The Summer I Wasn't Me, by Jessica Verdi

The Summer I Wasn't Me, by Jessica Verdi, is a story about a teenage girl named Lexi who hasn't come to terms with her sexual orientation. Growing up in a conservative town and being raised by a single mother doesn't help her case at all. Lexi's urge to mend her family constantly conflicts with pursuing her forbidden love interest. In an attempt to change her thoughts for girls, she attends a Christian gay conversion camp called New Horizons. However, the camp doesn't advertise the horrors the kids go through in order to "turn straight" and soon, events take a turn for the worst.

Coming from a queer teenager who is going through Lexi's struggles, this book honestly made my eyes bawl out. Over the news, you hear all these horror stories of gay conversion camps (which are often scams). The description of Lexi's thoughts and feelings at the camp made me shiver and made her story feel very real. Reading about each day in that camp made me feel hopeless about not only Lexi's situation but also the lives of teenagers around the world who don't feel safe by being who they are. The ending was also quite chilling and not what I expected. I would recommend this book to those who do identify as part of the LGBT community but also parents of those kids. This is because no matter what a teenager is going through, their parents should be informed about those feelings many teenagers have.

Reviewed by AH, Grade 10

Downtown Central Library

Noragami, by Adachi Toka

Yato is a homeless god living in the streets of Japan desperately wanting loyal followers to worship him. Unfortunately he is one of the most unknown gods and doesn’t have any popularity. So, in order to earn money and to try and gain publicity, Yato starts doing services for people in need for a very low price of 5 yen. It’s his attempt to make his dream of owning a shrine and having worshippers come true.

First of all, I like the idea of a homeless god, I think it’s really creative and a great story idea. The cast of characters get developed very well and characters show up very frequently so it’s hard not to forget them, and easier for the reader to remember who they are. I think that anyone interested in action, drama, and a little romance would like this series. Also, as far as I can tell, there isn’t much problems with the series. Overall, Noragami, by Adachi Toka, is very creative and a lot of people can appreciate this series.

Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 9
Grandview Library

Girl Code: Gaming, Going Viral, And Getting It Done by Andrea Gonzalez & Sophie Houser

 

 Girl Code:Gaming,Going Viral,And Getting It Done, by  Andrea Gonzalez & Sophie Houser, begins with a junior named Andy or Andrea Gonzales and a senior named Sophie Houser. They are two girls who met in a coding program that they both signed up for
which is Girls Who Code. As teens becoming into young adults, they figured that there are many women who are very ashamed of the menstrual periods they get.
So Andy and Sophie make a coding game called Tampon Run so they could show that having a period is a normal thing for a teenage girl.

This book was very funny.  I liked the creativity that was made in the game. Especially when they use tampons rather than an obvious gun to it. I liked the fact that this is a relevant for a teen's category since profanity is between from
none to less so tweens could read this too. I think mainly teenage girls would like this novel since it gives out a theme to not feel bad about your sexual health. What I didn't like about this book is when there was two teens trying to copy
their game by using condoms.
That is what kinda makes the book a little obscene and salty. I also liked the part when they put pictures in it so the reader could be more interested into reading. I kinda liked the part when they added some websites for people who would like to learn about or get ideas from coding. Girls, you should get this book if you want to know what having a period is like so you won't feel bad about yourself. It is a very humorous and an interesting book to read.

Reviewed by Hannah Rachel, Grade 8
Downtown Central Library