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dobbsthedog's reviews
1727 reviews
Us, Et Cetera by Kit Vincent
5.0
AudioARC received from NetGalley, thanks!
CW: attempted suicide, bullying, animal abuse, disordered eating
OMG. OMG, this was so good.
I really loved both Eke and Kyp, and they were so fucking sweet together!
And while this was a very sweet story, with really sweet characters, there were also a lot of very dark parts. The story is about two AIs who have been purchased by an über rich family, so you can imagine how they might be treated; especially Eke, who is an older model. Some of Eke’s treatment was what you would expect and then some was so much worse. I would think that a lot of the treatments of the AIs would be similar to how slaves were treated, which is fucking appalling.
What I found really interesting about the story was that it brought up a lot of questions about sentience, and free will, and if you’ve been bought to serve your master, is consent even possible? There were also the clear differences in treatment between Eke and Kyp, that just for the fact of Kyp being shiny and new he was immediately trusted by the family, much more so than Eke, who had been with them for five years.
Through most of the book (at least 50%) Eke is so lonely. Like, palpably lonely. It’s honestly quite heartbreaking, to see him talking to his flower friend, and his fish friends, but not being able to talk to anyone real, at least not in a real way.
I also found it really interesting how each of the family’s children have one short POV section, where you find out the reasons why they are the way they are. So, while this is a sweet romance between two AIs, it’s also a critique of extreme wealth and how that lifestyle can be so damaging to families.
I thought the whole book was just so incredibly well done, telling this fairly unique story.
CW: attempted suicide, bullying, animal abuse, disordered eating
OMG. OMG, this was so good.
I really loved both Eke and Kyp, and they were so fucking sweet together!
And while this was a very sweet story, with really sweet characters, there were also a lot of very dark parts. The story is about two AIs who have been purchased by an über rich family, so you can imagine how they might be treated; especially Eke, who is an older model. Some of Eke’s treatment was what you would expect and then some was so much worse. I would think that a lot of the treatments of the AIs would be similar to how slaves were treated, which is fucking appalling.
What I found really interesting about the story was that it brought up a lot of questions about sentience, and free will, and if you’ve been bought to serve your master, is consent even possible? There were also the clear differences in treatment between Eke and Kyp, that just for the fact of Kyp being shiny and new he was immediately trusted by the family, much more so than Eke, who had been with them for five years.
Through most of the book (at least 50%) Eke is so lonely. Like, palpably lonely. It’s honestly quite heartbreaking, to see him talking to his flower friend, and his fish friends, but not being able to talk to anyone real, at least not in a real way.
I also found it really interesting how each of the family’s children have one short POV section, where you find out the reasons why they are the way they are. So, while this is a sweet romance between two AIs, it’s also a critique of extreme wealth and how that lifestyle can be so damaging to families.
I thought the whole book was just so incredibly well done, telling this fairly unique story.
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
5.0
Received from the publisher and NetGalley, thanks!
You know, I’ve read a number of Chuck’s Tinglers, and they are certainly entertaining in a very specific way. But Chuck Tingle’s horror is just SO GOOD. Camp Damascus didn’t quite work for me, but Straight and now Bury Your Gays have been fantastic.
I love how he turns homophobia into the horror. And in Bury Your Gays the horror is in the romanticization and commodification of queer trauma. The idea that only stories of queer trauma sell, which was the way in a lot of media until fairly recently (it’s still there, but it’s gotten so much better).
In this story Misha Byrne is a scriptwriter in Hollywood and in the season finale of his popular TV show it will be revealed that his two female leads are in love with each other. But ‘The Board’ have decided that that can’t happen; Misha either has to reveal their love and kill them off, or make them straight and keep them alive. What follows is a wild and horrific story about what can happen when late stage capitalism meets high tech.
I absolutely love what Tingle did with this story; not only is it a critique of ‘bury your gays’, but also of capitalism and the role of technology in the film industry. He references the WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes several times, specifically referencing the gains that have been made in streaming and AI with regard to pay for actors and writers. My little labour heart was all aflutter! I also really appreciated his critique of how shallow and trend-chasing Hollywood is. And he did all of this while still telling a fairly horrific and gory story. I am impressed.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am eagerly awaiting his next.
