Happy Galentine’s Day! · YA Friendships Like No Other » The Novel Hermit

Happy Galentine’s Day! · YA Friendships Like No Other

February 13, 2016 Comments : 6

Do you know what knocks Valentine’s Day out of the ballpark? Galentine’s Day! Aka the best day of the year! (At least one of the best days, next to Treat Yo Self day on October 13th.)

[quote]It’s a day, coined by the amazing Leslie Knope of Parks and Recreation, to celebrate all the awesome ladies and female friendships in the world! You don’t need Valentine’s Day! Galentine’s Day is all you need.[/quote]

On this glorious day, I want to talk about some of my favorite YA female friendships. I just love these ones sooo much that my soul actually hurts (in the best way possible) when I think about them.

Reviews

(ARC) REVIEW | The Not-So Breakfast Club Shenanigans (Rebel Bully Geek Pariah by Erin Jade Lange)

February 11, 2016 Comments : 2

Four very different teens and a night changes them forever.

The Rebel: Once popular, Andi is now a dreadlocked, tattooed wild child.
The Bully: York torments everyone who crosses his path, especially his younger brother.
The Geek: Tired of being bullied, Boston is obsessed with getting into an Ivy League college.
The Pariah: Choosing to be invisible has always worked for Sam . . . until tonight.

When Andi, York, Boston, and Sam find themselves hiding in the woods after a party gets busted by the cops, they hop into the nearest car they see and take off—the first decision of many in a night that will change their lives forever. By the light of day, these four would never be caught dead together, but when their getaway takes a dangerously unpredictable turn, sticking together could be the only way to survive.[/note]

myreview

[note note_color=”#BFD1D1″ text_color=”#ffffff”]I received this book for free from Bloomsbury for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.[/note]

First sentence: “Everything is gray.”

What does Rebel Bully Geek Pariah have? The Breakfast Club? Eh, sort of. Cinematic storytelling? Well, you can say that. Compelling emotional depth? No, not really for me. Thrilling ride? I guess.

Reading Rebel Bully Geek Pariah was like watching a drama, but it turned into a crime flick I hadn’t intended to watch. You think it’s gonna go a certain way, but it does a 180 turn. I thought this book would be like an ode to The Breakfast Club—where you see the characters chilling and having heart to hearts, and although you see the resemblance, the over-the-top events stray away from every assumption I had about this book. (I should’ve really read the synopsis carefully.)

Reviews

(ARC) REVIEW | Boy or Girl? How About Both & Neither. (Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin)

February 5, 2016 Comments : 6

Symptoms of Being Human

The first thing you’re going to want to know about me is: Am I a boy, or am I a girl?

Riley Cavanaugh is many things: Punk rock. Snarky. Rebellious. And gender fluid. Some days Riley identifies as a boy, and others as a girl. The thing is . . . Riley isn’t exactly out yet. And between starting a new school and having a congressman father running for reelection in uber-conservative Orange County, the pressure—media and otherwise—is building up in Riley’s so-called “normal” life.

On the advice of a therapist, Riley starts an anonymous blog to vent those pent-up feelings and tell the truth of what it’s REALLY like to be a gender-fluid teenager. But just as Riley’s starting to settle in at school—even developing feelings for a mysterious outcast—the blog goes viral, and an unnamed commenter discovers Riley’s real identity, threatening exposure. Riley must make a choice: walk away from what the blog has created—a lifeline, new friends, a cause to believe in—or stand up, come out, and risk everything.[/note]

myreview

[note note_color=”#BFD1D1″ text_color=”#ffffff”]I received this book for free from HarperCollins for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.[/note]

First sentence: “The first thing you’re going to want to know about me is: Am I a boy, or am I a girl?”

Ever wonder what it means to be gender fluid? Symptoms of Being Human does that; it introduces readers to a gender identity that most people don’t know even exist. I knew about gender fluid identity, but my understanding of it was vague.

(Note: The pronouns I’m using for Riley is they/their, as that is a gender-neutral pronoun.)

Discussion

TOO MUCH TBR · February 2016

February 3, 2016 Comments : 8

too mch tbr feb

More books keep piling onto my TBR list. I can’t see the horizon! When will I be done? I need to get so much reading done in February. At least I’m reading more books than I was during this time a year ago!

For those who do not know, Too Much TBR is a way to help me see which books I really need to read and tackle them. Is it effective? Perhaps. It helps a lot seeing a visual of the books on my TBR pile.

Let’s discuss what I read last month, and what I’m reading this month!

BACK IN JANUARY

Let’s see, I had twelve books I wanted to read, and I managed to get through half of it (DNF included).

I’ve read and finished Firsts, Shallow Graves, Rebel Bully Geek Pariah, and Symptoms of Being Human. I also Written in Red (The Others #1), which I enjoyed a lot, and Sex Criminals Vol. 1, which was a hilarious read. I’ve officially DNFed Anna and the Swallow Man (because it didn’t keep my attention) and The Word for Yes (because the characters grated on my nerves).

I have half of All The Birds in the Sky read (I am really enjoying the discussions of nature vs technology in it) and part of Salt to the Sea, so I’m hoping to finish them real soon!

Reviews

REVIEW | The Case of the Murder of Miss Bell! (Murder Is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens)

February 1, 2016 Comments : 2

Murder Is Bad Manners

Deepdean School for Girls, 1934. When Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong set up their very own deadly secret detective agency, they struggle to find any truly exciting mysteries to investigate. (Unless you count the case of Lavinia’s missing tie. Which they don’t, really.)

But then Hazel discovers the Science Mistress, Miss Bell, lying dead in the Gym. She thinks it must all have been a terrible accident – but when she and Daisy return five minutes later, the body has disappeared. Now the girls know a murder must have taken place . . . and there’s more than one person at Deepdean with a motive.

Now Hazel and Daisy not only have a murder to solve: they have to prove a murder happened in the first place. Determined to get to the bottom of the crime before the killer strikes again (and before the police can get there first, naturally), Hazel and Daisy must hunt for evidence, spy on their suspects and use all the cunning, scheming and intuition they can muster. But will they succeed? And can their friendship stand the test?[/note]

myreview

First sentence: “This is the first murder that the Wells & Wong Detective Society has ever investigated, so it is a good thing Daisy bought me a new casebook.”

If you’re ever in need of detectives to solve a case, Wells & Wong Detective Society will surely be up to taking your case.

At their English boarding school, Deepdean School for Girls, set in the 1930s, Wells and Wong have solved the case of Lavinia’s missing tie, little missing knick knacks, and oh, a frickin’ murder! These girls were thrown into a dangerous murder mystery when Hazel finds the dead body of their teacher, Miss Bell, lying on the floor of their gym with a head wound. Who did it? Wells and Wong got immediately on the case, and boy oh boy, these brave girls are exceptional detectives.

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