Jared Reck

This book is worth reading, so go read it, but stop reading reviews because they'll probably spoil something. Don't read the description; it'll spoil something. (Those author comparisons… come on, whoever did jacket copy!) If you like YA, go read it.
 
Okay, that being said, now I will talk about this book in ambiguous terms that jump around the major event that happens a third of the way or so through. No apologies if you're intelligent enough to guess what happens.

So this ends up being a premise I've totally thought about in a different fashion--the idea of who is important to you, but how many other people even know that you're important to them? Who has the right to grieve? Who has the agency to speak after certain events? (I told you there'd be spoilers. There's no way to do this.)
 
Matt is lovely and so very real and such a great boy character! Am I the only one who feels like boy characters are often one-dimensional in YA lit? I loved the way he interacted with all of his friends and especially with Tabby, and I loved the way that he dealt with the circumstances and lashed out and was vulnerable and real.
 
While a lot more YA deals with this than proportionally is realistic, I felt like I could see this community reacting and I could see the events playing out. From Matt's parents and family to the way he plays basketball and looks up to his teammates, I felt like Reck had really delved into the personality of every character.
 
This is so much better than All the Bright Places, and I highly recommend it for those who love tragic YA romances.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.… (plus d'informations)

Have you ever cried over a book about food, family and love? I did, many times reading this book. Oscar & his Farfar, a team of two, cooking/baking/frying together, Oscar trying to convince his Farfar that all he wants to do after graduation is to keep doing all that with him, his Farfar teaching him life lessons one at a time, not wanting him to just settle. MaryLou, or Lou to everyone else, Oscar’s frenemy but actual soulmate, bringing Oscar and Farfar even closer together. The secondary cast of characters we wonderful: the best friends, Jorge & Jesus, the troublemaking freshman Terrance, who added humor to the story & the teachers who believed in Oscar from the start. If you didn’t have an appetite for donuts before this book, you will be wanting to make them after you finish it.… (plus d'informations)

Oscar is entering his senior year and he couldn't be happier at the prospect of completing high school. He doesn't understand why his grandfather won't let him take work/study and spend half of the day working with him on their food truck. As a result, the best part of his school day is spent in independent study cooking and baking. When Lou comes to him with an idea for using the apples that students leave behind in the cafeteria into a project to do away with wasted food, Oscar's independent study period turns into apple prep. Oscar can't stand Lou, and he doesn't really know why, but when she starts helping with the food truck, Oscar's grandpa immediately falls under her spell.

Donuts and Other Proclamations of Love is the story of a boy who learns many lessons of adult life including taking responsibilities for actions and realizing that life is complicated. Told from Oscar's perspective, the book details his beginnings when he came to the US to live with his grandfather up to the present when he must learn to move on from childish things. There is little action in the story and it moves at a gentle pace, but it stirs the emotions and makes the reader think about what is important in life. Overall, Donuts and Other Proclamations of Love is a wonderful coming of age story told from a unique perspective.… (plus d'informations)