The Summer of Jordi Perez Review

The Summer of Jordi Perez
Author: Amy Spalding
Publisher: Sky Pony Press

Synopsis:

    Abby doesn't think she'll ever be able to get a girlfriend -- no one in their right mind would ask her out. But she's okay with that for now: she's got a blog called +style about plus size fashion, and is starting an internship at her favorite local clothing store, Lemonberry. Then she meets Jordi Perez, the other intern at Lemonberry and falls for her -- hard. This and the fact that she and a new friend are trying to find the best burgers in Los Angeles makes Abby feel like she's no longer the supporting character in her own story.

    But when Jordi's photography thrusts Abby suddenly in the spotlight, Abby feels that the spotlight is too much. Will she be able to make amends?

My thoughts:

    First off: more positive LGBTQIA+ representation! Yes!! But also, this book was incredibly well-written, and the romance wasn't at all forced or unrealistic like some books. I felt like I really got to know the characters, and that I would be able to have a casual conversation or even become friends with some of them. Also, everything was really well described, and even though I'd never been to Los Angeles, I felt like I had a clear picture of what it looks like in my head. 

    I'd recommend this book to middle grade readers and above, even though this book is YA.

    My rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda Review

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Author: Becky Albertalli

Publisher: By-the-Book Pub.

Summary:

    As Simon himself would say, he has a pretty great life. He's just like everyone else, too, except for one big thing: he's gay. And no one knows it except Blue, the boy that he's been emailing since August. But that's about to change. When someone reads Simon's emails and threatens to leak them to the whole school if Simon doesn't do them a favor, Simon faces the possibility of being outed to his entire school, and jeopardizing his relationship with Blue, who is a very private person. Not to mention the fact that things within his friend group are becoming more strained. In addition to navigating normal high school life, Simon has to find a way to dig himself out of the hole that he was pushed into.

My thoughts:

    I started reading this book because I was going to see the movie (which is also really good and follows the storyline of the book very well) and wanted to read the book first, and I was not disappointed. It was so good! I enjoyed reading about all of the characters, and I was very intrigued by the plot, although I'm very glad that the story is fiction because that seems like an awful thing to happen to anyone. And although Simon doesn't have to deal with homophobia like if the book was set twenty years before now, there still seems to be a stigma around gay people -- not fear, more of like a well, they're different and that's weird thing going on, which shouldn't be the case, but I think that most people that end up thinking like this do so unconsciously.
    Overall, I really liked this book and was excited to find out that there was a sequel (which I will also be reviewing).
    Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

Queer, There, and Everywhere Review

Queer, There, and Everywhere

Author: Sarah Prader

Publisher: HarperCollins

Synopsis:

    This book is a nonfiction book about 23 famous people throughout history who either identified as or might have identified (because there were no words to describe what they were yet) as LGBTQIA+. These include people such as Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay politician to be elected to the government, and Eleanor Roosevelt, who probably was not straight. 

My thoughts:

    Because June is Pride Month, I decided to review a book about LGBTQIA+ people throughout history. Some of them I hadn't heard of, but others (such as Eleanor Roosevelt) I was surprised to see in the book. I think the reason that people don't often know that some famous people they thought were straight and/or cisgender were not was because you learn about these people in school but they go ahead and let you assume that they were/are straight and/or cisgender.
    I think this book was very educational and everyone should read it!
    Rating: 5/5 stars!

How-To: Blackout Poetry

    If you've ever tried to write a poem, you know how hard it is. You have to come up with the right words, sometimes the correct number of syllables, stanzas, words per stanza, words that rhyme, etc. Now I'm not saying that poetry is bad. It's not. It's just a lot of work. However, I recently discovered this thing called blackout poetry and it is SO FUN! Because I enjoyed it so much, I'm putting up a tutorial on here.

