Kurt Mason

I’m not even sure where to start with this one! This is, hands down, one of the funniest “self help” books that I have ever read. I’m generally not one for these types of books, but I knew that I had to give this a read. Life advice, hilarious stories, and beautifully captured photographs align to create the perfect reading experience. I think it is important to have diverse representation in all forms of media, and seeing two accomplished drag queens sit down and write a self help book as “modern women” is, in my opinion, the pinnacle of diverse representation.

A classic fairy tale with new and exciting twists and turns sounds like a hit, but, unfortunately this read was a little disappointing. At first glance, it had the ingredients to be the perfect book for me, but then it just fell flat. After I was done reading--and even while I was reading--the story just never seemed to get off the ground.

This was a reread for me, but it made me remember how much I enjoy this book. It has been a long time since I read this book for the first time, but as I was scanning the shelves for something to read, there was something about this title that caught my eye. As I was reading, I was flooded with memories (no pun intended) of what it was like reading this when it was recommended to me by my elementary school librarian. Reading it now, I had a different appreciation for the story being told, but I remembered how impactful the concept of this story was to me even as a younger reader.

This one has taken me quite a while to write. To be honest, I fell away from reading for a little bit over the last month, and this book took me longer to finish than it should have. “Imaginary Friend” had been sitting on my shelf for quite a while, but I’m glad that I picked it up and finally read it. Although it was a little confusing in places, I was hooked, and the desire to figure out exactly what was happening kept me reading.

I don’t really know where to start with this one because I am still processing the overwhelming feeling of enjoyment washing over me. I could not put this book down! I thought that this book was brilliantly written, fabulously executed, and brought a genius concept to life. Written by two amazing authors, “What If It’s Us” is an absolute pleasure to read from start to finish.

I have been a fan of Gary D. Schmidt for a long time. My first introduction to him as an author was during my YA Literature class in college when we read his novel, “Okay for Now.” These books are written with young adults in mind, but I find that a lot of the topics that are addressed in Schmidt’s work are very adult in nature: war, racism, mental health, death, and teen parenthood just to name a few.