THE GRAVITY OF US by PHIL STAMPER

Pretty much all I need to hear to know that I’m going to love a book are the words: queer love story. I do wish I’d listened a bit harder because this one is also about space travel - not the most interesting topic in the world (or out of it) for me. Regardless of that, I did enjoy this book. It’s lighthearted and young but it still managed to cover some serious issues including mental health. I appreciated the honesty of the characters and the cute love story and this is definitely a book I would be happy to recommend to any of my teenage students, but for me it was a little too spacey and a little too young. It’s not this wonderful book’s fault; I’m just not the target audience! I still love Leon, though ❤️

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ANOTHER BROOKLYN by JACQUELINE WOODSON

ANOTHER BROOKLYN by JACQUELINE WOODSON I read this book in the space of a few hours and as soon as I finished I turned back to the first page again. I didn’t read it all again - just that first page and it worked. It’s a cyclical book. It doesn’t need to be read in any particular order. Memories manifest in any way they want to. This book is a series of memories told from the point of view of August; a teenager growing up in Brooklyn in the 1970s. She states early on in the book that life would have been different if she’d known about jazz, but all she knew of was the top 40 (white artists mostly). And “it never quite figured us out.” I found that one statement to be huge! It’s a 170 page novel, but that statement to me felt bigger than the messages I’ve taken from 1000 page novels. If we can’t see ourselves represented, how can we see ourselves at all? My own white privilege means that this is something I rarely have to think about, but this book helped me to understand how that...

LIKE A LOVE STORY by ABDI NAZEMIAN

LIKE A LOVE STORY by ABDI NAZEMIAN This novel follows the points of view of three teenagers in the late 1980s in New York during the AIDS crisis. One is openly gay, the other is also gay and is from Iran and is struggling with his sexuality and the other is a young and beautiful girl with a gay uncle who has AIDS. The story is centred around activism and protests and fighting against the homophobic system and disgusting pharmaceutical companies that sell medicines for people with AIDS at impossible prices. The president, Reagan, didn’t even speak the word AIDS out loud even though it was killing one person every twelve seconds. Throughout this heartbreaking story, I could feel the author’s hope. There were strong themes of love and friendship that stitched my broken heart together again. There is still a lot to be done and the final chapter and the author’s note at the end prove that we must continue to educate ourselves and continue to fight for the rights of LGBTQ+ people. Be m...

The Great Godden by Meg Rosoff

The Great Godden by Meg Rosoff Well, I guess you could say I’m a little bit excited! I’ve been on Bookstagram for a year now and I’ve just been accepted on to my first ever @tandemcollectiveuk readalong. I’ve been sent a book by @bloomsburypublishing and goodies from @cartwright_butler These biscuits are seriously divine! Meg Rosoff is an auto-buy author for me. She’s been one of my favourites since I was a teenager and that is why I cannot wait to read this book. It has also been compared to Bonjour Tristesse which is a book that I adore. *EDIT on 19/7* I’ve now finished the book and I am torn. I think this book is clever in many ways - especially its portrayal of gender and family relationships and mystery. However, there were some elements that I felt could have been drawn out further. I think I would have adored this book had it been longer. I wanted more! As it stands, I enjoyed reading the book and the process of stopping and answering the promp...

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