TJ Powar Has Something to Prove - Jesmeen Kaur Deo

TJ Powar Has Something to Prove is Jesmeen Kaur Deo's absolutely brilliant debut novel.

Why/what/who/where and how you ask? Let's start with the who. Deo's lead character is TJ, a popular senior at high school, first string on the soccer team, a leader of the debate team, a friend to all and is Liam's beautiful girlfriend. 

But what does she have to prove? Well, when her cousin Samrin is the target of a hurtful meme, TJ takes a stand. She will let all of her body hair grow, unchecked. "This house believes that TJ Powar can be her hairy self and still be beautiful."

I liked TJ in the first few chapters and I adored her by the last few. She's such a dynamic personality - quick, smart, caring and principled. But she's vulnerable and unsure as well. Do you remember the pressure at high school to conform in so many ways, with physical appearance being right up there at the top? Now, can you see yourself bucking the trend and saying no to hair removal of all kinds. And sticking to it when your life starts to fall apart? 

There's a great cast of supporting players as well. I thought the high school strata was well written and believable. And the same for family, friends and relationships. Matters of the heart are a large part of TJ Powar's story. There are some wonderfully funny bits and on the flip side, some very poignant, true life moments. 

Deo has employed a unique and very apt platform for the plot. Debating. Arguing for and against topics in front of others and being judged. TJ's mental debates with herself are so well written and structured. (I had no idea it was so cutthroat either!)

There's so much food for thought in TJ Powar. I'll leave you with this from TJ's esthetician..."Hair has no gender darling. It's just hair. Do what you want with it, but it does not make you less of a woman. It does not make you less interesting, less worthy, or less deserving Understood?"

This was such a fantastic read and a very easy five stars. I will be eagerly awaiting Deo's next book!

See for yourself - read an excerpt of TJ Powar Has Something to Prove. 

So, This is Christmas - Tracy Andreen

Yes, more Christmas tales! I never grow tired of them. :0)  

Tracy Andreen's newest book, So, This is Christmas, is a teen take on a Christmas tale.

Finley Brown is happy to return home to her small town of Christmas, Oklahoma  for the holiday. Her first semester at an elite boarding school hasn't gone as she had hoped and she doesn't think she'll return. Imagine her surprise when  she finds out that a boy from school, along with his aunt, are staying in Brown family inn for the holiday. Why in the world would he come to Christmas for - well, for Christmas?

Could it have something to do with the town's website - that Finley may have tweaked a wee bit? I did find Arthur's reason a bit of a stretch initially. But go with it - there's more to his decision that the reader will discover later. And it made much more sense.

Andreen has created a great lead character in Finley. She's so likeable and the reader can't help but be behind her as she navigates starting new chapters in life, returning home to find out that things didn't stand still while she was away and yes, maybe a bit of a romance as well! It's no secret that this is a rom-com tale (evidenced by that cute cover) and Arthur is the other half of the will they, won't they equation. He was just as well drawn as Finley. The supporting cast is populated with a mix of young and old players, all with their own stories and dramas.  

There's lot of Christmas activity in the book - baking, parades, light shows and more. You might want to add a few to your own traditions. And all of this activity only fueled my own list! (Hmm, it's not too early to put the tree up - is it?) And I will be hunting down the teas and cocoa Andreen serves her characters. 

So, This is Christmas is charming, heartwarming seasonal fare, seasoned with friendship, family and of course - romance. See for yourself - read an excerpt of So, This is Christmas.

(And here's a fun fact - Andreen has also written a number of Hallmark Christmas movies!)

The Electric Kingdom - David Arnold

Well, if the words apocalyptic or dystopian are used to describe a book, it automatically goes on my TBR list. Such was the case with The Electric Kingdom by David Arnold.

Here's a synopsis from Viking Books For Young Readers. My thoughts follow.

"New York Times bestseller David Arnold's most ambitious novel to date; Station Eleven meets The 5th Wave in a genre-smashing story of survival, hope, and love amid a ravaged earth.

When a deadly Fly Flu sweeps the globe, it leaves a shell of the world that once was. Among the survivors are eighteen-year-old Nico and her dog, on a voyage devised by Nico's father to find a mythical portal; a young artist named Kit, raised in an old abandoned cinema; and the enigmatic Deliverer, who lives Life after Life in an attempt to put the world back together. As swarms of infected Flies roam the earth, these few survivors navigate the woods of post-apocalyptic New England, meeting others along the way, each on their own quest to find life and love in a world gone dark. The Electric Kingdom is a sweeping exploration of art, storytelling, eternal life, and above all, a testament to the notion that even in an exterminated world, one person might find beauty in another."

My Thoughts:

Well, the setting is bound to make you wonder....a Fly Flu that has decimated the world as we know it. Close to home in these times...

The novel is told from three points of view - eighteen year old Nico and her dog Harry (loved Harry!), twelve year old Kit and a person called The Deliverer. I love the multiple points of view delivery style. It's guaranteed to keep me up late, reading just one chapter to see what's going on with each character.

Although they have stayed safe all these years, circumstances, wants, desires, curiosity and more drive each of them out into the world. I was just as curious to see what Arnold had imagined. 

Kit and Nico are wonderful leads. I loved the way Kit thought - and his love of 'his' library. He was so well drawn and immediately captured my heart. Being older, Nico is more of a critical thinker - could the stories her father tells be real? There are a number of supporting characters that also have stories to tell. The Deliverer's is the most enigmatic.

Out on the road, the evidence of a ruined world is there. But, that's not the focus of Arnold's tale. Instead it is about relationships missed, treasured, remembered - and those that might be. I found myself wanting a bit more of the ruined world.

As their trek continues, Arnold begins to knit together the threads of the three stories. He does so in a way I hadn't anticipated or imagined. And, I must admit it - in a way that had me struggling to put it together sometimes. Definitely thought provoking though. This is marketed as a YA novel. I would think that older teens would be more likely to grasp Arnold's work.

I did enjoy The Electric Kingdom, but not as much as I had hoped. I think I was looking for more of the ravaged world, instead of ...... Well, I'll leave that alone as I don't want to spoil things for prospective readers. The Electric Kingdom weighs in at 432 pages. Which kept me rapt for most of the time, but near the end I felt like things could have been tightened up and told in fewer pages. Here's an excerpt of The Electric Kingdom.  

I liked it, but didn't love it and I think I'm in the minority on this one. Check out what others thought on Goodreads.