Summer YA

Debating Darcy by Sayantani DasGupta

While I’m usually iffy with Pride and Prejudice adaptations since they’re everywhere, there’s always one that manages a new spin to it that makes me enjoy the story all over again.

It helps that the protagonist, Elizabeth is a musical nerd so I immediately connect with her as she sings the infamous Hamilton lines to Darcy at their debate competition,
“Excuse me, sir, I know it’s not funny. But your perfume smells like your daddy’s got money.”

The comment mortally offends private school Darcy and promptly snubs her as well as the rest of her school’s ragtag forensic/debate team.

All the usual players are here but DasGupta make it brand new by setting it during a debate competition. It allows her to explore racism and sexism as it relates to the forensic/debate circut that unfairly grades women over their dress, their shrillness, and their emotionality in arguments. Not that the students their age are much better.

So if you’re a fan of Jane Austen, read this. DasGupta taps into the spirit while making it her own.

Getting Over, Max Cooper by Marcella Karp

I’ll admit this read was okay for the most part. It is primarly dedicated to the main character’s love life as she bonds, misunderstands and falls in love with a longtime crush. But the subplot is what is really gripping and thus gets the title.

Jazz isn’t getting over Max Cooper, her friend, Marcy is trying. Cool, talented, effortless Marcy. Intially is on her side as a good friend does, believing Marcy’s story that he is a casanova jerk. But as the summer continues, she becomes concerned as Marcy elevates to stalking, constant drivebys, ditching her while also acting possessive to the point of warning away from .

So yeah, it’s always interesting when they explore female-on-male harrassment as it does happen and even touches on the effect it has on the titular Max Cooper. While it doesn’t do a full exploration, it is a intriguing addition as it explores what can make a girl go that far for the ex she isn’t over.

Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saed

Albertalli does it again in this YA romance and politics, co-written with Aisha Saed to get the Muslim POV just right.

As Jamie and Maya work to get their local candidate elected especially as Islamaphobia, anti semitism and generall hate seems to be on the rise in the form of a poodle. Yes, Nazis are appropriating poodle stickers to spread hate. It’s not as funny as it sounds and just awful that they’re using poodles in that way.

Anyway the romance is sweet in a story that seriously tackles the use of politics in the longrun, and shipping used for publicity while tackling the more relatable friendship drifting apart and college decisions admist he furvor. I enjoy that while it discusses serious issues, it doesn’t go the polorizing extremism to make a point. Sometimes it’s nice not to be totally reminded of real life in that way.

Does My Body Offend You by Marie Marquardt and Mayra Cuevas

This book offers no solutions but it does open an important discussion when it comes to women’s bodies in this tough world of double standards. And there are so many double standards as highlighted in this book.

Malena comes to a new school after Hurrican Maria destroys her home and just wants to get good grades, keep her head low and not give her extended family another reason to imply her mom’s not doing a good job while she’s working late nights.

But then she doesn’t wear a bra to school. She technically can’t as the electrical burns she got during Maria make it too painful. It’s a humilating experience when she’s pulled out of class, missing important information and forced to put panty hose pasties.

And Ruby who witnesses this in the nurse’s infirmary realizes something must be done about this. The guys don’t get called out for their sagging pants, and the dress code is discrimatory towards WOC whose bodies are sometimes curvier than others. Heck, it’s discrimatory towards tall and short people because bodies are just different. Skirts appear shorter on some than on others. And does that really give men a free for all to grope you.

It’s complicated and do their best to unpack all of this. Like I said there are no direct answers but it is a powerful revolution that the two start which also gets into the backlash that hits harder on because the world is just racist that way. It discusses race, sexuality, being an ally, and grasssroots activism and more. It’s just really relevant and worth the read. Highly recommend.

A Shot at Normal by Marisa Reichardt

Jade comes from a pretty hippish family, the whole awoodstock, organic materials ting and Juniper thinks nothing of her family’s alternate lifestyle. It’s normal and that vaccines are a harmful evil pushed by pharmacuticals accepted.

Until her family gets measles and inadvertedly a baby dies because of the close contact. Overcome with guilt, Jade begins researching and develops her own views on vaccines that her parents cannot abide. So she goes to court. After all teens are allowed to make the decision to drive, to vote when 18, and more but they don’t have autonomy over vaccine acceptance. Their parents do.

I didn’t even know that was a law, that parents can refuse the right of their child to get a vaccine. So yeah, already learning here. While there is the requisite romance, this book’s engagement on teenage indepence and an increasingly commonplace epidemic is one that should be given a quick look.

