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Book Reviews

This is What I Know About Art by Kimberly Drew

6/1/2020

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Thank you Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the free advanced digital copy. All thoughts are my own.
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This is What I Know About Art by Kimberly Drew is a part of the Pocket Change Collective Series.  This tiny book is packed with anecdotes and lessons on how to take a passion, like art, and turn it into activism.  Drew reminds her readers that "art and protest will forever be bound together.  And the beautiful thing about art, like activism, is that it allows us space to be curious and learn."  She is humble in her explanation, reiterating that one person can contribute, but it takes a collective to truly start change.

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When the Beat Drops by Anna Hecker

6/25/2018

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Thank you to BookSparks and author, Anna Hecker, for sending me a free copy of When the Beat Drops in exchange for an honest review in the #readbythesea2018 blog tour. All opinions are my own.
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If I could describe When the Beat Drops in just a few words, I’d have to choose friendship, sisterhood, unconditional love, personal trials, and, of course, music! Best consumed while listening to your favorite EDM DJ, it’s perfect for fans of Love, Hate, and Other Filters and Listen to Your Heart! Read more to find out why I found myself unable to put down this lovely YA novel.

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The Beauty That Remains by Ashley Woodfolk

6/20/2018

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Thanks to @kidlitexchange for providing me with a free copy of The Beauty That Remains in exchange for an honest review.  
​All opinions are my own.
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A book that explores the many forms of grief that comes with unexpected loss, The Beauty That Remains follows three teens at they learn that life can still be beautiful in the midst of the hard.  The book flips between the three narrators, and a little over half-way through you see the threads that connects their stories. This book examines more than just grief, though. Targeting the YA audience, it tackles coming-of-age, LGBTQ themes, love, guilt, anger, and passion.  This would be a great story to pass along to a young person that may be struggling with a major loss, just so they can see their thoughts reflected on the page. I know I would have loved to read this one after I lost several loved ones in high school. This one does have trigger warnings for suicide, biphobia, drug use, grief, death, car accidents, leukaemia, and physical and mental abuse, which made the book seem pretty heavy at times.  Overall, a solid three star read to pass along.
TL/DR: The Beauty That Remains is as beautiful on the inside as its cover.  Young readers would benefit from a book club discussion on the themes and topics discussed.
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Rating: 3 / 5 stars
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Listen to Your Heart by Kasie West

5/29/2018

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Thank you to @kidlitexchange and @kasiewest for providing me with a free copy of Listen to Your Heart to read in exchange for an unbiased review.  All opinions are my own.
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Kate Bailey isn’t an extrovert.  Instead of hanging out with friends like a “normal” teenager she’d rather be on her family’s lake, alone with her thoughts, the sun, and the water.  Kate finds herself pushed out of her comfort zone when she is chosen to co-host the school’s podcast so she can give advice to her fellow students. Kate is hesitant at first, but finds that she’s pretty good at both listening and giving thoughtful advice, that is until an anonymous caller asks about a topic she has little experience in: love.  Kate thinks she knows the caller interested in her best friend, Alana, and the more time Kate spends with who she thinks is the caller, the more she herself falls for him.  I loved this fun summer romance, and I think you will too! 

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The Dead Inside by Cyndy Drew Etler

5/21/2018

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Thank you to @kidlitexchange for providing me with a free copy of The Dead Inside to read in exchange for an unbiased and honest review.  All opinions are my own.
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The Dead Inside is not like any other book I’ve read for Kid Lit Exchange.  It’s heavy and heart wrenching, providing a glimpse into the 16-month stay the author, Cyndy Drew Etler, had at a place called Straight Inc.  Straight Inc. is described as a horrific place, where all free will and reason were thrown out the door. After a few wrong decisions and years of conflict in her home, Etler’s mother and step-father sent her to the “rehab” facility, telling her she was going to boarding school.  What follows is Etler’s degrading and painful account of the ways Straight Inc. attempted to change who they thought she was into an unfeeling, emotionless lemming.

