YA fiction – Page 4 – The Bookish Mutant

YA Books for Bisexual Visibility Week 💗💜💙(2021 Edition)

Posted on September 18, 2021 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Saturday, bibliophiles!

As well as this month being Latinx Heritage month, September 16 – September 23 is Bisexual Visibility Week! Celebrate Bisexuality Day/Bisexual Visibility Day is also on September 23rd. It’s such an important week/day to celebrate; even within the LGBTQ+ community, bisexual people are often at the brunt of all kinds of horrible stigmas and are often invalidated and passed off as simply gay or straight. Let the record show that bisexual people are always, ALWAYS valid! No matter your dating history, relationship, or where you stand on the bisexual spectrum, you are loved, you are valid, you are beautiful, and you are bisexual no matter what anyone else tells you. YOU are the only person who gets a say in your identity. 💗💜💙

I did a post like this last year (click here if you want to read it!), but I figured I would recommend some more YA reads with bi characters that I’ve read since then. I’m always trying to read more, so if you have any recs for me, please don’t hesitate to comment!

Let’s begin, shall we?

Bisexual GIF - Bisexual - Discover & Share GIFs

THE BOOKISH MUTANT’S YA READS FOR BISEXUAL VISIBILITY WEEK (2021 EDITION)

Sick Kids in Love, Hannah Moskowitz

Amazon.com: Sick Kids In Love eBook : Moskowitz, Hannah: Kindle Store

GENRES: Romance, realistic fiction, disability

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

You know what’s even better than disabled characters? Queer disabled characters! Both Isabel and Sasha (the protagonist and love interest of Sick Kids in Love) are disabled, and Sasha is bisexual too!

The Henna Wars, Adiba Jaigirdar

Amazon.com: The Henna Wars eBook : Jaigirdar, Adiba: Kindle Store

GENRES: Romance, realistic fiction, contemporary

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Flávia, the love interest of The Henna Wars, is bisexual, as well as Black and Brazilian-Irish! It’s always refreshing to see queer POC characters and romances, and this one 100% delivered.

The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre, Robin Talley

The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre by Robin Talley

GENRES: Romance, rom-com, realistic fiction

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you’re a fan of musical theatre and rom-coms, this is the perfect book for you! Both Melody and her love interest, Odile, are bisexual!

Ghost Wood Song, Erica Waters

Amazon.com: Ghost Wood Song: 9780062894229: Waters, Erica: Books

GENRES: Paranormal, fantasy, horror, romance

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Atmospheric and creepy, this book is the perfect read for fans of Sawkill Girls! Shady Grove, the protagonist, is bisexual.

Verona Comics, Jennifer Dugan

Buy Verona Comics Book Online at Low Prices in India | Verona Comics Reviews & Ratings - Amazon.in

GENRES: Retellings, romance, realistic fiction

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

If a Romeo & Juliet retelling where the families of the two protagonists own rival comic shops doesn’t sell you, then I don’t know what will. Ridley is bisexual, and Jubilee is pansexual!

Music from Another World, Robin Talley

Music from Another World by Robin Talley

GENRES: Historical fiction, fiction, romance

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a fantastic piece of historical fiction set at the forefront of the gay rights movement in 1970’s San Francisco! It also centers around the romance of a lesbian girl and a bisexual girl.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn, Melissa Bashardoust

Amazon.com: Girl, Serpent, Thorn: 9781250196149: Bashardoust, Melissa: Books

GENRES: Retellings, fantasy, romance

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you’re a fan of fantasy with atmospheric prose, then Girl, Serpent, Thorn is the book for you! Based on Persian mythology, this was an interesting retelling.

I Wish You All the Best, Mason Deaver

Amazon.com: I Wish You All the Best: 9781338306125: Deaver, Mason: Books

GENRES: Contemporary, realistic fiction, romance

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The great thing about the bisexual rep in I Wish You All the Best is as follows: not only is the protagonist nonbinary, but the bisexual rep isn’t boiled down to just girls and boys! Ben is attracted to men and masculine-presenting people; it’s really important to acknowledge that bisexuality isn’t the concrete attraction to girls and boys – while it’s true for a lot of bi people, there are plenty of bi people whose attraction spans over different parts of the gender spectrum.

