I was hesitant about the first half of this book. I think the writing style will turn a lot of people off: it’s often simplistic(sometimes overly so), and has a ton of run-on sentences, especially when talking about Noa’s aiSenses. At least with the latter thing, I could excuse it because it very much sounded like autistic ramblings, which is in character for Noa. (Her special interest is clearly AI tech/toys.) But other than that, a couple of character introductions were really awkward to read, and some of the messaging was ramble-y or preachy.

But once I got past that, I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would? The Roaring Pebbles group showcased a lot of different kinds of autism, while also managing to highlight the different kinds of intersectional identities autistic kids might have, and keeping distinctive voices for all the group members. One of these methods of doing so was through showcased essays made by the members, some of which remaining anonymous and others not. That’s a lot more interesting than it sounds, I promise!: each essay followed a different (but still related) topic, they were never very long, and it was pretty obvious from the kinds of writing that each kid had a different grasp on their emotions, different upbringings, etc.

Of course, the novel still stays focused on our protagonist, Noa. I liked how her different cultures and intersections were talked about in relation to her autism! Also, because some of the quirks of the writing style actually worked in favor of showing the mindset of an autistic character(see: the rambling, but also some of it was pretty direct?), it felt like you were inside her thoughts for a lot of the book. That counts for both her passions and her most stressful moments. (And sidenote: I really liked how when she heard something ableist, even if it was from another neurodivergent person, she didn’t even attempt to laugh at it and stayed straight-faced lol.) And overall I found her to be a lovable protagonist. Her letters to B when he was in the depression trenches made me tear up.

But seriously though, I loved the group: The different parts of the autism spectrum on full display, how there was just enough time shown for each meeting to make the group’s different goals obvious and their development as a friend group a little more real, and also, there was room for typical teenage shenanigans! There was a kind of stupid love triangle with one of the side characters! Some of the kids are working through their own issues of if they want to stay in their own city or figure out a way to get outside it! I love that for neurodivergent, specifically autistic, protagonists, because of how frequently autistic people can be infantilized.

(It’s also worth noting that there were a couple of awkward moments or conflicts with the Roaring Pebbles. Not anything that wasn’t resolved, though.)

Closing thoughts: 1) I can’t quite grasp the aiSenses. I have tried to. I think the picture book subplot helped me understand them better but I am still confused? 2) While Noa’s Sierra Leonean culture was referenced in her essay that she did on autism assessments being limited in cultural understanding(which was very interesting, by the way! I loved that there were actual citations with actual links provided), other than a few other times in the story, it wasn’t included much? I would’ve liked to see a little more of it. Or maybe I’m forgetting something? 3) Yes, the ending was wish-fulfillment. And yes, it happened pretty quickly. I care a bit about that, especially because Noa could be a liiittle cringe, but overall, this was an optimistic book I was glad to read.

God I would’ve loved to have a group like the Pebbles at my highschool lol

*********
pre-review:
Noa I love love your ambition but u cannot cure racism even in just two concentrated populations of people lol

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Of the queer retellings that have been released in recent history, “The Palace Of Eros” definitely seems to be the most faithful to its original story, with only a couple changes made for characterization. (For instance, Psyche’s sisters are meant to be more than just spiteful villains in her story, and not only are they a little better than their original counterparts, but there’s more reasoning for their jealousy.) Psyche’s POV chapters are told truly like a storyteller’s, with a bit of fourth wall-breaking and indulgence in her own poetry. I liked how Eros’s complicated gender was handled in the context of the story and her relationship with Psyche, especially within the context of Greek gender roles(and how they’re guarded by egotistical gods!). All of this is told in a very flowery, lyrical writing style.

But, as you might have noticed I was hinting at, the beautiful writing of this novel is sometimes to its own detriment. While sometimes different emotions and messages get across eloquently, frequently, the prose is very purple. This is, in my opinion, worsened by the middle of this novel not having much plot to it. Even Eros and Psyche’s relationship development doesn’t feel swoon-worthy or very believable, as most of it is done through sex. Consequently, the story was a little dull until the trials.

