Astraios

wasn't expecting such a punch in the gut from such a short story.


Huge trigger warning for pregnancy and child loss that I wasn't expecting and has hit a little bit too close.

But there's so much to talk about, the american-dream fever dream of Wisteria Lane-type neighbourhood, the declining birth rate and the strain of infertility on couples. Throw in there the rage of future generation to what we've done, what we're leaving behind.
This talk of parents love with so many faces, the different shapes it can take and still always mean for you my child, I'd give the world.

I just wish Making Space was longer, to ironically give space to the characters to expand on their traumas and the hopes lying underneath.

I just wanted to see pretty dress but now I'm crying in a sofa over first loves and childhood and bad parenting and who I was 15 years ago when I cried about these same things because this story didn't age but I did.

I think T. Kingfisher has a real talent for whimsical, slightly dark, silly-yet-profound stories.

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking starts, as it should, with a dead body and a lot of humour. Don't get fooled by the light tone and silly characters though, as the story goes on to touch serious topics, real world problems.
Racism, facism and grief are at the center of what Mona has to confront and get through without minimizing them or making them disappear with a magic want just because it's a book for younger people.
Each character has been developed, even the ones you barely see, with their flaws and their past and their hauntings.
Funny how such a short story can be so moving and important for the message it carries.

No one should have to be a hero is not something I ever thought of, but the logic of it makes me sad for everyone who ever had to be, and for those who didn't have one.

The art is so delicate and detailed, it's definitely a pleasure to just look at every frame. Even the sunsets were captivating.
The two main characters are touching, but Riftan's personality is.. weird ? I don't know if the lack of depth is on purpose, but it was hard to like him more than that.
In the end, Maxi spends more time with Ruth and we learn more about him, so I had to wonder if the romance in here was misdirected to confuse the reader about the real end goal.
Eventually, you also have to notive that nothing is really happening past the first few pages. Riftan wants to kiss, Maxi is terrified, and the castle needs renovation.


It's a warm and beautiful graphic novel, but it seemed to only stay on the surface of things.
I hope the second one will go deeper into the relationships, the personnalities, and actually give a plot to follow ?

If ever offered to go back in time, over and over and over again, to spend time with my loved ones, I would grow old and die years before I learned about death.