jude
I DO like this, but my kobo bricked and there's no way my new one will arrive with enough time to finish this or the other library books that have a million holds on them before my time is up
New review, from actually finishing it next time my library gave it to me: Despite dealing with both the collapse of an empire, a violent revolution, and the aftermath of those things (and trauma), it manages to feel like a cozy story about a Jam (and Illegal Spell) Shop on a nice island mostly full of kind people
I was reminded that I own this book (and should read it) because it came up in Jhumpa Lahiri's book about Italian, In Other Words.
This is really short, but you can see the inspiration for things like The Book of Lies trilogy and Yesterday and probably other stuff she wrote, but nothing else is in English other than possibly her plays.
It's a powerful book, and you get the impression she really hated French compared to Hungarian. I don't think it was just having to learn a new language as an adult, I think it was that she never felt comfortable expressing herself.
I know I feel like a different person in foreign languages, which is part of why I dropped French. I didn't like the person I became when I spoke it.
Basically, the only reason I am not giving 5 stars is I would have felt a trigger warning at the beginning of the book (if I find out there was one and I simply didn't see it I will update this) would have been a REALLY good idea. This is an extremely dark anthology. I recommend it, but read with care.
Okay, so as a member of Jess Mahler's Street team, I received a free copy of this to review, but it's probably worth noting, I was receiving this serialized as well, so it is Not my first time reading it.
Which is good, because I haven't had any Shakespeare since High School over a decade ago, and I still find him difficult to parse. Most of the dialogue is taken directly from the play, (except for the changing of some lines in regards to the changing of the ending). I must say: Reading this a second time made it a lot easier, but still challenging. For the time being, (as of writing this) I am giving this a 4.5, but I may raise it up later, especially if I can better grasp the the play. I do plan on watching it if I can find a recorded version. It may also get an increased score if it turns out a month from now I can't get this out of my head.
Okay, so in the original play Viola disguises herself as a man named Cesario, I believe as an aid for being an unmarried woman shipwrecked in a foreign land.
The difference being, in Jess Mahler's version, Cesario decides he likes being Cesario, and promises to himself that “the dead will walk before I answer to Viola again” (probably not the line exactly, unfortunately I can't consult the ARC while I write this).
So yes, Cesario is a Trans Man in this telling, so certain end lines have to change, and that's all I'm saying about that aspect. There's a note in the back regarding that in my E-ARC, and I assume the final copy will include a note too.
The Fool, who narrates this tale, (which I think that's a wonderful choice that I'm going to assume was Mahler's decision at least until I see or read the original play) does a great job with pronouns and names Like Viola / Cesario's pronouns match what She / He feels at that moment (using slashes for clarity, Sorry Cesario I'm not deadnaming you for petty reasons). Like if I were writing a narrative where I wanted a character to transition during it, I think this is the way I'd prefer to go about it. This (and the original play) are worth studying.
Buy it, but remember to take notes!
Okay. Confession: With comics, I don't always read what they're about, sometimes I just look at the art + title and go “I'm reading that”
That's what I did here.
I had learned about “Hungry Ghosts” / ?????? ??gu?? from a Cast of Wonders Story ( Episode 451: Unnamed; linked here: https://www.castofwonders.org/2021/04/cast-of-wonders-451-unnamed/ ) and thought maybe it would be about that concept.
Yes and no.
Basically, while Unnamed is a story about losing your name / identity and becoming something that may be a Hungry Ghost, this book is about an Asian-American (I assumed Chinese based on the author's surname, but the Hungry Ghost concept is part of Buddhism as well as Chinese traditional religion so that is why I am being non-specific here) girl, Val, getting ready to go to college, has always struggled regarding food. Her mother stressed about her weight (and other relatives will make comments) and she was given special portion sizes and had comments like to cut the fatty part off her servings.
