YA

Give Me a Sign / Anna Sortino

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
Give Me a Sign
By: Anna Sortino
Genre: YA, Romance
Number of Pages: 320
Published July 11, 2023
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Dates Read: July 8, 2023
Format: eBook / ARC

Lilah has always struggled with her identity; she has hearing loss but doesn’t feeling “deaf enough” to identify as Deaf, but she’s also not hearing enough to fit into the world’s expectations. But this summer, Lilah wants to change.

When she gets accepted to be a junior camp counselor at the Deaf and Blind Summer Camp she went to as a kid, she’s excited to brush up on her American Sign Language (ASL). Once there, she finds the community she’s been searching for, and then some. Like the two British lifeguards, an Interpreting Student YouTuber who’s just a little too desperate for views, the campers Lilah’s responsible for (including one who’s practically glues to Lilah’s leg), and the dreamy Deaf counselor helping Lilah with her signing.

Romance wasn’t ever on the agenda for the summer, especially since Lilah isn’t positive Isaac likes her the same way. Everything points to yes, but maybe Lilah is reading the signs wrong? 

I’m always curious to read books with Deaf or Hard of Hearing characters, especially written by authors within the Deaf Community. I’ve studied American Sign Language (I have a Minor in ASL), but I am nowhere near fluent, and unfortunately I don’t always have the ability to practice as much as I would like. There weren’t books with Deaf or Hard of Hearing characters as a main character while I was growing up, so I read them any chance I got.

This book gives a lot of insight to the Deaf Community and what it’s like for those with a range of hearing loss. Of course, cochlear implants were discussed for a variety of reasons, including someone from a Deaf family getting one (a lot within the community frown upon the procedure). There is also an incident with someone who is Deaf who has a confrontation with the police.

This book will be high up on my list for recommendations, especially those who enjoyed books like The Words in my Hands by Asphyxia, The Silence Between Us by Alison Gervais, and True Bix by Sara Nović.

*Thank you G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Chaos & Flame / Tessa Gratton & Justina Ireland

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Chaos & Flame
By: Tessa Gratton & Justina Ireland
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Number of Pages: 336
Published: March 28, 2023
Publisher: Razorbill
Dates Read: May 29, 2023 - June 5, 2023
Format: Hardcover

Trigger Warnings: Misgendering, genocide (off page, but discussed), poison, knife violence, blood & gore, graphic violence, war, death

Written in the alternating points of views of Darling Seabreak and Talon Goldhoard, Chaos & Flame tells the story of the two navigating House politics while also being caught up in the High Prince Regent’s unknown scheme as they tour around the kingdom to the other Houses.

This book took me a while to get into it – it’s slow to start, but by the end of it, I was invested in what was happening with the characters, so I will be picking up the second book in this duology. I’m very curious to see how the authors are planning on bringing out more with the boons and if those will change with what could be happening in the second book.

I was really interested in Caspian’s character and wish I knew more about what was going on in his head since everyone just marked him as “being mad” when in fact, he just had a whole other agenda.

I do wish we had more history of the world. The world building was fantastic but I felt like 100 years isn’t a whole lot to have passed since the last phoenix was alive and that even with that, there should still be people around who were alive back then – wouldn’t they know more and have maybe some insight? 

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the insta-love between Darling and Talon, but it is YA and that’s typical YA romance so I’m not complaining all too much to be honest with you.

Overall, it was a slow build up to a good read and that I’m excited to continue reading when the next book in the series comes out (please don’t be too long!).

*Thank you Razorbill and BookishFirst for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Hurt You / Marie Mying-Ok Lee

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Hurt You
By: Marie Mying-Ok Lee
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Number of Pages: 254
Published: May 16, 2023
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Dates Read: March 23, 2023 - March 27, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

Trigger Warnings: Racism, classism, disabled slurs and bullying

Georgia is a Korean-American high school junior who just moved to a new town in the suburbs so that her brother, Leo, who has significant developmental disabilities, can get better assistance. At her new school, she makes friends with members of the hagwon that runs in the back of the Korean barber shop. Her parents have a rough relationship due to the strain of raising Leo and Georgie does everything she can to help be a caretaker of her brother.

