Scan barcode
leonidskies's reviews
142 reviews
Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I received an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for my review.
This is a book that, once I picked it up in earnest, I could barely put it down. The only times I did so willingly were to calm my heart thudding in my chest, because WOW. This book has a lot going on and it never really lets up and I adore it.
Everything about the writing of this book is absolutely unflinching. Every moment cuts in its careful, incredibly thoughtful commentary. This is a book so clearly written from the heart, an absolutely enrapturing read packed with sheer rage and determination. I'm not from the US and haven't lived anything close to this, but it felt so achingly real. The setting, the characters, each line of commentary... Pitch perfect writing in a frankly quite terrifying time.
And of course, I have to mention what drew me to this author's writing in the first place - reading about autistic trans boys continues to be an unrelenting joy. I spent so much of my teen years writing my own stories because they didn't seem to exist in my corner of the world, and reading this was like a gift to my teenage self. There were conversations in this book that, were it not for the drawl of the (fantastically rendered, by the way) character's voices, could have been lifted from my own childhood. Seeing them is immensely cathartic.
The author treats his characters with immense grace and care. His love shines through, making this a joy to read. I'd recommend this to ANYONE with the stomach for it.
This is a book that, once I picked it up in earnest, I could barely put it down. The only times I did so willingly were to calm my heart thudding in my chest, because WOW. This book has a lot going on and it never really lets up and I adore it.
Everything about the writing of this book is absolutely unflinching. Every moment cuts in its careful, incredibly thoughtful commentary. This is a book so clearly written from the heart, an absolutely enrapturing read packed with sheer rage and determination. I'm not from the US and haven't lived anything close to this, but it felt so achingly real. The setting, the characters, each line of commentary... Pitch perfect writing in a frankly quite terrifying time.
And of course, I have to mention what drew me to this author's writing in the first place - reading about autistic trans boys continues to be an unrelenting joy. I spent so much of my teen years writing my own stories because they didn't seem to exist in my corner of the world, and reading this was like a gift to my teenage self. There were conversations in this book that, were it not for the drawl of the (fantastically rendered, by the way) character's voices, could have been lifted from my own childhood. Seeing them is immensely cathartic.
The author treats his characters with immense grace and care. His love shines through, making this a joy to read. I'd recommend this to ANYONE with the stomach for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal cruelty, Homophobia, and Pedophilia
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
So incredibly heartfelt and touching. Very much a book I WISH I'd read when I was a teenager because of just how deeply it would have affected me, but better late than never. The depth and complexity of emotions and the sheer amount of LOVE packed into these pages blew me away.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use, Alcohol, and War
New Selected Poems, 1984-2004 by Carol Ann Duffy
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I was provided with an advanced copy of this book for review (ahead of it being published in the UK, I believe) through NetGalley.
This book is WONDERFUL. As a general rule, I'm a fantasy guy over a horror guy, but this is a fantastic blend of the two. The fantasy elements at play are simple but effective, with no complicated magic system or anything that necessitated too much explanation. I understood what was going on, both in the context of things the narrator knew and didn't feel the need to explain and also the things he didn't understand but the reader was meant to.
That leads me onto representation, which is just... I've been trying to put this into words when discussing this book with friends and I haven't been able to yet, but it goes something like this: I've always believed that representation is important, but I've never quite found things that represent me to this degree before. As someone who's transmasc and autistic, the way this book sets out some of the very complicated ways I relate to the world made me feel like the author had crawled into my brain. It was immensely gratifying.
This book is dark - it covers topics that I know would cause a lot of people to hesitate when recommending this book to its target audience. It handles these topics not delicately but with a surgeon's scalpel - cutting deeply and precisely, laying all the most important parts out for readers to see. It's absolutely fantastic work surrounding issues that are presented in a historical fiction context but their modern relevance is blatantly obvious.
This was a solid 4-4.5 when I got to the final couple of chapters of the book - and then the author pulled out more from the narrative and the book rocketed into incredible. This is a beautifully, painstakingly constructed book and it's very special.
This book is WONDERFUL. As a general rule, I'm a fantasy guy over a horror guy, but this is a fantastic blend of the two. The fantasy elements at play are simple but effective, with no complicated magic system or anything that necessitated too much explanation. I understood what was going on, both in the context of things the narrator knew and didn't feel the need to explain and also the things he didn't understand but the reader was meant to.
