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moonyreadsbystarlight's reviews
589 reviews
Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I read 20 pages of this yesterday and the other 320 today. Holy shit! Definitely one you won't want to put down. I am obsessed with the setting and how perfect of a role it played and the fact that such incredible (often overlooked) history was integral to it. The queer rep was great, particularly because of the nuanced conversions that were happening. I also don't think I've ever felt so seen by autistic rep in a fiction book. I really appreciate the overt discussion of politics and community was in this as well.
I can't beleive it's taken me this long to read Andrew Joseph White but I am so excited that there are at least two others to read (also a little scared if this is the least supernatural and horror of the bunch as some people have said... but scared in a good way!)
I can't beleive it's taken me this long to read Andrew Joseph White but I am so excited that there are at least two others to read (also a little scared if this is the least supernatural and horror of the bunch as some people have said... but scared in a good way!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Torture, Transphobia, Blood, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Minor: Rape
Re dogs: the main dog does not get hurt but a different dog is killer brutally before the start of the story and it is discussed several times.
While no one is actively dealing with cancer/sickness, there are lots of references to black lung and other illnesses as the result of coal mining
Our Work Is Everywhere: An Illustrated Oral History of Queer and Trans Resistance by Syan Rose
emotional
hopeful
reflective
4.0
This is a neat collection of short pieces and interviews with trans people doing many different kinds of work, especially that which goes unacknowledged as "real" work. It is really beautiful to see so many different kinds of trans people being passionate about what they do -- and seeing the diversity in what that can be. The art is really beautiful. While the choice to do the words in more handwriting slowed my reading down, I do think that was a benefit actually for me (but may be more difficult for folks who are dyslexic and the like). I think naming this an "oral history" may make this seem like a deeper scope than this actually is (like I said, these are pretty short pieces). But I really enjoyed this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racism, and Transphobia
Moderate: Death of parent
People in Trouble by Sarah Schulman
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
People in Trouble, indeed. This follows a woman, her husband, and her lesbian lover in a most timultuous time in their relationships with themselves and each other. Each chapter is told from rotating perspectives. Though it is all in third person, the narration is clearly colored by each character's worldview and biases, and at times include touches of surrealism. We see each of the many characters faults and eventual growth (some more than others). This is set in late 80s NYC, deeply affected by AIDS, drugs, and capitalist.
A lot of this is about political apathy and questions about boundaries and when to put yourself first, as well as clear themes about corperatization and gentrification. While the other novels by Schulman that I have read (Rat Bohemia and Empathy) incorporate a lot of details about conditions of the city, like many houseless, drug abuse, and AIDS, this is the first one that has talked about activism and the experience of being in spaces where people are dying so directly (certainly it was central to the other works, but this is probably the most direct and less surreal of the three).
I have lots of thoughts, especially reading this alongside her other works, but I'll save those for perhaps something that isn't a book review for just one of them.
A lot of this is about political apathy and questions about boundaries and when to put yourself first, as well as clear themes about corperatization and gentrification. While the other novels by Schulman that I have read (Rat Bohemia and Empathy) incorporate a lot of details about conditions of the city, like many houseless, drug abuse, and AIDS, this is the first one that has talked about activism and the experience of being in spaces where people are dying so directly (certainly it was central to the other works, but this is probably the most direct and less surreal of the three).
I have lots of thoughts, especially reading this alongside her other works, but I'll save those for perhaps something that isn't a book review for just one of them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Death, Misogyny, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Pedophilia, Racism, and Slavery
To add context to the CWs: the pedophilia is not direct abuse, but weird comments, some about kids and more about the age gap in some of the relationships (though none of the characters in the story are minors). And the racism in the story is mostly comments and the white man being weird -- most of what is in here highlights the superiority complex of the character while also commenting on racial dynamics in NYC at the time. And the CW about slavery is imagery used, no one in the story is enslaved -- instead, people dressed up as though they are to entertain rich dickheads.
They Called Me a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl's Fight for Freedom by Dena Takruri, Ahed Tamimi
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
5.0
Such a powerful story! Well-written and engaging, it tells the horrific experience of living under apartheid and, as a child, facing crimes against humanity. An important read for context of what continues to happen in Palestine, and made me think a lot about prison writing more broadly (this wasn't written IN prison, but details her time there a lot)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Send My Roots Rain by Ibis Gomez-Vega
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I'm still mulling over some of it, so I'll likely write more later. It was an interesting story. I liked the characters and there was a lot about growth and change. Mixing 1st person and 3rd person was an interesting choice, on that made me think more about how much they really know (or rather don't know) about each other.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, and Colonisation
Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol
adventurous
funny
hopeful
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was a cute adventure that said a lot about body image, friendship, and knowing your worth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Moderate: Dementia
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I've heard praises for this book for a while and I totally see why. I went in not remembering much of what people have said other than It's great and about sisters who don't know about each other, so I assumed it was mostly about them meeting and so forth, but that is hardly the tip of the iceberg. So much more, this is about grief, family, and home. It really gets at parts of what it's like to love and grieve a complicated person. And it says some really beautiful things about family and community-- the importance of interdependence. There are also parts that deal with misogynistic violence, as well as poverty. It's, among many other things, a shining example of why YA as a genre shouldn't be underestimated. Incredible!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, and Vomit
There is a scene of childbirth and the possibility of the child dying
Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson
dark
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I don't think this was really for me. I did like some of the descriptive writing with the food and the idea of the story. Some of the character backstory was also interesting.
But I didn’t really see the suspence or foreboding in a lot of it. It seemed more like some of the creepy/foreboding details were too on the nose and then other parts almost read too awkward (like having second hand embarassment almost like the scene with the racoon. It was just weird, not really creepy. A red flag for sure but something about how the aftermath was written was more awkward and embarrassing than scary. But then when she was told it was a test, it was too obvious in a way... like if it had been left to speak for itself, the scene would have been more scary, we could have assumed that, but when it was said explicitly, it felt silly, like an overdone villian monolog ). I think part of what made this feel stilted or awkward for me was the amount of telling. I think showing and telling both have its place in writing, but there were so many times where these feelings or situations were built pretty well, and then you were told in the middle something obvious about how the character feels multiple times (or about the situation at hand -- like my example under the spoiler cut). In that way, there was a lot more potential in the writing, but it would get in its own way.
On a smaller/lighter note, it took me out a bit to hear that an assistent/adjunct with no second job had the funds to buy stuff at the farmers market *every* Saturday and rent a *house*. Also, not a even second's thought about how she would be perceived dating a woman in a college in Georgia... as someone who was a queer adjunct at a southern college, all that kind of broke the immersion for me a bit (this was a miniscule part of my issue with the book, but it's funny to think about so I had to include it).
So, as much as I really liked the descriptions and some of the writing, it ultimately fell flat for me. I would be willing to give her work another shot
But I didn’t really see the suspence or foreboding in a lot of it. It seemed more like some of the creepy/foreboding details were too on the nose and then other parts almost read too awkward (like having second hand embarassment almost
On a smaller/lighter note, it took me out a bit to hear that an assistent/adjunct with no second job had the funds to buy stuff at the farmers market *every* Saturday and rent a *house*. Also, not a even second's thought about how she would be perceived dating a woman in a college in Georgia... as someone who was a queer adjunct at a southern college, all that kind of broke the immersion for me a bit (this was a miniscule part of my issue with the book, but it's funny to think about so I had to include it).
So, as much as I really liked the descriptions and some of the writing, it ultimately fell flat for me. I would be willing to give her work another shot
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, and Sexual violence
Fangs by Sarah Andersen
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Not too much in the way of a storyline, but it was cute! More like a collection of short comics than a cohesive story It was fun read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
5.0
I originally read the beginning of this a couple years ago and ended up setting it down despite really liking it (one of the many partially read books gathering dust because of my weird moody reading brain). I've wanted to get back to it since then and I am so glad that I finally have. I loved everything about this from the writing to her approach as a writing working with/telling the stories of other people. She tells the story of undocumented people from several cities while incorporating her own story of growing up undocumented and her experience interacting with and having relationships with the people in these communities. This is one I'm going to be thinking about for a long time
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Deportation
Moderate: Animal death and Sexual assault