They Both Die at the End meets The Bell Jar in this haunting, beautiful young adult novel-in-verse about clinical depression and healing from trauma, from National Book Award Finalist Amber McBride.
Whimsy is back in the hospital for treatment of clinical depression. When she meets a boy named Faerry, she recognizes they both have magic in the marrow of their bones. And when Faerry and his family move to the same street, the two start to realize that their lifelines may have twined and untwined many times before.
They are both terrified of the forest at the end of Marsh Creek Lane.
The Forest whispers to Whimsy. The Forest might hold the answers to the part of Faerry he feels is missing. They discover the Forest holds monsters, fairy tales, and pain that they have both been running from for 11 years.
Review/ my thoughts
This was well written and beautifully told. This novel is written in verse and uses a lot of magical realism to tell the story. Whimsy who is also back and forth in the hospital because her parents she isnt doing well. Whimsy meets a fae boy named Faerry. They both share something in common they both lost a sibling in the magical garden. I would have to say this is the type of story you have to pay attention to because the author uses beautiful language to describe sadness.
I really enjoyed this, it start off a tab bit confusing but it was easy to follow. Overall this was an original and well written story on sorrow, sad and grief and how one handles it all. I will continue to read by this author in the future, because she is very unique with her writing and tones.
My 5 Reasons to read I Was Told There Would Be Romance By Marie Arnold
1. You follow a teen Haitian girl named Fancy, and you see how she doesn’t apated well to change. Any little change can affect everything for her. She is trying to nativage high school while trying to get invited to the popular girl’s birthday party, yet kind of stalking a boy she likes.
2. You can see the friendship between fancy and and Tilly. How fancy cares for Tilly but would risk her friendship over a small lie from telly just to not hurt fancy.
3. Fancy has strict haitian parents. She’s not allowed to date or wear outfits that aren’t approved. If Fancy doesn’t pick her grades up she can risk being sent back to Haiti.
4. Even though boyfriends (fake boyfriends) have come between Fancy and Tilly, their friendship shows much stronger in the end.
5. The authors writing style I enjoyed. I liked the witty sarcastic voice of fancy. It was easy to relate to her and see how she deals with different situations.
Rating 4 š
Synopsis
Fifteen-year-old Fancy Augustine is a Haitian American girl with simple desires. Sheād like to trade in her floppy, oversize boobs for cute, perky ones. Sheād love a boyfriend. And sheās desperate for an invite to the biggest event of the school year: Imani Parkās birthday party. When Fancy learns her BFF, Tilly, has received a coveted invite and has a secret boyfriend, she is (understandably) devastated and wholeheartedly determined to do whatever it takes to get her own happily ever after.
So what if she makes a deal with the devil (Imani) that guarantees her an inviteābut only if she can bring a boyfriend? And whatās so bad about letting her crush, Rahim, believe that she can create a voodoo potion for him in exchange for him posing as her boyfriend? And, yeah, maybe sheās destroying her friendship with Tilly and falling hopelessly behind in her schoolwork, but Fancy knows itāll all be worth it in the end. Plus, itās not like Fancyās parents would really make good on their threats of sending her back to Haiti…right?
About author
Marie Arnoldwas born in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti and came to America at the age of seven. Shegrew up in Brooklyn, New York alongside her extended family. She attended Columbia College inChicago, where her main focus was creative writing. As Lola StVil, she is aNew YorkTimesandUSA Todaybestselling indie author. Over two million readers have downloaded herYoung Adult fantasy series GUARDIANS. She currently has 3 projects under development atDisney Junior and Disney Plus, one of which is an animated show based on her middle gradenovelThe Year I Flew Away.
So instead of me doing a typical review of this book I’ll be listing the top 5 reasons you should read this book
1. The first reason to read this young adult fiction horror book is the fact that it gives a lot of mystery to the story that he makes the reader want to continue reading on in the story.
2. The Wicked Unseen talks a lot about the rituals that went on in the 80s and 90s as far as evil and demonic rituals and cults that most hard-core Christians believed people and especially children needed to be saved from.
3. The Wicked Unseen is a fast paced read that keeps the reader guessing with each chapter. Trying to uncover the mystery that has taken place with the missing girl Elle.
4. Reading this story it gives insight on how some people who are deep into the Christian Church sometimes behave and believe everything thats not of the bible is evil. Such as cartoons, music, books being around your friends and even the way you dress and behave around others can all be seen as acts of evilness. This is known to be true especially in the 80s and 90s when Christian cults were trying to brainwash lots of people into believing in the wrong things.
5. Lastly it was actually a good story that held my attention and I wanted to know the end result of the mystery which kept me wanting to read more.
Rating 4 ā
Synopsis
Book Info: The Wicked Unseen by Gigi Griffis Genre: Horror/Mystery Young Adult Publishing Date: June 20, 2023 Synopsis: The new girl in town is having trouble fitting into a community that believes thereās a secret Satanic cult conducting rituals in the woods. When her crush goes missing, she starts to wonder if the townās obsession with evil isnāt covering up something far worse. Perfect for fans of Fear Street! To say sixteen-year-old Audre doesnāt fit in would be the understatement of the century. Sheās a city kid whoās found herself in a rural town. The only girl at school whoād rather kiss a girl than a boy. Not to mention that the whole town believes thereās a secret Satanic cult conducting rituals in the nearby woodsāand Audre is a born skeptic. When the preacherās daughter and Audreās secret crush, Elle, goes missing on Halloween weekend, the town is quick to point fingersāin Audreās direction. While they harass Audreās family for being newcomers and nonbelievers, Audre realizes she might be the only person here who can find her friend. The deeper she goes, though, the weirder it gets. What happened to Elleāand is the evil this town is hiding really what Audre thinks it is? Content Warning: satanic cult, racism, sexism, police brutality and mistreatment, abuse from religious officials
Gigi Griffis is the author of the creepy YA horror The Wicked Unseen (coming summer 2023!), We Are The Beasts (2024), and The Empress (as seen on Netflix), among other things. Sheās a sucker for little-known histories, āunlikableā female characters, and all things Europe. After almost ten years of semi-nomadic life, she now lives in Portugal with an opinionated Yorkie-mix named Luna and a fancy blender that cost more than her couch.
