rebeccazh's reviews
2889 reviews

The Little Selkie by K.M. Shea

adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

A prescient book, given that it was published in 2012.

Spells of Iron & Bone by Sarah Piper

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

Daindreth's Assassin by Elisabeth Wheatley

adventurous emotional fast-paced

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

3.75

Tales from the Inner City by Shaun Tan

mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

Dreamy and surreal, like our world but a little askew.

Burning Embers by Katie May

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko

challenging emotional medium-paced

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

3.75

Tears of the Wolf by Elisabeth Wheatley

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

My first time reading horror, and my first time reading trans horror. Heed the trigger warnings because this book does not fuck around. 

Trans horror exposes the rottenness at the core of our culture and society, ie. the cruelties of cishetero patriarchy and power: the obsession and control over the Other's bodies and futures; the ways in which different women (or minorities) respond to cruelty and oppression by giving in or by fighting and having their spirit broken; the trauma and internalized transphobia, exemplified by the rabbit; the allyship between those who are fighting... And so many other things.

And the terrifying part about this book is that it is not even that hard to imagine - it's only the current world but stretched to an Nth degree.

I read this very slowly because the horror was too real but Andrew Joseph White is a very talented writer.