#teensknowbest

Reader: Lynn H

Age: 15

Book Title: Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World

Author: Pénélope Bagieu

Publisher: First Second

Pub. Date: Mar 8, 2018

Recommend? Yes

Why or why not recommend the book? IT’S AMAZING. Okay. So. I started this book by looking through the table of contents, recognizing some names and had no idea who others were. I read through every single chapter and learned something new in each one. Even with famous women who I’d heard about before, like Mae Jemison, the first female astronaut or Josephine Baker, a dancer and French resistance fighter, I got to see the “behind the scenes” stories. The majority of people in this book I was either vaguely familiar with or had never heard of, such as Nellie Bly, a journalist who traveled around the world; Christine Jorgensen, a trans actress who was widely known in the US; Therese Clerc, who made a utopian retirement home for women. Each chapter/section was unique and had its own cool color scheme, and there are many women who achieved things that you wouldn’t typically think of when you think of “achievements”, per se.

Are there diverse characters? Yes. There are women from all historical periods and cultures and of all different races, sexualities and ages. It’s cool to learn about women that we aren’t taught about in history class, or expand on the stories of those who are.

Do you think this book warrants a #ownvoices #weneeddiversebooks hashtag? I think it could

Thoughts on the Cover: AMAZING. BEAUTY. GREAT.

Did you finish the book? Yes

Is this a Galley Book? Yes

Would you recommend this for Read Brave? No

Reader: Sophie

Reader’s Age: 17

Book Title: Surviving Adam Meade

Author: Shannon Klare

Publisher: Swoon Reads

Publication Date: August 14th, 2018

Recommend: No

Why or why not recommend the book?:

Where to start, where to start. The main character’s main personality trait is her fighting with other people but not in a cute way just in a fighting way. Her mom’s main trait is that she is bad at cooking. Her dad’s traits are that he fights with the main character and also is a coach.

The love interest treats her badly from day one and really has no character development. It seems like it’s supposed to be a hate to love relationship but he never stops acting horribly and their relationship has no chemistry. All of their interactions are so unnatural.

Also, the title of this book. Is it really a good relationship if you’re “surviving” someone?

Did anything surprise you about the book?: Not really.

Are their diverse characters?: No

Do you think this book warrants a #ownvoices #weneeddiversebooks hashtag?: No.

Thoughts on the Cover: The cover is an accurate representation of what you are going to get.

Did you finish the book: Yes.

Is this a Galley Book: Yes.

Would you recommend this for Read Brave?: No.

Reader: Chiamaka C.

Age: 16

Book Title: Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World

Author: Pénélope Bagieu

Publisher: First Second

Pub. Date: Mar 8, 2018

Recommend? Yes

Why or why not recommend the book? I would recommend this book because I think it’s a very important book that everyone should read. It was a wonderful book about women of all backgrounds doing things that at their time were thought to be only for men, things that changed the world and paved the way for other women. The book is very easy to read, each story has a very thought out color scheme, and I love all of the art.

Are there diverse characters? Yes. This book tells of the stories of a wide spectrum of women. There are women from different times in history, places of the world, social classes, fields of study, ages, races, sexualities.

Do you think this book warrants a #ownvoices #weneeddiversebooks hashtag? For sure.

Thoughts on the Cover: Love it. Love it very much.

Did you finish the book? Yes

Is this a Galley Book? Yes

Would you recommend this for Read Brave? No

Reader: Vivian

Book Title: Graveyard Shakes

Author: Laura Terry

Publisher: Scholastic

Publication Date: September 2017

Recommend: Yes

Why or why not recommend the book? I recommend this book because it was fun to read. I didn’t really analyze the book, so I might have missed some stuff, but it was fun to just read. The book doesn't seem to be very subtle, but it didn’t really need to be. It was just a cute story about two sisters, a boy, and a ghost. Well, and a man trying to murder the sisters.

Did anything surprise you about the book? No, not really.

Are there diverse characters? No

Do you think this book warrants a #ownvoices #weneeddiversebooks hashtag? No

Thoughts on the cover: I rather like it, it made me interested to read the book.

Did you finish the book: Yes

Is this a Galley Book: Yes

Would you recommend this for Read Brave? No

Reader: Asher

Reader’s Age: 12

Book Title: Animus

Author: Antoine Revoy

Publisher: Macmillan First Second

Publication Date: May 8, 2018

Recommend: Yes

Why or why not recommend the book? I enjoyed this book because it was a graphic novel, and it held my attention.  It was unusual because the setting was a playground in a busy neighborhood.  There were these two kids that go to the playground and see a kid there with a mask on. His name is Toothless.  They ask him about his name, and he smiles a wide, nearly toothless grin. Through encounters at the playground, they find out the playground has powers.  For instance, if you go down the slide you become older.  This book was fun to read, and I recommend it.

Did anything surprise you about the book? No

Are their diverse characters? Yes, there are old people in the book.

Do you think this book warrants a #ownvoices #weneeddiversebooks hashtag? No

Thoughts on the Cover: It is very intriguing.

