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TW: racism, (racist depictions of Romania (including the g slur) and racist stereotyped accent of Black people from the South.
TW: alcaholic parent, infidelity, rape, emotional abuse, death, suicide ideation, underage drinking, parental neglect.
Deathnote meets Carrie in this brilliant YA book that gets reeaaal dark. And what if that darkness if given power?
A bit front heavy, but to be honest, not to its deprement. I throughly enjoyed this and found all the motivations were well done and the characters really well written. Hither is my favourite character and definatly gave me Ryuk from Deathnote vibes. Loved them to bits. Also really great trans rep in Magpie's love interest, Ben.
Deathnote meets Carrie in this brilliant YA book that gets reeaaal dark. And what if that darkness if given power?
A bit front heavy, but to be honest, not to its deprement. I throughly enjoyed this and found all the motivations were well done and the characters really well written. Hither is my favourite character and definatly gave me Ryuk from Deathnote vibes. Loved them to bits. Also really great trans rep in Magpie's love interest, Ben.
TW: fatphobia (not called out), racism, ableism, body horror, bullying
A spooky little collection of twisted/dark tales. I quite enjoyed the insperations included by the author's for their pieces.
A spooky little collection of twisted/dark tales. I quite enjoyed the insperations included by the author's for their pieces.
TW: ableism, death, body horror/dismemberment, murder, emotional abuse, *SPOILER*... death of a child
Incredibly slow, but good if you want deep character exploration. It was brilliant to see the main character and only narrator be Elizabeth. I'd suggest reading the author's note first.
Incredibly slow, but good if you want deep character exploration. It was brilliant to see the main character and only narrator be Elizabeth. I'd suggest reading the author's note first.
Note: I am an autistic/ADHD person with my husband and son also being autistic/ADHD.
I know I'm going to get flack for this review. I REALLY wanted to like this book. I really liked the first one, and felt is did a nice portrayal of an autistic boy and his relationship with his family, making a friend, and his comforting interest of animals. This book as well had the same themes, continued the story well, and was well written with gorgeous illustrations.
But what happened? Did this book not have sensitivity readers like the first one did?
I noticed little things wiggle in, like how Bat began to panic when he was missing tools to set up the playpen for his skunk, Thor. His self-soothing was making a noise and rolling on his feet, however, his mom rather wanted to hold him till he stoped. He even stated he DIDN'T want to be held. This was portrayed in the book as a good thing he stopped those behaviours and let his mum hold him. Please DO NOT do this to a person who is self-soothing! Bat was safe and keeping himself calm, and just because it was by making a noise and rolling on his feet, did not make it any less valid than the way an allistic (not autistic) person would self sooth. DO NOT RESTRAIN an autistic person! Your hugs may be well intended but they are restraining to us if we don't want them!!
The final straw that made me so upset was the final scene. Bat's apologising to his sister while looking at her toes - they are painted with beautiful stars on them - he doesn't look her in the eyes. But Bat's sister uses her finger to force Bat's head up and to make him look into her eyes. Bat states he DOSN'T like looking into peoples eyes, but he knew it made his sister feel happy so he did anyway for her sake. This is portrayed as some great moment, complete with an illustration of Bat's sister doing this, as if it's some great breakthrough and touching moment. No, it is not. This is full on, the absolute worse thing you could ever do to an autistic person.
Do not ever, EVER make us look into your eyes if we do not want to. You do not have any idea the amount of mental or physical torture this is, despite it being an easy thing for an allistic person. It may not seem that big of a deal for you, and that I am over-reacting, but it honestly is abuse. It reeks of ABA (a common 'treatment' for autistm that us autistic folk are against) and wanting the autistic person to cater to the allistic folk around them - when we spend EVERY SECOND of our lives doing that anyway. So for once, allistic folk, change your expectations and cater to us for once and let us look at your toes. This was not a great moment. This was horrible. It ruined and spoiled the whole book for me, and I will not be reading the sequel.
I know I'm going to get flack for this review. I REALLY wanted to like this book. I really liked the first one, and felt is did a nice portrayal of an autistic boy and his relationship with his family, making a friend, and his comforting interest of animals. This book as well had the same themes, continued the story well, and was well written with gorgeous illustrations.
But what happened? Did this book not have sensitivity readers like the first one did?
I noticed little things wiggle in, like how Bat began to panic when he was missing tools to set up the playpen for his skunk, Thor. His self-soothing was making a noise and rolling on his feet, however, his mom rather wanted to hold him till he stoped. He even stated he DIDN'T want to be held. This was portrayed in the book as a good thing he stopped those behaviours and let his mum hold him. Please DO NOT do this to a person who is self-soothing! Bat was safe and keeping himself calm, and just because it was by making a noise and rolling on his feet, did not make it any less valid than the way an allistic (not autistic) person would self sooth. DO NOT RESTRAIN an autistic person! Your hugs may be well intended but they are restraining to us if we don't want them!!
