Good Dog by Kate Leaver explains how Leaver’s own dog Bertie changed her life by getting her through her struggle of depression. She then goes on to tGood Dog by Kate Leaver explains how Leaver’s own dog Bertie changed her life by getting her through her struggle of depression. She then goes on to tell us about ten other dogs she meets and how they have each changed and affected their owners for the best. Having a dog gives us an everyday experience of affection, companionship, fun, and laugher, but they continue to go beyond that. Dogs are so much more than only our best friends. They’re used as our guides, diabetic alerts, smelling out cancers, and grief healers. Dogs are even helpful working with Autistic and other special needs children, highly improving their quality of life in many ways.
In between the stories of these dogs and their owners, the author also gives a lot of history, background, and scientific evidence/research on how dogs first began to change human lives and continue to do so. I would recommend this book if you are a lover of dogs and know what it's like to have a dog near and dear to your heart. You can tell how passionate the author is about dogs and how much she really loves them. I could relate to her as I have my own dog I love very much and have also know what it's like to lose a dog as well. There is one chapter in particular that briefly discusses losing a dog and eventually bringing another one into your home. I feel like that isn't talked about enough and I really appreciated that as I went through that.
Thanks so much to Edelweiss for sending me an arc. This title will be released on March 9, 2021 on paperback....more
Going into Furia I had high expectations because of all of the good reviews it was getting. I was actually let down immensely. I actually really enjoyGoing into Furia I had high expectations because of all of the good reviews it was getting. I was actually let down immensely. I actually really enjoyed the setting of Argentina, I don’t think I have read a book set there so that was refreshing for me.
Now for Camila as a person, she got on my nerves a lot. She has the “not like other girls” syndrome. Her feelings for Diego were very wishy washy to me, one day she would be in love with him and then the next she would tell him to leave her alone and then she would go back and forth and her that got so old. Because of that I felt like the romance didn’t add much and Camila liked the concept of Diego rather than actually have feelings for him. She also felt like she had to hide this romance from her best friend and claiming that she wouldn't understand her so that was really odd to me and bugged me a LOT.
For all of the hyped up talk claiming that this book was extremely feminist-yes, it did have it’s points but for the most part I didn’t actually see much of that. Camila doesn’t stand up for herself, lies A LOT to her family and friends, and she doesn’t tell people what is on her mind or how she’s feeling. It drove me insane that she just lied to everyone, including her best friend. I felt that she was a little petty too. I expected a much stronger character with Camila. I did like some of the topics that were covered but I felt they were breezed through.. I’m happy with the ending, I actually liked the last maybe 20% of the book but as for the rest of it, nothing really happens and was quite a drag to read.
Thank you very much to both Netgalley and Edelweiss for a copy of this book as well as to the publisher. Also, if you were interested in reading this book I think you still should and take my review with a grain of salt only because I seem to be the outlier and the ratings are extremely hide.
Thank you to Massiel and Emma for suffering through this book for me and Jenny, I am so sorry I didn't like this please don't hate me....more
The gorgeous cover is what tricked me into requesting and reading this book. Going into this I expected a story of grief, hope, and acceptance. I thouThe gorgeous cover is what tricked me into requesting and reading this book. Going into this I expected a story of grief, hope, and acceptance. I thought I would get poignancy and a new favorite book. I hate to write such a poor review because this book touches on the LQBTQ community and polyamorous representation and I feel like that is rarely touched in YA novels.
Our main character Sabine is the worst. Her father dies and she and her family moves from Southern California to the Bay Area. At her new school, she only cares about Kai, the cute boy in school. Keep in mind her father JUST died. Keep in mind her new friend Emma already told her she is actually already into Kai. She finds out her father was in a polyamorous relationship - married to her mother and dating Charlie. Instead of trying to understand her father and get to know Charlie, she is homophobic and judgmental and annoying. She makes Charlie’s life miserable and thinks she is so quirky and cute but she is SO selfish. Like I said, this is targeted towards YA so I think that this plays into harmful stereotypes and doesn’t give solutions on how to oppose or fight this.
Sabine also quotes poetry randomly and I think it came off as pretentious because she thinks that only she knows who Emily Dickinson is. If anyone else expresses interest in poetry, she is shook to the core. I feel like her quoting was some sort of compulsion and that should have been addressed correctly if it was supposed to be a mental health representation. It was a little unclear to me but it just rubbed me the wrong way. Also, Blythe is Sabine’s twin sister and she barely played a role in the book. I thought their sisterhood relationship would be explored and how they come to terms with their dads death. Blythe was a much better person than Sabine. I unfortunately did not enjoy this book even a little bit.
Thank you to both Netgalley and Edelweiss for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
Aaron and Tillie are two strangers who decide to both jump off the George Washington Bridge. There’s four parts to the book, one we’re Tillie jumps anAaron and Tillie are two strangers who decide to both jump off the George Washington Bridge. There’s four parts to the book, one we’re Tillie jumps and Aaron doesn’t, Aaron jumps and Tillie doesn’t, both of them jump, and then neither of them jump.
The mental health and suicide rep was done very well. It felt pretty accurate. Other themes are tackled such as sexuality, parental neglect and adoption, bullying, and the general feeling of being alone and that no one cares for you. I really do love what Konisberg did with this book. It shows how actions of others can affect you, even years later. It’s heart breaking and really makes you think. I shed a few tears and I sincerely hope the real version of what actually happens is that Aaron and Tillie both do not jump.
There were only two things I didn’t like about this book. The pop culture references were so cringey, Sarah J Maas was brought up 2-3 times and I couldn’t really take it seriously. The other thing was that this was a little too long and even though it tells four different stories, a lot of it could have been shaved off.
I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by my queen Marin Ireland but she sang out some of the songs in the books and I.. I hope narrators don’t do that anymore. Thank you so much to Edelweiss for the advanced copy of this book even though it came out in 2020. Oops....more
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