This book is ultimately about taking the first steps towards recovery. The author, Victoria Ying, says she didn't feel feel “fully recovered from (her) eating disorder until (her) early-thirties”. So I like that she doesn't paint the picture of an immediate cure / recovery.
I was given a free copy of this book with the request to write an honest review.
This is a paranormal sort-of romance with a Happily For Now Ending. It has what I assume are bondage / kink elements, but nothing explicit happens in this book.
Anyway, Lilah (Ey/em + He/Him) has been attacked and become a wereperson (I assume wolf, due to mentions of a snout and “pack” and “cub”, but if the word “Wolf” was ever used, I missed it) and ey and eir family live in a country unkind to werepeoples. So when the guards of the country find out Lilah is a wereperson, they capture em and eir family and tie them up to die of exposure / the sun.
They are rescued in time, from nobility from a country much kinder to were people, and Lilah takes an oath to serve. And then the rest of the book is about building the bond of trust (Though ironically not with the siblings) and traveling to where they can be safe.
I left some stuff out, as I'd like y'all to read it.
I think I've said this before, but I really liked the worldbuilding. Basically, Pronouns are Elverson-variants of the Spivak Pronouns (so Ey/Em/Eir) unless you get to know someone. Then you can use their informal, gendered (?) pronoun. So “He” for Lilah, that sort of thing. It's a really cool setup.
I want to say despite the darker subject matter (like suicidal ideation, your very existence being considered at threat) the book gave me warm fuzzies.
I know there will be future books in this series, and I just wish I had ALL of it, Right this second.
One: I'm really grateful to Seanan McGuire for the included Content Warning at the beginning, that let me know while there WAS abusive elements in the early parts of the story, I would not see / be subjected to the worst of it.
Two: While this DOES include gaslighting (and implications of coming sexual abuse) the book is about Abuse as a whole (just in another Portal Fantasy Setting). So Keep that in mind while reading.
Antsy (full name: Antoinette) loses her father early in the story. And gets a step father she has never liked or trusted. When her mother asks for permission to marry him, Antsy refuses, but it becomes clear her Mother just believes it's childish complaints. And then, the reasons to feel icky around the man continue, starting with Gaslighting to make Antsy look like an untrustworthy liar: after all, why would an adult lie about a conversation or two with children?
Child exploitation is a big theme of the book, and I feel it is handled well. I have a LOT to say about this book, but maybe it's better handled in a blog post.
You may not know this about me, but one of my favorite activities is to look on Ao3 for cursed fanfiction to show people. I often go to RPF, not because I have anything against it, but because real people already inspire revulsion, so if I can find, say erotic Ben Shapiro fic, I've hit “gold” so to speak. I've read some Political Real Person Fic (usually the ones starring Margaret Thatcher, because as a USian, that inspires less revulsion than looking at a Reagan fanfic) and sometimes just prompts to see what people like writing about.
I would be VERY surprised if Casey McQuiston has not written Political-RPF, because this very much reads like a Politics RPF with fictional characters (OCs if you will).
It hits all the right notes, it's heartwarming, but, unlike what you may expect about a Royal Romance, it is very honest about how fucked up the Royal Family is (as is the US).
I was told not to read this until 45 was out of office (because I became aware of it around the darkest times of his presidency, and I was worried it would piss me off like other contemporaries that mentioned Trump like it was no big deal everyone will be fine). I'm not saying things are ideal now, but slightly less painful, and now's as good as any time to read it (because unless you wait a bajillion years, I doubt things will ever be ideal)
Give it a chance, I feel it did most everything right.
