pucksandpaperbacks's reviews
657 reviews

CW: Depictions and descriptions of self harm & body horror, racism, emotional, physical, and verbal abuse, sexual assault, medical content, toxic relationship w/ adult, inappropriate relations with an adult; concussion; mention & depictions of an eating disorder; suicidal thoughts.

I received the audiobook from Libro.fm for review. All opinions are my own.

Chlorine is not a tame book whatsoever. If you've been in the swimming world especially as a student athlete, you'll relate to Ren's story of the pressure that comes with wanting to be the best and when the adults around you are the abusers. I enjoyed the writing, storytelling, and especially the dual POV of Cathy and Ren. 

Catherine Ho does a fantastic job with Ren's voice and adding the horror elements when necessary. 

CW: Mentions of cancer, emotionally abusive parent, bullying, racism, Xenophobia, grief, loss of a parent, sports injury, anxiety and anxiety attack on page, .

A sapphic soccer rivals to lovers YA romance with grief, messiness, loss of a parent, unlearning/unpacking the damage from high expectations from parents, and learning to love yourself. I LOVED reading Valentina's story. I was rooting for her until the very end to see her character develop and THRIVE!

It's rare to see sports romance stories where coaching is involved specifically with the teen characters. So, I enjoyed seeing Vale take on that role and the hard lessons she learned. Leticia was in her corner, even if Vale didn't want her to be. Leticia made her a better player as well as her teammates who pushed her to get out of her head.

This was my first Racquel Marie and I know, I'm late to the party but I'm so glad I finally got a chance to read her work because it's stunning. The writing is chef's kiss and reminded me of why I love YA  contemporaries so much. I'm also a huge sucker for books set camp! This book will tear your heart out and put it back together. If you enjoy books with messy queers, queer joy & the commadarie of being on a team, I can't recommend You Don't Have a Shot enough.

Representation: Vale is a Columbian-Irish-American  asexual and panromantic. Leticia is sapphic & Latiné; side characters are queer and in a relationship; one side character is a trans girl. 
 

such a cute series! i really enjoyed this one and Mosscap getting to discover the human world. It meeting a dog was hilarious!

CW: Death of a grandparent, stroke, medical content: scenes at a hospital and mention of loved one in the hospital; cheating, internalized homophobia & lesbophobia; sexual content; grief; toxic relationship. 
 
This was a phenomenal read. I'm so grateful to have been back in Malinda Lo's world. Set almost 60 years since The Last Night at the Telegraph Club, we follow Aria, a recent high school graduate spending the summer in San Francisco with her grandmother, Joan.

Aria's summer is not what she thought it would be. She was supposed to go to Martha's Vineyard with her friends but after a "scandal", she's sent to stay with her grandmother. With a queer awakening, first queer crush, and learning more about her family's history.

This is a love letter to art and queerness. This quickly became one of my favorite YA books of the year. It's sex-positive and was just a fun summer read overall. 

I will say, the only criticism I have is with 

Steph and Aria's relationship . I really hated the cheating part and wish it had gone a different way. I understand the author's intent of showing summer flings and the characters flaws. Like, it made a lot of sense to Steph's character, but I really hate when cheating is added to the plot. I also wish Steph's identity had been more fleshed out because as she mentions she doesn't feel like a girl, I would've liked some more clarity on that because it just felt misgendering. I would've liked to have an epilogue or novella seeing where Steph is now, 10 years later. 

CW: For binding unsafely 

This is such an important book for trans folks. This is written for teens but it can also be a viable read for adults. Breathe shares stories from real trans* people young and old who tell their tale of binding and explain the positive affects it had on them. But also shedding light on the do's and don'ts of binding. 

At the back of the book there are exercises and stretches, Peitzmeier explains how binding can affect the body. But overall, this guide is POSITIVE. It never once paints binding in a bad light, it only shows the benefits and briefly talks about what not to do. There's also affirming language and tips for binding healthily. 

I love that this exists because I would've loved to have this when I was first coming into my transness and started binding. Now as an 30-yo trans man, it will benefit me.