The Subtweet by Vivek Shraya - Review

 

My friend Sam bought me gift vouchers for The Bookish Type for Christmas. It's the LGBTQ+ bookshop in Leeds and I've been before, but I hadn't been since it moved to its new premises. So when Sam and Jac and I were meeting in Leeds for an afternoon out, I suggested we went. I took my vouchers and I got three books. I'm determined to get to them soon because they all sounded so interesting! So I picked this up and took it away with me for a weekend by the seaside. It was good company. 

Neela is an indie musician. She's not exactly that well known, but she's around. The book is set in Toronto, which I liked. Neela has paid her dues, worked hard, all of that. But she isn't very well known. Then an internet star called RUK-MINI covers one of her songs and it goes viral. Neela gets more well known which she does like, but she doesn't really like Rukmini's cover. Rukmini messages her and the two meet up in a coffee shop and start a friendship. 

Neela isn't sure about Rukmini, though. I feel like she felt like Rukmini wasn't a 'real' musician because she made music with a computer and stuff. She seems to think she's better than Rukmini, so she's very jealous when Rukmini is offered a world tour as support act for another female musician. This is exacerbated when she finds out that her keyboardist is joining Rukmini on tour. While Rukmini's on tour they try to speak often, but Neela does feel left behind.

For her part, Rukmini is a great character too. It turns out that she records an album with a friend in college and it gets leaked and goes viral too. It sounds really interesting in how it's described. 

Someone writes a subtweet and the friendship implodes. I actually wish there had been a confrontation between the two women, but I think it was more realistic that there wasn't. 

It's a good book and I would definitely read something else by the same author. I'm giving this four out of five. 

The Secret Sunshine Project by Benjamin Dean - Review

I got this book earlier in the year, having previously enjoyed three books by Benjamin Dean. I can't remember where, but it has been on the piles of new books in my bedroom for a few months at least. Yes, they are terrible piles of books. No, I will not stop adding to them any time soon. I'm trying to keep getting to them... and I have made a bit of headway on that! Hence why I picked this up!

I will say that while I think some of Benjamin's other books are firmly Young Adult, this skews a little bit younger. It's older middle grade or young YA, I think. The main character is twelve, I think, but her sister is sixteen. It's more like Me, My Dad, and the End of the Rainbow in that regard, which I also loved. 

So, prior to the events of the book, Bea's family has been happy. The year before, her sister Riley had come out, and her parents decided to take her and Bea to Pride in London. The family had a great day, celebrating Riley and all being happy themselves. Riley is eager to go again, but a year later everything is different. Their dad has died, meaning the girls and Mum are struggling financially in London. At the end of the school year, Mum announces that they are moving to live with Gran for the summer, until she gets something sorted. 

Riley is fuming. She doesn't want to miss Pride and she doesn't want to be away from her friends. Bea has plans too with her friends, but she's slightly less annoyed about it. Gran is a lovely person and they love her, but the small town she lives in is really boring. Isn't it?

Bea starts to make friends, and ends up being admitted to their den. Riley makes a couple of friends, too, including someone who is queer like her. But a woman called Rita basically runs the place. She makes everyone take part in her summer fete. Gran has come up against her a few times before, because she knows her own mind. But Bea has a crackers idea to hold her own Pride parade in the hope of cheering up her sister... but that means going up against Rita. Can she and her new friends do it?

This is a cute book and perfect for the age group I think. I felt like it lost something in the middle a bit, so I'm giving it three and a half out of five. 

The King is Dead by Benjamin Dean - Review

Where did I get it? My friend Lucinda had recommended it to me so when I saw it pop up on Netgalley I requested it. Thanks to Simon & Schuster for granting me access to the book. I was provided with an electronic copy of this book for review purposes. I was not otherwise compensated for this review and all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

What's it about? James is seventeen and has just inherited the crown of the United Kingdom. His father, the king, has died, and James has to step up to the duty that he has always known would be his. His twin brother, Eddie, born just eight minutes after James, has a carefree life in a way that James has never had. 

