Review: Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney

Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Published: May 2021

Quinn is a senior in high school. This year has not been going as planned. She's not doing well in her classes, she lied to her parents about college, she not speaking to her boyfriend and now her journal is being held for ransom. Her journal is filled with lists; boys she'd like to kiss, places she wants to visit, and things to do before she graduates. When the blackmailer challenges her to do the things on the graduate list to get the journal back, she isn't ready. With the help of some new friends, she will try to tackle the list and get her journal back.

Thank you to Harper Teen and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

This book really held my attention throughout. This was a very different story than I've read before. I'm a big fan of YA and this one was really good. Quinn is the type of character that you can relate to. I think when I was a teen, I made a lot of lists of things I wanted to do and boys I thought were cute, teachers and I didn't like and ones I loved. I would have been devastated if my secret personal thoughts got out into the world.

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Review: All American Boys by Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: September 2015
 

Rashad was just stopping by the corner store to pick up some chips before hanging out with his friends. A lady trips over his bag and the chips fly out of his hands, and the next thing you know he is accused of stealing and beaten by the police.
Quinn is about to walk into the same corner store to find someone to buy him and his friends beer. As he rounds the corner, he sees Rashad getting beat up by the cop. A cop he knows. The entire town is split about who and what to believe.
Told from the perspective of both boys, we hear how one incident can affect so many people in different ways.

Even though this story was written nearly five years ago, the incidents in it still ring true today. Young black boys are being beaten and gunned down in our streets for mostly unknown reasons. It's hurt first, ask questions later. As a mother of a young black boy, who also has a disability, I worry for his safety every day.

Quinn and Rashad didn't know each other in school. They had mutual friends and hung out in the same places, but they really didn't know each other. Quinn was on the basketball team and Rashad was in ROTC. Quinn was more deeply affected by the incident then he thought he was going to be especially after seeing his friends feelings towards it.

Rashad spent several days in the hospital watching himself on the television and trying to decide how he was going to carry out the rest of this week and the rest of his life. This is the type of incident that will change various people in various ways. The lady in the store, the store owner, Rashad, the police officer that beat him, the person who shot the video, Rashad's parents and brother, kids at the school, Quinn, the police officers family. And these are just people directly involved.

Too many times we hear these stories and it's time for them to come to an end. Reading the statistics in this book about the difference in policing in other countries is very enlightening. We need to take a stand to make sure our black boys are protected.

#RashadisAbsentAgaintoday



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Review: Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica

Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Quinn wakes up on Sunday morning to discover that her roommate, Esther, is gone. Quinn isn't sure what she should do. The window to the fire escape was left open, but there is no note or sign of where Esther could be. Should she go to the police or wait for Esther to return? When Quinn starts to find things that make her question the integrity of her roommate, she's not sure if she wants her to be found.

A few hours away on the shores of Lake Michigan, Alex, an 18 year old boy is on his way to work at the local diner. He's cleaning dishes, when the most beautiful girl he has ever seen walks in. It's all he can do to concentrate on his work and not watch her watching whatever it is she is looking at outside the window. Who is she and where did she come from? Alex is determined to find the answers to those questions.

This is the first book I have read by Mary Kubica. I have heard nothing but great things about all of her books. Recently, I won a copy of her most recent book, Every Last Lie, and wanted to read something else of hers to get a feel for her writing style. When I first started the book, I dove in head first, I was very intrigued from the start and wanted to know what was going to happen.

I will say, that I found out what was going to happen about a third of the way through the book, although I was surprised at the end that I wasn't completely right. That is why I gave the book 3 stars.

What would you do if you found your roommate missing? A girl who you thought was one of the sweetest people you had ever known. Then you found evidence that maybe she wasn't so sweet after all, and maybe it was a good thing she was now gone. Quinn enlists the help of her friend and co-worker, Ben, who also knows Esther to help her get to the bottom of the mystery. When stranger and stranger details start to emerge, Quinn has no choice, but to go to the police for help. But will they help, or will they just assume, Esther has gone of her own free will and doesn't want to be found.

For Alex his motive is quite different. His life is not filled with much excitement, so when a new face appears in town and can shake up his boring world a bit, he's all for taking a chance on getting to know this girl. She is quite a change from dealing with his alcoholic father and the agoraphobic woman, Ingrid, who he frequently brings food to from the diner. But this girl won't tell him her name(he calls her Pearl because of her bracelet) or where she came from or why she is here. So he makes assumptions and tries his best to get to know her and find out who she is.

Are Esther and Pearl the same person? That is the question that plagues us through the whole book. You will have to read it to find out!

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