en-US Thu, 27 Jul 2023 00:28:01 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 38474
Stunning for its emotional intensity and haunting sensuality, this book depicts men and women, blacks and whites, stripped of their masks of gender and race by love and hatred at the most elemental and sublime.]]> 448 James Baldwin 0141186372 Gretchen 5 4.32 1962
author: James Baldwin
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1962
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/07/27
shelves:
review:

]]> 22875099 NOT EVERY GIFT IS A BLESSING.

Melanie is a very special girl. Dr. Caldwell calls her "our little genius."

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh.

Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.

The Girl With All the Gifts is a groundbreaking thriller, emotionally charged and gripping from beginning to end.]]> 405 M.R. Carey 0316334758 Gretchen 5 sf 3.97 2014
author: M.R. Carey
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/02/18
shelves: sf
review:
Brutal, compelling, deeply humane and perfectly paced, this was a compulsive and smart read if you have the stomach for books with horror elements about medical abuse of children. Incredibly well-done dystopian horror.
]]> 43568395 A thought-provoking and haunting novel about a creature that escapes from an artist's canvas, whose talent is sniffing out monsters in a world that claims they don't exist anymore. Perfect for fans of Akata Witch and Shadowshaper.

There are no monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. Jam and her best friend, Redemption, have grown up with this lesson all their life. But when Jam meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colors and claws, who emerges from one of her mother's paintings and a drop of Jam's blood, she must reconsider what she's been told. Pet has come to hunt a monster--and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption's house. Jam must fight not only to protect her best friend, but also uncover the truth, and the answer to the question How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?

In their riveting and timely young adult debut, acclaimed novelist Akwaeke Emezi asks difficult questions about what choices you can make when the society around you is in denial.]]> 208 Akwaeke Emezi 0525647074 Gretchen 5 4.14 2019
author: Akwaeke Emezi
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/09/29
date added: 2022/02/13
shelves: poly, queer, sf, trans, ya, tiptree-interest
review:
Possibly my favorite book of the year, this is a clear-eyed, unsentimental, justice-oriented book about a girl who must make choices about uncovering the darkness underpinning the seemingly enlightened and perfect community. Jam is a relatable, thoughtful, passionate young woman of privilege whose orderly world is turned upside-down when an avenging creature of art and gold and static and horror emerges from her mother's painting. The creature, called Pet, is bent on hunting a monster--one which it claims is in the house of Jam's best friend, Redemption. As Jam investigates, she frequently makes mistakes and struggles with balancing the single-minded justice of Pet with her own fear of tearing apart the community of people she loves and grew up with. Emezi seamlessly integrates diverse perspectives--Jam is a trans girl, and her reluctance to speak aloud has led herr family and many community members to adapt to using sign language a great deal of the time. These facts are present in the story but don't feel like diversity for the sake of diversity. This story of the growth and vigilance and protective compassion Jam must learn will resonate for anyone who can recognize that a just society must never sit back and forget. I loved this powerful little book.
]]> 57800384 Lost & Found, she weaves the story of those relationships into a brilliant exploration of the role that loss and discovery play in all of our lives. The resulting book is part memoir, part guidebook to living in a world that is simultaneously full of wonder and joy and wretchedness and suffering--a world that always demands both our gratitude and our grief. A staff writer at The New Yorker and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Schulz writes with curiosity, tenderness, erudition, and wit about our finite yet infinitely complicated lives. Lost & Found is an enduring account of love in all its many forms from one of the great writers of our time.]]> 256 Kathryn Schulz 0525512462 Gretchen 5 4.08 2022
author: Kathryn Schulz
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2022/01/11
shelves:
review:

]]> 50706646
Lin is the emperor's daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic.

Yet such power carries a great cost, and when the revolution reaches the gates of the palace, Lin must decide how far she is willing to go to claim her birthright - and save her people.]]> 435 Andrea Stewart 0316541427 Gretchen 0 currently-reading 3.97 2020
author: Andrea Stewart
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/20
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 48915089
But even in the forest, Vern is a hunted woman. Forced to fight back against the community that refuses to let her go, she unleashes incredible brutality far beyond what a person should be capable of, her body wracked by inexplicable and uncanny changes.

To understand her metamorphosis and to protect her small family, Vern has to face the past, and more troublingly, the future - outside the woods. Finding the truth will mean uncovering the secrets of the compound she fled but also the violent history in America that produced it.]]> 355 Rivers Solomon 0374266778 Gretchen 0 currently-reading 3.82 2021
author: Rivers Solomon
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/20
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 48727813 Two-time British Fantasy Award Winner
Astounding Award Winner
Lambda Literary Award Finalist
Hugo Award Finalist
Locus Award Finalist
Otherwise Award Finalist

"Magnificent in every way."—Samantha Shannon, author of The Priory of the Orange Tree

"A dazzling new world of fate, war, love and betrayal."—Zen Cho, author of Black Water Sister

She Who Became the Sun reimagines the rise to power of the Ming Dynasty’s founding emperor.

To possess the Mandate of Heaven, the female monk Zhu will do anything

“I refuse to be nothing…�

In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness�

In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.

When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother's identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate.

After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu takes the chance to claim another future her brother's abandoned greatness.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]> 416 Shelley Parker-Chan 1250621798 Gretchen 0 currently-reading 3.87 2021
author: Shelley Parker-Chan
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/20
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 45448133
Trina and her wife, Deeba, live blissfully under The Seep’s utopian influence—until Deeba begins to imagine what it might be like to be reborn as a baby, which will give her the chance at an even better life. Using Seep-tech to make this dream a reality, Deeba moves on to a new existence, leaving Trina devastated.

Heartbroken and deep into an alcoholic binge, Trina chases after a young boy she encounters, embarking on an unexpected quest. In her attempt to save him from The Seep, she will confront not only one of its most avid devotees, but the terrifying void that Deeba has left behind.]]> 203 Chana Porter 1641290862 Gretchen 4 3.64 2020
author: Chana Porter
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2021/01/04
shelves:
review:

]]> 39325105 Harrow the Ninth, the sequel to Gideon the Ninth, turns a galaxy inside out as one necromancer struggles to survive the wreckage of herself aboard the Emperor's haunted space station.

She answered the Emperor's call.

She arrived with her arts, her wits, and her only friend.

In victory, her world has turned to ash.

After rocking the cosmos with her deathly debut, Tamsyn Muir continues the story of the penumbral Ninth House in Harrow the Ninth, a mind-twisting puzzle box of mystery, murder, magic, and mayhem. Nothing is as it seems in the halls of the Emperor, and the fate of the galaxy rests on one woman's shoulders.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, last necromancer of the Ninth House, has been drafted by her Emperor to fight an unwinnable war. Side-by-side with a detested rival, Harrow must perfect her skills and become an angel of undeath � but her health is failing, her sword makes her nauseous, and even her mind is threatening to betray her.

Sealed in the gothic gloom of the Emperor's Mithraeum with three unfriendly teachers, hunted by the mad ghost of a murdered planet, Harrow must confront two unwelcome questions: is somebody trying to kill her? And if they succeeded, would the universe be better off?]]> 512 Tamsyn Muir 1250313228 Gretchen 5 4.30 2020
author: Tamsyn Muir
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2021/01/04
shelves:
review:

]]> 54860443
But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the train.

Jane. Dazzling, charming, mysterious, impossible Jane. Jane with her rough edges and swoopy hair and soft smile, showing up in a leather jacket to save August’s day when she needed it most. August’s subway crush becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon, she discovers there’s one big problem: Jane doesn’t just look like an old school punk rocker. She’s literally displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her. Maybe it’s time to start believing in some things, after all.

Casey McQuiston’s One Last Stop is a magical, sexy, big-hearted romance where the impossible becomes possible as August does everything in her power to save the girl lost in time.]]> 418 Casey McQuiston 1250244498 Gretchen 5 3.90 2021
author: Casey McQuiston
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2021/01/04
shelves:
review:

]]> 38136967 “Gloriously dark and romantic.� —Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen
“An alluring and seductive fairy tale.� —Justina Ireland, New York Times bestselling author of Dread Nation
“Horrifying, heartbreaking, and heartwarming, a lush fairy tale rooted in a moral quandary.� �Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“An eerie, consuming tale of sacrifice and faith. Haunting and unique.� �Booklist
“Evocative.� �BCCB

Once, a witch made a pact with a devil. The legend says they loved each other, but can the story be trusted at all? Find out in this lush, atmospheric fantasy novel that entwines love, lies, and sacrifice.

Long ago, a village made a bargain with the devil: to ensure their prosperity, when the Slaughter Moon rises, the village must sacrifice a young man into the depths of the Devil’s Forest.

Only this year, the Slaughter Moon has risen early.

Bound by duty, secrets, and the love they share for one another, Mairwen, a spirited witch; Rhun, the expected saint; and Arthur, a restless outcast, will each have a role to play as the devil demands a body to fill the bargain. But the devil these friends find is not the one they expect, and the lies they uncover will turn their town—and their hearts—inside out.]]> 390 Tessa Gratton 153440208X Gretchen 5 sf, ya, poly
This is a rare gift of a YA story—protagonists who love their families and community, who trust that the way things are done is the way they ought to be done, then upon finding out the lie behind the seven year sacrifice, they take their power, enlist their community, and fight through grief and anger to risk everything on a new option. The prose is stylistically spot-on, giving the depth of magic in the forest and the lived-in humdrum existence of the townsfolk equal weight, with some incredibly visceral imagery to bring the story further to life. The romantic threads between the three protagonists are so lovely and unusual to see, and the way the romance is important but doesn’t supersede the main plot works beautifully. The plotting and pacing are great, and the heightened story of a small town caught up in an historic cycle of life and death between the forest, the devil, the witches, and the people was perfectly spun. I loved this book and I know I will be thinking about it for a long while. ]]> 3.57 2018
author: Tessa Gratton
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/06/06
date added: 2020/08/06
shelves: sf, ya, poly
review:
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss.

This is a rare gift of a YA story—protagonists who love their families and community, who trust that the way things are done is the way they ought to be done, then upon finding out the lie behind the seven year sacrifice, they take their power, enlist their community, and fight through grief and anger to risk everything on a new option. The prose is stylistically spot-on, giving the depth of magic in the forest and the lived-in humdrum existence of the townsfolk equal weight, with some incredibly visceral imagery to bring the story further to life. The romantic threads between the three protagonists are so lovely and unusual to see, and the way the romance is important but doesn’t supersede the main plot works beautifully. The plotting and pacing are great, and the heightened story of a small town caught up in an historic cycle of life and death between the forest, the devil, the witches, and the people was perfectly spun. I loved this book and I know I will be thinking about it for a long while.
]]> 43445108 In the fading light of a dying star, a soldier for hire searches for a missing refugee ship and uncovers a universe-shattering secret.

Asala Sikou is used to looking after number one while crisis reigns in her dying planetary system. But when she's hired to find a missing refugee ship, she discovers that this is no ordinary rescue mission, and she must play a role in deciding the fate of the whole universe.]]> 385 Yoon Ha Lee Gretchen 0 to-read 3.76 2019
author: Yoon Ha Lee
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 43263515
These monsters of Elendhaven will have their revenge on everyone who wronged the city, even if they have to burn the world to do it.]]> 160 Jennifer Giesbrecht 125022568X Gretchen 4 3.54 2019
author: Jennifer Giesbrecht
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2019/10/10
shelves:
review:

]]> 45422268
"This is when your life begins."

Nia Imani is a woman out of place and outside of time. Decades of travel through the stars are condensed into mere months for her, though the years continue to march steadily onward for everyone she has ever known. Her friends and lovers have aged past her; all she has left is work. Alone and adrift, she lives only for the next paycheck, until the day she meets a mysterious boy, fallen from the sky.

A boy, broken by his past.

The scarred child does not speak, his only form of communication the beautiful and haunting music he plays on an old wooden flute. Captured by his songs and their strange, immediate connection, Nia decides to take the boy in. And over years of starlit travel, these two outsiders discover in each other the things they lack. For him, a home, a place of love and safety. For her, an anchor to the world outside of herself.

For both of them, a family.

