Michelle
stella is a self-identified late bloomer. when she finally meets a man who makes sparks fly for her - at a sex club - he turns out to own an ai company... the same company her boss wants writers to use at her digital media job. i had high hopes for this after loving the author's debut ya novel last year, but unfortunately this one wasn't for me. if there's going to be an anti-ai plot, i need it to be a lot more ANTI AI. 2.75/5 ⭐️
i love women unraveling and making chaotic decisions. super engaging, quick read from the start. the description of this as yellowface & bunny having a baby grabbed my interest, and was totally right if you also add guillotine to that mix. i wanted more exploration around certain themes like how julie's grief was impacting her decision making. what happens with the court case? and the aunt? also, the mouse thing was too much for me!
This book jumped to the top of my TBR as soon as it came out, and I'm so glad it did. I cried reading the book jacket, and the feelings roller coaster did not let up until the very last page.
Set in 2016, this multi-POV story follows a group of women in Mitchell, South Dakota. Erica is a 35 year old, recently divorced high school teacher. She's known she's trans since 2008, but as the book begins, she has yet to tell anyone. When Abigail, 17 year old student and the only trans person she knows, gets in trouble for calling her classmates “fascist cunts,” Erica offers to cover her colleague's detention periods while gathering the courage to confide in Abigail. The unlikely relationship that blossoms between them will tear at all your heart strings and make it extremely difficult to pull yourself away for previously scheduled plans.
I absolutely loved this queer literary fiction. I loved the main characters in all of their perfectly imperfect messy glory. I loved the intergenerational trans friendships, the stories of finding safe people & building safe spaces. There's even some good old fashioned lesbian yearning. Several times while reading, I thought to myself: “Wow, this is why I love books!” I cannot recommend Woodworking enough ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
i was really excited heading into this read with the 7 husbands comparisons and recommendation from sue bird & megan rapinoe. the premise itself was interesting, but i struggled with the execution. there are too many side characters that are not fully developed & take up a lot of space, making it so that no storyline felt particularly complete. i wanted so much more amanda & annie time, whose relationship felt genuine and really drew me in. i found the relationship between cass & ryan hard to believe, both in the idea of cass revealing her identity after so long in this way + i wasn't really sold on their romantic connection.
this is my 3rd maldonado and it won't be my last. i come for the queer fat teen girl MCs, but i stay for the delightful writing, sweet friendships, and amazing characters! in no filter and other lies, kat is a high school senior who has spent her entire life lying - at the direction of her mother, no less. after posting countless amazing photos to her instagram with no engagement, she decides to try a new approach... and creates a fake profile using her friend's photos. one lie leads to another, and the consequences eventually catch up to kat in a satisfying climax. what i most appreciated in this book was what came next. rather than everyone forgiving her apology and moving on, this book demonstrated a realistic, healthy conflict resolution. i'm glad kat's friends encouraged her to take accountability for her actions, and as sad as she was for the losses that came next, i am really glad the message here is to own your mistakes, honor people's boundaries, and walk away when someone proves they are not trustworthy. i really appreciated kat's character arc, and am so glad we got to see her confront her parents & get closer to her brother before the book wrapped up. i really felt proud of her for working to untangle the mess she made, alongside those she didn't, to let herself move on and embrace who she really is . i'm also glad she had such compassionate, supportive grandparents, and their characters were some of my favorite in the boo. on a lighter note, i love that this was set in the world of dog adoption and we got to meet some cute pups & learn more about how we can support them!
this book is so important! our society has made us believe that our worth is linked to what & how much we can produce for capitalism, and that is a lie designed to keep us exhausted, disempowered, and unable to resist. dr devon price utilizes his background as a social psychologist to debunk commonly held beliefs about “laziness” and urges readers to think beyond the harmful lies that tell us we are lazy, not doing enough, or do not deserve to have our needs met. we have a responsibility to ourselves and each other to engage critically with information presented to us as “facts” and examine who these narratives really benefit. examining how this myth shows up across our lifespan in relationships, work, education, and more, this book will leave readers with a lot to think about in how they show up in the world. i am so glad this book exists and will be recommending it far & wide!
i enjoyed reading all friends are necessary last year, so wanted to check out more of moniz's writing. i didn't realize where the book was set, and felt immediately transported to an earlier time in my life once i started reading. having lived in south berkeley around the time this novel was published, this the familiar places described in such accurate detail made me feel so nostalgic. story wise, juan is a single dad, now divorced from his ex-wife betsy. they still love and care for each other, but after getting together as teens, getting pregnant quickly thereafter, and spending 12 years raising their daughter together, it was time for betsy to move on, a move she thought would benefit them both. it's 5 years later, stella is leaving for college in LA, and juan's life is changing in big ways. overall, i enjoyed the story and appreciated the observations on queer parenting, generational patterns, and the importance of investing in & showing up for your local community. i felt it really conveyed the feeling the realization hit you that your kid has become an adult, and the life you shared with them is changing in inconceivable ways.
this was a quick funny read told entirely in slack messages! great for anyone who has ever wanted to take a vacation for their own brain or felt like work was turning them into a weird robot. some really chaotic twists and developments that left me quickly turning the page. overall i had found the relationship arc for gerald and pradeep so sweet! i like how the book depicted giving/receiving care and the vulnerability required there, while also normalizing the physical human experience. as AI's biggest hater, i also love how clearly this book represents differences between humans & actual robots! my biggest issue was pradeep having sex with the slackbot of gerald. it felt like this plot could have just waited til everything was back to normal, and doing it this way did not seem consensual. i also had some open questions at the end like truly what happened with lydia??? and the howling??? also, sometimes maybe too much about the dusty stick and other “bits” but i do know that bits are one of the only things that keep slack even remotely worth opening at work and sometimes the bit goes too far.
