Eu gostei do livro, foi uma leitura rápida por conta do livro ser realmente curto, mas achei que os acontecimentos poderiam ter sido melhor desenvolvidos, achei tudo muito corrido, poderia ter me emocionado bem mais.

This was definitely an enjoyable story, it made me smile several times. The romance was cute and the relationship between Justin and his parents was interesting and well done, but I still felt like the story was a bit rushed and could have needed more pages.

This book was okay. It was pretty short so I don't regret reading it as I got through it in a few hours, but it's not an absolute favourite.

There were a few things I didn't like:

1. The book was short. This was okay, considering I got through it a lot faster, but I think the many wild things that happen in the book needed more time to play out. It all felt rushed.

2. The way Justin is treated at certain points in the book was pretty bad, and he still apologized. His best friend calls him the f-slur at a certain point in the book and while the friend apologizes, Justin apologized back. While I think you can forgive someone for saying that, I think it would be harder than was portrayed in the book. If that happened to me, I don't know if I could trust my friend for a while afterwards, always thinking that they were ashamed of me and just hiding it. Like, that's a pretty serious thing that was resolved with a simple "sorry." The same thing happens with Justin's parents. Justin's parents, specifically his dad, spend the entirety of the book telling him not to do girly things, giving him shit for literally everything he did. When Justin is scared that his parents are going to beat/disown him for being gay, his father is like, "What?? Me??? You think I would hurt you, my own song??" and Justin apologizes for thinking his dad would do that, even though his dad had not done anything to show that he wouldn't. I think that Justin needed to stand up for himself more, to show some character development.

3. There was no mention of HIV/AIDS. This might have been a deliberate plan, but I feel like it's silly to just pretend that this wasn't happening. At first, I thought Justin's uncle died of AIDS-related complications, and that's how the book would introduce the topic. With the book set in the early 90s, this had to have been something that the characters knew of. There's a scene where Justin is talking about using a condom and he says he doesn't have to use one, considering no one's getting pregnant. It's ridiculous to just ignore the fact that HIV/AIDS was a big issue.

4. Not a big deal, but the writing was just a bit cheesy at times, and conversations and topics seemed a bit forced. Again, this might have to do with the fact that the book was so short, but it kind of just felt like the author added themes and topics just because and never explained them.

5. It was just missing something special. There was so much I felt the author could have expanded on but chose not to. Justin's relationship with Daniel, the romance between him and Dominic, his relationship with his parents, the connection between him and his brother, the death of his uncle. I kept wishing for more.

But, I didn't hate it. While Justin's character development is a bit messy, it's there. I liked the characters, even though they did iffy stuff at times and were always switching up on Justin. The romance flew by pretty fast but I didn't mind it. It was quick and sweet, I just wish there was more to it.

I got an ARC from Netgally

This was such a quick read! I've been in a crazy reading slump, but I still managed to read it within a few hours, and I really needed that.
The story is really good and the characters were really great.
The ending felt a little rushed and I had a few issues with a few things, but it was still a solid and good read!

I really enjoyed this book and read it within the space of a day. I love getting an more in-depth insight in to the lives of teens and adults trying to explore their sexuality, in a time where it is extremely frowned upon and although Justin's coming out story was handled much better than he had thought, we also hear stories of the people who had much more traumatising and/or life-death experiences when their sexuality came to light. It's extremely heart-breaking to see what people had been through and still do go through now, despite the different circumstances. The LGBTQ community have been through so much and will continue to go through many more obstacles and I think these types of books are so important to write for all of the teens going through the same as Justin and it allows them to see that they aren't the only one.

A stunning LGBTQ debut from Jake Martinez - I can't wait to see what he releases next.

This book had the potential to be such a wonderful and cute book, but unfortunately it didn't wow me enough. I wasn't invested in the characters, nor the plot, nor the romance. It pains me to say this, but all I have for this book is plain indifference. I really had hopes for this one! The two stars are for the Mexican-American rep and the fact that the subplots weren't left hanging.

Listen. I really wish that I would have loved this book because it has a lot of potential. Stories like Justin's are important. Not just because of his sexuality, but because of his race, his looks (I LOVE that he is described as chubby) and his personality, which does not match with the toxic masculinity that's all around him. All of this is made especially important because the story takes place in the nineties, where everything I have just mentioned was even harder to deal with than it is today - and it can be still difficult in the twentyfirst century.

