YOU'VE REACHED SAM

Author: Dustin Thao

Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Julie has her future all planned out—move out of her small town with her boyfriend Sam, attend college in the city, spend a summer in Japan. But then Sam dies. And everything changes.

Heartbroken, Julie skips his funeral, throws out his things, and tries everything to forget him and the tragic way he died. But a message Sam left behind in her yearbook forces back memories. Desperate to hear his voice one more time, Julie calls Sam’s cellphone just to listen to his voicemail.

And Sam picks up the phone.

In a miraculous turn of events, Julie’s been given a second chance at goodbye. The connection is temporary. But hearing Sam’s voice makes her fall for him all over again, and with each call it becomes harder to let him go. However, keeping her otherworldly calls with Sam a secret isn’t easy, especially when Julie witnesses the suffering Sam’s family is going through. Unable to stand by the sidelines and watch their shared loved ones in pain, Julie is torn between spilling the truth about her calls with Sam and risking their connection and losing him forever.

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

Content Warning: Racism; Grief & loss depiction (theme); Death of a boyfriend; Car accident

A really great novel that I thought dealt with death and grief in a realistic way. But because of the comparisons and hype, I just couldn't quite get there for the emotional aspects. I really liked the story and thought that if this had just been about learning to let go, this would have been a hundred times better.

But the "supernatural" portion of it, combined with not really getting to know Sam and only seeing him through the phone and some flashbacks, made me not enjoy it nearly as much as I would have liked. Sam didn't seem like a great person in the ways we got to see him and it just made me feel like Julie shouldn't have called him as much, tbh.

On top of that, I saw it compared to Your Name and it was NOT as emotional as that AT ALL. I thought that it was actually a bit emotionally stunted because of the way grief was depicted and a bit of a supernatural cop-out in my opinion.

I do recommend it, though!

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WILDER GIRLS

Author: Rory Power

Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: July 9, 2019
Overall Rating:
Diversity Rating:

Summary:

It's been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty's life out from under her.

It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don't dare wander outside the school's fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything.

But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there's more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true.

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

Disclaimer: While I read this as a finished audiobook that I purchased myself, I did receive an advance copy. This has no impact on my review.

Content Warning: Gore and body horror, guns, murder, parental death, animal death, self-harm, kidnapping and non-consensual human experimentation, chemical gassing, suicide, starvation, emetophobia.

18 months ago, the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine left to fend for themselves after the Tox infected their world. The Tox is a sickness that takes over your body, slowly mutating it until it eventually kills you. Unable to leave the school grounds in fear of what lurks in the woods, they patiently wait for the cure they were promised. But then, Byatt disappears and Hetty will stop at nothing to find her best friend, even if it means breaking quarantine.

This was a book I was very excited for. I loved that synopsis and the cover and I’ve heard nothing but good things from people I trusted. It was actually better than I expected after seeing the mid reviews on Goodreads, but there were some issues with it since it dragged in a lot of places.

I liked Hetty and Byatt and Reese well enough. I liked their almost camaraderie and how all of the girls bonded together like packs. There’s a good amount of violence and confusion and Hetty’s inner monologue reflects that. It was a bit of a struggle to settle into her side of the story. Byatt’s chapters were much better.

Plot wise, it was boring and intriguing at the same time. The writing was choppy and disjointed. My main complaint is that I wanted to be shown things, not told. The entire narrative was tell tell tell. I will say, I loved the imagery of the things happening, especially the density of forest and the effects of the Tox.

The writing in Wilder Girls is beautiful in the most haunting of ways, it’s the kind that gets your heart racing because of how it drives the point home and gets you feeling every emotion the characters feel. The biggest chunk of it is written from Hetty’s point of view, but we also get a few chapters from Byatt’s.

Overall, I did enjoy the very abrupt ending and how things played out. I'm excited to read more by Rory Powers in the future!

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SLAY

Author: Brittney Morris

Summary:

'We are different ages, genders and traditions ... but tonight we all SLAY'

Black Panther meets Ready Player One. A fierce teen game developer battles a real-life troll intent on ruining the Black Panther-inspired video game she created and the safe community it represents for black gamers.

