This is an interesting perspective that I’m very glad I took the time to read. "Patron Saints of Nothing" follows high school senior Jason (Jay), born in the Philippines and raised in the Midwest, on a journey of discovery. After he finds out his cousin and childhood best friend has been killed, Jay takes it upon himself to return to the Philippines and investigate. His family back in the Philippines is unwilling to speak about what happened to his cousin Jun, which only prom

So in these times of quarantine, I've been especially on the look out for some series I can binge. And what's better than a series full of virtual realities where people can hang out online in a virtual game world? Warcross and the sequel Wildcard by Marie Lu (author of the Legend series) proved to be the perfect distraction! Teenage orphan Emika Chen has been living rough in a futuristic NYC, barely scraping together a living as a bounty hunter. In her spare time, she does w

This memoir in verse by bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson gripped me on page one and still hasn't let me go weeks after reading it. She begins by letting us know... "this book reeks of my fear of depression's black dogs howling and the ancient shames riding my back, their claws buried deep" And it does. Part memoir and part rallying cry, Anderson explores her own history as a sexual abuse survivor and the thousands of other survivors she's met since. She dissects our c

I could not put this down! I was instantly invested in Jo Kuan and her story. She is a bright, witty, and wise character that totally makes this book worth a read even if you don't generally like historical fiction. By day, Jo works as a housemaid to a wealthy Atlanta family. By night, she writes a controversial advice column for a struggling newspaper under the pseudonym "Miss Sweetie". But that isn't Jo's only secret... The plot is intricate, fast paced, and absolutely sati

I really enjoyed this one! First of all, do yourself a favor and get the audio book. The multiple narrators really bring this story to life, especially because the point of view rotates between the main characters. The basic plot is three Brooklyn teens work to get their friend's raps posthumously produced. But how and why did he die? Can they even pull this off? In this book you may expect to find: character development, NY hip-hop history, friendship, social commentary, mys