Welcome to Litsy!

I‘m going thru Thorpe‘s backlist after enjoying Margo‘s Got Money Troubles. This book spans a period of time when Bunny & Michael are in their teens through young adulthood. They don‘t fit in at school, their parenting is almost nonexistent, & they find solace in their friendship. As time goes on, an event takes place at school that changes everything for both of them. This is not a hopeful story but I fell into the characters and their journey.

#LMPBC Round 18! Here are some choices for #GroupB from my BOTM backlog. Let me know what grabs you or if you‘ve read something already.

I am posting one book per day from my to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it. Some will be old, some will be new - don't judge me, I have a lot of books.

Day 150th

Join the fun if you want!

#tbrpile

Bunny and Michael are two outsiders growing up, due to their personalities as well as their past. They become best friends and are two unique characters in this book that loses its focus a bit halfway through, in my opinion. So much happens, not all is worked out well. That‘s why I liked it but not loved it.

I am glad I read it though and I love the #BOTM collection I am having thanks to you Cindy! ❤️😘

#WeeklyForecast 27/11

I am in the middle of The Push, which can turn out to be a great book or a total disappointment and about to start Celestial Bodies, because it is an International Booker winner and I can use it for #ReadingAsia2021. The tagged one is a favorite of @KarenUK and @megabooks so I should be fine. You sent it to me Cindy but I can‘t remember if you liked it.
And the fourth one is a #1001books.

This is the story about Bunny and Michael who become friends in a town where they are outcasts and find love and hope in each other. This is a tragic story about being victim to your circumstances and also about a love so fierce that even in its destruction, both main characters are still drawn to it. This is a hard book to read. It is very bleak. There is not a lot of hope in it, but I still think it is worthwhile.

Vivid, complex and heartbreaking characters in a dark, moving story that had me totally enthralled. Michael and Bunny are lost souls, outsiders at high school, with parents that let them down completely. Their friendship felt so real, and the way they are themselves so completely with each other, was so touching. When a violent incident changes the trajectory of their lives, my heart broke for these kids. Excuse the pun, but this was a knockout!

"But sometimes when you are in a moment, it‘s so close to your face, reality, it‘s pressed up so close to you, that you just flinch, you react, and then your fate is decided, and all you have done was what you couldn‘t help doing, and yet your fate is decided. You‘ve done something that can‘t be taken back." This book was incredibly sad, with characters so developed I felt like I knew them. I don't have any words to describe how I'm feeling.

This dog's face sums up my current feelings about this book. I love love love Bunny and Michael's friendship and interactions but spaced through it are Michael's obscene, vivid sex descriptions. I'm not opposed to LGBTQ+ sex. I'm opposed to how jarring it feels while listening. I've read and watched Game of Thrones and didn't feel so unsettled.

Wow... such a good book! #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

#lmbpc @Readergrrl @hes7 @TheAromaofBooks
I got my book back earlier this week.
Thanks ladies for another great round. I know we all read outside of our comfort zones and for me that is one thing I love about doing this.

I'm afraid this one wasn't for me @cwarnier 😬 I'll have a spoiler comment with my biggest issue with this one. I ended up skimming a lot, which I hate to do for #LMPBC . Planning to get it in the mail to you today @Readergrrl !!
@hes7

Now THAT is a line!

You can hit. Not anybody in this world can really and truly stop you if hitting is how you want to be. But if you do, you‘re risking all that love you could have. Because nobody, nobody, nobody is going to stand around all day for you to hit just hoping to give you love in return 🖤🥊

@hes7 - the #LMPBC book finally arrived yesterday!! I am going to try to get this one read and on its way this week. @Readergrrl @cwarnier

I found this book interesting. Education is so often the armor necessary to have any chance of fighting for a future held back by bad/neglectful parenting. I didn‘t realize this as a YA novel until I read more about the book upon completion. That said, I‘m discontent with the resolution of the Craigslist relationship of a 60+ yr old man and a teenage boy.

I don‘t know what I thought this book was going to be about but I certainly wasn‘t anticipating such a brutal story. I loved the complexity of Bunny and Michael‘s friendship but thought the ending/wrap-up felt a bit rushed. After spending so much time with Michael, I would have appreciated seeing his maturation in more detail. Still a very solid pick. #DashingDecember

👍🏻🥳🥳👍🏻 #botm Fav is tagged!

I decided to read this on a whim. I had no idea what it was about. I found an engaging coming of age story told by Michael that explores class issues, growing up gay in a small CA community, family disfunction, and how his friendship with Bunny, the girl next store, changed her life forever.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
#BOTM

Finished another 5⭐️ #reread over lunch. I read the #audiobook this time. Excellent narration!

This book is a bit like bumper cars, oddly violent and twisty. I felt slammed by Thorpe‘s depiction of the domestic violence in Bunny and Michael‘s childhoods and the lasting effects it had on them as teenagers and adults. This book leaves me thinking a lot about morality and the types of violence that are acceptable - emotional and physical.

#lmpbc @hes7 @TheAromaofBooks @Readergrrl
This got mailed off today. Will arrive on Sat.
Over all this was not what I was expecting, but I would give it 4 stars.
#thankful2020 I am thankful for gorgeous weather.

#thankful2020
I am thankful for quiet read times.

#lmpbc #round10
@Readergrrl @hes7 @TheAromaofBooks
Ladies I am excited about romance novels. Here is what I have us reading.
I plan to use green for writing this round.

@TheAromaofBooks Final update for October #bookspin and #doublespin

Loved The Knockout Queen, and was unsettled by/appreciated Eileen! 👍💕

Managed to read four more, but no bingos.... 📚🤷‍♀️

Loved it! Vivid, complex and heartbreaking characters in a dark, moving story that had me totally enthralled. Michael and Bunny are lost souls, outsiders at high school, with parents that let them down so completely. Their friendship felt real, the way they are themselves so completely with each other, just so touching. When a violent incident changes the trajectory of their lives, my heart broke for them. Excuse the pun, but this was a knockout!

I did not like a single character in this book.

💯

There was such a unique voice to this gritty coming-of-age story. Driven by both vivid characters and an unexpected plot, I thought this was an excellent read.

I love this book so much. So so much. You know how you read book reviews with generic terms like "searing" "brutal" and "sensational"? these descriptors truly fit this title!! I have never read anything quite like this before and I mean that in the best way. I could write about plot and characters, but it wouldn't do this book justice. I am seriously blown away. It does feel very current though, so I'm not sure it will have a lasting impact.?

Holy shit this book is good. I put off reading it and picked it up because it‘s a bit shorter than my other recent reads. I thought it would be light and easy, but turns out, it has profound thoughts and literary references that are thrilling this once English Major. I had to stop reading because I got to a wow moment and had to stop to tell you all, you should read this too

My afternoon pick-me-up @ work
This book is a *knockout* 😏
Seriously loving it!!

What a surprise this was. I loved it! Thank you for the recommendation pals! Definitely a best of the year for me.

Wowza. Not at all what I expected (maybe the cover threw me off?), but I loved every bit of this book. It‘s so dark and sad and insightful and unbelievably well-written. This is a top ten book for me. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Which one of my Litsy pals was raving about this one? My hold finally came through!

This book was alternatively awesome and heartbreaking. It really felt like a coming of age story-my heart ached for the way both Bunny and Michael went through so much in high school. As a parent, I just wanted to help them and protect them- these kids were given the worst in the parent dept. It reminded me that life can be so hard but we must go on. The writing was spectacular and detailed and deep; I liked this book than I thought I would!

Really enjoying this one so far. Kinda cynical, kinda dark, kinda pissed off, kinda feeling that 👊🙌👏💪

I'm very split on whether this is a 4 or 5 for me--but I absolutely loved it. A very dark/explicit book about two teens who become best friends, when a surprising turn of events changes the trajectory for one. It also touches on a lot of topical issues well, even if it wasn't always the main point of the book, it was always lurking there just like as in real life. My sleeper hit of 2020, so happy I read it!

I love a good, strong first line of a book. 💪👊

I picked this from #botm on a whim, it wasn't really on my radar but it sounded decent enough, and I'm quite surprised by how taken by it I already am!
I feel like I'm really getting back into reading after such a tumultuous year. Not just my son-- it's more covid, BLM, the US becoming a fascist state. I am really really finding the value in deplugging.

Summer.

The sun finally came out! It has been so hot and humid the past few days in Chicago but there‘s a lovely breeze now so I‘m definitely taking advantage! Really enjoying this book and I‘m only 50 pages in.

3.8/5. This book was...interesting. It was not anything like I expected which boosts my rating for sure. I‘ve also never really read anything like it. The characters felt unique but not well-developed at times. The story itself was good and I read it quickly. Would recommend if you‘re looking for something different!

Such a different story! The narrator‘s life was the most interesting (and realistic) to me than the larger than life Ray and Bunny. I‘m not sure how to describe the story otherwise, but it was fast and addicting.

Excellent! In a dark, graphic kind of way that definitely isn't for everyone because some may find it uncomfortable. I would usually say that I prefer more of a plot, but something about this just works! #BOTM

Just finished this one! There is no point to this story at all, yet i couldnt stop reading it. I really just wanted to see what happened next with the characters. It was nice to read a book and not have to put much thought into what was happening. The lives of the characters flowed day to day like in real life. Also this is the first book that ive finished in months so that says a lot!

@sharread thank you for the sweet package of travel tissues and books (2 of my favorite things!)!!! I‘m excited to read the tagged book, and kinda nervous scared about the thriller. Either, both offer complete escapes from our current (frightening) reality. Thank you for thinking of me and for being so sweet!!! 🥰 #LitsyLove

Bunny is a tall, beautiful, wealthy girl who‘s destined to be a star athlete. Michael is an outcasted, closeted homosexual who has a dangerous habit of meeting older men online. Vicious gossip leads to a dark, horrible act that they will both have to live with. This book was just ok, but I almost wish the author switched between the 2 viewpoints or written in a close 3rd person. I liked it, but didn‘t love it.

I gave up on The Hunting Party.
I threw my back out.
So im going to start The Knockout Queen.
I can only sit up. (uncomfortably)
So thats means i wont fall asleep 2 pages in! 🙃
Happy Saturday!

Thorpe‘s third novel is my May #BOTM choice and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Michael and Bunny‘s story is utterly enthralling and Thorpe‘s writing is quite wonderful! I enjoyed the astute observations and the way even the minor characters leapt off the page with realism. The pages flew by and I already can‘t wait to see what she will write next!