But Nia is not the only one who wants the boy. The past hungers for him, and when it catches up, it threatens to tear this makeshift family apart.]]> 391 Simon Jimenez 0593128982 Gretchen 4 4.05 2020
author: Simon Jimenez
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2019/10/10
shelves:
review:

]]> 43263807 From Annalee Newitz, founding editor of io9, comes a story of time travel, murder, and the lengths we'll go to protect the ones we love.

1992: After a confrontation at a riot grrl concert, seventeen-year-old Beth finds herself in a car with her friend's abusive boyfriend dead in the backseat, agreeing to help her friends hide the body. This murder sets Beth and her friends on a path of escalating violence and vengeance as they realize many other young women in the world need protecting too.

2022: Determined to use time travel to create a safer future, Tess has dedicated her life to visiting key moments in history and fighting for change. But rewriting the timeline isn’t as simple as editing one person or event. And just when Tess believes she's found a way to make an edit that actually sticks, she encounters a group of dangerous travelers bent on stopping her at any cost.

Tess and Beth’s lives intertwine as war breaks out across the timeline--a war that threatens to destroy time travel and leave only a small group of elites with the power to shape the past, present, and future. Against the vast and intricate forces of history and humanity, is it possible for a single person’s actions to echo throughout the timeline?]]> 272 Annalee Newitz 0765392127 Gretchen 4 3.76 2019
author: Annalee Newitz
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2019/10/10
shelves:
review:

]]> 43459657
When Greenhollow Hall acquires a handsome, intensely curious new owner in Henry Silver, everything changes. Old secrets better left buried are dug up, and Tobias is forced to reckon with his troubled past—both the green magic of the woods, and the dark things that rest in its heart.]]> 112 Emily Tesh 1250229790 Gretchen 5 queer, sf 3.98 2019
author: Emily Tesh
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2019/08/02
shelves: queer, sf
review:
This slim book has all the depth and slow gentle warmth and teeming life and dark terror of rotting leaf matter blanketing a centuries-old wood. The author's prose is evocative and spare, taciturn and forthright yet observant and beautifully assured, much like her protagonist. The old stories of the Green Man and the monsters in the wood find new (queer!) life and meaning in this lovely book.
]]> 36483378 A future chieftain.

Fie abides by one rule: look after your own. Her Crow caste of undertakers and mercy-killers takes more abuse than coin, but when they’re called to collect royal dead, she’s hoping they’ll find the payout of a lifetime.

A fugitive prince.

When Crown Prince Jasimir turns out to have faked his death, Fie’s ready to cut her losses—and perhaps his throat. But he offers a wager that she can’t refuse: protect him from a ruthless queen, and he’ll protect the Crows when he reigns.

A too-cunning bodyguard.

Hawk warrior Tavin has always put Jas’s life before his, magically assuming the prince’s appearance and shadowing his every step. But what happens when Tavin begins to want something to call his own?]]> 384 Margaret Owen 1250191920 Gretchen 4 sf, ya 3.88 2019
author: Margaret Owen
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2019/08/01
date added: 2019/08/02
shelves: sf, ya
review:
I enjoyed this but it wasn't quite the sweet spot for me for YA fantasy. I liked the queer love triangle, but the fantasy-world caste system felt artificially clean to me, and the magic was cool in concept (I love me some bone magic) but occasionally felt too plot-convenient. That said, the characters were very winning and it was a fun read!
]]> 43069601 Bestselling author Katherine Arden returns with another creepy, spine-tingling adventure in this follow-up to the critically acclaimed Small Spaces.

Having survived sinister scarecrows and the malevolent smiling man in Small Spaces, newly minted best friends Ollie, Coco, and Brian are ready to spend a relaxing winter break skiing together with their parents at Mount Hemlock Resort. But when a snowstorm sets in, causing the power to flicker out and the cold to creep closer and closer, the three are forced to settle for hot chocolate and board games by the fire.

Ollie, Coco, and Brian are determined to make the best of being snowed in, but odd things keep happening. Coco is convinced she has seen a ghost, and Ollie is having nightmares about frostbitten girls pleading for help. Then Mr. Voland, a mysterious ghost hunter, arrives in the midst of the storm to investigate the hauntings at Hemlock Lodge. Ollie, Coco, and Brian want to trust him, but Ollie's watch, which once saved them from the smiling man, has a new cautionary message: BEWARE.

With Mr. Voland's help, Ollie, Coco, and Brian reach out to the dead voices at Mount Hemlock. Maybe the ghosts need their help–or maybe not all ghosts can or should be trusted.

Dead Voices is a terrifying follow-up to Small Spaces with thrills and chills galore and the captive foreboding of a classic ghost story.]]> 256 Katherine Arden 0593106490 Gretchen 5 4.06 2019
author: Katherine Arden
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/07/29
date added: 2019/08/02
shelves:
review:
A classic haunted house horror novel for the younger set, complete with a ouija board and a murderous ghast of an orphanage headdmistress, this book is even better than its predecessor and builds on the emotional journeys of Ollie, Coco, and Brian. Well-paced, well-written, and refreshingly inclusive of positive child-parent relationships while centering the experiences and agency of the kids. Can't wait for more.
]]> 36959639 New York Times bestselling adult author ofĚýThe Bear and the Nightingale makes her middle grade debut with a creepy, spellbinding ghost story destined to become a classic

After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie only finds solace in books. So when she happens upon a crazed woman at the river threatening to throw a book into the water, Ollie doesn't think—she just acts, stealing the book and running away. As she begins to read the slender volume, Ollie discovers a chilling story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who both loved her, and a peculiar deal made with "the smiling man," a sinister specter who grants your most tightly held wish, but only for the ultimate price.Ěý

Ollie is captivated by the tale until her school trip the next day to Smoke Hollow, a local farm with a haunting history all its own. There she stumbles upon the graves of the very people she's been reading about. Could it be the story about the smiling man is true? Ollie doesn't have too long to think about the answer to that. On the way home, the school bus breaks down, sending their teacher back to the farm for help. But the strange bus driver has some advice for the kids left behind in his care: "Best get moving. At nightfall they'll come for the rest of you." Nightfall is, indeed, fast descending when Ollie's previously broken digital wristwatch, a keepsake reminder of better times, begins a startling countdown and delivers a terrifying message: RUN.Ěý

Only Ollie and two of her classmates heed the bus driver's warning. As the trio head out into the woods--bordered by a field of scarecrows that seem to be watching them--the bus driver has just one final piece of advice for Ollie and her friends: "Avoid large places. Keep to small."Ěý

And with that, a deliciously creepy and hair-raising adventure begins.

]]> 218 Katherine Arden 052551502X Gretchen 4 sf 4.00 2018
author: Katherine Arden
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2019/07/28
date added: 2019/08/02
shelves: sf
review:
I thoroughly enjoyed this smart, genuinely scary, unpredictable and emotionally honest novel. Great for any Coraline fans who wish Coraline had maybe had a friend or two for the journey.
]]> 44581536 Ormeshadow, a coming-of-age story as dark and rich as good soil.

Burning with resentment and intrigue, this fantastical family drama invites readers to dig up the secrets of the Belman family, and wonder whether myths and legends are real enough to answer for a history of sin.

Uprooted from Bath by his father's failures, Gideon Belman finds himself stranded on Ormeshadow farm, an ancient place of chalk and ash and shadow. The land crests the Orme, a buried, sleeping dragon that dreams resentment, jealousy, estrangement, death. Or so the folklore says. Growing up in a house that hates him, Gideon finds his only comforts in the land. Gideon will live or die by the Orme, as all his family has.]]> 176 Priya Sharma 1250241448 Gretchen 0 to-read 3.75 2019
author: Priya Sharma
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/08/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 41150487
As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?]]> 448 Casey McQuiston 1250316774 Gretchen 5 queer 4.06 2019
author: Casey McQuiston
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/03/13
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves: queer
review:
I enjoyed this so much! A snarky, funny, big-hearted delight from start to finish, deepened by the pang of it being set in a world where a woman Democrat won the Presidency in 2016. Alex is the mediagenic, politically ambitious 20-something First Son of the United States, finishing college and on the fast track to becoming the youngest member of Congress in US history. He has a longtime grudge against Henry, the junior Prince of England, and at Henry's older brother's royal wedding, Alex and Henry get to snarking at each other and cause an international incident. Their PR teams force them to make nice... and I bet you can guess what happens next. Alex and Henry are callow in their own ways, but also very constrained by their very public lives and their problems feel real and their missteps and self-deceptions make lots of sense from where they're coming from. Multiple queer characters allow everyone to be imperfect and feel real. Thoughtful characters, especially the secondary ones whose sibling love keeps the boys' egos on the ground, round out the cast. I laughed, I gasped in public, and all in all enjoyed the heck out of this not terribly challenging but entirely affecting book. Highly recommended for a diverting read.
]]> 42505366
It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don't dare wander outside the school's fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything.

But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there's more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true.]]> 357 Rory Power 0525645586 Gretchen 5 queer, sf, ya 3.46 2019
author: Rory Power
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/07/01
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves: queer, sf, ya
review:
Wow, what a FLEX of a novel! This book is rightly being touted as a 'feminist lord of the flies', but its similarities to other books of eco horror like Annihilation or Girl With All the Gifts are also relevant. The prose is taut and the story unravels in a creepy mystery. There's something highly savagely important about seeing young women, so frequently considered expendable, fight through to a tense and embittered kind of knowledge and freedom.
]]> 37920490
It's been four weeks since the bloody showdown at Black Mesa, and Maggie Hoskie, Diné monster hunter, is trying to make the best of things. Only her latest bounty hunt has gone sideways, she's lost her only friend, Kai Arviso, and she's somehow found herself responsible for a girl with a strange clan power.

Then the Goodacre twins show up at Maggie's door with the news that Kai and the youngest Goodacre, Caleb, have fallen in with a mysterious cult, led by a figure out of Navajo legend called the White Locust. The Goodacres are convinced that Kai's a true believer, but Maggie suspects there's more to Kai's new faith than meets the eye. She vows to track down the White Locust, then rescue Kai and make things right between them.

Her search leads her beyond the Walls of Dinétah and straight into the horrors of the Big Water world outside. With the aid of a motley collection of allies, Maggie must battle body harvesters, newborn casino gods, and, ultimately, the White Locust himself. But the cult leader is nothing like she suspected, and Kai might not need rescuing after all. When the full scope of the White Locust's plans are revealed, Maggie's burgeoning trust in her friends and herself will be pushed to the breaking point, and not everyone will survive.]]> 313 Rebecca Roanhorse 1534413529 Gretchen 4 sf 4.16 2019
author: Rebecca Roanhorse
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2019/04/26
date added: 2019/04/26
shelves: sf
review:
I enjoyed this! The story continues the wondrous, occasionally brutal story of Maggie Hoskie, with a revolving cast of new and returning characters. Terrifying powers and high snark, as well as a Maggie who is a little more firmly settled in her boots, make this enjoyable, though after the very climactic resolution of Trail of Lightning, this one felt a bit like a holding pattern (calm before the storm?) while we gear up for a bigger plot in the next book. If you enjoyed the fast pace, taut action, and broken swagger of the first book, you'll eat this one up, too.
]]> 40522814 There is no consent under capitalism

Docile is a science fiction parable about love and sex, wealth and debt, abuse and power, a challenging tour de force that at turns seduces and startles.

To be a Docile is to be kept, body and soul, for the uses of the owner of your contract. To be a Docile is to forget, to disappear, to hide inside your body from the horrors of your service. To be a Docile is to sell yourself to pay your parents' debts and buy your children's future.

Elisha Wilder’s family has been ruined by debt, handed down to them from previous generations. His mother never recovered from the Dociline she took during her term as a Docile, so when Elisha decides to try and erase the family’s debt himself, he swears he will never take the drug that took his mother from him. Too bad his contract has been purchased by Alexander Bishop III, whose ultra-rich family is the brains (and money) behind Dociline and the entire Office of Debt Resolution. When Elisha refuses Dociline, Alex refuses to believe that his family’s crowning achievement could have any negative side effects—and is determined to turn Elisha into the perfect Docile without it.]]> 489 K.M. Szpara 125021615X Gretchen 5 queer, sf
The thing I appreciated most about this book is how long it spent on the question of reparation and change, and gave a sympathetic but not apologetic nod to the social pressures and constraints that lead abusers to become abusers and the often drastic amounts of self-realization and pointed release of institutional power it would take to even begin to make up for the harm one has caused. Following both Elisha and Alex through this process was fascinating, particularly the various fraught ways that the people attempting to advocate for Elisha pressed him to be of use to their own ends, as well as the power of seeing an abusive character show genuine and material remorse and say out loud in front of a judge and jury that he had abused Elisha. For me at least, the back half of the book made for a complex emotional reading experience, especially coming after the emotionally intense manipulation of the first half, the combination of which I found deeply rewarding and affirming as a survivor myself without requiring me to adhere to a bright line emotional experience as a reader.

