The Kissing Booth and Rolling Dice by Beth Reekles

   So I saw this adorable movie on Netflix and then I realized that it was based on a book.  Then I heard the story BEHIND the book - written by a 17 year old girl on Wattpad - the winner of a contest which included the netflix movie.   I wanted to check it out to see if the book closely followed the movie.  

Here's what I found.   It didn't.   All the best aspects of the movie - the rules, the background stories,  etc  were added to the  movie.  In fact, in my opinion, the book had a lot of other things that actually detracted from the way I felt about the story.   

I wondered if seeing the movie colored the way I felt about the writing, so I decided to check out Roll the Dice.   It confirmed everything I thought before though, I will say, it was better than the Kissing Booth. 

Here's what's clear - they are very clearly written by a 17 year old girl.  The stories are simplistic and flat - again with the Dice book having much more depth than the first.   I guess if I were 12, i would probably feel differently about the books, but I'm not.   

S.E. Hinton was 16 when she wrote the Outsiders.  It basically created a new genre of novels.  It changed people.  So age doesn't determine someone's ability or inability to write well.   Still Beth Reekles has done something I haven't - written a book.  But unfortunately, I think her age  gave her a lot of leeway and forgiveness that it shouldn't have necessarily.   

Cute movie.  The book - both of them were a pass for one dimensional, simplistic writing.  Just my opinion.  Two stars.

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

 So you all may have noticed, but I've been reading a lot of romance novels lately.  This one was referred to me by one of my book club friends, so I decided to check it out.  It is both exactly what I expected and also somehow more.  

This is the story of Thea and Gavin - a couple who are struggling to find their way.  Gavin is a major league baseball player and he and Thea have been married for three years.  Things definitely aren't as perfect as they seem and after a serious fight with a lot of hurt feelings, they marriage is on the ropes.  Not knowing what to do, Gavin has hit rock bottom when his friends decide to intervene.  They welcome him into their secret book club - the bromance book club.  They read exclusively romance novels and they claim that they have used these books to heal their relationships   Will it work for Gavin and Thea?

The premise behind this book alone was enough to get me laughing.  If you really think about it, romance novels can be a relationship guide in some respects.  I loved how the men pointed out how feminist  romance books actually tend to be and it even gave me some things to think about.

This book was light, fun, a great diversion with characters that I wanted to root for.  At times it got to be just a bit much, but for the most part, very enjoyable.   

Empire of Gold by S. A. Chakraborty

  This was the third and final installment of the Daevabad trilogy.  I greatly enjoyed this series because I thought it was a completely original way to incorporate so many wonderful, familiar stories together.  This is the Djinn in an entirely new light.

This story follows Nahri and Ali as they find themselves back in Cairo after unintentionally escaping from Daeveabad.  They face a whole new set of problems now that Ali has the seal and it was never intended to leave Daevabad.   They find themselves looking for a way to find allies, return to their beloved city and face Dara and Nahri's mother once and for all. 

I loved how the story went through a complete redemption arc, especially for some of my favorite characters.  I loved the development of all - even some of the subsidiary characters like Jamshid.  The only thing I would have changed - maybe - about this book is that while the ending was satisfying, I wanted the bigger happy.  But now that I think about it, the characters got the ended they wanted.  

I gave it four out of five stars and I'm really glad I read this series.  Will definitely read this author again. 

Sissy by Jacob Tobia

  I read this book for Pride month and let me just say, that it is the best book that I have read in a LONG time.  If I could have given it ten stars, I totally would have.  I would say that I loved every minute but that wouldn't be right, but this book is life changing.

It's real and it's honest.  I love that it doesn't place blame but just sees things in a real and honest way.   Jacob had a very challenging  time coming into  their own, and this book just spells it all out.  From their earliest memories of being told which toys they could and could not play with - being teased for being feminine - and repressed.... all through their teens years, experiences in Church and life in college and onward.  