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! What are your favorite YA books with bi rep? Do you have any recommendations for me? Have you ever read any of these books? Tell me in the comments!

Bi shy and ready to cry bi GIF on GIFER - by Karamar

Today’s song:

this isn’t the version I have on iTunes but I LOVE this version

That’s it for this post! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Book Review Tuesday (5/25/21) – Summer Bird Blue

Posted on May 25, 2021May 25, 2021 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Tuesday, bibliophiles! Hope you’re all doing okay. I’m finally having a little peace after this awful school year…I still have one more day left, BUT I’M FINALLY DONE WITH PRECALC! MY SOUL IS NO LONGER BEING ACTIVELY CRUSHED!

[ahem] anyway

This book was been on my TBR since the dawn of time, added soon after I finished Bowman’s debut, Starfish. I finally got around to picking it up at the library recently, and I’m so glad I did! An immensely powerful portrait of sisterhood, grief, and music.

Enjoy this week’s review!

Amazon.com: Summer Bird Blue (9781481487757): Bowman, Akemi Dawn: Books

Summer Bird Blue – Akemi Dawn Bowman

Music is everything to sisters Rumi and Lea, who write songs together based on spur-of-the-moment wordplay. But when Lea is killed in a car crash, Rumi’s life is upended completely. In a fit of grief, her mother sends her to Hawaii to live with her aunt, hoping that there, she’ll be able to process her emotions.

Instead, Rumi finds herself even more depressed than before, grappling with the absence of Lea and the waning of her creativity. But with the help of a few unexpected neighbors, Rumi begins to realize that her love of music – and the people around her – are the key to overcoming her great loss.

Tweet Roundup | The Most Wholesome Reasons I'm Not Crying, You're Crying | Flight of the conchords, The wedding singer, Bones funny — me internally while reading this book

TW/CW: car crash, death, loss of loved one (sibling), panic attacks, near-death experiences (drowning)

GAH.

It’s been years since I read Starfish, but what I remembered most was the powerful gut feeling it stirred up in me. But reading Summer Bird Blue made me realize what a profound talent that Akemi Dawn Bowman has, and it’s proof that sometimes, books don’t just make you feel ordinary emotion. Sometimes they make you feel raw emotion right down to your core.

Fair warning: Summer Bird Blue is one of those books that you should probably be in a good and stable place mentally before reading. I probably couldn’t have read it myself at certain (recent) points in my life, so I’m glad I read it when I did. It’s heavy: it’ll make you hurt, it’ll make you feel low, but that’s exactly what grieving feels like. The best part of this novel may be how Bowman handles grief; it’s something that holds you in its jaws and won’t let go until it’s had its fill of you. Rumi’s struggles with coping with her younger sister’s death felt all too real, from the physical symptoms to the creeping self doubt about relationships with the deceased. It’s unflinching and it doesn’t hold back, but that completes the picture of not just Rumi’s grief, but the grief of so many others.

What also stood out to me was how well-executed Rumi was as a flawed character. Even though she’s lost her sister, you don’t feel 100% sympathetic for her – she’s selfish at time, has a tendency to lash out at those she loves, and is more than a bit lacking in the apologizing department. But having Rumi be a less-than-perfect person is part of what made her and her journey all the more authentic. She feels real, fleshed-out. And her representation is also great – not only is she biracial, but she’s aromantic-asexual as well! I don’t see a whole lot of asexuality represented in YA literature (though I’m steadily seeing it increasing), so it’s great to have characters like Rumi out there.

Rumi’s personal journey was nothing short of beautiful – character development at its finest. She experiments, she makes bad decisions, she tries new things, but ultimately discovers the healing power of creativity. For her, music was intrinsically tied to her sister, but creativity was, along with her newfound relationships, was what brought her out of the darkness. And I think that’s just lovely. We love our passions dearly, but we always underestimate their power to truly save us, and that’s what makes our passions our passions.