The final straw that made me so upset was the final scene. Bat's apologising to his sister while looking at her toes - they are painted with beautiful stars on them - he doesn't look her in the eyes. But Bat's sister uses her finger to force Bat's head up and to make him look into her eyes. Bat states he DOSN'T like looking into peoples eyes, but he knew it made his sister feel happy so he did anyway for her sake. This is portrayed as some great moment, complete with an illustration of Bat's sister doing this, as if it's some great breakthrough and touching moment. No, it is not. This is full on, the absolute worse thing you could ever do to an autistic person.
Do not ever, EVER make us look into your eyes if we do not want to. You do not have any idea the amount of mental or physical torture this is, despite it being an easy thing for an allistic person. It may not seem that big of a deal for you, and that I am over-reacting, but it honestly is abuse. It reeks of ABA (a common 'treatment' for autistm that us autistic folk are against) and wanting the autistic person to cater to the allistic folk around them - when we spend EVERY SECOND of our lives doing that anyway. So for once, allistic folk, change your expectations and cater to us for once and let us look at your toes. This was not a great moment. This was horrible. It ruined and spoiled the whole book for me, and I will not be reading the sequel.
TW: racism, discrimination, homophobia, depression, mental health issues, complicated parental relationships, depictions of self harm, emotional abuse
A great book if you want to jump from YA - a sweet and honest exploration of doing everything society expects, but still 'failing'. Mental heath, diversity, absolutly hilarious characters, I loved it.
A great book if you want to jump from YA - a sweet and honest exploration of doing everything society expects, but still 'failing'. Mental heath, diversity, absolutly hilarious characters, I loved it.
TW: alcoholism, physical abuse, emotional abuse, suicide, suicide ideation, death, cults, drunk driving, neglect
Whew. A very raw and deep look into the author's life that was poisoned by alcahol and neglect. She dosnt shy away from her flaws either. Not an easy read, but very good. Check trigger warnings.
Whew. A very raw and deep look into the author's life that was poisoned by alcahol and neglect. She dosnt shy away from her flaws either. Not an easy read, but very good. Check trigger warnings.
*Thanks to Netgalery for the eARC of this middle grade graphic novel*
(TW: None)
This collection of comic strips by Steenz flew me back to my days as a goofy 11 year old. This would have been just the sort of comic strip I would have read and re-read over and over again. Delightful humour and a charming drawing style, I felt instant nostalgia reading this! I loved it, and hope to see a sequel soon!
(TW: None)
This collection of comic strips by Steenz flew me back to my days as a goofy 11 year old. This would have been just the sort of comic strip I would have read and re-read over and over again. Delightful humour and a charming drawing style, I felt instant nostalgia reading this! I loved it, and hope to see a sequel soon!
*Thank you to NetGallery and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for the eARC of this book*
Note: This review is coming from a queer, non-binary, asexual person.
TW: None
What an amazing book! First off, the illustrations by Jem Milton were amazing. So dynamic, yet calming. I loved how incisive the art was as well. Each page told a story about the person featured in such simple yet deep detail.
Now the topic! It was such an informative and interesting explanation of each flag. You got to learn the flag creator, when it was created, what the colours mean, and even I learned new things! Such as the term polysexual, which I do believe is a correct label for me!
This is a great way for younger readers not only to learn about the flags, but also learn that they are not alone, what their options are for labelling themselves, and figuring out their own identifies.
Note: This review is coming from a queer, non-binary, asexual person.
TW: None
What an amazing book! First off, the illustrations by Jem Milton were amazing. So dynamic, yet calming. I loved how incisive the art was as well. Each page told a story about the person featured in such simple yet deep detail.
Now the topic! It was such an informative and interesting explanation of each flag. You got to learn the flag creator, when it was created, what the colours mean, and even I learned new things! Such as the term polysexual, which I do believe is a correct label for me!
This is a great way for younger readers not only to learn about the flags, but also learn that they are not alone, what their options are for labelling themselves, and figuring out their own identifies.
*Many thanks to Legendary Comics and NetGallery for the eARC of this graphic novel*
TW: Violence, racism, murder, physical trauma triggers for main character, strangling, cockfighting
The cover of this graphic novel blew me away and me hooked right in. I already knew what I was getting, and wasn't disappointed after reading! The art was crisp, clear, and very reminiscent of classic comic book styles, but with its own flair and unique aesthetic.
The historical aspects seem on point, and though I'm no expert in the subject, what I did already know the story seemed to follow.
My only complaint would be there were moments that dragged on a bit too long, or could have been mentioned in afterthought, rather than take us through each step, but the slowness didn't hamper my enjoyment.
TW: Violence, racism, murder, physical trauma triggers for main character, strangling, cockfighting
The cover of this graphic novel blew me away and me hooked right in. I already knew what I was getting, and wasn't disappointed after reading! The art was crisp, clear, and very reminiscent of classic comic book styles, but with its own flair and unique aesthetic.
The historical aspects seem on point, and though I'm no expert in the subject, what I did already know the story seemed to follow.
My only complaint would be there were moments that dragged on a bit too long, or could have been mentioned in afterthought, rather than take us through each step, but the slowness didn't hamper my enjoyment.