Also, did I mention the sex in this book is hot?? SO UNCOMFORTABLE. I think my favorite moments are Elisha's post-Alex experience, in which he takes some perhaps ill-advised (which the narrative addresses) choices toward using BDSM as a means of self-regulation/self-determination/choice.
That's maybe not the textbook best practice for engaging in BDSM, but seeing a character explore and reach for his own agency by exploring actually consensual sex was such a good counterpoint to seeing BDSM practices specifically deployed as abuse in the first half of the book.

I'll be clear--I loved this book, I found the read on it very valuable and intense, and I wasn't expecting going in exactly how this story employs the close emotional two-voice character experience that can be a hallmark of romance writing to delve through the experience of emotional, social, sexual, economic abuse. Seeing Elisha's personality shift as time progresses, and following both his perspective and his abuser's in such intimate and relatable ways was occasionally difficult for me. This book walks a fine line that I suspect some will find objectionable--for me, however, committing to a complex depiction of a power differential and really exploring it the way this book does is unusual and rewarding and difficult.]]> 3.39 2020
author: K.M. Szpara
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2019/04/04
date added: 2019/04/12
shelves: queer, sf
review:
I've had such a hard time deciding how to write about this book! It takes a trope I often love in fanfiction and pushes the reader further into facing the ambivalence and discomfort inherent in the kinds of power differentials we take for granted in the real world. The premise of the book is this: Elisha's family is so deeply in debt that he runs to Baltimore to sell his family's debt under a legal system of indentured servitude, promising his service as a Docile for a life term to be at the whim of the purchaser of his contract. Elisha knows that this service may include hard manual labor or blanket permission to engage with him sexually. Please note that this book very explicitly engages with emotional abuse and digs deep into questions of consent, including rape. The contract is with Alex, an attractive scion of the incredibly rich family that created and continues to develop the drug Dociline. One of the few inviolable rights of Dociles indicate that the Docile has full decision-making capability over whether they choose to take this drug, which is supposed to wear off after a time, that makes them happy, pliable, and generally incapable of remembering what happens while they're on it. Elisha's mother spent ten years on Dociline and it never wore off, so Elisha chooses not to take the drug for himself. Elisha's contract with Alex resembles in many ways a 24/7 total power exchange relationship, including engaging in whatever sexual acts or humiliations Alex chooses for him, with the major difference from the BDSM practice being that Elisha's lack of options basically force him to choose the relationship rather than freely consenting. The development of their sexual attraction for one another, as well as the level of love they begin to feel for one another, engages in enough hallmarks of romance story writing that I felt drawn in by it much more than I was strictly comfortable with, and I think that's an aspect of this book's power. The sex scenes are hot and yet you never forget that Elisha did not choose this, his continued participation is constrained first by his economic and social circumstance and then later also by the effects of abuse. Is it still sexual coercion if the person gets intense positive experiences or pleasure? This novel argues that, yes, it is. Is it still abuse if the person still wants to return to it after escaping it? Sure is. It's not often you see this particular level of exploration of rape, coercion, and the longterm effects of abuse. It's an uncomfortable book that has the reader in a position to be used to enjoying reading sex scenes featuring power imbalance, while still internalizing the character's truth that the power imbalance is not happening by choice, and the repercussions these effects may have are indeed wide.

The thing I appreciated most about this book is how long it spent on the question of reparation and change, and gave a sympathetic but not apologetic nod to the social pressures and constraints that lead abusers to become abusers and the often drastic amounts of self-realization and pointed release of institutional power it would take to even begin to make up for the harm one has caused. Following both Elisha and Alex through this process was fascinating, particularly the various fraught ways that the people attempting to advocate for Elisha pressed him to be of use to their own ends, as well as the power of seeing an abusive character show genuine and material remorse and say out loud in front of a judge and jury that he had abused Elisha. For me at least, the back half of the book made for a complex emotional reading experience, especially coming after the emotionally intense manipulation of the first half, the combination of which I found deeply rewarding and affirming as a survivor myself without requiring me to adhere to a bright line emotional experience as a reader.

Also, did I mention the sex in this book is hot?? SO UNCOMFORTABLE. I think my favorite moments are Elisha's post-Alex experience, in which he takes some perhaps ill-advised (which the narrative addresses) choices toward using BDSM as a means of self-regulation/self-determination/choice.
That's maybe not the textbook best practice for engaging in BDSM, but seeing a character explore and reach for his own agency by exploring actually consensual sex was such a good counterpoint to seeing BDSM practices specifically deployed as abuse in the first half of the book.

I'll be clear--I loved this book, I found the read on it very valuable and intense, and I wasn't expecting going in exactly how this story employs the close emotional two-voice character experience that can be a hallmark of romance writing to delve through the experience of emotional, social, sexual, economic abuse. Seeing Elisha's personality shift as time progresses, and following both his perspective and his abuser's in such intimate and relatable ways was occasionally difficult for me. This book walks a fine line that I suspect some will find objectionable--for me, however, committing to a complex depiction of a power differential and really exploring it the way this book does is unusual and rewarding and difficult.
]]> 39345944
Guy Frisby and his sister Amanda live in rural seclusion after a family scandal. But when Amanda breaks her leg in a riding accident, she’s forced to recuperate at Rookwood Hall, where Sir Philip is hosting the Murder.

Guy rushes to protect her, but the Murder aren’t what he expects. They’re educated, fascinating people, and the notorious Sir Philip turns out to be charming, kind—and dangerously attractive.

In this private space where anything goes, the longings Guy has stifled all his life are impossible to resist...and so is Philip. But all too soon the rural rumour mill threatens both Guy and Amanda. The innocent country gentleman has lost his heart to the bastard baronet—but does he dare lose his reputation too?]]> 224 K.J. Charles Gretchen 5 poly, queer 4.19 2018
author: K.J. Charles
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2019/04/08
shelves: poly, queer
review:

]]> 40696751 The Martian and Gravity and the creeping dread of Annihilation, in which a caver on a foreign planet finds herself on a terrifying psychological and emotional journey for survival.

When Gyre Price lied her way into this expedition, she thought she’d be mapping mineral deposits, and that her biggest problems would be cave collapses and gear malfunctions. She also thought that the fat paycheck—enough to get her off-planet and on the trail of her mother—meant she’d get a skilled surface team, monitoring her suit and environment, keeping her safe. Keeping her sane.

Instead, she got Em.

Em sees nothing wrong with controlling Gyre’s body with drugs or withholding critical information to “ensure the smooth operation� of her expedition. Em knows all about Gyre’s falsified credentials, and has no qualms using them as a leash—and a lash. And Em has secrets, too . . .

As Gyre descends, little inconsistencies—missing supplies, unexpected changes in the route, and, worst of all, shifts in Em’s motivations—drive her out of her depths. Lost and disoriented, Gyre finds her sense of control giving way to paranoia and anger. On her own in this mysterious, deadly place, surrounded by darkness and the unknown, Gyre must overcome more than just the dangerous terrain and the Tunneler which calls underground its home if she wants to make it out alive—she must confront the ghosts in her own head.

But how come she can't shake the feeling she’s being followed?]]> 415 Caitlin Starling 0062846906 Gretchen 5 queer, sf 3.61 2019
author: Caitlin Starling
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2018/12/29
date added: 2019/04/01
shelves: queer, sf
review:
Ahhhhh! A grim, driven novel of suspense, meticulously plotted, fantastically rendered, and psychologically unnerving. It's rare that such a muscular, embodied sort of survival/adventure story builds such fascinating characters, but I've got Gyre and Em stuck in my head and haven't stopped thinking about this damn book since I finished it. Thrilling, occasionally terrifying, and compelling as a descent into the earth, into grief, into darkness and an unusual story of female characters whose selfishness and ambition aren't redeemed or apologized for by the story. Moral ambiguity, edge-of-your-seat terrifying caving, and unreliable characters whose motivations and needs unspool as Gyre descends.
]]> 40963731
Now, late in life and exiled from the mountain, Lamat finally tells her story to her partner, Otile. It's the story of why she really wrote her first book all those years ago, how she came to be cast out from the mountain-dwelling Holoh people, and how she fled to the anonymity of the city to hide from her fame. Most of all, it's the story of her bond with Mother Disaine—the blasphemer, charlatan, and visionary who stole Lamat's life to serve her own purposes—and what really happened on their last, greatest expedition.]]> 243 Isaac Fellman Gretchen 5 queer, sf 4.14 2018
author: Isaac Fellman
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2019/01/01
date added: 2019/03/26
shelves: queer, sf
review:
This is in many ways a thoughtful novel, quiet and careful, and reminds me of the parts of Left Hand of Darkness that often get overlooked--the deeply embedded cultural experiences of religion that constrain and shape a character, the emotional intensity that an environmentally extreme long journey can draw out, the pensive first person reflective narration of a character considering huge, complex, life changing yet subtle moments of their life. The physicality of this book, and the realness of its protagonist, really moved me. I highly recommend for fans of Laurie Marks or Rosemary Kirstein. Come for the mountain climbing and icy trek across a beautiful and dangerous landscape, stay for the ambivalent and complicated relationships between older women.
]]> 37794149
Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her Station from Teixcalaan's unceasing expansion—all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her own, and hiding a deadly technological secret—one that might spell the end of her Station and her way of life—or rescue it from annihilation.]]> 448 Arkady Martine 1529001587 Gretchen 5 sf, queer 4.08 2019
author: Arkady Martine
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/01/01
date added: 2019/03/26
shelves: sf, queer
review:
Meticulously written, delving into questions of colonialism and empire and drenched in political intrigue, this satisfying novel follows an underprepared and deeply resourceless new ambassador from a tiny station to the heart of the neighboring empire, to uncover the truth behind the untimely death of her predecessor and do her best to keep her home safe from being devoured by the expansionist empire. Culture clashes, closely-held secrets, and political unrest make the plot swim along, and the story delves with particular interest into questions of identity and memory. Fans of James SA Corey and Ann Leckie will be delighted by this impressive debut!
]]> 43317516 88 Malcolm Tariq 1644450097 Gretchen 0 to-read 4.44 2019
author: Malcolm Tariq
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 41746324 The Tradition details the normalization of evil and its history at the intersection of the past and the personal. Brown’s poetic concerns are both broad and intimate, and at their very core a distillation of the incredibly human: What is safety? Who is this nation? Where does freedom truly lie? Brown makes mythical pastorals to question the terrors to which we’ve become accustomed, and to celebrate how we survive. Poems of fatherhood, legacy, blackness, queerness, worship, and trauma are propelled into stunning clarity by Brown’s mastery, and his invention of the duplex―a combination of the sonnet, the ghazal, and the blues―testament to his formal skill. The Tradition is a cutting and necessary collection, relentless in its quest for survival while revelling in a celebration of contradiction.]]> 77 Jericho Brown 1556594860 Gretchen 0 to-read 4.25 2019
author: Jericho Brown
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 41746074 Poetic reflections on race, class, violence, segregation, and the hidden histories that shape our divided urban landscapes.

The Chicago Race Riot of 1919, the most intense of the riots that comprised the “Red Summer� of violence across the nation’s cities, is an event that has shaped the last century but is widely unknown. In 1919, award-winning poet Eve L. Ewing explores the story of this event—which lasted eight days and resulted in thirty-eight deaths and almost 500 injuries—through poems recounting the stories of everyday people trying to survive and thrive in the city. Ewing uses speculative and Afrofuturist lenses to recast history, and illuminates the thin line between the past and the present.]]> 76 Eve L. Ewing 1608465985 Gretchen 0 to-read 4.52 2019
author: Eve L. Ewing
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 41880609 On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family's history that began before he was born � a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam � and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation. At once a witness to the fraught yet undeniable love between a single mother and her son, it is also a brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity. Asking questions central to our American moment, immersed as we are in addiction, violence, and trauma, but undergirded by compassion and tenderness, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is as much about the power of telling one's own story as it is about the obliterating silence of not being heard.

