myfbusters's reviews
25 reviews

Boys Weekend by Mattie Lubchansky

adventurous challenging funny reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar

adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Kingdom of Characters: The Language Revolution That Made China Modern by Jing Tsu

informative medium-paced

3.5

Interesting read that modulates between biography and general history; would have liked more detail in terms of the actual linguistics at play

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Content Warnings

Minor: Xenophobia, Colonisation, War, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Racism, Genocide, and Classism

PET by Akwaeke Emezi

challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

god DAMN.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Violence, Child abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Sexual violence, and Body horror

Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrun

emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Nota bene, i'm writing this review while high at 12:30 AM. I just read this book in a three-day flurry because it's the selection for Queer Book Club and I too suffer the yoke we call ADHD

I'm somewhat conflicted about this book, mostly in that I found the plot a little too over-the-top but the individual characters were compelling. I don't read a lot of romance novels, so maybe I am not the best judge here. The scenes between

Ellie and Jack, when the overzealous pretense of the story fades to the side, are the highlight here. I felt a tenderness between them, an authenticity that spoke to my own experiences loving, and being loved.

 

I guess my one quibble is that

I didn't like the role that Ari was given in the narrative. This book was tagged "trans representation" by the book club and I went in with hopeful expectations, but overall to me she leaned a little too close to the catty "gay best friend" trope often seen in TV shows with a (cis) woman as protagonist. as a polyamorous trans lesbian myself yeah, I know this girl, I've been this girl, but when she's given such a small role, the "come move in with my four roommates, we read tarot and do gay art" reads less like accurate representation and more like a parody out of a Reductress article.

All in all, I enjoyed reading this book, and I can't wait to get on a zoom call and rant to my gay coworkers about it

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, and Mental illness

Minor: Homophobia, Biphobia, and Ableism

Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch by Rivka Galchen

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Torture, Child death, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Antisemitism, Chronic illness, Religious bigotry, Violence, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, and Death

Moderate: Genocide, Infertility, Mental illness, War, Racism, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Classism, and Medical content

Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel

adventurous informative medium-paced

3.75

A well-written and detailed history, albeit one that unfortunately does not address the legacy of colonialism and veers a little too often into "great man" history.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Animal cruelty, Violence, Medical content, Terminal illness, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: War, Racism, and Murder

Includes a graphic description of scurvy victims, graphic description of animal cruelty, and stereotyped descriptions of Indigenous people

The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag

adventurous emotional lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 1 by Kousuke Oono

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood

decolonizing trans/gender 101 by b. binaohan

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.5