“‘But you're correct. Our species - no, forgive me, our cultures - aren't the same at all. Quelin fear outsiders because we use them as scapegoats
“‘But you're correct. Our species - no, forgive me, our cultures - aren't the same at all. Quelin fear outsiders because we use them as scapegoats for the things we fear about ourselves. We bar cultural exchange because change frightens us. Whereas your people…’ He looked at her. ‘You fear outsiders because they gave you no choice in the change they forced upon you.’”
After a technological disaster strikes on the planet Gora, a set of unlikely strangers are trapped at Five-Hop One-Stop under the care of Ouloo, the Laru owner, and Tupo, her child — Pei, an Aeluon cargo runner traveling from the dangerous Rosk border to see her lover Ashby; Roveg, an exiled Quelin artist looking to meet his children; and Speaker, an Akarak trader unexpectedly separated from her twin sister Tracker.
The Galaxy and the Ground Within is, fundamentally, a novel about cultural exchange, the complexities within it, and the value of finding connection across different communities. It is charming, kind, and partially due to its scope closely intwined with its five lead characters. Becky Chambers as always writes with a profound empathy towards her leads. This was not my favorite of this series – it’s probably the one that stands out to me the least – but it’s charming, and I absolutely adored Speaker.
I’ll miss this series. I guess I’ll need to move onto new Becky Chambers now.
Bookshops & Bonedust is a prequel to Legends and Lattes, following Viv as she partners with ratkin bookshop owner Fern, annoying gnome Gallina, beautiBookshops & Bonedust is a prequel to Legends and Lattes, following Viv as she partners with ratkin bookshop owner Fern, annoying gnome Gallina, beautiful dwarf Maylee, and a skeleton named Satchel to rebuild Fern’s bookstore – and possibly take out a necromancer named Varine.
It’s very charming, but to be quite honest I found this just slightly unnecessary. I felt like Legends and Lattes was so utterly perfect that I didn’t really need more from Viv, and to some degree I just kept wishing I was rereading the former.
Still, it’s not without its charms. I was completely delighted by Satchel – he’s a fabulous character. All of the literary interludes are great, and the epilogue is pitch-perfect. I almost wished this was just a sequel about a side character starting a bookstore, because I wanted more of that. Perhaps I’m just a prequel struggler and I haven’t known that until now.
And I still can’t recommend Legends and Lattes enough!
A supernatural thriller set in 1800s colonial Ceylon, following Amara, a girl haunted by nightmares and whose ‘island-witch’ father has stopped invitiA supernatural thriller set in 1800s colonial Ceylon, following Amara, a girl haunted by nightmares and whose ‘island-witch’ father has stopped inviting her to train. Lots of good here; I’m very partial to Amanda Jayatissa’s sharp characters, compelling twists, and strong social commentary. Amara’s voice particularly grabbed me. There’s a nuance given to different reactions to colonialism, most notably within Neha, that works great. And her reveals, as always, are pitch-perfect – deftly foreshadowed, still shocking, and utterly horrifying. (One particular ending reveal will haunt me for a long, long time.)
I think this was somewhat underserved by the editor – also thought this was true of You’re Invited – and could have been paced significantly stronger. I also can’t quite decide how I feel about the ending.
With that being said, I think Amanda Jayatissa is comically underrated and absolutely worth reading from.
Honestly? I just love Hercule Poirot so much. He is such a bitch. He is such a shit-stirrer. I find it beautiful when he gets really invested in otherHonestly? I just love Hercule Poirot so much. He is such a bitch. He is such a shit-stirrer. I find it beautiful when he gets really invested in other people's love lives, as well as vaguely insulting the narrator du jour while also clearly caring for them. He's the worst. I love him and he is my best friend.
Beyond that, Agatha Christie continues to never miss. Her mysteries and characters are fantastic. I particularly enjoy her penchant for intriguing side characters; Thora Grey never failed to delight me, in particularly. Even when a character isn't doing the crime, you're intrigued by the mysteries they hold, what they've done or haven't done.
You're probably wondering about the mystery, right? Well. A very fun ride, that. And that's all I'll say.
Not my favorite of the Christies I've read so far - Death on the Nile, you are still #1 in my heart - but definitely a very good one.
