Reading, Writing, and Me

As the year comes to a close, I'm reflecting on the books that I read (and loved) this year, and I'm eagerly putting my TBR together for the next. In the coming weeks, I'll be posting about my favorite books of the year, what I'm looking for next year, and a deeper look into some of the statistics behind my reading. While I've been working on those posts, though, I've seen trends in books that I'm drawn to and underrepresented areas in YA that I want to see more of. This post is my ultimate future wish list as well as a call for other readers to speak out about the kinds of books they want to see represented more on the book shelves. Let me know in the comments if some of these are on your list, or if there's other books you want to see! College YA I'm starting off with my main wish. I absolutely love YA set in college, and there's absolutely not enough of it. Publishers seem to be scared of venturing that murky space after the summer bef...

Always Never Yours  by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegmund-Broka Overview: Megan is not Juliet Capulet, but her drama teacher, Jody, disagrees. Megan didn't even want to act in the school production of Romeo and Juliet , but to get into the theater school of her dreams for directing, she has to have an acting credit on her resume. She only intends to get a few lines, not play lead opposite her ex-boyfriend, and current best friend's boyfriend. Even as she tries to embrace the role, the only character Megan can identify with is Rosaline because all of her relationships, over ten of them throughout high school, have ended in the guy leaving her for the "perfect" girl, but maybe that's about to change. Overall: 4  Characters: 4.5 I liked Megan. She's bold and uncompromising in the way she presents herself. She's unafraid of dating or the reputation that it gives her. She seems so confident in herself that it's hard for others to remember that her so...

Unbroken  Edited by Marieke Nijkamp (310 pages) Overall: 4 Since this book is an anthology, this review is going to get structured a little differently. It's a collection of thirteen stories tied together by the common theme of having disabled teens at the forefront of the stories. Beyond the central thread, these stories go in all different directions and genres. I'd say that most of them are fantasy or magical realism with many influenced by Eastern cultures or mythology. There are a few contemporary stories scattered throughout, and Katherine Locke brings science fiction into the mix. This makes it a great anthology for people looking for a taste of many genres or a chance to sample genres that are outside your comfort zone. The chance to try new things without a whole novel of commitment is the greatest attribute of an anthology to me. Many of the stories also dive into LGBTQ relationships and identities though there are plenty of friendship and family stories as well...