Now, for the things that I loved about this book. Justin knows exactly who he is, even though he is afraid to show it. He likes mixtapes and music and like every child of the 90s, I can absolutely relate to sitting in front of the radio and waiting for that special song to come on just to hit record very very quickly. So the fact that this book had all the mixtapes made me very very happy. It was adorable and I loved it.

Now for the things I didn't love too much... Mainly, I was confused about lot of things all of the time. For example Benny, Justins best friend, confuses me a lot. To be honest, I don't think that pulling your friend's pants down or burping in their faces could be considered funny. In fact, I would actually consider it bullying. Again, speaking from a personal perspective here, I was uncomfortable with it because I only ever knew these things as bullying. I was again very confused, when Benny finds Justin in the tent, waiting for Dominic and says something super cryptic. Is he in love with Justin? If so, why is it not adressed at all in the rest of the novel? If he's not, I am even more confused by the whole scene. Is the scene just there for Dominic to become jealous? I just... really don't know what was going on here...

There is another part, when Justin and Dominic talk about condoms and whether or not they need them, being two guys. I didn't find an answer to this in the rest of the book. And there should be an answer in the book. There should be a definite YES, CONDOMS ARE IMPORTANT. If it hadn't come up, I wouldn't have missed a conversation like that but considering that this is the nineties, where the AIDS crisis was admittedly not as scary and overwhelming than at the hight of the pandemic in the 80s (and first therapies were introduced, etc) I would have still liked the book to go there and to tell teens -gay teens - who are the prime target of novels like these, that condoms are in fact vital for other reasons than just preventing pregnancies. I just wish it had been in there.

Lastly, I felt like some parts of the book were kind of rushed. For example the whole romantic relationship between Justin and Dominic. I realise that they knew each other before being neighbours but I would have enjoyed a longer lasting courtship - or a getting to know each other better. Because in the end, I didn't feel like I knew anyone properly at all and I felt like I wasn't able to connect with any characters the way I would have liked to.

I still think it is an important book. And I did like it. However, due to my concerns i had to choose the Goodreads rating "it was okay".

I cannot wait to see what Jake Martinez does next, though.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a beautiful exploration of masculinity, identity, race, and coming of age! I loved the 80's vibe and gave me somewhat of a Sex Education kind of feel(Like a Mix between the Modern and 80s culture). The prose was beautiful and reminiscent of Perk of Being a Wallflower of I'll Give You The Sun. Really a stunning story about a gay teen trying to find himself a world that keeps telling him he isn't enough! Truly a moving and heartfelt, hopeful story!

I really enjoyed this book when I started reading it, it was very easy and the main character was likeable, and I flew through the first few chapters. But as the book went on I started to like it less and less.
(Spoilers!) Some of the things I didn't like started in the first half of the book. I found it so strange that Justin and Benny full on made out for Justin's first kiss. I understand wanting to kiss your best friend before kissing someone else. But they full on french kissed, and Benny really went for it. This is a move that someone would put in a story if Benny was going to end up with Justin, but he didn't. I think they alluded near the end that there was feelings, but it was a little bit confusing. I kept anticipating them getting together, or Benny at least getting jealous or something, but that never happened. He instead at one point said he didn't like that people always thought they were together (in an argument), which suggests that he doesn't even like the idea of them together. It was just a very strange moment. As well as when he pulled down Justin's pants in Dominic's front yard. I get that guys do stupid things, but it's super weird to do when Benny knows that Justin likes Dominic and this is the first time they're seeing each other in a while. It's a strange move for him (unless he were trying to ruin Justin's changes because he was jealous or something).
I also found Dominic and Justin's relationship a little rushed, and not very believable. They didn't seem to really know each other. They shared this bond over Dominic beating up the same guy for Justin, but they didn't seem to share any interests, nor did they seem to have talked outside of Dominic's defensive moves in the locker room. They needed a bit more conflict, or build-up, or something. It felt like instantly they were together, and nothing could go wrong with them. Insta-love almost.
I liked the storyline with the school band tryouts, that was good, and had a good build up. I liked Justin's growth with his bullies also, and I was glad when all his friends got to be captain of the parts they wanted.
All in all though, I wanted to like this book, but by the end I really didn't, unfortunately.

