Graphic Novel Review: What Does Consent Really Mean?

Title(s): What Does Consent Really Mean?
Author: Pete Wallis, Thalia Walls, +
Genre: contemporary / self-help
Rating: 4/5
Page Count: 64 pages
Publication Date: November 21st, 2017

Review:
A comic about exactly what it says - What Does Consent Really Mean? It's a question brought up in the comic between three teenage girls - I think they're suppose to be high school age? probably 16-18 - about what consent really means, talking it out amongst themselves.

This is definitely super important and I feel like it covered a lot of bases very well - not all the bases, but there are so many layers I can't be surprised about that. I was a bit worried going in since the first person listed is a man - I know there are problems there as well but... - but I was honestly really pleasantly surprised.

To be fair, though, I knew nothing but that going in.

Pros:
- diversity (characters)
- covered different POV's
- educational
- no slut shaming (that isn't pushed against)

Cons:
- read like an afternoon TV special at a few points
- didn't feel like some of the guys really understood fully? (this might of just been me, but if you've read/end up picking up, let me know your thoughts)

That con isn't even that bad, but it is why I couldn't give it a full 5 stars. But I think this is a truly important comic and it's good it's finally out. Especially that we got to see the guys confronting their own toxic thought cycles - ahh, the way people want to seem cool, just making us hurt ourselves, really.

Overall, I'd recommend this for, well, anyone. For classrooms - even for middle school, to be honest, because there can already be those ideas forming about who they should/shouldn't be with people - and libraries, of course. But also just for people. If you've got a son or daughter, especially, I hope you borrow or buy this for them. Let me know that their wants matter, and that not saying yes is not consent.

Book Review: Tash Hearts Tolstoy (Bibliothon Day 2)

Titles: Tash Hearts Tolstoy
Author: Kathryn Ormsbee
Genre: Contemporary YA
Rating: 4/5
Page Count: 367
Publication Date: June 6th, 2017

Plot (from goodreads):
After a shout-out from one of the Internet’s superstar vloggers, Natasha “Tash” Zelenka finds herself and her obscure, amateur web series, Unhappy Families, thrust into the limelight: She’s gone viral.

Her show is a modern adaptation of Anna Karenina—written by Tash’s literary love Count Lev Nikolayevich “Leo” Tolstoy. Tash is a fan of the forty thousand new subscribers, their gushing tweets, and flashy Tumblr GIFs. Not so much the pressure to deliver the best web series ever.

And when Unhappy Families is nominated for a Golden Tuba award, Tash’s cyber-flirtation with Thom Causer, a fellow award nominee, suddenly has the potential to become something IRL—if she can figure out how to tell said crush that she’s romantic asexual.

Tash wants to enjoy her newfound fame, but will she lose her friends in her rise to the top? What would Tolstoy do?

Review:

First off - I've never read any Tolstoy, so if that's why you're putting off this book then don't bother. Yes, they do mention it at points and I had no real clue what they were talking about it, but it didn't really take away form the story for me? It was like - ah, yes, ships, good. And then his work isn't that important to the plot, though I do love that she has conversations with her poster of him. I felt that.

Tash is our main character and she definitely acts like a teenager - which isn't a bad thing considering she's suppose to be a teenager. It drove me crazy a time or two, as happens in all YA novels, but I remember being a teenager like it was yesterday (how did I turn 22 recently? That feels fake). Anyway - what I mean is that she is so focused on her that she doesn't take others feelings into account or notice things right in front of her. And that doesn't make her a bad person, I'm not saying she's selfish, she's just... trying to figure herself and everything else out at the same time.

Now. The miniseries. I don't know if this was like an 'official' quote, but I've heard a few people make the reference and I definitely felt it - their webseries made me think so much of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (which I rewatched on the fifth anniversary. If you haven't watched it's a retelling of Pride and Prejudice through vlog form and is incredible. Love it so much). I'm getting off topic again, but - if you watch any actually webseries I think it'll bring a smile to your face to see them filming it.

