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millennialbookreview's reviews
541 reviews
How to Accidentally Settle Down [With Your High School Boyfriend] by Katherine Ryan
4.0
This short story was fun and humorous, yet also introspective. . Parts of it are relatable, and it delivers exactly what the title says. I listened to the audiobook, read by the author, which really added to the experience. It's a quick read (or in my case listen) and a good mood-lifter after a rough day.
Bittersweet Betrayal by Stephanie Damore
4.0
This was a fun, unique mystery. It's light-hearted and funny, but the story still has some stakes. The characters were funny and compelling. The mystery was intriguing and, despite how short the novella is, the author pulled off a really great twist in how it ended.
The Sea by Sophie Jupillat Posey
2.0
I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I found the premise of this story to be intriguing. Amos and his connection to the sea seemed like an interesting dynamic to explore. The author did an excellent job painting a very vivid and detailed picture of the world and the environment of the story. The cover art is beautiful and I liked the message the story was trying to send.
While those aspects of the story were ones that I enjoyed, there were a number of things that I didn't enjoy about The Sea. I found Amos as a character to be rather one-dimensional and hard to connect to or like. There was also a great deal telling the reader things as opposed to showing those things, leading to bouts of exposition dumps, especially of events between Part 1 and Part 2. The ending felt rather weird and disjointed to me, which disappointed me.
In conclusion, The Sea had a lot of potential, but I don't think it achieved it.
I found the premise of this story to be intriguing. Amos and his connection to the sea seemed like an interesting dynamic to explore. The author did an excellent job painting a very vivid and detailed picture of the world and the environment of the story. The cover art is beautiful and I liked the message the story was trying to send.
While those aspects of the story were ones that I enjoyed, there were a number of things that I didn't enjoy about The Sea. I found Amos as a character to be rather one-dimensional and hard to connect to or like. There was also a great deal telling the reader things as opposed to showing those things, leading to bouts of exposition dumps, especially of events between Part 1 and Part 2. The ending felt rather weird and disjointed to me, which disappointed me.
In conclusion, The Sea had a lot of potential, but I don't think it achieved it.
Tying the Leaves by June Toher
3.0
Overall, I liked the novel. I found Jamie and his friends to be very well-written. Jamie begins the book as a shy twelve-year-old who lacks self-esteem, is struggling with grief and is terrified about his asthmatic sister’s health. In the process of trying to get others to pay attention to climate change, and trying to get others to listen and care about what’s happening, he becomes a much more confident person. The other three kids, Keisha, Tony and Raj have their own character arcs which center around other coming-of-age issues such as parental acceptance. Additionally, this story has an antagonist that’s incredibly realistic, in the form of a lobbyist for the fossil fuel industry.
While I liked the characters, I enjoyed the plot more. The story is told in a very up close and personal way. The kids journey from learning about climate change in school, to traveling to the future and upon their return, founding CAPE, Children Against Polluting Earth. The story depicts the trials and tribulations of starting an organization like that and trying to affect change. The kids don’t go from one high point to the next high point, there’s struggle and conflict, which adds an element of realism to this novel that not all young adult novels have. The conclusion of the story doesn’t show every problem being fixed, but instead focuses on things being on track for a better, brighter future. The struggles they face, and the main ideas about climate change and environmentalism are very topical right now and I feel like those issues and the arguments surrounding them were dealt with rather well in this story.
Tying the Leaves is a book with a very clear message, and that is what sets this novel apart more than characters or plot. Toher clearly did an extensive amount of research about climate change, renewal energy and other environmental issues in the process of writing this novel. It shows in the writing how knowledgeable she became about these topics, given that she’s able to display how the issue of climate change will affect the world as a whole, as well as its impact on individuals, as seen with Katie’s asthma and other lung problems. The issue of climate change is something she feels passionately about, which is reflected in her writing. She did a wonderful job of giving vivid detail to both the future Earth, ravaged by climate change, and the present Earth, in order to contrast the two. I enjoyed the imagery and the atmosphere of this story.
While I liked the plot and the characters as a whole, there are a few things about Tying the Leaves that didn’t quite work for me. None of them are major problems, but in order for this to be a balanced and honest review, I do need to address them. There are some stereotypes that are used that I wasn’t the biggest fan of, but those stereotypes were mostly to make characters have dimension and personality, so they didn’t take away from the story, but I did feel a little weird about them. Sometimes, the dialogue was a bit clunky or didn’t seem realistic. This mostly happened in regards to slang people were using, but there were other situations where the dialogue drew me out of the story. Some elements of the plot, especially around the climax, felt a bit unrealistic for an otherwise very realistic story. The antagonist does a few things in an attempt to stop the kids that don’t make sense with the rest of the story.
