May Wrap-Up

The Gravity of Us - Phil Stamper

Started: April 18th 2020

Finished: May 2nd 2020

Rated: 3

Likes: Space/Science Element, Authenticity, Reality TV Twist

Dislikes: Romance

Notes: Received an arc from Edelweiss+ for an honest review

The Grace Year - Kim Liggett

Started: May 5th 2020

Finished: May 6th 2020

Rated: 5

Likes: Dystopian Utopia, PLOT, Characters, Survival, Everything

Dislikes: None

Notes: Everything about this was brilliant

King and the Dragonflies - Kacen Callender

Started: May 5th 2020

Finished: May 14th 2020

Rated: 3.5

Likes: LGBTQ Rep in this age category, Discussion of/about Death, Friendship

Dislikes: Meandering plot, repetition

Notes: Received an arc from Edelweiss+ for an honest review

The Worst Best Man - Mia Sosa

Started: May 15th 2020

Finished: May 22nd 2020

Rated: 4.5

Likes: Character Flaws, Vulnerability, Interesting Plot, Not Cringe

Dislikes: Attitude of Characters Sometimes**

Notes: Read as an audiobook on Scribd

The Worst Best Man - Mia Sosa

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

I had heard mixed feelings and reviews from people on this book. Their main complaint that it was cringey, but honestly I didn't find any part of it cringey. There were awkward moments, but those moments were part of what made the story more realistic in a sense, so I enjoyed what a lot of people disliked within this book.

I enjoyed that the author showcased the characters flaws, and made them known (and in some cases well known) to the reader. Again, this made the story more realistic and enjoyable while also making the characters more relatable. Along that line, I enjoyed that Lena and Max were not afraid to be vulnerable. Of course this was a gradual transition from, hate to love, but also a transition from uncomfortable to comfortable with each other, which typically should coincide with hate to love but some books lack that detail, this one did not and I was happy to see it!

The plot of this book is really what made me interested in the first place. A wedding planner gets ditched at her own wedding, and the reason for it is because the brother of the groom, and the best man of the wedding, convinced him not to marry her. Now a few years later, the three of them meet up through a job opportunity and are forced to work with each other. Drama is just waiting to bust out of this book and that is precisely why I wanted to pick it up.

I actually decided to listen to this as an audiobook (because it was the only way for me to get ahold of it right away without going out and buying it) and I was hesitant because this book is known for having some steam. And usually I'm hesitant of that when reading books physically but I was unsure how I would feel having to listen to it in an audiobook. To my surprise, the author wrote it tastefully and the voice actors didn't make it cringe or uncomfortable, it fit well with the story and didn't feel overdone or the majority of the plot. It was just something to enhance the relationship and plot overall and I actually enjoyed it a lot!

The one thing that I didn't enjoy was the characters attitudes on occasion. They weren't always bad, but there were a few moments that seemed out of character. It was like they became different people and had an attitude that didn't match the rest of their personality throughout the rest of the book because the author wanted to take the plot in a different direction and the only way to do that was to use the characters attitude as a transition. I think this could have been done better but it didn't ruin the entire book, just the moments where these seemingly alter-ego attitude adjustments happened.

King and the Dragonflies - Kacen Callender

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½

Received an arc from Edelweiss+ for an honest review

The concept for this book was really interesting to me; a young boy's brother passes away and he believes his brother has come back as a dragonfly. I love that.

Once I delved into reading this book, I came to really enjoy the dynamic of King and going through his daily life while also remembering his brother, Khalid.

Khalid had a huge impact on King and his perspective on certain concepts and situations. One of which was being gay. One of the long lasting conversations between the two brothers was Khalid telling King, "You don't want them to think you're gay too do you?" and King remembers this even after Khalid has passed. That is why King broke off his friendship with Sandy, a gay boy.

There is a lot of internal conflict in this book, which is something I haven't encountered in a book (especially a middle grade) in a while. King was battling with the memory of his brother and with discovering who he really was.

Something I really respect is that this author wrote this book with a character discovering he is gay in the children/middle grade category. This is something we see more of in young adult books, but not a lot for that specific age group. I think this is something important that children read about, because they can possibly relate with King and what he is going through. And even if they don't personally, they might know someone who does or they can understand what that journey is like.

I also respect the view of death in this book. I didn't personally experience death until I was 15 years old, and it was a shock. It's not that I like that this book can prepare children for death, but it just explains what it is like to go through something so traumatic (especially at an age like Kings).

Overall this book was really good for what it was. I am glad that I read it but I feel like since I am not the target audience that hindered my enjoyment. So my rating is more representative of my overall enjoyment of the book and not the general quality of the book.