Becca
Not my favorite. The commentary on homelessness was off. I'm not sure how to describe it, but at some point my personal politics have evolved from “honesty is the most important thing” to “give people who have less more, obviously.” People without homes need homes more urgently than they need jobs. Who is to say they do not already have jobs?
I do like the idea that anyone has the power to make enormous positive change with simple acts, and the idea that there is enough for everyone, and then some. I just couldn't stop thinking of that 55 burgers 55 fries ITYSL skit.
An interesting retelling of a classic story about how coming together allows us to make something out of nothing. To me it seemed more thoughtful in approach than Demi's The Empty Pot (which I read two seconds ago, I have a pile going), but that may mostly be a credit to 21st vs. 20th century publishing norms.
Sometimes children are the ones brave enough to imagine new and better ways of setting up a society, and the first steps of healing can be scary and tentative. I like much of what this story says about collectivism and how generosity and compromise are reciprocal processes. Put another way, we are stronger together, and the best relationships involve give and take, not just one or the other.
Also, it's just hard to grocery shop and cook for a small number of people. I just froze half a batch of chicken chili. Why not multiply the recipe by 16 and turn it into an enormous festival instead?
What a truly wild life Adolphe Sax had. Who knows if the saxophone would have been invented if his father had not left him be? But also, maybe this ten-year-old boy would have been poisoned fewer than three times. Perhaps even zero times.
Even without the assorted tribulations of Adolphe's life, this was a fascinating book about how strong negative reactions to change are, and also how quickly those attitudes can change. Culture and demand are slippery things, and this is a really well-done tribute to an instrument and its inventor, with endpapers featuring dozens of famous saxophonists to boot. As 1) an adult 2) who does not think or care about saxophones at all, I was enamored.
An interesting and widely acclaimed book about being brave enough to be honest and admit shortcomings, even when you think it makes you look bad, or even cause others to think differently or less of you.
I guess I have reservations about white ladies getting folktales from other cultures right. The ending was also pretty abrupt.
Sometimes adults want to protect kids from things, but don't know if a child is ready to hear the heavy realities of why something is dangerous, or at least, how to distill it so it makes sense and is not too depressing or terrifying.
That Flag is a story about two young girls who are best friends. The Black girl is not allowed to play with the white girl outside of school, because the white girl's family flies a Confederate flag outside their house.
This was an interesting book about how relics of slavery stay with us and are often trivialized and romanticized. I think a lot about it was well-done, but I did not love how simple the turnaround was for the white family. I guess I object to the idea that racism is so easily relinquished.
Though the topic is niche and important, the way the message was conveyed did not fully land for me personally.
A creepy little sweetie book about two people trying to help the other find a friend, until they realize they've already done so by finding each other.
The color scheme and tone bring to mind (in ascending maturity level) [b:How to Make Friends with a Ghost|33414849|How to Make Friends with a Ghost|Rebecca Green|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498800452l/33414849.SX50.jpg|54174621], [b:The Skull|60539545|The Skull|Jon Klassen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1671459705l/60539545.SX50.jpg|95411730], [b:A House Called Awful End|330053|A House Called Awful End (Eddie Dickens Trilogy, #1)|Philip Ardagh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328867483l/330053.SX50.jpg|526468], [b:A Series of Unfortunate Events|78411|The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #1)|Lemony Snicket|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436737029l/78411.SX50.jpg|1069597], and [b:Through the Woods|18659623|Through the Woods|Emily Carroll|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1414845473l/18659623.SX50.jpg|26477611]. The illustrations are really interesting mixed media with tons of little details to pore over. Good stuff!
My father asked, “Won't they fly away?”Sido shook his head slowly, the key swaying at his side. “This is their home.”
I'm a little ashamed to admit that this is the third or fourth book about Palestinian history I have picked up in recent months, but the first I've finished. But not that ashamed, because this was quite good. Imagine living somewhere where you can pull fresh baked, still warm bread up a rope directly into your kitchen. Paradise.I think this is an accessible, not too scary, but also not too romanticized, primer for little ones. It reminds me of [b:Love in the Library|57699005|Love in the Library|Maggie Tokuda-Hall|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1618184466l/57699005._SX50_.jpg|90381116], and maybe also [b:Watercress|54502238|Watercress|Andrea Wang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1646343526l/54502238._SX50_.jpg|85066060] and [b:A Different Pond|34137106|A Different Pond (Fiction Picture Books)|Bao Phi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1489605385l/34137106._SX50_.jpg|55174398].
Wow wow wow, one of my favorite (if not favorite) books of the year. Emily Tesh made me feel like I was reading sci fi for the first time. What an immense experience that caused me considerable distress.