All in all, a raw and beautiful exploration of grief and healing 4 stars!

gif 1k mygifs beautiful water ocean tropical island hawaii clear water carribean calming water gifs ocean gifs i-nfatuationnn •

Summer Bird Blue is a standalone, but Akemi Dawn Bowman is also the author of Starfish, Harley in the Sky, and The Infinity Courts; the first two are standalone novels, but The Infinity Courts is a trilogy, with the last two books slated for release in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Today’s song:

woke up with this song in my head

That’s it for this week’s Book Review Tuesday! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Goodreads Monday

Goodreads Monday (3/15/21) – You Should See Me in a Crown

Posted on March 15, 2021March 15, 2021 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Monday, bibliophiles!

I needed a few days’ break last week, so that’s the reason behind the lack of a weekly update last week. That, and I had a bit of an underwhelming reading week. But now I have an eARC, a new book from the mail, and a book I love to re-read for book club for this week, so here’s hoping things will get a bit better.

Anyways, Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme created by Lauren’s Page Turners. All you have to do to participate is pick a book from your Goodreads TBR, and explain why you want to read it.

I shelved this one back in May and I’ve had it on hold at the library for ages, so hopefully I might actually get to read it soon…but in the meantime, I’m all for POC leads and wlw romance!

Let’s begin, shall we?

GOODREADS MONDAY (3/15/21) – YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN by Leah Johnson

Blurb from Goodreads:

Liz Lighty has always believed she’s too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it’s okay — Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor.

But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz’s plans come crashing down . . . until she’s reminded of her school’s scholarship for prom king and queen. There’s nothing Liz wants to do less than endure a gauntlet of social media trolls, catty competitors, and humiliating public events, but despite her devastating fear of the spotlight she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get to Pennington.

The only thing that makes it halfway bearable is the new girl in school, Mack. She’s smart, funny, and just as much of an outsider as Liz. But Mack is also in the running for queen. Will falling for the competition keep Liz from her dreams . . . or make them come true?

So why do I want to read this?

I’ve had this one on hold since…oh, maybe July or August, AND YET SOMEHOW I’M ONLY #11 ON 8 COPIES… [screams into the void]

[ahem] Anyway, contemporary/rom-com isn’t my favorite genre, but You Should See Me in a Crown looks like it has all the elements that’ll hook me in! It’s so wonderful to see queer, POC leads becoming more prevalent in YA literature (and literature as a whole), and I can already tell that I’ll be rooting for Liz. And SAPPHIC ROMANCE, to top it all off! Like I said, I don’t read many rom-coms, but we need more queer rom-coms out there, absolutely.

That, combined with a (friendly?) rivalry for Prom Queen and some determination and friends-to-lovers romance (from the looks of it), You Should See Me in a Crown looks like it has the perfect recipe for a book I’d adore!

Allison Tolman Waiting GIF by ABC Network - Find & Share on GIPHY — me “patiently” waiting for my hold to arrive

Today’s song:

It took a while for this song to grow on me for some reason but I love it now

That’s it for this week’s Goodreads Monday! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Goodreads Monday

Goodreads Monday (2/15/21) – Dear Haiti, Love Alaine

Posted on February 15, 2021February 15, 2021 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Monday, bibliophiles! Wow, can’t believe we’re halfway through February already…

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme created by Lauren’s Page Turners. All you have to do to participate is pick a book from your Goodreads TBR, and explain why you want to read it.

Continuing with novels by Black authors for Goodreads Monday this February, here’s one that’s been sitting on my TBR for *way* too long. I’m always up for novels with different formats, and this one, paired with a distinct-sounding writing style, sounds like such a good book!

Let’s begin, shall we?

