Unpregnant by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan

Summary from Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Veronica Clarke never thought she would wish she’d failed a test until she finds herself holding a thick piece of plastic in her hands and staring at two solid pink lines. Even the most consistent use of condoms won’t prevent pregnancy when your boyfriend secretly pokes holes in them to keep you from going out-of-state for college.

Veronica needs an abortion, but the closest place she can legally get one is over nine hundred miles away—and Veronica doesn’t have a car. Too ashamed to ask her friends or family for help, Veronica turns to the one person she believes won’t judge her: Bailey Butler, Jefferson High’s own little black cloud of anger and snark—and Veronica’s ex-best friend. Once on the road, Veronica quickly remembers nothing with Bailey is ever simple and that means two days of stolen cars, shotguns, crazed ex-boyfriends, truck stop strippers with pro-life agendas, and a limo driver named Bob. But the pain and betrayal of their broken friendship can’t be outrun. When their fighting leads to a brutal moment of truth, Bailey abandons Veronica. Now Veronica must risk everything in order to repair the hurt she’s caused.

Review:

This was so much better than I thought it would be. I read it super quickly. I can see it being a movie, something to watch with my best friends and some wine. It deals with the topic of abortion. But, more than anything, this book is about control. Veronica’s boyfriend literally forced a pregnancy on her so she’d stay home and not go away to the Ivy League college she worked so hard to get into! Veronica’s parents forced her older sister to drop out of  her schooling/career path (aka; stop financially helping her) when she got pregnant, so she could be a mom.  And all along this crazy, coming of age journey/adventures, there are more characters trying to control Veronica and tell her what to do.

It’s not about if abortions are the right thing to do or not. It’s about who’s in control. Why should anyone but Veronica be allowed to decide when and how she gets pregnant? Why should her boyfriend be allowed to force this upon her? Why should her parents get to decide this for her? Why should a pro-life stripper be the one to tell her what to do? Or protestors? And why should she have to travel over 900 miles to take control of her own body?

I started reading this around the time things in Texas started popping up in the news about abortion laws. And it’s like I needed to read this book right now. There are a lot of books out there about teen moms. There’s  even books about teens giving up their babies for adoption. There’s not a lot out there that talks about this choice. And I like that the book centered on what this is: Veronica’s choice.

It’s also a friendship story. It’s about her re-connecting with Bailey, a friend she never should have fallen away from. Real friends are the ones who will drive over 900 miles for you and not judge you for making your own decisions about your own body. This is a serious book that deals with serious topics about sex, choice, abortion, family, coming out, and growing up. But, there’s also a light-heartedness to it, that makes it so enjoyable to read. There’s junk food, oversized elephant statues, strip clubs, limo rides, and so much more. I give this a 9/10.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Summary from Goodreads:

A lyrical novel about family and friendship from critically acclaimed author Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship--the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

Review:

There are some authors that are amazing at writing plot, some that are amazing at writing worlds, some that are amazing at writing characters, and some that are amazing at writing feelings. Benjamin Alire Saenz perfectly captures what it feels like to be a teenager. This book didn’t have a lot of plot to it. It’s mostly about Ari growing up and learning about who he is, and why he is so angry.

Sometimes I can’t handle reading teen angst. Like the whole 5^th Harry Potter book was sort of painful for me. But other times, what I’m reading gives me goose bumps. It’s like the author can perfectly put to words years worth of emotions that I have felt and still can’t figure out how to articulate. And I’m so grateful for authors like this who can say everything I wish I could say. I love a good plot, and a beautiful setting as much as the next reader, but just wow, when a YA author gets it, they really get it: the universal language of anger mixed with hormones, mixed with confusion.

I also didn’t really fully even understand how much I loved this book until I finished it. Like, I read a book with not a lot of plot way too quickly! All of a sudden, it was over. I even went back and read the last couple pages over again. I had to re-read them and permanently paint the desert image in my brain, so I wouldn’t be able to forget. And then I felt sad. There’s no way that the next book I read will come close to competing with this.

