Today I sat down and read RWBY: The Official Manga, Vol. 1 and it was incredible. This is another series that I have watched (I think I’ve seen the first three seasons?), so I was super excited to experience the story in a new format. This one is a little different though, because RWBY was a TV show first, created by Rooster Teeth. That’s right, the show came out before the book!
Friends, it’s happened again. I recently read another book that I loved so much I’m having a hard time finding the words to describe it. I wasn’t too sure what to expect from The Subtweet by Vivek Shraya, but it exceeded all of my expectations. It was incredibly smart, well-written, and made me think a lot, even days after finishing it.
“Ronald,” said Elizabeth, “your clothes are really pretty and your hair is very neat. You look like a real prince, but you are a bum.”
My all-time favourite children’s book recently turned 40 years old, and it’s time to celebrate! Princess Elizabeth is my one true literary queen, and I’m so excited to see this book continually being loved and shared.
“You were white as milk this morning,” Valentina said to Dyadya Sergei.
“I’ve never tanned so quickly in my life,” he said, sounding pleased. “There must be something in the air.”
Reading these lines in a book set in the backdrop of the Chernobyl disaster was absolutely haunting. I didn’t know what to expect from The Blackbird Girls, but Anne Blankman wrote a stunning middle grade novel that brings readers through a whirlwind of emotion.
“Life is not a series of crises to be endured. Life is to be enjoyed.”
Friends, I recently read another collection of personal essays, and oh my GAWD, this one was GOOD. I really enjoy books like this, but I’ve never read one that hit so close to home before. Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies by Tara Schuster was like looking into a mirror, if a book can be a mirror. Does that make sense? I don’t even care.
“The weird thing about being a victim is, no one expects it to be them. Victims are always someone else, somehow tragically naive who foolishly trust the wrong person. I’d never make bad decisions like that. I was always careful. And yet, it wasn’t enough.”
I’ve always said the hardest book reviews to write are for the books I absolutely loved, and this sentiment applied to The Last Confession of Autumn Casterly by Meredith Tate. I devoured this book in three sittings, and was totally immersed in the story from beginning to end. It’s easily one of the best YA contemporary thrillers I’ve ever read, and deals with incredibly important topics.
Before we get any further, I’ll note that the author has a list of content warnings for this book on her website.
When your sister murders three hundred people, you can’t help but wonder why—especially if you were one of the intended victims—though I do forgive her, if you can believe it. I tried my best to deny the strength of family ties when everyone was still alive, but now I realize the truth of the cliché: Blood does run thick. Even if poison trumps all.
This opening line of The Majesties by Tiffany Tsao is absolutely devastating. The book starts off by informing readers that our narrator, Gwendolyn, is the only survivor of a mass murder committed by her very own sister. Ready for some twists and turns?
