kriss_knows_all's reviews
901 reviews

Our Stories, Our Voices: 21 YA Authors Get Real About Injustice, Empowerment, and Growing Up Female in America by Ellen Hopkins, Nina LaCour, Tracy Deonn, Amy Reed, Maurene Goo, Martha Brockenbrough, Anna-Marie McLemore, Julie Murphy, Jenny Torres Sanchez, Sandhya Menon, Alexandra Duncan, Sona Charaipotra, Tracy Deonn Walker, Amber Smith, Aisha Saeed, Stephanie Kuehnert, Hannah Moskowitz, I.W. Gregorio, Jaye Robin Brown, Brandy Colbert, Christine Day, Somaiya Daud

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

3.75

This book is really wonderfully written. There are so many voices, stories, so much intersectionality, and different types of empowerment stories in this collection. 

I loved seeing some of my favorite authors (Ellen, Nina, and Amber) plus seeing that when this was published, some amazing authors hadn’t been published yet (Tracy and Christine). 

I think a lot of cis women will find this empowering and they will feel very seen. I think a lot of trans women will feel like their voices weren’t in this collection but the editor’s note does point out they were lacking trans voices. 

Overall, good read. 
Katmere Academy: An Insider's Guide by Tracy Wolff

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informative fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

This was fun! I loved the quizzes and getting to know the characters a bit more. I liked this much more than I liked Charm which is sad lol 
The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún Vol. 6 by Nagabe

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Charm by Tracy Wolff

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was….fine. Albeit far too long and I do think it was a little unnecessary. Like I get that we needed this to set up for the next book but I almost wish the shadow realm just started the next book as the next phase of the series and this was just a fun book for us to have. I’m still looking forward to the next one but I’m meh about this one. 
Court by Tracy Wolff

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adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I genuinely love this series. I love that each book feels different enough from the last so it doesn’t feel boring but also has strings to the other books that makes it feel so homey. 

The characters get stuck to you and you feel for them, you root for them, you cry with them. 

Excited for #5 ♥️ 
Covet by Tracy Wolff

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

5.0

I can’t believe I just gave this 5 stars, but honestly, the characters are everything I want. The 5 isn’t for the writing or because it’s the best literature I’ve ever read. But this series is fun, addictive, gut and heart wrenching, intriguing, and I can’t get enough. And if that doesn’t deserve 5 stars, I don’t know what does. 
You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao

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challenging emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Grief and the guilt that follows is hard to handle. I can’t imagine handling it at the age of Julie and Sam, but those feelings are real and raw. And yeah this is kind science fiction but sometimes it’s nice to think of the what ifs about being able to talk to someone you live e just one more time. 

The last chapter and epilogue had me in tears.
Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.
I do like the representation of mental health in this book and I think Rachel does that really well. I also love that the main characters are Jewish. I just did not jive with the weather stuff nor did I like Ari very much. I can see why people enjoy this, but this was not my cup of tea.
Crush by Tracy Wolff

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

3.5


Is it cringy? Absolutely 
Is it silly? Yep
Was I swooning? Holy yes 
Was this fun? So very.
Did I already buy the 3rd book? Damn right lol
Constantine: Distorted Illusions by Kami Garcia

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

The only reason I’m not rating this 0 stars is because the art is amazing. 

But the story moves too fast, there’s hardly any character development or depth. The story itself is all over the place.

This was disappointing.