Did you finish the book: Yes

Is this a Galley Book: Yes

Would you recommend this for Read Brave? Yes

Reader: Finn

Reader’s Age: 14

Book Title: The Way You Make Me Feel

Author: Maurene Goo

Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux

Publication Date: May 8th, 2018

Recommend: Yes

Why or why not recommend the book?: I originally read Maurene Goo’s ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’, which inspired me to pick up this book. The first 50 pages had me a little unsure of whether or not I’d like this book, especially with Clara’s personality. Yet I really, really loved this book.

Clara doesn’t take life seriously, which at first doesn’t cause any consequences for her, but after pretending to be covered in blood at her prom queen acceptance speech, leading to things starting on fire… yeah. And so she’s assigned to work at her dad’s food truck with her enemy, Rose, for the summer.

The main thing I really love about this book is the main characters. Clara and Rose’s totally opposite personalities really conflict yet go well together, and Hamlet is a wonderful person who I just want to cradle in my arms. You can’t not love this trio. The character development they all have throughout this book makes them even more realistic and wonderful. I just love them. Plus the plot of this book really allows you to see all sides of them.

Did anything surprise you about the book?: Clara and Rose’s friendship really surprised me. At the beginning of the book, all I could think is how the only thing achievable between them was politeness as ‘co-workers’, not necessarily at each other’s throats but also not skipping down a sidewalk holding hands. However, once they overcame their tenseness and a friendship bloomed, I really enjoyed it and I thought it was actually realistic for them to overcome their hatred for each other that they had at the beginning of the book.

Are their diverse characters?: Yes. Clara and Hamlet are Asian, Rose is Black, and one of Clara’s other friends is gay. This book does not lack diversity.

Do you think this book warrants a #ownvoices #weneeddiversebooks hashtag?: No.

Thoughts on the Cover: I like the cover except I don’t think it quite expresses Clara and her personality well. Clara is more of a joking, carefree person, and her holding her hand on her face and almost modeling does not seem to fit her. I’d like it for any other character, but it just doesn’t work with Clara.

Did you finish the book: Yes.

Is this a Galley Book: Yes.

Would you recommend this for Read Brave?: No.

Reader: Peter N.

Reader Age: 13

Book Title: 10 Things I Can See From Here

Author: Carrie Mac

Publisher: Random House Children’s Books

Publication Date: February 28, 2017

Recommend?: Depends on the person...

Why or why not Recommend the Book?: I really think that this book is amazing, I truly do. It is such a lovely book, with an excellent problem and plot twists and romance and romance and just an AWFUL lot of romance. I mean like, to the point where it’s nearly graphic. Towards the end, the main character, Maeve, and her girlfriend, Salix, get in bed and do a special “dance without pants.” But otherwise I would say it’s excellent! This book was the perfect combination of love, problems, and tons of other story elements I’m currently blanking on. It’s about a girl named Maeve who leaves to go stay with her dad for a while so her mom can go down to Haiti and work. She has extreme anxiety for as long as she can remember, and this just adds more to the other problems that she is facing. But then she ends up meeting a girl named Sailx and a whole new world is shown to her. 

Did anything surprise you about the book?: Not really, it keeps you on the edge of your seat, it’s just that some parts are fairly obvious. 

Are there diverse characters?: Fairly, Maeve and Salix are gay, and there’s a drunk and high dad if that counts for anything...

Do you think this book warrants a #ownvoices #weneeddiversebooks hashtag?: No

Thoughts on the cover: It’s very pretty and pink. But it could be shiny-er. Also they should’ve added the “friend of Dorothy.” that was a fairly important symbol. 

Did you finish the book?: Yepoooo

Is this a galley book?: No

Would you recommend this book for Read Brave?: No

Reader: Finn Z.

Reader’s Age: 14

Book Title: At the Edge of the Universe

Author: Shaun David Hutchinson

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Publication Date: February 7th, 2017

Recommend: Yes.

Why or why not recommend the book?: I recommend this book because it’s so original and something that’s never been heard of in YA (at least not by me). Ozzie’s best friend and boyfriend, Tommy, has disappeared, no one else remembers him, and the universe is shrinking (according to NASA). It sounds really weird at first. But you get used to it as the book goes on. The book also includes Ozzie’s day to day life at school and at home, both of which consist of DRAMA. To say the least, this book is not boring.

One thing I REALLY enjoyed was how Ozzie got closer with a guy named Calvin through a physics project. It sounds boring, but Calvin has a very interesting past and personality, almost seeming to help Ozzie stay present in his life and not just turning into a sad shell who misses Tommy.

One thing I didn’t like about this book is how confusing it is until the last chapter. Did Tommy actually disappear? Is, and why, is the universe shrinking? What is Ozzie going to do with his life? It all smooths out by the end, but I need a little more explanation and material if I can keep track of everything.

Did anything surprise you about the book?: Nothing surprised me in this book, but I’m not saying it’s boring or predictable. It keeps you on your toes and is really captivating. You’re able to almost go with the characters throughout the story with how realistic and developed they are.

Are their diverse characters?: Extremely. Ozzie is gay, along with Tommy (who’s also black), and Ozzie’s best friend Lua, is gender fluid.

Do you think this book warrants a #ownvoices #weneeddiversebooks hashtag?: No.

Thoughts on the Cover: The cover was a bit unappealing. It’s dark, a bit blurry, and not very captivating.

Did you finish the book: Yes.

Is this a Galley Book: Yes.

Would you recommend this for Read Brave?: No.