Genre: Contemporary

May 21

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

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Reviews 8 ★★★★

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 14

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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Mar 21

Operation Frog Effect by Sarah Scheerger: Review & Scheerger’s Top Ten Addictions

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Author Top Ten Lists, Reviews 6 ★★★★★

Operation Frog Effect is a story told in journal form–with eight (diverse) kids who are writing their experiences as the school year progresses. The kids use multiple formats. For instance, one writes mostly in verse while another does his journaling in graphic novel format. These different formats are sure to appeal to a wide variety of readers. Right from the start, I could tell that the characters were going to be incredibly relatable: the story starts with Emily, who’s confused by the fact that her two best friends didn’t sit with her on the first day of school. She’s sure it’s a mistake. Well, pretty sure. That beginning set just the right tone and let me know that this book was going to tug at my heartstrings and address situations that middle school kids face every day. It also tackles some tougher topics as well, like learning disabilities, immigration and homelessness…. Read more »

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Mar 19

Bite-Sized Reviews of Geekerella, Peasprout Chen: Future Legend of Skate and Sword, and The Crossover and Rebound

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Reviews 12

I’ve got three reviews for you today: a YA contemporary, a MG fantasy, and two MG verse novels in a series. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! I’ve been meaning to read this book for forever because so many of my blogger friends love it. A book about fandoms is pretty much guaranteed to be a win because so many of us have been in that place of adoring a book series or movie or TV show so much that we just can’t bear to see anyone ruin the story for us! Think of all those book to movie adaptations and all the fans who are just begging the producers to be gentle with their favorite story! I loved the focus on geekdom, of course–the title pretty much tells you what you’re getting into. These are people who LOVE their show and they’re not afraid… Read more »

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Mar 11

The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord: A Dual Review with Danielle Hammelef

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Dual Reviews, Reviews 16 ★★★★

(No actual dueling—or even arm-twisting—was involved. Don’t worry, this is a dual review, not a duel review. Sorry if you’re disappointed.) Danielle Hammelef was the latest winner of my Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up “Make Me Read It” giveaway, and she chose to make me read The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord. I’ve been wanting to read more Lord ever since I read (and LOVED) The Names They Gave Us, so I was excited about this selection! I read the book and then sent it along to Danielle, and we did a dual review together. Read on to see what we thought of the book… This book is a wonderful contemporary romance with a strong focus on friendships and a hearty dose of lovable, nerdy characters. Both Danielle and I really enjoyed it! What Fed Our Addiction: NICOLE SAYS: An unexpected romance. I love that Paige finds a romance she isn’t looking… Read more »

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Mar 06

Bite-Sized Reviews of Song for a Whale, A Friendly Town That’s Almost Always by the Ocean, The Color of Lies, and The Lunar Chronicles

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Reviews 18

I’ve got four reviews for you today: two Middle Grades, a YA, and a YA series . I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! This is one of those books that takes you into the heart and mind of a character whose experiences you might not be able to completely relate to—and you come out all the richer for it in the end. The story focuses on Iris, a Deaf girl who struggles to communicate with many of the people around her and to find her place in a world that doesn’t seem to know how to define her. When she learns of a whale with a similar issue, Blue 55, who can’t communicate with other whales, she makes it her mission in life to let him know there’s someone out there who understands him. I connected to Iris right away, even when I… Read more »

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Feb 15

Bite-Sized Reviews of A Curse So Dark and Lonely, The Simple Art of Flying, and The Language Inside

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Reviews 32

I’ve got three reviews for you today: a YA fantasy retelling, a MG contemporary(ish), and a YA novel in verse. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! This book! So much perfection! Lately I’ve honestly been slogging through a lot of my reading. I’ve been tired and unmotivated and most of the books I’ve read have felt really long. I don’t think it’s been the books’ fault—it’s just the state of mind I’m in. And then I picked up this book. And I flew through it. Every time I put the book down, I was just waiting for the moment I could pick it back up. It was pure magic. It’s hard to imagine a fresh take on the Beauty and the Beast story, but this one has so many nuances: First off, there’s the heroine with cerebral palsy whose condition doesn’t define her in any way–it’s just a fact about… Read more »

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Feb 06

Bite-Sized Reviews of Firestarter, The Lonely Ones, We Come Apart and The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Reviews 26

I’ve got four reviews for you today: a YA steampunk, two YA verse novels (one of them is borderline YA/MG), and a manga. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! (Check out my review of the first two books in this series and Sim’s Top Ten Addictions!) What a fabulously wild ride! Though Timekeeper is still my favorite book in this series, the very end of Firestarter made the whole series journey more than worth it. Sim puts her characters through a lot in this book–it’s full of action, a whole lot of twists and turns, and brutal loss. Still, I’ll confess that it took me a long time to read the book, and there were times that it dragged a bit for me. Maybe that’s just because I wasn’t ever as invested in the newer characters as I was in Danny and Colton. But luckily, this book… Read more »

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Jan 29

One-Third Nerd by Gennifer Choldenko: Review & Giveaway

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Giveaways (Ended), Reviews 16 ★★★½

One-Third Nerd is a heartwarming middle grade story about a typically atypical family just trying to get by. I say typically atypical because, let’s face it, in today’s world very few families fit the standard nuclear family mold. Liam’s parents are divorced and they struggle financially. His youngest sister has Down’s Syndrome and his other little sis is brilliant (but maybe a bit of a handful). I think that Chodenko captured the family dynamic well. None of them are perfect, but they love each other and they’re doing their best. Liam is sometimes self-conscious about his apartment and his brainy sister’s antics (she’s 100% nerd—perfect for her, but not great as far as Liam’s concerned). He’s especially concerned about how he looks to the new kid, Moses, who he thinks has it all together (especially since Moses is a superstar at tennis, Liam’s sport). To top everything off, the family… Read more »

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Jan 27

Only a Breath Apart by Katie McGarry: Review & $50 Giveaway

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Giveaways (Ended), Reviews 12 ★★★★½

Oh, how I love Katie McGarry. In anyone else’s hands, I think this book would have been overdramatic and overwrought—a teenage boy with a tragic past who has always loved the girl next door, who’s dealing with abuse in her family. There’s a lot of angst here. But McGarry draws me in to her characters and makes me relate to them in such intimate ways. She makes sure that the pain in these two lives feels real, and doesn’t just feel like drama. Anyway, on to my more specific review… What Fed My Addiction: Abuse depicted realistically. The relationship between Scarlett and her father is complicated. While Scarlett hates her father’s actions and she fears him, she also has good memories of him, and those sometimes cloud her thinking. Plus, everyone else in her family seems to forgive him, so she wonders why she can’t seem to do the same—and if… Read more »

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