Review: How It Feels to Float

How It Feels to Float
by Helena Fox

Publisher: Dial Books/Penguin
Publication Date: May 7, 2019

Get ready to feel all the feelings in Helena Fox’s emotional debut novel, HOW IT FEELS TO FLOAT. Biz is an outsider at school in every sense of the word. She has to deal with confusion about her sexuality, the process of losing her best friend to a boy, cruel rumors, and above all, getting over the death of her dad. It doesn’t make it easier that she frequently imagines her dad coming back to talk to her. Later on, after a breakdown, Biz starts to take a photography class. It is here where she discovers that the pictures she takes literally talk to her. This inspires Biz to start on a road trip where she hopes to find memories of her dad in the places he has lived.


I loved this novel from the first chapter. Biz is a perfect example of a flawed protagonist, and her mental health issues are presented beautifully. I felt like I was in the story right along with Biz which led to me rooting for her heavily the entire time, feeling the highs and lows with her. The friendships that Biz makes and breaks throughout, along with her relationship to her mom, brought me closer to her. Biz’s grief, pain, and happiness felt so real and at the end of the novel, I felt like she was someone I knew in real life. HOW IT FEELS TO FLOAT is a stunning debut by an author with a lot of promise and I highly recommend it.

Review: Night Music

Night Music
by Jenn Marie Thorne

Publisher: Dial Books
Publication Date: March 19th, 2019

NIGHT MUSIC is the story of an unlikely romance set against the backdrop of race, family relations, and music during a summer in New York City. Ruby, the youngest in a family known globally in the classical music scene, has lost the love she once held for the piano and faces a newly uncertain future. The insecurity and jealousy Ruby feels when her father takes young prodigy Oscar under his wing, and into their house, fades into admiration and maybe even love. As Oscar becomes the poster child for a prestigious music school, he must deal with the historically white nature of the industry as unsettling truths come to light. Ruby and Oscar must fight these head on to ensure both her family’s reputation and his future. 

This is a delightful rom-com that tackles real issues, fleshed out enough that it's not just a “trashy” romance novel. The prejudice Oscar faces and expectations others have for him are grounded in the unfortunate truth of modern society and aren’t glossed over to further the plot. Rather, race relations and classism make up a large part of the story and feel integral to the novel as a whole. Ruby feels inadequacy and failure, but she is able to push forward to a degree, a rare presentation of such a storyline being told in a realistic and relatable manner. All the characters have personal flaws that are fleshed out, which is not often seen in this genre.

Review: I'll Give You the Sun

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
Publication date: September 16, 2014
Publisher: Dial

I'LL GIVE YOU THE SUN is the emotional journey of two twins who grow apart and find their way back together. Jude and her brother Noah are completely different, but still share an incredibly strong bond as children. Jude is an extroverted social butterfly and Noah is a reclusive artist, but they are inseparable as children. A few years later they have completely switched places and they rarely talk to each other. Neither feels whole without the support of a twin, but family tragedy, jealousy, secrets, and unfinished stories keep them from healing and forgiving. After struggling through the issues that keep them apart, the twins finally get the courage to accept both each other and themselves.

I found this book incredibly poetic and beautifully written. The plot alternates between present day and flashbacks to weave an intricate story with twists and turns I didn't see coming. The author does a good job of making sure the transitions between past and present tense are clear and not confusing. I also liked the character development throughout the book and the author did a very good job distinguishing between the different voices of the twins, who alternate in telling the story. I do think that the internal monologues of the characters could have been condensed because they made the book feel overly long and sometimes the plot dragged. There is some content regarding sexuality and I would recommend this book for 15+ readers.