3.5 stars rounded up. n. k. jemisin really is out here making me believe in reading again.
this sequel is still full of the sacities & cities & cities
3.5 stars rounded up. n. k. jemisin really is out here making me believe in reading again.
this sequel is still full of the same breakneck, indulgent writing i love — if nothing else, jemisin is a seasoned expert in writing things that feel true, that resonate — but the overall story does feel like a bunch of similiar fights strung together into an overarching narrative. it's a bit of a tall order to expect the sequel to a book as explosive as the city we became to also be mind-bendingly extraordinary, i suppose, but if any writer would've been able to pull it off, it would've been jemisin. as it stands, the final confrontation leaves me wanting for more, given all of the narrative buildup that led up to it. still, though. for the first full novel i've read in a while, that this book managed to slam itself right into my consciousness and refused to leave until i finished reading it is definitely testament enough to its unmatched sense of momentum and just pure fun.
(i would honestly love a deeper look into the lore of different cities around the world in the style of this book though... what would the avatar of my city look like, if it were to instantiate like new york did? what would a city avatar look like if it underwent the unspeakable horrors of colonization — metaphysically, literally? how would it recover itself? what scars would remain? ack. there's so much POTENTIAL here for an infinite number of stories; i really hope this won't be the only book of its kind that gets published. new york is great, but damn if i don't also want to read about a story about a city coming alive closer to home.)...more
absolutely UNHINGED and genuinely unputdownable. ms kuang's writing is juicy as always.absolutely UNHINGED and genuinely unputdownable. ms kuang's writing is juicy as always....more
absolutely destroyed me. i need to read the author's full anthology now.absolutely destroyed me. i need to read the author's full anthology now....more
my memory of this book is a little hazy because i went months between reading it and actually updating this but i do remember quite enjoying it!! messmy memory of this book is a little hazy because i went months between reading it and actually updating this but i do remember quite enjoying it!! messy characters, an exploration of parental expectations, and flower-arranging magic ...more
omg ok. this was a fantastic book, but i do think you need to get into it with the right frame of mind—namely that it sits on the lower end of the midomg ok. this was a fantastic book, but i do think you need to get into it with the right frame of mind—namely that it sits on the lower end of the middle-grade age category, and that it's magical realism, not outright fantasy. the voice was younger than i'm personally used to in MG, and it took some getting used to! once i got past that though, i found the protagonist gabrielle's voice fun, engaging, with sprinkles of genuine humor from the adults. this scene gives me so much joy:
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the premise in a sentence: a haitian girl who newly immigrates to america makes a series of bad wishes with a witch, trading away her haitian heritage in order to fit in.
i suspect the themes of this book are going to hit hard for a lot of diaspora kids: the desperate longing to belong, the need to disown parts of your culture that stand out as different or strange in social contexts. gabrielle's deal with the witch ALMOST works as a loose retelling of disney's the little mermaid too, this aspect was very cool!
two liiiiiiiiiittle issues i found with the book:
• i thought gabrielle's aunt and uncle (who essentially foster her during her first few months in america as her parents weren't able to go along with her) were a little... mean to her? there is a little further exploration of their attitudes in later scenes, particularly how their strictness with gabrielle is born from the racism that they face as adults too, and how they don't want her to face the same. they do apologise to her as well. still though, i didn't expect them to be quite as cold to gabrielle when she first started living with them (she's a kid! she's in a completely new country and being bullied!), and i think i would've appreciated a little more upfront calling out of their actions in the beginning since they also contributed in driving gabrielle to the witch. • this might just be me, but the humor was pretty hit-or-miss. when the funny bits stick the landing they're hilarious, but there are just like. some weird parts. gabrielle has a classmate everyone calls "Getz" because he can Getz them anything they need. you know. like the guy who somehow has connections everywhere in a heist movie. he wears a fedora and a trench coat to school. he talks like a hustler from a heist movie. and the whole time my brain just kept going, "this kid is. ten."
ultimately, the tone of the book was more goofy than anything else, i think, but the lessons it teaches about the danger of blind assimilation and the importance of diversity are earnest and heartfelt. the ending is also very very warm and true to its themes, and may or may not have caused some tears....more
i am so angry because i want to rate this book one star but the fact that i do is precisely why it deserves more.
to be blunt: this book is horrifyingi am so angry because i want to rate this book one star but the fact that i do is precisely why it deserves more.
to be blunt: this book is horrifying. i'm a 20-something now, but all throughout my teens i was a christian, and i'd been really involved in my local church service. i embraced religion because its tenets and community came to me at a time when i was at my most hurting; it gave me stable ground to land on. reading the slow process of a protagonist being introduced to a cult-that-doesn't-look-like-a-cult opened up a lot of wounds i hadn't realised haven't healed over. my experience with religion wasn't nearly as traumatising as it is in this book, but the drama of it all, the ideals of self-sacrifice and leaving worldly things behind for the divine... i get it. i get it. a part of me remembers the ache.
i desperately hope this doesn't come across as disparaging to people whose faiths are monumental to them—there are healthy ways to have relationships with organised religion and with faith, and i have absolutely no doubt that for many their beliefs are their shelter and beacon against the abject uncertainty of this world. but for a much younger me, a wider-eyed me, the line between productive devotion and fanatical belief was thinner than i had imagined it to be, and at some point i realised i'd been dancing on the precipice much closer than i would've liked.
i will come back to this with a proper review and not just an anecdote of my personal history soon, but if nothing else, i can tell you that this book deeply understands its subject matter, grasps the raw experience of what it's like to want that higher purpose in your life, the allure of the divine. it needs to come with content warnings as well....more
this book squeezed in right at the last minute after i thought i was done with my reading for the month, anelizabeth acevedo has done it again, folks.
this book squeezed in right at the last minute after i thought i was done with my reading for the month, and we stan??? i always love when novels-in-verse take me by surprise like this.
throughout my reading experience, i felt like all over again i was rediscovering my undying love for elizabeth acevedo’s writing—her instinct for poetic language, the way she strings together heartfelt stories about complicated girls, and the sheer depth of emotions she has such a firm grasp on. this is a book about two girls having to deal with the aftermath of finding out their father had two families: one in new york, and one in the dominican republic that he returns to every summer. they’re sisters, and they don’t know it… yet.
