**spoiler alert** Representation: Black character Trigger warnings: Disappearance and death of a cat, racism, slavery and abuse mentioned, blood depict**spoiler alert** Representation: Black character Trigger warnings: Disappearance and death of a cat, racism, slavery and abuse mentioned, blood depiction, emesis, child neglect, depression Score: Six points out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
I saw Lost Soul, Be at Peace, hiding on a library shelf, so I wanted to read it. Soon enough, I picked it up and read it, but when I finished the novel, I realised a few aspects of the book. First, it was part of a series, but unfortunately, the library didn't have the first instalment, Hono[u]r Girl. However, at its best, Lost Soul, Be at Peace was disorienting--the text was underwhelming at worst.
It starts with the first person I see, Maggie Thrash, living in a mansion a year and a half after an event I don't know much of. She recounts her life thus far as uneventful and even depressing as she isn't doing too well in 11th grade, and to top everything off, her cat disappeared. Maggie spends the opening pages searching for that feline when she stumbles across another ghostly character, Tommy. I can understand why Maggie is depressed because her parents neglect her, but she also talks about how her coming out has gone unnoticed, which rubbed me the wrong way. It's like she wants attention from that. I couldn't connect or relate to any of the characters, and the story does not make an outstanding memoir because it's too monotonous. The conclusion is a high note, but petered out Lost Soul, Be at Peace. I don't know anyone who has Hono[u]r Girl yet, so I'll never know what happened there.
**spoiler alert** Representation: Black and Asian characters, character with a physical disability Trigger warnings: PTSD, panic attack, death of peopl**spoiler alert** Representation: Black and Asian characters, character with a physical disability Trigger warnings: PTSD, panic attack, death of people in mass shootings and a friend from suicide in the past, grief and loss depiction Score: Five out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
I saw Numb to This by Kindra Neely after the library purchased it. I read it after. Still, it could've been better. At least it beats This is Where It Ends.
Numb to This has heavy content. It starts with Kindra Neely living in Oregon after moving from Texas due to a shooting near her parents' house. Kindra's mother also attended Umpqua in the past before Kindra went there. Life looks hopeful for Kindra until a mass shooting that killed nine happened. Kindra experienced the trauma and PTSD that came from that after.
I felt sympathetic for Kindra because it looks like she's recovered. That's until she reads about mass shootings. That triggered unwanted memories of her time at Umpqua. Kindra feels like people don't listen to her. Politicians speak for her and make talking points. They don't solve the issue.
I liked Neely's work. It showed an account of a gun violence survivor. Still, the pacing and the characters were flawed. Numb to This was disjointed with abrupt scene cuts. That made me think I missed a page. I would've loved to see more of others like Radhii. However, they were predominantly in the background. This text is a memoir but other survivors' accounts would've added to it.
Numb to This was an imperfect memoir about events affecting Kindra that still happen. I had to lower its rating....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Asian characters Trigger warnings: Death of children, a father and an uncle, blood, grief and loss depiction, loss of**spoiler alert** Representation: Asian characters Trigger warnings: Death of children, a father and an uncle, blood, grief and loss depiction, loss of limb, military violence and war themes, explosion, fire, bullying, dead bodies, pregnancy, building collapse Score: Seven and a half points out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
This novel is one I wanted to read ever since I heard the library was getting it. I missed the opportunity to pick it up the first time around but not the second time. After not enjoying a previous novel I hoped I would delight myself in reading this one. Turns out it's not fiction, it's a memoir, and it even rivals The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat.
It starts with the first person I see, Muhammad Najem living in Syria for the early childhood section of his life until the Syrian Civil War started when he was eight. Life took a downward spiral the older he got as he lost his father at 13 and at fifteen he didn't want to sit and do nothing anymore. Thus, Muhammad decided to act. This memoir shines in its accurate portrayal of Syria during its civil war but it doesn't pull any punches. It's more suitable for young adults than middle graders due to the graphic content inside. I delighted myself in seeing all the likable characters, and I could connect and relate to Muhammad as he develops his character. At least the conclusion is a high note as Muhammad finally becomes a reporter....more
Representation: Black and Asian characters Trigger warnings: Racism, including the n-word slur Score: Six points out of ten. This review can also be founRepresentation: Black and Asian characters Trigger warnings: Racism, including the n-word slur Score: Six points out of ten. This review can also be found on The StoryGraph.
