This second book picks up pretty directly where the first Will Darling novel left off, and for the first 1/4 or so I was worried it might be repeating some of the same emotional arc of the two romantically-tangled poor-communicating leads from book one. But then the plot takes a pretty dramatic turn, and once Will and Kim are again facing a common enemy (this one dangerously closer to home) I became very invested. The story leaves the pair in a MUCH different place than where they began so I am very curious about what will come next... 

This book deals with a heavy subject, an abusive lesbian relationship, and its aftermath. I had been intimated by its contents and unsure if I would read it. But I loved Machado's short story collection, and when I picked this book up I was surprised by how small it was, just under 250 pages. I was also surprised and delighted to discover that it is written as a series of essays with footnotes. I am easily drawn in by the whimsy of footnotes, and the structure intrigued me. Then the book sucked me under its spell and I read the whole thing in under two days. The writing is extraordinary, shifting tenses, shifting format from memoir to literary analysis to history to fairy tale. It is amazing that a book about a claustrophobic, fear-laden relationship should be so easy and enjoyable to read. It called to mind another book that I waited a long time to start and then ultimately loved, Know My Name by Chanel Miller. Both of these illuminate a terrible experience and pull back the layers of shame and secrecy to present it as it was in the clearest, most concise form. So there will be a record; so that others who experienced similar will know they are not alone; to open up space for conversation and understanding. But in many ways In the Dream House is nothing like Know My Name because its formatting is so central and its many references so interwoven with the memoir passages. These pieces reminded me of These Are Loved Letters by Ames Hawkins and Dead Collections by Isaac Fellmen, two book which mix ephemera and epistolary portions into the body of the prose text. What I am trying to say is that In the Dream House is a fascinating, captivating, and at times heartbreaking book which I will be thinking about for a long time.

Some quotes that stuck out to me:
"Memoir is, at its core, an act of resurrection. Memoirists re-create the past, reconstruct dialogue. They summon meaning from events that have long been dormant. They brain the clay of memory and essay and fact and perception together, smash them into a ball, roll them flat. They manipulate time; resuscitate the dead. They put themselves, and others, into necessary context."

"Putting language to something for which you have no language is no easy feat." 

I have not watched any Critical Role, and only know the characters vaguely from internet osmosis. This comic introduces six of the lead characters as they separately investigate the mystery of a swamp district where people are dying at unusual rates. Some say it's a curse, but if so, it seems like it was intentionally engineered. The book struggles overall with too much dialogue per page and the visual problems of including characters with extreme height differences together in panels. It's fairly obvious this was adapted from an audio-only original source. But the fight scenes are engaging, the humor is strong, and the three half-elf characters in particular get to show their personalities and begin to reveal their backstories. 

Translated from French, this graphic novel tells of a young man struggling with the wrong puberty, being teased at school about his sexuality and gender, and coming out as a trans man. It contains short scenes from the POV of all his immediate family members that tripped me up a little because there's no obvious divide to mark when they begin or end. But overall I enjoyed this story of a young person finding himself and gaining comfort and freedom in his own body and life. 

Chloe is a bisexual teen, child of lesbian moms, born and raised in LA before being relocated to Alabama for high school. She's gotten through four years at a small private Christian school by finding a tight-knit little circle of queer theater nerd friends and starting a fierce academic rivalry with the perfect, blond daughter of the school principal, Shara Wheeler. Chloe and Shara are in competition for valedictorian, and Chloe is DETERMINED to win, so that Shara will experience being a loser for the first time in her seemingly flawless life. But then Shara corners Chloe in an elevator, kisses her, and disappears on prom night, leaving behind a series of cryptic clues as to her whereabouts. Chloe ends up teaming up with two unlikely candidates, Shara's boyfriend (the football quarterback) and Shara's neighbor (the school's resident stoner bad boy) to try and find her before the end of the school year. I enjoyed this book so much. The mystery is engaging, and the exploration of being a queer teen in a religious Southern town tugged at my heart. Chloe is a smart and satisfying main character, and her insights and blind spots were equally fun to read. 