You know, I’ve read a number of Chuck’s Tinglers, and they are certainly entertaining in a very specific way. But Chuck Tingle’s horror is just SO GOOD. Camp Damascus didn’t quite work for me, but Straight and now Bury Your Gays have been fantastic.
I love how he turns homophobia into the horror. And in Bury Your Gays the horror is in the romanticization and commodification of queer trauma. The idea that only stories of queer trauma sell, which was the way in a lot of media until fairly recently (it’s still there, but it’s gotten so much better).
In this story Misha Byrne is a scriptwriter in Hollywood and in the season finale of his popular TV show it will be revealed that his two female leads are in love with each other. But ‘The Board’ have decided that that can’t happen; Misha either has to reveal their love and kill them off, or make them straight and keep them alive. What follows is a wild and horrific story about what can happen when late stage capitalism meets high tech.
I absolutely love what Tingle did with this story; not only is it a critique of ‘bury your gays’, but also of capitalism and the role of technology in the film industry. He references the WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes several times, specifically referencing the gains that have been made in streaming and AI with regard to pay for actors and writers. My little labour heart was all aflutter! I also really appreciated his critique of how shallow and trend-chasing Hollywood is. And he did all of this while still telling a fairly horrific and gory story. I am impressed.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am eagerly awaiting his next.
The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
5.0
Holy shit.
This book was fascinating. A super quick, yet completely unsettling read.
I feel like I have a ton of things to say about it, yet can’t quite get my thoughts together…
This book was fascinating. A super quick, yet completely unsettling read.
I feel like I have a ton of things to say about it, yet can’t quite get my thoughts together…
Salma Joins the Team by Danny Ramadan
Okay, I just want to say that I LOVED that the first picture in the book is of Salma’s mom breastfeeding her baby sister. You never see that in books, rarely mentioned, let alone pictured, so this book just completely won me over right there. Also, a book written by a man that just casually mentions breastfeeding is pretty special.
The latest instalment in the Salma series and again it’s just making things like gender double standards and body positivity so accessible to a young audience. Salma wants to join the swim team, but knows that as a Muslim she is supposed to dress in a modest way and a swimsuit is not very modest. I really appreciated that throughout the book Salma took the time to think about how sur actually felt about the swimsuit, whether she felt uncomfortable in it or if she was uncomfortable because of what others were gossiping about her wearing a swimsuit.
I love that these books are in the world for a young audience to find.
The latest instalment in the Salma series and again it’s just making things like gender double standards and body positivity so accessible to a young audience. Salma wants to join the swim team, but knows that as a Muslim she is supposed to dress in a modest way and a swimsuit is not very modest. I really appreciated that throughout the book Salma took the time to think about how sur actually felt about the swimsuit, whether she felt uncomfortable in it or if she was uncomfortable because of what others were gossiping about her wearing a swimsuit.
I love that these books are in the world for a young audience to find.
Salma Writes a Book by Danny Ramadan
This was lovely. I really liked how Ramadan included a gay couple and how he wrote the conflict around it. I don’t want to say it’s homophobia, because it’s not really, but I think the book did a good job of explaining how sometimes it can be difficult to accept something when you’ve been told your entire life that it’s wrong.
I’m really enjoying how accessible these books are in discussing challenging topics and I would absolutely recommend them to anyone with younger kids.
I’m really enjoying how accessible these books are in discussing challenging topics and I would absolutely recommend them to anyone with younger kids.
Salma Makes a Home by Danny Ramadan
I’m choosing to not give this a star rating because I really don’t know how to rate a fairly easy MG novel.
I am now making my way through Danny Ramadan’s kids books, because why not? Despite the reading level of this book being quite low, Ramadan’s lovely way with words is still on full display.
This book is about Salma, who is a newcomer to Canada, coming to Vancouver from Damascus, Syria. I think it does a really great job of clearly explaining how difficult it can be for families who are leaving their home countries, especially when the whole family is not able to flee together.
The illustrations throughout by Anna Bron are lovely and really bring the story to life.
I am now making my way through Danny Ramadan’s kids books, because why not? Despite the reading level of this book being quite low, Ramadan’s lovely way with words is still on full display.
This book is about Salma, who is a newcomer to Canada, coming to Vancouver from Damascus, Syria. I think it does a really great job of clearly explaining how difficult it can be for families who are leaving their home countries, especially when the whole family is not able to flee together.
The illustrations throughout by Anna Bron are lovely and really bring the story to life.