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sallenreads's reviews
101 reviews
Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee
challenging
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Bullying
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
All of Rebecca Ross's books have incredibly immersive world building, and DIVINE RIVALS was no exception. From the first page, I was drawn into the 1910s-esque world, from the city of Oath to the countryside to the literal trenches of a war between two gods and their armies. And the characters -- I loved them and my heart ached for all of them. I especially loved how much Iris and Attie and Marisol all came to care for each other, forming their own family and looking out for each other. I was so worried about them -- and Roman! -- sometimes that it stressed me out, but on the other hand, the fact that I cared that much about the characters is another point in the book's favor.
Content-wise, there's some war violence (not graphic) and non-explicit romantic content. This book does read a little older to me, so it might be better placed in a high school. The war setting and the development of the romance reminded me a lot of Allison Saft's DOWN COMES THE NIGHT.
Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing an ARC for my review.
Content-wise, there's some war violence (not graphic) and non-explicit romantic content. This book does read a little older to me, so it might be better placed in a high school. The war setting and the development of the romance reminded me a lot of Allison Saft's DOWN COMES THE NIGHT.
Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing an ARC for my review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Domestic abuse and Sexual content
Alone by Megan E. Freeman
challenging
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
A compelling survival story that had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Reclaim the Stars: 17 Tales Across Realms & Space by Zoraida Córdova
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
RECLAIM THE STARS had an excellent selection of stories, with equally excellent writing. I adored how each writer infused their story with their cultural backgrounds; it made reading each of these stories feel like reading a warm hug (even the truly terrifying ones). I will gladly recommend this anthology to my students!
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Go with the Flow by Lily Williams, Karen Schneemann
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Ivy by Katherine Coville
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
A sweet book about a girl who refuses to be anything but herself, and the townspeople who learn to accept her oddities.
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying
Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Ruby
Did not finish book. Stopped at 28%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 28%.
Returned to library.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Gun violence, Death of parent, and War
Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhhà Lại
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
A beautiful autobiographical verse novel about a Vietnamese refugee and her family as they leave Saigon in 1975, live in a refugee camp in Guam, and resettle in Alabama.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Animal death and Racial slurs
Well Matched by Jen DeLuca
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
+fake dating
+age gap (with an older woman)
+only one bed
+also there's lots of kilts
+age gap (with an older woman)
+only one bed
+also there's lots of kilts
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing, Car accident, and Alcohol
Dreams from Many Rivers: A Hispanic History of the United States Told in Poems by Margarita Engle
challenging
informative
medium-paced
Provides an introduction to the history of Hispanic and Latinx communities in the U.S., starting with the conquest of the Caribbean and Latin America in the late 1400s. Focusing on the voices of individuals through poems will make this a more accessible book for some readers.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Slavery, and Colonisation
Minor: Genocide and Xenophobia