I have a thing for these Broadway musical nonfiction books. I‘ve only read 2, but I love the way the authors show the sets and costumes and include interviews from the cast and crew. This one had multiple actors from each character answer the questions and more fun illustrations than the last one I read (Hamilton). It also includes fan letters in the back. Hamilton did not do that, but I hope the other books that I own in this genre so that! 5🌟

This book was a soap opera. One crazy family story may have worked, but two was straight up cheesy. I also saw the “twist” about Jade‘s family on like page 50. I totally would have bailed if by the time I realized it sucked I wasn‘t over halfway through. I feel like that if the way had focused more on Eran‘s personality rather than his inner conflicts I would have liked the book better. 1⭐️

The entire time I was reading this book I was expecting a sad ending for all the reviews I have seen said it made the readers cry. I am so glad it wasn‘t a sad book. This was a middle grade plot with YA humor. I loved the children and all their dark jokes, and Chauncey especially because who just randomly comes up with an amorphous green blob who wants to be a bellhop? 5🌟

#FirstLineFriday

I‘m not entirely sure how the heck I feel about this. I liked the beginning when it was all like revolution-y and stuff, but then towards the end they were killing people left and right??? I liked the plot though and I‘m totally going to read the sequel. 3⭐️???

#LMPBC #GroupI @Tattooedteacher @Alfrazier21 @kspenmoll I hope you all at least some what like it!!!

I signed up for the #WinterGames and I‘m having a some trouble finding any authors that share my initials. There are barely any authors with ZH, much less middle grade and YA. Anybody know any good ones?

I finished this just in time to go see a stage resting of The Sign of the Four tonight! It‘s a good book, but it was very racist. I understand that it‘s a sign of the times and all, but very racist. I liked the plot and the story telling, but I have to give it 3⭐️

I think this was the best short story collection I‘ve ever read. It had a brilliant mix of comics, normal short stories, and poems. There was only one thing in here I found dull, if even that. 5🌟

(The sticky notes in the photo are for a school project.)

This book wasn‘t so much scary as it was shivers down your spine. The illustrations were haunting and added to the feel of the book. I liked the story and the characters and felt that every was explained well. But, I feel like it was missing that little bit that would make it five-stars. 4⭐️

Shockingly, I liked this book much better than the first one. It was funnier and felt with more deep stuff. But, I have to say, a girl with no arms started a band, and she didn‘t call it Armageddon. 4.5⭐️

Once again, another *very* long #FirstLineFriday

I‘ve been reading this book for a LONG time. I just didn‘t have a lot of reading time lately. This book was so good! That one twist with Sam at the end really did it for me. Without it , I feel like the ending would have been plain and boring. I didn‘t fully understand every character‘s actions and choices, but even so, 5🌟

11 reads this month.

8 picks

2 so-so‘s

1 bail

A good murder mystery. There were a lot of good twists, but you could tell it was a debut novel by how many twists there were. I lost track of the suspects almost immediately after. Also, they totally murdered a dog. So, 3.5⭐️?

Man, I‘m really glad I didn‘t bail on this. After a few chapters, the plot really picked up. I liked the huge twist in the middle, but I thought that the ending was really abrupt. There is a bit of animal cruelty in this book, just thought that was worth mentioning. 5⭐️

#FirstLineFriday

A nice and short middle-grade book. It is generally hard for me to find middle-grade books I really enjoy. I normally can‘t get behind the writing style. At the beginning of this book, McDonough style wasn‘t my favorite. But then towards the middle, she really found her footing and improved heavily. 4⭐️

SO GOOD!!!! I enjoyed this book way more than the first one, which is saying something because I am a sucker for origin stories. That twist with the imposter Black Night was so well planned and I just didn‘t want to put this book down. The best book I‘ve read in the last few months. 5🌟

I personally think this book would have been better if it was a series of novellas. It seemed that I would read a chapter and expect it to be over, even though I was only 50 pages in. It was almost like it was… neverending. I only really read this because I wanted to find out what happened. I wasn‘t really a huge fan of the writing style and honestly, I spaced out while reading this. 3⭐️

#FirstLineFriday

WOW this book was so good! Those twists at the end were so unexpected and it takes skill to have all of those and not make it sound like a soap opera. I especially enjoyed the vampire motorcycles. I thought it was a funny concept. I have to say though, the author got a Star Wars reference wrong. even so, 5🌟

I was thinking one of these book for round 13. The choices are:
In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
Dumplin‘ by Julia Murphy
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhoa
Let me know what you think!

@suvata @Tattooedteacher @Alfrazier21 @kspenmoll #LPMBC #GroupI #Round13

…That‘s not what happened.

My lates #BookHaul . We went to a new indie bookshop close to us, and of course they didn‘t have the book I was looking for, so I bought three others instead (faulty logic, I know). Then we stopped at Barnes & Nobel on the way home and I found that book I wanted and a buy one get one %50 off, so then I had six. Then today me school was having a book fair. So here I am, with 9 books.