I slightly remember reading Of Mice and Men in high school – not every detail, but I remember the ending, so I was very curious to see how this book would go.

This book definitely deals with a lot that I honestly wasn’t expecting. Georgia takes on a lot of responsibilities in the caretaking for Leo and I was always forgetting he was the older brother – even though she talks about how he’s a big, strong young man. I’m glad her parents were aware of the situation though and had brought it up to her a few times in the novel because it does take a toll on her for sure.

I enjoyed this book more than I expected to. I was rooting for Georgia and Leo and even though in the back of my mind, I kind of knew what would happen, I was still shocked at how the ending played out. It did come a little quickly for me, but I still liked the open-ending of it too.

This won’t be a book for everyone, but I still think it’s an important book that covers a lot of topics you don’t read about often.

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

Paper Planes / Jennie Wood

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Paper Planes
By: Jennie Wood, Dozerdraws (Illustrator)
Genre: Graphic Novel, YA
Number of Pages: 216
Published: May 16, 2023
Publisher: Maverick
Dates Read: May 22, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

Former best friends Dylan and Leighton are stuck in summer camp for troubled youth after a life altering incident happened. If they don’t get a good evaluation at camp, they’ll get sent away to an alternative high school. While participating in activities and chores at camp, both teens reexamine what led them to their current situation.

This was a good read and a good story, but the storytelling was a little difficult to follow at times; it wasn’t always told there was a time jump and you had to distinguish between the color scheme of the pages. 

I wasn’t ever the biggest fan of Leighton to be honest. I know she was going through stuff and that she was hiding things from Dylan (they both were hiding things from each other), but I don’t know – I never felt like they were the best of friends like they were supposed to have been. I was also disappointed in the ending of it as I didn’t feel like there were conclusions to parts of the storyline.

I was still a fan of the graphic novel though and will for sure be recommending it to others. I really enjoyed the art and will be suggesting it to some for that reason. The representation and the storyline that some of the characters went through are important to share and I can see others enjoying it.

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

Hungry Ghost / Victoria Ying

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Hungry Ghost
By: Victoria Ying
Genre: Graphic Novel
Number of Pages: 208
Published: April 25, 2023
Publisher: First Second
Dates Read: May 10, 2023
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Trigger Warnings: Disorder eating (bulimia), fatphobia, body-shaming, depictions of vomiting, purging, loss of parent, grief, verbally abusive parent

Hungry Ghost follows Valerie Chu while she deals with disordered eating in her senior year of high school when tragedy strikes her family.

I’m in love with the color palette of this entire novel – which, along with muted pastels and adorable, expressive lines makes the story all the more heartbreaking when it’s about a young woman struggling with her relationship with food and with her mother.

It was also interesting to me to be able to see the dynamics of a culture where there’s always good food, and also over-emphasize women being thin.

This is a painful read. The author did an amazing job at both showing and describing the struggles that Val is going through with her illness. People will feel seen after reading this. And those who aren’t dealing with the same struggles, will hopefully be able to have a deeper understanding after finishing this book.

I’ll be recommending this book for sure, but it will come with the Trigger Warnings attached. Take care of yourself.

Where You See Yourself / Claire Forrest

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Where You See Yourself
By: Claire Forrest
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Number of Pages: 320
Published: May 2, 2023
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Dates Read: April 30, 2023 - May 1, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

By the time Effie Galanos starts her senior year of high school, she’s been looking at colleges for what feels like forever; there’s a spreadsheet and everything. But she’s had to, because finding a college that’s not only the perfect fit, but also accessible enough for Effie to get around on her own in her wheelchair has created a lot more boxes to check off on her selection.

Effie hasn’t told anyone yet, but she already has her heart set on a school in New York City with a major in Mass Media & Society that would set her up on her dream dream. She’s never been to NYC, but she can picture herself on campus via the pictures she sees in the brochures. When she finds out her longtime crush, Wilder, is not only applying but getting accepted early admissions, she feels like it’s the best place.

