Justin A. Reynolds is one of my favorites writers. I wish I could've enjoyed this more, but it was too lackluster. I found this unfunny and boring.

The characters especially the older brother felt really flat and cliché.  I'm not expecting a kid to have a nuanced perspective of the people around him, but everyone felt like blank archetypes.

Eddie wasn't the worst. His attention span and narrative voice is spontaneous, and his thoughts jump quickly. He's also PAINFULLY long-winded.

Ultimately, too much time spent on laundry in the beginning. I started skimming toward the end, but I don't remember the story resolving what happened to everyone. I didn't enjoy this story, but I still think YA is where Reynolds shines.

SN: I adore the cover so much. Just beautiful! 

I fully acknowledge I may be missing the intentions, cultural ques, or sub context, but the recurring theme of this collection is I don’t know what is going on. Maybe I’m not “deep’ enough or something’s lost in translation.

Reading the essay at the end is required to understand the stories fully. If I could do it over, I recommend reading the essay first.

Nonsense (1 star)
I guess. Pretty dull. Over-eager vigilante dude is cursed into a time loop.

he’s compelled to kill all evildoers until his murders end him up in prison then hell. In hell, a demon/satan sentences him to collect souls for him, thus perpetuating a never-ending loop.

 

Woman (1.2 stars)
I didn’t understand what was going on? First, it seemed like a woman scorned by a lover choosing another lady over her, then she gave birth as a single mom. She raised a child that all the women worshipped or something??? Basically, seemed like women's worth. Like, society expects women to be lovers and mothers, and when they aren't, where does that leave them?

Anti (2 stars)
When making an indie film goes too far. Funny in a dark humor way.

Mr. Jin Roku (3 stars)
I kind of liked this until the ending. Jin Roku seems carefree and has a decent life. His friend is struggling with suicidal ideation and depression. But plot twist Jin’s not happy all the time either.

here’s Truck-kun’s friend, random Car-chan.

The Tragedy of Princess Rokunomiya (2 stars)
Beautiful girl seems above it all. Everyone thinks she’s enlightened or otherworldly. But

she’s not. She’s insecure about her eyes.

Sounds (1 star)
Okay.

Occupants (-1 star)
What was going on??? Killing spiders and eatin sugar? A lesbian couple where one of the ladies keeps cheating with other women? I just didn’t get this. These stories need to come with explanations.

6512320262719 (1 star)
??? 

Calamity (1 star)
What was the point?

My Wife is an Acrobat (2 stars)
Beauty of the female body. Not sure what the ending was about.

Money (1 star)
Yuko’s Days (1 star)

The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud (1 star)
Nonsensical.

Max (2.5 stars)
Musings of a 20-something, realizing the monotony of her life.

Artic Cold (2 stars)
Kind of sad. Guy’s hiding his dead wife(?) so the authorities don’t find out and put him into an internment camp.

The Sea Snake and the Big Dipper (1 star)
Depressing or bittersweet in a way.

another one that ends in death, but she accomplished her task to get close to the stars.

R (-1 star)
???

Flight (2 stars)
Welp, don’t expect any happy endings with this author, but this one comes close.

I didn't mesh with the writing style here. I found it dry and dull. Perhaps, it's because this is more plot-driven, but I had no connection to the cast. Too many details of Miuko's clumsiness and random other things that no one truly cared about. 

There were some good points of commentary about gender roles and expectations of women in Miuko's time period as well as an introduction to a time loop. But the writing still couldn't capture my interest.

The characters were bland to me despite Miuko's whole character arc of allowing herself to be more than a simple servant girl-- even if it meant accepting the supernatural. Geiki was kind of just there to play the sidekick role, and I didn't believe in their friendship. Demon dude was sort of interesting, but no one in this story made me want to turn the next page.

For those reasons, I had a lackluster reading experience. Somehow, I think this story would work better in a different medium such as animation. Overall, too slow-paced and dry for me. 

[this rating is not due to quality of writing but rather personal enjoyment]

 This is one of my new favorite duologies. I loved this series so wholly. Ashes of Gold explores so many things (heavy callings, pressure when people are counting on you, losing faith in yourself, mistakes, the weight of our ancestry, how who tells history can create lies and propaganda, prejudice, PTSD, daddy issues, etc) yet manages not to be a mediocre mishmash.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. There are a few plot elements that are obvious and you can tell where things are heading, but the journey to getting there was excellent. Also, the twists to each revelation kept things exciting. I liked the pacing. There was never a dull moment.

And Jhamal! I’ve never known a J(h)amal I didn’t like, fictional or real. Some of his lines, man. Just so lovely and sweet! Like, he poured honey on top of the page.

Definitely read this! J.Elle’s one of my new favorite authors. 

 Honestly, this is the best way this could’ve ended. There was no way to give Eren a slap on the wrist after what he caused. And I think it’s realistic that conflict didn’t disappear from the world; there will always be violence and hatred, but the new world had made better choices. 

Overall, Attack on Titan was a great look at the complexities of war, xenophobia, and soldiers. Now, was it a depressing bloodbath majority of the time? Yes. But it was also very much worth watching. I binge-watched all 3 seasons in the past 5 days, and, while I’m drained from all things AoT. It was worthwhile. 

And I’ll never forgive the manga/anime for not showing us more of Nicolo and Sasha. This man was literally about to buss heads open over this lady. There was more going on than just cooking, and y’all robbed us of seeing that. ☹ 

I enjoy this series so much. Still, fresh and crispy at book 3. It has a way of instilling messages without being preachy.