Review: Check, Please!: #Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu

Check, Please!: #Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu
Genre: Graphic Novels, YA Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, Sports Fiction, Coming of Age
Publication: September 18th 2018 by First Second Books
Series: Check, Please #1.
Length: 288 pages
Format: eARC from First Second Books
Rating: ★★★★★

Amazon || Book Depository

Helloooo, Internet Land. Bitty here!

Y’all… I might not be ready for this. I may be a former junior figure skating champion, vlogger extraordinaire, and very talented amateur pâtissier, but being a freshman on the Samwell University hockey team is a whole new challenge. It’s nothing like co-ed club hockey back in Georgia! First of all? There’s checking. And then, there is Jack—our very attractive but moody captain.

A collection of the first half of the megapopular webcomic series of the same name, Check, Please!: #Hockey is the first book of a hilarious and stirring two-volume coming-of-age story about hockey, bros, and trying to find yourself during the best four years of your life.

Advertisement

Review: Anger Is A Gift by Mark Oshiro

Anger Is A Gift by Mark Oshiro
Genre: YA Contemporary, Fiction, Mental Health, LGBTQIA+, #ownvoices
Publication: May 22nd 2018 by Tor Teen
Series: None. Standalone.
Length: 384 pages
Format: eARC from the publisher
Rating: ★★★★★

Amazon || Book Depository

A story of resilience and loss, love and family, Mark Oshiro’s Anger is a Gift testifies to the vulnerability and strength of a community living within a system of oppression.

Six years ago, Moss Jefferies’ father was murdered by an Oakland police officer. Along with losing a parent, the media’s vilification of his father and lack of accountability has left Moss with near crippling panic attacks.

Now, in his sophomore year of high school, Moss and his fellow classmates find themselves increasingly treated like criminals by their own school. New rules. Random locker searches. Constant intimidation and Oakland Police Department stationed in their halls. Despite their youth, the students decide to organize and push back against the administration.

When tensions hit a fever pitch and tragedy strikes, Moss must face a difficult choice: give in to fear and hate or realize that anger can actually be a gift.

Review: The Forgotten Book by Mechthild Gläser

The Forgotten Book by Mechthild Gläser
Genre: YA Fantasy, Contemporary, Romance
Publication: January 2, 2018 from Feiwel & Friends / Macmillan USA
Series: None. Standalone.
Length: 368  pages
Format: ARC from Fierce Reads
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Amazon || Book Depository

A Jane Austen-inspired YA tale about a sixteen-year-old girl who finds a magical book—and discovers that anything she writes inside it comes true.

Emma is used to things going her way. Her father is headmaster of her prestigious boarding school, her friends take her advice as gospel, and she’s convinced that a relationship with her long-time crush is on the horizon.

As it turns out, Emma hasn’t seen anything yet. When she finds an old book in an abandoned library, things really start going Emma’s way: anything she writes in the book comes true.

But the power of the book is not without consequences, and Emma soon realizes that she isn’t the only one who knows about it. Someone is determined to take it from her—and they’ll stop at nothing to succeed.

A new boy in school—the arrogant, aloof, and irritatingly handsome Darcy de Winter—becomes Emma’s unlikely ally as secrets are revealed and danger creeps ever closer.

Review: Meant to Be by Julie Halpern

Meant to Be by Julie Halpern
Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance, Science Fiction
Publication: October 24, 2017 from Feiwel & Friends
Series: None. Standalone.
Length: 320 pages.
Format: ARC from publisher
Rating: ★★★★☆

Amazon || Book Depository

In a world where the names of MTBs—”meant to be” mates—appear on the body at age eighteen, a girl must decide whether to believe the phenomenon or follow her heart in this YA novel.

It started happening a few years ago: the names of MTBs—”meant to be” mates—appeared emblazoned on the skin at age eighteen. Agatha’s best friend has embraced the phenomenon and is head over heels in love with her MTB. But Ag isn’t so sure. As she searches the interwebs for her MTB (who has a common name, no less) she finds herself falling for a co-worker at the local amusement park. Is he a better match? What does Agatha really want in a mate, and moreover, what does she want for herself?

With her trademark wit and irreverence, acclaimed author Julie Halpern explores an age-old question: Who are we meant to be with? Readers won’t be able to resist knowing the answer.

Book Review: My New Crush Gave to Me by Shani Petroff

My New Crush Gave to Me by Shani Petroff
Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance, Hate to Love
Publication: October 31, 2017 from Swoon Reads
Series: None. Standalone.
Length: 332 pages
Format: ARC
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Amazon || Book Depository

Charlotte Charlie Donovan knows exactly what she wants for Christmas: Teo Ortiz. He s the school s star athlete, in the National Honor Society, invited to every party, contributes to the school paper (where Charlie is co-editor), and is about to be featured as One to Watch in a teen magazine basically, he’s exactly the type of guy Charlie s meant to be with. The only problem he barely knows she exists.

But Charlie is determined to be Teo’s date to the Christmas ball. And she has a plan: To rig the paper’s Secret Santa so that she can win his heart with five perfect gifts. But to do that she needs help. Enter J.D. Ortiz Teo’s cousin, and possibly the most annoying person on the planet. He’s easy-going, laid back, unorganized, spontaneous, and makes a joke out of everything the exact opposite of Charlie (and Teo). But he’s willing to provide insight into what Teo wants, so she’s stuck with him.

Yet, the more time Charlie spends with J.D., the more she starts to wonder: Does she really know what, or rather who, she wants for Christmas?