book reviewer

A Language of Dragons / S.F. Williamson

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A Language of Dragons
By: S. F. Williamson, Henrietta Meire (Narrator)
Genre: Fantasy
Number of Pages: 432
Published: January 5, 2025
Publisher: HarperCollins
Dates Read: April 28, 2025 - April 30, 2025
Format: Library Book / Audiobook

Trigger Warnings: death, war, physical assault, violence, classicism, sexism

In London 1923, dragons begin soaring through the skies and chaos has erupted. Vivian Featherswallow isn’t worried though, she’s going to follow the rules, get an internship studying dragon languages, and make sure her little sister never has to worry about dropping down to Third Class. By midnight, Viv has started a civil war.

With her parents arrested and her little sister missing, everything Viv has worked for is crumbling. So when a mysterious “job” is offered to her, Viv takes it. Arriving at Bletchley Park, she finds out her mysterious job is codebreaking to help in the war effort. If she succeeds, her family can be whole and safe again. If she doesn’t, they all die.

But, the more Viv learns while codebreaking, the more she realizes what she grew up believing isn’t as safe as it seems. Eventually she must decide if the side of the war she’s working for is the one she really wants to fight.

I really enjoyed the linguist aspect of this novel and the amount of world building Williamson did with it. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Viv, but she is a morally gray character at times, so that makes sense. I did appreciate her growth throughout the series though. 

I originally wanted this because of the dragons, and that part definitely did not disappoint. I also enjoyed the fast pace of the plot and the high stakes of Viv’s (and everyone at Bletchley Park) situations. It kept me turning the pages to find out more.

*Thank you HarperCollins and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Stoked for This: May

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May 6, 2025

All I really needed to know about this myself was the author: Fredrik Backman. No other author has been able to write the way he does about the human experience that has yet to hit as hard as his word do (at least to me). Even the most mundane things forms a connection and makes me feel seen. Anywho, this is his latest book.

My Friends

By: Fredrik Backman

A graphic novel filled with magic, hidden truths, and self-discovery.

Espada: The Will of the Blade

By: Anabel Colazo

I’m honestly not sure if I’m as excited for this one or more curious to see where it goes. The first book in the series was just “okay” for me, but other readers have given it high praise. I’m just wondering what in the world is going to happen.

Snowglobe 2

By: Soyoung Park

Translated By: Joungmin Lee Comfort

May 13. 2025

Yet another water world apocalyptic novel, this time in flooded San Francisco with a caregiver and her 130-year-old woman she cares for.

Awake in the Floating City

By: Susanna Kwan

Middle grade ghost story set in the 1960’s during summer camp with creepy woods and mysterious music.

The Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall

By: Charis Cotter

A young readers adaptation of “An Immense World” that I read for a gust book group facilitator last year. That book took me some time to read, but I enjoyed all the connections I made with it. I mostly want to flip through this and see the photos 🙂

An Immense World (Young Readers Edition)

By: Ed Yong

After a super storm wipes out an important bridge from her remote town, Addy must ask for help from others (something she hasn’t done in a long time) in order to get to her summer camp she’s been waiting to go to.

Into the Rapids

By: Ann Braden

May 20, 2025

This one teased that it combines “Under the Whispering Door” (TJ Klune) with the high-stakes culinary world of “Sweetbitter” (Stephanie Danler). You all know I love me some TJ Klune, so of course I want to check this one out. This also has a premise of eating a meal one last time with someone you lost, and like, I may cry?!

After Taste

By: Daria Lavelle

Jonathan Van Ness and Julie Murphy team up in this New Adult novel about a gender-nonconforming eighteen-year-old testing their wings in the big city with a ghost of a drag performer from the fifties.

Let Them Stare

By: Jonathan Van Ness & Julie Murphy

May 27, 202

In this upper middle grade novel, Leta struggles with food insecurity. Her mom is already working two jobs and has a hard enough time keeping food on the table, so they end up with a lot of fast food. Leta works hard to keep her top spot on the track team, but when she gets sidelined with an injury, she refuses to admit just how much pain she is in as she fights to not be forgettable.

The Unforgettable Leta “Lightning” Laurel

By: R.L. Toalson

This one may be a little out there but stick with me here. Twenty years ago, the members of a reclusive commune outside Philly vanish without a trace, leaving behind a twelve-year-old girl wandering around alone. When a stranger shows up at Lee’s door all these years later with “answers”, she must decide if the truth is worth shattering her life.

