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484 reviews
This Feast of a Life by Cynthia So
5.0
A beautiful YA fiction book by the amazing Cynthia So.
This Feast of a Life
By Cynthia So
5/5⭐️
After the death of her mother, Valerie feels lost.
Finding their new name, Auden decides to try it out through a food blog.
Through this blog, they meet and a complicated but beautiful bond is formed.
Both protagonists had to learn a lot about themselves; Valerie facing her struggle with emotional connection being linked to a fear of further loss, Auden learning how to find their own future, rather than following familial expectations and tradition.
The romance between the two faces some conflict as Valerie originally wanted simply a physical romance, while Auden (later discovering their demisexuality) wanted to focus on a mental and emotional bond.
This book takes place over a year, which makes the relationship development more realistic than most books. I really loved both protagonists, related to Auden quite a lot about being nonbinary,
Overall, I really loved this book. A second 5⭐️ read from Cynthia So, hopefully many more will follow.
Queer rep:
Bi protagonist
Demisexual Bi Nonbinary protagonist
Bi side character
Aroace nonbinary sc
Trans lesbian sc
Gay sc
TWs: grief, deadnaming, transphobia
This Feast of a Life
By Cynthia So
5/5⭐️
After the death of her mother, Valerie feels lost.
Finding their new name, Auden decides to try it out through a food blog.
Through this blog, they meet and a complicated but beautiful bond is formed.
Both protagonists had to learn a lot about themselves; Valerie facing her struggle with emotional connection being linked to a fear of further loss, Auden learning how to find their own future, rather than following familial expectations and tradition.
The romance between the two faces some conflict as Valerie originally wanted simply a physical romance, while Auden (later discovering their demisexuality) wanted to focus on a mental and emotional bond.
This book takes place over a year, which makes the relationship development more realistic than most books. I really loved both protagonists, related to Auden quite a lot about being nonbinary,
Overall, I really loved this book. A second 5⭐️ read from Cynthia So, hopefully many more will follow.
Queer rep:
Bi protagonist
Demisexual Bi Nonbinary protagonist
Bi side character
Aroace nonbinary sc
Trans lesbian sc
Gay sc
TWs: grief, deadnaming, transphobia
Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White
5.0
"Monsters don't get to be innocent. Monsters don't get to beg for mercy. They don't deserve it."
I began this book without even reading the blurb, so I was delighted to be thrown into a heart-racing action scene with that amazing writing style I've loved in AJW's past books.
This book is set in a county in West Virginia called Twist Creek in 2017. Its been ruled by the same horrible family of sheriffs for a century, who are willing to hurt others to keep their dirty secrets. For example, as the blurb will tell you, Miles is seriously injured by Sheriff Davies's son at the very beginning because he had photo evidence of the sheriff causing Cooper's mother's death. It's also fiercely far right-wing, hating all diversity. Every single family is white American. So yeah, definitely not the ideal place for any member of a marginalised community to live.
Our protagonist is Miles, a sixteen-year old autistic trans boy. He's a socialist, and he loves his state of West Virginia. He is honest, unafraid of his opinions unless they stand a physical threat to his family. Also sensible, brave, wary. I absolutely adored him as a protagonist, he was relatable in some ways, and had a strong personality. He also had the best dog, Lady.
Cooper, Miles's old friend, immediately stood out as an important character to me. Through his kindness in the opening chapters, I assumed he was a good guy. Well, that opinion changed. I won't say anything more because of spoilers.
Dallas, the brave enby who wasn't afraid to share their political views openly in a community that opposed them, was easy to love as a character.
Miles's father and mother were kind, caring, resilient. I love reading about supportive parents, who care fir their children no matter what.
Sheriff Davies, the man who made an entire family fear for their safety due to his and his ancestors' brutality, was the antagonist of this story. He was also sexist, at one point assuming Miles's mother had been cooking when it had been his father upon barging into their house unannounced. It's safe to say I loathed him. And Noah, he was also pure evil.
This book is, overall, about a family who have for a generation been harmed by their society because of an ancestor's rebelling actions and their fate of being harmed by the sheriff. This is how that stops.
There was a paranormal aspect, if it can be called that. Miles sees the ghost of his great-great-grandfather, Saint Abernathy, but even at the end he isn't sure if Saint was real or not (though one event proves it, which I can't mention).
The trans rep was perfect, as was the autistic rep. Thank you, Andrew Joseph White, for providing the trans autistic protagonists we need in literature.
Overall, I think this book is something else. Something unique, brilliant.
Brutal is the word I'd use to describe it, purely brutal, both the things that happen in this novel and its affect on the reader.
