#read ya

Debut YA novelist, Wellesley College alum, fellow tumblrer and all around wonderful person @annzhao was here to sign more copies of DEAR WENDY for us. We were proud to be one of her pre-order stores.

I’m a fan of romance any time of year, but I don’t want to let February go by without highlighting a favorite (or two, stay tuned for next week!). Emma Lord is on my must-read list since I devoured her PNW-set YA You Have a Match, and I was thrilled to see she had a new book, Begin Again, coming out at the end of January.

When Andie Rose shows up at Blue Ridge State as a second semester transfer (after failing to get in the first time around), she’s hoping to surprise her high school boyfriend, Connor, and finally get her life plan on track. She’s not expecting to discover that Connor has his own surprise for her: he’s transferred to Little Fells Community College to be with her. She and Connor decide to make the best of it at their respective schools for a semester. Through her warm-hearted “fix-it” nature and liberal dispersal of snack cakes, Andie soon builds a community for herself in her new home, from her book-loving roommate Shay, to her sleep-deprived RA Milo, to her math-whiz-queer-fantasy-writing tutor Valeria. When Andie inadvertently stumbles upon the underground radio station founded by the mother who died when she was young, she wants to follow in her mother’s footsteps. But new places and new things have a way of upending even the most perfect of plans, and Andie begins to see that the life she had planned for herself — and the way that she hoped to live up to her mother’s legacy — might be hiding a pain she hasn’t been willing to face. Not to mention a long-distance relationship with an increasingly distracted Connor and some confusing feels for her handsomely rumpled caffeine-addicted RA.

Begin Again is a cozy blanket of a book and Andie is the kind of friend anyone would love to have. She’s someone with the empathetic energy to genuinely want to help other people improve their lives with measurable steps and the requisite stubbornness to see it through. She’s also self-aware enough to see how she’s protected herself from processing her grief over her mom. I loved the journey she goes on in this book, discovering capabilities, learning to let her friends help her, and prioritizing herself over her need to “fix” things for other people. Emma Lord has once again created a cast of characters to fall in love with and I just wish I could spend even more time with them. For anyone wanting a nostalgic escape, Begin Again is a delightful read!

"There is this strange moment before war begins, a moment of peace, of hesitation and calm."

About That’s Not What Happened

It's been three years since the Virgil County High School Massacre. Three years since my best friend, Sarah, was killed in a bathroom stall during the mass shooting. Everyone knows Sarah's story--that she died proclaiming her faith. But it's not true. I know because I was with her when she died. I didn't say anything then, and people got hurt because of it. Now Sarah's parents are publishing a book about her, so this might be my last chance to set the record straight . . . but I'm not the only survivor with a story to tell about what did--and didn't--happen that day. Except Sarah's martyrdom is important to a lot of people, people who don't take kindly to what I'm trying to do. And the more I learn, the less certain I am about what's right. I don't know what will be worse: the guilt of staying silent or the consequences of speaking up . . .

Amazon || Goodreads

Trigger warnings for this book and potentially in this review: gun violence, depression, PTSD, alcoholism, bullying, school shooting, mental health

I remember seeing this book in the store and NOPE-ING right away from it because of the heavy subject matter. My main reason for picking it up was @frompawntoqueen​ and doing a mini bookclub before our other book came in from the library. They were reading it because the MC is asexual, which is a really cool thing. To start on that, she talks extensively about her orientation in several parts of the book, where appropriate. I loved how honest she was to herself and everyone she told. I love seeing queer characters in books that are not about being queer. Another character is a lesbian and has a girlfriend ,and the book also features a black blind boy who is open about racism and microaggressions.

If you read the description of this book, it’s heavy. It doesn’t pull any punches and you are going to cry multiple times and possibly have to step away from it. I know I did. This book brought back a lot of emotions I didn’t really remember from school. I was in 5th/6th grade when Columbine happened and I remember how it just settled over everyone school-aged. School might not be safe. Someone, a student even, a person I know, could come in and do that in my school too. The same when I was teaching. You started noticing people and their behavior. It was a switch that kids these days live with daily, since we are in a sick cycle of shooting, thoughts and prayers, nothing changes, shooting. 

It might not help that I started reading this right after two mass shootings within 24 hours.

Anyway.

This book touched heavily on themes of trauma, religion, and most importantly the truth. What it means, who it serves, why it’s important, what it can represent... the truth is probably the central theme of this book and honestly the part that is going to continue to clang around in my brain.

If you’re worried about reading this, that it is going to somehow glorify school schootings, don’t be. The shooter is deliberately never mentioned by name, never described, never treated as someone we should feel sorry for. Not that this makes it an easier read, but I was very impressed with how that was handled.

I don’t want to go too much into the plot, because I think everyone should read this if they’re able to handle the triggers (remember, mental health is more important than a book). I will say that it is not in chronological order, skipping between three years after the shooting before flashing back to it and even to times before the shooting to get a batter idea of the survivors and the people who lost their lives. The survivors writing about their friends who died definitely was what got to me. That and the issues with the church. I think this book portrays small town churches/Christianity just brilliantly, having lived in those types of areas myself.

Overall, I think this is something that adults should read more than children. Children already live this life. Adults need to learn some empathy.

Hey guys - here’s a full list of bookstores with signed copies of BROKEN THINGS on hand! Keep in mind there are limited quantities, and don’t forget that ALL preorders get a signed bookplate, just send me your mailing address and proof of purchase to [email protected] (US & Int’l). xoxo

CANADA

Indigo (online only)

Livres Babar Books – Quebec

Brome Lake Books – Quebec

La Maison Anglaise – Quebec

McNally Robinson Books - Manitoba

UNITED STATES

Barnes & Noble (online only)

Books-a-Million (online only)

Target (online only for now – in stores on 10/9!)

 CALIFORNIA

Book Passage – Corte Madera, CA

Bookshop West Portal – San Francisco, CA

Chaucer’s Bookstore – Santa Barbara, CA

CONNECTICUT

R.J. Julia Booksellers – Madison, CT

FLORIDA

Classic Bookshop – Palm Beach, FL

ILLINOIS

Anderson’s Bookshop – Naperville, IL

LOUISIANA

Cavalier House Books – Denham Springs, LA

MARYLAND

Curious Iguana – Frederick, MD

MICHIGAN

Horizon Books – Traverse City, MI

NEW YORK

Books of Wonder – New York, NY

Oblong Books & Music – Millerton, NY

NORTH CAROLINA

Bookmarks – Winston Salem, NC

OHIO

Book Loft – Columbus, OH

Joseph Beth Booksellers – Cincinnati, OH

PENNSYLVANIA

Kards Unlimited – Pittsburgh, PA

Towne Book Center – Collegeville, PA

TEXAS

Half Price Books – Dallas, TX

Murder By the Book – Houston, TX

UTAH

The King’s English Book Shop – Salt Lake City, UT

WASHINGTON

Secret Garden Books – Seattle, WA

Third Place Books – Lake Forest Park, WA