papercraftalex's Reviews (368)

Green Fuse Burning is so creepy, but somehow so inspiring and hopeful. It offers excellent commentary on race, art, death, and nature and how they all intertwine. It so powerfully explores depression and grief and why we stay in toxic relationships. I recommend it to everyone, even people who aren't usually fans of horror!

The Book Censor's Library started out as a poignant commentary on censorship, but faltered at the ending. Overall, I do recommend it. The literary references were quite enjoyable and the writing was so captivating. I enjoyed most of the characters and loved that the protagonist fell into the unlikely/unwilling hero type. It does have intriguing commentary on the state of the world and censorship, about how we need to experience imagination in order to be human. My fiancee kept calling this "The Giver, but with imagination instead of color" and I don't think she's wrong. 

My biggest issue with this and why it's not 5 stars is

The meta-ness of having the writer write his story that was the book we as the audience are currently reading did not work and felt like a gimmick. I was also so disappointed that the daughter died, especially because she was killed off in such an asinine way with so little focus on it. It started out so strong then took a nosedive. I also thought that the way the author described the bookseller was so
woman written by man" and I was shocked to find out this was written by a woman. Maybe she meant it to be commentary on sexism and to make the book censor more flawed, but it just felt weird and out of place to me.

K. O'Neill never misses! "A Song For You And I" has a similar melancholia that was present in "The Moth Keeper," but instead of burnout, this story explored self-doubt and the burden of expectation. It was the first of their novels that explored difficulty in queer identity (most are queer normative) and it felt so genuine without being depressing. The art is spectacular as always! I've heard horses are difficult to draw, but they looked very lifelike. And the scenery is just stunning and adds to the overall mood of the story. Every single story K. O'Neill writes reaffirms my optimism and I feel so grateful they share their gift with the world.

I was given a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I've read every K. O'Neill book for a reason! They never miss. "The Moth Keeper" is an excellent take on expectations (personal, familial, and societal), otherness, and burn out. The art, like always, was absolutely stunning. I love how they can craft a complex world where all of the characters are distinct, while also keeping it to a single story. I'd love to read more in this world, but it felt like a complete narrative. I would absolutely recommend. 

Lynne Kelly is the best at writing the isolating loneliness of being a weird girl. "The Secret Language of Birds" was a great follow up to "Song For a Whale." It has such great and realistic characters and a wonderful message about how to stay true to yourself while you grow. I also love all the environmental messages in Kelly's stories. Even if this is a middle grade novel, it works for all ages and can help heal an adult's inner child. I can't wait to see what comes next from this author!

Jessie Ren Marshall is a very talented writer. Like most anthologies, there was mixed quality, but the stories that didn't work for me were still very well written. She has unique plots for a lot of the stories, but I really appreciate the ones that are subtle sad girl vignettes. My favorites were Annie 2, Dog, Late Girl, and The Birds in Trafalgar Square. My least favorite were My Immaculate Girlfriend, Mrs. Fisher, and Sister Fat. Some of the stories felt a bit like "My Year of Rest and Relaxation" where the characters are supposed to be reprehensible, but I don't think it worked in these stories. I'm interested to see what she'll write in the future.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

A cute gothic slice-of-life that all cat owners can somehow relate to even if our cats can't make multiple copies of themselves.

Doppelganger is a book about doppelgangers, obviously, and about COVID, misinformation, AI, Israel, autism, MAGA, but it's also so very much about community and reflection. This wasn't an easy book to read, but it was so amazing. It brought back some of the optimism I lost from COVID and made me see what I would think of as my political opponents as holistic, confused, and afraid human beings. Naomi Klein has so many great things to say. The way she ties her doppelganger story into so many topics is quite fantastic. I highly recommend this book. 

It's a cute and funny parody of popular BL tropes. 

I'm very impressed that this was written by a 12 year old! I think a lot of middle-grade and young adult readers will love this thrilling adventure.