Objectively speaking, this book has some issues, among them pacing, character development, typographical errors, and a profound misunderstanding of how commas work in relation to dialogue. BUT it's an empowering story of a young girl finding her place and overcoming trauma. There are queer characters, birth control, sex positivity, periods, and MAGICAL HORSES. It's just the thing I needed right now, and I plan to turn to Mercedes Lackey for my escapism needs again and again. I so wish I had read this as a tween.

Strange and delightful.

I read this originally way back when I was a sophomore in high school, and I reread it now for my library system's staff book club. I remember quite liking it then, but I read it mainly because it was one of those big, important books that I felt like I should read. This time around, I was struck by the inherent pleasantness with which Adams wrote, a kind of good-natured smart-assedness that approaches horrible things with a humor by which you can't help but be charmed. (In reading reviews, I also realized that this is a smart book that makes stupid people think that it's stupid, which is a fun thing to observe.)

Dune always existed on the periphery of my consciousness as A Book That I Will Get Around To Someday. Then I fell in love with a guy who recited the Bene Gesserit litany against fear on our first date (obviously I found it charming), so someday stopped being an abstract and became a real thing.

I've come to the conclusion that I like Dune as a thing but not necessarily as an experience. Reading it wasn't that fun for me, but I like thinking about and discussing the characters and concepts. There were moments that were so strange that they inspired in me an almost giddy delight in the absurd. With prettier writing and better pacing, this would have been a five-star book for me. But then again, it's far superior to other older science fiction I've read, so I can't complain much.

Also, sandworms.