elizlizabeth's Reviews (242)

Had to read this for a class project and I was kinda excited because I've been seeing posts and quizzes about the topic so I was expecting a more scientific approach but this is all just anecdotal evidence. In such cases, it's not that knowledge is useless, but it lends to all kinds of (sometimes erroneous) interpretations. Then again if the whole book was tested and proven scientifically the author wouldn't have been able to include his christian propaganda as part of the "theory"...

I was hooked by the beginning, but the pacing went all weird to the point I kept thinking it was about to end but no, it kept going on and on and on. If you're a fan of Greek mythology I guess it's a fun fanfic type of story but I honestly felt it needed a bit of editing. Circe as a character had good insight but imo could've used some more unhinged-ness. It's like the plot kept trying to justify her actions and in doing so, judging her with a human sized scale which got me rolling my eyes at one point tbh. Better than TSoA, which I realize now, falls in the same pit with the justifying and rationalizing totally unjustifiable (but entretaining) decisions.

Catcher in the Rye but better.

I read this on the Dracula Daily substack and it's so weird to not have it on my "Reading" now that it's over. It was such an enjoyable experience and I'm so glad I joined. I would've liked if some of the characters got to shine more but alas, ye ol' misogyny. Still way less problematic than most of your vampire content out there.
Except for a couple things here and there, including the horrendous accents, I think Stoker was onto something here. 10/10 recommend.

Someone recommended me to start my LeGuin journey and I can see why, the writing is precise and quick paced, and the plot although simple it's engaging. I love the world building on all of Ursula's books and this wasn't an exception. 
It was so easy to root for the characters, flaws and all. Especially grateful that they are flawed on the first place because often one assumes children's books must be clear cut between good/evil but this shows that one can in fact tell a story where characters are not necessarily born with goodness but strive to be better. Which ultimately is such a much better message to give to kids.

Gorgeous edition, but honestly I'm dreading to ever have to re-read this. It felt like it was never going to end and I'm usually a fast reader. 

It was a fun brain exercise but I feel like a lot of references went over my head. Nevertheless it was enjoyable, more poetry than prose.

I was expecting a more analytical approach, given Caitlin's degree. This is more of a travel memoir spiced with facts about death beliefs, and the author's own opinions and takes on them. I enjoyed this format on her first book but for this one I felt bummed because it lended to poor interpretation of some of the rituals and their origins.
She's very respectful, and the humor was refreshing and enjoyable but definitely don't take this as a super academic source.

PS. (Just because I won't sleep otherwise) La Santa Muerte is NOT a feminist icon and/or LGTB+ icon in Mexico; trust me, I've lived here all my life. 

Sometimes I'll read some YA book and think "you know, maybe this book wasn't meant for me at this age, maybe I could've enjoyed it when I was younger". This is not one of them :/
I feel like the author has some shit to unpack because afaik he 's part of both the communities portrayed in the book (mexican-american and gay), but the whole thing is plagued with cliches and stereotypes of what it means to be either and both. I don't usually get upset when I see my culture written slightly off because at least it might come from a place of either ignorant admiration, or outright malice. For this book though, I feel like Alire-Saenz is coming from a place that's trying to be admiring and respectful but because of whatever issues ends up projecting hatred and malice.
See, it's hard to tell if he's celebrating being of mexican descent because he's constantly using the "rapist, violent, gang-member, drug addict, macho" stereotype to both make a joke or advance the plot; most of those are completely unnecessary and (at least for me) not funny at all. And don't even get me started on the sexist jokes.
I also can't tell if the author's celebrating being gay and in love because bad things keep happening to people in the plot just because they're gay. Which is I understand, a reality for many of us, but the way it's handled here is clumsy if not malintentioned. Gayness it's used not as self-discovery but as a curse and a source of drama to keep the stakes high with no resolution. Not to mention that if I wanted to really rock the boat, I could make a case of how this whole book was queer-baiting and not LGBTQA+ rep because

Aristotle doesn't even get together with Dante until the last few pages (like the last 10 pages y'all), even though this is marketed as a gay coming-of-age or whatever. Well come out and come of age then, why don't you?!?

Very dissapointed by the conclusion of the book too, as the premise was that Ari was searching for the "secret" that would reveal what's "wrong" with him, and somehow he finds out that what was wrong with him was that he was gay. Sure, that's a healthy message.
Even if I were to ignore all of the above, the writing is objectively bad, dwelling on platitudes to land some quotable moments. I honestly felt that the characters were cut short from being fully distinct and even contradict themselves because the author wanted to keep them a blank canvas to make the reader project onto them. Recommend it to your toxic gay friends to make them worse, y'all.

Very in-depth descriptions of the nine types and their subtypes. It wasn't very approachable or didactic, which I think is important since this is supposed to be for the general public and not mental health professionals.
There are some instances of gender determinism that seemed to come out of nowhere, and likewise some of the conclusions are reached in almost esoteric ways. I think it could benefit of some edition to give it clarity, and make it less repetitive (some paragraphs were literally the same from one chapter to the other).