Welcome to Litsy!

What a great YA queer book! My favorite things- -mental health is discussed with respect and compassion. Two characters close to the MC suffer from anxiety or depression, and he handles his interactions with them gently, thoughtfully, and lovingly.
-the main character is queer, and gets into a relationship with another teen boy, and no one is ever cruel or has any objections.
👍👍

Aww what a great story. Its so adorable at times and then it hits with you something shocking or sad. It's quite the roller coaster ride. I like the bond between him and Leon it's quick but quite mature. They actually talk things out. The ending is really well done and I enjoyed the development of the story and Cal. A great read. 5*

Cal's dad just became one of the astronauts to work on the Mars mission, which means they have to move to Texas and pretend to be a perfect American family for the cameras. Cal doesn't want to stop posting his viral news videos but the media surrounding the launch wants to control the story. In the midst of all this, he falls for Leon, whose mom is also on the mission. I wanted to like this more than I did. The romance felt forced and unnecessary.

I‘m really tempted to pick up one of the books Maya brought to the cabin and see if I enjoy it better than my #currentread 🤣 They‘re both so pretty. She picked both off the Pride display at B&N last week. Happy Pride Month! 🌈

Things this book did well: queer representation, topic being a NASA Mars mission, and the hype/social media generated interest... but that‘s about it. Overall, it was poorly written, with an inconsistent, self-centered, and immensely lucky main character. The plot was transparent, flawed, and unsatisfying. Secondary characters were flat and their relationships (including a s/o) with the MC were only self serving and plot driven.

Oh I liked this. It‘s just a lovely blend of space race nostalgia and astronaut nerdery and angsty first love romance. I had a few minor gripes with some of the journo ethics of the hero, but then that‘s what my day job is...

Need to finish this one before the library loan runs out. Strange how I can really want to read stuff, wait ages for it on hold and then get distracted by other stuff when it actually shows up...

Such a cute love story as well as a critique of TV portryal of "life" through reality TV. I also love that the author tells us he wrote this story because, as a queer kid, he never grew up with characters like him and wanted to tell stories so kids now can see themselves in the protagonist of a story. -swoon-

I can‘t remember how I came across this book (I listened to the audiobook) but I actually really liked it. Fun and quick gay themed YA love story. What I really appreciated was how the author approached mental health in the book. It‘s not a focus of the book but it‘s a refreshing way to view being sensitive to one another‘s mental health all while navigating love and pursuing your passions.

This was such a great audio production! I really enjoyed the story. Cal drove me a little crazy but in a way that was genuine and showed what a complex character he was. His relationship with Leon was so sweet. It definitely kept me interested and I listened to most of it in one day!

I wanted to love this book so much and it had all the right elements - interesting characters, space, LGBT romance..but it just didn't work for me. Even though Cal seemed like a great character with his social media fame and likable personality I couldn't connect with him. The relationship felt rushed and forced. If you are looking for a cute LGBT romance I love Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Last Seen Leaving but this was a pass for me!

Quarantine has been great for reading! My favorite book this was probably Eleanor Oliphant because it took me by surprise and I was thinking about it for days. Least favorite was Crown of Coral and Pearl. It was enjoyable and I'll probably continue the series but overall not very memorable for me!

The Dragon Republic: 5⭐
Crown of Coral and Pearl: 3⭐
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine: 5⭐
Tweet Cute: 5⭐
Foolish Hearts: 5⭐
This Adventure Ends: 4⭐

This was a sweet book.

If you liked Simon Vs the Homo Sapien Agenda or Maybe It's Us, then put this on your list.

I love the mix of the pinks, purples, and blues.

#CoverLove #YA Edition

Out February 4

This YA title is being released right before my birthday. Happy birthday to me? #TBR