Behold the Dreamers is a story about a Cameroonian couple who moves to New York City in pursuit of a better life. After saving up for two years, Jende is finally able to buy plane tickets for his wife, Neni, and their son, Liomi, to leave their home in Limbe and meet him to embark on their new life in New York. When Jende is offered a job as the chauffeur for a Wall Street executive, things feel like they can only go up from here. By exceeding expectations, maintaining a high degree of loyalty, and never asking questions that don't pertain directly to his job, Jende lands in a stable place for himself and his family. The pay is good, he enjoys seeing the sights, and gets to make friendly conversation with his boss, Clark Edwards, when he isn't taking business calls from the backseat. He also drives Clark's family, including his wife Cindy, adult son Vince, and young son Mighty. At home, Neni raises Liomi while studying to become a pharmacist. Through every day glimpses into their work and family life, Mbue paints a picture of life for undocumented Cameroonian immigrants in the United States during the early 2000s economic recession.
Yet again, Mbue absolutely captivates me with her writing. I really enjoyed learning more about Cameroon, especially through scenes where the main characters shared memories of their lives in Limbe like when Jende first described Limbe to Clark.
My favorite part of the novel was the moments where Neni refused to back down and accept the narrative others were writing for her, from standing up for herself to the dean who suggested she pursue another career path to confronting Cindy and doing what she needed to ensure her family was secure. So much of the novel focuses on Jende and how his struggles as the primary provider burdened & exhausted him, but we see time and time again that Neni truly held the family together, rising up in difficult moments when the situation demanded her courage. Seeing her tap into her power and autonomy was my favorite - I truly love when women! In so many ways, she carved her own path and I absolutely loved reading her character grow. It was so painful to read the scene where Jende hits Neni, both generally but especially given the arc she was on - and (as she reflects as well), it feels like a clear manifestation and physical expression of the violence we witness him experience & internalize throughout his time living in the United States. I wish more attention have been paid to this, as it felt very significant as a reader but was passed over a bit quickly. Through obstacle after obstacle, the Jongas do whatever it takes to persevere and hold onto the hope that their big break is just around the corner. I felt my heart break from them as they each slowly but surely came to realize that there was no path left that could keep them in the US, particularly for Neni who had come to appreciate life in New York beyond her earliest expectations. I found myself rooting for her to have found some other way to stay, or perhaps taking her own path. I don't know what it would have looked like, but I definitely wanted more of Neni in charge.
Lena is a 40 year old Black woman, mother, and Director of DEI for the county library system in Portland, Oregon. She is dedicated to preserving the history & legacy of Portland's Black communities, and is in the midst of planning for an upcoming gallery show called Portland: Black. When she's not working, she's planning her upcoming wedding to Malcolm, her longtime boyfriend and father's mentee who is set to become the church's next pastor. When a shocking confession comes to light hours before their wedding, everything changes instantly. As Lena struggles with the grief and pain of their engagement ending, she needs the love and support of her community more than ever as she continues to care for her daughter, plan the exhibit, and heal her heart. This book was really beautiful, and I loved so many things about it:
- How family, bio and chosen, are depicted as a community truly grounded in & connected to one another, even when dynamics become messy and complex. You can really feel the depth of love Lena feels for her family & friends, and how they feel that for her too.
- How history was woven in to a fictional storyline, teaching real, important, and often intentionally left out aspects of Portland's history.
- How it depicted being a fat person whose distres is not about fatness, but about fatphobia and the very real harm it causes. It was so raw to witness Lena rethinking her own relationship with her body as she came to realize how her actions - taking “beauty” pills, restricting food intake - were impacting Aaliyah's own self perception, despite her best efforts to instill self love & positivity through her words.