Lovely as always. This installment of the Singing Hells novella series sees Cleric Chih returning home, giving us better backstory on our darling clerLovely as always. This installment of the Singing Hells novella series sees Cleric Chih returning home, giving us better backstory on our darling cleric. It plays with their complicated homecoming in a way that I enjoyed, and gives us significantly more lore on the clerics’ history. This wasn’t my favorite of the novellas, but it was still a lovely one! ...more
This review is spoiler-free with a few tagged minor spoilers.
You could jump so much higher when you had somewhere safe to fall.
Honestly? Just This review is spoiler-free with a few tagged minor spoilers.
You could jump so much higher when you had somewhere safe to fall.
Honestly? Just read Big Little Lies instead. That book just has more: more feminist themes, more interesting characters, more actual suspense, and way more enjoyability.
And the same fantastic audiobook. Let's get started.
♔ THE TENSION Let's get started with conflict. While the conflict itself is bad, it's not... actually that bad. It's a big issue between the parents, sure, but a lot of the conflict between parents here could've been solved through communication. Now, that's not inherently bad, but when a book is marketed all around suspense and that big dramatic thing that happened, it's hard not to feel disappointed by such a simple reveal.
And oh my god, the buildup to the reveal is so. fucking. boring. This is maybe the only time I will ever say this, but I wanted more drama in between the beginning and the reveal. Or even better, like in Big Little Lies (SORRY, I KNOW I KEEP COMPARING THE TWO.) - this book needed way more theme buildup in the first half. Maybe Moriarity is trying to be subtle, but it doesn't work.
♚ THE CHARACTERS Now on to the thing that made Moriarity's earlier Big Little Lies such a quintessential me book: the character work. Now, I think Moriarity definitely has a talent for subtle character building. And I think she’s VERY in-tune with human nature. But even the best authors can have trouble balancing so many points of view, especially in a single book. Something I disliked about this book was the fact that the marriages are characters more than the characters themselves are. Partially as a result, I didn't find myself caring that much about anyone. Big Little Lies introduces three of my favorite female characters of all time - yes, three. Truly Madly Guilty introduces... three decent female characters and three decent male characters.
➽Clementine: A really developed, complex character who definitely could've gotten even more time. Her chief conflict is around marriage and being annoyed with a friendship, which is honestly just... not that compelling? ➽Sam: Hm. I empathize with his central conflicts around (view spoiler)[men crying and ptsd (hide spoiler)], but I also don't really like him. Honestly, he's probably my least favorite character; he’s developed far less than the rest of these leads. ➽Erika: I empathized with her, I liked her character arc, and I loved the scenes between her and her mother - so well-written and true to life. I initially thought she would be my favorite, but... no. ➽Oliver: Actually maybe my favorite character. The discussion around (view spoiler)[his parents' past (hide spoiler)] was so lovely and respectful. This was also the couple I was most invested in. ➽Tiffany: I like the representation and feminism involved in crafting her character - for those unworried about spoilers, (view spoiler)[she's a former sex worker (hide spoiler)] - and I loved that she's so sex-positive. She's actually one of my favorite characters. But like Oliver, she didn't really have a character arc. ➽Vid: Definitely the funniest character, and great comic relief, especially with the accent on the audiobook. And an all-around decent guy, sure. But do I love him? No. ➽Dakota: She's not even the lead, but she might be my favorite? Dakota's arc as a teenage girl is so lovely and well-developed.
♔ THE THEMES AND POINT Something I do want to praise is the thematic work here. This book is so damn feminist. The themes about letting boys cry, mothers feeling more pressure than fathers to take care of business, and sex positivity are all so lovely. But all of them could also be more at the forefront. There's some awesome filler content
Basically, my thoughts are: lovely feminist themes, well-developed characters, terrible marketing, and too little drama. I have high hopes, though, that Moriarity will nail it with her next one.
When you love a person, you are expected to give them their freedom, but when you love a monster, you keep it caged.
Fonda Lee is constantly cement
When you love a person, you are expected to give them their freedom, but when you love a monster, you keep it caged.
Fonda Lee is constantly cementing herself as one of my favorite authors.
