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pushingdessy's reviews
428 reviews
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I *had* to check out one of the hottest books of last year!
What can I say that hasn’t been said before about this book? It was very hard to put down, even though it’s not a fast-paced thriller by any means. It explores the current state of the publishing industry, racism, online discourse, and the overall social climate in ways that are relevant and thoughtful. I appreciated that it explored sort of both sides of, or different perspectives on, these issues. For example, I was reminded of how JK Rowling put out a 1k pages book about how she, a transphobe - sorry, her character I mean - was bullied online by the sad Tumblr freaks (affectionate). But unlike Rowling, Kuang’s treatment felt more nuanced. Much of June’s online cancellation was justified, and sought out justice and reparations, which she denied by lying to herself as well as to everyone else - but we know she was in the wrong. And we also see cancellation getting away from that original purpose to become a measure of morality and social policing, as well as a way to vent frustrations and jealousy when it’s the late Athena’s turn.
On the other hand, I also thought it was a book for the terminally online, of which I’m unfortunately one. By this I mean that there were current references to memes and stuff that might not age or translate well to international audiences. You know how some books make up an entire parallel universe with made-up celebrities and brands? Well, this wasn’t it.
I’ve seen people say that June is an unlikeable character, and sure, she’s not a good person - but I also thought she was relatable, and so not wholly unlikeable.
Was this book worth the hype? Yes, for sure! Although part of me wonders about the staying power it’ll have after its immediate relevance.
What can I say that hasn’t been said before about this book? It was very hard to put down, even though it’s not a fast-paced thriller by any means. It explores the current state of the publishing industry, racism, online discourse, and the overall social climate in ways that are relevant and thoughtful. I appreciated that it explored sort of both sides of, or different perspectives on, these issues. For example, I was reminded of how JK Rowling put out a 1k pages book about how she, a transphobe - sorry, her character I mean - was bullied online by the sad Tumblr freaks (affectionate). But unlike Rowling, Kuang’s treatment felt more nuanced. Much of June’s online cancellation was justified, and sought out justice and reparations, which she denied by lying to herself as well as to everyone else - but we know she was in the wrong. And we also see cancellation getting away from that original purpose to become a measure of morality and social policing, as well as a way to vent frustrations and jealousy when it’s the late Athena’s turn.
On the other hand, I also thought it was a book for the terminally online, of which I’m unfortunately one. By this I mean that there were current references to memes and stuff that might not age or translate well to international audiences. You know how some books make up an entire parallel universe with made-up celebrities and brands? Well, this wasn’t it.
I’ve seen people say that June is an unlikeable character, and sure, she’s not a good person - but I also thought she was relatable, and so not wholly unlikeable.
Was this book worth the hype? Yes, for sure! Although part of me wonders about the staying power it’ll have after its immediate relevance.
The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
You HAVE to add this one to your list of books with an unhinged FMC.
Fresh and engrossing, this horror story certainly deserves the hype. Our protagonist is Ji-won, the eldest daughter of an Asian-American family reeling after her father’s abandonment. As she struggles to shelter her little sister from the pain and keep her grades up, she’s surprised when their mother suddenly smiles again… and tells them she’s seeing a man. An obnoxious white man, with piercing blue eyes that Ji-won can’t stop thinking about. Soon enough, eyes are *all* Ji-won can think about, especially what they might taste like if she were to pop them into her mouth like the fish eyes her mother is so fond of.
But this isn’t mindless horror: there’s a solid heart beneath that explores the immigrant experience, family dynamics, sexism, Otherness, and in particular, the fetishization of Asian women. You can’t help but empathize with Ji-won as she reckons with her father’s rejection and gross men; you feel her growing rage and want her to act on it. And when she begins to accept that nobody is going to protect her and the women in her family… oh, that’s when the fun begins.
In some ways, this book reminded me of Mona Awad’s “Bunny” - it’s claustrophobic and hallucinatory at points, straddling the line between dreamland and the waking world. Is Ji-won out there killing people, or is she just losing her grip on reality? Part of the story also takes place in an academic setting and a dingy cityscape, and there’s (imo) a theme of repressed queerness here too.
This is an unmissable read for fans of Asian-American literature and body horror, and I’m looking forward to the author’s next works!
You HAVE to add this one to your list of books with an unhinged FMC.
