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swordspoint's reviews
7 reviews
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
TL;DR: Great diverse YA fantasy dealing with a lot of topics with a lot of magic. Fun relationships, scenes, and characters, and a good ending as long as you're willing to stick with it through a slow rising action.
Content Warnings: This book deals with a lot, but in a progressive way. Transphobia and misgendering are on the page. Some bloody scenes or mild gore towards the end. Yadriel seems to have anxiety or similar symptoms, which shows up on page as well. Depictions of grief/losing a parent. Some swearing. Y'know.
Recommended For: Those whose favorite character in the Raven Cycle was Ronan, those who like well written diverse YA, those who want more Central/Southern American representation on the page, folks who would watch an aged-up and darker version of Coco, people looking for a YA where the teenagers have diverse personalities as well as looks and actually act like teenagers, those who like spooky magic. If you liked the Raven Cycle you'll probably enjoy this one.
Favorite Moment: Julian generally causing problems as a ghost, including but not limited to: throwing skateboards, tormenting Yadriel's teachers, sticking his head through doors and sarcophagi, listening to Yadriel's "shitty music", yelling very loudly and making any brujx in a five mile radius jump, and petting cats.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.5
TL;DR, content breakdown, and recommendations at the bottom!
Yeah, this one's good. If you're here and it sounds interesting, go read it. It's a quick read. Or read the actual review. Either way.
Cemetery Boys is a YA novel following Yadriel, a brujo-in-training. Since he's trans, his traditional family has difficulty accepting his magic and won't let him undertake the rites to become a full brujo - so he takes matters into his own hands and summons a spirit to prove once and for all that he is a brujo. However, difficulties come around when he can't release the spirit, a boy from his high school named Julian, into the afterlife, and when the brujx community has a member suddenly, mysteriously die.
The characters here are both diverse and fun to read. Yadriel, Julian, and Yadriel's bruja friend Maritza are a great main cast, and Aiden Thomas does a great job writing teenagers in all their chaos. This also makes the book feel very YA (including a bit of insta-love-y romance), so if YA is not your preferred genre be prepared for that. That said, the relationships - whether platonic, familial, or romantic - included have a lot of growth and are fun to read about, with a lot of humorous moments (I particularly loved Julian. He's a good ghost lad.) Even being YA, there are a lot of themes and challenges tackled very effectively throughout the book - it's not shallow whatsoever. (And I appreciated the teenage main characters actually still caring about school even as they're trying to solve a mystery. Why do so many YA novels forget that the characters still have school?!)
The setting is also deep and well-built. The brujx community felt well-rounded on the page, with plenty of inclusion for varieties of cultures not often represented in YA, and the titular cemetery populated with ghosts is gorgeously described. In general, the writing here is either strong - great description! especially of places and characters - or invisible.
My single complaint was a pacing issue - the actual main plotline/twist, although slightly foreshadowed, didn't come together at ALL until the last 20% of the book. I kept reading because I loved the characters and ideas, but it felt very slow and then wrapped up a little too quick at the end. Be prepared to stick with it through a slow beginning - it's worth it.
Yeah, this one's good. If you're here and it sounds interesting, go read it. It's a quick read. Or read the actual review. Either way.
Cemetery Boys is a YA novel following Yadriel, a brujo-in-training. Since he's trans, his traditional family has difficulty accepting his magic and won't let him undertake the rites to become a full brujo - so he takes matters into his own hands and summons a spirit to prove once and for all that he is a brujo. However, difficulties come around when he can't release the spirit, a boy from his high school named Julian, into the afterlife, and when the brujx community has a member suddenly, mysteriously die.
The characters here are both diverse and fun to read. Yadriel, Julian, and Yadriel's bruja friend Maritza are a great main cast, and Aiden Thomas does a great job writing teenagers in all their chaos. This also makes the book feel very YA (including a bit of insta-love-y romance), so if YA is not your preferred genre be prepared for that. That said, the relationships - whether platonic, familial, or romantic - included have a lot of growth and are fun to read about, with a lot of humorous moments (I particularly loved Julian. He's a good ghost lad.) Even being YA, there are a lot of themes and challenges tackled very effectively throughout the book - it's not shallow whatsoever. (And I appreciated the teenage main characters actually still caring about school even as they're trying to solve a mystery. Why do so many YA novels forget that the characters still have school?!)
The setting is also deep and well-built. The brujx community felt well-rounded on the page, with plenty of inclusion for varieties of cultures not often represented in YA, and the titular cemetery populated with ghosts is gorgeously described. In general, the writing here is either strong - great description! especially of places and characters - or invisible.
My single complaint was a pacing issue - the actual main plotline/twist, although slightly foreshadowed, didn't come together at ALL until the last 20% of the book. I kept reading because I loved the characters and ideas, but it felt very slow and then wrapped up a little too quick at the end. Be prepared to stick with it through a slow beginning - it's worth it.
TL;DR: Great diverse YA fantasy dealing with a lot of topics with a lot of magic. Fun relationships, scenes, and characters, and a good ending as long as you're willing to stick with it through a slow rising action.
