Tag: #comingofage

• From Little Tokyo, With Love Review

  If Rika’s life seems like the beginning of a familiar fairy tale—being an orphan with two bossy cousins and working away in her aunts’ business—she would be the first to reject that foolish notion. After all, she loves her family (even if her cousins were named after Disney characters), and with her biracial background, amazing…

  rachelbeerwoman

  May 31, 2026

  Reviews

  #asianmcs, #biracialmcs, #comingofage, #contemporaryfiction, #contemporaryromance, #fromlittletokyowithlove, #rachelreads&reviews, #realisticfiction, #sarahkuhn, #YA

• Eighteen Roses Review

  Lucia Cruz may be turning eighteen this year, but she is not the debutante type. Everything about a traditional Filipino debut feels all wrong for her. Besides, custom dictates that eighteen friends attend her for a special ceremony on her birthday, and Lucia only has one friend– Esmé Mares. They’ve stuck to each other’s side…

  rachelbeerwoman

  May 29, 2026

  Reviews

  #asianamerican, #asianmcs, #comingofage, #contemporaryfiction, #eighteenroses, #feiwel&friends, #filipinamc, #rachelreads&reviews, #realisticfiction, #shannonc.f.rogers, #YA

• Shards of Silence Review

  Even if it hurts to leave behind his friends and family in Navajo, New Mexico—especially his great-grandmother, Mildred—Derrick knows his scholarship to an elite East Coast boarding school is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Sagefield Academy is totally different from life on the His new classmates vacation in Europe and take study drugs. Derrick wants to stick…

  rachelbeerwoman

  May 15, 2026

  Reviews

  #brianleeyoung, #comingofage, #contemporaryfiction, #heartdrumimprint, #indigenousfiction, #indigenousmcs, #indigenousYA, #navejo, #rachelreads&reviews, #shardsofsilence, #YA

• Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely Review

  In 1969 twenty-three-year-old starlet Lori Lovely, the apple of Hollywood’s eye, shocks the world by ditching a promising film career to take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience as a Benedictine nun. Gossip columnists and scandal sheets can’t get enough of the story. Why would a successful starlet take the veil? Was she hiding from…

  rachelbeerwoman

  November 26, 2025

  Reviews

  #chicklit, #comingofage, #contemporaryfiction, #harpercollins, #historicalfiction, #hollywood, #rachelreads&reviews, #sarahmccoy, #spiritual, #whateverhappenedtolorilovely, #williammorrowbooks, #women’sfiction

• Ranking Go for the Gold Gymnasts

  Written by Olympic medalist, Dominique Moceanu and author, Alicia Thompson, this quartet dives into the grit and determination of competitive gymnastics combined with the coming of age and friendship of the Texas Twisters teammates.

  rachelbeerwoman

  November 19, 2025

  Rankings

  #aliciathompson, #comingofage, #disneyhyperion, #dominiquemoceanu, #goforthegoldgymnasts, #gymnastics, #middlegrade, #rachelreads&reviews, #sports

• The Taylors Double Review

  This is going to be a unique as The Taylors are two novels, one middle-grade, one YA by two different authors focusing on the same group of friends as they navigate love and friendship through their namesake, Taylor Swift. So let’s start with Calonita’s. Taylor (aka Teffy to her family) is terrified to start middle…

  rachelbeerwoman

  October 20, 2025

  Reviews

  #comingofage, #contemporaryromance, #elizabetheulberg, #jencalonita, #middlegrade, #rachelreads&reviews, #realisticfiction, #scholastic, #taylorswift, #thetaylors, #thetaylors:lovestories, #YA

• Kelly Yang Interview

  Kelly Yang is the award-winning author for kids and young adults with popular titles such as the Front Desk series, Parachutes, Little Bird Laila, and more. She graciously took the time to answer my questions about her work, and share what’s coming next. Enjoy! 1. When did you feel ready to start pitching your own…

  rachelbeerwoman

  October 6, 2025

  Interview

  #comingofage, #contemporaryfiction, #frontdesk, #littlebirdlaila, #parachutes, #picturebooks, #rachelreads&reviews, #scholastic, #YA

• Family Tree

  It’s no surprise that Ann M. Martin writes well. Who else could write a pop culture phenomena as the BSC? But while the BSC may be the most popular of her works, I want to highlight this series, combining warm, small town insight and historical fiction. Main Street is my favorite out of Martin’s works,…

  rachelbeerwoman

  September 28, 2025

  Book Suggestions, Book/Author Highlight

  #annm.martin, #betterkeptsecret, #bettertowish, #comingofage, #familytree, #historicalfiction, #homeistheplace, #middlegrade, #quartet, #rachelreads&reviews, #thelongwayhome

• Café con Lychee Review

  Sometimes bitter rivalries can brew something sweet. Theo Mori wants to escape. Leaving Vermont for college means getting away from working at his parents’ Asian American café and dealing with their archrivals’ hopeless son Gabi who’s lost the soccer team more games than Theo can count. Gabi Moreno is miserably stuck in the closet. Forced…

  rachelbeerwoman

  September 19, 2025

  Reviews

  #asianmcs, #caféconlychee, #comingofage, #contemporaryromance, #emerylee, #harpercollins, #latinx, #lgtbq, #quilltreebooks, #rachelreads&reviews, #YA

• Say a Little Prayer Review

  Riley quietly left church a year ago when she realized there was no place for a bi girl in her congregation. But it wasn’t until the pastor shunned her older sister for getting an abortion that she really wanted to burn it all down. It’s just her luck, then, that she’s sent to the principal’s…

  rachelbeerwoman

  September 10, 2025

  Reviews

  #christianity, #comingofage, #contemporaryromance, #jessicavordis, #lgtbq, #rachelreads&reviews, #religion, #sayalittleprayer, #vikingbooksforyoungreaders, #YA