I wanted to read this after seeing the library get this novel only a few days ago, so I finally picked it up and read it. When I finished it, I felt this book was underwhelming. It could've been so much better than it is now, but the numerous flaws forced me to lower the book's rating to three stars. It starts with the main character Colin Kaepernick, or Colin for short, as I'll call him from now on, living with his adoptive (white) parents sometime in the early 2000s or something along those lines. The main point of this novel is that Colin wants to play football but has few opportunities to do so since all I could see was Colin trying to play baseball, even though that isn't what he wants to do as a sport. Here's where the flaws surface: I couldn't relate to any of the characters, including Colin and the rest of them whose names I forgot. and I felt that the book couldn't pick a concept to focus on since it kept switching between sport and race, and let me tell you there is a lot of talk about race and the racism is everywhere. One time, there was even a slur I didn't like, which slightly ruined my enjoyment of the narrative. I also wished it could've been longer, and not to mention this is similar to The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat, and this story could've rivalled that if it were longer. But alas, I don't have any reason to recommend this book to anyone except people who haven't heard of Colin. The last few pages weren't necessary as it felt like a promotion for Colin's activism. Also, why did it only say it helps Black and Brown people and not Asian, Latino/a, neurodivergent people or those who have disabilities, different body types or religions?
Addendum: Due to inflammatory language, Change the Game is YA....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Minor Black characters Trigger warnings: Physical injury, blood depiction, anti-Semitism This review can also be found**spoiler alert** Representation: Minor Black characters Trigger warnings: Physical injury, blood depiction, anti-Semitism This review can also be found on The StoryGraph. Score: Six points out of ten.
Ask No Questions by Eva Collins was part of the Children's Book Council of Australia shortlist for Older Readers this year, and I'm not sure why the judges put this on there since What We All Saw was dissatisfying to read. This book, however? It was slightly better, but still, Completely Normal reigns supreme as the best book the judges chose.
It starts with the author, Eva Collins, or Eva for short, and some aspects make this book stand out; one, this is a memoir, and two, it's all in poetry, but I don't think that was the best choice since it lessened the impact and it felt like someone pressed the Enter key a couple of times and called it "poetry." Also, I got this from one of the two libraries I go to, and they didn't have this physically since they only had an ebook copy. I realised it's so short that it didn't leave an impact, but lastly, this isn't as good as books like Inside Out and Back Again and Refugee. Even the former was outstanding poetry. This was not. Now that I said that, Eva moves to Australia from Poland, then stays there for a while, returns to Poland and Australia a few years later and... That is it. What a shame....more
Representation: children with physical disabilities, side Latino/Latina and Black characters Trigger warnings: Death of a child from cancer, hospitalisRepresentation: children with physical disabilities, side Latino/Latina and Black characters Trigger warnings: Death of a child from cancer, hospitalisation, divorce mentioned
7/10, when I first saw this I was surprised that my library didn't bother to pick up the prequel called Hey Kiddo so I only had this to read so I felt confused at first however I still very much enjoyed this and hopefully the first book will arrive at my library very soon. The story which is actually a memoir begins with the main character Jarrett recounting his teenage life and his family with his grandparents and the reason why he didn't live with his parents isn't mentioned here; it could be in the first book. Anyways he was in a program with other peers to help with people at a camp called Camp Sunshine and when he first got there he thought how could this be a positive experience since there were so many kids with physical disabilities and other conditions and diseases, turns out that it wasn't so bad after all and they just live their lives to the best of their abilities and no one was there to ridicule or judge them and I liked that. Towards the middle of the book Jarrett introduces all the kids at Camp Sunshine and he is assigned to a boy named Diego and they get along really well. I got to see all the activities they did like going out on the lake, climbing amongst other things but alas all good things must come to an end and Camp Sunshine wrapped up. In the end there was a character called Eric who had cancer and he wanted to swim after the machine inside him was removed; unfortunately this was not the case since he didn't make it so a funeral was held which was sad. The book eventually moved on from that but I think Eric will always be in people's hearts and he will probably never be forgotten....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Biracial (half Latino and half white,) Latina and Black characters Trigger warnings: Divorce in the past, bullying Sco**spoiler alert** Representation: Biracial (half Latino and half white,) Latina and Black characters Trigger warnings: Divorce in the past, bullying Score: Six points out of ten. This review can also be found on The StoryGraph.
Four Eyes by Rex Ogle could've been better.
I was hoping that after reading Real Friends by Shannon Hale which is similar to this I would enjoy this one as well and I did but it wasn't as good as the last book I read since I found a lot of flaws with this which I'll get to later. It starts off with the main character Rex starting off 6th grade with his friends and everything looked normal at first until his vision blurs and he is forced to get a pair of glasses but he could only get the cheap ones much to his disappointment and I was confused when his mother rushed through the process only for him to say that he looks like the Mole Man.
After getting them he goes to school again only for lots of people there to bully him for wearing glasses however I couldn't relate to him since now people don't get bullied for that anymore but maybe back then it could've happened but anyways he makes a big fuss and lashes out at everyone, even his parents which I didn't like. Even more disheartening is that no one seems to care about his problem so all he did was take it into his hands and Rex continues his rant; later on his glasses were broken and his family couldn't afford new ones so he had to use tape to fix it and the bullies kept teasing him.
