Tag: 3 stars

On a Scale of One to Ten – Ceylan Scott

Some words of warning before I tell you anything else: I expect some people whose experiences resemble its themes will find understanding and a sense that they’re not alone if they read this book. Others may be triggered by its contents so please, please do not read this book if you’re not in a good place psychologically.

I know that Iris is dead. I know that it was sudden and so shocking that the waves of horror shimmered in the distance for months afterward. I also know that it is my fault, that one second she was there and her heart pumped crimson blood through her veins, and the next she was gone, blood frozen solid, and I could have prevented it, but I did not.

Tamar has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital as a result of a recent suicide attempt and history of self harm. She feels overwhelming guilt over the death of her friend, Iris, a death she is certain she is responsible for. During her time at Lime Grove she meets other adolescents who are similarly dealing with mental health issues, ranging from eating disorders to bipolar and psychosis.

Tamar’s internal turmoil feels authentic, likely because, although the story is fiction, its author shares her main character’s diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Although this character’s behaviour does seem to tick many of the borderline personality disorder boxes, it isn’t until near the end that this is even mentioned and it’s never actually explained to Tamar on page. Hats off to the author for tackling subject matter so close to home at such a young age though.

I don’t know if this story is reflective of what psychiatric hospitals in England are like in general, or anywhere for that matter, although in the Author’s Note she does mention an admission when she was a teen but I was appalled by the lack of security measures. The patients could easily escape and bring prohibited items into the hospital.

The staff appeared to be a blend of people simply waiting for their next pay check and those who sincerely wanted to make a positive difference in the lives of their patients. The psychiatrist’s seemingly narrow view of what constitutes self harm allowed Tamar’s behaviour during an overnight home visit to be glossed over rather than addressed. There’s a huge difference between empathy and applauding obvious self harm behaviour simply because someone used a different method than they normally would. This psychiatrist didn’t even recognise what she did as self harm on that occasion.

Although I would have loved knowing what eventually became of invincible Elle and some of the others Tamar met at Lime Grove it felt more authentic to not have that resolution. In that kind of setting I expect it would be more unusual to have the blanks filled in.

While Elle and Jasper became real to me most of the other characters felt two dimensional, even Iris. The teens at Lime Grove felt like the usual suspects in a psychiatric patient setting, with little to differentiate them from their diagnoses. Given how young the author is I expect their background characters will become more memorable and fleshed out in future books.

I admit that I initially picked up this book because I (wrongly) assumed the title foretold a story about chronic pain/illness, something I’m unfortunately very familiar with. I detest the “rate your ‘whatever’ on a scale of 1 to 10” question for its subjectivity and lack of real meaning. Seriously, what’s a 7 for me may be a 2 or 10 for you and if you asked me the same question tomorrow I may have just received great news; my symptoms that I reported as a 7 yesterday may generate a response of 4 today. Because of my interest in mental health I decided to read this book anyway and am glad I did but it has resulted in my ‘1 to 10 scale’ disdain growing to encompass mental health as well as physical.

I couldn’t help making comparisons between this story and Girl Interrupted – the movie because I haven’t read it yet. (I know! The book will be better!) The escape and subsequent hitchhiking, the main characters with the same diagnosis and the parallels between Elle in this book and Lisa in Girl felt eerily similar.

I’d be hesitant to recommend this book to anyone, mostly because I wouldn’t know what thoughts or feelings it may trigger in the reader. There are scenes in this book that could easily be viewed as lessons in how to self destruct more efficiently and for people who are already vulnerable in those areas it could be dangerous.

If you are struggling with depression, addiction, self harm or suicide To Write Love on Her Arms is a great resource for information – https://twloha.com. There’s also a Help page where you can search for contact details of resources in your country.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Tamar is admitted to Lime Grove, a psychiatric hospital for teenagers. 