Content Warnings: This book deals with a lot, but in a progressive way. Transphobia and misgendering are on the page. Some bloody scenes or mild gore towards the end. Yadriel seems to have anxiety or similar symptoms, which shows up on page as well. Depictions of grief/losing a parent. Some swearing. Y'know.
Recommended For: Those whose favorite character in the Raven Cycle was Ronan, those who like well written diverse YA, those who want more Central/Southern American representation on the page, folks who would watch an aged-up and darker version of Coco, people looking for a YA where the teenagers have diverse personalities as well as looks and actually act like teenagers, those who like spooky magic. If you liked the Raven Cycle you'll probably enjoy this one.
Favorite Moment: Julian generally causing problems as a ghost, including but not limited to: throwing skateboards, tormenting Yadriel's teachers, sticking his head through doors and sarcophagi, listening to Yadriel's "shitty music", yelling very loudly and making any brujx in a five mile radius jump, and petting cats.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Dysphoria, Death of parent, Transphobia, Gore, and Grief
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan
challenging
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
TL;DR, content breakdown, and recommendations at the bottom!
It's been a while since I've written a review and even longer since I have written a review out of pure dislike, but I really wasn't a fan of this book. It may just have not been for me (I'm new to Egan's work and not typically a reader of literary speculative fiction) but if not for it being required reading for a class I would not have finished it - too bad, because the world Egan has created sounds fascinating. A near future where people can choose to essentially upload their consciousness to the Internet and view other people's consciousnesses, too?
Unfortunately, on the page, it's very underdeveloped besides a few infodumps that break any immersion in the story and only serve to explain the technology on a surface level. I left the book feeling like I didn't understand anything more about Egan's world than I did after reading the book jacket.
Each chapter/section is from a different character's point of view or focusing on a different character, all of whom are related to each other (by blood or by relationship) in some way. There's some interesting stuff here - a lot of work went into making sure these characters had distinct voices, flaws, and ways of thinking, but the constant switches led to it feeling like there was little actual movement in their stories. With so many different characters to address, each one got somewhere between 10-30 pages devoted to them - not a lot of time to develop a character's arc. A lot of them ended up feeling static or difficult to care about, as they were essentially narrating their own stories retroactively to the reader.
The plot is similarly hindered - this book feels more like a thought experiment exploring how a new form of social media could affect the lives of different people than one linear story. There are some interesting connecting elements, though, but some of them tend to be difficult to catch unless you memorize the name and description of every single character.
On top of that (and this may have been the nail in the coffin for my reading) there's some truly questionable queer/neurodivergent representation here, as well as a weird focus on sex. A nonbinary person is referred to as "a nonbinary", pretty much all gay/trans side or one-off characters are presented as "bad" in some way (doing drugs or being a sexually predatory professor), and the POV characters who feel as if they are written to be neurodivergent (note that this is my own interpretation and may not be what Egan intended) feel as if there was no research done whatsoever on the actual thought processes of neurodivergent people.
Most of the male characters have a strange focus on lust, sex, or being good sexual partners, and most of the women only really appear when fully involved with a man in some way. One of the jacket reviews called one of her books "old-fashioned" and, well... it shows.
Additionally - please don't put Dungeons & Dragons in your novel if you're going to spell it out as "D and D" repeatedly. Good God.
This would have been a one-star if not for Egan genuinely having some interesting ideas about social media and the next step it may be taking (at what point does your life become inextricable from your social media presence, can we even disconnect, can the human experience be quantified, what is authenticity, anyways). Also .25 stars back for having D&D and diversity in literary fiction even if it's questionably represented.
TL;DR: Experimental speculative literary fiction which is heavier on the literary. Somehow too long and too short at the same time, but had interesting moments and a unique way of tying characters together. Super interesting near future world idea that is disappointingly underdeveloped on the page (besides a few questionably integrated infodumps.) Also, 50 pages of an email chain (which was actually one of my favorite sections.)
Content Warnings: Discussion/on-page depictions of suicide attempts, drug use, alcoholism. Plenty of family traumas, bullying, and allusions to sex. Questionable depictions of trans/nonbinary/gay characters, even more questionable depictions of neurodivergence.
Recommended For: Those who don't mind shallowly built worlds or are happy with interesting concepts; folks interested in thinking about how social media has changed our lives and psyches; people who want a hardcover that is the color of Pepto Bismol under the jacket.
Favorite Moment: Lincoln's list of personal negative traits, which happened to include "online warlordry." Best possible way to describe Clash of Clans or Runescape.
It's been a while since I've written a review and even longer since I have written a review out of pure dislike, but I really wasn't a fan of this book. It may just have not been for me (I'm new to Egan's work and not typically a reader of literary speculative fiction) but if not for it being required reading for a class I would not have finished it - too bad, because the world Egan has created sounds fascinating. A near future where people can choose to essentially upload their consciousness to the Internet and view other people's consciousnesses, too?
