Hot Dog Girl – Jennifer Dugan

Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Received: PRH Canada & NetGalley
Published: April 30th, 2019
Publisher: Putnam
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Romance, LGBTQIA+, Summer, Friendship, Family

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REVIEW:

This looks like a really fun and fluffy YA summer romance, but believe me when I tell you that it’s more of a soap opera… at an amusement park.

Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was entertaining and I would definitely recommend it to those who enjoy dramatic characters and scenarios as well as reading about different relationships blossoming and dying.

Color Me In – Natasha Diaz

Color Me In by Natasha Diaz

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Penguin Random House Canada
Published: August 20th, 2019
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Family, Romance, Racism, Poverty, Coming of Age, Poetry

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REVIEW:

I knew I would love this book the moment I read its description and saw that it was inspired by the author’s own past lived experiences. True events always make something more meaningful for me because if they’re developed well into a story, it makes the whole book so much more realistic and memorable. This is why I adore reading memoirs as much as fictional stories. Plus, the author’s note at the end is incredible.

Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee – Jeff Zentner

Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee by Jeff Zentner

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Received: Penguin Random House Canada
Published: February 26th, 2019
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Contemporary, Friendship, Family, WEIRDNESS

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REVIEW:

What the hell happened to Jeff Zentner? THE SERPENT KING was beautiful and well-written. GOODBYE DAYS was emotional and original and all sorts of great. But RAYNE & DELILAH’S MIDNITE MATINEE is nothing like those two books. It’s dull and kind of weird. I do believe Jeff Zentner has his own style, different from other Young Adult authors, but this is a new weird even for him.

A Mind Spread Out on the Ground – Alicia Elliott

A Mind Spread Out on the Ground by Alicia Elliott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Penguin Random House Canada
Published: March 26th, 2019
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Recommended Age: 15+
Genres & Themes: Nonfiction, Essays, Indigenous Issues, Canada, Racism, Coming of Age, Poverty, Sexual Assault

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REVIEW:

I try to read both fiction and non-fiction books with a variety of themes – love, friendship, family, coming of age, racism, discrimination, abuse – but I think this is the first time I read essays from an indigenous author. I know she’d rather I didn’t label her but I needed to mention this because I try to read everything and anything and yet it’s very rare I encounter written works from native peoples. This has to change for me. I need to actively seek them out, because reading about poverty, abuse, sexual assault, racism and discrimination from different perspectives provides you with new understandings of these issues. If I only read about social issues discussed by white authors or African Americans as I tend to do, I am limiting myself to specific perspectives.

Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir – Ruth Reichl

Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir by Ruth Reichl

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Penguin Random House Canada
Published: April 2nd, 2019
Publisher: Appetite
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres & Themes: Nonfiction, Memoir, Food, Personal & Work Journey

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REVIEW:

I have wanted to read Ruth Reichl for YEARS and I was going to start with another of her memoirs – Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise – because it sounded JUICY and very secret indeed. But then this one came out and I was offered a chance to review it so I jumped on the opportunity.

Technically, You Started It – Lana Wood Johnson

Technically, You Started It by Lana Wood Johnson

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Received: Scholastic Canada
Published: June 26th, 2019
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Recommended Age: 11+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Friendship, Romance, High School, Humour

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REVIEW:

When I received this book, I opened it and I got so excited because it’s 100% made of text messages, no descriptive paragraphs or even letters addressed to people. No, just online conversations. Since I had never seen a book like this before, I immediately thought it would be unique and a page-turner.

Maybe This Time – Kasie West

Maybe This Time by Kasie West

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Scholastic Canada
Published: July 9th, 2019
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Recommended Age: 11+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Romance, Summer, Friendship, Family Dynamics

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REVIEW:

This was my 9th book from Kasie West, which is a fun coincidence because this story includes 9 events Sophie attends that affect her friendships, family and love life.

Like the majority of Kasie West’s books, this was a page-turner. This author is great with banter. Even if you don’t particularly like the characters, the conversations between them are entertaining and very realistic.

Stepsister – Jennifer Donnelly

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Scholastic Canada
Published: May 14th, 2019
Publisher: Scholastic
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling, Feminism, Dark Fairy Tale, Magic

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REVIEW:

This is not a pretty fairytale. The story isn’t pretty. The world isn’t pretty. The characters aren’t pretty. Even the magic isn’t pretty.

It’s not a story that will make you dream a thousand beautiful dreams of happily-ever-afters. I’m not saying the contrary applies—that it will give you a thousand nightmares in which you die a thousand different deaths—but it is indeed DARK.

Truly Madly Royally – Debbie Rigaud

Truly Madly Royally by Debbie Rigaud

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Scholastic Canada
Published: July 30th, 2019
Publisher: Point
Recommended Age: 11+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Romance, Royalty, Diversity, Family

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REVIEW:

If royal romances make you squee and swoon, this one’s for you. It is a lovely, wish-fulfilling type of story that will fill your heart with hope and wonder and make you wish for your very own Owen. (See what I did there? :D)

The Silent Patient – Alex Michaelides

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Received: Raincoast Books
Published: February 2019
Publisher: Celadon Books
Recommended Age: 15+
Genres & Themes: Adult, Thriller, Mystery, Psychoanalysis

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REVIEW:

Thanks to this book, Thriller has officially become one of my top three favourite genres, behind Fantasy and Romance. There’s something deeply satisfying about reading a story that gives you opportunities to make up your own mind about what happened but at the same time takes you on an unforgettable and twisted roller-coaster that unsettles the hell out of you. You also wonder how far the author will go and feel respect for them when they push limits and steer clear of predictable paths. I won’t lie, I am a tiny bit terrified of Alex Michaelides right now. I’m sure he’s (probably) a decent human being but it doesn’t change the fact that he has a mind that can conjure nightmares in me or any other reader. He reminds you that the world is a safe place—it was built to sustain communities—but anyone can be triggered and disrupt your safe haven in a second.