April Wrap Up

I feel like April was probably the most contemporary fiction I've read in such a short amount of time, and many of these books deal with serious problems, so it was a pretty emotional 30 days! Overall, I loved the honesty of each of these books and thought all the authors did a great job. I loved the majority of the books I reviewed this month, and I hope (if you read any of them) that you do too!

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1. The Poet X
​5/5 *  | Full Review and Summary | ​April 5, 2018

​This was an incredible read; if you've never been a fan of poetry (like me!) I'd recommend this as a starting point. Written in free verse, this is very much intended to be spoken word poetry and completely captured my attention. Xiomara's story was beautifully told -- the story of a girl who gets harassed just walking down the street, who has an ultra-religious and aggressive mother, and who is simply looking for her voice to be heard -- and I would highly recommend that every gives this book a read. 

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2. Emergency Contact
​4/5 *  | Full Review and Summary | April 9, 2018

​I loved Penny and Sam and their odd-but-wonderful friendship! They begin completely by accident (Penny stumbles across Sam having a panic attack on the street) and it blooms into an awesome friendship. Both are coming from difficult situations, but they help each other heal. The side characters are equally interesting and I honestly loved getting to read from both Penny's and Sam's POV (it really added a layer of legitimacy for me). This book is on my ​recommended list!

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3. The Runaway King
2.5/5 *  | Full Review and Summary | April 12, 2018

​The second book in the Ascendence trilogy, this book didn't really do anything for me. I very much felt like it was the "middle" book of a series, and didn't find that there was much accomplished in this book. The entire plot (leaving the kingdom, becoming a pirate, etc, etc) just seemed very surface, with little character development. I'd also love to see more Imogen and Javon interactions, but we were very much left wanting. 

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4. Starry Eyes
​3.5/5 * | Full Review and Summary | April 16, 2018

​Zorie and Lennon’s relationship of pretending the other doesn’t exist is forced to end as they are stuck in the Sierras together, on a mission to get Zorie to her star party. I liked this book and how it took us away from the city and into nature, where these characters are forced to finally talk to each other. While I thought the story was a bit light, I still enjoyed reading about Zorie and Lennon falling in love again (and figuring out some family problems as well).

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5. The Shadow Throne
​3/5 *  | Full Review and Summary | April 19, 2018

​For myself at least, there were no tears shed (which is nice, I guess?) at the end of this book because everyone made it home safe and sound. We even got a nice little epilogue to confirm how happy everyone ended up. And it’s perfectly fine. While this wasn’t the ending I was expecting, I was content that the characters each got a happy ending (including Roden finding his long-lost family??) so I could leave this trilogy in peace.

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6. Tyler Johnson Was Here
​3/5 *  | Full Review and Summary | April 23, 2018

​Although the story itself was powerful, the writing was very surface-level. In very basic terms, there was absolutely no tension in this novel. There were many, many moments when I should've had been holding my breath to find out what happens, but instead I was very much a casual bystander to the events that were unfolding. Stories like this need to continue to be published so that those who do not live with this fear can understand what life is like for those who do. We should never stop talking or fighting against racism or bigotry in any form.

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7. Leah On the Offbeat
​5/5 *  | Full Review and Summary | ​April 26, 2018

​I was thrilled with this book; it reminded me so much of Simon vs. while also bringing up a lot of the hypocrisies around being bi-sexual or lesbian versus being gay. Albertalli never makes assumptions, but she always does an excellent job creating realistic and diverse characters and makes us fall in love with them. It was great to be back with the Creekwood gang, to get some classic Harry Potter references again (the Love, Simon movie really missed out by not keeping them in!), and to be reminded that love is love and should always be judgement-free.

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8. Meet Cute: Some People Are Destined To Meet
​4/5 *  | Full Review and Summary | April 30, 2018

​While I don't ever know if I'll be a true fan of short stories, I did end up enjoying this collection of first meetings. In short (see what I did there?), this anthology gave me a lot of new authors to research and find more books from them because I really liked what I read! Check out the full review to see my favourites out of the bunch.