Peter Darling is a delightful read, full of enemies-to-lovers banter and charm, but also explores gender and sexuality, marginalisation, and mental illness.

My full thoughts are available to listen to on an episode of The Hidden Bookcase

I didn’t intend to read this book at all, and only bought a second-hand copy of The Raven’s Prophecy to use some of Stievfater’s wonderful art in a collage, but I skimmed the first page, and found myself absorbed. This little book is a great introduction to tarot for beginners, and was a good refresher for me, as someone who had fallen out of the habit of reading on a regular basis. I enjoyed learning about the rationale behind Stievfater’s artistic choices, and grounding each individual card’s meaning in the five cycles (of Major Arcana and the four Minor Arcana) was also useful– an aspect of tarot some other guides overlook. I’d still recommend the Rider-Waite to anyone brand new to tarot, but thanks to the inclusion of this book, I’d say the Raven’s Prophecy could also be a good place to start.

Poetry is especially subjective, so reviewing it sometimes feels a little unfair. Only a few lines in this collection struck me whilst reading, and none haunted me after I’d closed it. There was nothing objectionable about it, and I enjoyed the experience of reading it, but it simply didn’t have any emotional impact on me.

I have to implicate myself as not entirely subjective here– I probably wouldn’t have picked this book up if it had been by anyone else, but Howell’s skits have been a fixture in my life for a while, and nostalgia stirred my curiosity. Obviously, I enjoy his sense of humour, which is certainly present in YWGTTN. I do, however, think that this is a really good self-help guide, especially for young adults and teenagers, thanks to its accesible language. As someone with a psychology degree, the explanatory sections were definitely below my pay-grade, and if you’re looking for an academic text, you’re in the wrong place. But this book is genuinely practical, thoughtfully divided into sections that will help someone in a current crisis, or trying to maintain their mental health over time. The exercises in it are simple, approachable, and there are a nice selection of them, since not everything is going to work for everyone, but not an overwhelming slew. I found myself wishing I’d received something more along these lines than the same tired CBT-techniques that didn’t suit me from the adults in my life as a teenager, and think it could be a really valuable resource for a lot of people.

France has done an admirable job of tackling a staggeringly important topic here, on a huge scale, with innumerable important players. Telling such a deeply emotional, complicated, multifaceted story, without losing the thread of this book must’ve been no small feat, and France has achieved it with such grace, he almost makes it look easy, explaining the science of the virus, the political climate, and recounting the stories of individuals who were (or are still) impacted with equal skill. This is a fantastic and thorough introduction to the AIDs crisis, and though an undeniably difficult read, it is thoroughly worth it.

She Gets the Girl is fairly typical YA romance fare, but that’s by no means a crtiscim. It certainly has a rom-com sort of feel about it, and god knows we need more queer rom-coms. It took a little longer than usual for Alex and Molly to grow on me, but grow on me they did, as the novel drew on. This isn’t going to stick in my head years down the line, personally, but I could see how it could be a really special read for someone else, and it was definitely an enjoyable read for me regardless.

Sistersong is a deeply immersive reading experience. Holland's strong prose imbues both the world and the characters with incredible vividity.

My full thoughts are available in an episode of The Hidden Bookcase

I had a lot of problems with As Far As You’ll Take Me.

Firstly, as a Londoner, I could most certainly tell that this was written by an American, and I was shocked to discover Stamper had actually spent time living here. It definitely felt distinctly touristy, and there were a few cultural subtleties that didn’t feel quite right.

In addition, there were simply too many side-characters, none of whom felt strongly defined, which made them difficult to keep track of. I was similarly uninvested in the main players. The character writing felt very black-and-white, with characters either being wonderful, or beyond redemption, which was extremely frustrating, and made the book feel younger than a teen/young-adult title.

Finally, I felt that the exploration of eating-disorders was pretty surface-level: lacking nuanced, and resolved without much struggle, which underplays the seriousness of the issue in the first place. I imagine it could be pretty triggering, without offering much catharsis, which really isn't an ideal combination.

While I appreciated the attempt to tackle potentially contentious issues, especially ones which are overrepresented in the queer community, I really don't feel like this novel was successful in doing so.

Climate Change Is Racist is short, digestible, and deeply impactful. It's a clear-eyed introduction to environmental justice, grounded in history, well-researched and passionately argued. It's a cliche to say that "everyone should read this book," but that was the feeling I came away with, having read it.

I won't mince words here: the only strong point of Bottle Grove was the prose. I really liked the experimental, train-of-thought type approach, and Handler is clearly a master of his craft. If it hadn't been for the prose, however, I never would have made it through this novel.

I do appreciate that the characters are supposed to be unlikable, but they're so fundamentally unlikable that reading this book feels exactly like being trapped at a party full of deeply annoying people. Acknowledging, in-text, that the characters are all cishet white people dealing with first-world problems doesn't change the fact that the one (1) queer PoC character is shunted to the sidelines here, even if you put those words in his mouth in the form of "jokes." Bottle Grove also dips its toes into some really serious themes, such as child sexual assault, with what feels like a serious lack of consideration or care, which didn't sit well wtih me at all. Overall, this felt like a book that was trying really hard to be high-brow and edgy, but didn't really have anything to say.