There is no one over there, alive or buried, who held me as a child, who cradled me close, who fed me from their table, who wiped my knees when
I fell & scraped them. Here, despite the bad & ugly, is home. & now I wish that I could stay. Does anyone ever want to leave the place they love?
embedded within their grief following the fallout of their father’s death in a plane crash is a story of legacies, of family, and an overflowing love for dominican culture—there’s a poem about leaving home that swelled my heart with so much ache. if you loved The Poet X, you’ll probably find that something in this book that feels like it was written for you too. ...more
3.5 rounded up. this was pretty good! an overall quiet summer story about growing up. even though this doesn't quite have an overarching plot in the c3.5 rounded up. this was pretty good! an overall quiet summer story about growing up. even though this doesn't quite have an overarching plot in the conventional sense, i really really enjoyed the lush art and flowy visual storytelling....more
i finally managed to finish reading this adorable YA contemporary! god, this was good. i can’t believe this was a debut.
the story is so warm and so eni finally managed to finish reading this adorable YA contemporary! god, this was good. i can’t believe this was a debut.
the story is so warm and so engaging, and the main characters are incredibly lovable and easy to root for. the heartfelt story follows a teen black girl trying to carve out a space for herself in a place that isn’t meant for her—and i thought this book was such a faithful and true representation of how fighting for yourself can be empowering and fulfilling, but also exhausting. i’m so glad that kids growing up today will have this book.
if you’re in the mood for something a little more light-hearted but still immensely compelling, you absolutely cannot go wrong with liz's story. ...more
this review is just going to keep getting updated from time to time because i don't know how to articulate just how much this book means to me in one this review is just going to keep getting updated from time to time because i don't know how to articulate just how much this book means to me in one single session, so i'm spreading it out as i return to it over and over again :')
a short review: When I first cracked open the book back in April, I was immediately captivated by the vivid temporality of its setting: from the daily rhythms that the characters go through, to the protagonist’s struggles that mirrored mine so closely that I nearly forgot I was reading a story that wasn’t just meant for my eyes. I mean, how often do you get to see yourself at the heart of a book? On a narrative level, the way Zen deftly handles the book’s intertwining themes of family, queerness, and diaspora while taking us on a brilliantly paced and at turns downright eerie story about a woman who has the literal ghost of her grandmother living rent-free in her head is nothing short of masterful. As a reader from Malaysia, I can’t tell you how exceedingly rare it is for me to truly see the nuances of my life represented in the fiction that I read, which is why I’m always caught so off guard by the earnestness and authenticity of Zen Cho’s Malaysian-influenced stories. And while I have deeply enjoyed what I've read of Zen's ouevre so far, I personally reckon that Black Water Sister may just be her best work yet.
pre-review: i haven't logged into goodreads for fucking forever because of my final college sem but i'm here to tell you that if this book isn't on your TBR yet, you need to add it now...more
i picked this up on a whim, and i'm so glad i did! i really needed a soft comic to sink into today. ari was such a relatable character, and i adored ti picked this up on a whim, and i'm so glad i did! i really needed a soft comic to sink into today. ari was such a relatable character, and i adored the way this explored the themes woven throughout the story: the angst of not knowing what you want to do with your life, toxic friendships, and complicated parent dynamics. the art was really pretty, and filled with so much love and absolutely delicious-looking food. a very easy recommendation for anyone wanting a quiet, moving romance sprinkled with just a few bakery shenanigans....more
Original post-book thoughts: A pleasant surprise, this book—each story in this anthology is a freshly-unearthed gem, bright and beautiful and waiting fOriginal post-book thoughts: A pleasant surprise, this book—each story in this anthology is a freshly-unearthed gem, bright and beautiful and waiting fervently to be beheld. It was a true honor to have been invited on the journey of all of these vibrant stories.
Final review: There is so, so much to love in this anthology. Whether you’re here for the cute, contemporary romance, or if you’re here for the witchy horror and girls turning into lobsters, there is space here for everyone at Foreshadow‘s table. No matter what kind of reader you are, I’m nearly certain that you’ll find something to love and take home with you from this book.
It’s very evident to me that each short story was crafted with much, much love from the authors’ own lives, as was the book as a whole—the little follow-up essays from the editors are insightful and contain meaningful advice for the aspiring writer in all of us. Its most ardent wish is probably firstly, that you get lost exploring all these vastly different narratives, and secondly, that you pick up a pen and start telling your own inspired stories too.
this was amazing. a beautiful, emotional story about a road trip undertaken by two sad, conflicted women looking to escape—along the way finding familthis was amazing. a beautiful, emotional story about a road trip undertaken by two sad, conflicted women looking to escape—along the way finding family in each other on a journey that changes them both. content warning for sexual assault and parental death....more
this was such a DELIGHTFUL story about reckoning with the past & a teen girl's coming of age, with the setting of small-town prejudice and magic shenathis was such a DELIGHTFUL story about reckoning with the past & a teen girl's coming of age, with the setting of small-town prejudice and magic shenanigans. i wasn't expecting the depth of the story, and it was such a wonderful surprise!...more