Take the Lead by Alexis Daria

If you enjoy Dancing with the Stars, readers will love Daria’s Dance Off series where long time instructor, Gina has been dying to get a trophy after ten seasons of losing. Unfortunately, she gets paired with reality wildnerness star, Stone whose claim to fame is that he’s tall and silent. . . and hot. Not that she cares, she’s going to be professional about this and get the trophy. But the show’s producers are pushing for a showmance and the more time they spend with each other, it’s hard to deny the heat.

As usual, the chemistry Daria writes between her couples are off the charts and I was as drawn in as Gina and Stone were. It helps that behind the cameras, the two have a lot in common, vying for a more grounded, realistic life to follow their dreams than the flash of fame.

In fact, Stone’s big secret is that most of his reality show is a lie. He doesn’t live with his family, he wasn’t homeschooled. In fact, he quit his job as an engineer so he could film the show, and the reason he has been relegated to strong and silent is because he’s a bad actor who can’t stay the constraints of reality tv. He only does it for the money, but the more time Stone spends with Gina he realizes he wants to break out of the box the show has put him in and pursue what he wants. Gina has long been in casual relationships, putting her career first but her attraction to Stone is more than a fling and she finds that she trusts him–she loves him even if she’s scared to admit it. The problem is the showmance puts her career in jeporady as she’ll be falling into promiscuous Latina tropes just when she’s being respected as a professional chereographer and dancer.

Despite the flashy premise, I enjoyed how mature and realistic the dynamics between everyone was with a little reality tv drama. I can’t wait to read the next one.

Well That Was Awkward by Rachel Vail

Partially based on Cyrano de Bergerac, fourteen year old Gracie is thrust into middle school drama when crushes and hormones start flying. Gracie likes AJ but AJ likes Gracie’s friend, Sienna who likes AJ back! Gracie gracefully steps away and even helps Siene compose text messages to AJ to keep his attention. But that’s where the similarities stop. As with Vail’s other novels she’s far more interested in navigating the complexities of growing up and the emotional ebbs and flows of friendship.

Gracie, like most kids, is trying to be a good person and berates herself for her jealousy and worries if she’s acting selfish or not. Of course, she makes mistakes and inadvertedly uses and hurts people in the process like her friend, Emmet who has a crush on her and she’s not sure how to deal with that. There’s also mean girl, Riley stirring everyone up and no one quite knows how to deal with her sly, two faced tongue. I mean seriously, this girl is heinous in how easily she switches a conversation to make someone else look like the bad guy.

Gracie is also dealing the aftermath of family tragedy. Her sister Bret died seven years ago, before she was even born but Gracie now feels responsible to be happy for her parents, worrying whether or not she’s a poor replacement for the forever young and impish Bret and how she can never measure up.

Vail continues to shine her work on the nuances of growing up with lessons that are relevant no matter the age like Gracie’s hard yet honest talk with her parents about Brett and the pressure they have put on each other, they don’t have to be happy all the time, it’s okay to be sad. Gracie learns the best way to deal with Riley is not to feed into her drama and to learn to slow down and reflect on her tumultuous feelings. Even Sienna learns how to make boundaries for herself and not let Gracie speak up or stand up for her all the time, she can do it herself.

Vail just shines in this small subgenre that will always be relevant because friendships can be hard, middle school is messy and awkward but it also has so many great small moments.

Boys I Know by Anna Garcia

While the book is about the boys June has known it is a lot more than that. Anna pays homage to the The Joy Luck Club‘s protagonist, June as well as for AAPI and biracial readers everywhere by showing a little more representation and a little more nuance on what it is like growing up Asian-American to immigrant parents.

In June’s case, her Taiwanese parents want her to succeed and she does, it’s just not enough compared to her perfect older sister, Wendy. She gets As but her mom wants her to get A+, the school she got accepted to is not as good as Wendy’s, and so on. It feels like she can never get out of the second place zone and so she stops expecting. However, she can control her love life.

Or so she thinks. Between creepy Chinese fetish guy, smarter than thou Gong, uncaring Rhys and rebound Brad, June finds out that her attempts at love and romance can’t be forced.

