This Train is Being Held by Ismée Williams: Review

Title: This Train is Being Held
Author: Ismée Williams
Published by: Amulet Books
Publication date: 11th February 2020
Pages: 336
Genres:  Young Adult, Contemporary, Drama, Romance
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

This book follows Isa, a white passing Cuban girl who loves to dance ballet, and Alex, a Dominican boy who is passionate about poetry but loves and plays baseball because of the recognition and respect it gives him where he may otherwise not have it. The two of them meet on a New York subway and continue to bump into each other over the course of three years. They share their feelings, world views and passions with each other, all the while learning to come to terms with the world around them and how they fit into it. This story explores racism, classism, sexism, and mental health in realistic ways, with characters and relationships that feel relatable and sincere.

At the heart of this story there are relationships between lovers, between parents and their children, and between friends. The realities of life when these relationships are not as tight as they used to be or are changing overtime is really well explored and expressed in this book. I think the author did a great job of showcasing all of the characters as real people with love to give and receive, regardless of their background or relationship to others in this book. Every character felt real, every relationship was nuanced, but most importantly, every relationship felt loving. Even during strained times between people, you could still feel the undercurrent of love between the conversations and feel the stresses for those they care about. Ismée Williams did a fantastic job of expressing these feelings and giving these characters healthy and supportive friendships and family bonds. I especially loved that the male leads were feminists and that characters were sex positive and just so incredibly supportive of each other.

December Book Haul/January TBR

Hi again! My goal for this December/January is to read as many of these books as I can before my school term starts again. I’m very keen to get through them all and believe that all of these are going to be enjoyable reads. Have you read any of these and if so, which was your favorite?

End of Year Reading Summary

Hello, everyone!

This year has been a lot and it has effected everyone in different ways. I’m grateful that this year was not as bad as it could have been for me and my family, and my heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones, jobs, and those who have felt alone or out of control for much of this year.

I wanted to write a summary of the books I read this year, because books were one of the things that helped make this year a little easier to handle, as I’m sure you can all relate. Some readers may agree with me that this year we needed more escapism than usual, and that books provided us with familiarity and adventure during this tumultuous time of unknown and solitude. I would love to hear what your favorite books were this year and if any in particular helped you feel more in control or content ❤

Again, but Better by Christine Riccio

Title: Again, but Better
Author: Christine Riccio
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication date: 7th May 2019
Pages: 373
Genres:  Young Adult, Contemporary
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

Maybe I was late to the game on this one but going in I had no idea what to expect and halfway through this book I felt like my head had exploded. What was happening? How had I not anticipated the next move?! Is this a secret to those who haven’t read the book yet? Was I just totally oblivious to the subliminal messages on the cover?

Needless to say, this book got me. It was so much better than I thought it was going to be. Even though I’m a huge fan of Riccio’s YouTube channel and I had high hopes that she would craft something any book lover would love, I was happily surprised by how well she tied everything together along the way. Every character had purpose, every joke was well written, and I really appreciated the nod to something outside of the usual contemporary genre. I was not expecting it. And just to quickly mention the lovely song lyric inspired chapter titles, they were great.

(And can I just say how hard I fangirled for Christine when I noticed Colleen Hoover wrote one of the reviews on the back of the book? Can you imagine!)

Okay, enough rambling about my initial feelings (I’ve literally just finished reading it and had to come straight here). Here’s what was so good about the book for me:

The books I read in 2018 and why I liked all ten of them

Hi everyone, it’s been a while! In fact, it’s been about six months- full of work experience, vet school, and other events.

I read a total of ten books this year (and 4-5 books that are still ongoing). At the beginning of the year, I set myself a goal to read 20 books for my Goodreads Reading Challenge, knowing that there was no way I could meet my usual goal due to the more demanding curricula I was about to endure. I didn’t meet that goal at all but I did meet an even better one. Because I had limited time, I only read books that really captured my attention and begged to be read. Every book was thoroughly enjoyable. 2018 taught me a lot about quality over quantity, and that somehow transferred over to my reading as well.

I can read again! Also, I wrote a guest post!

Hello everyone for the first time in MONTHS!

I am officially done with undergrad and will be starting vet school in the fall! I was sad to miss out on blogging for FOUR months and I’m even sadder to say that I’m not officially back yet. I’m doing a nine week wildlife rehabilitation internship this summer and don’t think I’ll have too much time for reading or blogging. However, I do have a few posts I want to make and hope to find time to do so!

In other news, I wrote a guest post back in January that’s just been posted on the Wanderer’s Pen! Grace has this really cool segment called ‘So Your Character is From’, in which she gets international bloggers to answer questions about their country so writers have a place to go for a local’s input on the country they may want to write about. I’m from an island in the Caribbean called Grenada- see what I wrote about it here!

It’s been a long school term but I’m ready to get back to my books and my book people! Even if I’m not posting much, I will definitely be catching up on others’ blogs and enjoying all the new content I’ve been missing out on 🙂  See you around!

 

Speak Easy, Speak Love by McKelle George

Title: Speak Easy, Speak Love
Author: McKelle George
Published by: Greenwillow Books
Publication date: 19th September 2017
Pages: 432
Genres:  Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Romantic Comedy
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

George’s debut novel, Speak Easy, Speak Love, was a complete bucket of joy with a side of jazz and champagne. It was unexpectedly funny and had me laughing out loud on many occasions, which was fun as I was often on public transport.

My Top Five Favorite Books of 2017

Happy New Years!

This year I read so many incredible books that had me on the edge of my seat, crying and laughing, sometimes simultaneously. I’ve challenged myself to limiting all the books I read in 2017 down to five favorites (in no particular order).

Unique Blogger Award #2

Thank you so much to Laura @ The Book Corps for the nomination! I really appreciate it, especially as I kind of went off the grid for a little bit this year! Laura writes really great reviews and her posts are almost always an instant read for me so I definitely recommend checking out her blog if you haven’t already!

One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake

Title: One Dark Throne
Author: Kendare Blake
Published by: HarperTeen
Publication date: 19th September 2017
Pages: 464
Genres:  Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

“Who knows what happened to the queens who were thrown down into the dark? Into the heart of the island, where the Goddess’s eye is always open. Who knows how she kept those queens or what she turned them into.”

Trying to wrap my head around everything that happened in this stunning sequel is pretty darn near impossible. There’s death, betrayal, surprise and suspense at every turn- everything I expected from One Dark Throne. The Ascension Year is upon us and watching how each queen dealt with the matter at hand was delightful.