Fresh and engrossing, this horror story certainly deserves the hype. Our protagonist is Ji-won, the eldest daughter of an Asian-American family reeling after her father’s abandonment. As she struggles to shelter her little sister from the pain and keep her grades up, she’s surprised when their mother suddenly smiles again… and tells them she’s seeing a man. An obnoxious white man, with piercing blue eyes that Ji-won can’t stop thinking about. Soon enough, eyes are *all* Ji-won can think about, especially what they might taste like if she were to pop them into her mouth like the fish eyes her mother is so fond of.
But this isn’t mindless horror: there’s a solid heart beneath that explores the immigrant experience, family dynamics, sexism, Otherness, and in particular, the fetishization of Asian women. You can’t help but empathize with Ji-won as she reckons with her father’s rejection and gross men; you feel her growing rage and want her to act on it. And when she begins to accept that nobody is going to protect her and the women in her family… oh, that’s when the fun begins.
In some ways, this book reminded me of Mona Awad’s “Bunny” - it’s claustrophobic and hallucinatory at points, straddling the line between dreamland and the waking world. Is Ji-won out there killing people, or is she just losing her grip on reality? Part of the story also takes place in an academic setting and a dingy cityscape, and there’s (imo) a theme of repressed queerness here too.
This is an unmissable read for fans of Asian-American literature and body horror, and I’m looking forward to the author’s next works!
The Blue Maiden by Anna Nóyes
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I received this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Well, this… wasn’t quite what it says on the tin.
The blurb of Noyes' debut novel caught my eye enough to request an advanced copy - with mentions of witch hunts, the devil, buried history, the patriarchy, isolation, mystery, Gothic horror… but little of that felt of much relevance in the way I expected.
The story opens in the past, as all but a handful of the women in an isolated Northern European island are accused of dancing with the Devil in The Blue Maiden, a neighboring island, and assassinated.
Several generations later, we follow sisters Ulrika and Beata as they grow up with their father, a widower and the community’s Pastor, trying to discover who their mother (an outsider in the island) was and who they could be, living with the stigma of Otherness.
This was a beautifully told story, full of rich, atmospheric descriptions, with a dream-like quality and interesting main characters that we follow as they grow up and their bonds and their place in the world are tested.
Unfortunately, for me, there wasn’t much connection with the history of the wrongfully accused women or the mystery of The Blue Maiden. They existed as a vague threat, neither part of a supernatural horror plot nor directly connected to the sisters in the present. It felt more like a character study than anything else, so if you like that kind of stuff, you might enjoy it. Ultimately, it wasn’t a bad read, but I was expecting a different kind of story.
Well, this… wasn’t quite what it says on the tin.
The blurb of Noyes' debut novel caught my eye enough to request an advanced copy - with mentions of witch hunts, the devil, buried history, the patriarchy, isolation, mystery, Gothic horror… but little of that felt of much relevance in the way I expected.
The story opens in the past, as all but a handful of the women in an isolated Northern European island are accused of dancing with the Devil in The Blue Maiden, a neighboring island, and assassinated.
Several generations later, we follow sisters Ulrika and Beata as they grow up with their father, a widower and the community’s Pastor, trying to discover who their mother (an outsider in the island) was and who they could be, living with the stigma of Otherness.
This was a beautifully told story, full of rich, atmospheric descriptions, with a dream-like quality and interesting main characters that we follow as they grow up and their bonds and their place in the world are tested.
Unfortunately, for me, there wasn’t much connection with the history of the wrongfully accused women or the mystery of The Blue Maiden. They existed as a vague threat, neither part of a supernatural horror plot nor directly connected to the sisters in the present. It felt more like a character study than anything else, so if you like that kind of stuff, you might enjoy it. Ultimately, it wasn’t a bad read, but I was expecting a different kind of story.
La revuelta de las putas by Amelia Tiganus
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
For IWD and Women’s History Month, I wanted to read feminist non-fiction, and I thought it was time to check this book out of my tbr!
I read it in Spanish, and as far as I know, there are no published or planned translations… but I hope that changes, because this is essential reading. The title translates to “The revolt of the whores”, and it’s a mix of memoir and manifesto for the abolitionism of so-called s3x work.
This is a really complex, difficult subject, and one where my stance has changed over the years before settling on abolitionism. But I hadn’t really done much reading on it, so I wanted to fix that by listening to an activist who is an actual survivor of human trafficking and s3x exploitation, because, at the end of the day and as with many other subjects, listening to the lived experiences of people is more important than what we might think from our comfortable desk at home, even if academic theory is still important.
