Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz - Review

Where did I get it? It was on Kindle for 99p a few weeks ago, and since many of my fellow YA loving friends have read it and recommended it to me, I thought I'd buy it. I wasn't planning to read it on holiday, so gave myself permission to read just a few pages to see what I thought. I was immediately hooked!

What's it about? Set in 1987, it's a coming of age story featuring Mexican-American teenagers Aristotle and Dante and set in El Paso, Texas. It's all from Ari's point of view. His family is a bit complicated; his sisters are much older than him and his older brother Bernardo is in prison and no one will talk about him. Ari's mum worries about his constantly, and his dad, a Vietnam veteran, has secrets he won't tell. 

At the pool one day Ari meets Dante. Dante's an only child and gets on well with his parents, but isn't sure where he fits into life as a Mexican-American. The two become inseperable even though Aristotle is practically impenetrable in terms of showing his feelings. Over the next year and a bit we follow the two boys as they do indeed discover many secrets about each other, their families, and themselves. 

I loved both boys and their families, but especially Aristotle. Reading the novel from his point of view was just perfect for me.

What age range is it for? 14+

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yes, and it's explored in such a beautiful way. 

Are any main characters people of colour? Yes and again, it's explored so beautifully. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? For a time, yes. No spoilers!

Is there any sex stuff? Very little, I personally would have wanted more, but I did think the kissing scenes were just gorgeous

Are drugs mentioned or used? Marijuana, once

Is there any talk of death? Yes, some of it is graphic. There's violence, too 

Are there swear words? Not many 

What criticisms do I have? Barely any at all. I thought it was just so pretty and nice to read. I would have liked Aristotle to communicate more, but I understand that it was very much part of his character. 

Would I recommend the book? Yes, one hundred percent. If you like YA or LGBTQ literature, definitely read this if you haven't. It's a stand out example of YA as a genre I think. 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? Like I said, I was just browsing through my Kindle books. 

What other books is it like? Something like The Perks of Being a Wallflower only better.

How many stars? Nine out of ten, I'm so glad I read it. I immediately went on Archive of Our Own to read some fic, which is very unlike me but goes to show how much I didn't want it to end! 

One by Sarah Crossan - Review

Where did I get it? Wordery.com as part of my Carnegie medal order. It's only just come out in paperback so it only arrived the week I decided to read it! 

What's it about? Grace and Tippi (named after Hitchcock's heroines Grace Kelly and Tippi Hedren) are conjoined twins, joined at the hip with two legs between them. Their Dad has lost his job so they have to go to school for the first time. Their Mum loses her job too, and their younger sister Dragon is concentrating on her ballet. 

One is written in free verse which I was unconvinced about to start with, but it actually works really well. It makes the book less of a full narrative and more of a collection of vignettes about the family's life. There's a lot that's left out, but it really works. 

I do have to say that I'm a bit over books where people with some kind of disability/difference have to go to school for the first time. I get that school is scary and that's what authors are going for, but I'd love to read a book where someone is already in school and mostly accepted by their peers. Lots of schoolkids have differences that are just part of the class make up and no one really cares. I'd rather see this but I realise that it makes a story less exciting I guess. 

I will say that I really liked that this family had an intersection of problems, like with their dad losing his job and his drinking problem. Too often it feels like the "issue" is the only problem that a family has and that's totally not true. Life doesn't work like that!

I liked Tippi a lot, and Dragon, but I absolutely adored Grace and I'm really glad the book was totally from her point of view.

What age range is it for? 13+ I think, there's nothing too adult in it.

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? No

Are any main characters non-white? No

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? While I can understand that being conjoined twins may be seen as a disability, I don't think that the twins think they're disabled. They're understand how their bodies work together. I don't want to label them as disabled when I don't think that's how the twins would see themselves. 

Trigger warning for some eating disorder stuff. 

Is there any sex stuff? No

Are drugs mentioned or used? No

Is there any talk of death? Yes, but it's not graphic.

Are there swear words? Not many

Would I recommend the book? Yes, totally. At the beginning I was very unsure if I'd like the book, but I loved the twins and their friends Yasmeen and Jon. It was a very quick read and I found it a really emotional read. 

How many stars? Nine out of ten. My friend Stacey also read it in one sitting and cried! I have another book by Sarah Crossan and I think I'll pick it up sooner rather than later. 

Where is the book going now? I'll keep it, but I think I'll lend it to my friend Laura first! 

Dumplin' by Julie Murphy - Review

Where did I get it? My friend Janet lent it to me.  

