If I could give this book 6/5, I would

This is a really light and humorous set of skits about a person who lives with a sentient penguin. I particularly enjoyed the ones about housework. For UK audiences, the relationship definitely gives me Wallace and Grommit reminiscences. Cute, funny, homely, friend-focused joy.

Queer. Wholesome. A bit mysterious. Beautifully drawn. 

Taproot is about a young person who can see and talk to ghosts and is an avid gardener. When the mystery of his spooky ability is revealed, he uses his connection with nature to sooth souls in distress and find love. About halfway through, I teared up thinking that Young was going to fall into a disappointing trope in queer art and literature but I was surprised and thrilled by how the story finishes. The art style is stunning. The plants look beautiful and the characters are very expressive. There are lots of familiar components to it but overall, it’s a lovely story that I would definitely gift to my friends. Shades of Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper with a Coraline twist. 

This is an exciting and important book about Black American women as cultural creators. The book follows a compelling cumulative structure that situates Nicki Minaj, Disney and Whitney Houston’s Cinderella, and The Princess and the Frog in the context of black Barbie and dolls developed by and for Black girls. Halliday’s writing is clear and accessible. Although this book will be of massive interest to students and academics, I am certain it will be enjoyable for a massive readership. Unlike a standard history, Buy Black situates Black women as actors, creators, and consumers who have shaped and informed visions of Black girl- and womanhood. 

This book is much more memoir than I had expected from the cover, marketing, and blurb. I really wanted a book that was more “aren’t trees great?!” rather than this is my journey in the logging community and struggling to be taken seriously. It’s not a bad book at all. It’s just not the book I wanted and doesn’t serve my interest.

This is a really engaging novel, partially based on real events. There's a really cool note at the beginning of the book, which explains the tapestry of files, correspondence, family folklore and fiction that makes Edith and Kim up. I've never read a spy novel about a female spy who has to maintain a domestic life, having a child, etc. while maintaining her spy work. The audiobook is really enjoyable and compels you through the story. Coming to this book from Le Carré's Smiley novels that interact with Kim Philby's real-life, I'd expected more of Kim from the blurb and marketing. That said, the most enjoyable thing about the book for me is how the story is punctuated with Philby’s letters to Edith from exile, unmasking their connection decades on.