That leads me onto representation, which is just... I've been trying to put this into words when discussing this book with friends and I haven't been able to yet, but it goes something like this: I've always believed that representation is important, but I've never quite found things that represent me to this degree before. As someone who's transmasc and autistic, the way this book sets out some of the very complicated ways I relate to the world made me feel like the author had crawled into my brain. It was immensely gratifying.
This book is dark - it covers topics that I know would cause a lot of people to hesitate when recommending this book to its target audience. It handles these topics not delicately but with a surgeon's scalpel - cutting deeply and precisely, laying all the most important parts out for readers to see. It's absolutely fantastic work surrounding issues that are presented in a historical fiction context but their modern relevance is blatantly obvious.
This was a solid 4-4.5 when I got to the final couple of chapters of the book - and then the author pulled out more from the narrative and the book rocketed into incredible. This is a beautifully, painstakingly constructed book and it's very special.
Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This is a really wonderful fun, mostly light book. The two main characters are interesting and their familial relationships in particular are fun to discover. The romance was sweet, and the combination of an interesting plot and easy to read prose made it an almost effortless read. I'm really glad I picked it up and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel!
Docked 0.75 from the score mostly for excessive Harry Potter references. There are better ways to invoke a British setting and Hall knows this - Rowling's transphobia was known before this book was published and the sheer number of references should not have made it to print.
Docked 0.75 from the score mostly for excessive Harry Potter references. There are better ways to invoke a British setting and Hall knows this - Rowling's transphobia was known before this book was published and the sheer number of references should not have made it to print.
Something to be Proud of by Anna Zoe Quirke
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This was an absolutely amazing book. It's difficult to know where to sing its praises first - it was easy to read and I absolutely breezed through it, in part because of how clear it was and in part because it was an utter joy. I adored all the characters, especially the core cast, and it made me so happy to see their stories unfold.
I'll admit I was in tears for a decent chunk of the book; tears of joy, almost the whole time. That's super rare for me, but reading this book felt really special because I felt immensely seen. I've been that queer, autistic sixteen year old with a sense of justice that doesn't seem compatible with the rest of the world, and seeing Imogen grow was an experience I can only describe as healing. A book about people who want something and fight for it and get closer together because of it just feels so profoundly hopeful to me, and every aspect of that had me in pieces.
Quirke handles every difficult topic in the novel with so much sensitivity and meaning - the emotions felt incredibly real and really brought me along for the ride. In all, I utterly adored this book. An easy 5/5.
This was an absolutely amazing book. It's difficult to know where to sing its praises first - it was easy to read and I absolutely breezed through it, in part because of how clear it was and in part because it was an utter joy. I adored all the characters, especially the core cast, and it made me so happy to see their stories unfold.
I'll admit I was in tears for a decent chunk of the book; tears of joy, almost the whole time. That's super rare for me, but reading this book felt really special because I felt immensely seen. I've been that queer, autistic sixteen year old with a sense of justice that doesn't seem compatible with the rest of the world, and seeing Imogen grow was an experience I can only describe as healing. A book about people who want something and fight for it and get closer together because of it just feels so profoundly hopeful to me, and every aspect of that had me in pieces.
Quirke handles every difficult topic in the novel with so much sensitivity and meaning - the emotions felt incredibly real and really brought me along for the ride. In all, I utterly adored this book. An easy 5/5.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism and Transphobia
Minor: Infidelity, Sexism, and Toxic friendship
Galatea 2.2 by Richard Powers
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This wasn't really my kind of book. It tries very hard to be literary (and succeeds) and extract meaning from its events (just about manages to pull it out from the end) but I felt overwhelmingly like it didn't quite manage to deliver on its premise.
I didn't like pretty much any of the characters, but particularly disliked the narrator. His interactions with almost everyone - but especially women - tipped over from interesting character work to infuriating relatively easily. Perhaps I'm too young, but I just didn't 'get' his various romantic attachments and non-attachments and felt like the novel slightly ran out of space to deal with that in a way that would have been satisfying. In general, I felt like the most interesting parts were rushed and crammed in at the end, which did make for a good ending after feeling like the prior 20-25 pages weren't going anywhere near resolution.
The impact of Helen as a 'being' fell a little flat for me, though it was what attracted me to the book in the first place. I didn't see the same consciousness in her that the narrator did until the end, at which point it felt retroactive. The moments when she did come out with really interesting statements or observations were some of my favourite parts of the novel, though, and I think her development towards the end was particularly interesting.
