Tag: Penguin Teen

All My Rage – Sabaa Tahir

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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Sabaa Tahir comes a brilliant, unforgettable, and heart-wrenching contemporary YA novel about family and forgiveness, love and loss, in a sweeping story that crosses generations and continents.

Lahore, Pakistan. Then.
Misbah is a dreamer and storyteller, newly married to Toufiq in an arranged match. After their young life is shaken by tragedy, they come to the United States and open the Clouds’ Rest Inn Motel, hoping for a new start.

Juniper, California. Now.
Salahudin and Noor are more than best friends; they are family. Growing up as outcasts in the small desert town of Juniper, California, they understand each other the way no one else does. Until The Fight, which destroys their bond with the swift fury of a star exploding.

Now, Sal scrambles to run the family motel as his mother Misbah’s health fails and his grieving father loses himself to alcoholism. Noor, meanwhile, walks a harrowing tightrope: working at her wrathful uncle’s liquor store while hiding the fact that she’s applying to college so she can escape him—and Juniper—forever.

When Sal’s attempts to save the motel spiral out of control, he and Noor must ask themselves what friendship is worth—and what it takes to defeat the monsters in their pasts and the ones in their midst.

From one of today’s most cherished and bestselling young adult authors comes a breathtaking novel of young love, old regrets, and forgiveness—one that’s both tragic and poignant in its tender ferocity.

Review:

Thank you to Penguin Teen Influencers & Sabaa Tahir for sharing this e-arc of All My Rage with me. The following review reflects my honest reading experience.

This book was incredible. I am so thankful that Sabaa Tahir wrote this book and shared her story. All My Rage was beautiful, devastating, inspiring, and heartbreaking. It contains themes of love, grief, forgiveness, regret, healing, and (of course) rage.

I was completely captivated by Noor, Salahudin, and Misbah. I was beside them through each of their incredibly harrowing journeys. I felt so deeply for these characters. These three, especially Noor & Salahudin, are now a part of my heart. They will be with me forever.

Sabaa Tahir has once again absolutely blown me away. I already knew that her writing and storytelling were stunning. But she really outdid herself with All My Rage. She navigates sensitive issues and storylines with grace, empathy, and compassion. All My Rage tore my heart into a million pieces. And then it put it back together. This one will stick with me for a long time.

All My Rage will be released March 1st.

*Please make sure to read the content/trigger warnings provided. All My Rage addresses many serious, potentially triggering subjects including: drug and alcohol addiction, physical abuse, Islamophobia, mentions of repressed sexual assault, tense exchange with law enforcement, and death.

I Must Betray You – Ruta Sepetys [ARC Review]

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I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys: 9781984836038 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

Synopsis:

Romania, 1989. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren’t free to dream; they are bound by rules and force.

Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. He’s left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves—or use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe.

Cristian risks everything to unmask the truth behind the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives. But what is the cost of freedom?

Review:

Huge thank you to Ruta Sepetys, Penguin Teen Influencers, Philomel Books and Penguin Young Readers for sharing this e-arc with me. The following review reflects my honest reading experience. 

I am a massive fan of Ruta Sepetys’s books. Each of her stories have made such an impact on me and continue to be favorites of mine. My favorite thing about Ruta’s books is that she choosing topics that are lesser known or have been forgotten. Not only do I get to read an incredible story, I also get to learn about pieces of history that I had no knowledge of. Once again she has accomplished this by sharing the moving and tragic story of Romania in its communist era. In the author’s note, Sepetys states: 

“History is the gateway to our collective story and the story of humanity. Historical fiction allows us to explore underrepresented stories and illuminate countries on the map.” 

This is exactly why I love reading historical fiction, but especially love Ruta’s books. She does a phenomenal job of telling beautiful stories while shining the light onto these underrepresented peoples and countries. The amount of time spent and research done is simply amazing. Ruta devotes her life to telling these underrepresented stories! She really is a master storyteller. I Must Betray You is a powerful read that I recommend everyone read. 

I always have complex feelings about Ruta’s books. It feels odd to say that I enjoyed it because there is so much tragedy and heartbreak. But I really did enjoy I Must Betray You despite the difficult to read parts. Ruta is able to seamlessly tell these heartbreaking stories with respect, love, and poise. She creates characters that I always come to love and bond with. I was fully immersed into 1989 Romania. I am so inspired by the citizens, especially the young people, who stood up to oppression. 

I highly encourage everyone to read the author’s note at the end of the book. Reading Ruta’s authors notes are actually one of my favorite parts of reading her books. You can just feel the amount of love and dedication that she puts into telling these stories. I’ll end my review with another quote from her author’s note, 

“Please remember that when adversity is drawn out of the shadows and recognized, we ensure that human beings living under oppression-past and present–know they are not forgotten.

Together, we can shine a light in dark corners of the past.

