DNF at 65%. On a technical standpoint, I liked this book, and I’ll admit that the Quebec-inspired queernorm setting was both unique and fun, but I found the plot repetitive and the characters far too standard. There also wasn’t much chemistry in the enemies to “lovers” arc, I was really looking forward to reading about that but was gradually more disappointed. 

Like other books I’ve read with super powered characters, the inclusion of the abilities themself was very cheesy. I’m pretty sure the tone of this is meant to be fun, but even so, some of the dialogue was giving me CW Arrowverse vibes… and not in a good way.

I enjoyed the queer rep, though. Claude’s genderfluidity was interesting to read about, especially the effects of suppressing one part of his gender in order to maintain his “disguise” as Claire. I was expecting more from a vigilante POV, though. A lot of the feelings and ethics in this book felt simplified, and his chapters were no exception.

Saw a production of this on April 26, 2025 (the setting was updated to be in 2000, but the dialogue seemed to be pretty much the same, so I’m allowing myself to review the actual script). Seeing this with my family was fun: the plot was admittedly predictable, but correctly guessing the events or twists was enjoyable. The characters were interesting, especially the complicated relationships between John, Elaine and Blanche— a lot more is spelled out through actions and directions instead of dialogue, which I liked. It prevents the viewing experience from being painfully on-the-nose. Elaine’s PTSD-adjacent reactions were a creative (but also slightly exploitative) method of exposition, although it’s made clunkier by the ending. Seeing it be performed, though, made the entire thing seem almost boringly slow (made especially so by there only being one setting), but theatre nerds who care more about characters than plot will enjoy it.

The second act was interesting, I was very intrigued by the gaslighting parallels, and how Elaine flipped the dynamic between her and John RIGHT as he was starting to show his true colors. But I hated the ending twist. I was expecting more from this play, and, sure, while it does a fantastic job at foreshadowing, the truth/culprit so painfully stereotypical.

Perhaps it’s on me for expecting something feminist in 1972, but all the horror of “Night Watch” comes from Elaine being repeatedly doubted and gaslit, so… why did the playwright feel the need to make her this mastermind determined to expose her husband’s infidelity?? Not only does it evaporate the tension, it has misogynistic undertones imo, even if Elaine used misogyny to her advantage in the last scene? And it feels like a cheap attempt at being unpredictable.

Not sure if I’d recommend this. I guess so, if you know the theatre company performing it will be great. If you’re just intending to read this on your own, or judge it as a piece of text, it’s okay. Or terrible, depending on how pretentious you think it is. 

“Time and Time Again” is a romance first, and a time loop novel second: There was a little less plot and much lower stakes than I was anticipating, given the premise, but the banter was fun. (Though, it started far too early. It tried to be explained away with Jess wanting to maintain their friendship with Phoebe and act as if nothing awkward had happened, but I was still a little off-put..?) I think the characters were also likable, despite Phoebe and Jess being the only ones allowed to have permanent growth (most of the time). All of “No Pictures, Please” were pretty spot-on for their age group, down to some of the quips they’d use.

I enjoyed the representation! Phoebe’s struggles over her IBS not being understood or acknowledged (and how that intersects with fatphobia) seemed to be handled very well, and it was refreshing to see it discussed in a YA novel. (Especially one that is hopeful.) Her and Jess’s physical limits were definitely considered throughout the plot, and seeing them take advantage of that in the loop a bit was pretty creative. I also love how Phoebe being a lesbian attracted to a nonbinary person wasn’t something that she questioned at all, and that Jess was lesbian as well! In general, her and Jess’s relationship was quite sappy and I liked how earnest it was. The twist that happened when both of them got out of the time loop actually saddened me?? Like damn!! 

The twists in how everyone’s memories and the space time continuum were affected by the time loop were so confusing?! If they remember the other August 6ths, but not that they were all technically the same day, do they just think they’re from a week or month they forgot about? (I think so, based on the response Phoebe’s dad gave.) Why did Jess temporarily lose their memories? Was the loop really just centered around Phoebe?

I guess this is a sort of standard romance that just has the added bonus of being lesbian. Still, it was fun, despite the inherent repetition of the story, and something about a time loop taking place in the pre-senior year transition period and fully leaning into the coming-of-age aspect was satisfying to me.

“The Church Of The Mountain Of Flesh” has got to be one of the most unique reading experiences I’ve had. I can best describe it as a fever dream that is horrifying and erotic in equal parts. (Or, for a more SFW description, it’s like the feeling of walking into a comic shop as a kid, looking through stuff you’re definitely too young for, exposing yourself to horror comics for the first time, and after you leave, being left with this trailing feeling of dread over seeing something you didn’t know it could be written or drawn.)

