Hi there! I’m here to talk about some exciting 2023 releases I’ve won / claimed from BookishFirst in the past few months! **And every day we are reminded that discrimination against marginalized communities is still a serious problem, so click here to find a compilation of resources where you can donate your time, money, or whatever you can to support these communities. I still encourage you to research these causes on your own to educate yourself and find the best way to lend your support.**
I’m usually pretty good at getting these BookishFirst reviews out before release date. But of the three I’m going to be talking about here, I received two of them a few weeks after release (the third comes out a few days after this post goes live!). I’m not faulting BookishFirst for that, publishers and shipping haven’t really recovered since the beginning of the pandemic – on the bright side I did receive finished copies instead of ARCs for those. I was able to read all three in the month of May and decided that instead of individual reviews I’d compile them all into one post, getting to gush about multiple books all at once! BookishFirst is a great site I’ve been using to find some incredible new releases since 2020, and some of the ones I’m talking about here are no exception.
Book 1 – Enter the Body by Joy McCullough (released March 14th, 2023)
-In the room beneath the stage’s trap door, four dead teenagers from Shakespeare’s tragedies – Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), Ophelia (Hamlet), Cordelia (King Lear), and Lavinia (Titus Andronicus) – take their own sort of center stage and compare their experiences to retell stories of life, love, and loss, and perhaps along the way allow themselves the ability, for once, to offer support and reclaim a bit of their story that should have rightfully been theirs.
-As a theater lover, and an occasional reader of Shakespeare, I found this to be a pretty unique spin in order for the woman, primarily the teen girls, who perish by different means in various tragedies, to speak their minds and take back some agency in their stories. Through a narrative told in three parts, the girls – Juliet, Ophelia, Cordelia, and Lavinia – go on a journey both individually (as each of their stories of pain and sorrow are their own to face) and as a collective unit of characters whose lives were cut short due to decisions and actions *mostly* out of their control. Each get the chance to tell the story of their life (with the exception of Lavinia, who is unable to speak due to her tongue and hands being removed prior to her death) as Shakespeare wrote it but then their is a shift as Juliet acknowledges the others in the room, and the group begins to wonder what it would be like if they’d had more support in their stories. Thus begins a recount of each story in which each teen gives themselves a slightly better hand in helping control their story, with some occasional commentary from the others added in for good measure. It was incredibly interesting getting to see how each girl chose to change their narrative, and how that was shaped by their experiences throughout the rest of the play. For instance, Cordelia and Lavinia are older, more jaded from the hardships and realities of life, while Juliet and Ophelia have a more optimist outlook on their stories, even if death still knocks on their door. The differences between their accounts really highlighted the various ways people can choose to have more agency in their lives, whether it’s relying on other people in their lives when they need help or fighting for something they regret giving up on in the past. Happily ever afters aren’t always realistic, but that doesn’t mean anyone who strives to find one is less important. I also appreciated the inclusion of Lavinia, a character who was terribly abused by men in her life and who is unable to share her own version of the story alongside the other – in my opinion she represents those who have undergone such terrible hardships and who struggle with sharing their story due to trauma or physical inability to do so, but whose existence is still important and they matter to someone, even if it feels like the world is against them. I have a feeling this is a story that is going to stick with me for some time, and I’m glad I got the chance to have a copy and look back on in the future.
Book 2 – Never Vacation With Your Ex by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka (released April 4th, 2023)
-Sixteen-year-old volleyball star Kaylee Jordan has a plan – finish high school and go pro following in her famous mother’s footsteps, while carving out a space to make records of her own. She’s used to the comparisons, and spends most of her free time fitting in extra trainings and carefully curating her social media. Her one break is the two week trip to Malibu her family takes every year. The only problem is the trip is with her childhood best friend, Dean, and his parents (as they’ve been friends since college), and Kaylee just recently unceremoniously dumped Dean after dating for three months. In order to not make things awkward for the entire trip, Kaylee approaches Dean with a plan – she’s going to walk him through all the steps for getting over an ex. When Dean begrudgingly agrees, and they spend time going through her tried and true steps, Kaylee can’t help but feel like she’s starting realize all the reasons they worked so well together, and therefore makes her confront the reasons she broke up with him. As the trip starts to wind down, Kaylee must choose between listening to her heart or letting her head get in the way.
