This book has a lot of thought-provoking points on community, based on the author’s own experiences as well as interviews with people in her sphere across the United States. There’s also a good amount of time spent on privilege and folks coming from different backgrounds in life, so it feels like a well-balanced approach.

I especially liked Birdsong’s discussion of friendships, how societal norms tend to lead people to isolate with our romantic partner but intentionally prioritizing friendships is an important step in building this community around you, and these friendships are should be just as worthy and valued as romantic relationships.

The book lends more towards a memoir at times and there were moments that felt very personal in a way that was alienating, to myself and I imagine other folks interested in building community. In one section, the author writes about a desire to have more intimate dinners with friends, a way for folks to drop in relatively unannounced so they can spend more casual time together. To do this, she emails 20 of her closest friends. Imagining twenty close friends who also happen to live in the same area so they can drop in for dinner is mind-boggling, so at times it felt like the author skipped over the initial step in building community for those who don’t already have a surrounding of dozens to hundreds of people in their lives. Still an interesting read and many points I’ll be thinking over in the future.

Content Warnings

This Is How You Start to Disappear by Astrid Blodgett

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dark sad tense slow-paced

3.25

So I’ve got to say, I have a slight grudge against this book and the publisher for not offering any content warnings. The blurb mentions an injured dog being put down but not that the very first story, on the first page of the book, in the first sentence, begins with detail of a dog’s death. It’s hard to come back from that and want to finish the rest of the stories.

While the opener wasn’t a favourite, I did enjoy some of the stories but it was a pretty tepid short story collection for me. I enjoyed a lot more of the stories nearer the end of the collection. Heads up that the mention of trauma in the blurb is a continuing theme throughout, there is a lot of delving into death and sexual assault. Thanks to ZG Stories for a copy to review.

Content Warnings

When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson

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hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

A lovely book and beautifully illustrated, simple messages that carry a strong punch

Content Warnings

The Book of Living Secrets by Madeleine Roux

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dark hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Thanks to Frenzy Books for an ARC to review!

I am not often a reader of horror and this one gets very, very close to the uncomfortable. This book had been sitting on my shelves for some time before I finally worked up the nerve to read it. It follows two high school girls, Adelle and Connie, who are obsessed with their favourite book and when a strange man who runs the local magic shop offers to cast a spell that will transport them inside that very book, they tentatively accept. Only the characters and this beloved setting have had strange developments when left to their own devices.

Content warnings for death, grief, gore, blood, excrement, panic attacks. There are some extremely disturbing scenes that I mostly tried not to think too much about. If you enjoy creepy stories, this is sure to be up your alley.

Content Warnings

Junie by Chelene Knight

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hopeful sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Thanks to ZG Stories for an ARC to review!

It’s as much a story about the history of Hogan's Alley as it is about family, particularly the mother-daughter relationships the blurb mentions, girlhood, and some beautiful explorations of art. It’s a deceptively quick read as the chapters are short and sweet (sometimes only three pages), each ending with a short snapshot that shifts into first person, offering us a more intimate view of the different characters’ inner feelings.

While I found the prose beautiful and the story heartfelt, I just wanted more! More delving into these characters and their individual stories and much more than the brief paragraphs we go exploring their wants and desires and needs. Still a beautiful book and I’ll certainly seek out more from this author.

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spinesinaline's reviews 789 reviews

spinesinaline's reviews
789 reviews