A lovable queer romance, contemporary set in the nineties about Justin Ortega trying to find himself whilst being there for his loved ones. This book filled me with awe over the relationships and the amazing soundtrack!

Thank you to NetGalley who approved my request to read this book and to Deep Hearts YA who provided a digital copy! I love the vibrant cover which speaks for Justin’s personality that he’s trying to express throughout the story.

This was an evenly spaced contemporary that didn’t drag to a point where I wanted to pull on my hair. The parts I did, though, was Justin’s emotions taking over him. We’ll get into that later. The story is told through Justin’s eyes. His emotions and perspective at band camp, while the boy who rescued him years ago, moves back and becomes his neighbor. The dialogue is short and sweet with variations of Spanish whenever Justin is home. The chapters aren’t too long. Descriptive language is my favorite thing to spot in a book, and it’s used to a good extent. 

The plot itself was a real coming of age. I liked the idea of it all revolving around Justin’s band camp. The fact that he’s in band and not in drama which can be a common stereotype for queer people. Also, that it’s set in the nineties gives it a fresh read. There are no mobile phones, but Justin loves his Walkman. His music is an escape and contributes to his love for band. He’s also Hispanic in Texas, so it’s quite the rollercoaster for him on his coming out time. 

Justin Ortega was a loving character to read from whom you could sympathize since he was bullied. His parents are strict, so it only makes him more nervous and alone in the world when he has no one to turn to. There’s his best friend Benny, but he soon gets a girlfriend. Around the same time, Dominic shows up and is the kindest human being to Justin. Flirtatious gestures are tossed but they remain low key from everyone. The only thing that got me with Justin was the way he acted out all the time. He didn’t give anyone a chance to speak and often assumed. There are a lot of inner thoughts Justin faces. It’s hard for him to come out to anyone but his best friend. It’s understandable that he gets emotional sometimes. 

Onto Benny, the best friend, and goofball. He’s the best friend anyone could ever have. Yes, Justin and he gets into arguments, but they’re still there for each other and know each so damn well! I’ve never read such a good side character who sticks through to the end. Benny is there during Justin’s difficulties, even when he gets a girlfriend. It’s none of that cliche bit where one drifts from another because of a love interest. Does it even reach a point where I question Benny’s sexuality? Joking… but I have to admire Martinez for balancing their relationship throughout the story. 

Dominic is an aura of mystery that girls even attract themselves too! He’s kind and understanding and such a good listener. He doesn’t care or pay attention to the world when Justin is around. Yet he has his secrets, and it plays nicely into Justin’s life. It eases the tension in their friendship. They're drawn to each other so deeply that Dominic knows Justin so well. That’s when he gets jealous. I don’t know if I liked this about Dominic. If he’s protectiveness of Justin was supposed to be labeled as cute or seen as him being the alpha in their relationship. That side of him doesn’t go deep into the book, but I admired the times he stood up for Justin when Benny couldn’t. 

Apart from Justin’s relationships in this book, I loved the overall friendships and relationships in this book. It’s genuine and if someone has done something wrong, it was because they did it out of careless—not because they wanted to hurt the one they cared about. 

Justin’s parents are strict but slowly unravel as they notice things. We see his dad as the typical hardcore masculine coach who isn’t satisfied with his son being in band instead of on the field. Yet the way Martinez dealt with the situation when Justin came out or when he’s parents found out was emotional. It becomes understandable that his parents only wanted to look out for him. That his father was only scared for him because of his brother, who was also gay. It’s a common trait that parents have—they fear what the outside world might do to their children. They know the world is a scary place. Especially for queer people in the nineties. Also to take into consideration Justin’s background. The representation of coming out was dealt with nicely because everyone has their own story. Their own experiences and trails have coming to terms with who they are, what they like. 

With such good songs mentioned that I have to add to my playlists and lovable characters, I have to give this a four out of five rating!

