Mini Reviews: Bisexual Main Characters Edition
Hi fellow book readers!
In case you didn’t know, it’s pride month – a time to
celebrate LGBTQI+ books and writers! And of course then there was no better
time than this to share with you a special, Pride Month edition of mini reviews
about books featuring bisexual main characters both of which are #ownvoices
(meaning the authors feature the same diverse characteristics as their
character)!
How To Make A Wish by Ashley Herring Blake
Aha this was such a beautiful, powerful and well written
book! The writing absolutely blew me away and the way it explored concepts of
family, friendship, love and belonging was beyond amazing! I was captivated
from the moment I began to read it and it was such an addictive read! The
writing was able to provoke so many reactions within me from anger to disgust to
fear and disappointment – which is a rare skill that very few writers have! The
writing was absolutely flawless and worked so well with the book!
While the idea can’t be considered ‘original’, Blake
explored it in such a unique way that made it truly her own work! I had never
read a book quite like this – from the frankness of her writing to the terrible
circumstances Grace, the main character, grew up and still managed to flourish
in! I loved the diverse aspects of this from the f/f relationship, bisexual
main character and biracial main character! The plot was predictable but like I
said before, the fact that it was so unique, made it such an enjoyable ride!
And the characters! Oh my god! I loved every minute of them
on the page! They were so vibrant and live and (once again) well written. They
felt so real to me because of their problems, issues and emotions but they also
taught me the strength of perseverance! Grace was such an amazing protagonist
and I loved seeing her point of view in the book (which trust me, is rare! I
don’t often like the narrator!)
Overall, this is such a fantastic and well written book! I
highly recommend it to everyone reading this review to give it a chance because
it is STUNNING!
OVERALL RATING:
★★★★
Noteworthy by Riley Redgate
Eh this one was sadly a miss for me.
What I did like was the a capella because this is such an
untouched area of YA and it was so great to get another perspective on this
other than what I got from Pitch Perfect! I loved the coming of age story
aspects to this as well where the main character, Jordan, has to go through a
journey of finding her place in the world and fitting in! It also featured one
of my favourite tropes ever which is the girl going undercover as a boy trope
(bless!) and it was so well done and sensitively written as Jordan, who cross
dresses as a boy for the part, compares it to the lives of transgender people! There
were some fantastic friendships in this too and I loved how it focused on the
power and strength that comes with meeting ‘your’ people and surrounding
yourself with people who love you unconditionally!
The diversity in this was also so fantastic! There is fluid
sexuality, bisexual, gay and people of colour representation in this and it’s
an #ownvoices story and quite well done! Other than those aspects, it’s also a
fun contemporary read!
There are so many people absolutely raving about this book
and I feel I could get onto the bandwagon for two reasons! The pace of this
really put me off! The beginning was slow and hard to get into and throughout,
the plot was also quite slow and it was hard to feel engaged and enamoured with
the story – mostly due to the writing. The other reason is I couldn’t feel a
strong connection to the characters! I felt like I was watching their story as
a third person and rather than feeling like I was also a part of the book!
I was a little sad to not have liked this more because I did
really expect to love it but I do think this was more personal preference for
me because EVERYONE loves it and has been raving on about it so I think this is
one of those that you have to read and see for yourself!
Thanks for taking the time to read my reviews and do make
sure to read books featuring LGBTQI+ characters! Hopefully I’ll be doing a
recommendations post in the future as bisexuality is only a small part of Pride
Month and I want to try and feature as many books as possible!
OVERALL RATING:
★★★
Have you had a chance
to read either of these two books? What did you think? And what books are you
going to be reading for Pride Month?
Thank you to NetGalley
for providing me review copies of these two books! However, all thoughts and
opinions were my own and this is an honest review.
22 happy thoughts
I finished How to Make a Wish this morning and really enjoyed it. The author was able to look at so many issues in a sensitive way. I haven't read Noteworthy, and I still might...but I don't know, it doesn't sound like my thing. Nice reviews!
ReplyDeleteShanti @Virtually Read
Thank you so much Shanti! <3 I am so glad to hear you also enjoyed it and yes omg she did it in such a sensitive way I was completely in awe!
DeleteI hope I get approved on Netgalley and read these titles before the month ends! And, I think I'll start with How To Make A Wish. Lovely mini revs!
ReplyDeleteThank you! And fingers crossed for you!!!
DeleteI haven't heard of either of these until now! Sorry you didn't really like Note Worthy that much. If you're interested in more acapella stuff, I suggest Song it On on Netflix! It's only eight episodes long but follows four acapella groups across the US.
ReplyDeleteOOOH I shall check that out - thank you for the rec Gennifer!
DeleteAgh, I don't think I've heard a single negative thing about How to Make a Wish, honestly. I really need to get my hands on a copy! I honestly love, love Noteworthy - it's one of the best contemporaries I've read all year. Sorry it didn't quite work out for you, though. :( Great post, Anisha!
ReplyDelete~ Aimal @ Bookshelves & Paperbacks
Thanks Aimal! And yeah, I was quite bummed I didn't enjoy it but I think this is more of a personal opinion rather than general consensus (which makes me happy because diverse books should be supported!)
DeleteI looooove diversity! I will definitely check these books out! Great reviews!
ReplyDeleteJulianna @ Blots of Ink and Words
Thanks Julianna!
DeleteGreat reviews! I've seen so much good things about How To Make A Wish so I definitely should check that out!
ReplyDeleteYES YES YES GIRL!
DeleteOhh I loved your reviews for these!! I do want to read Noteworthy but it's not super high on my TBR because my library doesn't have it yet.😂 But I didn't know both these were #ownvoices and I'm really glad they are! I shall definitely need to check out How To Make A Wish too. *nods*
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Cait <3 And yes, I do hope you enjoy both whenever you get around to reading them!
DeleteI've been wanting to read both of these books! (The covers for both are super cute!)
ReplyDeleteHow to Make a Wish is definitely at the top of my tbr at the moment.
Fabulous reviews, Anisha <3
AHA blushes thank you so much Faith!
DeleteSo many books I'm so excited for, and so many beautiful covers. I'm especially looking forward to reading Queens of Geek and We Are the Ants. Amazing reviews! <3
ReplyDeleteMegan @ http://wanderingsofabookbird.blogspot.co.uk/
Queens Of Geek is amazing and I'm also going to be reading We Are The Ants so YAY!
DeleteLovely reviews! I have read and enjoyed Noteworthy a bit more than you did - I thought that the pacing was a bit slow at the beginning just as well but it didn't bother me too much. I really, reaaaaaaaally want to read How To Make a Wish, I've seen it around and read a couple of lovely reviews, yours included, that makes me want to buy the book right now. If only I could, ahah :)
ReplyDeleteYOU SHOULD! Or if you don't want to buy, maybe ask your library to bring in a copy?
DeleteAhh I'm sorry you didn't enjoy Noteworthy! I loved it, but I do agree, the beginning was a bit slow and hard to get into. Once I read past that though, I flew through the book. I hope your next read would be better!
ReplyDeleteThank you! <3
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