Typing the Leaves is a novel with a very important message. June Toher delivered that message perfectly. While it’s not perfect, the novel is good. This is a book that I think most young adults should read, mostly because it provides information about climate change that might be inaccessible to younger readers. It explains aspects about environmentalism in an easy to digest way. To any reader who is interested in fictional stories about the environment, I’d say to give this book a shot.
You can also find my review here
While I liked the characters, I enjoyed the plot more. The story is told in a very up close and personal way. The kids journey from learning about climate change in school, to traveling to the future and upon their return, founding CAPE, Children Against Polluting Earth. The story depicts the trials and tribulations of starting an organization like that and trying to affect change. The kids don’t go from one high point to the next high point, there’s struggle and conflict, which adds an element of realism to this novel that not all young adult novels have. The conclusion of the story doesn’t show every problem being fixed, but instead focuses on things being on track for a better, brighter future. The struggles they face, and the main ideas about climate change and environmentalism are very topical right now and I feel like those issues and the arguments surrounding them were dealt with rather well in this story.
Tying the Leaves is a book with a very clear message, and that is what sets this novel apart more than characters or plot. Toher clearly did an extensive amount of research about climate change, renewal energy and other environmental issues in the process of writing this novel. It shows in the writing how knowledgeable she became about these topics, given that she’s able to display how the issue of climate change will affect the world as a whole, as well as its impact on individuals, as seen with Katie’s asthma and other lung problems. The issue of climate change is something she feels passionately about, which is reflected in her writing. She did a wonderful job of giving vivid detail to both the future Earth, ravaged by climate change, and the present Earth, in order to contrast the two. I enjoyed the imagery and the atmosphere of this story.
While I liked the plot and the characters as a whole, there are a few things about Tying the Leaves that didn’t quite work for me. None of them are major problems, but in order for this to be a balanced and honest review, I do need to address them. There are some stereotypes that are used that I wasn’t the biggest fan of, but those stereotypes were mostly to make characters have dimension and personality, so they didn’t take away from the story, but I did feel a little weird about them. Sometimes, the dialogue was a bit clunky or didn’t seem realistic. This mostly happened in regards to slang people were using, but there were other situations where the dialogue drew me out of the story. Some elements of the plot, especially around the climax, felt a bit unrealistic for an otherwise very realistic story. The antagonist does a few things in an attempt to stop the kids that don’t make sense with the rest of the story.
Typing the Leaves is a novel with a very important message. June Toher delivered that message perfectly. While it’s not perfect, the novel is good. This is a book that I think most young adults should read, mostly because it provides information about climate change that might be inaccessible to younger readers. It explains aspects about environmentalism in an easy to digest way. To any reader who is interested in fictional stories about the environment, I’d say to give this book a shot.
You can also find my review here
The One and Only Dylan St. Claire by Kamen Edwards
5.0
This is an absolutely hilarious and charming book about a boy who was born to be a star....only to be cast in the school play as a squirrel. He must learn how to shine regardless of what roll he's given. The illustrations were great and this book made me laugh more than once.
From a Shadow Grave by Andi C. Buchanan
2.0
I was provided with an advanced copy of the novel and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.
When I picked up this story, I was expecting to get just one story. Instead, the reader is told four. The first story is about Phyllis and her murder. The remaining three stories show different possibilities for how her story could've ended differently. I enjoyed the way the author crafted three incredibly distinct directions where the story could go. I also appreciated the time-travel and alternate universe aspects of the book.
While I liked the ideas for this book, it was written in second person which I'm not the biggest fan of. It made it hard for me to connect to the characters in the narrative. The narrative made it hard for me to get into the story overall as well. I thought each story in and of itself was okay, but not much stood out to me. I'd give this book a solid 2.5 Stars
When I picked up this story, I was expecting to get just one story. Instead, the reader is told four. The first story is about Phyllis and her murder. The remaining three stories show different possibilities for how her story could've ended differently. I enjoyed the way the author crafted three incredibly distinct directions where the story could go. I also appreciated the time-travel and alternate universe aspects of the book.
While I liked the ideas for this book, it was written in second person which I'm not the biggest fan of. It made it hard for me to connect to the characters in the narrative. The narrative made it hard for me to get into the story overall as well. I thought each story in and of itself was okay, but not much stood out to me. I'd give this book a solid 2.5 Stars