Unfortunately, on the page, it's very underdeveloped besides a few infodumps that break any immersion in the story and only serve to explain the technology on a surface level. I left the book feeling like I didn't understand anything more about Egan's world than I did after reading the book jacket.
Each chapter/section is from a different character's point of view or focusing on a different character, all of whom are related to each other (by blood or by relationship) in some way. There's some interesting stuff here - a lot of work went into making sure these characters had distinct voices, flaws, and ways of thinking, but the constant switches led to it feeling like there was little actual movement in their stories. With so many different characters to address, each one got somewhere between 10-30 pages devoted to them - not a lot of time to develop a character's arc. A lot of them ended up feeling static or difficult to care about, as they were essentially narrating their own stories retroactively to the reader.
The plot is similarly hindered - this book feels more like a thought experiment exploring how a new form of social media could affect the lives of different people than one linear story. There are some interesting connecting elements, though, but some of them tend to be difficult to catch unless you memorize the name and description of every single character.
On top of that (and this may have been the nail in the coffin for my reading) there's some truly questionable queer/neurodivergent representation here, as well as a weird focus on sex. A nonbinary person is referred to as "a nonbinary", pretty much all gay/trans side or one-off characters are presented as "bad" in some way (doing drugs or being a sexually predatory professor), and the POV characters who feel as if they are written to be neurodivergent (note that this is my own interpretation and may not be what Egan intended) feel as if there was no research done whatsoever on the actual thought processes of neurodivergent people.
Most of the male characters have a strange focus on lust, sex, or being good sexual partners, and most of the women only really appear when fully involved with a man in some way. One of the jacket reviews called one of her books "old-fashioned" and, well... it shows.
Additionally - please don't put Dungeons & Dragons in your novel if you're going to spell it out as "D and D" repeatedly. Good God.
This would have been a one-star if not for Egan genuinely having some interesting ideas about social media and the next step it may be taking (at what point does your life become inextricable from your social media presence, can we even disconnect, can the human experience be quantified, what is authenticity, anyways). Also .25 stars back for having D&D and diversity in literary fiction even if it's questionably represented.
TL;DR: Experimental speculative literary fiction which is heavier on the literary. Somehow too long and too short at the same time, but had interesting moments and a unique way of tying characters together. Super interesting near future world idea that is disappointingly underdeveloped on the page (besides a few questionably integrated infodumps.) Also, 50 pages of an email chain (which was actually one of my favorite sections.)
Content Warnings: Discussion/on-page depictions of suicide attempts, drug use, alcoholism. Plenty of family traumas, bullying, and allusions to sex. Questionable depictions of trans/nonbinary/gay characters, even more questionable depictions of neurodivergence.
Recommended For: Those who don't mind shallowly built worlds or are happy with interesting concepts; folks interested in thinking about how social media has changed our lives and psyches; people who want a hardcover that is the color of Pepto Bismol under the jacket.
Favorite Moment: Lincoln's list of personal negative traits, which happened to include "online warlordry." Best possible way to describe Clash of Clans or Runescape.
Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
TL;DR, content breakdown, and recommendations at the bottom!
It's difficult to review Arcanum Unbounded like a normal novel, since it's really an omnibus of novellas about Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere universe. It's also difficult to review without spoiling any of the books, but suffice it to say that if you like Brandon's other books and want more of his stories with bonus Cosmere lore... this one has you covered.
I wish I could pick a favorite, but as with all of Brandon's writings each one has their own amazing pieces. Just read it, that's all I can say.
Individual ratings for each story:
The Hope of Elantris- 3 stars
The Emperor's Soul- 5 stars
The Eleventh Metal- 3 stars
Allomancer Jak and and the Pits of Eltania- 4 stars (would be 3 without the footnotes)
Mistborn: A Secret History- 4.5 stars
Shadows of Silence in the Forests of Hell- 3.5 stars
Sixth of the Dusk- 4 stars
Edgedancer- 4 stars
White Sand excerpts- 3.5 stars
Some spoilered theorizing for any fellow Cosmere folks: Does anyone else think that the Ones Above from Sixth of the Dusk are from third era Scadrial?
TL;DR: Arcanum Unbounded is a great omnibus of Cosmere content. There are spoiler warnings before the sections that could ruin books for you, but I'd suggest reading through most of the Cosmere before taking this on.
Content Breakdown: Some violence, death, mental disorders, disturbing death/paranormal scenes (particularly Sixth of the Dusk and Shadows for Silence) but nothing more than what's normal for other Cosmere books.
Recommendations: If you're a fan of the Cosmere and all of its lore, or just looking for more of Brandon's fantastic storytelling.
It's difficult to review Arcanum Unbounded like a normal novel, since it's really an omnibus of novellas about Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere universe. It's also difficult to review without spoiling any of the books, but suffice it to say that if you like Brandon's other books and want more of his stories with bonus Cosmere lore... this one has you covered.
I wish I could pick a favorite, but as with all of Brandon's writings each one has their own amazing pieces. Just read it, that's all I can say.
