Don’t panic but there are only less than 4 months left in 2022.
I feel like I jinxed myself with my last blog post because my work-life balance was non-existent. I have had no personal time to write this month.
But! We are still going strong….ish strongish.
I feel like August-October are always my worst reading month and so far that has come true. I only read 4 books this month which I feel might be my normal average.
I read Verity by Colleen Hoover for book club and I think this was my first 1 star of 2022.
I read Twin Crowns by Catherine Doyle and gave it 4 out of 5 stars.
I finished race for Impact by Gabe Montesanti and absolutely loved it. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars!
I also finished The Sun-bearer Trials by Aidan Thomas and really loved it as well. I gave this 5 out of 5 stars.
Time to make end of the year goals and get the rest of 2022 done!
I received Witching’s as a ARC for an honest review.
Witching’s is a book about Seven and her journey to becoming a full witch. She has been studying hard. She and her best friend will be picked together for the same coven at the Black Moon Ceremony, she just knows it.
However, things do not go as planned when her best friend is picked by another coven. On top of that Seven is picked as a Spare witch with the new girl who just moved to town and her school bully. She doesn’t want to be a Spare witch, they have the worst reputation in town and are treated poorly by others. So Seven declares the impossible challenge so she and the other two witching’s can have a new chance to become a full witch.
I loved this book. It is a middle-grade book but honestly kids in elementary school who are advised readers will be able to read this book. The plot flows well and it is well written to make sense. I say advanced readers because some of the usual terminologies like all fantasy/witchy books have I could see being a challenge for young readers.
I also loved this book because it talks about bullying. Seven has to become group partners with her school bully. And seeing how the other girl lives her likes, and that maybe there was some miscommunication and missed opportunities getting to know each other well, could turn into a great friendship.
I think this would be the perfect fall read for young readers, especially around the spooky season. I enjoyed this story a lot and want to read more of Claribel’s books. I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.
A.J. Sass is one of my instant-buy authors. I loved Ana on The Edge last year and could not wait to dive into A.J. Sass’s newest release, Ellen Outside the Lines.
I absolutely loved this middle-grade story that follows Ellen and her school summer trip to Barcelona. Ellen is excited to go with her friend Laurel because Laurel has been making more plans on the weekends without Ellen and this will give them a chance to hang out. When they get to Barcelona, Ellen is paired in a group without Laurel. Ellen has to navigate how to make new friend, in a new city. And on top of that, they have to do a scavenger hunt.
I love how diverse this book is. Ellen is autistic, discovering her sexuality, and practices a religion. A.J. Sass really captured Ellen’s emotions and process and that was an awesome point of view from someone who is not autistic. Ellen has a lot of tough decisions she has to make in this book as she tries to explore a different country.
This book was fast-paced and easy to read. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars
I saw this book floating around TikTok and knew I needed to read it. I really enjoy books about bands and that is what Kiss and Tell is about. We follow the boy band Kiss and Tell as they travel on their first major tour. Hunter, the frontman is the only boy in the group who is openly gay and going through a messy breakup. As they travel Hunter starts to catch feelings for their opening bands lead singer. On top of that Hunter has preasure from his label to dress and act a certain way so they can publicizes that hunter is gay.
I really enjoyed this read. Growing up as a 90’s baby I lived off of Brittany Spears and boy bands. I really loved the journey Hunter went through. I also loved that this book is more than a novel. You get interviews, magazine write ups, twitter feeds and conversations from fans. It made the book feel even more real.
I listened to this as a audiobook and highlight recommend it as a audiobook. The audiobook has a full cast which I think makes it so much better because you get the personality’s coming through even more of these characters.
I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.
“Kiss & Tell is a total rush! Perfectly sweet and swoon worthy. I loved every page! – Julie Murphy, New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin’
A smart, sexy YA novel about a boy band star, his first breakup, his first rebound, and what it means to be queer in the public eye, from award-winning author Adib Khorram
Hunter never expected to be a boy band star, but, well, here he is. He and his band Kiss & Tell are on their first major tour of North America, playing arenas all over the United States and Canada (and getting covered by the gossipy press all over North America as well). Hunter is the only gay member of the band, and he just had a very painful breakup with his first boyfriend–leaked sexts, public heartbreak, and all–and now everyone expects him to play the perfect queer role model for teens.
But Hunter isn’t really sure what being the perfect queer kid even means. Does it mean dressing up in whatever The Label tells him to wear for photo shoots and pretending never to have sex? (Unfortunately, yes.) Does it mean finding community among the queer kids at the meet-and-greets after K&T’s shows? (Fortunately, yes.) Does it include a new relationship with Kaivan, the drummer for the band opening for K&T on tour? (He hopes so.) But when The Label finds out about Hunter and Kaivan, it spells trouble–for their relationship, for the perfect gay boy Hunter plays for the cameras, and, most importantly, for Hunter himself”
What was the first book that truly got you into reading?
A lot of people who are similar to my age might answer this question with Harry Potter. And I do agree that Harry Potter was one series that did get me into reading. However there were books before Harry Potter. For me Judy Blume was one of the first authors I had read that I truly connected to.
I was introduced to Judy Blume’s books in elementary school. I was in he 5th grade when we read as a class Superfudge by Judge Blume.
From that book I started to try to read all her books. To this day I have not read all her books but still want too.
Going into high school I read all of her young adult books. Unlike some of the books that had come out such as Twilight, Judy Blume books always seemed to be able to talk about hard issues. Issues that as a preteen and teen I had no idea what where like. One of my favorite books by Judy Blume is Deenie.
I don’t know why this book has been attached to me so much. I read it Freshmen year of high school around the same time I read Twilight and was finishing the Harry Potter series. But Deenie was one book that I feel in love with.
I also remember this being the first book i ever had with a publishing error in it. Towards the end of the book there were pages missing. Back then email was still a new thing. We still had dial up and the flip phone wasn’t out yet. I remember being so upset that I couldn’t finish the book that my mom actually wrote to Judy Blume. And Judy Blume responded and sent me a new book. Today that doesn’t happen. If you have an error in a book you are basically SOL.
I grew up with Brittney Spear dreams and a disability. This was one of the first books that I could relate to from wanting these dreams of being famous, though not in the same way as Deenie. But I could relate to Deene from the idea of never letting something physical bring my dreams down.
Blubber was another Judy Blume book that I read that I truly could relate to back in high school. It was the first book that I read that talk about bullying in school and being different.
Of course Suberfudge is a classic and will always be close to my heart.
Judy Blume is turning 83 today. I hopeJudy Blume has a wonderful birthday while staying safe because COVID 19 is still a thing. Judy Blume has touched many readers lives and I hope that her birthday is filled with inspiration and love.
5280 BOOKS 