pickThis book is as upsetting as it is heartbreaking and beautiful. You need to read it.
Come-read-with-me Stacked! 📚 3y
The Dangerous Art of Blending In | 
pickThis book is as upsetting as it is heartbreaking and beautiful. You need to read it.
pickA teen is emotionally and sometimes physically abused by his mother. He is gay and in love with his friend and afraid to admit it. He has trouble talking about his feelings and what is happening to him. Of course, everything seems to come to ahead at the same time.
pickSuch a good read! I wasn‘t sure if I would like it at first, but it was so heart wrenching I became absolutely engrossed! The story is about a boy in love with his best friend. He tries so hard to ignore his feelings so it doesn‘t ruin his friendship. Meanwhile, his mother is very religious and abusive to her son because he doesn‘t fit her idea of a perfect son 💔🥺
#sorrynotsorry Took advantage of Indigo‘s 30% off for teachers weekend. Because of course I did. All for my classroom.
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This story is heartbreaking and sad. This story deals with some heavy issues such as physical and mental abuse, suicide, and coming out. This coming of age book deals with Evan who comes home from camp confused about his sexuality and what he wants in life. Evan's mother is a strict immigrant greek mother who wants him to be a good christian boy.
pickI really enjoyed this book. A heartbreaking story dealing with coming out and domestic abuse. It was a hard read at times though still had a feeling of hope.
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“The person who was supposed to love me hardest—the most unconditionally—has always wanted me gone. No matter how hard I tried to be perfect. Now, this boy—who knows all my imperfections and has seen all my hurt laid bare—wants me to stay.”
I‘m loving this book about sexuality, identity, and the importance of healthy love!
pickThis book is so sweet. It tells a heartbreaking story of a boy in an abusive family. I was so into this book that I read it in two days. It‘s such a beautiful story.
Heartbreaking to know this is truly how it is for some kids
pickThis book is heartbreaking. The second of the two YA books I've read about becoming yourself despite your parent's wishes. Serious abuse is outlined in this novel and it is hard to take, but the characters are so wonderful that your genuine care for their wellbeing pulls you through. Knowing that this is based on the author's life experience is almost unfathomable; I do not know Angelo Surmelis but honestly felt proud of him while reading this.
pick⭐⭐⭐⭐ This book was well written but I am posting a HUGE trigger warning on this bad boy due to the nature of the abuse and violence it contains and describes in such detail. All of the characters are very three dimensional which adds all the more to the trauma of the story. This book is a good read about finding your voice and freedom. Though I do not recommend it for just anyone. #triggerwarning
Oh sweet Mary mother of Jesus...it's SO easy to hate Voula. I legit wanna walk in and box her ears, this incredulous woman and all her self righteous indignation...I'm SO irrationally angry right now its unreal!!! 😤😤😤
#killheroffplease #irrationalanger #ohmyword
This book is rather graphic in is abuse scenes so MAJOR #triggerwarning to future readers.
"I have a difficult time letting people get away with shit..."
Hahahaha this girl gets me.
The book from the dude himself. This guy does everything! angelohome.com
This is a riveting story. There are vivid details of the physical abuse by his mom and its aftermath which make it not so happy. But I love the main character and I want him to win.
Just started this! Narrated by Michael Crouch of Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Lovely narration. Well crafted story. A bit darker than Simon but based on the author's childhood.
April was a weird month for me. With the increased anxiety I didn't really read many physical books. But audio books kept me sane.
Best of the month was a tie between the tagged book and 'Wonder', but I'm giving it to TDAoBI because it's new and everyone should read it.
And that brings my yearly total to 90 books.
#AprilWrapUp #AprilStats #WrapUp
pickEvan Panos doesn't fit in. His mom thinks he's a disappointment. His dad avoids conflict. And after his summer with Gaige, Evan can't stop thinking about his best friend Henry.
There were parts of this book that were hard to read--specifically the scenes with Evan and his mother. But the story itself is important and infused with deep, raw emotion that will make you root for Evan. An important read about finding family and identity.
My current read! And my weakness, ice coffee. So far, I'm enjoying this book; there are a lot of strong emotions portrayed, as well as a sense of anxiety underlying the text.
#currentlyreading #BetweentheShelves
pickI felt a bit of the annoying teenager syndrome when I started this book, but I‘m so glad I continued after the first couple chapters. Evan is from a traditional Greek, Christian family. He grapples with his sexual identity and how to please his strict mother. There are a lot of abuse triggers in this book, and I felt infuriated that nothing was being done. But it was real. There is a sweet romance, too, which makes it all worth while.
We're an hour outside of Boston and I'm half way through this audio book. So far I'm loving it!
Evan is a gay teen in a super-religious Greek family who might be in love with his best friend. But he's got mountains full of dark secrets that he's afraid to share...
pickOn any given day, people exist on multiple levels. Take Evan. At home, he is abused by his mother while at school he is a klutz prone to accidents. At home he is closeted, afraid to even think of his growing feelings for his best friend & what it might mean while at school he finds it hard to keep his feelings secret. A raw, powerful story full of secrets, first love, acceptance, friendship, intolerance & finding the courage to save yourself.
“Everything about this feels like that moment when you‘ve finally reached the top of the highest peak on a roller coaster and you‘ve just opened your eyes.”
Truth. Sometimes all you want is that delicious bowl of ice cream (yum). And sometimes (often?!?) life gets in the way and makes things much more complicated.
Another new book to preview—definitely NOT the hardest part of the job!
pickEvan (Evangello), the teenaged son in a family of Greek immigrants in Illinois, has two big secrets: his mother is violently abusive to him, and he‘s gay. At times this #audiobook is so raw and Evan is so awkward that it was difficult to continue listening. The story is loosely based on the author‘s own life and ends on a positive note. Narrated by the youthful-sounding Michael Crouch. #LGBTQ #YA
Maybe I'm not so ugly after all. Maybe no one is really ugly, and maybe no one has the right to call someone that or tell them that they are. Maybe the only real ugliness is what lives inside some people.
This book is intense. It‘s almost too intense to keep reading, but I want to make sure the main character ends up Ok. My heart breaks for him.
So much spine love in this section of books! So gorgeous. #spinelove #coverlove I‘m looking forward to reading The Dangerous Art of Blending In soon, too.
pickLoosely based on author and designer Angelo Surmelis's life, Greek American Evan attempts to 'blend in' by not displaying any flamboyant or homosexual inklings. This is especially difficult when his religious zealot of a mom abuses him mercilessly and his workaholic father is oblivious to his plight. A moving and emotional YA that represents LGBT youths struggling with their own coming out processes.