Kyr is a teenage girl who's grown up in a hobbled together space community called Gaea Station. Gaea's leadership insists its militant community are the sole remnants of humanity, dedicated to retribution after aliens destroyed Earth.
Kyr, her brother Mags, and the group of girls she was raised alongside are all awaiting assignments. Each year, some of the girls are assigned to Nursery, where they will give birth to and take care of babies and small children. Don't think about it too much; Kyr doesn't. Mostly because she is secure in the knowledge that she would never be assigned to Nursery. Until she is.
It's hard to summarize the plot from there, both because so much happens and because I think it's better to not know about it in advance. But I want it on record that I adore Kyr. I adored her from the beginning. She reminds me of my past self in many ways: sheltered, naïve, earnest, and insufferably judgmental and severe about things she does not (and will not let herself try to) understand. I am as devoted to Kyr as first act Kyr is to Gaea. This is a Zuko level redemption arc.
This absolutely wild, hopeful, painful ride is full of lots of impactful but not hamfisted messages about deprogramming radical views, righteous anger, collective power, bodily autonomy, queerness, and what it means to build a better world after being indoctrinated into seeing the opposite as inevitable. I know it's long and it may rip your heart out but can you all still read it so we can talk about it? Please and thank you.
Who needs [b:The Yellow Wallpaper 99300 The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories Charlotte Perkins Gilman https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327909237l/99300.SY75.jpg 1467808] when you have The Woman in Me?I hate how many celebrity memoirs I've read this year despite proclaiming I am not a celebrity memoir person. But I cannot get around the fact that this was so, so good. You know what is the opposite of so, so good? The Spears family. And also the paparazzi. And also Justin Timberlake. And also Kevin Federline. And also Ryan Seacrest. I've spoiled specifics below, but I would go back to college to teach a gender studies course with this as the text. Major themes include bodily autonomy, financial independence, privacy, and carceral approaches to mental illness.Britney Spears talks about the tumultuous environment of her childhood home, with a simultaneously overbearing yet absent alcoholic father. She talks about generations of abuse, including sending (multiple) women separated from their children away to psychiatric institutions that hand out lithium like free candy.Entertainment media zeroed in on Britney's virginity, yet called her a slut for the way she dressed. People had contempt for Britney when she was a skinny young teenager, saying she wasn't a good role model. It's almost like people were angry at themselves for finding Britney so desirable. They were agitated to their core that she was so successfully hot to them.Once she became pregnant for the first time, the narrative shifted to cast her as slovenly, unstable, unfit, and irresponsible. Once her body became less desirable to the masses, people villainized what those changes to her body meant: motherhood. When she was still a child herself, she was a threat to everyone else's kids. When she became pregnant, she was a threat to her own kids.Either way, Britney says it best: “People seemed to experience my body as public property.”She underwent an unsafe and painful abortion she did not want, and in return the man whose baby she was ready to have lied to the world about her being unfaithful to him. It was her fault when she got cheated on, and it was her fault when he lied about her cheating on him. Man after man rides her coattails to success only to feel threatened by what they were capitalizing off of the whole time.All of this is easier to talk about than the conservatorship because holy shit the conservatorship. Suddenly I cannot talk about this anymore it is too grim. Very good book though.Well-written and devastating. Michelle Williams' narration is excellent. For fans of (I realize this is a weird mix) [b:I'm Glad My Mom Died 59364173 I'm Glad My Mom Died Jennette McCurdy https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1649286799l/59364173.SY75.jpg 93537110], [b:Betty 48564330 Betty Tiffany McDaniel https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1572992238l/48564330.SX50.jpg 73891626], or [a:Taylor Jenkins Reid 6572605 Taylor Jenkins Reid https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1645653842p2/6572605.jpg].
Yellowface opens with a white woman, June, watching an Asian woman, Athena, die.
No no, not like that. June and Athena are FRIENDS. Sure, it is true that June seems fueled by a visceral contempt for Athena. But that's just rooted in June's own insecurities due to her lack of success compared to Athena! Jealousy is a natural part of the human condition, one which we all may struggle with from time to time. It's not like June has acted on it in a way that causes harm. It's not like June stole Athena's manuscript before the body was cold. It's not like that.
As a white woman, it did not surprise me — in the worst way — to see June keep regrouping scandal after scandal to recenter herself as a victim. Everyday my own kind betray me.
June spends all of her energy focusing on herself: internally reiterating that she is worthy, that these are her ideas, that she has earned this. I liked how she was both desperate, yet also self-righteous and emphatic. She is on a perpetual quest to feel vindicated, but she switches between needing to convince herself and needing to convince the world.
