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citrus_seasalt's reviews
316 reviews
The Fox Maidens by Robin Ha
4.25
While I had a couple issues with the pacing, and the kind of tropey Mulan-esque feminist warrior story in the beginning, I enjoyed the consistent twists, exploration of trauma, blood splatter, and the ever-expanding story. (Kai’s story continued at points when I thought it would end, and I don’t mean that in a negative way.) I also liked how Gumiho was characterized as both a monster and a savior, and the different ways Kai lived within her identity as a fox spirit, especially while coping with her own grief. I also liked that we got to see Kai’s lover throughout different points of the story, she had a tense side plot and I liked eventually seeing her and Kai’s stories converge. Points added for the rainbow colored on the pages when Kai saved/resurrected her lmfaoo
The integration of different Korean terminology was casual(although it was kind of jarring to look from the words to their explanations at the bottom of the page), and contributed to the setting! (I would’ve liked to see the prayers written in their actual characters though, and not just incredibly simplified.) The definitions throughout and their placing definitely reminded me of the translator notes given in various manga. The characters were also pretty grounded in the setting, from the historical clothing in their designs, to their motivations within a deeply patriarchal and classist society.
This story is so cruel to its main characters that it genuinely surprised me??? But as someone who grew up reading YA fantasy comic series like Bone, the darkness and the emotions—but the definitively teenage audience(I think it shows sometimes in the writing style)—was strangely nostalgic. Perhaps that’s also why I didn’t mind the simplistic art style. (I thought the chapter title cards were beautiful, but not many other pages stuck out to me aside from the panels of murder or landscapes.)
I think my middle school self would’ve loved this to pieces. A grittier story with depth, and sapphic romance sprinkled throughout—but only brought to fruition in a dramatic ending? Absolutely.
The integration of different Korean terminology was casual(although it was kind of jarring to look from the words to their explanations at the bottom of the page), and contributed to the setting! (I would’ve liked to see the prayers written in their actual characters though, and not just incredibly simplified.) The definitions throughout and their placing definitely reminded me of the translator notes given in various manga. The characters were also pretty grounded in the setting, from the historical clothing in their designs, to their motivations within a deeply patriarchal and classist society.
This story is so cruel to its main characters that it genuinely surprised me??? But as someone who grew up reading YA fantasy comic series like Bone, the darkness and the emotions—but the definitively teenage audience(I think it shows sometimes in the writing style)—was strangely nostalgic. Perhaps that’s also why I didn’t mind the simplistic art style. (I thought the chapter title cards were beautiful, but not many other pages stuck out to me aside from the panels of murder or landscapes.)
I think my middle school self would’ve loved this to pieces. A grittier story with depth, and sapphic romance sprinkled throughout—but only brought to fruition in a dramatic ending? Absolutely.
Artie and the Wolf Moon by Olivia Stephens
4.0
Oh, this was so cute!! Artie And The Wolf Moon had the kind of tight-knit found family I’m happy to see in a werewolf story for the first time (okay, maybe not the first time, but this was more convincing), but there was also a nice overlap of the communities biologically related to Artie(the pack in Pinewood), and outside of it(the pack in Willow Ridge). In general, the pack community was refreshing to read about, and I liked the new mythos incorporated into these werewolves. I was indifferent about the vampires, though, mostly because there wasn’t as much time spent on them.
Cat wasn’t really a convincing friend to Artie, either? I know there’s a plot reason for her toxicity, but I just couldn’t wrap my mind around how Artie grew so attached to her. However, I had my fair share of toxic friendships in middle school, and I could appreciate how Artie’s all-consuming relationship with Cat was shown through the panels.
The inclusion of the photographs was so cool, too! Not only can you see them be brought together like pieces of a puzzle in the chapter title cards, but when they're in the story itself, there’s a kind of uncanniness in how the different vampires or werewolves are rendered in them. It’s such a cool contrast to the rest of the art—which is simpler in shading/lighting, and more “cozy”—and is also a creative way to show the film photographs as a different medium!