There are some problems to James inheriting the throne. First of all, he is Black. The twins' mother is Black and although their father was white, many of the UK's subjects are completely unhappy with the idea of a Black king, and protests start to rise outside the palace. 

Secondly, James is gay, but he's the only one who knows that. Well, he and the aide he's been seeing for a few months now, Jonathan. Jonathan is just eighteen and James is in love with him. But on the night that James becomes king, Eddie throws a clandestine party in the palace and one of his best friends Grigor is there. Grigor is definitely flirting with James and Jonathan sees. When James rushes after him, Jonathan disappears. Someone leaves a note in his room threatening James' secret. 

Then there's a journalist called Quinn, who starts revealing things that only Jonathan could know. James doesn't want to think the worst of him, but who else would know these things? James isn't sure who he can trust - his ambitious cousin, Cassandra, who wants to be queen, his aide, Gayle, who seems to know more about Jonathan than she's letting us, his bodyguard Peter, and even his own family. 

This is a fun, fan fiction kind of book, full of tropes and twists and turns. I guessed some of the twists but not others, and I was still happy with the outcome of the twists. I'm really hoping this is the first in a series, it deserves to be! 

What age range is it for? 14+ 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yep, as I say James is gay 

Are any main characters people of colour? Yep, James is Black as I said. I liked the way this was depicted and how it made James worry about being king. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No 

Is there any sex stuff? No, it's very fade to black 

Are drugs mentioned or used? No 

Is there any talk of death? There's a bit about the old king dying, but it's not graphic. 

Are there swear words? No 

 

What criticisms do I have? Honestly almost none! This a cute YA book 

Would I recommend the book? Yes absolutely 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I just really wanted to read it 

 

What do I think of the cover? It's cute isn't it, I think it would make you stop and look again. 

How many stars? A very good four out of five. 

Fight Back by A M Dassu - Review

A M Dassu is my excellent mentor (paid for through Write Mentor) and I previously read her book Boy Everywhere which I reviewed here last year. So when I saw she had a new book I ordered it from Rhyme & Reason in Sheffield, in the spirit of supporting an indie bookshop. It arrived and I picked it up soon after. 

Aaliyah is thirteen and goes to school, she has two best friends, Lisa and Sukhi. She also goes to school with Sami from Boy Everywhere, who hasn't been there very long. She and Lisa and Sukhi manage to get tickets to see 3W, a k-pop band. They go to the gig and have a brilliant time but then on the way out the venue is bombed. None of the girls are injured, but their friend Jo loses her leg. All the girls are obviously traumatised by what they've witnessed.

And straight away Aaliyah begins to experience a ramping up of racist abuse. First it comes from Darren, Lisa's brother, and then from Jayden at school, who appears to get away with it with all the teachers, and then from neighbours and people further afield. She is obviously hurt, and decides to start wearing hijab as an outward symbol of being Muslim. Lisa stops talking to her, though, and her older brother Yusuf is getting into trouble fighting racists. Aaliyah decides it's time to fight back.

This IS a cute middle grade story which made excellent points about racism and I did like Aaliyah and her decision to fight back. I loved the subplot featuring the cat. I liked a lot of it, but it somehow just left me a bit flat. I didn't find it as compelling as Boy Everywhere, which made me sad. I also felt like Aaliyah thought that Sukhi (who is Sikh, although she has lighter skin than Aaliyah) couldn't experience racism which just isn't the truth at all. I had a few problems with it so I'm giving it three out of five, which I do feel a little bad about. 

When Our Worlds Collided by Danielle Jawando - Review

Where did I get it? 

My friend Lucinda sent this proof copy to me - I think she got it at a book fair she attended. She's a children's librarian. I liked Danielle's other book so was excited to get this one! 

What's it about? 

