Book two in the Legacy of Orisha series, CHILDREN OF VIRTUE AND VENGEANCE picks up right where CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE left off. Zélie and Amari have brought magic back, but the ritual had further reaching consequences than they expected, and now the maji and the monarchy are at full-blown war.

Being the middle book in a series is a tough spot to be in. It took me a bit to remember who was who and how the magic system worked, but once I settled in, CVV was nearly as gripping as the first book in this series. I say nearly because while there's a lot of action, it's very much a two steps forward, one step back situation for a lot of the book as the pieces get set for the final showdown to come. At the same time, Adeyemi is great a writing battle scenes, and so much in this book is just so darn cool, even when the story is spinning its wheels.

Either way, I'm looking forward to the conclusion of this series. Additionally, please quit mucking around with the current love interest setups and just put Zélie and Amari together, thanks.

Part memoir and part educational text, THE COLLECTED SCHIZOPHRENIAS is a set of essays that chronicles Wang's experience with schizoaffective disorder, ranging from early misdiagnoses to involuntary hospitalizations to searching for answers beyond Western medicine.

I first encountered Wang's writing when the essay "Perdition Days" was published on The Toast (RIP). I was immediately drawn to her clear, concise writing style, which she displays in every essay in this book. Wang knows most Americans are only familiar with pop culture depictions of schizophrenia, and she neatly breaks those down and contrasts them with the many realities of actually living with it.

I'd seen many reviews for this book talk about how thoroughly researched it is, with many citations, and I worried that it would be like reading a textbook. While these things about it are true, it's very much still Wang's personal story. And yet, at the same time, she never lets it get too voyeuristic - rather than linger on the details of her delusions they are simply spoken about in a matter of fact way, in a stark contrast to how mental illness is often portrayed in the media.

Thank you to Doubleday Books for the free advance copy of this book.

In suburban Los Angeles, a pregnant 18 year old teenager works as a pizze delivery driver. While in the midst of grieving the sudden death of her alcoholic father, she finds herself fixated on Jenny, a new customer who orders a pepperoni and pickles pizza for her son every Wednesday.

PIZZA GIRL is a deeply engrossing, wildly unique coming of age novel. Our protagonist, pregnant but still living at her mother's home, floats somewhere between childhood and adulthood. While her boyfriend gives up college to take care of her, she can't help but peek into all the lives of her delivery customers and wonder what else is out there.

It's been awhile since I read a novel where a teenage character truly felt like a teenager. I could viscerally feel all those weird things I fixated on when I was that age, and found myself immediately invested in the protagonist as she sank deeper into depression and confusion. Then, when the story takes a turn...I was gripping the edges of my ereader and leaning forward in my seat. Do not miss out on this singular novel.

Thanks to Catapult for the free advance copy of this book.

YOU EXIST TOO MUCH's unnamed narrator struggles with a lifetime of self-destructive relationships, beginning with her abusive mother. After yet another relationship implodes, she checks into an alternative therapy retreat to seek treatment for what's been labeled her "love addiction."

I have rather mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it's quite readable - I found myself drawn in to the story even when I wasn't sure I liked the book. The protagonist is a fascinating character, dealing with a soup of trauma and bad decisions that she desperately wants to fix, even though she has no idea how.

I enjoyed that while the narrator's identities - bisexual, Palestinian American, writer, etc. - are key to who she is but it isn't necessarily a story about her identities. Certainly the book wouldn't exist without the tension her identities create, but she feels like a whole person rather than a set of lessons.

YOU EXIST TOO MUCH walks riiight up to the trope of the cheating, voracious bisexual. It's about half a step from being a real negative stereotype. However, she's got just enough backstory that her actions feel true to what we know of her, though I felt a bit on edge about it for a lot of the book.

I do feel like this book wrapped up too quickly.

Her retreat experience was lacking in any actual effective therapies, and then she just continued on as before for awhile until she was suddenly just dating the right person who made it all stop. I didn't really get the sense that she'd learned anything about herself, just that it was time for the book to be over.