It is clearly a 5-star read.
Listen, this book is very heavy. There is a lot of violence, multiple murders, the transphobia is quite harsh, and if any trigger listed below is something you can't read, please don't force yourself to.
TWs: violence, transphobia, outing of a trans person, gun violence, abelism, murder, bullying, torture, kidnapping, blood, injuries, drug use, deadnaming, hate crime, death, emotional abuse, police brutality, gore, classism, child death
The next TWs occur before the events of this book, but are still mentioned: pedophilia, car accident, death of a parent, fire, animal cruelty, animal death
Queer rep:
Transmasc protagonist
Queer sc
Transmasc sc
Non-binary sc
Aromanic (questioning) character (won't spoil who as it's near the end)
Other rep:
Autistic protagonist
ADHD side character
Side characters with PTSD x2
Autistic background character
I began this book without even reading the blurb, so I was delighted to be thrown into a heart-racing action scene with that amazing writing style I've loved in AJW's past books.
This book is set in a county in West Virginia called Twist Creek in 2017. Its been ruled by the same horrible family of sheriffs for a century, who are willing to hurt others to keep their dirty secrets. For example, as the blurb will tell you, Miles is seriously injured by Sheriff Davies's son at the very beginning because he had photo evidence of the sheriff causing Cooper's mother's death. It's also fiercely far right-wing, hating all diversity. Every single family is white American. So yeah, definitely not the ideal place for any member of a marginalised community to live.
Our protagonist is Miles, a sixteen-year old autistic trans boy. He's a socialist, and he loves his state of West Virginia. He is honest, unafraid of his opinions unless they stand a physical threat to his family. Also sensible, brave, wary. I absolutely adored him as a protagonist, he was relatable in some ways, and had a strong personality. He also had the best dog, Lady.
Cooper, Miles's old friend, immediately stood out as an important character to me. Through his kindness in the opening chapters, I assumed he was a good guy. Well, that opinion changed. I won't say anything more because of spoilers.
Dallas, the brave enby who wasn't afraid to share their political views openly in a community that opposed them, was easy to love as a character.
Miles's father and mother were kind, caring, resilient. I love reading about supportive parents, who care fir their children no matter what.
Sheriff Davies, the man who made an entire family fear for their safety due to his and his ancestors' brutality, was the antagonist of this story. He was also sexist, at one point assuming Miles's mother had been cooking when it had been his father upon barging into their house unannounced. It's safe to say I loathed him. And Noah, he was also pure evil.
This book is, overall, about a family who have for a generation been harmed by their society because of an ancestor's rebelling actions and their fate of being harmed by the sheriff. This is how that stops.
There was a paranormal aspect, if it can be called that. Miles sees the ghost of his great-great-grandfather, Saint Abernathy, but even at the end he isn't sure if Saint was real or not (though one event proves it, which I can't mention).
The trans rep was perfect, as was the autistic rep. Thank you, Andrew Joseph White, for providing the trans autistic protagonists we need in literature.
Overall, I think this book is something else. Something unique, brilliant.
Brutal is the word I'd use to describe it, purely brutal, both the things that happen in this novel and its affect on the reader.
It is clearly a 5-star read.
Listen, this book is very heavy. There is a lot of violence, multiple murders, the transphobia is quite harsh, and if any trigger listed below is something you can't read, please don't force yourself to.
TWs: violence, transphobia, outing of a trans person, gun violence, abelism, murder, bullying, torture, kidnapping, blood, injuries, drug use, deadnaming, hate crime, death, emotional abuse, police brutality, gore, classism, child death
The next TWs occur before the events of this book, but are still mentioned: pedophilia, car accident, death of a parent, fire, animal cruelty, animal death
Queer rep:
Transmasc protagonist
Queer sc
Transmasc sc
Non-binary sc
Aromanic (questioning) character (won't spoil who as it's near the end)
Other rep:
Autistic protagonist
ADHD side character
Side characters with PTSD x2
Autistic background character
Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth
5.0
Sunburn
By Chloe Michelle Howarth
5/5⭐️
Set from 1989 to 1995, this novel follows Lucy, a teenage girl. We watch her fall in love with her friend Susannah, while her close friend Martin falls for her. Lucy has to choose between doing what's expected of her, or getting what she wants but losing her family, friends, everything she grew up with, in the process.
The first thing that I loved about this book is that it was set in Ireland. Although Lucy was born in the mid 1970s, while I was born in 2008, rural Irish society hasn't changed much.
Lucy was a very well-developed protagonist, and every character seemed incredibly realistic. The book had a clear voice, which I appreciated.
