Review of Binge by Tyler Oakley

Status: read and loved.
Rating: 5 stars.

Well hello everybody welcome to the Tyler Oakley fan club!

Tyler Oakley, Queen of the Internet, has slayed anew. His book Binge was an experience. The book felt like talking to a best friend at a sleepover, all the secrets, all the sassy, even a few magazine quizzes to boot!

Tyler was more open than I thought he would be. The first few chapters in particular went in depth into Tyler's early years and eating disorder. That chapter and his coming out story really affected me. It is difficult seeing someone so ordinarily happy and vibrant dim a little without them knowing. Nevertheless, it made Tyler the person he is, just as the fights he had with his dad strengthened their relationship.

What is a Tyler Oakley book anything though without a bit of sass and shade. His Beyonce-for-the-day musings were insightful. The amazing revenge story for a boy pretending that Tyler and he were dating (not to mention the amazing photos of Tyler dancing with said boy's mum, knowing full well that she would beg the boy to marry Tyler in future). He is here to live his life and doesn't care if you like it! (But you probably will because he is hilarious.)

If you need a pick-me-up or want to lose yourself in the fandom please pick up this book! Indulge a little ;) 


Favourite quote:

I’m not into boys who give nonconsensual kisses. Sure, he had good intentions, but, like, don’t kiss me in my sleep. It’s a simple ground rule. You don’t know if those ladies wanted that. Maybe they were having a good dream. Maybe they were dreaming about Darren Criss. You don’t know what you just interrupted. Rude.

Review of We Can Work It Out by Elizabeth Eulberg

Status: bought in hardback and back on the shelf.
Rating: 3/5 stars

We Can Work It Out was not the best follow up to a brilliant debut novel. We return to the cast of The Lonely Hearts Club, the fam, if you will. Penny Lane Bloom, pioneer and Queen is finding having a boyfriend difficult to balance with her commitment to the Club. Tracey is being courted against her will. And Diane is perhaps too close to Ryan, Penny's boyfriend. All great set ups for a story-after-the-happily-ever-after, but perhaps I had my expectations set too high.

Don't get me wrong, there were many parts of the book I loved. The Nate shutdown take two with Tracey was epic. The obligatory Beatles birthday. The hilarity of awkward situations Penny finds herself in. What this book lacked was the originality of the first book and its wow factor. Many authors struggle with this particularly when returning to a world they left behind long ago. It is difficult to breathe life into the characters again and I don't envy the author that task.

Overall, read this book if you're curious what happens after but don't expect the same freshness of The Lonely Hearts Club. 

Favourite quote:
Members are required to attend all Club meetings on Saturday nights. No member shall wuss out on attending due to a date with a boy. Exceptions are still for family emergencies and bad hair days only.

Review of I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

Jude and Noah are the twins of a dreamer and a realist. They grow up within these poles never knowing that their world would break. When Noah is 13 he falls in love with a boy. When Jude is 13 she does something terrible to Noah. And their mother does something terrible to them. And their father to their mother. In a few years Jude will wake up and see their messy lives and will try to piece the world together again.

Lots of people - myself included - Jude and Noah have a strange fascination with the bond between twins. I have had the pleasure of befriending a few twins and while they fight like any other siblings, they are always each other’s protectors. Jandy Nelson creates the twins’ relationship with their games, traditions, ghosting their similarities. Following their lives, Nelson captures something very special - as close as I will get to understanding that ethereal connection.

I greatly enjoyed this highly acclaimed read. While it had the humour and lightness inherent in teen fiction, the characters had depth and matured as the book went on. As promised in the blurb, I did at one point laugh and cry at the same time. I loved both completely different POVs, especially Noah’s way of labeling the still images of his life. This is a book I will be recommending to everyone to not only read but to buy. It looks so pretty on the bookshelf :D

Favourite quote:

“What is bad for the heart is good for the art.”