Sole was an engaging character to follow, he is a rare case of a purposefully unlikeable MC that I still loved. (Which is an incredible feat, considering as he’s barely sympathetic.) I was in an interesting zone between wanting to root for him, and wanting other people to retaliate against him even if I knew the narrative wouldn’t be in their favor. His grief, morphing terror (and eventual madness), and animalistic desperation to transition were so strong that it was sometimes uncomfortable: There isn’t a moment in his POV where there doesn’t seem to be some raw, festering emotion, the main varying factor is his level of awareness or self-loathing around it. I feel that the scenes of him leading the church are a good mix of psychoanalysis material, and unreliable narration. 

The cast is a bit extensive, so it was difficult for me to keep track of all the characters sometimes (also because they’re Italian, and I’m not used to reading Italian words and names), but the few of them that Sole regards as friends or important people stuck with me. I understand Malacresta being a fan favorite, although I gravitated towards Ersilio, possibly because he seems to be one of the more caring and reasonable people in the cast? He was the most different from his younger self, and I thought his dynamic with Sole was especially interesting —he wasn’t exactly someone to agree with Sole’s decisions, but he was still empathetic enough towards him that it made him susceptible to manipulation. (Also, Sole’s attachment to him was a little gay-coded…) I know it being tragic is the point, but I’m pissed about his fate.

I really loved the progression of other characters’ relationships with Sole, too, the familiarity and tight-knit nature of the village made a couple changes in dynamic really stand out to me. Especially with Prasede and Sole’s relationship, the domino effect of it was so strange and unexpected. My only gripe is that I feel as if the characters sometimes acted younger than their ages. 

Unsure how to feel about Nene. Sole has a softness for him specifically that you never see directed towards any other character, despite their relationship being Chernobyl-toxic, but the progression towards it was so strangely-structured? He was also a little too mystified by the narrative, in my opinion. (For a portion of the book, it was difficult to pinpoint his character.) He also ties into an issue I have with the horror and the writing style as a whole, which is that it’s so wrapped up in being something both beautiful and incomprehensible that it is sometimes painful to read. I can’t tell if it’s just a result of me struggling with imagining something so eldritch and impossible, though, so take this with a grain of salt?? I wouldn’t say the prose is purple, but I feel there should’ve been an additional round of editing because of the amount of run-on sentences. I’m glad that there were illustrations, not just because I thought they looked awesome, but I desperately needed the visual aid sometimes😭

(Nene losing his humanity over time was so interesting, though!!! I thought it was written very well and I loved Sole’s gradual realization. oughhh the anguish. I anticipate revisiting this one day so I can better pinpoint when Nene isn’t himself anymore.)

I have a couple other issues, which aren’t many but they’re still major enough for me to dock my rating. Firstly, without spoiling the ending too much, there were several full-circle moments, and I thought the parallels were a little overdone?? The last part of the book is very unambiguous, so it didn’t muddy what happened, but I was confused at how much of it was cyclical? Is there some meaning in that? (Probably.) Secondly, the past-tense chapters were confusing to me. The book design meant that I was never confused about something being in the past or present, but the timeline wasn’t exactly set in stone at a couple points. For example, it could be hard to tell if a certain character could still be acting the way they were because they were 19 and decided to get married, or they were just immature? 

Overall, though, this was really cool, and I see potential for Kyle Wakefield as an author. I don’t think I can find an unabashedly trans and trippy story like this one in the traditional publishing world.

There are two moments that will haunt my dreams: Nene’s head hanging upside down from his monstrous body on the crypt walls, and Sole being forcibly detransitioned in front of everyone to test his faith.

I see the importance, and I liked the art just as much, but this had the quickest pacing of all three volumes, and it felt like the story modeled around the messages instead of the other way around. (Lots of after school special vibes.) Not to say that this series does subtlety, but the characters had a little more substance to them in volumes 1 and 2. I did like how generational grief (and, in some cases, anger) was handled, though.

I appreciated the issues being tackled, especially the realism of the teens’ (abusive) wilderness “therapy”, but the pacing was slow, the horror basic, and I found out through spoilers that there’s an enemies-to-lovers romance with a character I cannot stand. The writing was good, though. 

Thank you to Macmillan Children’s for the eARC!

As a reader who doesn’t neatly fit into the gender binary, I was very excited to receive the approval for this book!! Queer representation in middle grade is still scarce, particularly trans representation (ESPECIALLY if it’s non-white, good lord), but “Ollie In Between” is one of the newer additions to a subcategory of quietly impactful self-discovery narratives. Despite my rating technically being on the lower side, I’m purposeful with that word choice: Callans provides a visceral, often deeply uncomfortable, glimpse into entering puberty with a body your true self isn’t recognized in. The discomfort Ollie feels goes deeper than a stereotypical “born into the wrong body” narrative, focusing a bit more on the pain of gender being thrust upon someone. (To say it brought back some repressed memories and emotions would be a gross understatement. I bawled.)