The final fight against the vampires was also a blast to read about. And the emotions shown through Loretta’s wolf form… some of those panels crushed me!! I’ll admit, though, that her wolf form was the only one I could really distinguish. I wish the other wolves were more unique in their designs.
The pacing was a little fast, but there was still enough history given on the characters (the wolves, at least), action, and characterization to make this an engaging read. I think the target demographic(middle schoolers with a taste for monster/creature-focused stories that aren’t totally creepy) will absolutely love this.
Cat wasn’t really a convincing friend to Artie, either? I know there’s a plot reason for her toxicity, but I just couldn’t wrap my mind around how Artie grew so attached to her. However, I had my fair share of toxic friendships in middle school, and I could appreciate how Artie’s all-consuming relationship with Cat was shown through the panels.
The inclusion of the photographs was so cool, too! Not only can you see them be brought together like pieces of a puzzle in the chapter title cards, but when they're in the story itself, there’s a kind of uncanniness in how the different vampires or werewolves are rendered in them. It’s such a cool contrast to the rest of the art—which is simpler in shading/lighting, and more “cozy”—and is also a creative way to show the film photographs as a different medium!
The final fight against the vampires was also a blast to read about. And the emotions shown through Loretta’s wolf form… some of those panels crushed me!! I’ll admit, though, that her wolf form was the only one I could really distinguish. I wish the other wolves were more unique in their designs.
The pacing was a little fast, but there was still enough history given on the characters (the wolves, at least), action, and characterization to make this an engaging read. I think the target demographic(middle schoolers with a taste for monster/creature-focused stories that aren’t totally creepy) will absolutely love this.
M Is for Monster by Talia Dutton
I liked the bit of added nuance to the Frankenstein story, and the stunning blue-greens and blacks color scheme(it added some genre-appropriate dreariness) but not much else. The continued dishonesty of almost all of the cast was nerve-wracking to read about, and besides that, the characters weren’t really memorable to me…? Especially with the acceptance of M’s identity towards the end, that felt rushed, and didn’t have as much emotional pull or depth as I was hoping it would.
There were some other visuals that I enjoyed, though, such as Maura’s wisps and overlap on the panels showing her influence. It took too long forher friendship with M to form imo, especially with how she said her goodbye, but I thought some of the illustrations showing her change of heart (and conflicted feelings about her undeadness?) were sweet. .
Although the story is marketed/written as queer because of its cast (Frances has a nonbinary partner, and the neighbors probably have the vibes of wives??), in my personal over-analysis opinion, I think the most queer part of it was M’s arc. While I know that Frances’s expectations she shoved onto M were because of her grief, sometimes it read like the cishetnormative expectations a parent has for their queer kid? I don’t say that to call the book problematic, I thought that was interesting and I wonder if that was a purposeful sort-of-allegory.
Visually this was cool and there were some parts that stuck with me, but even after reading this twice (back-to-back, I sped through it the first time), I still thought this wasn’t my kind of novel.
3.5
“But this isn’t how love works, M.
It’s tailored to each of us. It can’t just be transferred to someone else.”
I liked the bit of added nuance to the Frankenstein story, and the stunning blue-greens and blacks color scheme(it added some genre-appropriate dreariness) but not much else. The continued dishonesty of almost all of the cast was nerve-wracking to read about, and besides that, the characters weren’t really memorable to me…? Especially with the acceptance of M’s identity towards the end, that felt rushed, and didn’t have as much emotional pull or depth as I was hoping it would.
There were some other visuals that I enjoyed, though, such as Maura’s wisps and overlap on the panels showing her influence. It took too long for
Although the story is marketed/written as queer because of its cast (Frances has a nonbinary partner, and the neighbors probably have the vibes of wives??), in my personal over-analysis opinion, I think the most queer part of it was M’s arc. While I know that Frances’s expectations she shoved onto M were because of her grief, sometimes it read like the cishetnormative expectations a parent has for their queer kid? I don’t say that to call the book problematic, I thought that was interesting and I wonder if that was a purposeful sort-of-allegory.
