I was excited when I realized this book was going for a kind of regency, Georgette Heyer meets YA fantasy genre (Exciting! Combine regency, fantasy, AI was excited when I realized this book was going for a kind of regency, Georgette Heyer meets YA fantasy genre (Exciting! Combine regency, fantasy, Arabic worldbuilding, and Cinderella retelling, and you have a lot of things going on. This could have been a fascinating melting pot) but ultimately I didn’t enjoy it the way I expected to. The genrebending basically ended up in the range of “regular YA fantasy, but in an extremely formal writing style.” It didn’t do the interesting genre/worldbuilding things I hoped for.
I think my problem with the plot is the timeline. YA fantasy has this tendency to have everything happen in a short timespan—I think this book is a few days (2? 3?). To me, expecting the reader to buy that, for example, an entire royal ball is announced, planned, and then happens in the space of like 2 of those days strains the suspension of disbelief. And at the same time, two characters are falling in love, the main character juggles a job and a sewing commission and attempts on her life, there are hints of a deep dark secret dropped at the beginning that doesn’t come up again until the very end because, honestly, the main characters are just not involved in it, and multiple other players are helping (or are they?) the main character, and I just don’t understand why this couldn’t have taken a month instead, so we could actually have time to explore each of these things....more
This was so, so sweet and I can't stand it. It wasn't at all the book I thought it would be, but it was absolutely perfect.
I expected a romcom that woThis was so, so sweet and I can't stand it. It wasn't at all the book I thought it would be, but it was absolutely perfect.
I expected a romcom that would really focus on the romance and the mistaken/faked identity comedy of The Importance of Being Earnest. I forgot that Wilde's play is also hugely about finding your family. Epically Earnest has the romance, but that's not the plot, it's not the complication. The hurdle in Janey's life is—not even finding her bio family, but finding out if she wants to. It's about being on the edge of a huge change in your life and figuring out if you're going to continue to be the same person, or if that's even possible. Whether to dig in your heels against change or embrace it, and believe that it will be for the better.
I still want to read a f/f Importance of Being Earnest retelling that's about the comedy and fake personas and the couples having to struggle to match up, but I don't want Epically Earnest to be anything other than what it is: gentle and safe and funny, with supportive parents and friends and first dates that go well and promposals that go even better. This book absolutely lives up to its title. It is epically earnest. It wants you to know that everything is going to be okay....more
Bluebeard meets The Feminine Mystique. I was a bit skeptical of how short this was, whether it would be able to do anything interesting in that much sBluebeard meets The Feminine Mystique. I was a bit skeptical of how short this was, whether it would be able to do anything interesting in that much space, but I ended up loving it. Granted, feminist Biblical criticism is right up my alley anyway.
I'm reluctant to say anything more though, just because even revealing as much basic stuff as I would in an ordinary review would be like revealing half the book when the book in question is so slim. So I'll sidestep the plot and highlight a different aspect instead — I really liked the satire of rich, suburban communities with their uniformity and deathly fear of loitering....more
To be fair, I first rated this four stars. But a few days later, the things I liked about it stick out much less and it's kind of blurring into a mediTo be fair, I first rated this four stars. But a few days later, the things I liked about it stick out much less and it's kind of blurring into a mediocre book.
The first half was okay and took me ages to read, and the second half was very enjoyable and went by in a day, but it was still haunted by the issues from the first half... namely that it was consistently unclear to me, or apparently any of the characters, how to break the curse that set off the events of the story. Mina just kind of wandered around intending to find out, and eventually it worked? It didn't feel like a series of discoveries or obstacles that led there, just some things that filled the space until it was acceptably late in the book to fix the big thing.
For that, I'd give it two stars for not being a good book but not being a horrible book. But I ended up enjoying a lot of things about it, like the importance of family, from sibling love to ancestors that are always looking out for you, and the villain to ally arc of a particular secondary character. Both made me feel a lot of things that made the second half way better....more
I can't pretend the typos didn't annoy the hell out of me, but the actual plot and characters and writing and EMOTIONS in this book are so goddamn gooI can't pretend the typos didn't annoy the hell out of me, but the actual plot and characters and writing and EMOTIONS in this book are so goddamn good I had tears in my eyes. The author can probably edit the mistakes easily anyway, since it's self-published. The story itself doesn't need a single thing changed....more
This book definitely didn't approach the retelling the way I expected, so it was a refreshing experience. I really like how it dealt with mental illneThis book definitely didn't approach the retelling the way I expected, so it was a refreshing experience. I really like how it dealt with mental illness. The fact that some of what is haunting Eury is supernatural isn't allowed to overwhelm the fact that she's also haunted by anxiety and PTSD, which means despite the metaphorical nature of some of the supernatural elements tying into her PTSD, addressing mental illness isn't boiled down to "Poof! Magic!" Healthy coping mechanisms, confiding in family and friends, therapy, finding comfort in religion in conjunction with other coping mechanisms rather than in place of them—all these things are explored too, and they're not less important than the magical aspects. If anything, they're more important.
Parents are also an important part of the book, which stands out in a genre notorious for hand-waving parents away so they don't get in the way of teenage shenanigans. Both Eury and Pheus struggle with understanding their parents and getting their parents to understand them.
Eury doesn't know how to speak up against her mother's insistence that religion is all she needs to adress her mental health. Faith helps her, but it isn't enough. In the end, it takes understanding her mother's own struggle with depression for them to communicate, and for Eury's mother to understand that they both need help.