Sunburn very easy to read, and quite a short novel. I highly recommend it.
By Chloe Michelle Howarth
5/5⭐️
Set from 1989 to 1995, this novel follows Lucy, a teenage girl. We watch her fall in love with her friend Susannah, while her close friend Martin falls for her. Lucy has to choose between doing what's expected of her, or getting what she wants but losing her family, friends, everything she grew up with, in the process.
The first thing that I loved about this book is that it was set in Ireland. Although Lucy was born in the mid 1970s, while I was born in 2008, rural Irish society hasn't changed much.
Lucy was a very well-developed protagonist, and every character seemed incredibly realistic. The book had a clear voice, which I appreciated.
Sunburn very easy to read, and quite a short novel. I highly recommend it.
Lucy Undying by Kiersten White
4.75
What if every character from Stoker’s Dracula was the absolute worst, and Lucy Westenra survived to live as a vampire for generations, eventually meeting and falling for the heir to a health cult who is trying to escape her legacy? If that sounds interesting, you’d love Lucy Undying.
Lucy Undying
5/5
This is an adult gothic fantasy novel starring Lucy Westenra. We read her journal from when she was human, listen to her recount her many adventures to her mortal therapist, and watch as she and Iris (who has run from her family’s cult to one of her many inherited properties in England) meet in the present day, fall in love, and decide to slay Dracula once and for all. It’s a character-focused book, with two equally interesting protagonists. There is an array of side characters, vampires Lucy meets over the centuries: The Queen, The Lover, and The Doctor, who have all taken to being a vampire in different ways (unending research, murder, training girls in battle…). The fast-developing romance between the two women was very passionate, leaving us hoping that they would succeed in their plans and end up together for eternity.
Overall, I really liked this book, it is a very unique twist on the classic story, and highly recommend it.
Queer rep:
Sapphic protagonists
Achillean side characters
Lucy Undying
5/5
This is an adult gothic fantasy novel starring Lucy Westenra. We read her journal from when she was human, listen to her recount her many adventures to her mortal therapist, and watch as she and Iris (who has run from her family’s cult to one of her many inherited properties in England) meet in the present day, fall in love, and decide to slay Dracula once and for all. It’s a character-focused book, with two equally interesting protagonists. There is an array of side characters, vampires Lucy meets over the centuries: The Queen, The Lover, and The Doctor, who have all taken to being a vampire in different ways (unending research, murder, training girls in battle…). The fast-developing romance between the two women was very passionate, leaving us hoping that they would succeed in their plans and end up together for eternity.
Overall, I really liked this book, it is a very unique twist on the classic story, and highly recommend it.
Queer rep:
Sapphic protagonists
Achillean side characters
Escaping Mr. Rochester by L.L. McKinney
3.75
Escaping Mr Rochester
By L. L McKinney
3.75/5
This fast-paced YA retelling of Jane Eyre stars two young women at the hands of one cruel man.
As in the original, Jane Eyre enters Mr Rochester’s employ to be the governess to his daughter Adele. In this version, she thankfully doesn’t fall for his charms for even a second (unlike in the original, in which the relationship between Jane and that man was frustrating), instead falling for the imprisoned Bertha Mason, Mr Rochester’s American wife who he has locked in a room to try claim her inheritance one day. Jane and Bertha plan to escape with Adele and start a new life together, but Mr Rochester has other plans…
I really enjoyed this retelling, far more than I liked the original. Jane was such a brave, witty protagonist, and Bertha was similarly lovable and courageous. While the pacing felt slightly too fast, I flew through this book very quickly. I highly recommend it if you enjoy diverse retellings of classics, with the protagonist falling in love with a beautiful woman instead of falling for, and marrying, a totally evil man.
By L. L McKinney
3.75/5
This fast-paced YA retelling of Jane Eyre stars two young women at the hands of one cruel man.
As in the original, Jane Eyre enters Mr Rochester’s employ to be the governess to his daughter Adele. In this version, she thankfully doesn’t fall for his charms for even a second (unlike in the original, in which the relationship between Jane and that man was frustrating), instead falling for the imprisoned Bertha Mason, Mr Rochester’s American wife who he has locked in a room to try claim her inheritance one day. Jane and Bertha plan to escape with Adele and start a new life together, but Mr Rochester has other plans…
I really enjoyed this retelling, far more than I liked the original. Jane was such a brave, witty protagonist, and Bertha was similarly lovable and courageous. While the pacing felt slightly too fast, I flew through this book very quickly. I highly recommend it if you enjoy diverse retellings of classics, with the protagonist falling in love with a beautiful woman instead of falling for, and marrying, a totally evil man.