Mini Book Reviews

Hey y'all! Today I'm coming at you with 2 mini book reviews! I'm a huge bookworm and love to read especially young adult and historical fiction. The two books coming up are both young adult. Without further ado, here they are!

The first book I read is Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. Laurie is one of the queens of classic young adult fiction, she also wrote one of my favorite books, Speak and many others as well. So when I bought this book I knew it was going to be amazing. And it was! 

Wintergirls is all about two girls with eating disorders. Lia has anorexia and Cassie has bulimia. Cassie ends up dying from her bulimia and Lia has to fight for her life and figure out how to ask for help to get better. It's a powerful book and really dives into the world of eating disorders and mental health. I learned how it was living with an eating disorder and I also sympathized with Lia about her mental health issues, which I have as well. 

Some parts were very hard to read and made me cry, but that just shows how the author is able to show what this character's world and life is like. I really appreciate that Laurie chose to take on such a sensitive and stigmatized topic and turn it into such a special book filled with magical writing and metaphorical lyrics. 

I give this book 5/5 stars and recommend it to anyone. Unless you are struggling with an eating disorder or mental illness, then this might be too triggering for you. Just something to keep in mind.

The next book I read was Rising Tide by Jean Thesman. Just a heads up, I believe this book is out of print. I had to buy it from a third party seller on Amazon. I read this a long time ago as a kid and loved it so recently I went searching for it to add to my collection. This is technically a sequel to A Sea So Far. However, this is pretty much a stand alone book, so you don't have to read both (although both books are lovely). 

In Rising Tide it follows to Irish girls, Kate and Ellen, living in San Francisco after the time of the early 1900's earthquake and their plans to open a linen shop and be independent. Kate is very resourceful and independent and is the mastermind of their linen shop. She's struggling with adjusting to normal life again after her journey to Ireland. Ellen is a model for dresses at a department store and longs to be a part of high society life. She struggles with accepting her place in life and being happy with what she has. 

The story is short, sweet, and simple, following the two girls through the ups and downs of their lives and the opening of their linen shop. I love how simply this is written with little details of the girls' lives. 

I give this 4/5 stars and recommend this young adult historical fiction to anyone who's a fan of history, independent women, and looking for a quick read!

That concludes my mini book reviews! I hope you all enjoyed and maybe pick up one of these to read. I'll see y'all tomorrow!

Alette