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pushingdessy's reviews
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From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi by Mike Chen, Saladin Ahmed, Olivie Blake, Fran Wilde, Charlie Jane Anders, Mary Kenney
lighthearted
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
3.0
There’s no question that the “From a Certain Point of View” anthologies were an ambitious project. 40 stories to celebrate the 40th anniversary of each movie is a really cool, fun concept on paper!
In reality, though, you end up with a bit of a bantha-sized book with a potpourri of POVs that begin to blur together after a while. I love the power of short stories, but reading too many of them at once makes it hard for any one to sink in and stand out. This is especially true, at least for me, of those stories from the POV of original characters, or canon characters you care little about. I never thought I would care about Max Rebo’s backstory, and I can’t say that I do now.
So in that sense, the Return of the Jedi edition isn’t much different from the previous installments, but it does suffer in comparison, with stories and concepts that give you a sense of déjà vu.
For example, one of my least favourite stories was “My mouth never closes”, from the POV of the Sarlacc. It’s a slug that wandered through space before settling down on Tatooine, hoping to make friends, except people keep getting into its gullet, which the slug hates because it’s a vegetarian. It’s hard not to compare Charlie Jane Anders' story to that of Catherynne M. Valente in the ESB book, “This is no cave” - which is about a space slug who wandered through space before settling down on the asteroid, hoping to make friends, except people keep getting into its gullet, which the slug hates because it’s a vegetarian. It was funny the first time; now, I was hoping for something different. Sometimes it’s fine if monsters are still monsters.
In any case, if there’s something you won’t be lacking for here is variation. We see creatures from Jabba’s Palace, Imperial officers in the Death Star, rebels in Home One, Ewoks and Stormtroopers on Endor. As a writer, I can imagine this being a fun, exciting creative exercise… but, again, it does get repetitive after a while. How many stories about Ewoks do you really want to read? How many about rebel OCs hoping to make it out alive so they can get back to their sweethearts, and Imperial OCs fighting for power? If your answer is less than two, then this probably won’t be the book for you.
One thing I appreciated is the effort at connecting some of the stories with each other - that can’t have been easy to coordinate. And yet I can’t attribute that effort to anyone but the writers themselves, as once again I’m wondering where the hell were the editors in some of these stories. The most egregious example is Piett’s story, “To the last”, as Dana Schwartz seems to think that either Piett (played by an actor who was in his 40s at the time) was no older than 30 by RotJ, or that the Empire has been ruling for 40 years instead of 24. Maybe this is why you don’t hire writers based on current popularity alone OR you provide a solid editor with knowledge of the franchise you’re writing for.
To me, the most memorable and rich stories always tend to be the ones from the POV of known characters: “From a certain point of view” by Alex Jennings (Obi-Wan), “No contingency” by Fran Wilde (Mon Mothma), “The burden of leadership” by Danny Lore (Lando), “When fire marked the sky” by Emma Mieko Candon (Wedge) and “Then fall, Sidious” by Olivie Blake (Palpatine, particularly creepy) were some of my favourites in this category.
“The ballad of Nanta” by Sarah Kuhn, about the Ewok that dies on screen, was a well-taken low blow. In “The buy-in” by Suzanne Walker (Norra Wexley) and “The Chronicler” by Danielle Paige we see familiar characters, so I enjoyed both. The latter is a concept that, again, was already executed in the ESB iteration (a rebel tasked with historian duty), but it’s one I find compelling.
“Brotherhood” by Mike Chen was good, but I wish the chance to write Anakin’s POV had gone to someone other than the person who already wrote a book about Anakin and Obi-Wan called “Brotherhood” - and if I had a dollar every time the “sun dragon-heart” metaphor was mentioned, I’d probably be able to buy a physical copy of this book.
Out of the three books, the ESB version remains my favourite, and I admit my bias falls on the focus Han and Leia got in particular. I understand the books are not about them, and we did get some glimpses, but given the state of their relationship in RotJ, I was hoping for something similar here.
All in all, this is an interesting collection for sure, with the expected hits and misses and something for everyone to enjoy.
In reality, though, you end up with a bit of a bantha-sized book with a potpourri of POVs that begin to blur together after a while. I love the power of short stories, but reading too many of them at once makes it hard for any one to sink in and stand out. This is especially true, at least for me, of those stories from the POV of original characters, or canon characters you care little about. I never thought I would care about Max Rebo’s backstory, and I can’t say that I do now.
So in that sense, the Return of the Jedi edition isn’t much different from the previous installments, but it does suffer in comparison, with stories and concepts that give you a sense of déjà vu.
