Why Parachutes By Kelly Yang Was Wonderful {Book Review}

Kelly Yang’s Parachutes had been on my radar for months ever since it’s release in May. I was excited when my copy arrived at my library and I started reading immediately (after first Clorox wiping it down and then letting it dry. Pandemics are weird).

Goodreads Synopsis of Parachutes {Kelly Yang}:

Speak enters the world of Gossip Girl in this modern immigrant story from New York Times bestselling author Kelly Yang about two girls navigating wealth, power, friendship, and trauma.

They’re called parachutes: teenagers dropped off to live in private homes and study in the US while their wealthy parents remain in Asia. Claire Wang never thought she’d be one of them, until her parents pluck her from her privileged life in Shanghai and enroll her at a high school in California. Suddenly she finds herself living in a stranger’s house, with no one to tell her what to do for the first time in her life. She soon embraces her newfound freedom, especially when the hottest and most eligible parachute, Jay, asks her out.

Dani De La Cruz, Claire’s new host sister, couldn’t be less thrilled that her mom rented out a room to Claire. An academic and debate-team star, Dani is determined to earn her way into Yale, even if it means competing with privileged kids who are buying their way to the top. When her debate coach starts working with her privately, Dani’s game plan veers unexpectedly off course.

Desperately trying to avoid each other under the same roof, Dani and Claire find themselves on a collision course, intertwining in deeper and more complicated ways, as they grapple with life-altering experiences. Award-winning author Kelly Yang weaves together an unforgettable modern immigrant story about love, trauma, family, corruption, and the power of speaking out.

My Book Review of Parachutes {Kelly Yang}:

I really, really loved this book.

This is the kind of book where if I had an entire day to myself I could have EASILY read this entire book in 1 sitting.

476 pages absolutely flew by! The interesting and extremely complex story lines, the characters, all of it.

Short chapters are my absolute FAVORITE…whyyyyy do authors write long chapters???? This book had 85 (!) chapters, each just a few pages long. I absolutely LOVE this and wish every book could be written like this! The BEST!

After I closed the back cover, I sat in silence to reflect upon this book. So much to think about and so many viewpoints to consider.

What a special book! It explores SO many relative and important topics and issues….the specifics of which I will not be discussing (see THIS POST for details as to why).

Highly recommend!

This book should absolutely be required reading for all high schoolers. So much that teenagers (and adults) would learn from reading this wonderful book.

Bottom Line:

If you are a fan of YA, this book should absolutely be on your to read list.

Have you read this book? What did you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Xo,

Jenny

Click the image below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link. When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

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Random Book Blogger Thoughts

I have so many random thoughts to share with you today that I decided to dedicate an entire post to them, lol. I actually think I will do this as a regular series on Book Coffee Happy 🙂 Welcome to the the first installment of Random Book Blogger Thoughts!

Thank You

Thank you so much for all of your kind comments on my LAST POST. To be completely transparent, I was nervous to write that post and after I finally did write it…I almost deleted it before posting. I was very worried that I was going to come across as insincere and that was absolutely NOT my intention! I was so pleasantly surprised to see that I am not the only one who feels the way that I do. Book related discussions are so amazing and some of the comments on that post brought up such excellent points! I would still love to hear from the other side but I completely respect why you might not want to comment on this topic.

Book I Recently Read

I finished reading Kelly Yang’s Parachutes yesterday. I’ll post my review here next week…stay tuned!

A Book Poll

Thank you to everyone who has answered my poll on Instagram! SO many of you did and I appreciate the advice! I have these 2 books both currently checked out of the library and I truly couldn’t decide which to read next…I’ve heard great things about both! Here are the final results! Excited to start reading Invisible Girl tonight 🙂

My Daughter’s Homework

My daughter’s 3rd grade teacher has assigned each student to read for 20 minutes each day and it has quickly turned into one of my favorite times of the entire day! She grabs a book, I grab a book, my son grabs a book, and the 3 of us cuddle up and silently read for 20 minutes. I light a candle and have a mug of steaming coffee. HEAVEN. I promised her that whenever she needs to read for homework, I will ALWAYS join her! I love, love, love this time in the day. NOTE: The second that 20 minute timer goes off, my children literally RUN out of the room…but you KNOW Mama stays and finishes whatever chapter she’s in the middle of, lol.

This Book Blogger’s Biggest Fan

Nobody on Earth has a more wonderful father than I. He reads every single post I write and always has such wonderful and supportive things to say. I LOVE YOU, DAD!

