ashleyholstrom's Reviews (1.38k)

It's a choose your own gender adventure, with history lessons!

★ Note: I work for the publisher, and this review is mine, ALL MINE!

Alyssa Sheinmel is a treasure. She writes mental illness like no one else, with a stunning stream-of-consciousness style that feels real. What Kind of Girl is such an important book about what domestic violence can look like, and the many ways survivors and bystanders battle with the truth.

(Content warning for domestic violence, bulimia, and self-harm)

I love this book so much, I cannot even.

★ Note: I work for the publisher, and this review is mine, ALL MINE!

Mellie is a good girl from a good family, and Lise is the outspoken feminist friend who shows her that good people can outgrow their family’s beliefs. When Mellie is raped and becomes pregnant, she grapples with the trauma of the rape and then the panic of what to do next. She can’t tell anyone, because they will assume she’s a heathen who is lying about the rape only because she got pregnant. She visits clinics that lie to her. She hides from everyone and everything — except her journal. It’s heart-wrenching. I cried and screamed and stayed up past my bedtime to finish reading her story.

★ Disclosure: I work for the publisher and I’d love this book even if I didn’t work on it.

From the Best Books We Read in July 2018 at Book Riot.

"I suppose your name is the first thing that ever really belongs to you, but when you think about it, it's not really yours at all."

Marvelous.

The story begins with Hannah adamant that it's all been a misunderstanding. She’s brilliant. She’s mature. She’s well-read. She just has to wait this out. She’s surely not a danger to herself and others. She doesn't belong in a psychiatric hospital.

And then it sort of turns into a quasi-thriller. I couldn’t put it down.

This book is so much in my wheelhouse. I can’t wait for the rest of the world to read it.

★ Note: I work for the publisher, and this review is mine, ALL MINE!

It’s fairytales, but replace the humans with cats! Sleeping Beauty’s true love’s first kiss comes from a cat, Rapunzel’s prince rescues his cats, etc. Yamine Surovec adds contemporary snark to these classic tales turned furry, and it’s a delight. I don’t know about you, but these are now the only kinds of fairytales I want to read.

From The Cat's Pajamas: 9 Funny Cat Books at Book Riot.

Breaking Cat News is all of my favorite things wrapped up into one perfect comic book. Reports include updates to the vicious return of the vacuum cleaner, the noisy upstairs neighbor cats, and the fun new plants growing around the house. The best part is that this book is based on Georgia Dunn’s cats.

From The Cat's Pajamas: 9 Funny Cat Books at Book Riot.