Lime Grove is home to a number of teenagers with a variety of problems: anorexia, bipolar disorder, behaviour issues. Tamar will come to know them all very well. But there’s one question she can’t … won’t answer: What happened to her friend Iris? As Tamar’s emotional angst becomes more and more clear to her, she’ll have to figure out a path to forgiveness. A shocking, moving, and darkly funny depiction of life in a psychiatric world. 

A stunning journey of one girl’s mental illness and the redemptive power of truth and healing.

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Breakout – A.M. Rose

I’ll admit it. I requested to read this book solely because of the awesome spider on the front cover. Yes, I quickly glanced at the blurb so was intrigued by how the prison escape would unfold but really, the spider had already clinched the deal.

This is a place they send people to die when they’ve done something wrong. Really wrong.

Lezah is number twenty-two. She’s in prison but has no memory of committing a crime, and the clock on her metal bracelet is counting down to her expiration date.

Escaping this prison will be harder than Lezah can imagine. She doesn’t know who she can trust and every step of the way is fraught with danger. With plenty of action and countless spiders, Lezah learns that there’s a lot more at stake than she realised.

In a world that could easily become ours in the not too distant future if we’re not careful, climate change has altered the landscape and technology is potentially awesome or scary as hell, depending on who’s controlling it.

The pace was maintained throughout the story and the characters were faced with almost constant danger. The world was interesting and the sequences in the prison were well thought out. I really liked Vaughn and wanted to get to know her more.

The romance didn’t work for me at all; it felt insta and unnecessary. This is probably just me but I tend to find it amusing rather than sweet when a girl has time to appreciate a boy’s eyes or the way he smells when an entire group of people are in potentially mortal danger. I keep thinking they’re wasting time focusing on that when they could be making a better plan to escape; they could ogle to their heart’s content once they’re safe.

I made the mistake of rereading the blurb around the halfway point and realised it spoiled a couple of things characters hadn’t figured out or revealed yet. It wasn’t until I was past 60% before the characters caught up.

I’d encourage you to read some five star reviews of this book. I got dazzled by the cover spider and enjoyed the story overall but I found some aspects of it very predictable. While there were several lengthy info dumps I was left with so many unanswered questions.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Teen, an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Six days. 

That’s the amount of time until Lezah’s execution. 

She’ll die never knowing what got her locked up in this godforsaken prison in the first place. Her only chance of survival is to escape. Except the monitoring bracelet that digs into her wrist, the roaming AI, and the implant in her neck make freedom close to impossible. 

Her best chance is to team up with the four other inmates who are determined to break out, even if one of them is beyond (gorgeous) annoying – oh, and in for murder. But he has a secret of his own. One that could break Lezah if she finds out, but could also set him free. 

Figuring out how to work with him and the rest of this mismatched group of criminals is the only way Lezah will survive to see the outside world again. 

But nothing in this prison is as it seems. And no one.

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Prom-Wrecked – T.H. Hernandez & Jennifer DiGiovanni

“C’mon, Riley. It’s not like we’ll end up in jail over prom.”

Famous last words. That’s exactly what happens! Prom-Wrecked begins with a bunch of the kids who attended prom (affectionately called ‘morp’ in this book) in a jail cell. What follows is an account of the two disastrous months leading up to morp, told by two of the main characters, Evil Skater Girl and Morp Queen. This book is essentially Murphy’s Law: Prom Edition.

Morp Queen and House of Lock have been the ‘it’ couple at school for the past three and a half years. Morp Queen used to be best friends with Evil Skater Girl but they don’t speak anymore. Evil Skater Girl has had a secret crush on House of Lock for about a decade but because he’s dating her ex-best friend, they mostly only talk online while they’re slaying aliens together.

When their school cancels this year’s senior prom it’s up to the students to organise one themselves. Evil Skater Girl is happy to help out but wants to palm off the leadership role to someone else. Unfortunately there are no takers so Evil Skater Girl finds herself in charge of the committee. She’s overwhelmed by the task ahead of her but it helps that she’ll be spending plenty of time with House of Lock.

Then things start to go wrong. They lose their deposits. They lose their venue. Evil Skater Girl doesn’t have a date. It’s one thing after another. Their prom may not go to plan but it will certainly be a night they’ll never forget, even if they want to.

My expectations were probably too high going into this book. I thought the blurb would only mention a small percentage of the calamities that befall our senior class so I was looking forward to finding out what amusing and increasingly bizarre hurdles weren’t already mentioned. Learning the reasons why so many people wound up in a jail cell was fun, but I would have preferred if the blurb didn’t give so many clues to the preceding disasters away.

I had trouble getting into the story. I’d hoped for a lot of humour because of the Murphy’s Law prom concept but I found the initial planning phase quite tedious at times. However, it is difficult to transform committee meetings into something fascinating to read about.

I thought the perfect location for Morp would be where they have all of their parties. They would have had all the space and privacy they could have wanted, plus it already had good memories attached to it. All they would have had to do is decorate, cater and organise some music, and they’d be set. While I didn’t expect this to be the final location, I did think it would be tossed around as an option.

I didn’t find either of the girls’ voices that distinctive; at times I only knew who was narrating if I picked the book up mid-chapter by what they were talking about, not how they spoke. The resolution between Evil Skater Girl and Morp Queen felt too easy and although I tried to fall in love with him, House of Lock fell flat for me. I kept trying to tell all of the main characters to just communicate instead of lying, avoiding or running away from their problems and feelings, but my way would have taken a lot of the drama out of the book.

I really liked Desmond and would have liked to spend more time with him. I also enjoyed hanging out with both Hunter and Jordon (and even Jordon’s car, Sarah). I did wonder if this class’ prom curse would’ve been solved if someone uninvited Carrie. I can’t see ‘Carrie’ and ‘prom’ in the same sentence without thinking the worst. 😜

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Teen, an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC, for the opportunity to read this book.

P.S. For those who want to know the characters’ actual names, Morp Queen is Catherine, Evil Skater Girl is Riley and House of Lock is Owen.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Their prom night ended in a jail cell with forty of their closest friends. But that’s hardly the worst thing that happened to them …

When the principal announces prom is cancelled this year, senior Riley Hart is determined to save it. Armed with little more than her own enthusiasm, she ends up working closely with Owen Locklear, who is more than completely off-limits. Because he’s the boyfriend of her ex-BFF, Catherine Reed. Still, Owen knows Riley better than almost anyone, and his charming ideas for turning the prom upside-down and backward win Riley over.

Then they lose their deposit. Twice. And book a band full of octogenarians. And don’t even get her started on the act of God that takes down their venue …

Riley will have an unforgettable teenage experience, damn it, if it’s the last thing she does …

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Zinnia and the Bees – Danielle Davis

It begins with twelve year old Zinnia yarn bombing Ronny, her middle school’s rattlesnake mascot, with her older brother the day before summer vacation. After spending the day in detention because someone outed her as a knitter (we never find out who did this), Zinnia thinks her day can’t get any worse. Before the day is over, 4,000 bees have taken up residence in her hair and she discovers her brother is missing.

Adam told me once that he was named Adam and I was named Zinnia because our dad wanted his kids to experience everything in the world from A to Z. That’s how I used to feel with Adam, like we had all the letters of the alphabet connecting us.

But now he’s left me here, a dangling Z.

Zinnia’s relationship with her mother can be summed up with the knowledge that she calls her mother Dr. Flossdrop. Without Adam as her anchor Zinnia is lost, feeling betrayed and confused by his absence. She’s also still feeling betrayed by some former friends. Zinnia’s new bird watching friend, Birch, and her Aunt Mildred bring a spark to what could have become an overwhelmingly sad book.

I found it poetic that the bees find Zinnia since she shares her name with a flower but the bees didn’t give me the buzz (sorry!) I was looking for. I love bees so was initially intrigued to read from their perspective but each time I read one of the chapters dedicated to their story I became sad or annoyed.

I couldn’t believe that such an intelligent species would be unable to locate a suitable home for themselves or that they could even survive for as long as they did without food (and assumably water). Then there was the fact that of all of the kids and adults in the book only one child detects any of the 4,000 bees on Zinnia’s head. Surely the buzzing alone of that many bees would be a hint! I am almost positive I would have enjoyed this book more if the bees never made an appearance.

This is a story of bees, a dog named Milkshake, ice cream and French movies. Zinnia’s story is an exploration of how fear can prevent us from truly connecting with people and how lonely life can be when you don’t trust other people or yourself. I absolutely loved Laura K. Horton’s cover illustration.

I’m still furious with Adam. With their mother emotionally absent when she’s not working or doing one of her community projects, Adam and Zinnia are all each other have. Adam’s excuse for why he didn’t tell Zinnia he was leaving felt flimsy and while Zinnia was quick to forgive him, I’m not. Surely he could have gone off and been a reality TV star on his own and still have clued Zinnia in so she didn’t spend most of the book wasting her time and emotional energy searching for him.

I kept wondering why Zinnia’s clothes were always charcoal grey when she uses all the colours of the rainbow when knitting. She mentions it’s her favourite colour but I thought there’d be more to it than that. Zinnia also counts random things throughout the book, usually when she’s anxious about something, so my mind automatically went to OCD. This is never addressed though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Capstone for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

A colony of honeybees mistakes seventh-grader Zinnia’s hair for a hive – and that’s the least of her problems. 

While Zinnia’s classmates are celebrating the last day of seventh grade, she’s in the vice principal’s office, serving detention. Her offense? Harmlessly yarn-bombing a statue of the school mascot. When Zinnia rushes home to commiserate with her older brother and best friend, Adam, she’s devastated to discover that he’s gone – with no explanation. Zinnia’s day surely can’t get any worse … until a colony of honeybees inhabits her hive-like hair!

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Leo Gray and the Lunar Eclipse – K.J. Kruk

Leo Gray is embarrassed by his behind the times parents who don’t see the need for anything high-tech. They own Minutes & Widgets, a clock fixing shop, which isn’t doing so well in 2113 when most people rely on self-flying cars and robots that do all of the housework. Leo is an eleven year old science whiz who is hoping to secure a place at the Lunar Academy, located in a new city inside the moon called Luna City.

Leo arrives at Luna City and soon discovers that not everything is as it seems. He and his new friends wind up trying to solve a mystery that has catastrophic implications.

While I liked Leo, his friend Andromeda and the quirky conspiracy theorist Mr. Dawgspat I didn’t connect emotionally with any of the characters. I loved the diversity of the characters and the inclusion of a child with a prosthetic who is brilliant at sport, although when they get called One-leg by one of the mean kids it isn’t challenged. I enjoyed the descriptions of the way of life in 2113, particularly the contrasts between Leo’s old fashioned parents and everyone else.

It seemed weird to me that after promising to make contact with his family daily while he’s at Luna City there was no mention of it after this, nor any indication that his family knew anything about him being in a coma and missing the entire second semester of school as a result.

There were a couple of times where I felt I missed something when the story jumped from one part of the narrative to the next and was disappointed that the big build up to the lunar eclipse essentially fizzled for me when Leo missed it completely because he was in a coma. The story also wrapped up too quickly for my liking with Leo waking from his coma, attending a sporting match straight away and then suddenly leaving all of his friends in Luna City.

I really liked the illustrations at the beginning of each chapter. Younger readers may not miss the character development I was hoping for or be troubled by the unanswered questions. Overall it was a quick, enjoyable read but I don’t think it will be memorable long term for me. If you’re sensitive about the language your children are exposed to in books you may want to know that one of the characters has a peculiar little catchphrase – HOLE-E-CRAPPER-BAPPERS. The ending lends itself to a sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Greenleaf Book Group for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Who hasn’t dreamed of going to the moon? That dream for eleven-year-old Leo Gray is about to come true – but he’s in for the surprise of his life!

In the year 2113, most people live in robotically maintained homes, ride around in self-flying cars, and wear ozone-resistant clothes. Most people that is; just not Leo Gray’s parents. They’re stuck in the past, and science know-it-all Leo is completely fed up with his beyond-embarrassing living arrangement with them. But when he enters a rocket-building competition for a chance to attend the Lunar Academy, Leo’s luck finally seems to turn in his favour!

However, it’s not long after stepping foot into his dorm room that Leo discovers the Moon’s celebrated city is harbouring a world of dark secrets. It’s soon a race against the clock for Leo and his friends Andromeda Groves (a code-hacking whiz from Canada), Pavo Digbi (a history buff from Brazil), and Grus Pinwheel (a musically gifted and comically endearing Aussie) to intercept and foil plans to destroy the city – leaving the group’s leader faced with a decision that no eleven-year-old should ever have to make: save Earth or save himself and the city he fought so hard to reach.

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Pearl #3: Pearl the Proper Unicorn – Sally Odgers

Illustrations – Adele K. Thomas

This is the third in an extremely PINK! series about a magical unicorn whose magic doesn’t always work so well and her friends, Olive the ogre and Tweet the firebird. This book introduces a new character, Prince Percival the Positively Perfect Prancer, who is just as pretentious as his name suggests. Prior to Prince Percy’s snobbish arrival Pearl thought she was the only unicorn in the Kingdom.

Before long Percy has stomped all over Pearl’s self esteem by questioning her magic and pointing out all of the things she does that aren’t “proper” for a unicorn. Unfortunately these supposed improprieties are what makes Pearl special and it made my blood boil that Pearl was so willing to discard her uniqueness as soon as a boy unicorn told her she should.

Naturally, in the end Percy learns there’s more than one proper way to do magic, Pearl’s imperfect magic helps save the day and the nasty gobble-uns wander off to no doubt plan some stinky scheme for the next book so I guess all’s well that ends well but I hope Percy is off on a quest in a distant land during the next book because I still don’t like him. This would be a good book to teach kids that no one has the right to try to dull their shine.

Adele K. Thomas’ illustrations once again steal the show, with great expressions, a waving frog and so much cuteness.

While this is my least favourite book of the series so far I’m pretty certain I’ll wind up borrowing the fourth book, Pearl the Happy Unicorn, from my library when it arrives so prepare yourself for some more PINK!

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Pearl, Olive and Tweet meet another unicorn! His name is Prince Percy and he is positively perfect in every way! But when mean, smelly gobble-uns take over the pond, can Prince Percy’s perfect magic help them? Or will Pearl’s magic be just what they need? 

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A Monster Like Me – Wendy S. Swore

The world is a dragon; my book a shield.

Sophie believes a witch cursed her when she was a baby and she now spends much of her time with her head down, reading and rereading The Big Book of Monsters. She uses it to help identify and protect herself against the monsters surrounding her that are cleverly disguised as humans and searching for clues to figure out what kind of monster she is so she can find a cure. She’s also hiding her face from the world because she’s ashamed of her ‘monster mark’, a hemangioma (blood tumour) that appeared when she was only a few months old.

I really liked Sophie for the most part but she also made me really sad. My heart ached for her each time she called herself a monster and every time someone stared, pointed at her or bullied her. She’s so self conscious because of her ‘monster mark’ and spent so much time looking out for danger that she missed out on having a lot of fun.

