KJK Reads

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Contemporary, Multiple POV, Psychological Fiction, Pakistan Thoughts: This is a beautifully complex story with so much more to it than just a love story. The setting in Lahore instantly took me to another world than that which I live and I really appreciated that the author put potentially new words in italics the first time they were used since I had to google quite a few of them. The book starting with a short POV from a terrorist just moments before he detonated the suicide vest drew me right in and gave us a warning of the sorts of horrors that may be described straight off. Mona is an awesome and strong female character, although in some instances she is expected to shrink she doesn’t always and instead faces the consequences for being herself instead. I felt for her quickly with her husband not even calling after a bombing was near and the way he behaved felt progressively worse when he bothered to be present in the story at all. Ali is also quite a strong...

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Historical Fiction Thoughts: This book was complex and interesting. Medina was able to convey the pressures of being a firstborn grandchild, especially the male, with the way in which so many different family members interacted with Antón and the way in which his life turned out in the third part of the book. He also tackled the life of an exile really well with the first part building up the climate showing us how so many peoples' lives were and when the revolution came why they needed to leave. I thought it was interesting seeing both Felicia and Antón’s lives in the USA and how differently they adapted due to the age in which they left. I also liked the smattering of Spanish phrases through the book as it feels so authentic and also gave me a glimpse of how Felicia must have felt having to translate things that she didn’t understand regularly. Favourite Quote: “All of society was being turned around and there was nothing to be done about it. The life she...

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Mystery, Contemporary Fiction, Dual POV, Multiple Timelines Thoughts:  This is such a complex and interesting book. At its heart it’s all about women, femininity and female friendships but the mystery element of what happened on The Last Day of Summer added a building tension throughout. The quick chapters and changing timelines helped build unease very quickly, especially at the beginning. I liked the Dual POV and the way it let us see how the summer unfolded from both sides of the friendship. I found the victim from summer quite illusive with me at one point considering 6 people I thought it could be and I was still wrong. The girls in Deuce were all well thought out characters and it was interesting to see how they interacted coming from such different backgrounds, especially the rich English girl being thrown in with 4 Irish girls.  I also liked some of the lesser mentioned characters, Dolly specifically because she was such a caring character when ...

Rating: 2 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Young Adult  Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I have mixed feelings about this book, especially with it being marketed to teens/young adults. I liked that it covered the different types of hair and skin so they are able to appreciate more what they are working with and having the to shave or not to shave and shaving guide are great for young adults as it can be a difficult topic at that age. I thought the morning and night routines are great and there are actually a few things I’ve started to implement for my own wellbeing journey recently. There are some great DIY recipes here and it’s also great to bring some less known treatments or more culturally or medically specific ones such as the Oat bath and the Hot Oil Treatment. However, there were some ingredients in the book that are more harmful than helpful which could be worse with it being targeted at young skin and some may not ha...

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Short Stories, Domestic Fiction, Africa Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I didn’t realise that these short stories would be as hard hitting as they were. I appreciate the blurb warned us and I did expect some harsh truths about the expectations on girls and women in a different culture. Kalimamukwento did a really good job of getting across the pressure of children bearing the hopes and expectations of their parents, especially where the parents move to try give their children a better life. It was also really interesting to see how periods are treated in a different part of the world and the way in which the journey into adulthood/womanhood is marked. I also found it interesting to see the way that same sex relationships are seen in Zambia and the difference to how they are treated in my own country. Overall, these are great short stories for a brief insight into a different culture and a great step...

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Poetry  Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a powerful poetry collection despite its simplicity. The poems are provocative and some really made me feel things, especially those about the child dying with the state of the world at the moment. The images that are used compliment the few poems they go along with despite many being simple, they still evoke feelings with the words.  Favourite Quote: “the ones who never heal end up hostages to their own hate” With thanks to Atmosphere Press and Netgalley for my advanced digital copy of this book.