For example, one of my least favourite stories was “My mouth never closes”, from the POV of the Sarlacc. It’s a slug that wandered through space before settling down on Tatooine, hoping to make friends, except people keep getting into its gullet, which the slug hates because it’s a vegetarian. It’s hard not to compare Charlie Jane Anders' story to that of Catherynne M. Valente in the ESB book, “This is no cave” - which is about a space slug who wandered through space before settling down on the asteroid, hoping to make friends, except people keep getting into its gullet, which the slug hates because it’s a vegetarian. It was funny the first time; now, I was hoping for something different. Sometimes it’s fine if monsters are still monsters.
In any case, if there’s something you won’t be lacking for here is variation. We see creatures from Jabba’s Palace, Imperial officers in the Death Star, rebels in Home One, Ewoks and Stormtroopers on Endor. As a writer, I can imagine this being a fun, exciting creative exercise… but, again, it does get repetitive after a while. How many stories about Ewoks do you really want to read? How many about rebel OCs hoping to make it out alive so they can get back to their sweethearts, and Imperial OCs fighting for power? If your answer is less than two, then this probably won’t be the book for you.
One thing I appreciated is the effort at connecting some of the stories with each other - that can’t have been easy to coordinate. And yet I can’t attribute that effort to anyone but the writers themselves, as once again I’m wondering where the hell were the editors in some of these stories. The most egregious example is Piett’s story, “To the last”, as Dana Schwartz seems to think that either Piett (played by an actor who was in his 40s at the time) was no older than 30 by RotJ, or that the Empire has been ruling for 40 years instead of 24. Maybe this is why you don’t hire writers based on current popularity alone OR you provide a solid editor with knowledge of the franchise you’re writing for.
To me, the most memorable and rich stories always tend to be the ones from the POV of known characters: “From a certain point of view” by Alex Jennings (Obi-Wan), “No contingency” by Fran Wilde (Mon Mothma), “The burden of leadership” by Danny Lore (Lando), “When fire marked the sky” by Emma Mieko Candon (Wedge) and “Then fall, Sidious” by Olivie Blake (Palpatine, particularly creepy) were some of my favourites in this category.
“The ballad of Nanta” by Sarah Kuhn, about the Ewok that dies on screen, was a well-taken low blow. In “The buy-in” by Suzanne Walker (Norra Wexley) and “The Chronicler” by Danielle Paige we see familiar characters, so I enjoyed both. The latter is a concept that, again, was already executed in the ESB iteration (a rebel tasked with historian duty), but it’s one I find compelling.
“Brotherhood” by Mike Chen was good, but I wish the chance to write Anakin’s POV had gone to someone other than the person who already wrote a book about Anakin and Obi-Wan called “Brotherhood” - and if I had a dollar every time the “sun dragon-heart” metaphor was mentioned, I’d probably be able to buy a physical copy of this book.
Out of the three books, the ESB version remains my favourite, and I admit my bias falls on the focus Han and Leia got in particular. I understand the books are not about them, and we did get some glimpses, but given the state of their relationship in RotJ, I was hoping for something similar here.
All in all, this is an interesting collection for sure, with the expected hits and misses and something for everyone to enjoy.
Before the Awakening by Greg Rucka
lighthearted
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? No
3.75
For those who don’t know me, I’m a sequels hater. When I watched The Force Awakens, I’d only recently watched and become a fan of the rest of the saga so, while not *happy* about the fate of Luke, Leia and Han, I both knew what to expect and hadn’t yet formed strong opinions on the whole. I was willing to wait and hopefully be surprised by a consistent story that provided satisfactory explanations about the choices they’d made, even if I didn’t like those choices…
That didn’t happen.
One thing I did like about TFA was the new trio: Rey, Finn and Poe. I thought, even if the story didn’t go well for the old characters I loved, at least they would pass the torch to a new generation of diverse, compelling heroes - a strong female lead, a Black Jedi, a Latino pilot, all of them breaking stereotypes, having more than a few lines and defying expectations…
That didn’t happen either.
But the seeds were there, and this little YA novel is proof of that. It’s comprised of three short stories, each focusing on one of the characters some time before TFA.
We follow Rey as she makes a big discovery in the Jakku desert, a story that highlights her cunning and her mechanic prowess. Then, we see Finn on the path of becoming a great Stormtrooper, until his compassion gets him in trouble. Finally, Poe defies New Republic orders to follow a hunch, and ends up being recruited into the Resistance. All of these stories hint at what we later see in the movie, what makes these characters tick.
