So, as fair warning, be prepared to cry big ugly tears. Many of them. Fetch is a dog story that ends in death. I know, spoilers, but enough people tenSo, as fair warning, be prepared to cry big ugly tears. Many of them. Fetch is a dog story that ends in death. I know, spoilers, but enough people tend to care about knowing about this type of plot before they read something that it seems warranted to mention upfront, and it really should not come as much a surprise given this memoir covers the dog's entire life. Fetch is a beautiful book about Georges' life, her struggles with love and community, and her never-ending connection with her faithful, but weird and challenging dog. She is intensely truthful about her mistakes and ill-advised behaviour, but without self-flagellation. This is the story of a woman who had a messed up childhood and clung to something familiar as a symbol of many things, both healthy and terrible. I love Georges' memoirs as she has led an interesting life despite her young age, and she writes with a lot of compassion. Beija forever! ...more
Welp, there went my feels, shattering into a million pieces. Last Things is about the death of Moss' husband after he is diagnosed with ALS. This grapWelp, there went my feels, shattering into a million pieces. Last Things is about the death of Moss' husband after he is diagnosed with ALS. This graphic novel chronicles the pain and trauma the family goes through as Harvey quickly becomes ill and changes. It's a heartbreaking book that refuses to put a positive spin on suffering. Moss just tells us what it is like to go through such a rending experience, and it hurts. Oh does it hurt. Last Things is a beautiful, thoughtful, and utterly destroying book to read, but one that I think offers a very important message. Watching a loved one die, particularly when they are young, is hard. It eats at you. Caretaking is a difficult, often thankless job. You will feel alone and overwhelmed. It will suck. But you can survive. It will never be okay, but it will be something you can live through. ...more
Oomph... this was one heavy hitting memoir. Lighter Than My Shadow is about Katie Green's experiences with mental illness, eating disorders, and sexuaOomph... this was one heavy hitting memoir. Lighter Than My Shadow is about Katie Green's experiences with mental illness, eating disorders, and sexual abuse. She chronicles her life from early childhood until adulthood, detailing the various struggles she encountered, and illustrates just what an iterative and challenging process recovery is. This narrative pulls no punches, and doesn't dress up the pain and trials of dealing with these disorders. Suitable for mature teens (with content warnings), and probably quite educational. ...more
Monkey Beach is a tour de force. It is a stunning piece of literature, with a powerful voice and heart wrenching characters. The entire novel is infusMonkey Beach is a tour de force. It is a stunning piece of literature, with a powerful voice and heart wrenching characters. The entire novel is infused with life and realism.
The story is hard to describe. Lisamarie is a Haisla girl growing up in Kitimat. The book starts with the news that her brother has gone missing on a fishing expedition. Her parents rush out to join the search, but Lisamarie stays behind, obviously trapped in the throes of grief. She begins to remember her past.
Flashbacks comprise most of the book. At first they seem like an odd addition to the novel. Why are we thinking about Lisamarie's relationships to all these family members who are not her brother? However, despite being confused, I was enjoying these memories and thought them to be filled with evocative imagery and intense emotions.
If you feel a bit lost like I did, don't worry. Robinson brings the book to a fulfilling conclusion that both startled and amazed me. Lisamarie's flashbacks are part of her journey towards accepting herself, her cultural heritage, and some unique talents.
Monkey Beach truly is an outstanding piece of literature. I tried to keep my comments brief as I think the book is most effective if you just allow yourself to be swept away by it, but prepare for devastatingly effective prose and emotively rending tales of love and grief....more
The Language of Dying is a gorgeous, gut-punch of a book. It is a story about death and family, about crisis and everyday problems. It is about copingThe Language of Dying is a gorgeous, gut-punch of a book. It is a story about death and family, about crisis and everyday problems. It is about coping and then not coping. the narrative begins with our protagonist in her childhood house that she bought from her father. Her father lives with her, dying of cancer. She has called all her siblings together for their last goodbyes. The reunion starts well. The two sisters bond and laugh despite the heartache. But there are cracks beneath the surface, and as the brothers come, our protagonist begins to drift (as she likes to tell us). Well, not us. She speaks to her father throughout the book. It is an unusual, but compelling way of telling this story, allowing the protagonist to engage in a confessional about her life without ever actually saying a word to the people around her. Grief and trauma from throughout her life are intertwined, and the conclusion of the book is arresting and uncomfortable, but very fitting.
