A tender tribute to love, grief, Blackness, family, dancing, cooking, hip hop, jazz, and home! Nelson builds crescendos of self contemplation amidst moments of forced reckonings that embody the uncertainty and wonder of growing up, falling in love, starting anew, being lost, losing people, knowing home, and upending one's soul. It's not until the last few pages that my heart fully wraps around the words I've been given and from there I sit in awe of the small world into which I was invited.
This is the closest a writer can get to sharing every thought a character has -- the interior voice of our main character, Natalie, is so unique just in its presence but also its frankness and believability. We see her go back home on break from school where her parents run a lodge, where they were busy caring for others and trusted her to care for herself. She then starts up a relationship with an older woman, trying to be the adult she was taught to be but doesn't actually believe she is.
Trust when I say this is the cottagecore fantasy you have been waiting for! Clara's story is rife with romance and magic, but the heart of it all is a young woman just trying to save her father and regain control of her life.
Pizza Girl, a pregnant pizza-delivering eighteen year old, is nonchalantly trying to blow up her life despite the support from her golden retriever boyfriend and her Korean mother living the American Dream (through her). With the ghost of her alcoholic father haunting her off her own cliff, she grabs on to the last branch of safety: a crush on a middle-aged housewife. Ugly & uncomfortable, unwinding & gripping, set against the backdrop of the lazy, hazy suburbs of Los Angeles. Takeaways: tender but sharp writing for a debut and, screw pineapples on pizza, let's talk about pickles on pizza.
One of the best novels I read this year. A beautiful story about trauma, family expectations, love and found family. Story unfolds in a way where every character feels real. Makes you want to call your friends, grab a drink and catch up. Loved Loved Loved!!!
Even with a character who can see the future, love is unpredictable. In this coming of age story, Ray and Laurie are forced to face their flaws, their desires, and each other.
Let me be honest: I am not a romance reader. I find it difficult to read when my eyes are rolling across the floor at some of the dialogue or character descriptions. I am, however, a MASSIVE fan of rom coms (embrace your contradictions!), and this book delivers. Two characters with chemistry and emotional barricades that need to be torn down during a fake relationship on an English university campus, genuine and beautiful female friendships, and enough song references to build a reading soundtrack? Honey and Spice deserves a handful of popcorn with every turn of the page.
This is about growing up, and finding new versions of yourself, and the people who bear witness to your metamorphosis. If you have sisters, I’m begging you to read it. Also, I mean – look at the cover.
From Cali to Brooklyn, Angel has her new classmates, her Uncle Spence, and her music playlists to help heal her broken arm and her spirit from her troubled past. We also see her make a home within the words of Toni Morrison, Tayari Jones, and James Baldwin, discovering Black authors through the guidance of her teachers. Browne's novel shines as a beautiful balance between the light and dark sides of being a teenager.
This beautifully crafted, inter-generational story follows two childhood friends during their final year of high school in a small Mojave desert town. I was instantly drawn into the lives of Salahudin and Noor as they navigate grief, the unpredictability of their parental figures, racism, isolating secrets and fears. Told in alternating perspectives, you cannot help but rage against all the obstacles they face. Sabaa Tahir tells their story so eloquently, you will not be able to put it down and it will stay with you long after you’ve read the final page.
