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avalinahsbooks's reviews
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Unstoppable in Stilettos: A Girl's Guide to Living Tall in a Small World by Lauren Ruotolo
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
Lauren Ruotolo is a person who deserves tremendous respect - with her challenges, she really did achieve a lot, and her point of view is incredibly positive and strong. She is really very inspiring and seems to be an amazing person.
Despite the fact that most of us haven't suffered such challenges as Lauren has, however, her outlook might not be for everyone. Lauren seems to be an extremely tough person, raised to be such by incredibly supportive parents and hard challenges who made her that way early on, as formative experiences. Those of us who may not have had strong allies as we were forming our personalities, may find it much harder to keep a stiff upper lip as Lauren does through all sorts of hardship, or the will to keep going.
This is why I don't think most of the stuff Lauren lives by is something I can live by myself, unfortunately. I believe a part of that is also because she's American, and the life and work ethic and also what's normal about it in the States is very different from how we think of it in Europe, particularly the Scandinavian work and life balance that's being more and more recognized. While I agree that Lauren has achieved great and truly amazing things, I don't know if that life is for everyone, and I also don't know if every and any kind of personality can just as simply adopt the Polyanna attitude that "nothing will break you", because we are all very different, and we deal with things differently (for example, a lot of the stuff works out for Lauren the way it does is because she's extroverted - it's very different for introverts, and I don't believe there's anything wrong with being an introvert - we should all be who we are). More than that, Lauren was blessed with knowing exactly what she wanted out of life and how she wanted it - and it seems that most of us are not, and that's the primary reason many of us don't do anything 'grand' - and there's nothing wrong with that either. Plain, simple lives have plenty of value too - I don't believe everyone should be some sort of superstar or guru of their industry. That's not how it works. I also don't believe we should all be high achievers. That's the difference between the US and European view. We value quality of life much more than some career achievements. Your life isn't the sum of your jobs.
Lauren also goes on about how important it is to be, and to aim to be unforgettable - but as an introvert, I'm not sure I agree. I don't want to stand out - I can think of nothing worse than always being the center of attention (although my work often calls for me to be that). That's one thing extroverts never understand about introverts, and they mistake quietness and 'preferring to stay behind the scenes' for 'is afraid and is unhappy'. Being unforgettable and the star of the show isn't everyone's ambition, and it's alright if it isn't. Stars need an audience to be stars. Let people be the audience. It doesn't make you inherently 'less valuable' if you'd prefer the stay in the audience.
Despite that, Lauren does give some compassionate, smart advice about how to care less about people who are essentially making your life harder (I especially applaud all she said about dating and your love life! So many things every woman should know, regardless of how she looks or how popular she is, I feel like we all fall for so many of the same things in dating.) There are certainly things you can learn from her experience, and like I said, I have nothing but respect for this amazing person. Her passion for life is quite unbelievable, and very inspiring. I am happy to have read her life story - to be able to see a person make a brilliant life for herself, despite the obstacles, is always really wholesome.
One of my favorite things Lauren teaches about rejection, is this: "Just because someone cannot see the obvious talents you possess doesn't mean they're not there." That is certainly a thing to keep in mind, and I'll leave this review with that vibe.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
More of my reviews can be found on: https://avalinahsbooks.space
Lauren Ruotolo is a person who deserves tremendous respect - with her challenges, she really did achieve a lot, and her point of view is incredibly positive and strong. She is really very inspiring and seems to be an amazing person.
Despite the fact that most of us haven't suffered such challenges as Lauren has, however, her outlook might not be for everyone. Lauren seems to be an extremely tough person, raised to be such by incredibly supportive parents and hard challenges who made her that way early on, as formative experiences. Those of us who may not have had strong allies as we were forming our personalities, may find it much harder to keep a stiff upper lip as Lauren does through all sorts of hardship, or the will to keep going.
