Tag: YA Reads

Posted in Book Talk

Review: On the Bright Side

Posted on by Sara B.

**CW: Multiple instances of ableism.

I’m so thankful I discovered Anna Sortino. Her debut novel Give Me a Sign was an adorable Deaf summer camp romance, filled with silly camper hijinks, sweet counselor camaraderie, and plenty of flirting via sign language. The book served as a solid introduction to Deaf culture, with a likeable heroine at the helm. Sortino’s second novel On the Bright Side goes one step further, exploring two different disabilities in two different teens.

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Posted in Book Talk

Mini Review: I Wish You Would

Posted on by Sara B.

This checks all the boxes for me. ✅Stubborn AF friends-to-lovers. ✅Forced proximity in a cozy beach setting. ✅And angst. Lots and lots of delicious angst. Eva Des Lauriers’ debut YA novel I Wish You Would is as addicting as the Taylor Swift song it’s named after. It follows best friends Natalia and Ethan, who are so in love but oh-so terrified to rock the friendship boat. After a disastrous prom night and a summer of ghosting each other, they reunite for their Senior Sunrise school trip. Giving them 24 hours to fix things.

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Posted in Book Talk

Mini Review: The Perfect Guy Doesn’t Exist

Posted on by Sara B.

The perfect YA book concept doesn’t exi–

Okay, that doesn’t quite roll off the tongue, but you get my point. The premise for The Perfect Guy Doesn’t Exist sounded so wild and fun, I had to check it out. Protagonist Ivy finds that her favorite fictional hero Weston Razorbrook has come to life — but something’s off. It’s not just the character but the fanfic version of the character Ivy wrote. He’s literally made for Ivy, yet it doesn’t take too long for Ivy to realize he may not be exactly what she wants.

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Posted in Book Talk

Mini Review: In the Orbit of You

Posted on by Sara B.

**CW: Contains themes of child abuse and trauma.

This book is ~sweet~. Like sipping lemonade out on the front porch kind of sweet. In the Orbit of You had me from the very beginning, when we meet young Nova and Sam playing in the dirt by their connected fence. The queen and king of Snailopolis, as they call it. (Freaking adorable.) They’re torn apart, however, when Sam is taken away from his abusive home to live with his uncle. Snailopolis and its royalty become a distant memory. Until Nova and Sam meet again in their final years of high school.

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Posted in Book Talk

Mini Review: Breathing Underwater

Posted on by Sara B.

Breathing Underwater‘s gorgeous cover was calling me like a siren — I mean, look at that thing. 😍 But it was the synopsis that really got me. The book, by Abbey Lee Nash, centers on teen competitive swimmer Tess during the summer she’s diagnosed with epilepsy. As she grapples with this news, everything she’s ever dreamed of and planned for her life is screeched to a halt. How can she swim when she’s constantly at risk of having a seizure? But then, how can she not swim, when that’s all she’s ever known?

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Posted in Book Talk

Review: The Getaway List

Posted on by Sara B.

Nothing like a good summer read in the winter time. 😎 The Getaway List is the latest YA novel by Emma Lord (author of the adorable Tweet Cute), as well as the latest book I’ve snuggled up to with hot cocoa this season. The fun vacation vibes of the story is a nice escape, as it follows protagonist Riley fresh out of her high school graduation and desperate for some change. Like, now.

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Posted in Book Talk

Double Feature: You and Me at the End of the World & The Half-Life of Love

Posted on by Sara B.

Y’all, I might have found a new author to add to my “Read Everything They Ever Write” list. Brianna Bourne came in with her debut YA novel You and Me at the End of the World in 2021, and later with The Half-Life of Love this past March — two contemporary romances sprinkled with the right amount of fantasy. I love discovering realistic stories and characters that seem like they’re touched with just a liiiittle bit of magic. Enough to make you want to believe in it.

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Posted in Book Talk

Review: Together We Rot

Posted on by Sara B.

If there’s one thing that makes me squirm, it’s bugs, and supernatural thriller Together We Rot is crawling with them. I just — I can’t do bugs. *shivers* I can’t, but good writing has a way of pulling me in and keeping me there. Skyla Arndt’s creepy and chilling debut novel follows ex best friends Wilhelmina and Elwood navigating the horrors of a small-town cult. Bugs aside, I am allured by all things dark, and exploring all the mystery and complexity of that, so I was excited to get to the bottom of this cult business.

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Review: All That’s Left to Say

Posted on by Sara B.

So much to say about All That’s Left to Say. The novel, written by Emery Lord, follows protagonist Hannah MacLaren after her cousin and best friend Sophie dies from an overdose. Hannah’s world is completely shattered, as she deals with this loss and the mystery surrounding it. The Sophie she knew wouldn’t have used drugs, wouldn’t have kept such a huge secret from her. Yet that’s the truth she’s left with. Her grief is big and all-consuming, the only thing driving her forward being her determination to find out who gave Sophie the pills that ended her life.

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Posted in Writer Brain

I am ~obsessed~ with Heartstopper. Halp.

Posted on by Sara B.

**Spoilers to Heartstopper Season 1/Volumes 1-2

I’m not even joking — I’m actually obsessed. I had no idea what Heartstopper was when the Netflix show first came out. But I saw the immediate praise online and eventually learned it was based on a popular graphic novel series by Alice Oseman. Concept-wise, I was in. Two cutie patootie British boys falling in love? A supposed happy counterpart to Young Royals, which broke me only months before? I was Intrigued, with a capital I. Nearly a year after the show premiered, I finally ordered the graphic novels and read the first two (knowing that’s how far season one of the show covered). Aaaaaaand I fell. Hard. About as hard as Nick fell for Charlie.

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