paperbackportals's reviews
697 reviews

This was an informative and difficult reflection on David A. Robertson’s experience learning about his anxiety and Cree background as well as a reflection of his relationship with his father. It is introspective and well written. I listened to Robertson narrate the story. I always feel it is important, when I can, to hear a story from the person who owns it. I appreciate that Robertson recorded his memoir and reflection, although I imagine it was difficult at times. 

📖Review: Bad Cree by Jessica Johns

Bad Cree is an atmospheric exploration of grief and the importance of family. It’s also a mind bending thriller. 

Bad Cree is not a genre I usually read (thriller/horror), but I love finding début Canadian and Indigenous authors, and it was amazing. The narrative was compelling and suspenseful. I loved the play with present, dreams, and memory, which had Inception vibes. Johns haunting and beautiful descriptive writing also created an immersive setting that connected me to Mackenzie and the other characters. I also love how Johns built the connections and relationships between Mackenzie and her family; I would love to sit down and have a meal with them. 

Bad Cree is the perfect mix of character and plot, the symbolic and explorative. It touches on grief, colonisation, and other tough topics through beautiful prose and haunting imagery. If you love reading thrillers or spooky, suspenseful stories, go grab Bad Cree.

CW: grief, death, fear, anxiety (see content warnings for details)

Entertaining. The first three in the series are still my favourite. 

📖Review: The Porcelain Moon by Janie Chang

I am so honoured to have had the opportunity to read this ARC of Janie Chang’s newest novel. I read The Library of Legends last year, and it was a beautiful magical realist look at the experience of a Chinese university during WWII. I knew after I read it that she would become one of my must read authors. 

The Porcelain Moon is an exploration of the experience of Chinese workers hired by the British Expeditionary Force in WWI. My interest is always piqued by historical fiction set in WWI, as so much seems set in WWII. This story also explores more than the trenches, although they are described at one point, and focuses on the lives of Chinese people in France during the war. 

The two female protagonists of the story are easy to connect with as their spirit and perseverance are admirable in a time fraught with dangers for women, who had very few rights. Pauline Deng, an illegitimate child taken in by her uncle, discovers that she is to have an arranged marriage and return to Shanghai from Paris. In an effort to avoid this obligation, she sets out with a family friend, Henri, to find her cousin, Theo, to help her. They travel to Noyelles sur Mer to the Chinese work camp where he is a translator, and happen upon Camille, the other female protagonist. 

Janie’s storytelling through the two perspectives is detailed and emotive, and weaves a moving, and sometimes harrowing, journey. The feelings of each women in their respective situations is immersive and allows the reader to experience what they may each have experienced during the days leading up to Armistice. 

As historical fiction reader, I found the story to be nuanced and detailed, and it allowed me to dive into the time period and the experiences of the characters. The diverse perspectives explored, some of which are often overlooked in Historical accounts, is informative and told with the same beauty and creativity as I experienced in The Library of Legends. If you enjoy books by Kate Quinn or Kristin Hannah, I highly recommend grabbing a copy of The Porcelain Moon on its publication date: February 21st. 

CW: War, spousal abuse, racism. Please be sure to review content warnings in book description.

Thank you to HarperCollins Canada and NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest recommendation. 

This was a fun, albeit, initially, strange read. The narration is great and the ongoing tension was perfect for a cozy mystery. The characters are quirky, and Vero was probably my favourite.

📖Review: Rubi Ramos’s Rules for Success by Jessica Parra

This deliciously delightful coming of age story is sure to warm your heart and tempt your tastebuds. 

Rubi Ramos loves to bake, but her mom, nicknamed the boss, has instituted a ban on baking until Rubi can fulfill the Recipe for Success: get into Alma and become a lawyer. Despite the ban, Rubi is always doodling Cuban inspired recipes in the margins of her school notes. She secretly applies and participates in an opportunity to bake in the Orange County Bake-Off. Bending the ban, and being waitlisted at Alma, begins an avalanche of secrets, while she figures out how to navigate her parents’ plan for her life and her own. 

Cheering on Rubi as she navigates her coming of age story is as easy as pie. She is a spunky, passionate protagonist, who stole my heart immediately with her smart remarks, love of her family, and smooth LOTR, Star Wars, and other pop culture references. 

Her external struggle as a second generation immigrant to America from Cuba and her parents’ expectations for her future as well as prep school prejudice, are developed with care and highlight Rubi’s intricate identity and the struggles that she faces. 

The secondary characters in the story are lovable and quirky. Her best friend Devon, her “boyftu” Ryan, and the staff at the bakery bring depth to the story and highlight Rubi’s amazing community of supporters. 

Finally, the bake-off is intense with quirky elements that made me laugh - baking puns and Rubi’s smart retorts. I always love when cooking or baking is used in stories to demonstrate passion and character development. Rubi’s participation in the bake-off perfectly advances the plot causing me to constantly be cheering and hoping for Rubi as I read. 

Rubi Ramos’s Recipe for Success comes out on May 16, and is a wonderful YA coming-of-age story that makes me look forward to Jessica Parra’s future novels. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and St Martin’s Publishing for this digital ARC in return for an honest review.

I’ve read the physical and ebook now. The narrator does an excellent job conveying the quickly, cast of characters and they are just as endearing. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for my ALC. This review is my honest opinion. 

Beautiful and intense memoir. Highly recommend, especially if you want to learn more about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Indigenous experience in Canada. 

📖Review: All the Colour in the World by CS Richardson

Part story and part historical art critique, Richardson’s All the Colour in the World excels in describing the wondrous visualizations of the 20th century from muddy battle fronts to colour-saturated technology. All is intertwined to critique the way colour and depiction has changed through history as well as how colour can inform the journey of a life. 

The story is fascinatingly built into one page chapters marked by a number. The structure of the story is reminiscent of the plaques below museum or gallery displays giving only pertinent details, and often requiring the reader to fill in context and connections. At times the structure seems almost poetic and chaotic, which successfully mimics the art collection described in the initial chapter.

The protagonist's second person perspective is intermingled with historical elements written in third person. The effect is a bit erratic and caused me to question which elements were fact and fiction. This thoughtful intersection between story and research by the protagonist successfully represents the cyclical nature of time and the protagonists experience as an art historian and how it informed his own lived experience.

Overall, I enjoyed reading All the Colour in the World. It is a strong work of literary fiction that gave me a lot to think about in its brief 200 pages. Its Canadian protagonist and the critique of human art and history are a fascinating artwork in its own right.  

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this digital ARC in return for an honest review.

John Green’s essays about humanity are beautifully crafted with many moments that I wanted to underline as I listened to him read. In my physical copy I will be revisiting the essays and expressions that I’ve found to be “tiny lifeboats” for where I’m at after the pandemic. 

I give The Anthropocene Reviewed five stars.