This is a YA SFF retelling of Marie Antoinette's Life until the Revolution / Reign of Terror Starts. I cannot call my myself a Maria Antonia expert, because other than listening to Dana Schwartz cover her in the podcast Noble Blood (or the guest episodes on You're Wrong About) I haven't studied her heavily, beyond having listened to these episodes multiple times. But if you listen to those episodes, you get the impression: Marie Antoinette's biggest crime was being Marie Antoinette. Like “The Affair of the Diamond Necklace” (does not occur in this book) but that's basically “Marie Antoinette says no to buying a hideously expensive necklace. Priest she hates gets catfished into thinking she's both in love with him and needs him to buy the necklace, despite the mountains of evidence Marie Antoinette did nothing wrong in this scam case, the general public believes it's a false flag operation because She TOTALLY Wanted the necklace.” (I could go into more detail but just listen to Noble Blood)
Like to be clear, the revolution is more condensed in this book, and ends before she has any children (so you don't have to focus on THOSE Heartbreaking details of her life. I want to stress if you decide to look up those details there's a Major Bummer Warning / Fucked up Shit warning there)
There's changes of course. Louis is Asexual in this telling (that makes a lot of sense tbh) and instead of the mechanics of locks and keys he is more obsessed with programming / hacker shit (though I don't think he ever says “I'm in”, sorry) her Sister-in-Law Elizabeth (who I know nothing about to be honest) has a relationship with a woman.
Marie Antoinette does not like Madame du Barry but there's no scandal for failing to acknowledge her, though I thought it was building towards one.
Maria Antonia's Dog, Mops is in the book.
There's some interesting implications that I hope get dug into with some sort of sequel, that a lot of these popular figures (Marie Antoinette, Robespierre, etc) existed in the past, but unless I missed it (and I may have, there were parts of this book where I was a sobbing mess) it didn't go anywhere with it. Anyway, an excellent debut, I'd really love to see more from this author.
In my Iron Widow review I talked about the issues with Comp Titles.
This one IIRC is Percy Jackson meets Yu-gi-oh.
While it does not include playing children's card games for much of the plot (but AR headsets and games do fit in to the story) I have ZERO issues with this comp title.
Zachary's gaming headset is possessed by his ancestor Qin Shi Huang, and when Zachary's mother's soul is snatched, leaving her in a coma, Zachary must go to China and team up with a couple other children to reinforce a seal before Ghost Month, or it spells the end of China if not the world, and his mother of course.
What I really love about this book (other than everything) is that part of the conflict is how disconnected Zachary is as a Chinese diaspora to the mythos of Qin Shi Huang. Also, I can't think of a single other book I've read that mentioned Hui Chinese people. As such Zachary eats Halal (or Vegan if there are no other options).
This is not a book that speaks of how great China is. Zachary's father was executed years before the story started for standing up for Uyghur rights. Occasionally, while in China, there are mentions of how in certain areas, the Chef's knives are chained to their kitchens, that sort of thing.
This book also lead me to learn the Chinese healthcare system (from the payment side) isn't friendly to chronic issues, and I have to admit I'd simply assumed that China had good state-paid healthcare because I'm in the US, known healthcare-insurance-hell-hole. Now I will say I tried to look into this more, and the articles on wikipedia don't seem to be up to date, and there doesn't seem to be much information in English (unless you are willing to trust random websites, and as an American, I've tried to be really careful to not believe random bullshit about China). Basically I'm saying, I know the author has done loads of research, I'm just going to trust them.
Anyway, while I suspect if you know your Chinese history and mythology, you have an upper hand in the twists of the book, but if you don't, everything gets explained pretty well without overwhelming you with information.
All in all this is great, I don't remember the last time I loved a Middle Grade book this much.
I'm gonna have to buy a hardcover copy of it (and Iron Widow) at some point.
Disclaimer: As a subscriber to Jess Mahler's Substack, I received a free copy of this book (not necessarily in exchange for an honest review, but I'm reviewing none the less)
Basically, the premise is this woman, Mildthryth R??na inherited her father's lands, but Marcel the Conqueror doesn't believe women can rule, so he says that anyone who can capture and stop her, will gain her lands and her hand.
Reimund is a second son trying his hand at this. When captured, he is asked what he'd do in her shoes, and the answer is to marry the least awful of the men because despite her military techniques, she will NOT win against Marcel the Conqueror (especially since she's been repeatedly besieged)
So she marries Reimund, with the promise that he must swear an oath of subservience. Which of course bothers him.
