LitBit Speaks

Today I have the pleasure of providing you all with a guest post from a good friend, Keith Reynolds. We have some similar ideas about books, and other times our ideas are pretty polarized. In any case, I respect his opinion, and I hope you all enjoy reading his review of this novel! [Note: These views are those of the guest reviewer and are not necessarily my own] If you’ve ever had a piece of candy and later found out it was good for you? No because something like that doesn’t exist? Well you’re right, but if it existed, I Hate Everyone But You , would be the book equivalent. This is a strained metaphor to be sure, but just go with it. ---------------------------------------- Dear Best Friend, I can already tell that I will hate everyone but you. Sincerely, Ava Helmer (that brunette who won’t leave you alone) We're still in the same room, you weirdo. Stop crying. G  So begins a series of texts and emails sent between two best friends, ...

Apologies for the disappearance over the last little bit. I've been in the midst of a number of deadlines and have fallen behind on my reviewing. In any case, I'm back now, at least for today, with some really great picture books! Oliver has always dreamed about where he will fit. Will he be in the mane of a unicorn? The tentacle of a pirate squid? The helmet of an astronaut? When he finally goes in search of his perfect place, he finds that trying to fit in is a lot harder than he thought. But like any puzzle, a little trial and error leads to a solution, and Oliver figures out exactly where he belongs. This book is adorable, heartfelt, gorgeously colorful, and speaks to the real-life anxieties around feeling inadequate or being unable to fit in. Oliver is a delightful little fellow, trying to find a place and a purpose. Frank loves being a spider, especially the part that involves having eight glorious legs. But one morning Frank wakes up missing a leg. One of his fri...

The three of them—a twelve-year-old boy, his older brother, their father—have won the war : the father’s term for his bitter divorce and custody battle. They leave their Kansas home and drive through the night to Albuquerque, eager to begin again, united by the thrilling possibility of carving out a new life together. The boys go to school, join basketball teams, make friends. Meanwhile their father works from home, smoking cheap cigars to hide another smell. But soon the little missteps—the dead-eyed absentmindedness, the late night noises, the comings and goings of increasingly odd characters—become sinister, and the boys find themselves watching their father change, grow erratic, then violent. This is a tough book to read. I need to make that clear straight away. This is where I put a trigger warning and note: child abuse, drug use, psychological trauma, death threats. If these are issues that will trigger you, then it is a good idea to let this one past. THAT BEING SAID, ...

Set three months after Husky' s conclusion and narrated by Sophie, Davis's best friend, Sayre details the private and public life of someone saddled with the adjective of pretty. Confident, stylish, and easygoing at school, Sophie is struggling in her home life. Stepping in to help as her mother's addiction spirals out of control, Sophie's aunt teaches the biracial Sophie new lessons about her heritage. While helping to heal the wounds inflicted by alcoholism, Sophie's renewed sense of self challenges her perception of place in the affluent, "liberal" neighborhood of Park Slope where she lives. Set against the backgrounds of Brooklyn and Harlem, Sayre challenges readers to confront superficial assumptions about race and beauty and breathes new life into the canon of middle-grade realistic fiction. This book is pretty. I mean, the cover is beautiful, and the writing is solid, and the topics explored are timely and necessary. But the things that happe...

It's been almost a year since Makani Young came to live with her grandmother in landlocked Nebraska, and she's still adjusting to her new life. And still haunter by her past in Hawaii. Then, one by one, the students of her small town high school begin to die in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasing and grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and the hunt intensifies for the killer, Makani will be forced to confront her own dark secrets. I've become a pretty big fan of thrillers and horror movies these last few years, at least where movies are concerned, so I when saw that this was a slasher for teens, I figured I'd give it a shot, and I wasn't disappointed! Though the book itself is focused perhaps a bit more on a central romance than I would have liked, the killings and the swift pacing of the novel will keep young readers hooked. The revelation of the killer happened a bit earlier than I would have preferred, but the slow revelation of mo...