By day, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is a college student, and one of the only black kids at Jefferson Academy. By night, she joins hundreds of thousands of black gamers who duel worldwide in the secret online role-playing card game, SLAY.

No one knows Kiera is the game developer - not even her boyfriend, Malcolm. But when a teen in Kansas City is murdered over a dispute in the SLAY world, the media labels it an exclusionist, racist hub for thugs.

With threats coming from both inside and outside the game, Kiera must fight to save the safe space she's created. But can she protect SLAY without losing herself?

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

17 year old, Kira Johnson leads a double life. By day, she is a math tutor and one of the three black students at Jefferson High. By night, she is the developer of a video game created for the black community called Slay. Many people in Kira's life, including her boyfriend Malcolm, believe Slay is a waste of time, racist, and even dangerous.

With the murder of a teen over a real-life Slay dispute hits mainstream media, people are in an uproar about the game. Now, with the threat of a law-suit over her head, Kira must decide whether or not to come forward as the game developer or to stay hidden.

The book was getting a lot of hype when it released and I can definitely see why, but it just didn't hit that mark for me. It had a lot of really important conversations and discussions, but I could not stand when we saw the perspective of the random people who played the game. I know the point was to let us see how important this game was to people, to know that Kiera had to make a choice that took them into consideration. It just didn't work for me.

I also thought that it was a little unrealistic that two STUDENTS could keep up with this calibre of game development. A lot of great games come from people learning to code or who have a passion, but to be basically doing this part time? And have as large of a community with as detailed aspects? It just seemed unrealistic. Who is monitoring when they are in school or fixing bugs as they come up?

I can't speak for the representation in this one and would suggest looking up some own voice reviews if you wanted to know about different perspectives on that.

There's so many topics explored such as race, identity, and relationships. I wish there was a game like Slay for those who need it, it sounds like an incredibly fun space to be apart of. I loved having chapters that took place inside the game and being able to picture everything going on from the world to the duels.

I loved the characters in the novel. Kiera and her sister Steph were both wonderful and I loved following them through their daily life at Jefferson. I loved watching their sisterly relationship grow as the story progressed. I thought it was interesting to see how the two of them grew together, learned to trust one another more, and how to speak for themselves. The ending of the book also threw me for a turn as I was NOT expecting the outcome, but I loved it nonetheless!

I think this will appeal to a lot of people, but I just couldn't fully immerse myself into it.

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CHOSEN CHAMPION

Author: Elise Kova

Summary:

A princess on the run, with enemies on all sides...

Vi Solaris is on the eve of getting everything she’s ever wanted—her family, her home, her throne—and to save the world she’s going to have to give it all up.

The Empire sees her as their Crown Princess, returning at long last. But Vi only sees visions of fate guiding her to the world’s gruesome end. Across the sea is a man who holds the keys to deciphering her premonitions and thwarting the ancient evil ravaging their world. But to get to him, Vi will have to contend with enemies of the crown, romance she didn’t expect, sorcerer pirates, and a betrayal she never saw coming.

She will learn the hard way that some evils never die... They only bide their time...

Return to Solaris in the second book of Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles, a young adult epic fantasy filled with even more magic, adventure, and romance. Get ready for twists you never saw coming that will keep you up all night reading!

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

See my review of VORTEX VISIONS!

I think this one was an okay book - mostly because the pacing felt a little off overall. The beginning was fairly slowly paced to set up the rest of the book - and the rest of the series. Because of that, it almost felt like the entire first book didn't really matter. It also feels like, while a spin-off, it's trying too hard to be nostalgic for a series that really only ended a year before these books came out.

I still really like the characters and the way that they interact. However, I would like for them to spend more time together, more time interacting, and more time understanding everyone's motives and conflicts. While we get a bit of this with Vi, it doesn't feel as though the rest of the characters are as fully fleshed out.

Even though these are supposed to be able to be standalones and an entry point into the Air Awakens universe, it feels as though these books fall into the trap of "having" to live up to the Air Awakens series and that means that things aren't able to "scale up" the way they should because they are living in the shadow of a completed story. It feels unbalanced and at times very empty, as there's not even a lot of character introspection or interpersonal relationships to work off of.

