I’m sharing another instalment of my Mini Review Mondays, the most recent of which was last week. In case you haven’t seen any of my previous posts, I do ‘mini’ reviews of books that I’ve previously read and am now ready to share my full thoughts about.
First up, I’d like to talk about Ride or Die by Gail-Agnes Musikavanhu. Thank you to Sam Bonner at Penguin Random House Children’s for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Best friends Loli Crawford and Ryan Pope have earned their nickname, the “Bonnie and Clyde of Woolridge High.” From illegal snack swapping in kindergarten to reckless car surfing in high school, they have been causing trouble in their uptight California town forever. Everyone knows that the mischief starts with Loli. When it comes to chasing thrills, drama, and adventure, no one is on her level.
At least until Loli throws the wildest party Woolridge High has ever seen just to steal a necklace and meets X, a strange, unidentified boy in a coat closet, who challenges her to a game she can’t refuse—one that promises to put her love of danger to the ultimate test.
Loli and X begin an anonymous correspondence, exchanging increasingly risky missions. Loli’s fun has always been free and easy, but things spin out of control as she attempts to one-up X’s every move. As Loli risks losing everything—including her oldest friend—she’ll face the most dangerous thing of all: falling for someone she shouldn’t.
Publication Date: 6th June
TW: toxic relationships, guns
My Thoughts:
Ride or Die was an exhilarating read and just bucket loads of fun, with a hefty topping of chaos.
This was a fun mesh of contemporary coming of age narratives, romance and thrillers. There was always something happening, keeping me hooked, and plenty of twists and turns to boot. You are pulled down rabbit hole after rabbit hole, as the mayhem builds to newer and ever more dangerous heights. I just adored the premise of this book with the mystery and the escalating tensions, which Musikavanhu plays with expertly. It felt like taking those iconic cult films of the nineties and blending them together, with a pinch of something entirely current and new. At the same time as these grand escapades and heists, there is a real focus on intimate character decisions and arcs. There are many stories of growth and change, imbuing the madcap scale with that much more heart and soul.
I also have to shout out the casual representation of this book. There is a really good exploration of asexuality and the asexual spectrum that was a pleasant surprise and representation I have not often seen in books. The author’s note at the end really cemented the joy of this book for me. It is so refreshing to see a fun teen rom-com style book with a Black girl protagonist that just focuses on her adventures and falling in love, rather than being centred around trauma. Loli is a brilliant protagonist, full of wit, hijinks and a few flaws that she has to learn to overcome in her overall journey. She is hilarious and three-dimensional, feeling like an authentic teenage voice.
Ride or Die is a mischievous book, perfect for those summery days drenched in sunshine and good vibes, but with a twist of mayhem for good measure.
Next up, I’d like to talk about SH!T BAG by Xena Knox. Thank you to Hachette Children’s Group for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
When Freya collapses and wakes up with a temporary ileostomy bag on her stomach, her dreams of the perfect summer go down the toilet. Instead of partying in the Algarve, she’s packed off to ‘Poo Camp’ – a place for kids with bowel disease to ‘bond’.
And things can only get worse. Someone has started calling her ‘Sh!t Bag’ . . . and it’s catching on.
Freya decides to live up to the nickname, raging at her friends, her ex and the world. Only her campmate Chris seems to see past her new attitude . . .
Can Freya get her sh!t together or will she end up with just her bag by her side?
Publication Date: 22nd June
TW: medical trauma, collapsing, blood, surgeries and aftereffects
My Thoughts:
SH!T BAG was a hilarious, hopeful but also brutally honest look at living with an ileostomy bag. It is an excellent YA contemporary story, with a strong coming of age narrative intertwined with refreshingly nuanced disability representation.
This was just such a refreshingly honest and no holds barred look at life with a disability, particularly with living with an ileostomy bag. Freya’s journey was so authentic, going through that process of learning to live with and accept your condition. It is a heart-breakingly raw and vulnerable process, with various emotions and rollercoaster moments along the way. Knox imbues every page with that vivacious and sometimes sardonically humorous outlook. It is very Fleabag style, with that wry smile to the reader. The writing style is so easy to follow and flows impeccably well, with pacing and character development that shines.
I completely lost myself in Freya’s story, rooting for every character and losing a little piece of my heart to each of them. She was a cracking protagonist, guiding you through this journey alongside every one of her painful, passionate and precarious steps. It was just so nice to see disability and chronic conditions treated with such nuance and for every character to be three-dimensional, flawed and just messily human. There is such a tendency to stereotype disabled people and forget to treat them as the people they are, making this representation just sing with joy. This is a book that delves a lot into a specific chronic condition, but as Freya learns, this is not what should solely define you. Knox is creating an impactful statement and doing it through love and humour, which fills me with happiness and hope for future representation.
SH!T BAG is quintessential YA: funny, flirtatious and fabulously frank story that deserves so much love.
Finally, I’d like to delve into Sing Me to Sleep by Gabi Burton. Thank you to Kate Keehan at Hodderscape for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Saoirse Sorkova survives on secrets. As the last siren in her kingdom, she can sing any man to an early grave – but her very existence is illegal, and if her true identity were ever discovered, it would be her life on the line.
By day, Saoirse disguises herself as a fae, pretending to be the perfect soldier-in-training. By night, she satisfies her darker urges working as an assassin for dangerous mercenaries. And all the while, she keeps the biggest secret of all: that she is not always in control of her Siren powers, or her desire to kill.
Then a blackmailer threatens her sister, and Saoirse’s investigation takes her to the royal palace, and her most dangerous job yet: personal bodyguard to the Crown Prince.
Saoirse expects to despise Prince Hayes. But he is kind, thoughtful, and charming, and she finds herself increasingly drawn to him . . . until he tasks her with investigating a killer plaguing the kingdom. The problem: the killer is Saoirse.
Trapped by her deadly double life, Saoirse can’t leave the palace until she saves her sister . . . but who will save her from herself?
Publication Date: 27th June
TW: death, murder, racism, violence, blood, physical injuries, burns, nonconsensual touching, kidnapping, sexual harassment
My Thoughts:
Sing Me to Sleep just hits so well. This is peak YA fantasy: dark, thrilling and complex but with such heart and soul.
I was incredibly hooked by the amazing premise of this book. I mean, sirens, secrecy and plenty of spying? Sounds like a great read to me. Burton delivered all that and so much more in a stunning YA fantasy story that I am excited to continue.
Sing Me to Sleep pivots entirely on its fantastic protagonist. Saoirse is so unapologetically morally gray and yet I came to love her fiercely, particularly the way she would fight tooth and nail for her family at all costs. She is immensely complex, with shades of that good for her feminism in her vigilante assassination methods. There is a keen sense of justice and wanting to find the truth, but it is complicated and overridden by the need to survive and protect her family. Watching the mystery unfold around her was incredible, with very high stakes and plenty of twists and turns.
I also was not expecting to enjoy the romance plot of this as much as I did. It had great chemistry, tensions and dynamics that were ever-shifting, but in a way that felt like natural progression. Of course, much of this involves manipulation, murder and backstabbing so nothing is as clear-cut as it should be. However, I found myself really rooting for it and wanting the disasters to be coming from elsewhere. The entire time though, there is this fraught tension and impending sense of doom that characterises the entire book. Burton keeps the atmosphere close and chilling, never fully allowing you to forget what is at stake and feeding you breadcrumbs of the larger plot.
Sing Me to Sleep epitomises the best aspects of YA fantasy and distils them into a sharp and spectacular story.
A Short Book Lover 
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