This felt like it was a really strong tie-in to something I haven't read??? I kind of don't get what the point of rebooting your series with a new volume 1 when it's very unfriendly to a new reader. (And I'm not even a new X-Men reader, I just don't read EVERY SINGLE X-BOOK.) Kind of a bummer after how much I loved Jason Aaron's run so much :(

AHH weird, I just noticed this wasn't marked "read" on GoodReads?? I totally read it! It was totally great!

This is a super sweet book with tons of compelling characters. I love the way the narration spills out through so many perspectives.

I did think elements of the ending were like a little too much but, like, whatever.

A sweet, tween-friendly romance/adventure/mystery.

Is it too obvious to say that a Cassie Clare book felt like Harry Potter fanfiction? Because this like... really, really did. It was always just on the verge of losing my interest when something new would happen that would barely grab me again.

MEH

Funny, sweet queer romance. Hilarious portrayal of theater kids as well as a thoughtful look at race & class at a fancy private school, while somehow not seeming too "issue-y."

Pretty clean content--some underage drinking and discussion of others having sex, but nothing from the narrator.

Loved this nuanced portrayal of life as a queer teen in a small, conservative town. I loved Cameron's strength in the face of huge amounts of bullshit.

I read reviews that said this feels more like an adult novel with a teen protag than a YA novel, and that could be true. Teen appeal might be limited to pretentious young lesbians? Which is a fine and noble audience. That said, as a straight adult, I definitely dug it.

I admit it, I doubted Elizabeth Wein... I was excited to get the galley of this and then I read the summary and kind of put off reading it because it sounded kind of boring to me... but once I picked it up, I was HOOKED. I feel like I learned so much about the history of Ethiopia, and I was so INTERESTED in it. I loved these characters so much and once all the plot twists were fully activated I couldn't put it down!!

AHHH

I need to think about how to booktalk this because I still think the plot summary sounds boring. I might need to just throw it at kids and yell AHHHHH

SUCH a powerful and complex look at rape and PTSD, but also at class and poverty and Haiti and all these complicated intersections. And such gorgeous prose.

I wanted to read this for awhile because duh, Roxane Gay, but I also put off reading it because I was worried about how heavy it would be. It's like... pretty heavy, but it's not quite the unending wall of bleakness I feared it might be. (Although it has its moments.)

Highly recommended (when the reader feels emotionally prepared).

I LOVE Daniel Handler's style. LOVE it. I know it's not for everyone, but it is for me.

(I read this on vacation and I read part of it aloud to my traveling companions. They stared at me blankly and one of them said, "I think he's trying too hard." WHATEVER.)

Look: if you like Daniel Handler's pretentious, hilarious, jam-packed sentences: you will like this. If you do not like Daniel Handler: this will not convert you.

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"I don't want a date," Gwen said. No one would understand this. It is the presumed mission of all women, a quest for a man, and no amount of bloodshed can dissuade the myth.

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AMAZING, HONESTLY

This is the kind of book where I've heard others talk about the unlikeable narrator (who is the author, since these are first person essays) and I read it and think, "uh oh, if this person is unlikeable, everybody hates me."