Pheus has a hard time because he can see both sides of his parents' divorce. He loves his dad, but he's internalized some beliefs from his mother about what being successful means that he can't shake, even when he knows they're wrong. Over the course of the book, he has to open up to more of his father's philosophy about what's important in life so he can become the person Eury needs. I love how much Pheus values his friendships and the integrity of his home. He doesn't just spring up as a fully formed hero, he actually thinks about what it means to be a good person, and when he needs to be open to change. And his father, the man who taught him to think deeply about what he owes to other people, is an important influence on him throughout the book.
Considering this is an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling, I wish I enjoyed the parts in the "underworld" more, but I felt like they weren't where the book was at its best. The underworld felt somewhat unformed and a bit of a jumble of too many ideas. I think the parts set in the city, when the supernatural was on the outskirts rather than at the center, were better written and more interesting....more
I got a lot out of this book. Like any anthology, some chapters aren't as good as others, but there were a few in here that really inspired me and manI got a lot out of this book. Like any anthology, some chapters aren't as good as others, but there were a few in here that really inspired me and many that introduced me to new tales I hadn't read before. Because it's so academic and I'm still learning about queer theory, some of the chapters seemed a little far-fetched to me — sometimes the academic definition of queer is very broad! But I highly recommend it for avid readers of fairy tales; it'll introduce you to new viewpoints and expand the possible meanings you can get from both the tales it covers and ones you read on your own....more
A very interesting retelling of The Snow Queen. Fractured, strange, and distant, so it's a weird read. But I love Valente's writing and how she incorpA very interesting retelling of The Snow Queen. Fractured, strange, and distant, so it's a weird read. But I love Valente's writing and how she incorporates retellings of other tales as well....more
It has some flaws. There are a few coincidences in the plot which could have been products of skill and determination instead,I liked this book a lot!
It has some flaws. There are a few coincidences in the plot which could have been products of skill and determination instead, if the author put some more thought into it. But mostly my problem was was that the writing of the Horrible Oppressive Patriarchal Kingdom was So Obvious. It conveys the horror of the setting, but at the cost of more subtle and evocative writing. I think the misogyny and hopelessness and horror could have been conveyed with writing more like a scalpel instead of a pick axe, if you get what I'm saying. On the other hand, the straightforwardness of it means no one could be dense enough to miss the message. And with its retelling angle and not having sexual content but with the same message, it might be a fantastic The Handmaid's Tale for younger audiences.
I also wanted more fleshing out of the fairy-tales-are-state-propaganda angle! The treatment of Cinderella this way is the basis of the entire book, but the mention of Snow White caught my interest so hard, I wanted to know how so many other tales would go if they got the same treatment. Hoping this was left to be fleshed out in sequels!
Though I wish the flaws were fixed, I am very happy with this book. We got gay girls. We got queer characters supporting each other. We got morally gray characters and heroes and villains. We got a million different ways people crumple under and quietly resist and loudly revolt against the patriarchy, and incredible character development as Sophia learns not to judge people who go quietly because they just want to survive, even though she is a different kind of person. And she does it all while kissing girls....more
I love the role of the mother in The Bloody Chamber and enjoyed discussing that story for a class. Some of the other stories didn't impress me as muchI love the role of the mother in The Bloody Chamber and enjoyed discussing that story for a class. Some of the other stories didn't impress me as much (one of them was very short and seemed kind of pointless?) but I enjoyed the collection as a whole....more
I really thought I'd love this, so it's disappointing that I didn't. But it is really interesting. It's a cross-section of poetry and play, and I realI really thought I'd love this, so it's disappointing that I didn't. But it is really interesting. It's a cross-section of poetry and play, and I really liked how some of that worked. The idea of one act in which you can semi-see one set through the wall behind another set would be awesome on stage.
But the dialogue also felt kind of repetitive and, just two months later, nothing much about it stands out in my memory. In the age of Hadestown, this just does not make the list of my favorite Hades and Persephones. Good, but not incredible....more
Here's the thing: I love most of this book. It's exactly the kind of the adult fiction I'm looking for when I step outside YA — thoughtful and occasioHere's the thing: I love most of this book. It's exactly the kind of the adult fiction I'm looking for when I step outside YA — thoughtful and occasionally funny and full of great characters. And along with Girls Made of Snow and Glass it has cemented Snow White retellings as some of my favorites. I love how mirrors and beauty are examined in this story
But then right at the end the book adds another element. Vague version: it's arguably transphobic (as in, I would argue that). The long version is under the cut for spoilers of one specific element, but I encourage you to read these spoilers, because it's more nuanced than that and doesn't spoil anything else about the book.
(view spoiler)[Boy's (she is one of the main characters) father turns out to be a trans man. Except Boy decides he's actually under a spell that she needs to break in order to regain her "mother" — that's what she then calls her father, a person who has unequivocally stated that he is a man. There is consistent misgendering from the moment she finds out
I don't think Oyeyemi wrote this part of the story thinking "ah yes, let's be transphobic, trans men are just women who were traumatized into wanting to be men." I don't have any idea what she thinks or knows about trans people. But however much she might have meant this one character to be a symbol of the traumatization of women and lesbians in particular and wanted to celebrate the power of women to heal each other, and not have anything to do with trans identity, it came across as deeply invalidating of trans men. (hide spoiler)]...more