Martinez's debut novel is a throwback to a bygone era in many ways. The novel, set in the early 1990s, follows Justin as he navigates the terrors of high school in South Texas. There are subtle references throughout the book that readers who remember this time period will nod along with a nostalgic recollection. Younger readers will get a strong musical education while reading if they take note of the song titles and musicians being discussed (there are a lot of references so some may fly over unobservant readers' heads).

The book does follow Justin coming out as gay when he is reunited with an old friend who inspires him to finally tell his conservative family. Unlike many YA LGBT novels set during this time period, Justin never struggles with his sexuality; he knows who he is. The focus is on how he must best survive in the circumstances that he finds himself. This shows that coming out is a process that never really ends. The supporting cast of friends and family are fully fleshed out to engage the audience in this fairly brisk read.

I received this book as an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review — thank you for this opportunity!

I have somewhat mixed feelings about this. I did enjoy the book, giving it three stars. It was a very quick read and was a lot of fun. It focused on a character in a marching band which is something I hadn't read before, and took me back to my strings days. I thought this aspect was very realistic. However, I feel like the book should have been longer to make more of an impact on the reader. I do like that it didn't go too heavy into homophobia, and how the parents interacted with Justin. However, I do wish we had more of an opportunity to get closer to our characters; I felt as though the connection was only surface-deep. There was nothing wrong with this book structurally, and it was told in a compelling in captivating way — I just think I personally wanted more from the character relations.

For some reason I wasn't expecting much from this book but it actually ended up hitting me hard in the feels. This book just felt very honest with the topics it was discussing, which made everything hit even harder. I really liked the main character and his friends. It was an interesting friendship dynamic. This book also had a great/interesting family dynamic. The romance however is where I had my problems. First of all I think it went very underdeveloped and just read a lot like insta-love. There's also some moments with the love interests that raised some major red flags for me but it never really got discussed and overall just swept under the rug. That just bothered me a little bit. The characters also just felt a bit flat, now that I think about it but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. Overall, I don't think this is the best book ever but it did have an important story to tell and I think it did that well.

This was a cute story about getting to be comfortable into your own skin, fighting all the obstacles life throws at you, while also navigating being a teenager in love.
The writing was easy to get into, but I had some issues with the story, though. For 60% more or less, we get a boy trying to be captain of his school band, meeting again an old crush (a bit of instalove here), having parents telling him to "be a man", and getting bullied by really awful human beings. Then the story got suddenly intense, and a bit over the top, in my opinion. I can understand that; life as a gay boy in the 90's, in Texas, didn't look like the best thing ever, but the things that happened got a frown from me. It was pretty rushed, like it all happened in just a few pages while it would've deserved more. They served their purpose, though, but maybe a little bit more build up could've given the story what it needed to make more sense of things.

I loved how 80's music played a huge part in the story. I wonder why Justin's poem notebook, in which he wrote when listening to music, just disappeared at some point. The chapter's titles were perfect. I love 80's soft rock music and I love thinking about the songs in my mind when the characters were listening to them in the book.

So, long story short, even if there were some minor issues, I enjoyed this book and how it dealt with themes such as bullying, homophobia, coming out, being afraid for your life when all you want is being yourself, love and be loved in return.

Such a great story! Lovely character arc, setting and plot. Realistic drama and characterizations! The cover is beautifully done and pulls you right in!

This was a wild ride. I have very mixed feelings about this book. I definitely liked it but there were some parts that just left me weirded out or I just felt mweh about.

The mixtape to my life is a YA coming-of-age story that follows Justin Ortega, a 17-year-old southern Texan gay boy, who loves music. Justin is in the band at school which isn't exactly making his dad happy because it isn't manly enough. Justin feels like his dad is disappointed in him for not doing more manly stuff like sports or something. Justin being gay is probably not helping, although nobody but his best friend Benny and his girlfriend Lila know. When Dominic Mendoza moves in next door everything changes. Justin never forgot how he stood up for him in eighth grade when he was being bullied. Turns out, Dominic is still that sweet boy Justin remembers.