That was something I really valued about the book: Tiganus bravely shares her life story, recounting and exorcising painful memories, but she pairs it with critical feminist theory in fairly accessible language to support her abolitionist perspective. She explains what the movement wants and doesn’t want, and why the other positions on pr0stitution fall short and ultimately hurt the victims. All that without discounting the fact that other victims might feel differently, because we’re all living in the same neoliberal hellscape that makes the notion of choice feminism so appealing, after all.
One small criticism is that it felt a little too repetitive and scattered in places, but not in a way that impacted my reading experience too much.
After finishing, there are no doubts for me that abolitionism is the only feminist and humanist way possible.
***
Para el Día Internacional de la Mujer y el Mes de la Historia de la Mujer, quería leer no ficción feminista y pensé que era hora de sacar este libro de mi tbr.
Se trata de una mezcla de memorias y manifiesto por el abolicionismo del mal llamado trabajo sexual. Este es un tema realmente complejo y difícil, y mi postura ha cambiado a lo largo de los años antes de decidirme por el abolicionismo. Pero realmente no había leído mucho sobre esto, así que quería solucionarlo escuchando a un activista que es sobreviviente real de la trata de personas y la explotación sexual, porque, al final del día y como ocurre con muchos otros temas, escuchar las experiencias vividas de las personas es más importante que lo que podríamos pensar desde casa, incluso si la teoría académica sigue siendo importante.
Eso fue algo que realmente valoré del libro: Tiganus comparte valientemente la historia de su vida, contando y exorcizando recuerdos dolorosos, pero lo combina con una teoría feminista crítica en un lenguaje bastante accesible para respaldar su perspectiva abolicionista. Ella explica lo que el movimiento quiere y no quiere, y por qué las otras posiciones sobre la prostitución se quedan cortas y, en última instancia, perjudican a las víctimas. Todo eso sin descartar el hecho de que otras víctimas podrían sentir lo contrario, porque todos vivimos en el mismo infierno neoliberal que, después de todo, hace que la noción de choice feminism sea tan atractiva.
Una pequeña crítica es que se sintió demasiado repetitivo y disperso en algunos lugares, pero no de una manera que afectara demasiado mi experiencia de lectura.
Una vez terminado, no me quedan dudas de que el abolicionismo es el único camino feminista y humanista posible.
I read it in Spanish, and as far as I know, there are no published or planned translations… but I hope that changes, because this is essential reading. The title translates to “The revolt of the whores”, and it’s a mix of memoir and manifesto for the abolitionism of so-called s3x work.
This is a really complex, difficult subject, and one where my stance has changed over the years before settling on abolitionism. But I hadn’t really done much reading on it, so I wanted to fix that by listening to an activist who is an actual survivor of human trafficking and s3x exploitation, because, at the end of the day and as with many other subjects, listening to the lived experiences of people is more important than what we might think from our comfortable desk at home, even if academic theory is still important.
That was something I really valued about the book: Tiganus bravely shares her life story, recounting and exorcising painful memories, but she pairs it with critical feminist theory in fairly accessible language to support her abolitionist perspective. She explains what the movement wants and doesn’t want, and why the other positions on pr0stitution fall short and ultimately hurt the victims. All that without discounting the fact that other victims might feel differently, because we’re all living in the same neoliberal hellscape that makes the notion of choice feminism so appealing, after all.
One small criticism is that it felt a little too repetitive and scattered in places, but not in a way that impacted my reading experience too much.
After finishing, there are no doubts for me that abolitionism is the only feminist and humanist way possible.
***
Para el Día Internacional de la Mujer y el Mes de la Historia de la Mujer, quería leer no ficción feminista y pensé que era hora de sacar este libro de mi tbr.
Se trata de una mezcla de memorias y manifiesto por el abolicionismo del mal llamado trabajo sexual. Este es un tema realmente complejo y difícil, y mi postura ha cambiado a lo largo de los años antes de decidirme por el abolicionismo. Pero realmente no había leído mucho sobre esto, así que quería solucionarlo escuchando a un activista que es sobreviviente real de la trata de personas y la explotación sexual, porque, al final del día y como ocurre con muchos otros temas, escuchar las experiencias vividas de las personas es más importante que lo que podríamos pensar desde casa, incluso si la teoría académica sigue siendo importante.
Eso fue algo que realmente valoré del libro: Tiganus comparte valientemente la historia de su vida, contando y exorcizando recuerdos dolorosos, pero lo combina con una teoría feminista crítica en un lenguaje bastante accesible para respaldar su perspectiva abolicionista. Ella explica lo que el movimiento quiere y no quiere, y por qué las otras posiciones sobre la prostitución se quedan cortas y, en última instancia, perjudican a las víctimas. Todo eso sin descartar el hecho de que otras víctimas podrían sentir lo contrario, porque todos vivimos en el mismo infierno neoliberal que, después de todo, hace que la noción de choice feminism sea tan atractiva.
