Renata Sancken

This book crossed my path and I was like “Rich British prep school kids hunting the DEADLIEST GAME??? I'M IN” but ehhh it didn't quite live up to its premise? It wasn't as off-the-rails enjoyable as eg Riverdale but it also wasn't particularly plausible? Also our protagonist-narrator was... idk. Like I think it's good when teen narrators make dumb choices because, hey, teens make dumb choices sometimes, but also it sort of set up something with her mom abandoning her as a child that didn't really seem nearly fleshed out enough? Also I'm allllways skeptical when teen characters happen to be into “old” something (in this case movies)...not that some teens can't be super into old things but it often comes across as an adult author who just wants to make references to the movies THEY like. And there are like, a LOT of references to adult movies in this because Greer is really into old movies even though their fancy prep school doesn't have televisions.There were some fun twists and I liked the side characters, and I still think the premise is engaging enough that a teen who's already burned through better thrillers like [b:One of Us Is Lying 32571395 One of Us Is Lying (One of Us is Lying, #1) Karen M. McManus https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1490084494l/32571395.SY75.jpg 49825436] would probably enjoy it. There's also a lot of detail about Posh British Boarding School Life for those who are into That Kind Of Thing.

This is another book that hooked me as I was skimming it to write a booktalk for it. The shifting narration is really compelling, and I really appreciate the way so explicitly Gratz connects Cuban and Syrian refugees to Jewish refugees in WWII–refugees who most people today feel extremely sympathetic to in a way that a) a lot of Americans in the 1930s didn't b) a lot of Americans today don't feel toward other refugees.

It's a book that's well-meaning and compelling–at times some of the individual events seem a bit contrived but the overall effect is good, and the way the stories intersect with each other is very surprising and moving. Recommended to young readers who love WWII stories and survival stories.

This reminded me of a less-horny SJM in that it kind of just kept introducing new concepts/characters who were all just perfect for the situation at hand.

It was a bit confusing for me since it had been so long since I read the first one but regardless I give it 5 stars for the brilliant decision to name the main character Renata.

Yay! I went to the same college as Molly Backes (Grinnell College, in IOWA) and reading this, first of all, gave me a ton of Iowa nostalgia. Swoon. Anyway, I LOVED this look at high school popularity. It reminded me kind of [b:Before I Fall 6482837 Before I Fall Lauren Oliver http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1347331552s/6482837.jpg 6674135], that kind of behind-the-curtain humanizing look at popular girls. But it also had a lot going on (drinking & driving, ~the power of art~, institutionalized homophobia, adults with thwarted ambition, etc) all in a way that, to me, felt very natural and never felt like too much going on. Also as an alleged grownup reading this, I loved the character of Mr. Tremont, their young new English teacher–little glimpses of him thinking high school is hilarious while still taking the kids & their work seriously, and hints of his grad school friends already nostalgic for listening to Lady Gaga in college. Hurrah!

I've got a fondness for brain-smoothing frothy royal romances, and I think this one strikes a good balance between being silly & sweet + also acknowledging that life for a queer Black royal would not be quite the same as it would be for a cishet white royal. Also, I always think that for ~royal romance stories~ it's a better move to make them the royalty of a fictional country than to try to incorporate any real-life monarchy and all its baggage. I hope that Reverie and Genovia have cordial diplomatic relations.

CONFESSION: I probably only read 2/3 of this book because I skimmed all the italicized Space Drama and only read the parts on Earth. The Earth parts were funny and compelling but the Space parts were soo boring to me. People who are big fans of High Fantasy and aren't annoyed by long ficticious family tree drama would probably like the Space parts too. I'm pretty sure I understood all the Earth parts without reading the Space parts? If not: whatevs.

This was apparently designed as the jumping off point into Avengers comix for people who liked the movies. COOL THAT DESCRIBES ME PERFECTLY, THANX MARVEL.

I still don't know wtf is going on out in outer space but I don't think it really matters b/c this has plenty of Tony and Clint being assholes and Hulk smashing stuff and Natasha being awesome so like, I'll keep reading it. For sure.

I hardly ever read mysteries or ghost stories because I am a DELICATE FLOWER and I can't handle them. But I'm trying to get to know those genres a little more so I can connect with the youths. I read the synopsis of this and it was about a Mean Girl ghost, and I loove Mean Girls.

