November 9, 2020

REVIEW: More Than Just a Pretty Face by Syed M. Masood

JayneA- Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended ReadsArranged Marriages / California / Chef / Contemporary / family relationships / First-Person / high-school / Islam / Muslim / opposites attract / POC / POC author / racism / revenge porn / self discovery / South-Asian / Young-Adult6 Comments

Danyal Jilani doesn’t lack confidence. He may not be the smartest guy in the room, but he’s funny, gorgeous, and going to make a great chef one day. His father doesn’t approve of his career choice, but that hardly matters. What does matter is the opinion of Danyal’s longtime crush, ... more >

November 3, 2020

REVIEW: The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert

JanineB+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Reads#ownvoices / activist / black MC / cat / election / grief / high-school / one day courtship / POC / POC author / romantic-elements / students / voting / YA10 Comments

Dear Brandy Colbert, I’ve been meaning to read one of your books for a long time and when The Voting Booth was published I was struck by the cleverness of the concept. This romantic YA novel takes place over the course of one day—Election Day—with Marva Sheridan, an activist eighteen-year-old ... more >

October 28, 2020

REVIEW: David Tung Can’t Have A Girlfriend Until He Gets Into An Ivy League College by Ed Lin

JayneB Reviews / Book ReviewsAsian Americans / Chinese-American MCs / coming-of-age / family relationships / First-Person / high-school / immigrant / New-Jersey / parents / POC / POC author / racism / Young-Adult8 Comments

David Tung is a Chinese American high-school student in an upscale, Asian-majority, New Jersey suburb who works every day at his family’s restaurant and strategizes every homeroom about how to improve his class rank so he can get into an Ivy League college. His only release? Hanging with his “real” ... more >

September 18, 2020

REVIEW: Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson

JanineBook Reviews / C Reviews / C- Reviews#ownvoices / abuse / Black heroine / coming-of-age / high-school / POC / POC author / rock stars / singer / YANo Comments

Trigger warnings: Dear Tiffany D. Jackson, A couple of months ago I read and reviewed your YA novel, Monday’s Not Coming, and was impressed. The book had a powerful mystery at its center, a disappearance of a teenager noticed only by her best friend. Even before I read it, I ... more >

September 14, 2020

REVIEW: We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry

JayneB Reviews / Book Reviews1980s / Athletes / coming-of-age / female friendship / high-school / LGBTQA / POC / POC author / self discovery / teens / YA / young adult fiction4 Comments

Acclaimed novelist Quan Barry delivers a tour de female force in this delightful novel. Set in the coastal town of Danvers, Massachusetts, where the accusations began that led to the 1692 witch trials, We Ride Upon Sticks follows the 1989 Danvers High School Falcons field hockey team, who will do ... more >

JanineB Reviews / Book Reviews / DNF Reviews#ownvoices / 18th-century / brothel / Earl / English countryside / high-school / Korean American / London / murder mystery / POC / POC author / prostitute / Reading lists / Regency Romance / YA5 Comments

Death and the Harlot by Georgina Clarke I read 39% of this book historical mystery set in mid-eighteenth century London before quitting. The period detail seems quite good and the book is pretty page-turning but unfortunately, the heroine’s motivations don’t make sense. Lizzie Hardwicke is a sex worker in a ... more >