The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

The Miseducation of Cameron Post – Emily M. Danforth

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

Read Jan 19

I wanted to like this book much more than I actually did. I can’t deny that it is important in showing how anti-gay attitudes harm teens and that conversion camps are dangerous. Content warning related to this of a child badly self-mutilating himself due to the teachings of the camp.

It was incredibly well-written and detailed, and the characters were all well-rounded but overall, I wanted less and more at the same time. Less laggy pacing and over-describing, less drug stuff – call me a stick in the mud but I’m anti-drug. My main ‘more’ wish is more of an ending. It just stops. I also wanted to see Cameron having a happy, open relationship.

3/5 stars

Stef Out x

Brave Enough by Kati Gardner

Brave Enough – Kati Gardner

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

Read Jan 19

This book was beautiful and real and genuine and heart-breaking! It is so rare for there to be a book about teenage illness that has the main characters survive (I’m looking at you TFIOS)! Cason is a prima ballerina studying at a top conservatory under her strict, distant mother – the director. All she knows is dance until an injury that’s not just an injury puts a stop to everything. She has bone cancer.

On the ward she meets Davis, a cancer survivor who is back on the ward volunteering as a community service type thing whilst struggling to overcome drug addiction. The pair meet and slowly manage to help each other. This was so accurately written and reading the author’s notes at the end you realise why – she too has survived childhood cancer.

5/5 stars

Stef Out x

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier

Jar of Hearts – Jennifer Hillier

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

Read Dec 18

So, this is the convoluted story about Georgina, her high school best friend Angela who disappeared, her dodgy older boyfriend Calvin and their adjacent friend Kaiser. The story jumps around a lot going back and forth in time, skipping time, random chapters from a different point of view and parts named after the five stages of grief.

When Angela’s body is discovered near her house Georgina is convicted of… Being an accomplice? Withholding evidence? I can’t remember now, but she’s sent to a very unrealistic prison where everyone lives in one room. She does eventually get out so the story can progress, some of the twists were not hard to work out, other points were just a bit strange.

3/5 stars

Stef Out x

Missing Pieces by Laura Pearson

Missing Pieces – Laura Pearson

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

Read Dec 18

For some reason I thought that this was a thriller book. As it is, I’m not sure how to categorise it. Linda is expecting a new baby. It will be her third daughter, that is until the worst happens. Linda is devastated and struggles to cope with new baby Bea.

Twenty-five years later Bea is pregnant herself and determined to find out the truth about her family’s troubled past before having her own child. I enjoyed the book, especially Bea’s growing relationship with her sister, but overall the plot moved a little too slowly. There were sections where not much happened at all.

3/5 stars

Stef Out x

Nobody Real by Steven Camden

Nobody Real – Steven Camden

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

Read Dec 18

So, it’s obvious by now that I can take a while to review books. Usually I can remember major plot points, but I couldn’t remember much about this one. You have Marcie who has just finished university and isn’t sure what to do especially as she’s dealing with her scatter-brained single dad. You also have Thor, the human/bear hybrid that is Marcie’s imaginary friend who is due to be ‘deleted’ soon as a result of being forgotten. At least until he decides to be remembered and starts interfering in Marcie’s life.

Other than that, there was some stuff about a kitten and a weird moment at the beginning where Marcie hugs a female friend and is thinking about their breasts pressing together (not a typical female thought gay or otherwise) but nothing more is ever said about it or Marcie’s sexuality.

Overall just a very odd book and I wasn't sure what to make of it. The premise is very inventive though so I will give Steven credit for that.

3/5 stars

Stef Out x

Friendship Fails of Emma Nash by Chloe Seager

Friendship Fails of Emma Nash – Chloe Seager

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

Read Dec 18

I didn’t realise on requesting this book that it was a sequel to an existing book which I haven’t read. It didn’t matter much as everyone is easy to get to know. My rating increased as I went, at first, I found Emma’s voice annoying, but I soon got used to it and even came to appreciate her frankness about things like masturbation. I also really liked the growing friendship she had with Gracie. Emma seriously needed to lighten up on the making friends thing though, she went way too overboard… Overall a light, breezy, fun book.

4/5 stars

Stef Out x

The Definition of Us by Sarah Harris

The Definition of Us – Sarah Harris

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

Read Dec 18

Perfect character driven road trip story! The characters are so well-written and well-rounded and real and amazing! Everything is developed slowly, we know that Florence has depression and anxiety but not immediately why, the others are revealed as we go: Jasper has an eating disorder, Andrew has Autism Spectrum Disorder (why that automatically needs therapy is unclear to me) and Wilf has ADHD and anger issues, not to mention a serious fear of ending up like his family, he has his own dreams.

The group are united by their therapist, Howard, but when he goes missing, they are compelled to try and find him. I loved their conversations and how they interacted. Also, it was a small thing, but I loved Florence’s thing with words, collecting pretty ones etc.

5/5 stars

Stef Out x