Epic Reads Winter 2020 Tour! – recap and highlights

Earlier this week, the Epic Reads tour for Winter 2020 stopped at my local indie bookstore (shoutout to Anderson’s Bookshop!). Having attended a stop on their tour last spring–and loving it–I naturally had to check this one out as well.

What ensued was a lively and highly informative discussion between three YA authors: Evelyn Skye, Elana K. Arnold, and Mindy McGinnis. All three were insightful and authentic, each one brought a unique personality to the conversation, and all three ended up convincing me to purchase one of their books in the end. (My wallet is crying, but my heart is happy. Expect a book haul post sometime soon!)

I took some hasty and frantic notes throughout the entire thing; I’ve attempted to cobble them together here into a comprehensive description of the event. Here’s what went down:

What Kind of Girl – ARC review

Author: Alyssa Sheinmel
Publication date: February 1, 2020
Genre: young adult, contemporary
My rating: 4/5 stars

What Kind of Girl is one of those books that, regardless of your opinions on its execution, you have to acknowledge is vitally important for its willingness to openly address difficult social phenomena that society likes to sweep under the rug. It is a heavy read, but in a necessary way, not the maudlin sort of sob-story that is an inherent risk of writing about so many serious issues that teens face today.

“Doing something when you’re scared is braver than doing something when you’re not.”

Audiobook review blitz – Invisible Women, This Is How You Lose the Time War, & When Dimple Met Rishi

Being off from work for the holidays has set me behind a little on my audiobook listening, but I’ve finally gotten through another round of three, and you know what that means: more mini-reviews! This time, we have a nonfiction, feminist, data-driven book; a queer sci-fi romance; and an #OwnVoices YA contemporary/rom-com about two Indian-American teens at a summer coding program. Let’s get started!

Tiger Queen – ARC Review

Author: Annie Sullivan

Release Date: September 10, 2019

Fresh and fiercely feminist, this reimagining of a classic short story delivered the sort of kickass warrior girl action I love to read about.Even better, it belongs to the rare breed of fantasy that takes place in an entirely fictional world but does not rely on magic to make itself unique. But before I get ahead of myself, there’s a bit of explaining I need to do:

The Grace Year – ARC review

Author: Kim Liggett

Release Date: October 8, 2019

This just in: a good concept alone does not make a good book. Execution matters, and in this regard, The Grace Year fell flat. When I first heard about this book, pitched as Handmaid’s Tale meets Lord of the Flies, I was pretty damn excited. And when I got approved for it on NetGalley, I was absolutely thrilled. The start of the book had me enthralled. And then…it all fell apart.