Alli the Book Giraffe

Hello readers! Today’s post is all about the books I read in June. I had a great reading month. I read a lot of new releases mixed with some books I’ve had on my TBR for a long time.

What did you read this month? Drop your links below to your wrap ups! I always check out the posts you guys leave me in the comments.

This was honestly a random read. I was scrolling through my Want to Read shelf and found this one. I do think it’s a good read for any young person thinking about how they could bring feminism into every aspect of their lives.

I weirdly found their stories about being young relatable. I am obviously not a black woman and didn’t experience being a black teen, but they do explain something like masking. As a person who grew up undiagnosed with autism, I had to mask a lot of my personality when I was young for fear of being ridiculed.

The only bit I didn’t agree with was toward the very end when they said only white people can be racist. Anyone can be racist, it’s just that white people cannot experience systematic racism.

This book was really good from beginning to end. It reminded me a lot of I’m Glad My Mom Died in a way that it’s all about trauma. I have to admit, I haven’t seen that many movies or shows with Elliot Page in them, but I was interested in his story.

By the end, I was shattered knowing how long he suffered from dysmorphia, but also so happy that he can finally be himself. Children are so fragile and need to be told they will be loved no matter who they are on the inside. So many trans people could transition much earlier if only they knew they would still be loved by those they care about most.

Now, this one was a doozy. I have been a life long Stephen King fan and I do follow him on Twitter. He doesn’t need to use the n word in almost every book he writes. He also uses the m word for a person with dwarfism in this one.

The villain in this book was such a good villain in some ways. He was down right evil. Although, I don’t think he needed to also be racist. I feel like King will do anything to type out the n word in his books. This villain killed a bunch of people, including a baby, thought about poisoning children and even a dog, and also was physically attracted to his mother. That was plenty of negative traits. He didn’t need to also be fatphobic, racist, sexist and ableist.

The one thing I read the book for was Holly. I really loved Holly’s character. From what I’ve seen, she is represented very well. She isn’t some crazy stereotype, which I love! I am so tired of the savant autistic. Savant syndrome is not the same as autism.

This follows a family of two sisters and their mother. Their other sister went missing many years before. One day the sisters are watching a reality TV show and see a girl named Ruby that looks exactly like their missing sister Ruthy. They journey to the filming location to find out once and for all if this person is their missing sister.

I know I am in the minority here, but I loved this book! A book will always get a 5 stars from me if I cry at the end. The only negative aspect for me was the perspectives were hard to distingush. It didn’t help thet the narrater for the audiobook was the same for all 4 perspectives. I know they are all family, but they should be a bit easier to tell apart.

I feel like I say this alot with this series, but this needed to be longer. If any of them should be the longest, it was this one. This book could’ve been the world-builder of the series. You telling me this girl could go through a bunch of different doors, but we only got to see like 2? That was a big missed opportunity there.

This book also has the evil stepparent trope, which is one of my least favorites.

However, I still enjoyed the book once we got to the other world. I just wish McGuire would do more. I have come to love short books over the past couple years, but some are too short. I am excited to see where the story line goes next. I think there are only two more books in the series and I will be picking them up when they come out.

This one follows Shireen. She enters this baking competition to help her parents donut shop get more attention. It’s also kind of a love triangle. The character to her right on the cover is Chris, Shireen’s ex. They just recently broke up, but still have feelings for one another. Ten, the girl on her left is Niamh. Niamh and Shireen have a bit of a spark. All 3 girls are on the baking show together and must compete to win.

I loved Shireen and her dynamic with the other characters. She was a little self-centered, but lots of teens are. She still loved and cared for her friends and family! I also love her fashion sense. I have yet to read a book with a baking competition that I did enjoy and this one was no exception.

Figure It Out, Henri Weldon follows a girl named Henri who has just switched schools. Her family can no longer afford the private school she and her siblings attend. The problem is, Henri has dyscalculia and doesn’t get any help with it. Dyscalculia is like Dyslexia but for math.

I can’t speak on whether the representation was good or bad in this book, but I can say it was frustrating to watch this kid suffer through it.

She is in 7th grade and can’t count 10 dollars worth of money. If that isn’t a sign for a parent to get their child some extra help, I don’t know what is. As a person who went undiagnosed with a disability as a kid, I can say many people will just call you lazy and move on. It’s okay to need a little extra help! It’s not okay to watch a child struggle and call them lazy.

My reasoning for giving it 3 stars is it didn’t have a plot. The story just kind of ended without anything happening. There were things happening in her life, and the book just ended without us getting a real conclusion to the story.

Finders Keepers is the sequel to Mr. Mercedes. This one follows a lot of different people surrounding the murder of an author and a buried trunk of his money. This one also introduced a hint of magical realism, which I did not expect one bit.

I thought this one was going to be racist-free, but it wasn’t. The main villain in this one is extremely homophobic and uses the slur. However, the N-word was said once. I just don’t think it’s necessary!

This was a good story, don’t get me wrong, I just want to see fewer slurs in his books. Actually, I would love to see zero! This villain was even more savage than the first one. The villain in book one enjoyed killing people and this one just didn’t feel anything about it. I like how different and similar they were and I’m hoping for a non-homophobic, non-racist antagonist in book 3.

This one follows a group of people, the main character being named Charity. Charity and this group host an interactive horror game at a camp where you can pay to stay the night in a cabin and you get chased down by a killer as if it were real.

In the last week of the summer, it becomes real and members of the staff start going missing. The remaining crew have to work together to survive the night and escape.

Maame follows Maddie. It’s sort of a coming of age story, but the MC is 25. She is just struggling through the whole book to find out who she is and how to navigate the world. She suffers many different losses including familial, jobs, and boyfriends.

I can’t find anything online that says whether Maddie is or isn’t autistic, but I believe she is. It’s such a hard perspective to describe living through. As an autistic person, you have been beaten down so many times when you open your mouth and give opinions that you learn not to have them, at least not out loud.

In Maame, Maddie has to learn to find her voice and stop letting everyone take advantage or her and make her uncomfortable. I did live that experience and I still do to some extent.

The Marriage Act follows many different people who are affected by this thing called smart marriage. When you are in a smart marriage, there are cameras everywhere that track coupes and prevent them from fighting or getting divorces. People in these marriages are given a lot of benefits like tax breaks and better insurance.

This takes place in the same world as The One. If you haven’t read that one, The One follows a ton of people who are essentially DNA matched as soulmates.

I think The Passengers also takes place in this world, but I haven’t read that one. It mentioned a competition with cars and I think that is The Passengers.

I just love how Marrs will let us follow people on both sides of a book like this. It’s hard to know who is and isn’t right when you get to see so many perspectives. Too often do we only get the rebels side of a scifi story! Not only that, but we get to see bad and good people on both sides. Bad things happen to good and bad people and good things happen to good and bad people. Things in life are never black and white as they are in the movies. The One was an amazing book and so was The Marriage Act. I need to pick up The Passengers next for sure!

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