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missrosymaplemoth's reviews
183 reviews
This Town Is on Fire by Pamela N. Harris
4.5
A contemporary novel that deals with racism among a friend group in a small town. It showed what teen activism can look like. Three main character, Naomi, comes to realize that a lot of what goes on around her- mainly her friend Kylie’s and Kylie’s family’s behavior- is racist. The ending felt anticlimactic. Still, I would recommend this to YA readers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Bullying and Classism
OCDaniel by Wesley King
4.0
The first book I’ve read that explicitly deals with OCD. I found Daniel’s symptoms and rituals relatable and would have loved this at a younger age. Daniel’s characterization and inner voice were clunky at times, as was the writing in general, but nothing that would keep me from rereading or recommending. I found the Sara storyline interesting and comparable to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism, Suicide, and Abandonment
The Messy Lives of Book People by Phaedra Patrick
3.75
An intriguing mystery that unfolds at a good, steady pace. It wasn’t traditionally predictable for me and I enjoyed being made to keep guessing. I did think there were a lot of cheesy, uncharacteristic monologues. The main character is constantly the victim of other people’s rude actions and poor choices, and at times it felt like an endless barrage. Very meta, a book about an author who writes books about an author- depending on the reader, this could be a pro or a con. Overall just “meh,” no strong feelings either way but I would recommend it to women in the main character’s age range (late thirties-mid forties).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Alcoholism and Death of parent
Drita, My Homegirl by Jenny Lombard
4.0
Heartwarming story for middle graders that stays relevant today. This book was short and sweet. I liked that Drita’s first person POV was written in English and was broken at times; it made her character more real. The end made me emotional.
Different fonts for the different POVs was a nice touch seeing as I have read books before where I was hard to differentiate the voices. I thought the ramifications of fleeing from a war torn country for Drita’s family was handled appropriately. Some scenes seemed to be paced oddly, but it wasn’t too distracting.
Gripe: This is a lesson to white authors trying to write AAVE to just not, or at least do research, because I was not surprised to find that the author was a white woman from the way Maxie, the book’s other POV character and a young Black girl, spoke and thought in her inner monologues.
Different fonts for the different POVs was a nice touch seeing as I have read books before where I was hard to differentiate the voices. I thought the ramifications of fleeing from a war torn country for Drita’s family was handled appropriately. Some scenes seemed to be paced oddly, but it wasn’t too distracting.
Gripe: This is a lesson to white authors trying to write AAVE to just not, or at least do research, because I was not surprised to find that the author was a white woman from the way Maxie, the book’s other POV character and a young Black girl, spoke and thought in her inner monologues.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and War
1984 by George Orwell
4.0
Extremely depressing, although I’m glad to have read it to understand what people are talking about when they refer to 1984. Slow paced and drags especially in part one. I did not enjoy how the female characters were written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Sexual content
Scattered Showers by Rainbow Rowell
3.0
One of the stories, the Prince and the Troll, didn’t make a lot of sense. A few stories with other characters are hard to understand if you haven’t read the authors’ other books. I appreciated most of them for the simple short stories they were, however I wouldn’t re-read or recommend this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Infertility, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Lu by Jason Reynolds
5.0
A beautiful conclusion to the Track series. Like Patina, it made me cry. A great book about a boy struggling with bullying and a changing family dynamic while feeling in the middle of some trusted adults’ past mistakes.
Something I noticed is that when each book ends on a cliffhanger about one of the kids’ track performances, it’s mentioned early on in the following book that they actually underperformed compared to what the reader might have thought, and that that’s okay. You don’t always have to be the best to be your best self.
Something I noticed is that when each book ends on a cliffhanger about one of the kids’ track performances, it’s mentioned early on in the following book that they actually underperformed compared to what the reader might have thought, and that that’s okay. You don’t always have to be the best to be your best self.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Bullying
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Vomit, and Pregnancy
Minor: Infertility
Regarding the Bathrooms: A Privy to the Past by Kate Klise
4.75
Always 5 stars for a Klise book. I mainly read this for nostalgia. Good for middle graders who think bathroom-related jokes are funny.
People to Follow by Olivia Worley
4.75
Thrilling and captivating with so many twists and turns that I didn’t want to stop reading! I enjoyed how the story slowly unfolded. There was never a lull in this book where something wasn’t gripping me with suspense or interest. I liked the premise of the book regarding “influencers” and the takes on what it means to be “canceled,” because most of these kids would not have faced harsh consequences in their real lives, which is mentioned. Some heavy topics are brought up, and handled decently. The ending truly surprised me.
Gripes: I wish there weren’t so many POVs because it got confusing at times. If you aren’t a fan of internet lingo or pop culture references, this is not the book for you.
I would recommend this book to upper YA and NA readers. Thank you to NetGalley for the free eARC.
Gripes: I wish there weren’t so many POVs because it got confusing at times. If you aren’t a fan of internet lingo or pop culture references, this is not the book for you.
I would recommend this book to upper YA and NA readers. Thank you to NetGalley for the free eARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Violence, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Toxic friendship
Squirm by Carl Hiaasen
4.0
Finally read this after reading Flush, Hoot, Scat and Chomp yet not knowing this existed. Lovely and upbeat writing style that is often hard to put down. Great flow. I love these books. I was happy with the ending although it seemed abrupt.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying and Gun violence
Minor: Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, and Car accident