A sweet, nuanced, joyful middle grade collection of Eid stories from a diverse array of Muslim perspectives. These stories were a delight to read and I loved the fresh illustrations that precluded each one. My favorites were Just Like Chest Armor and Not Only an Only.

A joy to read: nuanced, frank, tender, and unapologetically human. DETRANSITION, BABY centers trans lives, insights, and perspectives, and is also full of tenderness and compassion for a wide range of human experiences, particularly those of cis divorced women. A brilliantly written, complex, singular reading experience.

The was a bit of a slower read, as middle books in a trilogy often are, but the world building is a brilliant as ever and it set up for an intriguing third book that I look forward to diving into.

A new adult exploration of sisterhood, eating disorders, immigrant families, and mental health. This was my first Choi and I can easily see why her stories, characters, and writing are so well-loved. Perfect for older high school/college age.

A really sweet, fun, irresistible little graphic novel for young readers. Will be looking for more in the series.

This was a quiet book about the everyday lives of one family that somehow felt breezy and kept me turning pages. Lahiri’s reflective, detailed, atmospheric writing style is unique and captivating. I enjoyed the last couple chapters less than the book as a whole, but I’m eager to read more by Lahiri. If you loved A Place for Us or enjoy intergenerational family sagas, immigrant stories, or meandering narratives, you’ll probably like this.

This book was already 3 star disappointing to me for literary reasons, but hearing how the author misused the horrendous experiences of Indigenous children in residential schools to write a story that greatly oversimplifies and glosses over the effects of trauma in children bumped it down to a 2 star for me. I could go on and on about what I didn’t like but you can find more eloquent explanations for most of those things by looking at other one and two star reviews here. The only exception I take to these reviews is that comparing this book to middle grade and/or #kidlit is unfair to genres that often have more complex, nuanced characters and less black and white narratives than this book did. It reminded me more of a certain type of kids movie than a book in that respect. I know a lot of people adored this book beyond anything they’ve ever read, but I said what I said.

I adored everything happening here: the literary fiction space opera, the deep but not overly complex world-building, the perfect pacing, the nuanced characters, and the thoughtful exploration of trauma, found family, and the passage of time. What will stick with me most though is how this book was built around a mother-child bond that goes beyond biology, traditional understandings of what makes a parent, and even SPACE AND TIME. It just blew my mind and I’m in for whatever creative magic this author is serving up next.

I set my expectations low on this for some reason, but honestly shame on me because this was a pure delight. The characters were well-developed and fleshed out with believable flaws and hang ups. They were allowed to mess up and make mistakes and be wrong while also being worthy of love. There was a lot of deep exploration of relationship dynamics and trauma without weighing down an otherwise light-hearted read. Biphobia and bierasure were addressed thoughtfully and naturally. Imagine if Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before had a baby who was unapologetically bi and adorable.