Rating:  3 Stars Themes: Memoir Thoughts:  I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a lighthearted memoir despite jumping into the gritty in the first paragraph. It’s a lovely celebration of Pride and queer love, and identity when she explores her social life in the 90s. The photos included at the beginning of each paragraph is a nice touch and I liked the chapters having a title too. However, there isn’t much detail about other traumas mentioned from her childhood but I wasn’t aware that it’s a second memoir so most  of trauma she is ‘triumphing over’ (word used on front cover) must be covered in book one so I was in the dark at points.  Favourite Quote:  "I realized once I moved out and began working at The Advocate that the actions you take as an individual can create a ripple effect. By embracing my identity, sharing my experiences, and standing up for my rights, I'd hoped to make a meaningful impact to a ...

Rating: 3.5 Stars Themes: Doodles/Cartoon, Politics Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. These ‘doodles’ or cartoons are so impactful, the book is so full of emotions and anger that I could feel it flying from the pages. It’s awesome to see what an impact a black and white drawing and one or two sentences can have. The fact that most of the drawings were in black and white made the ones where colour was used even more impactful. I did notice some repeats but there was a slight difference in them and it was still an important message despite being told again. Favourite Quote: “My greatest fear... The closet becomes the safest place.” With thanks to Netgalley for my advanced digital copy of this book.

Rating: DNF  Themes: Mystery Thoughts:  I really struggled with this book and don’t think the series is for me. I found that the characters were pretty much all caricatures which in a series is really unnecessary as we have the time to learn about each new main character and the all cops stupid but the new boy trope was done to an extreme. This felt even weirder to me as the story/mystery was slow to start but it wasn’t because we had to meet the characters in depth since they lacked depth and just followed stereotypes instead. It was also weird that Crystal’s scent was mentioned soo much, even if it is important to the mystery later it felt overboard to have it mentioned multiple times a chapter. I found the Brunswick ‘romance’ element really icky with the age thing even for the time. Working it out Brunswick is about 38 but the girl he is fawning over and chasing is only 19 so it’s nearly a 20 year age gap. As far as the point I DNF’d it, these things were irrelevant but eve...

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Mystery, Suspense, Fiction Thoughts:  I wasn’t sure whether to stick with this book and at one point I mentioned reading it to see if it gets better because it felt like it was taking forever to get started as over 100 pages and we weren’t even in Morocco yet despite the blurb saying soon. I found Florence unlikeable almost from the beginning as she seemed to feel she was better than everyone and deserved more than everyone else while almost blaming them for her not having it yet. I also found Helen and her attitudes unlikeable pretty soon after meeting her so that made me more hesitant about the book but I was confident that they’re being portrayed that way for a reason and they really were. As the real mystery elements unfolded in the latter half of the book I saw that all the build up (that I thought was slowing it down) and Florence and Helen’s characteristics were really important to making the ending work. I was very interested in seeing how the twists...

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Fiction, Mystery  Thoughts: I don’t quite know what to think about this one. I went in thinking it was a thriller mystery type book but while a child does go missing in the first chapter, the story felt like it was missing those elements for me. Especially when we were getting towards the end of the book as Lily’s being found/rescued wasn’t really covered and was more of an afterthought in Rachel’s story. Rachel herself was a character I really couldn’t get along with, while I can see where her dissatisfaction could be coming from she seemed to be completely selfish and centering herself in everyone else's (especially that of Deborah and Mia) trauma. The way in which she spoke about Mia centered herself and almost reduced her as if Rachel had really wanted a doll she could dress and control forever and not an actual child who would grow and develop their own mind. I also disliked the way that as soon as she knew who it was with Lily, she tried to reconstruct...

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Graphic Novel, Romance, LGBTQ+ Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a sweet and slow burn romance. It is advertised as an age gap which is more evident with the older man being a university lecturer but I didn’t realise how small (only 11 years) it actually was until the characters brief bios at the end. I liked that the majority of the story took place either in a library or on scenic car rides as it felt more like a love story for introverts which I don’t see too often. The artwork itself is in black and white which adds a lovely touch as the story isn’t too in your face intense and neither are the pictures. The cover warns of graphic content but that is only in the Bonus Story so those who are interested in the story but not that content can easily skip it without missing out context. Favourite Quote: “I think I was looking for a place I could belong. The more people I interacted with and the ...

