mandi

​”'The trees know more than they dare say, Charles. You know that, though,' he exhaled through pursed lips, ‘don't you?'”
Winborne's descriptions have a wonderful and disgusting taste that I love to eat. The townspeople and surroundings really isolate Henry and the reader in the mystery of Blossom and what she is and why she is. Blossom as a character is a wild ride. She is relatable in the way of being a girl and in my case AFAB and presenting more feminine. The animalistic side of Blossom is so powerful and scares me. I desperately want to see her in action. Henry... Henry is a man that I want. I don't know what Kate put into this man but I hate him in a loving way that I just want to eat him. That being said, I wanted more bark than bite... literally. I wanted more of how nature, trees, and the setting plays into the role of the plot as I came into that expectation from what I was led to believe from the author's tumblr and the introduction of the novel. I was expecting more horror, haunt, and fleshing eating, but I got mostly hot steamy sex scenes. The sex scenes were well written and got me hot and bothered, I just don't believe that the amount of scenes needed to be there to push the plot forward. It seemed like the plot was put on the back burner and the character's, setting, and relationships were more fleshed out than I was expecting. I am looking forward to continuing the anthology and seeing how Winborne evolves as a writer and how Henry gets more unhinged.

I have my own calico Penny so it is hard to not give this graphic novel five stars.

“But books- they're different. When you watch a film, you're sort of an outsider looking in. with a book- you're right there. You are the main character.”

First things first, I'm the Tori Spring of me and my siblings. Please don't look into it. I'm getting help, I promise. Anyway, I found this book not only relatable but also nothing like anything I've ever read before. Having read Heartstopper first, I really enjoyed learning about Tori. Michael Holden is a lovely human. I wish I had a Michael Holden in my life.

“Why do we teach girls their perspectives are inherently untrustworthy?” I would yell. I want to reclaim these word. After all, melodrama comes from melos, which means music, honey. A drama queen is nonetheless a queen.”
Machado's writing has a bravery and honesty that many people don't possess. The use of a haunted house and horror metaphors and motifs is a brilliant way of exploring a relationship riddle with abuse. While I haven't been in a abusive relationship, I have been hurt and abused in other ways and “In the Dream House” brought to light different things I didn't realize in my own past. I need my own copy so I can annotate it and write all my thoughts down in between the lines.

Where do I begin? I think this is a new all time favorite. I've always felt like an outcast whether that be for my size, sexuality, or my lack of understanding of my gender and expression. In the space of Coney Island, I felt like I belonged. All the characters felt real, like I could ask them questions and they would be able to honestly answer. The desire to hang out with the Luna Park cast is so high. I love that Benigno got to bond with every character in the cast and that we got to see it on the page. Río is a breath of fresh air. I thoroughly enjoyed how Benigno and Río were patient with each other when they're building their relationship. It was believable and I was rooting for their relationship. I could smell and feel the sea breeze when I was reading. It will take a while for this story to leave me. I took the story in slowly because I wanted to live in it as long as I could. Can I go back?