You Should See Me in A Crown by Leah Johnson (✮✮✮✮✮ - 5/5 stars)
Publishing Date: June 2, 2020
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Pages: 336
My overall thoughts and review: I haven't read a ton of YA this year, and this book was such a treat. I found myself flipping through it so quickly, but also stopping to just savor it because I did not want it to end. It is the perfect blend of light-heartedness that will make your heart want to explode, but also grapples with a lot of important topics such as racism and homophobia. The story follows Liz Lighty who has always kept her head down and blended in at high school. She has her little group of friends, her part-time job at a music store, her grandparents, and her brother Robbie, and that seems to be enough. Her dreams are crushed though when she learns that the college of her dreams is not offering her the scholarship for a full ride that she hoped they would. In fear of bringing it up to her grandparents, and how they might sell the house to fund her college tuition, she decides to run for Prom Queen/Prom Court because the prize is not just the crown, but also a monetary gift that could fund her college tuition.
As she starts to get more into campaigning, she finds herself reconnecting with an old friend, dealing with a vindictive nemesis, and possibly also falling for the new girl at school, who also happens to be running for Prom Queen/Court as well. You see Liz grapple with her sense of self, and how she begins to alter aspects of herself to suit the situation. The relationships in this book though were what made the book for me. I loved seeing Liz reconnect with Jordan again because reading about flashbacks, you really got to see how special Jordan was to Liz. The other friendships were great too, and I loved how it touched on anxieties in situations you feel are beyond your control. It also showed the messy side of friendships too. I loved the romance between Mack and Liz SO MUCH! I knew I liked Mack from the first scene we met her, and seeing how she just made Liz come alive and be her authentic self was a really lovely thing to see. I think my favorite relationship though was the relationship Liz had with her younger brother, Robbie. The book also deals with sickle cell disease, and you see Liz grappling a lot with her role as a sister, but also taking over to make sure her brother was doing what he needed to do. She had to work through finding balance there.
All in all, I loved this book. One of my coworkers had told me how much she loved it, and based on past experiences, I always trust her judgement, but seriously y'all, this book exceeded my expectations and was a real treat. I loved it so much. It made my heart explode in the best way. Please read it! You will love Liz's story so much!
Available for purchase at:
Chapters/Indigo,
Amazon,
Kindle,
Kobo, and
Book Depository
Shine by Jessica Jung (✮✮✮½ - 3/5 stars)
Publishing Date: September 29, 2020
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 352
My overall thoughts and review: When I read the premise of how this novel was CRA meets Gossip Girl in a Jenny Han way, I was definitely intrigued since I loved all of those things. I also love the world of K-Pop a lot too! The author is actually a former kpop star in the group Girls' Generation (which I've listened to briefly and really enjoyed their music), so I was def curious about this inside look into the kpop world.
The story follows Rachel Kim, who has been a trainee for 6 years now at DB - one of the biggest labels. Her whole family moved from New York so that she could follow her dreams of one day debuting. However, life of a kpop star is intensive and a lot of work. Her mom often bugs her about maybe considering the college route instead. We learn from the beginning of the book how competitive the world is and the double standard there is between girl performers and guy performers. We also see the toxic nature of this world too and how not everything is as it seems.
This book definitely read like something from Gossip Girl, because it had that drama dynamic between the main character and other characters. However, there's more to it than just the drama components. Jung delivers first love, family dynamics, fan culture, and what it means for someone to uproot their life from North America to come to Korea to pursue their dreams. I loved Rachel as a character because she ultimately just wants to do right by her family, her loved ones, but most importantly, herself.
All in all, it was a really fun read and it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, so I'm excited to see how it will all unravel in book two!
Available for purchase at:
Chapters/Indigo,
Amazon,
Kindle,
Kobo, and
Book Depository
Disclaimer: I received an advanced reader's copy of this book for consideration/review from Simon & Schuster Canada - all opinions are my own.
In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren (✮✮✮✮✮ - 5/5 stars)
Publishing Date: October 6, 2020
Publisher: Gallery Books
Pages: 336
My overall thoughts and review: Reading this holiday read in August was the best idea ever. I've been a fan of Christina Lauren's books for a while now, and while I do miss that their books as steamy as the Beautiful series and the Wild Seasons series, one thing that I will ALWAYS love from their books is how they write characters, the banter between the love interests, and just their ability to write such great social circles surrounding their main characters. Also.. this book got quite steamy at some moments, so YAY ;)
I love me a good christmas feel good movie, and this seriously felt like it. Mae has been spending Christmas at a cabin with her family and her mother's best friend's family for as long as she can remember. Her parents are divorced and her mother has remarried, but they both still attend this christmas extravaganza every year at the cabin. Mae has also been super close with her mother's friend's son, Theo, for a long time, and she has also harboured a massive crush on Theo's brother, Andrew. On this one particular christmas when she finds the vacation ending, there is a car accident, and Mae finds herself jumping back in time and reliving the vacation from the beginning again. She takes this as a sign that whatever happened the "first" time around was a sign from the universe that it wasn't the way it was supposed to be. It is absolutely hilarious seeing this groundhog day scenario with Mae and certain days being relived certain ways.
It's some serious christmas magic because it has all the stuff you would want from a christmas romcom - a bit of tension, some family dynamics, incredibly swoooooony male lead, and just a really romantic story. This is definitely going down as one of my favorite CLo reads ever and I know what I'm definitely giving as a gift to many of my family and friends this holiday season ;)
Available for purchase at:
Chapters/Indigo,
Amazon,
Kindle,
Kobo, and
Book Depository
Disclaimer: I received an advanced reader's copy of this book for consideration/review from Simon & Schuster Canada - all opinions are my own.
