Honestly, I cannot recommend this book enough. I first read it when I was fifteen and it changed my life. I always knew I wanted to be a writer, but Old Magic was the first book I'd read that perfectly combined history and fantasy, that expertly weaved a medieval tapestry with timeless themes of love, family, longing, acceptance, and belonging.

The two protagonists, Kate Warren and Jarrod Thornton, are awe-inspiring. Kate's unique worldview of logic and compassion is a fantastic model of any child wondering how to be, and I definitely appreciated that her empathy is always treated as a strength, never a weakness, unlike in other fantasy/sci fi novels. Jarrod's character arc and exponential growth is brilliantly realistic, and readers can both identify with Kate's impatience and his understandable and numerous doubts. The plot is quick and engrossing; the poetical language lovely; the characters, even the minor ones, three dimensional. In the first week I owned the book, I read it five times.

tl;dr: this is an awesome book for any YA readers and I highly, highly recommend it.

When I first began this book, I wasn't sure I would finish. It was too accurately Teenage Boy, with their insistence on Shutting Up and Not Caring (when they obviously do, very much). However, Will Grayson, Will Grayson was saved by two words and one larger-than-life character: Tiny Cooper.

I LOVE Tiny Cooper. Yes, he has his flaws (class privilege, for one), but his kindness, his refusal to be anyone besides himself, his untiring work ethic, his love for his friends and the Wills.... WOW. Not to mention a fabulousness that could not be stopped, a force of nature in its own right. While the Wills slowly matured and learned, I reveled in Tiny Cooper. Best. Character. Ever.

I also delighted in the LGBT themes, in the epiphanies, in the outright, sheer strangeness and whackiness that this book reminded me high school is; how it's supposed to be an educational institutional, but really is a cluster of huge boxes stuffed with human beings trying to figure life out (and sometimes burning down the boxes). There was always a sense of quest, of tossing around ideas, of being young and experimenting. The authors were very conscious of their intended young adult audience, and I felt that, while this restricted adult enjoyment a little, I respected that to a Teenage Me, this book would open up whole new worlds of thought and experience. Overall, a very nice read and I'm definitely interested in picking up another.

I went through eight years of feminist, women-empowering education and I cannot believe Egalia's Daughters was not an assigned work during any of it. The inversion of patriarchy to matriarchy is tipped so perfectly, so expertly, so thoroughly, that, even though I consider myself informed of women's past and present struggles, I'm still shocked, horrified, and repulsed at what the maculists go through. It's also fascinating how Brantenberg uses the inversion not only to highlight women's struggles, but also to suggest ways women's lot might be improved (ex: the pregnancy benefits).

My only quibble with an otherwise brilliantly necessary read is I wish it was even more intersectional. While LGBT, LGBT relationships, class, and, to some extent, ability are discussed, race is not really a factor in Egalia. I understand that the original primary audience was 1970s Norway, though, and I am completely unaware of the race situation then.

Overall, this book seems like a Godsend. I personally recommend it to every human being on the planet and will now be carting around my copy to all my friends and family.

When I was young, my mom told me I had to be "a certain age" to read the Bridget Jones books, and this sequel proved her all the more right: The Edge of Reason is a scandalous, hilarious, terrifying romp in secondhand embarrassment and hard won triumphs. I laughed, I cringed, I squirmed, I cheered. I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a fun time.

I love this series. I love how fleshed out Jack & Stephen are, how O'Brian fits in little fun moments between them in story full of life-threatening adventures. O'Brian's style and evident research continues in strength through book 6, with extra emphasis on spycraft and the ins and outs of Stephen's complicated heart. The Aubrey/Maturin remains my go-to definitive work when I long for the Age of Sail, and I look forward to the rest of the series.