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Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

2/13/2018

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Thank you to @kidlitexchange for a free copy of Love, Hate, and Other Filters in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own.
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Love, Hate, and Other Filters is a recent release by Samira Ahmed that I absolutely devoured.  This coming of age story of a Muslim girl who just wants to experience the world through her own lens rather than the filter of her parents’ Indian heritage is poignant, clever, and just plain wonderful. It starts off as a tale of forbidden love but quickly shifts into a discussion of Islamophobia.  Ahmed creates a strong female protagonist, Maya Aziz, to handle all of the topics from the romance to the real-world issues we face today.  In her struggle to figure out where she’s headed in life after high school, she learns to rely on her own strength and to trust in herself.  All of my reads so far in 2018 have been heavy, but this is the kind of breath-of-fresh-air writing my reading slump needed.  I highly recommend you check it out (along with my full five star review below)!

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Sit by Deborah Ellis

1/19/2018

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Thank you to @kidlitexchange and Groundwood Books for a free advanced copy of Sit in exchange for my honest review.  
All opinions are my own.
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Sit is a powerful collection of stories, all connected by one theme: the ways we sit and observe the world.  Author Deborah Ellis shares the experience of seven children as they try to understand the situations they find themselves in and the world at large.  Each is faced with a choice: to continue to sit or to stand up and take action.  I truly enjoyed this collection and found several ways in which older middle grade and young adults could connect and relate.  Read on to hear what I loved, what I didn't enjoy, and my rating!

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Suspect Red by L. M. Elliott

11/20/2017

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Thank you to @kidlitexchange for providing the free copy of Suspect Red by L. M. Elliott in exchange for an honest review.  
All opinions are my own.
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Suspect Red takes readers back in time to experience life in America 1953 during the height of the Red Scare.  L. M. Elliott uses historical fiction to explain to young readers the impact political events had on everyday kids like them.  Each chapter begins with a few pages of history to immerse readers in the events of the time, which in turn is expertly weaved into the plot.  Photographs, headlines, and quotes from the era help put you in the frame of mind of our characters as they traverse the uncertainty that was the Red Scare.  ​

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The Wish Granter by C. J. Redwine

10/19/2017

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Thank you to Kid Lit Exchange for the free copy of The Wish Granter by C. J. Redwine in exchange for an unbiased review.  
All opinions are my own.
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Inspired by the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale, The Wish Granter is an adventure like I’ve never experienced before.  Teague is the infamous and titular Wish Granter, a fae who grants people their greatest desires in exchange for something quite valuable: their souls.  The exchange leads to nothing but misery for now King Thad and his sister, Ari.  Their mother was murdered, the former king and his family were killed, all in exchange for Ari’s safety.  When Ari learns about the magical contract between her brother and Teague, she’ll stop at nothing to save her brother and her community from the reign of the Wish Granter.  She gains a friend, Sebastian, along the way, who may not be exactly who he says he is.  Everything is on the line for both Ari and Teague, and if Ari can’t outwit him she’ll lose everything, including her soul. I loved this one so much that I’m giving it a full review on the blog! Read more to see my rating and full review. 

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Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust

9/20/2017

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Disclaimer: I received a free advanced copy of Girls Made of Snow and Glass from Flatiron Books and @starsabovejess' Instagram giveaway in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own. 
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I have a confession to make: I really enjoy retellings. It’s fun to come back to a beloved tale and see it from a new perspective. Girls Made of Snow and Glass fit the bill for me as a retelling of the Snow White tale. Taking the demure and passive heroine formerly known as Snow White and reimagining her as a strong, independent young woman with ideas of her own, Melissa Bashardoust treats readers to a different view of one of those classic Disney princesses.  Not only that, readers are treated to both back story and dual perspectives of the stepmother and the daughter character, as they both wrestle with their place in the world and their ability to change it. If you’re looking for a more hopeful retelling of Snow White on behalf of both of the main female characters, a little bit a magic, and no mention of dwarves, this is the retelling for you.  Read more to see if this book is a good fit for you!

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