I enjoyed how realistic Garcia is. There’s no happy resolutions or understandings, like between June and her parents or June and her sister. There’s just acceptance of the things that cannot be changed as well as the ever-changing relationship that people are more complicated than you give them credit for. Like the boys June knows, she finds that she has either put them on a pedestal or completely misinterpreted the depth of their interest.

Hula by Jasmin Iolani Hakes

This shifting narratives takes readers through the multi-POV, multigenerational history of one family on Hilo and the meaning of hula traditions for the island.

It can get complicated so always make sure to look at the dates at the beginning of the chapter because its a non linear narrative. It’s unique in that it is a combinaiton of historical record for readers who don’t know the injustices that led to Hawai’i becoming the 50th state, oral storytelling, and regional dialect which Hakes doesn’t put a translation or foot note in order to recognize that it was evolving during the time periods (70s-90s) during which this is set.

It’s about community overall, the inequality between native Hawaiians and the tourists, the misappropriation of culture, the power of storytelling, the land that was stolen and which the protagonists try to reclaim amid political divides within the communities.

I wish I could say more about it, but its best to go with an open mind and enjoy the ebb and flow of Hakes’ prose that captures your attention from the beginning.

I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn

This is a cute tale albeit predictable but the wholesomeness more than makes up for it. Kimi wants to become a fashion designer but her mother wants her to stop wasting time with frivalous fashion and focus on real art like painting as she does. At a standstill, Kimi further enrages her mother by deciding to go to Kyoto to live with her estranged grandparents and hopefully, find herself. And on the way she finds romance with an aspiring med student who introduces her to the deliciousness of mochi.

As I said, you can predict most of the plot like Kimi connecting with her parents, realizing how similar she is to her mother and the generational cycle of children breaking away from what their parents want them to be, not that’ll dim their love for each other any less. Plus the requisite drama of Akira wanting to stay in Japan while Kimi eventually plans to return to the U.S. and the difficulties of long distance.

But even though it’s predictable, the feels are still there and I was genuinely engaged with Kimi as she learns about her mom/grandparent’s past, the unique culture of Japan in comparison to her father’s family Japanese-American experience and Kimi learning to embrace both parts of her identity and letting it bleed into her fashion. It’s a sweet, summer rom-com read.

Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim

Alejandra Kim often confuses people even in her super-woke private school. It’s hard for others to reconcile her super Korean face with her Argentine roots but Alejandra tries to brush it off. Her method of survival is based on laying low, but that’s hard to do when her best friend takes a microaggressive comment aimed at Alejandra and turns it into a whole diversity rally, getting a teacher fired! All she wants to do is finish senior year and get into her dream school but various forces- her father’s death, her mother’s distance, her friend’s pushiness, her old friend’s burgeoning feelings for her- force Alejandra to reflect and journey through the minefield that is identity and what it means to find a place for herself.

In a time of identity politics and PC culture, this book is a breath of fresh air, nuanced to understand the good intentions of wokeism but also pointing out how it goes too far. Alejandra understands her classmates’ attempts to be an ally but hates how performative it is, more of a competition in trying to be a good person than actually understanding the needs of minorities and what they want. She didn’t want a diversity assembly, she just wanted to vent to her friends. It’s a difficult world made even more difficult by the grief she is navigating for her father who’s unexpected death has made Alejandra’s imposter syndrome worse as she realizes the difficulties of her father’s immigrant experience and how she may be heading down the same path if she keeps trying to stay low.

There’s many lessons one can glean from this novel, and I’ll admit it can get confusing but that just reflect the reality Alejandra lives in with messages of who she should be, how she should act, how she should react all in a jumbled mess. But one lessons that I think Park manages to lift above the others is that everyone is going through their own journey, their own crap, and it doesn’t make it easier when you’re honest about your feelings rather than try to hide it in PC-ness all the time, it leads to resentment and deception. To use, Park/Alejandra’s celery anaology, that if this inclusive school so wants her to belong, can they stop blaring out how they should celebrate her diversity. It’s like overcompensation in the extreme when she just wants to be.

At least that’s what I got out of the book, you may get something else. It’s layered and well worth the read.

