angel_ontheother's Reviews (393)

"Flamer" by Mike Curato is a graphic novel that powerfully tells an important story.

Flamer is a coming of age story, about a boy learning how to navigate life as a young queer person of color, particularly coming from a Catholic background. I think the main character, Aiden, is a character many can relate to yet don't often see represented in media.

The themes are a bit dark at times but there are also some good laughs here and there!

I appreciate the use of a limited color palette, mostly black and white with pops of red and orange. It made for some stunning spreads. Overall, I'd say this is a good book.

Most of the poems didn't particularly move me, but two of them were cool to read because I realized they were things that other writers I like, have referenced in their own work. I didn't even realize that going into it, so it was exciting and surprising to make those connections! 

This pulled me in at the first line. Seriously, the opening line is great! It immediately felt like something out of the Murderbot Diaries universe, the writing and worldbuilding style is similar so that got my attention. (I definitely think The Murderbot Diaries is better though).

The plot is kind of weird, it's funny, and there are philosophical elements as well. The plotline isn't overly complicated and there isn't too much technical jargon, so it was easy to get into and comfortable to read, especially because it felt familiar since I've read similar things before. I didn't love it, but I liked it enough that I added the sequel to my TBR. 

If you like The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, The Martian by Andy Weir, or similar books (space exploration, dry humor, etc.), you will probably enjoy this too! 

(To preface: I haven't read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn). 

It took me a while to get into this. The plot structure is different from what I'd expected, so it took me a while to adjust to. I eventually realized that longer reading sessions were better than short ones – once I got into a good reading groove, I read the second half of the book in basically one sitting, and found it to be very engaging and enjoyable! I'm glad I gave this book a shot despite thinking I wouldn't be able to totally get into it.

There were some pretty grim scenes, which I had anticipated, but what I didn't know, was that there would also be a fair amount of humor weaved in. Certain parts had me laughing out loud! The humor balanced out the heavy emotions and helped the plot go at a quick pace. 

I thought the use of code-switching was brilliantly done, and there's a plot twist near the end that got me good but also made sense in retrospect. I would definitely recommend this!

"If Beale Street Could Talk" by James Baldwin got me out of a reading slump!

I'm glad I gave Baldwin a second chance. I had read Giovanni's Room a few years ago and didn't enjoy it much at all (I know, unpopular opinion), but this book sounded more like my taste so I picked up a copy from the library.

This hooked me in right away. When I sat down to start it, I thought I'd only read the first few pages, considering my slump-ish state, but I ended up reading almost 30 pages in one sitting! 

The plot is engaging but I think the narrative voice is what I liked most about it. This was written from the perspective of a young woman. The language feels believable, and I agree with the back cover describing it as "honest." Aside from a few slang words and phrases; it feels timeless. In some ways, the timelessness to the story is a bitter thing, considering the themes: systemic racism and sexual violence, corrupt "justice" systems, poverty; it's the type of thing you wish were outdated, but for many, it's no different from the present. This is also a story of love and hope, but my mind tends to hold on to the dim side of things.

There are no chapters, which I usually find to be challenging, but the mostly-casual yet sometimes-lyrical writing style kept the pace flowing smoothly. Some of the content was outside my comfort zone but the writing style and story made it worth it, this was a page turner for me. I finished in about four sittings. I would recommend this!

I honestly did not enjoy the Frankenstein portion of this story collection. The first half was too faithful to the original story and the second half wasn't faithful enough, and overall it felt very rushed. On the other hand, most of the other stories in the collection were cool, especially the ones that were interconnected! My favorite story out of everything was definitely "Pen Pal."