Una pequeña crítica es que se sintió demasiado repetitivo y disperso en algunos lugares, pero no de una manera que afectara demasiado mi experiencia de lectura.
Una vez terminado, no me quedan dudas de que el abolicionismo es el único camino feminista y humanista posible.
All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I started reading this book on a whim on Valentine’s Day. This had been on my TBR for years - previously, I’d only read “Feminism is for everybody: Passionate politics” and I admit I didn’t think it lived up to the hype. Would I like a different bell hooks book?
Yes, I quite did!
📝 The book is split into 13 chapters where hooks explores the topic of love based on her own life journey as well as words from other thinkers, through different facets: clarity, honesty, childhood, friendship, self-love, community love, spirituality, romance, grief…
💬 I found it illuminating and inspiring in certain aspects, and even cathartic in others. I really liked the concept of love that hooks introduces based on other authors: love as verb, as intention and action with the purpose of nurturing your and someone else’s growth, rather than an indefinable emotion someone “falls into” helplessly. hooks is adamant that this goes beyond/has little to do with the romantic notions of love we’re constantly being fed, but also with the idea that we all know instinctively how to love, which I think is so important.
⚠️ One thing that bugged me was the religious undertones that become a little wilder towards the end. I don’t mind spirituality being included because, even though I struggle with it, I think it’s important to the self and agree with hooks that modern society has lost touch with true spirituality. But she lost me in the last chapter when she began to talk about literal angels and discussing a legend from the Bible, and I was annoyed when she talked about biblical scripture almost as if it were facts of nature and not something someone made up.
tl;dr love is scary but it’s worth it! (but tbh, I’m still scared lol.)
Yes, I quite did!
📝 The book is split into 13 chapters where hooks explores the topic of love based on her own life journey as well as words from other thinkers, through different facets: clarity, honesty, childhood, friendship, self-love, community love, spirituality, romance, grief…
💬 I found it illuminating and inspiring in certain aspects, and even cathartic in others. I really liked the concept of love that hooks introduces based on other authors: love as verb, as intention and action with the purpose of nurturing your and someone else’s growth, rather than an indefinable emotion someone “falls into” helplessly. hooks is adamant that this goes beyond/has little to do with the romantic notions of love we’re constantly being fed, but also with the idea that we all know instinctively how to love, which I think is so important.
⚠️ One thing that bugged me was the religious undertones that become a little wilder towards the end. I don’t mind spirituality being included because, even though I struggle with it, I think it’s important to the self and agree with hooks that modern society has lost touch with true spirituality. But she lost me in the last chapter when she began to talk about literal angels and discussing a legend from the Bible, and I was annoyed when she talked about biblical scripture almost as if it were facts of nature and not something someone made up.
tl;dr love is scary but it’s worth it! (but tbh, I’m still scared lol.)
The Waves Take You Home by María Alejandra Barrios Vélez
slow-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? Yes
3.0
I received this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
So… this book was very frustrating to me. But let’s start from the beginning: 18-year-old Violeta Sanoguera prepares to leave her home in Barranquilla, Colombia, broken-hearted, to go to college in the US, following her grandmother’s wishes.
Ten years later, when her strict but beloved grandmother passes away, Violeta goes back home for the funeral and decides to stay and try to save the family’s restaurant from bankruptcy with the help of her mother and Anton, her friend and grandmother’s protegé. But home brings up a lot of feelings for Vi, in particular for the boy whose proposal she rejected: Rafa. Problem is, both of them have moved on with other partners… or have they?
I liked the main plot of Vi wanting to save the restaurant and in the process finding out more about her grandmother, repairing family bonds, and discovering more about herself. But, frankly, I found that the addition of her grandmother’s *ghost* cheapened the story unnecessarily. So did the love triangle.
I understand that Vi and Rafa are ~star-crossed lovers~, but they were 18, and Vi is shown to be in a healthy relationship with someone who met her as an adult. Yet the moment she steps in Barranquilla, Rafa is all she can think about. I felt like the author didn’t want to paint Vi’s current partner as a bad guy, but then she also had to make him less appealing somehow, but did so in ways I just didn’t buy. For example, in one conversation, Liam is 100% behind Vi’s decision to save the restaurant, he believes she can do it… until somehow *she* voices the idea that he doesn’t think she can do it, and then it’s like “gotcha! I think you’re crazy and you won’t do it”. Or he sees the ghost and believes is a ghost, until Vi is like “ay he doesn’t believe in ghosts!” and then he doesn’t. Suddenly he “doesn’t understand her”… but Rafa does? The guy who doesn’t know her as an adult?
