Morgan, an elite track athlete, is forced to transfer high schools late in her senior year after it turns out being queer is against her private Catholic school’s code of conduct. There, she meets Ruby, who has two hobbies: tinkering with her baby blue 1970 Ford Torino and competing in local beauty pageants, the latter to live out the dreams of her overbearing mother. The two are drawn to each other and can’t deny their growing feelings. But while Morgan–out and proud, and determined to have a fresh start–doesn’t want to have to keep their budding relationship a secret, Ruby isn’t ready to come out yet. With each girl on a different path toward living her truth, can they go the distance together?
The plot of Some Girls Do was right up my alley! It was very summer-y, which I liked. However, I struggled a lot with the characters.
The main characters Morgan and Ruby are quite dislikeable. They were both very negative and unoptimistic. There is nothing wrong with that per se, it’s just that I prefer it when at least one main character is positive. Even by just a little bit. Moreover, Morgan was insufferable. It’s hard to put into words why, but I’ll try. Morgan was by all means not privileged in terms of the homophobic experiences she went through, but she felt very “I’m only supporting queer kids because I’m in that community”. She didn’t understand that POC and poor kids go through a lot too. I do think that the side characters were written very well though. Especially Morgan and Ruby’s parents.
In addition, the dialogue was just okay. In my opinion, it tried too hard to be funny.
Furthermore, the writing wasn’t anything special either. Some words were overused a bit too much for my liking. For example, ‘mysterious’, and ‘said.’
To conclude, I didn’t enjoy Some Girls Do as much as I hoped I would. While I can appreciate the summer-y atmosphere and unique premise, I disliked the characters and writing style. However, I still recommend this book to Jennifer Dugan fans!
Age Rating: 15 and up
TW: Homophobia
Final Rating: 6/10 or 3 stars
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What’s your favorite book with a summer-y vibe? I’d love to know! Have a great day!
Hi everyone! Today I’ll be talking about all the books I read in June. Much to my surprise, I read 12 novels, two of which were carry over books from May. I also completed my goodreads reading challenge of 25 books, which I never thought would be possible! Anyways, let’s get right into it!
Novels I Read
(ARC)We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon: (4.5 out of 5 stars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This was my first Solomon book, and will definitely not be the last! You can read my review here.
Once Upon an Eid by A Collection of Authors: (5 out of 5 stars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I loved this so much!! It’s incredibly joyful and educational. I l highly recommend it. Review to come!
(ARC) Rumaysa by Radiya Hafiza: (4.75 out of 5 stars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This was a huge surprise, but in the best way possible. If you love fairytale retellings, than this is a must read! Review to come!
(ARC) One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston: (1.75 out of 5 stars) ⭐⭐ After hearing such great things about the book, I was super excited when I got around to reading it. But One Last Stop was such a disappointment. Feel free to read my review here. –Buddy read with the amazing Calliope!
Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes: (3.5 out of 5 stars) ⭐⭐⭐ This was both fast paced and educational! Which I’ve come to know is my favorite combination.
Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan: (3.25 out of 5 stars) ⭐⭐⭐ I’ve been meaning to get into Dugan’s writing for quite a while now. And well, this was just okay. Review to come! –Buddy read with the amazing Calliope!
A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen: (4 out of 5 stars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Taste for Love was such a surprise! I adored this one immensely. Review to come!
The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons: (3.5 out of 5 stars) ⭐⭐⭐ I enjoyed my time reading this one, but it wasn’t very memorable.
Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney: (3.5 out of 5 stars) ⭐⭐⭐ Excuse Me WhileI Ugly Cry was one of my most anticipated releases of 2021, and well, it was just meh. I loved the witty banter and lists, but nothing stood out to me unfortunately. Review to come!
May the Best Man Win by Z.R. Ellor: (4 out of 5 stars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This was the most conflicted rating I’ve ever given. The main characters weren’t likeable at all, but it was such a whirlwind of emotions. Review to come! –Buddy read with the lovely April @ Booked Till Midnight!
Your Heart My Sky by Margarita Engle: (3.5 out of 5 stars) ⭐⭐⭐ Your Heart My Sky is an incredibly heart wrenching story told in verse. I learnt a lot about Cuba in the 1990s, which was great! However, the ending was too unclear.
Graphic Novels and Manga read
Blue Lock Volume 12 by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura: (4.25 out of 5 stars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This volume was really interesting! However, it didn’t stand out as much as the previous ones.
Blue Flag Volume 6-8 by Kaito: (4.75 out of 5) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This series is incredibly eye opening and emotional, so I’m sad to see it end. My only complaint is that some questions where left unanswered. Nevertheless it’s still such a great manga that I highly recommend!
Moriarty the Patriot Volume 2 by Ryōsuke Takeuchi and Hikaru Miyoshi: (3.5 out of 5 stars) ⭐⭐⭐ While I admired certain concepts, others didn’t make much sense and seemed unnecessary. It’s still a great series though!
Spy x Family Volume 2 by Tatsuya Endo: (4.25 out of 5 stars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Spy x Family is such a cute and fun series! And this volume definitely proved that statement.
A Sign of Affection Volume 3 by Suu Morishita: (4.75 out of 5 stars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I really enjoyed this volume! It was super relaxing to read, if that makes sense. 😆
Shortcake Cake Volume 8 by Suu Morishita: (4.25 out of 5 stars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I think I put the wrong picture but essentially, this volume was really gripping!
Sugar in Milk by Thrity Umrigar and Khoa Le: (4.5 out of 5 stars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This was such a stunning story with beautiful art. It was like a warm hug!
The Floating Field: How a Group of Thai Boys Built Their Own Soccer Field by Scott Riley, Nguyen Quang, and Kim Lien: (5 out of 5 stars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I LOVED this!! It’s an incredible picture book with a beautiful message. I definitely recommend it!
Total Number Of Books Read: 24
Total Number Of Posts Published: 8
Average Rating: 7/10 or 3.5 out of 5 stars
I didn’t have enough time to hop over on the blogsphere last month. So if I missed any of your posts, feel free to link them down below!
First, let’s recap! Last month I said I’d read four novels, read three netgalley ARCs, and drink more water. Luckily, I read over four novels, and got through three of my Netgalley ARCs! Did I drink enough water though…Maybe?
Some of my goals for July include…
Finish two netgalley ARCs
Read 10 novels
Drink lots of water
And that’s a wrap! I hope you enjoyed reading about my June in books, I’d love to know about yours too! If you’d like, you can read last month’s wrap up here. Have a lovely day!
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