Individual ratings for each story:
The Hope of Elantris- 3 stars
The Emperor's Soul- 5 stars
The Eleventh Metal- 3 stars
Allomancer Jak and and the Pits of Eltania- 4 stars (would be 3 without the footnotes)
Mistborn: A Secret History- 4.5 stars
Shadows of Silence in the Forests of Hell- 3.5 stars
Sixth of the Dusk- 4 stars
Edgedancer- 4 stars
White Sand excerpts- 3.5 stars
Some spoilered theorizing for any fellow Cosmere folks:
TL;DR: Arcanum Unbounded is a great omnibus of Cosmere content. There are spoiler warnings before the sections that could ruin books for you, but I'd suggest reading through most of the Cosmere before taking this on.
Content Breakdown: Some violence, death, mental disorders, disturbing death/paranormal scenes (particularly Sixth of the Dusk and Shadows for Silence) but nothing more than what's normal for other Cosmere books.
Recommendations: If you're a fan of the Cosmere and all of its lore, or just looking for more of Brandon's fantastic storytelling.
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
TL;DR, content warnings, and recommendations at the bottom!
Sarah J. Maas has been a major figure in the online side of the book industry for a while now, particularly on the YA side. I tried Throne of Glass several years ago, intensely disliked it, DNFed, and went on to (I hate to admit) prematurely judge all of her other work based on that. I think House of Earth and Blood did a lot to undo many of my biases not only about Maas' work, but about the YA/new adult genre in general. This would actually be a 4.5 star read if not for one particular trope that really grated on me, which I'll mention later. Enough about my reading habits- onto the review!
Main character Bryce Quinlan is half-human, half-Fae in a world where humans are seen as a lesser breed compared to the magical Vanir (animal shifters, fae, angels, mercreatures, and similar species.) Bryce starts the story as a party girl, taking every drug she can before heading to her job at a gallery of magical artifacts the next day hungover. Her life changes, though, when several of her friends are unexpectedly and brutally murdered by a demon.
She leaves her old lifestyle behind, along with the pain of her past... at least until the Crescent City government comes to her and reveals that the murders have started up again, even with the perpetrator jailed. And they want her to help with the investigation alongside the governor's personal assassin, Hunt Athalar, a mysterious fallen angel also known as the Umbra Mortis.
This book, weighing in at over 800 thin pages, surprised me by being fairly fast paced. It's definitely paced like a thriller novel, just at the scale of an epic fantasy book.
Accordingly, it feels very much like a mystery/romance that just happens to be set in an urban fantasy world, but this is offset by the world being well-built and detailed. The magic system ties in with the modern technology the characters use ingeniously.
On the characters - I have to admit I did not like the love interest. He grew on me, but I never really liked him. That may just be personal taste, though, as I think he's more of a romance-novel type protagonist than I usually like! However, Bryce, Ruhn, Lehabah, Tharion, Danika, and almost every other side character were lovely, with well-rounded personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. I especially enjoyed the journey of Ruhn and Bryce's relationship.
Not only were the characters well-written, the prose was as well. Maas definitely has a gift for quick and engaging writing - it reminded me a lot of the bits of Nora Roberts that I've read, but with more of a witty spin. The descriptions were evocative, especially when she got to describing character feelings and thoughts, which made it even more of an emotionally impactful read.
The mystery itself is great. I predicted a few of the plot twists, but the biggest ones toward the end of the book blindsided me completely, which was really fun! The plot was tight and wrapped itself up well with enough loose ends to set up a second book, which I'll definitely be reading when it comes out!
The one hangup that took this from a 4.5 to a 4, though, was the goddamn constant horniness. Bryce and Hunt, the main relationship, spent what felt like half of the book lusting after each other to the point where it actually interrupted plot-heavy scenes to talk about the way Hunt felt his dick straining against his jeans towards Bryce. There were a couple pages where I felt like I'd read my way into erotica looking for a plot. I think Maas is somewhat famous for having a lot of sex and lust in her books, which is fine- I guess I just prefer my books with the plot and sex separate. Overall, it didn't ruin the experience for me or anything, but if anyone else is sensitive to sexual content - be warned that there's a lot of boners in this one!
TL;DR: A great mystery in a unique urban fantasy city with plenty of plot twists and emotional moments, a high, exciting climax, and a passionate romance.
Content Breakdown: This one doesn't shy away from adult content whatsoever. There are plenty of scenes with drugs and alcohol, many characters being absolutely horny for each other, references to torture, and some scenes with brutal violence. There's also a lot of emotional tension and pain.
Recommended For: Those who like Maas' other books, lovers of the Mortal Instruments series, fans of enemies-to-lovers fanfiction, lovers of the bad boy
Favorite Moment: Major spoiler here. Bryce casually vacuuming up Micah after the battle in the gallery seconded by Syrinx biting Hunt's ass. Also, Ruhn as a character. He's a good lad.
