watson_my_shelf's reviews
504 reviews

 

In my opinion, Nightcrawling is a book that is hard to read but is important to read. This book is based on a true story of an Oakland, California (the setting of the book) case involving an underage sex worker, 28 officers, and sex trafficking. Nightcrawling focuses on the point of view of the character based on the sex worker, of the voice we don’t usually hear. The book is very well written and will keep you interested. I found it hard to read at times because I know the raw descriptions of poverty, hunger, exploitation, drug abuse, and systemic racism are very accurate. 

Throughout this story, we see how many people in Kiara’s life have disappointed her. Her parents, her brother, and her extended family. One of the beautiful things about the story is we get to see Kiara fight for her found family and fight for survival. The reader gets to see Kiara find herself in a way as she enters adulthood. We also get to see glimpses of joy in Kiara’s life in her relationship with her neighbor-turned-sorta-son Trevor and her more-than-friend BFF. 

 

 

I want to take Darius and hug him and tell him high school will be over one day and life will improve immensely after that!!

Darius is an Iranian American high school student just trying to fit in. He feels to Iranian amongst his peers, but too white and American in regards to his Iranian heritage and family. I felt so much for Darius! The way he felt left out of his own family, constantly compared himself to his sister, and just wanted to be SEEN was so relatable and understandable. 

This book follows Darius and his family as they travel to Iran, a place Darius should feel ties to, but has never visited. I love following the story of Darius getting to know his grandparents and finding himself. The self-discovery journey that Darius goes on was inspiring. This book is queer, but in a subtle way that I really appreciated. Being queer is not always about love and relationships and such, and the author does a wonderful job of incorporating that into this book. 

Also, the author alludes to Darius being plus size or not thin, and you know I love to see this, especially for a male character! 

The fact Darius is aware of his depression in high school and is medicated for it is amazing. Yay for destigmatizing medication and depression!! 

 

 

Fair warning: this is a book I did not enjoy. 

I was drawn to this book because it has a plus size female main character and it’s sapphic. But unfortunately this book was not for me. 

The main character, Mickey, returns to her hometown after being replaced at her job and having a falling out with her partner. 

Mickey was so ANNOYING to me. And not in a way that she grows throughout the story. A character who does not listen to their best friends even when they give plenty of evidence, is not a character I like!! ANd she kept making the same mistake over and over again. It was a vicious cycle of being in Mickey’s head: she would convince herself something was OK, learn it was not, convince herself to avoid it, and then suddenly repeat the cycle. It’s hard for me to enjoy a book when the character is flawed and has really no growth throughout the book. 

I do appreciate how this book highlights racism in the media and journalism worlds. The author highlights how people of color in certain industries have to work so much harder to be seen and valued. And about how much white feminism infiltrates these spaces. This made me think a lot! 

Overall, I would not recommend it. The ending was very disappointing and none of the characters really stuck out to me. 

 

 

This romance is centered around chess & two young adult chess players. And it is so fun! I had such a good time reading this. I personally have never played chess, so did not understand the moves they were making, but loved the story nonetheless. And the ending!! So cute. This one made me giggle! 

We get to see a lot of growth from the main character. Also, there are fun side character friends who will make you laugh. 

I originally classified this as insta-love, but a friend pointed out it was not really insta-love but sort of insta-want. And that made me realize why I enjoyed it more than I usually do insta-love. 

Despite really enjoying this one, I did not enjoy how much the mom puts on her 18 year old daughter. Or allows her to take on. It almost made me give up on the book in the beginning, but I am glad I stuck with it!!

 

 

In She Gets the Girl, we follow two college freshwomen as they head to college with very different goals. Alex wants to figure out a way to keep (get back?) her sort-of girlfriend. Molly wants to get the attention of her years-long high school crush. But as they work to help each other out, they get a little distracted along the way.. It’s a sapphic enemies to friends to lovers and it delivers!

This book is cute and fun, with some serious topics covered. Alex can’t get away from having to care for her alcoholic mom. It’s so heartbreaking to see how Alex loves her mom and wants the best for her, but struggles to let go. Alex finds an understanding support system & it’s so heartwarming to read about. 

I also really enjoyed getting to see Molly grow and develop confidence. It was relatable to see her show up to college wanting a new life but not quire sure how exactly to get it. As someone who went to the same college as her brother, I loved to see Molly and her brother’s relationship and how much he supported Molly!!

One thing I did not like was how pushy Alex was with Molly and not being more understanding of Molly’s shyness. There’s a fine line between trying to get someone out of their comfort zone and trying to make them be someone they are not, and Alex really tested that at multiple points in the book. 

I recommend for my queer YA loving people. And the narration is excellent! Each narrator has a distinct voice and does an excellent job. 