GOODREADS MONDAY (2/15/21) – DEAR HAITI, LOVE ALAINE by Maika & Maritza Moulite

Blurb from Goodreads:

When a school presentation goes very wrong, Alaine Beauparlant finds herself suspended, shipped off to Haiti and writing the report of a lifetime…

You might ask the obvious question: What do I, a seventeen-year-old Haitian American from Miami with way too little life experience, have to say about anything?

Actually, a lot.

Thanks to “the incident” (don’t ask), I’m spending the next two months doing what my school is calling a “spring volunteer immersion project.” It’s definitely no vacation. I’m toiling away under the ever-watchful eyes of Tati Estelle at her new nonprofit. And my lean-in queen of a mother is even here to make sure I do things right. Or she might just be lying low to dodge the media sharks after a much more public incident of her own…and to hide a rather devastating secret.

All things considered, there are some pretty nice perks…like flirting with Tati’s distractingly cute intern, getting actual face time with my mom and experiencing Haiti for the first time. I’m even exploring my family’s history—which happens to be loaded with betrayals, superstitions and possibly even a family curse.

You know, typical drama. But it’s nothing I can’t handle.

So why do I want to read this?

There aren’t enough books in the world that are bold enough to be told in an almost exclusively epistolary way; it’s hard, absolutely, but the payoff, if done well, is something that’s truly unique. (See: The Illuminae Files). Dear Haiti, Love Alaine seems to consist of articles, diary entries, emails, and letters, so I’m excited to see how that format weaves into the story! Judging from the description, it looks like a perfect fit.

Also judging from the description, the writing sounds wonderfully tongue-in-cheek, and I’m looking forward to some laughs and misadventures! Alaine sounds like a reasonably flawed protagonist, but just the kind of heroine you’d want to root for. Plus, THAT COVER…THE RED…

Today’s song:

That’s it for this week’s Goodreads Monday! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Goodreads Monday

Goodreads Monday (2/1/21) – Chlorine Sky

Posted on February 1, 2021February 1, 2021 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Monday, bibliophiles, and more importantly, happy Black History Month!

Happy Black History Month GIFs - Get the best GIF on GIPHY

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme created by Lauren’s Page Turners. All you have to do to participate is pick a book from your Goodreads TBR, and explain why you want to read it.

For this month, I’ve decided that I’ll shift my focus to books by Black authors on my TBR for my Goodreads Monday memes. I’m also planning on doing a post about it, so stay tuned…

This one was published a little under a month ago. I don’t often reach for novels in verse, but this one sounds quite powerful.

Let’s begin, shall we?

GOODREADS MONDAY (2/1/21) – CHLORINE SKY by Mahogany L. Browne

Amazon.com: Chlorine Sky (9780593176399): Browne, Mahogany L.: Books

Blurb from Goodreads:

A novel-in-verse about a young girl coming-of-age and stepping out of the shadow of her former best friend. Perfect for readers of Elizabeth Acevedo and Nikki Grimes.

She looks me hard in my eyes
& my knees lock into tree trunks
My eyes don’t dance like my heartbeat racing
They stare straight back hot daggers.
I remember things will never be the same.
I remember things.

With gritty and heartbreaking honesty, Mahogany L. Browne delivers a novel-in-verse about broken promises, fast rumors, and when growing up means growing apart from your best friend.

So why do I want to read this?

Via pinkcollapse on tumblr shared by Jaimee on We Heart It

First off, I just love that title! It’s so unique and fascinating, conjures up all sorts of interesting imagery for me.

The main draw about this novel in verse for me is the theme of growing away from toxic relationships, and learning to differentiate between the friends you should keep and the ones you should leave behind, however painful that can be. I’ve had the misfortune of getting myself into more than a few toxic friendships over the course of my short life, but I know from experience that it always hurts somehow. It’s a weird process–it’s messy, it’s ugly, but it’s inevitable. This seems to be one of many focal points in Chlorine Sky, and if the reviews I’ve skimmed are any indication, it sounds like a resonant and powerful novel in verse!

I have it on hold at the library, so hopefully I can get it soon…