Untethered Sky follows Ester, a girl half-orphaned by a deadly manticore who becomes a rukher, a hunter of her own killers. In the course of her relationship with Zahra, her massive, deadly roc, as well as her fellow rukhers Yasmine and Darius, she finds a pathway towards her own recovery.
A thousand things could be said about Fonda Lee's fantastic writing, and brilliant, smart character writing. Untethered Sky engages itself with two beasts from Persian and Arabian folklore: manticores, man-eating beasts with human heads and lion bodies, and rocs, giant birds able to hunt them. Ester's narration is compelling strong.
But what truly struck me about this novella is the building of relationships between the rocs and the rukhers. The rukhers grow to truly love their rocs, wishing for their presence. The rocs survive. When one bird dies, there is always another roc to train. Yet the rukhers mourn their birds. By the time we reach the wonderful, emotional ending, I was near tears and thinking about my cat.
Sarah Gailey I love your crazy ass. Among the top authors on Goodreads who every time I read a book by them I am absolutely obsessed and then I go to Sarah Gailey I love your crazy ass. Among the top authors on Goodreads who every time I read a book by them I am absolutely obsessed and then I go to check the Goodreads average rating and apparently taste is dead in this world
Okay, maybe that’s not fair. I completely understand why perhaps the book about the daughter of a serial killer returning home to a haunted house and an even-more-haunted mother did not resonate with some. You have to love odd imagery, eerie dreams, a repulsive mother-daughter relationship and an equally terrifying father-daughter one – terrifying for its intimacy, even in the face of incredible violence. You have to accept that a Sarah Gailey protagonist will absolutely never ever be a good person. You have to accept that to love a monster, and to love your own monstrosity, will never be the path a reader perhaps wants.
But if you can accept those things? You should read this book.
(But first, you should be reading Echo Wife and Magic for Liars, and you should tell me about it.)
Sidra laid one of the kit’s palms atop the synthetic head. She kept it there for a second, two, three. A quick-travel pod arrived, its hatch opening w
Sidra laid one of the kit’s palms atop the synthetic head. She kept it there for a second, two, three. A quick-travel pod arrived, its hatch opening with a soft whir. She leaned toward the AI’s head before leaving. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “This isn’t fair.”
In A Closed and Common Orbit, Lovelace/Sidra, an AI in a human body, finds herself traveling with Pepper (formerly Jane), raised by an AI named Owl. With the help of Pepper’s painter partner Blue and an Aeluon history major named Tak, she’ll have to find her place in a world not made for someone like her. Her narrative alternates with Pepper’s Jane narrative, as she’s raised by Owl.
Becky Chambers has built such a fantastic world with this space, and here we get to spend more time on planets as well!! I love the smaller world building details; there’s so much life in a summerquick sex festival and a realm of tattoo shops. And there’s the wealth of different aliens—silver, box-speaking Aeluons; many-legged Quelin; squishy Hermigeans; and feathered green Aandrisk. It’s just very solid worldbuilding.
These books are built on a foundation of general hope and love for people [and non-people] that really resonates with me. While I found this a bit too slow at points, it's a wonderful book that I know will stick with me.
“Just say it,” she begged. “Shut up, Jane. See? It’s not hard.” “Keep talking, Jane,” he said softly.
This was delightful. Courtney Milan really und
“Just say it,” she begged. “Shut up, Jane. See? It’s not hard.” “Keep talking, Jane,” he said softly.
This was delightful. Courtney Milan really understands how to write romance.
Heiress Jane Fairfield is the opposite of a wallflower—she is a girl of misplaced confidence who excels at being the most insensitive person in the room. Her secret: her awkwardness is an act, put on to avoid marriage proposals so she can stay at home and protect her sister from their controlling uncle. Meanwhile, ambitious duke’s bastard Oliver Marshall is asked to humiliate her in order to exchange for an important vote in parliament. But when he begins to look through her act, the two may each find someone who truly sees them.
There’s a lot to love about The Heiress Effect—great writing, excellent chemistry, and genuinely compelling characters. Jane’s sister’s point of view, and her coming of age, are delightfully done, with a focus on both ableism in the period and racism in the period. The respect given to Emily Fairfield and Anjan Bhattacharya as characters warmed my heart.