Children’s Book Giveaway

I have an AWESOME giveaway coming up on Wednesday for a BEAUTIFUL children’s book! This book truly speaks directly to my heart and I’m so excited to share it with you! Be sure to check back here on Wednesday for your chance to win.

Your turn…tell me something random in the comments below!

Xo,

Jenny

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*

*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*

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The ultimate list of my top book suggestions can be found HERE

The 12 best books I read in 2020 can be found HERE

Let’s Chat: Trigger Warnings and Why I Hate Them

According to an online dictionary, a “Trigger Warning” is defined as: A Statement at the start of a piece of writing, video, etc. alerting the reader or viewer to the fact that it contains potentially distressing material (often used to introduce a description of such content)

Thankfully I don’t have any topics that are a true “trigger” for me. There are definitely topics that I REALLY, REALLY don’t like reading about…child abuse, child abduction, animal abuse, death of a parent, death of a child, death of a spouse, terminal illness, etc.

I can see how people would most definitely appreciate a warning before they willingly expose themselves to reading something potentially triggering. I would imagine this would especially ring true if they can make those connections in their own life which might make the book feel exceptionally “real”. I completely understand how people could feel like that! However I….

actually really hate trigger warnings.

If you have been a reader of mine for any length of time you know my absolute DETEST for spoilers and often I find trigger warnings to be huge spoilers for me! For example…let’s take the book that I am currently reading:

This is the very first page of the book:

So now I’m reading this book knowing that at any moment someone is about to get sexually assaulted. It has taken my focus away from other story lines and has turned each character into a potential assaulter. Every time a new character is introduced, I immediately wonder if he/she will eventually turn into a rapist! I wish I knew nothing about this part of the book before reading.

My favorite tv show EVER actually had a trigger warning at the very beginning of the episode last week. I found this so strange because if you watch Shameless, you know that EVERY episode contains MULTIPLE potential triggers! I wonder why last week was the first time viewers were “warned”…???

Looking back, I’m wondering if Tampa by Alissa Nutting has any trigger warnings listed at the beginning? That book was HANDS DOWN the most disturbing book I have ever read and although I wouldn’t have wanted to read the triggers ahead of time, I can absolutely see how others would. You can read the synopsis and my review of that vile book HERE.

I feel fortunate that I don’t have any true “triggers”. That said, I can fully appreciate that other people do. What could constitute a “spoiler” for me could be so much more for someone with a true “trigger” and even just reading about a triggering event could be catastrophic for them.

I wish there was a way where people who appreciate trigger warnings could be privy to them and those people who don’t want to know ahead of time…wouldn’t have to??

This is exactly why I never include trigger warnings on any of my reviews (except for Parachutes….it’s literally written on the very first page of the book). I respect other reviewers/bloggers who choose to include these trigger warnings in their reviews but I personally dislike reading reviews which include them if I haven’t yet read the book.

I know my thoughts on this most definitely have the potential to be highly unpopular and that’s totally ok! I’d love to hear your (respectful) thoughts on both sides of this.

Do you appreciate trigger warnings or would you rather read the book (or watch the movie/tv show, etc.) without them? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Happy Friday! I hope your weekend is filled with love and BOOKS!

Xo,

Jenny

Other Book Coffee Happy “Let’s Chat” posts:

Let’s Chat: Tablet Vs Book Vs Audiobook?

Let’s Chat: When Your Opinion Is The Unpopular One

Let’s Chat: I’m A Monster. Anyone Else?

Let’s Chat: Read the Book First or Watch the Movie First?

Let’s Chat: Spoilers. Love Knowing or Better Blind?

Let’s Chat: Is Reading a Social Hobby?

Let’s Chat: Book Clubs…Yay or Nay?

Let’s Chat: How Long Until You Officially Abandon A Book?

Let’s Chat: Do You Read the Book Synopsis Before You Read the Book?

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*

*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*

*If you already have a blog, please “follow” mine*

*”Like” my Facebook page (and please comment on, “like”, and share my posts)*

*Follow me on Instagram*

*Follow me on Twitter*

*Subscribe to my YouTube channel*

*Clicking and buying products through my Amazon Affiliate links. The cost to you is exactly the same and I receive a tiny commission off of your purchases.*

*Leaving a positive review on my Facebook page*

The ultimate list of my top book suggestions can be found HERE

The 12 best books I read in 2020 can be found HERE