Welcome to Litsy!

I hopped on this bandwagon without a tag but I'm all in to amplify #BlackVoices. This Side of Home finds twins Nikki and Maya growing up and growing apart. About to start their senior year in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood, Nikki is thrilled with the changes while Maya feels like home is slipping away- along with old friendships and long-held plans for her future. I love this beautiful book and the passionate, strong young women at its center.

Some YA books that are on my tbr list this year. #WeNeedDiverseBooks

#24in48 #hour18

Such a good book! Takes a look at issues of race and gentrification through the lens of Portland. Super quick read.

Read my full review: jessreadsthebooks.blogspot.com/2018/07/this-side-of-home.html

My first #bookface today was too creepy (see catface in bottom corner 😱😂), so I tried again. I like the half-face covers best for doing a bookface. � #ReadingResolutions

While I appreciate the voice in this story and think it's crucial to have the topics in it discussed in YA lit, unfortunately I found the writing to feel much more middle grade than YA. The main characters are high school seniors but the writing and dialogue was ... less mature than that. I did really like Maya, the narrator, who was the only one who felt fully realized to me. But overall it was just slow and stilted much of the time. 2/5 ��

I love this cover 💜 #nowreading

Good morning! Please ignore crazy hair! Getting started in the #24in48 Readathon! #weneeddiversebooks #yalit

Getting my stack (and snacks! 😂) ready for the #24in48 #readathon!! Who else???

I haven't read this yet but it's moving up my #TBR. I picked it for #TheresNoPlaceLikeHome since it has home in the title. #sizzlinsummerbooks @Tiffy_Reads

heard it on my block when boys greet each other, when the "er" is replaced by an "a". When it's a word of solidarity & brotherhood. I've heard it in lyrics when it's a word of pride, when it's a word black people have taken back, the negative power of it and reshaped it into something good. But dad says it was never our word so it's not something we can take back. He says it will always symbolize a beaten slave, a hanging noose, a burning cross.

I liked Piecing me together so much I had to reach for her previous book. It was on a YA to-read pile in my own home. #bookproblems

Two #siblings that I love are Maya and Nikki from This Side of Home. If you're #ya fan and you haven't read this one yet, get thee to a library! #aprilbookshowers

The story of twin sisters who agreed on everything, slowly drifting apart in their senior year of school, reacting differently to the gentrification of their neighborhood, and how it affects their friendships, goals, dreams, and values. A superb YA book you shouldn't miss.

YA contemporaries are my go-to #palatecleanser between chunkier fantasy books. I like anything from fluffy love stories to ones that deal with heavier issues. #feistyfeb

Beautifully written, wonderful characterization and extremely relevant. This is a novel teens and adults can enjoy!

"Mom tells me, 'Some people will like you and some won't. What's more important is: Do you like yourself?'" - Renee Watson

Although the book took a bit of time to get exciting I ended up loving it. The story was very well put together and the message was beautiful. I enjoyed how it showed the complex race issues we are dealing with today.