What's it about? Willowdean is a fat teenager living in a small city in Texas. Her mum is a former winner of the Miss Teen Blue Bonnet beauty pageant, and is still heavily involved with the pageant, which Will has no interest in. Will's aunt Lucy, who was basically her second parent, has recently died and Will is finding it hard to negotiate her relationship with her mum without Lucy there. Will works at a fast food restaurant where she meets Bo, and the two start making out after work has finished, although Will freaks out every time Bo touches her because she feels self-conscious about him feeling her body. 

Meanwhile, Will's relationship with her best friend Ellen is degenerating, and they eventually have a huge falling out. Will makes friends with some other outcast types, and together they decide to enter the pageant, even though they're not the typical beauty queen types. 

What age range is it for? 14+

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Kind of. I don't want to spoil anything!

Are any main characters non-white? Yes, it's not mentioned much though. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Yes, it's very sensitively done. 

Is there any sex stuff? Not really

Are drugs mentioned or used? No

Is there any talk of death? Yes, but it's very vague and not at all upsetting.  

Are there swear words? Only a couple. I think I should give a trigger warning for some fat shaming language though. Take care of yourself. 

Would I recommend the book? Yes. I was a fat teenager myself (and am a fat adult) and parts of this hit really close to home, like the page I've taken a photo of. I felt like the middle dragged a bit, but I did enjoy it. Willowdean is a really likeable main character, and the other characters are all perfectly flawed too. 

How many stars? Seven out of ten.  

Where is the book going now? Back to Janet, she's lending it to someone else! 

Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom - Review

Where did I get it? I requested it on NetGalley so thank you very much Harper Collins!

What's it about? Parker Grant went blind when she was 8, when her mum drank a bottle of wine and drove the two of them into a bridge, killing herself and severing Parker's optic nerve. Parker and her dad have clearly done lots of things to make Parker's life easier, and she's now sixteen. Her dad dies before the beginning of the book, and her aunt, uncle and cousins have to move in with her. They don't really understand her, and her cousin Sheila is resentful that she's had to move in the middle of high school. Parker's new school year starts and due to two high schools merging, her old friend Scott is back in her school. The two of them went out but he broke one of her Rules and they haven't spoken since.

Meanwhile, Parker and her friend Sarah help people with their personal problems every morning before school, and Parker also runs each morning too, leading to a coach at her school wanting her to try out for the track team. Parker meets a guy called Jason and goes on her first date with him. There's tons going on in this novel and it's fantastic. As someone who isn't blind I really liked reading about how Parker dealt with things, down to the tags she puts in the scarves that she wears over her eyes. 

What age range is it for? 13+, there's very little of anything taboo in it. 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? No, and I would have liked to see it, but that's my only criticism.

Are any main characters non-white? Yes, but obviously, since Parker can't see that, she only knows if she's told. There's a really nice bit with her new friend Molly regarding Molly's not being white. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Yes

Is there any sex stuff? Very little, it's just making out, there's no sex. 

Are drugs mentioned or used? No

Is there any talk of death? Yes, it's very sensitively done. I actually would have liked to hear more about the accident that took Parker's sight, but I can understand that as it's from her POV it may have been too difficult for her to tell the reader about. That's fine, I was just interested!

Are there swear words? A few

Would I recommend the book? Yes, absolutely. It's a shining example of what contemporary YA should be; it's got a diverse voice, an interesting hook, and a great way of relating it to today's teens without being patronising. Everyone needs to read this. 

How many stars? Ten, it's not perfect (because no book is) but it's the closest I've read in a while 

Where is the book going now? It will stay on my Kindle, I may well read it again. I read it in two days because it really sucked me in! I predict they'll make a film of it for sure. 

Read Me Like A Book by Liz Kessler - Review

Where did I get it? It was another of the books that Lucinda lent me; she knew I wanted to read it. I saw Liz talk on the LGBT panel at YALC last year, so the book was on my radar. 

What's it about? Ashleigh is in her final year at college, about to do her A levels. She meets Dylan at a party and starts going out with him. She falls out with her best friend Cat. She has a new English teacher, Miss Murray, and begins to feel strange things about her. She sleeps with Dylan, but it doesn't work out between them. She joins the debating society because Miss Murray runs it, and makes frriends with Robyn. Little by little, she realises she's gay. Her parents have split up and both her parents are seeing other people, which is complicated too.

Basically there's just so much in this novel, this isn't even half of the twists, I swear. And yet nothing is explored in a very believable way. Ash seems to almost float above everything; the only times her feelings seem genuine are when she meets Taylor (who she ends up going out with). It's really clunky and oddly done.