It has three different narrators - Jackson, Chantelle, and Marc. Right at the beginning Jackson is on a date with Aimee from his school in the Arndale Centre in Manchester when he sees a young teenager getting stabbed. A girl has rushed over to help, but Jackson does too. He holds Shaq's hand and listens to him asking for his mother. When the police arrive and Shaq has been taken to hospital, Jackson is questioned by the police as a suspect, and Aimee also says she thinks Shaq probably deserved it and was a gang member or something. Jackson however stays in touch with Chantelle and Marc and the three strike up a friendship.

Chantelle goes to school with Shaq and Marc. She lives with her grandma and her little sister, as her mum has abandoned them. She is trying really, really hard to get on with her GCSEs but a few teachers think she's bad news. She is a brilliant character - really angry and forthright in all the best ways. 

Then there's Marc. He has been in care since he was much younger and has been moved around plenty of times. He is now living with Dry Eileen and likes to stay in the background. He ends up friendly with Chantelle and Jackson though and really comes out of himself throughout the book.

Jackson lives with his parents in a posher area of Manchester than the others, and goes to a private school. However witnessing the stabbing and what happens after changes him and alters the course of his life. He wants to study creative writing at university and not law or medicine like his parents want him to. I liked Jackson a lot. 

What age range is it for? 14+ depending on your fourteen year old. 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yes Marc is gay although it's not a main storyline. 

Are any main characters people of colour? Yes, all three main characters are Black and the book very much focusses on how they navigate life as young Black people. I loved it. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Not especially, but I think all three characters are really affected by the stabbing 

Is there any sex stuff? No 

Are drugs mentioned or used? No 

Is there any talk of death? Yes, obviously. It is a little graphic. 

Are there swear words? Yes, used so well, I loved how the characters spoke 

 

What criticisms do I have? None 

Would I recommend the book? Yes absolutely, I just really liked it 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I couldn't wait to read it! 

 

What do I think of the cover? I realise this isn't the final cover but it is so nice and colourful

How many stars? Five out of five 

 

Where is the book going now? I'm sending it to my friend Laura as I think she'll really like it!

Me, My Dad, and the End of the Rainbow by Benjamin Dean - Review

 

I got this via Netgalley, so many thanks so Simon & Schuster for granting me access to it. I had head a lot of buzz about this book and really wanted to read it. Then I saw some tweets about it and moved it up my TBR list as I really just wanted to read it! 

It's a middle grade book about Archie. He lives with his mum in a town not far from London. His parents have quite recently split up and there's a lot of tension between them and Archie doesn't quite know why. Archie has two best friends - Seb, who he's been friends with forever, and Bell, who is quite new to the friendship group. His neighbour, Oscar, sometimes babysits for Archie so the two of them are pals too. 

After a disastrous parents' evening, Archie's dad Kevin tells Archie that he is gay. Archie is quite confused by this, but feels like there's a huge gap between him and his dad that he can't work out how to breach. The two of them usually have a good time at an arcade every Friday, but it doesn't feel right anymore. 

But then Archie sees a flyer for London Pride, and hatches a plan to go. Seb and Bell will go with him, but all three will have to be careful. They do make it to London, but face many obstacles on their adventure. But, more importantly, they have an excellent day at Pride, meeting all kinds of people, and helping Archie to feel better about life.

I loved the book, I think it's a perfect middle grade book. Archie is likeable. His family is diverse - Archie is mixed race and his dad is black - and both his parents are well drawn characters. I loved how many obstacles were thrown in Archie's way and how he dealt with every one of them. I loved how funny the book was, even when things were going very wrong. I loved the chaos. I loved the peripheral characters and how vibrant Pride was. 

My one criticism is that I think it skews slightly younger than for a twelve year old. I think it's suitable for 9-12 year olds, for sure. I am giving this five out of five, though. It's great!

