Take a photo of a barcode or cover
simonlorden's Reviews (1.38k)
Read on my blog.
LGBTQAI+: Sapphic main character + love interest
Sex on page: No
This book was 2018 March’s Sapphic Book Club read hosted by sapphicliterature..
I discovered this book several months ago – I was drawn to it by the beautiful cover, the fact that it had mermaids, and the intriguing blurb. Since it’s not clear from the blurb or the Goodreads tags, I didn’t actually know this book had a queer main character until much later.
I finally picked up the Ice Massacre for the Sapphic Book Club, and I am really glad I did. This book was action-packed and amazing, although darker than what I usually read… and definitely involving more character deaths.
I loved the all-female crew, and the way they interacted with each other. They have been trained as warriors, and yet they were still children, wanting to have fun and relax before things got real. Later, desperation and the will to survive created rifts between them. At some parts, I kind of felt like I was reading a female Lord of the Flies – which was a little disturbing, given that I hated the Lord of the Flies, but thankfully I was able to get over the association.
I also loved the plot, and the way things weren’t exactly how you – and the characters – thought at first. I loved the relationship between the two main characters, and how their loyalty towards each other crashed with the loyalty toward their people. I was a little worried that Meela’s sexuality would be left ambiguous, but if nothing else, then the ending of the book really makes it impossible to deny even with the most heteronormative lenses.
One major complaint I had was the pacing towards the beginning. The book starts with one chapter in present time, then a few chapters as a flashback, and then back to present time. Personally, I felt this was really weird and I would have preferred the flashbacks to be built into the main story gradually. I also didn’t enjoy reading the flashbacks in general – I don’t think the characters sounded like ten-year-olds, and it was a little off-putting.
As someone who is often bored by action scenes, I was pleasantly surprised when this action-packed novel almost always held my attention instead of just turning into a series of almost identical battle scenes. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and I can’t wait to read the sequel.
(Okay, but seriously though – what kind of person uses someone’s dead brother to make fun of them?)
Final rating: 🧜🧜🧜🧜🧜/5
LGBTQAI+: Sapphic main character + love interest
Sex on page: No
This book was 2018 March’s Sapphic Book Club read hosted by sapphicliterature..
I discovered this book several months ago – I was drawn to it by the beautiful cover, the fact that it had mermaids, and the intriguing blurb. Since it’s not clear from the blurb or the Goodreads tags, I didn’t actually know this book had a queer main character until much later.
I finally picked up the Ice Massacre for the Sapphic Book Club, and I am really glad I did. This book was action-packed and amazing, although darker than what I usually read… and definitely involving more character deaths.
I loved the all-female crew, and the way they interacted with each other. They have been trained as warriors, and yet they were still children, wanting to have fun and relax before things got real. Later, desperation and the will to survive created rifts between them. At some parts, I kind of felt like I was reading a female Lord of the Flies – which was a little disturbing, given that I hated the Lord of the Flies, but thankfully I was able to get over the association.
I also loved the plot, and the way things weren’t exactly how you – and the characters – thought at first. I loved the relationship between the two main characters, and how their loyalty towards each other crashed with the loyalty toward their people. I was a little worried that Meela’s sexuality would be left ambiguous, but if nothing else, then the ending of the book really makes it impossible to deny even with the most heteronormative lenses.
One major complaint I had was the pacing towards the beginning. The book starts with one chapter in present time, then a few chapters as a flashback, and then back to present time. Personally, I felt this was really weird and I would have preferred the flashbacks to be built into the main story gradually. I also didn’t enjoy reading the flashbacks in general – I don’t think the characters sounded like ten-year-olds, and it was a little off-putting.
As someone who is often bored by action scenes, I was pleasantly surprised when this action-packed novel almost always held my attention instead of just turning into a series of almost identical battle scenes. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and I can’t wait to read the sequel.
(Okay, but seriously though – what kind of person uses someone’s dead brother to make fun of them?)
