CW: police shooting, colorism, racism, 9/11, sexual assault, loss of a child, loss of a parent

On the cover of this book, there is a review quote from Celeste Ng: "exactly the book America needs." I couldn't agree more. My favorite chapters were the ones with Mira and her sweet son, Z, who loves to ask hard questions, always wanting to know "why?" I cannot explain the style of artwork to you because I do not know the right words, but I loved it a lot.

This was fine. I needed something to listen to while I was working today and this book served its purpose of background noise. I didn't find it especially interesting, but the author (who reads the audiobook) has a pleasant voice, so I listened to the whole thing.

No content warnings, not necessarily because there aren't any, but because I didn't listen closely enough to really remember them.

I liked the challenges in this book and the way Cal describes how we as a society have been shaped by our use of technology. If you want to try out the digital minimalism practices Cal offers, I would recommend reading the physical (or ebook) version of this book as it would be easier to follow along and make a to-do list from there.

CW: mentions of disordered eating

For being written by two white, straight, cisgendered folks, this book was surprisingly inclusive especially of gender identity and sexual orientation. I was also surprised when, early on in the book and then later on as well, they discussed the impact that white supremacy has on society. The book heavily focuses on Buddhist practices and mindfulness, which I found interesting, although I am not a huge fan of mindfulness itself. I do, however, think the mindfulness activities they suggest would be beneficial for many people. I also liked when they discussed how to work through trauma triggers when they arise in certain situations.

CW: gun violence, domestic abuse, police brutality, sexual assault, colorism, eating disorders, self harm, addiction

Where do I even begin? Maybe just with READ. THIS. BOOK. As a white woman, I was challenged and convicted about something on nearly every page of this book, which I LOVED because that is how we become better. This book emphasizes a lot of topics that modern feminism tends to gloss over, but after reading this and having this knowledge, I can't not think of these as feminist issues. I would definitely recommend a hard or electronic copy over the audiobook because if you're anything like me, you're not even going to bother putting your pen down while you annotate the heck out of this book.

CW: sexual assault, racism, homophobia, police brutality, transphobia, death

In this book, George walks through seasons of joy and pain throughout his life as he comes to fully know his own identity. The stories about his many supportive family members were so encouraging to read, especially as he acknowledges how unsupportive families of queer folks, and in particular Black families, can often be. I hope so many queer teens find hope and solace in this book; it is a beautiful memoir that I wish I could have read much earlier in my life.

The audiobook of this is good; I probably wouldn't have cared for it as much if I had read it myself. I did like that she talked about the negative impact of Christian missions on other countries. I probably would have liked this book more if I had read it a few years ago when I was still involved in the Church.

Absolutely could not put this book down. I laughed, I yelled, I stressed, I celebrated. This book is a wild ride and it was amazing. I was not at all prepared for how steamy it is!!