But, everything isn’t always as simple as it seems, and the universe seems to have other plans. As Effie navigates through her senior year with college visits, senior class traditions, internal and external ableism, and a lot of firsts (and lasts), she learns that she needs to be open to the change being presented in front of her and that by doing so, dreams she never even knew were there could flourish.

The representation in this book is amazing and beautiful and I just loved it so much. Effie, who is a wheelchair user, is learning throughout this novel how to advocate for herself and which battles she wants to fight and what others she may have to either come back to, or leave alone. In the later part of the book, she sees other wheelchair users in relationships and she mentions how she’s always wondered how she would have ever do x,y, and z, but that the others that she sees are doing it and it gives her hope and reminds her to kind of reevaluate how she thinks of her capabilities.

The friendships in this story are so cute and adorable – even the romance between Effie and Wilder. It’s nothing super crazy, and not the main focus of the novel, but still cute nonetheless.

I will be highly encouraging quite a lot of people I know to read this book. It has great representation and deals with the scariness of being a senior in high school and trying to find out what and where you’ll be going the next year. I think a lot of people will feel seen while reading this book.

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

Chasing Pacquiao / Rod Pulido

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Chasing Pacquiao
By: Rod Pulido
Number of Pages: 272
Published: May 2, 2023
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Dates Read: April 29, 2023 - April 30, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

Trigger Warnings: violence, assault, homophobic language

When Bobby is unwillingly outed at his notoriously violent high school, he no longer has the luxury of being invisible. After a vicious encounter with a group of boys from his school, Bobby must find a new way to survive (and fight back). Inspired by Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, Bobby takes up boxing and challenges his attacker. But when Pacquiao publicly declares his stance against the Queer community, Bobby must figure out what and how he’s going to find the strength to continue.

Be aware there is a lot of homophobia and violence in this novel. It’s not dark or gory or anything like that, but it’s a book about boxing – so there’s fighting, you know?

It took me a bit to get a feel for Bobby. Male YA main characters and I tend to not get along very well to begin with so I wasn’t his biggest fan at the beginning, but he definitely grew on me. 

I had also wanted to read this book because of boxing. I box myself so I’m always interested in how writers write about boxing and if the descriptions make sense or not. I feel like Rod Pulido did a wonderful job at describing the different strikes and foot movement needed to box. It’s not all just arm movements and that’s sometimes forgotten when writing about this sport.

Overall, I enjoyed this contemporary, queer, YA novel about a new boxer learning the sport alongside finding out what he stands for. I can see this having a little bit of everything for everybody, but again, it is a book with bullying violence, so keep that in mind.

*Thank you Viking Books for Young Readers and Edelweiss+ for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Secret Rules of Being a Rockstar / Jessamyn Violet

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Secret Rules of Being a Rockstar
By: Jessamyn Violet
Genre: YA
Number of Pages: 288
Published: April 18, 2023
Publisher: Three Rooms Press
Dates Read: April 20, 2023 - April 28, 2023
Format: ARC / Paperback

Trigger Warnings: fat shaming, drug use, alcoholism, anxiety, talk of suicide, abortions

18-year-old Kyla Bell dreams of getting out of her dusty basement and playing the keys professionally, but she hardly gets any support from her parents. One night, her dreams are answered after the rocker Ruby Sky, frontwoman of her favorite band, Glitter Tears, hears Kyla perform and asks her to join the band for their upcoming tour.

In order to be ready for tour, Kyla must drop out of high school in the last few weeks of her senior year and immediately move out to LA to live with a producer who has agreed to put her through “rock star boot camp”.With her feelings towards Ruby emerging and the lifestyle of a rockstar, Kyla has a lot to learn as she stumbles through the 90s music scene of Lose Angelos.

This book definitely doesn’t sugar coat anything about the hard truths of rockstar life in the 90’s – there’s drugs, alcohol, fat shaming, abortions, and the stress of being in the public eye. I’m a ‘92 baby and grew up reading about all the craziness that happened back then, so it was interesting to see it from a band member’s point of view.

