This post is a continuation of my Mid-Year Freakout Book Tag (Part 1), where I share my reading highlights of the year so far.
- Favorite new author (debut or new to you)
We Are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride. This was another book I had read for my 548 class last year, and I thought it was so heartbreaking and sad. It’s about this girl who stays at a psychiatric hospital for her suicidal thoughts and depression. While she’s there, she meets this boy with whom she used to go to high school, who is also dealing with mental issues. The book is written in-verse, and McBride has such a beautiful way of adding poetry and spirituality into her work. The way she fuses Black spirituality with mental health awareness, discussions of how the main characters deal with depression, anxiety, and family issues makes it easier for me to relate to them. As someone who deals with anxiety often, this book provided comfort for me to understand where my anxiety comes from.
- Newest fictional crush
Skipped because I’m not crushing on any fictional characters at the moment.
- Newest favorite character
Laia from An Ember in the Ashes. She reminds me so much of myself in many ways. Despite being a slave, she’s strong, a survivor of abuse, and will do anything to save her family. She became a spy for the rebel group The Resistance to help get her brother out of prison. At first, she’s reluctant to help her brother out of jail because she doesn’t think she knows how to survive the intense environment of Blackcliff Academy, their Nation’s most elite military school. Because she was a Scholar–someone who is basically book smart–she didn’t think she could take being in such a high-stakes school, but her determination and resourcefulness made her a warrior. I loved Laia’s kind spirit and strength in this book, and that’s what made her my new favorite character.
- Book that made you cry
Perfect Chemistry by Cave Marie. I’ve written about this book before in my previous post about How I Fell Back in Love with Reading in Grad School. I’ll always talk about how much that book made me cry the first time I’d read it. Between the characters Kai and Katie going through their individual hardships, Katie’s infertility issues, Kai losing his daughter, there was so much to unpack throughout that book. What also helped was the fact it is a book about second chances and trying a relationship again after separating for years. This book is a great story to cry to if you want to get in touch with your emotions.
- Book that made you happy
I can’t pick just one book that made me happy because books in general make me happy!
- Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)
I don’t buy books as often anymore; I mostly borrow from my local library in Woodbridge. But I did receive the self-published version of Cave Marie’s book Perfect Chemistry earlier this year. It’s so pretty!! I love looking at the cover and how beautiful it is. I think it’s the best representation of the story.
- What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
I still need to read a lot of books that have been in my TBR (To Be Read) list for years now. A lot of the books on my list are books I’ve started but haven’t finished. I hope to finish these books by the end of the year.
- Will by Will Smith
- Professional Troublemaker by Luvvie Ajayi Jones
- Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer
- One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
I hope you’ve enjoyed my Mid-Year Book Freak-Out Tag!
Check out my past editions of this book tag on my book blog, PoetryBooksYA.com.