Follow Your Arrow by Jessica Verdi

I’m not a huge fan of influencers, I don’t see why they should get paid for wearing clothes and advertising but Verdi brings a compelling look into the influencer world and the good and bad of internet.

CeCe is internet famous and one half of the beloved OTP, Cevie. But then her girlfriend breaks up with her and Cece has to reconcile who she is and what her brand is without her girlfriend. The internet had been her lifeline when she was 12 years old and trying to figure out who she was. By controlling her content on the app (Its implied to be instagram but I guess Verdi wasn’t allowed to say it outright for legal reason), CeCe feels like she can have a safe space of perfection. Yes, it’s filtered and carefully curated but its her happy place when her home life went to hell.

You see, CeCe used to be very outspoken, intensely passionate of all causes from animal rights, the enviroment, LGTBQ issues, the whole gamut. But after the constant fighting with her alt-right-lite father (who subsequently divorced and moved out) and general fatigue from caring so much in a seemingly uncaring world, CeCe has quieted her voice to focus on noncontroversial things. At least her influence can spread positivity even though deep down inside, she wants to do more. But she fears what people will say.

As you can imagine, there’s a bit of a “the internet isn’t everything, you shouldn’t worry about what other people think” growth arc here but Verdi twists it in a unique way that makes it new especially as she shows the pros and cons of the influencer lifestyle. CeCe goes through great growth as she gets through her heartbreak and falls in love again with Josh (who I ADORE!!!!). That brings its own set of problems. CeCe is bisexual, she’s never hidden that but she always felt that she wasn’t allowed to show her queerness as much, as if dating a guy excludes her from the community. It only gets worse when her supposed fans get wind of her new BF.

I really enjoyed this book and Verdi’s exploration of relationships in the internet age, biphobia and the LGTBQ community, learning how to cut off toxic family members and more. It deals with tough issues but it’s also very wholesome at the same time. I loved the dynamics between CeCe and her family, and Cece and Josh and just everything. CeCe’s big speech at the Pride parade was actually very moving and speaks to anyone queer or not about the importance of accepting your identity whatever it may be and how no one should try to cancel you or control what you do or think. You have a right to live as you wish.

And She Was by Jessica Verdi

Dara has a pretty good life-awesome single mom, cute best friend, turning 18 and ready to live-but before she sets off for college, she wants to know more about where she came from. She wants to know about her father. And when she goes snooping for her adoption papers, she finds out her mother’s secret. Her mom is her father! After Dara’s mother’s death, Mellie took the leap to become her true self and transition into the woman she knew herself to be, leaving her hometown and taking Dara with her to escape her not-understanding in-laws.

Dana’s reaction is to blow up at her mom, take her best friend for an unexpected roadtrip and find her grandparents.

I’ll admit, I found Dana to be pretty unsympathetic in her reaction to her mother. She was upset about the loss of her grandparents and not getting to know them, and yes, Mellie’s secret is a pretty big change of events but Dana seemed to be missing the point that her grandparents are intolerant people. Does she really want to get to know people who hate her mom and call her a perverse abomination?

Luckily, that’s the lesson, Dana undergoes as Mellie sends Dana email after email explaining her story, giving a voice to the trans experience rather than just through Dana’s biased eyes alone. It also helps that her best friend, Sam, is willing to push back on Dana’s stubbornness and unsympathetic lens too, getting her to stop thinking about what she, Dana, lost and more about what Mellie went through to provide Dana the best possible life she has now.

There’s also an almost obligatory ship tease between Sam and Dana that I guess is interesting but Mellie’s story is the true emotional core of the book and Verdi does a good job in highlighting the importance of family, identity and finding who you really are and those who will love you for it.

You’d be Home by Now by Kathleen Glasgow

Emory is stuck as the boring good girl of her family, of her whole school which would be a good thing considering the tragedy that has befallen the small community when Emory’s older brother kills Emory’s friend while driving high. Now, Joey’s back from rehab, the whole family is struggling to help him adjust in a town raveged by the opiod crisis. In all this, Emory feels invisible, trying to help her brother’s addiction while finding her own voice at school.

This novel is very much An-Important-Issue PSA as it names relevant statistics but I feel readers will enjoy it noneetheless because of how grounded Glasglow’s writing is and her willingness to be as realistic as possible, touching those who feel the opiod’s impact in their daily lives.

