I finished out the year by reading two award-winning books!
…Young Adult Fiction
Mini-Reviews : Traveling To Find Home
I was looking for a theme that tied all these mini-reviews together and I realized all these books feature characters who have to travel to unknown places, overcome obstacles and come through the other side changed forever.
…A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee
10 hours 15 minutes | Listening Library | 08/31/2021
The first half of this book felt like it was all aesthetic and no bite but wow did the last half of this book flip the script! This twisted story of two schoolgirls and a centuries-old murder becomes an absolute page-turner as the pair dive into a centuries-old tragedy.
…The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He
384 Pages | Roaring Brook Press | Science Fiction YA | 5/4/2021
This book was very much Black Mirror but make it Cli-Fi.
…Rise To The Sun by Leah Johnson
7 hours 33 mins | Scholastic Audio | Contemporary | 7/06/2021
Content warnings: parental loss, panic attacks, gun violence and nonconsensual picture sharing
You Should See Me In A Crown was one of my favorite reads last year and I was excited to see what Johnson had in store for her sophomore novel. The one was a little more of an emotional heavy hitter with an ambitious plot structure that left me wanting more.
…Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee
7 Hours 3 Mins | Harper Audio | Contemporary | 5/04/2021
In this book, the titular Meet Cute Diary is a wildly popular Tumblr blog of supposedly true meet-cutes from transgender couples. In reality, all the posts are from the imagination of 16-year-old Noah Ramirez–who has only ever dreamed of having his own meet-cute.
When an anonymous troll tries to discredit the blog, Noah and a handsome bookseller stage a social media love story inspired by Noah’s fake posts.
The Meet Cute Diary is a refreshing take on the coming of age YA love story that creates room for queer and imperfect teens but… its main romance left me wanting more.
*mild spoilers below*
…