Genre: Contemporary

Jul 11

Bite-Sized Reviews of After Zero, Breath of Flowers, George, & Carry On

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Reviews 17 ★★★★

I’ve got four reviews for you today: two MG contemporaries, a YA fantasy, and a YA graphic novel. Three of the four were books that I specifically picked up in an effort to read more LGBTQ+ books for Pride Month. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! I discovered this book from AJ’s review @ Read All the Things. You should definitely read her review for an #OwnVoices perspective on selective mutism. I immediately felt for Elise because of her anxiety about saying the wrong thing to people. I could completely understand how she gradually went from trying to relate to the people around her to feeling safer saying nothing at all. Her situation at home was heartbreaking—her mother was so distant, and Elise had never really learned to relate to the outside world all that well since she’d been sheltered (and homeschooled). There’s… Read more »

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Jul 08

Storm Blown by Nick Courage: Review of an Epic Adventure!

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Reviews 12 ★★★★

A gripping, disaster-filled adventure of epic proportions, this MG book will certainly blow you away! What Fed My Addiction: Realistic storm experiences. In the author’s note, you find that Nick Courage grew up in New Orleans, so he grew up with tropical storms and hurricanes. That shows in the book. The storm itself is so vivid, it almost feels like a character. And the build from calm (where many characters assumed the storm wasn’t really even going to hit) to mega-hurricane was all laid out in such detail that it was easy to imagine being in the storm yourself. Speaking of that build… So. Much. Suspense. I flew through this book in practically one sitting (I did have to stop for dinner with the family). There is never a moment of dullness in this book: the tension builds and builds and builds until it hits a crazy crescendo at the… Read more »

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Jun 28

4th of July Picture Book Spotlight & Author Interview: Blue Sky White Stars by Sarvinder Naberhaus

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Author Interview 10

Lately I’ve been more and more curious about the picture book process. I’ve met lots of picture book authors at conferences and such, but I don’t know much about how picture books get made (which you’ll see from my questions. LOL!). Anyway, Sarvinder Naberhaus is one of the authors I met at the most recent SCBWI conference I went to. I drove her to the airport after the conference, and we talked for a long time (we bonded over stories of our awkwardness in social settings—she’s my kind of person!). I thought it would be nice to feature Sarvinder here on the blog. Since it’s almost 4th of July, Sarvinder’s diverse, patriotic book Blue Sky White Stars is the perfect pick! This book seems simple at first glance, and yet quite a lot of meaning is packed into its pages. For anyone like me who’s had a harder time stirring… Read more »

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Jun 21

Something Like Gravity by Amber Smith: Review & Giveaway

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Giveaways (Ended), Reviews 33 ★★★½

A story of dealing with trauma and figuring out who you are after life has changed, this book has a powerful message of hope and healing. What Fed My Addiction: Chris’s realistic family conflict. Chris’s mother has a hard time accepting Chris’s transition. For one thing, she has lots of fears about her son’s safety out in the world, especially after Chris was already attacked before he even came out as trans. I know lots of people are going to see the mom as a horrible person because she didn’t immediately embrace Chris’s transition. But I’m going to get real honest here and tell you that when my daughter came out to us as trans, it wasn’t simple, even if I wanted it to be. And people take different amounts of time to wrap their heads around a gender transition. It’s hard not to fear this world and want your… Read more »

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Jun 19

Bite-Sized Reviews of Finale, Autoboyography, Virtually Yours and Secrets of a Fangirl

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Reviews 26 ★★★★

I’ve got four reviews for you today: a YA fantasy, two YA contemporaries, and a MG contemporary. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! I loved this series-ender! I’ll confess that I was nervous at first—I thought that we were going to end up with a long, drawn-out love triangle between Scarlett, Julian and Nicolas (and it was going to be played out in the form of a contest, no less), but things … didn’t go that way. Thank goodness!! I won’t say what did happen, but I’ll say that I was very pleased to see the end of that love triangle come early in the book. Now, technically there was also the love triangle with Tella, Legend and Jacks, but that one hardly felt like a true love triangle at all, and I was okay with it. Actually, in general, I liked Tella a… Read more »