The Ascent

By: Allison Buccola

This is just a fun historical novel about a young woman writer defying societal norms in 1880s with not only her fictional worlds but her journalism. When on a job covering a brewing civil war in Chile Emilia finds herself in danger and at a crossroads, questioning both her identity and her destiny.

My Name is Emilia del Valle

By: Isabel Allende

The Hunger Games / Suzanne Collins

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The Hunger Games
By: Suzanne Collins
Genre: YA, Dystopia
Number of Pages: 374
Published: September 14, 2008
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Dates Read: April 18, 2025 - April 28, 2025
Format: Hardcover

In the ruins of North America, lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capital in the mountains surrounded by twelve districts. After a failed rebellion, to keep the districts in line, the Capital forces them all to send one boy and one girl, between the ages of twelve and eighteen, to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death that’s broadcasted on live TV.

After her twelve-year-old sister, Prim, gets her name called at her first reaping, sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen volunteers as tribute and “signs her death sentence”. But Katniss has been surviving since her dad died when she was twelve and she’s been close to death before. If she’s going to win this, she must make choices that weigh against humanity, life, and love.

First off, listen – I don’t reread things. I have only ever reread The Book Thief and that was one reread, years after reading it the first time because I’ve always said that was my favorite book and I needed to make sure it still was…

Anyway, did I reread this because Sunrise on the Reaping destroyed me and I needed to go back to the “beginning”.

Yes.

Did I get more emotional about everything that happened because I know what would and has happened?

Yes.

Did I appreciate it even more than I did when I first read it?

I believe so – but then again, that was SIXTEEN YEARS AGO. I was sixteen-years-old myself when this book came out and was obsessed with being the same age as Katniss. Now, as a 33-year-old, I’ve seen this through a new lens and Suzanne Collins can emotionally wreck me at any age.

Snow Globe / Soyoung Park, Joungmin Lee Comfort (Translator)

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Snow Globe
By: Soyoung Park, Joungmin Lee Comfort (Translator)
Genre: YA, Dystopia
Number of Pages: 384
Published: February 27, 2024 (1st Published October 23, 2020)
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Dates Read: April 17, 2025 - April 18, 2025
Format: Library Book / Audiobook

In a world of constant winter, only the citizens of the climate-controlled city of Snowglobe can escape the breath snatching cold. Outside Snowglobe, citizens must face the icy wasteland to get to their jobs at the power plant to produce the energy Snowglobe needs – in return, they have twenty-four hour reality television programming streamed directly from the domed city.

Chobahm lives for the time she gets to watch her favorite shows – especially Goh Around, starring Goh Haeri, Snowglobe’s star and future weather girl. It turns out, her favorite star is the key to getting Chobahm out of her frozen life and into the warmth of Snowglobe. Because Haeri is dead, and Chobahm looks exactly like her.

But life inside Snowglobe is nothing like Chobahm has thought it was – reality is a lie, and it seems like it take forever to reach any truth.

There were some crazy plot twists in this novel that kept me interested. I’m pretty sure it would be a spectacular K-Drama, because it totally reads like one, but some of the plot twists were way out there.

I’m not sure where I saw the comparison, but I originally picked this up because it said The Hunger Games meets The Squid Games. I do not agree with that comparison after reading this though. If the argument of the televised portion would be the connection to The Hunger Games – it’s just reality TV? And as for Squid Games it’s not a game of  life, death, or money.

Overall, this is a fast pace, twist and turn filled young adult read. There’s a second book coming out soon that I’m sure I will also read.

*Thank you Delacorte Press and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Hey Mary! / Andrew Wheeler, Rye Hickman (Illustrator)

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Hey, Mary!
By: Andrew Wheeler, Rye Hickman (Illustrator)
Genre: Graphic Novel, YA
Number of Pages: 128
Published: April 15, 2025
Publisher: Oni Press
Dates Read: April 17, 2025
Format: eBook / ARC

Mark is a good Catholic boy – he goes to church, says his prayers, and spends a lot of time worrying about damnation. When Mark realizes he has a crush on another boy in his school, he struggles with the mix of his feelings, his faith, and the weight of centuries of shame and judgement. He seeks advice from one of his priests, as well as a local drag performer, but he also had conversations with key figures in Catholic history and lore. Ultimately though, only Mark can answer his question of if he can be both Catholic and gay.

I felt like this was a wonderful, compassionate graphic novel about a young man learning his balance between his sexuality and his faith. I’m no longer religious, but as a Pansexual 30+ year old, I could see my younger self in Mark as he questioned his faith. This book doesn’t condemn religion, but presents the philosophy that someone can be gay and religious.

