ENTER THE BODY By Joy McCullough

March 22, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

ENTER THE BODY By Joy McCulloughEnter the Body by Joy McCullough
Published by Dutton Books for Young Readers on 3/14/23
Genres: Historical, Retellings, Young Adult
Pages: 336
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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In the room beneath a stage's trapdoor, Shakespeare’s dead teenage girls compare their experiences and retell the stories of their lives, their loves, and their fates in their own words. Bestselling author Joy McCullough offers a brilliant testament to how young women can support each other and reclaim their stories in the aftermath of trauma.

Short and Sweet Review

In the Trap Room, a room beneath the theater stage, there’s a room full of girls who have met a tragic end in Shakespeare’s plays. Ophelia, Cordelia, and Juliet share their stories and maybe even change things around to make it so they’re living their own lives and not one that was written for them.

Enter the Body is a novel in verse, which was interesting because through this style each girl told her story differently. The girls take turns telling their stories and how they ended up dying in the tragic ways they have. I liked reading their stories, mainly because I’m only familiar with Romeo and Juliet. Ophelia and Cordelia were more mature than Juliet and they did tell their stories as if they were older. The sharing of stories in the trap room formed a bond between not only the three, but with some of the other girls who were listening in the background. At first we see them share what has happened in a way that we’re all familiar with: the way Shakespeare wrote it, but they decide to take matters into their own hands and change the parts of their stories that made them so tragic and change it so that they’re the author of their own fates.

This book was short and easy to get through and I enjoyed how creative it was in how it was written in verse and how each character had their own flair.

Filed Under: Reviews

MY DEAR HENRY By Kalynn Bayron

March 20, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

MY DEAR HENRY By Kalynn BayronMy Dear Henry by Kalynn Bayron
Published by Feiwel & Friends on 3/7/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Historical, LGBT, Retellings, Young Adult
Pages: 266
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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London, 1885. Gabriel Utterson, a 17-year-old law clerk, has returned to London for the first time since his life— and that of his dearest friend, Henry Jekyll—was derailed by a scandal that led to his and Henry's expulsion from the London Medical School. Whispers about the true nature of Gabriel and Henry's relationship have followed the boys for two years, and now Gabriel has a chance to start again.

But Gabriel doesn't want to move on, not without Henry. His friend has become distant and cold since the disastrous events of the prior spring, and now his letters have stopped altogether. Desperate to discover what's become of him, Gabriel takes to watching the Jekyll house.

In doing so, Gabriel meets Hyde, a a strangely familiar young man with white hair and a magnetic charisma. He claims to be friends with Henry, and Gabriel can't help but begin to grow jealous at their apparent closeness, especially as Henry continues to act like Gabriel means nothing to him.

But the secret behind Henry's apathy is only the first part of a deeper mystery that has begun to coalesce. Monsters of all kinds prowl within the London fog—and not all of them are out for blood...

Short and Sweet Review

The year is 1885 in London, and Gabriel Utterson is in medical school per his dad’s wishes. The medical school is predominately white, but Gabriel ends up meeting Henry another student who is black and they hit it off. Unfortunately, this time period doesn’t look to kindly upon the relationship these two boys form. Both of the boys are kicked out of the school and along with them Henry’s father, Dr. Jekyll. After being kicked out of school Gabriel is offered a position as a law clerk and he hasn’t seen Henry in quite some time, but Henry does make it clear that Gabriel should keep his distance. Gabriel begins watching the Jekyll house and comes across Hyde, a strange gentlemen who claims to be friends with Henry. Gabriel can’t understand why Henry would push him away but he’s not going to stop pursuing his friend until he finds out.

I can’t really say anything about Bayron’s take on the story of, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, because I’m not really familiar with the story unless you count that one episode of Scooby-Doo I watched as a child. That being said this was a book that held my interest, I wanted to know more about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and what exactly was going on in that house. Gabriel and Henry had a sweet relationship, but they were really risking it all to have a same sex relationship in 1885 and I don’t think it made it any better to those around them that they were both black. I did like the representation and the fact that both boys were intelligent. We do see that Henrys father Dr Jekyll is a mad scientist. Also Hyde was just so mysterious that it made trying to figure him out more fun, like why is he always stalking around at night? I did like that even though Gabriel felt alone without Henry, he did have a good support system, his landlady, his cousin, and another friend from med school.

