Hi! Jana hosts Top Ten Tuesday @thatartsyreadergirl. This meme was born out of a love of lists and bringing the book blogging community together. Each week, Jana will post a topic, and we readers will write our list as a response to said prompt. We also have the option of doing our own thing, which I’ve done this week. This week our topic is Book Quote Freebie (Share your favorite book quotes that fit a theme of your choosing! These could be quotes about books/reading, or quotes from books. Some examples are: quotes for book lovers, quotes that prove reading is the best thing ever, funny things characters have said, romantic declarations, pretty scenery descriptions, witty snippets of dialogue, etc.). I wanted to do an old topic I’ve never done, so I’m doing Books I could reread Forever.
1- Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
2- Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
3- The Chance to Fly by Ali Stroker and Stacy Davidowitz
4- Fearless (Fearless Series Book 1) by Mandy Gonzalez
Hi! Jana hosts Top Ten Tuesday @thatartsyreadergirl. This 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 respond with our list. We also have the option of doing our own thing. This week our topic is-Books I Was SO EXCITED to Get, but Still Haven’t Read (bonus points if you tell us how long it’s been since you got them!).
1- People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
2- Different from the Movies by Holly Bourne
3- The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
4- The Sun is Aldo a Star by Nicola Yoon
5- They Both Die in the End by Adam Slivera
6-Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi
7-The Ten Thousand Joys of January by Alix E. Harrow
Hi! Jana hosts Top Ten Tuesday @thatartsyreadergirl. This 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 respond with our list. This week, our topic is Bookish Characters, so I wanted to do a mixture of new and classic characters.
1- Belle from Beauty and the Beast
2- Jo from Little Women
3- Cath from Fangirl
4- Tash from Tash Hearts Tolstoy
5- Mary from By The Book
6- Merrin from Bookish Boyfriends- A Date with Mr. Darcy
One of my favorite things about this book was the characters. I love Peter Pan, so I was drawn to this story. The characters in this book were interesting, and it was a mixture of characters you know, like Jane, Wendy’s daughter, and new ones, like Holly, Jane’s daughter. Holly and her kids are the main characters, and they were the most interesting stories to follow. Holly and her kids also had the most developed personalties and backstories to follow.
Plot
I love the plot of this story. When adapting or reading a story like Peter Pan, one that is known, and one that people look for new, takes on, you need something to keep you interested. Darling Girl includes a new story with interesting elements. The plot was one of my favorite elements of this book.
Writing
I enjoyed the writing in this novel. The lightherated scenes had a light tone, and the heavy scenes were written with a serious edge. Liz Michaalski’s writing style works well to tell this story.
What didn’t work for me
Pace
Some of the pace in this story was so slow. I felt like they could have talked some things about more, and they could have talked some elements about more.
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 prompt, and we readers will respond with our list based on that prompt. We also have the option of doing our own thing. This week, our topic is One-Word Reviews for the Last Ten Books I Read (submitted by Susan @ Bloggin’ ’bout Books).
1- Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed- fantastic
2- A Very Large Expansive Sea by Tahereh Mafi- fabulous
3- Darling Girl by Liz Michalski- good
4- No Filter and Other Lies by Crystal Maldonado- great
5-Boulevard of Dreams (Fearless Series Book 2) by Mandy Gonzalez with Britney J., Thurman- amazing
6- The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus # 2) by Rick Riordan- fantastical
7-The Lightning Theif- Graphic Novel by Rick Riordan-ok
8-The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus # 1) by Rick Riordan – marvelous
Hi! With Middle-Grade May coming up, I thought I would make some recommendations for those that want to read Middle-Grade books and are looking for recommendations.
Mystery
Fearless by Mandy Gonzalez and Boulevard of Dreams by Mandy Gonzalez with Brittney J. Thurman
Fantasy
Any books by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson, The Heroes of Olympus, The Trails of Apollo, Daughter of the Deep)
Contemporary
The Chance to Fly by Ali Stroker and Stacy Davidowitz
Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga
Graphic Novel
Scout is Not A Band Kid by Jade Armstrong
Historical Fiction
How to Find What You’re Not Looking for by Veera Hiranandani
Hi and welcome 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 write our list as a reply. We also have the option of doing our own thing if we would like. This week, our topic is bookish merch I would love to own, and this was so fun for me. I’m linking the products because I believe it’s easier for you to see what I’m talking about as I’m saying why I want it.
