Jay reads.

Master student of anglophone literature and YA advocate.

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Pictures from the Paris 5SOS show you haven't seen before because I took them

[unapolojayticreads]

Falling for Wonder Boy - Kristine Carlson Asselin

03.02.2019 - 06.02.2019 (see my review on Goodreads)

4 stars out of 5

"Falling for Wonder Boy" is the second book is the Vernon High Chronicles series. In this second installment, Kristine Carlson Asselin turns away from Ice Hockey and turns to golfing. Kate Anderson is the sixteen year old daughter of the owner of a small golf course. Her goal for the summer is to qualify for the New Hampshire Junior State Golf Championship. But pressure is added on her shoulders when she overhears that she needs to win to bring back new clients to the course before her family goes bankrupt. Between navigating the pressure of being one of the only girls to compete in such tournaments, and being stuck into a love triangle with two of the golf course employees, Kate is set for an eventful summer. Falling for Wonder Boy was a great light read that had me hooked. If you liked the first book, this one is even better, the pace just keeps pulling you back into your book. It also does touch some very important subjects like running a family business, sexism in sports, and how hard it can be for small businesses to compete against bigger ones. I got an arc of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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For the Record - Charlotte Huang

30.07.2018 - 02.08.2018 (see my review on Goodreads)

3 stars out of 5 

After going on a talent show, Chelsea is called by a label to replace one of her favorite band’s lead singer. Overnight, she joins Melbourne and becomes a rockstar. But she has to deal with not being warmly welcomed by her band members, or by the fans, both of whom believe her to be a sell out of having gone on that show. Then she meets heartthrob Lucas Rivers and get propelled to a much higher level of fame, which angers the band even more. During the summer tour, stuck in a love triangle with the out-of-reach bassist of the band and Lucas, trying to make herself accepted by the fans, and trying to maintain her friendship with her best friend, Grace won’t have much time to appreciate the experience. 

Though this book isn’t one that I’ll remember my whole life, it was a perfect summer read. The characters are relatable despite their crazy life, and you get transported into a world most of us will only ver dream of knowing for real. If there’s one thing this book does well, it’s portraying the people in Hollywood as just that: people. Their feelings and reactions are just what we mere mortals experience. The only different thing is the scale of their lives. For The Record is also a nice introduction to what fame can truly feel like. 

It is however a forgettable book. As I’m writing this two months after reading, I don’t remember much about the book. No particular scene comes to mind when I try to recall the story. Added to the fact that Chelsea’s story is no very believable, this book will only stay in my memory as a fun summer read.

If you’re looking for a fun read about fame and what it’s like to navigate Hollywood, this is the book for you.

[unapolojayticreads]

Grace and the Fever - Zan Romanoff

29.07.2018 - 30.07.2018 (see my review on Goodreads)

4 stars out of 5 

My first reaction to this book was “Oh, my boy band loving heart, how you ache.” Now, over a month later, here is my review: 

Grace Thomas just graduated high school and is the only one of her IRL friends to still be a fan of the boyband Fever Dream. She is however part of a very active fan community online. One night, she unexpectedly meets a member of her favorite band: Jes. After that, she gets thrown into the world of the band she has been watching from afar for years. But her adventures won’t leave anything in her life unscathed: not her real life friendships, not her online friendships, and especially not her heart. 

This book made my 1D loving heart swell again and again. It was fun to try to see what the author picked in the 1d fandom and what she invented. Plus the characters were all super likable and though Grace’s story is unrealistic, she remained relatable a lot of the time. The reveals at the end of the book were what really took this book away from the feel of fan fiction it can give out and made me think a lot about fandom and its repercussion on both fans but also on the people who have fans. 

I guess the only thing I have against this book is that a lot of the beginning is very predictable and I felt like I was calling what was going to happen in the next few pages. 

All in all, Grace and the Fever was a very fun book and the perfect summer read for me in the midst of 1D’s hiatus x) So if you were/are a fan, read it!

