Again, but Better by Christine Riccio
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

The more I sit here and think back on what this book actually was, the more I realize it was just wish-fulfillment fanfiction that showed a true lack of range and maturity in the writing. In this book, we a follow our main character, Shane, who goes on a study-abroad semester for a writing program in London. There, she falls head over heels for her mysterious brooding flatmate, Pilot Penn. She is constantly writing in her blog, whose name is FrenchWatermelon19, and our MC is from New Jersey, she has a big Italian family, she's an aspiring author, etc. (sound familiar anyone??) The whole book is set throughout the span of 4 months, and the author has a kind of time-travely do over which seemed like a lazy cop-out to me. If you didn't like how the story ended the first time around, just do better? Don't make us read through hundreds of pages of the "again" part. Contrary to the title, no it wasn't better. I would have loved for it to just ended with her leaving her London apartment because her study program had ended at the University.

I just couldn't get on board with the writing style, and the second half of the book felt so unnecessary and repetitive. There was nothing original about the last 150ish pages, I was completely bored out of my mind although at that point I thought I was too far along to DNF it. I could have done without reading her daily diary entries, her weekly blog posts. Like we GET it Shane, you are being painted as some quirky writer who suffers from mild "social anxiety" (I'm putting this in quotations because I really didn't think that representation was up to par, but that's another essay.)

Don't even get me started on the hinted at subtle acephobia/arophobia. We are meant to feel pity and empathy over the fact that Shane's never had a boyfriend, she's never kissed a boy, and she feels like there's something so wrong with her. In the first chapter, she's on the airplane complaining about how she's 21 and never found love and how pathetic she thinks that is. I was super uncomfortable with the way that was portrayed in such a self-loathing type of way that I had to put the book down a couple of times to not loose my cool.

The only realistic thing that I appreciated was the parental pressure that came to head when her parents visited her in London, and found out she wasn't doing any pre-med classes. That whole scene more than halfway through was the most action we've gotten in the whole book up to that point. Yes, I think it was excellent to discuss parental pressure and parental expectations that are played on young 20 year olds, and for what I commend the author. So, if you follow this author on Youtube and are in a bookstore and find this book for sale for $5, let me spare you 4 hours of your life, and tell you that I would not reccomend for you to read it.

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What is sensitivity reading?

This is when you hire a reader to read specific scenes (or the whole manuscript) who pick up on small micro-aggressions or problematic plot aspects in your novel. They can inform you on how your representation is compared to their experience, and it’s a very important aspect in the conversation about non-harmful, good representation diverse literature. 

Why should you hire me?

I’ve read hundreds of young adult novels critically, in which I’ve seen one of my many identities represented. I’ve written hundreds of review for published and unpublished works of writing. I’m also a teenager with firsthand experience of what’s it’s like to be one. 

What can I sensitivity read for?:

-bisexual and sapphic representation
-nonbinary identities 

-chronic illness

-bipolar II

-eating disorders

The Pricing: 

For a full manuscript between 50,000k and 100,000k words it will be $1 per 1K word. If you are on a tighter time frame then 3 weeks from the 50% deposit, the price will also adjust depending.

What genres will I accept?

In general I will accept middle grade, young adult, or new adult. 

Favorite genres: 

-contemporary 

-fantasy

-sci-fi

-thrillers/mysteries 

Things that will get a no from me: horror and erotica 

Does this seem interesting to you? My contact email is: lollipopsbooksblog@gmail.com I will reply within 48 hours to your inquiry. The full page report will be provided within 3 weeks of time. 

The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls by Jessica Spotswood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

tw: aromisia (unchallenged), bi character gets outed, homophobia (challenged), and biphobia (challenged)
cw: car accident/crash

At first glance, this book sounded like it was exactly in my wheelhouse. It's a contemp. YA book that follows 4 sisters during a summer that changes everything. They own a family run indie bookstore (which I adored that bookseller element and it's told through 4 alternating POVs.)

All the characters were flawed in their own way some of the girls are unlikable characters and aren't afraid to admit it. I adore sister-sister relationships that are real & raw & messy. Des is the oldest, & feels the biggest responsibility and burden (oh boy could I relate to her the most.) She's the very glue that holds her family together because their grandmother got injured, and years before became their sole guardian after their parents died in a car accident.

We have Bea, who is the driven ambitious one.
We have Kat, who is the wild theater kid.
We have Vi, who is the quiet bookish nerd who writes fan-fiction.

Just to quickly cover the aromisic part of the book, Vi uses the phrases such as: "It's only as friends...The truth is, she doesn't want to be just friends. She wants more."[direct quote.] Which if you've ever followed me anywhere, I've talked in depth about this is extremely harmful to readers like me.

The really bizarre thing about this above is that Des was really aro-coded and ace-coded to me. Like at one point, she admits that she's a virgin and "is not interested in sex or being in a relationship." I feel like this is a truly missed opportunity, and it's not really an excuse that Des wouldn't know the label because this is set in a modern contemporary setting and its prime time for on-page aroace to be clear: Spotswood wouldn't have to change Des' character at all just attach this label to her in an authentic way.

Vi is a very vocal lesbian, she reads all the Nina LaCour books and has been out to her family (which is cool!) Her love interest is Mexican-American, & she does get outted in a newspaper through a newspaper through a gossip column, which is just something to know (and the reporter does get rightfully fired.) There are multiple people who cheating in this story but one of them is another sister's bi LI, who cheats with his ex the second he comes back to town. I've heard from my fellow bi pals and believe it myself that this is in fact a harmful stereotype, so just a heads up.

One thing that I could really appreciate the author doing was PTSD rep and anxiety rep, although both are rarely mentioned and kind of skimmed over on the surface level. I wish there was some more scenes of two individual characters dealing with these struggles and mental illnesses, that would have really enhanced the book in an enriching way.

Other than that, there seems to be a real lack of communication b/e the sister for most of the book. For a majority of the summer, all of them get suddenly really out of character and keep huge secrets to themselves. Although I did genuinely enjoy multiple aspects of every girls individual story. I sometimes felt like the multiple POVs really blend together and be bland. That majority of the book was about each girls romantic relationships (& the all the drama that comes with that) excluding Des. Yet at the end, I was still more thirsty for the intricate sisterhood ties that bond these girls together.

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