Here the Whole Time by Vitor Martins review: a sweet and comforting YA book

In this very stressful time, I’ve been looking to books to provide me with that sweet serotonin through nice, fuzzy stories, and Here the Whole Time by Vitor Martins (translated by Larissa Helena) really hit that spot. 

[Image description: Cover of Here the Whole Time by Vitor Martins. The cover is an illustration of two boys lying with their heads next to each other in blue and yellow tones.]

The story is told from the perspective of Felipe, a fat, gay teenager who is faced with having to spend his school holiday with his neighbour who he has a huge crush on, Caio. Caio and Felipe used to be friends, but they’ve drifted apart over the years, and now Felipe doesn’t know how to muster the courage to talk to the boy who’s currently sharing his bedroom. But, as the days go on, Felipe finds that he and Caio are growing closer, and he begins to think that maybe he has a chance with Caio – although he has several issues of his own to work through first. 

Martins explores the way we twist things – things that people say, that they do, and interactions we’re a part of – in an interesting way. Felipe overthinks every interaction, twisting it to make himself the problem or a problem, no matter what actually happens. But over the course of the novel, he is shown that that is rarely the truth, and learns to take a step back and consider what actually may have happened. Although the book only shows fifteen days of this journey, the difference between Felipe at the start and the end of the book is clear. And it’s clear that Felipe continues to learn past the last page of the book. No-one in life is ever really perfect, or has their problems fixed over a neat story arc, and Martins reflects that in Felipe.

The book also explores how to let other people love you and see that you have value in a world that spends so much time telling you you have less value for who you are as a person – who you love, what you look like, etc. Felipe struggles under the label of fat, worrying how he looks to Caio, how he could ever compare to this boy he sees as perfect when Felipe gets called horrendous names on the regular by his peers, but Caio’s life isn’t as perfect as it seems. Caio faces issues with his peers and his parents that Felipe doesn’t have to fight. Both of them emerge stronger at the end of the book, allowing themselves to find strength in letting themselves be loved, seeing themselves having more value than they started the book with.

The book also touches on so many other important topics, such as the importance of role models and representation for young children, body image issues, and difficulties of different parent-child dynamics, treating each of these topics with care. 

I loved Here the Whole Time, it was such a comforting and quick read. The only issue I had was the hatred of Little Mix from Felipe, but for such a sweet book I think I can let it slide.

I was given a free copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker by Lauren James: a spooky new take on the afterlife

With it being Halloween, I thought it would be fun to talk about a recent book that I loved with a definite spooky vibe. 

CW: familial abuse

[Image description: A paperback copy of The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker sits on a black tablecloth covered with gold printed skeleton parts, next to one large pumpkin, two small pumpkins, and an assortment of pumpkins in a bowl.]

The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker, published in September of this year, is all about a girl – Harriet Stoker – who’s just started university when she dies whilst exploring dilapidated university halls, abandoned years before when a freak accident caused all the students in the building to pass away in the night. Harriet is desperate to get back to her grandmother and is not afraid to exploit every opportunity she can in this new world to find a way back home. This book has a really interesting take on ghosts and the afterlife, and alternates point of view through most of the cast of very interesting and diverse characters. It’s a fantastic supernatural read.

The way that ghosts work in this book is really interesting. Ghosts are tied to the place that they died, and every ghost has a power that manifests soon after they die. Ghosts can disintegrate if they leave the place where they died or they get absorbed by another ghost for their energy. Every ghost’s power is unique, and there is quite a range of powers explored in the book. I especially like the exploration of emotions like love through the power of removing someone’s fear. The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker really takes the time to explore how ghosts work and exist through time in this universe and I found that aspect of the book really interesting.

I love Lauren James’ books (and her amazing web-series An Unauthorized Fan Treatise) as no matter the setting or subject, she always writes such interesting characters. The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker is no different. Harriet is really interesting as a troubled, unlikable protagonist who struggles with important issues like familial abuse. The group of friends who initially take Harriet under their wing are all distinct characters who each get their own development in the book. I loved so many of the characters even more for their brief moments in the spotlight. 

This book was a very interesting read and I was hooked by the plot throughout. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a spooky book with a fascinating different spin on ghosts and the afterlife and a great cast of characters to propel you through it. 

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson review: A book deserving of Prom Court

When I first read the premise of Leah Johnson’s debut novel You Should See Me in a Crown, I was over the moon excited. A sapphic YA love story centered around the main character’s unlikely campaign for prom queen? I preordered this book at a superhuman speed. And I am delighted to say that it did not disappoint.