It’s not a super deep read, and parts of it were later retconned by the following movies (for the worse, I may add), but it’s a quick and fun book if you’re at all interested in the backstories of the beating heart of the sequel trilogy. And it’s illustrated by Phil Noto, whose art makes me swoon.
That didn’t happen.
One thing I did like about TFA was the new trio: Rey, Finn and Poe. I thought, even if the story didn’t go well for the old characters I loved, at least they would pass the torch to a new generation of diverse, compelling heroes - a strong female lead, a Black Jedi, a Latino pilot, all of them breaking stereotypes, having more than a few lines and defying expectations…
That didn’t happen either.
But the seeds were there, and this little YA novel is proof of that. It’s comprised of three short stories, each focusing on one of the characters some time before TFA.
We follow Rey as she makes a big discovery in the Jakku desert, a story that highlights her cunning and her mechanic prowess. Then, we see Finn on the path of becoming a great Stormtrooper, until his compassion gets him in trouble. Finally, Poe defies New Republic orders to follow a hunch, and ends up being recruited into the Resistance. All of these stories hint at what we later see in the movie, what makes these characters tick.
It’s not a super deep read, and parts of it were later retconned by the following movies (for the worse, I may add), but it’s a quick and fun book if you’re at all interested in the backstories of the beating heart of the sequel trilogy. And it’s illustrated by Phil Noto, whose art makes me swoon.
Blaming the Victims: Spurious Scholarship and the Palestinian Question by Edward W. Said, Christopher Hitchens
challenging
informative
sad
slow-paced
3.5
❌️ CEASEFIRE NOW ❌️
To further educate myself on Israel’s genocidal war on Palestine, I’m still going through some of the books I downloaded for free through the Verso Books website.
This is a collection of essays and editorials set out to disprove some of the lies fabricated through academic research and supported in the USA to uphold the myths of Israel, and it's split into four parts.
“Part one: The Peters affair” is devoted to contesting Joan Peters' book “From time immemorial”, which maintained that there isn’t such thing as a Palestinian or Palestinian history (!!).
“Part two: Myths old and new” presents findings on alleged broadcasts from Palestinian leaders that urged the people to leave, as well as how the notion of terrorism operates in the USAmerican ideological system and how it’s been weaponised against the Middle East.
“Part three: The ‘Liberal’ Alternative” is a review of Michael Walzer’s “Exodus and Revolution: A Canaanite reading”.
“Part four: Scholarship ancient and modern” offers a profile of Palestinian history and politics, including the role of peasant resistance, and the Zionist negation of the Palestinian Question.
While unquestionably valuable, this wasn’t an easy book to get through. Largely, it’s a conversation with other texts, and so it’s dense with references, facts and figures to challenge long-held lies. While I did learn some new information, this is more of a specialized book aimed at scholars than an intro to the subject - I would recommend “Ten myths about Israel” or “The punishment of Gaza” instead.
To further educate myself on Israel’s genocidal war on Palestine, I’m still going through some of the books I downloaded for free through the Verso Books website.
This is a collection of essays and editorials set out to disprove some of the lies fabricated through academic research and supported in the USA to uphold the myths of Israel, and it's split into four parts.
“Part one: The Peters affair” is devoted to contesting Joan Peters' book “From time immemorial”, which maintained that there isn’t such thing as a Palestinian or Palestinian history (!!).
“Part two: Myths old and new” presents findings on alleged broadcasts from Palestinian leaders that urged the people to leave, as well as how the notion of terrorism operates in the USAmerican ideological system and how it’s been weaponised against the Middle East.
“Part three: The ‘Liberal’ Alternative” is a review of Michael Walzer’s “Exodus and Revolution: A Canaanite reading”.
“Part four: Scholarship ancient and modern” offers a profile of Palestinian history and politics, including the role of peasant resistance, and the Zionist negation of the Palestinian Question.
While unquestionably valuable, this wasn’t an easy book to get through. Largely, it’s a conversation with other texts, and so it’s dense with references, facts and figures to challenge long-held lies. While I did learn some new information, this is more of a specialized book aimed at scholars than an intro to the subject - I would recommend “Ten myths about Israel” or “The punishment of Gaza” instead.
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
Did not finish book. Stopped at 52%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 52%.
If you throw a pot of honey at the wall, it might look artsy, but it's not going to make me fall in love.
That's how this book felt. A bunch of honeyed letters that were supposed to make me swoon over this enemies-to-lovers story, except none of it made any sense. These are time-travelling... robots? beings? Transformers? who are fighting a war over... who gets to change history...? for the purposes of... ??? They hate each other and are designed to kill each other because... I don't know? They begin to exchange letters because... reasons? and the letters are not your ol' ink and paper but... bird entrails? carvings on a rabbit's molar? sketches on a blade of grass?