I just… this was an insane plot line done badly for me. It would have worked better if Vi and Rafa had reconnected as friends and then slowly realized that they also clicked as adults, but instead it felt like two people who’d never been able to move on and clung to a high school relationship. And it muddied Vi’s intentions of going back to Colombia.
I also took issue with this: most of the story is set in Colombia, a Spanish-speaking country, and features many characters who are presumably speaking in Spanish to each other, translated to English for the benefit of the book’s audience. Except… the dialogue is actually done in Spanglish, *heavily*. I love it when authors include some of their native language in their books, but this was a lot, it made no logical sense, and it didn’t have consistent rules for when to use Spanish and when to include a translation. Vi was bilingual; every other character she spoke to while in Colombia was not. I underlined so many examples of why this was done so poorly, so here are some:
“Ni sé. I don’t think I’m made para este calor anymore.” - The character is bilingual but talking to a native Spanish-speaker who isn’t bilingual, and they’re in Colombia.
”In Colombia, we took care of our muertos quickly.” - Muertos isn’t really a word that has reason to be in its native language.
”I could still hear Mami: Por qué couldn’t I stay for more than two weeks? Was I alérgica to Barranquilla?” - See examples 1 and 2 above.
”'Claro. Y quién más?' Who else? he said” - It repeats the sentence in English here and in a few other places even when it’s unnecessary, and not in other places where the translation might not be as clear.
I’m a native Spanish-speaker and this lack of logic was off-putting to me. I also thought it could have done with more edits, as parts of it felt repetitive, some *were* actual repeated facts that didn’t need to be, and there were issues with the timelines - at one point, Vi is 18 when Rafa is 21, but then it says they’re the same age; Vi’s mother remarried ten years ago, but Vi was 13 when she was actually 18.
Overall, I just couldn’t connect with the story or the characters because those things bugged me too much, and I considered DNF’ing several times - even though the main premise was interesting.
So… this book was very frustrating to me. But let’s start from the beginning: 18-year-old Violeta Sanoguera prepares to leave her home in Barranquilla, Colombia, broken-hearted, to go to college in the US, following her grandmother’s wishes.
Ten years later, when her strict but beloved grandmother passes away, Violeta goes back home for the funeral and decides to stay and try to save the family’s restaurant from bankruptcy with the help of her mother and Anton, her friend and grandmother’s protegé. But home brings up a lot of feelings for Vi, in particular for the boy whose proposal she rejected: Rafa. Problem is, both of them have moved on with other partners… or have they?
I liked the main plot of Vi wanting to save the restaurant and in the process finding out more about her grandmother, repairing family bonds, and discovering more about herself. But, frankly, I found that the addition of her grandmother’s *ghost* cheapened the story unnecessarily. So did the love triangle.
I understand that Vi and Rafa are ~star-crossed lovers~, but they were 18, and Vi is shown to be in a healthy relationship with someone who met her as an adult. Yet the moment she steps in Barranquilla, Rafa is all she can think about. I felt like the author didn’t want to paint Vi’s current partner as a bad guy, but then she also had to make him less appealing somehow, but did so in ways I just didn’t buy. For example, in one conversation, Liam is 100% behind Vi’s decision to save the restaurant, he believes she can do it… until somehow *she* voices the idea that he doesn’t think she can do it, and then it’s like “gotcha! I think you’re crazy and you won’t do it”. Or he sees the ghost and believes is a ghost, until Vi is like “ay he doesn’t believe in ghosts!” and then he doesn’t. Suddenly he “doesn’t understand her”… but Rafa does? The guy who doesn’t know her as an adult?
I just… this was an insane plot line done badly for me. It would have worked better if Vi and Rafa had reconnected as friends and then slowly realized that they also clicked as adults, but instead it felt like two people who’d never been able to move on and clung to a high school relationship. And it muddied Vi’s intentions of going back to Colombia.