Now Emory makes quite a few stupid decisions, especially with one boy, Gage who induces her to shoplift and take nude selfies, giving her the attention she so craves. While I found it incredibly dumb, I must give her a pass as she’s a teenager and Glasgow writes in her notes, these self-destructive decision give Emory a new perspective of what she really wants to do with her life. Yes, she feels invisible but she can be constructive about it and do something to help not only her brother but help everyone suffering while maintaining some distance so she can help herself too.

Spin by Rebecca Caprera

In the 2010s trend of rereading ancient texts in order to share the rarely explored female perspective, we have new book on the much maligned Arachne. A woman feared by many to this day and the poster child for huberis. Because when a woman is proud and confident in her abilities, she must be punished while men go around strutting like peacocks. Sound familiar?

In sharing the tale from Arachne’s perspective, from her birth to her painful transformation, Caprera makes readers think more about the myths we have known and think about what is missing when we take away women’s voices, how the addition of their perspective shifts the frame entirely.

Written in poetic verse, the novel can be read in a fast pace while its lyrical tone creates a soothing rythmn. Caprera stays firmly on Arachne’s side, detailing a life filled with hardship from her plain looks to rape to the death of her mother. Her actions stemming from a combination of self preservation and defense of her loved ones. For which, she is seen as jealous of her friend whom she’s trying to protect from abusive men, ungrateful to the men who raped her because she’s ugly, too proud for trying to get the money she earned because weaving is her one gift, her power so she may make a better life for herself.

It’s even more perfect considering how weaving is considered women’s work and thus Arachne is able to make a space for women to share their stories, flipping the ones that deify the gods and reveal who they really are.

Spoilery for those who don’t know the myth I suppose but Arachne gets turned into a spider not because her weaving is too good but because she uses her tapestry to mock the gods, and she does so here. Taking each of those trysts, those “she wanted it and was overwhelmed by the god’s epicness” to show what they really are. Men at their worst, violent rapists. Arachne showed the truth.

A very good novel to add to those who enjoyed Miller’s Circe or Saint’s Elektra, and anyone else who would enjoy the long obscured perspective of mythology’s greatest side pieces and ‘villains.”

Atlanta by Jennifer Saint

Here’s a break from the rapey greek myths of old. I mean they’re still rapey but Saint takes a different track when further exploring her themes of being a women in a man’s world. That women being Atlanta. Abandoned at birth, raised by bears, Atlanta loves her life in the forest under the protection of Artemis and her huntress/nymphs. It’s a protected space, a haven, but Atlanta wants more. She wants adventure and so she signs up the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. 

Yeah, she was on that quest albeit as a bit part but Saint recenters in the story and mines the meaning of freedom and what it looks like to Atlanta when so much of her world is stacked against her because of her gender, and when there are others with their own agendas for her. Yes, even her fellow huntress and goddess aren’t the sound allies Atlanta believes them to be when they turn their backs on her for leaving them. 

While men try to put Atlanta in their own box, Artemis does the same too, showing her fierce, unforgiving nature. Anyone who dares to dally with a man is betraying their group and demeaning themselves, no matter the circumstance that led to it. Even as Atlanta shows that she’s able to retain her independence and her own identity, even as she falls in love, others associate her with the men she’s with.

Yet the book is more. . . happy I think. I mean it still has sad (you know what it is if you know the myths and Saint follows it pretty closely) but also feels like Atlanta won even if it’s not so obvious at first glance. 

Throwback by Maurene Goo

In 2023, Samantha Kang’s high school is over all those cliches like homecoming court. Rather they’d stage a protest over the heternormativity of it all and wear ironic sweatsuits rather than campaign in princessy gowns. At least that’s what Sam plans to do when she gets nominated for homecoming queen. A reaction that aggravates her mother whose sole dream in life seems to be fufilling the pastel American dream filled with homecoming, country clubs and Ivy League schools. They couldn’t be more different and Sam can’t deny the rift between them as nothing she does seems to satisfy her overbearing mother. The fact that her boyfriend is an artist, the fact that Sam doesn’t have a plan for college, the fact that Sam doesn’t join clubs etc.