The mystery of Henry was great to solve and I also learned a bit about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. This is the third book I’ve read by Bayron and I just think her writing has a way of sucking you into the story. I would recommend My Dear Henry, its a good remix on a classic and it was short, fast, and captivating.

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GREYMIST FAIR By Francesca Zappia

March 14, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

GREYMIST FAIR By Francesca ZappiaGreymist Fair by Francesca Zappia
Published by Greenwillow Books on 3/28/23
Genres: Fairy Tales & Folklore, Fantasy & Magic, Horror & Ghost Stories, Mystery & Detective, Retellings, Young Adult
Pages: 310
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Two roads lead into a dark forest. They meet at Greymist Fair, the village hidden in the trees, a place kept alive by the families that never leave. The people of Greymist Fair know the woods are a dangerous and magical place, and to set foot off the road is to invite trouble.

When Heike, the village’s young tailor, discovers a body on the road, she goes looking for who is responsible. But her quest only leads to more strange happenings around Greymist Fair.

Inspired by the original, bloody, lesser-known fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, acclaimed author Francesca Zappia crafts an enthralling murder-mystery that will keep readers turning the pages. Told from multiple points of view, with each narrative building on the crime discovered by Heike, Greymist Fair examines the themes of childhood fears, growing into adult responsibilities, and finding a place to call home amid the trials of life and death.

Short and Sweet Review

Greymist Fair is a village hidden in the trees. There’s only two roads that led into Greymist and the villagers know that leaving will only cause trouble. Heike, one of the villagers finds a body on the road and she decides to find out who is responsible, but on her quest she learns that there are other strange things happening in Greymist.

Greymist Fair is one interesting book. There are seven Grimm fairytales that are being retold and each story is told as a short story and they are all interwoven. Even though all of the stories connect I still felt like this book was disjointed. Heike is a character that is shown throughout the whole book and her story is the first one told, but she finds the solution to her mystery pretty quickly. If I’m going to be honest I think the rest of the stories are there just to show the other people who are in Greymist Fair and how it got to be the way it is. The other stories do tend to have different timelines than the one we originally started off in. I liked that the book was retelling lesser known Grimm fairy tales and I think that’s where the book shines, in its telling of short stories, but the way it was all supposed to come together it just fell short of what I think the author was trying to achieve.

Overall, Greymist Fair was an easy book to breeze through and I love how Zappia made the fairytales her own. The book would have been more successful if the stories came together in a better way, otherwise I think it would have been better if it wasn’t short stories but just one story and some of the characters had their own POVs. I would still recommend this book, I would just suggest going into it with a very open mind.

Filed Under: Reviews

FOUL LADY FORTUNE By Chloe Gong

March 10, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

FOUL LADY FORTUNE By Chloe GongFoul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong
Series: Foul Lady Fortune #1
Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books on 9/27/22
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Historical, Mystery & Detective, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 525
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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It’s 1931 in Shanghai, and the stage is set for a new decade of intrigue.

Four years ago, Rosalind Lang was brought back from the brink of death, but the strange experiment that saved her also stopped her from sleeping and aging—and allows her to heal from any wound. In short, Rosalind cannot die. Now, desperate for redemption for her traitorous past, she uses her abilities as an assassin for her country.

Code name: Fortune.

But when the Japanese Imperial Army begins its invasion march, Rosalind’s mission pivots. A series of murders is causing unrest in Shanghai, and the Japanese are under suspicion. Rosalind’s new orders are to infiltrate foreign society and identify the culprits behind the terror plot before more of her people are killed.

To reduce suspicion, however, she must pose as the wife of another Nationalist spy, Orion Hong, and though Rosalind finds Orion’s cavalier attitude and playboy demeanor infuriating, she is willing to work with him for the greater good. But Orion has an agenda of his own, and Rosalind has secrets that she wants to keep buried. As they both attempt to unravel the conspiracy, the two spies soon find that there are deeper and more horrifying layers to this mystery than they ever imagined.