You Should See Me in a Crown follows Liz Lighty, a high school senior who is trying to find a way to fund her dream education when a scholarship falls through. At her school whoever wins prom king and queen receives a scholarship. Liz realises that winning prom queen is her only shot at getting to the college she wants to go to to honour her late mother’s memory and so, with the help of her friends, she puts her prom court campaign into motion. But she isn’t the obvious choice: not only would she be the first black girl to ever win prom queen if she does win, but she is also bisexual at a school where you can’t even bring a same gender date to the prom. As she desperately tries to do everything she can to improve her chances of winning, she finds herself falling for one of the other prom queen candidates. She has to decide to what extent she’s willing to play the school’s game – does she stay closeted, giving her a better chance at prom queen and therefore the scholarship, or does she embrace her identity and risk everything?

[Image ID: A paperback copy of You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson. The book is laying flat on a black background with a tiara resting on the top right corner.]

There are so many things that I loved about this book. The issues explored within it – racism, homophobia, class issues, illness, and grief – are woven so naturally into the narrative. The story flows naturally and incorporates all of these things as we encounter them in real life. There is no sense that any of the terrible things that happen are happening only to progress the plot, everything that happens makes sense. Despite the heavy topic matter, the book is still fairly upbeat and cheery. I cried both sad and happy tears whilst reading within the span of two pages.

I also adore the complexity of every character and their relationships with all of the other characters. Whilst characters do bad things, most of them are not bad people and you can sympathise with them at least to an extent. All of the relationships between other characters and Liz are so well developed and feel so real. There is obviously her relationship with Mack, which is very sweet and deals with the difficulties faced dating when one of you is out of the closet but the other is still largely closeted, especially in a largely homophobic environment. But the platonic and familial relationships are also so important to Liz and they’re so well developed. Liz has a group of friends who all feel like real people, complex issues and history with her two best friends, and a family who love and support her but have their own problems too. I cared about nearly every character in this book – the few that I didn’t were just terrible people – which for me is a sign of a well written story. No-one goes through life completely alone, and Johnson does an amazing job of showing in a few hundred pages how much of an impact every person in your life can and does have.

In short: I loved this book, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to see real teenagers fighting the issues that are so prevalent in our society but also find time for fun in between.

Book review: Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli (Spoiler Free)

I discovered Leah on the Offbeat the same way many people did: through Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Simon vs. is such an amazing book, I devoured it in two days, and immediately followed the author, Becky Albertalli, on all social media accounts. I was definitely planning on reading Leah on the Offbeat – a story with an overweight bisexual female protagonist was something that I, as a bisexual overweight woman, was desperate to read. But with university deadlines and exams looming, I wasn’t in a mad rush to read it. It was only through a preorder offer that I was made to preorder it – if you preordered the book you got a free signed postcard from Becky Albertalli, with a drawing of a scene of the book on it. And I’m so glad I preordered it.

I devoured this book in the same way that I devoured Simon Vs., sitting in bed and not moving on the promise of just reading one more chapter. The characters all develop from where they were at the ending of Simon Vs., going through the stresses of senior year and the threat of change that is graduating and going to college. There are so many romantic moments where I squealed (minor spoiler, but Bram and Simon promposal, anyone?), including one moment where I physically jumped up and down because it was too perfect and cute. And you have to understand, I hate physical exertion – the book is just that good.

I love Albertalli’s ability to write such a diverse range of characters with different experiences as well – Leah is bi, but her experience of her sexuality is not the same as other bi characters within the story, which is brilliant to see. There’s also examples of incidental representation of LGBTQ+ identities peppered throughout, such as a gender nonbinary character who uses they/them pronouns that Leah and Abby meet on their Spring Break trip to visit UGA. None of it feels forced, it just feels like a true representation of the world.

The thing that really set the tone for the book is the dedication at the start:

‘For the readers who knew something was up, even when I didn’t’

Becky Albertalli has spoken candidly about not realising that Leah was bisexual before readers responded to Simon Vs. talking about Leah’s bisexuality – she didn’t write Leah as a straight character, but she didn’t deliberately write her as a bi character, either. She’s said that she knew that if she were to write a third book in the Simonverse, it would be about Leah, so seeing this side of her that the readers saw was a great way to explore Leah’s character.
Some people have criticised this book, saying that they found Leah an annoying character that they couldn’t relate to all of the time, and there were things that she said or did that were aggravating to them. Whilst I understand this criticism, I liked this part of Leah – she’s not a perfect person, she’s just graduating high school, she’s 18 and still figuring out how the world works and how she fits into it. This is what makes her experience feel like an authentic teenage experience. A lot of the struggle she goes through in the book is figuring out how she fits in to the world – she has herself sussed out, but her place in the world is a little harder to find, especially when the world she knows is changing so rapidly. There were moments when I didn’t agree with Leah, especially in some of the things she says to Abby when they have a fight, and the fact that these things didn’t get resolved and Leah didn’t apologise for them, whilst somewhat frustrating, showed that Leah is human. She’s not a finished person (if such a thing is ever achievable) and it shows.
This book is an amazing ending to the Simonverse, I love it and I know I will be rereading it many times. I really hope the “trend” of representation seen within this book and other YA currently being published is something that is here to stay.

Rating: 4/5