Review: The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester by Maya MacGregor (#Ad)

I was sent this review copy for free by GMC Distribution on behalf of Astra Young Readers for the purposes of providing an honest review.

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The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester by Maya MacGregor

Published: 8th August 2022 (UK release date) | Publisher: Astra Young Readers | Source: Publisher
Maya MacGregor’s Website

In this queer contemporary YA mystery, a nonbinary teen with autism realizes they must not only solve a 30-year-old mystery but also face the demons lurking in their past in order to live a satisfying life.

Sam Sylvester's not overly optimistic about their recent move to the small town of Astoria, Oregon after a traumatic experience in their last home in the rural Midwest.

Yet Sam's life seems to be on the upswing after meeting several new friends and a potential love interest in Shep, the pretty neighbor. However, Sam can't seem to let go of what might have been, and is drawn to investigate the death of a teenage boy in 1980s Astoria. Sam's convinced he was murdered--especially since Sam's investigation seems to resurrect some ghosts in the town.

Threatening notes and figures hidden in shadows begin to disrupt Sam's life. Yet Sam continues to search for the truth. When Sam discovers that they may be closer to a killer than previously known, Sam has a difficult decision to make. Would they risk their new life for a half-lived one? From The StoryGraph.

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The StoryGraph | Goodreads

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features blood, bullying, anxiety and a panic attack, self-harm stimming, misgendering, homophobia, biphobia, bi-erasure, and a physical homophobic and transphobic attack against a non-binary person.

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Review: Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp

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Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp

Published: 15th September 2020 | Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire | Source: Won in a giveaway
Marieke Nijkamp’s Website

FIVE friends go to a cabin.
FOUR of them are hiding secrets.
THREE years of history bind them.
TWO are doomed from the start.
ONE person wants to end this.
NO ONE IS SAFE.

For five friends, this was supposed to be one last getaway before going their separate ways―a chance to say goodbye to each other, and to the game they’ve been playing for the past three years. But they’re all dealing with their own demons, and they’re all hiding secrets.

Finn doesn’t trust anyone since he was attacked a few months ago. Popular girl Liva saw it happen and did nothing to stop it. Maddy was in an accident that destroyed her sports career. Carter is drowning under the weight of his family’s expectations. Ever wants to keep the game going for as long as they can, at all costs.

When the lines between game and reality start to blend with deadly consequences, it’s a race against time before it’s game over―forever.

Are you ready to play? From The StoryGraph.

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The StoryGraph | Goodreads

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features blood, a reference to ableism, animal cruelty, broken bones, suicide ideation, poverty, references to a car accident, references to an off-page physical transphobic attack, addiction to prescribed medication, and finger dismemberment.

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Review: The Unpredictability of Being Human by Linni Ingemundsen

The Unpredictability of Being Human by Linni Ingemundsen (proof) - Meet Malin, a fourteen-year-old who sees the world differently. Malin knows she couldn’t change much about her life, even if she got to play God. Her dad would still yell all the time – especially as Malin is still friends with Hanna, the girl she met shoplifting. Her mum would still say a glass of wine is good for her heart – and Mum needs it, with Malin’s brother, Sigve, getting into trouble all the time. And Malin would still be Malin. Because she can’t be anybody else.

In a voice bursting with immediacy and truth, Malin shares the absurdities of growing up and fitting in as her family struggles with the buried pain of mistakes made and secrets kept.

Profound, compassionate and as funny as it is dark, Malin’s story is an offbeat examination and celebration of the brutal, bizarre and beautiful unpredictability of being human. From Goodreads.

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Review: The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas

The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas (eProof) - Sometimes I feel like everyone else was handed a copy of the rules for life and mine got lost.

Grace has Asperger's and her own way of looking at the world. She's got a horse and a best friend who understand her, and that's pretty much all she needs. But when Grace kisses Gabe and things start to change at home, the world doesn't make much sense to her any more.

Suddenly everything threatens to fall apart, and it's up to Grace to fix it on her own.

Whip-smart, hilarious and unapologetically honest, The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas is a heart-warming story of one girl trying to work out where she fits in, and whether she even wants to. From Goodreads.

Disclaimer: I do not have Asperger's syndrome, and so cannot comment on how well represented people with Asperger's are in this book. However, it is #OwnVoices.

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Review: Seven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate

Seven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate (eProof) - The juniors at Paloma High School all have their secrets, whether it's the confident young woman who's done with being slut shamed by her classmates, the closeted pansexual who only cares about his drug-dealing profits, or the neurotic genius who's planted the seed of a school scandal. But it's seemingly perfect Juniper Kipling who has the farthest to fall. After Juniper accidentally exposes her secret at a party, her fate dalls into the hands of the other six sinners, bringing them into one another's orbits. All seven are guilty of something. Together, they could save one another from their temptations - or be ruined by them. From the press release.

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