With stunning urgency and grace, Ocean Vuong writes of people caught between disparate worlds, and asks how we heal and rescue one another without forsaking who we are. The question of how to survive, and how to make of it a kind of joy, powers the most important debut novel of many years.]]> 246 Ocean Vuong 0525562028 Gretchen 5 realist, queer 4.05 2019
author: Ocean Vuong
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/01/26
date added: 2019/01/26
shelves: realist, queer
review:
I'm wrecked from this book. I stayed up til 1am to finish it, I couldn't set it aside. It's one of the best books I have read in the last decade, if not the best. It's such an intense, unflinching, careful, loving, pitiless, above all beautifully written book, a spiraling letter from a son to his Vietnamese immigrant mother, meditating upon the abuse and joy they have each felt in their lives, the moments where their connections burned bright and flared out, the timid hopeful, secretive first love he found with a boy, the intergenerational trauma and PTSD of a family borne through the effects of war and colonization. Intimate, beautiful, absolutely gutting, rarely have I seen such a clear evocation of a life. All the warnings, including for child abuse, animal abuse, racial abuse, homophobia, sexual abuse, war trauma. An incredible feat of a novel if you think you can face the brutal truth of it. Also, one of the best (awkward, terrifying reality and incredible wonder of it at once) first time gay sex scenes I've ever read.
]]> 23398894
Forced to hide his identity, Damen finds himself increasingly drawn to the dangerous, charismatic Laurent. But as the fledgling trust between the two men deepens, the truth of secrets from both their pasts is poised to deal them the crowning death blow . . .]]> 404 C.S. Pacat Gretchen 4 queer, bdsm 4.39 2013
author: C.S. Pacat
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2015/11/19
date added: 2019/01/19
shelves: queer, bdsm
review:
This was a decent followup to The Captive Prince. Unlike the rest of fandom, apparently, I am not delirious with fervor over this story, but I've enjoyed the characters and the politicking, strategy, and emotional slow burn in this book felt stronger to me than the bed-slave/frigid master dynamic in the first book. I DO wanna know what happens!
]]> 38139409 Beware of the woods and the dark, dank deep. He’ll follow you home, and he won’t let you sleep.

Who are the Sawkill Girls?

Marion: the new girl. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find.

Zoey: the pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe she’s broken—or maybe everyone else is.

Val: the queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Words like silk and eyes like knives, a heart made of secrets and a mouth full of lies.

Their stories come together on the island of Sawkill Rock, where gleaming horses graze in rolling pastures and cold waves crash against black cliffs. Where kids whisper the legend of an insidious monster at parties and around campfires.

Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight� until now.]]> 447 Claire Legrand 0062696602 Gretchen 5 3.67 2018
author: Claire Legrand
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/09/25
date added: 2019/01/03
shelves: sf, queer, ya, tiptree-interest
review:
One of my favorite YAs of the year, this book is full of complex, messed up, feverishly real young women caught in the traps of their histories and circumstance, variously suspicious and trusting, privileged and poor, and a myriad of identities handled with a deft touch. If stories about people fighting oppression--including the kind of opressions that benefit them at the expense of others--and searching for new ways to fight the darkness that their parents could never had imagined... this is your book. Strange, gory, disturbing, and deeply, dauntingly feminist, this is a great book for anyone who loved Stranger Things but thought hey maybe it would have been better if it weren't mostly boys.
]]> 37534907
Humanity clings to life on January--a colonized planet divided between permanently frozen darkness on one side, and blazing endless sunshine on the other.

Two cities, built long ago in the meager temperate zone, serve as the last bastions of civilization--but life inside them is just as dangerous as the uninhabitable wastelands outside.

Sophie, a young student from the wrong side of Xiosphant city, is exiled into the dark after being part of a failed revolution. But she survives--with the help of a mysterious savior from beneath the ice.

Burdened with a dangerous, painful secret, Sophie and her ragtag group of exiles face the ultimate challenge--and they are running out of time.

Welcome to the City in the Middle of the Night.]]> 366 Charlie Jane Anders 0765379961 Gretchen 5 queer, sf 3.46 2019
author: Charlie Jane Anders
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2018/11/23
date added: 2019/01/03
shelves: queer, sf
review:
Charlie Jane keeps getting better and better. This novel is a fascinating tale of culture clash (both inter and intra species), the costs and merits of revolution, and the deep ecological impact we have on a world without recognizing it. In a world where day and night are constant, and humanity can only exist in a thin sliver of space without being wiped out from elemental extremes, two women are (unwillingly) at the crux of social and biological change. The alien-ness of the aliens really stuck with me, as did the moral ambiguity and selfishness of love, and the choices we make that may come out short-sighted. Really an interesting concept and setting, with messed-up characters whose pasts and futures make for excellent science fiction of the human.
]]> 42036538
The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won't set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon's sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.]]> 448 Tamsyn Muir 1250313198 Gretchen 5 queer, sf 4.20 2019
author: Tamsyn Muir
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2018/08/21
date added: 2018/12/30
shelves: queer, sf
review:
Review to come, but let's just say I haven't felt this giddy about a book in a looooong time. Gideon is 100% my new favorite character in recent SF/F, from the first page to the glorious last. I'm nearly angry that it's not coming out for over a year, it's so good and y'all are going to love this batshit ride.
]]> 21535271
Her name is Auri, and she is full of mysteries.

The Slow Regard of Silent Things is a brief, bittersweet glimpse of Auri’s life, a small adventure all her own. At once joyous and haunting, this story offers a chance to see the world through Auri’s eyes. And it gives the reader a chance to learn things that only Auri knows...

In this book, Patrick Rothfuss brings us into the world of one of The Kingkiller Chronicle’s most enigmatic characters. Full of secrets and mysteries, The Slow Regard of Silent Things is the story of a broken girl trying to live in a broken world.


AUTHOR’S FOREWORD

You might not want to buy this book.

I know, that’s not the sort of thing an author is supposed to say. The marketing people aren’t going to like this. My editor is going to have a fit. But I’d rather be honest with you right out of the gate.

First, if you haven’t read my other books, you don’t want to start here.

My first two books are The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear. If you’re curious to try my writing, start there. They’re the best introduction to my world. This book deals with Auri, one of the characters from that series. Without the context of those books, you’re probably going to feel pretty lost.

Second, even if you have read my other books, I think it’s only fair to warn you that this is a bit of a strange story. I don’t go in for spoilers, but suffice to say that this one is ... different. It doesn’t do a lot of the things a classic story is supposed to do. And if you’re looking for a continuation of Kvothe’s storyline, you’re not going to find it here.

On the other hand, if you’d like to learn more about Auri, this story has a lot to offer. If you love words and mysteries and secrets. If you’re curious about the Underthing and alchemy. If you want to know more about the hidden turnings of my world...

Well, then this book might be for you.

]]> 159 Patrick Rothfuss 0756410436 Gretchen 5 3.88 2014
author: Patrick Rothfuss
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2018/12/21
shelves:
review:

]]> 31945213
Anastasia Higginbotham’s tell stories of children navigating trouble with their senses on alert and their souls intact. Her previous books include Divorce Is the Worst and Death Is Stupid.]]> 64 Anastasia Higginbotham 1558614192 Gretchen 5 4.25 2017
author: Anastasia Higginbotham
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2018/11/16
shelves:
review:

]]> 37506437 Darius doesn't think he'll ever be enough, in America or in Iran.

Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He's about to take his first-ever trip to Iran, and it's pretty overwhelming—especially when he's also dealing with clinical depression, a disapproving dad, and a chronically anemic social life. In Iran, he gets to know his ailing but still formidable grandfather, his loving grandmother, and the rest of his mom's family for the first time. And he meets Sohrab, the boy next door who changes everything.

Sohrab makes sure people speak English so Darius can understand what's going on. He gets Darius an Iranian National Football Team jersey that makes him feel like a True Persian for the first time. And he understands that sometimes, best friends don't have to talk. Darius has never had a true friend before, but now he's spending his days with Sohrab playing soccer, eating rosewater ice cream, and sitting together for hours in their special place, a rooftop overlooking the Yazdi skyline.

Sohrab calls him Darioush—the original Persian version of his name—and Darius has never felt more like himself than he does now that he's Darioush to Sohrab. When it's time to go home to America, he'll have to find a way to be Darioush on his own.]]> 316 Adib Khorram 0525552960 Gretchen 5 realist, ya 4.23 2018
author: Adib Khorram
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/08/28
date added: 2018/08/28
shelves: realist, ya
review:
I read this book in one night and I loved it so so much. Darius is one of the most well-drawn, real teens I can remember seeing in contemporary YA. The way this book approaches mental health is especially important for young adult audiences, particularly because it acknowledges how difficult it can be but ultimately possible to manage clinical depression and have it be openly discussed and cared for in a family setting. Darius's not-ready-to-talk-about-it gay feelings are similarly well-handled. The warmth of Darius's family, the difficult concerns of globally disparate family and cultures meeting, in Darius's case for the first time, is treated with such remarkable humor and sensitivity. His relationship with the neighbor boy, his difficult yet loving relationship with his father, the fraught feelings he has about meeting his dying grandfather for the first time, the sweet affection he has for his little sister and for his mother, the Star Trek references, the gorgeous explorations of Iranian place and culture and food, everything about this book is just beautiful. Darius's story broke my heart open and built it up a little bit bigger. I loved it so much.
]]> 37822534 Mors Navis, with a crew of girls and women just like her, who have lost their families and homes because of Aric and his men. The crew has one mission: stay alive, and take down Aric's armed and armored fleet.

But when Caledonia's best friend and second-in-command barely survives an attack thanks to help from a Bullet looking to defect, Caledonia finds herself questioning whether to let him join their crew. Is this boy the key to taking down Aric Athair once and for all . . . or will he threaten everything the women of the Mors Navis have worked for?]]> 374 Natalie C. Parker 0451478800 Gretchen 4 ya, sf 3.83 2018
author: Natalie C. Parker
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2018/01/01
date added: 2018/08/27
shelves: ya, sf
review:
An engrossing pirate story set in a retro-future-tech dystopian future, this sisterhood of lady pirates surviving--even thriving--under brutally violent conditions is definitely a good one for people looking for found family stories of kickass women who decide that survival isn't enough--rebellion is the next step. I'll eagerly await the sequel!
]]> 34198648
All her life, Teodora has hidden the fact that she secretly turns her family’s enemies into music boxes, mirrors, and other decorative objects. After all, everyone in Vinalia knows that stregas—wielders of magic—are figures out of fairytales. Nobody believes they’re real.

Then the Capo, the land’s new ruler, sends poisoned letters to the heads of the Five Families that have long controlled Vinalia. Four lie dead and Teo’s beloved father is gravely ill. To save him, Teo must travel to the capital as a DiSangro son—not merely disguised as a boy, but transformed into one.

Enter Cielo, a strega who can switch back and forth between male and female as effortlessly as turning a page in a book. Teo and Cielo journey together to the capital, and Teo struggles to master her powers and to keep her growing feelings for Cielo locked in her heart. As she falls in love with witty, irascible Cielo, Teo realizes how much of life she’s missed by hiding her true nature. But she can’t forget her mission, and the closer they get to the palace, the more sinister secrets they uncover about what’s really going on in their beloved country—and the more determined Teo becomes to save her family at any cost.]]> 352 Amy Rose Capetta Gretchen 4 queer, sf, ya 3.67 2018
author: Amy Rose Capetta
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2018/07/16
date added: 2018/08/21
shelves: queer, sf, ya
review:
On its surface, this appears to be yet another addition to the string of Strong Female Protagonist Fantasy YA books that are crowding our shelves. This entry stands out above the others I've read in recent years thanks to the author's capable writing, a winning protagonist, and the thoughtful exploration of gender transformation-via-magic, folded into a court-and-family magic intrigue that play combine to heightened effect. Teo's journey is never simple, and warring duty to family and to self are never reduced to easy or trite answers. The exploration of gender fluidity--and its resonance with gender roles in a sexist society--were thoughtfully curated in a way I rarely see in published fiction. I'm looking forward to introducing readers to Teo and Cielo, and I'll be eagerly awaiting Capetta's next foray.
]]> 39979639 Not My Idea, the latest in the critically-acclaimed Ordinary Terrible Things series, is a book about whiteness.

