Book Review #800 - Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

The 50 contestants in the Miss Teen Dream pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras.

But sadly, their airplane had another idea, crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eyeliner.

What’s a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program - or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan - or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?

Welcome to the heart of non-exfoliated darkness.

My Rating: 2/5

I went into this book having read back to back 5 star reads in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and The Light Between Oceans and so this could be a reason why I did not like this book.

The book started off really well and I was enjoying the story and of course the satirical humour but it just got to the point where this became too much. When I reached that point I wasn't even half way through and so in my opinion the book was way too long to sustain just a story and style of humour.

Comparing this book to The Lord of the Flies is interesting because in that book the characters lose their humanity over time whereas in this book I felt like the girls became more human the longer they were removed from their toxic lives.

One of the issues I had with this book was distinguishing the characters because sometimes they were mentioned by name and sometimes by the state they were representing.

There was a lot of representation in this book with there being a lesbian, a transgender and a girl with a hearing impairment. The only issue with this was the transgender was bullied when found to be transgender and this behaviour was never really challenged.

Overall, I really wanted to enjoy this book as I usually love survival stories but this one was just too weird for me. I should have realised that when the pirates were introduced.

Book Review #741 - Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda (Creekwood #1) by Becky Albertalli

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met. 

My Rating: 5/5

This was one of the most hyped up books I have read in recent memory so I was kind of terrified to read it but once the members of my book club were raving about the film adaptation I knew it was time to finally pick the book up.

I read this book for the 2018 Popsugar challenge for the challenge of reading a book with a LGBTQ protagonist.

Simon is such a likable character. He is the perfect blend of weird and witty but completely normal at the same time.

I absolutely loved his friend and family dynamics both of which were incredibly accurately portrayed. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book so much more than I ever thought possible and I can definitely see myself reading it again sometime this year likely before I delve into Leah on the Offbeat which I recently added to my TBR.

Book Review #736 - Unbecoming by Jenny Downham

Three women - three secrets - one heart-stopping story. Katie, seventeen, in love with someone whose identity she can't reveal. Her mother Caroline, uptight, worn out and about to find the past catching up with her. Katie's grandmother, Mary, back with the family after years of mysterious absence and 'capable of anything', despite suffering from Alzheimers. As Katie cares for an elderly woman who brings daily chaos to her life, she finds herself drawn to her. Rules get broken as allegiances shift. Is Mary contagious? Is 'badness' genetic? In confronting the past, Katie is forced to seize the present. As Mary slowly unravels and family secrets are revealed, Katie learns to live and finally dares to love. Funny, sad, honest and wise, Unbecoming is a celebration of life, and learning to honour your own stories.

 

 

My Rating: 3/5

I have read Jenny Downham's previous 2 novels and enjoyed both of them so I was grateful that Scholastic Australia sent me a copy of her newest book for review. 

In her previous works, Jenny Downham did not shy away from heavy and sensitive topics such as terminal illness and sexual assault and this book was no different. 

I found this book to be beautifully written although a little too slowly paced for my liking. I also thought that too much was tried to convey in a book so slowly paced. It took me quite a while to get into it as the beginning is especially slow. 

 

I really enjoyed the multi generation concept and the relationships between similar to Gilmore Girls and Looking for Alibrandi.

 

The book mainly focused on Kate, the teenager and her relationship with her grandmother Mary who Kate never knew existed and who has alzheimers. Even though I (thankfully) have no experience with the topic, I felt like Alzheimers was accurately portrayed. 

 

I feel like had Kate's mother (and Mary's daughter) Caroline been more heavily involved the book could have been even better as without her as a significant character, it felt like part of the story was missing.

Book Review #734 - If I Tell You by Alicia Tuckerman

Life and love don’t wait until you’re ready, but what if finding yourself means losing everything you’ve ever known?

Seventeen-year-old Alex Summers lives with a secret and the constant fear someone will find out. But when a new family moves to town, they bring with them their teenage daughter Phoenix Stone. When Alex falls for Phoenix, there is no warning. In a small town with small minds, girls don’t go out with other girls, even if they want to.

In fear there is bravery – you can either cling to the edge or have the courage to jump. But what do you do when you’re left spiralling through the free fall?

 

 

My Rating: 5.5/10

 

 

This is not a book that I would typically read but I was required to read it for a book club. I am happy that I read it though as I have been meaning to read more diverse books.

 

This book follows a girl called Alex who lives in a small, conservative Australian  country town.

 

A new girl named Phoenix arrives in town with her family and the town are horrified to discover that Phoenix is openly gay. This however awakens something in Alex who commences a secret relationship with Phoenix.

 

I never really felt the romantic connection between the two. They just felt more like friends to me and that Alex was only interested in Phoenix because she was the first lesbian she had met. Not to mention how fast their relationship progressed.

 

I predicted the ending about 100 pages from the end and I was so mad at myself for this because I felt like the ending did not impact me as much as it should have because I saw it coming.

 

I did not like Phoenix at all. Without spoiling anyone, I thought she was extremely selfish in the way she treated Alex throughout.

 

I thought that the reactions to Alex coming out were realistic for the narrow minded town that she lived in.

 

Overall, I feel like this book tried to accomplish a little too much. It is hard to elaborate on that opinion much without spoilers though and that was also the general view everyone had at my book club when we discussed this book.