I kind of liked the ambiguous ending. I liked us not knowing if June is able to spin things one last time. I liked us not knowing if her depiction of Athena's death was wholly accurate. I liked not having closure with Athena's mom, after June denied Mrs. Liu closure. I liked how meta and frantic it got.
I sped through this. I've sat on it for a few days, and I'm still not sure whether I liked it. Some may argue that the depiction of racism is cartoonish, but I think sometimes that's just what racism is: on its face (pun intended, and I am proud) absurd.
As the book progresses, June veers into Unreliable Narrator territory. I have some vague concerns about presenting racism as mental illness, as if that's not already stigmatized enough. But what if the point is that racism is based in misguided fear that can manifest as paranoia? I don't know!
A little [b:The Other Black Girl|55711688|The Other Black Girl|Zakiya Dalila Harris|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1605823245l/55711688.SY75.jpg|76204922], a little [b:Tell-Tale Heart|899492|The Tell-Tale Heart|Edgar Allan Poe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1534247939l/899492.SX50.jpg|19034527], a little [b:My Year of Rest and Relaxation|44279110|My Year of Rest and Relaxation|Ottessa Moshfegh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1597676656l/44279110.SY75.jpg|55508660], a little Fisher v. University of Texas. This may have been a weird place to start reading Kuang, but I'd definitely do it again.
Jinger walked so Jill could run. Man, was this good. I listened to it while driving and kept making voice memos of my thoughts which was dangerous but also a testament to its hold over me. Strap in for an insufferably long review.
Jill is the second eldest Duggar daughter, though the fourth oldest child. In this book she recounts (heh) her experiences growing up surrounded by IBLP teachings and camera crews. Both were invasive and controlling forces in her life.
I have long been fascinated by the Duggars and the Quiverfull ideology as a whole. The “have as many babies as possible, shelter them as much as possible and train them up as ideological clones who will make as many babies as possible, repeat” strategy reminds me of Patrick Star saying “We should take Bikini Bottom and push it somewhere else.”
A lot of this book felt ambivalent to me, and I have so many thoughts on it. Here they are: How eldest son Josh (who is currently in prison) compensated for his sexual abuse and infidelity by forming a club to boycott a local business selling porn, and later relocating his family to DC to head up a conservative Christian think tank.How Jim Bob and Michelle (the Duggar parents) bent over backwards to shield Josh from the consequences of his actions, while several of their daughters were retraumatized by news leaking about his molestation of them. One crucial example of this was Jim Bob's conduct in court during Josh's trial, which undermined his daughters' lawsuit following their identities being outed as some of Josh's other victims — a process that had already been in the works for several years.The eldest four daughters being expected to fill in every gap. From taking care of their siblings and the home through the Buddy System to doing interviews glossing over what Josh did to carrying a spinoff program after Josh's 86th scandal got 19 Kids and Counting canceled. All while Jim Bob pockets every cent.Bill Gothard (who, like Josh, is a disgraced overcompensating serial sexual abuser) calling families and children a blessing, yet never marrying or having any children of his own. No, all he needed were his “Gothard Girls” — the pretty young blonde women he kept nearby.Not only did he convince people to forego all contraception and family planning, but at conferences he trotted out couples cradling “reversal babies” — infants born to mothers and fathers who reversed surgical procedures like vasectomies and tubal ligations so as to no longer interfere with God's will. Gothard also implored people to trust God over the advice and guidance of doctors following complicated births, like Jill's second. Bold words from a man who could never give birth firsthand, and who didn't have his own wife to endanger with medically dangerous teachings. All of this said, I get why Jim Bob bought into Gothard's worldview so fully. After all, it's easy to see children as a blessing when exploiting yours on film makes you a millionaire. Jill tries to positively spin this, clarifying that “Mom and Dad didn't treat us as slaves; they treated us as coworkers,” as though the latter should be commended.Beyond greed and hypocrisy, I think control was key here. Gothard emphasized that children should obey their parents indefinitely, no matter their age or marital status. For this to work, Jim Bob needed his kids to remain dependent on him, even as he depended on them for the funds he withheld.He isolated them from the outside world, homeschooling them, limiting friendships and media access/use. He stoked fear about everything outside of their little bubble. Older siblings raised younger siblings, and everyone worked long hours filming. As his wealth grew, he started buying nearby properties for his married children to move into, so they would always stay close. Ironically, he bankrolled these big purchases by refusing to pay his kids for the series he forced them to star in, even though their existence is what brought in views. He depended on them to keep them dependent on him, if that makes sense.We know this isn't their choice, because how can someone be asked ahead of time if they're okay having their own birth televised? In fact, Duggar kids and grandkids started working, padding Jim Bob's pockets, the second they were conceived. He justified this by framing it as a family ministry, as a mission God called their family to see through.Speaking of pregnancy and childbirth, Gothard is also passionate about modesty, especially of girls and women. The victim-blaming underpinning this doctrine is predictably widespread. Despite this, Jim Bob sees no issue forcing his wife, daughters, and daughters-in-law to give birth on television. If they express it feeling like an invasion of privacy that exposes their bodies to total strangers, he pushes back.Like Sister Wives, 19 Kids and Counting originated as the attempt of a family adhering to a fringe Christian faith to normalize the way they do life via TLC reality show. Also like Sister Wives, things have since crashed and burned.Even as their goal was to demonstrate a certain lifestyle, the act of filming it obscured how it really was. For example, when they were filmed grocery shopping the crew would pay for the groceries, which allowed the family to buy brand-name items they could never otherwise afford. As the crew was funding purchases and trips that would have been entirely out of reach for the Duggars without TLC footing the bill, episodes would center around the family's thriftiness with food, household items, and clothing, from buying in bulk to hand-me-downs and secondhand shopping.They would present this as a fun yet necessary challenge for the family, never questioning whether Jim Bob and Michelle were being irresponsible or neglectful, a question we're all too eager to ask of people of color who have several children.
