Book 24 If This Gets Out

 

If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich fulfilled the category “Book About a Band or a Musical Group” for the PopSugar 2022 Reading Challenge.

I wanted to include this book during Pride month. I have a few LGBTQ romances on my list this year. This title, for me at least, represents the emotion and spirit of the month.

If This Gets Out introduces us to the boy band Saturday. Four young men have launched themselves into a wild, fast-past climb to the top of the charts. They are like many typical boy bands, with curated music and choreographed moves. They are on the way to fortune and fame when life happens.

The story centers on Zach Knight, a young man who realizes he’s attracted to his bandmate Ruben Montez. Zach always thought he was straight and focused on his feelings toward women. Until the attraction to Ruben, who is gay, overwhelms him. The novel has a coming-out story, but the growth of all the boys does not stop there.

Their environment is restricted. Ruben cannot come out as per their managers and company that control their contracts. He’s forced to pretend for the sake of his career and the band—his best friends. When Zach realizes he’s bisexual and falls for Ruben, he is also forced to be silent. The boys are repressed beyond their sexuality. Angel desires to shed his role as the quiet one and be who he really is. Zach not only wants to come out but to write music for the group. And Ruben, a phenomenal singer, wants his voice to be heard (as in—get more solos plus be who he is.)

The plot of the novel spoke to me. One of my good friends enjoys a certain J-pop group. As I read the story, I imagined a much younger version of her band and dealing with these restrictions. I’ve heard rumors that many K-pop and J-pop groups have a slew of rules that guide their behavior, their careers, and perhaps even their lives. I wondered how much of what happened to Saturday came from actual stories of other boy bands.

The book is outstanding for Pride month. It deals with issues of identity, attraction, and repression. The strict environment forces the boys to face issues about themselves and their future beyond their sexual orientation. The novel is a true coming of age at a time when things are still restrictive for certain groups. Plus, it has an adorable love story in the center.

I give If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich Five Choreographed Moves with a Spin.

 

 

Book 23 Denton Little’s Deathdate

 

Denton Little’s Deathdate and Denton Little’s Still Not Dead by Lance Rubin fulfilled the category “A Duology” for the PopSugar 2022 Reading Challenge. Yes, again, I read two different duologies. I wanted to save you some zombie posts.

This title was a surprise find. I grabbed it for the “Book about the Afterlife” category. But it didn’t fit because… Spoiler!! Denton is alive for the entire book. The story is about death, not the afterlife.

In Denton’s universe, science has discovered how to calculate your deathdate. (There’s a little magic in there too, but who’s counting?) Denton Little has known since he was five he would die at seventeen, on prom night. His best friend is scheduled to die a few weeks after. The story begins just short of Denton’s deathdate, and the wild adventure begins with a weird rash.

The author uses dark humor to lighten the topic of dead teenagers. One would think a book about kids dying would be morbid and emo. This tale is hilarious. The array of kookie characters brings the humor. Basically, it’s the cast of Spiderman. Denton is Peter—funny, light-hearted. His best friend Paolo is Ned—nerdy, cute, and down-to-earth. They split MJ into two female characters, Veronica and a childhood friend. They were totally MJ, the way they interacted, spoke, everything. I loved it.

After reading and enjoying the story, I discovered it wasn’t about the afterlife, but there was a sequel. So I grabbed the audiobook read by the author. He did a great job, by the way. The second book had a complete and satisfying ending. I didn't think there would be another novel. So, I’m calling it a duology.

The novel threw out some interesting topics for discussion. Is it better to know when you will die? How would it be to attend your own funeral the day before you passed? In the story, the science of how someone dies is unknown or even the exact hour. To know the date and just live your life until then? The author included counselors to deal with the drama, but mostly the book played with the humor.

The main topic of Book Two centered on science fiddling with our lives. I’m a believer in science, but man, sometimes you wonder if it makes the world better or not. (Hubby and I argue over self-driving cars all the time. It scares me to death. So, a no from me!) Do people have the right not to know their deathdate? To live without that ax hanging over them? Or to know the exact date and organize their life for the end? I don’t know the answer, but I’ve been thinking about it since I read this charming book.

I give Denton Little’s Deathdate and Denton Little’s Still Not Dead by Lance Rubin Five Yellow Clunkers. (Watch out!)

 

Book 22 Dread Nation

 

Dread Nation and Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland fulfill the category “A Duology” for the PopSugar 2022 Reading Challenge. A duology is two books in the same storyline. Just two, no more. They use the same main characters. Young adult fiction is rife with these novels.

The challenge gave two slots for the duology category, assuming we would read the two books. Here’s my problem. (Don’t I always have a problem?) It’s the same characters and almost the same plot line or an extension of it. The purpose of a duology, in my opinion, is to give more room. The story is too much for one book and not enough for three. Two posts about what is essentially an extended novel seems silly.

You guessed it. I read two duologies. By accident, really. I’ll post the second series next week, but today, we have more zombies with a historical twist.

Dread Nation takes us back to the late 1800s. The Civil War has been interrupted as zombiism (is that a word?) has broken out during the battle of Gettysburg. The nation finds a compromise for peace to deal with the outbreak. Basically, the North wins, and now people of color and Native Americans are forced to fight the zombie horde. Phew.

The book follows Jane McKeene, a young black woman, as she learns to fight zombies at her training school. She’s been forced from her family to live in Baltimore, where trouble abounds. Something is very fishy about the zombie game.

Jane and her classmates attend a demonstration of a vaccine for the virus. Needless to say, it doesn’t work, and things go bad. Jane is thrown into a wild adventure with her ex-boyfriend, Jackson, and her best frenemy, Katherine Devereaux.

Deathless Divide continues the story of Jane and Katherine’s journey to find respect, freedom, and a zombie-less life. The two women learn about the real world, especially when the color of their skin dictates many of their choices.

I enjoyed these two novels. Jane was a compelling heroine. I didn’t always agree with her choices, and at one point in Book Two, I didn’t like her much. But the story has a great deal to offer—historically, socially, psychologically. Imagine being a meat shield for zombies because you have a lot of melanin in your skin. The book is a great allegory of the treatment of people of color in our country. I would love to see this book used in an American History class. It offers topics for both the historical context and how Native Americans and people of color are still treated in our country.

The author brought even more to the tale with the contrast between Jane and Katherine. In Book Two, Ms. Ireland uses points of view from both women. Each chapter is headed by a different type of quote—literary for Jane and religious for Katherine. As the books progress, their heading change. The two women, both black, suffer through very different stories.

Duologies are so fun to read. We get to see our favorite characters in a continuation of their story but don’t need to read seventeen books. (I’m looking at you, Janet Evanovich and Charlaine Harris). I have another great one for you next week.

I give both Dread Nation and Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland Five Deadly Sickles.