WardenRed reviewed Running With Lions by Julian Winters
None
4 stars
Life is a summer storm of insecure thoughts. There’s an umbrella of precautions to prevent insecurity, but it doesn’t always keep the rain out of your face.
This was a really quick read for me—much quicker than I anticipated! In many ways, I would call this a rather typical YA contemporary book, with all the doubts, trials, and confusion you'd expect from a bunch of teenagers trying to figure themselves out the summer before their senior year. But the characters are incredibly compelling, the prose is warm and engrossing, and there's so much impact on found family. It was great to see a cast of character that was so diverse, so supportive of each other, and also, to see the adults in the kids' lives trying their best, like the coach and Bastian's Mom. Even though the book also deals with the ever-complicated issues of self-esteem, coming out, body issues, …
Life is a summer storm of insecure thoughts. There’s an umbrella of precautions to prevent insecurity, but it doesn’t always keep the rain out of your face.
This was a really quick read for me—much quicker than I anticipated! In many ways, I would call this a rather typical YA contemporary book, with all the doubts, trials, and confusion you'd expect from a bunch of teenagers trying to figure themselves out the summer before their senior year. But the characters are incredibly compelling, the prose is warm and engrossing, and there's so much impact on found family. It was great to see a cast of character that was so diverse, so supportive of each other, and also, to see the adults in the kids' lives trying their best, like the coach and Bastian's Mom. Even though the book also deals with the ever-complicated issues of self-esteem, coming out, body issues, and more, it is ultimately super focused on acceptance and really, really heartwarming. A perfect read for a wintry day, all in all.
Oh, and also: childhood friends to enemies to lovers is probably my top favorite romance dynamic, and it was done so well here. Bastian and Emir's journey was believable and fulfilling and put a smile on my face more than once. It was messy at times, too, but aren't teenagers always?