Anyway, I read this whole book in one day. Really fun high school dramz PLUS a ghost mean girl PLUS an Ouija board scene. I dug it. Some side stuff about adapting to a new town/new stepmom, etc. Also the main girl was really into gemstones (because her dead mom was a jewelry designer) and I found her many, many Knowledge Bombs about the significance of every single type of gemstone to be interesting, rather than irritating. (It could go the other way for some readers, though.)

If you like ACTUALLY SCARY ghost stories or ACTUALLY MYSTERIOUS mysteries you will probably be bored by this book, but if you are a scaredy cat fan of Mean Girls I would unhesitatingly recommend this book to you.

oh yeah and there was like a love square or something, like a love pentagram really? SPOOKY

Call it 4.5 stars, maybe. I really, really enjoyed this book, much more than I thought I would. Granted, I thought it was historical fiction about Jack the Ripper. Which it's not. It's set in modern-day England. Great characters, great suspense. I can't wait for the sequel (and this one technically hasn't been released yet). Eek!

I probably wouldn't have read this, except it was on my desk and I started flipping through it and realized that the main character is planning to go to a “mini Peace Corps” after high school. First of all, I was so excited that Myracle didn't just lazily say she was going to “Peace Corps” right after high school, because that's something that weirdly happens a lot in fiction and it's just one of my pet peeves. YOU NEED A COLLEGE DEGREE OR SIGNIFICANT LIFE EXPERIENCE TO DO PEACE CORPS. YOU CAN'T JUST DO IT ON A WHIM AFTER HIGH SCHOOL. PLEASE STOP DOING THIS, FICTION CREATORS.

oh what you didn't want me to rant about the Peace Corps application process in the middle of this review? whatever, you can't tell me what to do.

Anyway. I liked it as a realistic contemporary romance. It kind of captured that last-summer-after-high-school sense of possibility. I liked the frank but romantic talk about sex, and the way Wren's ~first time~ is presented.

youth, dreams, possibilities, sexy times, accurate representations of the work involved with applying to volunteer abroad, hurrah

This was just the blend of nostalgia and criticism that I wanted. I loved revisiting series I loved/forgot about, as well as learning about other series that totally passed me by. I appreciated Moss's mixture of remebering her own faves, observing how they skewed white/abled/straight/upper class/etc, and digging out pioneering books/series that perhaps were less overall popular but were more diverse than Sweet Valley et al.

(I also appreciated her introductory note that she was blending together YA and middle grade series under the grounds that tweens read indiscriminatorily. That was certainly true for me–as a young tween I was definitely grabbing Sunset Island and Sweet Valley High at the same time I was reading BSC books, even though those are NOT aimed at the same age group. I know that was not everyone's experience as a young reader, though!)

The interviews with authors, editors, and even one of the models who posed as Claudia Kishi were great pieces of added information too.

I didn't mean to read 2 books about teen thieves in a row but then I DID. I really enjoyed this! Kind of like an All Girls Breakfast Club, about 3 high school girls from DIFFERENT CLIQUES (princess, new-to-town good girl, stoner) who all have to go to Shoplifters Anonymous and (spoiler) become friends.

It was a pretty quick read–narration is split between the 3 girls, and Elodie (the good girl) narrates in verse–and it doesn't necessarily traverse much new ground (the rich princess has trouble at home! the new girl has cutting observations about social dynamics at the school!)–but it's very well executed and all three girls are interesting and likeable, and all subvert their archetypes at least a little bit. (For example, by shoplifting.)

I also thought the depictions of Shoplifters Anonymous & its leader Shawn was a hilarious take on support groups and the like.

This is a really intense read–Talley's end notes say she read a lot of memoirs and oral histories from black students who integrated historically white schools, and I think that shows in how intensely she portrays the day-to-day life of Sarah, a black high school senior, as she's one of 10 kids integrating a white high school, how the name-calling, pencil-poking, and other small aggressions add up to be nearly unbearable.

I was less interested in Linda's POV...I think it's a tricky line to walk, to get into the head of a racist segregationalist and show how her views come from her parents, etc etc etc...but, for a teen reader (particularly a white one) it might be a little more eye-opening and self-reflection-inducing. I think Talley is also pretty consciously drawing parallels between the civil rights movement and the LGBTQ rights movement.

I love that this is an interacial, historical, queer romance–I think it's important to give teens an example that there were lesbians Back in the Day. Particularly for Sarah, to see how her identities intersected. I will say that I didn't...totally buy their romance? Particularly why Sarah would like Linda?! I think I'd be interested to read a sequel further developing those two after high school.