This is why I don't think most of the stuff Lauren lives by is something I can live by myself, unfortunately. I believe a part of that is also because she's American, and the life and work ethic and also what's normal about it in the States is very different from how we think of it in Europe, particularly the Scandinavian work and life balance that's being more and more recognized. While I agree that Lauren has achieved great and truly amazing things, I don't know if that life is for everyone, and I also don't know if every and any kind of personality can just as simply adopt the Polyanna attitude that "nothing will break you", because we are all very different, and we deal with things differently (for example, a lot of the stuff works out for Lauren the way it does is because she's extroverted - it's very different for introverts, and I don't believe there's anything wrong with being an introvert - we should all be who we are). More than that, Lauren was blessed with knowing exactly what she wanted out of life and how she wanted it - and it seems that most of us are not, and that's the primary reason many of us don't do anything 'grand' - and there's nothing wrong with that either. Plain, simple lives have plenty of value too - I don't believe everyone should be some sort of superstar or guru of their industry. That's not how it works. I also don't believe we should all be high achievers. That's the difference between the US and European view. We value quality of life much more than some career achievements. Your life isn't the sum of your jobs.
Lauren also goes on about how important it is to be, and to aim to be unforgettable - but as an introvert, I'm not sure I agree. I don't want to stand out - I can think of nothing worse than always being the center of attention (although my work often calls for me to be that). That's one thing extroverts never understand about introverts, and they mistake quietness and 'preferring to stay behind the scenes' for 'is afraid and is unhappy'. Being unforgettable and the star of the show isn't everyone's ambition, and it's alright if it isn't. Stars need an audience to be stars. Let people be the audience. It doesn't make you inherently 'less valuable' if you'd prefer the stay in the audience.
Despite that, Lauren does give some compassionate, smart advice about how to care less about people who are essentially making your life harder (I especially applaud all she said about dating and your love life! So many things every woman should know, regardless of how she looks or how popular she is, I feel like we all fall for so many of the same things in dating.) There are certainly things you can learn from her experience, and like I said, I have nothing but respect for this amazing person. Her passion for life is quite unbelievable, and very inspiring. I am happy to have read her life story - to be able to see a person make a brilliant life for herself, despite the obstacles, is always really wholesome.
One of my favorite things Lauren teaches about rejection, is this: "Just because someone cannot see the obvious talents you possess doesn't mean they're not there." That is certainly a thing to keep in mind, and I'll leave this review with that vibe.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
More of my reviews can be found on: https://avalinahsbooks.space
Content Warnings
Minor: Medical content
The author deals with a rare genetic disorder, so there are childhood surgeries and other health troubles mentioned. Also, she talks about some of the stuff insensitive or rude people have told her over the years, but they are all presented with humor, so the book isn't majorly triggering.
The Game With No Name (Jitters #2) by L.G. Cunningham
adventurous
fast-paced
3.0
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
Izzy is unhappy with her family's move to a new location. She's had to abandon her friends and her entire life, and for what? For the sake of her genius little brother who got a star scholarship at a gifted kids school. Izzy loves her brother, after all, they're twins - but at the moment, she can't stand the idea of him. That's because the move has made Izzy feel like she's unimportant, 'the dumb twin' and also totally alone. That's a hard thing to handle, when you're twelve.
Izzy's real problem isn't 'being dumb', though. She's smart enough - what gets in the way of her using the smarts is her quick temper and inability to manage her anger. This comes up quite a lot as the story progresses and the kids get into this Jumanji-style board game with real life pirate battleships and whatnot. The story involves the kids getting sucked into the game and facing dangerous tasks, so it's quite a lot like Jumanji. But the story is fun to read, and it supports the drama between the main characters. It was a fun, quick read.
About the characters themselves, I enjoyed the story, but I found the 'smart kid', Izzy's brother Noah a little far-fetched and annoying. He's 12, but he talks like he's some ancient wizard in an RPG game, talking pompously and using antiquated words and whatnot. I could practically see his white beard! It's kind of a silly 'smart kid' stereotype. You can be sciencey without sounding weird an ancient. Kids who are into tech and science aren't like that, they're also often into games and youtubers and funny TikTok dances. They'd be the last people to talk like a 70 year old dude who won a Nobel prize in the 60's. I'd rather read about realistic kids than caricatures.