I was surprised at how much a role the Church played in Jacob's life and I was very moved with how they portrayed both the good and the bad in that relationship.   It gave me a sense of hope, but also served as a reminder that we have a long way to go.

I cheered when Jacob ran the Brooklyn Bridge,  I wanted to hold their hand and sit with them during Christmas Eve mass.  I felt their pain at losing a beloved Grandmother. The letter to his parents at the end?  I balled like a baby. 

As a parent, you hope you're not THAT parent,  but none of us are given manuals on how to raise our children, how to respond.  All we can do is hope we don't fuck up too badly and when we do, that we can apologize and learn from our mistakes.  This book is a wonderful reminder that we all have ways we can grow. 

 This book just spoke to me on every single level and I can't recommend it highly enough.  Like Jacob, it's FABULOUS.   

Blood and Bone and The Rise of Magicks by Nora Roberts.

  Both of these are from the Year One trilogy. I decided to review them together because that just makes my life easier and hey, sometimes that should be a thing, right?   

So as I stated in my review of Year One, this series is about a pandemic, not unlike our own.  The Doom.   In the wake of the Doom, people survive and some develop "abilities" - magic.   Both light and dark.  The rest of the series is about The One - Fallon Swift - who is destined to defeat the dark.

This is your standard battle between good and evil, with very strong The Stand undertones.  Maybe because of that it was comforting to read.  Plus, since there is the magical aspect it was a pleasant diversion that sort of restores your faith in people and the ability of love and light to conquer all.  Definitely what I need more of in my life when that doesn't always seem to be my current reality. 

I really enjoyed it.  I mean, it isn't great literature but it is engaging, diverting, entertaining and more of what I needed right now.  So I gave this one four stars and I'm glad I read it. 

Beach Read by Emily Henry

  I read this book for my book club's July theme - a book you read by the water.  It was the perfect poolside ( in my case)  book.  The book is full of secrets (none too terribly shocking) and trite montages, as January would say, leading ultimately to a mostly happily ever after.  No surprise there. 

 This is the story of January and Augustus.  January is a writer.  She writes happily ever afters.   Gus is also a writer - not of the happily ever after variety.  Through a course of events that happen in January's life, she unexpectedly finds herself the owner of a lake house in Michigan.   Turns out, her new neighbor is  a man that she had some experience with back in college - her writing nemesis of sorts.

As the events of the book unfolds, January and Gus become friends and enter into a challenge of sorts.  She will write a more serious, fiction book and he will undertake a happily ever after.  To that end, they agree to spend time together, each learning the other's processes.   The  challenge - the first one to sell their new book wins.  

It was a great diversion - easy pool side book that I enjoyed.   Not life shattering, but not everything you read needs to be.  Sometimes it's ok to just enjoy something to float away with.  I gave it four stars. 

Pax by Sara Pennypacker

  This was a middle grade book that I read for my coronacation challenge.  It is a beautiful book - a coming of age story about the love of a boy and his pet.  But it was also so much more than that.  It's like the modern day equivalent of the Yearling, but simpler perhaps.

Peter lives with his father.  His mother has passed from cancer.   Along the way, Peter finds a young fox whose family has been killed by coyotes.   He takes in the young kit, names it Pax and raises it.    Eventually, his father enlists in the military and Peter must go live with his Grandfather 300 miles away.  Part of the relocation involves releasing Pax back into the wild.

Once Peter gets to his father's, he realizes that he's made a terrible mistake and he plans a 300 mile journey to find his friend and bring him home.   Most of the story is about the journey and what happens to both Peter and Pax along the way.   They both grow and change. 

I spent a lot of time talking to my husband about this book.  I thought that the father's perspective wasn't well explained or developed.  Perhaps that was purposeful.  Peter has a naive, heroic view of his father that evolves through the course of the story.   Ending ultimately with "sometimes the apple falls very far from the tree."   This book gave me a lot to think about.  I gave it 5 stars and think it would be a great discussion for any middle grade class.