's hired herself out as a henchman for the Villain Council of the city through a group called HENCH. With just a few days of training, she's ready to fetch coffee, build lairs, and construct lasers shipped like IKEA furniture. 

It's difficult for her to admit to her family and friends that she's technically a bad guy now. It's also difficult for her to come out to those she cares about regarding her sexual orientation. How does one find the perfect girl to date when working for someone who may be trying to destroy the city you love?

Final thoughts: Nice complementary story to How to Date a Superhero by Christina Fernandez, though it's probably just completely coincidental. One is a college girl dating a supe and one is a girl just trying to survive the damage they do. While the story is decent, it lags from time to time and many of the characters stay flat throughout. The best part for me was the fact that many things just... were. Her LGBTQ status is acknowledged and then left alone with no one bullying or criticizing her. This had a diverse cast but that wasn't pointed out for each character as a direct statement; the author just hinted at diversity through physical descriptions.

Rating: 3/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

by Becky Albertalli

Simon is a theatre geek and pretty good guy with some great friends. He's also a guy with a secret. 

Unfortunately, when he accidentally leaves his email logged on at school, his secret gets out and into the hands of someone who decides to use it as blackmail material. Now he not only has to protect his own secret, but the secret of his email friend (who is becoming much more than just a friend).

Simon must balance his outward life with his inward hopes and dreams. He must decide if coming out is better than hiding within. And he must figure out how if keeping his secret is worth damaging his friendships. 

Final thoughts: I bought this to read after seeing the previews for Love, Simon and I'm happy with picking it up. Simon is an honest character with simple dreams and scary realities. His life it outwardly pretty perfect and inwardly a mess. I love the blossoming of his online relationship with Blue and his trying to puzzle out who Blue was in his school. His family is great and realistically built and his struggles are too real for some. This is not a traumatized boy with a difficult family life; he's a regular teen with regular issues and regular friends and family. I really enjoyed Simon. My only real struggle comes from one of his best friends and an incomplete plot line there, but it doesn't detract from the main story.

Rating: 4/5

Dear Rachel Maddow

Dear Rachel Maddow

by Adrienne Kisner

Who needs Dear Diary or Dear Abby when you have Rachel Maddow?

Brynn Harper's life is not a bowl of cherries. She's a lesbian living a closeted life with her ultra-conservative mother and abusive stepfather. She struggles with basic schoolwork because the letters and words dance before her eyes. Her older brother died two years before from an accidental overdose. And everyone, or almost everyone, believes she'll die the same way even though she's never taken a single drug.

Brynn's school life is no better as she's been relegated to the "Applied" section in the blue room of the basement, just trying to get through her days until she turns eighteen and can finally leave all the negative behind.

When Brynn is asked to write to a celebrity hero for a school assignment, she picks Rachel Maddow, mostly because Brynn's mother would go nuts if she found out. When Rachel responds, it starts a whirlwind of movement in Brynn's life starting with school politics and ending with the beautiful new girl who comes to peer-tutor in the blue room.

Life is never easy and fighting is always hard but Brynn may just have everything she needs to get through it all if she can just see it right in front of her eyes.

Final thoughts: Solid realistic YA fiction. Brynn's stepdad is pretty evil and it's difficult to see why her mom stays with him but that's true for many dysfunctional families, so that all fits. It's so difficult to read stories like these especially when you know how true they are in this world. I love Brynn's voice. She's so real and raw and sometimes so very oblivious. The ending isn't a happily ever after, but it's real and true. I wish the dyslexia had been diagnosed and discussed rather than just implied, but it was still good to see that kind of realistic depiction of a learning disability.

Rating: 4/5

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and MacMillan Children's Publishing Group

When We Were Good

When We Were Good

by Suzanne Sutherland

Katherine is facing her final year of school without her best friend: her grandmother.  Her grandmother had always been there even when her overly busy parents weren't, so when she passes away from a heart attack on New Year's Eve, it means that Kathy doesn't have her most important person anymore.

And that's when Marie walks into her life.  Marie's a straight-edge, no booze, no drugs, no filter-on-her-mouth, kind of girl.  She talks and talks, filling in the silence in Kathy's life with words and with amazing music.

Together, they face their final days in school, as well as the anger of former friends.  Kathy learns more about herself in these months than she ever knew before.

Final thoughts: Decent read about self-discovery and personal relationships.  It's LGBTQ only in the vaguest sense, since it's not the real focus of the story, but it does impact it.  Nothing really stands out as either good or bad.  It's OK.

Rating: 3/5

Fat Angie

Fat Angie

by E.E. Charlton-Trujillo

After Angie's sister was captured during the war in Iraq, her family became famous... or infamous.  They were interviewed and followed everywhere.  When Angie couldn't take it anymore, she had a nervous breakdown and tried to kill herself in the middle of the high school gym.

Time has gone by and she's back at school to repeat her failed freshman year, only to find that things haven't really changed.  To everyone at school, she's still "Fat Angie".  To the bullies who taunt her wherever she goes, she's still "Fat Angie".  Even in her own mind, she's "Fat Angie".  And to her couldn't-be-bothered mother, she's just a fat disappointment.

But Angie's world changes when she meets the new student, KC Romance.  She's a girl who may be as messed up as Angie; and she may be the only person who really sees Angie for who she is.  When Angie's with KC, she's no longer "Fat Angie".  She doesn't have to try and be something she's not.  And she doesn't have to pretend... even to herself.

Final thoughts:  While I was bugged by the fact that she is referred to as Fat Angie throughout almost the entire book, except for obvious plot points and whenever she's talking to KC, I get what the author was going for.  However, I really wanted to yet at the characters for constantly using that phrase.  Angie is well-written as a character and the reader can really get into her head, especially if you can relate to any of her issues, from an MIA sister, to being overweight, to the jerk brother and/or uncaring mother, to the budding understanding of her own sexuality.  I liked Angie's growth, but was a little disappointed in some of the weird conversations.  KC's own "lingo" is odd and can be difficult to follow.  Overall, a good read, though.

Rating: 4/5