Sarah
disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for review consideration.
Katie Barnes is an award-winning ESPN journalist who has been covering gender in sports for years, and it shows. This book is so well-researched and covers a breadth of topics from the history of women's sports to today's ‘debate' about transgender youth in sports. Katie digs into the science of transgender athletes, something I think very few people are well-versed on (myself included!). I learned so much while reading this, though at points I had to put it down because of how hard it was to read about the kids who were excluded from activities they loved or who thought they had to choose between their passions and being who they truly are.
I'm thankful I was able to educate myself through this book, and appreciated Katie's insights on a variety of topics. They bring up the especially poignant point that sports aren't really fair to begin with – some people are naturally taller and faster, some have genetic advantages (looking at you, Michael Phelps), some have the money to pay for expensive equipment and private tutors. But nobody is complaining about these advantages – so why target trans women specifically? Personally, I find it to be an extension of the misogyny women's sports already have to deal with.
Regardless of your position, I think Katie does an excellent job of sticking to the facts and interviewing people on ‘both sides.' They are able to empathize with the fact that some of the people in favor of restrictions for youth are really trying to defend women's sports. This isn't necessarily a clear cut debate and everyone is happy to cherry-pick the facts that support their side. Katie is willing to show that the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
I'm going to be raving about this book to everyone for a long time. It provides a context much needed in today's political climate and I hope that it will be able to reach the audiences who need it.
I wonder if their first book would be more useful, but this gave me exactly what I wanted: storage ideas. I've been using Dana K. White's processes for decluttering (I love her podcast!) but needed some visuals for ideas of what to actually do with things. I will warn that this book presupposes you have the money to buy storage materials and large spaces to organize things within. Most of these are solutions they've provided to celebrities. I find that I think I'll be apply to apply these to my own spaces, but it's definitely a ‘take what you need and leave the rest' kind of book.
pre-release review, march 2023: i'm a simple gal: i see a Melissa Broder book, i add it to my TBR and lust over it until it is released
review, september 2023
disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for review consideration.
if you've read anything by Broder before you have a general idea of her writing, but Death Valley goes completely off the rails. if you don't like rambling protagonists and conversations with inanimate objects then this will not be your jam. if you like reading about grief and grappling with the mortality of your loved ones, you might enjoy it! this worked for me because of the latter.
I keep accidentally reading a lot about parents who are dead and/or dying, which is a cathartic experience for someone who lost a parent this year. so this brought me close to the protagonist as i clung to sentences that in previous years i would have just found nice. i highlighted so many bits of this and at points just stared at the ceiling, processing how hard they were hitting me.
this novel is completely out there! but if you can get past that, you might just love it.
disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for review consideration.
Josh Malerman seems to be a very hit-or-miss author for me! I first read Bird Box by him and absolutely loved it. I also really enjoyed A House at the Bottom of a Lake, which is a very divisive book with a goodreads average of 3.21. So this collection of novellas brings my average rating of his books from 3.83 (not bad) to 3.38 (not great). (PS I'm keeping track of my author averages for an upcoming project... not sure when it's coming but keep an eye out!)
The order of the novellas in the book actually matches my enjoyment of them. The first, Half the House Is Haunted, was probably a solid 4 stars from me. The writing style and presentation was unique in this one so it took me a bit to adjust but the tension was excellent. I felt like it didn't quite stick the landing, but still a good read! Argyle presents a unique take on the serial killer, probably also a 3.5 or 4, and is worth a read as well. Some of it fell flat for me, but overall it was an interesting read. The Jupiter drop was also somewhat unique, probably 3 stars. I don't have much to say about it; it was interesting, but I found it ultimately unmemorable.
Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer(TM) was a major flop for me. Maybe 2.5 stars? Parts of it were really good! But it didn't quite tie itself together and the ending was pretty anticlimactic. Egorov is the longest novella in the book, and it certainly feels like it. I started off kind of bored, got really interested, and then ended up just skimming to get to the end. Probably a 2.5 as well? I felt like a lot could have been left out or shortened as it lost my attention a lot. The concept is verrryy good though.
I had originally rated this 2 stars, but writing the review made me realize there were stories I liked! Egorov just took me so long to read and bogged me down so much that I had forgotten. I'm going to up it to a 3 (so Malerman's average rating from me is now a 3.63) because there were certainly aspects that I liked. This currently has a 3.65 (with only 334 ratings) on goodreads, which feels accurate to me. I definitely see this being a divisive collection, especially since I feel the quality varies a lot within it. I wouldn't dissuade anyone from reading this, but wouldn't suggest bumping it to the top of your list either. I'll definitely be picking up more by Malerman though because I know I enjoy some of his writing!
4.5 ⭐️
i don't even know where to begin with this. How to Sell a Haunted House is first and foremost an exploration of grief that i found incredibly poignant just 3 months out from my own experience with the death of a parent. had this come into my life at any other time, i have no idea how i would feel about it. but this was the most seen i'd felt since my loss, even though my relationship with my family is much different than Louise's.
in addition to its heart wrenching relatability, this was so fucking scary. i was losing my mind over these puppets and everything that was occurring around this family. somewhere around the 75% mark i found myself wondering how there was so much left of the book, then turned the page and almost yelped out loud at its contents.
my only other experience with Hendrix was My Best Friend's Exorcism, which i did not enjoy and did not find scary. i'm so glad that i managed to mesh well with this book's contents and i look forward to trying some more of his work now!
3.5 ⭐️
i read this at the wrong time. i was expecting horror, but i wasn't expecting the deep sadness and grief this made me feel throughout. sometimes it felt too painful to continue seeing the way Rob and her sister were being torn apart. there were also many moments that i found viscerally upsetting. if you are sensitive to animal abuse, i would avoid this. a lot of it isn't necessarily graphic, but i still found most of it so conceptually disturbing that it made me nauseous at times.
that all sounds negative, but Catriona Ward is an incredible writer and i'm glad i read this. there were so many interesting explorations, even if i felt the format struggled at times. i will definitely be picking up more books by Ward and will make sure to read them when i'm in a headspace to process devastating content.
february 2024 reread
i completely understand the criticisms, but my reread confirmed this is one of my favorite books. i'm completely obsessed with the romance and DEMAND a rewrite from xaden's pov
original june 2023 review
this is sooo tropey but i genuinely don't care. i had so much fun following violet through dragon school and watching her adapt. the romance was fun and bantery. i cannot wait for the next book to come out. this is perfect if you're looking for an adult fantasy romance with a YA formula. i love a good old underdog-enters-some-kind-of-school-and-becomes-so-powerful story so this hit the spot. please let me know if you have read alike recommendations because i just inhaled this.
violet also has a chronic illness, which read like a connective tissue disorder (the author also has a connective tissue disorder). violet is not magically ‘cured' or changed in any way, she figures out how to use her strengths to her advantage. she faces her fair share of ableism but also has people who care about her and are willing to find accommodations that work.
i can see why this wouldn't work for a lot of people and i found the end quite disappointing, but i appreciated the commentary on desensitization of violence and voyeurism. i find the reviews saying they thought the moderation content should have been more graphic interesting because the mc starts off by talking about how alienated she feels by everyone she knows asking her to talk about the most fucked up things she's seen. i think the point was to withhold graphic content and instead show its impact but i agree that wasn't done as throughly as i would have hoped.