But then a family crisis brings out the worst fight between mother and daughter, leaving Sam in the rain, trying to find a ride. Upon clicking a mysterious app-Throwback Rides-she is taken to her high school. . . in 1995! She’s totaly Marty McFlying the situation as she tries to navigate the regressive beliefs, lack of technology and other ninities lingo she has no clue about. But worst of all, she encounters her mom (ahem Priscilla) as a teenager and it seems if she wants to get back home, she’ll have to fix the worst night of her mom’s life and help her win homecoming queen.

It’s amazing how Goo is in tune to the differences between Gen Z and Gen X or in this case, 1995 and 2023. It really felt like I was in Sam’s head filled with references to memes, tiktok, awareness of COVID/patriarchy/enviroment/ heteronormativity/etc. Which is a sharp contrast to all the nineties cliches of microaggressions and overt racism, the rabidly aggressive belief in school spirit, and different cliques. It’s almost like the movies and Sam has a hard time trying to keep herself from trying to educate others or blow her cover with an “OMG.”

But there’s more to it than the typical teen movie than she initially sees Priscilla’s life as. Sam doesn’t understand her mom in the past or the present at first, and the obsession with homecoming even less so, but she begins to see she has more depth than she had believed. It all comes down to the immigrant experience. While Sam sees country clubs for what they are as antiquated elitist clubs that will never accept Priscilla, Sam or other minorities, the same applies to Priscilla’s friend group of popular kids. But Priscilla desperately wants to fit in because she sees being accepted, being considered non-Asian a fufillment of the American Dream her parents worked so hard for. Which is where Sam’s Halmoni differs in opinion, starting a previous cycle of mothers and daughters unable to understand each other.

As a child of immigrants or minorities, they each hold the expectations of the American dream and hopes of the parents yet also want a different sort of happiness of their own thus the conflict.

The mother-daughter relationship is masterfully done, showing how complex it is. Actually how complex people are in general. Being able to go back in time allows Sam to see her mother without the biases and armor that she knows her with as an adult. She’s able to see important moments that formed her personality and see how it conflicts with Sam’s own yet was vital at the time for Priscilla to survive high school. It also helps Sam to grow, ripped away from the time period she knows, she sees the parallels between her mom’s life and her own and realize some things she wants to change about her own aimless life.

There’s also an adorable forbidden romance. Not just because Sam has a boyfriend but because crushing on a guy from 1995 can only in disaster but Goo does a great job illustrating their easy bond. With a surprise twist!

This is possibly my favorite book from Goo, balancing the family, romance, culture and humor filled with heartwarming character development.

A Pho Love Story by Loan Le

A bit of Romeo and Juliet, a dash of family secrets related to the haunting aftermath of the Vietnam War, and lots and lots of pho, Le creates a heartfelt story about family and romance. 

The Mais and the Nguyens have a long history, once the families were best friends but a rift started in Vietnam, and has only strengthened in America with competing restaurants across from one another. Linh and Bao have been warned not to interact with the other, and they’ve needed their parents’ warnings. Until a chance interaction on hectic Pho day gives way to the curiosity that has always dogged them about the Mai girl/Nguyen boy. 

The romance between them was wonderful! I felt the secret thrill they shared in talking but more important, the friendship they formed. At first they’re a bit wary, knowing their parents probably exaggerated the others’ awfulness and trying to unpack what’s true or not without offending the other. But once they hit their stride, they just click. They get the unique pressures of being children of immigrants, the Vietnamese community, the history, the things that cannot be said. 

But they also encourage each other too. Linh being an artist which she fears will mark her as a burden to her parents who depend on her working in the restaurant. She knows that’s how they view her aunt, an artist back in Vietnam who they often send money to because it’s an unstable field. And Bao feels aimless, a different weight on his family because he’s unsure of what he wants to do with his life when his mom wants him to plan it all out. But when the community comes under attack by one specific patron, he learns to hone his voice (and find his talent) to try to change things.

Also the family rift is fascinating as is smart in how she reveals the information, the red herrings, and the biases in place when characters tell their sides of the story. It’s especially emotional as it ties in with the greater Vietnamese diaspora and generational trauma. But the twist while predictable was riveting to read and I enjoyed how, even though it was painful, it forced needed conversations between the kids and their parents with really powerful speeches to both. 