I really cut it close with this one. It‘s due on Tuesday and I had almost 500 pages left. The characters‘ powers are so original. I liked the plot and the characters and how the reader had to decide who‘s side they‘re on for themselves. But, I could have done without the love plot. Also, I think that is a little weird that the characters couldn‘t figure out what Agent N was from context. 4⭐️

Coming your way, @Tattooedteacher ! This was so fun, I can‘t wait to join next year! I got your package, @peanutnine , it was so nice seeing what you both annotated! #LPMBC @suvata #GroupThree

#FirstLineFriday

As is always the case with short story collections, some were good, some were bad. I find that in this one, it is very evened out. There were a few more bad ones that good ones, but the good ones were so amazing that it makes up for the not-so-great ones. 4⭐️

14 books read last month

12 picks

2 so-so

1 bail

Read a little late for #BannedBookWeek

Challenge for- and these are all direct quotes from the ALA- being anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and for being unsuited for age group.

Such a cute picture book! Roy and Silo are a penguin couple at a New York zoo. One day, another penguin couple had an extra egg, so the zoo keeper decided to give it to Roy and Silo so they could raise her. 5🌟

#BannedBookWeek

Challenged and burned for including LGBTQIA+ content and being “sexually explicit”.

I wanted to love this book, I really did. But there were far too many characters and it had a weird writing style where the narrator talked to the reader in a collective we, as though they were watching the story unfold. It was also a bit of a downer.

Read for #BannedBookWeek

Challenged for profanity, drug use, alcoholism, because it was used to promote anti-police views, contains divisive topics, and is “too much of a sensitive matter right now”.

Read for #BannedBookWeek .

This book is challenged for having LGBTQIA+ content and for “its effect on young people who read it”.

This is a short and sweet picture book about Mile Pence‘s daughter‘s bunny who falls in love with another boy rabbit. The illustrations are so cute! 5🌟

Another reread for #BannedBookWeek .

This is banned for conflicting with some religious viewpoints, LGBTQIA+ content, and not reflecting “the values of our community”.

This book tells the story of Melissa (formerly George), a trans girl, and how she wants to play Charlotte in a school production of Charlotte‘s Web. 5⭐️

This was a reread for me. I‘ve already read this more times than I can count, but I thought I‘d add one more in hope of #BannedBookWeek . This was banned for having LGBTQIA+ characters in two school districts in Texas and challenged strongly in many others. This is one of my favorite graphic novels. 5⭐️

(Featuring Mellie) #PetsOfLitsy #DogsOfLitsy

#BirthdayBookHaul !!!!

(Can you tell I‘m a musical nerd?)

I added this to my TBR after I started watching Sherlock a few months ago. I was a bit confused once it got to the Utah part. I do feel like I enjoyed the show‘s plot a little more, because of the pick a bottle scene. But all in all, a good read. 4⭐️

#FirstLineFriday
This is the longest first sentence I have ever seen.

The end of this book read like a bad soap opera. There were so many twists of who murdered who and who betrayed who that I just wanted to roll my eyes at how fast they forgave their former suspects. I felt like the author didn‘t understand that teenagers (at least the ones I know) don‘t say OMG or totes or def no anymore. But still, I enjoyed the plot and even though I don‘t really like the writing I‘m doing to read the next one. 2.5⭐️

This is a shockingly underrated book. It was SO GOOD. I hadn‘t understood the appeal of predictable romance novels until recently, but now the last two books I‘ve read have been romances. I have to say though, the love interests‘ names are Drew and Devin. I‘m sure you can see how that got confusing fast. But still, SO GOOD. 5🌟

No such thing as pockets that are too big.

Dang that was a good book. I definitely did not expect that twist toward the end, but I loved it anyway. Plus isn‘t the unexpected what makes things so great? I wish that there was a bit more magic and a more in-depth explanation of witch lady, but overall a great book. 5🌟

I haven‘t read a sci-fi in so long, and I don‘t really have much bad stuff to say about this book. Mostly just that I wish that the romance had been more of a slow build up. But it is missing that piece of it that makes it five stars. 4⭐️

#FirstLineFriday

At first, I thought I wouldn‘t like this book. But then the plot started to pick up and I did not want to put I down. It was funny and heartwarming. I don‘t know the last time I read a book this good. 5🌟

#FirstLineFriday

I started this series three years ago, when it first came out. Since then, my reading style has changed drastically. Now, I find the writing style, names of super heroes, and characters to be a little immature and at times a little dumb. Though, I still like the combination of narrative and comic, and the nostalgia will always be there. 3.5⭐️

1. Idaho, Universal Studios Hollywood, Disneyland
2. Just relaxing with music and a book
3. Kent State
4. My health

@mandarchy @Eggs #WondrousWednesday

This was one of those books where you stay up later then you‘d like to to finish it. For a short time in the early middle, I thought it was pretty boring. But then, the plot picked up and I couldn‘t put it down. 5⭐️