5/19:
OK, a few things, in no particular order:

- I loved Ani DiFranco's music as a #teen, and found her to be an inspiring feminist icon. That said, as an adult I became aware of some of her more cringey moments, but overall I went into this book feeling positive, nostalgic feelings about Ani DiFranco, certainly willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and check out her memoir.

- Despite the fact that the title a) sounds like it should be a memoir of a Mexican immigrant? and b) also sounds like she thought of two titles for her memoir and couldn't decide so she just used them both.

- Anyway I DNFed this after 4 chapters because like, it's a lot, and I do not believe she employed an editor at ALL, and also maybe I just don't care that much about Ani DiFranco anymore? A more hardcore fan would likely get more out of this.

--

5/21:



Finished reading it for the podcast but honestly did not improve my opinion of it, big yikes Ani

https://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-172-no-walls-and-the-recurring-dream/

I'm suuuch a sucker for stories about Serious Feminist Teen Girls Learning To Respect And Value Seemingly Frivolous Types Of Teen Girls (and vice versa). End "Not Like Other Girls" syndrome!!! I really loved Eliza as a chararacter (despite her "unlikability") and I just enjoyed her and her journey, but also the complexity of the side characters.

I really appreciated Bruder's research and the thoughtful, compelling way she's presented it here--it's a stark look at how little safety net there is for older Americans, but she also captures some of the joy and camaraderie that some of the nomads manage to eke out in spite of the difficulties they face. I read this just before watching the movie and the movie clearly focuses more on the latter aspect, which I can understand, but I was glad to have the additional context from the book in mind as I watched it. (I still liked the movie although I know that's controversial!) I also think it's interesting that so much has been made of the movie showing the Amazon CamperForce program--which is a big part of the book and which like, yeah, does totally suck for workers. But all of these jobs suck--the beet industry and state parks are also taking advantage of these seasonal workers. We need universal healthcare and a better safety net for workers period!!! But also yeah definitely fuck Amazon (which I know owns GoodReads...help...)

Oh gosh I heard good things about this book but I hadn't been in a fantasy mood when it first came out, but once I started reading it I couldn't put it down! I neglected my family to finish reading this book and I hadn't seen them in over a year! As with a lot of fantasy there is a lot of necessary info dump that can feel a little bit draggy to get through but, well, it's necessary, and once you're in it, you're IN IT. I LOVEDDDDDD the way this engaged with and upended some traditional fantasy tropes!!! SO SMART!!! Whew!!!!!

Now I am dyingggg for the sequel but it's still [b:Untitled|40035666|Untitled (Legendborn, #2)|Tracy Deonn|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|62023758]!! aughhhh

I'd heard of Richard Blanco but wasn't super familiar with his work, but I got this as a gift and I'm glad I did because I otherwise don't know that I would have picked this up, but I loved it! It reminded me a bit of David Sedaris, which I guess is an obvious comparison for tragi-funny stories from growing up gay with a dynamic family, but here we are. Blanco's work is a bit less laugh-out-loud funny than Sedaris's but, as you might expect from a former poet laureate, more poetic. Really moving.

This is a really quick, short read and I guess it follows through on the title. It's pretty much Kimberly Drew (@MuseumMammy) explaining how she got into her career as an art curator (despite the worst efforts of her college's almost-all-white art history program). I think it's a good read to show Black teens that there is a path for them in the art world even if it's a struggle and not something that would necessarily be offered to them by a guidance counselor.

I like the look of these Quick Change Collective books--they're very short and small and un-intimidating for teen readers.

this book had less Witch Content than I remembered. Needs more witches imo.

https://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-173-the-courtship-of-princess-leia/

I'm a fan of Emily Nussbaum's writing so I had read some of these pieces before, but I enjoyed the effect of reading the collection. And she's such an insightful writer that I enjoyed even reading reviews of shows I hadn't watched (it helps that they tend to be zeitgeisty enough that I know the basics of the shows even if I haven't watched them).

This reminded me of a less-horny SJM in that it kind of just kept introducing new concepts/characters who were all just perfect for the situation at hand.

It was a bit confusing for me since it had been so long since I read the first one but regardless I give it 5 stars for the brilliant decision to name the main character Renata.

y'all know I LOVE a cult story so I picked this up. I appreciated how it read like a cautionary tale, like as a reader you could see step-by-step how the Kingdom determined that Emily was isolated, how they further isolated her, how they made her feel a sense of purpose, how they got her to leave the country...all of that was really chilling.

I thought the framing of the investigative article about the cult sprinkled in was nice and added some tension about what was going to happen, but I kind of wished for a little bit more of the investigation?

Spoiler

Also the investigative article really made it seem like Emily died?? Which I get added tension but then like, since she didn't die it would be kind of a weird article for wherever it ended up being published? lol

I did think some of the mechanics of the cult itself were a bit off, which is partly because we're getting it in pieces through Emily and the article and neither of them know everything but like......................

Spoiler

when did the snakes get involved...........?

Ultimately I was engaged and it was fast-paced enough that I wasn't asking too many questions while I was reading but then at the end I was like, wait. Still, recommended for fans of cult shit and/or those who can cope with historical fiction set in 1994.