A white child sees TV news coverage of a white police officer shooting a brown person whose hands were up. Upset, he asks his mother why; she deflects, assuring him that he is safe. Later, they visit an aunt and uncle, where the TV, always on, shows a rally in response to the police shooting. The child glimpses a moving press conference with the victim’s family while his aunt claims she simply “can’t watch the news.�

The book’s narrator accompanies the child as he faces history and himself. The activities section urges kids to grow justice (“like a bean sprout in a milk carton�) inside of themselves, seek out and listen to the truth about racism and white supremacy, and prepare to be changed, heartbroken, and liberated by this experience.

Part history lesson, part compassionate primer to assist children (and parents) past defensiveness, Not My Idea is a tangible tool for necessary conversations.]]> 64 Anastasia Higginbotham 1948340003 Gretchen 5 picture-books 4.02 2020
author: Anastasia Higginbotham
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2018/08/21
date added: 2018/08/21
shelves: picture-books
review:
This is an essential book about coming to terms with whiteness, acknowledging privilege, and recognizing that all of us, including white parents, are implicated by systems of oppression that benefit white people and reward us for failing to deal with racism, both internal and external. Past that, this book gives invaluable emotional opportunities directly to children to try to think beyond this inherited paradigm. A complex topic handled deftly is this author's trademark (I love TELL ME ABOUT SEX, GRANDMA so so much), and this book is no exception to her able skills. A great tool for parents, educators, family members, kids that white people need to do work to actively push back against racism—and that work IS possible, even if hard, and crucial.
]]> 37868569
At the Medio School for Girls, distinguished young women are trained for one of two roles in their polarized society. Depending on her specialization, a graduate will one day run a husband’s household or raise his children. Both paths promise a life of comfort and luxury, far from the frequent political uprisings of the lower class.

Daniela Vargas is the school’s top student, but her pedigree is a lie. She must keep the truth hidden or be sent back to the fringes of society.

And school couldn’t prepare her for the difficult choices she must make after graduation, especially when she is asked to spy for a resistance group desperately fighting to bring equality to Medio.

Will Dani cling to the privilege her parents fought to win for her, or will she give up everything she’s strived for in pursuit of a free Medio—and a chance at a forbidden love?]]> 400 Tehlor Kay Mejia 0062691333 Gretchen 5 ya, queer 3.74 2019
author: Tehlor Kay Mejia
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2018/07/25
date added: 2018/07/26
shelves: ya, queer
review:
One of the best YA novels I have read in some time! This timely novel of a young woman caught between warring considerations of duty, honor, safety, privilege, self-identity, and political necessity may be set in an imagined world but bear many parallels to real-life concerns of today, particularly from a Latinx feminist perspective. Daniela is a young woman with a dangerous secret--she was born on the wrong side of a border wall, and her parents risked everything to get her forged papers and into the elite boarding school for women destined to become the wives of the most privileged classes. Dani's secret is jeopardized by the rising anger of the lower classes and La Voz, a guerilla revolutionary movement starting to make inroads against the stratified and increasingly cruel methods of the elite to maintain their privilege. In Dani's world, upper class women are trained in an old religious system by which ruling men have two wives--the Primera, the reserved, intelligent wife whose role is to run the household and be a social extension of their husband's political interests, and the Segunda, women of great beauty and colorful emotion whose role is to bear their children. Dani, top Primera of her class, gets married to Mateo Garcia, one of the most promising politicos of his generation and scion of an old family embedded in the military industrial complex of their society. Dani navigates great inner turmoil as her connections to La Voz turn her into a spy and her duty to her new family become increasingly dangerous, especially as her initial dislike of her co-wife, Carmen, turns into a forbidden and mutually intense attraction. This book has great pacing, a thoughtfully-built world, and weighs duty to family, to safety, and to culture and society with great deftness. Dani's concerns and hesitations and feelings feel real, and her fraught decisions make sense in the politically volatile position she finds herself in. I want another book now!
]]> 36187110
Magic marked Miles Singer for suffering the day he was born, doomed either to be enslaved to his family's interest or to be committed to a witches' asylum. He went to war to escape his destiny and came home a different man, but he couldn’t leave his past behind. The war between Aeland and Laneer leaves men changed, strangers to their friends and family, but even after faking his own death and reinventing himself as a doctor at a cash-strapped veterans' hospital, Miles can’t hide what he truly is.

When a fatally poisoned patient exposes Miles� healing gift and his witchmark, he must put his anonymity and freedom at risk to investigate his patient’s murder. To find the truth he’ll need to rely on the family he despises, and on the kindness of the most gorgeous man he’s ever seen.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]> 318 C.L. Polk 0765398974 Gretchen 5 queer, sf 3.86 2018
author: C.L. Polk
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/07/05
date added: 2018/07/06
shelves: queer, sf
review:
I very much enjoyed this alternate world gaslamp fantasy-mystery book! The lines of oppressiona nd privilege may be shifted from those of our own, but the difficulties faced by Miles, a runaway nobleman who uses his outlawed magic in secret rather than consenting to have his power enslaved to his sister for the use of the privileged, meets a mysterious and attractive man named Tristan Hunter, who joins him on his investigation of several magically mysterious occurrences Miles finds while treating veterans of the war he himself barely came home from. The pacing of this book is gentle enough to give Miles' fears and concerns plenty of weight, and to explore his growing attraction to Mr. Hunter, as well as let the reader organically discover the lived-in world of Aeland. I very much enjoyed this book, from the queer romance to the family ostracism to the shocking conclusion and the many questions of the weight and cost of privilege--and what it might mean to clearly and definitively use one's privilege to upend the oppressive systems of a society. Great book--can't wait for the next one!
]]> 35684941
SEE! The illustrated exploits of three lovable dummies set loose in a classic fantasy adventure!

READ! Their journey from small-time bodyguards to world-class artifact hunters!

MARVEL! At the sheer metafictional chutzpah of a graphic novel based on a story created in a podcast where three dudes and their dad play a tabletop role playing game in real time!

Join Taako the elf wizard, Merle the dwarf cleric, and Magnus the human warrior for an adventure they are poorly equipped to handle AT BEST, guided ("guided") by their snarky DM, in a graphic novel that, like the smash-hit podcast it's based on, will tickle your funny bone, tug your heartstrings, and probably pants you if you give it half a chance.

With endearingly off-kilter storytelling from master goofballs Clint McElroy and the McElroy brothers, and vivid, adorable art by Carey Pietsch, The Adventure Zone: Here There be Gerblins is the comics equivalent of role-playing in your friend's basement at 2am, eating Cheetos and laughing your ass off as she rolls critical failure after critical failure.]]> 256 Clint McElroy 1250153700 Gretchen 5 comics, sf 4.33 2018
author: Clint McElroy
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/04/08
date added: 2018/07/06
shelves: comics, sf
review:
I love the podcast, so I am predisposed to love this very faithful adaptation as well. Carey Pietsch's art is a joy, communicating the humor and the wackiness and each character's forming personality so effortlessly. This first story is based on an out-of-the-box Dungeons and Dragons campaign, so it's not particularly original and the player characters had lots of development left to do. In all, this is a solid intro to the series and I eagerly await future installments in this graphic novel adaptation!
]]> 36220698
Hundreds of years ago, the last humans on Earth boarded the Exodus Fleet in search of a new home among the stars. After centuries spent wandering empty space, their descendants were eventually accepted by the well-established species that govern the Milky Way.

But that was long ago. Today, the Exodus Fleet is a living relic, the birthplace of many, yet a place few outsiders have ever visited. While the Exodans take great pride in their original community and traditions, their culture has been influenced by others beyond their bulkheads. As many Exodans leave for alien cities or terrestrial colonies, those who remain are left to ponder their own lives and futures: What is the purpose of a ship that has reached its destination? Why remain in space when there are habitable worlds available to live? What is the price of sustaining their carefully balanced way of life—and is it worth saving at all?

A young apprentice, a lifelong spacer with young children, a planet-raised traveler, an alien academic, a caretaker for the dead, and an Archivist whose mission is to ensure no one’s story is forgotten, wrestle with these profound universal questions. The answers may seem small on the galactic scale, but to these individuals, it could mean everything.]]> 358 Becky Chambers 0062699229 Gretchen 4 queer, sf 4.15 2018
author: Becky Chambers
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2018/06/28
shelves: queer, sf
review:

]]> 36430596 JY Yang continues to redefine the limits of silkpunk fantasy with their Tensorate novellas, which the New York Times lauded as "joyously wild." In this third volume, an investigation into atrocities committed at a classified research facility threaten to expose secrets that the Protectorate will do anything to keep hidden.

You are reading this because I am dead.

Something terrible happened at the Rewar Teng Institute of Experimental Methods. When the Tensorate’s investigators arrived, they found a sea of blood and bones as far as the eye could see. One of the institute’s experiments got loose, and its rage left no survivors. The investigators returned to the capital with few clues and two prisoners: the terrorist leader Sanao Akeha and a companion known only as Rider.

Investigator Chuwan faces a puzzle. What really happened at the institute? What drew the Machinists there? What are her superiors trying to cover up? And why does she feel as if her strange dreams are forcing her down a narrowing path she cannot escape?]]> 166 Neon Yang 1250165857 Gretchen 4 3.83 2018
author: Neon Yang
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2018/06/28
shelves:
review:

]]> 17333324
On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.

Once, she was the Justice of Toren - a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy.

Now, an act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with one fragile human body, unanswered questions, and a burning desire for vengeance.]]> 386 Ann Leckie Gretchen 4 3.98 2013
author: Ann Leckie
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2018/06/21
shelves:
review:

]]> 20499240
Travelling west with Beverley Brook, Peter soon finds himself caught up in a deep mystery and having to tackle local cops and local gods. And what's more all the shops are closed by 4pm ...]]> 377 Ben Aaronovitch 0575132507 Gretchen 5 4.16 2014
author: Ben Aaronovitch
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2017/07/15
date added: 2018/06/21
shelves:
review:

]]> 40051555
Alex and Jamie aren’t like other people. They aren’t fazed by his moods. They laugh at his critical analysis of nineties cinema. They definitely want to have sex with him (…again), and Jamie wants a go at him with her favorite flogger. Despite the fact that the they’re perfect together, they want him to join them.

Justin doesn’t have words for this thing between the three of them, but he knows romance isn’t supposed to be part of it. As long as he ignores his feelings, maybe they can have fun. Keep it simple. Don’t fail.

Except Justin’s not great at simple, and real damn good at failing. He’s not brave enough to be with them, and trying might destroy everything. It’s too big a risk. He can’t be this strong, passionate person they see him as…unless maybe he already is.]]> 267 Kris Ripper Gretchen 5 bdsm, poly, queer, realist
Content notes: contains BDSM, homophobia, deep reflections on men lost to HIV/AIDS, combining alcohol and sex and (to a lesser degree) alcohol and BDSM.

This is a very thoughtful, sweet, gentle poly romance that gets in deep with the (frequently aggravatingly prickly) protagonist, Justin. Justin is gay, kind of a jerk, and in love with his best friend Alex--and Alex's girlfriend Jamie. The worst part? They're in love with him, too. Cue a great deal of angst on the part of Justin trying to come to grips with being able to have nice things but not really feeling like he understands them or deserves them. I can relate, buddy.

This book has lots of relatable feelings, some very sweet home repair, reflections on recovering queer history, snarky banter, awkward sex scenes (my JAM), non-sexual BDSM, and dealing with who you are and who you want to be, and who will best fit with you in all of your spiky obnoxious pigheadedness.

The romance in this book was good especially if long, difficult relationship talks and people who are bad at and afraid of feelings are your thing. For me, though, the two aspects of this book that were incredibly moving were: the BDSM scene between Justin and his mostly-lesbian friend Madison, and Justin's deep connection to (fictional) gay artist Enrico Hazeltine, whose work captures the imagination of Justin's very conservative artist boss, and who died of HIV/AIDS in the 80s.

The BDSM scene I'm referring to is just such a sweet, caring, funny interaction between two people who are just... lonely and craving connection with someone who gets them. Madison's giggles at Justin's junk were particularly dear to my heart, and the sense of community that scene brought up was so so wonderful. BDSM can be such a powerful connecting force, and from zir other work I knew Ripper understands this deeply, but seeing it in a totally platonic setting like this was just so hugely appreciated.

