#james acker

Just Happy to Be Here by Naomi Kanakia (January 2nd) Tara just wants to be treated like any other girl at Ainsley Academy. That is, judged on her merits—not on her transness. But there’s no road map for being the first trans girl at an all-girls school. And when she tries to join the Sibyls, an old-fashioned Ainsley sisterhood complete with code names and special privileges, she’s thrust into the…

NEW YOUNG ADULT RELEASES! (APRIL 9TH, 2024)

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HAVE I MISSED ANY NEW YOUNG ADULT RELEASES? HAVE YOU ADDED ANY OF THESE BOOKS TO YOUR TBR? LET ME KNOW!

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NEW STANDALONES/FIRST IN A SERIES:

Teenage Dirtbags by James Acker

Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza Villa

The Darkness Rises by Stacy Stokes

The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray by Christine Calella

Right Here, Right Now by Shannon Dunlap

The Last Love Song by Kalie Holford

Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier

NEW SEQUELS:

Against the Darkness (In Every Generation #3) by Kendare Blake

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The Long Run by James Acker

Two track and field athletes find an unexpected but powerful love in this unapologetically blunt and unforgettably real YA debut.

Sebastian Villeda is over it. Over his rep. Over his bros. Over being "Bash the Flash," fastest sprinter in South Jersey. His dad is gone, his mom is dead, and his stepfather is clueless. Bash has no idea what he wants out of life. Until he meets Sandro.

Sandro Miceli is too nice for his own good. The middle child in an always-growing, always-screaming Italian family, Sandro walks around on a broken foot to not bother his busy parents. All he wants is to get out and never look back.

When fate—in the form of a party that gets busted—brings these two very different boys together, neither of them could’ve predicted finding a love that they’d risk everything for…

God where to even start. I fucking loved this book—I finished it last night, and I'm spending the day depressed because I'm no longer listening to it (audiobook). I took so many notes while reading this, and there were only a few minor critiques. Otherwise I was doing my best to put into words why I love this story so much.

The tagline for this book describes it as "unapologetically blunt and unforgettably real," which I think is spot on. It wasn't a sometimes-sad romance novel, but rather a story about two flawed yet earnest boys who better themselves (and FEEL better about themselves) with the help of each other. Yes it's a romance, but I love the platonic elements of the relationship so much; they truly become each other's best friend, and you can see how important their relationship is to each of them.

We get a dual POV in this book, and it was so expertly deployed. There's quite a lot of introspection (which I always enjoy in a novel), so we get firsthand accounts of how each character is feeling, but we also get to see them through the eyes of each other; we get to know their insecurities, but also get to see their strengths and value. Both Bash and Sandro are pretty self-aware, and I don't know how realistic that is for teenage boys, but it doesn't matter because it's all so good. And just because they're self-aware doesn't mean they're perfect; we get to see them make mistakes and learn and grow. There were plenty of times between them that the conversation could have gone south, but instead they are able to trust each other and talk it out.

Of course, though, there is one moment that goes very wrong and takes a while to come back from, but it was realistic. I feel like the tendency for authors nowadays is to throw in third-act drama whether it's deserved or not, but that wasn't the case here; the events fit the narrative of the story (it's pretty clear from early on that this book will have the potential for something heart-wrenching). Also, we got plenty of recovery time after it—I always hate when the story ends right after the conflict has been resolved, but here we got to spend a good amount of time with them afterwords.

This book just made me feel so much! Not just sad, but also hopeful. While I love both boys in this, I was a bit partial to Sandro, and he was the one who often made me cry (both sad and happy tears). Even though he had a shitty upbringing, he was still so optimistic about his future being better and working hard to make that better future, and it was just so lovely to read about and I'm literally tearing up while thinking about it. The ending was perfect for them, realistic yet hopeful, kind of like the whole story itself. I was fully sobbing when I finished, because I was just so overcome with emotion.