Sarah J. Maas has been a major figure in the online side of the book industry for a while now, particularly on the YA side. I tried Throne of Glass several years ago, intensely disliked it, DNFed, and went on to (I hate to admit) prematurely judge all of her other work based on that. I think House of Earth and Blood did a lot to undo many of my biases not only about Maas' work, but about the YA/new adult genre in general. This would actually be a 4.5 star read if not for one particular trope that really grated on me, which I'll mention later. Enough about my reading habits- onto the review!
Main character Bryce Quinlan is half-human, half-Fae in a world where humans are seen as a lesser breed compared to the magical Vanir (animal shifters, fae, angels, mercreatures, and similar species.) Bryce starts the story as a party girl, taking every drug she can before heading to her job at a gallery of magical artifacts the next day hungover. Her life changes, though, when several of her friends are unexpectedly and brutally murdered by a demon.
She leaves her old lifestyle behind, along with the pain of her past... at least until the Crescent City government comes to her and reveals that the murders have started up again, even with the perpetrator jailed. And they want her to help with the investigation alongside the governor's personal assassin, Hunt Athalar, a mysterious fallen angel also known as the Umbra Mortis.
This book, weighing in at over 800 thin pages, surprised me by being fairly fast paced. It's definitely paced like a thriller novel, just at the scale of an epic fantasy book.
Accordingly, it feels very much like a mystery/romance that just happens to be set in an urban fantasy world, but this is offset by the world being well-built and detailed. The magic system ties in with the modern technology the characters use ingeniously.
On the characters - I have to admit I did not like the love interest. He grew on me, but I never really liked him. That may just be personal taste, though, as I think he's more of a romance-novel type protagonist than I usually like! However, Bryce, Ruhn, Lehabah, Tharion, Danika, and almost every other side character were lovely, with well-rounded personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. I especially enjoyed the journey of Ruhn and Bryce's relationship.
Not only were the characters well-written, the prose was as well. Maas definitely has a gift for quick and engaging writing - it reminded me a lot of the bits of Nora Roberts that I've read, but with more of a witty spin. The descriptions were evocative, especially when she got to describing character feelings and thoughts, which made it even more of an emotionally impactful read.
The mystery itself is great. I predicted a few of the plot twists, but the biggest ones toward the end of the book blindsided me completely, which was really fun! The plot was tight and wrapped itself up well with enough loose ends to set up a second book, which I'll definitely be reading when it comes out!
The one hangup that took this from a 4.5 to a 4, though, was the goddamn constant horniness. Bryce and Hunt, the main relationship, spent what felt like half of the book lusting after each other to the point where it actually interrupted plot-heavy scenes to talk about the way Hunt felt his dick straining against his jeans towards Bryce. There were a couple pages where I felt like I'd read my way into erotica looking for a plot. I think Maas is somewhat famous for having a lot of sex and lust in her books, which is fine- I guess I just prefer my books with the plot and sex separate. Overall, it didn't ruin the experience for me or anything, but if anyone else is sensitive to sexual content - be warned that there's a lot of boners in this one!
TL;DR: A great mystery in a unique urban fantasy city with plenty of plot twists and emotional moments, a high, exciting climax, and a passionate romance.
Content Breakdown: This one doesn't shy away from adult content whatsoever. There are plenty of scenes with drugs and alcohol, many characters being absolutely horny for each other, references to torture, and some scenes with brutal violence. There's also a lot of emotional tension and pain.
Recommended For: Those who like Maas' other books, lovers of the Mortal Instruments series, fans of enemies-to-lovers fanfiction, lovers of the bad boy
Favorite Moment: Major spoiler here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism and Suicide attempt
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-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? Yes
5.0
TL;DR, content breakdown, and recommendations at the bottom!
Okay, my review may be a bit biased as this has occupied my All-Time Favorite Book slot for 8 or so years now... but I absolutely love Howl's Moving Castle.
The book almost reads like a fairy tale. Set in the land of Ingary, where wizards and witches roam, seven-league boots are well-known, and only the youngest sibling will go on to find their fortune in fairy-tale fashion. Sophie Hatter is an eldest daughter, doomed to a boring life, so it comes as a surprise when she has a run in with the evil Witch of the Waste. Cursed by the Witch, Sophie leaves her home and goes to the only other place that could help- an equally powerful source of magic, the mysterious Wizard Howl, who is said to capture girls and eat their hearts. Of course, nothing goes as she expects, and the plot thickens delightfully as the book goes on.
This is a quick read- partially because it's short and partially because it's so attention catching and funny that it's impossible to put down before finishing it. Diana Wynne Jones' humor is just absolutely unparalleled- that sort of Terry Pratchett-esque wordplay, cleverness, and jabs that make me laugh aloud no matter how many times I've read the book. Her writing is quick and lightheartedly descriptive, comparable in tone to the first book of Harry Potter or one of Eva Ibbotson's books.
If Jones' writing is fantastic, her characters are equally so. Sophie, Howl, Calcifer, and Michael, our main cast, are all distinct personalities with their own flaws, fears, and strengths. The growth of the characters and their relationships is fantastic, because all of the characters are so completely human. They fight, they make mistakes, they tease each other. Sophie is a strong, stubborn heroine who I think is often overlooked as a great female lead.
