Read our latest staff reviews and recommendations featured in The Southern Bookseller Review.
Alisha Rai tackles YA in her new RomCom about a teen who goes viral for saving her crush, but is desperate to remain anonymous. You’ve got a love triangle and some fake dating! What’s not to like? Sonia just wants to lay low. Her mom has been deported and Sonia is determined to fly under the radar. But when cosplaying for an event, she sees her crush fall into the water and dives in to save him. Injured, Sonia flees when two others appear to help. The last thing she needs is police involvement.
While You Were Dreaming by Alisha Rai, (List Price: $19.99, Quill Tree Books, 9780063083967, March 2023)
Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia
If I Can Give You That is a heartbreaking debut from Michael Gray Bulla covering a variety of issues that will tear at your heartstrings. Gael is a high school senior that’s used to keeping to himself. But when his best friend finally convinced him to go to a local group for LGBTQIA teens, he finds himself finally making some more friends. But that doesn’t come without difficulties, especially with his father back in his life and his mother’s problems.
If I Can Give You That by Michael Gray Bulla, (List Price: 19.99, Quill Tree Books, 9780063091702, February 2023)
Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia
This sweet romcom about a girl on the asexual spectrum who tries to plan her mom’s location wedding in Vermont without spiraling out will be just what you’re looking for as a wonderful summer read. Felicity has had a rough time of it. After the incident last year, she’s trying to get back on track with a prime position at her favorite school club. But when her mom gets engaged, she throws all her energy into planning the perfect wedding. And maybe she can connect more with a friend from the summer that she may or may not have a crush on!
Planning Perfect by Haley Neil, (List Price: $19.99, Bloomsbury YA, 9781547607495, February 2023)
Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia
A January 2023 Read This Next! Title
Emma Lord brings the feels in her new novel, Begin Again. Andie didn’t get into her first choice college with her boyfriend, but she has a plan. She works really hard and ends up getting in as a transfer student after her first semester at community college. The problem is that she planned her transfer as a surprise for her boyfriend….who did the same thing, transferring to the school Andie WAS at.
Begin Again by Emma Lord (List Price: $18.99, Wednesday Books, 9781250783363, January 2023)
Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia
What a beautiful unfolding of sisterly love! Beatrice Likes the Dark reinforces the wisdom so difficult to impart on young hearts: It is what makes us uniquely different, that also makes us uniquely lovable. The book is sitting on my Grandma shelf–ready to share with my own darlings.
Beatrice Likes the Dark by April Genevieve Tucholke (List Price: $18.95, Algonquin Young Readers, 9781643751573, September 2022)
Reviewed by Annell Gerson, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia
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