Besides the main story, I think the side characters were all very well crafted and utilized. Lucy was especially such a lovely figure, and I wish we had gotten to spend a bit more time with her (just because I like her, not because she wasn't around enough for the purpose of the story). And the writing was also top tier. I know I've gone on about how emotional this book was, but it had a good amount of lighthearted moments. And good humor! It got me to chuckle out loud a few times, which is unusual for me—it helped that I listened to the audiobook, so I couldn't accidentally skim ahead and spoil the joke for myself.

Speaking of the audiobook, MAD KUDOS to the readers for this!!!! I think they were absolutely perfect, right away settling me into the story and perfectly delivering the more emotional moments.

This is one of those books that I think a lot of other books try to be: gritty, realistic, emotional, heart-wrenching, inspiring, etc. But this one was actually able to pull it off. And while it is grittier than some, I didn't find it to be too much. Like I said, there was a good balance of humor, so it was never a heavy read, even with it's heavier moments. Frankly, I'm a bit stunned that this isn't more popular, because it deserves more readers. I simply cannot wait to revisit this book in the future (no literally, I'm actually considering re-listening to it while I still have it on loan from Libby).

Bonus spoilers—specific moments that made me cry:

24. May The Best Man Win by Z.R. Ellor: I wanted to like this book so badly, I really did but this is probably the only book I read this year that I didn’t like. The story is about Jeremy Harkisis who is a transgender cheerleader and his ex-boyfriend Lukas who is the all-star football player; the two exes are both trying to earn the title of Homecoming King. Honestly I loved the idea of this story just wasn’t a fan of the direction. First I did like Jeremy for most of the book, honestly his attitude towards Lukas in the beginning of the book made me not want to root for them and he just seems so mean and selfish, I understand that was the point and usually I don’t mind reading about characters who are mean and selfish but learns their lesson at the end but, Jermey was just so unnecessary cruel to his friends despite all of them showing him support and kindness. I liked Lukas a lot and honestly he was the only reason I had any motivation to finish this book and I thought the ending was cute. Overall a big let down and Lukas deserve so much better.

23. Radiant Black, Vol. 3: Rogues’s Gallery: It was the first book I read this year because my brother insisted I read it. It was fine, I’m personally not a huge fan of the series but I think the story is pretty good. Overall I gave it 3 stars on GoodReads so not bad.

22. Blackwater by Jeannette Arroyo and Ren Graham: So this book was different…not in a bad way. I actually really liked this book but this went in a direction I did not expect. So the story about Tony Price who is a popular high school track star and a quiet boy named Eli Hirsch who has a chronic autoimmune disorder become unlikely friends. Seems like your standard romance, except it’s not. Eli has a special ability to see ghosts and most recently he’s been seeing a ghost of a fisherman, while that happens Tony gets bitten by a werewolf-like creator which turns him into one. The story was alright, I was a bit confused at times but I still mostly enjoyed it. The romance was also lacking. Tony and Eli have a few cute moments together but I wish there were more, and I wished there were more interactions between the side characters and the main character. Overall Loved the spooky art style, I would recommend this for Halloween.

21. The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta: I Devoured this book, I couldn’t put this down because I was so invested. The story is about our main character Micheal who throughout the book will grow up and start questioning his sexuality, gender expression, and his relationships. The story is formatted like a poem which I really liked. Seeing Micheal throughout his life from his adolescent years to his adult years, seeing him grow and form meaningful relationships was such a great reading experience. Overall beautifully written story, I hope Micheal and Kieran ended up together.

20. Husband Material by Alexis Hall: This book was great. I loved Boyfriend Material and immediately bought Husband Material once I finished the first book because I needed to know what was next for Luc and Oliver. This book did great continuing the story of all the couples from the first book, and showing that Luc and Oliver were made for each other. I especially liked Luc's shitty ex-boyfriend from college. I really wanted more information about that relationship and seeing Oliver stand up for his parents was so satisfying…but then the ending happened. Honestly I liked the ending, I thought it fit Luc and Oliver who always has an unconventional relationship so them deciding marriage isn’t for them makes sense, I just wasn’t a fan of the execution of them making that decision. Overall much like Sherk 2 perfect squeal.

