I really want to get into the habit of writing a review of everything I read. Not to brag, but my NetGalley reviews have been pretty solid. I am still too chicken to not finish something because I want them to keep giving me free books so I am reading everything. The upside is - everything has been pretty amazing!
My MTCBA journey has taken a nice turn in that direction as well! I had a few books that didn't make the cut, didn't sit right for me or that I DNF-ed. But the ones I have read in this new year have been delightful! I will post my reviews here, and in Goodreads, AND in the MTCBA super-secret Google group! Honestly, this blog is for me to keep track of my shit, I am trying to use Goodreads more because when I love something, I want the world to know (and I want to be part of the math that makes the scores. Chew on all these 5 start reviews, fussy readers!!) and MTCBA is obviously for the good work we are doing. I love it so, even if my colleagues are SO FREAKING STINGY WITH THEIR SCORES!! But I digress.
So let's begin with my first MTCBA read of the year, a sweet, swoony and somehow serious look at love, fucked up families and dragon dancing -
Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang, illustrated by LeUyen Pham - Maybe I just love everything. I certainly love love. This book charmed the everloving heart out of me. There was just enough suspense with the family stuff, just enough love, the old triangle bait and switch, her friend's theory of just having fun and SO MUCH DRAGON DANCE! Yes, it's long, but it's not bloated. I think kids are a lot more willing to read a longer graphic novel than a text one. Also, even though the characters are older, it is squeaky clean which means that the youngsters won't be scarred for life.
Okay, this one is too long. But I love Libba Bray SO MUCH! Under the Same Stars is beautifully constructed. There are three plots going on, which is the perfect number of pots to have going on at once. The first is Germany under the third reich, the second is West Berlin in 1980 and the third is Brooklyn during covid lockdown. So clearly, the feel-good book of the year. The characters are all distinct, the settings feel real (And I am not great at discerning settings, so well done, Libba!) and the parallels to our current state of affairs are concerning, but not overwhelming. I laughed, I cried, I stood staring into the abyss. It was just so good. I had the smart social commentary of Beauty Queens with the dreamy historical bent of the Great and Terrible Beauty books. I know that the youths of today aren't all about historical fiction, but some are and this is just perfect. And not to brag, but I read this in three different formats because I was so addicted. I started with the old school hardback, switched to ebook to read late at night without keeping the old man awake and then mainlined the audiobook while doing brainless tasks of laminating. All three formats were terrific.
And finally, a little something light and sweet. Although there are still messed up parent relationships and some hardships and there always seems to be a douche-bro who can not handle the amount of testosterone flowing through their body to the detriment of everyone in the story. I present to you, the wonder that is Lynn Painter's Fake Skating.
You guys, this story is about two teenagers who used to be summer besties who have fallen out and then they end up at the same high school for senior year. And you're never going to believe what happens...[spoiler] THEY FALL IN LOVE!!! Do you see it coming? Of course you do. Babies do. But it is such a fun ride.
Okay, our protagonists are little sweetie-pies. One of them is a girl who has moved from school to school because of her Air Force Colonial dad (who is not great) and now that her folks have split up she is finishing high school in her mom's hometown and dreaming of going to Harvard, a goal upon which she has focused her educational career. The other used to be a tiny nerd, but now he is a super-hot hockey god. This takes place in Minnesota where that is a real thing.
There are misunderstandings, of course, and there are 2 things that irked me to no end. The first is that Dani can't get into any clubs at her new high school because they are closed to new members. This would NEVER happen in any school. Schools are desperate to get kids to join clubs. Seriously, Lynn, talk to a teacher, okay. I understand it needed to be this way to propel the plot, but it pulled me out of the story and I love to stay in the story. The other thing is the aforementioned douche-bro and the bargain he makes at the end (I am trying to be deliberately vague) - why does that need to be a secret?? Why isn't it given as a reason. I know, I know, it was needed to propel the plot. Ugh. I feel like there would have been a way to write around it, but how many books have I published? The answer is none so what do I know?
There is so much here to love. I'm not gonna lie - the grandpa was hot! And I want to be best friends with the moms. The friends tended to be an amorphous blob of nice midwestern kids, but they did the job of warming my heart. As someone who changed high schools three times, I love the commentary about how hard that can be and what you need to watch out for. And for the first time in my life, I actually cared a little bit about hockey. It's a miracle!
As far as scandalous content goes, there is a lot of swearing, but no specific body part action. The kissing scenes are really selling the positive aspects of kissing, but no other stuff (what my mom would have called "petting") is mentioned and it seems kind of weird, but honestly, at my age I mostly skim the smoochy parts. But Lynn makes making out seem really fun. I may try it again some day.
This ticks a lot of MTCBA boxes - sports, romance, and the elusive cis-white-boy demographic. And I enjoyed it thoroughly!
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