Another LGBTQ+ young adult novel that intertwines the experiences of people of color. Through the lens of compelling characters, we explore themes of self-discovery, acceptance, and the intricacies of relationships. What sets this book apart is its authentic portrayal, steering clear of stereotypes and offering nuanced, relatable characters. The narrative, filled with heart and authenticity, strikes a perfect balance between addressing the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ individuals of color and delivering an engaging plot. Turner masterfully captures the essence of adolescence, love, and identity, creating a story that resonates on a personal level. With its inclusive representation and powerful storytelling, This is a must-read for those seeking a heartfelt and empowering journey through the complexities of youth and self-discovery.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to the free advanced digital copy of this book.

“Because we’re seventeen—we’re supposed to have fun, and fuck up, and not have the world end because of it.”

As healing as it is heartbreaking, Erika Turner’s cathartic young adult debut And Other Mistakes follows a teenage girl as she tries to find and understand her personhood after her life upends itself and her very sense of safety and security implodes. With an unpredictable father struggling with alcoholism, a deeply religious mother who cannot accept her daughter’s queerness, and a newly ex-friend who pulled away after their friendship turned intimate, Aaliyah doesn’t know a way to be herself that won’t destroy everything and everyone around her. She’s determined to try, though, and she hopes that if she narrows her focus and remains committed to cross country, school, and the rehabilitation of her image, no distractions, she might just find her way through the chaos.

This novel expertly, viscerally, and intimately captures the messiness of adolescence coupled with the suffocating enormity of the emotions that come with being a teenager at the edge of the world, trying to figure out life before slipping over the ledge into adulthood, tumbling head over feet. Turner gives Aali and the entire cast of characters permission to make mistakes and to get it wrong, all of it, over and over again; to hurt themselves, to hurt each other, and to still, in the end, find forgiveness. Aali is a real and relatable protagonist that you’ll root for because you see yourself in her or you’ll find painfully frustrating because you see yourself in her. She hides from confrontation and avoids difficult conversations as a coping mechanism, and even when you find yourself tense with the desire for her to face her life head on, you’ll understand why she feels compelled to behave the way she does.

And Other Mistakes examines the relationship between one’s appearance or presentation and one’s sense of self with special consideration for how the intersections of femininity, queerness, and blackness influence and affect Aali. She struggles to find a look that feels like herself throughout the novel, and wonders how her queerness affects her ability to look and feel feminine, how her femininity affects her ability to look and feel queer, and how her blackness affects how she’ll be perceived as either as people heap expectations and judgments upon her. Aali’s relationship to her hair is a key point in this exploration, and she finds community, identity, culture, and freedom in finally understanding and changing her hair.

While some of the side characters and their arcs could have been fleshed out further, Aali’s story of understanding and embracing herself, making mistakes and then making up for them, is compelling and important. Give this book a try if you like young adult contemporary novels that allow teens to mess up and have flaws while they navigate the minefield that is growing up.

This coming of age story about falling in and out of love and finding oneself is a queer story about a girl trying to get though her senior year of high school. While deal with love, friendship and a family that is in need of help. This book could be trigger for people who grew up with an parent who was or is an acholic. With that said i enjoyed listening to this book so i gave it 4 stars

This book focuses on a strong teenage female protagonist She is who is working through her trauma. This is story about coming out to your family, acceptance, and finding out who your true friends are. Sometimes the people that care about you most are not those to whom you are related by blood.

*4.75 Stars*

Aaliyah's home life has always been rough but ever since she got outed to her mother, things went from bad to worse, and then her school performances took a toll too. But, at least, that year is over. She's starting over and things will improve! Well, except her dad is still an alcoholic, her mom is still homophobic, she's on probation at school and her love life is even more complicated than when her ex-best-friend made out with her then ignored her for weeks! But it will be great!!

This was messy. In the best way. The MC was flawed and layered and so interesting and the side characters were too. The plot kept my interest from beginning to end and I was rooting for Aaliyah through it all. Even when she was being a dumbass.
I was also highly entertained by the messy sentimental relationships and overall, just enjoyed this. I found the parts that weren't fun to read just as captivating. Simply put, this was great. I liked everything about this. I enjoyed the whole thing about the running competition and club, the family dynamics were captivating and also so layered. The ending was great to me too. I love books that end like this.
Basically, I could not recommend this more and I can't wait to read more by this author.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

And Other Mistakes follows teen Aaliyah during her senior year of high school as she grapples with being outed, managing friendships and crushes, and a difficult home life.

