Your Dream for Me was such a sweet book, delivering on the promise of a lighthearted read that I had going into it. The characters grew on me with each passing chapter, and I appreciated the healthy relationship Scarlett had with her parents. They were so supportive of her and her dreams, while also setting important boundaries. Of course, Scarlett occasionally tried to bend their rules but she also had to bear the consequences. That for me was a refreshing aspect given that Your Dream for Me is a YA contemporary book.
THIS TINY PERFECT WORLD by Lauren Gibaldi
I should be upfront that I have a soft spot for YA contemporary books involving drama and theatre. These books invoke such nostalgia because I spent two years acting and studying theatre for A Levels. That’s precisely why I was drawn to This Tiny Perfect World. A summer theatre camp sounded like a full immersion that I was bound to enjoy. In that regard, I was pretty pleased. A good chunk of This Tiny Perfect World is indeed dedicated to Penny’s curriculum time and rehearsals.
TONIGHT THE STREETS ARE OURS by Leila Sales
Tonight the Streets Are Ours was such a fun read! I enjoyed it tremendously, even though the characters were far from perfect. They each had their flaws and made questionable decisions. I liked that because that’s precisely what made them so relatable. The realism in the book mirrored the craziness of real life and for that I adored it.
SEVEN WAYS WE LIE by Riley Redgate
Seven Ways We Lie was very ambitious. With seven main characters a lot could go wrong: unresolved plot lines, not enough depth, loss of focus and characters that might be too similar. I’m glad to say that Seven Ways We Lie didn’t suffer from any of these shortcomings. In fact, the choice to integrate so many characters’ perspectives worked!
Cut the Lights by Karen Krossing
When it comes to contemporary fiction, I love books with protagonists who have ambition and passion for something. Cut the Lights fully delivered in that department. Drama and theatre were the main focus and very little detracted from that. I think in part that stemmed from the shortness of the book. The length didn’t allow for much else beyond theatre, which means there were no unnecessary distractions.