I also found it quite offensive that whenever Ash told someone that she was gay, their response was that they already knew. It happens quite a few times - with her mum, with Cat, with her dad's girlfriend's son. It's a really offensive thing to say to a queer person - you cannot know their sexual identity before they do, and even if you suspected (by using probably horrendously outdated and possibly offensive stereotypes) you can just shut up and support them instead. 

What age range is it for? 13+, it's very tame.

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Obviously.

Are any main characters non-white? If they are it's not mentioned.  

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No

Is there any sex stuff? Some kissing

Are drugs mentioned or used? No

Is there any talk of death? No

Are there swear words? Only mild ones

Would I recommend the book? Not really, no. 

How many stars? 3 out of 10. It was lauded as something groundbreaking in LGBT YA literature, and it really, really isn't. 

Where is the book going now? Back to Lucinda

Losing It ed Keith Gray - Review

Where did I get it? I bought it on eBay, I think I'd seen a review of it somewhere and bought it. 

What's it about? This is a collection of short stories about sex by authors like Keith Gray, Melvin Burgess, Patrick Ness and Anne Fine

What age range is it for? 15+, I think

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yes, a couple of stories feature queer characters

Are any main characters people of colour? Yes, a couple of stories are about people of colour, and a couple of the authors are too.

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No

Is there any sex stuff? Very much the point!

Are drugs mentioned or used? No I don't think so.

Is there any talk of death? No

Are there swear words? Yes, a few

Would I recommend the book? Yes, one of the stories is really funny, they're all interesting, and a couple are genuinely moving. 

How many stars? 10 out of 10, it is a good collection!

Hawk by Jennifer Dance - Review

Where did I get it? I requested it on Netgalley so thank you to Dundurn Press. Thanks also to their employee Kyle; I couldn't get the protected pdf to work (even though I tried to convert it) and he worked with me via email to get it to me - excellent customer service!

What's it about? Adam is a Canadian First Nation teen whose parents left him in Fort Chipewyan to be raised by his grandfather for the first eight years of his life, and then moved him to Fort McMurray which is much bigger. At the beginning of the novel Adam is fourteen. His grandfather now lives with the family and Adam still feels bitter towards his parents for leaving him. His dad Frank works in the oil sands, where bitumen is taken from the sandy soil, and on a trip there Adam and his grandfather rescue a fish hawk that is covered in oil. Adam is a long distance runner, but he's just been diagnosed with leukaemia. Through the novel, his grandfather takes to calling him Hawk, in line with their ancestry, and Hawk and his family start to question whether run offs and poison from the oil industry is leading to cancers among the First Nation people in Chip, and whether it has led to Hawk's leukaemia.

Time occurs quite strangely in this novel, even though it's short. Hawk goes to hospital and ends up in a coma after a bone marrow transplant from his dad. When he comes back to McMurray, he's quite weak and tries to make friends with his former crush Chrissie and his former best friend Gemma. He wants to go to Chip with his grandfather, which his parents (with whom he has a much better relationship) agree to. They take him via one of the ice roads and leave him. 

Hawk and his grandfather get involved in research of the fish in the Athabasca Lake, to see if there is poison in them. Hawk is much better and must give a presentation about the lake and the toxins.

At the beginning of a lot of chapters there is the story of two fish hawks, Three Talons and White Chest, who migrate north every summer to lay eggs and raise young. We see three lots of their chicks die. White Chest is the fish hawk that Hawk and his grandfather rescued, which they find out near the end of the novel. 

This is an epic novel in scope, but is quite short and I would have liked it to be longer. It was fascinating to read about these First Nation communities and how their old ways of life are being killed off, and to learn more about the environment and what the oil industry is doing. None of it is given in a preachy way, I don't think. It is an excellent novel. 

What age range is it for? 13+, depending on your 13 year old. None of the themes are taboo, but they are quite thought-provoking

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? No

Are any main characters non-white? Yes. Hawk investigates his First Nation ancestry somewhat, and how the old ways sometimes conflict with the new.

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? When Hawk is suffering a lot, he is quite severely disabled, both in hospital and at home.

Is there any sex stuff? Not at all


Are drugs mentioned or used? No

Is there any talk of death? Somewhat, yes. 

Are there swear words? Only a couple

Would I recommend the book? Yes, absolutely. Even (maybe even especially) for British teens, who may not know much about First Nation communities. 

How many stars? 9 out of 10. It isn't perfect but it's pretty darn close! I definitely want to read more by this author. 

Diverse December

So while perusing Twitter recently I came across this post and others like it, which told me about a challenge called Diverse December, where readers make a commitment to read only authors by Black and Minority Ethnic authors. It got me thinking.

I will admit that my white privilege means I rarely think about the colour or ethnicity of an author. I have read lots of books about BME characters and it's one thing I love in Middle Grade and Young Adult literature, but I definitely could do better. So my plan for December is to read ONLY books by BME authors or which are primarily about black or minority ethnic protagonists.

