Wow. I really loved this. Acevedo weaves a beautiful story of intersectionality and struggle and triumph. The story of an inner city teen mom and how people and relationships and opportunities can transform a young person’s life. The story of complex people loving complexly. Beautiful. 

This is a phenomenal set of essays on America through the unrest of the height of COVID and the racial reckoning around George Floyd's murder. It encapsulates so much history and emotion, while also serving as a snapshot in time that historians will be grateful for. 

I really enjoyed this read. I listened to it on audio and I loved that there were 3 different narrators representing 3 threads of a story woven together. It's a story of loss and hurt and love and forgiveness. It's a story of complicated families living complicated lives, of class and of classism, of secrets and betrayal and apologies. 

I heard a whole lot of people say they liked the first book best so when I was not quite blown away by Fourth Wing, I was a little reticent to read Iron Flame. But I am in the apparent minority that preferred Iron Flame to Fourth Wing. I found it more compelling and enjoyed the shift to intrigue and revolution. The stakes in some ways felt higher, which I also appreciated, and a twist at the end has me excited for the next book. That said, I could do with less relationship drama between the main character and her love interest, ha. 

This was an interesting read, a snapshot of how a single moment can impact people's worlds in interesting and diverse ways. Identity and finding one's place in the world in the tumult of adolescence is the primary storyline.  
There was a romance between a sixteen-year-old and an older man - old enough to be pursuing a PhD - which made me distinctly uncomfortable given it was never really explored as problematic, which impacts the rating. 

I really enjoyed this book. It was such an interesting exploration of culture and religion and multi-generational families navigating those challenges. From my vantage point, it tackled culture and varying levels of conservatism within Sikhism remarkably well, allowing the women to be people - not caricatures of their culture. And listening to the audiobook was lovely. 

Of all the Sandmans I've read so far, this one's been my favorite. Graphic novels are still hard for me, but this one went more quickly - and I enjoyed having the familiar stories like Orpheus as a backbone.