abbyluvsfrogs444's reviews
302 reviews

Full of Myself: A Graphic Memoir about Body Image by Siobhán Gallagher

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

Thank you Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC!

I really liked this one! I loved reading about the author's life and her struggles. I have never had struggles like this with my body but reading about it is important. Learning about other people's experiences makes us more empathetic people, which is so needed in today's world. I really appreciated the authors vulnerability and openness. That is truly a gift. What a great book! I also adore the illustrations! Talent oozes from this book for sure. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Vomit, and Alcohol

This Night Is Ours by Ronni Davis

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Thank you Little, Brown Books for the ARC!

This is really, really cute. I am such a sucker for YA romance. And this one had me giggling and kicking my feet. I loved the characters, I loved the setting, I loved all of it. I also really loved that the whole book takes place during one day. I really love how the romance develops. This is such a fun, lighthearted romance and I loved it! 

(Also there were a few typos in this one, which I'm sure will be fixed before it gets published. That was one of the only things that bugged me. Other than that, it was good.)

The Rose That Grew from Concrete by Tupac Shakur

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

The use of numbers instead of words threw me for a loop, but other than that, I loved this poetry collection. Tupac is so talented. I was truly touched by his words.

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

challenging informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

Fantastic, brilliant, wonderful, beautiful, amazing, show-stopping. No notes. We should ALL be feminists. Period. 

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

4.5

Talia Hibbert does it again. I so loved this book. I adored the characters. It was all so much fun. No notes. It's practically perfect.

Fake It Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley
Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.

i just got bored...

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow. What a book. I am in awe of how amazing this is. All of these characters are so real to me, so vivid and complicated. I felt so many emotions while reading this and even though it was mostly anger or sadness, it is worth it to read. It is brilliantly written. The words flow like poetry but are still accessible and understandable. Overall, this book is fantastic and I highly recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Alcohol

Minor: Racial slurs

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Wow. What a book. A lot of this book was really heavy, but it was so full of heart. I grew to love these characters. I rooted for them and cried with them. The ending was exactly what I was hoping for. Love love love.

All Roads Lead to Rome by Sabrina Fedel

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Okay, I'll be honest, I read this book because it was set in Italy and I have a soft spot for Italy. The cover also drew me in. I'll be honest again; I didn't love this book. It was cute and fun and had me wishing I could visit Rome again. I genuinely liked it. I have a few qualms, though. First of all, our leading lady's name being Story is a level of quirky I thought we left in 2014. I didn't love her name. Her as a character was great but she deserved a better name. Luca was a little annoying for the first half of the book. He was so oblivious to how working class people live and it peeved me. Some of the condescending things he says to Story had me fuming. He comes around in the second half of the book which is good. (Yay for character development!) This is definitely a well-written book and I enjoyed the majority of it (minus the qualms I listed) and it is such a solid YA novel. 

Ready or Not by Cara Bastone

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was SO GOOD! I usually hate the unexpected pregnancy trope but this one was so well done I couldn't help but love it. The characters were so funny and lovable. The plot was executed perfectly. The ending got me in my feels. I read this book in less than 24 hours, I was so hooked. When this book comes out, I am buying it ASAP!!!