[unapolojayticreads]

Legend - Marie Lu

10.07.2018 - 20.07.2018 (see my review on Goodreads)

3 stars out of 5

In this dystopian novel, set in the Republic (aka what’s left of the US), 15-year-old June is from a wealthy family and an army prodigy and the only person ever to get a perfect score on the Trial, the test every young citizen has to take at 10 to determine their place in society. Day is on the other side of the society’s spectrum: he failed the Trial and had to leave his family to go live in the streets. But he used the skills he had to become one of the greatest thieves ever. Everything goes upside down when June’s older brother and only family member is killed on the scene of Day’s last robbery. Day is the prime suspect and June is named head of the investigation. 

This novel is full of suspense and action. Seeing the story unfold though both June’s and Day’s eyes made it all the more entertaining (and frustrating at times). Plus the stakes are so high in this that I could feel my heart rate pick up a little more after every chapter. And despite the typical YA dystopian romance type of plot, a lot of things feel different in Legend.

It did however take me a relatively long time to read and I had a hard time focusing on it for too long. I think that despite all the good things the double point of view brought, it also brought a lot of side plots and made it hard for me to get into a reading flow. Though I guess it made have been due to my tired state at the time I read it. All in all, if you’re looking for a young adult dystopian novel with two very strong main characters and high stakes, this is for you.

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Love and First Sight - Josh Sundquist

04.07.2018 - 08.07.2018 (see my review on Goodreads)

4 stars out of 5

16-year-old Will Porter has been blind since birth and is starting at a “normal” highschool. From the start, it’s a mess: he sits on people, drops them, and even makes one cry as she believes he is staring at her. But with a little time, Will starts to make friends, and even develops a crush on the girl he made cry. Despite everything their way the two develop a relationship. But Will gets offered a chance to see. Not only will he have to learn how to use his eyes, but he will also understand why his girlfriend was upset about his staring. 

I read this a while ago, and the main thought that comes back is that this book is adorable. I remember really loving the characters and the story and finding it compelling. I also loved learning about how it could feel for someone to learn to see for the first time as an (almost) adult, compared to learning right from the beginning, and all the difficulties that can bring. It made me want to be more careful of the people around, and more admiring of the people living with eyesight issues. The whole idea behind what beauty really is and how Will perceives his girlfriend before and after getting sight is also interesting to think about. 

I guess my main issue with the book is that it’s a bit too angsty for me. But it’s written in the perspective of a 16-year-old boy, so it’s to be expected. I just sometimes cringed a bit at the way he treats his parents, who only seem to be doing their best (Is this me getting older ???)

All in all, if you’re looking to learn something about what it’s like to be visually impaired, what it’s like to learn to do something that everyone doesn’t know you need to learn, or if you just want a nice story about a 16-year-old navigating relationships for the first time, this book is for you. 

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None of the Above - I.W. Gregorio

15.06.2018 - 18.06.2018 (see my review on Goodreads)

5 stars out of 5

At first glance, Kristin is the perfect American high schooler. She has a full sports scholarship for college, a boyfriend she loves, and she gets voted homecoming queen. But when her first time with her boyfriend doesn’t go as well as she hoped, her worry takes her to a doctor who informs her that she is intersex. The shock of it is already a lot for Kristin to handle, but when the news get leaked to her school, her life becomes a nightmare. Through the novel, she learns to first learn to live with her diagnosis, but also to live with people knowing about it and acting like the uneducated twats they are. 

I really thing that this book should be read by every one. Not only is the story captivating, but you learn a lot about different kind of people and a genetic disorder that people are just too ignorant about. And through all that teaching it does, it still sweeps you off your feet and gets you to feel for the characters. GO READ IT. 

If you’re looking to both learn something and read a cute story about accepting yourself and accepting that others won’t always accept you, this book is for you.

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Save The Date - Morgan Matson

13.06.2018 - 15.06.2018 (see my review on goodreads)

4 stars out of 5.

