Another day, another set of mini reviews. This time, here are five mini reviews of young adult books that I’ve recently read. Unfortunately not all were hits, but a few were gems.

Shine by Jessica Jung

Shine by Jessica Jung is the first of a duology about a Korean American girl who is training to become a K pop star. This Story features Rachel Kim who is a trainee at DB Entertainment in Seoul. She hopes to debut with a K-Pop girl group. The only issue is that she’s terrible with media interviews. Also, her fellow trainees don’t like her. The story features lots of mess and drama. Also, some strict rules from the company including no dating and adhering to a strict diet to make weight. Rachel must do what it takes to rise to the top and make her debut.

Well, the cover is so pretty. However, this book was just not good. It is okay. The writing is somewhat bland. I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters because there’s constant back biting and scheming. Everyone is so surface level. The villain Mina never gets a shot at redemption and just evil. We see some motivation for that, but, what could have been made more interesting was a dropped plot thread. The romance is kind of boring too. Jason Lee is in a K Pop boy band and just doesn’t get why Rachel adheres so strictly to the rules. He can’t understand the double standard. With my adult wisdom, I say kick him to the curb. Rachel makes body shaming type comments, so I couldn’t even root for her. At least this was fast paced. However, I will not be returning for the sequel. This was nowhere near as good as Maurene Goo’s Somewhere Only We Know.

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4 YA Books I Recently Read How It All Blew Up by Arvin Ahmadi 3.5 Raising The Horseman by Serena Valentino 2.5 Shine by Jessica Jung 2 Seton Hall by Charlene Thomas 4#booktokover30 #bookreview #momsofbooktok #over30booktok

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How It All Blew Up by Arvin Ahmadi

If you’re looking for a quick YA contemporary book, pick up How It All Blew Up by Arvin Ahmadi. This is the story of Amir who is detained at the airport along with his family after having a loud argument on the plane. It unravels the story of how Amir and his family got to this point. Amir is gay but hasn’t come out to his family because he’s scared of their reaction. Unable to handle the pressure of some blackmail, Amir runs away to Rome, Italy. There he becomes friends with a big group of gay men and really finds himself. Eventually, his family finds him and well, this is really just the story of Amir coming out and finding himself

I think I am somewhat in the minority on this because I fully liked How It Blew Up. Granted, I am reading this two years after it came out. I know some people didn’t like how Amir’s family reacted. However, that is something I can’t remark on. What I can say is that I liked Amir’s character so much. I found he was so easy to connect with. He overthinks a lot. And well, the anxiety spiral that has him running to a whole other continent for sure has crossed my mind. I also loved his little sister who is a spitfire. And the group of friends. This was for me, a good read. Not life changing, but I did like how it was written and just the overall plotting. I will for sure pick up more by Arvin Ahmadi.

The Moth Girl by Heather Kamins

The Moth Girl by Heather Kamins is a young adult book set in the 90s featuring a main character with a chronic illness. Anna starts the book on the track team with her best friend. However, one day she finds that her ankles and legs are hurting. There are a few more symptoms that happen. As it turns out, Anna has lepidopsy which causes floating, being attracted to bright lights and some other kind of dangerous systems. This book is about Anna learning to deal with her chronic illness and figure out what her life looks like going forward.

If you are someone who likes quiet books, The Moth Girl might be the book for you. I liked the 90s element somewhat. Anna is easy to empathize with as well. She’s in a rough situation and trying to find her way forward. Her friends don’t get it. And well, her new friend Kristi only seems interested in her for the disease aspect. I thought this book was okay. It moves so slow. The chapters are all at least 30 pages which is a just a lot. It seemed like this was one of those LESSON type books. Like, Kristi is so one dimensional. As is Smilla, Anna’s best friend. Overall, not my cuppa.

Something Happened To Ali Greenleaf by Hayley Krischer

Something Happened To Ali Greenleaf by Hayley Krischer is a harrowing read. This story follows two point of view main characters – Ali Greenleaf and Blythe. Blythe is a popular senior who is member of a clique known as the Core Four. Ali is a junior and kind of a rebel. Ali has had a crush on Sean Nessel for a while and at a party hooks up with him. Unfortunately, he takes the hook up farther than she wants and assaults Ali. Sean begs Blythe to smooth it over with Ali and convince her that nothing happened, that it wasn’t a big deal.

I felt like this book was really a Speak for this generation. It is hard to read at moments, but necessary. I found that I cared for both Ali and Blythe — even though Blythe’s actions were messed up. This book was paced well and the dual point of views kept it fresh. I was glad that Ali was able to reclaim her voice and speak out about what had happened to her — that something. Also, this book does a good job exploring consent — especially in the case of Ali where you can say oh it’s murky but she said no and that is a full sentence. Of the books I’ve been reading lately, Hayley Krischer’s Something Happened To Ali Greenleaf was one of the best.

Tell Me My Name by Amy Reed

Tell Me My Name by Amy Reed is definitely a unique book. It is supposed to be kind of a Great Gatsby retelling. I am not sure if it really is because I only remember the green light from Gatsby and that’s it. The story follows Fern who lives with her dads on an island off of Seattle called Commodore Island. Playing a large role in this book is climate change as well as wealth inequity. This summer, Ivy Avila has come to visit Commodore Island and she happens to be living next door to Fern. Ivy is a celebrity and lives life in the fast lane whereas Fern is very quiet. There’s also a boy — Ash — whom Fern has always loved and whom Ivy is now interested in.

To be fair, I am still struggling to identify the point of this story. I am so happy for people who are literary and smart and retain books they read in high school. Chances are they get this book. I didn’t. I felt like it was doing too much — there’s the whole futuristic thing. Then there’s a twist. Also, there’s a whole take on girlhood and bodies as commodity. It was just a lot. I didn’t like any of the characters. Maybe with a tighter focus, I would have been more into this book. Overall, although it was a fast pace which I love, Tell Me My Name was just not the story for me.

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