There’s also something always magical for me about summer books. There’s something special about the months between school, when anything can happen. Friendships form, dogs are found, and freedom is found. There are certainly milestones in this book like learning to drive and working first jobs. And there’s serious moments too, like losing family members or getting hit by a car. But, the best parts are the moments of laughter between the friends. When Ari and Dante share books and go swimming together –the normal stuff.

Clearly, lots of people love this book. It’s covered in awards and accolades. I’m late to the party. I’m just sorry it took me so long to find it. I loved it. I’m sure I’ll read it again at some point too. I give it a 10/10.

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson

Summary from Goodreads:

The highly anticipated sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder! More dark secrets are exposed in this addictive, true-crime fueled mystery.

Pip is not a detective anymore.

With the help of Ravi Singh, she released a true-crime podcast about the murder case they solved together last year. The podcast has gone viral, yet Pip insists her investigating days are behind her.

But she will have to break that promise when someone she knows goes missing. Jamie Reynolds has disappeared, on the very same night the town hosted a memorial for the sixth-year anniversary of the deaths of Andie Bell and Sal Singh.

The police won't do anything about it. And if they won't look for Jamie then Pip will, uncovering more of her town's dark secrets along the way... and this time everyone is listening. But will she find him before it's too late?

Review:

This is one of those sequels I went online and immediately purchased after completing the first book. I read the first book insanely quickly, and while the mystery was all solved I knew I would probably read this one equally fast. There’s something to be said about a good murder mystery. Did I like book 2 as much as book 1? Not quite. Did I still read it really quickly? There was one night my husband came out of our room at about 2:30 am, and was like “Why are you in the living room? Are you sick?” The answer was no. I was finishing this book… That answers this question. And to be fair to my husband, I have two chronic health issues (migraines and GI problems that can sometimes interrupt my sleep).

I guess the mystery wasn’t quite as intense because it was about a missing person, and not a murder. The first book (while mostly also dealing with a cold case missing person, also dealt with murder/suicide, and a whole bunch more of crazy dark material. This seemed a bit more tame. That being said, there was still catfishing, blackmail, robbery, and the eventual back story of a serial killer…Okay, maybe it’s not so tame….it just appeared that way initially. Have I mentioned that I love stories that involve serial killers? Once that came into the plot, there was no hope for me going to bed like a normal person.

Any way, what kind of threw me for a loop (and it’s no fault of the author’s) is the American version of it all. The first book I read came from Europe. This book did not. I guess the publishing company thought Americans wouldn’t be able to handle European schools being mentioned? Or towns….Whenever American places got mentioned, I was like, “What? Where am I?” It was very confusing. But, if both the books I picked up were from the same continent, I wouldn’t have that problem. I just don’t understand why the publishing companies think Americans can’t understand the things they took out…we are not that stupid….Like we can handle the names of British universities without a total meltdown. It’s just strange what they decided to tweak.

I think there’s going to be a book 3! I will definitely want to read that one too. I recommend these books to fans of Truly Devious,  and the tv show Pretty Little Liars. I give it a 9/10.

Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli

Summary from Goodreads:

Contrary to popular belief, best friends Kate Garfield and Anderson Walker are not codependent. Carpooling to and from theater rehearsals? Environmentally sound and efficient. Consulting each other on every single life decision? Basic good judgment. Pining for the same guys from afar? Shared crushes are more fun anyway.

But when Kate and Andy’s latest long-distance crush shows up at their school, everything goes off script. Matt Olsson is talented and sweet, and Kate likes him. She really likes him. The only problem? So does Anderson.

Turns out, communal crushes aren’t so fun when real feelings are involved. This one might even bring the curtains down on Kate and Anderson’s friendship.

Review:

I love this author. There are just some authors that seem to have the ability to speak to my soul. Like I can read them and immediately recognize them, immediately connect with their main characters, and immediately just settle into a comfortable rhythm. Becky Albertalli has this writing style that just writes like my inner voice. Like my inner monologues are sometimes eeriliy similar to her main character’s inner monologues.

This book spoke to me because I have a gay friend who reminds me of Anderson. Or I guess I had a close friendship like this one with someone when I was younger. I don’t ever remember sharing crushes with him.  But, I super connected to the story. Who can’t relate to liking the same guy as your friend? I feel like this is classic teenage drama right here. What I loved is not knowing the crushee’s sexuality. This was fresh. I also liked that this wasn’t the only crush going on either. There were multitudes of others going on! The side characters were everything.

I also loved that the whole book revolves around the theater kids. It was one rehearsal and set design session after another, and I was here for all of it! It reminded me of a book I love by David Levithan.

I love the push and pull of Kate and Anderson’s friendship. There were moments when I was seriously upset at Anderson, but I think I was supposed to be. I also wasn’t  always sure why they were both crushing on the guy they were crushing on. He didn’t seem that great to me. Maybe a little more could have been written about him? However, I think the book was more about other things. It was about navigating all the relationships, and learning to shine.

At first I didn’t think I was liking this book as much I love Albertalli’s others, but then I lost that silly notion and just got lost in it. It’s the kind of book you wish you could just call in sick and stay home with/you’re secretly glad you can’t be social yet because of the pandemic still. Any way, I really enjoyed it. The characters were great. The concept was great. I could have kept reading it. I give it a 9/10.

Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell

Summary from Goodreads:

Everyone thinks that Sophie is an orphan. True, there were no other recorded female survivors from the shipwreck which left baby Sophie floating in the English Channel in a cello case, but Sophie remembers seeing her mother wave for help. Her guardian tells her it is almost impossible that her mother is still alive, but that means still possible. You should never ignore a possible. So when the Welfare Agency writes to her guardian threatening to send Sophie to an orphanage, she takes matters into her own hands and flees to Paris to look for her mother, starting with the only clue she has - the address of the cello maker. Evading the French authorities, she meets Matteo and his network of rooftoppers - urchins who live in the sky. Together they scour the city for Sophie's mother before she is caught and sent back to London, and most importantly before she loses hope.

Review:

Ah. This was a beautifully written middle grade that I wish I had read either when I was in Paris or when I was a child. It had this almost lyrical/magical element to it, though it’s not written as fantasy at all. It’s just one of those stories that is almost too hard for me as an adult to suspend my disbelief and get lost in. Maybe if I were still in Paris, I could get sucked into this atmosphere better. I’m not saying this book was bad. I still really enjoyed it. I can appreciate its nuances and the writer’s skill at language, but also wish I was a little younger at the same time.

It almost read like 2 different books for me. The first half of the book read more like a classic British coming of age story. And I loved it. When the scenery changed to Paris, all of a sudden, being a homeless orphan is supposed to be awesome... The author does go into some detail about going hungry for days and even getting into violent fights with other homeless orphans over various neighborhoods of Paris, but still. She makes it sound too romantic.

The kids were like the Lost Boys, living on rooftops or trees, with no parental supervision. And the bad guys were the adults who wanted to educate them or put them in some kind of system. My adult brain was having a hard time letting things go and just enjoying the overall Mary Poppins-ish vibe the book otherwise had. I wanted them all to have beds, and food, and shelter.

There are adventures, fights, secret missions, music, swimming for treasure, French food, books, amazing characters, and just so much heart behind everything. Truly, there’s this underlying classic children’s story vibe that makes me want to watch Mary Poppins and re-read a Narnia book or two. And for that, I see why so many reviewers loved this. And I can see why kids would love this. I’m curious to see what else this author has written. And overall, I still read this rather quickly. I give it a 7.5/10.

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

Summary from Goodreads:

The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.

But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn't so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?

Review:

This is one of the books I purchased in Paris (on my honeymoon in 2019), and it took me way too long to get to it! I’m kind of glad I read it now though because if I read it then, I would have had to wait forever for book 2. And now, it’s already out! Any way, I had a feeling I’d really like this one. I had no idea I’d become obsessed with it. I was up to 2am one night reading it….I haven’t done that in a while.