Final rating: 🧜🧜🧜🧜🧜/5
I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
RTC
RTC
%20Are%20Creating%20a%20Gender%20Revolution.jpg)
rating: 4.5 stars
I don't feel like I'm trapped in the wrong body. It's more that I'm trapped in other people's perceptions of my body.
When I wrote my BA thesis on a fictional genderfluid teen character last year, I looked into academic literature and all kinds of articles on transgender children. Maybe I was just looking in the wrong place, but I found that most of these articles were written /about/ transgender children, but from an outsider's perspective. In that regard, this book was refreshing for two reasons: it has a nonbinary author, and also many actual quotes from transgender and nonbinary teens and their parents. Most importantly, it lets the children use their own words to define their own identities. (One trans kid actually has a nonbinary parent and it's awesome!)
The other reason this book was incredibly refreshing is that it was published in 2018, when most other literature I found was published at least 10 years ago. The Trans Generation is so recent that it has a section on the first 10 months of Trump presidency, and how it changed the situation for trans people in the US.
This book focuses entirely on US and Canada, but it still does its best to interview diverse children of various identities and races. The author is white, but they consciously address their white privilege and talk about how they made steps to make sure their writing is inclusive.
Overall, I found this a really helpful overview on the situation of trans people in the US and Canada (as someone who doesn't live in either place). I also really appreciated the quotes from the actual trans children, and their self-definitions which were really interesting to read. Wish I was that confident in myself when I was 15 or younger.
I especially appreciated that there are sections that deal specifically with nonbinary people and how the issues they face are often different from binary trans people.
I don't feel like I'm trapped in the wrong body. It's more that I'm trapped in other people's perceptions of my body.
When I wrote my BA thesis on a fictional genderfluid teen character last year, I looked into academic literature and all kinds of articles on transgender children. Maybe I was just looking in the wrong place, but I found that most of these articles were written /about/ transgender children, but from an outsider's perspective. In that regard, this book was refreshing for two reasons: it has a nonbinary author, and also many actual quotes from transgender and nonbinary teens and their parents. Most importantly, it lets the children use their own words to define their own identities. (One trans kid actually has a nonbinary parent and it's awesome!)
The other reason this book was incredibly refreshing is that it was published in 2018, when most other literature I found was published at least 10 years ago. The Trans Generation is so recent that it has a section on the first 10 months of Trump presidency, and how it changed the situation for trans people in the US.
This book focuses entirely on US and Canada, but it still does its best to interview diverse children of various identities and races. The author is white, but they consciously address their white privilege and talk about how they made steps to make sure their writing is inclusive.
Overall, I found this a really helpful overview on the situation of trans people in the US and Canada (as someone who doesn't live in either place). I also really appreciated the quotes from the actual trans children, and their self-definitions which were really interesting to read. Wish I was that confident in myself when I was 15 or younger.
I especially appreciated that there are sections that deal specifically with nonbinary people and how the issues they face are often different from binary trans people.
a wonderful poetry collection worthy of Apollo (bc that is the prompt I'm reading it for in Mythoton, shh)
the fat sapphic poetry we deserve, with beautiful nature images, and also sadly relatable heartache
the fat sapphic poetry we deserve, with beautiful nature images, and also sadly relatable heartache
This book was 2018 November’s Sapphic Book Club read hosted by sapphicbookclub..
I think a part of my soul died every time Amy told a complete stranger that they're on the run from the police
the friendships in this book were great, though
I think a part of my soul died every time Amy told a complete stranger that they're on the run from the police
the friendships in this book were great, though
1) This book was completely different from what I expected, and yet still that.
2) The quotes on the cover say "one of the best twists in years", so my expectations were pretty high, but the book delivered. They also say "hilarious and heartbreaking", but I was having trouble finding the hilarious part.
3) There's really no good way to talk about this book without spoiling the whole thing, but wow. Just wow. Also, prepare for lots of discussions of animal experiments and animal cruelty.
4) This is a heartbreaking, complex and compelling story about two parents and three siblings, one family.