What I liked:
-The story was definitely enjoyable. I had a fun time reading it and it was distracting enough for these rough times we're in right now.
-The romance. Although it felt pretty rushed to me, it was still pretty cute and it made my heart melt.
-The storyline of the relationship between Justin and his parents, mostly his dad. His dad gave him a pretty hard time for not acting manly enough but in the end, it was pretty amazing. We love personal development :)

What I didn't like:
-Benny. Benny is Justin's best friend but to me it felt really weird sometimes. Benny does some pretty unacceptable stuff, including calling Justin the F-word behind his back, and every time Justin is the one apologising instead of Benny. That seems wrong to me. Justin thinks it's his fault every time, while that isn't really the case. This exact same situation also happens with Lila one time and I just don't get it.
-How rushed everything felt. This whole story takes place within two weeks but it feels like it's way longer than that. When I think about the fact that it's actually only two weeks I'm just confused. The romance is also kind of insta-lovey which I don't really like. They do have a history together but I don't think that's enough of a history to go as fast as they go in the book.
-A lot happened in the ending and I'm not a big fan of it. Again, it felt too rushed. It was cute though, but I was hoping for some more in-depth going stuff.

Overall I liked it, it was pretty cute and I love that it is set in the 90s because I feel like there aren't that many books published about those days.

This book was cute. Kind of a basic love story, trying to figure yourself out and find you place in the world.
I did enjoy reading it, it was fun and quirky. I flew through it

There was nice character growth for our main character. However, the other characters felt a little flat to me and the relationship felt kind of too insta-love, even with their history.

I really wish that I enjoyed The Mixtape to My Life more, especially since it's Jake Martinez's first book, but I found it to be a rough read to get through.

I've read numerous books with a similar feel and setting (Something Like Summer, Pictures of You), and though I enjoyed having a Mexican-American MC in this story, it wasn't enough to make this story stand out. The other books, frankly, were just better written, and that's including Something Like Summer, which I didn't even like.

I thought that the basic storyline was interesting, but the writing style was too stilted and repetitive. It was a struggle to find emotion in the story, and I didn't feel an ounce of romance. The "I love yous" were totally out of nowhere, and done without the necessary relationship development. Also, the characters were pretty unlikable, if I'm being honest. I didn't get to know Dominic at all (single POV stories can be a little tricky that way), and Justin stormed off and overreacted to every bit of turmoil that he faced. It was exhausting and more than a little bit frustrating.

The side characters were a bit better, but their storylines tended towards predicable and cheesy. Also, I felt like their characterizations were a bit inconsistent. One minute they acted one way and another minute they were like completely different people. It was confusing.

In terms of plot, I could guess what was coming with many of the plot points, which isn't a great thing. It was very predictable. Also, the plot felt a bit frenetic, jumping from one thing to another without smooth transitions or a logical sequence of events. I never felt settled in the story.

I was hoping the ending would wow me, but I thought it just petered out. I think if the romance was stronger and more developed, it would have made it a more successful story. Also, for a story that has music in the title, the music felt like an afterthought.

I really, truly wanted to love this story, especially since the author seems connected with the plot, on a personal level, but I think it needed a lot more work to make it compelling.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

3.5 Stars

Justin Ortega is a high school junior growing up in South Texas in the mid-1990s. He's sure he's gay, and has come out to his best friend Benny, who is an ally. Justin's father is a high school football coach, and his hard-line stances clash with Justin who is the definition of non-confrontational. There's a culture clash with Justin's Mexican-American parents, who are religious and highly suspicious of his friendship with Benny. They also don't make light-skinned Justin, or his younger brother, learn Spanish--thinking it's more American to only speak English. This leads to struggle with Justin's bilingual Spanish-speaking peers who accuse him of "playing white" call him a "coconut"--brown on the outside and white on the inside.

It's the end of summer, and Justin's vying for the cymbal captain post in his marching band. Band's usually a place where Justin feels safe, despite a trio of percussionists who are bullies, one who is his primary competition for cymbal captain. Justin retreats into his 80s rock mixtapes on his Walkman whenever he feels stressed. He's a little frustrated that Benny has been secretly dating Lila, a fellow percussionist, for a month or more. He's always liked Lila, but they were never really close. This relationship with Benny brings them far closer, and she's an ally as well. Justin's parents are SO happy to see that Benny has a pretty girlfriend, and they encourage Justin to find one too. He's overwhelmed, knowing he can never please them this way.

