July 2019 Wrap-Up

As predicted, YALC month was going to be a little bit of a reading struggle for me. I want to try and get my reading flow back, but with YALC happening in July, i struggled for time to read to be honest.

However, YALC is behind us, a new reading phase has begun and i’m free of my YALC TBR. It feels good that my TBR is over and i can read whatever i want from my shelves again, it’s definitely freeing, but i did love reading from my TBR. July was my last month to read from it so here is what i read in July in preparation for YALC.

Other Words For Smoke by Sarah Maria Griffin
I had low expectations of this book i won’t lie, on the basis that it’s not something that i would enjoy usually. As Lauren kept telling me to pick it up, i finally did and wanted to get around to reading it before YALC. It turns out, i actually adored this book and the story and the characters and now need everything by Sarah in my life. I found the story so intriguing and it definitely kept me interested from the start throughout. It’s definitely not for everyone with it’s flowery language and strange plot twists, however i cannot express how much i really enjoyed reading Other Words For Smoke.

Black Flamingo by Dean Atta
I fell in love with Dean’s writing when i read his poem in Proud the anthology by Stripes books. It’s one of the ones that stuck with me and i found to be the most powerful, so when i found out that he would be releasing a verse novel about a drag queen, i couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy. I loved this story, as someone who’s not hugely interested in the drag scene and has never known much about it. This story of a boy growing up in to who he wants to be completely captivated me. I absolutely adored it and i cannot wait for more people to be able to get their hands on this wonderful book.

Heartstream by Tom Pollock
Heartstream was my first contact with Tom’s writing, and i have to say that this didn’t disappoint either! (There’s clearly a theme of books i’ve adored this month). I didn’t know what to expect from Heartstream as i wanted to keep the plot as surprising as possible when i read it. It’s based on a future not too far from now where we can live stream our feelings, and have those effect other people. It was really interesting and a great concept for the future, along with a really intriguing story-line with plenty of plot twists!

Heartstopper Vol 2 by Alice Oseman 
I wanted to read volume 2 of Heartstopper before YALC this year and finally once it was released i could read a copy! I don’t think i’d ever have a bad word to say about this graphic novel. Alice puts so much work in to her books and it shows with the artwork and story-lines. I adore all the characters and i think these graphic novels are my happy place. I’m patiently sitting and waiting for the next volume to be out from now…

The Million Pieces of Neena Gill by Emma Smith-Barton
I’d heard about this book before i picked up a proof at the beginning of the year, but honestly i didn’t think too much of it. It turns out, it’s one of my favourite representations of mental health i’ve ever read and i think it’s an incredibly important book for everyone to read. The story follows Neena who suffers with psychosis, which is not something that’s discussed in YA fiction often, if at all. I found it incredibly relatable and incredibly needed in the society that we have now. I’ve never connected to characters like it and i loved the story.

That’s everything that i read in July, which actually seems like a low now i’ve put it down in a post! I’ve already read over half of I Am Not A Number by Lisa Heathfield which i love so far, no doubt it will be my first finished book of August!

Books read: 5

Books read this year: 39

Pages read: 1,636

Pages Per Day: 53

Average Rating: 4.5

Years of Release: 2019

Genres: YA, Dystopian, Mental Health, Graphic Novel