 

 

Reading this book was like a look into the mind of an anxious person in a deep depression. At least, it was relatable for me. Also being inside the main character’s mind was a wild ride. Gilda has such an interesting way of thinking, which really kept me interested in the book. I really like the format of the book and the way Emily Austin wrote this as a sort of stream-of-consciousness. We followed a lot of Gilda’s though trains, which were at times funny and very WTF at others. 

As someone who grew up in the Catholic church, so many of Gilda’s moments in the church and church office made my jaw drop but also laugh at the same time. 

The murder investigation plot line of this could have used a little ~more~. It was sort of anti-climatic and I was expecting a little more investigation. I know this was not a murder mystery, but it added to the odd hilariousness of the book. 

There is a very interesting sibling relationship in this book. Gilda’s brother, who lives with their parents, is struggling with substance abuse and their parents are ignoring it. The way Gilda fights to try to get her brother help when she is struggling so much herself tugged at my heartstrings. Gilda also has a sort-of girlfriend who was one of my favorite characters of the book - she kept Gilda grounded I felt. 

Overally, enjoyed reading this. If you choose to read, know you are walking into the mind of the depressed and it’s not all sunshine. While the book is funny, it is also heavy and it can be hard to ‘watch’ Gilda try to stay afloat. 

Representation: fat and Black author, mentions of impacts to lgbtqia+ community 

I have not seen many people talking about this book and that is a shame! Because it is excellent. This book was not written for me as a white woman, but I really value this book for what it taught me about being a Black fat womxn living in today’s times. And I really felt seen in the portions that discuss fatness. 

This book’s description says, “Combatting fatphobia and racism to reclaim a space for womxn at the intersection of fat and Black.” I can’t describe it better myself. Joy dives into what it’s like being in a body at the intersection of fat and Black. The book is broken down into three sections: Belonging, Resistance, and Acceptance. Joy uses a lot of fact-based information, as well as tales from others and her lived experiences to critique diet culture and our society. 

Joy breaks the many myths around fatness and highlights how diet culture has taught us to fear fatness, as well as how society has taught us white is the default. Which should not be the case. . 

This book is important. We owe Black womxn so much for the work they have done to make space for fat folks, and this book is a reminder we can’t forget that. This is a quick read (under 200 pages of text) and I would highly recommend it for anyone. 

 

Representation: depression, sapphic, foster care, asexual-spectrum

Recommend: yes, especially if you love queer and/or sports romances

First of all, no one told me this has a plot line connected to the University of Tennessee (my alma mater!! Though I went to the Chattanooga campus, not Knoxville). Obviously I had to use this UT blanket for the photo since it’s likely the only time I will be able to use it in a photo op haha. 

This book focuses on high school basketball coach Julie who is questioning her sexual and romantic identity and Elle, who has avoided basketball since her WNBA career ended. But Elle has become a foster parent and wants to get her foster child into basketball. 

Loved this book! Anita Kelly is pretty much perfect in my mind. One of the things I loved most about the book was the asexual-spectrum questioning and discussions. Loved loved loved. The exploration and realization that while no one NEEDS labels, they can be really special and really help someone find themselves. 

Another thing I appreciated about this book was how depression is portrayed. And that it is OK to ask for help. 

Foster care is not something discussed in books I read, especially romances, so I found it very insightful to read about. It was cool to get to see the relationship Elle and her cousin formed as they navigated their new world. 

Really adored this book. It got me in my feels! If you have not read Anita Kelly yet, I definitely recommend. 

This one is for the graphic novel and sci fi fans!

I picked this up because I saw someone (I can’t remember who!) recommend this for the queer and fat rep. This is about two non-binary kids who meet and stay in touch into their teen years across universes and throughout a war. Their friendship prevails despite being on opposing ‘teams.’ 

I enjoyed the graphics in this a lot! And the self acceptance of the characters, and the way they accept each other. Everything else was kind of meh. I didn’t really follow the worldbuilding and plot all that well. I didn’t understand the politics of the war super well either. The rebellion and the side that just wanted to live in peace felt relatable for today’s time. It makes you think about oppression and violence, and what is worth fighting for. 

Overall, I enjoyed the vibes of this! Even if I did not understand it entirely.

 

In this Much Ado About Nothing retelling, sworn enemies Bunty and Bobbi are forced to work together on their best friends’ wedding. While also dealing with a shaadi saboteur and fighting their growing feelings for each other. There’s a strong friend group, meddling aunties, a lot of food talk, and family drama. 

I had so much fun with this book! It was very cool to learn more about Desi culture and weddings while falling in love with Bunty and Bobbi. The characters were so lovable & the enemies to lovers was well done IMO. The book is funny and entertaining. Tastes Like Shakkar also discusses the pressures from parents, especially in Desi culture, to be loyal to the family and follow the path that has been set for you. Getting a peek into what that pressure can feel like was very insightful. 

Bobbi is a plus size character and you all know I appreciated that! The plus size rep was so well done. Bobbi was not made to apologize for her size or appearance. 

This book is the second in a series, but it works as a standalone! I did not read the first and did not feel like I was missing anything.