My journey with Unstoppable Wasp was:
1) OMG, Jeremy Whitley is writing a Wasp book? Yay!
2) WTF, it's not about Janet? Who's NADIA?
3) I love Nadia.
4) I would die for Nadia.
5) wtf Unstoppable Wasp is canceled already?

sigh. nothing gold can stay, but this is a delightful, charming character and a really fun, really feminist series.

This is a fun volume! A bit of a mixed bag like, dare I say, most anthologies. It included some characters I'm not as familiar with and I personally preferred the stories about like, Wiccan and Hulking and Mystique and Destiny.

This is also a weird blend of new stories written just for Pride and some older reprints of notable “Pride” themed stories and I have to say uhhHHHHH I wish the older stories had maybe also gotten a little essay attached to provide added context or something? Like for example the BONKERS Hulk story where Sam Wilson's nephew is dying of AIDS and asks for a Hulk blood transfusion to see if it will cure AIDS and Bruce says no and then he dies? Meanwhile Betty answers a phone call from someone who found out he's HIV+ and wants to kill himself and she's like "this isn't a suicide hotline let me give you the number for that" and he's like "but I like your voice" and she's like "ok well don't kill yourself, everybody's got problems, for example I am married to the Hulk" and he's like "hm interesting well I am calling from my car phone and I am parking my car on the train tracks, goodbye" and then the issue ends with that guy getting hit by a train?!?! Happy Pride?!?!??!

I wanted to like this more than I did? From what I knew about it it (“the angst of being a teen! the thrill of being a boat!”) seemed like a very tongue-in-cheek satire of teen drama but it's pretty slapsticky. I think tweens and young teens will really love this. Am I too grown up for this? That's a TERRIBLE realization but possibly true.

This isn't necessarily the kind of thing I'd normally gravitate toward, but I checked it out (full disclosure because the author is a guest on an upcoming episode of our podcast!) I think this concept will appeal to a lot of teens, and I found it to be a fun, fast-paced book that wasn't TOO gory. It is a little silly if you stop to think about it, so maybe, like, don't?

This is a really strong anthology! Almost every story left me wanting more. It's also very inclusive–queer witches, trans witches, witches of color, etc. (In many cases by #OwnVoices authors. Not for the witch part, as far as I know, but for other marginalized identities.)

Shout outs to Tess Sharpe, Anna-Marie McLemore, and Emery Lord for having my favorite stories in this? But truly I enjoyed them all. Highly recommended for fans of witchy stuff.

I got an ARC of this with some skepticism, mostly because like...is a YA novelization of a musical really necessary? I totally get the behind the scenes/making of type of book for musicals–I definitely remember poring over my copy of the Rent book before I was able to see the show live.

ANYWAY. I haven't seen Dear Evan Hansen but I have listened to the cast recording and generally like it, and I read the Wikipedia summary because just from listening to the recording I was like “oh wait what's happening?!”

So I started reading this and felt a little cringey, but in a way that seems fairly authentic to its social anxiety-ridden narrator, Evan.

And then things started happening from the POV of Ghost Connor and I was like WTF??? Is...is Ghost Connor in the musical??? I started asking a friend who has actually seen the show and she was like.......no. I described what all was happening in the book and she said it sounded like the book was trying to address criticism of the musical, namely that nobody actually knows anything about Connor. Except that it's kind of the point that nobody knows anything about Connor, so to set him up as this sympathetic queer ghost who killed himself because his kinda-boyfriend didn't text him back, which it turns out his kinda-boyfriend was just DOING YARDWORK AND DIDN'T HAVE HIS PHONE..........anyway it's a lot????? I think it's also trying really hard to expand on Evan's POV about why he does the objectively shitty things he does, which...again I feel like the information we get from the musical itself is probably enough? You get the sense of how he's swept along with what's happening...I don't think we need a whole bunch more inner turmoil TBH.

IDK, this is fine. Teen fans of DEH are going to be hype for it. I'm not sure it stands on its own as a novel for readers who don't care about the musical?

Hmm. I listened to this in audio & I'm not sure the audio added anything especially. The narration was fine, but sometimes with audiobooks I feel like the narration can really enhance it? And this was just fine.

I thought the story dragged a bit–if I'd been reading it in print I probably would have skimmed a bit. I also realized that I'm old, because for at least a disc of Mclean's meltdown I was like, “Oh my god, this is not a big deal and it's really not as embarrassing as you're acting” and then I finally remembered how being in high school is all about being constantly embarrassed. How could I forgettt :O