Izzy, on the other hand, comes off as a quite realistic kid, and her character struck me as believable. There is another important character in the story, but I will not go into detail about him because it is closely related to the plot details, and I don't want to spoil.
There was, however, one thing I was quite uncomfortable with. I wasn't a fan of the kids trying to choke each other way more than I'd like to witness them do that. I mean, sure, kids can punch and kick and do many mean things when they fight, but WHY would you write about kids choking each other? MULTIPLE TIMES? I don't know any normal, functioning person who would seriously choke someone, because that's dangerous. Kids don't seriously do that, do they? (Cause if they do, then my belief in humanity may suffer a serious blow.) Choking is not for a kids book. Choking and strangling is dangerous and absolutely off limits. Have them fight and punch. Keep it soft. Keep your characters' hands off each other's throats!! Or do you want them to read the book and try to choke their little brother..??? (Am I being stupid about this?)
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
Visit my book blog for more:
https://avalinahsbooks.space
Bookstagram:
https://www.instagram.com/avalinahsbooks/
Izzy is unhappy with her family's move to a new location. She's had to abandon her friends and her entire life, and for what? For the sake of her genius little brother who got a star scholarship at a gifted kids school. Izzy loves her brother, after all, they're twins - but at the moment, she can't stand the idea of him. That's because the move has made Izzy feel like she's unimportant, 'the dumb twin' and also totally alone. That's a hard thing to handle, when you're twelve.
Izzy's real problem isn't 'being dumb', though. She's smart enough - what gets in the way of her using the smarts is her quick temper and inability to manage her anger. This comes up quite a lot as the story progresses and the kids get into this Jumanji-style board game with real life pirate battleships and whatnot. The story involves the kids getting sucked into the game and facing dangerous tasks, so it's quite a lot like Jumanji. But the story is fun to read, and it supports the drama between the main characters. It was a fun, quick read.
About the characters themselves, I enjoyed the story, but I found the 'smart kid', Izzy's brother Noah a little far-fetched and annoying. He's 12, but he talks like he's some ancient wizard in an RPG game, talking pompously and using antiquated words and whatnot. I could practically see his white beard! It's kind of a silly 'smart kid' stereotype. You can be sciencey without sounding weird an ancient. Kids who are into tech and science aren't like that, they're also often into games and youtubers and funny TikTok dances. They'd be the last people to talk like a 70 year old dude who won a Nobel prize in the 60's. I'd rather read about realistic kids than caricatures.
Izzy, on the other hand, comes off as a quite realistic kid, and her character struck me as believable. There is another important character in the story, but I will not go into detail about him because it is closely related to the plot details, and I don't want to spoil.
There was, however, one thing I was quite uncomfortable with. I wasn't a fan of the kids trying to choke each other way more than I'd like to witness them do that. I mean, sure, kids can punch and kick and do many mean things when they fight, but WHY would you write about kids choking each other? MULTIPLE TIMES? I don't know any normal, functioning person who would seriously choke someone, because that's dangerous. Kids don't seriously do that, do they? (Cause if they do, then my belief in humanity may suffer a serious blow.) Choking is not for a kids book. Choking and strangling is dangerous and absolutely off limits. Have them fight and punch. Keep it soft. Keep your characters' hands off each other's throats!! Or do you want them to read the book and try to choke their little brother..??? (Am I being stupid about this?)
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
Visit my book blog for more:
https://avalinahsbooks.space
Bookstagram:
https://www.instagram.com/avalinahsbooks/
Rebel Girls Lead: 25 Tales of Powerful Women by Rebel Girls
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
What I loved about Rebel Girls Lead:
1. These women in the book truly rock! They are inspiring and wonderful personalities. Every single one is introduced in one short page, but it's all the correct points and it reads great. Fast read too, kind of a coffee table book that way.
2. Beautiful illustrations! Every single one is done by a new artist and it brings a lot of freshness and color to the whole book.
