It's hard to rate an anthology. I loved most of these but a few didn't hit with me. I think it's great to see these works collected because this is the kind of thing I would have loved to have had when I was a child growing up queer and reading comics. For the most reason I really enjoyed reading this. It also made me cry a few times SO THERE IS THAT

I was deeply interested in this mystery and where the story was going. I liked a lot of the twists but there were moments when it felt a little too long, with details and plot divergences that didn't end up going anywhere. I'm unsure about the ending most of all. I know it leads into the next book in the series but I'm not entirely sure I like where it's headed. However this is, overall, a really great new take on the police detective mystery and I'm deeply interested in what happens to these characters later. I'll for sure read the second book in the series.

TW for this book include: racism, racial related violence, prison system including racist guards and other prison administrators.

I don't know what I can say about this book that others hasn't been said better by others? It's beautifully written, painfully honest, and a voice that needs to be heard. It is completely worth the read, even though it took me some time to get through mostly because I wanted to take my time with it, I wanted to savor it. Truly blessed to have this book out in the world. 

TW for this book include: suicide (successful and attempted. This is a really big theme in the book so please be cautious with it), mentions of drug abuse, homelessness, guns, slight homophobia, financial problems

If I could give this more stars I would. Every time I read a new book by Backman I say "this is his best one!" Well Anxious People is, so far, his absolute best. This book is the story of deeply flawed people. It is the story of a bank robbery, of a hostage situation. It is also a love story, both romantic, fraternal and platonic. It's about understanding people complexly and loving them for that complexity. It asks us to really see other people as fully realized humans who are going through more than we might ever know. It's hard to talk about this book without my eyes filling up with tears. It holds so much hope, so much love, so much assurance that we, humans, can do better. That we can BE better. It is a very lovely story and I'm so glad it exists in the world.

TW for this book include: racism, drug addiction/drug abuse, overdosing, suicide

This book hits me in ways that are too personal to put into a short review. Needless to say, Gyasi is a master wordsmith who paints her characters with such vivid color that it is impossible to put the book down. I loved the complex story that weaved in and out of time. I loved the realness of each moment, each slice of the characters' lives. It felt deeply human. I felt seen by this book in a way that I don't find frequently in books that don't center around queer characters (although SPOILERS maybe not so straight characters after all!)

TW for this book includes: racism, unlawful arrest, police brutality, police shooting of unarmed black teens, mentions of spousal abuse, alcoholism, drug abuse

This book is thoughtful and deep and full of so much hope and love while also being incredibly heartbreaking to read. Justyce is such a sweet young man and I really wanted to reach through the pages and hug him. There were moments when I could have stood for a little more explanation and I'm not 100% I understand what some of the romance related things were doing in this story. It isn't that I don't like SJ it is just that there's the ex who disappears with almost no explanation and then tension between the three just vanishes. I think that the romance stuff is the only reason this isn't a perfect five for me.

TW for this book includes: mentions of molestation, rape, spousal abuse, Islamaphobia, racism, fat-phobia

This book is probably a lot better than my rating suggests. There were moments that really hit me and I'm glad there is such a very honest and beautiful story. It's only that I didn't particularly love the writing itself. There were times when the flow didn't work for me, moments of jumping back and forth that had me stumbling over sentences. I would have liked it to have been slightly better edited as well. Overall I think this book has some really interesting things to say, I just would have liked the writing to have kept pace with the ideas.

TW for this book include: body horror (kind of???) being drugged (again, kind of???), possession

So Silver is a big dumb dumb and I love him SO MUCH. This book is a fantastic follow up and ties up some loose ends from the original book. It also makes the world a little bigger and tells some interesting stories. I could see some spin-off stories but this book feels like a natural conclusion. I just want them to be happy and in love and together, that's all!!

TW for this book include: head trauma, cops being called on black people/mentally ill people

This book is, in typical Woodson fashion, beautiful and heartbreaking. This is certainly not a subject matter that I expected to find in a children's book but I think it's an important one because it can be applied to a lot of children dealing with parents who develop mental disorders. I found in thoughtful and caring in its dealing with the subject. I loved how human and real she made these characters and I love how much of the book revolves around close, healthy, emotionally open male friendships. I wish it had been a little longer. I understand why it ended the way it did, but it also felt extremely abrupt. 

TW for this book includes: self harm including cutting, eating disorders, child abuse

Oh sigh. Another predictable mediocre thriller where all of the characters are unnecessarily horrible and all of the plots are easy to predict and nothing of substance actually happens or is talked about. This book is cookie cutter for what most popular thrillers look like these days. There is no meat to it, the characters and story line all skin and bones. At this point I don't even know why I keep trying with these kinds of books. Every so often I come across one that's golden but the vast majority are "what if Gone Girl but bad."