Abbreviations #110: Anxious People, Untamed + Big Friendship

Anxious Peopl e is the third Fredrik Backman novel I’ve read, and it has fully cemented him as an author whose work I enjoy. This novel has a premise that’s pretty out there: a would-be bank robber ends up holding a group of people attending an apartment viewing hostage. But this story is about more…

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Book Review: These Violent Delights

There is an exquisite joy in reading a book that hits the mark for you as a reader and that, my friends, was my experience with These Violent Delights . This debut young adult historical fantasy novel from Chloe Gong is set in 1920s Shanghai (!) and draws inspiration from Romeo and Juliet (!!). Thro…

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Friends with ARCs: Chasing Lucky + Rebel Rose

Chasing Lucky is the newest contemporary young adult novel from author Jenn Bennett. The story centers around Josie St. Martin, who returns with her mom to their family hometown determined to simply get through her senior year and then get out of this place to go and live with her father. But when …

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Abbreviations #109: A Deadly Education, Mexican Gothic + Rebecca

[A disclaimer: Prior to reading my thoughts on A Deadly Education, please check out this article regarding the controversy around this novel post-publication due to criticism of Novik’s portrayal of cultures and racial qualities. A lot of valid points were made by other readers, and I want to ackno…

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Book Review: The Happy Ever After Playlist

I haven't read quite as many romances this year, but  The Happy Ever After Playlist  is definitely one of my favorites! This is the companion novel sequel to The Friend Zone  (and even though this can be read as a standalone, I'd still recommend checking that one out just for the extra nuance …

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Abbreviations #108: Hello, Universe + Dating Makes Perfect + Super Fake Love Song

I've always wanted to read something written by author Erin Entrada Kelly (who is a Filipino-American author) and ended up binge reading Hello, Universe on a whim. This Newbury Medal awardee is a contemporary middle grade about four kids: shy Virgil who feels out of place among his family, smar…

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October 2020

I sound like a broken record at this point, but October flew by so fast. It likely has a lot to do with the fact that so much went down in the last thirty-one days, including: losing another grandparent (my grandfather's brother), celebrating my friend Jaymee 's birthday, attending a virtual…

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