In a Nutshell Reviews

In a Nutshell Reviews are my version of mini-reviews, because sometimes, you just want the highlights.

American Panda
Gloria Chao
Series: n/a
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

An incisive, laugh-out-loud contemporary debut about a Taiwanese-American teen whose parents want her to be a doctor and marry a Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer despite her squeamishness with germs and crush on a Japanese classmate.

At seventeen, Mei should be in high school, but skipping fourth grade was part of her parents' master plan. Now a freshman at MIT, she is on track to fulfill the rest of this predetermined future: become a doctor, marry a preapproved Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer, produce a litter of babies.

With everything her parents have sacrificed to make her cushy life a reality, Mei can't bring herself to tell them the truth--that she (1) hates germs, (2) falls asleep in biology lectures, and (3) has a crush on her classmate Darren Takahashi, who is decidedly not Taiwanese.

But when Mei reconnects with her brother, Xing, who is estranged from the family for dating the wrong woman, Mei starts to wonder if all the secrets are truly worth it. Can she find a way to be herself, whoever that is, before her web of lies unravels?

I am a fan of coming-of-age stories, and I especially love when they come with a cultural point of view. I can say that American Panda more than fit the bill, and Chao delivered a tale that was often funny, sometimes heartbreaking, but in the end, hopeful.

• Pro: I found it very easy to like Mei. She was quite delightful and witty, and I appreciated her sense of humor. Her musings sometimes had me laughing out loud, and other times, had me getting a little misty. She felt authentic, and although I am not Chinese, I could relate to some of her woes. 
• Pro: The conflict comes in the form of Mei being unable to live up to her parents expectations. She needed to dream her own dreams and do those things that she was passionate about. You think this would make her salty about her parents, but it is made clear that she loved them and she knew they love her. I really appreciated that Chao approached the story this way. 
• Pro: Mei grew so much during this story, as expected, but she wasn't the only one. Chao did such a nice job giving us a three dimensional picture of Mei's mother. It was really nice to see Mei discover a different side of her mother, and I grew to like her mother very much over the course of the book. 
• Pro: It was fun "touring" MIT and learning some of the ins and outs of that school. 
• Pro: I was totally smitten with Mei's love interest. Darren was all sorts of sweet and charming. I was overjoyed these two found each other. 
• Pro: I felt like Mei's struggle was conveyed well. Her confusion, guilt, and all the stress it caused her emanated from the page. I was so glad she was able to dance it out or talk to her brother, Darren, or Nic. 
• Pro: I really enjoyed learning about the culture, as my daughter is half Chinese (her relatives being from Taiwan). There were things I knew and things that were new to me. 

Overall: An charming story about trying to balance tradition without losing one's own identity.

Shoot the Moon
Kate Watson
Series: Seeking Mansfield, #2
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Flux
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Despite what his brother—and sponsor—thinks, nineteen year-old Tate Bertram isn’t an addict. He has the 30-day chip to prove it. But when his father learns Tate’s been running an illegal card room out of a friend’s dorm to pay off old gambling debts, Tate is cut off. With his family no longer talking to him, his aunt Nora offers him a chance to intern for her political campaign. Juggling school with the intense internship, Tate finds himself buying scratch-off lottery tickets to take the edge off.

Tate is surprised to find the beautiful and calculating Alex Wolf—his first crush and the girl who taught him how to gamble—volunteering with Nora’s campaign, too. Soon, Tate is more drawn to Alex than ever. Her mind games stick in his head, but her vulnerable, softer side gets into his heart. But as tensions rise along the campaign trail, Tate is forced to question whether he’s really addiction-free, after all.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS meets ROUNDERS in this high stakes tale of the cost of winning and the price of redemption.

I was a fan of Watson's debut, Seeking Mansfield, and was excited when I heard we were getting another story from this world. This companion was quite different from its predecessor. As each Bertram child was unique, so are their stories. This one, like Tate, was grittier and a little darker than Oliver's story, but still kept me just as entertained.

