Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the opportunity to see what's coming out. These all went on my TBR pile, and As You Walk On By by Julian Winters went to the very top.

Some of these sound very interesting, and can't wait for their releases, but I am so excited about Salt the Water because I truly do enjoy novels in verse.

Penguin Teen Read Proud Sampler: Contemporary Edition contains extracts from As You Walk On By by Julian Winters, The Quiet and the Loud by Helena Fox, Chasing Pacquiao by Rod Pulido, They Hate Each Other by Amanda Woody, Her Good Side by Rebekah Weatherspoon and Salt the Water by Candice Iloh. This sampler was a great way to discover authors I might never have found otherwise and I loved it emphasis on amplifying queer voices.

As You Walk On By is a young adult romance novel which explores identity, friendships and finding your place in the world. From the extract the writing style felt slightly younger that what I would normally read however I loved the sound of the premise, especially the found family aspect, so would definitely be tempted to pick this up in the future.

The Quiet and the Loud is a young adult, contemporary fiction novel which explores family. friendship, forgiveness and trauma. The book had me captivated from the very first page and I loved the lyrical writing throughout the extract. I'm desperate to known how George's story unravels so need to get my hands on a copy of this book.

Chasing Pacquiao is a young adult, contemporary fiction novel which centres around Bobby who is working out how to navigate being queer in a Filipino community which frowns about homosexuality especially when his boxing hero declares himself against queer people. The dialogue throughout this extract felt a bit more juvenile than what I normally read which has put me off reading this slightly.

They Hate Each Other is a young adult, gay romance between Jonah and Dylan. This books follows the fake dating and enemies to lovers tropes. From the extract I loved these characters and would love to see how their stories develop both within their relationships and their own personal development.

Her Good Side is a young adult romance between Bethany and Jacob which follows the fake/practice dating trope which is one of my favourites. From the extract this book seems adorable and is definitely something I would pick up if I needed a fun, cozy read.

Salt the Water is a young adult, contemporary fiction novel which explores the power of dreams and the reality of trying to follow them. The writing style in the extract was very lyrical and I think the premise of this story is extremely interesting and relevant.

Definitely loved turning to anthologies as a kid when I didn't really have anything to read. And though samples are kind of different, they kind of serve the same purpose as an anthology—short pieces of fiction that help me to read.

And on the plus side, I get to experience new books!

Though some of the books were NOT my taste AT ALL, there are definitely a few that I will be adding to my TBR!!!

Thus, 3.5 stars rounded up

The Penguin Teen Read Proud Sample: Contemporary Edition is so helpful! This one in particular features three of my favorite queer books from 2023, including AS YOU WALK ON BY, SALT THE WATER, and THE QUIET AND THE LOUD. I so appreciate the effort that goes into these Readers; they are a great way to find new titles.

I don't really know if I really have something to say, or even give a rating. I mean, I really liked reading all those excerpts from all those different books, and I want to read most of them, because, damn, they were good to be honest. So this "book" just made my wishlist bigger than it was a few pages before. And this is the same for all the samplers.
Because we love seeing queer stories thrive. So thank you Penguin Teen and NetGalley!

I've already had my eye on some of these upcoming releases because of their beautiful covers, and this sampler has only gotten me all the more hyped.

I have chosen to DNF this collection for reasons such as; insensitive slurs having to do with drug addiction. As well as a repulsive, tasteless reference using "thoughts and prayers".

During a time where school shooting are at an all time high and are taking kids from their families and communities, and because this language is specifically in regard and used by government officials and the NRA to minimize the dangers and cruelty of our non-existent gun laws and ever-growing massacre statistics, this is downright awful.

In reference to the former, drug addiction is a serious illness. As someone who grew up addicted to several things such as drugs and alcohol this was astronomically unpleasant and unwarranted. The main character is a poor kid from a poor town who in narrative understands his communities' struggles, but then goes on to make fun of the unfortunate student, calling him a "meth head". It says less about the character and more about the sort of unchecked humor the author was getting across. This was vile and unnecessary and nothing close to "character building".

For that, as it seems that these short stories weren't read with any sort of sensitivity at all, I do not wish to continue or recommend this.

The authors in this collection, as well as the publisher, should be ashamed. Being a minority doesn't give you the right to joke or minimize the abuse and harmful stereotypes of serious illnesses and horrific events.

I enjoyed this selection of queer contemporary reads compiled in this sampler. Having the first couple of chapters available is a nice way to get a flavour for the book.

Thanks NetGalley for the sampler of these books!

Thanks for these new reads. Some of these titles are new for me. Gonna check it out and then look for these books.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the sample reads.

I thoroughly enjoyed this sampler! Just enough of each book to get you hooked on the stories and ready to devour the rest of the books when they release.

I do believe I will be purchasing each of these books when they release.

It was so great to get a sneak peak into a few of my highly anticipated reads and others that I hadn’t heard of before! I’ll definitely be checking all of these books out in the near future.

I loved this! I really enjoyed getting to read the first couple chapter of each book. I’ve heard of most of them before this, but I didn’t really give them much thought. After starting the books, I know I’m going to continue on and finish all of them. Getting little snippets like this is such a great idea, especially if you’re deciding whether or not you want to spend money and purchase a book. I also liked that a poetry book was included in this, too. I’m looking forward to Salt the Water coming out in October so I can read the rest!

As You Walk on By- Julian Winters has yet to disappoint me, and this was no exception. I'm upset I missed the initial release, but I immediately shortlisted copies for pride displays.

Chasing Pacquiao- My heart broke reading this. I'm nearly scared to pick this up because I know this are only going to get worse before they possibly get better

They Hate Each Other- I will never, never get tired of enemies to lovers. I went in on my day off to grab a copy after I got through this teaser.

Her Good Side- This brought tears to my eyes. Her anxiety was mine and was so incredibly familiar to me. My biggest gripe is this being listed in a pride collection, because I'm hesitant to advertise queer side rep when it comes to handselling queer recommendations.

Salt the Water- this was my first time exploring a verse novel, and it got me sucked in in seconds. Cerulean is such an interesting character to be in the head of.

The Quiet and the Loud- after this and how it feels to float I have unfortunately come to the conclusion that Fox's writing is just not for me. It struggles to pull me in to the world the story is trying to set up, and without that I find it near impossible to engage with the characters at all.

The Read Proud: Contemporary sampler was fantastic! I’m looking forward to They Hate Each Other (Amanda Woody) and Salt the Water (Candice Iloh). I had not previously heard about Chasing Pacquiao (Rod Pulido) and The Quiet and the Loud (Helena Fox) but they are definitely on my TBR now. I’ve already read and loved Her Good Side (Rebekah Weatherspoon) and I can’t wait for more people to read it! I’ve also already read As You Walk On By (Julian Winters) and thought it was excellent. I can’t wait to see what they write next!

Thank you so much to Penguin Young Readers Group and Netgalley for the opportunity to read the sampler in exchange for honest feedback.

Thank you to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP, and Penguin Young Readers Group for a copy of this sampler in exchange for an honest review!

Usually I am not the biggest fan of contemporary novels and prefer fantasy, sci-fi, or thrillers but I decided to read a copy of this sampler because it was in the read now section!!

I thoroughly enjoyed all that I read so far and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of these books!