Kaleidoscope: A Review

“Maybe this is what it’s like to be inside the mind of God. The past and the future mean nothing, and the time is always now.”

It starts with a ship going to see. Or exploring a wondrous garden. It begins when a boy named James leaves a message for his father with a doll that will be discovered years later, encased in ice.

Always there is searching. There is missing, hoping. There is saying goodbye.

It ends with an invisible key. A spirit machine born out of a dream made reality. With answers found inside inside an apple.

Every spin of the kaleidoscope fragments one story while bringing another into focus. The beginning is always different. The end keeps changing. But always, slowly, there is peace in Kaleidoscope (2021) by Brian Selznick.

Find it on Bookshop.

Selznick’s latest illustrated novel reads as a series of interconnected short stories–mediations on the same themes of loss and separation examined through different lenses. In his author’s note Selznick explains the inspiration he drew directly from the early days of the pandemic when Selznick and his husband were separated for three months–a fracture that inspired more abstraction in his art and eventually led to this story.

Each chapter (or self-contained story depending on your interpretation of the text) begins with a kaleidoscopic image followed by the unabstracted image pulled directly from the story. A namesless narrator tells each story and although the characters change, always there is a nameless character trying to make their way back to James. In some stories like “The Ice” or “The Spirit Machine” the grief is overt while other standout stories (“The Apple” or “In the Dark”) offer more optimism.

Common images and themes throughout each story slowly unfold to bring a larger narrative of connection and loss into focus. While the story lacks any significant female characters, the nameless narrators do serve as a cipher of sorts allowing readers to insert themselves fully into each story.

Kaleidoscope is very much a product of the pandemic. Readers will see that in Selznick’s carefully rendered artwork, the disjointed narratives, the stories that almost but don’t quite but maybe do intersect. Kaleidoscope is a meditative and ultimately hopeful book, ideal for readers seeking a puzzle-like diversion. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg, The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: Fourteen Amazing Authors Tell the Tales by Chris Van Allsburg et al

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

Simone Breaks All the Rules: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Thanks to her strict immigrant parents, Simone Thibodeaux’s life is 100% boy free. After three years with a curfew and doing everything that’s asked of her from her parents and her all-girl’s school, Simone is more than ready for a change.

College is supposed to be a fresh start but with her parents threatening to make her commute to Rutgers like her older sister, Simone knows it’s time for drastic action.

Enter new friends Amita and Kira and the trio’s senior playlist. All three girls are used to life on lockdown and they are sick of missing out. With one year left to cram in all the classic high school experiences they’ve missed the girls are ready to go dancing, skip class, and pick their own prom dates.

Simone thinks she has the perfect boy picked out. But what happens when the date her parents arranged for her years ago turns out to be better than she could have hoped? After a year of breaking rules, Simone will discover that sometimes you can’t plan for love (or heartbreak) in Simone Breaks All the Rules (2021) by Debbie Rigaud.

Find it on Bookshop.

Rigaud’s latest contemporary romance is an ode to high school nostalgia and small acts of rebellion. Simone’s narration is filled with funny quips and fun facts about teen activists she has researched for her senior project whom she draws from for inspiration throughout the story.

While readers might be quicker to recognize the OTP here than Simone herself, the journey to that discovery is well worth the wait. Simone and her new friends have instant chemistry and while they all pursue their own dates for prom, the real love story here is the lasting friendship they forge. Ben–Simone’s arranged prom date–is her perfect foil and their dialogue as they get to know each other adds a fun dimension to this story.

Simone Breaks All the Rules is a laugh-out-loud story about friendship, prom, and learning that sometimes you don’t have to look as far as you think to find yourself. Recommended for fans of stories with bucket lists, high school nostalgia, and witty banter.

Possible Pairings: Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant; Blackout by by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon; 10 Truths and a Dare by Ashley Elston, I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo, When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon, By the Book by Amanda Sellet, My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma

You can also read my exclusive interview with Debbie Rigaud here on the blog.

Rise to the Sun: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Olivia is trying to make her way through yet another heartbreak with help from her best friend and trying to figure out how she can ever face going back to school after her latest romantic disaster.

Toni is grieving the death of her roadie father and trying to figure out what happens next when pursuing her dreams feels a lot like making the same mistakes her father seems to have made.