The Hazeltine story is peppered throughout the book, and allows the story to reflect deeply on Justin's connection to gay history, and gives a very sweet wrap-up at the end for the power of art to change people (at least a little bit). Justin's read into Hazeltine's diaries, and his research into Hazeltine's death and the photographs he asked his closest community to take of his body, really resonated powerfully for me. I cried so much reflecting on the loss of most of a generation of men, of the art and perspective we lost during the 80s. Seeing Justin remember his youth as a young gay man knowing some of the story of Hazeltine, then see him come back to a deeper reflection on him as an adult, was such a special aspect of this book for me that it almost overshadowed the romance (which is what I was here for to begin with).

In all, I ended up feeling a bit over Justin (he was my least favorite character in Practice Makes Perfect, and I did groan a little to learn we were getting a book about him). His attitude and personality were off-putting for me at first and sometimes made it hard for me to stick with him. However, I got a deeper understanding of him, and to be honest his faults and mistakes make him a more interesting protagonist. I liked this book a lot.]]> 3.97 2018
author: Kris Ripper
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/01/01
date added: 2018/06/19
shelves: bdsm, poly, queer, realist
review:
I was given an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Content notes: contains BDSM, homophobia, deep reflections on men lost to HIV/AIDS, combining alcohol and sex and (to a lesser degree) alcohol and BDSM.

This is a very thoughtful, sweet, gentle poly romance that gets in deep with the (frequently aggravatingly prickly) protagonist, Justin. Justin is gay, kind of a jerk, and in love with his best friend Alex--and Alex's girlfriend Jamie. The worst part? They're in love with him, too. Cue a great deal of angst on the part of Justin trying to come to grips with being able to have nice things but not really feeling like he understands them or deserves them. I can relate, buddy.

This book has lots of relatable feelings, some very sweet home repair, reflections on recovering queer history, snarky banter, awkward sex scenes (my JAM), non-sexual BDSM, and dealing with who you are and who you want to be, and who will best fit with you in all of your spiky obnoxious pigheadedness.

The romance in this book was good especially if long, difficult relationship talks and people who are bad at and afraid of feelings are your thing. For me, though, the two aspects of this book that were incredibly moving were: the BDSM scene between Justin and his mostly-lesbian friend Madison, and Justin's deep connection to (fictional) gay artist Enrico Hazeltine, whose work captures the imagination of Justin's very conservative artist boss, and who died of HIV/AIDS in the 80s.

The BDSM scene I'm referring to is just such a sweet, caring, funny interaction between two people who are just... lonely and craving connection with someone who gets them. Madison's giggles at Justin's junk were particularly dear to my heart, and the sense of community that scene brought up was so so wonderful. BDSM can be such a powerful connecting force, and from zir other work I knew Ripper understands this deeply, but seeing it in a totally platonic setting like this was just so hugely appreciated.

The Hazeltine story is peppered throughout the book, and allows the story to reflect deeply on Justin's connection to gay history, and gives a very sweet wrap-up at the end for the power of art to change people (at least a little bit). Justin's read into Hazeltine's diaries, and his research into Hazeltine's death and the photographs he asked his closest community to take of his body, really resonated powerfully for me. I cried so much reflecting on the loss of most of a generation of men, of the art and perspective we lost during the 80s. Seeing Justin remember his youth as a young gay man knowing some of the story of Hazeltine, then see him come back to a deeper reflection on him as an adult, was such a special aspect of this book for me that it almost overshadowed the romance (which is what I was here for to begin with).

In all, I ended up feeling a bit over Justin (he was my least favorite character in Practice Makes Perfect, and I did groan a little to learn we were getting a book about him). His attitude and personality were off-putting for me at first and sometimes made it hard for me to stick with him. However, I got a deeper understanding of him, and to be honest his faults and mistakes make him a more interesting protagonist. I liked this book a lot.
]]> 36203362 How Should a Person Be? (“one of the most talked-about books of the year”�Time Magazine) and the New York Times Bestseller Women in Clothes comes a daring novel about whether to have children.

In Motherhood, Sheila Heti asks what is gained and what is lost when a woman becomes a mother, treating the most consequential decision of early adulthood with the candor, originality, and humor that have won Heti international acclaim and made How Should A Person Be? required reading for a generation.

In her late thirties, when her friends are asking when they will become mothers, the narrator of Heti’s intimate and urgent novel considers whether she will do so at all. In a narrative spanning several years, casting among the influence of her peers, partner, and her duties to her forbearers, she struggles to make a wise and moral choice. After seeking guidance from philosophy, her body, mysticism, and chance, she discovers her answer much closer to home.

Motherhood is a courageous, keenly felt, and starkly original novel that will surely spark lively conversations about womanhood, parenthood, and about how—and for whom—to live.]]> 304 Sheila Heti 1627790772 Gretchen 2 gave-up-on, realist 3.66 2018
author: Sheila Heti
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2018
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2018/05/15
shelves: gave-up-on, realist
review:
I decided I had had enough of this self-absorbed, wheel-spinning First World Problems book when the author said she felt jealous of gay men (why gay men only I don't know) for getting the experience of coming out, because it means they knew what they wanted and had occasion to let the rest of the world know. The preceding 130 pages were similarly lacking in perspective and empathy, which hollowed out so much of the truly interesting concerns that the narrator/author posed, making it all feel like an abstracted thought exercise with little more purpose or action than the central conceit of flipping coins for the random answers to her philosophical questions. I'll admit I am not the kind of person who finds agonizing over major decisions pleasurable, nor am I particularly inclined to philosophical maundering for its own sake, but here we are. I had hoped for some insight, some personal grappling with a decision I myself have grappled with, and this book felt, for all its pretty language, did not connect for me. Partly it's the class differences--the bougie and isolated life the author/narrator leads tends to make her insights feel disconnected from reality. The most interesting parts were when she considered her fraught relationship with the mothers in her family, especially her own. In all, this might appeal to a narrow subset of heterosexual, upper class white or Jewish women in their late thirties, but the perspective lent by this book didn't do that demographic any favors here.
]]> 40029331 16 Eleanor Morrison 0999890808 Gretchen 5 picture-books, realist 4.07 2018
author: Eleanor Morrison
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/05/10
date added: 2018/05/12
shelves: picture-books, realist
review:
A very useful board book that helps explain bodily autonomy and consent not only to children, but to adults in their lives who might need the reminder that they are not owed physical affection from children. The straightforward, clear text accompanying somewhat generic but solid line drawings gives very useful scripts for both children and adults for firmly setting physical boundaries and reminding children of their option to not view affection as required in exchange for gifts or as a byproduct of a familial relationship. The last page of the narrative gives a very sweet example of Finn, the main character, asking for consent as part of offering to hold his friend's hand. The final page of the book has lots of discussion questions good for use with older children, but also great for encouraging adults to think about the ways in which they view children's autonomy.
]]> 38494007
A heartfelt, positive, and erotic look at one woman's adventure in love and sex, as a new generation learns to make their own rules and follow their own hearts]]> 106 Sarah Mirk 1620105020 Gretchen 4 poly, queer, sf 3.51 2018
author: Sarah Mirk
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2018/05/12
date added: 2018/05/12
shelves: poly, queer, sf
review:
A fun, sweet story set on a space station orbiting Earth, this is a delightful sex-positive story featuring many characters of color, especially Spanish-speakers, about healthy communication, open non-monogamy, sex, and feelings. Rigo's relationship with her parents but total suspicion and dislike of the concept of a monogamous relationship like theirs sets up the perfect foil to her own feelings about commitment, security, and language around changes in seriousness and domesticity with the partners she has--and their partners, too. Absent from this story is any major negativity around the concept of non-monogamy, which leaves a refreshing amount of space to explore the smaller, resolvable conflicts that can happen in happy and functional non-monogamous relationships. The reminder that honesty in communication, and the frustration of the disconnect between one's jealous or envious feelings and one's ideals of open relationships is beautifully handled. The art was possibly the least developed aspect of this--it felt like a webcomic by a less experienced artist, and could have done with a bit more focus on form and background detail. That said, this is a very sweet story and I'll be recommending it!
]]> 35068768
“Simmers with menace and heartache, suspense and wonder.� —Ann Leckie

A Best Book of the Month in

Entertainment Weekly

The Washington Post

Tor.com

B&N Sci-Fi Fantasy Blog

Amazon

After the climate wars, a floating city is constructed in the Arctic Circle, a remarkable feat of mechanical and social engineering, complete with geothermal heating and sustainable energy.ĚýThe city’s denizens have become accustomed to a roughshod new way of living, however, the city is starting to fray along the edges—crime and corruption have set in, the contradictions of incredible wealth alongside direst poverty are spawning unrest, and a new disease called “the breaksâ€� is ravaging the population.

When a strange new visitor arrives—a woman riding an orca, with a polar bear at her side—the city is entranced. The “orcamancer,â€� as she’s known, very subtly brings together four people—each living on the periphery—to stage unprecedented acts of resistance. By banding together to save their city before it crumbles under the weight of its own decay, they will learn shocking truths about themselves.Ěý

Blackfish City is a remarkably urgent—and ultimately very hopeful—novel about political corruption, organized crime, technology run amok, the consequences of climate change, gender identity, and the unifying power of human connection.Ěý

Ěý±Ő±Ő> 336 Sam J. Miller 0062684841 Gretchen 5 queer, sf 3.54 2018
author: Sam J. Miller
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/05/12
date added: 2018/05/12
shelves: queer, sf
review:
A densely populated, stratified city controlled by AI government floats in the ocean, a technological answer to the devastation of social and environmental collapse on the continent. The novel switches briskly between a handful of characters inhabiting the city, whose disparate circumstances and personal struggles regrets and fears bring to life the dizzying marvel that is Qaanaaq. The ubiquitous and mysterious City Without A Map broadcast, including the memorable first rumors of the woman who arrives riding an orca, with a polar bear at her side, highlights the importance of story to civic life and personal fulfilment, the connective tissue of the telling of tales for a healthy society. Miller's prose is punchy, each chapter a marvel of efficiency and focus on character, weaving plot threads sinuously and with excellent tempo. His characters are full of bitterness, rage and heartache and the fascinating simmering feeling of impending revolution, of a becoming-whole and coming-together that they never knew to hope for. An astonishing achievement, this is a book I'll be thinking about for a long time.
]]> 36643495
But this isn't any old egg - there's a dragon in it . . . And pretty soon she has set your book ON FIRE. OH NO!

Tom Fletcher and Greg Abbott have created a fantastically interactive sequel to their bestselling There's a Monster in Your Book. Children will love stroking, poking and flapping the book to make magic happen as they turn the pages. Can they help Little Dragon find a way to stop the fire and fly off on her own adventure?]]> 32 Tom Fletcher 0141376120 Gretchen 4 picture-books 4.32 2018
author: Tom Fletcher
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2018/03/08
date added: 2018/05/08
shelves: picture-books
review:
We have an unbound F&G and I took it home to try with my 2-year-old. He LOVES it, and I already went back and bought the MONSTER version to tide us over until the bound copy of this book comes out. The interactive elements are great for youngsters and evoking a sense of connection and play. My son has been tickling everyone's noses for days! What a fun book.
]]> 36373565
µţłúłúłúâ€�

What’s that?
Do you hear it?
You’re near it.
It’s closer,
it’s coming,
it’s buzzing,
it’s humming�

A BEE!

With zooming, vibrant verse by Kirsten Hall and buzzy, beautiful illustrations by Isabelle Arsenault, this celebration of the critically important honeybee is a honey-sweet treasure of a picture book.]]> 40 Kirsten Hall 1481469975 Gretchen 4 picture-books 4.15 2018
author: Kirsten Hall
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2018/03/08
date added: 2018/05/08
shelves: picture-books
review:

]]> 36896898 Spinning Silver draws readers deeper into a glittering realm of fantasy, where the boundary between wonder and terror is thinner than a breath, and safety can be stolen as quickly as a kiss.

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father’s inability to collect his debts has left his family on the edge of poverty—until Miryem takes matters into her own hands. Hardening her heart, the young woman sets out to claim what is owed and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold.