The characterization of Jane is particularly standout. While she puts on her insensitive act, she reveals to her new beau that her brave face initially rose from a true awkwardness, accidental. Her social ostracization led to her displayed; while her purposeful unpleasantness may be pretended, her awkwardness is a natural place.
“Remember what I am contemplating. I don’t think I should be making you more vulnerable to me. Not at all.” “Too late for that.”
My favorite aspect of this book is the work it does to pull together a romantic arc and a character arc. In order for either of these characters to work as a couple, one must decide how his ambition works with his life, and one must both find a way to protect her sister while loving a man, and find a way to accept herself. For their romance to survive, they each must grow. The payoff for their romance comes with the payoff to each of their arcs—the secret to a great romance.
I always say I’m not a huge romance reader, but the standouts of this genre really do hit the spot. I trust both Courtney Milan (and my friend Linden, who recommended this) with my life now; I’ll definitely be returning Courtney Milan again.
“She had not realized that a nun was more powerful than a princess, that she could close a door.”
Marra tries to save her sister, Kania, from the evil
“She had not realized that a nun was more powerful than a princess, that she could close a door.”
Marra tries to save her sister, Kania, from the evil prince she’s married – with the help of a dust-witch, a bone-dog, a godmother named Agnes, a goblin-prisoner named Fenris, and a chicken with a demon in it.
Truly one of the most delightful fantasy books I’ve read recently. Two hundred fifty pages of perfect imagination, wonderful pacing, and delightful characters. I’d like to live and breathe the creativity of this universe. While this isn’t particularly cozy fantasy, I felt so deeply drawn in to these characters and this world that it read as such anyway – despite having some excellent horror elements.
I particularly cannot emphasize enough the love put into Marra, Kania, Agnes, Lady Fox, and Fenris. These characters each feel so delightful; their dialogue is beyond charming. Fenris’s arc is pitch-perfect, and the sibling relationship between Marra and Kania is wonderfully complex. And the romance between Marra and Fenris is lovely, subtly yet perfectly built.
It’s just this: Not everyone who hurts us is our father.
In the fifth standalone edition of the Graceling Realm series, Hava sails home from Winter
It’s just this: Not everyone who hurts us is our father.
In the fifth standalone edition of the Graceling Realm series, Hava sails home from Winterkeep with Bitterblue, Giddon, and their crew. Along the way, she's decoding Linta's work on the zilphium weapon in a tiny bedroom. But when the ship runs aground in the far north of the Royal Continent, they're stuck in a fight for their lives across winter grounds.
I will start with what I did not love about this book: I felt Seasparrow was too long, repeating storytelling and character beats. The first two sections - on the ship, and then across the continent - each drag in places, particularly in the first section, as character personas are established for a crew we hadn't previously known. It's a journey novel, but did not feel as solid for me as the original journey novel of the series, Graceling itself.
In comparison, the incredibly strong final third feels almost too short, providing payoff far faster than the rest of the book has progressed. There are so many fantastic points here - for Hava's character arc, for her realization of trauma, and for the character's relationships with the world as a whole. I found myself yearning for these for the often-bleak first 75% of the novel.
You knew what you were building too. But what am I building? And what am I building it out of? What am I made of? If I can blend into this bench and become a tree, how can I be anything, to anybody? Can a person be made of nothing?
What shines about Seasparrow is in Hava. Oh, Hava. Hava, graced with shapeshifting, has been taught all her life to hide - first from her father, a tyrannical king; then, from anyone who might discover her existence; and then, as spy to her half-sister Bitterblue. To allow herself to be seen crying, or feeling at all, is beyond her by instinct.
And yet then - spoilers! - comes Hope, a kidnapped blue fox found in the hold. When Hava takes her in and takes care of her, it is in part her deep care for the badly hurt fox that allows her to truly begin healing some of her own trauma. Her relationship with this badly injured mother is just like her relationship with her own badly injured mother.
There's an impressive additional set of side characters in the crew - Annet, the captain, who calls Hava after the multicolored Habpva bird; Navi, the second mate and her partner; Linny, a ship's boy with a kindness about him; Jacky, with the opposite; and Ozul, a kindhearted ship's cook. There's also Keran, a character just as complicated as she is easy to dislike. She is a truly fantastically done character which I appreciated a lot.