Visually this was cool and there were some parts that stuck with me, but even after reading this twice (back-to-back, I sped through it the first time), I still thought this wasn’t my kind of novel.
Dear God. Dear Bones. Dear Yellow. by Noor Hindi
I’m so glad one of my indie bookstores had copies of this!! 🇵🇸
4.5
Tied between whether to give this a 4.5 or 5 stars— Noor Hindi’s voice will stick with me for a long time, the writing was searing, but there were still some poems that I preferred over others. I think I’ll also have to revisit this at some point: I had to read over different passages or poems a couple of times in order to properly dissect them, since there are moments when Noor focuses more on the emotions she’s expressing rather the language she’s using to convey them. (Which is the point of a lot of this collection! There’s quite literally a poem called “Fuck Your Lecture On Craft, My People Are Dying”.) (Unsurprisingly, that is one of the most powerful poems in “Dear God, Dear Bones, Dear Yellow”. But I think I also remember seeing when the poem was first created/posted in 2021?!)
This was a spectacular collection, though, and I hope that anyone reading it won’t try to do so in one sitting. Noor’s language, rawness, and numbness is visceral, but her poetry still has the structure and depth of a writer who has honed her skills long before publication.
Favorite poems: “In Which The White Woman On My Thesis Defense Asks Me about Witness”, “Fuck Your Lecture On Craft, My People Are Dying”, “All My Plants Are Dead”, “I Call My Mother From The Moon”.
Parts I Highlighted:
This was a spectacular collection, though, and I hope that anyone reading it won’t try to do so in one sitting. Noor’s language, rawness, and numbness is visceral, but her poetry still has the structure and depth of a writer who has honed her skills long before publication.
Favorite poems: “In Which The White Woman On My Thesis Defense Asks Me about Witness”, “Fuck Your Lecture On Craft, My People Are Dying”, “All My Plants Are Dead”, “I Call My Mother From The Moon”.
Parts I Highlighted:
Colonizers write about flowers.
I tell you about children throwing rocks at Israeli tanks
seconds before becoming daisies.
I know I’m American because when I walk into a room something dies.
Metaphors about death are for poets who think ghosts care about sound.
When I die, I promise to haunt you forever.
One day, I’ll write about the flowers like we own them.
I become a machine. A transfer of information. The stories—a plea for empathy—an over
saturation of feelings we’ll fail at transforming into action.
What’s lost is incalculable.
And at the end of summer, the swimming pools will be gutted of water.
And it’ll be impossible to swim.
… How tear gas
forms clouds above
the dead. How a land—
force-fed bullets and blood—
ruptures its stomach and swings it at a flag.
I want to apologize on behalf of all children
of refugees. We leave our shoes on the doors of America
and come back to find them bleeding.
I’m not a poet anymore—
I’ve interviewed too many politicians.
All they care for is ghosts.
The homeland is stuck in our teeth. It’s filling our cavities. It rests on our
tongues. My God. How we yearn for its olive trees. How it haunts our dreams.
I’m so glad one of my indie bookstores had copies of this!! 🇵🇸
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Misogyny, Racism, Grief, Colonisation
The Soft Landing Collection: Sapphic Fantasy and Science Fiction Stories by Jacquelynn Lyon
4.0
A solid collection of stories! Without even checking out the author’s site or the reviews, I could tell she had a Tumblr: the stories were written with the kind of casual queerness and fulfillment of different archetypes that seem to be in-line with writers on that site. While the short stories felt a little cut short, I was pleasantly surprised by the showcase of different kinds of sapphic love, and how cute these romances were. My other main criticism besides the stories not feeling as contained or complete as they could’ve, though, is that “The Flower Crown” was too long IMO and I just wasn’t invested in the protagonist. (Perhaps if there were more fairytale tropes to play with, and the pairing in that one had more of the Buttercup x Wesley dynamic I was starting to see the vibes of…or maybe my ears perked up reading “As you wish” idk.)