When an ill-advised boast draws the attention of the king of the Staryk—grim fey creatures who seem more ice than flesh—Miryem’s fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered. Set an impossible challenge by the nameless king, Miryem unwittingly spins a web that draws in a peasant girl, Wanda, and the unhappy daughter of a local lord who plots to wed his child to the dashing young tsar.

But Tsar Mirnatius is not what he seems. And the secret he hides threatens to consume the lands of humans and Staryk alike. Torn between deadly choices, Miryem and her two unlikely allies embark on a desperate quest that will take them to the limits of sacrifice, power, and love.

Channeling the vibrant heart of myth and fairy tale, Spinning Silver weaves a multilayered, magical tapestry that readers will want to return to again and again.]]> 465 Naomi Novik Gretchen 4 sf 4.20 2018
author: Naomi Novik
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2018/04/21
date added: 2018/05/08
shelves: sf
review:
I liked but didn't love this. It felt like it could have done with a tighter edit, and I found the many POVs (especially the secondary characters' POV chapters introduced late in the book) annoying. That said, the story this book tells is just as lush, feminist, and magical as Uprooted--the ways Miryem and Irina and Wanda have (and don't) have power, and especially the ways they much reckon with the consequences of their uses of power toward the end of the book, and find their moral standing relative to their enemies, is really wonderful.
]]> 31945085
Praise for the Elemental Logic series:

“A deftly painted story of both cultures and magics in conflict.”—Robin Hobb

“A work filled with an intelligence that zings off the page.”�Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Laurie J. Marks’s first two Elemental Logic novels both won the Gaylactic Spectrum Award. The final novel, Air Logic, is forthcoming.]]> 352 Laurie J. Marks 1618730886 Gretchen 4 queer, sf 4.18 2002
author: Laurie J. Marks
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2018/05/08
shelves: queer, sf
review:
I'm a longtime fan of this series and I am hoping hard that the next installment will come our way soon! Zanja is one of my favorite protagonists in fantasy fiction--smart, courageous, and passionate despite the heavy weight of being the only surviving member of her people. These books look at oppression, queer identity, and morality during a protracted civil war--definitely worth picking up.
]]> 34840092 Bingo Love is a story of a same-sex romance that spans over 60 years. A chance meeting at church bingo in 1963 brings Hazel Johnson and Mari McCray together. Through their formative years, these two women develop feelings for each other and finally profess their love for one another.

Forced apart by their families and society, Hazel and Mari both married young men and had families. Decades later, now in their mid 60’s, Hazel and Mari are reunited again at a bingo hall. Realizing their love for each other is still alive, what these grandmothers do next takes absolute strength and courage.

From TEE FRANKLIN (NAILBITER’s “THE OUTFIT,� Love is Love) and JENN ST-ONGE (Jem & the Misfits), BINGO LOVE is a touching story of love, family, and resiliency that spans over 60 years.]]> 92 Tee Franklin Gretchen 3 comics, queer 3.91 2018
author: Tee Franklin
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2018/01/01
date added: 2018/05/08
shelves: comics, queer
review:
I was a Kickstarter backer for this project, and was somewhat disappointed with the result. The art is lovely, the characters visually distinct and lively, and the subject matter (romance between older women of color) has rarely been done. That said, the writing was SO flat and 2 dimensional, it let down the story at key moments that should have been emotionally intense but rather felt narratively convenient and forced. I'll keep an eye out for more by these creators, but as an early outing this story deserved a much stronger, and likely longer, script. That said, for the comics readers thirsty for representation of queer women of color in a way that is unabashedly queer positive and gestures to the particular experiences of homophobia encountered by queer people of color in religious communities, this book may be a balm and worth the stilted script.
]]> 30517107 A slow-burning romance and a chilling mystery bind two singular men in the suspenseful first book of a new Victorian series from K. J. Charles.

Lodging-house keeper Clem Talleyfer prefers a quiet life. He’s happy with his hobbies, his work—and especially with his lodger Rowley Green, who becomes a friend over their long fireside evenings together. If only neat, precise, irresistible Mr. Green were interested in more than friendship...

Rowley just wants to be left alone—at least until he meets Clem, with his odd, charming ways and his glorious eyes. Two quiet men, lodging in the same house, coming to an understanding... it could be perfect. Then the brutally murdered corpse of another lodger is dumped on their doorstep and their peaceful life is shattered.

Now Clem and Rowley find themselves caught up in a mystery, threatened on all sides by violent men, with a deadly London fog closing in on them. If they’re to see their way through, the pair must learn to share their secrets—and their hearts.]]> 223 K.J. Charles 0399593969 Gretchen 4 to-read 3.90 2017
author: K.J. Charles
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2017/06/14
date added: 2018/05/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 34217599
Though she wants to tell the adoptive parents who raised her from infancy, Cedar first feels compelled to find her birth mother, Mary Potts, an Ojibwe to understand both her and her baby’s origins. As Cedar goes back to her own biological beginnings, society around her begins to disintegrate, fueled by a swelling panic about the end of humanity.]]> 269 Louise Erdrich 0062694057 Gretchen 3 realist, sf 3.57 2017
author: Louise Erdrich
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2017/06/18
date added: 2018/05/08
shelves: realist, sf
review:
Erdrich is a gifted writer. Her characters are vivid, complex, their lives feel real in both the quotidian details and the inestimable effects of their position in society. These strengths, and the bitter humor of a protagonist trapped by circumstances and fears beyond anyone's control, make this book gripping. However, it's hard not to compare a literary dystopia to all the ones that have come before, especially when it retreads so much ground covered so ably before. As a fertility dystopia it's hard not to compare it to Handmaid's Tale, and as a literary dystopia it hits many of the same hallmarks as Station Eleven. As a piece of science fiction it is difficult to swallow--the cause of the sudden overwhelming mutations feels like it comes on both too suddenly and too comprehensively. It was jarring in an otherwise extremely grounded narrative to have so little explanation for what was happening, in such incongruous ways. I also felt that an exploration of the experience of racial disparity being thrown into upheaval by the effects of the problems people experience, begun so promisingly in the beginning and hinted at through the book, fell way to to the drive of the plot by the end, and this was a missed opportunity. In all, this was good, possibly great if your interest lies in quality writing, the experience of pregnancy, inter-racial adoption, and a dystopic descent into the control of women's bodies. As a dystopia, these concepts have been written more thoroughly, but as a story about a Native woman trying to navigate learning truths about her liberal White family and her birth family on the rez, this is a sparkling example of Erdrich's character work.
]]> 31180248 Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda—takes center stage in this novel of first love and senior-year angst.

When it comes to drumming, Leah Burke is usually on beat—but real life isn’t always so rhythmic. An anomaly in her friend group, she’s the only child of a young, single mom, and her life is decidedly less privileged. She loves to draw but is too self-conscious to show it. And even though her mom knows she’s bisexual, she hasn’t mustered the courage to tell her friends—not even her openly gay BFF, Simon.

So Leah really doesn’t know what to do when her rock-solid friend group starts to fracture in unexpected ways. With prom and college on the horizon, tensions are running high. It’s hard for Leah to strike the right note while the people she loves are fighting—especially when she realizes she might love one of them more than she ever intended.]]> 352 Becky Albertalli 0062643800 Gretchen 3 queer, ya
[spoilers removed]

That said, this was a very readable story--I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was just the right level of studied disinterest. I didn't feel any major thing about the protagonist's secret feelings for her friend, I found the mundane fears about potentially dividing the friend group if they dated a little boring and also convenient, and I really wish that the story had been structured to include more of those consequences rather than simply the somewhat unsubstantiated fears around them. Again, this book was... it was fine! It was fine. That's about the best I can say for it.

]]> 3.79 2018
author: Becky Albertalli
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2018/05/06
date added: 2018/05/08
shelves: queer, ya
review:
This book was eminently.... fine. There's nothing in it I found objectionable, and for some readers it might be just the escapism they're looking for. I think the thing I liked the least was integral to the plot in some ways, so I'll spoiler cut.

[spoilers removed]

That said, this was a very readable story--I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was just the right level of studied disinterest. I didn't feel any major thing about the protagonist's secret feelings for her friend, I found the mundane fears about potentially dividing the friend group if they dated a little boring and also convenient, and I really wish that the story had been structured to include more of those consequences rather than simply the somewhat unsubstantiated fears around them. Again, this book was... it was fine! It was fine. That's about the best I can say for it.


]]> 35174934
Soon math led her to MIT and then to helping NASA put a man on the moon! She handwrote code that would allow the spacecraft’s computer to solve any problems it might encounter. Apollo 8. Apollo 9. Apollo 10. Apollo 11. Without her code, none of those missions could have been completed.
Ěý
Dean Robbins and Lucy Knisley deliver a lovely portrayal of a pioneer in her field who never stopped reaching for the stars.


From the Hardcover edition.]]> 40 Dean Robbins 0399551875 Gretchen 4 4.34 2017
author: Dean Robbins
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2018/05/07
shelves:
review:
Lovely art from Lucy Knisley rounds out the excellent intro to Margaret Hamilton. Robbins does interesting work recovering the semi-obscure histories of women in American history, and this is an able addition to his body of work. For a picture book it does a good job of summarizing Hamilton's life and going a bit more in-depth about her successful intervention in the mission to the moon. A great book to encourage any child towards embracing women in STEM.
]]> 29283884
But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.

Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.]]> 528 Mackenzi Lee 0062382802 Gretchen 3 4.03 2017
author: Mackenzi Lee
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2017/05/27
date added: 2018/05/07
shelves:
review:
This was fun, and I'd definitely been hankering for a YA historical queer romance. The protagonist was frequently too irritating for my taste, though his flaws made him stand out. I really liked the love interest and the protagonist's sister. The hijinks were outlandish but fun. Definitely an enjoyable romp, especially if you have an interest in self-absorbed pining protagonists :)
]]> 36373298
Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last—and best—hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much larger and more terrifying than anything she could imagine.

Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel to the rez to unravel clues from ancient legends, trade favors with tricksters, and battle dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology.

As Maggie discovers the truth behind the disappearances, she will have to confront her past—if she wants to survive.

Welcome to the Sixth World.]]> 287 Rebecca Roanhorse 1534413499 Gretchen 5 3.92 2018
author: Rebecca Roanhorse
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/04/05
date added: 2018/04/05
shelves:
review:
I loved this! A powerful young woman with a troubled past and a hardened heart, Maggie Hoskie fights monsters both literal and metaphorical, all the while fearing the potential monster inside herself. The writing whizzes along and the plot doesn’t ever quite succumb to its own tropes—a vibrant cast of secondary characters both human and not flesh out the story and give Maggie plenty to worry about besides herself. The magic is really cool, the world feels energetically alive and varied in a way you don’t always see in post-disaster stories. I was so glad to have a story centering Native characters, communities, and contemporary life laid in with a living mythology, thrown into a dystopian-ish scenario. I want to know what happens next!
]]> 16004181
Vanja skickas till det avlägsna samhället Amatka. De människor hon möter där ruskar om i hennes sorg och ensamhet. Hon gör häpnadsväckande upptäckter, som förändrar inte bara henne, personligen. I en instabil värld kan en förändring spridas hur långt som helst.

Amatka är Karin Tidbecks makalöst välskrivna debutroman. Tidigare har hon utkommit med novellsamlingen Vem är Arvid Pekon?.]]> 224 Karin Tidbeck 9186843540 Gretchen 5 sf, queer 3.77 2012
author: Karin Tidbeck
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2017/04/17
date added: 2018/03/06
shelves: sf, queer
review:
This is a strange book and I've struggled to write a review of it. To describe the plot makes it sound strange, if not farcical, but the experience of reading this book makes the plot feel more... surreal than anything. I found myself relating with the protagonist, Vanja, who has a nothing-special paper-pushing-type job and is sent on assignment to do market research on the inhabitants of the next commune over. Things are strange in her world, but to her that strangeness is normal--all objects must be frequently labeled in writing and named aloud--'pencil' and 'suitcase' etc., so that they don't dissolve into a gloop that is frightening and upsetting in a way that the residents refuse to face. As a midwesterner, I can relate to this sort of firm, almost aggressive, active ignorance. Vanja finds herself more and more curious about the ways in which the rules of her strict society don't make sense, she looks a little too closely at the explanations for various events and rationales for different rules, and things begin to unravel from there. This book will be a hard sell in some ways--it's got an allmost frustrating lack of context, it leaves very little truly explained, but the banal, surreal horror of it all is affecting nonetheless. I keep thinking about this book and I think for a certain kind of experimental, politically-minded reader, particularly one conversant with classics of 70s science fiction, this will be a winning book.
]]> 35528567 The Bluewater Bay stories can be enjoyed in any order � jump in wherever you'd like!

