Kat B., 12The Fox Maidens is an amazing graphic novel set hundreds of years ago, but real-world issues are still acknowledged in this heart-wrenching book by Robin Ha. It quickly took a turn from a fairly realistic story about a girl who wants to fight to an epic action-packed novel filled with love, anger, and hope. My only criticism of this book is that it packed a ton of action into the end of the book, and it seemed rushed. If all of the action at the end hadn’t been squeezed into one chapter, the book would’ve been a 5 star read. All in all, I would rate this book 4 out of 5 stars and would recommend it to anyone who likes mythology, feminism, and action. I really enjoyed this book and hope that others do as well. REFERENCES
CIN Catalog. (2023). Retrieved from: https://catalog.cin.bywatersolutions.com/ Goodreads [Cover Images, Genre/Themes, and Read-alikes]. (2023). Retrieved from: https://www.goodreads.com/ Kat B. (2023, November). Teen Review. Libby (Overdrive) Catalog. (2023). Retrieved from: https://libbyapp.com/library/cin NoveList Plus [Referenced for Read-alikes]. (2023). Retrieved from: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=neh&tg=UI&an=10778912&site=novp-live&custid=s5664038 Robin Ha [Author's Official Website]. (2022). Retrieved from: https://robinha81.wixsite.com/robinha
0 Comments
Anna M., 17Beating Heart Baby by Lio Min is a beautifully spun story packed full of anime references, indie rock, queerness, self-discovery, and fateful love. The book follows two protagonists, Santiago and Suwa Moon. Santiago, otherwise known as Santi, is a teenager who had his heart broken by an internet friend, Memo, after leaking their song. He has recently moved to Los Angeles with his guardian in hopes of piecing his life back together. This comes in the form of joining the marching band at his new high school, the Sunshowers. The head trumpet player of the Sunshowers is Suwa who is a trangender teen with a passion for music and a prickly personality that instantly takes a dislike to Santi. Soon the feelings between the two become mutual crushing that later leads to much more, but before their love is able to fully blossom they are hit with their past just as Suwa was beginning his music career and Santi getting his feet back on the ground. The writing of the story is down right impeccable; Lio Min has a wonderful way with making situations feel real and palpable, especially when it comes to dealing with heavier topics. The book is a hurricane of feelings from the very beginning. Some parts of the story had me giggling like a little girl while others made me bitter with disdain. Both characters, and their friend group, have layers and history that adds depth to them and makes their stories intriguing. The main relationship was also well done with it feeling real and both characters actively recognizing and realizing their faults and coming back together because of that. Beating Heart Baby touched on topics such as queerness and race in an elegant way and was clearly handled with care by the author. I recommend this story to anybody that enjoys wanting to feel seen within a romance/coming-of-age novel that otherwise would have been pushed to the side. Please be mindful of the trigger warnings before picking this book up. REFERENCES
Anna M. (2022, September). Teen Review. CIN Catalog. (2022). Retrieved from: https://catalog.cin.bywatersolutions.com/ Goodreads [Cover Images, Genre/Themes, and Read-alikes]. (2022). Retrieved from: https://www.goodreads.com/ Overdrive Catalog. (2022). Retrieved from: https://cin.overdrive.com/ Lio Min [Author's Official Website]. (2022). Retrieved from: https://liomin.com/ |
AboutThese are all reviews by local teens. Archives
November 2023
Categories
All
|