Review: If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say by Leila Sales

If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say by Leila Sales
Series: n/a

Genre: YA Contemporary

Publication: May 1st 2018 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Format: ARC (thank you, Macmillan!)

Goodreads

Before we go any further, I want you to understand this: I am not a good person.

We all want to be seen. We all want to be heard. But what happens when we’re seen and heard saying or doing the wrong things? What then?

When Winter Halperin—former spelling bee champion, aspiring writer, and daughter of a parenting expert—gets caught saying the wrong thing online, her life explodes. All across the world, people knows what she’s done, and none of them will forgive her.

With her friends gone, her future plans cut short, and her identity in shambles, Winter is just trying to pick up the pieces without hurting anyone else. She knows she messed up, but does that mean it’s okay for people to send her hate mail and death threats? Does she deserve to lose all that she’s lost? And is “I’m sorry” ever good enough?

First and foremost a novel about public shaming in the internet age, If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say is also an exploration of the power of words, the cumulative destructiveness of microaggressions, and the pressing need for empathy.

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Review: Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett

Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett
Series: n/a

Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance

Publication: April 3rd 2018 by Simon Pulse
Format: ARC (thank you, Simon!)

Goodreads

Ever since last year’s homecoming dance, best friends-turned-best enemies Zorie and Lennon have made an art of avoiding each other. It doesn’t hurt that their families are the modern day, Californian version of the Montagues and Capulets.

But when a group camping trip goes south, Zorie and Lennon find themselves stranded in the wilderness. Alone. Together.

What could go wrong?

With no one but each other for company, Zorie and Lennon have no choice but to hash out their issues via witty jabs and insults as they try to make their way to safety. But fighting each other while also fighting off the forces of nature makes getting out of the woods in one piece less and less likely.

And as the two travel deeper into Northern California’s rugged backcountry, secrets and hidden feelings surface. But can Zorie and Lennon’s rekindled connection survive out in the real world? Or was it just a result of the fresh forest air and the magic of the twinkling stars?

Pride Month: Four Queer Musicals to Listen to This Month

Long Time No Talk! Hello Everyone! Liv here. Happy Pride Month! In honor of this month, I am going to be talking about four queer musicals you need to listen to specifically this month. There are plenty of other queer musicals, but here are a few just to get you started if you don’t normally listen to musicals!

Review: Love and Other Carnivorous Plants by Florence Gonsalves

Love and Other Carnivorous Plants by Florence Gonsalves
Series: n/a

Genre: YA Contemporary, LGBTQ+

Publication: May 15th 2018 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Format: ARC (thank you, the Novl!)

Goodreads

Freshman year at Harvard was the most anticlimactic year of Danny’s life. She’s failing pre-med and drifting apart from her best friend. One by one, Danny is losing all the underpinnings of her identity. When she finds herself attracted to an older, edgy girl who she met in rehab for an eating disorder, she finally feels like she might be finding a new sense of self. But when tragedy strikes, her self-destructive tendencies come back to haunt her as she struggles to discover who that self really is.

Shows I’ve Been Enjoying Recently

So I recently finessed a Netflix account, and I am so in love. I’ve been starting and rewatching so many new shows, and I’m here to show you which ones I’ve been digging so far.

Review: Invisible Ghosts by Robyn Schneider

Invisible Ghosts by Robyn Schneider
Series: n/a

Genre: YA Contemporary

Publication:   June 5th 2018 by Katherine Tegen Books
Format: ARC (thank you, Harper!)

Goodreads

Rose Asher believes in ghosts. She should, since she has one for a best friend: Logan, her annoying, Netflix-addicted brother, who is forever stuck at fifteen. But Rose is growing up, and when an old friend moves back to Laguna Canyon and appears in her drama class, things get complicated.

Jamie Aldridge is charming, confident, and a painful reminder of the life Rose has been missing out on since her brother’s death. She watches as Jamie easily rejoins their former friends–a group of magnificently silly theater nerds–while avoiding her so intensely that it must be deliberate.

Yet when the two of them unexpectedly cross paths, Rose learns that Jamie has a secret of his own, one that changes everything. Rose finds herself drawn back into her old life–and to Jamie. But she quickly starts to suspect that he isn’t telling her the whole truth.

All Rose knows is that it’s becoming harder to choose between the boy who makes her feel alive and the brother she isn’t ready to lose.

Review: Devils Unto Dust by Emma Berquist

Devils Unto Dust by Emma Berquist
Series: n/a

Genre: YA Zombies, Post-Apocalyptic

Publication:  April 10th 2018 by Greenwillow
Format: ARC (thank you, Harper!)

Goodreads

Ten years ago, a horrifying disease began spreading across the West Texas desert. Infected people—shakes—attacked the living and created havoc and destruction. No one has ever survived the infection. Daisy Wilcox, known as Willie, has been protecting her siblings within the relatively safe walls of Glory, Texas. When Willie’s good-for-nothing father steals a fortune from one of the most dangerous shake-hunters in town, she finds herself on the hook for his debt. With two hunters, including the gruff and handsome Ben, to accompany her, she sets out across the desert in search of her father. But the desert is not kind to travelers, and not everyone will pass through alive.

JM’s #YAPromToRemember

Hiya! Prom season’s here and I’ve been tapped on by my friends from Swoon Reads / Fierce Reads to share with y’all what my dream prom looks like! (At least inside my head) I’m a huge hopeless romantic and I’m all for the traditional prom basics: a dapper suit, an amazing venue, good food, and a special someone to share the night with. (Although having a date is something I have NEVER experienced. Back when I was in high school, I always went to prom with my friends!)

So yeah, check out what JM’s prom looks like in my head down below!

What’s New & Things That Have Changed: College, Blogging, etc!

Hi everyone! It’s been a fucking hot minute since I’ve sat down and pulled up WordPress to write a post. I’m sure you’ve noticed. I had a bunch of posts scheduled throughout the months I was at school, but they weren’t enough to keep Arctic Books running, in my opinion. But I’m back now, and I’ll be blogging throughout the summer, and hopefully throughout the fall as well.

So, what’s new?

Review: Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno

Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno
Series: n/a

Genre: YA Contemporary, Magic

Publication:  June 5th 2018 by HarperTeen
Format: ARC (thank you, Katrina!)

Goodreads

A magic passed down through generations . . .

Georgina Fernweh waits with growing impatience for the tingle of magic in her fingers—magic that has been passed down through every woman in her family. Her twin sister, Mary, already shows an ability to defy gravity. But with their eighteenth birthday looming at the end of this summer, Georgina fears her gift will never come.

An island where strange things happen . . .

No one on the island of By-the-Sea would ever call the Fernwehs what they really are, but if you need the odd bit of help—say, a sleeping aid concocted by moonlight—they are the ones to ask.

No one questions the weather, as moody and erratic as a summer storm.

No one questions the (allegedly) three-hundred-year-old bird who comes to roost on the island every year.

A summer that will become legend . . .

When tragedy strikes, what made the Fernweh women special suddenly casts them in suspicion. Over the course of her last summer on the island—a summer of storms, of love, of salt—Georgina will learn the truth about magic, in all its many forms.