Yang keeps getting better with every addition to this series! While I have thoroughly enjoyed the journey we’ve been on through the Protectorate, this was by far the most intriguing method of storytelling of theirs that I’ve encountered. Told through journal entries of Investigator Chuwan as she looks into the records of what occurred at the Rewar Teng Institute of Experimental Methods, Yang paints a grisly picture of the secrets that the Tensorate would like to keep hidden. We get glimpses of the original investigators’ conversations with Rider, information about Akeha and Mokoya (some of our most beloved characters), and even entries from Rider as they witnessed the absolute bloodbath at the institute on a journey to track down their long-lost twin.

I’ve said it about each novella in this series so far, but this one has been my favorite to date, as the method of storytelling felt fresh, exciting, and unique - it really mixed things up for me and made it easy to tear through each chapter. I absolutely cannot wait to dig into the conclusion of this series SO SOON.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tordotcom for letting me read an e-ARC of Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa. This novella releases on May 21, 2024, and I’m simply chomping at the bit waiting for others to read this so I can gush more about it!

Let me start by saying that dystopian novels are the real reason I fell in love with reading as a kid. This book gave me the same sort of feelings as when I used to devour books as a teenager: I wanted to stay up late and finish this book in one go (RIP all-nighters for me). The chapters are bite-sized and perfect for convincing yourself to read “just one more.”

It opens with a dream sequence that helps situate the reader in the setting: post-climate disaster where the Atlantic Ocean has overtaken land, and humans off the coast of West Africa are now permanently living in five high-rise towers with distinct class ranks. The Uppers are for the wealthy and affluent, where they give no thought about the people or structures below their floors. The Midders are the general working class, only really able to rise to higher floors for work, but are still considered better for being above sea level. The Lowers are just that - those who live below the new sea level. They are a misunderstood people, full of engineers and technicians who keep the entire structure from collapsing and ruin.

We meet our protagonists: Yekini, a Midder analyst; Ngozi, a cocky higher-level Midder government employee; and Tuoyo, a Lower mechanic. When there’s a critical event on the lower floors, these three must unite to save themselves, the tower, and everyone who resides within. They encounter countless barriers as they try to locate a sea-dwelling creature (monster?) who may have entered the tower, but readers witness the internal struggles of each character as they grow through their traumas. In the end, we see a dissolution of barriers like class, gender, and ego to save the future of humanity.

Will try the audiobook again soon. 

Will finish this summer when ARCs die down for me. 

Still have this checked out and very convinced I will like it, just need more time to devote to the whole series. 

Setting aside for when I have more time to dedicate to reading this. 

This is a REALLY GOOD BOOK! It’s just not the YA book for me. I’d like to finish this eventually, but it’ll be a month or two before I pick it back up, I think. 

I am SO glad I read this companion novella so close to reading the first in the Tensorate series. We meet back up with Mokoya after the death of her daughter and once she’s fled her husband, as she now hunts the dangerous naga. As she is on the hunt for a particularly massive target, she encounters another naga rider with the same target: Rider. Their chemistry is almost instant. As they unravel the secrets that threaten war within the Protectorate, she must learn to harness her abilities in new ways to protect the future of their world and the people she loves.

I don’t want to completely wax poetic about this book because it was an extremely personal read for me. All I will say is if you suspect you’re neurodivergent and/or on the spectrum and you want some insider info on how to navigate these murky waters for the first time: READ THIS. Price does an excellent job at sharing his own experiences as an Autistic person and sharing the stories of others who have had wildly different experiences. Even if you’re simply looking to find out more information about autism (perhaps you have an Autistic person in your life you’d like to “better understand”), this is a great starting point and I found it to be a really accessible text - I was able to understand terminology without feeling like there were barriers due to not being an expert on the subject.

Full disclosure: I loved this book and the preliminary thoughts from my virtual book club are that I am one of the only ones who loved it (for whatever that’s worth). This book was an extremely raw study of a queer mother in a struggling relationship who is on the brink. Her wife, Monika, assumes the heteronormative role of breadwinner while Sammie has been a stay-at-home mother since Samson’s birth. While early childhood was blissful and fulfilling for Sammie, an incident when Samson was young and almost taken by a stranger at the playground traumatizes her. The story is told primarily through Sammie’s eyes and we watch Samson age from willful child to broody teenager from her perspective.

The crux of this story is that Sammie feels unmoored from her role as a wife and mother, and unloved by her wife and child. More than once, Sammie admits she just wants to understand Samson and why he behaves the way he does (he is extremely autistic-coded and I really with the book had done more about expanding on this possible diagnosis when it came to Samson and his therapist interactions), and she wishes her wife would take time to see Sammie’s point of view when it comes to raising their child as a unit.

The most frustrating part of this book is that Sammie’s behavior is cyclical and self-destructive, and NONE of these characters are likable. Sammie starts to drink more often (and during the day), later on she engages in sometimes dangerous sexual behavior with other women, Monika completely separates herself from her family other than Samson, and Samson’s behavior often turns violent and malicious. There are no redeeming qualities for members of this family other than the understanding that this is an extremely realistic and uncomfortable expression of a messy queer family. What I loved about this portrayal, though, is that queerness, itself, isn’t the issue - it’s life and the challenges of parenthood and trying to be an individual person that makes it messy. This book was a trainwreck that I couldn’t look away from, and one I won’t be able to stop thinking about for a while (whether that’s a good or bad thing).