Short and Sweet Review

Four years ago Rosalind was brought back from the brink of death and after an experiment Rosalind can’t die. After the things she’s done she’s looking for redemption so she uses her new abilities to act as an assassin for her country. The Japanese is beginning to march into Shanghai and people are being murdered by chemical attacks and that causes Rosalind’s mission to pivot. Now Rosalind has to infiltrate foreign society to find who is behind these murders, but to avoid suspicion Rosalind is teamed up with Orion and they have to pose as a married couple. The more these two unravel the layers to this mystery the more they realize that this mission isn’t as open and shut as it first seemed.

First of all, I love Chloe Gong’s writing. I loved the These Violent Delights Duology and it was interesting to see where some of the characters we know from that series ended up. Rosalind kind of reminds me of Black Widow, trying to get some redemption for mistakes made in the past. It was interesting that Rosalind was working for the Nationalists while Celia was a working for the Communists, they’re on opposite sides but I liked how they still looked out for each other. We also see Alisa, she’s a few years older and ends up running into Rosalind at the office building they’re both infiltrating but for the opposite sides. The partnership between Orion and Rosalind was great, they’re both obviously hiding things from each other. We have multiple POVs which I liked because it just added to how crazy everything going on was, and it was interesting to see how alliances shifted and who might be a double agent. We have some characters we recognize, but there’s also some new comers like Oliver and Phoebe, Orions siblings.

This book brings us back into a world we know and love but with something different. I loved the element of spies and traitors and a whole new era of panic in Shanghai. Orion and Rosalind did a good job at being undercover and investigating the people they worked with and also each other. The chemistry between these two just worked, Rosalind may have been annoyed with Orion at first but throughout the book you could feel the slow burn.

I wasn’t sure about following Rosalind’s story at first but she’s a badass and she makes you fall in love with her one page at a time. The ending was mind boggling and it just made me want the next book in my hand immediately, I can’t wait until Foul Heart Huntsman is released.

Filed Under: Reviews

THE LOST By Natasha Preston

March 9, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE LOST By Natasha PrestonThe Lost by Natasha Preston
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on 3/26/19
Genres: Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 306
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

It's a fight for survival in a building designed to ensure that no one makes it out alive.

In Piper's hometown, teenagers keep disappearing, and everyone assumes they're just a bunch of runaways. But when yet another person vanishes, Piper and her best friend Hazel suspect something more sinister is going on.

So they decide to investigate, determined to learn the truth. Their search for answers leads them to the source of the missing…and their captors. Piper and Hazel suddenly find themselves locked away in a secluded property in the middle of a privately owned forest.

But the building isn't only meant to keep them imprisoned; every room is a test to see if they can make it out alive.

And failure means being lost…forever.

Short and Sweet Review

Teenagers in Piper’s hometown are going missing. Piper and her friend Hazel get the bright idea that they should investigate. Piper and Hazel go to a party and end up leaving with two guys who are the actual kidnappers. The girls are taken to some secluded warehouse in the middle of the forest. In the warehouse there are the other teens that have gone missing and they inform the girls that there are six rooms made to torture them. Each room is made to break a person and if they can survive it they may be able to make it out of this situation alive.

This book read like an episode of Criminal Minds. Piper and Hazel were naive, like why did they think that they were going to be the ones to solve this mystery of missing teens and then they ended up getting taken themselves. In the warehouse they meet four other teens who have been there a various amount of time. The different rooms are: sound, light, sleep deprivation, temperature, one with water, and one where there was supposed to be like a fight to the death. Room zero is where people fight to the death and it’s mentioned but Piper never goes to that room. In this place Piper tries to take on the role of a leader which doesn’t go over well with everyone, and Hazel just gets insufferable, the situation obviously isn’t ideal but she is the biggest pessimist in the room. Anyway we see Piper endure some of the rooms and we see other characters come and go into them. The main thing everyone wants to do is get out alive and see their families. The captors are deranged and honestly I think the best thing about this book like I mentioned before was that it was like an episode of Criminal Minds, it really added a lot of suspense to the book. In the end there was another captor who just came out the woodwork and you can tell that everyone who came up with the idea of kidnapping people and making them endure such crazy things is not right in the head.

Overall the concept was great but the characters were horrible and so was the ending. I think that’s a common theme in Preston’s books, the endings just throw me off so much that the book becomes off-putting to me. This was an okay book but I don’t think Preston’s books are really for me.