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta - Review

Where did I get it? Round Table Books, which is a place I would really like to visit one of these days. Before lockdown started properly, they were offering to post books that you ordered with them, so I ordered three of the Carnegie longlist as I'm determined to read most of the list this year. I desperately wanted to read The Black Flamingo - I've heard so many amazing things about it and my friend Lucinda said it was the best book she read last year. I was going to buy it at Northern YA Lit Fest as Dean was going to be there and I could have got it signed, but that was of course cancelled. So I ordered the book from an independent bookshop - when this is all over, they're going to need our help more than ever. I DMed them and they couldn't have been more helpful. I'm not sure if they're still able to take orders, but do ask them if you're after something, they can only say no!

What's it about? It's about Michael, who is gay and mixed race. His mum is Greek-Cypriot and his dad is Jamaican, although he's not in Michael's life for very long. The book is told in verse and takes place over twelve years of Michael's life. At the beginning he's a kid who wants a Barbie for Christmas and by the end he's at uni, about to make a debut performance as the Black Flamingo. In the middle Michael comes out, struggles at school, struggles with his identity both in terms of sexuality and race, and the intersection where those identities meet. This sounds like a rubbish write up because really it's like the whole entirety of a life from child to adult. It's expansive, and told in really gorgeous verse. Dean is a poet and it really shows. I've heard that the audibook is read by Dean and I would love to listen to this to hear how it was supposed to be. 

I'm not much of a poet or a poetry critic, but there were some really interesting choices in the words, and in where lines cut off, which added to the poems and to my understanding. There are also some social media parts, chats between Michael and his friends. 

I read the last half of the book in just about an hour because I was so desperate to know where it ended. I loved Michael, I thought he was a great character, and I liked his mum and best friend Daisy too. 

What age range is it for? You know, I'm going to say from aged about fourteen right up to adult. This doesn't feel like just a YA book to me - it's so expansive that it deserves to be really widely read. If you're a queer adult I would recommend this. 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yes, obviously. Michael seems to know he's gay from quite a young age, but still struggles with self-acceptance and acceptance from those around him. There are people with other genders and sexualities too, and I thought how Michael interacted with these people was really nicely portrayed. 

Are any main characters people of colour? Obviously. Michael doesn't have a relationship with his father, but has somewhat of a relationship with his dad's Jamaican family. When he first goes to university, he cooks Caribbean food. He has a younger sister, Anna, whose dad is also Jamaican. The family also goes to Cyprus to see his mum's family - this was one of my favourite parts of the book actually! I liked how Michael felt as a multi-ethnic person and how conflicting he found it at times to know where he fitted in. I liked the people he was friends with - Lennie is really underrated in this book I felt! - and how some of the racism Michael encountered was shown. It felt very real and brilliantly shown. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No I don't think so. 

Is there any sex stuff? Yes, a little. It's not graphic and there's safe sex which I am always in favour of seeing in a YA book. 

Are drugs mentioned or used? Weed, it's not graphic. 

Is there any talk of death? No. 

Are there swear words? A couple, not many 

What criticisms do I have? Almost none! I loved the book - everyone else was right when they said this is a must read book. I do wish we'd seen more of Anna as she grew up, but that was literally it. 

Would I recommend the book? God yes. I can't wait to see what Dean writes next! 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? It arrived and I was just so desperate to get to it. 

What do I think of the cover? It's gorgeous. It's so eye-catching and enticing. It's definitely a big part of the book. 

I should also mention that the illustrator for the book was Anshika Khullar. The book has illustrations and also pages that are black with white writing, and I like Anshika did so well in adding to the content of the book with their illustrations. It almost reads a bit more like a graphic novel because of the illustrations, and I LOVED it even more because of that. It is a really gorgeous book in tactile turns, and I am glad!

What other books is it like? I found it quite similar to The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. 

How many stars? Five out of five! Seven out of five! 

Where is the book going now? Oh, I'm keeping it. I'm still hoping I'll meet Dean somewhere!

Becoming Dinah by Kit de Waal - Review

Where did I get it? The library, it was the third of the three Carnegie longlist books I reserved at the library before the country went into lockdown. God knows when I'll be able to take it back to the library, but I would rather that than library staff be put in danger because libraries remain open. It's better they're closed. 