The main thing I loved about this book, which I have saved for last, is our main character is asexual. And they use the word in the text - she even talks about how, when she was trying to figure out what she identified as, she came across demisexual and greysexual. I just appreciated it, and loved how it was handled, so much. She's heteroromantic asexual, just to be clear, and I hope we start getting more and more books with all kinds of LGBTQIA+ characters.

Overall - this book was a good, fun young adult novel. The writing didn't stick out too much for me, her best friend Jack I want a whole book about (if you agree, let's talk in the comments, I kind of want her to bench press me?). It was cool, though, that she was a vegetarian and, I believe, a buddist. There was also talk about how her family came to be where they are - talk about her mom's family living so far away, their Czech history.

That's where this book was completely solid - the charaters. I really loved Tash, her two best friends, the cast of the webseries. And the way social media was handled seemed very realistic.

I'd definitely recommend checking this out out if you're interested in something like that - rich characters, some ace rep, webseries production, teen angst. 

(if you know of any reviews by heteroromantic aces let me know so I can link them here to speak on the ace rep, or just asexual)

This challenge is being hosted by Kassie over at MissSassyKassie.

Happy Readathoning!

Book Review: Freakboy

Titles: Freakboy
Author: Kristin Elizabeth Clark
Genre: contemporary
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 448 (hardcover)
Publication Date: October 22nd, 2013

Plot (from goodreads):
From the outside, Brendan Chase seems to have it pretty easy. He’s a star wrestler, a video game aficionado, and a loving boyfriend to his seemingly perfect match, Vanessa. But on the inside, Brendan struggles to understand why his body feels so wrong—why he sometimes fantasizes having long hair, soft skin, and gentle curves. Is there even a name for guys like him? Guys who sometimes want to be girls? Or is Brendan just a freak?

In Freakboy's razor-sharp verse, Kristin Clark folds three narratives into one powerful story: Brendan trying to understand his sexual identity, Vanessa fighting to keep her and Brendan’s relationship alive, and Angel struggling to confront her demons.


Review:
This book is written in prose and about a transgender and a genderfluid (unconfirmed in so many words, but it's heavily implied they're genderfluid) characters. This book is - gorgeous written and heartbreaking, and just really well done. It also, saying that, wasn't devastating. It just felt realistic and honest and I'm so glad I read this book.

The only reason I was hesitant (besides not wanting to cry my eyes out), for a few seconds, was because the author isn't transgender herself. Not to say I think there's anything wrong with that, I just think people in that community can always write about that community better. However, reading up on why she wrote the book made me feel better about how I felt like it would go.

I discovered this book, surprisingly, by complete accident. I found it while absently going through bookoutlet (when I use to allow myself to do that). And it sounded interesting - the title, the cover, and so I decided why not? And I'm so glad I did.

This year I've talked about how I wanted to read more diverse and I found this book just before really getting into BookRiot and what they do, which made me really look at what I was reading. And I'm already planning on diving into other books about LGBTQ+ characters, so if you have any recommendations/suggestions, I'd seriously love to hear them.

And I definitely recommend this book - it's really incredible, the prose was really well done (saying that as someone who hasn't read a lot in prose), and just a fantastic story all around.

Book Review: Everything Leads to You

Title: Everything Leads to You
Author: Nina LaCour
Genre: Contemporary, Romance (LGBT) - young adult
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 307 (hardcover)
Publication Date: May 15th, 2014

Plot: (from Goodreads)

A love letter to the craft and romance of film and fate in front of—and behind—the camera from the award-winning author of Hold Still.

A wunderkind young set designer, Emi has already started to find her way in the competitive Hollywood film world.

Emi is a film buff and a true romantic, but her real-life relationships are a mess. She has desperately gone back to the same girl too many times to mention. But then a mysterious letter from a silver screen legend leads Emi to Ava. Ava is unlike anyone Emi has ever met. She has a tumultuous, not-so-glamorous past, and lives an unconventional life. She’s enigmatic…. She’s beautiful. And she is about to expand Emi’s understanding of family, acceptance, and true romance.

