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moonyreadsbystarlight's reviews
576 reviews
The Moth Keeper by K. O'Neill
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I picked up The Moth Keeper by K. O'Neill because I have read Princess Princess Ever After and liked it, then heared good things about The Tea Dragon Society. So, I expected this would be good but it ended up being even better than I expected.
This is the story of Anya, who has a crucial job in her community but sometimes dreams of something different. While that concise, non-spoilery summary sounds like something that's been done in different ways before, so much of this was not what I expected at all (in the best way). At its core, this book is about community and lonliness - and it permiates parts of the story in ways I could not have anticipated. I have so many thoughts around this, but to articulate many of them would require spoilers.
This book is soft without being primarily fluffy. The characters are well-developed, especially for a middle grade standalone graphic novel. The art is incredible and just so cozy to me in a way I have a hard time really explaining. It was also a neat world and it was cool to see the inspiration for it was based on actual places - and actual plants and bugs with intertwined relationships.
The whole thing just really struck me in my core in a way that, again, I can't articulate verbally yet but rest assured, I was a crying mess by the end (and it's not even a sad story like that).
This is the story of Anya, who has a crucial job in her community but sometimes dreams of something different. While that concise, non-spoilery summary sounds like something that's been done in different ways before, so much of this was not what I expected at all (in the best way). At its core, this book is about community and lonliness - and it permiates parts of the story in ways I could not have anticipated. I have so many thoughts around this, but to articulate many of them would require spoilers.
This book is soft without being primarily fluffy. The characters are well-developed, especially for a middle grade standalone graphic novel. The art is incredible and just so cozy to me in a way I have a hard time really explaining. It was also a neat world and it was cool to see the inspiration for it was based on actual places - and actual plants and bugs with intertwined relationships.
The whole thing just really struck me in my core in a way that, again, I can't articulate verbally yet but rest assured, I was a crying mess by the end (and it's not even a sad story like that).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Abandonment
Don't Call It a Cult: The Shocking Story of Keith Raniere and the Women of NXIVM by Sarah Berman
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
4.25
What does it take to make a self improvement curriculum into a cult with an even more sick cult inside of it? It starts with one man with too much stock in a sketchy self-administered IQ test and an obsession with psychogical manipulation, MLMs, and Ayn Rand, but couldn't be realized without an intense social network.
The writing itself is very engaging and this is thoroughly researched. There was intense background on Raniere along with the full scope of his network and how it grew, but Berman also interviewed many women who were in NXIVM and used information from the court case to show their stories.
The events of what happened are truely wild. At a few points, I had to take a break from it and even considered stopping about 3/4 of the way in because as horrid as things had been at that point, there were a few really intense experiences that they went into. But I'm glad I did finish it. I didn't plan it this way, but I think this was a good bridge from Hey Hun by Emily Lynn Paulson into some of the books on Scientology that are on my TBR (yes, Raniere was clearly inspired by both Amway and L Ron Hubbard, though he denies clearly being inspired by dianetics).
If you're interested in cults or social psychology (and are ready for the sort of content that is present when talking about such awful groups), I would definitely recommend this.
The writing itself is very engaging and this is thoroughly researched. There was intense background on Raniere along with the full scope of his network and how it grew, but Berman also interviewed many women who were in NXIVM and used information from the court case to show their stories.
The events of what happened are truely wild. At a few points, I had to take a break from it and even considered stopping about 3/4 of the way in because as horrid as things had been at that point, there were a few really intense experiences that they went into. But I'm glad I did finish it. I didn't plan it this way, but I think this was a good bridge from Hey Hun by Emily Lynn Paulson into some of the books on Scientology that are on my TBR (yes, Raniere was clearly inspired by both Amway and L Ron Hubbard, though he denies clearly being inspired by dianetics).
If you're interested in cults or social psychology (and are ready for the sort of content that is present when talking about such awful groups), I would definitely recommend this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Xenophobia, Trafficking, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Abortion
Branding, forced abortion, spiritual abuse, abuse under threat of deportation
The Infinity Particle by Wendy Xu
emotional
hopeful
reflective
5.0
This had me ALL THE WAY in my feelings!
This is the story of Clem and Kye. Clem just moved to Mars to study AI under the person who created Kye. There is absolutely a friendship and romance story in this, but it's much more than that. This story is about dealing with trauma and getting out of abusive relationships, about realizing your own humanity. The story is also about community in so many ways. There's the need for connection, the issues that loneliness creates, and how community care can actually work.
I read this with 3 other graphic novels in the same day and, while they were all incredible in their own ways, this one just really got to me. It was my favorite of the day (and a contender for my favorite graphic novel of the year).
This is the story of Clem and Kye. Clem just moved to Mars to study AI under the person who created Kye. There is absolutely a friendship and romance story in this, but it's much more than that. This story is about dealing with trauma and getting out of abusive relationships, about realizing your own humanity. The story is also about community in so many ways. There's the need for connection, the issues that loneliness creates, and how community care can actually work.