Still though, the resolution was satisfying, and I thought the last third or so was strong. It’s enough to prevent the experience from being a waste of time, but not enough to turn this into an amazing book.

Sped through this. It was fun and sugary sweet(not just because of the desserts!), with a small little mystery of sabotage, and had an unexpectedly believable sideplot of writing dealing with online harassment and bigotry. I’m not going to lie, I wish we got more character development, especially with *both* parts of the love triangle, but Shireen was a pretty well-written flawed teenage character. She semi-frequently erred but it wasn’t enough to make me want to bash my head against a wall lol. (Probably because she also didn’t make that many major mistakes, even if she could be unintentionally self-centered at times?)

I’m bummed we didn’t spend more time on some of the challenges, but I’m really most disappointed by the romance itself. I could pick up on when there was some romantic tension, and I was biting my nails through the love triangle drama, but there wasn’t anything that seemed truly believable or swoon-worthy. And the resolution was a little rushed.

Still though, I liked how the reality TV backdrop/plot was handled, both on and off the camera, and I liked most of the cast. (Fatima and Shireen’s friendship was my favorite, through their ups and downs. But I’m biased, Fatima kind of reminded me of one of my cousins haha.) Also, I can’t fully speak on the fat rep, but it was nice to have Shireen’s story exist without all the traumatic content usually present in stories with fat MCs. 

I can still see myself recommending this because it was overall an enjoyable read, even if the romance part that’s advertised and focused on fell through.

“Pluralities” is not a sci-fi book meant for everyone, but I loved it to pieces. While there’s a lack of worldbuilding and fleshing out some of the elements(like the “she” stamps), I was, surprisingly, able to overlook it. Because a lot of this is the metaphorical, deeply personal representation of gender, and the messy (ongoing) journey to find a way to fit into it. It’s not <i>meant</i> to be some detailed, lush sci-fi novella. Thankfully, the characters were able to compensate for the bare bones setting. 

My upbringing was only loosely similar to the first POV’s, but I still found that their thoughts articulated much of my gender and the different facets of it. (They never had a name, should I just call them They because of the pronoun stamp stuff?) It’s so cool to have that kind of representation. And the power of T4T friends (with benefits lol)!! They felt seen by Theseus, and how he provided a space for them to figure out themself, but They still kept a very separate gender identity and experience with it. The two were in very different stages of their transition and that was represented interestingly in their characters. But also, I loved how real their friendship felt. From the shared early twenties angst, to the Stardew Valley references haha. 

And nobody told me there was going to be a heart-wrenching platonic love story between a spaceship and a prince(with two sets of eyes)??!! Ugh. Cornelius’s impulsiveness, naïveté and unintentional selfishness got on my nerves sometimes but he couldn’t help it. He was raised as a prince for god’s sake and the same time he tried figuring out himself was when he went and saw the rest of the world(and its threats) that he couldn’t really be in growing up. And how Bo would love him through that, because Cornelius cared just as much, the entire time, in his own flawed way…that was so sweet. 

Overall, beautiful book that I highly recommend. I definitely cried.

Admittedly not perfect—the mystery was a bit of a letdown, and the middle dragged—but a plucky protagonist(with fabulous taste in suits); a lived-in world that combined so many elements of steampunk, mythology and history that it was more imaginative than any other fantasy book I’ve read; and a pretty great sapphic romance made this a very enjoyable read. I do wish that this wasn’t sold as a standalone, though. While there’s bits of (admittedly clunky) summarizing of the previous Dead Djinn novellas implemented throughout to make this a sufficient introduction to the series, I couldn’t help but wonder if reading the other installments would flesh out the characters and world more. There seemed to be a bit of context I missed.

I’ll definitely check out the previous installments, and more of this author. Fatma is such a badass. 

Overall charming, with good art in cool-colored tones, tidbits of trans information intertwined into the narrative, and the occasional cat mention. Theo’s self-discovery was definitely a long, rocky and uncertain part of their life, and this book gets that across, but there the narrative doesn’t flip-flop or dance between different terms for too long. I resonated with a lot of this as a transmasc nonbinary person, even down to originally using the lesbian label(only stopping because of my own gender stuff) because I’ve never been attracted to men. It was interesting reading about how Theo would feel these blips and sparks of joy being referred to as a guy and with he/him pronouns early in their transition, because I use he/they pronouns myself and those emotions were kinda why I still use them.

