June 2016 – thoughts of Melissa

Okay, so I just picked up a new YA novel – “Getting Over Garrett Delaney” by Abby McDonald. I’m only in the first chapter, and already, I’ve rolled my eyes so far that I’m shocked they’re not stuck in the back of my head, permanently.

From the first two pages, I can already see it: this book is about a girl who’s madly, hopelessly in love with a dude she can’t have. The descriptions make that much very clear. Blah, blah, blah. (Let me guess, they get together in the end, right? I’m not sure yet.)

It’s a try-too-hard piece and painful to read, and I’m only a few pages in.

“We’re supposed to be together! I knew the day we met that it was fate!” “Everything except the only thing I ever really wanted us to be. In love.” Honey, you’re friends. And apparently you’ve been friends for two years. Stop whining and either ask him out or get over it.

Continue reading “Female Protagonists in YA Fiction” →

Do you ever read a book that, in the beginning, you thought you weren’t that into, but then all of a sudden, you hit a moment and you absolutely can’t put it down?

That’s what happened to me when I picked up Marjane Satrapi’s “The Complete Persepolis.”

My initial reasoning behind picking up the book – from my local library, of course – was that it is the June reading for Emma Watson’s “Our Shared Shelf” feminist book club. I haven’t read every month’s book, but decided to give this one a try.

For those who don’t know, Persepolis is the story of Marjane’s childhood and growth into adulthood during the Islamic Revolution. The story touches on life both pre- and post-revolution, from the eyes of an adolescent growing into an adult.

Continue reading “Book Review: The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi” →