Charlie Grant is the last of 5 kids to still live at home with her parents and she misses her siblings a lot. But the upcoming weekend is going to fix that: her older sister is getting married in the house and the entire family is coming back to celebrate. Even Mike, her closest brother in age, who had a fight with their parents over a year ago and hadn’t been seen since. 

The first thing about his book is: I HAD SO MUCH FUN. Morgan Matson created an amazing comedy with this book. I loved the entire Grant family and all their different personalities, and everything they go through during this chaotic wedding weekend.

Another interesting thing about the story is that it actually opens on the girl kissing her dream boy for the first time but that it isn’t really the dominant aspect of the story. Save the Date is about family, and how to stay close when everything is changing, how to forgive other people’s mistakes, and how to make the right choice for yourself. 

Once again, Morgan Matson gave us a happy and fun book that will please most people this summer. And I’m really hoping someone turns this into a movie, it would probably be a success. 

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Listen To Your Heart - Kasie West

03.06.2018 - 08.06.2018 (see my review on goodreads)

3 stars out of 5. 

Kate is starting a new year in high school and reluctant to. leave her summer in the marina that her parents run behind. Plus, her best friend cornered her into talking a podcasting class with her, in which she ends up being one of the hosts against her will. In the meantime, she has to take her little cousin to tutoring where she hangs out with her best friend’s crush. 

This book, like all the Kasie West books I’ve read, was very cute. The characters were all very endearing, and I liked the podcast idea, it felt quite original. 

However, the story felt a little too on the surface to me. I think I would have liked to see how the situation between the two families around the lake played out, or anything that had more impact than what the book stayed with. Maybe the podcasting teacher could have had more of an impact, or they could have gone deeper with the idea of spending your future where you’ve always lived. 

All in all, it’s a cute summer book, and great if you don’t want to have to think too much about hard subjects. And you know what? It’s nice to just have fun reading and not have an existential crisis every 5 chapters. 

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Frat Girl - Kiley Roache

31.05.2018 - 03.06.2018 (see my review on goodreads)

5 stars out of 5. 

Cassie Davis got accepted into her dream school in California, and a scholarship to attend. But this scholarship depends on her ability to see through with her personal project: infiltrating the biggest fraternity on campus and study their behavior to prove whether they are too far gone or if their sexist ways can be improved. As a feminist, Cassie did not expect to make friendships in her fraternity, but after a time, she gets to realize that there might still be hope for the young men in Delta Tau Chi. 

I adored this book, firstly because for once, a YA novel is set in college, which I feel is truly lacking in the genre. But also because all of it felt so real. Throughout the chapters, you get to see the characters grow from typical, cliché frat boys to multi-dimensional characters who have flaws and qualities and are both infuriating and very sweet. 

Another thing I really like about it is that though Cassie ends up falling for one of the frat boys, it didn’t feel like it was the main point in the story, just another thing she had to deal with in her life. I felt like the focus was really on how her idea of fraternities shifted throughout the year, and on how she and the rest of DTC grew up during their school year.

I was really pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Frat Girl and how well it’s written, especially as it’s Kiley Roache’s first book and first can sometimes be a little rough. But her quality of writing only left me wanting for more, and though I would have liked to know what happens to Cassie for her last three years of college, I can’t wait for April 2019 and Kiley’s upcoming book, The Dating Game.

Anyhow, if you’re looking for YA set in college a sprinkle of romance and some feminist history, this is for you.

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Autoboyography - Christina Lauren

21.05.2018 - 25.05.2018 (see my review on goodreads)

5 stars out of 5

Tanner moved from Palo Alto, California to Provo, Utah, and the main change for him was not the weather. Whereas in California, Tanner was out as bi and no one batted an eye, in Provo, hometown to a huge Mormon community, he’s gone back into the closet, and the only people who know are his family. With only a semester left of high school before he leaves for university and can be himself. For this last semester, his best friend, Autumn convinces him to take the Seminar, a class for which he has to write a novel in four months, and that allowed a student the previous year to get a publishing deal. Everything is smooth sailing for Tanner until the Seminar teacher announces he’s got an assistant this year: the boy who got a publishing deal the year before, Sebastian, the son of the Mormon bishop, and Tanner falls too deep with the boy he can’t ever have.

