I’m Finally Back?? (what i’ve been up to during my unexplained absence)

hello everyone! i’ll refrain from saying welcome back because i’m the one who ghosted you guys 😭 another post, another four-month-long break, amirite? i find that april-june is the most chaotic school season for me and i do not exaggerate when i say that my brain has been FRIED these past few months. between ap exams, final projects, final exams, and one of the most traumatizing group project experiences of my life, i was just about to combust. thank goodness school is over.

Review: The Outlands by Tyler Edwards

Hello everyone, I hope you’re all doing well! We’re not going to talk about how I said I was going to start posting semi-consistently… in December 💀 We’re definitely not going to talk about how this is my first review in almost a year, and we’re also not going to talk about how long it took me to write this one in particular 👍

Today, I’m back with a review for a book that I’ve been meaning to read for literal months! This was my first dystopian book since October 2020, and The Outlands definitely did not disappoint. I can’t wait to share my thoughts about it with you all!

My Most Anticipated 2022 Releases! (I return from the dead bearing more book recs)

Hello everyone and merry belated Christmas! ❤️ Yes, Abby—your local blogger prone to disappearing for months on end without explanation—has finally returned from four months of extinction! Is anybody even surprised at this point that I went on yet another unannounced mega-hiatus 😅 I promise the disappearances aren’t intentional! I, for my own part, never meant for this particular break to extend for so long, but school really threw a wrench into all my plans (as it always does haha), especially with the return to in-person learning. But I’ve missed blogging so much, and I’m really hoping that I’ll be able to post at least semi-consistently from now on—no promises though 😭 I’m also slowly trying to catch up with all my WordPress notifications. I promise I’ve seen all your lovely posts and pingbacks and I promise I’ll respond to them someday 🙏

But you read the title! I’ve been keeping busy during my hiatus adding future releases to my TBR, perhaps to an unhealthy extent—I do not exaggerate when I say that I have 50+ books in my 2022 releases category. I’ve tried to narrow them down to the ones I’m most excited for, and I’m here today to share them with you all! After all, 2022 is less than a week (?!?!?) away 🤯 Most of these are standalones, which I find myself gravitating toward more and more often these days, but for series installments, I’ve included the blurb for the first book to avoid any spoilers.

Without further ado, here are the 2022 releases that I’m most excited for! 🤩

The Makeup Book Tag 💄

Hello everyone and welcome back!! ❤️ I’m sorry for going AWOL the past two weeks—I’m currently halfway across the world in South Korea, and things have been way too chaotic for me to properly sit down and draft a post. Who knew there could be so much paperwork and stress involved in visiting your extended family? It’s all necessary to limit the spread of the virus, but I won’t lie and say the entire process has been anything other than extremely exhausting. On the bright side, it’s great being back in South Korea again and seeing all my cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents! There are obviously some limitations to what we can do together because of the pandemic, but it’s so wonderful getting to see each other again.

Anyway, I figured I’d do something quick and fun for today’s post, and what’s quicker and more fun than a book tag? Thank you so much to Ritz @ Living, Loving and Reading for tagging me to do the Makeup Book Tag 🥰 I had so much fun answering these questions (despite the fact that I haven’t put on an ounce of makeup in my life 😅) and I hope you all enjoy reading my answers!!

Disability Pride Recommendations, pt. 2! 25 MG Books with Disability Rep 💙

Hello everyone, and welcome back!! Today, I’m back with part 2 of my Disability Pride feature. I know Disability Pride Month technically ended in July, but my procrastination knows no bounds so you’re getting this post in August 😂 Which works splendidly because uplifting disabled voices shouldn’t just be a month-long event! Disability Pride should be every day 💕

Part 1 (which you can read here) was all about YA books with disability rep, and part 2 is putting the spotlight on middle grade! Middle grade (MG) is the age category typically geared toward readers between ages eight and twelve, but it can also be read and enjoyed by people of all ages. I personally don’t pick up MG books that often, but whenever I do, I’m immediately drawn in by their ability to discuss complex issues in an empathetic way while still maintaining a hopeful atmosphere. All of which makes me suspect that the discussions of disability that take place in MG books will be some of the profoundest out there. So hopefully at least some of the books on this list catch your interest so that you can pick up a new MG book and learn something new at the same time!

The Month in Books: July 2021

Hello everyone, and happy August!! How have you all been spending your summer (or winter, depending on the hemisphere)? For me personally, July was a much-needed reprieve from school stress, and I finally got the chance to indulge in some fantastic books, which I’ll be talking about in this post! I feel like I’m supposed to say something more in this intro, but it’s been so long since I’ve written a wrap-up—the last one was in March, I think—and my head is just blanking on what I’m supposed to write 😅 So why don’t we just go ahead and get started!

Happy Disability Pride Month! 35 YA Books with Disability Rep 💙

Hello all!! How have you been? Isn’t it just like me to disappear for three weeks straight after announcing the end of my hiatus—and for absolutely no reason at all 🙈 I’m happy to report, though, that these past few weeks of inactivity have been filled with amazing books that gave me varying levels of emotional trauma 👍 It’s been so long since I cried my eyes out over a book, and I can’t believe I got to do that not once, but several times this month! I can’t wait to share all my thoughts on my recent reads in my July wrap-up 😊

But today, I’m back with a specific recommendations post in honor of Disability Pride Month!

Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag (2021 Edition)

Hello friends!! Yes, it’s me, finally back from the dead!! 

It’s been—wow—almost three months since my last post. To go about explaining myself, school has been a real pain in the neck this past semester, especially with finals week and AP exams. And so I decided that blogging had to be pushed back on the priority list. I know I said in my 2020 wrap-up that one of my resolutions for this year is to not make blogging a chore for myself, but I felt awful that I couldn’t tell you guys about my impromptu hiatus. I’m so sorry, but thank you for still sticking with me! I can’t say enough how much I’ve missed interacting with you all and drafting rambly posts of 2k+ words.

Mini-Reviews: Requiem, When We Were Infinite, Concrete Rose

Hello everyone, and welcome back! I hope you’re all enjoying your April so far and had a beautiful Easter yesterday!🌻 Before anything, I want to take a moment to thank everyone for all the support you showed me on my previous post. Reading your comments and responding to them warmed my heart, brightened my day, and thoroughly renewed my love for this incredible community. So thank you ❤️

But why am I back today, you ask? To share some long-overdue mini-reviews of three of my recent reads! This is a pretty varied bunch — we have a poetry collection, a hard-hitting contemporary, and the most recent book from a hugely popular YA author. So hopefully there’ll be something for everyone here! Fair warning that these so-called “mini” reviews do get a bit lengthy, so you might want to brace yourselves 😅

Without further ado, let’s get started!

Resources to #StopAsianHate + 2021 YA Releases by AAPI Authors!

Hello everyone, and welcome back! I’m not sure how to start this post, so I’ll just get right into it: I’m back today to discuss some recent events that occurred here in the United States. On March 16, eight people were killed in Atlanta, Georgia across several spas and massage parlors. On March 22, ten people were killed in Boulder, Colorado in an unrelated incident at a supermarket. The taking of innocent lives is always terrible and tragic, but two mass shootings in such quick succession is especially horrific. My heart goes out to the families and loved ones of the victims. 

In addition, the fact that most of the victims in Atlanta were Asian-American women is heartbreaking and inexcusable. While the suspect has been claiming that the shooting was not racially motivated, the fact that he thought of Asian massage parlors as a sexual “temptation” to “eliminate” says a lot. Whether or not these women were actually sex workers, there is little doubt that this killing is a direct result of the sexualization and fetishization of Asian women — an intersection of racism and sexism.