You may think this is a simple fantasy work. Not quite. It takes place in the future. There are references to star travel among the ancestors. While the author never states outright (at least as far as I know) it's implied the ability to do these things is lost.
Anyway, this seems to be a unique take on the Marriage of Convenience. There's misogyny of course, but the misogyny is countered. You get to see men expressing themselves (eventually), and I really loved this story (it's probably my favorite so far of what I've read of Jess Mahler's works) and there's sequel bait, so I really hope to see more
Okay, let's start with the basics. In Japan, there are TWO versions of Breasts and Eggs: the first, published in 2008, under the title ????????? / Chichi to Ran (Breasts and Eggs). Then, in 2019, the redone version ????????? / Natsu Monogatari (“Summer Tales”) is published.
This book is the Natsu Monogatari version. I have conflicting information as to whether the original Breasts and Eggs novel was published at all in English. I do not know much Japanese, I especially do not know the Osaka dialect, so I cannot comment on the accuracy of the translation. I can see why Kirkus felt it was a bit flat though.
Basically- the book is about a family. Natsuko Natsume - the Protagonist, her older sister Makiko, and Makiko's daughter Midoriko. The first part is about how Makiko (who works at a hostess club) wants to get breast augmentation surgery, and the fact her daughter, Midoriko hasn't spoken to her in months. But it's interspersed with diary entries about Midoriko going through menarche.
The second part takes place many years later. Midoriko is now an adult, and yes, talking to her mother again. Natsuko wants to become a mother but does not want to have sex (I think she's sex-repulsed, in addition to being asexual) so she's looking into sperm donation.
Natsuko is a writer, and is basically researching sperm donation instead of researching her next novel. There's a scene in a bathhouse where someone on the woman's side who isn't sufficiently feminine enough for Natsuko is bathing (I got the impression this bather was probably a butch lesbian) and she is pissed off about it for several pages. I Think you're supposed to be “What the fuck Natsuko” instead of “Hmmm yes this woman who isn't womanly enough should get the hell out of the bath”
Now the gender essentialism. As the title might have clued you in on, the book is about both Breasts and Eggs. But there's some interesting stuff: Basically Natsuko doesn't feel in touch with her gender (I think this is partially due to the sex-repulsion) and you could totally read her as non-binary / trans. Basically, There's a lot of stuff about the power of a woman as mother (since Natsuko wants to be a single mother). There's a lot of stuff on Hetero-pessimism about how men suck that also isn't really challenged.
Now don't get me wrong: It talks about why men are like this, and while I am not looking for a “Hashtag NotAllMen” I also don't believe in throwing out all men, you know?
I suspect (given an interview I haven't read) that Kawakami wrote / rewrote this book in response to literary darlings like Haruki Murakami, whose women come across as flat in his books.
I think my problem with this is basically, as an AFAB non-binary person (who, admittedly, does not want children) I Don't Want to be reduced to breasts and eggs, even if it's possibly an improvement over being reduced to sex symbols.
I'd be interested in learning more about this book, but honestly, while I did not hate the book, I'd recommend starting with Ms. Ice Sandwich first.
I was gonna bump up this book regardless of how I felt at the end for including Content Warnings, but now I can't do that because it already at a five-star rating. OH NO!
Yamilet is a closeted lesbian who switches to a private, Catholic School, to help take care of her brother, who is constantly getting into fights.
Yamilet's dad was deported years ago for attending a protest, but they keep in touch.
Yamilet's mother works at a call center, and has a second job running an etsy store (Yamilet helps with this throughout the book) full of Mexican Beadwork. (Look up pictures if you aren't familiar with the practice, they're BEAUTIFUL!) Yamilet is positive her mother will throw her out if she discovers Yamilet is a lesbian, because there's constant homophobic jokes. I promise it gets better.
