I feel kind of cold-hearted, because I know a lot of folks who were very affected by this memoir, but it was just okay for me. I really struggled to get into this book, and was pretty bored for what felt like a long time. Eventually the pace picked up, but I don’t feel like Westover ever got into the topics I was most interested in, and I really wished for more meta-discussion of her experiences and reflection. That being said, there were some very moving aspects of her story, and it was eye-opening and infuriating to watch the major gaslighting from her family unfold, and see its resulting destruction of her concept of self.⁣

New all time favorite book alert!

So, I obviously don’t know what the reading experience would have been like had I read the prior books in this trilogy, but it was an understandable and exciting read on its own. 200 years after the Communist Federation defeated the capitalist Empire, capsules of sleeper agents preserved through time awaken. Their plan to wait out the destabilization they expect time to produce in the new Federation is set in motion, but they don’t know that there are double agents in their midst, and a thrilling struggle for the future of humanity unfolds.

This book is a richly detailed vision of the future, full to bursting with interesting technology and social structures. I could read many more novels exploring the ideas of the cybernetically enhanced “cybos,” and the “groups,” tightly knit groups of people selected for compatibility, which allows them to work together towards new technologies and space travel. The action never lets up, de Rojas constantly throws the reader into new situations and easily establishes the world and huge cast of characters. While I did find the ending somewhat cliche, it was also AMAZING, and I fully delighted in reading this smart, thought-provoking, tense and fast-paced novel.

You know that feeling of learning from someone who is talking about a topic they understand far better than you? That was reading this entire book for me and I loved it. In her essay ‘In the Name of Beauty,’ Cottom tackles beauty standards more thoroughly than I’ve ever seen, digging into how they are so intricately interwoven with racism and white supremacy. Racism is a theme throughout this essay collection, which covers the perilous effects of black women not being seen as “competent” by the medical establishment (and more broadly), whiteness and the Obama presidency, and the disparity in perception of Black Americans with roots in slavery compared to recent immigrants, especially in academia. She dissects that favorite argument that poor people remain in poverty because they spend frivolously on status symbols, and heart-breakingly details the impact of an ‘asking for it’ mentality towards victims of sexual assault. ⁣
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This collection was a bit tougher to read than I expected, not realizing Cottom’s background and approach is so academic. I often felt submerged in her arguments as she zipped along grabbing threads and tying connections together, but I loved drowning in her smart and insightful writing. Definitely one to return to and continue digesting. ⁣

Fascinating and infuriating, this book had me quite captivated. ⁣⁣⁣I didn’t think the ordering of this narrative lent itself to completely effortless reading, although for the complex and long historied story they were trying to tell I thought the authors did a pretty good job of introducing necessary backstory, and following a mostly chronological sequence was helpful. I also liked that the (absolutely heartbreaking) saga of the wrongful convictions of two men caused by Hayne and West’s testimony was threaded through the book, which served to ground both the timeline and the horrifying consequences of their actions.⁣⁣⁣

Review to come

Everyone has said it already, but I might as well say it again, The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead is a masterwork.⁣ Heartbreaking and powerfully written, Whitehead drives home the evils of colonialism and white supremacy, and the message that absolutely no one deserved the treatment they received when swept up in these corrupt systems. He accomplishes so much in this short precise novel, I highly recommend it.⁣

Y'all, I am so glad I stumbled into reading this book! The flap blurb positions this novel as a “mesmerizing, strikingly original coming-of-age story about a girl in Boston’s tight-knit Ethiopian community who falls under the spell of a charismatic hustler whose passionate philosophies about America will change both their lives forever” and then you start reading the book and it opens on an island and the narrator appears to be part of some sort of maybe cult and I was HERE FOR IT and immediately sucked in.⁣
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I loved the reading experience, between the snarky and sarcastic narrator and her steadily unfolding tale of falling in with the parking lot attendant Ayale, peppered with expert foreshadowing that had me guessing at the plotting taking place outside the scope of her naïve vision. On top of the edge-of-my-seat plot Tamirat lays down delicate threads exploring first and second generation American immigrant experience. And the ending! I'm desperate to discuss

I loved the world building and the protagonist Akeha, but struggled a little with the pacing of this novella. It felt very setup-heavy, and jumped quickly between key events in Akeha and Mokoya's childhood through adulthood. They both become involved in a rebellion against the ruling government headed by their cruel powerful mother, but despite being like all setup I didn't feel like I fully understood the circumstances and motivations of either the government or the rebellion, which may be my fault for being in a bit of a funk while I read the majority of this novella. Anyway, I'm still definitely excited to continue with the series and see how they expand off this intriguing foundation. ⁣
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I also really appreciated the exploration of gender. In their world all children are treated as gender neutral until declaring their gender for themselves, and there are gender-based first person pronouns (mirroring she/her/they third person pronouns in English.) But gender is still complex and fraught, and gender roles still exist in their world but function differently.

THIS BOOK IS SO PURE! What an absolute delight to read. Despite Hernandez being an insta-fave author I wasn’t sure if I’d click with a middle grade novel and I was dragging my feet a little on buying and reading this book and I WAS SO WRONG. PLEASE buy this book, read it, have your pants charmed off, have your heart broken and put back together full to bursting with love and hope. Or at the very least, buy this brilliant novel for your favorite actual middle-grader. ⁣
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Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez is about a seventh grader named Sal. He’s Cuban American, has type-1 diabetes, loves performing magic, and somehow figured out how to see into parallel universes and pull stuff across, like a raw chicken to get out of a scrape with a bully, or an alive version of his deceased mom. The loss of Sal’s mom is heartbreaking, but his absolute earnestness and flourishing relationships with his loving dad and stepmom effectively combat the tough stuff. At his new performing arts school he meets the charismatic and driven student council president and editor of the newspaper, Gabi. She’s also dealing with a tough and sad situation while firmly enmeshed in a huge loving family, and their common ground cements my new favorite fictional friendship. I loved these characters, their family and friends, and their zany school to pieces and I cannot wait for the sequel. This book is packed with action, full of heart, and a complete joy to read. Seriously, Do Not Miss It!⁣

I think I heard Janna Levin speak on The Moth or another radio show, and bought her book on a whim, this was at least seven years ago so I don’t really remember. Still, this title, How the Universe Got Its Spots, and the premise (a physicist explaining her musings on the nature of the Universe and discussing her own life in letters to her mother) has had me excited to dive in constantly since then. Unfortunately, after finally prioritizing it this book was overall quite a miss for me. I thought the balance of her life and the physics was unsatisfying, and I wanted more depth in recounting her relationships both to her partner and to her work. Also, it took a long time to get to science that I wasn’t already quite familiar with just from high school astronomy and physics, and I rarely enjoy reading about things I already know. This isn’t Levin’s fault of course, and I think the book would be more enjoyable on the whole to someone who was less familiar with the foundation she spends much time on. When she finally gets to her specific research it was really interesting and I am glad I made my way there even though it was a struggle. THEN she ends the book on a freaking CLIFFHANGER about her PERSONAL LIFE, which was pretty infuriating to me since I spent so much of the book aching for more of the personal life to be integrated into the story