This was a fantastic read, primarily because it allowed itself to be difficult. Aaliyah goes through a lot, and Erika Turner doesn't shy away from being real and realistic about the difficulties of navigating life as a queer Black teen. Aaliyah undergoes a lot of personal growth, and it was wonderful to watch her truly find herself again after significant adversity.

This book is messy, and it is hard, and it is fantastic, and it is important.

I liked the basic premise of the book but some of the side characters fell a little flat and the ending felt anti climatic.

Aaliyah's life was turned upside down when her religious mother found out that she had kissed a girl. Her friendships also changed because of it. Navigating friendships, a bad home life that includes an alcoholic father, a job, and her senior year in high school is a lot. She returns to her love of running cross country to help her cope, find solace, and maybe even a new relationship. This coming-of-age young adult novel set just outside Las Vegas should have readers feeling almost every emotion.

- AND OTHER MISTAKES is the book you're looking for if you want a coming of age story that's messy, emotional, and filled with all the uncertainties of being a teenager.
- Not only that, but it's a diverse cast that's being allowed to be messy and difficult, featuring kids from many different background and with varying identities.
- I loved the exploration of the lines between friendship and love, and how extra messy they can get when queerness enters into the equation.
- Please do check the content warnings, since this book is pretty heavy. If you're up for it, it's more than worth it.

It almost feels like poetry. We have a young girl struggling with her home life and a semester of mistakes trying to rebuild. She has to deal with an abusive father, a homophobic mother, and just the stress of trying to keep it all together. Now add in the typical high school experience, and you understand just a fraction of what Aaliyah is dealing with. The book is primarily character focused as Aaliyah grapples with her sexuality and dreams, but worries about her little sister Trinity. As a character, she has more things on her mind than her best friend's drama or the upcoming cross country meet and that was refreshing. We'll definitely see more of Erika Turner.

*Thank you to Feiwel & Friends for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I requested And Other Mistakes based on the cover and premise alone, and I am happy to say I enjoyed it. It’s a great debut that explores a lot of the issues of being a teenager and coming of age.
Aaliyah’s a wonderful protagonist that I’m sure many teens will relate to, especially if they’re Black and/or queer. She deals with a somewhat fraught home life including an alcoholic father and homophobic mother, and has recently been outed by an elder at her church. She’s also dealing with drama with a friend who kissed her, but then distanced herself. But I appreciate how she isn’t kept down by all these adversities, as she resolves to try to combat people’s expectations and preconceived notions of her. Even when she’s under so much pressure, from family drama to friendship conflicts to school to sports, she never breaks, and I admire her for that.
I love how Aaliyah’s talent for running ends up being so symbolic throughout the book. She tries to outrun her problems, but eventually it all piles up and she has to reckon with them…and that includes seeing impacts of that pressure in her poor track scores. It’s just such a well-thought out novel that uses running in such a great thematic way.
The romance with Tessa is somewhat of a weak point, in that I didn’t feel like Tessa was hat fleshed out. But I did like that Aaliyah did have someone in her life that existed to provide something more or less positive, and they do have cute moments.
This is a solid debut, and I’m eager to try more from Erika Turner in the future. If you enjoy queer YA contemporaries, I recommend picking this one up!

"Running from others is easy. Running from yourself is not."

In which we meet Aaliyah, a seventeen year old queer cross country star...in the midst of her whole life plan crumbling. An alcoholic father, a homophobic mother, a charming little sister to protect, an ex-friend-who-kissed-her-first-then-ghosted, a new best friend, and a new teammate who makes her heart race; Aaliyah is going through it. But she's determined not to let her senior year be a repeat of her junior one.

Aali's only safe spaces are cross country and her friends. That is, until those things start to crumble, too. Aaliyah is very much a girl who gets caught up in her head, as most of us are at seventeen. When fights with her best friend get in the way of her running times, she knows she has to figure things out so she can get back on top and not let her teammates down again.

In this coming-of-age novel, we see Aaliyah fight to accept herself, find herself, and love herself. She has spent so much time running--literally and figuratively, that she doesn't quite know who she is outside of her friendships. She must navigate new and old relationships and decide what it is she really wants. But most of all, she has to stop running from herself.