19. The Princess and the Grilled Sandwich by Deya Muniz: This book is so fucking cute! I loved the characters, I loved the artstyle, I loved the cheese pun, I loved everything! This book is about Lady Camembert and how her before she passed wanted her to marry so she can get her inheritance and rights to her father kingdom, which could only be given to a man and he only had one daughter; she decided to disguise herself as a man and inherent everything but is forced to live a low-profile in order to not lose everything. However she breaks this rule and goes to a ball hosted by Princess Bri, they form a friendship and slowly start falling for each other; the only issue is that Bri believes that Camembert is a man. This story was cute, fun, engaging, and the ending was perfect! Overall I devoured this book like a grilled cheese sandwich.

18. Sorry Bro by Taleen Voskuni: This book was so good! This book is about Nareh who after ending her relationship with her boyfriend who, while wasn’t a bad person just wasn’t for her, decided she wants to explore her options dating with both men and women. During this she meets Erebuni and she becomes her wingwoman and helps her find a new guy or girl. However during this they both start following each other, with Nareh falling hard first. The book was great, it was a bit slow and I personally didn’t find her issues at work a compelling subplot but thought everything else great. I loved Erebuni and thought she was so sweet and understanding and like Nareh and her mom talk after she came out. Overall Sweet and Sapphic

17. I wish you all the best by Mason Deaver: This was the first book I read with a Non-Binary MC. We follow Ben De Backer who on Christmas day decides to come out to their parents as Non-Binary, this however doesn’t go as planned and they end up kicked out of their home on Christmas and have to call their estranged sister Hannah and her husband Thomas who they haven’t met yet. This leads to them having to live with her and start a new school where they meet Nathan Allan and start a friendship. This book made me cry a few times. Ben goes through a lot in a short period of time. Building a relationship with their sister, trying to make new friends, and figure out how they feel about their parents. This book is amazing and Ben and Nathan's relationship is so pure and it’s hard to find sweet innocent romantic connections in books nowadays but Ben and Nathan were so sweet. Overall this book felt like a hug on paper.

16. I’ll Be Home For Christmas by Mason Deaver: We loved a Christmas squeal! This takes place once Ben and Nathan have graduated and Nathan is attending college while Ben is taking time off school and living with roommates. Ben flys to Hannah house for Christmas Eve and plans to bring a surprise for Nathan by bringing his dog back home. Unfortunately their perfect gift plan ended up blowing up in their face when it snowed in and flights started being canceled. This short story is very sweet and does a great job showing us how Nathan and Ben are now. Ben’s determination to bring Nathan his beloved dog was so sweet and the ending was the perfect ending. Overall Ben and Nathan are a couple goals.

15. Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell: I loved space adventures with a hint of romance, it’s one of my favorite combos. This book was written by the same author of Winter Orbit and it takes place in the same universe, however this isn’t a sequel since Kiem and Jainan aren’t mentioned and we have new main characters. In this book we follow Tennal, an absolut flirt who is constantly getting himself in trouble and Surit a Lieutenant who is very by-the-book. After Tennal gets himself in trouble yet again he’s forced to join the military where he meets Surit and they are forced to work together and forced to sync; and syncing is a type of merging of the minds. However Surit doesn’t want to sync because Tennal has made it clear he doesn’t want to be controlled. This leads to them coming up with a plan to get Tennal out of the military while keeping Surit rank. While this is happening they start slowing noticing a power struggle within the military. This book had me on the edge of my seats and I couldn’t stop listening, the romance wasn’t much which is fine because the overall plot was so intriguing it made up for the lack of romance. Overall Space politics are confusing but in a fun way.

14. Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall: This is the funniest book I read all year. Hands down. Boyfriend Material is about Luc O’Donnell who is the child of two retired rockstars and because of this he’s constantly in the spotlight and usually for all the wrong reasons. Wanting to clear his image he needs to find a perfect boyfriend, which he does with a successful educated man named Oliver Blackwood. They enter a fake dating situation which benefits them both. Luc and Oliver's relationship moved along so naturally and Luc is so funny. All the side characters were great too and while I knew what the ending was gonna be I was still surprised on how it ended. Overall UK comedy is undefeated.

