It’s time again to ask ourselves the three W’s:
Would you try to bond with a dragon?
Would you want to be a witch and learn magic?
Would you participate in the games, regardless of the potential danger?

Wait, no, that’s not right. We ask these three W’s:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words.

       

Saving Fable by Scott Reintgen 
★★★★★ || Goodreads
My library hold came through for this, and since I have an ARC for the sequel, I figured I should read it while I had it. This book was so stinking cute. The whole premise is it’s a world connected to the real world where characters live. Of course, they all want to be either protagonists or villains, but not every character is destined for that course, and so there’s also side characters and cameos, etc. But there’s also a dark force acting in Fable, threatening all the characters. I had a ton of fun with this! The idea was so unique, and it was hard not to love the main characters. There’s found family and sibling bonds, which are two of my favorite tropes, plus it’s a book about books, so pretty much, it has almost everything I love in books (except dragons, but I can’t fault it for that, I suppose haha).

The Mulberry Tree by Allison Rushby
★★★★☆ || Goodreads
This was a fun creepy read. What really got me at first was the creepy rhyme in the description, and that creepy atmosphere was pervasive throughout the book. Something about evil trees piques my interest every time. Where I think the book really shined, though, is the way the protagonist’s character is suffering from PTSD. Immy doesn’t understand why her father’s suffering from it or why he can’t do all the things he used to, and so the book is really an emotional learning journey for her as she learns empathy.

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds
★★★★☆ || Goodreads
I listened to this as an audiobook, and I think the format worked really well for it! Jason Reynolds writes in this very informal voice, like somebody just having a chat with you. I’m not sure how well that translates to the written book, but for the audiobook, it was perfect. It made the nonfiction more fun and engaging, rather than being dull and dry and hard to get through. I tend to know a lot of this history already because I read a lot (surprise, right?), but I did learn some new things that were interesting. And for people who aren’t as well versed with it, I think this is a really nice introduction to some hard conversations and truths about this nation’s history. It’s one I’d definitely recommend.

Reviews This Week

   

I’ve got a couple of ongoing books still. I didn’t make much progress at all on Mistborn, because I have to get some other books read, and it seems to be such slow going. Still enjoying it, so I’m trying not to get impatient and rush it and just enjoy the reading process. I have no chill, so as you can imagine, this isn’t easy. xD

The Birth of Agent Big Butt is also ongoing. It’s slowed down a little bit, but I expected that. Honestly, Minion pretty much never reads books this long, so I knew this was going to be a long game going in. She has been picking it up a little bit each day, and given that she’s a reluctant reader, that’s more than I can normally hope for.

Paola Santiago and the River of Tears by Tehlor Kay Mejia
Status: 37%

Space-obsessed 12-year-old Paola Santiago and her two best friends, Emma and Dante, know the rule: Stay away from the river. It’s all they’ve heard since a schoolmate of theirs drowned a year ago. Pao is embarrassed to admit that she has been told to stay away for even longer than that, because her mother is constantly warning her about La Llorona, the wailing ghost woman who wanders the banks of the Gila at night, looking for young people to drag into its murky depths.

Hating her mother’s humiliating superstitions and knowing that she and her friends would never venture into the water, Pao organizes a meet-up to test out her new telescope near the Gila, since it’s the best stargazing spot. But when Emma never arrives and Pao sees a shadowy figure in the reeds, it seems like maybe her mom was right. . . .

Pao has always relied on hard science to make sense of the world, but to find her friend she will have to enter the world of her nightmares, which includes unnatural mist, mind-bending monsters, and relentless spirits controlled by a terrifying force that defies both logic and legend.

This has been one of my most anticipated releases this year. When I heard there was going to be a Rick Riordan Presents book focused on La Llorona, you can bet I jumped all over that! I love Pao so far. She’s so sciency and relies on logic to navigate her life, and I love it. MG needs more smart, sciency girls.

Pao has so much going on in her life right now, too. Her mother is superstitious and very much into the old cultural beliefs, which directly contradict with Pao’s logic-based, no-superstition world view. She also faces racism, the sort that will absolutely make your blood boil and ugh. Just ugh.

I’m just getting to the fantasy world, and I’m really excited to see it! So far, it’s been really interesting. (Hint: there’s a chupacabra! And even la chancla. I LOVE IT!).

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Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz
Status: 45%

Experience the World Cup with dragons in this debut fantasy, set in an alternate contemporary world, in which riders and their steeds compete in an international sports tournament.

Lana Torres has always preferred dragons to people. In a few weeks, sixteen countries will compete in the Blazewrath World Cup, a tournament where dragons and their riders fight for glory in a dangerous relay. Lana longs to represent her native Puerto Rico in their first ever World Cup appearance, and when Puerto Rico’s Runner—the only player without a dragon steed—is kicked off the team, she’s given the chance.

But when she discovers that a former Blazewrath superstar has teamed up with the Sire—a legendary dragon who’s cursed into human form—the safety of the Cup is jeopardized. The pair are burning down dragon sanctuaries around the world and refuse to stop unless the Cup gets cancelled. All Lana wanted was to represent her country. Now, to do that, she’ll have to navigate an international conspiracy that’s deadlier than her beloved sport.

The theme this week seems to be Hispanic characters. Woot woot! I absolutely love Lana. She’s determined and dedicated, and she’s facing a lot. She’s biracial, which is something I’ve been saying I want to see more in books. She’s living in the US with her white mother and her family, who tends to treat her as “other” because she’s also half-Puerto Rican, which is what she identifies at. On the other side, there are people who say she’s not Puerto Rican enough, which is a struggle that tends to be common for biracial people, and I so love that the book really delves into this.

Also … DRAGONS! Magic! Everything about this book so far has been fantastic. I have so many questions that I want answered. And the squad feel is so strong in this one with Lana and her team! They’re so fabulous and adorable. There’s plenty of rep: biracial, Puerto Rican, bi, queer, etc. There’s a little bit of everything.

       

At this point, it shouldn’t be all that surprising that Dread Pirate Arcanist is still on the list. I was supposed to pick that up, but I ended up picking up Blazewrath Games instead, because things came up.

Since I’ve been a good girl and waited this long for Harrow the Ninth, it’s finally time to not put it off any longer! Phew, I can’t wait for this and I’m super excited to finally be able to pick the dang thing up. I’ve been hearing a lot about it, so it’s definitely feeling like time to give it a read.

I’ve got a blog tour coming up for Shielded, so I need to read it, and I’ve been looking forward to it! First, that cover is STUNNING. Plus, I’ve heard from reviews that the protagonist is every bit as badass as she looks, and I’m all for that.

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