As luck would have it, I requested a book called Hawk on Netgalley just last week, which is about a Canadian First Nation teen. So that's my first book of December!

George by Alex Gino - Review

Where did I get it? I bought it with an Amazon gift voucher - thanks BFF!

What's it about? Everyone thinks George is a boy, but she knows she's not. She tries to tell people, and she wants to audition to play Charlotte in Charlotte's Web, but her teacher won't let her because she's "not a girl". George and her best friend Kelly come up with a scheme. George also comes out to Kelly, and I think the way Kelly reacts is absolutely wonderful. 

What age range is it for? 10+

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Obviously!

Are any main characters non-white? Yes, Kelly is black

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No

Is there any sex stuff? No

Are drugs mentioned or used? No 

Is there any talk of death? No

Are there swear words? No

Would I recommend the book? Yes, definitely. It's a very sweet story for middle grade readers, especially for trans kids who need this kind of representation. Anyone could fall for George, though, she's very sweet. 

How many stars? 7 out of 10. 

I recommend reading this interview by the author :) 

This Song Is (Not) For You by Laura Nowlin - Review

Where did I get it? Netgalley, thank you Sourcebooks!

What's it about? Ramona and Sam are best friends, but each of them is in love with the other, they just don't know it. They're in a band together, and they're applying for a prestigious music college for after high school. At the audition they meet Tom, who quickly becomes part of their band. Ramona has feelings for Tom too, so can she be with both boys, or...?

What age range is it for? 15+

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yes, but I don't want to spoil exactly how

Are any main characters non-white? It's not mentioned.

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No

Is there any sex stuff? No

Are drugs mentioned or used? No 

Is there any talk of death? A tiny bit - Ramona's mum died when she was younger 

Are there swear words? Not many 

Would I recommend the book? Kind of. I really WANTED to love this book, and while I did like the inter-personal relationships between Ramona, Sam, and Tom, and how they ultimately resolved it, I felt like the world was really lacking in depth and description. I feel like the whole novel took place in Sam's garage, and there were no physical descriptions of the characters. 

How many stars? 6 out of 10. I didn't hate it, but it could have been so much better 

The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani - Review

Where did I get it? I bought it

What's it about? Sonia has an Indian dad and a Jewish mum, and while she's always been at a private, Montessori type school, she's now in public school and learning how to deal with that, as well as how to deal with being asked questions like "what are you?" and "where are you from?" Her dad is quite ill mentally, which is skillfully done, and Sonia is growing up, challenging her parents' rules, and learning who her real friends are. 

What age range is it for? Anything from 10 - 13 I think. 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? It's not mentioned

Are any main characters non-white? Yes, one of the main premises.  

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Yes as I mentioned, Sonia's dad has depression.

Is there any sex stuff? No 

Are drugs mentioned or used? No 

Is there any talk of death? Yes, and suicide. 

Are there swear words? No.

Would I recommend the book? Yes, it's a really excellent example of a diverse middle grade book.  

How many stars? 8 out of 10. I'd definitely read something else by this author. 

First Class Murder by Robin Stevens - Review

Where did I get it? I bought it after reading good reviews. 

What's it about? Set in the 1930s, Daisy and Hazel are detectives and have at this point solved two mysteries (hence the subtitle "A murder most unladylike mystery"), one of which took place at Daisy's home. In this book, Hazel's father takes Hazel and Daisy on the Orient Express, where one of their fellow passengers is murdered. Daisy and Hazel must battle Hazel's father, who wants them to behave, as well as other detectives, to unravel the mystery of the locked sleeping compartment where the passenger died. Six suspects each have a reason for wanting her dead - so who did it? 

What age range is it for? 9+, it's very gentle and suitable for fans of the Famous Five and so on. If I was ten years old I would be ALL OVER this series! 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Nope

Are any main characters non-white? Yes - Hazel is from Hong Kong and there's quite a few references to the racism she encounters and how England is very strange to her. It's very nicely done. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? I don't think so, but I could be wrong 

Is there any sex stuff? No.

Are drugs mentioned or used? No. 

Is there any talk of death? Yes, as a murder has occurred. However, it's not done in a gory fashion at all.  

Are there swear words? Not at all. 

Would I recommend the book? Yes, absolutely. Daisy and Hazel are both likable characters and there's a lovely slowness to the prose which would be perfect for an older child.  

How many stars? 8 out of 10. It's definitely a good middle grade novel and I'll look out for the others in the series.

Where is the book going now? I'll probably keep it, I like the cover a lot!