pucksandpaperbacks's reviews
657 reviews

CW: death of a grandparent, death of a teen; mention in detail of a car accident death, grief, mention of homophobia and misgendering, mentions of Ari & Dante Save the Universe (author is transphobic), underage drinking & drug use (edibles)

I think I found my favorite Julian Winters book with As You Walk on By. Julian Winters nails coming of age stories every time and I love the uniqueness of his characters and stories. Instead of the generic retelling of The Breakfast Club, Winters sets his during a high school house party. The book unpacks teenage years with the pressure of high expectations from parents, crushes becoming real,  and distancing yourself from childhood friends, drama/angst and an emphasis on friendships. Although we do have a romance blooming, As You Walk on By heavily speaks to friendships and falling outs. If you want a book about friendship breakups and rekindling, Winters does them justice in this novel. 

 I absolutely loved the way Julian Winters tackled these topics through our protagonist, Theo. What I love about Winters' work is how unique the characters and storyline are. They turn common topics in YA fiction flipping them on their head and making you feel for the character and want to keep learning more.

I'm so glad I got to read this!  

CW: animal death, racism, sexism

CW: Sexual content, blood, grief, exorcism, animal death and resurrection, depiction of gender dysphoria, discussion of racism, gore, graverobbing, horror

Since learning the author has been lying about their BIPOC identity, I have removed my review.
Read more: https://geni.us/dFD1EG

I was enjoying this but the execution was just not there for me. It was too slow burn and I felt myself not being as invested in the characters. This was one of my most anticipated releases, so this is such a bummer. 

CW: mention of a panic attack, mention of someone having a seizure, mention of a parent having cancer 

This was an interesting graphic novel that felt somewhat like a fever dream.  It has Five Nights at Freddy's & Alice in Wonderland vibes with the animatronic the group meets when they enter Confetti Realms. Set on Halloween night, a group of queer teens go to the cemetery to summon a spirit, but find themselves in Confetti Realms, a town filled with talking animals. They're tasked with collecting teeth to bring back to Tom. But, during their quest, they're faced with talking about unresolved conflicts between each other including romance.

This was such an interesting and unique story. Plus, the illustrations were stunning especially with the depictions of the animal characters.  

If you liked Finna by Nino Cipiri but want to follow teens, you'll enjoy this as well. 

CW: chronic pain, ableism, medical content, cancer

A sweet graphic novel and budding romance between two queer Australian teens (14 and 15) who meet at a fandom convention. This graphic novel heavily discusses the need for disability representation in media and intersectionality. Our main character Maisie is bisexual and an amputee and our love interest, Ollie is non-binary. Stars in Their Eyes was a cute, slice of life graphic novel following Maisie and her mom who go to a convention. Maisie wants to meet her favorite actor who is also an amputee. There she ends up meeting Ollie and they catch feelings for each other. There is some cheesy dialogue and I believe, for copyright sake they changed the names of popular fandoms like Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Stranger Things. I will say, I wish they would've just added the names instead of change them out or like most fandom/con related stories do, they have their own fandom. That is true in this book for Midnight Girls, but the other fandoms have different names but you can still tell what they are. I thought that was an odd choice, personally. But overall, it was a short and sweet read! 

CW: Racial slurs, racism, biphobia, homophobia, mentions of Christianity and religious bigotry, classism, absent/estranged parent; a scene references HP and mentions JKR's transphobia and why the character doesn't support the author 

A sapphic teen rom-com about a messy Black bisexual girl who loves old music. Mahalia Harris is trying to make it through junior year of high school while trying to plan the ultimate "Coming Out" party with rainbows galore and a fancy rainbow dress. But, she has to save up the funds for it with her job at the grocery store. I LOVED THIS. Camryn Garrett is SO underrated. I devour all of her books. The audiobook was fantastic with it's narration, distinct for every character. What I love most about Garrett's work is that she adds commentary on important topics into her novels. They are so important for teens, especially queer Black teens. I loved Siobhan and Mahalia's chemistry and how their romance bloomed. There's also a sex positive scene which is SO crucial for queer teens to read and feel represented.

If you're a fan of the classics (i.e. Fleetwood Mac and The Cure), books with playlists, messy queer characters and a book that feels like you're watching a teen rom-com, Friday I'm in Love is *just* that. 

I was sent a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

CW: Transphobia and bullying

Joy is a twelve-year-old transgender girl living stealth in Texas who loves cheer. During the summer, she and her friends practice their cheerleading moves in preparation for tryouts. When tryouts come and Joy makes the team, she is ecstatic! Cheer is all she can think about. But, things take a turn for the worst when she is informed that under Texas state law, she cannot be on the team due to a parent complaint leading her to have to now use the nurse's bathroom and is forbidden from using the girl's locker room.

Joy is utterly devastated. All she wants to do is cheer with friends! Throughout the course of the book tries to fight the school's decision. Along the way, she learns more about being an activist. I thought this book was FANTASTIC. It hits every note about trans kids fighting for their lives and especially how trans girls are being banned from participating in sports. I highly recommend this book for everyone especially parents wanting to have this conversation with their children.

As we read from Joy's perspective, you get learn about how these decisions are actually affecting trans kids in real-time. Bunker incorporates diary entries throughout the book where Joy gets intimate about 
her feelings toward everything going on in her life. I also enjoyed the inclusion of faith in Joy's character. She is religious and attends mass at an LGBTQ+ friendly church every Sunday. Plus, in her diary entries, she always ends them with "God bless" specfici people. For example, her, her brother, Will and her Mom. Then, the list gets longer as she meets new people along the way.

With Kai Shappley, a young transgender girl & activist being a co-writer on this book, you get a glimpse into a trans girl's life in the height of her activism. There are nods to Shappley's activism through Joy's discovery of her and Shappley is a character in the book, as well.

This book was very refreshing as it wasn't the typical coming out story. I liked getting to read a middle grade book about a trans kid who already knows themself and has an accepting family. There are instances of transphobia in this book as it does deal with discrimination and transphobia. For instance,
there are moments as Joy's story is gaining traffic on social media where Joy's mother is letting her read comments (but monitors her screen time to protect her, which I appreciated a lot) and a scene where they attend a board meeting and angry transphobic parents are yelling at her. The adults in this book are admirable and I loved how much they all protected Joy. Plus, there are the general scenes where the superintendent is spewing hateful rhetoric and there are some kids from the cheer team whose parents are bigoted and they are mirroring their bigoted language. However, it is moderate, please proceed with caution if any of this causes you any distress!   

Joy, to the World is perfect for fans of A.J. Sass and Alex Gino. 

This sapphic retelling of It's a Wonderful Life set during a small town's Winter Festival was so cute! Following Bailey George and her childhood friend, Maria, this rekindled romance was so swoonworthy but it doesn't steer away from hitting hard topics like being responsible for your family's legacy and grieving the loss of a parent.

If you're a Gilmore Girls fan, you'll love the small town vibes, Lulu the Dog and the commentary on family and being in your 30s.  And the best part? The angels are drag queens!

"Every time a bell rings, a drag queen gets their wings"

My only critique is it could've been shorter and I wish we had gotten an epilogue. 

I'm not an experienced manga reader. I've only read two in my life, including this one.  But, I liked this! It was recommended for fans of Heartstopper, so I decided to give it a chance. This volume was just an introduction, so I would like to continue in the series to see if I enjoy the whole story. So far, I do enjoy Toma as a character.