I read this with 3 other graphic novels in the same day and, while they were all incredible in their own ways, this one just really got to me. It was my favorite of the day (and a contender for my favorite graphic novel of the year).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
Stage Dreams by Melanie Gillman
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Very cute and fun but what makes it for me is the notes that came with it! So much care was put into the details and I loved having the extra context
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Transphobia, Blood, and Sexual harassment
Bitch Planet, Volume 2: President Bitch by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Valentine De Landro, Taki Soma
adventurous
hopeful
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I love this! I need more
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Transphobia, Blood, and Police brutality
Moderate: Fatphobia, Racism, and Sexual assault
Bitch Planet, Volume 1: Extraordinary Machine by Kelly Sue DeConnick
adventurous
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Blood, and Police brutality
Moderate: Fatphobia, Racism, and Transphobia
The Invasion by K.A. Applegate
adventurous
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.5
This was hard to rate so the star rating is sort of subject to change. The writing style is cheesy and simple but the story is interesting and darker than I expected. Definitely going to check out book 2. I would probably have been into them if I'd read any as a kid. The descriptions of being in an animal's head, I would have loved
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Death of parent
Dear Mothman by Robin Gow
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
An epistolary novel told in verse, Dear Mothman follows Noah, a closed trans, autistic sixth-grader after the death of his best friend, Lewis. Noah decides to write to Monthman, a cryptid that Lewis loved, and find proof that he exists. More than that, this is a story about greiving, friendship, queerness, and growing up.
We watch as Noah makes friends and grows, even while still remembering and greiving. There is so much about finding your people, understanding and being understood - but also the struggle of communicating and opening up enough to let people understand you.
So much about this book was incredible and touching, it's hard to put it into words. It takes some unexpected turns and was healing and cathartic in a way that only queer middle grade/YA lit can be.
We watch as Noah makes friends and grows, even while still remembering and greiving. There is so much about finding your people, understanding and being understood - but also the struggle of communicating and opening up enough to let people understand you.
So much about this book was incredible and touching, it's hard to put it into words. It takes some unexpected turns and was healing and cathartic in a way that only queer middle grade/YA lit can be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, and Grief
Moderate: Death, Transphobia, and Outing
Minor: Car accident
The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun
emotional
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This was a cute romance with some really great representation of mental illness. There was also some really neat discussion about reality TV and representation at large.
If I wanted to nitpick, I could find things that weren't believable about parts of this, but I was so engrossed with the story and characters that I didn't want to - any of it didn't break my reading experience (and certainly any gripes that I could search for to have are well within the norm for this genre anyways). I stayed up way too late reading this because I was so invested. I'm excited to read more from this author!
If I wanted to nitpick, I could find things that weren't believable about parts of this, but I was so engrossed with the story and characters that I didn't want to - any of it didn't break my reading experience (and certainly any gripes that I could search for to have are well within the norm for this genre anyways). I stayed up way too late reading this because I was so invested. I'm excited to read more from this author!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Biphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Vomit
Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man by Thomas Page McBee
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
This is a memoir of a trans man who decides to enter into amateur boxing for more perspective into traditional masculinity and to understand parts of himself. Boxing is pretty far outside of my typical wheelhouse, even if queer books and gender studies is right in the middle of it. So this was quite an interesting look into the inside of that as someone with very little knowledge of that component going in.
There is a lot in here obviously about masculinity at large but even more compelling to me was how it all (masculinity as well as the experience of boxing) tied into the author's life. As McBee is unpacking masculinity and his relationship to it, he's also analyzing relationships past and present, working though grief, and processing his childhood abuse. This was really well put together and had a lot of great insight.
This book does focus on a limited scope of masculinity, but the author clearly states his position socially (as white and cis-passing) and acknowledges how it's a different experience from others. He doesn't go far into detail on a lot of these points nor does he dig far into the class differences that he describes in the boxing gyms. This is a memoir - it makes sense that the scope would be limited, but it would have been interesting to see a bit more about this especially since he did pull from academic sources at other points in the book (and I enjoyed the discussion that he had in those sections).
Overall, I had a good time with this. It was well-written, interesting, and insightful. It grapples with a lot of big questions about masculinity, identity, and personal history in a really compelling way.
There is a lot in here obviously about masculinity at large but even more compelling to me was how it all (masculinity as well as the experience of boxing) tied into the author's life. As McBee is unpacking masculinity and his relationship to it, he's also analyzing relationships past and present, working though grief, and processing his childhood abuse. This was really well put together and had a lot of great insight.
This book does focus on a limited scope of masculinity, but the author clearly states his position socially (as white and cis-passing) and acknowledges how it's a different experience from others. He doesn't go far into detail on a lot of these points nor does he dig far into the class differences that he describes in the boxing gyms. This is a memoir - it makes sense that the scope would be limited, but it would have been interesting to see a bit more about this especially since he did pull from academic sources at other points in the book (and I enjoyed the discussion that he had in those sections).
Overall, I had a good time with this. It was well-written, interesting, and insightful. It grapples with a lot of big questions about masculinity, identity, and personal history in a really compelling way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault