This book slapped me upside the head, made me sob, and I said thank you.
What a gorgeous, moving, devastating, yet hopeful story! I had never heard of This book slapped me upside the head, made me sob, and I said thank you.
What a gorgeous, moving, devastating, yet hopeful story! I had never heard of Enger prior to picking this up, but he is now an auto-buy author for me.
I read all ten finalists in the sci-fi category of the GoodReads Choice Awards for a reading vlog (including this one) & you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/n6kBSG7po9Y
I Cheerfully Refuse is near-future dystopian/climate destruction/societal collapse fiction. Not quite apocalyptic, but it's certainly a world where social structures are falling apart, and social rules have gone out the window. A few individuals and companies have filled the power vacuums left behind, using the chaos to their advantage, and the president of the United States is illiterate, actively pushing the idea that books and reading are evil. It's such an absorbing book—not only because this felt like it could be our reality (in North America) in five years if things go *very* wrong, but also because, despite the devastation, the grief, and the frustration of a world falling apart due to pure human stupidity and greed, we have a main character who is a teddy bear of a human - so endearing, so relatable, so lost. Instead of focusing on the characters who are the big power players, or the chosen one who's going to fix the world, we're following a regular man. A man forced out of his comfort zone against his will, who has to find a new path as he grapples with grief in a changing world. It's such a beautiful and surprising journey, and I loved it with my whole heart. He's just trying to survive and find his own little pocket of peace in a world that is falling apart all around him, and it's not going smoothly.
This story mostly takes place on a little sailboat, travelling across the Great Lakes, bouncing between the coasts of the U.S. and Canada. The setting made it feel oddly familiar, both nostalgic and unsettling as someone who grew up on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes and has spent a lot of time on a few of the many bays in a tiny sailboat of my own (well, my Dad's. But anyway!)
This book was absolutely beautifully written with vivid, heartwarming, and wholesome characters. It explores the dark side of humanity - our propensity to cruelty, greed, and mob violence, but it also highlights humanity's remarkable capacity for resilience, generosity, and love. The characters are complex, even the villains, and the relationships are the stuff of found family dreams.
This is a heartbreaking read in many ways. Still, it leaves you with a tiny glimmer of hope that makes you feel that somehow, if we could just remember we're all in this together, to help each other instead of trying to climb over each other in a race to hell on earth, we'd maybe have a chance to make it out okay.
I would highly recommend I Cheerfully Refuse. Go read it now. You won't regret it.
This was one of my favourite books of 2024! You can hear reviews of the top 12 here: https://youtu.be/MNGwxmhSVgc
“With Willow infiltrating the landscape and its stories coming thick and fast—these explorers getting younger and more innocent—I felt desperate to reach through time. I wanted to find these kids in a moment of calm. To take their lapels gently in my hands and say, “Better is right here.” I still hear it in Lark’s voice. Better is here. Stay, and make it better.”
Trigger/Content Warnings: child abuse, child sexual abuse, torture, lynching, medical experimentation, murder, suicide (including of children), suicide pact, death (including children), partner loss, pandemic, confinement, mob violence, religious extremism, corporate slavery/indentured servitude, climate change, starvation, grief
Reread for a reading vlog: https://youtu.be/Z-1p0hIp-Ng (watch for both a spoiler free and spoiler filled review of each of the eight books in the serReread for a reading vlog: https://youtu.be/Z-1p0hIp-Ng (watch for both a spoiler free and spoiler filled review of each of the eight books in the series - spoilers are all clearly marked and easily skipped!)
I wasn't familiar with Eva Le Gallienne or her part in theatre history, so when I saw this audiobook as an option from Libro.fm as an influencer copy,I wasn't familiar with Eva Le Gallienne or her part in theatre history, so when I saw this audiobook as an option from Libro.fm as an influencer copy, I snapped it up! When I started listening to this audiobook, I had the distinct impression that this was structured more like a play than a book, only to discover it is, in fact, a play - and everything slotted into place.
