I devoured this highly anticipated sequel in one day, and I don't think I'm alone in that!
It was wonderful to revisit Kyoshi and her old friends, as well as be introduced to some new key characters.
Since a majority of this book takes place in the Fire Nation, the reader is treated with some Fire Nation history that hadn't been revealed in other parts of Avatar canon.

---Light spoilers in regards to theme and character relationships below.

The real highlight of this story, to me, is how often the word 'love' is used. When viewing Kuruks' memories, it's said several times that he loves his friends. 
As Kyoshi and Rangi's relationship continues to develop, there were a few instances where it's said explicitly that Rangi loves Kyoshi and vice versa. This in particular is win for a sapphic relationship in YA media, especially when remembering how difficult the writers of The Legend of Korra had to push to show Korra and Asami in a relationship in 2014.

The only criticism I have for this is that it's significantly shorter than the first installment in this two part series. That might just be due to introductions generally taking longer, but I don't know. Since this is confirmed to not have a third book, I'm still thankful for what we've been given.

I'm looking forward to reading other works by F.C. Yee.

This was a fun one!

This is a wholesome story about Bittle, a gay college freshman bonding with his hockey teammates.
Having graduated college in 2014 (the same year as Jack), this graphic novel felt relatable. I'm glad I watched Letterkenny before this to refresh my memory on hockey terms!
The characters are memorable, especially Shits.
There are a few strikingly well done emotional gut-punch scenes.
The slow-burn romance has me dying to pick up volume 2. 
This copy I borrowed from my library included some extra content at the end, including Bittle's tweets summarizing his first two years, which felt authentic.

TW: Police violence

This book is so important. Seriously, read this!
Sometimes the most rebellious thing to do is read.
This memoir felt like an ode to young protestors, and although covers South Korea in 1983, applies strongly today. I'm embarassed to say that this was the first time I've heard of the Gwangju Uprising. 
This text belongs in the hands of young people attending high school world history/college literature/and student run newspaper works-paces at the minimum.

TW: ableism (challenged), gun violence, gaslighting

This might be the best hero origin story I've read in years!
I read this book in one sitting, that's how much I wanted to see the mystery get solved.
The shift in art styles while Jena is storytelling is beautiful and haunting.
It's refreshing to read a graphic novel featuring a disabled protagonist, written by someone who is disabled.

I'd recommend this book to both fans and newcomers to the DC universe, as well as anyone looking to diversify their bookshelf.

This book is like sipping chai on a stormy night. 

Not only was this one a 5 star read, but quite possibly the best fantasy I've read in years. 
I loved everything about it, but these are the main reasons, containing light spoilers:

The cover is beautiful! When this scene was depicted, it was so satisfying to have this visual. 

Each of the narrators voices as written are distinct and interesting. It really seemed like there were emotionally intense/plot significant scenes every chapter, and the chapters themselves don’t feel long (Good for bite-sized reading before bed, though the content is so good I couldn’t put it down).

The different interpretations of religion were fascinating to read about, and isn’t something I’ve seen much of before.

The parallels between historical figures and their descendants were intriguing. This text has many themes, one of which that you are not your ancestors, though you are connected to them and share their likeness in many ways.

The pacing is phenomenal. It’s fascinating how when a character is introduced as potentially missing, a few chapters later the fate of the missing character is discovered by someone else. The amount of detail provided when historical context relates to a present situation is the perfect amount (usually two small paragraphs).

There are so many memorable character relationships and interactions. By the end of the book, a majority of the characters have interacted with each other/share several common threads. I won't spoil too much here, but would like to shout-out some of my favorite character moments/relationships:

I'd recommend this book to both lifelong fans of fantasy, and casual/novices to fantasy. Yes, the page count is intimidating, but once I had gotten to 600 pages, I lamented that I only had around 250 (some individual book lengths!) left with these characters. 

Edit: Samantha Shannon has confirmed that Loth and Tane are ace!

CW: Miscarriage

If I could rate this book 6 stars I would! What an absolutely perfect book. I knew this book would be wonderful from the moment I saw the cover and the Janelle Monae lyric in the beginning.I’m not an english teacher (former math teacher), but this should be required reading.

This review contains spoilers!

 Nishat is navigating friendships, family, cultural appropriation, and her own identity during a school competition. This is the first book I’ve seen that exists within a Desi Muslim Lesbian intersection. Adiba Jaigirdar has written an authentic, complex, and emotionally compelling story that leaves one feeling introspective. The microaggressions that Nishat faces at school, I’m sure ring strongly with POC that have repeatedly had their name mispronounced. Each time Nishat is waiting for a message from Flavia brings me back to my early gay crushes. Even small details like sitting at a school’s guidance office knowing that the staff won’t help with the situation, feels all too familiar (and I graduated high school 10 years ago!).

 The characters created here are all so memorable. Chyna is the absolute worst, and brings to mind ‘that girl’ from childhood that tears others down, and yes, is racist. Priti makes me wish I had a younger sister to be honest. The way she described herself as an emotional support sister is so endearing. Oftentimes sibling relationship portrayals in the media feel cringey, but Nishat and Priti feel so real. Of course we want Nishat and Flavia to be together, but seeing Flavia’s and Nishat’s flaws (both girls were selfish in a sense), makes their happy ending feel all the more rewarding. The repaired, and stronger than ever, friendship with Jess and Chaewon was well met too.

 I can’t wait to see what Adiba Jaigirdar creates next. 

I purchased this graphic novel from NYCC 2019, and it was easily the best I'd read that year.
Disclaimer: I'm a white nonbinary person, and do not speak for experiences of POC.

Top Reasons why I loved this book:

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