The plot is surprisingly complex for a middle grade novel- it's one of those books that takes a few rereads to catch all the little pieces of foreshadowing scattered about. It really comes to a head in the last 80 or so pages, plot and tension building until it breaks and ends on a glorious and heartwarming high note. That said, it can be a little confusing on a first read, as it's difficult to see where everything fits together until it all resolves at the end. But, if you're willing to just go along for the ride- it's worth it.
I would absolutely recommend this book. I reread it at least once a year and it never gets old. There are so many fantastic one liners- "I hope your bacon burns," "I'm going to the funeral, probably disguised as another corpse" that just add to an already fantastic work. Read it. Seriously. I need more people to talk about it with.
TL;DR: Absolutely amazing book for all ages with humor, heart, and magic.
Content Breakdown: Some mild fantasy violence and horror. Anyone who has read Harry Potter will be fine with this one.
Recommended For: Lovers of Eva Ibbotson's work, those who like Harry Potter, anyone in need of a lighthearted read, Tamora Pierce fans, folks who fall for the dramatic twink every time... or folks who relate to the dramatic twink.
Favorite Moment: "I assure you, my friend, I am cone sold stober."
Okay, my review may be a bit biased as this has occupied my All-Time Favorite Book slot for 8 or so years now... but I absolutely love Howl's Moving Castle.
The book almost reads like a fairy tale. Set in the land of Ingary, where wizards and witches roam, seven-league boots are well-known, and only the youngest sibling will go on to find their fortune in fairy-tale fashion. Sophie Hatter is an eldest daughter, doomed to a boring life, so it comes as a surprise when she has a run in with the evil Witch of the Waste. Cursed by the Witch, Sophie leaves her home and goes to the only other place that could help- an equally powerful source of magic, the mysterious Wizard Howl, who is said to capture girls and eat their hearts. Of course, nothing goes as she expects, and the plot thickens delightfully as the book goes on.
This is a quick read- partially because it's short and partially because it's so attention catching and funny that it's impossible to put down before finishing it. Diana Wynne Jones' humor is just absolutely unparalleled- that sort of Terry Pratchett-esque wordplay, cleverness, and jabs that make me laugh aloud no matter how many times I've read the book. Her writing is quick and lightheartedly descriptive, comparable in tone to the first book of Harry Potter or one of Eva Ibbotson's books.
If Jones' writing is fantastic, her characters are equally so. Sophie, Howl, Calcifer, and Michael, our main cast, are all distinct personalities with their own flaws, fears, and strengths. The growth of the characters and their relationships is fantastic, because all of the characters are so completely human. They fight, they make mistakes, they tease each other. Sophie is a strong, stubborn heroine who I think is often overlooked as a great female lead.
The plot is surprisingly complex for a middle grade novel- it's one of those books that takes a few rereads to catch all the little pieces of foreshadowing scattered about. It really comes to a head in the last 80 or so pages, plot and tension building until it breaks and ends on a glorious and heartwarming high note. That said, it can be a little confusing on a first read, as it's difficult to see where everything fits together until it all resolves at the end. But, if you're willing to just go along for the ride- it's worth it.
I would absolutely recommend this book. I reread it at least once a year and it never gets old. There are so many fantastic one liners- "I hope your bacon burns," "I'm going to the funeral, probably disguised as another corpse" that just add to an already fantastic work. Read it. Seriously. I need more people to talk about it with.
TL;DR: Absolutely amazing book for all ages with humor, heart, and magic.
Content Breakdown: Some mild fantasy violence and horror. Anyone who has read Harry Potter will be fine with this one.
Recommended For: Lovers of Eva Ibbotson's work, those who like Harry Potter, anyone in need of a lighthearted read, Tamora Pierce fans, folks who fall for the dramatic twink every time... or folks who relate to the dramatic twink.
Favorite Moment: "I assure you, my friend, I am cone sold stober."
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence
Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
adventurous
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
TL;DR, content breakdown, and recommendations at the bottom!
I had very high hopes for this novella, and it disappointed me on several fronts. It told the story of Esther Augustus, a girl who just saw her lover hang for having writings that were unapproved by the government of the Western-dystopian future she lives in. Feeling like her lover's death is her fault because of the pair's lesbian relationship, and attempting to escape an arranged marriage with the man who killed her lover, she seeks out the female-only government organization called the Librarians that she believes may be able to help her overcome her attractions.
Upright Women Wanted promised a lot of things. A tale of queer identity, a rich dystopian future full of gunslingers and horses, and an inspiring antifascist story. It delivered on a few of these points, but the whole book felt underdeveloped.