The house metaphor wasn’t used as much as I was expecting it to be, though? It was mostly utilized at the end, and until then it was very sparse. Perhaps this was to make it more impactful whenever the author would show themself as one, but were also a couple of different metaphors that muddied it. Gender is a complicated thing, yes, but I think the metaphor of “your body is a home” for transgender experiences is kind of perfect, and I wish it was a bigger part of the illustrations/narrative(especially because it’s in the title)?

I do still feel like this can offer comfort for nonbinary and trans readers, though. It’s a bit more informative, but Theo puts just enough of themself into the book for it to avoid feeling like it’s devoid of any personal connection.

I was originally bummed to find out this was a romantasy after picking it up based on the hellish setting and the promise of a slightly vengeful (autistic) protagonist, but strangely, the romance was one of the strongest parts of the book! Alesta and Kyr’s bond was solid, their dynamic evidence of just how long-lasting it had been. The only downside was the nickname for Alesta, though…”my perfect calamity”?? The most painfully romantasy nickname I’ve heard in a while, even if I could gather the meaning. But at least it was used sparingly. (There were a couple not-so-subtle parallels to it throughout though, haha)

And one of the book’s messages—the one focused around how beauty can be unconventional—was executed, in part, through the eyes of yearning, demisexual Kyr. Something about using acespec characters for a romance that ties into that just…scratches my brain?!?! (also this I don’t know if Alesta is also acespec, but this could also probably be applied to how she viewed Kyr?)

But the plot itself was nothing to write home about. The lack of noticeable shifts between the different circles of hell weakened the setting, there was a commitment to keeping modern queer terminology out of this because of the time period but not the term “autistic” for some reason????, and there was unfortunately little of the pantheon explored by the end. (I get that Soladisa’s faith and knowledge was revealed to be pretty limited and often incorrect, but also, the information provided by Lia felt too last-minute to be a series of twists that could stick with me.) The antagonist was also predictable, and monologued for far too long. I was kind of waiting for him to get mauled by a monster or something, but alas.

Things I did like, though: For one, Alesta and Kyr have very different forms of autism, which influences their POVs and how they’re ostracized. I appreciated seeing different ends of the autism spectrum! I felt that was represented well. Secondly, Alesta was a solid protagonist. I usually find self-love arcs in YA to be very repetitive, boring or/and annoying, but hers brought a refreshing subversion to the constant self-sacrifices she made. It was nice to see one single thought she made in a moment of desperation eventually shape into development. Also, Alesta was a great example of writing an intelligent female character without dumbing down the rest of the cast. 

I keep my rating a little low despite singing my praises, because so much of this was meant to be centered around deconstructing oppressive religious views, and offering commentary, but it all felt very surface level. There wasn’t anything thought-provoking to be found in the text. At all.

Still, through its flaws, I was able to giggle in glee over yearning-filled romance, and get sucked into the tenseness of every monstrous threat until I lost track of the pages. I think that is worth something.

I can see kids that are fans of Percy Jackson and other mythology-focused action-packed stories really liking this. I loved the authentic and fun way Hawaiian mythos inspired and made the plot, there were several companions (or foes) that I enjoyed reading about. Kamapua’a, the mo’o, and Makani (my beloved, friendly genderless wind) were my personal favorites.

I’m also Coloradan, so although the references were to already well-known places, I appreciated them nonetheless. This isn’t my first time reading a local author, but it was my first time reading a diaspora story with a character living pretty close to me. I will admit, though, that the Gen Z lingo and pop culture references were a bit too much for me at times. (But. Specifically the lingo wasn’t nearly as pandering as some YA books I’ve read.) This, consequently, made Ilikei a very annoying character for the first quarter or half, especially when she was Anna/Lei’s only companion. Or maybe I just thought that because I dislike comic relief characters?

Also, the open-ended but still optimistic outlook on the Ripley side plot bothered me. She doesn’t seem like a good friend to Anna, I don’t see why she would try to gain back her approval. (I hope this will be addressed in the next book.)

