Welcome to Litsy!

Everywhere You Don't Belong: This touching and heartbreaking debut novel about a young Black man growing up on the South Side of Chicago took a long journey through my TBR list. Read my full review here: https://debbybrauer.org/#everywhere-you-dont-belong

I‘m about to dive into this one from Algonquin. They always publish such interesting, quality books. It took me a bit to notice the silhouette on the cover (it‘s much more obvious in the picture.

A great protagonist but the writing style didn't feel 100 percent accessible to me. ⭐⭐⭐

Full review at https://erinkonrad.com/2021/01/16/everywhere-you-dont-belong-book-review/

I loved the cadence of Bump‘s dialogue in this debut novel. Bump slides in some impactful observations and quotes throughout the book in a non-preachy manner. Great book for binge reading- short enough to finish quickly, but long enough to create depth of character.

Everywhere You Don't Belong is a heartbreaking debut novel that fools you with simplistic prose. The emotional complexity sneaks up on you in lyrical prose that reads more like a series of short stories. The anticipation and excitement builds to a frenetic, surreal frenzy and you can't imagine putting it down. Easily finished in an afternoon of binge reading.

I was given this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Bump has created a very believable character in Claude. Despite his somewhat unusual history and his feelings of abandonment after his parents both leave and his friends keep moving to “better” neighborhoods, Claude is a typical teen. He feels like he doesn‘t fit. He wants to do something. He wants to get out. He doesn‘t know why or what, but college gives him a how. He doesn‘t fit there either—but then gets the chance to make a huge change.

Claude was a fascinating character, with intriguing circumstances and experiences. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3177767221

I went to the library yesterday! I‘ve been reading a lot of heavier books, so I decided to add two middle grade titles to the stack. I asked Hank to help me choose which one to start with, but he didn‘t offer much assistance.

“Loud people could make a difference. Radical decisions change the world”

Excellent. Sharp, funny, heartbreaking. I loved the voice. This is a writer we all need to hear more from.

Gabriel is coming to Skylark Bookshop on his book tour next month and I am *finally* getting to this. It‘s just as good as everyone told me it was.