Two different roads lead to the same destination and Olivia and Toni end up at the Farmland Music and Arts Festival. The festival is a chance to enjoy live music and for both girls a chance to have one last really good time before everything changes.

What neither of them counted on is meeting each other. With chemistry that feels inevitable, Olivia and Toni are immediately drawn to each other. But after spending so long making bad choices, will either of them be ready to make the right one this time?

When the festival goes from a safe haven to anything but, both Olivia and Toni will have to dig deep to find their way back to each other and to the music they both love in Rise to the Sun (2021) by Leah Johnson.

Find it on Bookshop.

Rise to the Sun is Johnson’s sophomore novel. This standalone contemporary can be read alone but readers familiar with Johnson’s previous novel You Should See Me in a Crown will recognize secondary character Mack and everyone’s favorite band. Olivia, Toni, and Olivia’s best friend are Black. Toni’s best friend Peter is presumed Indian (last name Menon). The story alternates between Olivia and Toni’s first person narrations.

This story is an ode to music–both performing and listening–as well as live performance. Farmland is such a well described setting that it quickly becomes a character in the story as the novel builds to a final act where the fate of the long-running music festival is called into question.

At the start of the novel, Toni is still grieving her father’s death and still unsure how to reconcile her love of music with her father’s seeming lack of success in the same profession before his premature death. Scared to be hurt again, she instead closes herself off with self-destructive choices to deny what (and who) she really wants.

Olivia, meanwhile, is a self-described nightmare person. Constantly surrounded by drama from her endless search for love, Olivia is used to having her hand held by best friend Imani through any and every stumbling block. The tension between long-suffering Imani and oblivious Olivia adds another layer to this story as Johnson explores what makes a healthy friendship alongside the specific pain of unrequited love.

Rise to the Sun is a story of first love, second chances, friendship, and one epic music festival. Recommended for readers who enjoy books with festivals or road trips, music, and characters with chemistry.

Possible Pairings: Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant, Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender; Blackout by by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon; I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest, Who Put This Song On? by Morgan Parker, Truly Madly Royally by Debbie Rigaud, The Summer of Jordi Perez and the Best Burgers in Los Angeles by Amy Spalding

Follow Your Arrow: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

CeCe Ross and her girlfriend Silvie Castillo Ramírez are social media influencers. They have the cute outfits, the followers, and the endorsement deals to prove it. Plus, the girls are total relationship goals–hashtag Cevie forever. Until Cevie is over and CeCe is left mourning what she had thought was a perfect relationship while also figuring out how to handle the public nature of the breakup with her and Silvie’s followers.

CeCe is always worried about her online engagement and obsesses over every post. She wonders if anyone would follow her to hear about the issues she cares about instead of the new hand cream she’s been sent to try. She wonders if her followers  will like her without Silvie.

Enter Josh the new guy in town who is smart, musical, has great taste in donuts, and no clue about social media. CeCe has always known she’s bisexual so falling for Josh isn’t a surprise, but as her feelings for Josh grow she wonders if she has to tell Josh about her internet fame.

When CeCe’s efforts to keep her public persona a secret go spectacularly wrong CeCe will have to answer uncomfortable questions from Josh and confront the media attention centered around who she chooses to date and the version of herself she chooses to share in Follow Your Arrow (2021) by Jessica Verdi.

Find it on Bookshop.

At the start of Follow Your Arrow CeCe is struggling as she deals with the breakup and tries to ignore her increasing anxiety when it comes to maintaining her online presence and giving her followers the content they want and expect. Readers see some of this content in social media posts that appear between chapters. After years of defining herself in relation to Silvie and curating her public persona, CeCe isn’t sure who she is when she’s no longer part of a couple–especially one as visible as Cevie.

Verdi doesn’t shy away from showing the work that goes into curating an online presence as an influencer. It’s a hustle and it can be exhausting–which CeCe knows all too well. But it can also lead to some lasting and genuine friendships like CeCe’s long-distance best friend in Australia.

While bisexuality is much more mainstream now it is still often sidelined or erased in the larger LGBTQ+ community where bisexuals can be accused of “passing” in heterosexual presenting relationships. Follow Your Arrow tackles that head on as CeCe is forced to publicly justify both her relationship choices and her social media persona.