With Sophie always on the lookout for the mythological creatures from her beloved book she’s able to find the magical in people, but she can also find the monster in people whose behaviour doesn’t warrant the title. I found it interesting that for a girl who is eager to hide her face from the world she was quick to judge others based on physical attributes. She matches up what she’s read with those she meets and random circumstances that she attributes to them (like the wind blowing) confirm to her that the person is really a monster. This can result in wholly inaccurate assumptions based on first impressions; Kelsi is the best example of this. He’s adorable and the voice of reason in this book, yet Sophie is certain he’s a dangerous shapeshifter.

I loved Autumn, Sophie’s friend, who’s eager to play along when Sophie tells her she’s a fairy. Given what Autumn’s family are dealing with it makes sense that her lively imagination helps buffer her from painful reality.

I think my favourite character would have been Mrs Barrett if she’d played a larger role. I was disappointed when she started to fade into the background and would have loved more scenes with her in them.

I don’t know that Ms. Cloe’s role in Sophie’s life was introduced. I assumed she was a therapist (I spent the entire book waiting for someone to finally get this girl some counselling) but wondered why a therapist would be giving a client a present. Sophie had to win a game with her mother and Ms. Cloe to get the prize, which I’m guessing Sophie’s mother bought, although this isn’t stated. Since the game involved chance, rolling dice and moving around a board, it was pretty convenient that Sophie won.

Initially I loved the excerpts from Sophie’s monster book between each chapter because of my love for mythology, although I did have trouble finding the connection between excerpts and their surrounding chapters at times. The excerpts did get a bit of a preachy vibe towards the end, focusing more on being a good person than monsters. Not that there’s anything wrong with the whole ‘be a good person’ thing but I was really enjoying reading about the mythological creatures.

The cover image is wonderful and drew me to the book in the first place. I particularly liked the monster marks added to the font on the title. I did notice that in the book Sophie’s monster mark is on the right side of her face and the cover illustration shows her hair hiding the left side of her face. Once I noticed that I naturally couldn’t unsee it.

Now for the part of the review that I agonised about and the entire reason it took me almost two days to post my review after finishing reading. I want to make it clear that I read an ARC so this may not be an issue in the final version of the book. With that in mind, if I hadn’t committed to reviewing this book I would have abandoned it as soon as one of Sophie’s classmates was introduced (at 58%) as the cringeworthy and offensive ”Zac the spaz”, regardless of how much I was enjoying it prior to then. Fair or not, that word tainted my enjoyment of the book from that point on so I’m really hoping this will not make it into the final version of the book. I expect this would have been a 4 star read for me if it wasn’t for that horrendous word.

Thank you to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

There are trolls, goblins, and witches. Which kind of monster is Sophie?

Sophie is a monster expert. Thanks to her Big Book of Monsters and her vivid imagination, Sophie can identify the monsters in her school and neighbourhood. Clearly, the bullies are trolls and goblins. Her nice neighbour must be a good witch, and Sophie’s new best friend is obviously a fairy. But what about Sophie? She’s convinced she is definitely a monster because of the “monster mark” on her face. At least that’s what she calls it. The doctors call it a blood tumour. Sophie tries to hide it but it covers almost half her face. And if she’s a monster on the outside, then she must be a monster on the inside, too.

Being the new kid at school is hard. Being called a monster is even harder. Sophie knows that it’s only a matter of time before the other kids, the doctors, and even her mum figure it out. And then her mum will probably leave – just like her dad did.

Because who would want to live with a real monster?

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Say Something – Cathy Morrison

I’ve read every review that’s been written about this book so far and they’re pretty much overwhelmingly positive so I’ll start by alerting you to those and encouraging you to read some of them to balance out what I have to say. I really hope this book will help readers, those who will be validated by seeing themselves in Maggie’s story and those whose eyes will be opened and their sensitivity engaged by what they find in its pages.

I’m always on the lookout for good books about sexual assault and I applaud anyone who tackles this horrendous topic at all so it breaks my heart that I couldn’t five star this book and tell you all that you absolutely have to read it immediately.

