Good girl, Bad BloodThe review below is being done on a Netgalley Advanced Reader's Copy of Good Girl, Bad Blood. This review is my own, and I have written it in my honest opinion.
There is so much I want to say about this series by Holly Jackson. This is the second novel in her series that started with A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, and I must say that I enjoyed the second one just as much as the first. Pippa Fitz-Amobi is a high school student who did a capstone project on a local murder-suicide that took place five year prior. She did her project because she felt that the person in question of the murder, Sal, did not commit the crime. Her goal was to see how the media contributed to the case, but in the end she wanted to prove that Sal was innocent. During her project she ended up uncovering so many possible suspects and secrets that many wanted to keep hidden. I will not give out more information just in case you are wanting to read the book. This book I am reviewing takes place a year after her original capstone and Pip is asked once again to participate in uncovering a mystery. Jaime, the older brother of one of her closest friends, has gone missing. Jaime's family believes that something is wrong because staying away from home for so long without communication is not his style. Pip takes up this favor and realises that maybe Jaime was taken against his will, and hopefully still alive. In addition to following many leads and using social media to help her uncover the events of the night he went missing, Pip also publishes a podcast where she shares insight on her previous mystery experience as well as what is currently going on in the current case. I had originally seen the first novel at Barnes and Noble when it was the book club pick for the month, but I decided to wait to buy it later. Looking back, I wish I had bought it then and there because it was such a fast-paced book with so many twists and turns that I could not put it down. It was because of this series that I made time to wake up earlier each day to read before work. Although, this second book did take some time to get started with the uncovering of the mystery, but once it did, I again could not put the book down. Holly Jackson's series will end with the upcoming novel As Good As Dead later this year, so if you are interested in reading the first instalments, you can find them below: Amazon Audible Barnes and Noble Better World Books Powell's
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Pudge and PrejudiceThe review below is being done on a Netgalley Advanced Reader's Copy of Pudge and Prejudice. This review is my own, and I have written it in my honest opinion. Elyse Nebbit just moved with her family to Northenfield, Texas. She and her older sister Jayne are trying to navigate being new to a very close-knit town while still trying to watch over their younger sisters: Mary, Lydia, and Kitty. Within the first day, the sisters meet handsome Charlie Bingly and mysterious Billy Fitz. A love connection between Jayne and Charlie begins, and Elyse finds herself having a little bit of boy trouble as well when someone from Billy's past comes to town again. I am a HUGE Pride and Prejudice fan, so when I read the title I knew that the premise of the book was going to involve similar plot lines, but I was very blown away with how beautifully this book was written. I did have my fears that this book would not hold up to the original, but those fears were soon thrown out once I saw how uniquely the story was told. Although they do have the same story lines, A.K. Pittman made this book stand up on its own. While I was reading this, I could totally imagine John Hughes directing this as a movie. The setting takes place in the 80s, so there were a lot of references included to help paint the scene- music, movies, and fashion thrown into the mix. Ultimately, if you haven't already read Pride and Prejudice and enjoy YA novels, this is a good fit for you. If you have read Pride and Prejudice trust that this adaptation will not disappoint you. Get your copy below: Amazon Barnes and Noble Better World Books Powell's Making Space*The review below is being done on a Netgalley Advanced Reader's Copy of Making Space. This review is my own, and I have written it in my honest opinion.
