regal_leaves's reviews
56 reviews

Here the Whole Time by Vitor Martins

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia

What Magic Is This? by Holly Bourne

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm

Camp by L.C. Rosen

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Been Here All Along by Sandy Hall

hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Blood Moon by Lucy Cuthew

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I’d expected the narrative to focus solely on Frankie’s story but was pleasantly surprised to find a more in depth look at feminism and shaming with a scandle including her best friend Harriet. For me the combination of experiences was one of the things that made this book so impactful for me.

Frankie’s and Harriet’s friendship throughout was phenomenal, I enjoyed seeing them grow along side each other through everything. I appreciated the focus on the impact a situation such as this has on female friendships, the choice to rally together of join the side of the people shaming is a snap decision and I liked the depiction of this.

Benjamin was another amazingly written character, we see how the shaming for men is drastically different from women while having a stong male character that tries to support Frankie the best he can. Their relationship is one of the cutest I’ve read and I especially enjoyed their development into the couple in the end.

I don’t read books written in verse often but I’ve been enjoying them, Blood Moon was no exception. I especially liked the way the formatting was used, certain things were written bigger/ smaller and more opaque than others to show the emotion behind the words. Things were organised differently across the page with paragraphs of conversation on either side to differentiate, which is something I haven’t seen done before but thoroughly enjoyed. 

The themes were executed perfectly, not for a second shying away from the important conversations or the facts of a viral situation like this. tHe idea of #noshame was perfect and I appreciated the idea that it didn’t just apply to periods.

The ending was heartwarming and powerful for the school scale but I don’t believe it would have made much difference for the shaming online. I believe they should have done something on a larger scale or at least posted more about it online.

Overall I loved this book with every fiber of my being and believe it to be an important read for everyone with its message of #noshame.

First Day of My Life by Lisa Williamson

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

DISCLAIMER - I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are all my own and are in no way influenced by this.
From the synopsis I expected it to be solely Frankie's story, but was pleasantly surprised to find that story delved into Jojo's and Ram's story too. In three separate parts we explore each character in depth helping to understand their story as well as unveiling the narrative with its twists and turns. 
The pacing from start to finish was smooth and easy to read, I found myself unable to put it down with needing to find answers to continuous questions. I hadn't expected such a big curve ball so close to the start which definitely spurred me on to read more from the very beginning.
In the beginning Frankie wasn't my favourite person, I thought she was brash and lept to far fetched conclusions without having all the facts. This did keep up throughout the book but you learn to love her flaws and even begin to appreciate them for what they are.
The relationships, especially between Frankie and Jojo, were incredible at showing the bond between childhood best friends that stay together. I'll admit I cried more than once while reading from the pure love between the two and couldn't help but love their development both singularly and together throughout.
For me the ending was the perfect way to finish the story, I felt satisfied with the development of the characters and narrative. However I would have liked it to be played out more instead of explained in the epilogue to see more reactions and small moments that I loved while reading.
Overall I recommend to anyone looking for a heartwarming story about friendship and first love while also seeking a mystery. After this I will definitely be picking up Lisa Williamson's other works and can't wait to see what I find!