The book is magic realism. There are moments of the fantastical, particularly at the end. But most of the narrative is a quiet, tormented exploration of the pain of caring for a loved one near death, trying to bring disjointed families together during times of crisis, and dealing with past abuse. ...more
"I have to wonder why so much courage is expected of girls and women in this world."
I borrowed Becoming Unbecoming from the library. The day I read it"I have to wonder why so much courage is expected of girls and women in this world."
I borrowed Becoming Unbecoming from the library. The day I read it, I left my house and bought a copy of it as I absolutely needed it in my personal library.
The book is a surreal memoir of a girl growing up in the 1970s dealing with sexual abuse. Using often bizarre imagery, she tells the story of how she was abused and what it did to her as she matured. She then ties what happens to her into the larger conversation of women's equality and sexual exploitation. She uses the story of a serial killer to tie the narratives together, discussing how society fixates on male violence, erasing the stories and existence of female victims, blaming them for the harm that they went through, or denying that abused happened. It's a stark, uncomfortable, difficult book with hard truths that will leave readers feeling hollowed out.
The book ends with Uma pondering what the victims of the Yorkshire Ripper would be doing if they were alive, filling the last pages of the book with portraits of them engaging in daily activities as if they had been allowed to grow older and live their lives. Instead of memorialising the killer, she puts the women who were killed back into the center of the narrative, demanding readers to think about misogyny and the violence it causes. ...more
For lovers of the main series, Five Years Ago and Three Thousand Miles Away is a fantastic epilogue to TJ and Amal's adventures. There are three endinFor lovers of the main series, Five Years Ago and Three Thousand Miles Away is a fantastic epilogue to TJ and Amal's adventures. There are three endings, all of them beautiful, even if bittersweet. The art is great, the emotions heavy, and it's nice to see that the two men ended up okay after their epic car trip. It goes without saying, don't read this if you haven't read the first three volumes (or the omnibus), but if you have, this is definitely worth the price of the ebook (not the print because I live in Canada and shipping to us is terrible, but I'd have totally grabbed the print version if that was not the case!)...more
I read Princess Princess as a webcomic a couple years ago, and upon re-read, it's even better! This new edition from Onipress is beautifully printed aI read Princess Princess as a webcomic a couple years ago, and upon re-read, it's even better! This new edition from Onipress is beautifully printed and comes with a bonus epilogue!
The story centers on two princesses, Amira and Sadie, who are struggling with the question of who they want to be. Amira ran away from her family when she realised she wanted to a hero, not just a wife, and Sadie was trapped in a tower by her abusive older sister who has her convinced that she's nothing but a whiny, fat crybaby. After Amira saves Sadie from the tower, they encounter princes, ogres, and Sadie's nasty older sister. They teach one another many things as they deal with these obstacles, and both discover that they have much to learn about themselves and their chosen paths. Amira goes on a journey to become a true hero and Sadie dedicates herself to learning how to be a good queen. They both promise to wait for the other, and the new epilogue shows them getting married.
This is a fantastic book for young kids that is cute and funny and filled with important messages and, as the book points out, kick butt hair! ...more
Oh Peter S Beagle... once again you have written a story that normally I would have no interest in and managed to make me love it.
In Calabria is abouOh Peter S Beagle... once again you have written a story that normally I would have no interest in and managed to make me love it.
In Calabria is about unicorns, so fans of The Last Unicorn will probably jump on it. However, I should warn readers that the two books are quite different. The Last Unicorn is a more traditional fantasy, and In Calabria is a magic realism story where unicorns most certainly exist, but the world is ours with little bit of magic. That being said, it's still an excellent book and very representative of Beagle's more contemporary writing.