There’s something about this book that didn’t quite feel authentic to me but even a day after finishing reading I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is. The author spoke to survivors, counsellors and members of law enforcement and I think it’s wonderful they took the time to do that, yet it reads at times like they were spending so much time trying to tick all the boxes on a list they’d collated from their research that there wasn’t much time left to truly bring Maggie’s experience to life.

For example, Maggie feels angry because her mother forced her to recant what she’d told a friend about the man who sexually abused her. Of course she’s angry but that doesn’t even begin to explain what that feels like. Show me the abandonment Maggie experienced when the one person in this world she should have been able to rely on to protect her above anyone else instead took the side of the man who’d abused her. Show me how Maggie felt when her mother told her that the perpetrator was only being affectionate and how the denial of something that Maggie knew without a shadow of a doubt to be the truth then led her to question her very reality; if something she knew for sure could be so easily dismissed then how she ever really be sure about anything again?! Please don’t just tell me she was angry.

I don’t know. Maybe because of my own experiences I’m pulling this to bits too much. This book does get a lot right about the long term effects of sexual abuse and it does tick a lot of the boxes. Maybe it’s wrong of me to expect this book to take a deep dive on what Maggie’s experience would really feel like but even some aspects of the abuse itself didn’t sit right with me, like the fact that Maggie’s abuser immediately stopped abusing her when her mother asked him about it. While some perpetrators would stop their abuse once confronted there is no way this specific man would have.

The insta romance annoyed me so much! Part of this will no doubt be a byproduct of my romantiphobia. Other readers have loved this romance but it drove me crazy. After only four dates she told this boy her most painful secret, the first time she’s spoken about it in almost ten years (with the exception of a counsellor she sees sometimes). Really? And she calls him “my boy”. 🤢

“My boy” takes it upon himself to decide what Maggie needs and goes into full blown action mode without even consulting her. This is a young woman whose life was turned upside down as a direct result of loss of control so, while I was never going to think a boy taking it upon himself to make critical decisions for a girl without her input was romantic, it was even less so in Maggie’s situation. And “my boy” takes control of Maggie’s decisions after he’s already decided that if he ever meets the perpetrator he’s going to beat him up. Hello, toxic masculinity!

The only character I really liked in this book was Kelvin. Maggie irritated me, “my boy” spent much of the book practising his own weird blend of sensitivity and the toxic masculinity thing and Maggie’s mother drove me crazy, but at least she was realistic. I hated her mother’s responses to Maggie’s abuse and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I did understand where she was coming from (I still think that almost any response other than the one she had would have been a better choice).

While it’s great that Maggie was able to report her abuse to authorities it bugged me that other options weren’t explored. Not everyone reports sexual abuse and not everyone who does report it gets a result that could be even accidentally mistaken for justice. I’m all for reporting if a survivor chooses to do so but there’s an unfair expectation that if you’ve been victimised in this way then it’s your responsibility to protect potential future victims by reporting this crime. This puts a huge burden on people and if they do report and the perpetrator gets away with it then it can be even more devastating for the survivor in the long run. They can feel like it was their fault the perpetrator is still free to potentially assault other people, when the sole responsibility for past, present and potential future abuse lies with the abuser.

The Hallmark ending sets up unrealistic expectations for anyone considering reporting sexual abuse. Had Maggie reported her abuse to the police in my state she would’ve been told flat out that because she had no physical evidence of the abuse there was almost no chance the perpetrator would be able to be charged, let alone make it to trial. Sure, the introduction of other victims would have helped the case but I’ve known of rapes where the perpetrator wasn’t even interviewed because the crime wasn’t reported immediately.

Regardless of my feelings about the specifics of this book I really do hope it finds its way into the hands of those who would benefit from reading it. Once again, please read other reviews before deciding if this book is for you or not. I’m just one opinion and I’m an outlier.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Cold Fire Publishing, LLC for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Little beauty.

