Before I start on today’s book list, I have two bookish questions: one is, is anyone aware why in some parts of Europe we can’t access Kindle Unlimited, and if there is any way we could? Two, if I make another Bookstagram, would anyone be interested in my book reviews? Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl, who has a new weekly topic.
May 5: Authors You Wish Were Still Writing Today (These could be authors who have passed away or retired/are taking a long hiatus from writing. You could also spin this and share authors who have switched to a genre you’re not interested in.) (submitted by Rebecca @ Top100Books) I’m doing another spin to it since I don’t have that kind of information on the authors I read so I’m looking at some of the books I would be interested in from my 5 star and 4 star lists.
Goodreads Blurb:
Want to help good people get seen on TikTok, but you want it to feel real and doable?
The TikTok Volunteer is a short, practical guide to volunteering on social media by using a few minutes of intentional engagement to help mission driven creators reach more of the right people. It shows you exactly how to support authors, educators, small businesses, and queer and trans voices through smart TikTok actions like watching, saving, sharing, and commenting in ways the algorithm actually responds to, without getting pulled into drama or spending all day online.
This book is for the person who has thought, “I want to help, I just do not know what to do.” TikTok runs on attention, and attention can be a form of care. When you engage with purpose, you are not just being supportive. You are telling the algorithm, this matters, show this to more people.
Inside you will What “volunteering on TikTok” actually means, and why it worksHow the TikTok algorithm responds to watch time, replays, saves, shares, and commentsExactly what to comment, and how to comment in a way that boosts reachHow to support marginalized creators without centering yourselfWhat to do when you see hate, misinformation, or pile ons, without spiralingSimple routines you can do in 10 minutes, 25 minutes, or one focused sessionA clear “do this, not that” approach for BookTok, advocacy, and community buildingThis guide is especially helpful if you care
TikTok, BookTok, social media strategy, digital marketing, engagement strategy, supporting small creators, volunteer work, allyship, LGBTQ books, trans rights, queer community, autism and ADHD advocacy, disability visibility, teacher and parent support, and using your time online in a way that actually helps people.
You do not have to be loud to be powerful. You can be steady. You can be kind. You can be strategic. And you can help the right message reach the right person at the right time.
Goodreads Blurb:
The Healer of Warsaw
The True Story of a Nurse Who Saved Hundreds During the Holocaust
She came as a nurse. She became their only hope.
Warsaw, 1940. The Nazis have sealed 400,000 Jews inside a crumbling ghetto, where starvation and disease kill more people than bullets. But one woman refuses to let them die without a fight.
Irena Sendler is a Catholic social worker who enters the ghetto daily—not with a gun, but with medicine. As a nurse, she treats the sick. As a healer, she mends broken bodies. As a woman of conscience, she makes an impossible choice.
When the Nazis begin deportations to Treblinka, Irena transforms her medical mission into a rescue operation. She smuggles babies in ambulances, hides children in toolboxes and coffins, and teaches them Catholic prayers to disguise their identity. And she records every name on thin paper, burying the lists in jars beneath an apple tree—hoping one day to reunite the children with families she knows are already dead.
The Healer of Warsaw tells the unforgettable story of a woman who refused to be silent. When the Gestapo finally captured her, they broke her legs and feet. They tortured her for months. But Irena Sendler—nurse, healer, hero—never revealed a single name.
Goodreads Blurb:
Dressed in their traditional New Year clothes, Astrid and Apollo attend the Hmong New Year Festival. While at the noisy and jam-packed celebration, they accidentally become separated from their family and end up lost in the crowds. Follow along on their adventure as they try to find their way back to their mom, dad, and little sister, Eliana.
Goodreads Blurb:
In a world where you can get matched with a soulmate instead of finding one yourself, love should be easy, right? Mila seems to think so.
But when Mila’s SoulSearcher, the device leading her to her soulmate, matches her with a young woman named Rory, Mila is more confused than ever. First of all, Mila hadn’t realized she could be attracted to women before meeting Rory. And secondly, Rory has no interest in a romantic relationship at all.
Despite the concerns, Mila and Rory are drawn to each other. They get along really well, feel comfortable around each other, and even share a passion for rescue dogs. Rory finally found the best friend she had always dreamed of, but Mila keeps secretly hoping it will one day blossom into something romantic.
Were the two of them brought together for a reason? Or did their SoulSearchers do more harm than good?