-I’ve read a few books from this married writing duo, and I’ll say that Never Vacation With Your Ex is a great summer read for any YA lover. While I do usually prefer dual POV if books are in first person, because it’s always interesting to get the other main character’s / love interest’s perspective on things, I found Kaylee to be an interesting character to follow, specifically in regards to relationships. She’s known around school as a person who is constantly dating different guys, and she acknowledges this fact – to her, she’s having fun, likes being flirty, but when things start to head in a more serious direction she starts to get scared and is the other to break things off because she understands herself well enough to know that she doesn’t want to lead people on. And it was interesting to see her grapple with her feelings for Dean, even after knowing him since childhood. I liked the inclusion of Dean’s bisexuality and how it was just another part of his identity, especially when we often see characters’ bisexuality erased when they seek out a relationship with someone of a different gender. What I will say is that I didn’t appreciate the way the adults discussed Kaylee and Dean’s breakup. Both Kaylee and Dean’s parents put most, if not all, of the responsibility of the awkward aftermath on Kaylee, and while yes, she was the one to break it off, she, as a teenage high school girl, should not be held solely responsible for the feelings of a teenage boy, and Kaylee did not owe Dean a relationship if she no longer felt any romantic attraction to him. And yes, Kaylee’s decision to break up with Dean had more to due with her personal issues with commitment which she needs to work out on her own, but as someone who constantly feels compared to someone else, this is something she feels like she can have some control over. I did really like seeing Kaylee and Dean falling back in love over these two weeks, and while some of the will-they-won’t-they felt a bit repetitive it was nice to see them working through the awkwardness to first build back their friendship, and then, when they realize they both are still attracted to each other, reestablish a relationship with a better foundation. So while Never Vacation With Your Ex isn’t a new favorite, it was a quick read and perfect for any seasoned YA reader to pick up this summer.
Book 3 – Her Good Side by Rebekah Weatherspoon (released May 30th, 2023)
-Sixteen-year-old Bethany Greene is confident and self-assured, a valued member of her school’s basketball team, and loved by her friend group. But when she tries asking out her crush to the Homecoming Dance and is rejected due to “inexperience,” she starts to think she’s what other people call a “late bloomer” as she’s never had a boyfriend, went on a date, or had her first kiss. She cautiously agrees to a platonic date with her best friend, Saylor’s boyfriend, Jacob Yeun, and everything seems to be going well – until Saylor breaks up with him. This is the second time this year Jacob’s been broken up with – he secretly curses the glow up he had over the summer. As someone who’s spent years behind his camera, he has no idea how to step up and be someone’s significant other. So after Saylor breaks up with him, Jacob and Bethany decide to make the most of an awkward situation and fake date, helping each other gain the confidence in matters of the heart. But when their plan starts working a little too well, Bethany and Jacob are forced to acknowledge that their perfect match might just be a bit closer than they thought.
-This was honestly delightful. I’m glad this book is written in dual POV so we got to see things from both Jacob’s and Bethany’s point of view. Her Good Side is the kind of book that I wish I had when I was in high school, and was trying to navigate being what these characters would constitute a “late bloomer” myself. I think Rebekah Weatherspoon was able to capture the feeling of first love, trying to figure out their place in the world, and staying true to yourself even when others try to lead you astray. It also highlighted how fast news travels around high school, and how fickle the news cycle can be, which really brought me back. I loved that while Bethany and Jacob are exploring different aspects of their relationship, there is always a focus on consent and discussions about how it’s ok to not be ready for certain things, and it’s important to both vocalize those discomforts and respect your partner’s boundaries. Both of these characters are really comfortable around each other, and do their best to build a foundation of friendship even when, to others, they are in a romantic relationship. While I loved the romance, I also really appreciated the discussion of how to tell your parents you might not want to follow in their footsteps, or may want to deviate from the path they expect for you – Bethany’s moms are both WNBA stars, and while she’s extremely talented at basketball she’s grown to dislike the game, and even considers quitting the team mid-season. With the help of Jacob and her friends, she’s able to find a way to open that dialogue with her moms, and express her wishes to follow a new passion. All in all, I had a smile on my face throughout the majority of this book, and these characters truly warmed my heart with every turn of the page.
In conclusion, I’ll always be checking the BookishFirst site for their weekly raffles, because I’ve been able to both find really incredible books that are out of my comfort zone, or able to snag early copy of my most anticipated books of the year that I know I’m going to love. I really do recommend checking out the site, and all three of the books reviewed in this post, and consider picking up a copy if any of them particularly interest you! *Thanks to BookishFirst and the publishers, Dutton Books (Enter the Body), Viking Books (Never Vacation With Your Ex), and Razorbill (Her Good Side), for the finished / early copies, all thoughts and opinions are my own*
Where to find these books:
Enter the Body Bookshop Goodreads Author site
Never Vacation With Your Ex Bookshop Goodreads Author site
Her Good Side Bookshop Goodreads Author site
Thoughts About Things 