Filed Under: Reviews

THE ISLAND By Natasha Preston

March 7, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE ISLAND By Natasha PrestonThe Island by Natasha Preston
Published by Delacorte Press on 2/28/23
Genres: Horror & Ghost Stories, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 309
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Jagged Island: a private amusement park for the very rich—or the very influential. Liam, James, Will, Ava, Harper, and Paisley—social media influencers with millions of followers—have been invited for an exclusive weekend before the park opens. They’ll make posts and videos for their channels and report every second of their VIP treatment.

When the teens arrive, they're stunned: the resort is even better than they’d imagined. Their hotel rooms are unreal, the park’s themed rides are incredible, and the island is hauntingly beautiful. They’re given a jam-packed itinerary for the weekend.

But soon they'll discover that something's missing from their schedule: getting off the island alive.

Short and Sweet Review

Paisley and five other influencers are invited Jagged Island a private amusement park for the rich. For the weekend each of the influencers will post videos and pictures to their social media, so that the park can get some recognition before the park opens. The group thinks that the amusement rides are fun and their hotel rooms are amazing, the only problem is not everyone is going to leave the island alive.

The Island is a pretty straightforward book, it’s not something we haven’t seen before. I did like the setting of a fancy island amusement park and hotel. The aesthetic was creepy and threw some of the characters off. Each of the influencers invited have different interests and our main character Paisley is into true crime. When the characters find the first victim they’re all thrown off and start to panic. They all realize that they’re stuck on the island without a way home and one of them is a killer.

It was pretty interesting seeing all the characters run around the island and try to get away from the killer. It was also hard trying to figure out who the killer was especially when Paisley would flip back and forth between whether someone could do it or not. There was a bit of romance which was ridiculous because who has time for romance when someone is coming at you with a knife.

Overall, this was an okay book. The whole time I thought this was a three heart book for me but it was the ending that got me to take it a little lower. I think it would have great to experience more of the amusement park but I think the only thing that could’ve saved this book for me was something else happening in the end than what actually did.

Filed Under: Reviews

A LONG STRETCH OF BAD DAYS By Mindy McGinnis

March 6, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A LONG STRETCH OF BAD DAYS By Mindy McGinnisA Long Stretch of Bad Days by Mindy McGinnis
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on 3/14/23
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 366
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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A lifetime of hard work has put Lydia Chass on track to attend a prestigious journalism program and leave Henley behind—until a school error leaves her a credit short of graduating.

Bristal Jamison has a bad reputation and a foul mouth, but she also needs one more credit to graduate. An unexpected partnership forms as the two remake Lydia’s town history podcast to investigate the Long Stretch of Bad Days—a week when Henley was hit by a tornado, a flash food, as well as its first, only, and unsolved murder.

As their investigation unearths buried secrets, some don’t want them to see the light. When the threats escalate, the girls have to uncover the truth before the dark history of Henley catches up with them.

Short and Sweet Review

Lydia Cass has worked hard her whole life to be able to get into a prestigious journalism program and leave her small town of Henley behind, but that plan comes to a halt when an error at the school leaves Lydia one credit short of graduating. The school offers Lydia a chance to do a project and she decides to use this as a chance to cover the Long Stretch of Bad Days, which was a time in Henley where there was a tornado, a flash flood, and the town’s only murder. Lydia knows she needs to jazz up her regularly straight laced podcast so she recruits Bristal Jamison to help her especially since Bristal is in the same predicament as Lydia. The more Bristal and Lydia dig the more they realize the town has dark secrets that they don’t want coming out and maybe some things are better left swept under the rug.

This book works and I think it was the characters that really brought it to another level, Lydia and Bristal are polar opposites, but the more we read we see that Lydia is more like Bristal than she would like to admit. Lydia is a rule follower and likes things to be a certain way so when she decides to do the podcast in a way that could upset the town her parents are worried. It doesn’t help that her dad is a defense lawyer who just took on a case people are pretty upset about, so when the threats start rolling in they don’t know if they’re for Lydia or her dad. Bristal is a Jamison and they have quite the reputation in town. Bristal is rough around the edges but she honestly has a good heart and I loved her dialogue because she was mostly the comedic relief. When Bristal and Lydia team up they start doing some research and find out that during that time of the tornado not all of the missing people were found and this is what really gets the wheels turning. So now we have a missing person, a murder, and maybe some treasure. The girls are good at finding people in town who would remember important things about that time, but they also have to be careful not to ruffle any feathers. This is a small town and like most towns this one has its far share of dark secrets and watching them get revealed was so satisfying. I did appreciate the clips of the podcast that we got to read and see what exactly the girls were saying to piss everyone in town off. I will say the ending made my jaw drop but it was so well executed.

