Tag: contemporary

Book Reviews

Let’s Talk About Love, Claire Kann

India
Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann
Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann is definitely a book that the world needs. Is it my favorite book probably not, but definitely a book the world needs and young ones in high school and in college need. Let’s Talk About Love is about a 19 year-old black woman who has partially come to terms with her sexuality or lack of sexuality. Alice considers herself to be biromantic and asexual. Only a few people in her life know those terms when it comes to her and that makes her hold a lot of emotions in. Of course you would never know it because she is still an expressive person. With her experiences in relationships she has found that people don’t understand what she needs and what she wants and that they don’t see her. She was even nicknamed “The Corpse” because sex doesn’t mean anything to her. It doesn’t give her a thrill, but romance does. This book follows Alice as she suffers through one breakup, but finds support and comfort in her long time friends and a new man who has come into her life that is breaking her Cutie Code and turning her ideas upside down on if she can have a stable relationship or not. Alice has a lot to work through and a lot to come to terms with herself and she takes the strides to do it.
I enjoyed Let’s Talk About Love, but I’m not going to say that I loved it. I believe that it is a book that some people in the LGBTQ+ community might need in their lives. I think it dives into a realm of the LGBTQ community that is not often talked about and is often overlooked. For me it was a side I often wondered about, but never had anyone to ask, so I’m glad that this book discusses what it means to be asexual. I enjoyed the friendship dynamic because sometimes it is hard to be the third wheel of someone in a relations, but I think that it was awesome for them to talk about and discuss what was going on, and to be able to remain friends. I do believe that it is rare to stay friends with your high school friends through college, but that it can happen. That’s why I also thought that that was something good to be discussed in this book because friendships matter. Not just romantic endeavors. I talk some more about it in my review on my Booktube channel, which you can find here and down below. Let me know what you think about Let’s Talk About Love in the comments! Until next time
Keep turning the Pages
India
Book Reviews

From Twinkle with Love, Sandhya Menon

India

— Short Story —

Twinkle Mehra has wanted to be a filmmaker since she was a little girl. She is constantly writing in her journal to famous female filmmakers in hopes of channeling their creative energy and overall bad assery as a women in film. At her school there is an annual showcase where students can create something and present it to their  fellow students at the end of the year. When a classmate of hers, Sahil Roy, and asks her if she would like to make a film for the showcase of course she says yes. Through out her entire time in high school she has always been one of the unseen people and she thinks by doing this she can become seen through out school. Maybe she can even be noticed by Sahil’s twin brother, Neil, who is the most popular boy in school. During her time working on the film she starts to make actual friends, and also starts to receive secret admirer emails from someone with the initial, N. She is certain that it’s Neil Roy who has decided to finally talk to her, and gets herself in a love triangle of sorts. The questions becomes, is being a director of her own film, too much for Twinkle to deal with?

— My Thoughts —

I liked the book. I didn’t love it. Some of the things that Twinkle goes through and says, is honestly downright silly and mean. She becomes so self centered with herself that she does not notice the people directly in front of her, and because of that she ruins a lot of relationships that she is just forming. I would say that it’s how any high school girl acts when she is trying to find herself, but that would not be true. All in all it’s not my favorite. I felt like if you changed the names of the characters you wouldn’t even be able to tell that there are brown people in the book. It could be From Rebecca with Love and it would still feel the same, and I think that’s one reason I really don’t like it.  I break down my thoughts a little bit more in my video. What did you think of From Twinkle with Love? Until next time,
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India
Book Reviews

The Belles, Dhonielle Clayton

India

– Short Story –

What if you lived in a world where everyone looked the same. Grey in color, straw like hair, and red eyes. Now what if there were people who could change you to look just like you wanted to look. In however you wanted to look. That is exactly the point of The Belles. They control beauty. The Belles were a gift given to the world after a lovers quarrel from the Sky and from Beauty went wrong, and the people of the world were left ugly. Beauty granted the world The Belles in order to help change the appearances of people to create more beauty in the world, and to make people beautiful.
It is time for this generation of Belles to present themselves to the world, with all of that they have learned in their secluded schooling. It is time for them to present themselves to the royal family and for one of them to become the Favorite. Whomever is chosen as the Favorite will discover the dark side of court and what it’s like to be constantly trying to make someone beautiful who doesn’t believe they’re beautiful.

