Hello friends! With it being a little colder out, I have been bundling up and reading through my TBR like a fiend. Here are four Young Adult Books which I have very recently read and mostly enjoyed!
Finding Her Edge by Jennifer Iacopelli
There’s something about sports themed young adult books. I love them even though I really do not have an athletic bone in my body. Finding Her Edge by Jennifer Iacopelli is a contemporary book about Adriana Russo who is part of a figure skating dynasty. She’s about to compete in the ice dancing partners competition at Junior Worlds in Paris. Her partner is Braydon, who is a huge flirt with a different girl every night. When a reality show featuring Adriana’s family premieres, it seems they have taken a romance angle with Adriana and Braydon. She goes along with it because the family coffers are tight and the world is going wild for Adriana and Braydon. However, matters get complicated when a blast from her past, her former skating partner Freddie is in town to practice for Junior Worlds as they are on Team USA together.
I thought that Finding Her Edge was cute. I did know who was endgame from the beginning, given that this is a retelling of Persuasion. The chemistry wasn’t quite as good as I hoped. It seemed like Adriana had more chemistry with the person who she doesn’t actually end up with. This book is somewhat of a fast read, but it was easy for me to become disengaged with it and set it down to do other things like watch TV or clean. I also find myself really distracted with my real life while reading this book. It’s okay. I don’t see myself purchasing it in the future or rereading it.
@aprilbooksandwine A quick weekly reading wrap up featuring: Finding Her Edge by Jennifer Iacopelli Tell Me My Name by Amy Reed Belladonna by Adalyn Grace (thanks @hachetteaudio ) #FlexEveryAngle #weeklyreading
♬ original sound – April Books & Wine
How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao
How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao was fabulous for when I felt a mild reading slump. This book was about Nancy Luo, an underprivileged Chinese American girl who goes to upperclass Sinclair Prep. Nancy’s former best friend Jamie Ruan goes missing and is then found dead. Mysterious messages get released on social media from a figure called the Proctor pointing the finger at Nancy and three of her friends. The book then moves between past and present as we the reader find out, along with Nancy, who the real murderer is. We also get to find out some scandals involving Sinclair Prep, Nancy, Jamie, and the three friends.
If you are looking for a book about a school that is pretty competitive and cut throat, dark academia and all that, be sure to pick up How We Fall Apart. I was a little nervous to pick this up because font was small and I thought it would be another book for my slump. Nope, I ripped through this in like a day. It kept me ENTHRALLED. I did get vibes similar to One Of Us Is Lying but this book is different enough to stand on its own merits. Also, the four main characters were diverse which I also loved — none were white. This was such a good read. I am looking forward to picking up more from Katie Zhao in the future.
Clown In A Cornfield by Adam Cesare
Remember back when random clowns popping up was a thing which was in the news? Clown In A Cornfield by Adam Cesare reminds me of that time a little bit. This book follows Quinn Maybrook who has moved to the town of Kettle Springs with her father who has accepted a job as town doctor. As it turns out, Kettle Springs is a town surrounded by corn fields where once there was this corn syrup company that employed everyone – Baypen. One night, a revenge plot to Make Kettle Springs Great Again is enacted and the teenagers of Kettle Springs are slaughtered basically at a party in the corn. Quinn and her new friends do their best to survive the night. Unfortunately, there will be a body count and not everyone will get out alive.
So, Clown In A Cornfield was surprising. I mean, it was more brutal than I expected. One of the characters I thought would live actually died really early on. Also, there’s a little twist which I liked a lot. I loved Quinn and her father. I didn’t care as much for the residents of Kettle Springs, which obviously, given their behavior makes sense. Overall, this was a great read for spooky season and for me, a person who hasn’t really been into horror for a while, a great way to ease back in. Very reminiscent of those teen horror movies from the 90s like Scream.
@aprilbooksandwine Weekly reading wrap up Books Discussed: As Seen On TV by Meredith Schorr The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling Clown In A Cornfield by Adam Cesare Vampires Never Get Old edited by Zoraida Cordova and Natalie C Parker #booktokover30 #momsofbooktok #over30booktok #DidYouYawn #librarylover #librarybooks
♬ TikTok YouTube bright background music(872898) – MINA HOSHINO
Sugar Town Queens by Malla Nunn
Malla Nunn’s Sugar Town Queens surprised me. I was not too sure what to expect with this young adult contemporary book — particularly as I have really heard nothing about it. It was SO good. This book follows Amandla who lives in a township known as Sugar Town with her mother, Annalisa, who sometimes gets these strange notions. On her fifteenth birthday, Annalisa decides to dress Amandla up in a blue cloth dress in hopes it will bring Amandla’s father back. It doesn’t. Instead, what happens is an incident with Annalisa where Amandla finds a stack of cash and an address in Annalisa’s purse. This then unfolds into an understanding about Annalisa’s white family and where Amandla comes from.
I really loved this book — even as it broke my heart. I loved that there was strong bonds of friendship being formed between Amandla, Little Bit, and Goodness. The three take on the world, as it is. The answers we got about Annalisa were so sad, particularly what happened to make her not all there, so to speak. I love that there was triumph and family in the end. This book is fast paced, interesting, and wonderfully written. It is set in South Africa and just so unique compared to a lot of contemporary books that I typically pick up.
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