I'd anticipated the sea-faring and meeting of Taavin to occupy more of the story, for Vi reuniting with her mother and brother to really establish and elaborate upon their bonds, yet only the final seven chapters had anything to do with the journey from the Solaris Empire/the Dark Isle to Meru and literally the last 3 pages have them miraculously meet when Vi washes on shore and there he is.

TLDR: I wanted this to be more than it was, but it falls into some traps of second books and even longer fantasy series. I'll be continuing with the story to see where it goes but I am feeling a bit disappointed overall.

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SERPENT & DOVE

Author: Shelby Mahurin

Summary:

Bound as one to love, honor, or burn.

Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.

Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou's, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.

The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou's most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.

And love makes fools of us all.

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this from Indigo Teen. This in no way impacts my opinion.

As a way of disclaimer for things that happen in here: It's not graphic in the sense of smut or porn, but there is on screen sex. Which, to me, is pretty surprising in a book labelled in the YA age group. But the main characters are ~18 with a few that are 16.

Honestly, this was a really strong start to a series. I can totally understand why people fawn over it and the book. It had fake relationship (that turned real, obviously). A lot of great magical aspects. And some really interesting twists and turns. The world was fleshed out nicely and the characters sorta developed throughout.

But for me, I wasn't a huge fan of it. It fell directly into the "meh" category for me. I thought that too often, everything that was revealed or done was way too convenient. There were barely any consequences or guessing about who or what was going to come next because everything was too contained.

The book has a really interesting magic system and I liked learning more about it as we saw the characters start to use that magic. But it definitely focused way too much on the main romantic relationship rather than building out the world, the magic, or the other relationships present. I wanted way more about Jean Luc and Reid's "frenemy" relationship. Or more about how the Chassuer world trained and what they did.

There was also a lot of "I'm totally a badass" main character vibes going on and we rarely saw that play out. We got a few glimpses but this book needed more show and less tell for some of these aspects. And because of that, everything started to feel a bit underdeveloped.

Like did I cry over Reid and Lou??? Yeah. But that doesn't make up for the rest of the storyline or how it played out. Because everything was too much of a coincidence. In fact, after the Lou "reveal" I thought sarcastically that there would be another reveal that happened. And it was just a bit disappointing.

TLDR: I really enjoyed this one and thought it was a great start to this series. A lot of cool magical aspects, a good mix of French history, and enough twists to keep me interested. But there was a lot of times things felt too convenient or connected just for the sake of having everything connected. I'll definitely continue since I have the other books but we'll see how this goes!

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On Sunday, August 25th, I was lucky enough to be invited to the HarperCollins Canada office for the

Fall 2019 Frenzy Presents!

I went to Toronto for the day and got to spend a few hours surrounded by friends and book people, which is always a good mix! The swag bags we were given were AMAZING and I received a few amazing ARCs in my bag. I'm giving away a preorder of one of the books that we discussed so be sure to check it out!

Below are the books we learned about, so let's get to it! Click on the cover of the book to add it to Goodreads!

KINGDOM OF SOULS by Rena Barron 

Arrah comes to realize that she can trade life for magic in order to save her people. The strongest debut of the year that will leave you wanting the sequel... An ARC of this one was in my swag bag!

FIVE DARK FATES by Kendare Blake 

The finale to the series that brings together the threads that Blake has put together throughout. You will be cheering and screaming at the same time...

BUTTERFLY YELLOW by Thanhha Lai

Displacement, family, and friendship describe the newest novel from Thanhha Lai. If you're looking for something fanastic that will break and mend your heart, this is the book for you.

SERPENT AND DOVE by Shelby Mahurin

This is the closest to Sarah J. Maas in terms of writing. It has some steamy scenes and a fantastic fantasy! It's also the Indigo Book Box feature for the month of September!

DEAR HAITI, LOVE ALAINE by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite

This exceptional debut novel captures a sparkling new voice and irrepressible heroine in a celebration of storytelling sure to thrill fans of Nicola Yoon, Ibi Zoboi and Jenna Evans Welch! An ARC of this one was in my swag bag!