There were a few things I didn't care for or about. Jill and Derek's aggressive pursuit of international missionary work while she was either pregnant, looking after her very young child, or both, seemed like a terrible idea to me.
Mainly, though, I wish there had been less of Derek's feelings and more of Jill's (I mean, down to the cover). This is for a few reasons. Jill was born into the family Derek married into. She was filmed for several more years than he was, and felt obligations to her parents and siblings he did not.
Also Derek bullied a trans teenager (Jazz Jennings) on Twitter years ago and has never apologized. It's hard for me to view grown men who publicly lambast children as stand-up guys.
Derek aside (as he should always be), I am proud to witness redemption arcs for people-pleasing goody-two-shoes eldest daughters, like Jill Duggar and Shari Franke.
There is a lot about our parents and ourselves we might not realize until we leave home and there is some distance. I like how Jill observes that when you learn you treat yourself better and stand up for yourself, it becomes easier to treat others better and stand up for them.
It's true that Jill has not changed much in certain ways, and it's true that I hate her husband. Even still, shaking off the fear and boxed-in thinking of your upbringing can be a scary, isolating experience, and doing so as a public figure who was filmed throughout your youth and adolescence comes with so much more baggage and risk. I think it's so brave to do it anyway.
I'm not sure I am the audience for this one. Picoult and Boylan touch on a slew of hot button issues here: physical spousal abuse, racism in the criminal justice system, abortion rights, trans rights, the list goes on.
I did not like most of it. It was not about a difference in politics, it was that things felt hamfisted and often counterproductive. I challenge Jodi Picoult to handle medical conditions responsibly one time. It was also at least 100 pages too long.
Here is a long (and I do mean long) spoiler-filled list of things I struggled with: So Lily became suicidal because her father and peers were abusive and violent towards her for being trans. Her mom saved her life by leaving her husband and moving Lily away and letting her take hormones and advocating for her to undergo surgery early. And then a doctor testifies that because Lily did hormone therapy, she developed a rare blood disorder that led to her death as a teenager. What message, precisely, is the reader supposed to take from this? That trans people have two options: suicide or murder? Is the spin that Lily's death was not due to others being transphobic, but instead...because she transitioned? Because that is still a transphobic (and tragic) conclusion. There is not irony there, actually, Olivia. It is more of the same.I have a thing about how stories end. No matter how many stereotypes are subverted or challenged, if a story ends a certain way, that feels to me like all of those stereotypes were proved valid and true in the end. Like the creator has dangled a story about how we think we know what we want and what is good for us, only for the inevitable to negate it all, in a permanent and resounding way. It feels profoundly disempowering, and also just sad.Not only that, but the reveal was haphazard and anticlimactic. The red herring characters and leads introduced all fizzled out with no explanation. It was lazy trauma porn. As I type more I get angrier about it. Lily deserved better. So did her mom.Speaking of reveals, I was sure the prosecution was going to know about Asher meeting up with Brayden but Asher wouldn't mention it to Jordan with his mom there, so they would find out in a big reveal in court. For example, Mike, the only police officer who exists in this universe, could have pulled Asher over to document this. Then everyone would be like, “Clearly Asher is just like his dad, he was meeting with the Abuser Himself and hiding it from his mom who said dad beat up for years. He took Lily to meet Brayden and endangered them both during the car ride home because he was mad Lily didn't love Brayden.” But none of that ever came to pass. Brayden just showed up at the trial one time, Olivia said something that angered him, and he left forever.When Maya comes to visit Asher after he is acquitted, Olivia is disgruntled to see her because her testimony made Asher look bad. Curious case of the pot calling the kettle black after Asher and Jordan blew up at and banished Olivia for the same thing. Sidenote, but I did not like how the narrator voiced Jordan in the audiobook. For one of the few not terrible men in the book, he still yelled plenty. Separately, it seemed to me that Asher didn't even like Maya as a friend. He seemed to prefer Dirk to Maya, and everyone hated Dirk.After Olivia feels in her heart that her son is not a murderer (after testifying to his detriment), all of her mounting concerns about him punching walls and grabbing arms and yelling and blowing up phones with texts and seeing no issue with his dad or