What's it about? At the beginning of the book we meet Dinah, about to shave off her long black hair. She's about to run away from the commune where she lives with her mum. She's got a bit of money saved, and she's feeling distraught over something that happened between her and her friend Queenie. 

However, Ahab, who is the kind of leader of the commune, needs her help before she can make her getaway. Someone has stolen a white VW campervan from him, which has inside it his prosthetic leg, and he wants both back. He persuades Dinah to drive him in another van, The Pequod, even though she can't officially drive yet. Ahab is grumpy, angry, and bad-tempered, but he offers Dinah £400 for her troubles. So the two set off south from somewhere around Newcastle, and throughout the book the reader gets to know all about Dinah's past.

We learn about her parents, her dad, her kind of brother Jonah, why her parents split up, why Dinah first went to school, what happened with Queenie, how Dinah describes her sexuality, what happened to Ahab's leg, why he's so angry, and why Dinah decides to get him to call her Ishmael.

I didn't realise until I finished it that it is a version of Moby Dick, kinda. I thought the names were all just biblical references at first, but Kit notes at the back of the book that it is a modern retelling of Moby Dick with women in. I thought it was really cleverly done and I enjoyed picking up on bits from Moby Dick. 

What age range is it for? Usually, I'd say only a couple of years younger than the main character, and Dinah is seventeen, but the book on a whole skews a bit younger I think. Maybe it's because it's quite short. It's not that I don't think older teens would enjoy it, because I think they absolutely would, but I think any teen from 13 years up could read and enjoy it. Although there are quite sophisticated themes involved, they're told in very safe and accessible ways, which I really liked. 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yes, Dinah. And some others, too... 

Are any main characters people of colour? Yes, Dinah is mixed race. Her dad is from Benin and her mum is white. There's a lot about it, which I liked. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Ahab is physically disabled, having lost one leg below the knee. He probably has some trauma related stuff going on too. I don't think Dinah does, per se, but she's been through some stuff. 

Is there any sex stuff? No not at all. 

Are drugs mentioned or used? Painkillers, I think, but that's all. 

Is there any talk of death? No, but there's some graphic injury stuff, it's not too bad though. 

Are there swear words? No, very few (which is one of the reasons why I think it skews a bit younger)

What criticisms do I have? Almost none, although I would have liked the ending to have been expanded a little bit more. 

Would I recommend the book? Yes absolutely 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I'm still trying to make my way through the Carnegie longlist. I've got a couple more on their way to me, I ordered them from Round Table Books before they closed for the foreseeable. I can reserve some more at the library when it's open again... 

What do I think of the cover? It's cute, isn't it? I love the bright yellow colour. Plus it shows Dinah cutting all her hair off at the beginning. 

What other books is it like? It has similar themes to After the Fire by Will Hill, as that's about a cult who live in a commune, although this is much less intense than that. 

How many stars? Four out of five. 

Where is the book going now? Back to the library, when it can... 

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars by Kai Cheng Thom - Review

My friend Lucinda gave this to me for my birthday and said it was really good, so I was looking forward to getting to it. I picked it up one night in bed and ended up reading about a third of it before I went to sleep. It really grabbed me.

Kai is a trans woman and this book is kind of a memoir about her running away from her home town - named only as Gloom - to the big city, where she lands among her trans sisters on the Street of Light and Miracles. She is barely 18, and she finds refuge among women like her. She gets dresses and red shoes, and when another trans woman is found dead, she forms a vigilante gang with other femmes to try to get their own back.

There's poems from her notebook and letters home to her sister. There's some history of her as a teen, but not tons. There are fantastical elements, when things that aren't natural happen, and I found them really interesting, and well written, even though they take this book out of a plain memoir into something else.

It's a short book but I really liked it, and felt like I'd learnt something by the end. Kai has some really lovely descriptions and use of words, and I felt like I could picture the Street of Light and Miracles perfectly. I'm giving this four out of five.