3. At the end, you are encouraged to put yourself on the page next to these amazing women. For a younger reader, this could prove very inspiring.
4. There is also a questionnaire sort of test that helps you decide what kind of leader you are. It's kind of like those tests they used to have in teen magazines. It's fun and in my opinion, quite meaningful.
5. There are exercises for activism and leadership training, which is pretty cool!
6. There's plenty of diversity in terms of race. Definitely not just white ladies!
What I think could have been done better:
1. There are some international ladies in there, but the overall feel was 'mostly Americans'. Well, okay, it's not so bad when I counted - 16 out of 25 were Americans, and I do get that the book is being published in America, so it makes sense to include more of them there. Take this as you will, but I think ladies all over the world can be cool!
2. When I said there's plenty of diversity in terms of race, that's what I meant - race only. I was a little sad to not see even a single trans woman with great achievements. They need to be represented too, especially because there are now more trans teens and even kids transitioning than there were in the past. They need to see themselves. And there are plenty amazing trans ladies to include. (I can name a few off the top of my head.)
Overall, this book greatly reminded me of another one I reviewed a few years ago, called What Would Boudicca Do? They are quite similar in their aim and format, only I think Rebel Girls Lead is meant for younger readers, as Boudicca has quite a lot of four letter words and is maybe aimed more at teens and young adults. Boudicca is also longer (50 stories and not 25) and it has trans ladies repped. However, Rebel Ladies Lead is illustrated in color, while Boudicca is just black and white print, although also has lovely drawings.
Don't get me wrong about comparing these books - they're both great and absolutely necessary. I'm only listing the differences I observed. So I can recommend both and they're very inspiring - if you've got a young (or youngish) reader in the house, you may want to check out both (age appropriately, though!)
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
Visit my book blog for more:
https://avalinahsbooks.space
Bookstagram:
https://www.instagram.com/avalinahsbooks/
What I loved about Rebel Girls Lead:
1. These women in the book truly rock! They are inspiring and wonderful personalities. Every single one is introduced in one short page, but it's all the correct points and it reads great. Fast read too, kind of a coffee table book that way.
2. Beautiful illustrations! Every single one is done by a new artist and it brings a lot of freshness and color to the whole book.
3. At the end, you are encouraged to put yourself on the page next to these amazing women. For a younger reader, this could prove very inspiring.
4. There is also a questionnaire sort of test that helps you decide what kind of leader you are. It's kind of like those tests they used to have in teen magazines. It's fun and in my opinion, quite meaningful.
5. There are exercises for activism and leadership training, which is pretty cool!
6. There's plenty of diversity in terms of race. Definitely not just white ladies!
What I think could have been done better:
1. There are some international ladies in there, but the overall feel was 'mostly Americans'. Well, okay, it's not so bad when I counted - 16 out of 25 were Americans, and I do get that the book is being published in America, so it makes sense to include more of them there. Take this as you will, but I think ladies all over the world can be cool!
2. When I said there's plenty of diversity in terms of race, that's what I meant - race only. I was a little sad to not see even a single trans woman with great achievements. They need to be represented too, especially because there are now more trans teens and even kids transitioning than there were in the past. They need to see themselves. And there are plenty amazing trans ladies to include. (I can name a few off the top of my head.)
Overall, this book greatly reminded me of another one I reviewed a few years ago, called What Would Boudicca Do? They are quite similar in their aim and format, only I think Rebel Girls Lead is meant for younger readers, as Boudicca has quite a lot of four letter words and is maybe aimed more at teens and young adults. Boudicca is also longer (50 stories and not 25) and it has trans ladies repped. However, Rebel Ladies Lead is illustrated in color, while Boudicca is just black and white print, although also has lovely drawings.
Don't get me wrong about comparing these books - they're both great and absolutely necessary. I'm only listing the differences I observed. So I can recommend both and they're very inspiring - if you've got a young (or youngish) reader in the house, you may want to check out both (age appropriately, though!)
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
Visit my book blog for more:
https://avalinahsbooks.space
Bookstagram:
https://www.instagram.com/avalinahsbooks/