My favorites were “We Deserve A Soft Landing, Love”(the beginning was slow, but the ending was a gut punch!), and The Bog Witch(although I enjoyed the story more than the fantasy world itself).
I checked this out on Queer Liberation Library once I saw it was added to the collection, and I’m overall satisfied!
My favorites were “We Deserve A Soft Landing, Love”(the beginning was slow, but the ending was a gut punch!), and The Bog Witch(although I enjoyed the story more than the fantasy world itself).
I checked this out on Queer Liberation Library once I saw it was added to the collection, and I’m overall satisfied!
The Best at It by Maulik Pancholy
Did not finish book. Stopped at 44%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 44%.
DNF at 44%. Nothing against the author: I think the story has a lot of heart, and shows middle school insecurities well. But the secondhand embarrassment was excruciating, the bullying (and some internalized homophobia) was more graphic than I expected it to be, and within 2 examples of Rahul testing out things to see if he was good at them and failing, I was starting to sense a formula/repetition for the book. It was difficult to get through, even with the lighthearted tone and the humor. (To Maulik Pancholy’s credit, though, some of the jokes made me laugh.)
Also, it was surprising to see OCD rep in this book! But from what I read, most of it was shown through compulsions and while the thought process behind those was on-page, I wonder if it was revealed to have bled into Rahul’s other anxieties as well. (For instance, his entire “I have to be the best at something” mindset.) I kinda hope it did for accuracy’s sake, well-done OCD rep is so rare, especially in kidlit.
Maybe I’ll pick this up at another time. The ending might make me cry, and I wonder how Rahul’s story and crisis will be resolved. But for now, I’m just not in the headspace for it.
Also, it was surprising to see OCD rep in this book! But from what I read, most of it was shown through compulsions and while the thought process behind those was on-page, I wonder if it was revealed to have bled into Rahul’s other anxieties as well. (For instance, his entire “I have to be the best at something” mindset.) I kinda hope it did for accuracy’s sake, well-done OCD rep is so rare, especially in kidlit.
Maybe I’ll pick this up at another time. The ending might make me cry, and I wonder how Rahul’s story and crisis will be resolved. But for now, I’m just not in the headspace for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Racism
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Old Wounds by Logan-Ashley Kisner
dark
emotional
tense
4.0
While Logan-Ashley Kisner’s knowledge and nerdiness of horror movies is prevalent in the pages of Old Wounds, it doesn’t show in references or spoofs: rather, it shows in the atmosphere cultivated in the first half, developed characters with angst that radiates from the pages, and a somewhat unpredictable monster that’s given some truly horrifying imagery—even if that’s mostly because of the cover art. (I haven’t seen a truly creepy cover in a while, and I expect nothing less from the cover artist for Camp Damascus! I’ll have to check out more of Zoë van Djik’s stuff.) There was also a good mix of social and monster horror that had me on edge as I was reading, although the social horror was definitely scarier.
I kind of want to know how the original screenplay format/idea of this book would’ve turned out! I could picture so many of the scenes vividly, the imagery throughout was delicious and definitely a big part of why I liked the atmosphere so much. And…it would be awesome to have a badass transgender final girl like Erin on the silver screen. (I didn’t hate Max, unlike the other reviewers—I actually liked him: even through some of his decisions, I understood his dysphoria and his resentment deep in my soul, and I appreciated him becoming less selfish as the book went on. But Erin was still my favorite.)
I also liked that whilethere was a hopeful ending , there were still enough unanswered questions about the town and the Beast to keep it menacing. In trademark horror movie fashion, lol. (Also, that the characters were still dealing with the aftermath. Because of course they were, that kind of night would fuck anyone up.)