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance Publishing Date: June 20, 2023
Synopsis: Two star-crossed teenagers fall in love during the 2019 Hong Kong protests in this searing contemporary debut about coming of age in a time of change. Sixteen-year-old Phoenix knows her parents have invested thousands of dollars to help her leave Hong Kong and get an elite Ivy League education. They think America means big status, big dreams, and big bank accounts. But Phoenix doesnāt want big; she just wants home. The trouble is, she doesnāt know where that isā¦ until the Hong Kong protest movement unfolds, and she learns the city sheās come to love is in danger of disappearing. Seventeen-year-old Kai sees himself as an artist, not a filial son, and certainly not a cop. But when his mother dies, heās forced to leave Shanghai to reunite with his estranged father, a respected police officer, whoās already enrolled him in the Hong Kong police academy. Kai wants to hate his job, but instead, he finds himself craving his fatherās approval. And when he accidentally swaps phones with Phoenix and discovers sheās part of a protest network, he finds a way to earn it: by infiltrating the group and reporting their plans back to the police. As Kai and Phoenix join the struggle for the future of Hong Kong, a spark forms between them, pulling them together even as their two worlds try to force them apart. But when their relationship is built on secrets and deception, will they still love the person left behind when the lies fall away? Content Warning: grief over death of a parent, police brutality, political unrest
Sam can’t believe it when his father leaves the family to marry another woman–and a white woman, at that. The betrayal cuts deep–Sam had been so close to his dad, he idolized him. Now who can he turn to, who can he trust? Even God seems to have ditched him.
Ishmael is his father’s first son, the heir, his favorite. But when his father is visited by mysterious strangers who claim that Abraham’s wife, Sarah, will finally give birth to a legitimate son, Ishmael is worried. And when baby Isaac arrives, Ishmael becomes more isolated from his father. Could Abraham’s God, who had spoken to Ishmael’s mother, to whom he has made countless sacrifices, now betray him in favor of this new son?
Review/Thoughts:
Dark Son’s is told in two perspectives written in verse. There is the perspective of Ishmael who is having a hard time of having “two mom” after his dad has another child with a new woman. Ishmael doesn’t know how to truly feel about this, he does know that he is hurt because the time spent with his new wife has left him and mom alone.
The second perspective is of Sam who is basically going through the same thing. His dad remarries and soon after he has a new baby boy. Sam is hurt and confused as to why his dad would leave him for a women and have a new child. He questions God throughout the story asking questions like “if my Dad really loved me why did he leave me?”
Both Ishmael and Sam are trying to figure out ways to cope with this new change yet try to let this new change affect their relationship with God and their family. They both have anger towards their family and a feeling of not being loved or wanted.
In the end they both learn to accept the change and love their new brothers and take acceptance for the new families their fathers have created.
I always enjoyed Nikki Grimes writing. Books written in verse in my favorite type of writing style. I also liked that she used small pieces of the Bible to tell the story of Dark Son’s.
June’s life at home with her stepmother and stepsister is a dark one and a secret one. Not even her dad knows the truth, and she can’t find the words to tell anyone else. She’s trapped like a butterfly in a net. Then June meets Blister, a boy from a large, loving, chaotic family. In him, she finds a glimmer of hope that perhaps she can find a way to fly far, far away. Because she deserves her freedom. Doesn’t she?
Review:
Paper Butterflies is a very intense novel. One of the most intense stories I have read in a very long time. This story is about a biracial girl named June. June mother (who is black) dies by drowning when she is young. June’s dad (who is white) remarried a woman named Kathleen and she has a daughter of her own named Megan. Even since June was in grade school Kathleen and Megan both abused June in awful ways. The abuse June had to go through by Kathleen was mind blowing. Kathleen hated June one part because she was half black and her mother was black. In the book this is brought up a lot. Kathleen had her daughter Megan help her in the abuse of June.
June’s dad was no help at all. June wanted so badly to reach out and tell her dad what was going on behind his back but he always stood and took Kathleen’s side no matter.
June meets a boy who ends up being not only her best friend but someone she loves. He goes by the name Blister.
June only wanted her voice heard and to be understood. She wanted the world to know about the abuse she was going through each day. She eventually told Blister.
In the end this is a very exhausting, emotional, frustrating and upsetting book to read.
My final thoughts:
My feelings changed with each chapter as I read. I felt for June at times I felt I was going through what she was facing. I felt so sad for her but was rooting for her at the same time. I enjoyed Blister’s and June time together with their friendship and love was nice to see. It was set up to be a real friendship before they started to say I love you. I wanted the best for June and Blister. Every chapter they were together made me smile. I liked the writing and the realistic nature of the story. I had an emotional connection with all the characters which never really happens when I read books. This story took all my feelings and I have to say I really enjoyed it.
Trigger warning: Physical abuse, bullying, death, prison, death row