The story starts on a farm in Calabria, Italy. Our protagonist is Claudio Bianchi, a 47 year old farmer. His life is stable and ordinary until one day a unicorn takes up residence on his land so that she can give birth. Her existence is a secret that Claudio protects carefully, but it's hard to keep such things hidden forever, and Claudio's farm begins to draw a lot of attention. Some of the people who start snooping around for the unicorn are not the nicest of persons, and Claudio finds that he and his loved ones are in a lot of danger over his desire to protect the unicorns...
So, as said, the plot is a lot less fantastical than Beagle's most famous work, but if you enjoyed Summerlong (which is excellent!), than In Calabria will be a fun read as well. It's a slow novel, as most of Beagle's are, but he delivers quite a lot of suspense at the end. The final scenes with the unicorns deliver a nice dose of magic to the quiet tale, and the writing is wonderful. The story is short (novella length), but it fits the form excellently.
There is one aspect of the book that I think deserves some conversation. Giovanna is in her early 20s, so her relationship with Claudio features a rather significant age gap. This type of May-December match-up has appeared a couple times in Beagle's work and... it's a trope that can easily be gross. In Calabria, however, manages to avoid being icky. At no point is Claudio portrayed as anything other than himself, a stocky, old farmer with a poetry hobby and a lot of flaws. He's not romanticized, and Giovanna is never portrayed as a prize that he's won. She's the instigator of the relationship, and there's no weird power dynamic between the two. I would be happy to see this particular trope not appear in future writings, but I wasn't overly bothered by its presence here.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tachyon Books for the ARC for review purposes!...more
Thank you to NetGalley and Tachyon Press for providing me with an ARC of this book to review
Peter S Beagle is one of my all-time favourite authors. WThank you to NetGalley and Tachyon Press for providing me with an ARC of this book to review
Peter S Beagle is one of my all-time favourite authors. Which is strange because he writes books I usually wouldn't be able to tolerate. I'm not a heavy fantasy reader, nor am I much of a fan of stories where slow character development is the central plot. Yet I own most of his books, and I haven't read a thing by him that I didn't adore. So if Beagle can get me on board with Summerlong, a meandering book about relationships, love, and loss, then I have to conclude that the book is pretty damn amazing.
My initial response to finishing Summerlong was to cry. Sob, really. My poor pillow, soaked in tears. Beagle's books are often about grief over the loss of important people in our lives, and human resilience after said loss. However, his books aren't full of the usual high energy dramas that one sees in bestsellers. Summerlong is such a normal story despite the presence of magical beings. It's about the realities of change and growth, and seeing things that sustained us come to an end. For every spring, there is always a winter. The world and our lives are not stagnant, and sometimes we let what we love go. In short, prepare for your heart to be lovingly shattered.
Many people have had quibbles with some of Summerlong, particularly with the character of Lily. However, even if I didn't understand why all the characters made the choices that they did, at no point did I question whether their actions were authentic to themselves. These were real people, at least as much as fictional ones can be, and everything they did felt natural to who they were. Sure, Lily in particular was hard for me to understand, but I think we would struggle to connect if she lived in the real world as well.
Summerlong is a gorgeous, heartrending, and utterly sublime book. Beagle's gift is to make magic out of stories where it seems like magic has no place, and to plumb the depths of human emotions. His prose is captivating, his characters like old, albeit frustrating friends, and his stories capture the pure beauty of existence, even when it hurts.
Pre-Release Comments:
(Incoherent screaming and failing, grabby hands)...more
Wow... The Shape of My Name is a story about a person coming to grips with their trans identity and their mother's reaction to this choice. It uses tiWow... The Shape of My Name is a story about a person coming to grips with their trans identity and their mother's reaction to this choice. It uses time travel to discuss the non-linear nature of gender exploration, and hits you right in the feels! It's a beautiful story that uses its speculative aspects well without overshadowing the emotional core of the narrative. ...more
When you pick up The Many Selves of Katherine North it is not, as I expected, a thriller of any sort. The description made me think that Katherine wasWhen you pick up The Many Selves of Katherine North it is not, as I expected, a thriller of any sort. The description made me think that Katherine was going to uncover a horrid secret and have to struggle to reveal it to the world. Well, that happens, but not in the way that I expected. Instead, readers are treated to a very creative and intellectual novel that really showcases what writers can do in the science fiction genre.
Emma Green has a background in psychology and philosophy, and this book definitely showcases her talent. It took me a while to realise that the book was a fascinating exploration of what could happen to a person's psyche if they were to engage in this type of animal body "borrowing", and that's actually a much more fascinating story than ye old generic thriller. Green spends a lot of time trying to show readers which it might be like to experience existence in so many different forms, and she very carefully weaves a story of the harmful effects this can cause. It's a haunting, melancholy, and contemplative work that has left me with a lot of ponder, and I'd definitely recommend for those who like a novel that makes them think!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me access to a review copy of this book!...more
Exit, Pursued by a Bear is not your typical YA book about sexual assault. Instead of featuring a protagonist who crumbles and has to dig herself out oExit, Pursued by a Bear is not your typical YA book about sexual assault. Instead of featuring a protagonist who crumbles and has to dig herself out of a terribly deep pit of depression, Hermione is assaulted, struggles, but has a fantastic support network and slowly heals while still completing grade 12, doing university applications, and being a kick ass cheerleader. There is no tragedy porn here, which I fear a lot of stories about sexual assault tend to be. And that isn't to say that Hermione is the "right" type of survivor, but that a lot of narratives about sexual assault tend to focus on all the horror, often leaving the survivor to struggle without friends or loved ones. Hermione is incredibly privileged on the spectrum of survivors, but the lessons this book tells readers about how to respond to someone who has faced violence are invaluable. It's a story about a terrible violation that does not shy away from some of the resulting horrors, but gives hope some for survivors, and it also shows people what to do and not to do when your friend is hurting.
One other thing that I loved about this book that I suspect is often overlooked is how well it approached the experience of finishing one's final year of high school and getting ready to move onto something different. Hermione is has been best friends with Polly since they were little, but both know and prepare themselves for the big changes that will happen when each heads off to a different university. There's no TV-style "we'll all go to the same home-town college!" cop-out here. The girls accept that change is a thing that has to happen, and they quietly prepare themselves. ...more
More cats with wings! Jane is the youngest catwing, and she gets bored of living on the farm so she goes off to find adventure! She meets a man who shMore cats with wings! Jane is the youngest catwing, and she gets bored of living on the farm so she goes off to find adventure! She meets a man who she thinks is kind at first, but he just wants her to make him famous on TV, so Jane has to figure out how to escape before humans get it in their heads that there might be more than one cat with wings!
Again, Le Guin crafts a perfectly adorable story, accompanied with delightful art. A great addition to a sweet series for kids!...more
Wow... I was not expecting that when I opened this particular story. It begins with two sisters who know **spoiler alert** CN: Trans woman and suicide
Wow... I was not expecting that when I opened this particular story. It begins with two sisters who know how to manipulate the weather. One sister ends up on the other side of the country to act and the other stays home. The other, as it turns out, is also a trans woman, and you find out in bits and pieces that her family is not supportive of this. She kills herself and the rest of the story is the sister frantically trying to stop this from happening over and over again. The story is haunting in the desperation and grief it portrays, and despite the fact that I spoiled 90% of the plot, it's worth a read for the beautiful prose and emotions. ...more
Because I haven't seen this listed yet, CN: bullying that leads to sexual assault.
Moose is... not what I was expecting when I got it out of the librarBecause I haven't seen this listed yet, CN: bullying that leads to sexual assault.
Moose is... not what I was expecting when I got it out of the library. Joe is a high school kid getting tormented at school, but no one seems to be willing to intervene despite the fact that the bullying is ramping up continually. However, this is not an afternoon TV special look at bullying. The ending doesn't involve an adult swooping in to save the day or the bully realising the error of his ways. The climax is chilling and I think speaks volumes to what the effects of constant harassment does to a person's ethical foundation (and no, the end doesn't involve anything like a school shooting or suicide). Don't let the cute, simple art fool you into thinking the book is going to be something you can foist off on a kid without some serious unpacking afterwards. Moose is a dark book with important things to say. ...more