This book was so so so so great. I fell in love with the characters and their stories, I found all of them so real I could see them in front of my eyes. Autoboyography is the perfect example of YA that makes you relate to the characters even if you have virtually nothing in common with them. 

Another great thing about this novel is that you learn things. Before this, I knew nothing about the Mormon community aside for ‘very religious’, so the information in this made me just a little bit more knowledgeable, which is always a good thing. 

It’s also a really good book to understand what internalized homophobia can do to a person, and to the people around them. 

And, can we talk about this cover? How gorgeous and so fitting for the story, I love it so much.

All in all, do yourself a favor, pick up this book, read it, love it, and come talk to me about it.

[unapolojayticreads]

Just Friends - Tiffany Pitcock

20.05.2018 - 21.05.2018 (see my review on goodreads)

4 stars out of 5.

Chance and Jenny get paired together for an assignment which leads them to pretend to have been best friends for most of their lives. And everybody buys it. So they stay friends and grow closer. But without the other knowing, both start catching feelings. 

This was a really cute read, which was exactly what I was looking for yesterday when I was exhausted and just looking for something nice and fuzzy to read before bed. And, I have to say Just Friends did not disappoint. The characters are super likable, their story is basically an 80′s teen movie, and it felt great to just be happy when reading. 

But obviously, this isn’t very thought-provoking, which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of the 5 I wanted because I enjoyed it a lot. Basically, this book is the perfect light summer read. 

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How to Break a Boy - Laurie Devore

11.05.2018 - 20.05.2018 (see my review on goodreads)

2 stars out of 5

Olivia is a Mean Girl. But she isn’t THE Mean Girl. She’s basically her southern town’s equivalent to Regina George’s best friend. And she has a tragic backstory™️: her dad died when she was very young, her mom freaked and moved her and her brother to a small town in the South of the US. Then, after she became a mean girl, her alcoholic brother died. So, on top of being already quite bitchy and not very likeable, she becomes even more closed of. Then her best fried, Adrienne (THE Mean Girl), sleeps with her boyfriend. All hell breaks loose in Olivia’s mind. She manages to get the resident Golden boy to prentend to date her and schemes. 

As you can probably tell from my summary (and the rating), I’m not a big fan of this book. The first 100 pages were a pain to get through for some reason. I probably think it’s because I can’t find a single thing I have in common with Olivia that would make me empathize with her, and that resulted in me not liking her AT ALL. And not liking the protagonist of a novel written in first person narrative is not good. 

However, I loved the way it was written. Laurie Devore’s writing is what made me decide to push through despite me not really enjoying the story. After I got over me not liking Olivia at all, the words seemed like they were flowing just right. 

All in all, if you like mean girls, are into high school popularity stories and all that kind of stuff, this book is just right for you. However, if you don’t like that type of thing, many pick something else. 

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My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen - David Clawson

09.05.2018 - 11.05.2018 (see my review on goodreads)

3 stars out of 5

Chris has been through an entire life by his 17th birthday. He’s lost his mom, his father got rich and married a woman from what is essentially New York’s aristocracy, then 2008 happened and his father's financial ruin killed him as well. So now, he lives with his stepfamily and takes care of them: he cooks, he cleans, he’s almost their maid but not really. When his stepmother, stepbrother, and stepsister get to go to one of the most important evenings in NYC and he doesn’t, Chris is down, but he meets Coco Chanel Jones, one of the drag queens performing at the event, who takes him there. At the event, he meets J.J. Kennerly, the equivalent of American Royalty, who will start dating his sister the next day. 

This was a cute read. Not particularly complicated nor a hard read, but the characters were very likable. Plus the modern gay Cinderella theme was fun, and Coco/Duane’s character was very fun. 

But, I still felt like it could have gone a bit deeper into a few things, like a real discussion between Chris and his family and why he doesn’t feel as comfortable with them as he should, which was hinted at but never there, or more details on what the 2008 crisis did to wealthy families in the USA

In a sense, it all felt a little too light-hearted, like it tried to touch important issues but was scared to go too deep. 