Towards the last half of the book his grandmother comes and says that his problems are small and she had a way harder life back then so he should be grateful for all the privileges he had and to not care about what others think, there was another part about her mother saying that she tries to do everything by herself which didn't work out very well by the way. He doesn't have any friends anymore but he would be better off having no friends than to have fake friends and I think the bullies still didn't leave him alone because he never did anything much about it. If you like memoirs try Real Friends by Shannon Hale for something similar to this.
Update: I'm sorry, but I have to downgrade this novel from four stars to three. I don't think it deserves four stars....more
Representation: Side Black character Trigger warnings: Bullying, abuse Score: Seven points out of ten. This review can also be found on The StoryGraph.
ThRepresentation: Side Black character Trigger warnings: Bullying, abuse Score: Seven points out of ten. This review can also be found on The StoryGraph.
The last novel I read was quite enjoyable so I hoped that this memoir which I've been wanting to read for a while would be good as well; I liked this one even though I already read the other two books in the series and I can't wait to see what this author will write in the future since I've enjoyed three of them from her so far. It starts off with the main character Shannon detailing her life from kindergarten all the way to 3rd grade where most of the story takes place, I liked this exposition where I saw all her friends and family members and seeing how she lived her early childhood. Her friend since when she started school called Adrienne drifting away from her and joining this new community called the Group so I kept reading on to see where this was going. She meets a new friend called Jen who seemed nice at first but her true personality would be revealed later as she experiences what it's like to be part of the Group however it turns out that it's not as good as it appeared as this group just bullies people to be popular or another reason and the Group begins to tease Shannon which I didn't like and also she had a troubled life at home which made me feel bad for her. The latter half of the book focuses on Shannon in the 4th to 6th grades, making more real friends, hence the title, only to realise that Jen wasn't a real friend so she stopped befriending her and also forgiving Adrienne which I liked. If you like memoirs about friendships this is for you and you can read the other two books in the series to learn more about Shannon's life....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Biracial (half Asian and half white) and Asian characters Trigger warnings: Racism, bullying Score: Seven out of ten. F**spoiler alert** Representation: Biracial (half Asian and half white) and Asian characters Trigger warnings: Racism, bullying Score: Seven out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
The Tryout, by Christina Soontornvat and illustrated by Joanna Cacao, was a good graphic memoir.
I usually don't expect graphic novels to be that good, but this exceeded my expectations. The art was good, the story was engaging, the characters were well made and their struggles were relatable. However, the ending was bittersweet, because Christina didn't make the tryouts, but she chose a different thing instead and she was satisfied. Definitely recommended if you want an easy read about relatable struggles in school. I just hope that the other graphic novels I want, such as Frizzy, Play Like a Girl, Isla to Island, Freestyle, and especially Swim Team, are as good as this one.
Update: I can't judge the two books I mentioned after the first one but I can say for sure that this book is better the last two books I mentioned. The fourth one is problematic. The first one rivals this....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Asian character Trigger warnings: COVID-19 pandemic, bullying, racism Score: Five out of ten. Find this review on The S**spoiler alert** Representation: Asian character Trigger warnings: COVID-19 pandemic, bullying, racism Score: Five out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
Messy Roots by Laura Gao was a terrible graphic memoir. Laura and others were unlikable, the art style needed improvements and the romance felt so empty. I didn't feel anything for Laura and her partner. It also felt like an ordinary memoir as events such as COVID, moving to America or Laura being Wuhanese didn't distinguish this memoir enough from others. The speech bubble formatting was poor as well, who illustrated this? If you like memoirs about an Asian character like this, try The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat instead....more
I really don't like disjointed novels, after I read the Making Friends series, by Kristen Gudsnuk, so I don't have high hopes for this book. Still, I'I really don't like disjointed novels, after I read the Making Friends series, by Kristen Gudsnuk, so I don't have high hopes for this book. Still, I'll try to read it. Update: I knew it wasn't going to be great... I read the novel, and it was way too fast paced and disjointed. For example, in one scene, the characters were in a school, and then it cuts straight to a house scene. If you like graphic novels, try The Tryout instead of this....more
7/10, this was an interesting memoir but now that I look back at it it was quite simple but effective and the main character, Liz Fordred, really shin7/10, this was an interesting memoir but now that I look back at it it was quite simple but effective and the main character, Liz Fordred, really shined in this book. Despite being paralysed Liz just embarked on her greatest adventure yet by building her own boat along with her husband which she names Usikusiku. The first half of the memoir talks about actually building the boat and trying to get it to a port where she can start her journey and the second half actually described the journey itself which other than a few issues on the boat itself it was quite tranquil and placid, I think the main purpose of the journey is just to escape her own country to find a hopefully new better country which she liked and she also reflects on all the ableism she faced ever since the accident which showed how resilient she was which I liked. In the end there was a section where she describes her new life in the United States of America and I thought all the pictures within this book were a nice touch and made the book a bit more engaging. If you like an interesting and obscure memoir this is the book for you....more
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