Is that what love is? Hope for other people?
Overall, while I have my critiques of this, there is a lot about this book that I loved. Hava will stay stuck in my head for a long, long time.
Siren Queen is a masterclass in using magical metaphors to explore queerness and racial identity in pre-code Hollywood.
Luli Wei wants to be a star, aSiren Queen is a masterclass in using magical metaphors to explore queerness and racial identity in pre-code Hollywood.
Luli Wei wants to be a star, and is willing to become a monster to become one. Through her relationships with the secretive Harry Long, the alluring Emmaline Sauvignon, the complex Greta/Caroline, and the all-herself Tara Lubowski, she leans towards and away from monstrosity — and towards, and away, from herself. It’s a magical realist or fabulist novel with complex takes on fame, and the prices we pay for it.
I will continue reading every one of Nghi Vo’s novels.
“Call me old fashioned, but a man’s place is in the basement, preparing vocal exercises for his more talented wife.”
Shara Wheeler, perfect southe
“Call me old fashioned, but a man’s place is in the basement, preparing vocal exercises for his more talented wife.”
Shara Wheeler, perfect southern girl and only academic rival to Chloe Green, has disappeared. She leaves her with only one clue: a kiss. She also kissed goodbye the rebellious boy next door, Rory, and her actual boyfriend, Smith.
So what’s Shara up to? Together, the Who Kissed Shara Wheeler club must figure it out – and maybe figure themselves out along the way.
This book is one of the most earnestly realistic yet kind portrayals of high school I’ve confused. In my own high school experience, an array of people that I wrote off quickly as too-good for me were actually full of their own complexities and nuances.
To convey this, Shara Wheeler focuses on a a delightful ensemble cast – Brooklyn (student body president); Summer (ex bestie to Shara); Ace (popular kid turned theater kid); Georgia, Benjy, and Ash (besties to Chloe); and April & Jake (besties to Rory).
“The problem has always been this: When I look at you, I taste lime, and I see light on water.”
And the main romance of the book… is truly pitch perfect. That’s all I want to say about it.
Absolutely one of the best YA novels of the decade.
Maybe, I said deliberately, it’s because you like to fuck people who don’t belong to you.
In The Chosen and the Beautiful, there is a section where
Maybe, I said deliberately, it’s because you like to fuck people who don’t belong to you.
In The Chosen and the Beautiful, there is a section wherein Daisy and Jordan make a paper model of Daisy, to substitute for her while the real Daisy is drunk. This paper daisy is younger, bouncier, fewer cares. This paper daisy, like childhood, like an authentic self, does not survive.
The Great Gatsby is a classic, and thus one doubly difficult to adapt - when you know a classic, how do you pivot? The shifts made here preserve character dynamics but add to them; Jordan is a queer Vietnamese woman, and perhaps more notably, the narrator. The story is not from Nick, a more innocent, but Jordan, cynical to the last.
In considering recent Great Gatsby adaptations, I’m struck by a desire often to add queerness to the story with an aim of ‘if only they were gay, everything would be fine’. The Chosen and the Beautiful dodges this. Here, they are all in love, or might be, and everything is worse. The lack of love is not what kills them; it is the inability to love for what you and the other person already are.
Nghi Vo's writing truly kills me. Also, this entire section is a CRAZY line to put in your Great Gatsby retelling: (view spoiler)[
“I’m not in love with you, you can’t treat me like this.” She looked at me stunned. “Of course you are,” she said, and the thread between us snapped.(hide spoiler)] Genuinely incredible. Will continue hanging on Nghi Vo's every word.
“Hate me from now on if you have to, but you need me to stay, Hilo. And you need Wen and Anden. You said it yourself years ago: We have each other,
“Hate me from now on if you have to, but you need me to stay, Hilo. And you need Wen and Anden. You said it yourself years ago: We have each other, and maybe that’s the one thing we have that our enemies don’t.”