So while it seems to begin as a classic Romeo and Juliet, it’s so much more, tackling topics that are important to the Vietnamese community and the immigrant community at large when it comes to racism and aftermath of US intervention.   

The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim

If you’re looking for a Austen-esque rom-com, look no further than Taslim’s novel where family lineage, status and reputation are paramount in Zahra’s Bangladeshi community. While the Khans were royally adjacent back in Bangladesh, they’ve fallen on hard times since the death of her father. Zahra has been the overseer of the finances and has deterred college, her dreams and even simply luxuries like decoration shopping. Even though Zahra believes with hard work and patience, she’ll be able to make it on her own, her Amma thinks what Zahra needs is a good match. Problem is, the sulky Harun is still mourning his American ex and Zahra is harboring a crush on an orphan guitar player, Nayim. 

Since their motives align, Harun and Zahra give into the farce orchestrated by their parents and make their own scheme to ruin it so they can go after what they want. But Zahra soon learns that love (and family and future plans) cannot be so easily manipulated.

It’s a fun story and Taslim gets into the pitfalls of such a right knit community filled with meddling aunties and the harsh double standards thrust upon good Muslim Bengali girls that leave her constantly feeling like a disappointment to her Amma. But there are plenty of heart to hearts as well as Zahra sees why her Amma acts the way she does, hitting on the issue of falling your heart and financial stability since it’s true, lack of finances can strain even the strongest of marriages. Zahra also gets a real reality check as both boys seem ideal but they’re deeper layers and flaws to both of them and it’s not going to work out happily ever after as in her favorite natoks but rather she must make her own path with her writing. 

My Basmati Bat Mitzvah by Paula J. Freedman

I figured this is a great one to end AAPI heritage month as it crosses over to Jewish History Month with Tara, your average Jewish Indian-American. Admittedly, she’s closer to her Indian side thanks to her relationship with her grandparents but she’s excited to get in touch with her Jewishness as she approaches her bat mitzvah. But of course, important religious-familial celebrations bring its own share of drama to ‘s life in the form of familial in fighting, boy problems and of course, questioning faith. 

I think Freedman did a great job in balancing the competing plot threads in Tara’s life as they all tie into the major theme of identity. As a girl between worlds, Tara sometimes feels like she doesn’t belong. She’s even outright told she’s not Jewish enough by classmates or not Indian enough by her cousins. And there’s her own feelings that by having the bat mitzvah she’s picking one side over the other. So it was great to see Tara’s journey of melding the two and standing up for herself in a constructive way as her physical fights always land her in more trouble. The Jewish and Hindu traditions were nicely intertwined with each social situation (especially with the helpful Hebrew school exposition), educating the readers so they feel they’re on the journey with. Even though these heritages are a thousands years old, the wisdom is universal and timeless. 

The boy drama felt almost mundane compared to said religion-family drama but it was refreshing even as Tara made plenty of mistakes with Ben-o’s feelings along the way. I think  hit the right touch of how confusing it is growing up and how the complications of crushes make it more chaotic yet thrilling. Tara was just a really relatable yet flawed protagonist. 

Books I read this month

(Crossed by Ally Condie, Isle of the Lost quartet and Snow & Poison by Melissa De La Cruz, The Retake by Jen Calonita, Fall of the School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn, Midnight Sun and The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer, Fractured Paths by J.C. Cervantes, Not Like Other Girls by Britta Lundin, Jem and the Holograms Vol. 1, & 4 by Kelly Thompson, The Radical Element and Tyranny of Petticoats edited by Jessica Spotswood, Follow Your Arrow by Jessica Verdi, Girlhood Journeys #1-13 by various, Codenname: Dancer by Amanda Brice, My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger, Betty and Veronica digest #188, Sincerely by Courtney Sheinmel, School of Secrets by Jessica Brody, Throwback by Maurene Goo, Archie Comics: 75 Years 75 Stories, 80 Years 80 Stories, The Archie Encyclopedia, Avalon High by Meg Cabot, Truly Tyler by Terri Liberson, Reflection by Elizabeth Lim)