But overall, I still enjoyed this (and I am sure the actual target demographic will enjoy it even more). Anna’s self-acceptance was very well-paced, and I will definitely be picking up the sequel to see how her, Kaipo and Ilikea’s future unfolds. Hopefully her Tūtū can have more story involvement?

My first book I’ve read by Cynthia Leticia Smith! I’m no fan of Peter Pan retellings, but I enjoyed the personalities (and sisterhood) added to Wendy and Lily. Their POV chapters were distinguishable, as well. (I would’ve, however, liked for the other characters’ personalities to feel as strong.)

Although this kept the main events of Peter Pan intact, it was very clear from the twists of the story that it was rewritten from a more critical (and mature) standpoint. Sometimes, this brought to light some rather horrific implications. I can see this being intense for the target demographic, even with the fourth wall breaks adding both a reminder of the fictitious-ness and adding some humor (but, there was once or twice where I thought they were redundant). Nevertheless, this kept some high-stakes adventure and fantasy, like the original.

My criticisms, though: First, without warning, sometimes there would be switches to other characters thoughts. I found it mildly annoying, as it sometimes resulted in timeline jumps. (Also, Wendy’s naïveté and quickness to turn on her sister, even pre-Fairy Dust, felt a little immature for a thirteen-year old.) Secondly,

Peter’s redemption was a mess. While I am glad the other kids didn’t forgive him, and the narrative still acknowledged he wasn’t entirely selfless when trying to better himself, the narrator was too easy on him for essentially kidnapping and/or killing kids for nearly a century. (Plus, Belle still forgave him.)

But overall, I still thought this was a solid, engaging read that can hopefully spur critical discussion. I’ll see Indigenous reviewers thoughts to see if I missed anything.

An incredibly realistic look into messy queer love, sometimes aggravatingly so, that still manages to avoid falling into the trappings of toxic sapphic archetypes. I would include Mitra’s queer longing into that sentence of praise, too, but there’s very little of it because the book is structured around her actual romantic relationship with Bea, not pining. Like some of the other reviewers, I wasn’t expecting that, and it was probably a result of the marketing.

The poetry in this is some of the strongest I’ve read in a YA novel(I’ve read quite a few in-verse, too), but it really shines when Mitra gets to yearn. In the beginning, when she’s analyzing her friendship with Bea, and if it could ever be something other than platonic. In the middle, when she wants to have her mother back in her life, and is struggling to come to terms with that. Those moments were when the featured bits of verse were more than just well-written metaphors. They were believable bits of emotion and internal conflict. (but if you were wondering, yeah…I thought the several poems about Bea and Mitra talking about how layered their love was could get a little repetitive. The only one of those that stuck with me was when Bea was dealing with her Catholic parents and she both used their relationship as defiance, and clung onto it for hope. I’m sure that one will resonate with a lot of people.)

Speaking of the poetry, I loved the actual class journal segments! Mrs Acosta’s notes reminded me of a couple of my highschool language arts teachers. Most accurate teacher feedback I’ve read in a book(probably also comes from the author working with kids/teens), and she as a character was a highlight. I loved how generally sweet and supportive she was, but also that she was able to have so much personality because she existed outside of the other strict and pious personality types seen in Mitra’s school. 

And this was already obvious, but Mitra’s family dynamic, especially her complicated relationship with her mother, was written with so much care and complexity. I loved the constant back-and-forth in how she addresses and thinks of her mom, too. There were so many layers, and it felt accurate for a teenager’s thoughts and trauma responses. 

But some minor critiques I have: 1) There were two or three parts where I think the author’s therapist background really showed, but not in a fully positive way. It didn’t make the dialogue feel stiff, thank god(..ha), but it did make certain revelations or themes feel on-the-nose. I doubt some teens on the middle/slightly younger side(like..14-16?) will notice it as much, though? 2) I’d like to have seen more of the actual friendship/pining stage!! The longing was spectacular. I’m not even asking for a ton, just 15 pages or so. If not for the pining, I would’ve liked to see a bit of Mitra and Bea’s friendship before the “will they won’t they” or the actual romance.