I also took issue with this: most of the story is set in Colombia, a Spanish-speaking country, and features many characters who are presumably speaking in Spanish to each other, translated to English for the benefit of the book’s audience. Except… the dialogue is actually done in Spanglish, *heavily*. I love it when authors include some of their native language in their books, but this was a lot, it made no logical sense, and it didn’t have consistent rules for when to use Spanish and when to include a translation. Vi was bilingual; every other character she spoke to while in Colombia was not. I underlined so many examples of why this was done so poorly, so here are some:
“Ni sé. I don’t think I’m made para este calor anymore.” - The character is bilingual but talking to a native Spanish-speaker who isn’t bilingual, and they’re in Colombia.
”In Colombia, we took care of our muertos quickly.” - Muertos isn’t really a word that has reason to be in its native language.
”I could still hear Mami: Por qué couldn’t I stay for more than two weeks? Was I alérgica to Barranquilla?” - See examples 1 and 2 above.
”'Claro. Y quién más?' Who else? he said” - It repeats the sentence in English here and in a few other places even when it’s unnecessary, and not in other places where the translation might not be as clear.
I’m a native Spanish-speaker and this lack of logic was off-putting to me. I also thought it could have done with more edits, as parts of it felt repetitive, some *were* actual repeated facts that didn’t need to be, and there were issues with the timelines - at one point, Vi is 18 when Rafa is 21, but then it says they’re the same age; Vi’s mother remarried ten years ago, but Vi was 13 when she was actually 18.
Overall, I just couldn’t connect with the story or the characters because those things bugged me too much, and I considered DNF’ing several times - even though the main premise was interesting.
Palestine Speaks: Narratives of Life Under Occupation (Voice of Witness) by Cate Malek, Mateo Hoke
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
❌️ CEASEFIRE NOW ❌️
It's nothing short of surreal to be reading books about an ongoing genocide of +70 years that is currently more deadly than ever... and it continues to go largely unpunished; rather, continues to be financially backed by governments around the world. The act of reading about Palestine feels almost silly - why not just turn on the news?
But the battle !srael is waging is also cultural: that's how propaganda takes root. And a lot of us are digging it out; by reading and listening, we're taking up arms against beliefs that would have us justifying the massacre of an entire country.
This is a collection of sixteen stories compiled by Cate Malek and Mateo Hoke between 2011-2014 in Gaza and the West Bank. The stories offer a glimpse at the lives of people from diverse backgrounds: laborers, professionals, homemakers, activists, lawyers, among others.
All of them share the same fears and anxieties of life under occupation and constant threat, but also the same sense of pride and resistance, of community, of love for their land. In their stories, the violence is made flesh in the most basic, daily experiences a person can have. This is a good reminder that, yes, governments set the structures that make settler colonialism possible, but civilians are not innocent insofar as they uphold those structures for personal gain - and that’s also true for people in the West. This is a highly recommended read for me.
*Note: Two of the interviewees are Israeli, a decision that is explained by the editors in the intro. Personally, I was okay with this, as I didn't feel like it shifted the focus from Palestinian voices. One of them is an anti-occupation activist who shares the perspective of being raised in Israeli society and why things are as they are, something I thought was valuable. The other is a proud settler, but even then, reading that story among all the others only uplifted the truth of the Palestinian experience, imo.
⚠️ In solidarity with Palestine, versobooks is currently offering this and other books for free at their website.
It's nothing short of surreal to be reading books about an ongoing genocide of +70 years that is currently more deadly than ever... and it continues to go largely unpunished; rather, continues to be financially backed by governments around the world. The act of reading about Palestine feels almost silly - why not just turn on the news?
But the battle !srael is waging is also cultural: that's how propaganda takes root. And a lot of us are digging it out; by reading and listening, we're taking up arms against beliefs that would have us justifying the massacre of an entire country.
This is a collection of sixteen stories compiled by Cate Malek and Mateo Hoke between 2011-2014 in Gaza and the West Bank. The stories offer a glimpse at the lives of people from diverse backgrounds: laborers, professionals, homemakers, activists, lawyers, among others.
All of them share the same fears and anxieties of life under occupation and constant threat, but also the same sense of pride and resistance, of community, of love for their land. In their stories, the violence is made flesh in the most basic, daily experiences a person can have. This is a good reminder that, yes, governments set the structures that make settler colonialism possible, but civilians are not innocent insofar as they uphold those structures for personal gain - and that’s also true for people in the West. This is a highly recommended read for me.
*Note: Two of the interviewees are Israeli, a decision that is explained by the editors in the intro. Personally, I was okay with this, as I didn't feel like it shifted the focus from Palestinian voices. One of them is an anti-occupation activist who shares the perspective of being raised in Israeli society and why things are as they are, something I thought was valuable. The other is a proud settler, but even then, reading that story among all the others only uplifted the truth of the Palestinian experience, imo.