Besides that, though, I really enjoyed the portrayal of neurodivergence (in this case, what seems to be autism)! It added an extra layer to Ollie’s dilemma around not fitting in with their peers, and it was left in subtext instead of being spelled out as something that most likely complicated their coming out journey. The sensory overload scenes were also well-written, they showed the overwhelm and emotional triggers of them so well it made me uneasy. 

I can’t speak on the experiences of the cruelty of middle schoolers— around that time of my life, I was in a queer bubble of sorts— but I liked the complexity in some of Ollie’s other relationships, particularly with their sister (Lila), and their father. I’m very happy to see longer-term grief being discussed in more kidlit (which is kinda contradictory to say, seeing as it makes me miserable if it resonates). While Ollie’s thoughts around it were simplistically worded, their feelings still had depth to them, and their father was awkward and sweet in equal measure. Lila felt like she’d be a one-dimensional character at first, but I was pleased when that wasn’t the case.

I would have liked to see more time with the QSA, though! Ollie spent so much of the book being bullied by their other friends that there weren’t as many pages with that group. Stella was also the only member I actually liked, and wasn’t just neutral about…? (Please take those criticisms with a grain of salt, I may have blocked out certain moments from my memory as I was reading. I was having a rough time.)

And, speaking of Ollie’s awful friends from early childhood: I hated the ending. I get keeping things hopeful, and I think with one of the characters there were indicators of Ollie’s forgiveness being tied more to wishful thinking(poor baby), but with the other character, the turnaround was so abrupt that it frustrated me. (Especially because, no other spoilers, but that specific character was probably the cruelest towards Ollie!!) I was actually shaking with rage I’m sorry😭

Another thing I didn’t like was the pacing, it’s slow from both the character-driven story, and Ollie’s thoughts going in circles until they come to terms with their identity. And maybe it’s because I’m used to reading about neurodivergent characters describing their traits with animals, but their attitude didn’t feel unique, either.

Still, though, this was objectively well-written, and I wholeheartedly support its existence. And to my trans siblings, especially those that are depressed, please take care of yourselves if you read this. The frequent dysphoria and transphobia is probably obvious, but there’s also depictions of depression caused by it, and a moment where Ollie contemplates self-harm. (They don’t actually do it, but I still found it to be a very graphic scene, check the spoiler text in the triggers for more info on why.)

I’m not in the target demographic, so take my review with a grain of salt.

By the time I put this on Goodreads, I'll keep it at a 3 stars regardless. (Even if it's my rating rounded up.) A librarian/friend recommended this to me, but unfortunately, I don't think Kyle Lukoff's writing is for me. I'll admit, the beginning hooked me in, and I was excited to see what the main friend dynamic would entail. Although... I didn't feel much of a true bond, or solidarity, the further into the book I got? I've read some pretty on-the-nose side characters in recent times, but for a book with messaging around not trivializing your friends and loved ones, and discouraging classic fantasy tropes that make anyone other than the Chosen One inferior, there wasn't a ton of complexity in the main cast. I felt bad for Sal throughout, though.

I didn’t hate A as much as other reviewers did. I felt his mindset was understandable for his age, the forces he was dealing with, suddenly being the subject of a hero’s journey when his self esteem had been torn apart for a while (honestly, my ego would’ve gotten out of hand, too), and trying to be jaded and mature even when all the other figures in his life—adults or kids— had been emotionally immature. Still, feeling for a character isn’t the same as liking them, and his growth was too brief for that to shift my opinion of him.

Some of the dialogue was awkward, too, whether that be the same rhetoric and perspective repeated several times over by the transphobic adult characters (

look, I get focusing how people who can tolerate gay rights can hate trans people, especially in a progressive city like Seattle but there couldn’t at least be ONE registered republican the others “put their differences aside” to be friends with? Really? I feel like that’s super common

), or a superficial focus on different labels (I had to write down that scene with Razor in my notes, I hated that all their guesses were right). I feel like that extends to the golem thing, too, because it kinda just drops in to be vaguely helpful, speaks in occasional slang despite its ancientness, and leaves.

I don’t feel like giving this a 1 star because there were still characters I liked (the Singers, namely), the Shades were interesting and I appreciated them only partially being part of a broader allegory, I still thought that the experience of being a know-it-all queer youth was well-shown, and the Jewish mythos inclusion was cool to read about. In general, I liked the Jewishness in this book, I’m used to queer characters separating themselves from religion because of their identities, but it became an important and even validating part of A.

(And as a sidenote, I listened to the audiobook sample because I’m curious about how all the deadnames are narrated— did you know they’re censored with a kazoo?? It was a little uncanny at first, but it’s kinda funny.) 

Overall, I’m frustrated. I had high hopes for this book, and its importance cannot be understated, but I disliked the execution. With that said, I’m curious about what kid readers think about it. (Though… I’m not sure if I know of any kids who would voluntarily read this? It’s heavy, and probably deeply triggering to the trans folks it’s aimed towards😭)