Tag: 5 star

Five Star Book, ya

Girls With Sharp Sticks Review

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

 

  • Title: Girls With Sharp Sticks
  • Author: Suzanne Young
  • Book Form: Physical ARC
  • Pages: 400
  • Publisher: Simon Pulse
  • Genre: YA, Contemporary, Fiction
  • Rating: *****

The Girls of Innovations Academy are beautiful and well-behaved—it says so on their report cards. Under the watchful gaze of their Guardians, the all-girl boarding school offers an array of studies and activities, from “Growing a Beautiful and Prosperous Garden” to “Art Appreciation” and “Interior Design.” The girls learn to be the best society has to offer. Absent is the difficult math coursework, or the unnecessary sciences or current events. They are obedient young ladies, free from arrogance or defiance. Until Mena starts to realize that their carefully controlled existence may not be quite as it appears.

As Mena and her friends begin to uncover the dark secrets of what’s actually happening there—and who they really are—the girls of Innovations will find out what they are truly capable of. Because some of the prettiest flowers have the sharpest thorns.

– Goodreads

Thank you to Simon Pulse for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Wow. This was my first Suzanne Young book and it’s safe to say it will not be my last.

This book was eerie in the way that it could be real. This could potentionally happen, and we just aren’t aware. Part of it is happening now, and if that’s not scary, I don’t know what is.

At Innovations Academy, girls are a commodity. They are used for men to hang on their arm, look pretty, be quiet, and not think or have opinions. Don’t act this way? You’ll get impulse control therapy and get “redirected”. The way these men treat these girls is awful, and so true to the times. They get hit for talking back. They get berated and talked down upon. And the most angering part? The girls blame themselves.

But then they find a book of poems. The words open their eyes and they see that life doesn’t have to be this way. The ‘little girls’ can fight back. The girls can win.

My favorite part of Girls With Sharp Sticks is the love the girls have for one another. They have such strong friendships. Its heartwarming to see them stand up and fight for each other.

There was a twist at the end I was not expecting, though another friend of mine called it. It’s been so much fun to discuss this book with my friends and the theories we have for book two!

I’ve been pretty lucky with some good reads lately, but I don’t give this one 5 stars lightly. Every mod of Words &Whimsy book club has given this book five stars. Its going to blow up. I see a move in the future.

This book is 400 pages, and it generally takes me longer to read physical books. I read this in three days. After working 10 hour shifts, coming home, cooking, and putting baby to bed. Like, I don’t normally do this. I stayed up way too late, three nights in a row just reading. I couldn’t put it down because I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. My heart raced for the girls during the action sequences. My heart ached for the girls when one of their friends got impulse control therapy. Through it all, I was rooting for those little girls, and I think you will too.

Love this book? Love Suzanne Young? Come join us at Words & Whimsy on March 25 at 7pm EST for a live chat with Suzanne!We can’t wait to discuss this book with her!!

Until next time…

Uncategorized

Queens of Geek Review

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

Title: Queens of Geek

Author: Jen Wilde

Book Form: Audio

Pages: 262

Genre: Contemporary, YA, LGBT, Romance

Rating: 5 Stars


Three friends, two love stories, one convention: this fun, feminist love letter to geek culture is all about fandom, friendship, and finding the courage to be yourself.

Charlie likes to stand out. She’s a vlogger and actress promoting her first movie at SupaCon, and this is her chance to show fans she’s over her public breakup with co-star Reese Ryan. When internet-famous cool-girl actress Alyssa Huntington arrives as a surprise guest, it seems Charlie’s long-time crush on her isn’t as one-sided as she thought.

Taylor likes to blend in. Her brain is wired differently, making her fear change. And there’s one thing in her life she knows will never change: her friendship with her best guy friend Jamie—no matter how much she may secretly want it to. But when she hears about a fan contest for her favorite fandom, she starts to rethink her rules on playing it safe.

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde, chosen by readers like you for Macmillan’s young adult imprint Swoon Reads, is an empowering novel for anyone who has ever felt that fandom is family.

– Goodreads

So, as you may or may not know, I’m a nurse. I work in an office, so I spend a good amount of time on the phone. I devoured this audiobook in ONE DAY! Now i know you’re probably thinking, ‘It’s 6.5 hours on audio. Listen at 2x speed. That’s nothing.’ But believe me, at my job, it’s an accomplishment. I may or may not have let the phones ring an extra time or two so someone else would have to answer and I wouldn’t have to interrupt this gem. It was SO cute and SO good!

First, can we just talk about this cover? GORGEOUS! I used to have the underside of my hair dyed pink and the cover took me back to the good old days where I could actually do that and had way less responsibilities. Such a great, nostalgic feeling just by looking at this book.

So, as the blurb said earlier, this is about three friends, two romances, and one con. The book takes place over three days – the span of the convention. So you do have to believe in that giddy, love at first sight, things moving a little fast type of love. But honestly, what geek hasn’t fantasized about a con romance? No? Just me? Okay, moving on…

One couple was the love at first sight kind, and the other was friends who became more. Both troupes are represented, and I love me a good HEA. This romance has it all!

There was so much great representation in Queens of Geek. Bisexual, gay, interracial couples, characters on the spectrum, characters with anxiety.
They tackled tough subjects like slut shaming, internet trolls, fat shaming, and homophobia. They did so in a way that wasn’t dark or super heavy. It was still a light, fun read. It’s so important to shed light on these topics, and Queens of Geek did it in an amazing way!

And pop culture references. OMG. Video games, old movies, arcade games. It was all there. I was in heaven!

I gave this book 5/5 stars. I loved the diversity of the characters and the ways the spoke to heavy subject matter. I was engrossed in the love stories and really pulling for the couples. It was a fun, quick, lighthearted read that I would most definitely recommend!