Library loan expired 

I read El Akkad's nonfiction book, One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, earlier in the year. It was devastating and made me want to read more from him, so I snagged American War, too. 

El Akkad is well researched, taking his firsthand knowledge as a reporter of current/recent conflicts and applying them to an alternate United States in the 2080s. He flips current world power dynamics on their head and melds them with already existing divisions in the US to create the Second American Civil War, following Sarat and examining how the actions of one woman can shape so much of her country. 

Told by her nephew who reads her story through her journals, it paints a truly devastating picture of trauma and the effects of war. It's well written and executed but I'd be hard pressed to call it enjoyable based on the subject matter! But really excellent, one I would reccomend.

This is a collection of poetry, organized by author with the prompt that inspired the poem after each one. It's well done. The poems are diverse and speak to a lot of queer experiences. A great read for anyone looking to listen to young queer voices, find common experiences, or experience a variety of poetic forms. 

This was a really interesting concept; historical figures coming back to life, connecting with the past through music, and embracing your identity through learning about history. Grateful this exists in the world.

I really love a fantasy built on the hope of do positive political change. Here are two young royals thrown into the chaos left by their predecessors and still determined to do better.

And it certainly ends in the high point of that hope

The world this is built around is really fascinating. The ebb and flow of the magic of life and death and the ways it influences the religion and politics of each nation is well done. As the story goes on the magic gains depth. 
The political plot is a little convoluted. And the aspirations of the princes are certainly more hopeful than realistc, but that is the joy of fantasy. I found it perfectly enjoyable.

This book was okay for me. Any lackluster feelings stem more from my hesitance with genre rather than the book itself. Horror really is not my thing, but I think this is an important and well done iteration.

This book teeters on the edge between paranormal horror and realistic horror, one moment convinced of a haunting and the next questioning the POV character's perception of reality. Maybe it's easier to live in a spooky story than

the realities of the hatred from others. I think the most horrifying part if this books isn't the ending, but the fact that it's believable.

This book is heartbreaking on a lot of levels. It really digs in to what it means to be a parent with trauma, who isn't sure of the space they take up in the world and is still unravelling their traumas from the past-- The desire to do better while being held back by your own injuries. It also discusses the complexity and resilience of siblings, as well as the horrors of racism in the US.

 Sometimes the prose itself lost me a little, but there are a lot of ways Ezri is a real breathing person, a painfully honest example of parenting with mental health issues. I love a story with a nonbinary parent lead. This is where it's hard for me because I think the tone of the book fits the POC character, Ezri, so well. I also didn't love it. It's one I'd recommend to horror fans but not one I'll reread. 

Denver is an autistic, non-binary pie aficionado and somewhat outcast in their small town of Muddy Gap. When a strange UFO-like light catches their attention, they are thrown into an extraterrestrial mystery. I really love Al Hess and the way he tells stories, and this is no exception. Denver is a great protagonist and watching xem find their place in the world and their own found family was brilliant. Hess specializes in weird sci-fi (I say weird affectionately). Key Lime Sky is a great blend of cozy, horrifying, and mysterious with an adorable queer romance in there to break up the tension.