I think this could've used a touch more space to breathe in a couple of moments, as the pacing was a bit quick, and there was a lot of jumping around, which was a touch more confusing in audio format than I think it would be watching the play being performed. Though, I imagine it would be difficult bring to life in any case. I'd be curious to see how this would be staged! But overall, I think this is a really great little pocket of theatre history and queer history, highlighting the sapphic women of the theatre world who don't always get as much attention as they deserve.
It was also a bit heartbreaking to listen to this, knowing from the beginning that it was very unlikely that Eva would be able to continue to successfully run her theatre through the entirety of the Great Depression, despite her best intentions and greatest efforts. Living through the years of the pandemic, we have experienced firsthand a similar historical moment where theatre was cast aside as nonessential. As silly as it might seem to some people, I do agree with Eva's sentiment that the arts and theatre are food for the soul. We can't eliminate the arts from our lives and expect to be fulfilled. Yes, there are other needs that are more basic to our survival, like food, water, and shelter, but is life truly worth living without art? Personally, I don't think so.
As someone who has loved the theatre since before I can remember, spent years training at theatre school, and performed in the theatre through my 20s, I will always love and respect the theatrical arts, and I'll always be a little heartbroken watching society continue to move away from this ancient art form—watching it die a slow death as ticket prices skyrocket and other forms of entertainment take centre stage.
Overall this was really great read, introducing me to a queer theatre legend I had no prior knowledge of (whose memoirs I need to get my hands on ASAP!) and made me feel quite emotional by the end. I'd love to read more queer theatre history from Barrie Kreinik!
Representation: many sapphic characters - some likely bisexual, others possibly lesbian - nothing overtly labelled (set in the 1930s and before)
“You’ve always said this theatre was for the people for whom art is like bread, well now they can’t even buy bread. Why should they come to the theatre?” “Because it is bread, it’s bread for the soul! We can’t live without stories any more than we can live without sustenance!” “But we can get by without them. We may not thrive, but we will survive.” “Why settle for mere survival? People need more than that! They need hope, they need faith, they need to believe that tomorrow is going to be better than today, and if it isn’t the next day might be. What better place to go when you can’t afford to live the life you want than to a theatre where you can live vicariously through others? And we don’t merely entertain people, we inspire them. We give them the best that any theatre has to offer and we do it for a fraction of the cost they pay uptown. When they are low we lift them up, and they in turn lift us! Theatre is the food that sustains our spirits even when our bodies starve!”...more
This book was so ridiculously cute and utterly charming! I need more romances with older characters because the nuance, maturity, and history added soThis book was so ridiculously cute and utterly charming! I need more romances with older characters because the nuance, maturity, and history added so much to their dynamic and the richness and depth of these characters. I love that we had a male bisexual and demisexual love interest, and while there is some biphobia in the book from family members, unfortunately, our female MC is nothing but incredibly supportive and lovely, and it was honestly super heartwarming and sweet.
I love the nerdiness of this book, the fact that they fell in love via video game, the silly little misunderstanding of their respective ages, and the development of their romance. It was so adorable; I was giggling and kicking my feet. I definitely need to read more books by this author because this was so up my alley. I highly recommend it!
Representation: FMC is Asian, MMC is demisexual and bisexual
Trigger/Content Warnings: misogyny, loss of parents, cancer, fatal car crash, divorce, misandry, verbal abuse, biphobia, bi erasure, homophobia, outing, and body shaming
This was incredibly beautiful, raw, real, and deeply melancholic. We are following Gordon as he relives the wild days of his youth, the time he hoppedThis was incredibly beautiful, raw, real, and deeply melancholic. We are following Gordon as he relives the wild days of his youth, the time he hopped on a bus after a breakup and ended up in New York alone, heartbroken, and yearning for connection. Gordon's unease, loneliness, and drive to feel seen and be loved are so intense they eclipse anything as paltry as safety or common sense. He's self-absorbed and a bit mean and reckless to a fault, but he's also caring and earnest and eager.
We watch as he meets his best friend, Janice, quits his first job in the city, and gets hired as a dog walker for a wealthy gay couple—opening up doors he didn't even know existed.
