Ceraphina
She didn't end up with who I was rooting for. Such a shame she picked the literal loser.
Everything that Charco Press releases I'm immensely drawn towards it.
I'm finally picking up some of these books that I have purchased from them and wow, what a strong start in the stories they are prioritizing for translations.
Ramifications is a beautifully woven story reflecting around memories, and deep dives into our main characters psyche on things left to be perceived in their life - and alas, circling back in to pull apart the ‘Ramifications' on things experienced by them, and ramifications onto others.
This is a slow novel and I don't mean for that to be a negative. Its winding and circular narrative really pulls you in and deserves the time for the reader to get involved in the words and the meaning for our main character.
Really beautiful all around.
Every time I re-read this I get more out of it from the last time. It's just heartbreaking.
Gut punching brilliance. This is the kind of horror I'm after.
as a side note, i'm obsessed with the cover
I find it hard to get into fiction that's about drugs. Mostly because I've been around it all my life - my father having multiple different types of addiction ever since I could remember. I don't find it triggering but rather just... annoying. Eye rolling. That sort of thing. I'm big on escapism if I'm picking up a fiction. But I liked the cadence in this novel and didn't feel like it “tried too hard” to prove something one way or another. Writing style was good too. If novels about drugs/addiction don't bother you I really recommend this one.
What a beautifully written book about a very haunting and hard upbringing and life.
You ever read a book that has unbelievably god tier book recommendations that you're like “why the fuck am I reading this, when I could be reading that instead?”
that's essentially the experience of Drifts. Such small inclusions of whatever the hell was going on vs just being told of excerpts and scenes in other better novels, which honestly probably took up half of the book if not more.
I've steered clear from “Mystery/Thriller” books as of late. But it feels so good to pick a couple of them up every now and again because its always just a joy to enter into some silly little scenario of a read. These books never require much brain power on my end and it really immerses me that way. And I love when I get pulled in and can't wait to turn over to the next page to see what happens.
Because I don't find myself reading much in this genre I do not have valuable critics regarding this one. I thought it was fun, with a great atmosphere.
Really gripping and captivating. Bullying rates, especially since early 2000s with a modern precedent of being online and social media, have been astronomically high. This book tackled this issue well and especially around bullying stemmed from sexually related experiences and something as innocent of having a period. It's depressing, down right depressing and excruciating knowing so many kids have very little resources or safe outlets to overcome and start the healing process for bullying that they go through. If at the very least we can get media pertaining around being bullied they can maybe, just maybe feel a little less alone during it all.
If you're looking for a book that discusses these topics for yourself or teens in your life - this is a great one to reach for.
2.5 to 3ish. loved the premise but every time I pick up a Sarah Gailey book I just disconnect with her writing style.
This book really didn't work for me. The first quarter dragged on. The middle was definitely the best and the ending felt flat. Honestly at times I felt like I was reading a Middle Grade book (which, is it??? Am I missing something here????) - every conversation between Linus and the Magical Youth constantly was hard driving “lessons” into my brain about how to treat others different from us. It was beyond repetitive, and so much so that with every conflict you knew exactly how it would be resolved, nothing was surprising and it left me with distaste.
For a novel about sex work the sex scenes were awkward and felt misplaced. A couple of cute scenes and moments but otherwise it did not hold up.
Absolutely riveting. First book in a long time that made me stay up until 530 in the morning just to finish it. I wish I had more words to say to describe how impactful this book is for me, but without getting into my own story - this is all I can conjure up. This was a beautiful and hard to read book, many times leaving me breathless as I could see myself as Vanessa. I will treasure this read for many years to come.
I wanted to DNF this literally from the start. I don't own the book anymore so unfortunately I can't grab the exact quote but it was what said when our MC was describing the homeless people. I believe it was just one maybe two sentences but I just got an ick. My partner convinced me to keep going in this - though he never read it. He just knows I'm quick to snappy book decisions and I had just DNF'd a previous 4 books in a row prior to this one.
So, I read it. I didn't actively hate it - I enjoyed a story line of a devoted and desperate father to find his daughter. But overall was a flat and unremarkable read for me.
Closer to 3 but rounded up due to my love for the first one and I felt this was significant enough for a satisfying ending. This duology has all the great sapphic feels.
Contains spoilers
Incestuous and yet I still found enjoyment - mainly for the location this novel takes place in and the whimsical nature of children meeting darkness in their environment and amongst themselves.
I'm always willing to broaden the scope of topics I read and pick up. It was a “newer” release when I got to it from my library so there weren't that many reviews at the time. Hindsight would've worked well in my favor here so I could have read some in depth reviews and decided stronger that this wasn't going to be for me.