The second half was satisfying and violent, but I wish there was more of a balance between the interpersonal and physical conflicts. That’s one of the things that kept my star rating below a five, besides the tension and stakes losing their steam around the 3/4ths mark(idc that it was established that anyone could be killed, it absolutely didn’t read that way) , and some of the 80’s references that, while typical for horror media, can’t really be picked up on as easily by the teenage demographic…? (But that’s not as big of an issue imo because all the references have some thematic importance.)
An absolute banger of a debut! I’ll keep a lookout on what Logan-Ashley Kisner writes next.
I kind of want to know how the original screenplay format/idea of this book would’ve turned out! I could picture so many of the scenes vividly, the imagery throughout was delicious and definitely a big part of why I liked the atmosphere so much. And…it would be awesome to have a badass transgender final girl like Erin on the silver screen. (I didn’t hate Max, unlike the other reviewers—I actually liked him: even through some of his decisions, I understood his dysphoria and his resentment deep in my soul, and I appreciated him becoming less selfish as the book went on. But Erin was still my favorite.)
I also liked that while
The second half was satisfying and violent, but I wish there was more of a balance between the interpersonal and physical conflicts. That’s one of the things that kept my star rating below a five, besides the tension and stakes losing their steam around the 3/4ths mark
An absolute banger of a debut! I’ll keep a lookout on what Logan-Ashley Kisner writes next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Transphobia, Violence, Kidnapping
Moderate: Deadnaming, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Outing
In the Key of Us by Mariama J. Lockington
4.0
This was so sweet!! 💕💕 Mariama J. Lockington nailed a lot of adolescent experiences, from trying to cope with anxiety and mental illness at a young age (in increasingly unhealthy ways), the connection kids can build with each other, and the awkwardness but also excitement of falling in love for the first time. The scene of Zora comforting Andi in the bathroom before their showcase made me tear up, it definitely reminded me of the times I’d broken down in front of a close friend at 12 or 13 years old. (And how lucky anyone is to have that kind of support! Carter and Everett, I hope you’re both still doing well.)
I thought I’d be bored by the long stretches of time where the story would be in only one of the POVs—they switch every week, not every chapter—but both Zora and Andi were interesting narrative voices. Not only do they have their own personal touches added by the author, but I also loved seeing the ways they viewed each other in their chapters!! (Especially in the first week and first few Zora chapters, when they didn’t know each other as well.) I do wish, though, that I at least could’ve seen Andi’s POV one more time after everything that happened in the end.
This isn’t 5 stars because I was a little disappointed by how sparse the poetry was—most of it was in the interludes and unfortunately seemed to be kept to the camp’s POV; not much of the cast was developed besides Andi, Christopher, and Zora; and the ending was a little abrupt. But I enjoyed a lot of this. The kids acted like kids, and the romance was cute and well-paced (for both the plot, and Andi and Zora’s age group).
And this isn’t something I enjoyed, but I was surprised at the accuracy of the self harm depicted. I think everyone should take the TW seriously.
I thought I’d be bored by the long stretches of time where the story would be in only one of the POVs—they switch every week, not every chapter—but both Zora and Andi were interesting narrative voices. Not only do they have their own personal touches added by the author, but I also loved seeing the ways they viewed each other in their chapters!! (Especially in the first week and first few Zora chapters, when they didn’t know each other as well.) I do wish, though, that I at least could’ve seen Andi’s POV one more time after everything that happened in the end.
This isn’t 5 stars because I was a little disappointed by how sparse the poetry was—most of it was in the interludes and unfortunately seemed to be kept to the camp’s POV; not much of the cast was developed besides Andi, Christopher, and Zora; and the ending was a little abrupt. But I enjoyed a lot of this. The kids acted like kids, and the romance was cute and well-paced (for both the plot, and Andi and Zora’s age group).