Dirk go away and he's just her good boy again. He could never be like Brayden. What a relief.Of course, I didn't want him convicted of murder, but it also seems strange to call it a wash simply because he is not a murderer? Plus I do not feel it was made clear that Olivia hid everything Brayden did to her from Asher. For the entire book, I assumed Asher knew and did not care. The about face was jarring and removed a lot of dimensionality from Asher. Maybe it's my Ohio Ethics Training kicking in, but how many conflicts of interest can there be in one courtroom? Your uncle can represent you? The guy who arrested you can smooch your mom after arresting and questioning you, but before the jury finishes deliberating? And really, what is so great about Mike? Just that he doesn't hit women? Why did they put in him saying “not all men” to Olivia and that going well? Someone help me?The women of color in this book sure were written by older white women. From the no nonsense single mother judge to the sassy supportive wife who bursts in the room to say THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IS RACIST or LET'S GET DRUNK to the hell hath no fury liked the scorned Indian American girl next door with two moms. The teenagers in this book sure were written by older white women. I feel as old as time but I am with it enough to know that “overdosing on the nerd factor” is not a sentence human teenagers would say to one another. Still regarding word choice, it is weird for Lily, a trans teen in the 2010s, to use the term “transsexual” without a second thought. Then later a different trans character mentions that very term has fallen out of favor with the youths. So why have Lily narrate an earlier chapter using it?Also I do not get or care for the distinction that is made between “who” Lily is (a person) and “what” Lily is (a trans person). Pretty sure this happens multiple times, and is stated as though it's enlightened not to mind “what” Lily is because of “who” she is. But why can't “who” she is also be transgender?I am finally winding down, but I do want to mention all of the random interludes about bees and honey. Perhaps to be expected, but after a certain amount of time, it was like WE GET IT OLIVIA YOU LIKE HONEY. I love bees but there is a murder trial I'm trying to follow and I'm getting peppered with all of these facts about queen bees that serve as heavy-handed metaphors. Stop telling me about bees right now.
To sum it up (days after my original review lol), I think the issue is presenting a cis woman suffering because she is a woman alongside a trans woman suffering because she is trans. The authors can argue they didn't confirm whether Lily had a medical condition, and that for the length of the book she paralleled Olivia, and that Maya viewing Lily as inextricably female was the reason for her jealousy, and whatever else. None of it changes that Lily died as a teenager and Olivia gets a second chance at love. That is how the book ends, and it is bullshit.
Usually I end reviews with comparisons to similar books, but clearly I don't really recommend this one. It kind of reminded me of [b:The Lovely Bones|12232938|The Lovely Bones|Alice Sebold|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1457810586l/12232938.SY75.jpg|1145090] and [b:Where the Crawdads Sing|36809135|Where the Crawdads Sing|Delia Owens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1582135294l/36809135.SY75.jpg|58589364]. I didn't like it.
Our Flag Means Death is back, which means I am back, to suddenly loving piracy.
Chef Owen Wedgewood is minding his (high strung, but passionate) business, cooking up elaborate delicacies for his wealthy shareholder boss. Said boss is almost immediately murdered by Hannah Mabbot, a pirate captain who then takes Owen captive, having heard good things about his culinary skills.
Mabbot tells Wedgewood she will continue to spare his life if he cooks her a meal once a week. If she likes the meal, he can survive another week. Wedgewood asks for some scraps of paper to write down recipes, and instead begins journaling about his horrific predicament. His journal entries comprise Cinnamon and Gunpowder.
There was a lot I liked about this. Owen's narration is first person, but flowery and misguided. He recounts action-packed scenes like a time traveling historian determined to jot down every detail while hiding behind a table in the corner sobbing (I am not exaggerating). He does not seem to feel shame over his fear, failure, or weakness. It was oddly refreshing to see this from an adult male protagonist.
I like how Owen learns from the pirates, who he assumes to be barbaric and sinful. Time and again the pirates are tender-hearted and accepting in ways Owen can hardly comprehend, let alone match. At one point he quite literally accuses someone of bestiality when they are getting yarn to knit. The pirates open his eyes to the horrors of colonialism, imperialism, and forced Christianity. He (oh so) slowly learns to stop condemning things just because they are unfamiliar to him.
