This was an essay collection that covers topics including climate change, colonialism, grief, writing, and more. There are some really strong essays in here as well as a few that had points that I felt really needed more. So in this way, I think that some of this would have benefitted from being longer form to dig into nuances that are sometimes mentioned only briefly. But this covers a lot of really interesting and important ground overall, especially looking at the environment, the military, and what is happening politically in Guam 

An incredible poetry collection! It's one that will live in my head for a long time, and one I'm sure I will revisit. Haunting, layered, and full of literary and historical references

This had so much great information about the university's ties to settler colonialism and how education exists necessarily outside of the university and is necessary to oppose settler colonialism. This brings up a lot of great history and concepts that are essential to understand. I do think it could have been better organized in some sections, particularly towards the end, it felt rushed or incomplete (for instance, there could have been a more rigorous dive into modern student protests. And I don't think online organizing or education was really considered well enough). That being said, I do think this is a really great read and important particularly for people who are in academia, have been in it, or are considering a future in it. 

Short but effective, this uses the serviceberry (as it is in nature, but also in the author's life specifically) as a jumping off point to put together actionable ways that we could have a more caring and connected world. 

I read 20 pages of this yesterday and the other 320 today. Holy shit! Definitely one you won't want to put down. I am obsessed with the setting and how perfect of a role it played and the fact that such incredible (often overlooked) history was integral to it. The queer rep was great, particularly because of the nuanced conversions that were happening. I also don't think I've ever felt so seen by autistic rep in a fiction book. I really appreciate the overt discussion of politics and community was in this as well. 

I can't beleive it's taken me this long to read Andrew Joseph White but I am so excited that there are at least two others to read (also a little scared if this is the least supernatural and horror of the bunch as some people have said... but scared in a good way!)

This is a neat collection of short pieces and interviews with trans people doing many different kinds of work, especially that which goes unacknowledged as "real" work. It is really beautiful to see so many different kinds of trans people being passionate about what they do -- and seeing the diversity in what that can be. The art is really beautiful. While the choice to do the words in more handwriting slowed my reading down, I do think that was a benefit actually for me (but may be more difficult for folks who are dyslexic and the like). I think naming this an "oral history" may make this seem like a deeper scope than this actually is (like I said, these are pretty short pieces). But I really enjoyed this.

People in Trouble, indeed. This follows a woman, her husband, and her lesbian lover in a most timultuous time in their relationships with themselves and each other. Each chapter is told from rotating perspectives. Though it is all in third person, the narration is clearly colored by each character's worldview and biases, and at times include touches of surrealism.  We see each of the many characters faults and eventual growth (some more than others). This is set in late 80s NYC, deeply affected by AIDS, drugs, and capitalist.

A lot of this is about political apathy and questions about boundaries and when to put yourself first, as well as clear themes about corperatization and gentrification. While the other novels by Schulman that I have read (Rat Bohemia and Empathy) incorporate a lot of details about conditions of the city, like many houseless, drug abuse, and AIDS, this is the first one that has talked about activism and the experience of being in spaces where people are dying so directly (certainly it was central to the other works, but this is probably the most direct and less surreal of the three). 

I have lots of thoughts, especially reading this alongside her other works, but I'll save those for perhaps something that isn't a book review for just one of them.

Such a powerful story! Well-written and engaging, it tells the horrific experience of living under apartheid and, as a child, facing crimes against humanity. An important read for context of what continues to happen in Palestine, and made me think a lot about  prison writing more broadly (this wasn't written IN prison, but details her time there a lot)

I'm still mulling over some of it, so I'll likely write more later. It was an interesting story. I liked the characters and there was a lot about growth and change. Mixing 1st person and 3rd person was an interesting choice, on that made me think more about how much they really know (or rather don't know) about each other. 

This was a cute adventure that said a lot about body image, friendship, and knowing your worth.