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

Where did I get it? My BFF Sam bought it for me for Christmas, she said to let her know if there was anything particular I wanted and I said this. 

What's it about? Emoni is seventeen and in her last year of high school in Philadelphia. She has a lot going on in her life. She had a baby, Emma, better known as Babygirl, when she was fifteen. She lives with her grandmother, 'Buela (short for abuela, meaning grandma), as her mum died when she was born, and her dad, Julio, lives in Puerto Rico where he grew up. Babygirl has to start daycare because 'Buela wants to look after her less (which she's entitled to do!), at the same time that Emoni starts her senior year.

Emoni doesn't really trust boys since what happened with Babygirl's dad, Tyrone. So when there's a new boy at school, Malachi, she tries to keep him at arm's length. She tells him they're not even friends. She has enough going on in her life.

Emoni loves to cook. She was taught by 'Buela but she also has magic in her hands and cooks amazing dishes, especially dishes that remind 'Buela of living on the island. So when there's a new cooking elective at school, she really wants to do it. It also includes a trip to Spain, meaning Emoni will need to fundraise hard to have enough money to go. 

She starts the class - which Malachi is also in - and soon comes up against Chef Ayden because she keeps putting her own spin on dishes instead of following the instructions. Plus 'Buela is keeping her own secrets, and Emoni is trying to just make it through. 

The book encompasses an awful lot of time in Emoni's senior year, and a LOT happens. There's loads of lovely things, some difficult things, some heartbreaking things. I LOVED the book. I loved Emoni, I loved everything she had been through with her pregnancy, I loved how she dealt with Babygirl and Tyrone. I loved her BFF Angelica, who is gay and dating a girl called Laura (Emoni cooks for them!). I loved the school setting. I loved Malachi, who was just gorgeous. I loved 'Buela and everything she did for Emoni and Babygirl and also all the cooking the two women shared. I liked The Poet X, but I LOVED this. It was, for me, close to a perfect book. 

What age range is it for? 14+ 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yes, Angelica is, I guess she's not a main focus of the book but I liked how she was just there. She's a fabulous friend. 

Are any main characters people of colour? Yep! Nearly everyone! Emoni talks a lot about being Afro-Puerto Rican and what that means to her. Malachi is very dark skinned and asks Emoni about her ethnicity, which I really liked as a conversation. There's a lot about Puerto Rico that I didn't know, so I really enjoyed that. It's fab. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No 

Is there any sex stuff? Yes, there's quite a bit and I would say it is quite explicit

Are drugs mentioned or used? I think there might be a mention but that's it. 

Is there any talk of death? A little bit. Emoni's mother died in childbirth with her and this is described a little. 

Are there swear words? Yep. 

What criticisms do I have? Gosh almost none. There were a couple of times where I felt time skipped oddly, but I understood by the end that there was just so much to fit in, so it made sense. But it was a little jarring at times. 

Would I recommend the book? Yes absolutely. Acevedo is an author to definitely keep an eye on. 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I'm still trying to read all my Christmas books straight away, and I actually finished this in the middle of January but have spaced my blog posts to now. 

What do I think of the cover? I love it! It's Emoni with her hair up ready to cook. 

What other books is it like? It's like The Poet X, but it's also like Belly Up by Eva Darrows which I also really liked. 

How many stars? Five out of five. Like I said, it's almost perfect. 

Where is the book going now? I will most definitely keep it!

Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak - Review

This book is for my book club, so I bought it off eBay over Christmas. I'm determined to attend more meetings this year and to persevere with the books so that I can talk about them, even if I don't particularly like them. The point of book club for me - apart from a social one - is very much to push me out of my comfort zone by making me read books that I wouldn't otherwise pick up. And this indeed is a book that I wouldn't have ever picked up.

Lynn had read this book before so this was her choice for January. It's about a woman called Peri and has a dual narrative set both now, in 2016, and in the past, in Peri's teens and early 20s.

