Spin Me Right Round – David Valdes

02/02/2023 Avery (@BookDeviant)Leave a comment

While in the middle of arguing for the right to go to prom with his boyfriend, Luis gets hit on the head and get knocked back into 1985–literally. As he and the younger version of his favorite teacher try to find a way back home for him, Luis takes it upon himself to become friends with the doomed, gay Chaz Wilson. In Luis’ time, Chaz is dead, having been found at the bottom of a cliff. Luis thinks that if he could just get Chaz his first gay kiss, things might change.

Why this book?: i was doing research into the LGBTQ+ stories that my local library has. I found this one and it seemed relatively short. I personally never heard of it and decided to give reading it ago, especially because it sounded … interesting?

This entire review contains talk of extreme homophobia and talk of hate crimes towards queer people. Please do not read if these will bother you.

Review #245 // Too Bright to See – Kyle Lukoff

12/12/2022 Avery (@BookDeviant)Leave a comment

Still reeling from the death of their uncle, eleven-year-old Bug is struggling to move on.With the imminent move into middle school and their mother’s failing business eating away at them, Bug’s best friend thinks it’s best to focus on preparing for change. She does this by growing their friend group and teaching herself about make-up and boys. But Bug can hardly focus on their feelings about this change when they realize the ghost of their uncle is trying to tell them something.

Why this book?: Something about the summary caught my eye while I was looking for a new audiobook to read from my library. It was most likely the part about gender identity. I decided to pick it up on a whim, having never heard of this book or the author before.

Review #244 // In the Red – Christopher Swiedler

08/03/2022 Avery (@BookDeviant)Leave a comment

Michael Prasad is tired of everyone telling him to stay inside. Ever since he was diagnosed with suit anxiety, he’s been kept inside the Mars colony while the rest of kids his age travel outside. When he sets out to prove everyone wrong with his best friend Lilith, a solar flare knocks out the magnetic field that blocks the sun’s radiation. Stranded outside, Michael and Lilith have to survive miles from home with just their suits, few supplies, and their minds.

Why this book?: I was shelving at my library when I saw this book hidden among the junior fiction. It sounded like a middle grade The Martian, which I loved.

Avery’s ABCs: Alphabet Backlist Challenge [A-C]

06/22/2022 Avery (@BookDeviant)Leave a comment

As someone who works in a library and is a huge mood reader, I often forget what books I already own and how many I still need to read. I was reminded of this especially when my family and I initially moved, and I had to go through the process of packing and unpacking all of my books. It made me notice books that I’d forgotten about and wanted to read, or realize that I owned a lot of books that I no longer cared to read anymore. So, to rectify this issue, I decided that I wanted to challenge myself a little.

So I’d like to introduce the Alphabet Backlist Challenge (ABCs!).

Review #243 // Tokyo Ghoul (1-14) & Tokyo Ghoul:re (1-16) – Sui Ishida

06/15/202208/03/2022 Avery (@BookDeviant)Leave a comment

Shy college student Ken Kaneki finally gets the nerve to ask out his crush Rize who he met at the local coffee shop they both frequent, Anteiku. Through a series of unfortunate events, Kaneki ends up in the hospital and an emergency leads to his organs being replaced with Rize’s before approval can be given. As it turns out, Rize is what is known as a ghoul–a human-like monster that sustains itself on human flesh.

Why this series?: I read this series while I was back in high school. I had a lot of good memories of it, and so, since I never finished all of it, I decided that it was time to reread and finish the rest of the series. I wish I hadn’t.