Characters were for the most part relatable, flawed, and thoughtful, but the shortness of the novella didn't give any of them besides Esther and possibly Cye, a nonbinary Librarian, time to develop. Even so, I found the relationships of the characters endearing and I loved the amount of lesbian, nonbinary, and poly rep in such a short book. The plot was put together well, well-paced, and the book was overall enjoyable, but it just felt too short- which brings me to my biggest complaint:
What I really would have liked to see more of was the world. Gailey has such great ideas- a dystopian, Western future where Utah has become a gay safe haven and the US has splintered into factions? Super cool. I honestly would have read this as a full-length novel, just to find out more about how this timeline came about. There were mentioned things like "the War" and a city governed by a family of mercenaries which sounded fascinating... but were given no explanation. I don't usually encourage infodumps, but I would have loved some here!
I do have to give props to Gailey for their prose, though, 'cause holy hell there are some good lines in there. "She had seen a man decide that she deserved to die and she had killed him for it" was my favorite.
Upright Women Wanted is a well-written horse opera adventure that has all the lesbian gunslingers and Librarians it advertised. As long as you don't mind a lack of background info, it's a perfectly grand adventure through a strange future-West world. Be gay, do crimes, read books.
TL;DR: Fun, but wouldn't ever reread it. Lesbian Western gunslingers adventure through an unusual dystopia.
Content Warnings: Some Western-type shootouts and violence, a hanging, some deaths/injuries and discussion of those situations. Emotional trauma. Some (consensual) misgendering.
Recommended For: Those not invested in worldbuilding, folks looking for a quick read, fans of the phrase "be gay do crimes", and those who want a good old-fashioned Western but with more lesbians.
Favorite Moment: "She had seen a man decide that she deserved to die and she had killed him for it." Damn!
I had very high hopes for this novella, and it disappointed me on several fronts. It told the story of Esther Augustus, a girl who just saw her lover hang for having writings that were unapproved by the government of the Western-dystopian future she lives in. Feeling like her lover's death is her fault because of the pair's lesbian relationship, and attempting to escape an arranged marriage with the man who killed her lover, she seeks out the female-only government organization called the Librarians that she believes may be able to help her overcome her attractions.
Upright Women Wanted promised a lot of things. A tale of queer identity, a rich dystopian future full of gunslingers and horses, and an inspiring antifascist story. It delivered on a few of these points, but the whole book felt underdeveloped.
Characters were for the most part relatable, flawed, and thoughtful, but the shortness of the novella didn't give any of them besides Esther and possibly Cye, a nonbinary Librarian, time to develop. Even so, I found the relationships of the characters endearing and I loved the amount of lesbian, nonbinary, and poly rep in such a short book. The plot was put together well, well-paced, and the book was overall enjoyable, but it just felt too short- which brings me to my biggest complaint:
What I really would have liked to see more of was the world. Gailey has such great ideas- a dystopian, Western future where Utah has become a gay safe haven and the US has splintered into factions? Super cool. I honestly would have read this as a full-length novel, just to find out more about how this timeline came about. There were mentioned things like "the War" and a city governed by a family of mercenaries which sounded fascinating... but were given no explanation. I don't usually encourage infodumps, but I would have loved some here!
I do have to give props to Gailey for their prose, though, 'cause holy hell there are some good lines in there. "She had seen a man decide that she deserved to die and she had killed him for it" was my favorite.
Upright Women Wanted is a well-written horse opera adventure that has all the lesbian gunslingers and Librarians it advertised. As long as you don't mind a lack of background info, it's a perfectly grand adventure through a strange future-West world. Be gay, do crimes, read books.
TL;DR: Fun, but wouldn't ever reread it. Lesbian Western gunslingers adventure through an unusual dystopia.
Content Warnings: Some Western-type shootouts and violence, a hanging, some deaths/injuries and discussion of those situations. Emotional trauma. Some (consensual) misgendering.
Recommended For: Those not invested in worldbuilding, folks looking for a quick read, fans of the phrase "be gay do crimes", and those who want a good old-fashioned Western but with more lesbians.
Favorite Moment: "She had seen a man decide that she deserved to die and she had killed him for it." Damn!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, and Homophobia
The Shadow of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
TL;DR, content breakdown, and recommends at the bottom! This review will contain minor spoilers for the first book in the duology.
Wow, I am so glad I got to borrow copies of this amazing duology and prequel to the Avatar: the Last Airbender series. Kyoshi is often made into a meme in the fandom, shown only as a ruthless but powerful Avatar who would encourage Aang to act violently. This book showed her true backstory, one of a girl caught between two worlds and struggling to reconcile her identity as the Avatar with her own beliefs.
Essentially, I loved it.
The story of The Shadow of Kyoshi starts off a little after where we last left the cast. Kyoshi is off on her own carrying out justice as best she can, separated from the Flying Opera Company and her girlfriend Rangi. She's also on the hunt for ex-Avatar candidate Yun, who reappeared after being believed to be dead at the end of the last book.
The pacing in this book was about on par with the last one, if a little faster. It moves delightfully quickly, barely giving the reader time to process what's happened before flinging off to the next scene. The end and final fight scene felt slightly rushed, and I really wished that Kyoshi had been able to reunite with the Flying Opera Company earlier, instead of just at the end. It felt like the sudden unexplained reunion almost trivialized her relationship with them, in a way, considering how major of characters they were in the first book.
