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Karla Dee (6 KP) rated Her Good Side in Books

May 27, 2023  
Her Good Side
Her Good Side
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Love this cover and I am so happy to have won a copy from bookish first to review. I used to play basketball in middle school and I enjoy any YA books that take me back to the time of playing sports in High school. I also love a good rom com and this book has that too but of course I am going to bring up that they are a diverse couple and she is plus size. I love a book that has representation and this one is so cute down to her jordan's on the cover and his van's.

Friends turned into more than friends story and it is a coming of age tale for both of the characters. Bethany and Jacob are bad at dating and decide to pretend date and usually this kind of story ends up getting dramatic messy and full of teen angst that is hard for me to get through but this book was totally not that vibe. They are both strong characters that don't succumb to peer pressure which is awesome <3<3<3
  
One Last Stop
One Last Stop
Casey McQuiston | 2021 | LGBTQ+, Romance
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A dazzling, heartfelt queer romance
August Landry moves to New York City, just another stop among many in her quest to prove that she's fine being alone. Everything she owns fits in five boxes, and she sleeps on an inflatable mattress. She belongs nowhere and needs no one. But NYC feels different to August: her diverse group of roommates, who adopt her immediately; her job at an all-night pancake diner; and the subway. Because the subway brings Jane: beautiful, enigmatic, leather jacket-clad Jane. Then August realizes something; Jane is always on the subway because she has to be. She's trapped and displaced in time from the 1970s. It seems as if August--and her new band of friends--may be the only one to save her. Can August believe in something, someone, enough to free Jane?

"Truth is, when you spend your whole life alone, it's incredibly appealing to move somewhere big enough to get lost in, where being alone looks like a choice."

I've put off writing this review because it's hard to see how I can do McQuiston's beautiful romance any justice. This book is such a romantic, sexy, and heartwarming read. August is an excellent character. She's spent most of her life in her uncle's shadow, working with her mother to try to solve his missing person's case. August eventually declared herself done--done searching, done with mysteries. But then this beautiful woman appears on the subway, and she offers the biggest mystery of all to August. Why is Jane stuck on the subway and how can August help?

"And she can't believe Jane had the nerve, the audacity, to become the one thing August can't resist: a mystery."

McQuiston gives us the most amazing, diverse queer novel one could ever wish for. August is bi and Jane basically every lesbian's dream. It's impossible not to fall in love with this gorgeous Asian subway vision. Even better, through Jane and other events, it's a tribute to those who came before our generation. Jane was a (incredibly sexy) activist / riot girl in the 1970s, yet is shocked that you can typically be openly gay on the subway now. She comes to everyone's defense there. She's amazing. As for August's roommates, they are beautiful and diverse, including trans and gay characters, with the lovely Myla taking care of the group. There are several drag queens given legitimate, true storylines. To say how meaningful this is to the queer community--it's hard to even explain. All of these characters--roommates Myla, her boyfriend, Niko, and Wes; neighbor Isaiah; coworkers Lucie and Winfield--are real and treated with care. They are funny, flawed, and create the most amazing found family ever.

"Jane doesn't age. She's magnetic and charming and gorgeous. She... kind of lives underground."

As for August and Jane, this is a romance for the ages. This book is swoony and sexy. It will make you laugh; it will make you cry. McQuiston has written a lesbian character for us lesbians to ogle for years to come, and a romance to stack all other romances against. It's funny and heartwarming. There's magic and mystery. There's pancakes. It's a beautiful ode to New York City, the subway, and falling in love. There's seriously nothing not to love.

So yes, I loved this book. I love McQuiston's way with words--the humor, the romance, the way she allows the queer community to have meaningful love stories in our world. This book is flowing with passion, with beauty, and magic. 4.5+ stars.
  
    Sfatul Medicului

    Sfatul Medicului

    Medical and Health & Fitness

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    Descriere (RO): SfatulMedicului APP - Primesti sfaturi medicale, iti verifici simtomele, iti...

    Infinite Flight

    Infinite Flight

    Games and Sports

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    Infinite Flight offers the most comprehensive flight simulation experience on mobile devices,...

HT
How To Succeed in Witchcraft
Aislinn Brophy | 2022 | LGBTQ+, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Trigger Warnings: Grooming, prejudice, racism

Shay Johnson is a junior at T.K. Anderson Magical Magnet School and has done everything she possibly can to win the full-ride Brockton Scholarship - her ticket into the university of her dreams. Her only real competition is Ana Alvarez, but Shay also knows if she can impress Mr.B, the drama teacher and head of the scholarship committee, she’ll have an upper leg.

