Kyrie

I kinda wish I'd borrowed a digital copy of this, so I could go in and count how many times the words "magic botanist" appeared. 🙄

Look. I listen to a LOT of true crime. I've desensitized myself to a lot of things. But there's a section where Dan Lafferty is describing what he and Ron did that I just couldn't listen to. I had to skip over it, because it was too horrific, and too heartbreaking.

The book splits itself into three different (yet relevant) narratives - the founding of the LDS church and its subsequent fundamentalist branch, modern (at the time) coverage of those fundamentalist groups and their focus on plural marriage, and how they all factored into the murder of Brenda Lafferty and her infant daughter.

The history is definitely interesting, but it left me more angry than anything else.

I do want to shout out the doctor on the prosecution's side though, who, when being asked why he didn't believe that Ron Lafferty was mentally ill, said, "You want to know how I know he isn't schizophrenic? Because he has books in his cell. He is able to pick and choose pieces from what he's read, and discuss them reasonably with other people. A person with schizophrenia suffering from delusions would not be able to focus enough to retain information and then discuss it in such a straightforward manner."

mic drop 🎤

What an absolutely gorgeous book! The illustrations are stunning.

The entries for each bird are fairly short, and usually comprise of either folklore related to the bird (birblore, if you will) or literary examples that the birds are short-hand for. IE albatrosses representing a psychological burden, that sort of thing.

Aaaaaaah! I thought that artwork looked familiar! I remember when she was first creating the icons that she's turned into the characters. 🥰

This anthology is made up of 12 stories, all centered around characters who are aromantic.

A lot of the stories are incredibly on the nose - they use myth and magic and metaphor to explain the lack of romantic attraction that the protagonists feel. There is little to no subtilty, but I'm willing to forgive a lot because 1) this is an anthology aimed at young adults and 2) because there just isn't a lot of aromantic-specific literature out there.

And there were definitely a couple of moments where I felt seen in a way that I never have been before. Like, just the fact that one of the stories states that a lack of romantic connection doesn't mean that there isn't a connection there at all was ground-breaking. It's such an important lesson to be taught, especially for those who might be questioning why they don't feel the same way that their peers do.