2.5 rounded down. I think it might be time to admit that Robin Talley is just not really for me. The plot is fine, I guess, though really a bit obvious throughout. I appreciate the history there, which I think is particularly important to young queer folx. I didn't learn a lot of this history until I was in college and taking queer and gender studies classes. The problem I have with Talley is that her characters are flat. I cannot tell you a single thing that Sharon is interested in other than she likes punk music. In fact, closeted queer punk fan is basically Tammy's same personality but also she does art. These characters do not feel real. The minor characters seem to be no more than puppets on the page to come in and out as the author pleases. The characters, all, are so shallow that if I tripped and fell face first into them I wouldn't drown.

This book was lovely. Stunningly poetic and thoughtful, it captures the author in vivid detail. I am so glad books like this exist, so glad that a generation of QPOC Folx will get to have this, to see a life that might, at least in part, mirror theirs. I cried, I laughed, I was completely moved by this work. Already one of my favorite books of 2020!

This was fun! I enjoy the mixture of lighthearted cases against the backdrop of the darker, overarching plot. I like the characters so much. It references Agatha Christie a lot and this reads something like the Marple books, particularly in its focus on characters. I don't know why I've put off reading this for so long, it was a delight.

This was such a good and important read. I love the way Rebecca Stead writes for children, it feels honest and true to the way children actually think and talk. It talks very openly and interestingly about mental health issues and homophobia. I loved watching the characters through Bea's eyes and to see how deeply she loved them. It dealt with some issues I think are vital in children's lit today and I'm so glad that this book exists for them now.

This book made me deeply uncomfortable and not in a good way. I've read lots of thrillers that had uncomfortable aspects but this one just made me angry. The level of unethical therapists in this novel is shocking considering that the author is siblings with someone who works in mental health and apparently considered going into mental health. This book was predictable, too, and anyone paying close enough attention can pick out the plot. I also deeply dislike the way they characterized literally all the women in this book. I do not understand the hype let alone how this book got picked as the Good Read's Choice Award winner.

Review to come

I love Katherine Applegate so much. I love how honest and sweet her novels tend to be. I love how she doesn't talk down to her readers and doesn't shy away from harder topics. I think her stories are so important and I devour all of them. This one is no different. Bob's story is so precious and darling. I will warn that there are moments of animal injury and death (though not graphic) of some unnamed animals. If that's a hard subject for you then please be aware of that trigger.

This book wasn't about what I thought it was going to be about. I was mostly interested in the post-war fight over who owns this art piece and the court case around it. There is a lot of information and a lot of names to keep track of. I still enjoyed it well enough but I wish it had covered more of the case itself.