In the 2016 narrative she is in her mid 30s, living in Istanbul where she grew up, and married to Adna. She is in the car with her daughter Deniz one evening, heading to a party, when her handbag is taken from the back of her car. She pulls up and sets off after the thieves. She confronts a tramp, who upends her bag and attacks her. Her daughter saves her and the two pick up some of her belongings, including a Polaroid photo of Peri, two other girls, and a man.

In the 2000 narrative, Peri is at university in Oxford. She has had a somewhat interesting chilhood in Istanbul, caught between her parents. Her mother is a devout Muslim, but her father is more secular. He smokes and drinks, and never prays. The two of them often fall out. Peri's older brother goes to prison for being a radical. Mensur, Peri's dad, makes plans for her to go to Oxford and she does. There she meets Shirin, an Iranian girl who thinks Muslim women should never wear hijab, and is encouraged by her to take a particular seminar taught by a man called Azur. It is about God, and Peri feels both the lure of talking about religion and of Azur himself.

In the class she also gets friendly with Mona, who wears hijab. She and Shirin are the other two girls in the photo with Peri and Azur. The September 11th hijackings happen which changes how the women are treated in Oxford.

Meanwhile back in 2016 Peri heads to a party held by her friends, although she feels like an outsider. Her friends are never written about by name but are called "the businessman", "the CEO" and so on. She borrows Adnan's phone to speak to her mother and ask for Shirin's number.

It's obvious there's some kind of scandal that happened back in 2002 in Oxford, but it's not clear what until very near the end. And honestly, I didn't think the pay off was worth it. It took me ages to get into the book - honestly I was about halfway through before I was really gripped - and then I felt there was a lot of beginning and not enough ending. I didn't like it very much even though I really liked Peri and understood where she was coming from religiously and ethically, even though I didn't fully understand her. I wouldn't say I loved the book, and I'll be interested to see what others thought of it. I'm giving it three out of five.

Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed - Review

Where did I get it? Netgalley, so many thanks to Simon & Schuster Children's Books for granting me access to this book. 

What's it about? Jamie, awkward nerdy boy aged seventeen, and Maya, start canvassing on behalf of a Democratic local candidate for the state senate near their houses in Georgia. 

Jamie is Jewish and lives with his mum, his little sister Sophie, and his grandma. His grandma has some local notoriety on Instagram. Jamie's cousin Gabe is heading up the campaign for local Democrat Jordan Rossum, and has roped Grandma and Jamie into helping too. Jamie is awkward - he once puked on someone's shoes - and utterly convinced that he can't do knocking on people's doors to talk to them about politics. His little sister's bat mitzvah is coming up and Jamie's mum is kind of going crazy over it. It's the summer and school is out, and Jamie is kind of sick of being wingman for his friend Drew. 

One day at Target he sees Maya, a girl he used to know when they were little kids because their mothers were friends. She's with her friend Sara, and she's really cute, but Jamie manages to make a fool of himself and then wants to hide forever. 

Maya is with her best - and somewhat only - friend Sara. Sara has just graduated high school and is high on the idea of going to college. She might even be going early, meaning her summer with Maya will be cut short, but she's seems to be barely even noticing Maya anyway thanks to her jobs and her new college roommate. It's Ramadan so Maya is fasting, but she's also trying to deal with the fact that her parents are having a trial separation. Her dad is moving out of the family home and Maya doesn't know what to do about it. She wants to talk to Sara, but Sara is barely ever around. 

Jamie and Maya get pushed together when Maya joins the local campaign and the two go canvassing together. They run into a racist, and then later, Jamie's car is targeted with a white supremacist sticker. They're both really upset and suddenly, for Jamie at least, the political is personal. He starts to understand how people like him can make a difference, even if they can't vote.

He is still freaking out over having to do a toast at Sophie's bat mitzvah though.