Similarly, things he once considered lies about his employer gradually morph into damning evidence. I like stories where the villains make compelling points about whether heroes deserve to be uncritically revered.
And last but not least, I liked how much this little guy loved to cook. He was so inventive and reverent. This is high praise, but he rivaled Remy in Ratatouille. Given the cost of groceries these days, I greatly admired his ability to turn trash into elegant meals.
The main issue I have is something that I cannot come up with a name for other than Men. I like when books have stakes, but what I don't like is when men realize the obvious or have a long overdue change of heart only after something(s) like: • A pregnant woman dying• The love interest's son dying• The love interest dying.
We veered into fridging territory, which I find lazy and gross. I get that Wedgewood is supposed to be obtuse, but come on. Still, it has an excellent cover:
Chef's kiss (do you guys get it? because he's a chef). Alright bye.
When I say this book was stupid, I mean it with all the affection in the land. I checked out a skip-the-line copy on Libby, and was worried I wouldn't finish it in time. Then I listened to the entire book in one day. Cassie is a starving artist whose intricate mixed media work is not exactly a crowd pleaser. She works part-time at a coffee shop and a public library. Her piecemeal income does not easily cover cost of living in Chicago, and she's facing eviction when she stumbles on a Craigslist ad for a beautiful furnished apartment with rent listed at a mere $200. Suspecting either a typo or a serial killer, she visits the apartment and finds an extremely hot, extremely weird man. Unable to pass up the deal of the century, she moves in and all is well until she finds the fridge (in an unusually empty and dusty kitchen) brimming with bags of blood. Still, $200.I really liked this. I was cackling out loud at the audiobook. Specifically the contrast between the end of Chapter 17 and the beginning of Chapter 18 (Frederick's complete ineptitude and victimhood in a crucial moment was hilarious to me, as Cassie just goes on a job interview and rescues him once her schedule is clear), his nerves conjuring fruits out of thin air, and “Do you eat sauce?” I texted multiple friends about “Do you eat sauce?”I love speculative texts that don't take themselves too seriously. This was campy and absurd, lurching between accepting ridiculous developments without batting (heh) an eye and self-awareness about how horrifying and disturbing things have suddenly become. Casually anti-capitalist as well, always a plus.I did not like the sex scene, because it went on for 80 years. I also felt like there were a few too many loose ends introduced, with both characters and plot. This was probably laying the groundwork for sequels, but I'd rather build off of something more concise, so the foundation doesn't feel as scattered. I'd recommend this to fans of a strange mix: What We Do in the Shadows (the movie or show), [b:The Humans 16130537 The Humans Matt Haig https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1353739654l/16130537.SY75.jpg 21955852], this [b:Flintstones 32273168 The Flintstones, Vol. 1 Mark Russell https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1486622526l/32273168.SY75.jpg 52898165] graphic novel, [b:Hench 49867430 Hench (Hench, #1) Natalie Zina Walschots https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1594616305l/49867430.SY75.jpg 73236179], season 1 of Scream Queens, [b:The Flatshare 36478784 The Flatshare Beth O'Leary https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552471375l/36478784.SY75.jpg 58189559], authors [a:Emily Henry 13905555 Emily Henry https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1573928938p2/13905555.jpg] and [a:Sarah Hogle 18914276 Sarah Hogle https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], and this image:
So many friends loved this that I was a little worried it wouldn't live up to the hype. But it sure was a cozy perfect book.
Viv is an orc barbarian whose life was “supposed” to be shorty and bloody. But she decides she actually will not be doing that. She turns her back on her former life and opens up a coffee shop. And that's it. She wants to run a coffee shop. The book is perfect.
I really love how Baldree glorifies quitting. I am exuberantly passionate about quitting. Don't get me wrong; I think commitment and follow-through are admirable. But I reject the notion that quitting is always the weaker option. In Viv's case, I think it took more work and courage to leave than to stay.
Quitting is a standout for me, but there are other compelling themes that stick out:
• Viv leaves empty space in conversations. She makes herself wait and really listen.
• Letting people help you and carry you, even when you feel like you are a burden and undeserving.
• Subtly yet effectively, Baldree shows that being open-minded about different cultures can better our lives and lead to innovation and progress of society as a whole.
• The depiction of what work can be. Day-to-day drudgery can feel mindful, peaceful, even romantic. Hands-on, physical labor can feel gratifying. And most of all, having a good boss improves your life in all areas. Viv never hesitates to back up Tandri when she's being harassed, springs for Thimble's dream kitchen setup, and defers to how Cal would solve problems. Not only does she trust everyone to excel in their respective niches, she also redistributes wealth and power in the end. This is the future liberals want.
