skudiklier's Reviews (647)

This collection is beautiful and heartwarming and inspiring. Sri K. really knows how to make you feel things with gorgeous words :') 

I knew I would love this, because I love everything Jonny Sun does, but wow was this gorgeous. I'm so so glad I read it right now, as it feels like the perfect time, but I'm also pretty sure it would feel like that no matter when I read it. I don't usually bookmark books physically, preferring to underline the many passages I love, but a couple of sections of this book were so good I couldn't help myself; I knew I'd want to come back to find them later. This book is so thoughtful, it blew my mind, and I can't recommend it enough.

"The future prints its warnings for the poet on the earth and sky."
This collection of poetry and visual art from Melissa Jennings will leave you breathless and moved for reasons you could never pin down—and that's just part of its magic. Some pieces are simple in a jaw-droppingly powerful way, while others are chaotic and overwhelming. The collection balances on the edge of so many lines: intentionally crafted vs. effortless, suffering vs. healing, life vs. death. It pushes the boundaries of what time can look like, and reading it while still in a version of the purgatory Timedeath references leaves the reader aching for what cannot be named. As Jennings puts it, "a name is just a burying." Melissa Jennings has outdone themselves with this haunting collection of visual poetry.

The poems in this book are so beautiful! I feel like they broke my heart and then put it back together again, aching and raw and new. 

I will hopefully write a better review later, as I actually read this book a month ago when I had the wonderful opportunity to edit it (but it hadn't yet been announced then so I couldn't review it at the time). I absolutely loved this book, and would recommend it to anyone. Melanie's writing is phenomenal, and it makes me feel so much.

I have a very short list of books I've labelled as "poetry inspo"—ones I want to turn to not to write specific poems after, and that aren't all books of poetry either, but any books that inspire me to write, because they give me the right kinds of feelings. This book will 100% be on that list. 

This collection is beautiful! The poems, the art, even some prose that absolutely knocked me off my feet. This made me feel so much. Rachael Kitts writes so honestly and it's so powerful. I also loved the acknowledgements at the end :') 

I love the emotions in this book!! It's structured so well and flows nicely. The angry poems especially pack such a punch. 

This book made me feel things I haven't felt in years—not since I first read An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green. I was so excited reading it, and despite how long it is I couldn't put it down, and finished it the day after starting it. I would really, really recommend this to anyone who likes sci-fi, and especially anyone who enjoyed The Martian. Major spoiler:

I just really like non-hostile first contact stories I think. When Grace first waved at the alien and then it waved back, I actually teared up a little.  (Just saying "the alien" to have as few spoilers as possible.)

   

Some of the big eureka moments made me want to screenshot them and send them to friends—like, as if they were real and we could all get excited about this huge discovery together. It's definitely a good book for a book club or to read with friends.

Compared to The Martian, this felt like it had more suspense/higher stakes, because The Martian basically had a sad ending or a happy ending (and I always assumed it would be happy). Project Hail Mary has a lot more room for complexity in terms of what a "happy" ending looks like, so I definitely felt unsure about how certain parts would end. 

I'm also glad I didn't really read the description of the book before reading it; all I knew was it was by Andy Weir (and that Hank Green liked it). It allowed me to truly learn everything along with Grace, and to be surprised by even basic functions of the plot in a really rare and enjoyable way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review! 

This book was really interesting, and I both feel for the author and feel like I learned a lot. 

I don't know where to begin; I simply loved this book. I couldn't put it down, and about halfway through became sad that I was reading an ARC and thus couldn't go to Twitter and look for others yelling about how much they love Zaya and Col. 

The story is magnificent and really draws you in. Even when I could predict parts of where it was going, it still managed to surprise me with its intensity, some significant turn, or its resolution. 

I really appreciate the small political aspects of the book, especially seeing Zaya learn more about how the world works, and realize laws need to be changed to help people. I also appreciate that it's not easy, even for him--he recognizes that changing the way things have been run for hundreds of years will be difficult. But still, it feels hopeful in a refreshing way.

Other small details I loved: one of the main characters is bi/pan, and just this world's general stance on queer relationships was refreshing without being wildly unrealistic. Also, the cover is absolutely gorgeous; I thought so at first glance, but now that I've looked at a bigger version more closely, I'm just in love with it.

I would recommend this book to anyone, not just because it's good and I think they'd enjoy it, but also because I want others to talk about it with! This book deserves a whole community of readers making fanart and discussing what the rest of this world could hold (as well as getting excited about the romance aspect, because wow I know I did). 

Thank you to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.