Renata Sancken
Simply NO ONE is doing it like MT Anderson!! All of his books are so different from each other in terms of content/genre and yet they are all so good. Fuck. What the fuck. How is he doing it. This book is a fun fantasy and a painful but moving look back at early COVID quarantine days. It's a coming of age story. The dog doesn't die. The dog's narration is incredible. The illustrations by Junyi Wu are incredible. I think it would be a great classroom or bedtime readaloud. I think adults should read it. I think dogs should read it. I think dogs should be allowed to vote. I think MT Anderson should write a book about a magical cat next but it's probably going to be like, an instruction manual for mining equipment written in verse, and I'll fucking read that too.
I love Zoe and Simon, and I love seeing Brad with Simon. Nora's so good at writing cute school-age kid characters. I was a little less interested in the Zoe/Brad relationship and I think at this point in the trilogy I was a lil over the fantasy plot but WHATEVER it was overall a fun ride and I'm just happy that the characters are happy YOU KNOW?
a PERFECT followup to [b:Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction 37822650 Hey, Kiddo How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction Jarrett J. Krosoczka https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529196573l/37822650.SX50.jpg 57294506] (which I think is also an incredible book). moving and hopeful–I love that he addresses right away how his grandparents were worried that working at a camp for kids with cancer would be depressing but actually it was meaningful and fun for him, and it shows in the book. (Tho OFC there are sad moments) And it really captures a lot of the ~magic~ of the summer camp experience–I didn't work at a camp specifically for children with illnesses but a lot of the joys of camp Jarrett describes here still really resonated with me. Also I think the way he incorporates his own art education and career will be really interesting for young artists reading.
1) Confesh: I had never read this before (I did Fahrenheit 451 in high school, not this), and I prob wouldn't have picked this up if it hadn't been for book club. But! I'm glad I did, I enjoyed it more than I expected too (which may sound like faint praise but, whatev).
2) At book club we discovered that there's a difference between pre- and post-1997 editions–I read a post-1997 edition and it swaps out one story (which is apparently pretty racist per those who read it) for 2 other ones, one of which was “The Fire Balloons” which was one of my very favorites in the whole book. (The newer edition also changes the dates within the book, which, whatever.)
3) Anyway, I'm glad I have read this now! Like yeah even with the removal of the apparently very racist story from the earlier edition, the gender politics are dated (and there is one story that is supes fatphobic in addition to misogynistic) and now it's a story of presumed only white characters, but it was overall a quick fun read and I could def see how influential it is on other works.
Like [b:Spellbound: A Graphic Memoir 50483509 Spellbound A Graphic Memoir Bishakh Kumar Som https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1578997342l/50483509.SX50.jpg 75452035], this read like a webcomic. In this case because it literally is a webcomic collection. And because it's litrally a webcomic collection it is less of a continuous narrative and more of a...series of 3-panel comics. Some are funny, some are downers, but it made for a quick read that captured a lot of Kaye's individual transition experience.
As is legally required for all Peace Corps volunteers, I read and loved Kidder's book [b:Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World 10235 Mountains Beyond Mountains The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World Tracy Kidder https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433156001l/10235.SY75.jpg 1639628] so I was eager to check this one out. I really admire both these books for the honest way Kidder treats their subjects as men who are doing admirable work but who also, maybe, wouldn't be the easiest people to live or work with. I think Rough Sleepers does more than Mountains Beyond Mountains in terms of also profiling and interacting with the patients too (in this case ofc there's much less of a language barrier between Kidder and the patients). I think of myself as someone who's relatively well-informed about the garbage state of social services (since as a public librarian I'm often trying to work as an ad hoc social worker...) but whew even I had no idea how convoluted some of these fucking issues were. Anyway I think Kidder is great at both showing how fucked up it is while giving some optimism. And also creating a compelling narrative. Just really skilled journalistic work highlighting important medical/social work.
I can definitely see the throughline between Schitt's Creek (which Heisey wrote for) and this book–Maggie is definitely giving season 1 Rose family at first, she is intentionally insufferable and that can be a hard line to walk in fiction. I can see from the reviews that it clearly didn't land for every reader but for me I enjoyed her ~journey~. For me the way that Heisey includes social media and Google search results hit exactly right and was hilarious. I also really loved the group chat and the friendship here. I cried multiple times while reading this about the power of friendship. (Also: I was on a plane which always adds +1 to crying.) Anyway, it's not a book for everyone (and it's overall very white [Canadian white even] and straight [with the one token gay friend, who I did love]) but I had a good time with it.
ohhh my god, I'm OBSESSED with this. like the layers!! This is so much in conversation with Harry Potter/JKR and the way that stories/authors can betray their readers and it's just like chef's kiss. But crucially the base story is fun and compelling too. And I just LOVE Nic as a protagonist. I want a Nic Blake theme park!
Wow, I had loved [b:The Vanishing Half 51791252 The Vanishing Half Brit Bennett https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1577090827l/51791252.SX50_SY75.jpg 73423787] so I guess I'm not surprised that I also loved this one. Hard to believe it's a debut novel! The voices are so strong.
I didn't realize that this was a dystopian book until my mom mentioned that Celeste Ng's latest book was “weird” compared to her previous books, and then I checked it out on my mom's urging. I might not have otherwise picked it up because I tend to get bummed out by dystopian books but my mom really wanted to talk about it. Anyway it did bum me out because it is sooo plausible and I hate to think of it. But it is gorgeously written and very powerful. Will stick with me for a long time.
This book wasn't for me on a couple of levels...and that's fine.
On the first level I would say it's written for a trans audience (and I'm cis), and I love that there's a book like this that trans readers (especially teens) can read and know it was written by a trans person and that they can comfortably expect for the main character's trans experience to be written sensitively. I ofc am happy to read that too but, it's not for me. And that's fine!! I love the idea of this core group surviving the (basically zombie but they don't say zombie) apocalypse bc they barricaded themselves into the LGBTQ youth center. Like textually a smart way to “justify” (not that it needs to be justified but, you know) having this entirely queer crew there and having access to hormones etc in this landscape. Nice.
Anyway the second way it's not for me is that uhhh I didn't realize it's BASICALLY a zombie book and it's like WICKED GROSS BODY HUMOR I had to skim a LOT of stuff because it was like....so gross. (Again to be clear: not the trans stuff!! Being trans isn't gross!! Detailed descriptions of melting internal organs are gross!!!)
Like I picked this up a) bc I heard good reviews and b) bc I thought it was about escaping a fundamentalist Christian cult, which like, it is but also the Christian cult made zombies!!
ANYWAY soo yeah not for me but for some other readers I am sure this book will be very appreciated.
ok honestly this was not as bad as I thought it would be?? Like don't get me wrong I didn't LOVE it and I don't really understand the popularity of it, but I had read takes like ~~glorifying abuse~~ and I think it's...not that bad. I think it's coming from a well-meaning place and trying to depict the complex situations of why people might stay in abusive situations etc. It's still like...pretty clunky and not...the best...but...whatever. I don't think it's actively harmful and I thought Colleen's afterword about growing up a survivor of DV was moving.
There are also a lot of super wild plot-irrelevant choices here, such as opening a flower shop for people who hate flowers, which I was thrilled to discuss on the podcast.
https://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-213-it-ends-with-us/
OK so yes the font choice is a little tough to read here but I persevered. It is an unusual choice for a memoir–it's entirely about having written another book, and waiting to hear back from agents etc. Som said it was daily journal comics she was writing during the process and it has almost a web-comic-y feel where some of them are like 4-panel self-contained comics but others go longer. It was also intriguing to me that Som chose to write a memoir of herself but as if she were a cis woman? Which on one hand I think sounds like an interesting empowering thing to do but then there are conversations in here where she talks to trans people and they ask her if she's trans and she says no. Which like that version of her isn't but then...well IDK it left my mental wheels spinning a bit.
