Netgalley Reviews: Good Batch

(I got these for review from netgalley)

Children of Blood and Bone Excerpt/Preview (Chapters 1-6)

3/6/17

Cover: is actually representative of what is in the novel. The colors are so eye-catching and vibrant.

Pros

1. Fantasy world- it’s not clunky/info-dumpy, it is interesting to have a world that is majority if not completely filled with black people
2. How it deals with the problems of the world- the greatest thing about having a world with majority/completely filled with black people is that the story can be intraracial issues such as colorism. It also does a good representation of systematic oppression ( there is even some commentary about misogynoir )
3. Brutal- the stakes are high and real

I really did not have anything I did not like about it so I’m ready  for it to come out. I’m actually a bit annoyed at myself for sampling something coming out next year in March.

My Nana and Me

8/1/17

Art:  Black girl with black doll, good drawing black people, dream like different images that blend into one

Story: love between grandmother  and her granddaughter

Sweet Dreams, Super Girl

2/1/18

Art: mix comic and picture book-transition for young superhero lovers, poc children

Story: takes everyday lessons and adds superheroes to it

Mr. Crum’s Potato Predicament

9/5/17

Art: colors bright, black people in background (different between black and white features)

Story: actually kinda funny, was history lession without me realizing its a history lesson (didn’t feel messagy)

280: The Duff

Synopsis

Soon to be a major motion picture! Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper may not be the prettiest girl in her high school, but she has a loyal group of friends, a biting wit, and a spot-on BS detector. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. But things aren’t so great at home and Bianca, desperate for a distraction, ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.  

Cover: This movie tie-in version is the best.

The Good

• fun comparing it to movie (after a while I stopped comparing it to the movie because it is pretty different beyond the premise of the story)
• main character voice-she is opinionated. People don’t like these type of girl teen voices (I feel she sounds like me as a teen)
• the main character (Bianca) had a multifaceted voice
• feminist (in ways)- sexually progressive  (allowing the main character to not feels shame for sleeping with someone casually)

The Bad

• Last 70 or so pages felt like the last 5 episodes of a k-drama (or most Asian dramas)- filler city and prolonged problems between characters
• lack of diversity (noticeable more since in the movie one of the friends, Casey, is Latina)
• falls back on sexual progressive conversation (or shows internalized misogyny)
• Her friends were a bit interchangeable

The Meh

All these young adult books are catching up with me. This one made me think about high school young adult reader me. It is interesting coming back to ya and reading something I feel I would not have enjoyed as an actual young adult.

I want to read essays about The Duffs feminism now but cannot find any.

Being An Adult In Y.A./Being A Y.A. Returner

• Being conscious of that adultness.

There are a lot of discussions about how adults are taking over the young adult category. I am not going to get deep into my thoughts because it is a loaded conversation that needs its own entire post that I may write one day. Overall, it is a valid and needed conversation.

• Adult listening to adults

A. I do not want to invade teens reading spaces.

I believe that I mostly follow adult y.a. readers which is probably because as a y.a. returner I have different expectations for the genre. Also, I feel kind of uncomfortable coming into a teens space.

B. Criticalness/Critique/Discussion

Part of the reason I am able to be a part of  the category is because of the discussions. I’m connected to people who discuss all the issues I have had with category since I left back in the day. Not to say that teens are not  part of these discussions but I think adults are mostly part of these discussions.

• Past y.a. reader me

A. grew up with y.a.

Archie comics and Fear Street were the first books I really read.

B. having a blog/goodreads footprint of me with y.a.

I can look when I first read certain books and let go of y.a.

 

• Changes in y.a. then and now

A. Mass market paperback to mostly hardcover or trade paperback

B. Y.A. novels are bigger

C. More diversity

D. More voices hitting mainstream publishing  than before

Questions

If you are someone who has been around y.a. for a long time what are some things you have noticed change about the genre? How do you feel about the whole adults in y.a. discussion? What are some things you have noticed since more adults have come into the category?

Netgalley Reviews: Penguin Teen Game-Changers & Starswept & Picture Books

Penguin Teen Game-Changers

Pub: 9/12/17

Warcross

Pub: 9/12/17

The first five seconds into this one it was a hard no because of the main characters voice did not appeal to me.  I’m not engaged by this one.

+Older heroine who lives a different lifestyle

-pacing (which probably is because (I read a couple of pages of this and knew I did like it.)

Continue? Nope

Jane Unlimited

Pub: 9/19/17

+different view of teens (dropout)

-voice of the characters it felt like they were trying hard to be quirky at times, it did not engage me

Continue? No

Someone Inside Your House

Pub: 9/26/17

I wanted this to do well because I do want more horror non-supernatural young adult to do well.  It is readable. Emotionally I am just not into it.

+Main character is Hawaiian, it was readable (it did not feel heavy)

– It was not scary/suspenseful to me

Continue? No

Things I’m Seeing Without You

Pub: 10/3/17

+Short chapters, different lifestyle (high school boarding school dropout)

-voice of main character

Continue? No

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns

Pub: 10/10/17

I like the description of this the most so I thought I will actually like this one. I was right.

+I really liked the mythology, pace, that it  showed early on it can be dark/gory (saying to me yes I can and will go there). The chapters were short which ties into the pacing and the overall good job she does with giving the world and mythology info.

Continue? Yes

Overall

It was an okay sampler, did not like 4 of 5 of the books. There was variety in terms of the characters lifestyles, and genre.

Favorite Cover: There’s Someone Inside Your House

Favorite Book: Forest of a Thousand Lanterns

Other Netgalley Reviews

Starswept (DNF)

Pub: 8/29/17

4% (according to my kindle app)

Like: The setting being a music school in space

Why DNF? The info dump was heavy and I just was not engaged by it.

From Far Away

Pub: 8/8/17

Like: Art, smooth transition, imagery of dark skin woman on cover, showing difficulties that a kid who is not from America would deal with (skeleton)

Tiny Tale of little Pea

Pub: 9/5/17

Like: Ending surprised me (I thought this is what is going to happen, then this will happen, after that it will end like this), art, this is what a person who is the size of Thumbelina would go through (was surprised the cat did not try to pick with him)