Follow Your Arrow is a fast-paced story filled with humor and compassion. Come for the behind-the-scenes look at life as an influencer and the sweet romance, stay for the thoughtful commentary on both bisexual erasure and the separate spheres of public and private life.

Possible Pairings: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo, Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender, Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan, Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar, You Have a Match by Emma Lord, Don’t Hate the Player by Alexis Nedd, Radio Silence by Alice Oseman, Sunny Song Will Never Be Famous by Suzanne Park, Odd One Out by Nic Stone, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell

Exclusive Bonus Content: Please also take a minute to appreciate this cover which does such a great job of capturing CeCe and also has nods to the colors of the bisexual flag. So well done!

Poisoned: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

You think you know this tale, but you only know what you’ve been told. You may have heard about the girl named Sophie with lips the color of ripe cherries, skin as soft as new-fallen snow, and hair as dark as midnight. You may have heard about her step-mother and the huntsman.

That doesn’t mean you know the real villain of this tale or anything that happened after the huntsman cut out Sophie’s heart.

In a world where power means safety and, for a young girl destined to rule, there is no greater danger than mercy, Sophie will soon learn that surviving–much like hiding–isn’t enough if she wants to reclaim her kingdom in Poisoned (2020) by Jennifer Donnelly.

Find it on Bookshop.

Poisoned is a feminist retelling of the fairy tale of Snow White that is every bit as bloody and gory as the original version transcribed by the Brothers Grimm. Although the story is stepped in violence from the very first chapter, the narrative itself often reads younger hewing closer to middle grade in tone.

Eerie, fast-paced chapters and an unconventional choice in both narrator and antagonist make this story unexpected even as Donnelly stays true to her source material. Sophie is an admirable heroine struggling to reconcile her ruthless upbringing with the kindness she has managed to nurture in her heart.

Poisoned is an ideal choice for anyone who prefers the classic fairy tales to modern, more sanitized versions–a fast-paced story that is both engaging and fierce.

Possible Pairings: Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao, Stain by A. G. Howard, The Traitor’s Game by Jennifer A. Nielsen, Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige, Everland by Wendy Spinale, Hunted by Meagan Spooner, Kingdom of Ash and Briars by Hannah West

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

You Should See Me in a Crown: A Review

Liz Lighty has never been one to break from the ensemble to go solo. That has served her quite well during her time at her high school in Campbell County, Indiana where she’s been able to focus on band, getting good grades, and doing everything she needs to in order to attend her mother’s alma mater Pennington College.

Unfortunately, even doing everything right isn’t enough to get Liz the last scholarship she needs to be able to afford tuition at Pennington. If her grandparents find out, they’ll want to sell the house to help Liz. But if they do that Liz and her younger brother will lose the last link they have to their mother who died from Sickle Cell Anemia. Liz isn’t going to be the reason for that. Not a chance.

Instead, Liz realizes her best option is running for prom queen. Liz has never cared about prom–not the way people are supposed to in her town where prom is a full-time obsession–but becoming prom queen comes with a crown and a scholarship.

Now Liz will have to complete community service, dodge spontaneous food fights, and deal with the friend who broke her heart when he he chose popularity instead of their friendship. That’s all while campaigning to climb the ranks running for prom queen and figuring out what to do when new girl Mack turns from enigmatically cute to new crush and maybe even potential girlfriend.

Prom season is always hectic in Campbell and competition is always fierce. Liz knows most people in Campbell don’t see her as prom queen material. The better question is if Liz is ready to step out of the ensemble and use her solo to convince them otherwise in You Should See Me in a Crown (2020) by Leah Johnson.

Find it on Bookshop.

You Should See Me in a Crown is Johnson’s debut novel. This funny contemporary is set over the course of the six weeks of Liz’s prom campaign culminating in the prom itself. I won’t spoil the prom queen results, but maybe you can guess. Despite the prom focus the main event is watching Liz come out of her shell and embrace all of her personality (and her queer identity) while making space for herself in both her school and her town.

Campaign shenanigans and gossip from the school’s social media app Campbell Confidential add drama and humor to this story. Although she doesn’t tell them everything she’s struggling with, Liz’s grandparents and brother are great supports for her and quite funny in their own rights.

