AN OPEN DISCUSSION ABOUT MY OWN STRUGGLES I am someone who has suffered from mental health issues my entire life. My mental health conditions, while they don't define me, will always be a part of me. They are my chains, but they are also proof of how strong of a person I am. I see a counselor and a psychiatrist to manage them and recommend others do the same if able. I believe it is important to be open about my mental health because I do not want to contribute to the stigma.

GENRE: YA Fantasy LENGTH: 359 pages PLOT Following the events of Woven in Moonlight Catalina, the heir to Inkasisa, has been banished to the Yanu Jungle. There she struggles to survive while tracking down the legendary indigenous Illari people in the hopes of forging an alliance with them to reclaim her throne. CHARACTERS I was undeniably wary about Catalina being the protagonist. In Woven in Moonlight she was immature and stubborn. In this novel, however, she is a caterpilla

GENRE: YA Mystery LENGTH: 433 pages PLOT Pip decides to do a school project investigating a death in her small town. It is believed that popular girl Andie Bell was killed by her boyfriend Sal, but Pip is out to prove his innocence. CHARACTERS There are too many characters to possibly discuss them all individually, so I'm going to touch briefly on the four most prevalent and then discuss things in a broader sense. Pip is a character who has good intentions but makes questiona

GENRE: YA fantasy LENGTH: 338 pages PLOT Cerys lives in the kingdom of Aloryia which is surrounded by a cursed wildwood. When the curse escapes the woods and takes her people she must travel into the wildwoods along with her fox companion. They seek the mystical city of Voryn in the hopes of finding help. CHARACTERS Cerys is a loyal friend and dedicated daughter who carries with her a lot of survivor's guilt. A part of her longs for something more, but she also has a lot of f

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I debated if I should do a related blog or not. I considered doing a tag or talking about my favorite book romances or simply romance novels. None of those ideas really appealed to me, though. I ended up finally settling on doing a blog about things (tropes, writing styles, character types, etc.) that I love to read in books. I figured it fits the Valentine's theme since it's things I love and Valentine's Day is all about love. It also allows m

October, the month of pumpkins, sweaters and Halloween, is almost upon us. I picked out some spooky books to get you in the proper spirit. I hope you enjoy these (semi) scary stories just as much as I did. 1. School's in Session with the Truly Devious trilogy by Maureen Johnson Welcome students to Ellingham Academy! Our prestigious school is the perfect setting for a world class education with a side of murder. It's located on a beautiful, isolated mountain and is full of cou

Sign the Justice for George Floyd Petition: https://www.change.org/p/mayor-jacob-frey-justice-for-george-floyd I am still officially on a break from the blog until at least July as I continue to process recent personal events. However, I felt compelled to post this blog now given the current climate and recent events. There are so many wonderful books written by empowering African-American authors. These are just a handful that I enjoyed and/or found to be impactful. I hope y

1. The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan This YA magical realism novel follows 15 year old Leigh who is convinced that her late mother has turned into a bird. Following what she believes to be her mother's instructions for her to connect with her estranged grandparents, she travels to Taiwan to meet them. This novel is full of Taiwanese culture and is beautifully written. It is one of my all time favorite books. There is a trigger warning for mental health/suicide