Mini Reviews: Two of My Favorites from 2018

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In my “Where is She Now” post, I mentioned that I had been doing some reading in my absence—and not all of them were picture books. ~~just most of them.~~ I probably will post only Goodreads reviews for quite a few of them, but here are two that I really wanted to talk about on the blog.

For Everyone by Jason Reynolds

Titles link to goodreads

I read—and reread—this at a time when I desperately needed to be reminded that I could (and must!) fight for my dream. Reading it was like he’d pulled the need to write right out of my heart and showed me my dreams in stark detail: everything that I hoped for, everything I feared to achieve, everything I knew I could never reach.

And then, he reminded me to take the jump and go for it anyway.

It was just beautiful and I got chills and I loved it so much, especially the last two sections. Seriously, if you’re having trouble believing in your dream right now, find this book. At your library, a bookstore, somewhere, anywhere. Sit down and just read it, cover to cover, all at once. Remember your biggest dream. And then reach for it again.

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Sorta Like a Rockstar by Matthew Quick

Amber, the main character, her voice cracked me up! She had such a vibrant, guileless, honest personality; really, there was like no filter, but her character was crafted so perfectly that I didn’t mind some of the things, content-wise, I normally would have. Also, I adored her completely frank conversations with God, the way she saw Jesus as so close to her, ready to lean on, there to walk with and talk with at any moment. It made the book a really special experience, because it wasn’t that the story was necessarily “Christian,” just that Jesus was such an integral part of her life, that she couldn't not show Him openly, both in her thoughts and her interactions with others. So even with the terrible circumstances in her life and her lack of conversational filter, the open honesty of her character and her relationship with Christ kept me invested and hopeful about the turnout.

And what a turnout it was! This book does a fantastic job of taking you through all the emotions: daring to hope, losing yet again, struggling to hope, losing it all, falling into depression and anger and pain… and then finding that glimmering spark in what seems like utter darkness. Sorta Like a Rockstar is nothing if not honest, and despite the words and the references, I adored it for that. The ending was 100% expected and 1,000% beautiful; truly, it was beyond words. I got chills reading the climax, and the last couple of chapters, my mind was just blown at the magical way that everything came together. All-in-all, this book was fantastic, I would love to have a copy of my own, and it was exactly what I needed to read at the time to get me back into YA books again.

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Content Warnings: cursing, intense circumstances (including reference to rape and murder), and sexual references.

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So, what have you been reading lately? Have a favorite book from 2018? Have you ever read something that just showed you the heart and the power of hope right when you needed it most? Can't wait to hear from you all, and I'll see you in the comment section!