But anyway, Yamilet meets a Chinese girl, Bo, who is openly gay and constantly getting in trouble for responding to microaggressions (and you know, being gay).
Then Yamilet finds out her brother is queer too, and she starts fake-dating his boyfriend so they're both safe.
But this book moves a bit slow. I wasn't intending to finish it last night, I was at 40% and wanted to finish the book (Libby was guilting me because someone else wanted to read it lol) so I read a couple chapters, and the speed really increases around the time Yamilet goes to a homecoming party, and is constantly in an oblivious lesbian “no way does she like me” sort of thing. It's adorable.
This book gets ROUGH, I was personally triggered by a suicide attempt because I've been in Mental Health Inpatient for an attempt before. If you don't know, it kind of sucks to be there! (It does not get that deep into it, this was just my problem).
But it gets better, and it gets FLUFFY by the end.
Come for the concept, stay for the fluff and comedy!
Comp Titles, if you don't know, are where you get that “X meets Y” and if you are like me, get you mad when you read a book because it was nothing like what you imagined when you smooshed those things together.
Comp titles are basically required to sell books. There's a lot of detail I could go into here, but it's better to think of them as “has elements of X” and “Has elements of Y”.
This, if you may not know, was at least pitched to ME as “Pacific Rim meets the Handmaid's Tale” I am sorry to say I have not seen Pacific Rim, but I know it's a mecha movie with kaiju and people liked it.
Okay. The problem is, if you're like me, you're a little Tired of the Handmaid's Tale. Do not imagine the Handmaid's Tale. This is a futuristic fiction (once again they have mechs) and is very clearly, NOT an analogue of the US.
Basically our Protagonist Wu Zetian, (yes named for that historical empress) has a problem for YA fiction. She's very “unlikeable”. Not to say I DIDN'T LIKE HER. On the contrary, I LOVED her. But basically in YA fiction (and I think elsewhere too, but this is the closest thing I have to expertise) you'll see in reviews “ugh this Bitch was so unlikeable because she did a bad thing that a male protagonist would have been allowed to do”.
Let me be clear: Zetian does a LOT of fucked up shit in this book. That's partially the point, this is a fucked up system. It basically requires a fucked-up response (at least in this book). But I personally quite liked Zetian once I understood her.
And let's talk for a moment. There is “technically” a love triangle, but as many of you probably know, this goes into poly territory. And while I at least don't Think I'm poly, I thought it was handled well, but ask someone with experience in those relationships.
Anyway if you need a con about this book, I can give you one (that is not the book's fault)
The sequel is not out until 2023, and yes Xiran Jay Zhao is writing something else right now, entirely because they understandably want to be paid for their writing so they can, you know, eat: ( https://nitter.net/XiranJayZhao/status/1511894731764109316#m )
I do encourage you to read it now anyway, because while it does end with a sequel in mind, it's a good ride, and I've honestly seen more pressing of cliff-hangers.
Yasunari Kawabata coined the term ???????????? (“Palm-of-the-Hand Story” not giving the Japanese reading because it's apparently up for debate lol) which is a concise story that fits into 2-3 pages. He wrote over 100 of these. I'd estimate (due to the way publishing and translation works) I've read about 70 of them. This is not about him, exactly. This is Hiromi Kawakami following in that tradition, all variations on a theme. Admittedly, my memory is shoddy, and I just SAID I didn't get to read all of Kawabata's stories, but all of these Palm-Of-The-Hand Stories involved the same characters and location. Some are about schools made of sweets, some are about angry farmers. Some are about the lottery to loan out an expensive kid. I recommend it.
This is marketed as YA, probably because the protagonist, Jam, is around 15 or 16. Some have suggested this as Middle Grade, because Jam sounds much younger than your typical YA protagonist.
This is where it gets complicated.
This takes place in a police-less, prison-less Utopia (but I repeat myself), and different family structures are not looked at as different (one of the supporting characters comes from a PolyAm family).