Materials Needed:

• An old book or newspaper or magazine. Really anything that has words on it that you aren't using anymore. You should NOT use a book that was expensive, or that you're planning on using again. I'd recommend going to your local library or used bookstore and picking up one of those 25 cent paperbacks so you don't have to feel guilty about vandalizing a book. I'm using a book that was falling apart anyway, and that I have a double copy of. 
• A pencil (this is optional)
• A black marker or Sharpie. You can also use paint, which I'm not really sure how that works, but you could experiment with it. I'm using a calligraphy marker, because I happen to have one, but if you have a Sharpie laying around you can use that instead (be forewarned that Sharpies bleed through pages).
• That is literally it!

Step 1: Find a page in your book/newspaper/magazine.

    It can be a scene that you like, or just a random page. Make sure that you don't go right into blacking things out, because if you make a mistake and start blacking things out that you didn't mean to, you have ruined your poem (sorry to be harsh, but it's true!).

Step 2: Underline the words you want to use with a pencil

    It isn't completely necessary to do this, but I think that it's really helpful because then you know which words you want to save. 

    This part is probably the hardest part of the entire process, because you can't just add words you want to use. Your poem can make no sense ("remember that here we laugh at gophers") or be really metaphorical ("they had stopped blizzards to keep the fire going") (and yes, both examples are mine). A tip that I found useful is to black out some of the word but not all. For example, if you needed the word "is" and there is not an "is" where you need it to be but there is a "this," black out the "th" part and your problem is solved.

Step 4: Black out the unwanted words!

    This is the fun part! It can feel a little weird at first, because you are literally scribbling with a Sharpie all over a book, but it's all in the name of art. 

    Try different patterns: you can highlight the words you don't want, you can cover the whole page, you can draw designs on the page, you name it! I'm going to show a couple examples but since I have no drawing skills I will use one or two off of the Internet.

Step 5: Erase any pencil marks.
    This is important because it just makes your poem look nicer.

You're done!

Other examples:

https://www.lynnereeder.com/uploads/1/0/8/4/108411141/p71_orig.png

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/474x/96/66/cb/9666cb41984565e62dff526577acbe57.jpg

Have you ever tried blackout poetry? How did it turn out? Let me know in the comments!

Satellite Review

Satellite

Author: Nick Lake

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Synopsis:

   Leo and his two friends, Orion and Libra, were born and raised on a space station. Once they turn sixteen, they are allowed to go back to Earth. But life on Earth is not what they have been imagining, and readers will begin to wonder if it would have been better for these three to stay in space.

My thoughts:

    First of all, sorry for the abnormally short synopsis. I feel like that's really all I can provide without giving away spoilers! Anyway, this book was okay. I'd read it again, but I feel like it could have been a lot better. For example, I thought that the book would actually be about space, instead of about this kid who spends most of his time moping about being on Earth instead of space. The plotline was also a bit confusing to follow, and there were some things that seemed really important early on and then everyone completely forgot about them without resolving the issue (Santiago, anyone?).

    However, I did wonder if the way that Leo, Orion, and Libra's bodies react to being on Earth for the first time is what would actually happen if you were born and raised in space and if so, how the author was able to figure this out. 

    Overall, this book was pretty average. I'd recommend it to teens, although as always, younger or older people could read it too.

    My rating: 3/5 stars.

    P.S. I've decided that I'm going to post once a week instead of never, because as anyone who runs a blog knows, it is pretty hard to consistently find new and interesting topics to post about.

Sophia's War Review

Sophia's War

Author: Avi

Publisher: Beach Lane Books

Synopsis:

    It is 1776, and Sophia Calderwood and her parents are returning to New York City after the British have occupied it and burned half of it to the ground. Sophia hopes to get news of her brother William, who is serving in the Continental Army. Before she can, however, a British officer by the name of John André is ordered to move into their home. Sophia, although only twelve, develops an infatuation with André. 

    Around this same time, Sophia discovers that her brother has been captured by the British and is being held on the Good Intent, a ship where many American soldiers that have been captured by the British are being kept. Conditions are not good. Smallpox runs rampant, thousands die, there are little blankets, food, and water. Sophia vows to avenge the men in those ships. 

