Again, but Better by Christine Riccio

4*

What if you had the chance to reinvent yourself by taking a semester in London, pursuing your passion rather than continuing to follow the career path your parents chose for you, forcing yourself to socialize, and even trying to get your first kiss? What if the boy you’re falling for turns out to have a girlfriend at home and things between you become painfully awkward? What if you spent the first twenty years of your life living to please others and it still blew up in your face? If you’re regretting your decisions and are given another chance, would you take the do-over in the hopes of getting it right the second time?

These are the questions that timid, insecure Shane Primaveri is faced with in this frustrating, but ultimately redeeming story. The first half of the book drags because Riccio uses running commentary, via first-person narrative and Shane’s blog, journal, emails and postcards, to chronicle her thoughts and recount everything the characters said and did on a daily basis. Shane was so full of self-doubt that it made much of it uncomfortable to read. However, when the story fast-forwarded six years and Riccio added a magical element, the pace picked up and much of the detail in the first half made sense.

The well-described supporting characters are varied (including different races, ethnicities, and sexual orientations), and fill critical roles without their own subplots being superfluous. Beware: descriptions of their travels also inspire wanderlust!

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Wednesday Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Watch Us Rise by Renee Watson

Watch Us Rise is a feminist manifesto for today’s young adults. It’s the story of Jasmine and Chelsea, two high school juniors in New York City who are fed up with the micro-aggressions in their school and decide to combat them by establishing a Women’s Rights Club. Amsterdam Heights High School claims to espouse and model social justice and equity, but when reactions to their Write Like a Girl blog “incite discord,” the club is disbanded. Rather than accept the Principal’s decision, the young “womyn” take their peaceful protests to the neighborhood and the local newspaper. Will their persistence pay off? 

This story is a testament to the power of positive modeling. Both Jasmine and Chelsea’s parents are liberal and civic-minded and have taught and encouraged their daughters to use their art as activism. In fact, Jasmine’s father, who is dying of cancer, challenges Jasmine, Chelsea and their friends Isaac and Nadine (whom he calls artivists) to “Go out and find some inspiration. Create some art in response to what you see.” Their poems, writings, songs, and drawings, combined with the narrative alternating between Jasmine and Chelsea, create an intersectional kaleidoscope of their reactions to the racism, fat-shaming, misogyny, discrimination and sexism they face daily.

This book is groundbreaking and a much-needed portrayal of the struggles today’s young women continue to face. It sends a powerful message that words and actions can have positive impact and that change can begin with a single action. This is an essential purchase for any library serving teens and should be required reading as a springboard for open, honest dialogue.



I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bloomsbury through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.