Alright that's enough of this sappy review. Suffice it to say, I thought it was swell. It made me more interested in consuming both the fantasy genre and cinnamon rolls than I ever have been before. Baldree reads the audiobook and his narration is perfect.
I'd recommend this to fans of a wide slew of things, including [b:The Secret Lives of Church Ladies|51582376|The Secret Lives of Church Ladies|Deesha Philyaw|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1596947858l/51582376.SY75.jpg|76186482], Murderbot Diaries, [b:The House in the Cerulean Sea|45047384|The House in the Cerulean Sea|T.J. Klune|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1569514209l/45047384.SY75.jpg|62945242], [b:Mooncakes|44774415|Mooncakes|Suzanne Walker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565183719l/44774415.SY75.jpg|57982519], [b:Bloom|39073387|Bloom|Kevin Panetta|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1561136420l/39073387.SX50.jpg|49462918], the Nevermoor series, Dimension 20, and We Bare Bears.
A sweet book about a little girl whose view of her favorite thing is compromised by a penguin classmate unafraid to tell it like it is. I feel like a little more thought could have gone into the take-home message, but I still found this hilarious and great. I loved the reveal of Randy studying abroad. Comedy gold.
I've been meaning to read [b:Wrong Place Wrong Time|59947696|Wrong Place Wrong Time|Gillian McAllister|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1659457434l/59947696.SY75.jpg|91884344]for a while, but when I saw McAllister had a new release I decided to start here.
Just Another Missing Person follows Julia, a chief detective looking for a young woman who walked down a dead end alley and never emerged.
Chapters alternate between three characters, all of whom are parents warring with the actions of their teenaged or newly adult children. Though a mystery thriller, the underlying theme really is parental love. How dangerous, preposterous choices become inevitable when you feel that protective over someone, when you love them that much.
I think the book is written well, and the audiobook is produced well. I was really liking the first 80% of the book. I was pausing the audiobook to stop and think through all these moving parts. I was stumped and also hooked. I thought this might be a rare exception to my general distaste for thrillers. But then the ending was just so....dumb. Somehow both absurd and obvious.
The biggest issue I have with the ending is not the reveal, but that I don't think the characters we are supposed to think are good, actually are good. I love characters who are morally gray and unlikeable. But Lewis was let off the hook pretty immediately for being a blackmailer. He's just a sad dad, who can blame him? If anything, everything he did was vindicated by finding Sadie alive. I suppose it would have been hypocritical of Julia to go after Lewis while committing so many crimes for her own child. But hypocrisy rarely seems to stop her. Julia and Genevieve are wholly let off the hook for killing Zach and then covering it up. This is because Lewis makes Price, poor Price, break into the prosecutor's house and threaten her with violence. Why couldn't Lewis do his unhinged idea himself? He already has the homemade balaclava. Everyone leave Price alone. I like him.Also, wasn't Lewis just working with Zach's brother to ruin Julia's life? Are we worried about Zach's brother? Poor Zach. It may be strange to feel for a mugger, but it just doesn't sit right with me for his death to be swept aside so completely, especially when almost all the characters ended up being criminals. It's like Zach's life wasn't worth anything because he was less effective than the police at crime. It is gross copaganda. Maybe it's because I just read [b:Miracle Creek|40121959|Miracle Creek|Angie Kim|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537287675l/40121959._SX50_.jpg|55758063], but I would have been more swayed by the parents being willing to pay the price to protect their child, and then they ACTUALLY pay the price. Not some weird trial of faith, but rather a world where consequences move beyond the hypothetical. And, maybe, just maybe, the kids themselves could have taken some accountability. I wish there had been some reckoning, some honesty, anything other than a series of tidy coincidences where the characters we're supposed to like are bailed out. Julia doesn't even learn anything about being too invested in the job, after it threw her marriage into an awkward stalemate and threatened to imprison her daughter, after she herself narrowly escaped murder by a colleague. She's just like, “Let's get back to work. I am more dedicated than ever.”I also didn't love how Julia was surrounded with so many men and so few women of import. Art, Jonathan, Price, Lewis. For one dollar, name a woman. Other than her daughter. Other than “attractive” young blonde women who are missing and presumed dead. Please, McAllister, may I have one Bechdel test. I don't even know what I'm saying anymore.
For me this was a solid four stars for the first three quarters of the book. In the end it undercut itself and tied up too many things in ways that rubbed me the wrong way. Even still, I would try [b:Wrong Place Wrong Time|59947696|Wrong Place Wrong Time|Gillian McAllister|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1659457434l/59947696.SY75.jpg|91884344]. Just probably not for a while.