I remembered adoring Jade City, with its incredible writing, sharp twists, and strong characters. But to me, this will go down as the book that made me see the Green Bone Saga as what it is — a devastating family drama within a political drama, where the moments where the political overpowers the personal devastate most of all.
As Jade War begins, the No Peak clan of Kekon is at a crossroads. Neither of the two surviving grandchildren of the Kauls were expected to become leaders, especially not in the aftermath of a devastating feud. Anden, the cousin who helped them win their war, refuses to wear jade. Yun Dorupon, the traitorous former Weather Man to No Peak, and Bero and Mudt, the murderers who benefitted, remain at large. The Mountain has begun to rebuild, with Ayt Mada consolidating power with Ree Turahon, the Weather Man, and Nau Suenzen, successor to Gont Asch as Horn of the Mountain.
And across the sea, tensions rise between rival nations Shotar and Ygutan over the small province of Oortoko, but in an international scene, larger powers are quick to jostle their way: including Espenia, Kekon's historic ally, now allied to Shotar in their attempt to keep Oortoko to themselves. With No Peak selling jade to Espenia and the Mountain selling jade to Ygutan, the war between the clans has never been stronger — or more dangerous.
Jade War turns this novel into not just an intense family drama, but an extensive political drama told through the viewpoints of a family. What struck me throughout this novel was just how full the world feels. Every side characters feels like a real person, with genuine intentions of their own. Each nation would fit right in at a UN policy summit. But these lead characters, perhaps above all else, breathe rays of light into the novel.
▶“If you want to lead, you can’t wait for everyone to line up behind you.” Hilo, current Pillar and former Horn to No Peak, is charismatic, loving to his family, and the most ruthless member all at once. Yet his cunning is never without reason, and this book seems him work to develop his skills as a Pillar... even though he never expected to be one. This character is just so consistently dynamic, so well-written.
▶“She could never be a Green Bone herself, as much as she felt she was one at heart, but she could think like a Green Bone. She was an enabler, an aide, a hidden weapon, and that was worth something. Perhaps a great deal.” Wen, the enigmatic wife to Hilo, is a stone-eye, a taboo word for someone who does not react to jade. Through Jade War, she begins finding her identity as not just a creator of stigma, but as a tool, an arc which is beyond satisfying. Oh, Wen. A scene with her made me cry.
▶“Refusing to wear jade. You’re like a goose that won’t go near water.” Anden, cousin and adopted son to the Kauls, is sent abroad to Espenia, where he discovers the Crews of Blaise Kromner are perhaps even less caring than the clans. Anden's storyline here is a brilliant exploration of diasporic relationships with a so-called homeland, leading to him building relationships with a new family of his own, even as he waits for another home. And his romantic storyline... oh, god. (Also, I just finished Succession and Anden could absolutely do Cousin Greg but Cousin Greg could not pull off Anden.)
▶“Perhaps she and Ayt Mada had something else in common, Shae thought—the arrogance to rationalize their own worst ideas, to commit to a course of action out of pride without truly understanding the possibility of disaster.” Shae, Weather Man to the No Peak Clan, has rapidly become one of my favorite fictional characters, ever. The sister who left Kekon for study has become a politically sharp pragmatist, willing to consider perspectives besides her own in a way Hilo will not and cannot. Shae is marked for death from page one. She knows this story will end with either her or Ayt Mada, bleeding on the pavement. The reader knows it, too, and fears it. Shae's machinations to befriend Ayt's successor are a delight to read. Her relationship and conversations with Ayt are just as beyond. And oh, her romantic storyline.
The catharsis of a tragedy comes not just in the horror, but in the knowledge that there is love. There is love between all of these characters, the side characters and the leads, and it cannot stop the sadness awaiting them. It will not stop them from lying to each other. And when the protection of the clan comes first, the love they feel for one another can never stop them betraying each other.
A heart-pounding, incredible novel. I will think about this for years.
“He said I fucked cows.” “Who hasn’t said you fuck cows? We’ve all said it.”
The Order of the Pale Moon Reflected In Water follows waitress and nun
“He said I fucked cows.” “Who hasn’t said you fuck cows? We’ve all said it.”