    Four years later, in 1780, she gets the chance. A man by the name of Robert Townsend comes to her and asks Sophia if she'll work for him as an American spy. She'll be a servant in the house of a British general and collect information that will help the Americans win the war. Sophia agrees, and begins work right away. 

    But once Sophia begins her spying, she realizes that there are plans to capture West Point, an American fort that, if lost, could cost the Americans the war. There is an American traitor and a British officer that have plans to meet and during this meeting, the American traitor will tell the British officer the weaknesses of the American fort. What's more, the identity of the traitor to the Americans is so shocking that no one would believe Sophia if she told them.

    So Sophia sets out to stop this meeting from happening. She is alone, because who would believe a fifteen-year-old girl with no evidence? 

    What happens next will change the course of American history.

My thoughts:

    I had read this book a couple of years ago, but forgot how good it was until I reread it! Sophia is a relatable character, and the way the story is told is very unique. I also learned a lot about the British occupation of New York and the prison ships that the Continental soldiers were kept on. 

    This book is a page turner that kept me on the edge of my seat, waiting to know what happened next (even though because it was historical fiction I already knew how events were eventually going to play out). 

    One thing that I didn't like was how the phrasing of the book seemed a little bit formal, but not so much that it was boring. It seemed like if there was a younger reader reading this book, they might stop reading because of that, but other than that, I really enjoyed this book.

    This book is middle grade, although I highly recommend it for all ages!

    Rating: 5 out of 5 stars! 

How to Explain What Shipping Is

    Happy New Year, everyone! Here's the first post of 2018:

    I think everyone can agree how awkward it is when you mention shipping, OTPs, broTPs, or noTPs and someone goes, "Wait, what? What are you talking about?" You look around, hoping someone will save you, before finally saying something like, "Uh, nothing. Fangirl stuff." (And then they ask what a fangirl is, and you sigh over how hopeless this person is). So this post is going to cover all of these things, with a definition and how to explain to someone what these terms mean. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, this post will help you get a better understanding!

Shipping: According to Wikipedia, shipping in terms of a fandom (I will cover that later too, I promise) is "the desire by fans for two or more people, either real-life people or fictional characters (in film, literature, television etc.) to be in a relationship, romantic or otherwise." 
   How to explain this to someone: wanting a couple to be together.

OTP: This stands for "one true pairing" and basically means the ship that you ship the most. I happen to have multiple OTPs, and you can change your OTP all the time (for example, my OTP used to be Chaol and Celaena from Throne of Glass but something happened to change my views).
    How to explain this to someone: The ship you ship the most.

BroTP: This is kind of like shipping, except for instead of wanting characters to be romantically involved with each other, you want them to be friends (although the term "ship" can also be used in place of broTP).
    How to explain this to someone: What I wrote above ↑

NoTP: This is the opposite of shipping: you do not want these characters to be together, either romantically or otherwise. For example, one of my noTPs is Feyre and Tamlin from A Court of Thorns and Roses or Hermione and Malfoy from Harry Potter.
    How to explain this to someone: When you don't want characters to be together.

Fangirl or fanboy: A fan of a book series, TV show, celebrity, band, etc. 
    How to explain this to someone: What I wrote above ↑

Fandom: According to Oxford Dictionaries, a fandom is "the fans of a particular person, team, fictional series, etc, regarded collectively as a community or subculture."
    How to explain this to someone: a group of fans all interested in the same thing. For example, the Harry Potter fandom is comprised of Harry Potter fans.

Fanfiction: According to the online dictionary, fanfiction is "fiction written by a fan of, and featuring characters from, a particular TV series, movie, etc."
    How to explain this to someone: when someone takes the characters from a TV show, movie, book, etc, that they did not create and writes a story with those characters.

Canon: What actually happens in the TV series, movie, book, etc. The author has confirmed that it has happened.
        How to explain this to someone: What I wrote above ↑

    I hope you enjoyed my definitions and explanations of these terms. If you think I was wrong or if you have something you think I should have included, please add a comment telling me what you think!