juliet takes a breath review

Juliet Milagros Palante is leaving the Bronx and headed to Portland, Oregon. She just came out to her family and isn’t sure if her mom will ever speak to her again. But Juliet has a plan, sort of, one that’s going to help her figure out this whole “Puerto Rican lesbian” thing. She’s interning with …

#mental health monday: haldol and hyacinths

Another Monday, another post about mental health! This week I'm intersecting Mental Health Monday and the Ramadan Readathon to bring you a review of Melody Moezzi's autobiography Haldol and Hyacinths. Melody Moezzi was born to Persian parents at the height of the Islamic Revolution and raised amid a vibrant, loving, and gossipy Iranian diaspora in …

future leaders of nowhere

I was kindly provided Future Leaders of Nowhere by Netgalley. All of the opinions expressed are my own. Finn and Willa have been picked as team leaders in the future leader camp game. The usually confident Finn doesn’t know what’s throwing her more, the fact she’s leading a team of highly unenthusiastic overachievers or coming …

diverse summer releases

For me, summer = more time to read. I thought I would put together a huge list of some of the diverse books being released this June, July, and August - I know my TBR has suffered because of it! Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue - Makenzi Lee (bisexual) Saints and Misfits - S.K. Ali …

the things i would tell you review

The Things I Would Tell You: British Muslim Women Write is an anthology of poetry, short stories and plays about Muslim women all over the world. This is also my first read for the Ramadan Readathon! From established literary heavyweights to emerging spoken word artists, the writers in this ground-breaking collection blow away the narrow image …

in the shadow of the banyan review

This is my final review for #AsianLitBingo, and what a book to be going out on! For seven-year-old Raami, the shattering end of childhood begins with the footsteps of her father returning home in the early dawn hours bringing details of the civil war that has overwhelmed the streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital. Soon …

ramadan readathon tbr

Another month, another diverse readathon! I clearly just cannot be stopped. Created by Zoya @ We Are All Critics and Nadia @ Words Beneath the Wings, the Ramadan Readathon will be taking place from the 1st to the 30th of June. You can read the full instructions here. I am really excited to take part in …

diversity spotlight thursday

Created by Aimal, you can check out the rules here. Basically, every week you list: A diverse book you have read and enjoyed A diverse book that has already been released but you have not read A diverse book that has not yet been released If you check out my Diversity Spotlight Thursday tag on …

girl in translation review

When Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to Brooklyn squalor, she quickly begins a secret double life: exceptional schoolgirl during the day, Chinatown sweatshop worker in the evenings. Disguising the more difficult truths of her life like the staggering degree of her poverty, the weight of her family’s future resting on her …

everything i never told you review

Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet. So begins this exquisite novel about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia’s body is …