Review:

I don't know if I can be articulate and intelligent about this book, I've been rolling in my head around how to review this book since I finished it. And I just keep coming back to these same words to describe it:

gorgeous, beautiful, breathtaking, awe inspiring, fantastic

And I think that says a lot, if not everything, but I want to try and be more specific then just a few words. Though they are very good words, I feel like they might not be considered a full review.

We're going to start with the characters, because characters are most important to me. The characters felt very real to me, and I think my favorite part about this was Emi's job. I mean they were more mature then most teenagers are, but that doesn't make it unrealistic, and they weren't perfect and were very much still teenagers, they didn't make perfect decisions and while it's a little infuriating, as the one reading it, it makes them more real.

That another point - the writing. I don't know what I can say about the writing, besides that it was lyrical and beautiful and made everything seem brighter somehow, more important and more beautiful. I'm just going to get to the end of this review, it's going to be short and sweet because I start to fangirl about words.

Basically: read it.

This book made me cry at a few points, and then made me laugh while I was crying. The writing, the characters, the plot - the last paragraph or two of this book is my favorite and I wish I could share it with you without spoiling the whole story. 

WWW Wednesday (18)

It's once again been more then just a week since I did this, it's been about a month, I think. So we've got a tad bit of catching up to do, it's a good thing a large chunk of the books I've read is a manga series, that'll make this easier.

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by MizB at Should be Reading. She asks that you answer three questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?

Currently-Reading:

The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicles #1) by Patrick Rothfuss

I'm about in the middle of this one, it's long and the second is even longer, and it's so good. The writing, first of all, I don't care what genre you normally read because this writing, oh my god. And the characters and the plot - I kind of love it all, a lot, I'm taking it a little slow now, have kind of taken a break from it, but just because I didn't want to force myself through it.

The Glass Sentence by S.E. Grove

I just started this one, and I'm a little eh on it, but I'm barely into it - only like 50 pages. I realized I just really wasn't in the mood for Fantasy, or anything that'd take too much thought. I'm definitely going to keep going, I loved the idea/concept of this book, I just need to get further into the story. Also I'd finished Ready Player One - and I just needed something lighter (even though I love RP1 and it's amazing).

Read:

Fruits Basket 1-23 by Natsuki Takaya (5/5)

Yeah - I reread the entirety of Fruits Basket (I also re-watched the anime), and this was really good, as good as I remembered it being. And the anime was actually better then I remember, and both are really funny at points. I definitely reccomend this series, I also think it's a good starting series - if you're trying to get into manga and don't want to get yourself into anything huge. This series has a definite end, it's fantastic and funny, and has an anime. (The anime only covers the story arc to volume 6, but it has scenes/information from further volumes, if memory serves, but not too much farther then that).

Volume One

Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott (4/5)

This was very, very good. Life or death situations, animal companions, possible corrupting - fantastic.

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour (5/5)

Whoa, a contemporary? I know, I know - but I do read them when the urge arises, and this one was really, really good. I always forget that I do like contemporaries, I just rarely get the urge to read them. Anyway - I stayed up late to finish this, and I hadn't even meant to pick it up to begin with, and I flew through it - it was fantastic and touching and it made me cry. That's the highest praise, I don't cry at a lot of books.

Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony (3/5)

I - liked it, but it didn't draw me in, I didn't feel connected at all with these characters. But it was a really cool way to tell a story.

The Inventor's Secret by Andrea Cremer (5/5)

I need to read her other series, it's werewolves and I love werewolves. Anyway - this one: steampunk, alternate history, and a shit ton of fun. It's can get cheesy, but sometimes I really like that. Which is probably a weird thing to say, but I liked the characters, the humor. It was just a lot of fun to read.

Sea of Shadows by Kelly Armstrong (5/5)

I was intrigued by this book, but I didn't expect to like it this much. I've never read anything by Kelly Armstrong, but I'm definitely going to look into her other stuff. This was really good, I liked the writing and the characters and the story was good and actually surprised me.