What follows is a journey and a reckoning, coming of age and coming to terms with who you are and how your actions build your life, bit by bit.
I loved the flawed, sharp, messy characters and the relationships that ranged from perfunctory and cold to deeply realized and enduring.
His relationship with (view spoiler)[Philip (hide spoiler)] was such a pleasant and wholesome surprise; their time together in Europe as the Twin Towers fell and their stolen moments a decade later made me weep. What they had was such a deep platonic intimacy, a love and care and understanding we all hope to find. In many ways, (view spoiler)[Philip (hide spoiler)] replaced Gordon's father, something that Gordon deeply needed - his father having passed away in spirit, if not in body, many years before, and ultimately choosing his religion over his son in a final burst of homophobia.
In Tongues was a tour de force—engrossing and emotional with so many beautiful pockets of prose. I've been struck dumb.
Representation: MC is gay, his roommate and best friend is a lesbian, her girlfriend is a lesbian (mention of their eventual transition briefly on page), he works for a gay couple, gay sex on the page
Trigger/Content Warnings: drug use, sexual harassment, neglect, homophobia, child abuse, corporal punishment, infidelity, fatal car crash, child death, misogyny
I was blown away by this! I was expecting your run-of-the-mill action sci-fi novel, and what I got was impeccable character development, compelling, nI was blown away by this! I was expecting your run-of-the-mill action sci-fi novel, and what I got was impeccable character development, compelling, nuanced, beautiful relationships, a mysterious and intriguing world with secrets to uncover, gorgeously written passages and scenes that took me on a journey before revealing something that shook the foundation of my understanding of this world, and an oppressive atmosphere that echoed and enhanced the thematic content. Even characters that spent little time on the page felt developed with so much care and attention to detail, and I truly loved every moment. I was on the edge of my seat, heart-pounding, invested, and worried for these characters, and at several points in the novel, I had to take a few moments to sit back and process what I had just learned because it was so impactful emotionally and delivered flawlessly to enhance those emotions. This has become a new favourite sci-fi world of mine, and I am excited to read on in the series!
I have read Catriona Ward's work once before, so I was anticipating something I would enjoy in picking this up, but I had no way of knowing how gorgeoI have read Catriona Ward's work once before, so I was anticipating something I would enjoy in picking this up, but I had no way of knowing how gorgeous Little Eve would be both in its writing and in its eerie, gothic atmosphere. This is a book about what makes us family, the ties that bind us-whether they be healthy or destructive-the vulnerability of young minds and the importance of protecting and nurturing them, the grave responsibility of raising a child and what it means to be a mother or a sister or a true friend. The character development was spectacular, with a vivid cast of layered, flawed, and fascinating characters-including the central villain, who, while absolutely vile, was not a caricature. Each character had a unique voice and found their own way to cope with the unusual life they'd been yoked to.
This story is told via a horror lens - from occult rituals to religious indoctrination and a significant amount of abuse, which I have tried to cover thoroughly in my content warnings at the bottom of this review. I will say I am typically someone who is very easily upset by the depiction of child abuse in media, and while many aspects of this novel were absolutely disturbing and troubling, something about the way Ward told this story with compassion and tenderness felt incredibly sad yet beautiful. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time, remembering the characters and the descriptions of this misty island off the coast of Scotland, the brackish waves, and the mysteries of the deep.
Trigger/Content Warnings: murder, suicide, child abuse, grooming, child sexual abuse (off page), incest (off page), torture, blood, domestic violence, gaslighting, physical/emotional/sexual/reproductive abuse of adults, miscarriage, infant death, stillbirth, self-harm, eating disorders, starvation, PTSD, forced medical procedures, confinement, corporal punishment, brainwashing, religious indoctrination/cults, animal cruelty, misogyny, slut shaming
Rouge by Mona Awad is a complex narrative that intertwines the life of the protagonist, Belle, with a critique of beauty standards and the skincare inRouge by Mona Awad is a complex narrative that intertwines the life of the protagonist, Belle, with a critique of beauty standards and the skincare industry. The story shifts between Belle's childhood in Montreal and her adult life, delving into her struggles as a mixed-race child with a white, glamorous, French-Canadian mother, Noelle, who epitomizes Eurocentric beauty standards. Belle's insecurities about her looks start early, exacerbated by her mother's obsession with her own 'perfect' appearance, and develop into an unhealthy fixation on skincare routines as she grows into adulthood.
After Noelle's death, Belle travels to handle her mother's estate, triggering a series of bizarre and unsettling events. The narrative, characterized by Awad's signature surreal and eerie style, examines and criticizes societal obsession with youth and beauty in women, the pressure to adhere to impossible beauty standards, the beauty industry's manipulative impact on women, and the psychological toll these pressures take.
Awad's writing style enhances the novel's unsettling atmosphere with a dreamlike quality that blurs the line between reality and imagination. The story is not just a horror tale but also a sharp social commentary on how capitalism exploits women's insecurities for profit. Themes of identity, belonging, and the mother-daughter relationship are explored with depth and sensitivity, reflecting Awad's own background and experiences.
The climax involves a surreal, cult-like spa that offers beauty treatments at a sinister cost, draining women of their individuality. This allegory serves as a potent critique of how the beauty industry consumes women's unique features and attention and even lives in their pursuit of perfection. The novel's ending adds a poignant touch to the dark and satirical narrative, marrying surrealism and sincerity, and it offers critique in a standout piece of literary fiction.
Trigger/Content Warnings: death, loss of parents, colourism, child abuse, slut shaming, murder, blood, gore, grief, body dysmorphia, adult minor relationship, religious bigotry
As a Canadian, I would have skipped this if not for my yearly GoodRead for my 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards Winners video: https://youtu.be/H8A5Ymec0jY
As a Canadian, I would have skipped this if not for my yearly Goodreads winners video. But despite my initial reservations, this was a fantastic exploration of poverty in the United States, with a wide-ranging approach, discussing complex systems like housing, the prison industrial complex, and healthcare from a broad perspective, making it accessible even to readers unfamiliar with America's inner workings. While not all aspects discussed here can be applied universally, the book's insights were valuable and thought-provoking - and much more relevant to the structures influencing poverty in Canada than I initially expected.
Poverty, By America strikes a perfect balance between being informative and detailed, while also remaining engaging and easily digestible. I was particularly drawn to the coverage of sectoral bargaining, which offered some new insights into improving working conditions for all employees.
I found the author's perspective enlightening and valued the book's intersectional approach to understanding poverty. Despite its focus on the US, I believe anyone interested in systemic causes of poverty could draw something of value from its insights!
Trigger/Content Warnings: poverty, child sexual abuse, violence, drug abuse & addiction, classism, racism, medical content, gaslighting, ableism
"The first weapon I ever held was my mother's hand."
Let Us Descend is a stunningly written, dreamlike exploration of the realities of slavery through"The first weapon I ever held was my mother's hand."
Let Us Descend is a stunningly written, dreamlike exploration of the realities of slavery through the eyes of a young, grief-stricken girl who is set on a harrowing journey through ever-deepening circles of hell told in a style that is reminiscent of oral tradition and legend, drawing inspiration from Dante's Inferno.
Annis, our protagonist, lives in a world steeped in both the terrifying realities of slavery and the equally frightening, if less tangible, world of spirits. She is resilient, intelligent, and kind and constantly yearns for the human connection that is systematically and cruelly denied her at every turn.
With commentary on Western society's obsession with the morality of labour and rest, a bee motif that brings hope in times of darkness, and a narrative thoroughly steeped in grief—each word dripping with the aching pain of loss—Ward delivers a piece of literature that is in a league of its own, addressing the realities of slavery with an uncompromisingly blunt gaze.
This heart-wrenching novel will stay with me for a very long time.
“I don’t cover my ears. If she must bear it, the least I can do is bear witness.”
Representation: Black MC, bisexual MC (relationships with both a woman and a man on the page)
Trigger/Content Warnings: slavery, sexual assault, trafficking, murder, drowning, blood, confinement, violence, animal death, starvation, vomit, death, suicide attempt, pregnancy as a result of sexual assault, body horror
The story centres two characters from different generations and backgrounds, both grappling with their own personal challenges. One character is grievThe story centres two characters from different generations and backgrounds, both grappling with their own personal challenges. One character is grieving the loss of his spouse, feeling aimless and empty without his lifelong companion, while the other is dealing with her mother's mental illness and the weight of parentification on her shoulders. They strike up an unlikely friendship at a library, bonding over a shared list of books that not only connects them to each other but to several other characters in the story.
At first, I thought the premise seemed a bit cheesy—typical book club material, you know? But I was pleasantly surprised! The depth and authenticity of the characters really won me over. Their complexity and the genuine relationships they formed, especially through their shared reading experiences, resonated with me deeply. Despite my initial skepticism, I found myself emotionally invested in the story, shedding tears multiple times.
What I loved most were the characters and the central narrative about how reading and discussing books can bring people together, how literature can be a guiding light through difficult times, especially through grief (which was, sadly, my own experience a few months after reading this as I processed my own loss of a loved one through books). It was touching and heartfelt, and it reminded me of the power of literature to connect us not only to friends and family but to strangers we may never meet who have, despite wildly different circumstances, felt precisely the same range of human experiences and emotions that we have. We are not so different, and books can bridge the gap if we let them.
A beautiful book with a beautiful message that I would highly recommend!
Representation: Black & South Asian MCs
Trigger/Content Warnings: grief, self-harm, suicide, death, partner loss, loss of a sibling, mental illness, parentification, racism
A thoughtful and moving novel which examines the many layers of Palestinian identity, masterfully mirroring Hamlet's themes and theatrical elements onA thoughtful and moving novel which examines the many layers of Palestinian identity, masterfully mirroring Hamlet's themes and theatrical elements onto the backdrop of Palestine and Israel. Hammad beautifully captures the internal voice of an actor, as well as the familial bonding of a cast through the process of rehearsals and performances of a piece of theatre. The squabbles, crushes, jealousy, and undying support that grows in that environment like a weed. She also deftly handles the complexity of varying Palestinian experiences, the different rights and freedoms assigned based on so many arbitrary factors, and the oppressive military presence and surveillance that lends a sense of foreboding to the everyday.
Hamlet, having been banned in Israeli prisons as it was seen as a dangerous text featuring a man blazing with anger, hungering to avenge a profound injustice, was the perfect choice of play to set the stage for this book, and I loved the way the text was interwoven with dialogue to reinforce and deepen it.
I will definitely be reading more of Hammad's work.
“I think that, sometimes, when calamity strikes and puts normal life under strain, feelings that have been stifled by everyday evasion can break free and make it easy to talk where before it felt impossible. Clouds, parted, dissolve. I wondered if this was always happening in Palestine, where calamity was always so close. Or whether it was different for those who, living here, endured it without respite, for whom constant calamity was itself the condition of normal life.” Page 316
This is, I believe, Medina’s debut novel, and while it’s certainly not perfectly written (the first half was just a touch slow and repetitive, while tThis is, I believe, Medina’s debut novel, and while it’s certainly not perfectly written (the first half was just a touch slow and repetitive, while the structure was a bit confusing and took some time to adjust to), Sisters of the Lost Nation is a very special book. This story is so much more than a horror novel, and marketing it that way does it a disservice. I loved Anna as a protagonist, I loved the exploration of coming to terms with their two-spirit identity, I loved several of the periphery characters like Gran and Robbie, and I found the central mystery focused on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls absolutely heartbreaking and horrific. I was invested from the first page and rushed through the last half of the book, desperate to know if the girls were safe. The ending, which I won’t spoil, left me a blubbering mess - to the point that my husband was concerned, which says a lot considering how often I cry over just about anything, both happy and sad.
If you haven’t read this one yet, I highly recommend you pick it up - just maybe take a peak at the content warnings first to prepare yourself for the difficult subject matter. This novel hurts to read because it reflects the disturbing reality that Indigenous women and girls in North America face of a significantly higher rate of kidnapping, trafficking, and murder (in Canada, Indigenous people are six times more likely to be murdered than any other group), and there are not nearly enough resources allocated to finding these victims and persecuting the perpetrators.
I won’t forget this book any time soon, and I look forward to reading whatever Medina writes next.
Trigger/Content Warnings: bullying, self-harm, racism, vomit, transphobia, grief, sex trafficking, sexual assault, violence, murder, kidnapping, slut shaming, animal death, child sexual abuse, drug use
I began this book for my reading vlog for the Goodreads Choice Awards Horror Nominees: https://youtu.be/dVOamSxBvnk
Heartbreaking, devastating, and horrifying - yet also, somehow, hopeful. This was one of the best books I read in 2023.
The Reformatory is incredibly eHeartbreaking, devastating, and horrifying - yet also, somehow, hopeful. This was one of the best books I read in 2023.
The Reformatory is incredibly engaging, with well-drawn characters that make you root for them and worry for their safety from the first page. Robbie and Gloria were fantastic protagonists, and all I wanted was for them to be safe and together. Due doesn't shy away from the horrors of prisons for children masquerading as boarding schools, nor does she shy away from the realities of life in the South for Black people during the Jim Crow era.
While there is a supernatural element to this story, it is not the haints who are the true villains - it is humanity, the depravity of people who value power over other's lives, people who get pleasure from other's pain and suffering, and not just the evil among us - as Due states in the author's note, "The Reformatory has a central villain, but the actual villain is a system of dehumanization." While there are certainly truly villainous characters in his novel, and there are people in history who were horrible human beings who hurt people and are not without responsibility for what they've done, the true villain is the system of dehumanization that upholds a culture of violence. We even have a haunting moment in the novel where the villain thinks about how he would never have treated his dog the way he treated the boys at The Reformatory. It's devastating to think about the systemic dehumanization of groups of people, allowing not only truly monstrous human beings to perpetrate violence freely without punishment but also otherwise average people, people who do horrible things because society has brainwashed them into believing that certain people don't deserve as much respect as others, that some lives don't mean as much as others, aren't worth as much as others. And this isn't something that only happened historically, it's happening right now. There are groups of people who are so viciously dehumanized that their pain is not worth as much as others' pain; their deaths don't matter as much as other people's deaths; their lives don't have the same value as other lives, and it's heartbreaking watching it continue to happen. This book feels very timely in that aspect - bystanders and regular people are as much to blame for these systems of abuse and oppression as the sadistic monsters revelling in the power they give them over others.
An exhausting, gruelling, intense, and terrifying journey that moved me to tears more than once, The Reformatory will stay with me for a very long time.
The White People is a unique and intellectually engaging short story that delves into themes of Good and Evil, sin and sainthood. The narrative is fraThe White People is a unique and intellectually engaging short story that delves into themes of Good and Evil, sin and sainthood. The narrative is framed as a debate between two men, one of whom shares a diary he found that was written by a young girl. This diary, written in a stream-of-consciousness style, details the girl's experiences with her mysterious nurse, who inducts her into a cult-like, ritualistic religion.
The story's prose is relentless and fast-paced, creating an almost hypnotic effect that immerses the reader in the girl's perspective. Her diary is written in one singular, unsettling, run-on sentence, and as the narrative progresses, it becomes clear that the girl is encroaching upon womanhood while being exposed to dark, unsettling rituals that she doesn't fully comprehend. This creates a fascinating and horrifying dual perspective where the reader, aware of the ominous undertones the girl cannot detect at her current stage of mental development, feels a growing sense of dread and helplessness for the girl's plight.
Machen's story is uniquely eerie and unsettling and very difficult to describe. Despite reading this months ago, I often find myself thinking back on it, both the atmosphere and general malaise induced by the story, but also the vivid imagery it created in my mind. It is best read in a single sitting to fully immerse yourself in the frantic pace of the writing. "The White People" is a haunting exploration of innocence lost and the insidious nature of evil, and it left a lasting impression on me. I can't wait to read more of Machen's work!
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