1- A book with sprayed edges
This is the only general item here. I love seeing these books and special editions on Instagram, and I want to own one.
I love my Peter Pan shirt from Out of Print. It’s so soft, and I love that there are so many custom options for the shirts. This design is my favorite because of the red background, and the silhouettes of Alice and the White Rabbit on the back.
Jane Austen is one of my favorite classic authors. I love the design of this shirt with the sisters on the front, and the house on the back. While I do love the blue, I think a shirt like this would look better in Black and White, so that is the option I would go with.
I have a tote bag I use sometimes which is cats as Shakespeare’s characters, and this tote would be perfect with that. A Mid Summer Nights Dream is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, and I just love the blue design.
If you’ve been here for a while, you know that I love Disney. This sweatshirt is so perfect for me, and it looks so cute. The gray color and the colors of the design is perfect.
Little Women is one of my favorite books, and I love the characters and the story. The shirt is so pretty, and I just love it. The color is pretty, and the addition of the flowers is a nice touch. Also, the text of the names is easy enough to read.
If you’ve been around here for a while, you know that I love the Creekwood series by Becky Albertalli. This poster includes the art of the main characters of this series, and I just love it so much.
Hi! Jana hosts top ten Tuesday @thatartsyreadergirl. This 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 post our list to the prompt. We also have the option of doing our own thing. This week our topic is Authors I Haven’t Read, But Want To (Submitted by Deanna @ A Novel Glimpse). This was a lot of fun for me! Also for this, I went with authors that I feel are common, and a few people might not know of. The book Titles I want to read are next to the author’s name.
1- Emily Henry (Beach Read, People We Meet on Vacation)
2- Roshani Chokshi (Aru Shah/ Pandava Quarete)
3- Hank Green (A Truly Remarkable Thing)
4- Katrina Yan Glaser (The Van Bleekers of 181st Street, A Duet for Home)
5-Ashley Herring Blake (Delilah Green Doesn’t Care)
6-Olivia Dade (Spoiler Alert)
7-S.K. Ali (Love from Mecca to Medina, Love from A to Z)
8- Adiba Jaigirdar (The Hen Wars, Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating, A Millon to One)
9- Abby Jimenez (The Freind Zone, Part of Your World)
10-Dahlia Adler (Cool for Summer, Home Field Advantage, At Midnight)
A tale set amid the 1956 Hungarian revolution in post-WWII Communist Budapest.
In the middle of Budapest, there is a river. Csilla knows the river is magic. During WWII, the river kept her family safe when they needed it most–safe from the Holocaust. But that was before the Communists seized power. Before her parents were murdered by the Soviet police. Before Csilla knew things about her father’s legacy that she wishes she could forget.
Now Csilla keeps her head down, planning her escape from this country that has never loved her the way she loves it. But her carefully laid plans fall to pieces when her parents are unexpectedly, publicly exonerated. As the protests in other countries spur talk of a larger revolution in Hungary, Csilla must decide if she believes in the promise and magic of her deeply flawed country enough to risk her life to help save it, or if she should let it burn to the ground.
1- This story started at such a heightened moment in the plot that I immediately wanted to read more.
2-I know little about Budapest, or what was going on at this time, so I’m excited to learn about a new time in history.
3-I was not expecting this to have romance or love interests in the novel, however; I am curious as to where the love will go.
4-I love how you get a glimpse as to what it was like for Csilla and her family back then through the journal entries of her father woven throughout the novel.
5-I am interested in how Csilla knows the man whose records she checked. The journal entry from her father on the next page is also intriguing.
6- I really loved finding out more about the relationship between Azriel and Tamas. I feel as though this is just the start of the exploration between the characters, and I am interested in learning more.
7-I love that Csilla is asking about her father to learn more about that life that she never knew about.