Goodreads Blurb:
Hot-headed and energetic Romea Marino is starting ninth grade with a full plate. Between confusing social dynamics of high school and juggling extracurriculars, Ro can only find peace in the reliable comfort of her kitchen, where she’s able to follow in her dad’s culinary footsteps, whipping up Italian-fusion recipes.
Thoughtful and reserved Julianna Cangelosi is dying to help in her family’s restaurant, which serves traditional Italian dishes. But because Jules suffers from anxiety and struggles with overstimulation, her parents are wary of their daughter being in the chaos of a New York City kitchen.
When Ro and Jules meet on the first night of the San Gennaro Festival, sparks fly…until they learn that their fathers own dueling Italian restaurants across the street from each other. But the more the girls hang out—Ro teaching Jules how to cook; Jules taking Ro to her favorite spots around the city—the more their feelings grow. Can they rewrite the old tale of star-crossed kids from rival families and create a new recipe for love and friendship?
Goodreads Blurb:
When fourteen-year-old Shaq is stabbed outside of a busy shopping centre in Manchester, three teenagers from very different walks of life are unexpectedly brought together. What follows flips their worlds upside down and makes Chantelle, Jackson, and Marc question the deep-rooted prejudice and racism that exists within the police, the media, and the rest of society
Goodreads Blurb:
When fifteen-year-old Nathan discovers that his older brother Al has taken his own life, his whole world is torn apart.
Al was special.
Al was talented.
Al was full of passion and light…so why did he do it?
Convinced that his brother was in trouble, Nathan begins to retrace his footsteps. And along the way, he meets Megan. Al’s former classmate, who burns with the same fire and hope, who is determined to keep Al’s memory alive. But when Nathan learns the horrifying truth behind his brother’s suicide, one question remains – how do you survive, when you’re growing up in the age of social media?
Goodreads Blurb:
Born into a polygamous community in the foothills of New Mexico, Gentry Forrester feels lucky to live among God’s chosen. Here, she lives apart from the outside world and its “evils.”
On her thirteenth birthday, Gentry receives a new violin from her father and, more than anything, she wants to play at the Santa Fe Music Festival with her brother, Tanner. But then the Prophet calls from prison and announces he has outlawed music in their community and now forbids women to leave.
Determined to play, Gentry and Tanner sneak out. But once they return, the Prophet exercises control from prison, and it has devastating consequences for Gentry and her family. Soon, everything Gentry has known is turned upside down. She begins to question the Prophet’s teachings and his revelations, especially when his latest orders put Gentry’s family in danger. Can Gentry find a way to protect herself and her family from the Prophet and escape the only life she’s ever known?
Goodreads Blurb:
Two Broadway actresses, one starring role, and a kiss that might turn rivals…into lovers.
Sophie Rindell has dreamed of performing on Broadway since she was a little girl. But after more than ten years of auditioning, she’s still waiting tables and sleeping on a friend’s couch while she waits for her big break. When she lands an audition for a new musical called It’s in Her Kiss, she’s sure this is the one. Not only is she auditioning for the lead, but it’s a queer role, the role of a lifetime for Sophie.
Julia Vega has been working on Broadway for years now, but she hasn’t landed a starring role…yet. When she meets Sophie at the audition for It’s in Her Kiss, she senses a kindred spirit. They’re both talented and driven, but unlike Sophie, who’s been out since high school, Jules is still coming to terms with her sexuality. This role—if she lands it—could help define more than her career.
As their rivalry heats up, Jules and Sophie fight an attraction that blazes hotter than the spotlight. When the curtain rises on opening night, love might take center stage.
Goodreads Blurb:
Two years after an accident in Manhattan almost claimed her life, Marin is determined to take advantage of her second chance. She’s left her husband, her job, even her home to pursue the life she’s always wanted. Now she’s teaching statistics at Northshire University and preparing to do something she’s spent decades dreaming of: date a woman. But the last woman she expects to encounter on her journey is the one she’s been fantasizing about since their chance encounter the morning Marin nearly died.
Charlotte has made big changes in her life since that fateful day too. Most importantly, she’s moved back to her Vermont hometown, determined to finally solve the thirty-year-old mystery of her mother’s disappearance. An unexpected—and unexpectedly intense—friendship? That wasn’t in the plan. Neither was questioning her sexuality, but the more time Charlotte spends with Marin, the more she realizes her feelings run deeper than friendship.
Surely this would be a disaster, both of them being each other’s first, except the chemistry between them feels too strong to deny. But as they get to the heart of the mystery—and the heart of who they are—what brought them together just might tear them apart.
Mybookworld24 