Justin has had bullies plaguing him for years. One, Ivan, is a big football player and almost beat Justin up back in eighth-grade, openly accusing him of being gay--which Justin had not come to terms with. At that time Dominic, a fellow student, came to his rescue. Dominic's father was a huge homophobe and pulled Dominic from the school, fearing that associating with Justin would turn Dominic gay. Now, three years later, Dominic's parents are divorced and Dominic and his mom have moved into the house next door to Justin. Justin's really excited to reconnect--he never forgot Dominic's kindness, and has had a crush on him since that time.

Dominic is eager to build a friendship, and is really protective of Justin from the beginning. Their friendship is growing into something more--especially when Justin confesses his sexuality, and his attraction. Dominic returns these feelings--he's suffered physical and emotional abuse from his father, which led to his parent's divorce. His mom knows he's gay, and she's supportive, if confused. Dominic is still playing football, and now his coach is Justin's dad. He's pleased they are friendly--thinking that a burly offensive lineman like Dominic is a manly friend, and far better for Justin than Benny.

The drama in band continues, though, and it leads to a big crisis. Within the final two weeks of summer, Justin gets his first kiss, first kiss with a guy, a boyfriend, and a situation that sends himself, Benny, Dominic and Lila on the run--temporarily. Justin and his parents have conversations that needed to happen years before. They recognize that Justin is the boy he is, and they love him even if they don't necessarily understand. And, their support is so needed by Justin, who's life was careening out of control for a bit there. With all this love behind him, Justin is ready to stand on his own feet, stand up to the bullies, and be a stronger man for it.

For me, this one was very interesting. But, I'm a child of the 90s and I understood the many, many pop-cultural references that Justin and his friends experience. Corded phones, MTV showing MUSIC VIDEOS (gasp!), the songs that speak to Justin's heart, what a "mix tape" is--these are touchstones of my youth, but I wonder how they resonate with kids now. The music, especially. None of the songs Justin refers to are in frequent play today--and even listening to them with my kids, they associate that with "listening to old music with mom" moments, not the poignant, life-affirming experiences that will trigger nostalgia later. Music, and its dissemination, has changed considerably in the last 30 years, and kids do not seem to have as many emotional connections to it as the people of Justin's generation would have. It's cute that the author has built a Spotify playlist of the tunes referenced, to guide his readers into it, but I'm not sure if it will have traction for young readers. I was also a little troubled by the writing, with tense shifts that happen constantly, sometimes within sentences, throwing me off.

Justin is sweet kid, a bit over-emotional at times, with a huge inferiority complex. He's too light-skinned, not bilingual, and lacks the machismo to integrate well with his peers. His love of American rock music is another point of separation, not to mention his sexuality. Justin's tendency to shut people out with his Walkman creates a further barrier to overcome in terms of connection. It is through opening up, with Benny, Lila and finally Dominic, that allows him to grow into a functional kid. He makes even more friends as as result, finding at least one friendly bisexual boy he can relate to, and another straight boy who doesn't care about his sexuality. The moral seems that being honest, open and out will help Justin navigate his life. And, that's a valuable idea in our current time. Justin and Dominic do recognize--and this is driven home by the parable of Justin's Tio Mando--that they exist in a society where threats to them exist because of their sexuality. They are careful to whom they reveal themselves as safety measure, and that stands as a touchstone for teens who might have similar home or societal pressures even today. I liked the story, and would recommend it for readers who enjoy coming out stories and near-historical, teen gay romances.

🎶 |#partner| Thank you to @deepheartsya @jakemartinezwrites & @netgalley for the free digital advanced copy!
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🌟🌟BOOK REVIEW🌟🌟
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✔️MY THOUGHTS
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I really enjoy YA books and this book is one of the reasons why. Between the typical high school issues on becoming lead in band - Justin is struggling with showing his true identity. I thought the story flowed well and I loved Justin and how his character developed throughout the book. I was so proud of him for coming out - I personally can’t relate to this but I felt so much for him throughout the entire book. .
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I also absolutely loved all the song references and how each chapter was named after one. This for me made this book so relatable. I mean music shaped most of our teenage years - so this part for me was amazing!
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Overall I enjoyed this book, please be warned of the following TW’s physical & emotional abuse, hate crime & bullying .