Jam is trans and selectively mute, so you will see her sign a lot, which is signified in Italics, though she does talk when she's comfortable. Basically everyone in society is fine with that. Great!
The “this protagonist is immature” thing has a few aspects I suppose.
1. If teenagers are teenagers in YA, the adults (it's usually the adult-readers) get mad that they're acting immature.
2. We as a society do not allow black children to be children. Black girls are viewed as sexual objects much younger than white girls, and black boys are rarely if ever correctly identified by age guesstimates (by white people).
I think it's likely both of the above fit into the complaints. I will not deny that Jam acts “younger” than I would expect a 16-year-old in YA to do (and probably more than I would expect of a black protagonist).
But this is a view at a possible utopia, and I think the message is that “in this utopia we try to allow children to be children”
Of course what is this book but the killing of that innocence?
The premise is that all the “monsters” of the past are gone, dead and defeated by the “Angels”
But what do you do when a creature comes to life to hunt a Monster in your town that they insist exists?
Of course, the monster exists. The problem is that everyone denies its existence.
And is there a way to deal with monsters other than execution? This book argues yes.
I think this is worth reading, but do not go in expecting a typical Young Adult title. Because it's not.
I've heard that reading horror can help with anxiety (Though I think the person who mentioned that had grown-up horror books in mind) and I have to admit, reading this was one of the most “Relaxing” reads I've had in a long time. I didn't get super terrified (note that I finished it over the course of two days and not one) and I think I'm starting to get a taste for horror.
From the first time I read this, a review that never made it onto anything but Riffle:
‘Bring a commonplace book or BuJo/BulletJournal, whatever you use to write down quotes. There are a lot of good ones. I'm not saying your typical YA writer is a bad writer, but this guy has got some really good prose, and stuff that can stand out on it's own. Like you look at that, and go “wow, that's profound, I'm writing that down, and I'm gonna stew on it.” I read it in one night, and it caused an existential crisis that night. I just wanted to read a gay romance. Put -that- on the back of the book!'
Now, the second time I read this: I love this book so much. I'm sure someone could argue little happens, or how it feels very episodic, but that's sort of the point:
1. It's about an inner struggle that reflects itself in an outer struggle.
2. It's about a relationship building itself up.
3. Ari is a very unreliable narrator, because he's suppressing so much emotion. If you come away with any takeaways from this book, at least one of them should be “emotions are good”. Mister Rogers had at least one song about emotions, and I trust Mister Rogers.
I already own this book (digitally), but if they put out an anniversary edition with more content in the future, I will most definitely buy that, hint hint.
By the way, if you were wondering what the existential crisis was, it was a wake-up call that I was unhappy in Anthropology. I can say if nothing else, for reasons that don't make sense, this caused me not to pursue an Anthropology Master's degree. No crises the second time I read it, but I don't make that a requirement in reading books.
I was already familiar with Ben Philippe from his first book, the excellent “The Field Guide to the North American Teenager”, and this makes a good complement (despite different settings). Ben knows how to fucking Punch you in the gut or dick or whereever. Obviously you need conflict for 95% of stories, but it's basically seeing characters reaping what they sow, and you've become attached to them. Especially in this one.
Field Guide (not to go into it too much) was very different because to be frank the main character is an Asshole. Henri is definitely not an asshole, though he's very much a fuckboy.
It's hard not to love Henri, and I think it's crucial. Obviously you should have empathy for protagonists in books, but I'm more saying, if you cannot understand where Henri is coming from when he does a massive fuck-up, you will have a very rough time with this book.
Also the book is FULL OF DOGS. what's not to love?
This is a reread, but I already had figured out the ending when I read it the first time, because it's clear It's about a balancing issue in justice. Alex Craft has to die (whether or not you think she deserves to) because the story would be severely unbalanced if she did not
It's a tear jerker, pack tissues.
