When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
Just like it’s namesake,When Dimple Met Rishi has all the hallmarks of a 90’s rom-com and so much more. Taking place entirely during a web developer summer program, the plot felt a little claustrophobic at times, but the relationship was developed wonderfully. Both narrators on the audiobook give great performance, though Vikas Adams’ voice for Dimple had a tendency to sound shrill. This book is everything you’ve heard and I want this movie. I want it now. – ★★★★
Dear Martin by Nic Stone
After experiencing a violent encounter with the police, high school senior Justyce McAllister begins writing letters to Martin Luther King, Jr. to unpack his newly developed complex feelings about race and policing. Dear Martin is definitely an important book because so few YA novels are explicitly written and marketed for black teen boys the way this book has been but the story left me wanting more. I was annoyed that the white love interest got to explain the complexities of race in America, the MLK portrayal felt sanitized and Justyce reads as younger and more naive than a 17-year-old from the hood at an elite boarding school about to study policy at Yale. Author Zetta Elliot has made some criticisms of this books portrayal of black women and I agree with a lot of what she says. I think Dear Martin would have made a great middle-grade book, but as a YA it felt like a missed opportunity for a more nuanced discussion. – ★★★ + .5
Everyone We’ve Been by Sarah Everett
I’m finally getting around to my bookish goal of reading more midlist YA that didn’t get a lot of hype. This 2016 debut is the twisty but quiet story of 17-year-old violinist Addison Sullivan, who starts to see a boy that no one else can see. I went into this book knowing absolutely nothing about it and that’s how I recommend reading it. Like, don’t even read the copy. I would have loved this book in high school, it’s about black girl but is in no way about the struggle. While the ending felt a little anticlimactic Everett weaves an engrossing story that is equal parts romance, coming of age and mystery. Also her 2019 book about a girl who creates a digital version of her crush after he dies sounds intriguing. It reminds me of the Be Right Back episode of Black Mirror. -★★★ +.5
I’m a lifelong reader who started blogging about YA books in 2011 but now I read in just about every genre! I love YA coming of age stories, compelling memoirs and genre bending SFF. You can find me talking all things romance at Romance and Sensibility.