8-There is a turning point in the novel where Csilla is giving a speech about her father, and I believe it serves as a turning point in the story. I believe Csilla will start fighting to correct the wrong her father did.
9- I love that the young people are starting their own paper. The young characters in this novel have a voice that needs to be heard, and I love hearing what they have to say.
10- I love the friendship group in this novel. They all support each other so much and it is fantastic.
11- Speaking out about what happened to Gabor is important, so the public remembers what they’re fighting against.
12-I love that Csilla is going to tell the story of her father. Just so the public knows who he really was, and it might explain some of her actions.
13-I love how the river is treated as a character in this story. It really packs an impact and adds more to the story.
14- Azriel was always an interesting character to me, and I loved the explanation of why his character was the way he was. After it was explained, he added more to the story for both Tamas and Csilla.
15- The ending of this book was so sweet. I loved how the story ended, and it felt right considering the characters and the story we just had.
Review
Rating- 4.5 stars (4 on Good Reads)
Characters
One of my favorite things about this book was the characters. Csilla was the main character, and she was a fantastic character to read about. I loved her personality and her backstory. Her friends were also very fun characters to read about, and I loved reading about them. This Rebel Heart had characters that meshed well together and made for a very fun story.
Plot
This Rebel Heart was a story with a heavy plot, but I still really enjoyed it. The main story follows Csilla after the war, and on her journey, trying to move out of the country for a better life. As the plot moves, you find out that Hungary is still feeling the repercussions of the war. There is also the story with Csilla’s father, how he was as a person, and what Csilla learns as the story goes on. I loved how much the story was in this plot, and the story was interesting. The ending of this novel was so sweet, and I loved it.
Writing
This Rebel Heart had fantastic writing, and I loved how the story was written. The novel as a whole was heavy and tense, and the writing set the tone for the rest of the story. Style plays a role in a story for me, and the writing style in This Rebel Heart was a perfect match for the story.
Friendship
This Rebel Heart had a fantastic Found Family element with Csilla’s friend group that I just loved. The friends were so supportive of each other, and they would do anything for each other. Csilla had little family left, so her friends were like a family to her.
Enjoyment /Recommend
I really liked this book, and I enjoyed it immensely. As a fan of Historical Fiction, this is fantastic, and I learned learning about an era I knew little about. I recommend this for fans of Historical Fiction.
About the Author
Katherine Locke (they/them) lives and writes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with their feline overlords and their addiction to chai lattes. They are the author of The Girl with the Red Balloon, a 2018 Sydney Taylor Honor Book and 2018 Carolyn W. Field Honor Book, as well as The Spy with the Red Balloon, and the forthcoming This Rebel Heart (April 2022). They are the co-editor and contributor to This is Our Rainbow: 16 Stories of Her, Him, Them and Us, which had three starred reviews and made Kirkus Review’s Best Middle Grade of 2021 list, as well as It’s A Whole Spiel: Love, Latkes and Other Jewish Stories. They also contributed to Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens and Out Now: Queer We Go Again. They are the author of picture books Bedtime for Superheroes, What Are Your Words? A Book About Pronouns, and the forthcoming Being Friends with Dragons (February 2022). They can be found online at KatherineLockeBooks.com and @bibliogato on Twitter and Instagram.
Hi! Jana hosts Top Ten Tuesday @thatartsyreadergirl. This meme was born out of a love of lists and bringing the blogging community together. Each week Jana will post a prompt, and we bloggers will write our list as a reply to that prompt. This week our topic is a Freebie, so I decided to make a list of my top 10 favorite books from the first quarter of 2022. Books are separated by genre.
Middle-Grade
1- Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass
2- Boulevard of Dreams by Mandy Gonzalez (Current read)
3- Other Word for Home by Jasmine Warga
4-Scout is Not A Band Kid by Jade Armstrong
Young Adult
5- All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir
6- Every Variable of Us by Charles A. Bush
7-Lore Olympus Vol 2 by Rachel Smythe
8- Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie
9- Here’s to Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
10- A Very Large Expansive Sea by Tahereh Mafi (Current Read)
Paiges of Novels 