Together, we can give history a voice.”

I Must Betray You is already released. Check it out today!

Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf – Hayley Krischer [ARC Review]

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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis:

“Ali Greenleaf’s story is complex and beautifully told; full of fury, heartbreak, and hope.” –Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces and How to Make Friends With the Dark

Ali Greenleaf and Blythe Jensen couldn’t be more different.

Ali is sweet, bitingly funny, and just a little naive. Blythe is beautiful, terrifying, and the most popular girl in school. They’ve never even talked to each other, until a party when Ali decides she’ll finally make her move on Sean Nessel, her longtime crush and the soccer team’s superstar. But Sean pushes Ali farther than she wants to go. When she resists–he rapes her.

Blythe sees Ali when she runs from the party, everyone sees her. And Blythe knows something happened with Sean; she knows how he treats girls. Even so, she’s his best friend, his confidant. When he tells her it was a misunderstanding, she decides to help him make things right.

So Blythe befriends Ali, bringing her into a circle of ruthless popular girls, and sharing her own dark secrets. Despite the betrayal at the heart of their relationship, they see each other, in a way no one ever has before.

In her searing, empowering debut novel, Hayley Krischer tells the story of what happened that night, and how it shaped Ali and Blythe forever. Both girls are survivors in their own ways, and while their friendship might not be built to last, it’s one that empowers each of them to find justice on their own terms.

Review:

Huge thank you to the Penguin Teen Influencer program, Razorbill, and Netgalley for providing this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I don’t really know how to review this book. Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf is the story of Ali, who was raped by popular it boy Sean, and Blythe, who is the queen bee of high school and is Sean’s best friend. Hayley Krischer tells the story of Ali’s rape, the events that follow, and how both girls are forever affected.

Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf is quite hard to read at times. The trauma and emotions that Ali goes through are unimaginable but unfortunately so common. I had a very hard time sympathizing with Blythe at all, but I understand how the author was trying to show us another victim. Blythe is extremely unlikeable and I don’t agree with her actions but I do understand how she is a victim of Sean’s too.

This story is about rape culture in our society and the way victims are shamed and manipulated. It is a powerful story that shines light on a difficult subject. It at times made me sick to my stomach. But I am so glad I read Ali’s story. It is honest and heartfelt.

The author provides trigger warning and multiple resources for sexual assault survivors.

Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf is an intense, emotional, gut wrenching, and authentic story. While it can be difficult to read, this story is so important and powerful.

Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf is set to be released on October 6th.

Skywatchers – Carrie Arcos [ARC Review]

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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis:

From National Book Award Finalist Carrie Arcos comes a thrilling, genre-bending mystery about the history of the Cold War and the UFO phenomenon. Perfect for fans of In the Woods by Tana French and Netflix’s Stranger Things.

The year is 1952. The threat of invasion from the Soviet Union has people in a panic. The government has issued a call to civilians to act as radar–and Teddy, John, Caroline, Eleanor, Bunny, Frank, and Oscar eagerly answer. As members of their high school’s “Operation Skywatch” club, they, along with others across the country, look to the sky in an effort to protect the country from attack.

But they’re not prepared for the strange green light they see when on duty, which looks like nothing they’ve been trained to look out for. So when the mysterious object lands in the forest, Teddy, John, Caroline, and Bunny go in to investigate. Then, they disappear.

In this thrill of a novel inspired by real events, one group of teens will come face to face with the UFO phenomenon and the vastness of the unknown as they try to save one another, and possibly, the world. A powerful exploration of what if.

Review:

Huge thank you to the Penguin Teen Influencer program, Philomel Books, and Netgalley for providing this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Prior to receiving the Penguin Teen influencer Fall 2020 ARC email I had not heard about Skywatchers by Carrie Arcos. The cover immediately caught my eye so I had to check the book out. I was super intrigued by the plot.

Skywatchers tells the thrilling story of a group of teens in the 1950’s who are a part of the “Operation Skywatch” club. Their job is to watch the skies for enemy aircraft. The club is pretty boring, at least until one night when a strange light appears in the sky. Four of the teens go to investigate, but they all disappear. The teens return, but all of their memories of the incident have been erased, and one of their group is still missing. Skywatchers is an exciting mystery that combines sci-fi and history.

Skywatchers was a lot of fun! I really enjoyed the suspense and the mystery! The story took a turn for me once the teens started to regain their memories. I liked the way the author went back in time to reveal what happened to the teens. I liked the big reveal, but everything happened very quickly. The reveal, the climax, and then the resolution felt very rushed.

Overall I really liked this story. It was a fun mystery that is outside my normal realm of reading. I enjoyed the suspense and the sci-fi aspects. The ending was just too rushed and resolved too easily. However, it was still super fun and exciting!

Skywatchers will be released on August 18th by Philomel Books & Penguin Teen.