Another delightful installment in this fun series! A romp with chronic pain / disability rep front and center. Banter, humor, zany antics. The male MCAnother delightful installment in this fun series! A romp with chronic pain / disability rep front and center. Banter, humor, zany antics. The male MC invents Rube Goldberg machines and is a starry eyed beta hero from the get-go; our prickly, fat, disabled heroine is a bloody-minded chaos muppet. I love a book where the MCs instantly *enjoy* each other -- insta-lust isn't my jam bc it's so hard for me to identify with as a reader, but that pure delight of loving somebody's sense of humor and quirks and clicking with them right away absolutely works for me. They're both so INTO each other in addition to physical attraction... love to see it....more
Queer fantasy locked room murder mystery set on a magical ship! I have a feeling this one is going to be polarizing: it's got a very fic-style snark aQueer fantasy locked room murder mystery set on a magical ship! I have a feeling this one is going to be polarizing: it's got a very fic-style snark and banter that feels more like In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan than anything else I can think of.
I didn't like the multiple scenes in the first half of stress eating to self-soothe, but I did find an interview with the author where she talked about her intentional choice to do that and make an imperfect fat character (fighting Good Fat / Bad Fat). Our fat MC is messy, desirable, flamboyant, complicated: certainly not there for moralizing and no weight loss. Still didn't love those bits but respect that they were thought through.
If recommending, big cw for suicidal ideation....more
Thanks to the publisher/netgalley for the advance copy!
That was Good Fun. A fast-paced, funny, rollicking up-all-night-to-get-this-done fantasy adventThanks to the publisher/netgalley for the advance copy!
That was Good Fun. A fast-paced, funny, rollicking up-all-night-to-get-this-done fantasy adventure with the fun, complex, and never heavy-handed worldbuilding I've come to anticipate from P Djeli Clark. I love how his universes feel so consistently fresh while still bringing in classic elements.
Eveen is an undead assassin -- it's a living with some clear rules, she's great at it and there's minimal angst -- who finds herself on the run with her intended victim after it all goes sideways. There's a mystery ("what's going on?" mostly), snappy banter, and some neat character building.
The end feels a little rushed -- lots of details and threads that got squished into too few pages -- but not so much that it detracts from the fun of reading it. And (hooray) no cliffhangers! Definitely one I'll be adding to my high school library and booktalking widely. Recommended!...more
No villains on the page, two people juggling pain and uncertainty and insecurity, and good friendships - lots that I like here. My heart is always a lNo villains on the page, two people juggling pain and uncertainty and insecurity, and good friendships - lots that I like here. My heart is always a little broken and tender for women characters who are certain they talk too much and stress about it....more
I have a feeling this one is/will be super polarizing, but it was a win for me! I felt like I couldn't tag for funny without also tagging for sad... bI have a feeling this one is/will be super polarizing, but it was a win for me! I felt like I couldn't tag for funny without also tagging for sad... but I didn't want to not tag for funny, since there were specific moments that made me laugh out loud.
Sweet, quirky, not too saccharine for me, and I got sucked in immediately after not having had that experience for a while. Not for everyone but a really great little book for the right reader....more
Truly enjoyed this autobiography! Highly recommended for both high school and middle school libraries especially. It was fascinating, very readable anTruly enjoyed this autobiography! Highly recommended for both high school and middle school libraries especially. It was fascinating, very readable and accessible, with humor and short episodic chapters. I appreciated the explicit, teachy (in a good way) chapters on systemic and individual ableism - again, accessible and digestible for teen and tween readers esp.
Even if she hasn't been Eritrean, this would have been solid but holy cow, ten million bonus points for that! We have so many Eritrean and Ethiopian families in Oakland and Seattle both, and so woefully few books, let alone books with a recognizably Habesha woman and name on the cover. I was already stoked and hopeful about this even before a 12th grade reluctant reader of mine walked by my desk, did a doubletake when she saw it, picked it up to ask, "is she Ethiopian??" and then when I answered, found her Eritrean friend to shake it in her face and say "look, it's your people!" I know both these girls pretty well, they are in the library literally daily with a posse of other Eritrean and Ethiopian friends -- it's their main place to hang at and after school and has been since they were 9th graders -- and I've never seen either of them be truly excited for a book before....more
exactly what you'd expect from a Lish McBride cage-fighting unicorn team. exactly what you'd expect from a Lish McBride cage-fighting unicorn team. ...more
Another Scalzi win, along the same lines as Kaiju Preservation Society. I love that he is so good at writing books with easy bars for entry - reliablyAnother Scalzi win, along the same lines as Kaiju Preservation Society. I love that he is so good at writing books with easy bars for entry - reliably great books to bring back readers who haven't read for a while and have forgotten the fun parts. ...more
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