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The Summer I Turned Pretty
Author: Jenny Han [TW/CW: some language; c*ncer and use of “gay” as an insult (the character may have been called out on that but I can’t remember)] So, I technically read this first book of the series last summer but I didn’t finish the series until January. The Summer I Turned Pretty is about a teenage girl, Belly (yes weird name I know), who has vacationed at Cousins Beach every summer since she was little with her mom and brother Steven, her mom’s best friend Susannah, and Susannah’s two sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. But all of the teens are growing up and they start to realize that summer may not…
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Show Us Who You Are
Author: Elle McNicoll Show Us Who You are is about an autistic teen, Cora, who is dealing with a newer autism diagnosis and grieving the loss of her mother, along with her father and brother, at the same time. After being forced to go to a party by her family, Cora meets a boy, Adrian, who is also neurodivergent, and two end up becoming best friends. Adrian’s dad is the CEO of a company called Pomegranate Technologies, which uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to re-create people who have passed away. However, Cora starts to notice a dark side to the company and it’s up to her to stop its plans before…
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Keeper of the Lost Cities
Author: Shannon Messenger Keeper of the Lost Cities is about a 12-year-old girl, Sophie Foster, who is a high school senior and child prodigy and who has never felt like she’s belonged anywhere (most especially since she can hear other peoples’ thoughts). When a boy named Fitz meets Sophie and reveals to her that she is an elf and a telepath, Sophie is stunned. But, even after Fitz takes Sophie to the Lost Cities (where elves and other fantasy creatures live), Sophie still feels like an outcast. When Sophie learns of a threat that threatens both the human and the elf worlds, she needs to find some way to save…
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Fruits Basket (2019 version)
Fruits Basket is about Tohru Honda, a girl who ends up staying with three members of the Sohma clan (most of the clan aren’t related) after they find her homeless and living in a tent. Tohru finds out that thirteen of the Sohmas are part of the Zodiac curse, meaning that every time they hug someone that’s not their gender (like a boy hugging a girl) they transform into the Zodiac animals; but the Zodiac curse is not as cute as it looks. The Sohmas have suffered for who they are, some of them even being rejected by their own parents. The two Sohmas the anime mostly focuses on are…
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Can You See Me?
Authors: Libby Scott and Rebecca Westcott Can You See Me? is about a 12-year-old autistic girl, Tally, who like many girls has only just recently been diagnosed with autism. Tally is also getting ready to start middle school which she’s quite nervous about, as people in middle school are not as accepting of Tally’s traits as they were in elementary school. The only person who knows about Tally being autistic is her “best friend” Layla but, when Layla starts acting in ways that she’s never acted before, Tally starts to wonder if her “friends” are worth being friends with and if she should start being more open about her experiences…
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The Owl House
The Owl House is about a girl, Luz, who absolutely loves all things fantasy; however, her mother and teachers think Luz is into her interests too deep so her mother sends her to a “special” camp to try to get Luz to behave more normally. When walking to camp though, Luz accidentally lands in a fantasy realm called the Boiling Isles, full of some very weird creatures, and Luz doesn’t know how to get back home. Luz is taken in by a rebellious witch, Eda, and she becomes Eda’s apprentice. With the help of her new friends Eda, King and Hooty to name a few, Luz is determined to find…
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We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story
Author: Simu Liu T/CW: some strong language and familial abuse I’ve been looking forward to reading We Were Dreamers for quite some time. While I haven’t seen the popular comedy show that Simu was in, Kim’s Convenience, I watched the Shang-Chi movie and really loved it (it’s one of my favorites and one of the best Marvel movies hands down). I ended up becoming a huge fan of Simu and following him on social media after seeing the movie and thus finding out about this book coming out several months later! Now onto the book review! Overall, this is a really good memoir and even though it’s pretty short you…
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The Beatryce Prophecy
The Beatryce Prophecy is about a young girl, Beatryce, who is mysteriously found one day by a monk named Brother Edik who lives in the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing with a mischievous goat named Answelica. Beatryce can’t remember anything except her own name; and with the help of Brother Edik, Answelica and a lighthearted boy named Jack Dory, Beatryce goes on a quest to find out who she really and truly is. Kate Dicamillo is one of my favorite authors! I’ve read most of her books (The Tale of Despereaux, Flora and Ulysses and and the Raymie Nightingale series are some of my favorites!) and have really enjoyed…
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The Lightning Thief
The Lightning Thief (the first book of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series) is about a 12-year-old boy, Percy Jackson, who’s been in and out of multiple schools due to people not understanding his neurodivergence and who struggles with problems at home with his abusive step-dad. Percy starts noticing weird things happening (like vanishing math teachers and people with hooves around his school), and wonders what’s going on. Percy soon learns that he’s actually the son of a Greek god (which would make him a demi-god) and is being chased by monsters out to get him. So, Percy is taken to Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp designed especially for…
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A Few of My Summer Reads
So, I’ve been doing a lot of summer reading and thought I’d post a few reviews I’ve written of some of the books that I’ve read. Let me know what you think of them. And I’ll be reviewing more of my reads soon. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell: CW: Strong language, themes of abuse, neglect, racism and fat-shaming, use of racist, homophobic and ableist terms. After reading this book, I’m not sure what to think of it. This book, which takes place in the mid-1980’s, is about two teens, Eleanor and Park, who live totally different lives. Eleanor, who has red hair (a fact that’s relevant in the book),…