⚠️ In solidarity with Palestine, versobooks is currently offering this and other books for free at their website.
Brotherhood by Mike Chen
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
One thing about me is that I’m an Original Trilogy fan first and fore-all. I’m not a prequels hater (I am a sequels hater), I appreciate the place of that trilogy in the overall story, but I’m not particularly attached to any of the characters from that era (except for Bail & Breha!)
That’s where Brotherhood comes in. I’ve always meant to dig into more prequels stuff, but so far haven’t finished reading the novelizations, haven’t finished watching The Clone Wars, and did not like 2/3 of the Padmé trilogy. When I won a copy of Brotherhood last year, I thought it was a great chance to fill in some gaps!
📝 This story is set soon after AotC, as Anakin is made Jedi Knight and moves out of Obi-Wan’s shadow and mentorship. The plot revolves around Obi-Wan going alone to investigate a terrorist attack on Cato Neimodia to clear the Republic of any suspicion. But as things get more complicated, Anakin is the only one who can get him out of hot water, and they’ll have to learn how to work as equals rather than Master and Padawan.
💬 This was entertaining and well-written! I'll admit that, since these are not my blorbos, I didn’t nitpick it as much. But I enjoyed the characterization of Anakin and Obi-Wan and their changing dynamics. I also liked the way Chen dealt with Anakin/Padmé, subtly waving the red flags while also showing us how that relationship came to be even though it makes no sense. I’m not an Anidala shipper so I was mostly cringing and nodding at the red flags, but not because it was poorly done - like a certain other book. For example, we see Anakin and Padmé enjoying some time together, and it’s quite sweet, they both sound like themselves - but we also see how deeply it affects Anakin that he can’t be a normal married guy and that Padmé can’t divorce herself from her work. We see how they barely know each other and what they like, and we also see that Padmé is a bit of a thrill seeker and looks at things/people/situations to see how she might fix them, both of which add some logic to her whirlwind wedding.
I’m also not a fan of Anakin’s, but I thought he was written fairly, showcasing his positive attributes while also deftly hinting at the way he’ll let them consume him in the future. Although, I’ll say that by the end I was quite sick of the whole sun-dragon thing.
We also see some of Obi-Wan’s flaws in the ways he raised Anakin (jk he’s flawless 😉), and how both Anakin and Obi-Wan remember Qui-Gon and his teachings.
👁️🗨️ The story is split into four POVs: besides Obi-Wan and Anakin, we see Ruug, a Neimodian soldier who helps Obi-Wan, and Mill Alibeth, a young Zabrak initiate that teams up with Anakin. I really appreciated that the author kept to just these POVs and each was relevant to the story. Ruug was badass, but I particularly appreciated Mill - it was really interesting to explore what it must be like for someone who is particularly sensitive to suffering, and I enjoyed seeing the prelude to Anakin getting a Padawan.
Overall, I had a fun time reading this even if I’m not a prequels girlie! Obi-Wan was great, I really liked the original characters, the plot was fun even if it was predictable, and I liked the commentary on war, the role of the Jedi, the clones, and so on 🙌
That’s where Brotherhood comes in. I’ve always meant to dig into more prequels stuff, but so far haven’t finished reading the novelizations, haven’t finished watching The Clone Wars, and did not like 2/3 of the Padmé trilogy. When I won a copy of Brotherhood last year, I thought it was a great chance to fill in some gaps!
📝 This story is set soon after AotC, as Anakin is made Jedi Knight and moves out of Obi-Wan’s shadow and mentorship. The plot revolves around Obi-Wan going alone to investigate a terrorist attack on Cato Neimodia to clear the Republic of any suspicion. But as things get more complicated, Anakin is the only one who can get him out of hot water, and they’ll have to learn how to work as equals rather than Master and Padawan.
💬 This was entertaining and well-written! I'll admit that, since these are not my blorbos, I didn’t nitpick it as much. But I enjoyed the characterization of Anakin and Obi-Wan and their changing dynamics. I also liked the way Chen dealt with Anakin/Padmé, subtly waving the red flags while also showing us how that relationship came to be even though it makes no sense. I’m not an Anidala shipper so I was mostly cringing and nodding at the red flags, but not because it was poorly done - like a certain other book. For example, we see Anakin and Padmé enjoying some time together, and it’s quite sweet, they both sound like themselves - but we also see how deeply it affects Anakin that he can’t be a normal married guy and that Padmé can’t divorce herself from her work. We see how they barely know each other and what they like, and we also see that Padmé is a bit of a thrill seeker and looks at things/people/situations to see how she might fix them, both of which add some logic to her whirlwind wedding.