UNPREGNANT by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan

Described as Thelma and Louise with a happy ending and is being turned into a movie! Are you a fan of Juno? Then this is the book for you!

A TREASON OF THORNS by Laura E. Weymouth

A beautiful mixture of historical fiction and fantasy, A TREASON OF THORNS is the latest by Laura E. Weymouth! Love THE HAZEL WOOD or CARAVAL? This is for you!

BREAK IN CASE OF EMERGENCY by Brian Francis

In a fun video from author Brian Francis, we learn that BREAK IN CASE OF EMERGENCY has dairy farms, coming of age, and a drag queen father, so really what more could you want from a book?

SUGGESTED READING by Dave Connis

A book about books - a teen starts a library out of her locker of all the books banned by her school. It has a quirky format to i including a moment by moment reaction chapter to a current read and memos!

VERIFY by Joelle Charbonneau

In contrast to SUGGESTED READING, VERIFY is a story of censorship where books are not a part of this world at all!

CRIER'S WAR by Nina Varela

An LGBTQ+ Own Voices fantasy! It's a slowburn angsty enemies to lovers. Richly imagined with amazing writing that leaves you fully immersed in the world, CRIER'S WAR is already on my pre-order list!

THIRTEEN DOORWAYS, WOLVES BEHIND THEM ALL by Laura Ruby

A historical magical realism book that looks at so many topics. It has two overlapping stories that intertwine to create a magical world that will leave the reader wishing they were a character in here.

ANGEL MAGE by Garth Nix

Nix's newest has such a great world to it. It borrows from the mythology of Lilith, who is said to be Adam's first wife in the garden of Eden! Read about the mythology and get PUMPED for this release!

DEAR SWEET PEA by Julie Murphy

The first middle grade novel from Julie Murphy, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin’ (now a popular Netflix film), is a funny, heartwarming story perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead, Ali Benjamin, and Holly Goldberg Sloan.

THE END AND OTHER BEGINNINGS by Veronica Roth

This is a collection of novella length stories that are set in the future. Two are set in the CARVE THE MARK world, so fans of that series should pick this up! An ARC of this one was in my swag bag!

NOW ENTERING ADDAMSVILLE by Francesca Zappia

The greatest mystery-contemporary coming out from HarperCollins this season! Ghosts, rumours, and clearing your name are all themes in this one!

THE MEMORY THIEF by Lauren Mansy

Memories are currency in this fantasy novel from Lauren Mansy. Memories are the greatest possessions in this series and I can't wait to pick it up. If you're looking for a sweet romance, this is the book for you!

THE NEVER TILTING WORLD by Rin Chupeco

The start to an epic duology, THE NEVER TILTING WORLD is Frozen meets Mad Max. It's bursting with star-crossed romance, immortal heroines, and elemental magic, perfect for fans of FURYBORN.

I HOPE YOU GET THIS MESSAGE by Farah Naz Rishi

Aliens will be choosing if humans deserve to live on Earth or be wiped out in I HOPE YOU GET THIS MESSAGE! I heard aliens and pre-ordered.....

THE HOW AND THE WHY by Cynthia Hand

A poignant exploration of family and the ties that bind, perfect for fans of Far From the Tree, from New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand. This is an adoption story that alternates between the mother's and daughter's perspectives. I can't wait to read this one!

CROWN OF OBLIVION by Julie Eshbaugh

Julie Eshbaugh's newest standalone fantasy! It's going to knock your socks off with its magic and non-magic users and our main character who is a complete badass that I can't wait to meet!

THE SKY WEAVER by Kristen Ciccarelli

At the end of one world, there always lies another. The end of the series and will complete the trilogy of this epic fantasy. 

DANGEROUS ALLIANCE by Jennieke Cohen

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue meets Jane Austen in this witty, winking historical romance with a dash of mystery! Be prepared for Victorian Tinder!

WHEN YOU ASK ME WHERE I'M GOING by Jasmin Kaur

This is a poetry collection that includes prose, poems, and real life experiences of an immigrant here in Canada. Perfect for fans of Rupi Kaur and Elizabeth Acevedo! I got a signed ARC of this as Jasmin read to us at the session!