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Fiction, Short Stories, Poetry, LGBTQ+ Thoughts: This is such a beautiful and vibrant book for a Pride read or for those learning to accept and love their identities. I absolutely loved the pride in our identities and the right to be us that flowed throughout the book. Some of the stories were more in depth in and tackling much more complex issues like On the Run and The Other Team but others took a sweeter and little funny look like Penguins (worrying about being outshone by a penguin is both hilarious and totally something I would do). I also liked that it didn’t just take a Europecentric view with The Phoenix’s Fault being included. All the artwork was stunning and complimentary to the stories perfectly, it was also cool to see so many different artists and authors were included to get a taste of all their different works. Favourite Quote: “Remember you have the right to be proud Remember you have the right to be you.”

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Poetry  Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I liked the way in which the poems and essays were set with the essay essentially outlining how Campbell approached each topic and contextualised her poems a little and then the poetry following with the emotive content. I found the way in which she covered loss as it approaches the loss of a relationship that is no longer working on the author's own terms but how it still leaves a mark on us as individuals anyway. The illustrations are sparing but compliment the poems they are with really well and are beautiful in their simplicity.  Favourite Quote: “as i get older i'm starting to realize that nothing's safer if it costs your peace” With thanks to Central Avenue Publishing and Netgalley for my advanced digital copy of this book.

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Holocaust Thoughts: I may have picked this one up at the library and got half way through before I realised that it’s book 2 but it’s a credit to Gleitzman’s writing that I could read it as a standalone and I’ll be going back for more in the series. I really felt for Felix and he kept referring to Zelda as a child since she is so little but after everything he’s been through he doesn’t see himself like that despite only being 10 himself. Genia threw me at first when she found the pair but I can see why she had to behave that way at first and I warmed to her instantly. It was sweet that they could all act as part of the missing pieces for each other since Genia has a missing person and the kids have both lost their parents. The ending felt so rough and made me sad but I appreciate that it's an important piece of history and many people had similar experiences in the War.  Favourite Quote: “Asking for help can be risky these days. A lot of grown-ups aren't...

Rating: 2 Stars Themes: Social Commentary, Satire  Thoughts:  I’m really quite conflicted with this one. One one hand, I can see the satirical take on institutional racism in those type of start ups and sales teams. Equating a cafe to a crack den in the first few pages is definitely a strong choice since he works in a coffee shop at the time but it lets us know exactly what type of satire we are getting ourselves into right off the bat. I did enjoy Askaripour’s take on the prejudices in a workplace from Clyde with the outright targeting and white paint stunt on Buck’s first day to no one noticing Buck was the man from Starbucks till it was pointed out and him being compared to several different famous black men who look nothing alike which the individuals wouldn’t have even recognised as prejudice. Buck is extremely self obsessed, seeing all his colleagues at Starbucks as his soldiers and then behaving like the whole of his estate is behaving around and revolving around him. I...

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Graphic Novel, Non-Fiction Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a great way to look into the accomplishments and achievements of black people and celebrate their brilliance as well as acknowledge the suffering and discrimination they had to go though (like Ann Lowe not having her name on the label when selling gowns). I liked the timeline at the end of each person as it was a great recap and could be handy for referring back to if kids use the book for research projects. However, I cannot comment on the colouring as I received a copy that was not in colour but the final art will be and going off the cover which was in colour it looks like it could be beautiful. With thanks to ABRAMS Kids and Netgalley for my advanced digital copy of this book.

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Memoir, Disability  Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a new approach to memoirs for me with history about disability and disabled people being mixed in among the pieces on Lee’s own experience. I liked just how much detail on the Aktion T4 programme was covered as from what I’ve seen it is a little known part of the atrocities committed by the Nazi’s. It was also interesting to have the bits on ‘The monster’ since many in society still see those who have visible or physical disabilities as monsters. I also liked the comparison of fictional villains who have been portrayed with disabilities since it is still used today and is often eaten up by consumers but further stigmatises us and I see it as a lazy and overused device. I did find myself a little thrown at some points when it went from a darker piece of history to a piece of Lee’s more modern life but it does just highlight ...