Burn for Burn by Siobhan Vivian, Jenny Han (3/5)

Fun, interesting, but it didn't feel like it was more then that. And I don't, honestly, think that's a bad thing. It was exactly what I expected - teenage girls trying to get revenge. I might even continue on with the series when they're also out in paperback.

To Read:

I have a large amount of books I want to read right away, and even short term TBRs just don't seem to work with me. I'm a very mood based reader, and if I'm not feeling a book - I just can't read it. However, I have a few ideas, I kind of am in a contemporary mood (what? blaspheme. I don't know if this has ever happened to me before). Anyway - I pulled a couple contemporary books out, and I just got one in the mail and such, but I also want to keep going with my #RYBSAT stack (I've been kind of reading that and other books, like I'm double reading for some, strange reason. Oh, right, I have no life). 

So - possibilities for soon (since I'm sure my next WWW Wednesday won't go up until after VidCon):

• Rock On by Denisa Vega (short, rock music - sounds fun)
• The List by Siobhan Vivian (because just read Burn for Burn and have heard good things)
• Open Road Summer by Emery Lord (because someone commented I sound and I've seen really good reviews for it. Also the cover is even more gorgeous in person, I just got it in the mail).
• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (the third book just came out, and I've been here even more good things).
• And - also finish some of the other books I'm still currently-reading.

Do you post a WWW Wednesday? Or just - what have you read recently or what are you reading currently? What are you eyeing to read next?

Book Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

Book: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 236 (Hardcover)
Favorite Character: Oliver. (Why can't I ever sit next to an adorable, cute British boy on a plane? Oh well).

Plot: (Taken from Goodreads)
Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

Review:

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book, but I've come to realize I love the banter that is happening in this book. I love the story of it happening over 24 hours. I'm not going to spoil anything, as this is just a review, but I did love both of the main characters in this book. They were quirky and funny and complimented each other really well.

And the story, overall, wasn't just about their romance, though that was a big part, obviously. There was other subplots that were important and you cared about them, too. I really loved this book, so I guess I'll have to read some more contemporary. Anyway, though, I'd definitely recommend this. It's pretty short and really cute and adorable. And the banter, guys, just the banter alone is worth it. If you've read it, tell me what you thought about it and if you haven't read it yet then are you going to?

Book Review: Love is the Higher Law

Book: Love is the Higher Law
Author: David Levithan
Genre: Contemporary, Realistic Fiction (YA)
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 176
Favorite Character: Claire? Or Jasper... It's hard to pick one.

Plot(From Goodreads):
First there is a Before, and then there is an After. . . .

The lives of three teens—Claire, Jasper, and Peter—are altered forever on September 11, 2001. Claire, a high school junior, has to get to her younger brother in his classroom. Jasper, a college sophomore from Brooklyn, wakes to his parents’ frantic calls from Korea, wondering if he’s okay. Peter, a classmate of Claire’s, has to make his way back to school as everything happens around him.

Here are three teens whose intertwining lives are reshaped by this catastrophic event. As each gets to know the other, their moments become wound around each other’s in a way that leads to new understandings, new friendships, and new levels of awareness for the world around them and the people close by.

David Levithan has written a novel of loss and grief, but also one of hope and redemption as his characters slowly learn to move forward in their lives, despite being changed forever

Review:
I came so close to just sobbing while reading because it's just so raw and pure. And the characters are so real and how the react to everything is also so very real. It's my first book by David Levithan that is just by him and I really did enjoy it. I think I did so much because of the character, because it's all about them and they're so good. Just plainly good. I'm going to stop gushing about the characters.

I, also, was very young when 9/11 occurred, but I also live very close to New York City. But I wasn't there so to hear first story accounts, even ones from characters in a book, is just so... thralling and heart wrenching. But also amazing. I'd recommend this to pretty much everyone. It's not a long read and it's just a good read.

And I say that as someone who normally does read contemporary, who loves a good wizard or faerie or any kind of supernatural element in a book. So enjoy and I am really hoping to read more of David's books in the future.