jaymi elford

This is an amazing book. It's also a hard one to get through if you are white. Yes, it's about race. It's also about privilege. I put it alongside books like Thirteen Reasons Why.

Hollow Fires, and Samira Ahmed, will make you think about your actions and how you treat others. It will open your eyes and ask/ponder the challenging questions about living in the United States and what being a good citizen means. And for me, living in this day and age is worth it.

Do yourself a favor and read it. Recommend it to everyone you know. And let's all strive to make lives better in the States.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC from netgalley.com in exchange for my thoughts. Thanks, NetGalley!

Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo explores themes of grief and loss and the horror that happens when you cannot let go. After the loss of his best friend, Eddie, Andrew moves to Nashville. He's determined to uncover the mystery of why Eddie passed. Slipping into the world that Eddie left behind, Andrew slowly unravels the dark legacy given to him. All the while dealing with the confusion around his desires and passions.

Mandelo has written a fabulous horror story that blends the mystery of personal loss with the ability to gain authentic love. They compellingly use rejection and death to bring readers into the world of self-discovery and queerness. Their writing is visual, and you can feel the heat of Nashville, smell the dust, and feel Andrew's pain in the hole that Eddie left behind.

Summer Sons is a quick read. The world draws you in, and the horror elements aren't in your face. Instead, they appear as fluid as the natural world we know. It's a dark mystery that leaves you satisfied and rooting for Andrew in the end. It left me thinking about my own queer path and discovery of authenticity.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher. No review was expected, I am choosing to review this in the hopes more people find and read this important book.

I went to the Seattle ALA in January for a book signing of my own. While there I carefully avoided the grabby-hand syndrome of taking ALL the books. I allowed myself a small selection. The cover grabbed my eye, and when I opened the book to reveal verse, I slipped a copy into my bag. I'm so glad I did.

Nikki has been through A LOT. Born to a mother with schizophrenia, a father who wasn't sure how to be a dad, and an older sister who did her best to help raise her... trauma was a huge part of her growing up. She found a small voice at six and began writing down her thoughts, stories, and poems. Anything to help her deal with her life and the demands of growing up in the 50s and 60s.

This book is beautifully written in verse. I found myself identifying a lot with what she had to say. Surviving traumatic experiences is rough. It does erase a huge part of the moments we grow up in. This book helped me see where my own memory gaps are and taught me that writing continues to be an important method I have to healing myself. I can only hope to write a poignant memoir as Nikki Grimes has.

Thank you so much for writing this book. It has helped me, and I wish I could give you a massive hug.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC of Making Magic by Briana Saussy from netgalley.com for an honest review. However, the author is a friend of mine.

It all starts with a story. In this case, we're treated to Golden Locks and the bear people. You may think you know how this story goes, and ends, but you don't. That's the beauty of magic. This is the magic Briana Saussy teaches us to remember. Magic is everywhere. It's in the food we eat, the activities we do during the day, and the sacred times we spend with others. As adults, we forget about the magic surrounding us.

Making Magic teaches us to remember our own magic. The book blends the myth of Golden Locks in with daily activities and actions which help us to bring back our own power, our own magic. Each chapter takes a singular topic, relates it back to the myth, and then explores how the topic relates internally and externally (or through the everyday and the extraordinary). Bri includes two rituals for each chapter, one is a short internal dose of the topic, while the next blends the topic into a more concrete way. You are invited to interpret words and play with the material as you see fit. This is, after all, a book for you to rediscover, remember, your own personal magics.

What I liked: I love how Bri weaves the ordinary and extraordinary together. We are all magic and the path of a “magician” is a personal one. Making Magic doesn't include lists to memorize, or spells, or hard rituals to follow to the letter. She allows the reader to experience and explore the material she presents— to blend it into their own personality and style. Making Magic doesn't contain definitions... not even one on what magic is. “Magic is a wild animal” she writes, “it resides in the places we always are.” This book guides you into the a deep connection of what magic can be. How you personally define it, where it appears in your life, and helps bridge tight connections between yourself, story, and Nature.

Caveat: This book teaches you to discover your own personal magic. It requires a lot of imaginative play and experimentation. This is not a book for those who want to know the lineage of magic being taught. Bri does tell you her credentials; however, she knows that the most powerful magic comes from within the individual's own self, mind, and practices. If you aren't into “unverified personal gnosis” methods, then you might want to skip this book.

Bottom Line: Are you ready to remember your magic? Want to bring magic into every aspect of your life? Bri's book will help you develop a personal connection you the magic you forgot as a child.

Disclaimer: Christine gifted me the e-galley to this book in preparation for an interview. I am also a contributor.

Scott Cunningham is a legend in the modern magical community. Everyone who practices has either read, used, or knows the material this one person gifted to the practice of magic. I know his books on the elements and his crystal encyclopedia influenced my personal practice. There are some books that talk about the man behind the magical study. However, none lend the story of his family nor the perspective of someone close to him, his sister.

Christine has done an amazing job in this book. She weaves stories of growing up with Scott and how the connections of living in a family of writers, artists, and curiosity lead him to the path of witchcraft we all know him for. She weaves the love she has for him (and her family), the pain of losing her brother, and the lessons and ways his writings now influence her path into witchcraft.

The extra contributions from noted pagans and metaphysical authors lend a powerful thread to how the Cunninghams influenced their paths and how magical practices of astrology, numerology, crystals, and tarot shed light and cross through the stories Christine tells.

I laughed. I cried. I became part of the family by reading this book. Thank you, Christine, for sharing your stories and your family with us. Your parents and Scott are proud.