Books Reread
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
(Yes, I heard the news. Yes, I’m very disappointed about it.) This is still a masterpiece of contemporary fantasy. A man returns to his childhood neighbor’s pond, which she called an ocean, and remembers the events of his childhood when he and his neighbor had to fight inter-dimensional monsters. I feel like that wasn’t a good summary. It’s so much more than that. It’s so good. And it’s a frame narrative. For some reason, I’m really into frame narratives at the moment.
5/5 oceans inside ponds
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
If the perfect children’s fantasy novel exists, it’s this one. A cinderella retelling with a twist. Ella was ‘blessed’ by a fairy at birth to always be obedient. But when you must follow any direct command, it feels more like a curse. I listened to it this time and the audio performance is very, very good.
5/5 ogres
New Books Read
The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James
This one was cool. A magical realist family saga following two different timelines in 1895 and 1964 Mexico. In 1895, Antonio Sonoro is robbing a train. His run-in with the Texas Rangers will set him on a course of vengeance and sorrow. In 1964, Jaime Sonoro is a successful actor and singer, but as he learns of his family, from Antonio back through a line of ruthless men, he’ll have to reckon with intergenerational trauma and the legacies colonialism and racism. The prose was lyrical and the whole thing felt like a gritty dream in the best possible way. And we always love that western desert aesthetic.
4/5 horses
The King of Faerie by A.J. Lancaster
Stariel book 4 of 5
This book wraps up Hetta and Wyn’s story from the first three books. Hetta and Wyn are just trying to get married and live happily ever after, but there are a lot of hoops they have to jump through before they can do that, including trying to establish peace between the Fae and Mortal realms. I really enjoyed this whole cozy fantasy series.
3.5/5 low fae
A Rake of his Own by A.J. Lancaster
Stariel book 5 of 5
This final installment follows Marius and Rakken and, though it takes place after the events of the first four Stariel books, can be read independently from them. This is a cozy queer fantasy murder mystery with a healthy amount of romance. I very much enjoyed it.
4/5 naked fae princes
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
CW: child neglect, alcoholism, mental health, institutionalization, death of a child, domestic violence
I’m not usually a thriller reader but I did like this one. At a summer camp in the 1970s, a girl goes missing. During the search for her, clues from the unsolved disappearance of her brother 14 years before begin to surface. I loved the interweaving timelines and the variety of POVs. And I loved the ending. My only complaint is that there was some kind of glitch with the ebook where instead of having the date at the start of each chapter, *every* possible date was at the start of *every* chapter, so I just had to figure out if we were in 1960 or July of 1974 or whatever. Luckily it wasn’t too hard to figure out once I figured out what was going on.
4/5 survival courses
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
I knew this was going to be sad, but yes, it was sad. In a world where Death-Cast calls to warn you when you’re going to die, two teenaged boys receive the notification on the same day. United by their impending deaths and the Last Friend app, they set out to make the most of their last day. This was very sweet and very sad. I also liked the sprinkled-in perspectives that sort of formed a constellation around them on their last day. It reminded me a little of Nicola Yoon’s The Sun Is Also a Star.
3.5/5 Death-Cast calls
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs
**Book Hangover
This one was so good. Estranged half-sisters Joanna and Esther haven’t seen each other in ten years, but when their father is killed by one of the magical books he’s devoted his life to protecting, they must reunite to uncover an underworld of magical books and somewhat sinister librarians. The magic system in this book was so unique and fun. I also loved the characters and the banter. And I loved the overlapping multiple viewpoints (this is, I’m realizing, a theme for me).
5/5 magical books.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer***
**Book Hangover
Stunning. Exquisite. I’ve been meaning to read this for forever and finally did it, and boy do I wish I hadn’t waited so long. Botanist and member of the Potawatomi tribe, Kimmerer weaves a beautiful tapestry of essays that braid together indigenous wisdom, scientific study, the teachings of plants, philosophy, policy, climate change, and so much more. It was sad; it was hopeful. It left me longing for a world in which we’ve repaired our relationship with the earth, thanked her for her gifts, and protected and stewarded her for the future. Everyone should read this book.
10/5 sweetgrass braids
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson*
You know, I can’t help but wonder what it would have been like to read this book when it came out. To read it when you don’t know what the secret is. But Arthur spoiled that shit for me when I was like five. Lawyer Utterson is determined to find out who this suspicious and detestable Mr. Hyde character is and how he’s related to the honorable Dr. Jekyll. I also have to acknowledge that one of the greatest lines in literature has to be “If he is Mr. Hyde, then I shall be Mr. Seek.” Hilarious. Impeccable. This book is short, though the language is rather cumbersome and the framing of the narrative makes it somewhat less exciting. Frame narratives were quite common at the time, but I do wonder why Stevenson chose to tell the story from Utterson’s perspective instead of Jekyll’s. Possibly to preserve the mystery, though I think it would have been possible to still have the reveal be dramatic even if we’d been following Jekyll’s POV. Another reason authors of the time often employed frame narratives was to create distance between themselves and the potentially morally objectionable characters and between the reader and those characters. Utterson represents a normal dude that the reader can relate to and empathize with. Like so many other books of the time, this book includes not a single woman (unless you count the little girl Hyde injures and I don’t since she’s just a plot device to illustrate Hyde’s character) and utilizes the trope of physical disability and ugliness standing in for moral corruption.
3/5 mysterious powders
DNFs
Twilight Territory by Andrew X. Pham
This was the Big Library Read recently so they had unlimited copies of the ebook to check out. I figured it would be rude not to check it out so I did (also the cover is lovely, so that was definitely a factor). But I did not finish it. It’s a historical fiction set in Vietnam in WWII about a Japanese officer who falls in love with a young Vietnamese woman. I didn’t know anything about Vietnam during WWII so that part was kind of interesting. But I wasn’t interested in the love story. I thought it was boring, so I didn’t finish.
1/5 Japanese officers
*This book only includes straight, white, cis people. Though I think you could argue that there’s homoerotic subtext in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. There is in most of the boys’ boys books of that era.
**Book Hangover Alert indicates the kind of book that will leave you full up on love. Satisfied, but wishing the book never had to end. You’ll be laying on the floor with no idea what to do with yourself (other friends have called this feeling Good Book Depression or say that certain books necessitate Floor Time). This is the kind of book that gets its teeth in you and won’t let go easily. After the last page you’ll be thinking about this book for a long time. You’ll bother all your friends trying to get them to read it so that you won’t be alone in your Hangover.
***This book is part of my Books for a Social Conscience series! Read Braiding Sweetgrass to be a better human.
Reads marked as part of the Books for a Social Conscience series will regularly address topics like race and racism, colonialism and post-colonialism, LGBTQIA+ experience, feminism, BIPOC experience, social and political issues, history, identity, class, disability experience, immigration, gun violence, poverty, colorism, environmentalism, and more! The goal of these books is to diversify the stories we’re reading, grow our empathy for those who are different from us, and amplify voices who are often silenced.
