viola

very well tied-together, for the fairly basic fantasy book it is

such possibility... made me want to write d/s cosmic horror with characters who could do better than repeat intro platitudes about how the bottom is in control

a disability horror novel disguised (ha) as alienfuckery. well-executed (also ha).

if only all fantasy had this understanding of power and teeth.

a fantasy novel with the key conflict being class politics... without any meaningful class politics

like if whipping girl was good, and threw a meme at you every so often when you least expected it

too correct for its own good

Truly the greatest flaw in the theories of this book is precisely shown by the fact that it is read in the USA in classes teaching future educators. However, it is nonetheless very valuable when read from a perspective that desires revolution, not just social reproduction with a pretense of democracy.

Easily my favorite of Charlie Jane Anders' books. Brings together her philosophizing about nature and technology with a character-focused, meaningful story. Some of the plot points felt overly serendipitous, but, well....

Wait, you mean trans girls in high school don't have to be straight? And don't have to give up their prior interests and existence? /s

A much-needed improvement to a genre whose readers have been deserving better for many, many years.

boy she hates women. the way the lists of undesirable traits are twice as long whenever she gets to describing women she dislikes.

nothing standout.

Possibly the best trans YA that exists. I wish it had been around when I was desperately reading everything available in my high school library.

A poignant meditation on interpersonal harm and personal and intergenerational trauma. Draws together strong literary traditions of works considering grief and inhumanity while presenting itself in a way that is direct and personal enough as to be unignorable.

Genuine question, did this uhhh say anything??

Regardless, for part one: All trans lit is Nevada #21: Nevada but it's the egg running away from herself and seeking out things in others that they cannot be for her

Also one of at least three trans lit books since 2023 to have a time skip from the 90s to the 2010s (this, Cuckoo, A/S/L). New trope??

hilarious to read alongside pedagogy of the oppressed. a perfect "how not to" guide

all trans lit is nevada #92: nevada but he doesn't really want to be there

every trans lit book is nevada #37: summer fun is nevada but with the past

a beautiful fantasia of oversymbolization and queer mysticism

didn't quite stick the landing (perhaps unintended implication: you can't trust anyone... unless you've done k or molly with them), and the opening and part 1 were overall far more effective than part 2, but still some great themes and engagement with what it means to live a queer life throughout

like if stone butch blues and baru cormorant were happy <3 good but unfortunately the earthshattering remained contained in the story and did not reach out to me

fun religion thoughts though. we are the chaos and blackness from which your Nature spills forth and all that

edit after remembering what mainstream fantasy is like: wow this book is so much better than the fantasy norm in terms of revolutionary ideologies and movements that are actually meaningful to the people who are part of them

jeanne thornton read each of the main characters in a way that called to mind trans women i knew. this book is so invested in who we are and can become in this world so full of threat and instability. instant classic of trans fiction.

putting the gnostic in "diagnostic"

well written! hooray for neurodivergent people. very lib politics though lol

unfortunately the part the author was most interested in was not that interesting, and the rest really wanted to be baru cormorant