Liz’s friends also try to help with the campaign which leads to questionable decisions from best friend Gabi as she lets winning overshadow being a good friend–an ongoing problem as Gabi begins to understand that being a friend (and an ally) has to more than offering campaign advice.

Then of course, there’s Mack and one of the sweetest romances you’ll find in YA Lit.

You Should See Me in a Crown is a prom-tastic read with a story that is as funny, smart, and endearing as its heroine. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant, Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender, What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen, Now That I’ve Found You by Kristina Forest, Tessa Masterson Will Go to Prom by Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin, The Fashion Committee by Susan Juby, The Prom by Saundra Mitchell with Chad Beguelin, Bob Martin, Matthew Sklar, Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy, Who Put This Song On? by Morgan Parker, Truly Madly Royally by Debbie Rigaud, The Summer of Jordi Perez and the Best Burgers in Los Angeles by Amy Spalding, The Wrong Side of Right by Jenn Marie Thorne, Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian

Tunnel of Bones: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

“Maybe is a match in the dark.

“Maybe is a rope in a hole, or the key to a door.

“Maybe is how you find the way out.”

Cassidy Blake’s best friend Jacob is a ghost. This wasn’t as big of an issue until Cassidy and her parents (and Jacob) traveled to Scotland to film a TV about the world’s most haunted places. There Cassidy learned that she isn’t just a girl who can talk to ghosts. She is a ghost hunter tasked with putting ghosts to rest.

This has, understandably, created some tension between the two friends.

But understanding her role as a ghost hunter will have to wait when the Blakes travel to Paris and Cassidy accidentally awakens a dangerously strong ghost.

As the new ghost and Jacob both grow stronger Cassidy will have to rely on old friends and new to put this new menace to rest before it’s too late in Tunnel of Bones (2019) by Victoria Schwab.

Find it on Bookshop

Tunnel of Bones is the second book in Schwab’s middle grade series following Cassidy Blake. The story starts in City of Ghosts but thanks to sufficient recaps the books can be read independently or even out of order.

I love this series. There is nothing more comforting to me than reading about Cassidy’s growing pains as a friend to Jacob and as a fledgling ghost hunter. Readers can expect to see the usual spooky suspects in Paris including the Catacombs and a poignant visit to Notre Dame before the fire in April 2019 left the historic cathedral in ruins.

New locations and new reveals add dimension to Cassidy’s understanding of her ghost hunting abilities as well as Jacob’s backstory. Schwab expertly balances scares and laughs in this fast-paced read that is sure to entertain readers both young and old. A surprise ending will leave readers especially eager to see what awaits Cassidy and Jacob in the next installment.

Tunnel of Bones is as entertaining as it is evocative. Come for the ghosts and stay for the friendships–just be sure to have a snack on hand because the descriptions of all of the French cuisine Cassidy discovers will leave you hungry.

Possible Pairings: The Jumbies by Tracy Baptiste, Doll Bones by Holly Black, The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding by Alexandra Bracken, The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

The Night of Your Life: A Review

JJ and Lucy made pact to go to prom together if they both wound up dateless. While JJ’s being single is pretty much a foregone conclusion at this point, he’s surprised to find Lucy still dateless and going with him on the day of the prom.

Prom is the perfect chance for JJ to have a last hurrah with all of his friends and he can’t imagine anyone he’d want to spend it with more than Lucy.

Except everything goes wrong.

JJ wants nothing more than to forget that prom ever happened. But when he wakes up, it’s prom day again.

With endless chances to try and fix things, JJ has to figure out if he can chase his perfect prom while holding onto his best friend in The Night of Your Life (2020) by Lydia Sharp.

Find it on Bookshop.

This standalone contemporary takes on a speculative twist as JJ relives his prom over and over again trying to improve events and break the loop. Despite the high concept premise, The Night of Your Life‘s main strength is the LGBTQ+ representation which adds a nice layer to an otherwise flat story.

JJ is an extremely vanilla narrator with few defining traits beyond being excited about prom and an unfortunate predilection for making up words (like “twibble). He is a terrible friend who chooses not just to ditch Lucy when a cute girl’s car breaks down but also never tells her what is actually happening. Why he deserves numerous chances to fix his prom night, let alone why he deserves a friend like Lucy, remains unclear.

Stilted writing in both JJ’s first person narration and the dialog make most of the relationships in the novel feel forced and do nothing to hint at even a little chemistry between JJ and Lucy as the next phase of their friendship (and if they should pursue anything more) becomes the main question of the story.

The Night of Your Life is an uninspired take on a familiar premise. Unless you’re all about that prom setting, skip this one and read A Week of Mondays by Jessica Brody for a better executed version of the same conceit.

Possible Pairings: The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Life by Tara Altebrando, A Week of Mondays by Jessica Brody, Two Summers by Aimee Friedman, Shuffle, Repeat by Jen Klein, Parallel by Lauren Miller, Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

The Candle and the Flame: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

“She will be all right. Not right now but later, when it hurts a bit less, she will be all right.”

Noor is a city of many peoples and many cultures; a refuge for all who might need one. But it wasn’t always that way. This new city has only been able to flourish in the wake of a tragic attack by the Shaytateen–djinn who crave chaos–where they slaughtered everyone in the city save for three humans.

Fatima was one of those survivors and even now, eight years later, she is still haunted by the attack, what was lost, and what she had to do protect her sister and their adopted grandmother.

The city now exists in a tenuous peace ruled by a new maharajah who shares control of the city with Zulfikar, emir of the Ifrit–djinn who seek to create order and reason to counter the chaotic Shayateen–who protect the city.

When the Ifrit Name Giver is killed, Fatima finds herself transformed. No longer human, not quite djinn, she is now Fatima Ghazala–a young woman drawn into the city’s politics as outside threats and internal unrest threaten everything Noor represents and everything it could become in The Candle and the Flame (2019) by Nafiza Azad.

Find it on Bookshop.

The Candle and the Flame is Azad’s debut novel. This standalone fantasy is also a finalist for YALSA’s Morris Award for Excellence in Debut Fiction.

Vibrant descriptions immediately draw readers into Noor with multiple closer third person perspectives moving the story forward as Azad explores Fatima Ghazala’s transformation as well as the challenges facing both the city and its rulers.

Thoughtful explorations of trauma and consent set this novel apart as Fatima Ghazala works to come to terms with her past and what it means for who she has become. This struggle plays out in small things as Fatima Ghazala asserts her right to be referred to by her newly chosen name and on a grander scale as she carves out a place for herself both in Noor and among the Ifrit.

A gorgeous book with a swoon-worthy romance where the romantic leads meet as partners and allies before anything else; The Candle and the Flame is an evocative fantasy with lush writing and rich world building that explores themes of colonization and feminism. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden, Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust, Hunted by the Sky by Tanaz Bhatena, A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, The City of Brass by S. K. Chakraborty, A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi, Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst, We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal, Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim, Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers, Castles in Their Bones by Laura Sebastian, The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala, The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

Last of Her Name: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

“If you control your self, you control your fate.”

Stacia knows all about the rebellion that tore through the Belt of Jewels sixteen years ago leaving the entire royal family dead, but it’s always felt removed from her quiet life on Amethyne with her parents and her best friends, Clio and Pol.

When the Direktor Eminent comes to Amethyne looking for Princess Anya, the youngest member of the murdered royal family, Stacia realizes the dangers of the Union’s authoritative regime have always been closer than she realized. Stacia is loath to believe the claims that she is the lost princess. But doubt doesn’t help when the shooting starts.

Escape comes at a price as Stacia and Pol are forced to leave Clio behind. On the run, forced to question her entire history, Stacia will have to embrace her true identity and claim her birthright if she wants to save her friend or her planet in Last of Her Name (2019) by Jessica Khoury.

Khoury’s latest standalone is a nail-biting story inspired by the lost Russian princess, Anastasia. Stacia’s first person narration and her richly imagined world bring this story, and its complex technology, to life in this new interpretation of a familiar story.

High action and shocking twists come together to make Last of Her Name an unforgettable reading experience. The high stakes of Stacia’s journey to reclaim her birthright contrasts well with quieter moments between Stacia and Pol as they both try to decide what Stacia’s true identity means for their already changing relationship.

Last of Her Name is the lost princess space opera of your dreams. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza, Romanov by Nadine Brandes, Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray, Havenfall by Sara Holland, Lifel1k3 by Jay Kristoff, Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan, Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston, Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte, This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada, The Pioneer by Bridget Tyler

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*