FC Yee's writing is just as good as in The Rise of Kyoshi- I'm not particularly picky about prose, and to me it felt perfectly serviceable for the story that was being told. The more tense, emotional scenes hit especially hard with Yee's writing style, but there was one element of the story that really shone.
The characters.
Kyoshi's character development is fantastic. She comes to terms with who she is, the anger she holds onto, and what sort of Avatar she's going to be, and she is so incredibly flawed. She's one of the most real characters I think I've encountered in YA lately, especially with the way her background affected her view of the world. She's almost an antihero- morally grey, not always heroic, and a little too ready to let her personal problems interfere with her actions- and I loved seeing her grow and come into her own during the story.
I'm also happy to say that the reader gets some insight into Avatars Kuruk and Yangchen's history which really brings together some of the motifs from both the book and the TV series.
Yun's few PoV chapters were goddamn heartbreakingly painful to read, and reminded me a bit of Holland from the Shades of London series. Yee did an excellent job with him- that's about all I can say without spoilers.
Rangi is going to hold a special place in my heart. I loved her little angry explosions and habit of chucking furniture about in anger- she's another profoundly real-feeling character, and the way her and Kyoshi's relationship imperfectly builds and changes throughout the book is absolutely lovely. (Also, well-written LGBTQ+ romance in mainstream YA!)
The only thing I didn't love, leading to the half-star off (also, as someone who just moved from Goodreads- how great is it that Storygraph lets you use quarter and half stars?!) was the ending, which although satisfying was just a little too fast-paced for me after all of the buildup leading up to it.
TL;DR: 4.5/5 A fast-paced, emotional, hard-hitting conclusion to a duology that gives great insight into a wonderful character from the A:tLA series.
Content Warnings: Moderate fantasy violence and death, some mentions of bullying and emotional abuse.
Recommended For: AtLA fans, fast-paced fantasy lovers, those looking for powerful gay antiheroes, fans of elemental magic, those who enjoy strong character development.
Favorite Moment: Rangi showing her love to Kyoshi by throwing soup at her. :)
Wow, I am so glad I got to borrow copies of this amazing duology and prequel to the Avatar: the Last Airbender series. Kyoshi is often made into a meme in the fandom, shown only as a ruthless but powerful Avatar who would encourage Aang to act violently. This book showed her true backstory, one of a girl caught between two worlds and struggling to reconcile her identity as the Avatar with her own beliefs.
Essentially, I loved it.
The story of The Shadow of Kyoshi starts off a little after where we last left the cast. Kyoshi is off on her own carrying out justice as best she can, separated from the Flying Opera Company and her girlfriend Rangi. She's also on the hunt for ex-Avatar candidate Yun, who reappeared after being believed to be dead at the end of the last book.
The pacing in this book was about on par with the last one, if a little faster. It moves delightfully quickly, barely giving the reader time to process what's happened before flinging off to the next scene. The end and final fight scene felt slightly rushed, and I really wished that
FC Yee's writing is just as good as in The Rise of Kyoshi- I'm not particularly picky about prose, and to me it felt perfectly serviceable for the story that was being told. The more tense, emotional scenes hit especially hard with Yee's writing style, but there was one element of the story that really shone.
The characters.
Kyoshi's character development is fantastic. She comes to terms with who she is, the anger she holds onto, and what sort of Avatar she's going to be, and she is so incredibly flawed. She's one of the most real characters I think I've encountered in YA lately, especially with the way her background affected her view of the world. She's almost an antihero- morally grey, not always heroic, and a little too ready to let her personal problems interfere with her actions- and I loved seeing her grow and come into her own during the story.
I'm also happy to say that the reader gets some insight into Avatars Kuruk and Yangchen's history which really brings together some of the motifs from both the book and the TV series.
Yun's few PoV chapters were goddamn heartbreakingly painful to read, and reminded me a bit of Holland from the Shades of London series. Yee did an excellent job with him- that's about all I can say without spoilers.
Rangi is going to hold a special place in my heart. I loved her little angry explosions and habit of chucking furniture about in anger- she's another profoundly real-feeling character, and the way her and Kyoshi's relationship imperfectly builds and changes throughout the book is absolutely lovely. (Also, well-written LGBTQ+ romance in mainstream YA!)
The only thing I didn't love, leading to the half-star off (also, as someone who just moved from Goodreads- how great is it that Storygraph lets you use quarter and half stars?!) was the ending, which although satisfying was just a little too fast-paced for me after all of the buildup leading up to it.
TL;DR: 4.5/5 A fast-paced, emotional, hard-hitting conclusion to a duology that gives great insight into a wonderful character from the A:tLA series.
Content Warnings: Moderate fantasy violence and death, some mentions of bullying and emotional abuse.
Recommended For: AtLA fans, fast-paced fantasy lovers, those looking for powerful gay antiheroes, fans of elemental magic, those who enjoy strong character development.
Favorite Moment: Rangi showing her love to Kyoshi by throwing soup at her. :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Death
Minor: Emotional abuse
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