That said, I enjoyed the narration and prose. It's not my usual thing, but I found the technobabble (I have no idea how legitimate any of the science was) at the very least possible to parse, and the rest of the writing was fun to roll around in my head. I prefer slightly more direct narration, but it was nice for a change. The concept, too, was really strong, and as someone who likes to think/write about the sci fi part of AI (rather than the technical, LLM side of it, which was also VERY interesting to think about given the current technological climate around "AI").
Not my kind of book. Probably better for people who like more literary fiction/classic sci fi!
The impact of Helen as a 'being' fell a little flat for me, though it was what attracted me to the book in the first place. I didn't see the same consciousness in her that the narrator did until the end, at which point it felt retroactive. The moments when she did come out with really interesting statements or observations were some of my favourite parts of the novel, though, and I think her development towards the end was particularly interesting.
That said, I enjoyed the narration and prose. It's not my usual thing, but I found the technobabble (I have no idea how legitimate any of the science was) at the very least possible to parse, and the rest of the writing was fun to roll around in my head. I prefer slightly more direct narration, but it was nice for a change. The concept, too, was really strong, and as someone who likes to think/write about the sci fi part of AI (rather than the technical, LLM side of it, which was also VERY interesting to think about given the current technological climate around "AI").
Not my kind of book. Probably better for people who like more literary fiction/classic sci fi!
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I didn't really plan to read this book (for my work book club), but it happened and I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected!
The core of this book being sisterhood and the complex relationships of family worked really well. I felt like I understood and had a good picture of most of the cast, which was pretty impressive for the number of characters.
I'm a little more lukewarm on a couple of the characters - I found the main 'child'/third generation daughter difficult to understand, as I didn't really see the point that the novel was very clearly trying to hammer home. Something just felt a little off about it. I also had a distinctly bitter taste in my mouth over the sole black character, whose race was only ever alluded to vaguely (and one of the characters was almost blatantly racist towards but this was never mentioned in any capacity) and whose character was unmistakeably less well-rounded compared to all the other characters in the otherwise all-white cast.
I had really complicated feelings about Julia. I'm unsure how I was meant to interpret her - I quite liked how clear and legible most of what the book was trying to say was, but she continually evaded the same kind of incisive commentary over what I felt were her most glaring flaws. Her 'girlboss' moments were abjectly lacking in empathy, but I was left with the impression I wasn't MEANT to be horrified by what she did. I'm still not sure what the intention was at all.
That said, I did really enjoy reading this book. I liked the different perspectives and the scope, the spectrum of feeling was good, and again the family relationships and mostly well written complicated and interconnected characters and contexts were really good.
The core of this book being sisterhood and the complex relationships of family worked really well. I felt like I understood and had a good picture of most of the cast, which was pretty impressive for the number of characters.
I'm a little more lukewarm on a couple of the characters - I found the main 'child'/third generation daughter difficult to understand, as I didn't really see the point that the novel was very clearly trying to hammer home. Something just felt a little off about it. I also had a distinctly bitter taste in my mouth over the sole black character, whose race was only ever alluded to vaguely (and one of the characters was almost blatantly racist towards but this was never mentioned in any capacity) and whose character was unmistakeably less well-rounded compared to all the other characters in the otherwise all-white cast.
I had really complicated feelings about Julia. I'm unsure how I was meant to interpret her - I quite liked how clear and legible most of what the book was trying to say was, but she continually evaded the same kind of incisive commentary over what I felt were her most glaring flaws. Her 'girlboss' moments were abjectly lacking in empathy, but I was left with the impression I wasn't MEANT to be horrified by what she did. I'm still not sure what the intention was at all.
That said, I did really enjoy reading this book. I liked the different perspectives and the scope, the spectrum of feeling was good, and again the family relationships and mostly well written complicated and interconnected characters and contexts were really good.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death, and Suicide attempt
Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I wish I could say I really loved this book (I was so excited to read something with a nonbinary main character!), but unfortunately I didn't. The premise was really strong, and I liked the characters quite a lot, but the book as it was felt distinctly under-edited. The plot was unsubtle and ended with a few unsatisfying and unresolved plot points, and the pacing felt strange. I liked the setting and adored the themes and relationship arcs, but it absolutely could have done with another 50-100 pages to flesh out what it was going for. The magic system and world building was interesting, and the prose was strong enough to keep me all the way to the end, but I couldn't help but want more.
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape