Eryn
Strange the Dreamer is a novel about Lazlo Strange, a junior librarian, war orphan and most importantly a dreamer who has been obsessed with the mythical city of Weep ever since he could pick up a book. He practically lived at the library (Pavillion of Thought) and even had his nose broken by a book.
But one day the mysterious and legendary hero, Godslayer, shows up with the Tizerkane warriors and offers a chance for a few delegates from Zosma to travel the Elmuthaleth to the Unseen City.
Many answers to the centuries-long mystery await but when he arrives he finds more questions than answers.
” Good people do all the things bad people do, Lazlo. It's just that when they do them, they call it justice.”
Strange the Dreamer is a breathtakingly written novel with luscious and descriptive prose. It's amazing how she can weave these sentences and still have them make sense. With that being said, the writing is the only thing that kept me going. This novel is very character-driven, meaning that the plot is not very fast-moving which wouldn't mind if I enjoyed many of the characters.
“ It was impossible of course. But when did that stop any dreamer from dreaming.”
One of these novels greatest strengths was also it's downfall. The writing, while beautiful, was very very very descriptive. There would be blocks and blocks of text with so few dialogue in between. The novel definitely picked up more pace by the end but still started to stifle my enjoyment a little.
TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNING: PANIC ATTACKS, ATTEMPTED SUICIDE, DEPRESSION, AND PTSD
*Representation: Online friends, anxiety and panic disorders, therapy, PTSD,
This book is a gushing 6 Stars
Synopsis
Eliza and her Monsters is about teenage Eliza Mirk, a high school student and anonymous creator of popular web comic, Monstrous Sea. She would like to keep it that way because she's shy, weird and has no friends. That is until Wallace Warland enters the scene. Just like Eliza, Wallace is very shy and they form a cute friendship by passing notes to each other and bonding over Eliza's webcomic, for which he is the infamous fanfic writer, rainmaker.
As they grow closer and bond more over Monstrous Sea, Eliza's identity as LadyConstellation becomes harder to keep secret and she's not so sure she wants to anymore. Eliza and her Monsters explore topics such as coping with and embracing anxiety, especially as she begins to come out of her shell more.
“Like life, what gives a story its meaning is the fact that it ends. Our stories have lives of their own—and its up to us to make them mean something.”
What I Didn't Like:
“‘ How can you be mad that something doesn't happen when it would hurt another person? If she had to quit for her health, then I am glad she did. You shouldn't have to kill yourself for your art. No matter how many fans you have.'”
When Wallace finds Eliza's secret identity where did that insight go?
lost in depression, grief and anxiety,
What I Liked:
“I'm so tired. I'm tired of anxiety that twists my stomach so hard I can't move the rest of my body. Tired of constant vigilance. Tired of wanting to do something about myself, but always taking easy way out.”
Conclusion:
4.5 stars. Review on my blog! Check it out!Rep: POC main and side characters When I first heard about this book or should I say first saw this book(GORGEOUS COVER!) I was intrigued but I never got around to it... until now. I didn't know what to expect going into this book but I wasn't disappointed. Slay by Brittany Morris is about Kiera Johnson who attends an essentially white high school called Jefferson Academy by day. While at night, she plays with hundreds of thousands of black gamers on SLAY as the character persona, Emerald. What very few people know is that she is also the developer of SLAY which she created so that she could play in a world where she could be herself in a world where she feels she can't. One day when a kid in Kansas City is shot over a dispute in this video game, things start to get chaotic for Kiera. SLAY is now labeled as racist and exclusionary as it reaches big media platforms and a troll starts to mess with Kiera, threatening to shut down SLAY all while being up against a potential lawsuit. The big question of this novel is whether or not Kiera keeps the game all while keeping her identity a secret. What I liked most about this book is the originality and culture of the game SLAY. There are cards such as Mama's Mac n Cheese that encases your opponent in yellow goo like Mac n Cheese to an Air Jordans Card which allows you to jump very high. The cards in SLAY are culturally black and I love it. I also like Kiera as the main character because she was not afraid to stand by her game and fight for it. I really enjoyed this novel and it brings up very important themes such as racism and finding a sense of belonging but there was one character that I didn't like from the get-go. This character was always commenting on things that, on the surface, may seem pro-black but were really anti-white, which he didn't really seem to see the difference. I just wished that Kiera came to the realisation that he was a toxic boyfriend sooner rather than later but I understood because I could see the emotional struggle that she went to to get to that point. The plot twist at the end of this book, though I think I should have seen coming, I didn't and I am happy with the results that came from it because it meant that Kiera grew even more as a character. There were also multiple POV's from the people that SLAY has impacted and the other developer of the game, Cicada.Overall, I really enjoyed the plot and most of the characters and I would recommend this book, if not for the reasons described above, then for the perspective that it brings. Blog! Instagram
Loved it even the second time through. This book makes you really think not only about the world Neal Shusterman created but the world that we inhabit. His writing is so sophisticated and philosophical which I enjoyed. The character development is phenomenal but the romance was...ok but didn't disrupt my enjoyment. And the plot twist at the end..... No words except clever
Reread again for the fall season and a cute graphic novel (one of the few I've read)
4.5
The ending felt a little rushed because Josiah only figured out he like Déjà only after hearing that his crush didn't like the things he liked.
Overall I really liked this graphic novel. It was very cute and very seasonal and I will read it many times in the falls to come.
My rating remains the same but rereading this book knowing what I know having read the rest of the series makes this book so much better in my opinion. I enjoy the characters more with the exception of one ( cough cough FITZ) and recognise more of a particular character's flaws, even if I didn't really care for him in the first place ( you guessed it...Fitz Vacker) This have quickly become one of my favourite feel-good series.