The Order of the Pale Moon Reflected In Water follows waitress and nun of The Order of the Pale Moon Guet Imm joins a wandering band of bandits, led by Fung Cheung, as they plan to sell an important artifact. But Tet Sang, their second in command, holds secrets of his own.
My main review? This novella is delightfully funny. I can’t tell you how much fun I had with Zen Cho’s sharp, witty writing.
She is a nun. How can you blame her for not fucking people? It’s like it I blame you for not knowing how to behave.
The twists and turns of the plot are a treat to read. Cho does a fantastic job hinting at future plot points to come with subtlety; I think on reread, this novella would only compel me more. And the lead characters are fantastic as well. Even with little pagetime, Tet Sang and Guet Imm were both easy to get invested in. I especially appreciated that every distinct member of the little band had a distinct and strong voice.
Incredible narrative voice and a strong new novella! I'll definitely be reading more by Zen Cho.
Here’s what’s going on in The Girls I’ve Been: A girl gets trapped in a bank robbery with her two friends. But this isn’t your typical survival story,Here’s what’s going on in The Girls I’ve Been: A girl gets trapped in a bank robbery with her two friends. But this isn’t your typical survival story, and she’s no ordinary target. She manipulates. She plays games. And she’ll stop at nothing to come out of this not just alive, but on top. How’d she get this way? Well, that’s for her to know and you to find out.
The book excels in terms of quality of the writing, in terms of suspense, and in terms of character work, but the latter two each thrive off the backbone of a much more key dynamic: the pacing of information. Tess Sharpe excels at holding back just enough and giving just enough that we gasp at every page, but still need more.
“Dual timelines in a suspense YA book done well” is a phrase I was not expecting to be using in any reviews anytime soon, but here we are: These are some of the best backstory chapters I’ve had the pleasure of reading recently. Every backstory chapter adds to the story, develops the characters, or plays up intrigue. By a hundred pages in, you can’t get enough.
It’s been a while since a suspense novel has messed with my head like this, has kept me up at night, just wanting to read one more chapter. When I finally got near the end, I at one point squeaked so loudly I almost woke up my roommate. Ridiculous? Yes. But you’ll understand.
Robin Thorpe has spent her life in hiding. But when Grace Hensley gives her the opportunity to help her people, those who she has spent her life seeinRobin Thorpe has spent her life in hiding. But when Grace Hensley gives her the opportunity to help her people, those who she has spent her life seeing locked into asylums, she knows that she has to take it.
Something Laurel said in their review really stuck out to me, so I’d like to quote that:
"Of a Black woman always needing to be strong, of repatriation for injustice and state-sanctioned slavery, of moving on and moving ahead to dismantle the system and rebuild something new, free and function."
As every book in this series—but especially the last two—have been, this is a story about the aftermath of an oppressive state, and the real consequences faced by those who come home. The witches cannot simply leave their asylum perfectly fine. Those hurts will linger.
I love a lot that this book is all about political machinations—and the ways in which compromise is often not enough. In particular, Grace’s arc is an absolute joy. C.J. Polk’s writing has a clear-eyed understanding of the politics of oppression that constantly stuck in my mind.
Robin’s skill at planning and organizing is such a fun trait for a main character; she feels incredibly distinct. She is independent to the point of self-distress, trying at all times to hold
And then there’s the romance between Robin and Zelind. OH, this romance. Robin and Zelind were married twenty years prior before Zelind’s removal to an asylum. When the two reunite, it cannot be a simple fall back into love — even when neither has ever loved another. Where Robin has made herself into someone who need rely on no one, Zelind has relied on people—but in the context of a deeply traumatic experience. To rely on Robin, khe needs to feel trusted. To rely on Zelind, Robin needs to trust.
There's a lot more to love about this book - side character Jacob Clarke, and his (view spoiler)[spouses Winnie and Duke (hide spoiler)], are wonderful. I enjoyed the nuance given to both Zelind's brother Jarom and Zelind's complex feelings towards him. Crook Jamille is a treat. And of course, there are Robin's ghosts, Aunt Joy and Mahalia.
This series was incredible and I will never get over it ever. She has made her way to a prime spot on my favorite-ever-fantasy shelf. Also, absolutely adoring the fact that the covers of this series are literally the bi pride flag. Shoutout.
Loading...