I am a sucker for Self-help books. I like to think of them as personal growth books because I am always wanting to better myself. I ended up picking this book because one thing I struggle with are boundaries; you can always find me saying “yes” to whatever people need or want without really thinking about if I want to participate or seeing if it is something I can realistically handle. It is because of this reason that I found myself excited to listen to this book. Some take-aways that I did find were that my boundaries are just as important as I make them; if I bend or break them, others will too. Another thing I really needed to hear was that people who chose to disrespect my boundaries are not really people worth my time or energy. As scary as it is to set a boundary, this book provides the support you need to help you get started. Sprinkled throughout the book are scenarios of boundaries that have been crossed, and there are multiple examples on how to address them. There were a few times when the example felt childish, but on second look it made me realize that a simple “no” is enough. We have been built up to believe that we need to explain away our “no’s,” when in reality we shouldn’t have to. Since reading this, I have set up some boundaries and I find myself taking some time to speak my mind whenever I am conflicted with an issue. Now, this doesn’t make me an expert boundary setter, but I do feel comfortable enough to see what I am willing to handle. If this book is something you are interested in, you can find it on the link below: Amazon Audible Barnes and Noble Powell's Legacy*The review below is being done on a Netgalley Advanced Reader's Copy of Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance. This review is my own, and I have written it in my honest opinion.
Happy New Year!! My first read for the year I was so lucky to get Nikki Grimes' ARC on poets from the Harlem Renaissance. Personally, I am not too familiar with authors from the Harlem Renaissance; I did have one class in college that thematically revolved around the texts, but my knowledge ends there. Because of this, I felt that Grimes' book was a perfect reintroduction to the movement and the female poets that have fallen off my radar. One thing to know about this book of poetry is that it written in the "Golden Shovel" format. Grimes does a great job in explaining what the format is, but to paraphrase the Golden Shovel Poem is created using a line from another poem; once you have that line, the words in that poem must be used as the last word of each line in your poem. What I enjoyed about this is that even before we get into the readings, Grimes explains and gives an example of what this will look like. I find that to be so helpful and something that can be used in the classroom. On to the book- some things that I fully enjoyed about the book is that each poem by the Harlem Renaissance authors is thematically connected to Grimes' Shovel Poem. For example, if the poem is speaking towards societal standards for women Grimes will also keep that theme and recreate a new poem as a response or as a continuation. Reading both sets was something empowering because the themes encouraged readers to be more than what society tells us to be. In addition to beautiful works of poetry, visual artist were included in the process because at the end of each poem set there is a related image done by an illustrator/artist. No piece is a duplicate, and they each bring out the mental image that represented the poetry. Legacy is an amazing addition to any collection because it mixes modes of art as well as timelines in a seamless manner. I would love to see another addition to this book in the form of a series, and I can honestly say that Nikki Grimes did not disappoint. You can get your copy below, the book will be released on January 5, 2021: Amazon Barnes and Noble Powell's For Better or Cursed*The review below is being done on a Netgalley Advanced Reader's Copy of For Better or Cursed. This review is my own, and I have written it in my honest opinion.
For Kate Williams' promising sequel to The Babysitter's Coven Cass and Esme return for more demon crushing exploits with a few road-blocks on the way. Since Cass returned from the Negative, she has been having weird episodes that cause her to lose her sense of self. One minute she can be driving, and the next she begins having fits of laughter or rage that she cannot control. One of the most frustrating parts for me as a reader was having to see her and Esme hide these episodes from their families and Bryan, their babysitter mentor. I know that it is part of Cass' personality to be stubborn, and honestly this is also what drives the plot sometimes, but it was frustrating nonetheless. On top of this, the Babysitter Council has decided to host a huge gathering in their little town which makes Esme and Cass hosts! As exciting as this sounds, I felt this sequel took a little longer to get to the exciting parts of the novel. Normally I enjoy a good book party, but I felt that there were a lot of issues that Esme had to overcome as a character (the above mentioned as well as some family issues, boy issues, and unexpected demons flooding their town) and it became overwhelming to keep up. Despite my setback of feeling overwhelmed, I did finish the book and was very surprised with the final result of it. This was a reminder of how even though someone can have a lot going on in their life, there will always be help along the way. In the end, I felt that this book was important to have in order to continue Esme and Cass' story. One of the exciting parts is that the continuation will be coming out in Fall 2021, and there is still so much more to experience with our favorite demon fighting babysitters! You can get your copy of the sequel below at: Amazon Audible Barnes and Noble Better World Books Powell's |