This was an even richer little story to revisit – especially in community.

Ring Shout follows a trio of Black resistance fighters in 1922 Macon, Georgia. Maryse Boudreaux has a deep desire for vengeance and a magical sword to help her cut down monstrous Ku Kluxes. By her side are Sadie, a cynical sharpshooter, and Chef, who is ready to blow anything up. They’re facing both human Klan members and larger-than-life, terrifying, alien Ku Klux monsters. And there are evil powers lurking, planning something even darker around the next screening of The Birth of a Nation.

The imagery in this novella is off the charts. It’s brilliantly cinematic. One example: “Watching these Klans shamble down the street, I’m reminded of bales of white, still soaked in colored folk sweat and blood, moving for the river.”

And the characters are SO well-developed. I couldn’t believe how attached I was after just a few short pages, and how much I felt linked to Maryse and her friends’ journey. 

The story swirls Black mysticism and history together into one - the plot feels honest and real, and the magical elements just make sense. It’s got beautiful found family & loyalty between friends and communities.

On the more distressing side, the characters ponder how hate festers and who it empowers. There’s discussion of righteous justice and anger, and how that differs from hate that will suck out your humanity. 

 

CW: racism, death, slavery, body horror, gore, racial slurs, violence, hate crime, grief, animal death, gun violence 

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what a rich, beautiful, terrifying masterpiece of a story! clark mixes black mysticism and horror and sci fi elements with real historical events in an incredibly skilled way. we follow 3 resistance fighter black women (who are INCREDIBLY fleshed out for such a short story) as they tackle literal and figurative Klu Klux Klan monsters. this novella thrilled me and frightened me. this is an intimate look at hate & racism & injustice & pain. how do “ordinary” people become monsters? 

the writing is .. so, so, so good. the imagery was cinematic (made me want to watch it on a big screen, though it would be terrifying). i would have EASILY read 500 more pages of ring shout, but i did feel like the story was complete. 

jeff vandermeer knows how to build dread. unease and otherworldliness and dark tension seeped through every page. the writing strikes a balance between beauty and ridiculousness. considering practically nothing actually happens, i was surprised at how fast my heart pounded. i was chilled by area x. while i truly enjoyed the writing style, i did feel quite a bit of distance between myself and the story. i wasn't affected by the deaths; my distrust of our narrator took a bit away from the immersive experience i usually enjoy while reading. i did enjoy the glimpses into her childhood and her ferocious attentiveness to her work. we don't get answers to most of the major mysteries - i wonder if things will be further explained in the rest of the trilogy, or if the expectation is to lean into the fact that there are things we simply cannot understand. 

 Elatsoe is an engaging & sweet paranormal fantasy mystery novel for young readers. An asexual indigenous MC? A male/female best friend relationship with NO romantic drama? A lovable ghost dog sidekick? Ghost DINOSAURS?! Count me in. We follow Elatsoe (Ellie) as she uses her generational skill of communicating with the dead to solve her cousin’s murder. The book is fast-paced and the writing is charming. The lore is pretty unique, with a blend of many different magical tropes and elements. There’s a fair amount of social commentary, and the author does not shy away from highlighting indigenous struggles. Two big highlights: LOTS of doggie love and two living parents who respect & listen to Ellie. 

bitter is a compelling, stunning prequel to/ continuation of the world in pet. i read pet first (and i’m glad i did), and this fleshed out the reality of jam’s world and added so much depth to the story. this is an almost biblical, magical tale of justice and pain and identity and what it means to be a changemaker. it’s a story about revolution and safety and found family. it is a very short book and is pretty light on character details (we get short glimpses into bitter’s past and less so into the journeys of the supporting characters). i would read a million more books within this world!

this was a dark, intense, political drama fantasy novel. fun magical forest vibes! magic entertwined with faith and religion! i really enjoyed Ava Reid's writing style (very descriptive .. lots of similies!) and felt that the world building throughout the book was done in a smooth and clear way. it is a mostly slow-paced read. i'm Jewish, and I think this is the first time i've read a fantasy book drawing from Jewish mythology. so that felt .. pretty awesome. the moments when evike connects with her father and his religion were very clearly written with love. a point of frustration was the incredibly poor decision making of our two main characters (but i'm sure other readers won't care a bit or will even enjoy watching MCs flail!). the enemies-to-lovers romance subplot was a little funky at times (Évike is strangely obsessed with gaspar's "purity"). but then later in the book, the romance was SO well done.

I really enjoyed this book! I found the pacing to be ~just right~ for a YA thriller, hitting that sweet spot between staying exciting and lingering in moments of spookiness and charm and character development. It wasn't wildly unpredictable, but I didn't mind that at all. I could completely visualize the setting and the eerie, paranormal, suffocating moments. The plot touched on small town distrust/fear, coming-of-age, home & family, and more. Several characters had interesting & unique queer experiences which were thoughtfully woven into the narrative.

allie brosh has yet again sneakily wormed her way into my brain and pulled out all my secret little thoughts. this book is as funny as it is heartbreaking. it’s absurd and nihilistic. it’s got absolutely perfect drawings of animals. allie has matured since her last book and her experiences and reflections have shifted alongside that. so did my reading experience.

 woah. blood like magic was a futuristic sci fi urban fantasy novel - centered around a magical Black family. this was a super creative blending of genres and themes which really excited me! i found the not-so-far-from-now lifestyle and tech to be pretty believable. there were some pacing issues throughout the story and the start was particularly slow for a YA fantasy book. i was objectively super interested in the concept but kept putting the book down and wasn’t glued to it until around the 50% mark. i do have lots of thoughts on the plot of this book, and quite a few questions. the main character Voya’s big problem is supposed to be her indecisiveness .. but it reads very strongly as anxiety instead that nobody recognizes or wants to support her with. considering the strong focus on family (family you grow up with and “found” family), Voya’s decision at the end was .. frustratingly baffling. i won’t go deep into a spoiler, but i was angry and hurt on behalf of the person affected by her choice. and Voya is … rewarded for this? after that ending, book 2 will have a pretty interesting start. 

if we were villains is … heartbreaking, and brilliant, and probably one of the best books i’ve ever read. the lyricism of the prose was breathtaking; Shakespearean text (not necessarily exact quotes but masterfully crafted excerpts) was woven throughout the narrative. this both heightened tension and passion and blurred the lines between “performance” and “reality”. as someone who got a degree in theatre, this book was shockingly accurate in pinpointing some of the wildly passionate highs and painful, vulnerable lows of that experience.

upright women wanted is a very fast-paced fun western romp - female & non-binary badass Librarians (with a capital L) travel through the desert & fight fascism. this was a quick journey and although we got a bit of insight into the dystopian world (really a heightened version of our current reality) and the characters, it almost felt like a prequel to a more expansive novel. I was a little .. shook, I guess? .. that Esther moved on so quickly from the death of her love/best friend. like, it’s been a day? There were some powerful & emotional moments around queer erasure, but other aspects of Esther’s identity fell flat (she doesn’t really process or have many feelings about the family she left behind and the aforementioned lover). The fighting scenes also all passed by in a “blur”. Overall, a creative, unapologetically queer novella that was a little thin at times but ultimately was a charming read.