beansandrice's reviews
97 reviews

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

adventurous dark reflective

4.5

Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

So much to compliment about this book, the way it interrogates histories of colonialism, race, and hierarchy. But something that doesn't get talked about is how this is a masterclass of exposition and worldbuilding. Every moment is tense, and every single magical element is intimately tied to the themes. 

If you can handle the CWs, I strongly suggest you give it a go. 

King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender

adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Hurricane Child by Kacen Callender

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.

It was toooooooo real legit. Great writing!!! i just could not handle the Events That Were Transpiring. I'd really like to return someday.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.25

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

What an amazing book!!!!! Being Ecuadorian in diaspora in the USA is so isolating sometimes, it really warmed my heart to read this book. I see so much of myself in the characters, and it felt so good to see cities in fiction that i'd only ever heard talked about from aunties and uncles or on the news. 

On Women by Susan Sontag

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

If an essay isn't doing anything for you, just skip to the next. "The Double Standard of Aging" didn't give me anything new, so I skipped it. But I found at least something worthwhile in every other essay, some more than others. 

Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism by bell hooks

informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers' Rights by Molly Smith, Juno Mac

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This book has become the foundation for my feminist politics, my queer politics, my labor politics, my immigration politics, and so much more. Revolting Prostitutes swings hard with both theory and grounded real-life analysis, and may be one of the most profound political texts written in this generation. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Deportation, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Police brutality, Sexual violence, and Trafficking

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Transphobia, Homophobia, Ableism, Biphobia, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Child abuse

This book is a thousand things, but at its foundations it's a book about the terrible things that happen to sex workers. It treats all graphic content with the respect and dignity it deserves, and discusses this heavy reality as a way to build to a more liberatory politics. That said, it's still a heavy read.