Author: laayesha

This heartwarming story is about a boy named Ante. He loves his family, his culture, his heritage, and his best friend. With the struggle of trying to hold on to his culture he also struggles with his relationships. He’s never heard about any Sami’s who was just like him. It’s very rare, and Ante had only heard rumors. That people just like him, fleas away from their homes. But he doesn’t want that. He also doesn’t want his best friend, Erik, to find out about him. He’s already confused with the mixed signals he receives, but telling him? It’s much more complicated. Not to mention Erik already is in a relationship. The pressure of trying to hide who Ante really is, just leads him to have more stress. As Ante navigates through all this, he finds out truth, and secrets that he never knew. Ante unravels the culture of the Sami, and weaves through his life, trying to find an ending he’s happy with. Will he finally relieve himself of this stress, or will he just end up hurt in the end?

Fire from the sky is a heartwarming, with a mix of sadness in it. Moa really depicted well on how the Sami culture worked, and what they do. And that sometimes being different from the rest of your culture. The story really bings out how hard it is to tell someone that you like them, and especially if your trying to live up to your culture and heritage. This is much different love story I’ve read. It’s based on a real life culture, and shows the struggles of a boys life. I’ve only read books that show boys as the people who keep their calm, and composure. But Ante shows how boys can actually have stress, and mental breakdowns as well. It isn’t just the women. Some people just have a hard time admitting it. The author also put it in simple terms. No big words, and no big plot. Just a teenage boy who’s struggling to deal with his life.

But Fire from the Sky also had some minor set backs on it. The ending of this book was very sweet, but it didn’t give enough. I’ve asked myself questions like: “What did his parents think?” and “Was Ante accepted?” I wanted the ending to have more detail on his journey of acceptance, and coming out. Just to find out how the other characters would think of it. And especially what his parents reactions could be. Just having that information sets all questions aside, and gives it the final touch, in my opinion.

Fire from the Sky is a novel for people who love queer books, or just want a change of page of romance. It’s those kind of books where the main characters don’t kiss until the end, and your at the edge of your seat. It builded up to that moment, so if readers love suspension, and heartwarming plot, this is the book they might want to consider.

Cold by Mariko Tamaki stars a girl named Georgia and a boy named Todd. Todd was dead, and he hovers over the policemen that try to crack the mystery of his murder. He reminisces about his old life and trails back to the moment his life ended. Georgia hears the news of Todd’s dead body, and it hooks her in. She couldn’t figure out what was luring her in, but she tries to find the murderer anyway. She listens to the news, her friend, her brother and suspects the culprit was nearer than she thought. Georgia discovers secrets, lies, but also a bit of love. balancing her regular life with a murder mystery like this she never expects to know the secret that has been looming around since Todd’s death.

Cold is not much of a love story book, but has some spots where it shows that. I enjoyed reading it, especially for the plot. The mystery behind Todd’s death was quite luring, and got me wondering who the culprit was. Gathering the knowledge that Georgia and Todd had in this story. And it really does show how hard it is to be an outcast, in a school. The struggles of trying to fit in when you don’t. And maybe friendships that help you. Another thing is that Georgia was kind of helping Todd’s case. She never knew him, and yet she tries to help with his murder mystery. And that spark of kindness was heartwarming to me.

I especially like Todd’s character because he had so many struggles in school. He was an outcast, a nerd, and queer. And yet he still manages to trudge through life. And it’s the same with Georgia, she has a friend, but she still suffered. I liked how the two had so much in common, even though they really never knew each other.

One thing I might dislike about this book is probably the relationships. particularly Todd and the person he loved. I wish it went into more detail about their relationship, and maybe what that person’s feelings are for Todd are. it’s something I find interesting. A conformation of the relationship in this novel or any novel is what I’m interested to look for, or if there even is a relationship.

Cold is a marvelous book and I recommend this book for people who might enjoy a thrill of a little mystery. Especially if that person loves to read about LGBTQ+ books.

Four for the Road is a book that stars a boy names Asher that lost his mother by a drunk driver. And ever Since he was never the same. He ends up going to a bereavement group, but not just one. There he met people who also suffered the way he did. Asher plans to go to Tennessee, and he did, along with 3 friends he met. a girl who lost his father, a boy who lost his brother, and an old man that lost his wife. Together they embark in a journey that was full of surprises, tears, and love. And as they got closer, they learned more and more about each other, creating a bond that Asher wasn’t expecting. His point was for revenge, sweet revenge that would satisfy him. But in the end his plans took a turn for the good. He felt relief that people actually understood his pain and suffering, And in the end he fell in love with a car full of strangers, and half of them were dead.

I’ve never read a book so sad, then this. I’ve read about betrayal, murder, plot twists, and unnatural super powers, or dystopian world. I’ve never read a book that sets in the actual world, and with a sort of a normal plot. The characters and plot almost made me cry. I enjoyed this book because it was like I was on an emotional rollercoaster, that had several turns. But it’s not only that It’s also the facts that it relates to real life deaths. It highlights how painful it can be to lose someone that you really love. That it’s not easy to let go of them.

Four on the Road touched my heart, and made me understand the feeling of loss, guilt, and friendship. That you never know where you’ll meet someone or people that makes you feel at home, and that they might be the people who’s the right fit for you.

I don’t have many complaints of this book. In fact, I have no bad comments about the book. It had everything for my taste, and made it feel like I was in the story there myself. it’s become in my top ten books I’ve read, and really is a captivating book.

It’s a match for me, and I would recommend this book to people who love books that can make you cry. I would also recommend Four for the Road to people who just lost someone dear to him. Maybe it could make them more open to others, and help them cope with their struggles, especially if that person feels guilty for the death. It gives a lesson that stays with you, and help you.

Give me a Sign was a door opener for me. It gave me a little peek of what deaf or hearing lose culture was life. And giving me a knowledge of the problems they face as well. It was a touching book that I loved to read. It gave me the inspiration to also learn ASL, even if it takes awhile. The characters were interesting to read about too. Since in the camp their are also blind kids or have hard vision there. So there were different types of characters, deaf, hard at hearing, blind, non-deafs, etc. Just learning the varieties of groups that there are, and how they manage life is just amazing to learn about. Give me a sign is a page turner because of the love story too. This book mostly focuses on Isaac’s and Lilah’s whole relationships, which I love. Love stories such as this are one of my favorite genres as well. Love in real life is complicated and you never know if it really is true love or not. But in books you know exactly who is going to end up together, and that no matter what they’ll stick together through thick and thin. It’s quite intriguing to read a characters love life. And lastly, my favorite part about reading Give me a Sign is the setting. People don’t pay attention to setting as much, but this particular setting gave me a warm feeling inside. I’ve always loved camp, and want to go to an overstay camp just like in the story. Fire pits, S’mores, new friends, cabins, it give off a nice, calming, and fun vibe.

Although despite all of the great value of this book, there war some down sides. First, and it will be seen in every first book of someones, the wording and structure all seemed so simple and easy too read, like reading in 6th grade was like. It didn’t have complex words, any serious plots, and seemed like it could be a told over a camp fire. Give me a Sign was an outstanding book, and I have no complaints other than that one. It really was a good love story, with amazing characters.

This book I would recommend to someone that is into love stories, and want a simple book, without any hard words and such. Someone that doesn’t want to big, dramatic plot to follow.

“Alas, she had died, Again.”

Iris, a tightrope performer, is not as normal as she seems. She does not remember her past either, but has a sense on whether somethings familiar. Iris’s weird traits don’t stop there. She’s like a phoenix overseeing the whole crowd. And a trait that she shares with that bird is she can’t die. No matter the pain, she’s still going to be fine in the end. Iris wonders about her past for her whole life, well, she didn’t know her past and abilities was much more monstrous. A boy named Adam is curious about her too. promised to show Iris her passed. The two along with others enter a competition of trials and missions. Discovering more knowledge as they do. But little did Iris know he had more to information on her than herself. The chaos, friends, foes, secrets, mystery, all in which Iris had entered once she met Adam. Is she going to win the battle or will she get eaten by a bigger bird?