I’m also not a fan of Anakin’s, but I thought he was written fairly, showcasing his positive attributes while also deftly hinting at the way he’ll let them consume him in the future. Although, I’ll say that by the end I was quite sick of the whole sun-dragon thing.
We also see some of Obi-Wan’s flaws in the ways he raised Anakin (jk he’s flawless 😉), and how both Anakin and Obi-Wan remember Qui-Gon and his teachings.
👁️🗨️ The story is split into four POVs: besides Obi-Wan and Anakin, we see Ruug, a Neimodian soldier who helps Obi-Wan, and Mill Alibeth, a young Zabrak initiate that teams up with Anakin. I really appreciated that the author kept to just these POVs and each was relevant to the story. Ruug was badass, but I particularly appreciated Mill - it was really interesting to explore what it must be like for someone who is particularly sensitive to suffering, and I enjoyed seeing the prelude to Anakin getting a Padawan.
Overall, I had a fun time reading this even if I’m not a prequels girlie! Obi-Wan was great, I really liked the original characters, the plot was fun even if it was predictable, and I liked the commentary on war, the role of the Jedi, the clones, and so on 🙌
The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro
dark
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
3.5
Who in Latin America hasn’t heard of La Llorona? In Argentina, she’s often one of the ghouls invoked to scare children into taking a siesta. The basics of her story are echoed across countries, although it originates in pre-Hispanic mythology: in a bout of madness, a woman drowns her two children, then kills herself, and is cursed to wander as a ghost, forever crying as she looks for her children.
📝 Here, we follow Alejandra and her cursed lineage of “bad mothers”: women struggling with motherhood, fighting a darkness that takes the shape and voice of La Llorona, telling them they’re better off dead so she can prey off their suffering.
This was another book where the premise sounded great, but the execution didn’t fully deliver for me. I thought it was a good exploration of the pitfalls of motherhood and gender roles, of mental health, generational trauma, colonization, and the ways those things and the social stigma they carry play into our collective imagination when it comes to folk stories. We see Alejandra’s POV but also visit other women from her lineage, including the original Llorona, weaving Mexican myth with history.
💬 However, the book had too much exposition and felt repetitive and too heavy-handed in places. The dialogue didn’t always feel natural, and Alejandra’s husband was a man-child, but came off as cartoonish at points. I could see real life men and relationships reflected in this fictional couple, but it was hard to believe why Alejandra would fall in love with such a guy because we’re *told* her reasons, we’re not really shown (he’s always been a major asshole!)
The main horror element also had strong “It” vibes, which might have been easier to digest if it hadn’t had its own, at times a little ridiculous, POV and dialogue. I also thought the therapist character was highly unethical and it grated me 😬
Overall, I feel lukewarm about it; it was just ok 😕
📝 Here, we follow Alejandra and her cursed lineage of “bad mothers”: women struggling with motherhood, fighting a darkness that takes the shape and voice of La Llorona, telling them they’re better off dead so she can prey off their suffering.
This was another book where the premise sounded great, but the execution didn’t fully deliver for me. I thought it was a good exploration of the pitfalls of motherhood and gender roles, of mental health, generational trauma, colonization, and the ways those things and the social stigma they carry play into our collective imagination when it comes to folk stories. We see Alejandra’s POV but also visit other women from her lineage, including the original Llorona, weaving Mexican myth with history.
💬 However, the book had too much exposition and felt repetitive and too heavy-handed in places. The dialogue didn’t always feel natural, and Alejandra’s husband was a man-child, but came off as cartoonish at points. I could see real life men and relationships reflected in this fictional couple, but it was hard to believe why Alejandra would fall in love with such a guy because we’re *told* her reasons, we’re not really shown (he’s always been a major asshole!)
The main horror element also had strong “It” vibes, which might have been easier to digest if it hadn’t had its own, at times a little ridiculous, POV and dialogue. I also thought the therapist character was highly unethical and it grated me 😬
Overall, I feel lukewarm about it; it was just ok 😕
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A fun and creepy read!
I'd never seen the movie and only knew the general plot from pop culture references, so it still retained plenty of surprise for me. Then I watched the movie and immediately became zealous of the book against the changes in the adaptation lol.
I'd never seen the movie and only knew the general plot from pop culture references, so it still retained plenty of surprise for me. Then I watched the movie and immediately became zealous of the book against the changes in the adaptation lol.