A Long Stretch of Bad Days was amazing, its probably one of my favorites for the year of 2023. The way Lydia and Bristal were able to bounce off of each other and have such an easy way of conversing, I loved it. The plot was captivating and will really keep you reading from the first page until the very end. Definitely pick this book up and enter the town of Henley where the Long Stretch of Bad Days was actually more than anyone bargained for.

Filed Under: Reviews

EMPIRE OF STORMS By Sarah J. Maas

March 3, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

EMPIRE OF STORMS By Sarah J. MaasEmpire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #5
Published by Bloomsbury USA Childrens on 9/6/16
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 703
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those who don't.

With her heart sworn to the warrior-prince by her side, and her fealty pledged to the people she is determined to save, Aelin will delve into the depths of her power to protect those she loves. But as monsters emerge from the horrors of the past, and dark forces become poised to claim her world, the only chance for salvation will lie in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

Short and Sweet Review

After the events of Queen of Shadows, Aelin learns that the path to the throne is going to be a long and hard one. War is also coming and now its up to Aelin and her friends to find allies that will fight alongside them.

This book is on par with the previous books and is filled with action. Aelin meets with some Lords who won’t accept her as queen, while at this meeting they hear that Rifthold is under attack so Rowan is sent there to get Dorian and make sure he’s safe. Elsewhere Elide is trying to make her way to Celaena who is Aelin but she doesn’t know that and she meets Lorcan and they start traveling together. Eventually Aelin and her group meet at Skulls Bay and make some more acquaintances along the way. Also Maeve is looking for Aelin and will stop at nothing until she gets what she wants.

I loved this book and the characters just make it everything that it is. Aelin is just so smart and calculating and even when it seems like she doesn’t know what she’s doing she’s actually 2 steps ahead. The ending was just jaw dropping and it set up the ending of the series beautifully. I’m excited to read Tower of Dawn and see what Chaol was up to while everyone was getting ready for war in this book. This series just gets better and better and I love the characters and the set up.

Filed Under: Reviews

MISSING CLARISSA By Ripley Jones

February 28, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

MISSING CLARISSA By Ripley JonesMissing Clarissa by Ripley Jones
Published by Wednesday Books on 3/7/23
Genres: Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 249
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

In August of 1999, dazzlingly popular cheerleader Clarissa Campbell disappears from a party in the woods outside the rural town of Oreville, Washington and is never seen again. The police question her friends, teachers, and the adults who knew her—who all have something to hide. And thanks to Clarissa’s beauty, the mystery captures the attention of the nation. But with no leads and no body, the case soon grows cold. Despite the efforts of internet sleuths and true-crime aficionados, Clarissa is never found—dead or alive.

Over twenty years later, Oreville high-school juniors and best friends Blair and Cameron start a true crime podcast, determined to unravel the story of what—or who—happened to this rural urban legend. In the process they uncover a nest of dirty small-town secrets, the sordid truth of Clarissa’s relationship with her charismatic boyfriend, and a high school art teacher turned small-town figurehead who had a very good reason for wanting Clarissa dead. Such a good reason, in fact, that they might have to make him the highlight of their next episode…

But does an ugly history with a missing girl make him guilty of murder? Or are two teenage girls about to destroy the life of an innocent man—and help the true killer walk free?

Short and Sweet Review

20 years ago Clarissa Campbell went missing after a party in the woods. Everyone was questioned and seemed to have something to hide, because of Clarissa’s status as a cheerleader and her beauty her case made national headlines. None of the leads led police to find Clarissa or arrest a suspect so now her case is cold.

20 years later high school juniors Blair and Cameron start a true crime podcast and decide to cover the Clarissa Campbell case. The podcast is for a project for their journalism class, and Blair and Cameron realize that digging for information isn’t as easy as they thought it would be. The girls learn more about Clarissa, even a secret boyfriend, when they decide to make him the topic of their next podcast they could be letting the actual killer walk free.