The two become close and everyone thinks they're dating. They're adamant they're not - Maya mostly because she's not sure she wants to date in high school, or without thinking about the boy very seriously - but they do have feelings for each other. Will it be a happy ever after?

This is a really really gorgeous romance novel. Not a lot of plot actually happens, but there's tons of gorgeous moments like watching The Office together on the phone. It is just really lovely, fun, cute. I loved both main characters a LOT but I also loved their families too. Really gorgeous book. 

What age range is it for? I'm going to say that if your thirteen year old likes romance YA and wouldn't mind the political stuff, then they'll be fine with it. 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? They're not main characters but Jamie has gay friends who are pretty cute too. There's also a coming out which I'm not going to ruin but it was PERFECTLY written and I loved it and I have hearteyes. 

Are any main characters people of colour? Yes! Jamie is white, but Jewish, so is obviously subject to anti-Semitism, and Maya is Muslim and has brown skin so obviously encounters a lot of racism. I don't think it is said where Maya's family is from originally, which I don't think matters as you just know she is Muslim and that her mum wears hijab, but it means I can't say where her origins are!

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No I don't think so. 

Is there any sex stuff? No, hence my age rating 

Are drugs mentioned or used? No 

Is there any talk of death? Very little, there's mentions of Jamie's grandpa dying but that's it. 

Are there swear words? Not many, but a few. They're used to great effect actually. 

What criticisms do I have? I saw some continuity errors. These may have been ironed out in the final edit, but I did notice them. 

Would I recommend the book? Yes absolutely. 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I was really looking forward to reading something else by Becky so I rushed to it. I've never read anything by Aisha Saeed, but I definitely would now. Sometimes in books with dual authors it's obvious who wrote what, but honestly, in this, I couldn't tell. That really worked for me. Both points of view are equally lovely. 

What do I think of the cover? I've seen a couple around. This one, the blue, and a yellow one. I think they're both nice. This is cute though, with the doors. 

What other books is it like? It reminded me of The Upside of Unrequited, a bit. 

How many stars? Four out of five. 

Yes No Maybe So will be published on the 4th of February 2020. I was given a free electronic copy of the novel but was not compensated in any other way for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Did Not Finish - If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann

It is so rare that I don't finish a book, or that I get halfway through a book and then give up on it. I sometimes read just a few percent of a book on my Kindle or a few pages, but rarely get too far. I don't like giving up on books and I wanted to love this book, so I persevered, I really did. But, I just couldn't get on with it.

My friend Angie recommended this book on Twitter and said it had an amazing black fat protagonist, which intrigued me. I ordered it and picked it up a couple of weekends ago. The protagonist is Winnie, who is seventeen and who spends the summers with her grandma in a small town called Misty Haven. Granny owns a diner called Goldeen's and Winnie works there. She's accompanied by her brother Winston and their cousin, Sam (who I think also lives with Winnie's family full time). Sam is spending her summer babysitting. Winnie tries to get Granny to enter a competition, but she's having none of it. Winnie's ungirlfriend Kara lives in Misty Haven. The two of them are friends who are dating, but are both free to date other people.

So every summer there's a like homecoming thing where the town nominates a Queen, and then someone volunteers to be her consort, and then there's a whole celebration thing around that. I don't think I read far enough to fully understand the ins and outs of this thing. Winnie gets nominated as Queen. Kara volunteers to be consort, but then so does this boy called Dallas, who is totally dashing and who Winnie has a crush on.

This is like all that happens in the first half of the book. The action just wasn't moving fast enough for me, and I felt like there was a lot of telling me what was what rather than showing me. There was a lot of what I felt was unneeded detail. I liked Winnie and Winston and Sam, and even Dallas, but Kara left me a bit cold.

Oh, there's also Granny commenting on Winnie's weight and trying to get her to go on a diet and exercise with Sam. Usually I love this stuff, but it just wasn't gelling for me. It took me five nights to read half the book, which is ridiculously slow for me. So for now, I'm giving up on the book, but if it sounds like your thing, do read it!