I've heard you have to get through this book to get onto the good ones and that then it's well worth it but goodness me. I applaud those of you who could get through a whole book of this, especially when there are so many wonderful books out there that we'll never get a chance to read.

I've since realised that it's actually book three where people say it starts to get good. I'm very glad I'm giving up here and not trying to brave my way through double.

I watched the TV series but had no idea it was based on this graphic novel. This an odd little book about two very different, very broken young people who ultimately need each other in different ways. A quick 25-30 minute read. Rather dark and emotional.

A 20 minute or so read. Tense and mysterious with a somewhat obvious ending (but satisfyingly so). A wonderful quick read for a dark winter's night. Norm Konyu is quickly becoming my favourite graphic novel author!

Sad and I found it hard to tell the characters apart/what was going on in parts. Some parts made me smile, others were depressing but that's the nature of the story.

I LOVED this! The colours! A quick 20 minute read but definitely one I'd read again. It's such a good idea for a story. I loved the use of pictures instead of speech and the colours were so, so vivid. As soon as I finished it, I immediately picked up another of Norm Konyu's books. I can't wait to find some more of their stories.

Bury Your Gays is a queer horror tomorrow about a screenwriter who's horror villains start stalking him as if he's been supplanted into one of his own films. Really though, it's more about queer representation in media, consumerism and greed than it is about anything else.

You can see the thinly veiled influences behind some of he characters in his films and this is used in a way which attempts to correct certain tropes at points.

Though the main character, Misha, is well written, I can't say I really cared what happened to him in the end. The book had a very predictable storyline, so perhaps it's just that I'd already realised what was going to happen with him.

With this being said, the story being predictable didn't let it down. I wouldn't say it's scary either but it does get real gory in parts. Gory in a way where you can almost see it being lifted straight from a classic horror film. This is where a lot of that predictablity comes from and really, who doesn't read a book like without wanting a bit of those classic horror vibes?

Ultimately, it's a book that I would have got a real kick out of as a horror movie teenager so it's ⭐⭐⭐⭐ from me.

When I finished this book, I wasn't sure how I felt. It's gutwrenching. Especially that ending!

It's so beautifully written but a hard read. Usually when I finish a book I know straight away if I liked it or not. With this? I wasn't sure. The narrative is quick and pulls you through the story, eager to find out what will happen next, hoping for better for the books endlessly suffering characters. On the other hand, it's heavy. It's hard. If I hadn't had this as a book club book, I'm not sure I would have read it after looking at the other reviews. I love a story set in a culture different to mine so I'm glad I read it but part of me wants to forget the book's contents? It's a very hard read. Maybe that's just a sign of how well the story matter was written.

Would I recommend it? No. Maybe? I'm not sure. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone but with those I would, it'd be with a note to tell them to look at the triggers/reviews first. It's a wonderfully written work of fiction on a difficult subject matter. I'm very glad that this was a book club book so that I had the opportunity to discuss the story with others as I have a feeling it'll be lodged in my head for a while!

This is one of those books where not much actually happens. All of the story is around the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters. Sunday is unapologetic in her autistic experience, whilst still feeling relatable. I felt so much for Sunday and her experiences with others.

I also loved the way that Sicilian folklaw and birds are used as a story narrative and a calming special interest. At book club, most were confused by her frequent mentioning of the birds heart. Usually, we think of birds hearts be dainty, fluttery little things so when this is written in relation to the cruel, thoughtless behaviours of some of the characters, it feels off. With bird heart, it seems refers to the callous slyness seen in corvid folklaw. I love British bird folklaw and was the only person in my book club who'd not been confused by the authors use of the words.

Neurodivergent stories that are written by neurodivergent authors are extremely important. Rarely do I see neurotypical authors writing neurodivergent characters without writing a caricature of the experience, themselves having only experienced it through other neurotypical authors. We need more stories from those who have lived experiences if we ever want to truly understand the experiences of others.

Lastly, this isn't one of those 'literary Booker Prize' books. This might have been longlisted but it's not one of books that are so 'litrature' that they feel depressing and the same. This is something different and thats a good thing.

This poetry collection is (half) about a black woman's exprience of being adopted by a white couple.

The first half of the book is told between the daughter, her adoptive mother and her birth mother, using different typefaces to differentiate between their voices. I read this on my phone using the library app. For some reason, the key at the beginning which tells you who was which typeface didn't match up with who was actually who in the poems. This meant I was incredibly confused for a lot of these poems.

The second half of them are unrelated poems about being Scottish/queer/race. I found it confusing when the poems switched to this, constantly trying to make a missing connection to the adoption side. This side had the best poem in the collection - 'Dressing Up'.

The poems are good but in quite a few, it wasn't clear what their endings were trying to say so it's ⭐⭐⭐ for me. It's definitely a book that could have been written today rather than the in the 1990s. It's just a shame that the blurb and typeface mistake let it down for me.

Like a lot of us, I spent so many hours pouring over the illustrations in Brambly Hedge as a child. They're so intricate and the plants exact to reality that they're gorgeous to behold. This winter, I've been thinking a lot about nature and the idea of taking it slow through the season as our ancestors would have. It was this that got me thinking of Brambly Hedge and its gorgeous illustration of the cosy woodland homes within its pages.

Unable to find a copy near me, I eventually ordered this one online from a secondhand retailer and it's also as new. The illustrations are just as beautiful as I remember and the stories are just as gorgeous. Revisiting this classic from my childhood was just what I needed in this chilly January.