And this isn’t something I enjoyed, but I was surprised at the accuracy of the self harm depicted. I think everyone should take the TW seriously.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Grief
Moderate: Homophobia, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy
Cantoras by Caro De Robertis
5.0
It’s been three months since I’ve read this, and I still don’t quite know how to summarize my thoughts on “Cantoras”. I certainly struggled in my Sapphic September post. And for reference: I barely skimmed my StoryGraph notes to jog my memory! This book has just stuck in my mind this whole time😦
What a beautiful book that lives up to its popularity. Knowing the lengths that De Robertis had gone to in order to capture the time period—and put bits of oral history into each character’s narrative—definitely enhances the reading experience. I also loved the Spanglish included throughout, language is a key part of the themes around censorship and ostracism, and I really loved how the interpretations of different terms were written. (I so badly want to be a fluent Spanish speaker because how on earth does this read when it’s translated???)
I’ve never read a book with this many lesbians part of the main cast, too. (Tbh it’s hard for me to claim the label as a masc-leaning nonbinary person, but!! I love being a lesbian!!!) There was something so queer about their sisterhood, how some of that was because a couple of them had loved each other prior and still decided to stay close (sapphics and being friends with their exes, lol), and… goodness. The way everyone tried making sure Paz found a space to be accepted when she started out as a teenager makes me SO EMOTIONAL ESPECIALLY… (don’t get me started on how she grew up to be like Flaca when she was the closest to her… lord I’m unwell…) Seeing the found family dynamic grow more complicated as the book progressed, though, was one of the most bittersweet parts of this— the first third has the nostalgia of finding a space where you truly belong for the first time, but holding onto that initial idealism and excitement becomes near-impossible the more the characters are endangered.
(AND PAZ…. DEAREST… seeing her literally grow was so wonderful to see. I loved seeing her go from a lonely teenager, to an independent young woman more confident in her lesbian identity. Perhaps I’m biased with her being a favorite, though— not only do I use the name “Paz” online, but the maturity in some of her thought processes reminded me so closely of my younger cousin.)
While this isn’t my first time reading a book by Caro De Robertis, this was the first time where I could connect to their lush writing. Every chapter fighting for survival, every fear kept in the words a character couldn’t say, every moment someone would unexpectedly find themselves unconditional love, was described so beautifully and I could feel it in the pages. (Especially in Malena’s last chapter… they nailed the depersonalization/disassociation☹️) Ugh! Devastating shit, but it also made the queer discovery and joy in those first days of living on the beach so much better.
Even though both the writing style and the emotional content were dense, I still ate up every page and quickly read this. I forgot this is barely over 300 pages! With how well-written each character is, I thought it was longer. No, my memory just failed me😅 but that’s still a testament to the quality of this writing! Goodreads user
What a beautiful book that lives up to its popularity. Knowing the lengths that De Robertis had gone to in order to capture the time period—and put bits of oral history into each character’s narrative—definitely enhances the reading experience. I also loved the Spanglish included throughout, language is a key part of the themes around censorship and ostracism, and I really loved how the interpretations of different terms were written. (I so badly want to be a fluent Spanish speaker because how on earth does this read when it’s translated???)
I’ve never read a book with this many lesbians part of the main cast, too. (Tbh it’s hard for me to claim the label as a masc-leaning nonbinary person, but!! I love being a lesbian!!!) There was something so queer about their sisterhood, how some of that was because a couple of them had loved each other prior and still decided to stay close (sapphics and being friends with their exes, lol), and… goodness. The way everyone tried making sure Paz found a space to be accepted when she started out as a teenager makes me SO EMOTIONAL ESPECIALLY… (don’t get me started on how she grew up to be like Flaca when she was the closest to her… lord I’m unwell…) Seeing the found family dynamic grow more complicated as the book progressed, though, was one of the most bittersweet parts of this— the first third has the nostalgia of finding a space where you truly belong for the first time, but holding onto that initial idealism and excitement becomes near-impossible the more the characters are endangered.
