Blind by Rachel DeWoskin | DNF Book Review

I felt like this book was a bit much for me and I just was not in the mood for it.Blind is just not the book for me, it doesn’t have an exuberance that I enjoy.

Jackaby by William Ritter | Book Review

I feel like I have been anticipating reading Jackaby by William Ritter for like FOREVER. No, but seriously, it was a relatively decent book. Jackaby is described as Sherlock meets Dr. Who. As I’ve watched around fifteen minutes of Dr. Who, have only seen The Great Mouse Detective, I can’t quite testify to the accuracy of that comparison. What I can, however, testify to is the merits and drawbacks that I perceived while reading this book. On the whole, I liked Jackaby, yet it did not entirely gel with me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good book that’s worth recommending.

The Witch’s Boy by Kelly Barnhill | Book Review

The Witch’s Boy essentially opens with two little boys who decide to take a raft out on the river and to the sea. Tragedy strikes and one of the boys dies, while the other is left behind. The boy’s mother, a witch, sews his dead brother’s soul to his body and so, Ned, finds words jumbled up when he reads and when he speaks. Despite this, he’s a good boy, brave and pure of heart. Meanwhile, a Bandit King comes along to steal the magic of Ned’s mother, because she has the only magic left in the world in a jar in her house.

Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan | Book Review

The very first BEA book that I chose to read and finish this year was Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan. The book is pink and purse sized with lots of chapters, easy to read font and plenty of blank pages between the chapters. I decided I wanted Farizan’s book to be my first BEA read because I was feeling all kinds of We Need Diverse Books enthusiasm and what better way to feed into enthusiasm for such a great project than by reading a book that totally exemplifies diversity. Farizan’s Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel hits check boxes on two points – the main character is Iranian American AND happens to be a lesbian. I mean, books with Arab-American characters are rare enough, but with lesbian Arab-American characters? I have found the unicorn of diverse books and that is a very, very good thing.

Finnikin Of The Rock by Melina Marchetta | Book Review

Finnikin Of The Rock is a deeply romantic story of not just Finnikin and the dream walker Evanjalin, but of a people who have suffered unspeakable things who will finally, finally return to their land. This is the story for those who love an underdog.

A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall | Book Review

I straight up thought A Little Something Different was super cute and was super adorable. It was a perfect mid-week read for me — light reading with swoon peppered throughout. Although — confession: I wish there was more kissing.