cantfindmybookmark's Reviews (505)

I wrapped up this gem today and my goodness, it was not what I expected. But it was lovely. 

The setting is early 90s Portland, Oregon. Biracial siblings, Iph and Orr are left alone with their father for the summer while their mother attends an artist dance residency. Things unravel when their father has Orr kidnapped and sent to boot camp. 

In response, Iph runs away from her sheltered suburban life in search of her brother who has escaped the boot camp and is now missing in the streets of Portland. Iph is aided by hew very own “Robin Hood” in the form of gender-queer George and George’s picket pittie. 

Meanwhile, Orr, who is neurodivergent and has difficulty breaking from his routine, finds refuge with the all-girl punk band The Furies. 

This is a coming of age take unlike anything you’ve ever read. It deals with some heavy topics as the siblings navigate homelessness, drug use, homophobia, sex-work activism, and child abuse, their own sexuality and budding romances. Despite this, the book is lighthearted and heartwarming. The book and it’s narrators are nonjudgmental almost past the point of believability. But I enjoyed it. 

It drips with magical realism, folklore, feminism, zines, and RIOT GIRRRL 90s nostalgia.  This book also made me extremely homesick for Oregon. 

Anyway, I highly recommend.

I don’t really know how I felt about this one. I thought it started so strong and I was intrigued from the beginning. I liked how Temple broke the 4th wall and addressed the readers, although sometimes it felt a bit too much. The premise is interesting. A girl with both mommy and daddy issues goes to a summer meditation retreat for young women at the same meditation center where her father was last seen. She falls in with a mysterious clique of girls seeking enlightenment and the ability to levitate. Despite that intriguing premise though, the book didn’t land with me. I thought the protagonist’s motives were unclear. Her quest to find her father gets lost in the story, and it’s resolution feels like an afterthought. Also, the girls obsession with, why I consider to be a basic bro in a pony tail, was infuriating. There were hints at queerness between the girls that were never fully explored, which I found irritating. Overall, it felt a bit heavy handed and unsatisfying. BUT I’ve read some wonderful reviews about this book, so if you’re interested I encourage you to give it a try. Also, if you have read it I would love to hear your thoughts. Maybe I just missed something while reading it.