I was utterly charmed by this fantasy coffee shop romance. Viv, an orc who has spent her whole career traveling and fighting with adventure crews, decides she wants to settle down to a quieter life. In her journeys she had the chance to try a rare gnomish drink, a latte, and she still thinks of that delicious drink and the peaceful atmosphere of the café often. She decides she wants to open her own café- even though she has no food service experience, no one in her chosen city of Thune has ever heard of coffee, and the local gang demands monthly "tributes" from all businesses on Viv's side of the river. But Viv is determined, and she will build this business brick by brick if she has to. Similar in tone to Terry Pratchett, but a bit gentler and sweeter, I'd recommend this for anyone who wants to read an easy story about a woman thriving and achieving her dreams. 

Jay is having a hard time in eighth grade. His best friend has joined a band and no longer seems to have time for him; getting the art class he wants give him a challenging and lonely schedule; and he's developed a very intense and painful case of acne, far beyond what any of his peers seems to be struggling with. He also doesn't understand the crushes and romantic feels his classmates seem to all be developing for each other. Jay sets out of a long series of dermatology appointments, a medication with uncomfortable side effects including mood swings, hot flashes, cracked and peeling lips, and rashes. He does his best to make his way through the rough last year of junior high with as much creativity and joy as he can find. This is a simple yet important story of feeling self-conscious and alone in the very years it's most painful to feel like an outsider. But Jay stays true to himself and I think many young readers will feel seen by this book. 

Like Pet, I listened to this as an audiobook and that added a ton to my experience of it! Bahni Turpin is truly one of the most delightful audiobook narrators out there. Bitter is a student at a well funded and mysterious art boarding school, the first place she has ever felt really safe after a life in the foster care system. She has good friends, but she has not shared with them her deepest secret: that if she puts a drop of blood on one of her drawings, it will come to life. Bitter's school is in Lucille, a city scarred with inequality and violence. A corrupt mayor and a city council in the pockets of a billionaire put profit above the citizen's needs. There is an active resistance movement, but Bitter wants nothing to do with it. She has panic attacks when thinking about the protests and police shootings, but also feels guilty that as an art student she isn't doing anything for social change. This book wrestles with hard questions, about the role of violence and art in revolution, about what is needed to shake up a broken system and begin again. I also loved that the majority of the characters are queer. 

Amparo is a gender-nonconforming teen deadbeat, frequently suspended from school, who stresses out their single working mom and abuela. When a talking cat approaches them offering them a wish, Amparo foolishly thinks this is a kindness. Instead, the cat steals Amparo's name and identity, banishing them, nameless, into The Bright World. Here, humans are seen as food or toys by the monsters and magical animals who inhabit this place somewhere between life, death, and fairyland. Our hero has to use their wits and reckless confidence to scheme, scam, and bluff their way through this dangerous new world. I love watching the boldness of the way this protagonist takes on a very scary situation, and the rich, decorative page designs. I know that this comic was initially posted online as a webcomic, and it has a certain mid-2000s webcomic feel. Online the story was in black and white; in print, the story is in color for the first time. Some of the pages did unfortunately print a little too dark, but it's still exciting to see the bright colors of The Bright World. 

Don't be intimidated by this book's page count- I read the entire thing in one evening. The simple yet expressive art, the well-paced dialogue and emotional journey of the lead character drew me in. Grove writes of her experience seeking therapy to advance her gender transition, only to uncover a Dissociative Identity Disorder and a deep well of unprocessed childhood trauma. The majority of the story takes place in a therapist's office, in which a questionable medical professional out of his depth tries to sort through the truth of Grove's three distinct alters. Misunderstandings and deliberate concealments on the part of both the therapist and the patient lead them to distrust each other, accuse each other of lying, and at various points storm out of therapy sessions on each other. Yet, these sessions continued for over six months and did begin to chip away at some of the blocked memories Grove was hiding from herself. I left this narrative with a much better understanding of how Dissociative Identity Disorder manifests and the struggle it is to live with. I have so much empathy for the author, and I'm extremely glad she was able to heal to the point where writing this book was possible. I had the pleasure of reading an advanced copy and writing a blurb for this book!