5) I was going to rate it 4 stars because it got kind of boring in the second half, but then the part taking place in 2012 absolutely killed me and it was beautiful.
2) The quotes on the cover say "one of the best twists in years", so my expectations were pretty high, but the book delivered. They also say "hilarious and heartbreaking", but I was having trouble finding the hilarious part.
3) There's really no good way to talk about this book without spoiling the whole thing, but wow. Just wow. Also, prepare for lots of discussions of animal experiments and animal cruelty.
4) This is a heartbreaking, complex and compelling story about two parents and three siblings, one family.
5) I was going to rate it 4 stars because it got kind of boring in the second half, but then the part taking place in 2012 absolutely killed me and it was beautiful.
an assassin high school sounded cool, but there was nothing appealing about this
they barely even spent time in the school and that's the least of my problems
they barely even spent time in the school and that's the least of my problems
3.5 stars
This is a collection of 3 companion short stories to Learning Curves, with the lesbian and asexual characters from the original novella.
Overall, this was a really sweet, fluffy collection of F/F stories. The first one had Cora dressing up as Velma from Scooby Doo, the second one had some great anxiety rep with Elena (tw for panic attacks though), and the third one... well, the kids were cute, but I have to admit the pregnancy caught me off guard and it was my least favourite of the three. I'm also really confused by the blurb that says "the last house they visit has a bit of a surprise in store", because... we are only shown the beginning of their trick-or-treating, and nothing about the last house?
This is a collection of 3 companion short stories to Learning Curves, with the lesbian and asexual characters from the original novella.
Overall, this was a really sweet, fluffy collection of F/F stories. The first one had Cora dressing up as Velma from Scooby Doo, the second one had some great anxiety rep with Elena (tw for panic attacks though), and the third one... well, the kids were cute, but I have to admit the pregnancy caught me off guard and it was my least favourite of the three. I'm also really confused by the blurb that says "the last house they visit has a bit of a surprise in store", because... we are only shown the beginning of their trick-or-treating, and nothing about the last house?
Okay, but can you believe there's actually a bird called titmouse?
This was one of the most creative and funniest Cinderella retellings I've read, and it's freely available online. Please read it.
This was one of the most creative and funniest Cinderella retellings I've read, and it's freely available online. Please read it.
Dear Earthling was an adorable middle-grade sci-fi story with fun illustrations. It's about a kid who is a Space Cadet, which is basically a Boy's Scout in space. The chapters are all fairly short, as they are letters the main character writes to his human penpal.
The planet where Dethbert lives, Crank, is sort of like Earth in a parallel universe. Most of their things have names that are horrible puns on Earth names, like "bored games", "Duesday", "When?sday" and so forth. I admit that the puns got a little too much for me eventually and I groaned at many of them, but I'm sure kids would appreciate them more.
Dethbert is a good who gets into trouble and fights with his friends sometimes, but he also has a big heart, and many eccentric friends and family members. Overall, I found this a really endearing sci-fi story that is perfect for preteens.
One thing that made me pause was the mention of one kid's parent being a missionary who was nearly eaten by "cannibalistic savages" that he tried to convert. That story has pretty negative connotations, and I feel like it was really unnecessary to include it, since it's not even a big plot point or anything.
The planet where Dethbert lives, Crank, is sort of like Earth in a parallel universe. Most of their things have names that are horrible puns on Earth names, like "bored games", "Duesday", "When?sday" and so forth. I admit that the puns got a little too much for me eventually and I groaned at many of them, but I'm sure kids would appreciate them more.
Dethbert is a good who gets into trouble and fights with his friends sometimes, but he also has a big heart, and many eccentric friends and family members. Overall, I found this a really endearing sci-fi story that is perfect for preteens.
One thing that made me pause was the mention of one kid's parent being a missionary who was nearly eaten by "cannibalistic savages" that he tried to convert. That story has pretty negative connotations, and I feel like it was really unnecessary to include it, since it's not even a big plot point or anything.