I greatly appreciated the examples of key figures in Catholic history and lore – I grew up Baptist, but I had a lot of family who were Catholic, so I know a bit about the Saints and the Catholic church. Histories, of all types really, are always more gay than what’s usually taught. “They were roommates”, “his best friend who’s buried next to him”, “her hair was short and she preferred to wear pants”.

Overall, this is an appealingly drawn graphic novel about a young man figuring out his placement in his world. I believe this book could be for everyone, especially those who may be struggling with their sexuality and their religion. Though you may need a bit of knowledge on Catholicism and their saints, even if you don’t know a ton, this book is still informal. 

*Thank you Oni Press and Edelweiss+ for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

A Tiny Piece of Blue / Charlotte Whitney

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A Tiny Piece of Blue
By: Charlotte Whitney
Genre: Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 336
Published: February 18, 2025
Publisher: She Writes Press
Dates Read: April 11, 2025 - April 16, 2025
Format: ARC / Paperback

In 1934 rural Michigan, the Great Depression was hitting everyone hard. After a house fire, Silstice Trayson finds herself homeless and abandoned by her parents. Nearby, aging farmers Edna and Vernon Goetz are pillars of the community, with Edna always up for helping and volunteering. But when Edna takes Silstice under her wing, Vernon digs his heels in – it’s the Great Depression, everyone is hurting.

With so many children leaving home to make it on their own, child trafficking has grown rampant as the kids are forced into labor and sometimes worse. Silstice worries about her two younger brothers, who disappeared from her grandparents house. Meanwhile, Vernon finds himself at risk of losing everything.

Narrated by Silstice, Vernon, and Edna, A Tiny Piece of Blue is a story about a community during the Great Depression with a backdrop of thievery, bribery, and child-trafficking.

This is a well researched novel with excellent characterization of multiple points of views. You definitely get immersed in this Great Depression, rural Michigan world that Charlotte Whitney writes about. Not only did I learn more about the ins and outs of farm life, but I also learned more about the roles of males and females and how this time changed a few things.

A big theme in this novel is also family, both blood and found, and the bonds that form and can be broken between them. I just knew Vernon, even with all his orneriness and bad temper, would still have a soft spot – well hidden of course, and only shown to those around those he chooses, but still.

Overall, this is an excellent historical fiction read about a small town during the Great Depression that is filled with page turning themes of hope, despair, family, secrets, survival, and community.

*Thank you She Writes Press and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

All the Blues in the Sky / Renée Watson

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All the Blues in the Sky
By: Renée Watson
Genre: Middle Grade, Novel in Verse
Number of Pages: 208
Published: February 4, 2025
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Dates Read: April 9, 2025 - April 10, 2025
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Sage’s thirteen birthday was supposed to be staying up late with her best friend with movies, snacks, and watching the sunrise together. Instead, it’s the day her best friend died. Without her, Sage is lost. In a counseling group with other girls who lost someone close to them, she learns loss is not always the same – nor is grief – and the healing process is unpredictable. As Sage grieves, her emotions are all over the place: sadness, loneliness, anger, anxiety, pain, love, guilt… as she experiences new things, Sage may help herself in her grief.

Yet another book I wish I had when I was younger. I was twelve when my Dad was killed in a traffic accident while working. I went through all the emotions Sage goes through in this and more. I do appreciate the fact it mentions grief never really goes away, and that it comes back sometimes unexpectedly – 20 years last August and I’ll still have days I wish my Dad was around to ask questions/talk to.

I never went to a counseling group like Sage does though. My Mom had asked about talking with a therapist, but at the time, therapy and therapist were still kind of taboo and I told her I didn’t want to go; she never pushed. I ended up coping a lot with music, but talking about it while I was younger would have probably helped with my anger.

Overall, this is a beautifully written novel in verse about a young teenager dealing with the sudden loss of her best friend. I believe this would be so helpful to those who have also lost someone close to them suddenly.

One Good Thing / Georgia Hunter

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One Good Thing
By: Georgia Hunter
Genre: Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 432
Published: March 4, 2025
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Dates Read: March 27, 2025 - April 8, 2025
Format: ARC / Paperback

In 1941 Italy, best friends Lili and Esti are as close as sisters, especially after Esti’s son Theo is born. But then the war knocks on Italy’s doors and Mussolini’s Racial Laws have deemed Lili and Esti descendants of an “inferior” Jewish race.