Love is a Revolution by Renee Watson

There are many ways to live, no one can tell you how to be black, you just are. But Nala feels like she’s doing it wrong when she meets a hot activist, Tye. He’s into empowerment and standing up to systamatic racism and breathing black culture. is into tv shows, the latest fashion. Yeah she feels superficial compared to him and lesser compared to her friends who run in the same circle. So she lies but you can never live a lie can you, at least not long in YA.

Watson deftly explores identity and activism in this book as Nala finds her voice in the movement (as well as its importance) while connecting with her friends and finding the balance of self and fun times with activism and giving back to the community. There’s a lot of memorable characters like Tye who is such a good SO, Nala’s family, her cousin Imani, and the friends she makes along the way who defy popular trope conventions.

The Misadventures of Max Crumbly by Rachel Renee Russell

Since I used to be a huge fan of Dork Diaries, I decided to take a spin of read the three books of the spin off. Max Crumbly is your typical superhero geek, hoping for the day he’ll scourge up the nerve (and the muscles) to stand up to the bully that stuffs him in lockers. One afternoon after another locker stuffing, Max gets trapped during a three day weekend just as three Home-Alone styled buglers attempt to rob the expensive computer lab! Superhero Max (and his mighty sidekick/tech superstar crush Erin) is on the case as they traverse the maze of the school pipe system to stop the robbers.

It was fun. I’m bit too old for it now with the constant catchphrasing but I enjoyed the humor for what it was. Especially in book 3, Masters of Mischief when a cupcake bakery and the bathroom were miscommunicated. And the art is top notched as usual so fans who still enjoy the series will like the spinoff I believe.

Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett

Garrett tackles another very important yet little discussed issue. HIV. Simone inherited HIV from her mother and she is well-aware of the stigma that it brings even though hers is under control. That’s why she vows to not let anyone at her new school know about her. Maybe she’ll be able to have friends who see her for her, a crush who doesn’t fear her, just have a regular time that she is capable of having with the HIV label following her around.

But it becomes more difficult when her crush on sweet Miles turns into a real relationship and she won’t be able to continue on just chaste kisses. She doesn’t want to, and it is important to inform him after all. But she also fears the backlash. . . But it seems like someone else found out first. There’s a threatening note left on her locker telling her to back off from Miles or else her secret will get out.

This is an enlightening book that is able to dismiss prejudices and stereotypes while also revealing the greater difficulties of being HIV+. Not that it is a death sentence as it used to be. There’s warmth too from the community, from Simone’s dads and the friends that do stand by her. There’s a lot about the importance of friendship in the book which is nice as the romance sometimes takes over. Not here, Simone’s friends felt real and I could feel how solid their bond had become over the course of the book.

As stated above, the goal is to show Simone’s HIV is part of her, not all of her. It’s educational and relatable as Simone begins to own her diagnosis and learn to face her blackmailer in one of the most powerful lines: “My HIV isn’t a threat to you, but your ignorance is a threat to me.”

Bruised by Tanya Boteju

I picked this up since I thought it would be similar to Drew Barrymore’s Whip It movie and while roller derby takes up a huge part of it, the focus is primarly on what it means to be soft and tough all at once. It starts off with a hard-hitting prologu that hooks you in, the night her parents died.

You see, Danya is a tough girl and she’s proud of it, especially as it cemented her close relationship with her father who taught her boxing. As collateral, she was less respectful of her Amma who she always saw as weak and never stood up for herself.

Yet that’s all lost in a fatal car crash and she’s sent to live with her flightly performing aunt and uncle. Even though she’s in therapy and is slowly helping her come to terms with her absolute panic of being in a car, it’s roller derby that helps her the most. She can be as aggressive and tough as she believes she should be and avoid her feelings.

While I found Danya’s voice a bit tough to get through (literally, she’s very blunt and at times stubborn and unlikely), it’s also a perfect demonstration as she grows in the sport. She learns to let go of toxic toughness and even embrace the softness as she falls for Santi who is also on the team and is one of the more picked-on members. She begins to see past the idolization of her father and realizes the inner strength of her mother (and to extension Shanti) while coming to terms with that awful night.

Boteju does an excellent job parsing the complex feelings of grief, loss and toughness and feminity in a rough and tumble sport.

Can’t Take That Away by Steven Salvatore

All Carey wants to do is sing and after several tough years figuring out their genderqueer identity, they are ready to let loose and perform as Elphaba in the school’s production of Wicked. However, a violently homophobic classmate and vocally opposed teacher try to kick them out of their rightful role and suddenly Carey is thrust into a movement to fight for their right to be treated with respect and humanity.

While I can never fully understand the issues that gender nonbinary and other LGTBQ people have, Salvatore does an in-depth job to depict the confusion, hatred, fear and loss that Carey feels having to fight microaggressions and real physical threats every day for just existing. But there is some hope mixed in there as well as Carey begins to stand up and love himself and find his voice which is relatable to all whether straight or queer.

