Tag: YA Humour

‘The Love Interest’ by Helen Comerford

Rebecca RouillardLeave a comment

Jenna’s home town of Nine Trees has been under a prophesied threat of doom as long as she can remember, but when disaster is averted by the world’s newest superhero, Blaze, Jenna is the first person he saves, and thus becomes his official Love Interest. But Jenna has no interest in becoming a love interest and pawn of the patriarchal Heroics and Power Authority. Apart from the HPA’s problematic attitude towards women, there’s also the fact that Jenna loathes attention and tends to have panic attacks in large crowds. At the same time she can’t seem to stop running headfirst into trouble and finds Blaze annoyingly attractive, despite her determination never to fall for him. 

But when Jenna is approached by the Villains, with an offer to help find her mother who went missing ten years ago, she finds herself playing both slides and wondering who is actually telling the truth.

I couldn’t put this book down. It’s a sharp, fast-paced and satirical take on the superhero genre but the story is also full of heart and humour. There is also some romance but this is not just a rom-com, and Jenna Ray is an excellent snarky, feminist protagonist. ‘The Love Interest’ is a playful, energetic and genre-blurring read, perfect for fans of TV series like ‘Ms Marvel’ and ‘Extraordinary’. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Thanks to Bloomsbury for the ARC.

‘Bad Influence’ by Tamsin Winter

Rebecca RouillardLeave a comment

Thirteen-year-old Amelia Bright is incredibly intelligent and determined – she’s a star baseball player, an eloquent debater and a gifted cellist. But there’s one thing Amelia is not good at – popularity. It all started in Year 7 when a boy mocked her for her pale skin and called her ‘Maggot’ and the name stuck. When new boy, Evan, joins her baseball team he doesn’t know about her social status and it seems that he likes her. If Amelia can just prevent him from finding out about the ‘maggot’ thing, perhaps he will ask her to be his girlfriend and then all the popular kids will miraculously forget all the horrible things they used to say about her. 

But Amelia discovered something worse than being called a ‘Maggot’ when she makes a mistake and her picture gets shared online with the whole school. 

Tamsin Winter is brilliant at exploring the social pressures facing young teenagers and the issue of sexting and sharing nudes is increasingly affecting teens of all ages. This book is also an insightful look into the way that parents and teachers often don’t know how to react to this issue and can get it wrong. Sharing what has happened to her with adults is obviously the first and very important step, but Amelia also has to advocate for herself and come to terms with what has happened. 

‘Bad Influence’ is a humorous and empowering read about the realities of being a teenager in today’s world of social media – essential reading for young teens. Definitely one I’ll be recommending in the school library!