• Pro: Tate was so beautifully complicated. On the surface, he appeared to have it all - good looking, great grades, wealthy family, but inside, he was battling multiple demons. Watson did a fantastic job in presenting a character with a lot of depth and tons of layers. 
• Pro: Tate was a gambling addict, and his addiction, denial, and daily battles with himself were illustrated quite well. There were many times in the book, where I felt like I was physically part of his struggle. Watson also explored how his addiction affected those who loved him, and how Tate had to deal with the harm he inflicted on his loved ones. 
• Pro: This was about redemption. Tate fell from grace in the first book and he fell even further in this one. However, he realized he wanted something different, and he worked hard to achieve that goal. I am a sucker for that sort of thing. 
• Pro: There is a little bit of something for everyone in this book. There's a little family drama, politics, crime, and romance. 
• Con: A little bit of romance is nice, but I would have liked a little more. What can I say! I am a hopeless romantic.  
• Pro: So many different family issues were spotlighted. Between that, the political double-crossing, and the mafia, there was tons of delicious drama to enjoy. 
• Pro: I found being immersed in the world of poker rather fascinating. I found myself quite enthralled with the lingo, probabilities, and the psychological aspects. The mind of a poker player was a very interesting place to be. 
• Pro: It was fun catching up with Finley and Oliver. I loved those two so much, and seeing old friends is one of my favorite things about companion novels. 
• Pro: I thought the ending was fabulous. I was quite pleased with the way Watson tied up some of those loose ends. 

Overall: Another strong offering from Watson, featuring great characters, snappy dialogue, and whole lot of delicious drama. I am hoping we get a third book, featuring the last Bertram sibling, because Watson had her up to some interesting things in this book, and I want to know more of what she had been doing.

When My Heart Joins the Thousand
A.J. Steiger
Series: n/a
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: HarperTeen
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

A YA romance featuring a neuroatypical girl with a tragic history and the chronically ill boy trying to break the vault encasing her heart

Obviously I’m not what most people would describe as happy. But that has nothing to do with anything. Happiness is not a priority. Survival is.

Alvie Fitz doesn’t fit in, and she doesn’t care. She’s spent years swallowing meds and bad advice from doctors and social workers. Adjust, adapt. Pretend to be normal. It sounds so easy.

If she can make it to her eighteenth birthday without any major mishaps, she’ll be legally emancipated. Free. But if she fails, she’ll become a ward of the state and be sent back to the group home.

All she wants is to be left alone to spend time with her friend, Chance, the one-winged hawk at the zoo where she works. She can bide her time with him until her emancipation. Humans are overrated anyway. Then she meets Stanley, a boy who might be even stranger than she is—a boy who walks with a cane, who turns up every day with a new injury, whose body seems as fragile as glass. Without even meaning to, she finds herself getting close to him. But Alvie remembers what happened to the last person she truly cared about.

Her past stalks her with every step, and it has sharp teeth. But if she can find the strength to face the enemy inside her, maybe she’ll have a chance at happiness after all.

This book provided such an interesting look at independence and finding one's self. This was quite an emotional journey, during which I shed many tears. But I can assure you, I was shedding happy tears by the end of this book.

• Pro: I was such an Alvie fan. She was honest, to the point, and quite funny. She was a fantastic narrator, and I loved listening to her observations and musings. I also cared for her so much, she deserved so much more than the hand she was dealt, and I just wanted to see her achieve everything her heart desired. 
• Pro: I loved Stanley. He was sweet and caring, but most of all, he didn't want to change Alvie. He made an effort to learn about ASD, because he wanted to know how to make her more comfortable, not to "cure" her. 
• Pro: Alvie was a big reader, who mostly loved animals and science. There were so many cool discussion about the two. The science stuff I am well acquainted with, but I learned a ton about animals from her. 
• Pro: I have read a few books featuring neurodivergent characters, and this one ranks up with the great ones. It made me think so much about what is "normal" or "typical", and also wove things into the story to educate me about people on the spectrum and help clear up some of those misconceptions that run rampant. 
• Pro: My emotions! My emotions! For a good part of the book, there were these heartbreaking flashbacks that kept making me shed tears. I felt physical pain for Alvie and everything she had suffered in her past. I also shed some tears of joy, when things went her way. 
• Pro: Both Alvie and Stanley are dealing with rough pasts. I was overwhelmed with happiness when they found each other. 
• Pro: A+ for that ending! I swear, it had me wanting to dance on the mountain top. Bravo! 

Seriously, me after that ending

Overall: This story was, at times, intense and heartbreaking, but ultimately, hopeful. I absolutely enjoyed taking this journey with Alvie as she fought for to be independent, to survive, and to be loved. 

** ARCs received in exchange for honest reviews.

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