Tag: High School

ARC, Books

Book 968: Henry Hamlet’s Heart – Rhiannon Wilde

Geoff W

I picked this review copy up a while ago and due to school and work being a bit much recently, I’m posting this almost two weeks late.* I really try to have my responses published the week of publication but that week was also the week my first big paper was due, which I did great on, but still better luck next time.

Henry Hamlet’s Heart is the story of Henry and Len, best friends that have been in each others’ orbit forever. Henry has existed as the non-sexual know-it-all brainiac and Len has existed as the sexually fluid footballer who does what he wants when he wants with whoever he wants.

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ARC, Books

Book 936: Café con Lychee – Emery Lee

Geoff W

What another wonderful juxtaposition from Dream Boy with so much light and happiness and just pure wholesome queer joy, I’ve really been putting myself through an emotional rollercoaster these last couple of weeks. Seriously, emotional whiplash is not fun and thankfully I can work from home where tearing up on my lunch break is totally acceptable.

I requested a copy of Café con Lychee because 1) I love lychee, like seriously on everything and lychee candy is the best—I say “LIE-chee” not “LEE-chee”; 2) to BIPOC protagonists which YA Lit is a lot better about than MM Romance; and 3) New England.*

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Books

Book 920: Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun – Jonny Garza Villa

Geoff W

I’m not sure where I first came across this work, it might’ve been on a library list of YA novels to read, or it might’ve been a random Insta ad/post by someone I follow.

Either way, I added it to my list immediately and promptly forgot about it. When we went on vacation last month this was one of the few reserve books I took with me that I didn’t quite make it to, so I slotted it in at first chance and am so glad I finally got around to reading it. If I would’ve read it on vacation it would’ve taken half as long, but I kept falling asleep reading it this time (stupid time change).

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Books

Book 905: Heartstopper, Vol. 4 (Heartstopper #4) – Alice Oseman

Geoff W

I’m not sure I was ready for this one. I’d guessed it would overlap with what happened in Solitaire, but wasn’t 100% sure it would. I wasn’t sure how Oseman would handle it graphically, I think there were a couple of images in Solitaire, and she sort of glossed the particular scene probably because of this.

I really appreciated having Nick’s outside perspective on the situation as we know he’s been worried about Charlie for two books now and when it came to the point right when Charlie was going to tell Nick he loved him, Nick asks about the eating disorder and it throws both of them into confusion which was just so real.

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Books

Book 904: Heartstopper, Vol. 3 (Heartstopper #3) – Alice Oseman

Geoff W

Wow, just wow. I honestly don’t know how I haven’t re-read this one before now.

Re-reading this a second time showed me how much Oseman packs into these books. Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 both had their powerful moments, but Vol. 3 takes it to a new level between Charlie and Nick, but also with their friends and even their teachers! And the fact Oseman does it with so little dialogue and just a shift in perspective shading in her artwork is fantastic.

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