(AND PAZ…. DEAREST… seeing her literally grow was so wonderful to see. I loved seeing her go from a lonely teenager, to an independent young woman more confident in her lesbian identity. Perhaps I’m biased with her being a favorite, though— not only do I use the name “Paz” online, but the maturity in some of her thought processes reminded me so closely of my younger cousin.)
While this isn’t my first time reading a book by Caro De Robertis, this was the first time where I could connect to their lush writing. Every chapter fighting for survival, every fear kept in the words a character couldn’t say, every moment someone would unexpectedly find themselves unconditional love, was described so beautifully and I could feel it in the pages. (Especially in Malena’s last chapter… they nailed the depersonalization/disassociation☹️) Ugh! Devastating shit, but it also made the queer discovery and joy in those first days of living on the beach so much better.
Even though both the writing style and the emotional content were dense, I still ate up every page and quickly read this. I forgot this is barely over 300 pages! With how well-written each character is, I thought it was longer. No, my memory just failed me😅 but that’s still a testament to the quality of this writing! Goodreads user
lauraღ worded her thoughts a LOT better than I could’ve. Go read this, damnit!!!
One Killer Problem by Justine Pucella Winans
lighthearted
tense
3.75
Unfortunately the lack of absurdism made the one-liners hit a little less than the ones in Bianca Torre, but maybe that’s just my personal preference. While the characters were fun in their own right and had their own personalities and banter, they weren’t really fleshed out. I did, however, like the relationships Gigi had with her family, especially her mom. (Which, sidenote, a nonbinary mom!!! Yo!!! That’s gonna be me in the future if I have kids lmfao)
There were a couple of archetypes and plot similarities I thought could be drawn back to Justine Pucella Winans’s YA debut. Not as many as I thought—I guessed incorrectly who the killer was and it’s gotta be one of my worst bookish moments(seriously. All the clues were right there)—but still enough to make me raise a brow and wonder if JPW was starting to establish some tropes in their writing. I did like the (definitely on-purpose) Easter eggs, though!
And while this wasn’t a frequent problem, Gigi’s attitude to her attraction to boys kinda irked me, even though I’m not bisexual. I think this happened mostly in the beginning, but it made for some unintentional biphobia in the writing.
But as with JPW’s other YA novel, I enjoyed the snark, the terrible puns, and the main character herself. (I like how JPW writes teenage voices. It was interesting seeing their writing in the mind of a more closed-off and arrogant character, though.) MCs that are a bit of an asshole are usually the bane of my existence, but it turned out Gigi just had a strong set of morals and a reluctance to admit vulnerability. She still cared about the other characters in the main cast.
If you need to, though, take my review with a grain of salt. JPW is an auto-read author of mine and I had an unnaturally personal (and lasting) emotional attachment to her first YA thriller novel, so returning to that genre was comforting.
There were a couple of archetypes and plot similarities I thought could be drawn back to Justine Pucella Winans’s YA debut. Not as many as I thought—I guessed incorrectly who the killer was and it’s gotta be one of my worst bookish moments(seriously. All the clues were right there)—but still enough to make me raise a brow and wonder if JPW was starting to establish some tropes in their writing. I did like the (definitely on-purpose) Easter eggs, though!
And while this wasn’t a frequent problem, Gigi’s attitude to her attraction to boys kinda irked me, even though I’m not bisexual. I think this happened mostly in the beginning, but it made for some unintentional biphobia in the writing.
But as with JPW’s other YA novel, I enjoyed the snark, the terrible puns, and the main character herself. (I like how JPW writes teenage voices. It was interesting seeing their writing in the mind of a more closed-off and arrogant character, though.) MCs that are a bit of an asshole are usually the bane of my existence, but it turned out Gigi just had a strong set of morals and a reluctance to admit vulnerability. She still cared about the other characters in the main cast.
If you need to, though, take my review with a grain of salt. JPW is an auto-read author of mine and I had an unnaturally personal (and lasting) emotional attachment to her first YA thriller novel, so returning to that genre was comforting.