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vagaybond's reviews
445 reviews
Magical Meet Cute by Jean Meltzer
I struggle with this because Jean Meltzer is a zionist, and the way cops are written about (despite being extremely mildly critical) still feels like copaganda with a few-bad-apples rhetoric. and there is a scene where she specifically says that calling people defending the zionist entity genocidal is antisemitic or based in ignorance. there are throwaway comments mentioning the zionist entity in other books of Meltzer's but this one mentions the term genocide in a context which implies the author is a genocide denier. I'm also assuming my comments on this don't mean anything to the author, judging by my experiences navigating these kinds of conversations.
this taints the book a lot for me. it's one of Meltzer's best written books that I've read, with a story which transcends the romance plotline alone. I very much saw the 'twist' coming but I think maybe someone who is more of a bootlicker might have not. like all other books by this author I've read, the protagonist is a disabled Jewish woman, and I think there are peripheral queer characters. I think the magical plotline is interesting and I like that it's left open to the reader whether there's something truly magical going on or not. there are a lot of extreme coincidences.
I also find the unite against hate rally that they do where they have a cop speak at it so ridiculous but it makes sense for people who have otherwise not done anything particularly radical. I finished this book like a week ago so I can't remember if it was this one or a different book that said they got a "permit" to protest. but if it was this book: lol
this taints the book a lot for me. it's one of Meltzer's best written books that I've read, with a story which transcends the romance plotline alone. I very much saw the 'twist' coming but I think maybe someone who is more of a bootlicker might have not. like all other books by this author I've read, the protagonist is a disabled Jewish woman, and I think there are peripheral queer characters. I think the magical plotline is interesting and I like that it's left open to the reader whether there's something truly magical going on or not. there are a lot of extreme coincidences.
I also find the unite against hate rally that they do where they have a cop speak at it so ridiculous but it makes sense for people who have otherwise not done anything particularly radical. I finished this book like a week ago so I can't remember if it was this one or a different book that said they got a "permit" to protest. but if it was this book: lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Medical trauma, Stalking, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Child abuse and Genocide
Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
apparently the author didn't get the memo that it's called human trafficking now, not "white slavery"
there were other issues involved but it kind of feels like typical early 00s white author problematic
there were other issues involved but it kind of feels like typical early 00s white author problematic
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, and Trafficking
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Torture, Murder, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Genocide, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation
The Devil Wears Tartan by Katia Rose
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This book takes place in ottawa which I did not know when I requested it from the Ottawa Public Library and they rejected it, leading me to the Queer Liberation Library who DID have it.
I'm still figuring out how I feel about this book. It's rivals to lovers and there's a lot of unhealthy dynamics in this and some shamey stuff that's projected onto these girls that gets worked through a bit.
I'm still figuring out how I feel about this book. It's rivals to lovers and there's a lot of unhealthy dynamics in this and some shamey stuff that's projected onto these girls that gets worked through a bit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Minor: Addiction and Drug use
There's some psychological abuse that's very very subtle, that we don't really realize the scope of until near the climax of the story. Specifically between a teacher and one of the protagonists, who have a kind of mentor-mentee relationship.
My Friend Anne Frank: The Inspiring and Heartbreaking True Story of Best Friends Torn Apart and Reunited Against All Odds by Hannah Pick-Goslar
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
I feel weird rating something like this. It's a personal narrative of the Shoah.
When I was coming into myself politically, around age 14-15, I read so many books on this topic. I was trying to figure out who I would be in the same circumstances. What does it mean to do good, what is evil (if evil exists). Now, 15 years later, I read this, and I am analyzing it for how to survive a fascist, genocidal dictatorship. When to leave, when will it feel like a point of no return?
One thing I do want to bring up is that Hannah Pick-Goslar was also a zionist settler. There's a lot of nuance to the fact that people were made to feel like there was no place to go, and in her case, her father and grandfather who were all killed in the Shoah were also zionists. And zionism before the Nakba meant a different thing. But also, the Nakba happened, but it wasn't acknowledged here. But I genuinely don't know what information Hannah Pick-Goslar would have known, and if she would have believed or rejected it. She also did make the active choice to go there, when her remaining support system was left in Europe. I sympathize with the trauma around being a minority in Europe that she must have felt, and the fear for her life. But, expectedly, I have trouble squaring that with the genocide of Palestinians, initiated by the British but taken on by the zionist state. Anyway. Colonization, oppression, genocide, are bad. The British have seldom, if ever, made a good choice when it comes to international politics.
When I was coming into myself politically, around age 14-15, I read so many books on this topic. I was trying to figure out who I would be in the same circumstances. What does it mean to do good, what is evil (if evil exists). Now, 15 years later, I read this, and I am analyzing it for how to survive a fascist, genocidal dictatorship. When to leave, when will it feel like a point of no return?
One thing I do want to bring up is that Hannah Pick-Goslar was also a zionist settler. There's a lot of nuance to the fact that people were made to feel like there was no place to go, and in her case, her father and grandfather who were all killed in the Shoah were also zionists. And zionism before the Nakba meant a different thing. But also, the Nakba happened, but it wasn't acknowledged here. But I genuinely don't know what information Hannah Pick-Goslar would have known, and if she would have believed or rejected it. She also did make the active choice to go there, when her remaining support system was left in Europe. I sympathize with the trauma around being a minority in Europe that she must have felt, and the fear for her life. But, expectedly, I have trouble squaring that with the genocide of Palestinians, initiated by the British but taken on by the zionist state. Anyway. Colonization, oppression, genocide, are bad. The British have seldom, if ever, made a good choice when it comes to international politics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Deportation
Moderate: Vomit
The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation by Rosemary Sullivan
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
4.0
I'm still a little unsure if this is something seen as confirmed or just the most likely answer.
I'm not going to tag this with spoilers because it's a historical investigation, but the fact that it's implied to be a Jewish person who turned them in feels like it makes all the more sense why this info wasn't made public. If everything in here is legit, and Otto and Miep did in fact know who did it, I'm glad they at least got the closure of knowing.
I'm not going to tag this with spoilers because it's a historical investigation, but the fact that it's implied to be a Jewish person who turned them in feels like it makes all the more sense why this info wasn't made public. If everything in here is legit, and Otto and Miep did in fact know who did it, I'm glad they at least got the closure of knowing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Deportation
Moderate: Cancer, Xenophobia, and War
Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next) by Dean Spade
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
5.0
The Cottage Around the Corner by D.L. Soria
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, and Blood
Funny Story by Emily Henry
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Abandonment
Moderate: Alcohol
The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex by Incite! Women of Color Against Violence
informative
inspiring
5.0
Lord of Eternal Night by Ben Alderson
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
- hot stuff!!!
- I think this is the first time I've known of the word penis specifically to be used in a smut scene. (value neutral statement.)
- dragged on a bit a lot in the beginning.
- audiobook narrator sounded kind of AI? every sentence felt like it had the same cadence and pitch progression.
- yes there's blood drinking from the butt at one point
- I do feel like the smut felt a bit sudden sorta. like I was almost waiting for it to be a wet dream scene that is woken up from in the beginning.
- not really a lot of dwelling on the emotional aspects of stuff happening in the end. which like, is fine, but it's weird that there wasn't a conversation about what happened to [redacted character].
- was a bit unclear about whether that one character was like.... scalped????? like...
- maybe most of my beefs were because I was listening at nearly 3x speed but I felt like it was necessary to get to the point, and with the narrator
- I think this is the first time I've known of the word penis specifically to be used in a smut scene. (value neutral statement.)
- dragged on a bit a lot in the beginning.
- audiobook narrator sounded kind of AI? every sentence felt like it had the same cadence and pitch progression.
- yes there's blood drinking from the butt at one point
- I do feel like the smut felt a bit sudden sorta. like I was almost waiting for it to be a wet dream scene that is woken up from in the beginning.
- not really a lot of dwelling on the emotional aspects of stuff happening in the end. which like, is fine, but it's weird that there wasn't a conversation about what happened to [redacted character].
- was a bit unclear about whether that one character was like.... scalped????? like...
- maybe most of my beefs were because I was listening at nearly 3x speed but I felt like it was necessary to get to the point, and with the narrator
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Homophobia, Self harm, and Suicide attempt