Everything was unnecessarily confusing and underexplained. I could not find any substance under the flowery language wrapping. I could not give a single fuck for the characters or their love story. This is a sapphic love story and they're supposed to be women. But are they? There's no reason why they should have any gender at all. They come from completely different backgrounds yet talk the same, act the same, are able to transmute the same. They call each other increasingly pretentious names related to their designations (Red and Blue).
After seeing this book praised everywhere as this great sapphic love story, I wanted to at least finish hate-reading it, but I just couldn't bring myself to it. In just half of it there was plenty enough to read; not even skimming the text did it seem to go any faster. I only skipped to the last chapter out of curiosity, but nothing could have saved this book from the pit of hollow grandiloquence it dug itself into. Sorry if it makes you think I'm not intellectual enough, but this just ain't it for me.
That's how this book felt. A bunch of honeyed letters that were supposed to make me swoon over this enemies-to-lovers story, except none of it made any sense. These are time-travelling... robots? beings? Transformers? who are fighting a war over... who gets to change history...? for the purposes of... ??? They hate each other and are designed to kill each other because... I don't know? They begin to exchange letters because... reasons? and the letters are not your ol' ink and paper but... bird entrails? carvings on a rabbit's molar? sketches on a blade of grass?
Everything was unnecessarily confusing and underexplained. I could not find any substance under the flowery language wrapping. I could not give a single fuck for the characters or their love story. This is a sapphic love story and they're supposed to be women. But are they? There's no reason why they should have any gender at all. They come from completely different backgrounds yet talk the same, act the same, are able to transmute the same. They call each other increasingly pretentious names related to their designations (Red and Blue).
After seeing this book praised everywhere as this great sapphic love story, I wanted to at least finish hate-reading it, but I just couldn't bring myself to it. In just half of it there was plenty enough to read; not even skimming the text did it seem to go any faster. I only skipped to the last chapter out of curiosity, but nothing could have saved this book from the pit of hollow grandiloquence it dug itself into. Sorry if it makes you think I'm not intellectual enough, but this just ain't it for me.
Full Speed to a Crash Landing by Beth Revis
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
*I received this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
Ada Lamarr: scavenger, having recently claimed looter’s rights on a wreckage she wasn’t supposed to know about, finds herself in dire straits after her half-blown up ship left her stranded and almost out of oxygen in space.
Rian White: head of the intergalactic government salvage crew on a super secret mission to retrieve something from the inhabitable planet below… and Ada might be the only one who can help the mission succeed. But what is she hiding? And what is Rian not saying about the mission?
This was such a fun space heist! Ada is a spunky, smart, mysterious protagonist that won’t stop at anything to get what she wants, including flirting to death with Rian, who is competent and collected and matches her wit. The mission is high-stakes and you can feel the tension of everything pending on it. And it kept me guessing to the last page!
The descriptions are so well done, you can picture everything perfectly, and the worldbuilding deals with interesting (if depressing) themes of environmental catastrophe, eco grief and space colonization.
I admit I was confused at the descriptor of a ‘sexy’ heist, lol. Don’t let that sway you either way: it’s a heist, our protagonists flirt, there’s some UST, but nobody is pole dancing!
There were a couple of nods to Star Wars that made me smile (no bras in space is bullshit!!).
This is the first novella from a planned trilogy, so we have more questions than answers by the end... but now I'm really looking forward to the rest! If you enjoy a space romp that feels like a comic book, with familiar sci-fi elements, you might want to check it out.
Ada Lamarr: scavenger, having recently claimed looter’s rights on a wreckage she wasn’t supposed to know about, finds herself in dire straits after her half-blown up ship left her stranded and almost out of oxygen in space.
Rian White: head of the intergalactic government salvage crew on a super secret mission to retrieve something from the inhabitable planet below… and Ada might be the only one who can help the mission succeed. But what is she hiding? And what is Rian not saying about the mission?
This was such a fun space heist! Ada is a spunky, smart, mysterious protagonist that won’t stop at anything to get what she wants, including flirting to death with Rian, who is competent and collected and matches her wit. The mission is high-stakes and you can feel the tension of everything pending on it. And it kept me guessing to the last page!
The descriptions are so well done, you can picture everything perfectly, and the worldbuilding deals with interesting (if depressing) themes of environmental catastrophe, eco grief and space colonization.
I admit I was confused at the descriptor of a ‘sexy’ heist, lol. Don’t let that sway you either way: it’s a heist, our protagonists flirt, there’s some UST, but nobody is pole dancing!
