Brutally Honest by Melanie Brown

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEL B! Now let's talk about your book.

I recently got on a Spice Girls kick after listening to their albums, remembering how amazing they were, and realizing I’ve never read any of their memoirs! Mel B had me tearing up from the first page with her honesty about her marriage, insecurities, and struggle to overcome everything. She said it was hard to act like an empowered woman with this happening behind the scenes but I think sharing it now makes her more empowered and relatable than ever before.

It jumps around a lot and in some places is difficult to follow the thread. I kept having to google some of her relationships to grasp the timeline and files the stories from the book into the right place. However, she's open about ADHD and Paris Hilton was the same in her memoir, so I can appreciate the authenticity of feeling like you're getting inside the people's minds.

Selfishly, I wanted a lot more information about the Spice Girls days, but this is Mel B's book and it focuses more on her personal life and relationships, especially her abusive marriage. I just need to get my hands on Catch a Fire from 2003 which apparently covers her early fame.

Still, this was a compelling read and I can't wait to find her earlier book, along with others by Spice Girls.

Beverly Cleary Author Study: Strider

 Illustrations by Paul O. Zelinsky. 

This book is the sequel to Dear Mr. Henshaw. I don't think I read this when I was younger. Honestly, Dear Mr. Henshaw was pretty dark for me as a sheltered kid. I don't think I was drawn to the character himself. I also had bad luck with dog books (see: Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows) so I didn't try this one based on the cover alone.

It was nice to have a "new" Cleary book to read in adulthood. I love Leigh Botts now, so I was glad to read more about him and see how he's grown. I especially think the sequel was necessary because Leigh seemed really torn up about his dad in the first book, and now he's come to accept his life. I think that could be helpful to a lot of kids going through something similar.

Beverly Cleary Author Study: Dear Mr. Henshaw

 Illustrations by Paul O. Zelinsky. 

I read this as a kid and it’s always stuck out in my mind as the first book I read written in epistolary form, but it wasn’t until re-reading it as an adult that the gravity of the overall book really hit me. 

I had remembered Leigh as being a kid writing to an author, but I forgot how much you learn about him through the letters. It’s interesting to see what he thinks of his life and how he portrays that to Mr. Henshaw. I especially love that we never see Mr. Henshaw’s letters to Leigh, but can still fill in the blanks by what’s written.

This book is really deep, and I think it was ahead of its time. I think Cleary is touching on so many interesting aspects of family life and divorced parents, especially considering this was published in 1983.

The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead

Thanks to KidLitExchange, Rebecca Stead, Random House Kids, and Wendy Lamb Books for providing a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.

Bea’s parents have been divorced for two years when her father announces he’s marrying his partner, Jesse. Bea is thrilled because after ten years of being an only child, she’s getting a sister!

Sonia, her soon-to-be-sister, is also ten. She’s not used to dividing time between parents like Bea is, and Sonia’s mother lives across the country. Bea knows she needs to be understanding, but her excitement overcomes her.

Bea also struggles to keep her excitement under wraps around her mother, who still loves Bea’s father “in a way”. Bea thinks everyone should be excited to celebrate love, but she’s finding out the hard way that it’s not always the case.

Stead has the power to make the simplest statements incredibly emotional. All the pieces of Bea’s life come together to make a beautiful, powerful book.

The Year We Fell From Space by Amy Sarig King

Liberty’s whole life changes when her parents announce they’re getting a divorce. Liberty turns to the stars for guidance, like she always has, but she’s not able to map out new constellations like she used to. She reads these constellations like a horoscope, so she’s lost without them. Her connection with the stars feels severed, which is how she feels about her dad, who moved out and hasn’t called or visited in months. But still, Liberty asks the skies for answers, and when they reply by sending a meteorite, she’s determined to crack the universe’s code.

This book deftly handles changing family dynamics, friendships, bullying, and depression in a way that reads like fiction but feels like therapy.

EVERY OTHER WEEKEND by Abigail Johnson

Thanks to the @kidlitexchange network and Inkyard Press for the review copy of this book - all opinions are my own. Every Other Weekend by Abigail Johnson releases January 7, 2020. Mark it on your calendars, because you don't want to miss this one.

Jolene and Adam both come from "broken" families. Jolene has never felt like her family unit was whole, while Adam's is in transition, struggling to repair itself instead of break apart completely. Adam's dad starts renting an apartment in the same building where Jolene's dad lives, and the teens meet by chance. Forget meet-cute - this is meet-strange, and it sets the tone for the friendship that develops between Adam and Jolene. 

The story is told in alternating points of view, which works nicely with the overall theme of every other weekend. You don't feel like you're missing out on the characters' "other lives", because the story is so well-developed during those precious weekends. 

There are so many beautiful quotes in this book, about family, relationships, and creating art which, for Jolene, is making movies. The situation with the film critic was so well done that I think it almost needs a trigger warning - it was too real, but the resolution couldn't have been any better.

Every Other Weekend is a great unique young adult read that perfectly balances reality with a dose of sweet romance.