Book Review - Not So Pure and Simple

 📖Recommend for Grades 9 and up📖

Not So Pure and Simple

by Lamar Giles

When his finally available longtime crush Kiera volunteers for a church group, Del is right behind her. That's how he accidentally finds himself in the purity pledge group. Not wanting to lose his shot at Kiera, Del sticks with it. Lucky for him, there's Jameer, a fellow pledger and Kiera's best friend. The two make a deal; Jameer helps Del with Kiera, and Del gets answers from his Healthy living class that Jameer isn't allowed to take for him.

Honestly, besides being a little longer than it probably needed to, this is an enjoyable book. The characters are realistic and relatable, as well as entertaining. This story covers many hot topics. These include the debate of the type of sexual education taught in school, the different ways teen mothers are treated versus teen fathers, and masculinity. If any of these topics aren't right for you, skip this read. If you're good with them, this is worth the read.

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Book Theme Graphic - Black Teen and Tween Lives

 

Book Review - Early Departures

 📖Recommend for Grades 9 and up📖

Early Departures

by Justin A. Reynolds

Jamal’s best friend Quincy, aka Q, dies in a freak accident just to be brought back to life by a mysterious organization. The thing is, Q is just going to die again, as reanimation only gives him a limited amount of more time. Also, Q is technically Jamal’s former best friend, as the pair haven’t been friends since Jamal’s parents died, and he planned Q for what happened. With this second chance, Jamal is determined to make things right with Q, but there are complications as Jamal can’t fully explain why. Only a few people know Q is reanimated and set to die again, and Q isn’t one of them.

Though longer than it needs to be, this is still an intriguing read that will make you question how you would handle this situation if you were in it. While this book is a work of science fiction, it isn’t heavy into it beyond the reanimation itself, making it a lighter sci-fi novel. Despite the impending sadness of Q’s death, there is humor in the story, including transcripts of videos the boys made back when they were initially friends. If you can get past the slow start, this is worth the read.

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Book Review - Charming as a Verb

   📖Recommend for Grades 9 and up📖

Charming as a Verb

by Ben Philippe

Henri “Halti” Haltiwanger can charm anybody, except for his neighbor and classmate Corinne Troy. After uncovering Halti’s dog walking scheme, Corinne decides to blackmail him into helping her improve her image at school and getting her a better recommendation to her dream school. As the two spend time together, Halti discovers he enjoys hanging out with Corinne and that maybe she may provide a way to help him get into his own dream school.

A fun romantic comedy that starts with a nice dose of blackmail. The story is told from Halti’s point of view. Readers will get insight into what it’s like for him to be a first-generation Haitian-American looking to meet his father’s expectations. While Halti and Corinne are terrific and likable characters, Halti’s friend Ming often steals the scene or makes it better. Readers will love the authenticity of the characters and the ways they can relate to them.

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Book Review - Now That I've Found You

  📖Recommend for Grades 9 and up📖

Now That I’ve Found You

by Kristina Forest

Evie Jones is going to be a big Hollywood star like her grandmother Gigi. That is until her supposed best friend leeks a video that gets Evie fired from an upcoming job and blacklisted. When she gets the chance to present a lifetime achievement award to her grandmother, Evie thinks it could help get her back in the spotlight for good reasons. When her grandmother takes off without sharing where Evie finds herself in a situation with only Milo, the cute musician Gigi helps out, to help her.

This story is a fun and adventurous one taking place mainly over a week with some personal growth thrown in. Evie isn’t the most likable character, but readers will still route for her. Milo, on the other hand, is incredibly likable, and his dynamic with Evie is envy-worthy. The story isn’t neat and pretty, but it is light-hearted. You also don’t have to be knowledgeable of NYC to fall into Evie’s journey around it, searching for Gigi.

One of the aspects of this book that I love is that it’s about a black teen girl just being. Her issues have little to nothing to do with the color of her skin. We need stories like this in addition to ones where race plays a significant role.

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E-Books - Black Teen Lives

• Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles
• Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson
• Also available on Hoopla
• Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
• Jackpot by Nic Stone
• On the Come Up by Angie Thomas