Books Reread
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater*
**Book Hangover Alert
One of Stiefvater’s more underrated books I think. Like the Chincoteague pony swim, except the horses are cursed, carnivorous monsters. Every November the flesh eating water horses come out of the ocean and any man brave enough can capture, train, and race one in the Scorpio Races. But this year Puck Connolly, the first girl to enter is racing, and she has everything to lose. I love the characters and, as always, I love Stiefvater’s prose.
4/5 flesh-eating horses
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao***
See content warnings from the author at the beginning of the book.
Reread this one because the sequel is FINALLY out! When her sister is killed by a celebrity pilot, Zeitan joins the army–which sacrifices girls to power crafts that can fight alien invaders–not to sacrifice herself but to seek vengeance for her sister. I listened to the audiobook this time, and really enjoyed the narrator’s performance. She was a perfect choice for Zeitan. You can read my original review here. I gave this book a 4 last time I reviewed it, but I think that’s a little low.
4.5/5 heroic forms
New Books Read
Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party by Edward Dolnick*
This book was super fascinating. It traced the early discoveries of ancient creatures in the early 1800s, the people at the forefront of these discoveries, and the way Victorian thought had to shift to make room for new ideas about how old the earth is and what kinds of creatures lived here before us. This is a very readable popular science book.
4/5 fossils
The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth***
The Undetectables book 1 of 3
This one was so fun. When three lesbian teenage witches formed the Undetectables detective agency, no one would take them seriously. But several years later, when they get the chance to investigate a real case, they can’t pass up the chance, even as the occult serial killer gets ever more dangerous. I loved the humor and the characters. I also loved the representation of a character with EDS. It’s so nice to see a protagonist with a chronic illness and see how it actually affects her life and the kinds of accommodations and work arounds she finds. I also loved that we got to see her grappling with the way her perception of herself and the way she perceives how her friends think about her since becoming disabled. I think it was written in a really relatable way.
4.5/5 ghosts with cat ears
Babylonia by Constanza Casati
CW: slavery, war, gore
A sweeping historical fiction about the only known female ruler of the Assyrian Empire. This one was really cool. I didn’t know much about Assyrian Empire before reading this. I liked the world, the plot, and the characters, though the prose was a little snoozy at times.
3.5/5 leopards (how come the leopard never got a name??)
All that Remains by Sue Black
A nonfiction book by a forensic anthropologist sharing fascinating tidbits from her long career. Black does a good job balancing science and story, as well as the somewhat voyeuristic interest many of us have with the dead with the utmost respect for human remains.
3.5/5 bones
Twelfth Knight by Alexene Farol Follmuth***
I binged this in a day. A retelling of Shakespeare’s The Twelfth Knight. Student vice president Viola Reyes and student president and star running back Jack “Duke” Orsino can’t stand each other. But when Duke is injured in a game, he finds solace playing online role-playing game Twelfth Knight where he meets veteran player Cesario. But Cesario is actually Viola’s online alter-ego, the male persona allowing her a safer space in the gaming community. Can these two resolve their differences and learn that neither of them is who the other thought? This was really fun. My only critique would be that it maybe could have been a little more queer (it was a little queer, but come on, it’s Shakespeare).
4/5 cosplays
Impossible Monsters by Michael Taylor*
This one was a lot like Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party, though more in depth, more academic, and more focused on the interaction of science and religion through the 19th century. The tension between science and religion came from the shift from the study of science as a way to appreciate God’s creation to the discoveries in science refuting religious beliefs. It was super fascinating.
3.5/5 species
Books I did not finish
Rabbit and Robot by Andrew Smith
This is an absurd YA dystopian book. I think I could have really enjoyed this, but it was too long and too repetitive and the humor got really old really fast. I think the concept was interesting and the social critique was probably cool, though I didn’t finish it, so I can’t really analyze it.
1/5 weird androids
*This book only includes straight white cis people.
**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 Iron Widow for a Chinese-inspired fantasy about a girl discovering her feminism. Read The Undetectables for queer and disabled rep in paranormal mystery. Read Twelfth Knight to learn more about women and people of color in the gaming community.
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.