That’s what he called me when he stole my innocence. I was a trusting, little girl, and he ruined everything. I tried to tell someone, but my mother made me change my story. After all these years, I still carry this dark secret in my heart.

Now there’s this guy in my class. A nice guy. And he likes me. He makes me think that maybe, just maybe, I could be normal. I could be happy. Just when things are getting good, the pervert barrels back into my life and I discover another little girl is in danger.

Now, what do I do? I can stay safe and silent … or I can do whatever it takes to make sure he never calls another girl “little beauty” again.

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Change Happens – Kathryn & Ross Petras

Kathryn and Ross Petras have collated in this book an alphabet of wisdom about change. Taken from a variety of writers, philosophers, musicians, scientists, entrepreneurs and others, there are quotes to inspire you, comfort you and make you smile.

While you may want to read from cover to cover initially, I liked that the quotes are grouped in themes so you can easily find the ones that are most applicable for your current situation. For example, here’s L.

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This would make a good gift book for someone going through a big change in their life or for reflection yourself because as the quotes tell you, change is inevitable. My favourite quotes include:

When we are no longer able to change a situation … we are challenged to change ourselves. – Viktor Frankl

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. – Maya Angelou

Today is only one day in all the days that will ever be. But what will happen in all the other days that ever come can depend on what you do today. – Ernest Hemingway

Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced. – James Baldwin

When people are ready to, they change. They never do it before then, and sometimes they die before they get around to it. You can’t make them change if they don’t want to, just like when they do want to, you can’t stop them. – Andy Warhol

While the layout was clean and consistent and the font made the quotes easy to read I didn’t find the creative flair I expect from gift books. I love quotes and have since I was a kid when I’d write the ones that spoke to me in notebooks. However if I’m going to buy a book of quotes I don’t want to be bored by the layout. Some pages included an illustration but when they didn’t the pages blended together.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Workman Publishing Company for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

This collection of quotations – from the masters of the quote book, Kathryn and Ross Petras – focuses on the empowering aspects of change and is perfect for graduates or anyone else facing a life passage -landmark birthday, new job, new home, or the beginning (or end) of a relationship.

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Zen Pencils: Creative Struggle – Gavin Aung Than

Using well known examples from literary, scientific, artistic and musical greatness, Gavin Aung Than has compiled a collection that highlights both the struggles and successes of these creative lives. Comics are used to illustrate quotes from each person. These are accompanied by a short summary of their lives.

The people included in this book faced various struggles including addiction, physical and mental illness, rejection, grief and lack of recognition of their genius during their lives. Despite these, and sometimes because of them, they persevered and have ultimately become known for their creations.

This is the type of book I’d usually purchase as a gift or borrow from the library for myself. However I didn’t encounter a great deal in this book that I wasn’t already aware of. For example, I’m sure most creative people already know the story of how Mary Shelley came up with Frankenstein.

Unfortunately I got put off while reading about Van Gogh, whose life was the first explored in the book. The insensitivity of “He even failed at committing suicide” made my skin crawl.

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I hope this book encourages people to persevere with their creative endeavours with the knowledge that, while there are no success only journeys, the journey is also important. If you don’t at least try you’ll never know what could have been.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to read this graphic novel.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Gavin Aung Than, creator of the innovative Zen Pencils, shares his passion for creativity and reveals how you, too, can live a creative life.

Zen Pencils: Living a Creative Life is a call to wake up the creative spirit inside you. Through Zen Pencils cartoon quotes on creativity from inspirational artists, musicians, writers, and scientists, you’ll discover what inspired each of the subjects to reach the full potential of their creativity. In each comic, the speaker of the quote is the character in the story. Imagine cartoon versions of Albert Einstein, Ludwig van Beethoven, Mark Twain, Isaac Newton, and Vincent van Gogh revealing the spark that ignited them to achieve their dreams! 

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