Thank you NetGalley for gifting me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review and opinion.

“ I’m not angry, but I think I deserve just one minute. To remember that I really do f*****g deserve this second chance; that I am worth more than anyone’s disappointment, and anyone’s expectations about who they thought I was, or should be.”

And Other Mistakes tells the story of Aaliyah and how she deals with the after effects of kissing her best friend (who doesn’t feel the same things), the daily uncertainty of an alcoholic father and the fallout from being outted to her religious mother.

At times Aali is a typical teenager. She is on the cross country team at her high school. She spends time with her friends and has a summer job. But, during her junior year an adult at her high school tells her mom that Aaliyah is gay and her mother does not handle it with much grace. The rough reaction causes Aali to spiral. Her grades suffer, she flakes out during cross country meets and she feels unworthy.

The novel tells the story of how Aaliyah learns to navigate her feelings, her friends, her future and her family.

Unfortunately this book will 100% be banned by some organization, but it shouldn’t be. The main character is queer. Some of her friends are gay, queer, bisexual, having premarital sex, drinking underage and swearing. There are elements of abuse and abuse on children. None of it is out of context. Many children deal with all these issues on a daily basis. Ignoring or making it feel “other” doesn’t make it go away. Doing that harms children in those situations.

All people need to see themselves in stories, Maybe, especially teenagers. Many teens will see themselves or a friend in the character from And Other Mistakes.

Many teens are navigating new paths. some don’t have a light to see the way. Books can give that to them. People make mistakes as they try to figure out all the feelings and relationships and mistakes are made.

This book could be a good fit for grades 8-12 or ages 13-18.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974


A great story with teenage angst. Themes include alcoholism, coming out and friendship. Teens and adults alike can relate to the struggles of the main characters. It was refreshing to have this from a BIPOC frame of reference.

This instantly became one of my favorite reads this year! Aali is such a strong character and the development and growth of her through the whole book is refreshing. I have encountered way too many books lately where there is no growth. Aali is constantly put through situations that would break most and she comes out thriving. She hits a rough patch before the book starts and you slowly learn what happened. Marissa is the best friend that every girl wants. I swear I wanted to jump through the pages and have a talk with Aali’s mom for the way she was treating her, but again, the GROWTH of these characters was phenomenal. The only character I didn’t really care for was Tessa. I felt she was kind of thrown in there as a place holder to fill some of the gaps, which was good, but Tessa was just… Tessa 😂 All in all, I’m obsessed with this book and I cannot wait to make everyone read it!

Gosh, I love messy teenage feelings, even as I’m so glad I’m no longer at that stage of my life. This book so perfectly encapsulates the messy queer experience of liking friends, not knowing if they like you back, and not wanting to ruin friendships with those Big feelings, all while Aaliyah is also dealing with her alcoholic father and the abuse and anger filling her house. She and her new best friend Marissa have trauma-bonded and because of Aaliyah’s experience with her previous best friend, Yasmin, kissing her, she’s completely unable to realize that Marissa has a crush on her. And Other Mistakes is a story full of emotion and love and friendship, and one I absolutely adored.

7/10
thanks to netgalley and macmillan children's publishing group for the arc!

and other mistakes is a ya fiction book following aaliyah, a 17 year old Black lesbian in her senior year of high school. after being outed to her mom last year, aaliyah struggled with depression and self-harm and because of it missed a lot of school, did horribly at her track meets and stopped going despite being the fastest runner and up for team captain, and her old best friend kissed her and then stopped talking to her. determined to do better this year, she rejoined cross country with her new best friend and is going to academic meetings to make sure she does well. she starts falling for the new girl on the track team, her new bff leaves track to do theater, and her old bff keeps popping back up in her life. along with a messy home life, this book is about her story and how she handles everything.

i enjoyed reading this book and thought that it handled a lot of heavy topics really well! i felt like there may have been too many characters, but besides that i thought it was really well written and i would recommend it to anyone who seems interested!

This book is a great YA read for all high school students, but especially those who are either struggling with, coming to terms with, or who have already accepted their sexuality. I think that Aaliyah's story is one that so many young people can connect to and I am excited to add it to my list of recommendations for my students when it is published!

Thank you, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, for allowing me to read And Other Mistakes early.

I decided to request this ARC on a whim and am I glad that I did! I really loved Aaliya's story and can't wait until it's in the bookstores so I can recommend it to our students.