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.
Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan | Book Review
The Harlem Hellfighters by Max Brooks | Book Review
Throw history and multiculturalism into the mix and I am hook line and sinker into the graphic novel. I have to say that for stepping away from his usual subject matter of zombies, Brooks does a really superb job in his storytelling about the 369th Infantry Regiment.
Summer Of The Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall | Book Review

After The Summer Of The Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall passed my threshold, I looked at it with optimism, but not much motivation. Friends, this book sat on my Kindle and then in my house for YEARS because I can sometimes be a terrible blogger. I decided to make McCall’s contemporary-fantasy retelling a summer priority in order to kill two birds with one stone — read an old book from my TBR pile and thus be able to pass it on and also to remove a Netgalley book from my queue. Also, because The Odyssey is mad awesome.
If I Ever Get Out Of Here by Eric Gansworth | Audiobook Review

Why Did I Listen To This Book? If I Ever Get Out Of Here by Eric Gansworth uses music as a huge theme and is a historical fiction young adult book. These two elements are among my favorite things to read. Originally, I had a copy of If I Ever Get Out Of Here from Netgalley, […]
The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew | Book Review
Why Did I Read This Book? When it comes to graphic novels, one of my favorites in the industry is Gene Luen Yang. I was so excited for The Shadow Hero because I’ve never read a single disappointing thing by Gene Luen Yang. While The Shadow Hero is not quite on the level of Boxers & Saints, it […]
Mambo In Chinatown by Jean Kwok | Book Review
I am always a little tiny bit hesitant when it comes to reading GROWN UP books, maybe because most of my reading time is spent whipping my way through young adult and middle grade books. Yet, when Mambo In Chinatown by Jean Kwok came across my threshold, I could not ignore it. I could not hesitate. […]