Full review to come

This book is really well written and full of beautifully and painfully flawed characters. The only reason this isn't a completely five star one for me is that the early Anvar parts got to be a bit dull for my tastes, particularly when juxtaposed with Safwa's much more engaging story. Maybe that's because I frequently find straight teenage boys slightly dull or maybe it really is just not an overly engage part of the story. Overall though I think this is an incredible story about thinking of others complexly, about how violence begets violence and silence/distance begets resentment and misunderstandings. I thought this a compelling read though I wouldn't describe it as fun one. It is, however, at times, extremely funny. Do heed the TWs though because there are a lot of things I suspect readers will find disturbing.

Oh this is great! It's rare to have a book of short stories where every single one was five stars for me, but this one is amazing. I loved the way they weaved together with the idea that there was an connection but without the book ever spelling it all out. It assumes the reader is smart enough to pluck all the threads and find the whole tapestry. Insightful, sometimes funny, and always full of people who feel as if they are sitting right next to you, they are that real. This book is probably going to be on my top of 2021, I can just tell already.

I can't tell if it is the themes of this book that I don't like or if it is the writing or the fact that I cannot handle this much serious reflection on Freud, a man I dislike with a deep intensity. It's a shame because the introduction had me really interested but the essays themselves didn't hit at all. They could have, the bones were there, but somehow none of them worked as well as I sort of hoped they would. Instead I was either bored or annoyed or both. I think at this point Call Me By Your Name is easily this authors best work. I don't know why the rest of his works don't hit except maybe there is an almost aggressive intellectualism if that makes sense. There is an idea that the reader understands everything the author is referencing and knows all the historical and cultural beats. I remember in Find Me being annoyed that he would use other languages as if the readers all speak Italian and French. There is a "if you don't get it you shouldn't be reading this" vibe to his later work that doesn't sit with me. I don't know how much more of a try I'm gonna give this author. Which is a shame because his prose can be extremely lovely.

This was a very fun but very informative book for people who have thought to themselves "I could/should make a podcast." One of the things it for sure taught me is that I probably do not ever want to do a podcast, but that was more because I think I didn't fully realize how much you have to think about it. This isn't to say the book made me feel like I couldn't (if anything it made me realize it was possible if I wanted to do it) but rather I see how much you have to really love doing it for it to be worth it. And this family really loves it! It shows in every word on this book.

I went into this book blind because it was for book club so I had no idea what I was walking into. I loved it, though. A really interesting and great discussion on white women thinking they know best and who and how it hurts. It is a book about toxic friendships and about the power of women friendships when they aren't toxic. It's about understanding who we want to be and how to get there. It's about listening to those who love you and ignoring those who only think they love you. It is a powerful and worthwhile read that manages to be both very funny in parts while also extremely tense and heart wrenching in others.

Oh WOW WOW WOW!!!! This book of poetry is SO GOOD! I have so much to love about it. I borrowed it from the library but I think I might have to own it because it just absolutely blew me away! I loved the reoccurring themes, the reoccurring titles, the way the poems weaved in and out of each other. It's so good! I adore it

I'm not going to rate this and I only finished it because I really had to get closure from it but I walked in blind and wished I had known a little more about it or read some trigger warnings for it. It isn't that it is particularly dark but there's some stuff in it that was FOR SURE not for me. Also I can't tell if I just didn't enjoy the book or if I was just so upset while reading it that I couldn't see the forest from the trees. Either way not for me.

Ooooof. I am not even sure where to start on this. The characters are flat, the story telling is trying too hard, the plot is tar levels of slow, and nothing much happens while at the same time too much happens. There is so many toxic people, every single character practically is toxic AF. I didn't find any part of this book enjoyable and only finished it out of some misguided hope that it would get better. Also, for a horror novel, it is not particularly spooky. Like the first bit is kinda spooky and the rest is maybe just tense?? It's more thriller than horror in my opinion. Just skip it, TBH.

Not exactly the escapism one usually finds in Riordan's imprints but really great regardless. It's great fun to watch a Muslim lead be amazing and interesting and cool. The world building is really great, too, with lots of interesting themes and motifs throughout. There were parts that dragged for me, however, with moments where I thought to myself "ok, can we move on to the plot please" and then the final battle ended pretty abruptly for my tastes. Still, overall a super fun read even with the pandemic going on.