There were a couple of nods to Star Wars that made me smile (no bras in space is bullshit!!).
This is the first novella from a planned trilogy, so we have more questions than answers by the end... but now I'm really looking forward to the rest! If you enjoy a space romp that feels like a comic book, with familiar sci-fi elements, you might want to check it out.
Most Hated by Kara Alloway
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I received this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Let me preface this by saying that I don’t watch reality TV, I don’t enjoy it, I don’t find it worth my time (unless it’s like, cooking competitions). I picked this book precisely because of that, as I thought it would be an interesting exploration of the genre (which was implied in the blurb). Especially after I found out the author was a former reality TV participant.
Unfortunately, instead of the literary fiction I expected, I just found it to be rather shallow “chick lit”, a term I don’t even like using.
Six women join a “docu-soap” showcasing the lifestyle of the rich and glam. For Dahlia and Sabrina, as well as producer Zoe, this is also a chance at reinvention. These are the three POVs into which the book is split, though only one of them is in the first person. This seems like a random choice, but considering the frustrating misuse or lack of commas as well as sentences that didn’t make much sense to me, I’m once again pointing at editors.
The women get to know each other, their interactions and social events are scripted, and Zoe plays some really ugly tricks to amp up the drama, which include instigating catty fights and straight up roofing their drinks.
While the story deals with misogyny, in particular the treatment of women in the public eye and the media, and internalized sexism that makes women see each other as competition, it did so in the most obvious, cartoonish ways possible. The character of Zoe, for example, is described as “ugly”, someone who isn’t particularly smart, unsociable… even her parents don’t like her! At first she’s positioned as someone who couldn’t care less about all this because she’s so emotionally detached, but then it becomes clear she’s jealous of the other women; her journey ends up being about wanting to be picked by a man. And of course, she’s the bad guy.
This tendency of pointing out how ugly/ridiculous/loser a woman was also happened to apply only to the other characters who were bitches to the end, except for Regan, who was a cool girl as lifted exactly from the Gone Girl monologue, and Lexi, who was mocked for her appearance only at first, until she turned out to be just a harmless gold-digger..
This wasn’t a terrible read per se; it was very light-hearted and might be fun for people who love the drama of reality TV. Just don’t expect any particularly profound thoughts on womanhood, feminism or the televisation of modern life. There was a also a missed opportunity of talking about racism, as all the participants are presumably white. For me, the way Zoe was written was a deal breaker; it just came off as a cry of “ugly, poor women are so jealous of me!!”
Let me preface this by saying that I don’t watch reality TV, I don’t enjoy it, I don’t find it worth my time (unless it’s like, cooking competitions). I picked this book precisely because of that, as I thought it would be an interesting exploration of the genre (which was implied in the blurb). Especially after I found out the author was a former reality TV participant.
Unfortunately, instead of the literary fiction I expected, I just found it to be rather shallow “chick lit”, a term I don’t even like using.
Six women join a “docu-soap” showcasing the lifestyle of the rich and glam. For Dahlia and Sabrina, as well as producer Zoe, this is also a chance at reinvention. These are the three POVs into which the book is split, though only one of them is in the first person. This seems like a random choice, but considering the frustrating misuse or lack of commas as well as sentences that didn’t make much sense to me, I’m once again pointing at editors.
The women get to know each other, their interactions and social events are scripted, and Zoe plays some really ugly tricks to amp up the drama, which include instigating catty fights and straight up roofing their drinks.
While the story deals with misogyny, in particular the treatment of women in the public eye and the media, and internalized sexism that makes women see each other as competition, it did so in the most obvious, cartoonish ways possible. The character of Zoe, for example, is described as “ugly”, someone who isn’t particularly smart, unsociable… even her parents don’t like her! At first she’s positioned as someone who couldn’t care less about all this because she’s so emotionally detached, but then it becomes clear she’s jealous of the other women; her journey ends up being about wanting to be picked by a man. And of course, she’s the bad guy.
This tendency of pointing out how ugly/ridiculous/loser a woman was also happened to apply only to the other characters who were bitches to the end, except for Regan, who was a cool girl as lifted exactly from the Gone Girl monologue, and Lexi, who was mocked for her appearance only at first, until she turned out to be just a harmless gold-digger..
This wasn’t a terrible read per se; it was very light-hearted and might be fun for people who love the drama of reality TV. Just don’t expect any particularly profound thoughts on womanhood, feminism or the televisation of modern life. There was a also a missed opportunity of talking about racism, as all the participants are presumably white. For me, the way Zoe was written was a deal breaker; it just came off as a cry of “ugly, poor women are so jealous of me!!”
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.