The two women and Theo first flee to a villa in the countryside to help hide a group of young war orphans, then to a convent in Florence, where they pose as nuns and forge false identification papers for the Italian Underground. When the convent is raided, Esti ends up wounded and asks Lili to take Theo and run; to protect him.

Even though she’s terrified of traveling on her own, Lili heads south towards the Allied territory, travelling through Nazi-occupied villages, bombed out cities, and wide open fields, doing everything she can to keep Theo safe while they wait for both the war to end and to be reunited with Esti.

So, I feel like quite a few people who read We Were the Lucky Ones and immediately wanted this new novel from Georgia Hunter, so of course I asked for an ARC of it as soon as I saw it. As with the previous novel, Hunter did a fantastic job at crafting characters who were relatable and endearing. I felt like I was reading a letter from a friend as I followed Lili’s journey.

As I’ve come to slowly learn over the years, no matter how many WWII historical fiction novels I read, I’m constantly learning more and more about different parts of Europe and different experiences through every book. I’ve known Italy started off on the Axis side and then effectively switched sides after the Allied invasion, but I didn’t realize the treatment of Jews during this time.

Overall, an amazing character enriched historical fiction about one woman’s endurance during the WWII in Italy as she does everything to protect her best friend’s son.

*Thank you Pamela Dorman Books and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games #0.5) / Suzanne Collins

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Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games #0.5)
By: Suzanne Collins
Genre: YA, Dystopia
Number of Pages: 400
Published: March 18, 2025
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Dates Read: March 18, 2025 - March 23, 2025
Format: Hardcover

Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think about his chances at the fiftieth Hunger Games. This year, it’s the Quarter Quell and twice as many tributes will be taken to the arena to fight to the death. All Haymitch wants to do is get through the day, celebrate his birthday with cake and spending time with the girl that he loves.

When Haymitch’s name is called, his life is shattered and he’s pulled away from his family and his love, shuttled off to the Capital with three other District 12 tributes: a young girl who’s nearly a sister to him, an oddsmakers, and the most stuck-up girl in town. Haymitch quickly discovers he’s being set up to fail, but there’s something in him that wants to fight… not only for his life in the arena, but far beyond its walls.

It’s been three days since I finished this novel and I’m still not over it. This book is everything I wanted for Haymitch’s Hunger Games and so much more. It’s gut wrenching. It’s thrilling. It’s heart shattering – which, yes, is so much more than breaking, let me tell you!

The connections that Suzanne Collins makes in this that then interweaves into the original trilogy is phenomenal – there were pieces I didn’t even know were missing from the puzzle that she reveals. I don’t think I’ve ever had the strong desire that I’ve had after reading a book to reread an entire trilogy as I’ve had with this. Again, if that doesn’t showcase the talent of Collins’ writing, I don’t know what else you need. (Though the urge is still there to just sit and read the original trilogy, I did purchase the four movie set on DVD and have binging those).

Even though we all know what the outcome of Haymitch’s story is, it still didn’t stop this from being agonizing. You meet both new and old characters and no matter how much you try to shield your heart, that wall gets detonated.

Overall, Haymitch’s journey shows that not everybody gets to be the hero, especially at the start, and that change doesn’t happen overnight – it sometimes can be twenty-five plus years in the making.

Please Pay Attention / Jamie Sumner

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Please Pay Attention
By: Jamie Sumner
Genre: Middle Grade, Novel in Verse
Number of Pages: 240
Published: April 15, 2025
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Dates Read: March 15, 2025
Format: ARC / Paperback

Trigger Warning: school shooting, PTSD, grief

After a school shooting took the lives of some of her schoolmates and her teacher, Bea Coughlin must figure out how to grieve, live, and keep rolling forward. But as her community begins to rally and protest, Bea can’t get past the helplessness she felt in her wheelchair as others around her took cover.

When her foster mom signs her up for therapeutic horseback riding, Bea finally begins to feel like herself. As she begins to heal, she finds her voice and the courage to demand change.

In a way, books about school shootings make me so sad because it’s become almost a norm for children, especially in America, and to think that someone reading this book may very well feel seen is a bit bittersweet in a way. I wish we didn’t need a book like this, but I’m also glad that we had one. 

Besides the overall storyline of the school shooting, this book really focuses on Bea feeling helpless in a situation she had no control over and how with the help from her family, and a horse, she was able to get her power back.

Overall, this book is worth the read for younger students to feel seen and to help those maybe overcome the tragedy of being in a school shooting. This would also be great for adults to read to understand what the younger generation is going through just to get an education.

*Thank you Atheneum Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review