Another excellent novel in verse by Elizabeth Acevedo, this one focused on two young women from different cultures who discover they are sisters after a historical event I either did not know about or had forgotten.

A realistic novel in verse about a mixed race teenager coming to terms with his LGBTQ identity featuring very high quality poems while in drag. I loved the climactic scene so much.

An absolutely off the rails finished trilogy focused on a psychopath serial killer that dives deep into dark places, complete with an unreliable narrator who has to question himself right along with us.

A perfect mix of realism and magic, with writing that digs into your soul and roots around. It was about everything: how love looks different with different people; why the journey is more important than the destination; accepting yourself and not putting on costumes for other people; and the ocean.

A very well done discussion of abortion set to the background of Riot Grrrl feminism and in a Catholic High School in the 90s, featuring sisters with very different attitudes.

A well thought out and well researched treatise on the relationship between poverty, healthcare, education, systemic racism, classist society, capitalism, the patriarchy, and the lack of minority voices or inability for minority voices to be heard. Much rage arose from this one.

A YA adaptation of the bestselling nonfiction that traces the history of racism and the many political, literary, and philosophical narratives that have been used to justify slavery, oppression, and genocide. I listened to this one and listening to Reynolds read this was like listening to your favorite history teacher talk about his favorite subject. He employs the use of sidebars, timeouts, heavy sighs, and even moments to stop and breathe, as if he's just having a conversation with the listener.

An LGBTQ take on a royal princess/prince romance where the son of a (female) president falls in love with the prince of England, and honestly, this is a future I want to live in. The romance is really good, but it's helped by the badass, foulmouthed, Latinx female president, the blended family environment, and the other semi-secret relationships and states of sexuality.

A very well done realistic portrayal of a mixed-race Canadian teenager whose live is uprooted and moved to Texas. It's lighthearted with touches on some serious issues, so it's easy to read but doesn't pretend life will be easy for the main character. Phillippe throws a lot of balls into the air and doesn't drop a single one.

The life story of an imaginary actress from the Golden Age of Hollywood that reads like real life, like a real biography of a fake person. Evelyn reveals herself in bits and pieces, and it touches on several major historical events in LGBTQ history. It was a lovely reading experience.

A book meant to be listened to written interview style, so the audio is done with a full cast. It doesn't hurt that the story was great, the music was great, and the ending was great. Like her other book above, this one is the story of an imaginary band, but it reads like real life.

A historical novel set in 1986 featuring a young man who returns to his rural home after years in New York City and and AIDS diagnosis. This was so so so sad, but Sickels covers a lot of bases here and there is a character for everyone to relate to.

A nonfiction title that I should have read years ago, but I honestly feel I got more out of it now than I would have then. This is an epiphany about the relationship and correlation between race, socio-economic status, education, religion, and money. It is shockingly relevant in 2020.

A steamy gay romance set in the late 1920s featuring the nerdiest guys and a slight bit of supernatural. If any of that description is in any way interesting to you, READ THIS.

A feminist re-imagining of Sherlock with a bit of romance and lot of sass. I wasted several years thinking I didn't need this series in my life. I WAS WRONG.

A graphic update to the classic Nancy Drew and I read it in like an hour and I just want more. Great mystery. Rad character updates. Fantastic artwork. Give me more!

A steamy Regency England rom-com novel that reads like an homage to Jane Austen, but with A SCENE. An estranged husband and wife engage in hijinks to teach each other lessons, and I was thinking about this one for a long time after reading it.