Reading, Writing, and Me

Illustrator: Bex Glending Designer: Anlegna Carlino Ashley has a new book coming out on 3/10/2020, and I have the privilege of being one of the bloggers to take part of the cover reveal on Best Friends Day! Check out the description of the book and prepare to be excited: " You can't rewrite the past, but you can always choose to start again . It’s been twenty-seven days since Cleo and Layla’s friendship imploded. Nearly a month since Cleo realized they’ll never be besties again. Now, Cleo wants to erase every memory, good or bad, that tethers her to her ex–best friend. But pretending Layla doesn’t exist isn’t as easy as Cleo hoped, especially after she’s assigned to be Layla’s tutor. Despite budding new friendships with other classmates—and a raging crush on a gorgeous boy named Dom—Cleo’s turbulent past with Layla comes back to haunt them both. Alternating between timelines of Then and Now, When You Were Everything blends past and present into an emotional story about...

I am so excited to write the introduction for this interview about Laura Sibson's beautiful book, The Art Of Breaking  Things . If you haven't heard anything about the book yet, I would suggest you read my review from earlier in the week to get a better understanding of the book. I am so glad that Laura had the courage to put this book out in the world. It is both an amazing tool to promote empathy and a comfort and representation to survivors looking to see their voices reflected in YA.  1. From the beginning Skye, Ben, Luisa, and Keith all have amazing chemistry (in some cases romantic and in others friendship). How did you build the layers behind their connections from the start? Do you have any advice for writers wondering how to develop realistic relationships between their characters? This is an excellent question! The relationships between the characters evolved during the revision process. In the first draft, Luisa was sort of cold, Ben was too much of ...

The Art of Breaking Things  by Laura Sibson (June 18) Overview: Skye was twelve when she was molested by her mother's boyfriend on a camping trip. When she tried to tell her mom that night, her mom brushed her off and was too drunk to remember what happened to Skye. Now a senior in high school, she's lived with the fear and shame for a while, believing that her mother doesn't believe her. She's tried to cope with alcohol, drugs, and art, and she's starting to heal when Dan comes back into their lives. Now with her younger sister Emma turning twelve, Skye is filled with fear, panic, and flashbacks as her family starts to fall apart again. She has to decide if and how she wants to speak out to stop her mother from marrying her abuser. Overall: 5 Characters: 5 Skye is an amazing character. She's so strong, but she feels like she has to be. Her secret eats her alive, and she does whatever she can to drown it with drugs or emotional outbursts. She's trying ...

Virtually Yours  by Sarvenaz Tash (June 4) Overview: Miriam has been in a funk since she started NYU. More accurately, she's been down since her boyfriend of three years broke up with her because long distance would be "too hard". It all changes, though when Miriam decides to try a new virtual reality dating service called HEAVR. The only problem, though, is that when she accidentally matches with her ex-boyfriend, the draw of a second chance is too much to pass up. After concealing her identity, Miriam starts a hoax to get him to fall for her again. Overall: 4  Characters: 4 I liked Miriam, especially as the story progressed and she became more sure of herself. It allowed her personality to shine and gave her more dimensions than she started with. In the end, I was definitely rooting her. Her friends at NYU are great additions to the story. Miriam's roommate Hedy is a major film buff, and, while it's pretty much her singular trait, she does offer some good...

Red White and Royal Blue  by Casey McQuiston *Disclaimer*  This is NOT a YA book. The protagonists are 21-23 year old. It's a book that has gotten tons of buzz in the YA community, but it is not YA. I believe I've seen the author self identify this book on Twitter as NA (New Adult), but, since that's not a huge thing at the moment, you'll probably find it shelved in the Adult Romance section. Anyway... Overview: Ellen Claremont became the first female president in 2016, but, as 2020 approaches, she is preparing to fight to keep her narrow hold on the White House. Part of that plan includes lots of press with the trio of adult children of the President and Vice President.  Norah, the granddaughter of the Vice President, June, Ellen's daughter, and Alex, her son, are extremely central to the campaign. When Alex makes a scene with the royal son Prince Henry at the Prince's brother's royal wedding, the boys are shoved together and forced to fake a friendshi...