The synopsis of this book sounded really good, who doesn’t want a cold case from 20 years ago to be solved by two teens from the same town who just decided to start a podcast. Granted the podcast is basically for their class project. I really wanted to like this book but there were just a lot of problems and my biggest one is the characters. Cameron would just go off and do things that aren’t ethical in the world of journalism and she knows they’re not because its what she’s learning about in class, also its like she’s too impulsive she’ll do things without realizing how it’s going to affect those around her. Blair on the other hand is like Cameron’s lackey she’s filled with a lot of self doubt and just about goes with anything Cameron wants to do. The girls do interviews with people who were the closest with Clarissa to find out more information about her life and what happened at the party. I feel that the girls got the information easily, no one made them work for it or even seemed like they were trying to hide something, they were all just spilling their guts. The thing that bothered me the most was when they found out that Clarissa was secretly seeing a teacher and Cameron decides he’s the murderer. The man was guilty of other things but not murder so I thought the girls got what they deserved when he retaliated.

Missing Clarissa was unrealistic and predictable and the ending was rushed. The plot was good but the way things were executed just didn’t work. Cameron and Blair were the biggest let down, I couldn’t relate to either of them and the decisions being made by the two of them were just impulsive and showed no care for a career path people actually take seriously. I personally wouldn’t recommend this book, but maybe someone else would like it.

Filed Under: Reviews

ON THE COME UP By Angie Thomas

February 24, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

ON THE COME UP By Angie ThomasOn the Come Up by Angie Thomas
Published by Balzer + Bray on 2/5/19
Genres: Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 452
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least win her first battle. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri’s got massive shoes to fill. But it’s hard to get your come up when you’re labeled a hoodlum at school, and your fridge at home is empty after your mom loses her job. So Bri pours her anger and frustration into her first song, which goes viral . . . for all the wrong reasons.

Bri soon finds herself at the center of a controversy, portrayed by the media as more menace than MC. But with an eviction notice staring her family down, Bri doesn’t just want to make it—she has to. Even if it means becoming the very thing the public has made her out to be.

Short and Sweet Review

Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers, but first she has to get through a battle at the ring and win. When Bri does win she starts to get some traction and eventually she ends up recording her first song On the Come Up, unfortunately the people closest to her don’t approve her song and outsiders are hyping it up. Bri knows that she’s getting attention for all the wrong reasons but with her family struggling she feels like she has to make it in this industry.

On the Come Up becomes viral and for the wrong reasons, Bri is talking about a life she’s never lived and people start to think the song is about hating police and being in gangs when Bri wanted it to be about how people with her skin color are looked down upon as these things. Anyway Bri hasn’t had the easiest life her dad a well known rapper was murdered, her mom is a recovering addict, and her aunt is in a gang and a drug dealer. Bri is passionate about rapping and her aunt is probably her biggest supporter, but her aunt Pooh is also not as committed as Bri would want her to be. So when Supreme her dads old manager offers to start managing Bri and get her a record deal, Bri says yes mainly because she knows if she makes it she’ll be able to support her family. I think my biggest problem in this book was Bri. Like she may be struggling but she has a great support system around her, one that won’t let her reach rock bottom. Bri gets a lot of advice from the people around her that the song isn’t who she is and that its a bad representation of her but she takes the advice as if someone is attacking her and that bothered me the most. She really ended up learning that the things she was doing had consequences. I guess that’s a big thing in books people have to continue to be hard headed until the lesson smacks them right in the face. There was a love triangle which didn’t work out because first of all one of the boys had a girlfriend and it just ended up being awkward. Also there’s a lot of things that kind of remind me of The Hate U Give mainly that the character goes to a predominately white high school and that the peers don’t understand how black kids may be treated differently, and they definitely start saying that Bri’s song incited a violent incident that took place at the School. I did like how different issues were dealt with, like the gangs, drug usage, institutional racism and other things. Bri talks about most of these things in her raps and I feel like when she’s being authentic is when we see her best self.

Overall this was a good book, I can see how it’s like a love letter to hip hop and rap. I just think the hardest thing for me was seeing Bri make these bad decisions when everyone around her is giving her the best advice. The ending was a little rushed but I’m glad that in the end we see the support system Bri has around her and that she knows its okay to be herself.

Filed Under: Reviews