I saw this was a movie and was intrigued by the concept. 

The writing is...young. It is from the perspective of a teen, but it felt like something I would've written AS a teen. It was also very heavy handed, while never really digging into anything.

I did want to know how it ended though, so I'll give it that

Spill enough blood on it, and the earth was bound to go strange.

So I was hesitant to pick this up, as I saw that the main character's transness was very integral to the plot. I often find that equates to an almost obsessive focus on trans suffering, and I generally find that exhausting and reductive. If our suffering is all we have to share, what message does that send to everyone?
HOWEVER
I was pleasantly surprised this book didn't do this. The portrayal is honest, still gritty and hard at times, but honest. I really loved it up until the climax. Leslie and Stevie's romance felt particularly forced and unnecessary. So did the

monsterfucking

. That really took me out of it. 

Overall though, impressed with this and the level of historical research done here. Would read more of this author.

This is the only story Dostoyesvky ever wrote with a (solely) female protagonist, and it is telling that he made her a villainous girlboss Mother. HOWEVER she is also extremely funny and I had a great time, so I'm giving it a pass!

my friend gave this to me to read, and (with the exception of the very first poem which I hated) many of these made me want to self immolate <3

Hm. I was hoping I'd like this one more than I did. It's one of his few departures from "putting a guy who is absolutely deranged into a situation". Which I love, btw, but occasionally he'll do something more personal, like House of the Dead, and I like those little windows.

I'm sure this is drawn upon his time in poverty, but I found that the love story was so meandering that it...distracted from the tragedy of poverty itself? This is an early work of his though I suppose

might come back to this! having trouble finding it all online

Here are my faves from this:

The Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex by Tobias S. Buckell (4.5)
This was such an interesting take on the colonial nature of tourism!

The Fine Print by Chinelo Onwualu (4)
I love a trickster Djinn tale

Burn the Ships by Alberto Yáñez (5)
Genuinely needed this to be an entire book Alberto PLEASE!!!!

The Freedom of the Shifting Sea by Jaymee Goh (5)
Monsterfucker Yuri, must I say more?

The Shadow We Cast Through Time by Indra Das (5)
Indra you are everything to me thank you for mixing space and folktale in such a cool way

One Easy Trick by Hiromi Goto (4)
This was was so weird but in the best way like I really loved how weird it was

Harvest by Rebecca Roanhorse (4.25)
More monsterfucker yuri but with indigenous revenge

Kelsey and the Burdened Breath by Darcie Little Badger (4)
I loved this concept!! Last breaths as ghost like entities, wow this lore was so cool

ISLA GET BEHIND ME! I'LL PROTECT YOU FROM THE HATERS! THEY'VE NEVER MET A LESBIAN WHO VEHEMENTLY HATES ONE GAY MAN IN PARTICULAR AND IT SHOWS

This was really cute and fun, I loved learning more about Scottish mythology. Murray is sooo babygirl.

This is self published, so I caught a few typos, be kind!

:(