Glow by Maya Pagán

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 have adults with the knowledge to warn them of the harm. For example, coconut oil is a comedogenic oil so it clogs pores, but it is one of the only 2 ingredients in the oil-away cleanser. Also baking soda is an alkaline that strips away natural oils and irritate skin so dermatologists don’t advise it for the face but it’s in the face scrubs and also lemons are highly acidic that can cause dryness and irritation and even damage the skin barrier so aren’t advised for facial use but are also in a face recipe.

With thanks to Storey Publishing and Netgalley for my advanced digital copy of this book.

Comments

Mint and Murder by Carly Winter

Rating: Stars Themes: Short Story, Cosy Mystery Thoughts: Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I had to read this book, seeing it was available, after reading Pipers Piping and Puppies last year. I did read it as a standalone (it’s not the first time I’ve read a series out of order and likely won’t be the last) I managed to follow along fine although I’m sure I’d have understood the relationship dynamics better had I read it in the correct order. I found the story great and as for the mystery I was guessing myself right the way through until Sam figured it out. Sam is a strong female main character who feels worth investing in so I may have to go search some more of the Heywood Herbalist series out. I enjoyed seeing Sam interact with her friends as they had great chemistry and it felt real, and also really liked Sam’s interactions with Doug as it added another layer of humanity to her and reality to the town. I would love ...

Shame-Sex Attraction by Lucas Wilson

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, LGBTQ+ Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is definitely a difficult read and it took me quite a while to get through it for that very reason. It is split up into 17 different peoples experiences with a foreword and afterword. It’s definitely an important read for many as these practices are still legal in many countries, including my own, and without knowledge of the damage of the practices many may not join in the protests or sign the petitions to try to get laws in place. As a member of the community myself I found some of these stories such as the ‘Sniffing the Gay Away’ and ‘Convert’ especially difficult to read and reminded me just how lucky I was to have such a supportive and loving community around me. I appreciated that the afterword highlighted the limitations of the collection such as having little to no religious, geographical or racial diversity but that they did try to ga...

Porn is Not Sex Ed! by Jessica Melendez

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Young Adult Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. In the age of lessening sex education this book could be a great tool to help bridge the gap. I appreciate the talk to an adult bits that can encourage children to start to have conversations that are important but they often think are cringy. The note to trusted adults bit at the end is great too and there’s quite a few useful activities to help the messages really sink in. Some of the points here such as fetishisation and body image are really important ones that I never learned that young (which could be the reason I had such poor body image as a teen) and for the most part the book talks to kids on their level although some areas may feel a little immaturely worded for older teens. With thanks to Hachette UK and Netgalley for my advanced digital copy of this book.

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