I’ve always loved reading books with secrets snd mysteries behind every corner. When I find out an information, I find out more that goes with it. Not to mention the mystery in those types of stories go deep. The Bones of Ruin was a phenomenal book, with great plot. It has twists and turns that got my head spinning. In addition to the deep mystery that follows throughout the story. It gave my mind a bit of a thinking frenzy, wondering what really happened to her. The book gives a scary, intimidating mood throughout. And the characters were all on point. They even had mysteries and secrets behind themselves as well, and as the story moves along there’s a part of a character that gets revealed, whether it’s Iris, Adam, or others. It always has my jaw drop to see a different side of the character or his/her story. It really is a touching book, and gets me excited on reading more mystery books.

Although it wasn’t really the book I expected to read. Especially the love/ love interests in this story was weird for me. I didn’t quite get a hold of whether there was one or not. I’d love it more if there was love story going on in this book. A quality in a book that I love, and other people too. Also, it may not apply to a lot of people, but I didn’t like the fact of the many characters in the book. 3 or 5 characters is my limit to a great story. If it’s more or less than that It’d either be boring or way to stressful to read, keeping up with characters. I’m not talking about background characters, or extras. I’m talking about side, and main characters. Too much can leave my brain a bit fuzzy, and confused on who’s who, or who the real main characters are. Lastly, the length of the book was a little too long for me. I like books between the radar of 100-200 or even 300 pages. I thought of trying this book to a gate way of me reading more longer books, but it wasn’t really for me.

My liking doesn’t much matter right now though. What matters is that someone who loves long stories and mystery find this book. Especially someone who like unnatural powers, and love a mystery book that is a little bit hard to figure out. This book also may target students who love fantasy. Go take a deep dive on this book, and find out what secrets Iris has to offer.

Four-Four-Two is a historical fiction dating back to 1941, World War II. Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor, America had declared war on them, Adolf Hitler is causing terror with the jews, and had declared war on America. Yuki, an AJA (Americans of Japanese Ancestries) was conflicted. After the Bombing of Pearl Harbor America did not trust the AJA or as they like to call them “Japs.” Yuki wanted to prove that he is American, that his loyalty is to the country. He and his best friends, Shig, signed up to fight in the name of America, along with other AJA, since Americans did not want to fight along side them. In their journey they have encountered new friends, bloodshed, and tears. They fought, along with their fellow AJA war mates, gun fires, bombs, and losses. Yuki is fighting for his country, but also his recognition. And even the heartbreak, and fear did not hold him back, for in his sights were not death, but the honor in the end.

This book was an amusing book to read. I’ve never read much of historical fiction, but this one stood out. when I read the summary I was amazes at how absorbed I was. This book got me thinking of all the people who sacrificed their lives for America, and how those survived never had a normal life again. Yuki made me realize that fighting for something can be worth it. And what I enjoyed the most in this book was the friendships that were bonded. It really shows that in the darkest hour a friend is all you need to look in the bright side. Also, even if Yuki was fighting a war he still manages to keep in touch with his loved once, especially a girl that she loved dearly. On the other hand there are some things I either didn’t like, or didn’t understand. Sometimes I did not keep up with all the characters. There were characters that were in for one part, then disappeared. Especially when Japan calls people with their last name sometimes, it’s hard to keep track. Another addition is that the characters that were Japanese Hawaiian talked in a language I did not understand most of the time. But other than that I enjoyed it.

A book such as this requires focus to know what’s going on and terms such as “battalion or “company” or “platoon.” It took me a while to get the hang on things too. I recommend this book to people who love war stories, and Historical Fiction. But also to people that just want to learn something new, because the characters may be fiction, but the information is not.