Like Vanessa by Tami Charles

Set in 1983 after the historic moment when Vanessa Williams became the first black Miss USA, Vanessa “Nessy” Martin wants to be just like her. She wants to win the local beauty pagent in Newark, NJ sponsered by her school. Her teacher is very supportive of her and Vanessa believes she might just have a chance. At least it’s something for her to work on rather than think about the incarcerated mother she barely remembers and her Dad’s uncomfortable evasions when questioned.

However, her dad wholeheartedly disapproves of the notion of Vanessa entering the pagent so Mrs. Walton, Nessy’s cousin. TJ and her grandfather all conspire to help her achieve her dreams.

As one can imagine, it’s not easy for a young black girl to make it onstage of a beauty pagent with the many forces of the world telling her she doesn’t belong and only white is beautiful and it’s heartbreaking to read as Nessy struggles with her self-esteem and doubts that maybe skin color does define everything. It doesn’t and it feels like a victory in itself when Vanessa begins to feel confident as she continues to navigate her way through the pagent, finding things to love about herself like her heart, her musical talent, as well as her external beauty.

Though there are other issues mentioned in the book in regards to Vanessa’s other family members, homeophobic, alcohol addiction, they felt more superfluous and the narrative would have been tighter if they had been left out and focused on the colorism and racism Vanessa was dealing with. I also wanted a bit more on the fellow contestants who were a bit one-dimensional as catty Puerto Ricans when there could have been more discussion about minorities being pitted against each other.

No Filter and Other Lies by Crystal Maldonado

Since I enjoyed Maldonado’s debut, I decided to see how she does on her sophmore book and while it is entertaining I found the protagonist, Kat to be eh. Like many on instagram, she wants to present a perfect life to make up for how low her self-esteem is in reality and the awkward friendship she has with Henri who apparently has a crush on her that she doesn’t share. So she dives into her insta persona, Max showing off her fabulous photgraphy skills and giving great advice. And while the advice is hers, the photos are not and her web of lies come crashing down when she goes viral and the original influencer accuses her of stealing.

I’m not a big social media person so I guess it’s just me but I find it so stupid to base your worth on likes and could not understand her obsession with getting more followers that you’re never going to meet in real life. It’s not like they’re your friends. So Kat’s goals did not resound with me much less her actions of stealing pictures and lying so she can achieve her wish for fame. Maybe younger people would get it by I don’t. It just made her unlikable to me.

But Maldonado saves it by having Kat crash and burn when the consequences come to her doorstep. It delivers on forcing Kat’s character growth though she is a bit reluctant and pitying as she does so and make her find the root of her selfishness and hunger for likes. There are applicable messages about social media and friendship weaved into her too as Kat learns to embrace her real-life identity with all its flaws rather than her glam fake-sona. Probably best for the next gen though.

Hope Punk by Preston Norton

This was a decent book. I found it a bit by the numbers. Girl grows up in a close-minded small town with fundementalist parents who kick out her older sister from coming out of the closet. Since then, her younger sister is acting out, and her mom horribly regrets their actions but Faith still has not contacted them.

So Hope goes into her main passion, music, creating her own fringe rock band meant to include anyone including her best friend Danny after he’s thrown out of his house for being gay. However, their biggest rivals is the aggressively anti-women, anti-LGTBQ, racist, Alt-Right (You get the point. Also Alt-Right is literally the name of their band. Real subtle) rock band in the battle of the bands. Worse, her younger sister is dating the leader.

It gets a bit crazy and I found it hard to swallow that such a band would get away with their aggressive threats in a tiny Christian town and that people would just accept i but what do I know. Maybe small towns are really like that.

So its in parts infruriating to see the Alt-Right do their stuff but also hopeful in how Hope’s band provides a voice for the voiceless and really work to show that it’s okay to be you and you deserve more.

Not Here to be Liked by Michelle Quach

Eliza Quan is the pefect choice for editor in chief of her school paper. She’s the typa A, grammer Nazi, type all her As, apply to Ivy type of girl that would thrive in the role and she is certain everyone will choose the most competent person. “Shockingly,” her collegues don’t choose competence. They choose the laidback, new who just seems like a leader even though he has no experience to run a paper. And then she gets “constructive” that she should smile more and she’s better as an assistant? Well she rants online and as you can imagine, it sparks a movement. Backlash hounds her and feminist rally behind her and Eliza’s stuck in the middle. Worse, Len that handsome “leader,” he actually supports her too when he makes the attempt to be civil and work together. It’s a timely book highlighting the numerous grey areas of what makes a leader and unconscious biases that relate to occupational roles and promotion. Plus the romance is well done too as Quach navigates enemies to friends to lovers to frenemies and lovers again.