A
I did think it was a good mystery that was written well with a likeable character. I like our character being on the autism spectrum (or shows signs of being on the spectrum) - but as I read other people's reviews I see the notes of making her a little more fleshed out instead of making her “cutesy”/”quirky” type of representation. But i'm not sure if the author is on the spectrum and I'm not really in a autism community so I'm not sure how well this representation really is? I'd like to hear more people's thoughts on this that are a part of that community.
If have tokophobia they talk about birth A LOT. I think I skipped roughly an hour total in the audiobook to move past these discussions. I was generally uncomfortable but I continued because it was so highly recommended to me.
AND YES I thought it was worth the trouble! I really thought this was seemly fairy tale re-telling with an element of feminist and horror to it. The witch character was my absolute favorite, mentions of lesser known stories like the goblin market, and the main male character reminded me a bit of my D&D paladin.
Yeah, very good! I do recommend it! It's easily a 5 stars for me but I had to knock it down some just because it made me react negatively with the mentions of birth SO often.
I saw a comment refer to this as a “cozy dystopian” and that sounds like a perfect way to put it, i'd also maybe add in summer camp & road trip vibes and coming of age. All the humans have sun-sickness and can not go into the sun anymore, our band of scientists are working together to find not a temp. fix...but a vaccine! Our character is left with her badass guardian and they hope to follow the monarchs to Mexico and reunite with her parents to left ahead of them years ago. This is mostly the plot of the story, there isn't any future things in it really - they just wanted to use this in a way to keep things in constructed and road in good condition with robots. It comfortable fills in any plot holes a reader may have while keeping focus on the important elements of the story.
I love our character - she's very independent, brave, smart, and observational. Everything we learn from her can be applied in the world of nature today. We learn about monarch butterflies, we learn how to find north in the stars, we learn about how milk-weed can make you go blind for 3 days. She uses everything to thrive and survive & escape kidnappers.
I love our characters and the ending especially. It's well earned and a nice reward. One of my favorites for the year!
The art is a real treat and I found myself really admiring it for a while!
This book is emotional, raw, honest...I was absolutely destroyed.
There was nothing but me and this book for 2 days, I thought about it always when I wasn't reading it and when I was done reading it...it was all I could think about!
When I found out Kate was going to be one of the few women working on the oil fields, I was scared for her for several reasons but I was mostly scared for her about the working environment dominated by men. I never expected the experience, the story, the empathy, and how she managed to still keep her sense of humor still after it all. I was surprised that this story is much deeper than surface level...to see how she was treated, to see how her co-workers who were women treated her (and you know they were facing similar things), her age, how it felt to be treated as worthless, how life in the camps drained away their humanity & decency, despite being free from the camp that society didn't even really change, the working culture with other factories being shutdown and men having to switch careers because this life is all they know, corporate greed, fighting to get out of debt, and the suffering of First Nation people and their land and quality of life being destroyed by the oil sands.
There is a lot to unpack here and I hope to read it again to pick up on the nuance I've missed.
There is not a page wasted. The illustrations have extreme can put into them...black/white was a powerful choice and there are images of beauty which can't even ever been seen because all it is ...is the oil sands. It ruins it. It still has a moment to breath but the feeling overtakes you when you see how ugly it is.
You feel it all in this graphic novel - the story it tells is not just Kate's alone but what the oil sands was to many people.
“What can you do today to make tomorrow easier” and has really impacted my life - I've even added it to my finch app as an everyday connection with self activity. If you are looking for self-help to be easier on yourself or just a lazy way to be productive this was a good book to read. Generally good tips and advice.
Somethings disconnect with me like the religious mentions and privilege this author has - but she seems aware of it and open. Which makes it easier
I want to describe the vibe of this book as -if Rachel Hollis was helpful
Did this by the Dracula Daily, which emails you the parts of the book that happen on those dates. I still have a handful to read and I'm not sure when I'll get around too it,but yeah, soon maybe.
So far, I forgot how silly Dracula is (plenty of meme now from the Dracula Daily bookclub) and also how spooky it can be. Dracula has a Fay type of behavior which translates well to horror.
I wasn't ready for what this book was and I think it would have been good if I was prepared...so maybe i'll try it some other time.
I thought this was going to be more informational about white appropriation of cultures in the witch and new age areas. And it does have mentions of this...but it is mostly in series of essays and I thought it was a bit confusing.
Wow, the illustrations in this book are sooooo good! Ruby is excited for the reunion day dinner and really wants to help! Each relative makes something special, but she's just not old enough to help near the stove/kitchen yet. So notices the wants/needs of her family and decides to make a refreshing lemonade! If you liked this you may like [b:Stella's Stellar Hair 52516029 Stella's Stellar Hair Yesenia Moises https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1596428604l/52516029.SX50.jpg 78067492]