– My Thoughts – 

Keep reading the book!! I put this book down for a couple of months and then finally finished it when it started to gather such great reviews. I was like “Noooo this book can’t be any good, it’s supposed to be fantasy, but there’s all of this flowery and beauty stuff. Whhhhyyyy” Let me just say I was wrong, it definitely gets better. There are still some flowery parts in the book that get on my nerves, but that’s why I don’t like contemporary. I definitely think that you should give this book a whirl if you stopped reading it, or if you were hesitant to pick it up. Let me know what you think down in the comments! My review that I put on my Booktube channel is also embedded below. Until next time,
Keep turning the Pages
India
Coffee Break

Decatur Book Festival 2017!

India

I know I’m really behind on putting up this post, but better late than never right?! This year I went to the Decatur Book Festival with my mother and with Maddy and I had a fantastic time. There were tons of big authors there including Leigh Bardugo, Jason Reynolds, and Nnedi Okorafur. I’ve lived in Atlanta my whole life and have gone to the Decatur Book festival a few times with my mother when I was younger, but I never really paid attention to the author line up and did not know they got such big and amazing authors to do panels at DBF.  The festival is held every year during Labor Day weekend in downtown Decatur, and there is a lot of food, festivities, and books to keep you entertained the whole weekend.  I managed to vlog the two days I was able to go this year so make sure to check them out!! Down below I also have a video of all of the books I got, and which ones I got signed from the author! Until next time,

Keep Turning the Pages

India

The first day my mom and I went to the festival, but they weren’t quite ready yet, so I was just able to have a great afternoon with my mother walking around the beginnings of the festival.

 

On Saturday I woke up early and got down to Decatur to in order to go the different panels and get a tons of books signed. I bought way too many books this weekend!

Finally since my Saturday video was so long I wanted to just have a video where you got to meet my best friend in the entire world, and how we enjoyed the festival together, eating and everything, and buying a lot of books!

In this video you can see all of the great books I got and also got signed. I also got a lot of bookish merch from some great companies you can find online.

Book Reviews

Once and For All, Sarah Dessen

India

– Short Story – 

Weddings are supposed to be the most beautiful and memorable day of your relationship. For Louna, it’s just another day, another wedding, and another client that she has to help her mom deal with. It should be a flawless day of wedding and reception with all attention on the bride, but that doesn’t happen by itself, someone has to make the magic happen. The lure of love has been wasted on Louna with her mom, Natalie, and her mom’s best friend and coworker William, always betting on how long the happy couple will stay together after the wedding. That is until she meets someone at a wedding, which breaks all types of her own rules, and finally understands what love feels like. Unfortunately for them they live long distance, and don’t get to see each other after this fated night at a beach wedding. Until the unimaginable happens, and she is left feeling a heart break no one should ever have to feel, and she is stuck with Ambrose, whom her mom hired, who might possibly be the most positive guy in Colby, if not the world. Louna is trying to keep going and to fill the void with whatever work her mom has her do for the summer.

– What I Think – 

Sarah Dessen always manages to find a way to make you believe in love. During Once and For All I remembered what it was like to have that first love. The one that you believed would be forever only for something to happen to it that ruins the relationship, and the notion of love. To be wrapped in the feelings that love would never find you again until all of a sudden the unexpected happens, and there is someone right in front of you. There is a sameness to this novel from the others of hers, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. If you are a Sarah Dessen fan then you will not be disappointed. She still makes you want to look for a love that can last. Definitely pick this one up, until next time.
Keep Turning the Pages
90s Born Reader