Sarah Bess

I think that this book would have benefited from being broke up a bit more. I think that the purely chronological division makes sense for the most part– it allows the reader to see how each event was happening at the same time and effecting the cities political landscape but I think that some form of chapters would have made it more readable.
The history itself is fascinating– difficult but fascinating. My dad was in New York in the 1980s so it's been nice to have the book to open some discussion about what he remembers from the time compared to the history and how events he didn't remember effected things he did.

I read this with both ebook and audio book and was so fascinated by the research into the reactions by the public to Koubek and Weston. 
The fact that people are talking about sex checking today is a fundamental misunderstanding of where those policies came from and an embarrassment.

It's 3:00 a.m. And I'm stobbing.

Easy quick read but dear god at what cost.

I read it for a book club I probably would have dnf'ed it if it hadn't been for that.

The Spirit Bares its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White follows Silas, an autistic trans boy, who has been sent to a finishing school for girls after he is found wearing men's clothing and attempts to join a patriarchal medium society to escape his fate of becoming a wife at 16. At the finishing school, he discovers a dark secret: the school is haunted by the ghosts of former students who died under mysterious circumstances.
One of the things I like the most about this book is the way that White set up the worldbuilding for the novel. It gave the book an engaging gothic atmosphere that supported the natural horror of the oppressive society that Silas lives in. Another aspect that I loved was Silas himself and his first-person narration. He is a complex and sympathetic character who makes the book incredibly intimate because the reader learns so much of how he has been harmed by the patriarchal, ableist, and transphobic society created by the worldbuilding. A third element that I found fascinating was the sections of the book with all-black pages where you can see what the ghosts of the finishing school are thinking and how much their voices are contrasting with Silas' through White's use of syntax and punctuation. These sections add a layer of mystery and horror to the story by inviting the reader to learn more about the school before Silas. This book also makes a lot of critical commentary on how trans men have been harmed by patriarchy through the gothic horror genre and shows the solidarity that can be found in both cis and trans women.
I had no noteworthy criticisms of this book. However, I would like to note that this book deals with quite a few heavy topics. Trigger warnings that are most commonly associated with gothic horror should be expected, and there are others listed in the author's note at the beginning of the book.
Overall, this is a very unique YA horror novel that combines a compelling plot, a relatable protagonist, a chilling setting, and a powerful message. If you were excited about Andrew Joseph White's sophomore novel, you were 1000% right to be. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys gothic horror with a twist and have given it 5 stars.

As someone who writes poetry I really thought it was cool how Dean Atta had Michael improve his skill over the course of the book. Like it goes from really simple stuff to very powerful writing and that growth is really cool!

This book is Catcher in the Rye for college students. I don't know if that makes sense but I genuinely believe it.

I really liked it and I'll definitely be reading the sequel!

“Because that is how one survives eternity,” I say, “or even a few years. Friends. Family. Moving with them. Moving forward.”

“Things can turn out differently, Apollo. That's the nice thing about being human. We only have one life, but we can choose what kind of story it's going to be.” 

“Life cannot exist without the Earth. Yet there is a not insubstantial chance that life will win it's war, and destroy the Earth. We've come close a few times.”

“Listen, listen, listen well. There was an age before the Seasons, when life and Earth, it's father, thrived alike. (Life had a mother, too. Something terrible happened to Her.)”

Read this in one sitting and just loved it so much

Library Borrow Ended might pick up again

I'm gonna read it but I don't want to see it in my currently reading section while I'm taking a break from it because I'm in a bit of a reading slump and need quicker and easier reads.

I don't usually read self help books, I just needed a few definitions from the earlier chapters for a paper. Nothing against the book it's just not my thing.

Library loan expired will resume

I should have finished it in one sitting. I majorly lost momentum

Just too depressing 

Haven't read Agatha Christie so none of this means anything to me

I was reading it for a class and read-only what I needed for my assignment.

Maybe later

Fell out of pace

I will eventually, it just wasn't a good time for me that year. Hopefully I'll get to it in 2022.