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Jun 04

Bite-Sized Reviews of I Love You So Mochi, Girl Against the Universe, Midsummer’s Mayhem, and Nikki Tesla and the Ferret-Proof Death Ray

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Reviews 31 ★★★★

I’ve got four reviews for you today: two YA contemporaries, a MG contemporary fantasy, and a MG adventure. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! I picked this book up on a whim when I saw two glowing reviews from fellow bloggers (Dani @ Perspective of a Writer and Sam @ We Live and Breathe Books), and I’m so glad I did! This is the type of book that puts a smile on your face and makes you feel like all is right with the universe. The book is set (mostly) in Kyoto, Japan, and Kuhn does a fabulous job of making us feel like we’re right there with Kimi. There are so many cultural details that ground us in a sense of setting, and it’s easy to understand Kimi’s mixed feelings of blending in and standing out in a country that provided her heritage… Read more »

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May 31

No Place Like Here by Christina June: Review & Giveaway

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Giveaways (Ended), Reviews 24 ★★★★

Ashlyn has lived her life trying to measure up to her father’s expectations, but it’s always been a losing battle. So, even when he ends up in prison for tax evasion, he somehow still has a hold over her that she can’t quite break. She’s shipped off to work at a wilderness camp with her cousin—something she never would have chosen for herself—and she spends the summer wishing she could just go back home again. But the camp teaches her a few things about how capable she truly is, and she starts to realize that if she wants change, she’ll have to learn to speak up—as terrifying as that is for her. I felt for Ashlyn, and I could relate to her inability to speak up and her desperate need to avoid conflict. And I think almost any teen will understand Ashlyn’s sense of powerlessness in a situation that feels… Read more »

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May 29

Shred Girls by Molly Hurford: Review

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Reviews 6 ★★★★

Girl Power at its best! Shred Girls follows Lindsay as she goes from shy superhero wannabe to BMX biker extraordinaire. Lindsay spends her time reading superhero comics and imagining a world where she defeats the supervillain, but in real life she feels like an outsider, never quite sure enough of herself to fit in. When her parents leave her with her older cousin Phoebe for the summer, Lindsay’s not sure what to think—after all, Phoebe’s always seemed like she’d fit the villain mold. But it turns out, Phoebe plans to teach Lindsay how to really fly—on a bike. Lindsay is both excited and nervous—but she might be even more terrified of making new friends. I loved that Lindsay gained confidence throughout the book, both in her riding and in her friendships. Neither subject was immediately easy for her, but she learned that, with a little persistence, she could be successful at… Read more »

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May 21

Bite-Sized Reviews of The Truth About Leaving, City of Ghosts, The Forever Song, & Educated

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Reviews 22 ★★★★

I’ve got four reviews for you today: a YA contemporary, a MG contemporary fantasy, a YA fantasy and a memoir. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! Lucy has spent her whole life living for other people: when her mom moves for work, she sacrifices her own time and energy to help take care of her little brothers; when it’s time to think about college, she doesn’t consider anywhere but where her parents want her to go; when her boyfriend wants more of her time, she quits dance, her one true outlet. She doesn’t know who she wants to be because she’s never given herself a chance to think about it—she just fills whatever roles are “assigned” to her in life. This book is about Lucy finding herself in a sea of other people’s expectations. When Lucy meets Dov, her perceptions of the world… Read more »

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Apr 29

Bite-Sized Reviews of Hurricane Season, Release, Grim Lovelies and Story Genius

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Reviews 16

I’ve got four reviews for you today: a MG contemporary, a YA contemporary, a YA fantasy and a non-fiction writing craft book. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! Hurricane Season is a poignant story of the complexities of loving a parent who struggles with mental health issues. Fig is used to having to take care of her dad. She’s used to him embarrassing him in front of her friends. She’s used to needing help (sometimes even from the police). She’s used to the questions and the worry that this time social services might actually take her dad away from her. She’s used to all of these things, but that doesn’t make any of it any easier to handle. The story follows Fig as she struggles to understand her dad and battles her own fears. Her story is heartbreaking and incredibly realistic. For instance,… Read more »

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