Oh, my boys. I love them so.

Heartstopper continues to be a supremely comforting series, even as Oseman takes her characters through more emotionally heavy arcs. I'm glad that she explores the limits of what love alone can do in helping another person to heal, and the importance of community support. Charlie and Nick's friend group really shines here, which is great not only for the plot, but for readers like me who like having a whole ensemble of little beans to root for.

Things that made me happy:
1. More Elle!
2. Nick's new puppy!

A rollicking, fun mashup of various Shakespearean odds and ends filtered through a Discworld lens. One of my favorites so far… I can see why the witches are so beloved.

My first Becky Chambers, but certainly not my last. I picked up A Psalm for the Wild-Built because everyone I know who has read it has loved it, and because lately I’m really interested in stories about AIs interacting with humans. I ended up reading this one in a single day, completely enveloped in the gentle story of a burnt-out monk reluctantly gaining a robot traveling companion who sees wonder in every small detail of the world. I had to stop in the middle for a tattoo appointment, where I recommended it to my artist as she worked on me, and then finished back at home last night. I correctly predicted that it would make me cry, not because it’s sad, but because of how much the characters see and care for one another by the end. It made me long for a turned-around world where we’re more careful with the planet and with each other. And it was just the warm-hug-and-hot-cup-of-tea sort of book that I needed after a couple of really bad weeks.

I now understand why one of my fellow Glassers got a tattoo paying homage to this book, is what I’m saying.

More content that I've already seen covered in the anime. Yamai is just as creepy in this format and continues to be my least favorite character.

The summer vacation arc is one of my favorite parts of the series thus far, because it shows more of the characters' home lives and how they interact with one another outside of school. I love the chapter where Komi and her dad go out to get shaved ice together, understanding each other so well without having to speak.

My headcanon is that Najimi was desperately trying to crack Tadano’s egg with this whole “extra maid outfit” scheme.

The second volume of this phenomenal series finds Tusuku becoming more involved in the community at Someone-san's drop-in center, helping to renovate an old house and attempting--at times clumsily--to understand and to help the gender-nonconforming/questioning Misora. I continue to love Kamatani's art, rife with aquatic imagery, visual metaphors, and dynamic panel layouts that gracefully convey their characters' emotions. And I appreciate their willingness to write messy characters who don't have all the answers and who fuck up in the ways that they handle one another.

Saving my thoughts for my review of the fourth and final volume, which I'm reading now.

I couldn't wait to read more of this series, and now I'm kind of sad that it's already over. That said, the ending to Our Dreams at Dusk is perfect, wrapping up some storylines while leaving others in a hopeful state of openness.

As with the previous volumes, what impressed me the most was Yuhki Kamatani's lush and occasionally surreal artwork and their willingness to cover heavier topics, both of which add a sophistication to the series that I didn't necessarily expect going in. I anticipated fluff, but what I got was better: a cast of complicated characters with highly emotional stories, and an examination of the harm that even well-intentioned people can inflict on others.

When I finished, I felt like the characters were friends that I was saying goodbye to and hoping their lives turn out well, which is a pretty strong endorsement for a series. Highly recommended.