- The role the therapist played in supporting both Lena & Aaliyah in navigating their feelings individually, while also helping them come back together after Aaliyah's accidental overdose.
the government is concerned about the birth rate & wants people to have more babies, so they introduce an experimental project that incentives people to do just that. the dream future pilot communal apartments is an initiative where twelve families live communally, outside of the city and away from the lives they've previously known. hundreds of people are hopeful that they'll be chosen for both the affordable housing & fresh start. residence in the program comes with strings attached, as all participants must agree to get pregnant at least 2 more times while living there. as families settle in and neighbors get to know each other, ruptures start to form in the program's perfect facade. as readers, we get to know the program through the eyes of the first four women to move in and commit to the program's terms.
overall, i enjoyed this quick, feminist speculative fiction read. i would have liked if the text had gone a bit more in depth generally, but especially as it offered its resolution. we spent so much time in the lead up, it almost felt like the climax was skipped. two themes stuck out to me as particularly interesting:
- the role (or lack thereof) that the men played as husbands & fathers. even in this speculative world, the same patterns emerge of women shouldering the majority of responsibility while their male partners are absconded of all responsibility and celebrated for the bare minimum. the book clearly depicts double standard re: parenting expectations, illustrating how - despite any and all effort - women continue to be shamed for not fitting elusive, impossible ideals of being a “good mother.”- hyonae's lack of interest/engagement in “required” activities raises questions on the idea of individuality, decision making, & responsibility within collectives. i was interested in her refusal to perform certain expectations, and think there could have been interesting reimagining of her role in the group (i understand that is my own interest & not necessarily a flaw with the text!)
when leah sets off for an underwater research trip, the plan is clear: she, along with her two shipmates, will be gone for three weeks to explore uncharted oceanic depths. three weeks turns into four, and before you know it, six months have passed before the vessel finally returns to the surface. what happens in that time is a scenario that is truly haunting - leah, along with 2 colleagues, are forced to live in extremely close proximity, complete darkness, in a very small underwater space with no idea if/when/how their nightmare ends. meanwhile, on land, her wife miri is completely out of the loop. the centre where leah works is providing only vague updates by phone, leaving leah to imagine the worst with little support. she eventually presumes her to be dead, only to receive an unexpected call weeks later that she's in medical quarantine for two weeks but will be returning home soon. what emerges upon their reunion is something more harrowing than either could have expected. somehow, the chasm between miri & leah is deeper than the chasms of the sea. at times, it was almost too difficult to read the details surrounding her decompression sickness. the best word that comes to mind is harrowing, as the way in which her body & mind shift beyond recognition were deeply distressing on many levels. beyond that, what felt most inconceivable throughout this all was the grief both women were experiencing - both during their time apart and their time back together - as the fabric of their relationship was permanently altered by the distance & traumas they endured. i felt increasingly gutted for miri and leah the more i read. i now understand why everyone talks about this book all the time. the ending 😭
summary: mc mavis is the mom of an elementary schooler, pearl, who gets cornered into being the DEI lead for the pta by the very controlling pta president, trisha. at her first pta meeting, she witnesses a big confrontation b/w trisha and new school principal which has everyone in the community gossiping from the auditorium bleachers to facebook groups. later that same night, mavis is on a walk with her dog when sees trisha is still at the school. it's very late, and her behavior is extremely suspicious, and mavis is not sure what to do. when the principal is reported missing the next day, one thing leads to the other as mavis tries to figure out the truth of what happened to principal smith.
overall, this was a really enjoyable cozy mystery! as soon as a i picked it up, i was hooked. the writing was funny and the conversation between characters was engaging. i couldn't wait to get to the end to see what really happened.
one of my favorite things about this book was how mavis learned about herself throughout the process of investigating the principal's disappearance. she wasn't necessarily looking for answers, but the lessons she learned about it being okay to ask for help & lean on her community was powerful, both in pearl's not so casual observation of her mom's behavior and in her own shame after a tense interaction with jasmine. her journey around self compassion and acceptance was a really important undercurrent of the story. i also love that the characters around her showed up for her and met her where she was at, yet were always ready and willing to rally around her for & pearl. i especially loved her dad's character and how he really cherished their time living together, watching pearl grow up, and being a supportive dad/grandad. i feel like the romance element was not explored beyond the surface level, leaving me to question the inclusion of it at all. this took a bit away from the book to me.
who am i to say i genuinely loved a straight romance, but i really did! engaging writing with electric chemistry and very likeable MCs! some parts of the plot felt a little too unbelievable - danuwoa just happened to be driving by at the exact right time her car broke down or he just so happened to get double booked into her room but this is fiction so let's go with it!
i was so excited for this and overall think this is an important book that will provide education & perspectives that many vastly need to consider! for me personally, a lot of it did not feel new, rather it brought together information various researches, authors, etc. i struggled to get through some of the author's writing on how fatphobia personally impacted her, as i did not expect a memoir element. overall, this is a great book if you want to answer the questions of what is fatphobia & how does it work? unfortunately, i didn't find it went in to much depth on how to “face” said fatphobia and was hoping that was more of a theme given the title.
a mother & daughter adjust to life 4,000 miles apart when the daughter goes to college in vermont. via video calls with mom in brazil, she attempts to hold onto some sense of connection and familiarity all while slowly growing into her new life/environment. there's a specific grief that comes when relationships change, the knowing they will never quite be the same, and this portrays that with writing that is simultaneously raw & matter of fact. my heart ached for both women, each navigating their own complex web of guilt & shame, concern over past decisions and the path ahead, and above all a deep love for the other. this captures the experience of growing up/apart/anew in a way i can best describe as painstaking, yet cautiously hopeful.