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Dear Martin - Nic Stone

06.05.2018 - 06.05.2018 (see my review on goodreads)

5 stars out of 5.

Justyce is one of the few black kids in his prep school in the suburbs of Atlanta. Plus, he’s there on a scholarship and is originally from a poorer neighborhood. One night when he’s trying to help his drunk and high on-and-off ex-girlfriend, a white cop takes him for a criminal and handcuffs him without letting himself explain the situation. From this experience, Justyce realizes that justice does not mean the same thing depending on your skin colour. So he starts a series of letter to Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. in which he tries to find the answer to “what would Martin do?” related to his day-to-day life in a discriminating world. 

I adored this book. Took me only a few hours to read because I was so into this story. I went through a roller-coaster of emotions reading Justyce’s story and being reminded of all the things that happened in the US these last few years (and these last few centuries). I need everyone to read this book, and I need it to be translated in all the languages possible so that people understand our world and its flaws a little more. 

I loved the shifts in writings as well, from narration to letters to transcripts of news stories, to conversations. Nic Stone’s voice is one that captures your attention and doesn’t let go until you’ve read all you could. 

Like The Hate U Give did last summer, this book opened my eyes a little more to the privileges I have with my white skin, and to the hardships people of colour face. Both are great books that everyone, especially privileged people, needs to read. 

[unapolojayticreads]

The Truth About Us - Janet Gurtler

04.05.2018 - 06.05.2018 (see my review on goodreads)

3 stars out of 5

Jess is from a wealthy family, her father is a lawyer and her mom a real estate agent. But that does not mean that their family is perfect: her mom spends her time in bed, her dad is never there and her sister is closer to her boyfriend’s mom than her actual family. And Jess drinks and parties. Until one day she goes too far and her father forces her to work at the local shelter for the rest of the summer, to teach her a lesson. In that shelter, Jess meets a lot of people from different worlds than her own, including Flynn.

The book was cute, a quick read and not very complicated. There was some dark issues regarding Jess’s mom and Flynn’s family life, but all in all, the book felt easy to read and light. 

However the characters lacked depth on a lot of things, I felt like they only had one side to their personalities and therefore, they didn’t feel as real as other YA characters can. And it made the book quite predictable. The hints to what was going to happen next were too big for me to give this book a higher grade than 3/5. 

But if you’re looking for an easy summer read, this is the book for you. It’s cute, there’s some darkness to keep it somewhat realistic and overall, it feels nice to read. 

[unapolojayticreads]

Freefall Summer - Tracy Barrett

04.05.2018 - 05.05.2018 (see my review on goodreads)

4 stars out of 5. 

I got an arc copy of this book on a read-to-review basis via NetGalley. 

Clancy is 16 and spends all her weekends of the summer with her dad at the Drop Zone he runs, but she’s only ever allowed to pack the parachutes and sometimes go on observer rides of the planes. Her father barely allows her to be driven around by her best friend, so skydiving is out of the question. With an overprotective father, and an equally overprotective boyfriend, Clancy is set for a very safe summer. Except she’s tired of being treated like she’s made of glass just because her mom died in an accident when she was six. 

Freefall Summer was in the romance category of both NetGalley and Goodreads, but really, I feel like it’s a novel about finding yourself and becoming independent. Sure, Clancy finds her independence from her boyfriend as well as her father in part by finding a new boyfriend, but I felt like it was only a vector of her growing up. 

Another thing I really liked was that there are a lot of details about the world of skydiving, from the different planes used to specific terminology. I kind of want to read her Whuffo’s Guide to Skydiving for myself. Though some of the details of actual skydiving made me very tense. 

My only criticism is that I didn’t really feel like Clancy got to really tell her dad all that she was feeling. It was implied at the end of the book, but I think I would have enjoyed a more detailed scene. Other than that, the book was pretty good, and even kept me up so I could finish it.