#anna gracia

[highmidvoiddemon]

I’m choosing to believe that Tommy Shriggly is Zeke Aaron McKinley’s brother whose coming home from the army.

[bookaddict24-7]

NEW YOUNG ADULT RELEASES! (APRIL 2ND, 2024)

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HAVE I MISSED ANY NEW YOUNG ADULT RELEASES? HAVE YOU ADDED ANY OF THESE BOOKS TO YOUR TBR? LET ME KNOW!

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NEW STANDALONES/FIRST IN A SERIES:

Otherworldly by F.T. Lukens

Hearts Still Beating by Brooke Archer

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

The Misdirection of Fault Lines by Anna Gracia

The Black Girl Survives this One by Various

Your Blood, My Bones by Kelly Andrew

The Break-Up Lists by Adib Khorram

Trajectory by Cambria Gordon

Darker by Four by June C.L. Tan

Draw Down the Moon by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

Something Kindred by Ciera Burch

No Going Back by Patrick Flores-Scott

Fate be Changed by Farrah Rochon

Call Forth a Fox by Markelle Grabo

Every Time You Hear that Song by Jenna Voris

What if...Loki was Worthy? by Madeleine Roux

NEW SEQUELS:

Wrath of the Talon (Talon #2) by Sophie Kim

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Happy reading!

[mydarlinginej]

read my full review of boys i know by anna gracia here.

A high school senior navigates messy boys and messier relationships in this bitingly funny and much-needed look into the overlap of Asian American identity and teen sexuality.

June Chu is the “just good enough” girl. Good enough to line the shelves with a slew of third-place trophies and steal secret kisses from her AP Bio partner, Rhys. But not good enough to meet literally any of her Taiwanese mother’s unrelenting expectations or to get Rhys to commit to anything beyond a well-timed joke.

While June’s mother insists she follow in her (perfect) sister’s footsteps and get a (full-ride) violin scholarship to Northwestern (to study pre-med), June doesn’t see the point in trying too hard if she’s destined to fall short anyway. Instead, she focuses her efforts on making her relationship with Rhys “official.” But after her methodically-planned, tipsily-executed scheme explodes on the level of a nuclear disaster, she flings herself into a new relationship with a guy who’s not allergic to the word “girlfriend.”

But as the line between sex and love blurs, and pressure to map out her entire future threatens to burst, June will have to decide on whose terms she’s going to live her life—even if it means fraying her relationship with her mother beyond repair.

my review:

Truthfully, the main thing about this book that pulled me in was the cover. Young adult contemporary has just been a bit of a hit or a miss for me lately, but thankfully I ended up really enjoying this book! Poignant and realistic, Boys I Know delves into the messiness of being a teenager and growing up Asian-American in a primarily-white community.

June Chu is fine with being “good enough.” She’s more focused on getting her AP Bio partner and hook-up Rhys to commit to a relationship than fulfilling her parents’ wishes for her. However, when he remains emotionally unavailable, she jumps headfirst into a relationship with someone who does show love and affection, maybe a little too much. Meanwhile, June is navigating choosing the right college for her (and not for her parents) while also keeping her older sister and her advice at an arms’ length.

Boys I Know is a very character-driven story. There’s not much of a plot outside of June and her worries about the boys in her life and which college she wants to go to. I actually really enjoyed this though, and I was enraptured by June’s journey, bad decisions and all. Her voice shines off the page; I couldn’t help but be invested in her story.

read my full review here.

[the-final-sentence]

And a fraternity of sisters, forever bound together by these past eleven days.

Anna Gracia, from The Misdirection of Fault Lines

[-outofcontext-]

Boys I Know #OutOfContext

[publishedtoday]

Boys I Knew - Anna Gracia 

June Chu is the “just good enough” girl. Good enough to line the shelves with a slew of third-place trophies and steal secret kisses from her AP Bio partner, Rhys. But not good enough to meet literally any of her Taiwanese mother’s unrelenting expectations or to get Rhys to commit to anything beyond a well-timed joke. While June’s mother insists she follow in her (perfect) sister’s footsteps and get a (full-ride) violin scholarship to Northwestern (to study pre-med), June doesn’t see the point in trying too hard if she’s destined to fall short anyway. Instead, she focuses her efforts on making her relationship with Rhys “official.” But after her methodically-planned, tipsily-executed scheme explodes on the level of a nuclear disaster, she flings herself into a new relationship with a guy who’s not allergic to the word “girlfriend.” But as the line between sex and love blurs, and pressure to map out her entire future threatens to burst, June will have to decide on whose terms she’s going to live her life—even if it means fraying her relationship with her mother beyond repair.

tw: cultural appropriation, dubious concent, pregnency scare, racism, toxic relationships

[publishedtoday]

Upcoming: Debut Author

Coming July 26, 2022: A high school senior navigates messy boys and messier relationships in this bitingly funny and much-needed look into the overlap of Asian American identity and teen sexuality.

Boys I Knew - Anna Gracia 

[liv-fatale]

Boys I Know by Anna Gracia

DNF at 22%

June Chu is sick of living up to what everyone else wants her to be. On a journey of self discovery, she learns more about sex, love, and her own identity as an Asian American woman.

The premise of this book is more interesting than the book itself by a long shot. Almost 25% into the book there hasn't been any plot, and what there has been plotwise is either still boring or super cringy. I stopped right after June is desperately trying to have sex with Rhys. Just reading that part gave me the ick for no particular reason other than just June acting like she was entitled to have sex with him. It was not fun to read... at all.

The main issue I had with this book though is how much I hate June. She is INSUFFERABLE. I get that she's a teenager and that she wants to fit in with the cool kids, yada yada yada, I don't care. June was about one sentence away from driving me to gauge my eyes out. I mean, seriously. She was annoying all the way around.

From the get-go June seems like she would 100% pick her "almost boyfriend" (don't even get me started on that) over her friends. And then she kinda does! Unsurprising. I'm sure if I had gone farther into the book there would've been some kind of fallout between her and at least one of the other girls in the trio. One excerpt I would like to bring up as proof is this:

"Savannah was Liz's next-door neighbor, whom Candace and I had been friends with since middle school. When Liz moved next door to her, we all became close friends-- until Savannah got her braces off, made the cheerleading squad, and became obsessed with things like football games and spray tans. I'd always assumed Liz stayed friends with her out of convenience because she relied on Savannah for rides to school, but who knew why any friendships worked."

Maybe Savannah doesn't want to be friends with you anymore because you judge her based on her interests? I don't know, just food for thought. Friends grow apart for sure but there was no reason for this to be brought up at all other than to keep June up on her high horse assuming that she's better than anyone else. It doesn't even say that Savannah did anything wrong. I could understand June's perspective if June wasn't trying to fit in with Rhys' friends so much that she allowed them to make racist jokes at her expense.

June's mother even does her laundry for her (very thoughtful!) but June gets mad at her for it because she doesn't do it quite right. Girl. She did your chore for you. At least be a little grateful.

Can you tell I hate June?

All in all, this was not an enjoyable experience. I'm surprised I made it as far into the book as I did, to be quite honest.

Thank you to NetGalley and PeachTree Teen for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.