Very cute front and back covers, and endpaper.
I think this is a good primer on vegetarian, dairy-free, and vegan recipes. I thought the tips and equipment at the beginning were thoughtful.
The recipes offered were simple and buildable, but none felt super creative or groundbreaking. I don't think that's necessarily a strength or weakness; I'm just trying to give an idea of what to expect. The illustrations of ingredients and end products were darling, but personally I love me some nice big photos.
Todd Parr's classic bold, vibrant artwork walks young readers through gruesome, decidedly not boring mac n cheese concoctions brought to a party where they will seemingly eat dozens of varieties of mac n cheese, which to be fair is kind of a dream party for me.
It's a cute little story about trying new foods and being open to cuisine we might not already know a lot about. I liked that Parr included two recipes in the back as well, that are simple but expansive enough for different dietary restrictions and preferences.
“I could buy you a house somewhere, and a rug with flowers on it. I would do that if you let me. So please, just...let me.”
As an ardent fan of [b:Foolish Hearts|33275690|Foolish Hearts|Emma Mills|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1487081647l/33275690.SY75.jpg|53998283] and an Elmify viewer back in the day, I was interested to see Emma Mills tackle her first fantasy! At first I wasn't really taken with it, then I was like “ok, this is cute,” then a few hours later I was unexpectedly crying. I loved it.
The characters remind me of a perfectly balanced ragtag D&D campaign, including a neglected magical baker, a wise practical troll, a hard exterior/marshmallow center bounty hunter, and a fashion-minded himbo prince. They take turns finding and rescuing each other, with some broader searches for treasured objects and missing persons thrown in the mix.
The plot started to feel a little scattered, but Mills managed to tie everything together neatly at the end. Except for all of Iliana's Stuff, which I've decided means a gay(er) sequel is forthcoming. She's a talented writer, and can get a lot across with few words, while still evoking emotions and creating an atmospheric reading experience. Chapters 44 & 45 were a complete delight.
I really liked Aurelie. I related to her reticence to step into a more lively, fulfilling, and — let's face it — good life. When you're used to things going wrong or feeling hopeless, allowing yourself to believe that life can be better than it has been, and that you are as deserving of love and excitement as anyone else, can feel like a scary or even foolish leap.I love, too, that Mills made sure Aurelie's freedom was not bestowed by a powerful wealthy love interest. The last bakery scene was not one of a knight in shining armor whisking away a helpless damsel. It was about Hapless keeping his word and Mrs. Basil finally facing the consequences of her actions. In the end Jonas was not forgotten, and Aurelie won herself independence.
Tiny qualms: the word “truly” was used too much, and younger generations do not use ellipses like this in written correspondence.
I'd recommend this to fans of a slew of things, including Shannon Hale's Books of Bayern, [b:Matilda|39988|Matilda|Roald Dahl|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388793265l/39988.SY75.jpg|1015554], [b:Mooncakes|44774415|Mooncakes|Suzanne Walker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565183719l/44774415.SY75.jpg|57982519], [b:In Other Lands|31944679|In Other Lands|Sarah Rees Brennan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1496783711l/31944679.SY75.jpg|52603350], [b:The Way You Make Me Feel|35704397|The Way You Make Me Feel|Maurene Goo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1505855827l/35704397.SY75.jpg|57200490], and [b:Small Spaces|36959639|Small Spaces (Small Spaces, #1)|Katherine Arden|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1539180297l/36959639.SY75.jpg|56656020]. Kate Forrester's cover art is also gorgeous.
The moral of Mina is that stealing is good, and in fact sometimes the only thing that prevents us and our family from being murdered. Similar in tone and theme to Forsythe's [b:Pokko and the Drum 43822059 Pokko and the Drum Matthew Forsythe https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567951084l/43822059.SX50.jpg 68193993], although the parent is the complete menace, not the daughter. If you've met my dad you'll know sometimes that's just how it goes. Though it didn't steal my heart the way Pokko did, Mina is still a beautifully illustrated, hilarious picture book. I need a pair of glasses that turn everything into Forsythe color schemes. Sure to elicit giggles from readers young and old, and especially fans of [a:Jon Klassen 3118934 Jon Klassen https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1320343513p2/3118934.jpg].
Having friends from different species is great and all, but it can be hard to find common ground. Gilmore groups an owl, badger, mandrill, turtle, and anteater together as they all take turns trying to convince the rest that their favorite thing is universally terrific.
But some of us can't fly or swim or dig like the others, and that's okay; that doesn't mean we can't have a good time together. And sometimes the strongest force gluing a group together is a common enemy, like a snake dead set on swallowing everyone whole.