bardicbramley's reviews
891 reviews

The First Move by Jenny Ireland

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emotional funny hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

And Carry On... by Sebastian Kopanski

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funny hopeful informative lighthearted reflective fast-paced

2.0

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

The Boy Who Stole the Pharaoh's Lunch by Karen McCombie

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adventurous funny informative lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Sh!t Bag by Xena Knox

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I really enjoyed this book's concept, and even liked Freya on all her flawed, angry and authentically teenage self - at first... I think the book could have ended at the 2/3 mark and I would have been so much happier.

In the last third of the book Freya goes back to school and deals with the unfolding drama, gets used to her new lifestye and learns to accept herself.

However the end of the book just felt exactly the same as the point where the camp ended. Like the story took two steps backwards and then came back around.
I was also very torn about Freya and Chris' relationship. I loved Chris so was happy to see him happy, but it felt wrong for him to have helped her find her boundaries only for him to allow her to push his. Also where did Mel go?! It felt really strange for Mel and Cody especially to have been such fully fleshed out characters for a significant part of the book to then be completely dropped and not seen again.

Overall - I will definitely recommend the book, I'm so glad to see more stories with disability and illness representation, but just a tad disappointed on the ending and character progression.

The Fight for the Hidden Realm by Siobhan McDermott

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinska

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Resisters: 52 Young Women Making Herstory Right Now by Lauren Sharkey

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adventurous challenging hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

3.25

The Love Report by BéKa

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Cross My Heart and Never Lie by Nora Dåsnes

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0