But overall I thought it was a funny book with some more thought-provoking moments, and I LOVED Ampersand the cat. (On brand for me I know.) Honestly I think, 3 stars for the book + 5 stars for Ampersand the cat = 4 star rating.
This was a lot of fun! I think if you were going to look too closely at the time travel mechanics etc you might find some big coincidences/flaws but like who cares we're here to have a GOOD TIME with NINETIES HIJINKS, I'm not a cop!!
I really loved Sam's ~journey~ of understanding where her mom was coming from, and as a millennial myself I really felt her mom Priscilla's pain. Also as a white millennial I don't personally know what Priscilla was going through but I've heard accounts from other Asian Americans how frustrating/conflicting it can feel to see K-pop and Japanese pop culture etc being super mainstream and popular now when it was stuff they got teased about as kids. So I thought having all of that in this book was really sharp and added a lot to the Back to the Future of it all.
A really fun read for millenials but I think teens who are intrigued by the 90s (and aren't they all now?!) will love it too, with added bonus for Korean American teens but also anyone who might relate to the kind of generational/cultural differences between Sam and Priscilla.
This was a perfectly cromulent piece of YA historical fiction, hitting a lot of the marks you would expect (upstairs/downstairs romance, love triangle, girl wanting to do boy things, dress descriptions galore, infodump about the era's issues) but being about a wealthy Black family added some new levels to it. So, I'm glad to have it in the collection and glad it's out there! Also for a debut novel, it's strong–looking forward to seeing what Marquis writes next! (Presumably...Davenports #2?)
I really enjoyed this! I LOVED all the funny little details Carey puts into the art. I can't imagine how hard this was to adapt and I think it worked really well. I loved this arc of the podcast but it definitely has some convoluted tangents that are funny to listen to but I didn't really miss them from this more streamlined version.
I thought I would just read a little of this before bed but I ended up staying up too late to read the whole thing even though I like...basically already knew the story. What a treat!
This was sooo readable, I blew through it in less than 24 hours. It did feel very ripped from the headlines (it's basically the Britney Spears story, but what if actress instead of singer) but in an appealing way. I thought the frame narrative of her telling this story to her daughters like...was best not analyzed too closely, like if you really think about her re-enacting all of the conversations in here as written like...probably not. Especially times when it seems like she forgets she's talking to her kids and refers to “the twins” in the 3rd person as opposed to other times when she says “you two” or their names to them instead? But like, whatever. It had some fun early 00s nostalgia bombs as well as more serious evaluation of the way the culture of the time treated young women. Not necessarily a ground-breaking feminist tome or anything but like, does it need to be?
CW for eating disorder, sexual assault/grooming, drug abuse/addiction, eating disorders, suicide, ETC.
My Gilbert-pilling continues! I picked this up after enjoying her nonfiction, and I had mistakenly thought it was about factory girls or something? Which isn't UN-interesting to me, but I was so delighted when I realized that it's actually a book about a THEATER, which is much more interesting to me personally! Anyway I just loved all the historical details and the characters. It reminded me of her nonfiction in that she's not afraid to write really messy, complicated (mostly women) characters.
Oh my gosh, loved this, couldn't put it down. I LOVE when a book has multiple POVs and you love each one so much that every time it switches you're like “oh no I wanted more of this character” but then you feel the same about the next character. The residential school framing here is so perfect to educate hearing readers about different aspects of ASL and Deaf culture without feeling like a big infodump, and it was SO interesting to me.
This was a great pick from the Alex Award committee–definitely a lot of teen appeal here with the teen characters, but a lot of complex adult issues too. And the mixed media-ish format is really cool.
I think this might be my new fav Nora book! I loved Clare and her kids so much. And I'm not normally the biggest fan of Nora's home renovations fetish but I thought the inn sounded so interesting. And ofc it helped that I was treating it like a travel guide for our trip to BoonsBoro! _
https://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-211-the-next-always/