I had a little bit of a hard time with this one because of the exploitation of Kyla – which, the hard truths of rockstar life in the 90’s, I get that, but I wanted someone to look out for her better <spoiler> it didn’t seem like it was going to get any better by the end of the story and now I’m sitting here worrying about Kyla… </spoiler>.

Overall, I see a lot of people enjoying this book and behind the scenes of the rockstar life. It wasn’t 100% for me, and that’s okay. The story is interesting and kept my attention throughout it, but I kind of wish there was more to it.

*Thank you Three Rooms Press and LibraryThing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Throwback / Maruene Goo

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Throwback
By: Maurene Goo
Genre: YA
Number of Pages: 368
Published: April 11, 2023
Publisher: Zando Young Readers
Dates Read: April 4, 2023 - April 12, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook / Library Book / Hardcover

Samantha Kang has never gotten along with her mother, Priscilla, they’re just too different. After a huge fight between them, Sam gets left in a parking lot and has to use a rideshare app to get to school. She gets there, but instead of her time, it’s now 1995… and Priscilla is a 17-year-old senior.

Now, Gen Z Sam has to fit into an analog world. The fashion she gets, but everything else is baffling; what’s with the casual racism and misogyny? And what is “microfiche?” Also – why does Sam feel like she would actually be friends with Priscilla??

Will Sam be able to figure out what she needs to fix in order to get back to her own time? And what about these feelings she’s getting for a boy in 1995?

So, I have a soft spot for time traveling; it’s not something I gravitate towards per say, but if the book catches my eye and I see it has time traveling in it, then I’ll most certainly read it. Add to the fact this one was set in the 90’s and I was most definitely going to read it.

I really enjoyed the relationship between Sam and her mother and the exploration we get to have with it in this novel. As someone who is pretty close with her own mom, I think it would be so fun to go back in time and be friends with her in high school (though she would have been in the early 80’s).

Though this is a YA book, I can see both teenagers and adults enjoying it – especially the adults that grew up in the 90’s, but the culture shock from Sam can be enjoyed by both. Those who have a complicated relationship with their mothers could also enjoy this.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed this time traveling, throwback to the 90’s novel and can’t wait to put it in the hands of a few friends of mine.

*Thank you Zando Young Readers and Edelweiss+ for a digital advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Saints of the Household / Ari Tison

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Saints of the Household
By: Ari Tison
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Number of Pages: 320
Published: March 28, 2023
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Dates Read: March 21, 2023 - March 22, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

Trigger Warnings: Domestic abuse, bullying, mental health; depression, alcoholism, death, mention of suicide

Before the incident in the woods, Max and Jay were pretty much connected at the hip, they had to be in order to protect themselves and their mother from their physically abusive father. Afterwards, their act of violence threatens the brothers’ dreams of their future. As the details of the event unfold throughout the book, Max and Jay take different courses as they think about their actions, their own shifting relationships, and just how alike to their father they may be. Told in alternating points of view using vignettes and poems, Saint of the Household tells of two Bribri brothers as they deal with brotherhood, abuse, recovery, and trying to do the right thing in their last few months of high school.

This isn’t an easy book – there’s no fuzzy feelings or giant smiles. These poor boys went through a lot in this story and it’s their journey of how they came out on the other side. Now, I will say the boys’ Grandfather does come in at one point and helps the boys reconnect with the Bribri culture and some of those lessons were tender and much needed for the boys.

I thoroughly enjoyed the vignettes of chapters that we got. It made the story read faster, but it also didn’t need any kind of filler in between and what was on the page was only the important stuff. Jay’s viewpoint is told in prose and is short and to the point. Max’s are in verse and sometimes into calligrams, which match perfectly with his escapism he uses in his art.

Overall, this is an incredible debut from Ari Tison and I can’t wait to see what they will write in the future. I can’t wait to share this book with others once it’s released and the amount of book lists I will be putting it on are endless.

*Thank you Farrer, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for a digital advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review