What I’ve Been Reading Lately

I’ve been so overwhelmed with the amount of books I’ve read but not talked about (but really DO want to talk about) so I just haven’t written many of these posts lately. SO I decided to just talk about 3 books for this post which seems a little more reasonable than having like 6 in one post. SO MANY BOOKS TO TALK ABOUT since the end of last year until now!

  A List of Cages by Robin Roe

I received this book  from the publisher for review consideration. This in no way swayed my opinion. Pinky swear!

About In A Sentence or Two: Adam and Julian haven’t seen each other in 5 years back when Julian was Adam’s foster brother for a period of time after his parent’s died. When they start to reconnect and spend more time together, Adam sees that, while he’s still the same kid he knew, there’s also stuff Julian is hiding and he decides to try to get to the bottom of what is really going on and help him.

Thoughts: Wow this book was quite the emotional kicker. Really sad and hard to read at times (fyi there *is* some really intense abuse scenes I’d be remiss not to mention if that’s a no-go for you). I thought the dual POVs of Adam and Julian really worked. I think the thing that stuck out for me with this one was the relationship between Adam and Julian as it’s not something you see very often — a really interesting friendship of sorts that borderlines on a brother/mentor type relationship as they are about 4 years apart if I recall correctly. They knew each other from when they were younger and kind of fell out of each other’s lives and I enjoyed watching them get to know each other again. It was a really sweet friendship and I loved how Adam looked out for Julian. Both Adam and Julian were great characters that I loved spending time with albeit how heartbreaking and infuriating this story was at times.

Rating:

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

About In A Sentence Or Two: Frances is all about studying and getting into an elite university. She keeps her friends at an arm’s length and doesn’t let them really get to know the REAL her — the Frances she is at home.  That is until she meets the creator of one of her favorite podcasts and a friendship quickly forms between them and she suddenly starts to feel free to be the real Frances. But then the podcast goes viral, secrets come out and everything comes crashing down.

Thoughts: This book just came out recently in the US, however, I bought it when I was in the UK around this time last year (I featured it on my 10 UK YA Books On My Radar list) because I COULDN’T WAIT to read it….and then I promptly waited until this February when it was almost out here to read it. TYPICAL. Anyways. I really enjoyed this one…I found Frances SO relatable because, way back in the day in middle/high school, I was so like her — at school vs in my neighborhood with my bffs I was like two different people. I hid so much of who I really was until college where I became way more outgoing but I still hid my nerdy side because I was afraid people wouldn’t get/appreciate it (which the group of friends I had at that point DID NOT). So, yeah, I really loved watching her meet Alex and finding someone she could really be herself with. Their friendship was fantastic and it really felt like that thrill of being with someone who just GETS YOU and you can let your guard down with. I also loved that this book featured a platonic friendship. It was just a great book about trying to navigate that hard road of “being yourself”, figuring out what you want to do with your life in that last year of school, geeky awesome stuff & being a content creator/artist on the internet & friendship. So much to love about this book in the plot and the characters in this one. It was just a really fantastic book that I’m confused isn’t more popular now that it’s out here in the States!

Rating

 All In Pieces by Suzanne Young

I received this book  from the publisher for review consideration. This in no way swayed my opinion. Pinky swear!

About In A Sentence Or Two: Savannah (Savvy) finds herself enrolled in an alternative high school and labeled as “having anger-management issues” after she stabs her ex-boyfriend in the hand with a pencil because he mocked her disabled little brother. Savvy struggles to juggle school, caring for her little brother with no help from her absentee mom and alcoholic dad, her ex-boyfriend seeking revenge, her aunt trying to gain custody of her brother and the new boy named Cameron who tries to break through Savvy’s tough exterior.

Thoughts: I really enjoyed this one! I liked that it was a different sort of setting than you normally see — an alternative high school — and I got to meet characters (labeled as “troubled”) that I don’t often get to meet in YA. And it made me cry — my heart felt heavy a lot reading this book. Savvy’s home life is hard and she takes on so much for her age but her love for her brother and her desire to take care of him made my heart swell. That whole storyline…it killed me. I also really enjoyed Savvy’s group of friends from school — they were the sort of kids that High School Me would have ignored and judged (because I was terrible like that) and I sadly would have missed out because they were great and had their own interesting backstories. And let’s not forget the romance….Savvy and Cameron, oh man I loved those two and loved the slower burn of their romance. This book was just so great and I couldn’t put it down. If you are looking for something a little different in the contemporary YA sect, check this one out!

Rating

Have you read any of these? What did you think?! Any of these going on your TBR? Tell me what you’ve been reading!

[This post contains affiliate links which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a very small percentage of the sale that helps go towards maintenance of this site and giveaways and the like — no extra cost to you! I always so appreciate when you shop through these links! ]