katietotallybooked's reviews
765 reviews

Elliot Page shares his story in a way that was candid and moving to listen to. I did like hearing about his journey and I appreciated how much he shared with his listeners and readers. As with some memoirs, there were stories shared that were both eyeopening and disturbingly heartbreaking to listen to. I just didn’t feel moved or emotionally connected to Elliot as I was listening. However, I still recommend this to anyone who would find an interest in this inspiring life story. 

It was such a weird experience to read a book set during the initial Covid-19 lockdown. But considering that happened almost 4 years ago, I guess it isn’t out of the realm of possibility? Once I got about 30% into this book, my enjoyment of it grew. I liked Baylee a lot as a main character. She was likeable and relatable. I could relate to her journey of self-discovery, and I think a lot of young teens probably could also. Her friendship dynamics, her family relationships, and her experience as a “conventionally unattractive”/plus-size teen (although I hate that term) bring a voice to a different type of teenage high school experience. It also tackles the lockdown in a way that likely represents the experience of many teens during this time. 

This book is great on audio. It has queer, bisexual and fat representation. It is the first book I’ve read by M-E Girard and I will certainly keep her books on my radar for future. 

Giving this book 5 stars wasn’t even a question. It’s Charlie and Nick. It’s Heartstopper. It’s pure joy and bliss. I enjoyed every minute of my reading experience. 

I will say this book focuses a lot on sex and how Charlie and Nick navigate together and communicate about this next step in their relationship. This might be one volume that parents, caregivers, teachers and librarians of younger YA readers provide a disclaimer about, if possible. 

I simply can’t wait for the final volume to see how Alice Oseman wraps up the love story of Charlie & Nick. Too bad fans will probably be waiting a couple of years....😂. 

I picked this up on a whim while I was waiting for another audiobook hold to come in. I had heard of Joanna and Chip Gaines, their brand Magnolia, and their previous work on the show Fixer Upper, but other than a small awareness, I didn’t know much about Joanna. Since I love a good celebrity memoir or authored book (as you may already know) I decided to give this a try.

For a mood read, I actually found this quite enjoyable. It is part memoir, part self-help, part motivational read. Joanna surmises that we all have stories to tell and those stories all matter. She consistently expresses that everyone’s story is unique and worth sharing. I learned a little bit about Joanna’s career and personal life throughout the book. However, a lot of the chapters involved Joanna taking a life experience she has had and drawing out wisdom or lessons that she learned from it and writing that down in a way that is insightful and encouraging to the reader. In a small way it reminded me of Matthew McConoughey’s book Greenlights.

Joanna encourages everyone to write their own stories. She believes we have a lot to learn from our own experiences. This is a point that I agree with 100% and it is a reason why I do enjoy memoirs so much. I certainly recommend this book as an easy audio listen. I am confident that anyone who reads it will get at least one takeaway from it! 

I read the first book in this series at the end of 2022, and I rated it 4.5 stars. Unfortunately that’s all I know because I didn’t write a review for it. 😝 Regardless, I was really looking forward to continuing the series. They are centered around siblings and sports, which are both themes I like. Always Only You is a hockey-focused office-type romance about Frankie and Bergman brother Ren. I liked these characters a lot. They had great banter together. Chloe Liese does well with representation and inclusivity by having characters that experience an autoimmune disease and arthritis.(Which I’d never read about in a young women). Plus, Frankie is autistic. I love this author for her inclusivity. So, the characters were great.

However, I found this book a bit underwelming. That might be because it was “friends to lovers” and I am more of an “enemies to lovers” girl? Or, it could be because I had high expectations going into it. Who knows for sure? I also felt the timeline was a bit jumpy and parts didn’t flow well into one another. The ending felt abrupt and when I put the book down, it was like “oh that’s it?”. So it was the writing and the romance trope that influenced my rating. 

Anyways, I do plan to continue reading on in the series. They are great romances if you are into sports, sibling relationships, and #ownvoices diversity and representation. You don’t have to read them in order, but if you can, why wouldn’t you, you know? 

 Disclaimer: My rating/review of a memoir is based only on my enjoyment of the book, and not on the writing or content. I commend anyone who is willing to put their story on paper and publish it.

I remember watching The Simple Life when I was in high school and I think that was my first introduction to Paris Hilton. She really isn’t anyone who I have thought much about. However, as I was listening to her tell her story I remembered a lot of the tabloid focus that was on her. I remembered the “That’s hot” expression. I remember how thin she was and my slight envy as a awkward, plus size teenager. I remember the song “Stars are Blind”.

I was saddened to hear about Paris’ horrible experience at the “boarding schools” she was forced to attend. She also shares about her late ADHD diagnosis and all of the misconceptions about her and her family that exist.  She really had a very troubling upbringing which was surprising and shocking to hear about. 

This was a likeable audiobook and I’m glad I listened to it. However, it felt long-winded and had jumpy storytelling which impacted my reading experience. I also don’t know how memorable it will be going forward, and I don’t think it is one that I would recommend to non-celebrity memoir readers (or listeners). Basically, if you aren’t someone who genuinely wants to read it, I wouldn’t necessarily spend time with it. 

I loved the characters of Morgan and Eli. I loved how the author shines a light on the Canadian foster care system. I think that if this book was realistic fiction, I would have enjoyed it more. I had trouble following the fantasy story-line and keeping track of the elements involved. Unfortunately I have never read nor had a personal interest in reading Narnia which this book is compared to, and that may have impacted my enjoyment of the book. 

That all being said, I know I'm not the target audience for this book. I will still recommend this to middle-grade readers. I think it is an important series for Canadian youth. I think it is core Canadian middle grade fiction. I will check out more of David A. Robertson's books, but I just might not continue this series. 

The first (and probably only) Goosebumps book I've ever read. I read it for a new book to movie book club program I am starting up for teens at my library (called CineLit). Goosebumps and scary reads in general were not my cup of tea as a child, and horror still isn't a genre I would ever pick up unless I was forced.
I definitely understand the appeal of these for middle grade readers. They are short, succinct, and easy to digest. That being said, this book did not have great writing (and nor did I expect it to have). I mean, did R.L Stine even write all of these themselves, or is this a pen name used by many authors like most of our 90/s series books for young readers are?

That being said, the scarecrows certainly gave me chills, and I am not sure I'll ever look at or think about one the same way again!

This book was extremely hard to put down. I wanted to inhale it in one sitting! Page after page I was intrigued by the characters, the story, and the storytelling. As a reader, you don't know who or what to believe. There are so many secrets and lies, it's just one after another. 

The audiobook is fantastic as well! It has amazing sound production and a cast of narrators that bring the story to life. I highly recommend checking that version out if you can. In my opinion, this book was made for audio. 

I am a bit conflicted about how I feel with the ending. It was a bit of a let down for me. But because I was so captivated by this book the entire way through I am still going to give it a 5 star rating.

I love Lisa Jewell and I will continue to read her thrillers. She is one of the top adult fiction authors that I will keep reading as my reading begins to more and more reflect my work with middle grade/ YA readers.