13. She Gets the Girl by Racheal Lippincott, Alyson Derrick: Sapphic slow-burns are perfect for the summer. In this story we follow Alex Blackwood who has lots of issues both in her family and her dating life and Molly who has a close relationship with her family but never had a real date or relationship. The two are polar opposites but come together to help each other out, Alex helps Molly get with her long time crush Cora Myers and it helps Alex prove to her ex that she’s a better person. Molly and Alex are so cute together, Alex encouraging Molly to come out of her shell was really sweet, and I related to Molly a lot. Overall Sweet, Sapphic, and I want to learn how to roller skate

12. Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli: This book was so cute. In this we follow Imogen Scott who is a huge Ally and very involved in queer media. She visits her best friend Lili who’s thriving in college making new queer friends and everything is great…except Lili told a small lie saying that her and Imogen are ex’s and that Imogen is bi. Not wanting to make her friend seem like a liar she plays along, however while doing that she starts falling for Tessa, who is one of Lili's new friends. Imogen is such a sweetheart and one of my favorite main characters, The cover is also one of my favorites this year. Overall “I’m not homophobic, I’m an Ally”

11. A Mark on My Soul by Jordon Greene: This is the only book I read that didn’t have a happy ending. In this we follow Noah who decides to come out as gay to his friends, family, and publically online. When this happens he gets a message from a “secret admirer” which turns out to be his best friend Parker who’s in the closet. This book ripped my heart in half and ended up sobbing my eyes out. I already knew how Parker's story ended because I accidentally spoiled the ending for myself but despite that I grew so attached to Parker and wanted him to be happy. This book was a hard read for me but I loved it so much. Overall Parker deserves better!

10. The Long Run by James Acker: Ngl I almost DNF this book. I didn’t like the first 3 chapters and since I was listening to this book on audible I also wasn’t a big fan of Sandro’s VA, but chapter 4 is where I truly got invested and I’m so glad I keep reading because I ended up loving this book. In this story we follow Bash and Sandro, who are both finishing their last year of High School and after kissing at a Party they form a friendship. This is a true slowburn because even though they kissed in the beginning they stay mostly platonic and do “dude-bro” stuff. I also love that Bash never makes the fact he’s Bi a big deal, he just accepts that he fell for a guy and doesn’t care. Sandro and Bash are so cute together and I loved them so much. Overall Bash the Flash and the Italian Yeti are my OTP

9. Time Out by Sean Hayes, Todd Milliner, Carlyn Greenwald: I found out a lot of people don’t like this book and it honestly breaks my heart. In this we follow Barclay who's basically a sport legend in his school, at least he was until he decided to come out very publicly and the reception wasn’t what he was anticipating, because of this he leaves the Basketball team and help his friend Amy with school related politics where he also meets Christopher and together they help the voiceless have a voice. Barclay and Christopher's relationship is so sweet and wholesome I loved reading about them watching movies and kissing goodnight. I love non-sexual intimacy. Barclay is also great, he’s really kind and understanding given the circumstances of everything that happened to him. Overall everyone on GoodReads is wrong.

8. Snowflake Kisses by Jordon Greenee, Yayira Dzames: Skylar and Jacob are back! In this book we follow Skylar and Jacob who are spending their first Christmas together. Honestly this book is just vibes, no big conflicts, no third act breakup, no Jacbo’s dad, just pure sugary vibes. Seeing Skylar and Jacob have snowfighters, cuddle in the car, and get each other thoughtful gifts, everything was just so nice. Skylar's parents were also great and seeing them treat Jacob like family made my heart skip a beat. Plus I loved art. Yayira Dzames did an amazing job capturing the characters. Overall My favorite Christmas comic.

7. Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date by Ashley Herring Blake: Small confession, I wasn’t a big fan of Iris in the first two books (Delilah Green Doesn’t Care and Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail). However I ended up liking her a lot at the end of this book. In this we follow Iris who has given up on dating and sticking to casual hook-ups after her two failed relationships. Unfortunately for Iris who’s a romance author she suffered from writer's block and needed to find inspiration. We also follow Stevie, a struggling actress with anxiety issues trying to get her big break while helping her ex keep her community theater studio open. When Stevie finds herself in a web of lies her and Iris start a fake relationship, this helps Stevie prove to her friends that she doesn’t need her feeling protected and helps Iris find inspiration for her needed book; they of course start actually falling for each other. Iris and Stevie have amazing chemistry throughout the book and I loved how patient Iris is with Stevie when it comes to sex and intimacy. The consent checks and making sure they both enjoyed each other was so hot. Stevie such as sweetheart and I related to her when it comes to how she views sex and her anxiety and Iris is great too. Overall Stevie has my whole heart.

6. The Sun and Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure by Rick Riordan, Mark Oshiro: Fun fact I didn’t read any Percy Jackson books before this but I liked this anyways. We follow Nico di Angelo the son of Hades and his boyfriend Will Solace the son of Apollo as they travel through the underworld to find their friend Bob who was left behind in Hades Realm. Despite not reading anything Percy Jackson related I loved his adventure, Nico and Will bounce off each other perfectly and I wish there were more books where the main couple are already together because seeing these boyfriends act like boyfriends made my heart flutter. It was such a fun ride from beginning to end and I enjoyed it so much. Overall I should read Percy Jackson.

5. The First to Die at the End by Adam Slivera: This book destroyed me…so 5 stars. This is a prequel of They Both Die at the End, in this book we follow the first ever Decker and see Death-Cast go live for the first time. In this we follow Orion Pagan who lost his parents young and suffers from a deadly heart condition and while he has big dreams for his future he doesn’t see himself living long enough to achieve those dreams and we also follow Valentino Prince who moves to New York with his twin sister to start his molding career, however that’s cut short when he gets the call at midnight. I cried like 4 times reading this book, it was amazing. All the side characters were great and I love multiple POV’s in books. Overall I need more Death-Cast books.

4. Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake: Jordan Everwood is hands down my favorite character. This is the second book in the Bright Falls series and I couldn’t wait to read this one. We follow Astrid who just ended her engagement and is trying to focus on work, we also follow Jordan who helps her grandmother renovate her inn to avoid having to sell. After a not so great first interaction they find themselves working together to fix the inn for a reality tv show. As they work together they start to get to know each other and open up to each other about their family, relationships, and jobs. I loved Astrid in the first book and was so excited to see her story continue and I loved her and Jordan's connection. Overall “You deserve a destiny Jordan Everwood”.

3. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid: This book was so good! In this we follow Monique who has just been assigned to write the autobiography about famous Hollywood Icon Evelyn Hugo and her glamorous and scandalous life. Evelyn is probably the most complex character I’ve read this year, out of all the characters she felt the most human, she made mistakes and did things she regretted but also had moments of kindness and had to make really tough choices. I liked Monique however if I had to change anything I wish we focused on her more, but what we have is great. Overall I need this to be a movie.

2. Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo: This book has amazing writing, I stayed engaged the whole time and couldn’t stop listening. We follow Lily Hu who is a seventeen year old Chinese American living in ChinaTown. This story takes place in 1954 when the red-scare was a big threat for Chinese Americans. Due to this Lily faces many problems, her father may be deported, her friend group is changing, and she starts developing feelings for other women especially her friend Kath. She and Kath start going to an underground lesbian club called the Telegraph Club. This book was so good, I can barely put it into words. Overall Speechless

Title: The Long Run

Author: James Acker

Genre: Sports | Friendship | Romance | LGBTQ+

Content Warnings: Homophobia | Racism | Familial Abuse 

Overall Rating: 9.7/10

Personal Opinion: Sebastian “Bash” Villeda and Alessandro “Sandro” Miceli are one of the cutest book couples I’ve ever met. They’re track and field athletes who know of each other. Until a fateful party in the woods leads to them getting to know each other. Thus comes an intense friendship that evolves into a wild roller coaster of romance. And you won’t want to miss a single twist or turn on this ride.

Do I Own This Book? Not yet I don’t.

Spoilers Below For My Likes & Dislikes: