Hi! Jana hosts Top Ten Tuesday @thatartsyreadergirl. This meme was born out of a love of list,and bringing the book blogging community together. Each week, Jana will post a prompt, and we readers will post our list based on that prompt, We also have the option of doing our own thing if we don’t have ideas for the topic that week. This week, our topic is: Favorite new to me authors of 2022.
1- Ashley Herring Blake (Deliliah Green Doesn’t Care)
2- Tamsyn Muir (Gideon the Ninth)
3- Racquel Marie (Ophelia After All)
4- Sabaa Tahir (All My Rage)
5- A.J. Sass (Ellen Outisde the Lines)
6- Alice Osemen (Heartstopper)
7- Jenifer Dugan (Hot Dog Girl)
8- Claribel A. Oretega (Frizzy)
9- Malinda Lo (Last Night at the Telegraph Club, A Scatter of Light)
10- Matthew Mercer & various (Vox Machina Origins Volumes 1-2)
A fun, fast-paced novel about friendship, family, fighting for what’s right, and standing out from the crowd while standing up for yourself.
Twelve-year-old Brooklyn Ace is ready to take the Valentine World Scouts by storm and build her own cookie empire. She nearly won the top cookie selling spot last year and is determined to make her mom—who recently passed away—proud by coming in first this time around. With her fabulous best friends by her side, Brooklyn knows she’ll become Santa Monica’s District Cookie Queen. The crown is practically in the bag.
Then Piper Parker arrives.
Piper has a rich dad, a fancy hotel, and a drive to steal the cookie crown right off Brooklyn’s head. Before long, most of the seventh grade is under Piper’s spell. But Brooklyn is in it to win the biggest cookie war the school has ever seen. With the help of her cookie squad, her rockstar grandmother, her super cool therapist, and a lot of self-love and inner growth, maybe—just maybe—Brooklyn can end up a winner after all.
Quotes
Then there’s sleeping in, and waking up to brunch, which means pancakes or French toast for breakfast, which c’mon, is basically dessert.
I’m always here if you want to talk about your feelings. They’re here, and they matter.
Lyric shoves me out of the way and screeches into the screen door, “calling the cops on a bunch of scouts? What do you think we’re going to do, start a campfire on your lawn and make s’mores?”
Brooklyn, I know it’s hard to open up to someone you don’t really know and to tell them how you’re doing. That’s totally understandable if that’s even how you’re feeling.
And no, it isn’t my mom’s voice out there convincing everyone to buy cookies from me. It is mine.
But you used everything you’ve learned from her and put it all into being the best version of yourself- and she’s a big part of that.
Review
Rating: 5 stars
Rep: BIPOC, Mental Illness.
Characters
Cookie Monsters had fantastic characters to me. Brooklyn had been through a lot in the last year, and she was just trying to do well in the cookie-selling competition in memory of her mother. Piper Parker was the antagonist, and you didn’t know much about her story until late in the book, but she was an interesting character for me as well. Brooklyn had her squad of friends who sold cookies with her, and they were all a lot of fun to read about because they each had their own interests that made them unique. Brooklyn’s grandmother and her father were great supporting characters, and I loved seeing them pop up throughout the story.
Plot
The story of Cookie Monsters was more than just characters selling cookies. For me, it was about finding yourself and embracing who you are as a person. I loved how hard Brooklyn worked to sell cookies, she was doing it for her mom, but she was also doing it for herself because she knew that she could do it and wanted to prove to herself that she could sell cookies. Over the course of the story, Brooklyn’s confidence grew, and by the end of the book, I was so proud of her. Cookie Monsters was also a story of mental health and asking for help from friends and family when you need it.
Writing
Even with Middle-Grade Novels, writing still plays a big part in the story. Erika J Kendrick is a fantastic writer who wrote Cookie Monsters with a lot of heart. During the light light-hearted scenes in the novel, as a reader, I was having fun, and laughing because the characters were having fun, and enjoying the company of each other. This novel had some very intense and heavy scenes as well, and during these scenes, there was a tonal shift, and you could tell that the characters were having a big moment as well.
Friendship
Brooklyn had her squad, and they were all so sweet. Each girl really cared about Brooklyn, and they were always there to support her when she needed it. Each girl in the squad had their own things were dealing with, and with the help of her friends, they wear able to come out stronger on the other side. Brooklyn was a cheerleader, and I loved seeing Magic and the Honeybees in this book as well.
Enjoyment
I loved this novel a lot. I had a lot of fun reading it, and it was the perfect mixture of a fun story and a heartwarming story. Anyone who likes Middle-Grade novels should check out this one.
About the Author
Erika J. Kendrick is an acclaimed writer, a national speaker, and a mental fitness expert. She earned a psychology degree from Stanford University and an MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Erika was an NBA cheerleader for the Chicago Bulls before writing her novels, Confessions of a Rookie Cheerleader (Random House) and Appetite (Random House). She is currently touring her debut middle grade novel, Squad Goals, with Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. The spinoff, Cookie Monsters, is set for a summer 2022 release.
After battling her brain pain, Erika founded Mental Fitness For Life where she launched her latest Mental Fitness book tour, “Who Moved My Happy?” While talking to audiences of all backgrounds and ages, Erika shares her story of brain pain and inspires hope by creating safe spaces for life-saving conversations. She has presented and guest lectured at colleges and universities as well as the US Army and US Air Force, national sororities and fraternities, middle and high schools, conferences, retreats, and national organizations, large and small. Erika has toured with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and is a speaker with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) where she has been inducted into their Hall of Fame.
Erika is a recipient of several “Who’s Who” honors, a Rising Icon honor, and several Awards of Excellence. Erika has taken the stage for TEDx, appeared on Good Morning America – The Third Hour (GMA3), NBC News, CBS News, The Wendy Williams Experience, national television and radio segments, and a host of other media outlets. She has been featured in several publications, including Page Six of The New York Post, The Huffington Post, The Chicago Tribune, and various other magazines and digital media.
Hi! Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa @wishfulendings.com. This meme was originally created by Jill @breakingthespine. The purpose of this meme is to feature a release, usually pre-publication, that we can’t wait to read! This week, I’m featuring a YA Romance that sounds right up my alley. All information comes from Goodreads!
Title: The Love Match
Author: Priyanka Taslim
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Expected Publication: Janaury 3rd 2023 from Salaam Reads/ Simon Schuster
Synopsis
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before meets Pride and Prejudice in this delightful and heartfelt rom-com about a Bangladeshi American teen whose meddling mother arranges a match to secure their family’s financial security—just as she’s falling in love with someone else.
Zahra Khan is basically Bangladeshi royalty, but being a princess doesn’t pay the bills in Paterson, New Jersey. While Zahra’s plans for financial security this summer involve working long hours at Chai Ho and saving up for college writing courses, Amma is convinced that all Zahra needs is a “good match,” Jane Austen style.
Enter Harun Emon, who’s wealthy, devastatingly handsome, and…aloof. As soon as Zahra meets him, she knows it’s a bad match. It’s nothing like the connection she has with Nayim Aktar, the new dishwasher at the tea shop, who just gets Zahra in a way no one has before. So, when Zahra finds out that Harun is just as uninterested in this match as she is, they decide to slowly sabotage their parents’ plans. And for once in Zahra’s life, she can have her rossomalai and eat it too: “dating” Harun and keeping Amma happy while catching real feelings for Nayim.
But life—and boys—can be more complicated than Zahra realizes. With her feelings all mixed up, Zahra discovers that sometimes being a good Bengali kid can be a royal pain.
Why I want to read this
Well, this book caught my attention because it’s described as To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before meets Pride and Prejudice. The romance seems sweet, and I can’t wait to meet Zahra, Harun, and Nayim. Also, I’m from New Jersey, and we don’t get a lot of books set in this state.
Hi! Next year I’ll be participating in the Clear Out Your EReader Challenge. What started off as something that was just Ereaders has grown to incorporate more books. I’m excited to do this challenge for the first time next year. Read more information and sign up https://momwithareadingproblem.com/2022/11/coyer-upside-down-2023-sign-up/ .
If you want to read my opinions on the media I watch, I started a blog for entertainment posts! https://stephtalksentertainment.wordpress.com. This blog will still be here, but I will only use it for bookish posts, and bookish content.
Hi! Jana hosts Top Ten Tuesday @thatartsyreadergirl. This weekly meme was born out of a love of lists and bringing the book blogging community together. Each week, Jana will post a list, and we readers will post our list based on that prompt. We also have the option of doing our own thing if we’re not feeling the topic of the week. I am starting to use the Library more this year through the Libby app, and I wanted to share my favorite reads I’ve read from the Library.
1- Pizza My Heart by Rhiannon Richardson (current read)
2- Growing Pangs by Kathryn Ormsbee (current Read)
Hi! Every year writers across the world join together and write a 50,000-word novel in a month! This year will be my first year back fully in several years, and so I will be going on a bit of a blogging hiatus. I may still do Top Ten Tuesday some weeks, and I want to do a post every Wednesday where I walk about my writing, and how the story is coming along.
I have done National Novel Writing Month for several years but took a break when work and blogging needed more attention, so fiction writing needed to take a back seat. I’ve really missed National Novel Writing Month, so I’m coming back with an all-new story this year. Check out the info before for the title, genre, and a summary
Title: Roll for Love
Genre: New Adult Romance
Synopsis: Camille Roth is a 24-year-old music teacher and needs a date for her sister Hannah’s, wedding. Enter Jess Barrett, a long-time friend, and recent crush. After Jess rolls a Nat 20 and romances Cami’s character in their DND Champaign, the two decide to go on a real date.
The story features: found family/ a friends group, a DND game, queer love, and shenanigans. I’m very excited about this story,and it should be a very fun story for me to write. The idea for this story came to me because I wanted a story that featured DND, but I wanted a little something more than just DND. I look forward to sharing my progress updates with you all, and I hope you enjoy reading them as well.
Hi! I read a lot of books last month, so I thought I would share my books!
Books- How to Succeed in Witchcraft by Aislinn Brophy-5 stars The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern-5 stars Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega and Rose Bousamra (Illustrations) -5 stars Lore Olympus volume 1 by Rachel Smythe-4.5 Kristy’s Big Idea (The Baby Sitter’s Club Graphic Novel #1) by Raina Telgemeier -4.5 Star Gazing by Jen Wang-5 stars Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson #2) by Rick Riordan-5 stars Terry’s Crew by Terry Crews-4.5 stars Get A Life Chloe Brown by Talia Hilbert-4.5 stars Don’t Hate the Player by Alexis Nedd-5 stars Fairest by Marissa Meyer-4.5 stars
One of the main reasons I love Tash Hearts Tolstoy is because of the characters. When you read a YA contemporary novel, you want your characters to feel real, and that you can be friends with them. Tash and her friends are genuine characters, and they go through the things that a typical teen would have to go through. I read a lot of novels in this genre, and this story has some of the characters I’ve connected with on a personal level, especially Tash. The characters have their ups and downs, and they all go through a journey with this story.
Plot
I could describe Tash Hearts Tolstoy as having more vibes than a plot, however, I think there is a plot, it’s just more of a character-driven story. The story is one of my favorites because I love fandom and fan-made pieces and this follows Tash and her friends on their web-series Unhappy Families, a modern retelling of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. I love this because it’s a fun way to introduce Anna Karenina to a new generation, and I wish that Unhappy Families really existed as a TV show or a web series. They shot the show to fame after a shout-out from a famous vlogger, and this is what happens today, this is another proper element of the story. There’s a romance that happens, and this also feels real as teens have crushes, and need to come to terms with telling their crushes personal details about their sexuality.
Writing
The writing of Tash Hearts Tolstoy is one of the highlights of the story for me. Tash Hearts Tolstoy is filled with scenes that are light, handled with a light tone, where you can tell that the characters are having fun, and you want to have fun along with them. They handled heavy scenes in the novel with care and will tug at the reader’s heartstrings.
Friendship
Tash has a core group of friends, her crew, and the cast in her show, and I love the core friend group. This core group of friends has the banter you find in a family or found family, and that leaps off the page to the readers. Tash and Jack have their moments in the novel, but at the end, they forgive each other and remain their bond of best friends.
Enjoyment/ Recommended for
This is one of my favorite books ever, and I love it so much. I’ve read it twice and loved it both times I’ve read it. Read this book if you love: Alice Oseman and Becky Albertalli. I find the characters, story, and writing similar between all three authors. Read if: you’re a fellow Ace or Demi sexual, and you’re looking to see yourself represented in a book. If you love queer YA Contemporary novels, check this one out if haven’t yet!
Hi! I went on vacation, but now I’m back. Jana hosts Top Ten Tuesday @thatartsyreadergirl. This weekly meme was born out of a love of lists and bringing the book blogging community together. Each week, Jana will post a prompt, and we readers will have the opportunity to post our list. This week, our topic is Books I Read On Vacation (bonus points if you tell us where you were!) (Submitted by Dedra @ A Book Wanderer). In honor of my birthday this Friday, I’m going to post my top ten favorite books of all time, as featured on the shelves of my favorite books
1- Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
2- Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
3- 10 Blinde Dates by Ashley Elston
4- All My Rage by Sabba Tahir
5- With The Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
6- Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee
7- Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills
8-The Chance to Fly by Ali Stroker and Stacy Davidowitz
9- When You Get the Chance by Emma Lord
10- Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake
Paiges of Novels 