When Mr.B “persuades” Shay into being in the school’s racially diverse musical, in their no-so-diverse school, she agrees, and lands the leading role. But Ana is right behind her playing the second female lead. With the start of rehearsals, Shay realizes Ana isn’t the intense enemy she’s always thought she was… perhaps, she would be a friend, or more?

But when Shay gets asked by Mr.B to do some one-on-one practicing for the musical, she finds herself on the receiving end of Mr.B’s unpleasant and unwanted attention. When Shay learns she’s not the first witch to experience his inappropriate behavior, she must decide if she’ll come forward. But, will speaking out cancel her opportunity for the scholarship - her future?

This book deals with a lot of hard topics: grooming, prejudice, abuse of power, racism. I feel like Aislinn Brophy did a good job in writing the predatory actions that Mr.B was doing with Shay - every time something between them happened, it made my skin crawl.

I did enjoy the enemy-to-lovers storyline; or should I say misunderstandings-to-lovers storyline? It was cute and adorable and nothing drastically changed afterwards (besides more cuteness).

Though the title I feel like the title is a little deceiving, I still liked that magic was a part of the world here, but that magic doesn’t fix everything. Even in a world where you can fly around on brooms and make potions to help you wake up, the world is still far from perfect.

Overall, this is a magic-filled book that dives into where one draws the line on what they will allow to happen in order to get something they’ve worked so hard for their entire life. A good read for the witchy season coming up, but also a good read for the message behind it.

*Thank you G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Reads and BookishFirst for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
  
The Upside of Unrequited
The Upside of Unrequited
Becky Albertalli | 2017 | Young Adult (YA)
9
8.2 (25 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book was such a quick and easy read. The book is told entirely from Molly’s point of view, she is very relatable and has a distinct and developed voice. I soon felt like I knew her and really related to her as a main character. One of the things that I really loved about The Upside of Unrequited is the importance of the relationship between Molly and her twin sister Cassie, and the strong relationships she has with the rest of her family. There are so many important elements woven in to this story, and I felt like it was really well done. There is a lot of diversity, and it feels totally natural, and none of the characters are reduced to their diverse characteristic, they all read like real people, and I really liked all the different relationship dynamics.

*This book was kindly provided to me for honest review by the Publisher via Netgalley. This has not impacted on the content of this review, which it my own honest opinion.


A full review is available on my blog: https://readingsanctuaryblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/14/review-the-upside-of-unrequited-by-becky-albertalli/
  
The Upside of Unrequited
The Upside of Unrequited
Becky Albertalli | 2017 | Young Adult (YA)
8
8.2 (25 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Upside of Unrequited follows Molly, a girl who has had 26 crushes (and counting). She’s never been brave enough to put herself out there, never told any of her crushes how she felt and has never been rejected. But will everything change with crush 27?

This book is great because it has diverse people represented and seems authentic to each of their individual personalities and struggles. It is nice to see such a well-developed collection of people introduced to readers because sometimes readers aren’t always able to find a character they can relate to in a book. I hope that this book is not one of them.

Although Molly thinks she might like two different boys at one time, this isn’t a book that revolves around a love triangle. Molly struggles with her changing relationship with her twin sister. Her sister explores her own romantic feelings. Her parents balance their lives with a new baby and a very happy occasion on the horizon.

This is a cute, quick read about crushes, first loves, family, friends, and life. Highly recommended to young adult/teen readers who enjoy happy contemporary books.
  
40x40

Awix (3310 KP) rated Survivors in TV

Mar 9, 2018  
Survivors
Survivors
2008 | Drama, Sci-Fi
6
7.3 (23 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
21st century remake of the cult post-apocalyptic drama is supposedly based on the novelisation of the 70s show, not the show itself, but one gets the impression this claim is just there as a legal requirement: in the early episodes, at least, this is recognisably the same story.

That said, New Survivors is notably more suburban and less concerned with the realities of post-apocalyptic survival than with making grand statements about family and love through the medium of slightly soapy and soft-centred drama. It's a BBC genre drama from the late 2000s, so the characters are more diverse, everything is rather sentimental, and supplies of subtlety do not appear to have made it through the catastrophe. Still, it's kind of watchable, especially if you can put the original show out of your mind, and in the second series in particular one can discern an interesting subtext suggesting the programme is partly motivated by anger aimed at the culprits of the financial disaster of 2008. Second series concludes on a cliffhanger of sorts, so you can have fun making up your own ending for the story.