If you’re a fan of the series, Truly Devious or the murder mystery show, Broadchurch, this is the book for you. I could not put it down. I loved the main character. She’s a true detective in the making, though it doesn’t actually seem like that’s the career she’s leaning towards…It’s a YA murder mystery that will have you up late at night needing answers.

90% of the time in books, movies, and tv shows I will correctly guess who the murderer is. This is not because I’m a good detective. It’s because I’ve read so many books and watched so many TV shows. I only had part of it right in this book. This book’s mystery is layered, complex, and dark. Topics of rape, racism, drugs, murder (obviously), kidnapping, blackmail, and pornography come up.

In between solving this 5-year-old case, Pippa is also going to school and being a normal teenager. There’s humor, friendship stories, family noise, and a little bit of romance too to lighten it up a bit. I guess the romance was the one thing I wasn’t really feeling. It felt a little forced. I did like Pippa’s friend circle. It’s nice seeing a young detective not be a total loner. She has a core group of friends, and a supporting family. She goes on camping trips, binges movies with her friends, and studies for exams.

I was reading a British copy of the book, so it was also possibly a little different from the American version. But, it was interesting seeing how different the British school system works from the American one. Also, a little different was the formatting. Some of the book is made up of production logs, transcripts of interviews, and text conversations because Pippa is putting it all together for a report. This definitely speeds along the reading of it.

All in all, I could not stop reading this. I was up way too late with too many questions –the best kind of mystery. Pippa is a wonderful main character. I didn’t love the romance, but I loved the other side characters and elements to the story. The mystery is solved at the end. So, I’m curious as to what will happen in book 2, which I’ve of course already ordered….I give this a 9/10.

City of Secrets by Victoria Ying

Summary from Goodreads:

Ever Barnes is a shy orphan guarding a secret in an amazing puzzle box of a building.

Most of the young women who work at the building’s Switchboard Operating Facility, which connects the whole city of Oskar, look the other way as Ever roams around in the shadows. But one of them, Lisa, keeps an eye on the boy. So does the head of the Switchboard, Madame Alexander . . . a rather sharp eye.

Enter Hannah, the spunky daughter of the building’s owner. She thinks Ever needs a friend, even if he doesn’t know it yet.

Good thing she does!

Lisa and Madame Alexander are each clearly up to something.

Ever is beset by a menacing band of rogues looking to unlock the secret he holds–at any cost.

And whatever is hidden deep in the Switchboard building will determine all of their futures.

On a journey that twists and turns as much as the mechanical building Ever Barnes calls home, he and his new friend Hannah have to ­find out what’s really going on in this mysterious city of secrets . . . or else!

Review:

This was a treat. It’s one of those adventure graphic novels you sit down with for a few minutes, thinking you’re just going to get a taste for it before you go do some chores or other things you have to do, but you actually end up reading the whole thing in one sitting. The story is super fast paced, and full of adventure. There’s never really a good moment to put it down…

Also the artwork is beautiful! There’s not a lot of Steampunk out there any more, so it was fun to read about an orphan boy and his friend saving the city from within a clockwork building. The characters and setting were drawn very much like the people and background of a Studio Ghibli film. I literally couldn’t take my eyes away. I would watch this movie.

There were a few points where I don’t think the art adequately explained what the  author/artist wanted. I’m not sure I fully saw what I was meant to in the building mechanisms or some of the action shots. I know with graphic novels you have to let your mind fill in some of the gaps, and the panels can’t capture it all. But, the panels aren’t supposed to make you step back and scratch your head, wondering what you’re looking at either. This did that a few times. Where the artist excelled though was in the characters and the backgrounds/backdrops. Again, they looked like they belonged in motion pictures; they were just stunning.

I loved all the bits of the story that dealt with spies, secret societies, and secret codes. I can see kids eating this book up! The book does have a lot of violence in it, for such a short, otherwise cute graphic novel. But, I guess a lot of the fantasy/adventure ones do now. I was intrigued by the world, the politics, and the characters. I loved following along for the mystery and secrets. And the art was gorgeous. All in all, I give this one an 8/10.