Miniature artist Ian Meyers has one week to rebuild his damaged set. Needing help, he goes to End o� Earth, the local comic and gaming shop. Owner Simon Derry pushes all of Ian’s buttons, and he also has steady hands and the skills Ian needs.

Before they can even grab a beer, Ian meets Lydia Derry, Simon’s wife. If Ian had any interest in women, he’d suggest a threesome, but then Simon explains that he and Lydia are polyamorous, and if Ian wants Simon, neither of them will complain. If anything, Lydia encourages the relationship.

Ian’s all in, and it’s fantastic working with Simon to piece together his set and then take each other apart at night. His friendship with Lydia grows too. The only problem is, the more time he spends with Simon, the more he wants everything Simon already has with A house. A cat. A commitment. So Ian runs, and shatters the trust he has with them both � right when they need him the most. Piecing their relationships back together might prove harder than a smashed set.
]]> 260 Anna Zabo 1626496528 Gretchen 4 3.94 2017
author: Anna Zabo
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2018/03/03
shelves:
review:

]]> 35169327 42 Oliver Jeffers Gretchen 5 picture-books 4.48 2017
author: Oliver Jeffers
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2018/03/03
shelves: picture-books
review:

]]> 35068705
When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising.

But surprises aren’t always good.

Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.

For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . .

Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.]]> 545 R.F. Kuang 0062662597 Gretchen 5 sf 4.16 2018
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/03/01
date added: 2018/03/03
shelves: sf
review:
What an audacious debut! This novel combines many of the best aspects of epic fantasy before it while taking a provocatively ambiguous direction for its protagonist. The worldbuilding and setting hearken to the orphan survival-turned-school-stories of Harry Potter or Name of the Wind, but by halfway through the story the book becomes a full-throated war story, and the cultural and mythical worldbuilding of the first section of the book turn hideously relevant. Rin is a very relatable protagonist, with a sharply realized personality and backstory that inform the choices she makes, while not letting her (or any other character) off the hook for any of them. The Asian-inspired setting is refreshingly well-grounded, and the history of the Nikan culture feels lived in and just as complicated as the real world. Rin's story shares many archetypal hallmarks with other epic fantasy novels, but Kuang manages to subvert most of them frequently enough that the familiar became unsettled and I was never quite sure what was going to happen next. I am not sure I liked the ending of this book but I'll certainly be thinking about it for some time, and I'm definitely impressed.
]]> 21535525
When the mother backs out at the last minute, Inez is left responsible for the product, which in this case is a baby girl, Ani. Inez must protect Ani, who is a scientific breakthrough, keeping her alive, dodging authorities and religious fanatics, and trying to provide Ani with the childhood that Inez never had, which means a stable home and an education.

With a stylish voice influenced by years of music writing, The Only Ones is a time-old story, tender and iconic, about how much we love our children, however they come, as well as a sly commentary on class, politics, and the complexities of reproductive technology.]]> 356 Carola Dibbell 1937512274 Gretchen 0 to-read 3.54 2015
author: Carola Dibbell
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/02/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 25692886
For her first assignment, Millie is tasked with tracking down a missing movie star, who also happens to be a nobleman of the Seelie Court. To find him, she'll have to smooth talk Hollywood power players and uncover the surreal and sometimes terrifying truth behind the glamour of Tinseltown. But stronger forces than just her inner demons are sabotaging her progress, and if she fails to unravel the conspiracy behind the noble's disappearance, not only will she be out on the streets, but the shattering of a centuries-old peace could spark an all-out war between worlds.

No pressure.]]> 390 Mishell Baker Gretchen 0 to-read 3.82 2016
author: Mishell Baker
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/02/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 18143977
In a mining town in Germany, Werner Pfennig, an orphan, grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find that brings them news and stories from places they have never seen or imagined. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments and is enlisted to use his talent to track down the resistance. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another.

From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the stunningly beautiful instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.

An alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here]]> 544 Anthony Doerr 1476746583 Gretchen 0 to-read 4.31 2014
author: Anthony Doerr
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/02/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 32600758
But where Ragnvald is expected to bleed, and even die, for his honour, Svanhild is simply expected to marry well. It's not a fate she relishes, and when the chance to leave her stepfather's cruelty comes at the hand of her brother's arch-rival, Svanhild is forced to make the ultimate choice: family or freedom.

Drawing from the Icelandic Sagas, The Half-Drowned King takes inspiration from the true story of Ragnvald of Maer, the right hand man of King Harald Fairhair, first king of all Norway, and his sister, Svanhild, as she tries to find freedom in a society where the higher her brother rises, the greater her worth as a political pawn.]]> 435 Linnea Hartsuyker 0062563696 Gretchen 0 to-read 3.73 2017
author: Linnea Hartsuyker
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at: 2018/02/15
date added: 2018/02/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 25460514
This gripping, original and fast-paced crime thriller is set between a big city and a small coastal town, Resurrection Bay, where Caleb is forced to confront painful memories. Caleb is a memorable protagonist who refuses to let his deafness limit his opportunities, or his participation in the investigation. But does his persistence border on stubbornness? And at what cost? As he delves deeper into the investigation Caleb uncovers unwelcome truths about his murdered friend � and himself.]]> 272 Emma Viskic 1760068764 Gretchen 4 realist 3.68 2015
author: Emma Viskic
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2018/02/01
date added: 2018/02/02
shelves: realist
review:
I enjoyed this thriller (a genre I don't typically gravitate toward), though my enjoyment was slightly undercut by some aspects of the ending. Caleb is a winning protagonist, and from what I was able to tell his experiences being a Deaf person in a mostly hearing community were very on point, and his interactions with people around that topic were fascinating and felt very lived in. The in media res beginning was a great hook, and the tangle of relationships between Caleb and the people in his life (from his brother to his childhood bff to his ex-wife and her family to his work partner of 6 years) gave the book emotional resonance and heightened the mystery beyond its surface. The undercurrents of Australian racism and ableism lent this book some depth when it might otherwise have felt like any other thriller, and the secondary characters were mostly pretty strong. I found this enjoyable, with some caveats, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a murder mystery.
]]> 28209634 Autonomous features a rakish female pharmaceutical pirate named Jack who traverses the world in her own submarine. A notorious anti-patent scientist who has styled herself as a Robin Hood heroine fighting to bring cheap drugs to the poor, Jack’s latest drug is leaving a trail of lethal overdoses across what used to be North America—a drug that compels people to become addicted to their work.

On Jack’s trail are an unlikely pair: an emotionally shut-down military agent and his partner, Paladin, a young military robot, who fall in love against all expectations. Autonomous alternates between the activities of Jack and her co-conspirators, and Elias and Paladin, as they all race to stop a bizarre drug epidemic that is tearing apart lives, causing trains to crash, and flooding New York City.]]> 303 Annalee Newitz 0765392070 Gretchen 0 3.52 2017
author: Annalee Newitz
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at: 2018/01/20
date added: 2018/01/20
shelves:
review:

]]> 33838972
In these nineteen stories, the enfants terribles of fantasy have entered the building—a love-starved, ambulatory skyscraper. The New Voices of Fantasy tethers some of the fastest-rising talents of the last five years. Their tales were hand-picked by the legendary Peter S. Beagle (The Last Unicorn) and genre expert Jacob Weisman (The Treasury of the Fantastic).

So go ahead, join the Communist revolution of the honeybees. The new kids got your back.]]> 336 Peter S. Beagle 1616962577 Gretchen 5 3.81 2017
author: Peter S. Beagle
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2018/01/17
shelves:
review:

]]> 25566671
But she soon learns that her husband, Calix, is motivated only by his desire to exterminate the Elementae—mystical people who can control earth, wind, air, and fire. Even more unsettling are Shalia’s feelings for her husband’s brother, which unleash a power over the earth she never knew she possessed—a power that could get her killed. As rumors of a rebellion against Calix spread, Shalia must choose between the last chance for peace and her own future as an Elementae.

This intense, richly drawn high-fantasy by the author of Scarlet will hold readers spellbound.]]> 438 A.C. Gaughen 1681191113 Gretchen 4 sf, ya 3.78 2018
author: A.C. Gaughen
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2017/12/01
date added: 2017/12/04
shelves: sf, ya
review:
A fiery, feminist story of a young woman who makes a political marriage to the king of her nomadic peoples' greatest foes. Shalia is a winning protagonist, and the book deals head-on with intimate partner abuse dynamics in a way I've seldom seen in YA fantasy especially. I appreciated the hard-won victory at the end, though I felt a lot of the book's central themes were undercut by the king's brother being Shalia's One True Love and secretly working for the good guys all along. This will be great for a new generation of girls to have a kickass, feminist tale to fall into. Shalia's magic felt a little underdeveloped and lackluster and plot-convenient--I think I'm perhaps hitting my limit on the oppressed underclass of magic users trope for a number of reasons.
]]> 31556136 The Mystery of Hollow Places

In Savannah Espinoza’s small New Mexico hometown, kids either flee after graduation or they’re trapped there forever. Vanni never planned to get stuck—but that was before her father was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease, leaving her and her mother to care for him. Now, she doesn’t have much of a plan at all: living at home, working as a performing mermaid at a second-rate water park, distracting herself with one boy after another.

That changes the day she meets Leigh. Disillusioned with small-town life and looking for something greater, Leigh is not a “nice girl.� She is unlike anyone Vanni has met, and a friend when Vanni desperately needs one. Soon enough, Leigh is much more than a friend. But caring about another person stirs up the moat Vanni has carefully constructed around herself, and threatens to bring to the surface the questions she’s held under for so long.

With her signature stunning writing, Rebecca Podos, author of The Mystery of Hollow Places, has crafted a story of first love and of the complex ways in which the deepest parts of us are hidden, even from ourselves.]]> 320 Rebecca Podos 0062373374 Gretchen 5 queer, realist, ya 3.66 2017
author: Rebecca Podos
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2017/12/04
date added: 2017/12/04
shelves: queer, realist, ya
review:
A beautiful, smart book about a young Chicana woman who feels stuck in the small New Mexico town she grew up in, watching her chances at freedom dwindle as she works in her family's restaurant, helps care for her father whose health is in sharp decline from Huntington's Disease, and has almost vengefully distant experiences with townie boys. Her dissatisfaction is a miasma around her life, yet her need to stay home and help with the family is achingly real. Her budding relationship with a tempestuous young person gets her in some trouble, and like many young relationships it burns bright and fast. For all that the romance between Vanni and Leigh is compelling, the strength of this book is in the perfection of the details and the gorgeously well-supported characterizations of fallible, frightened young people. I do wish that Leigh's identity questions had been brought up sooner, but other than that this is a really well done book centering diverse characters and exploring the tensions between one's fears, one's dreams, and oneself and one's family. Loved this.
]]> 34380219
COLLECTING: AMERICA 1-6]]> 136 Gabby Rivera 1302908812 Gretchen 0 to-read 3.50 2017
author: Gabby Rivera
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/11/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 29960680
As one of the Queen’s elite assassins, Sal finally has the power, prestige, and permission to hunt down the lords who killed their family. But Sal still has to figure out who the culprits are. They must enlist the help of some old friends and enemies while ignoring a growing distaste for the queen and that the charming Elise is being held prisoner by her father.

But there’s something terribly wrong in the north. Talk of the return of shadows, missing children, and magic abounds. As Sal takes out the people responsible for their ruined homeland, Sal learns secrets and truths that can’t be forgotten.]]> 416 Linsey Miller 1492647527 Gretchen 0 to-read 3.72 2018
author: Linsey Miller
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/11/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 32758901 "As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."

In a corporate-dominated space-faring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. For their own safety, exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists is conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied �droid--a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.� Scornful of humans, Murderbot wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is, but when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and Murderbot to get to the truth.]]> 144 Martha Wells Gretchen 5 sf, tiptree-interest 4.11 2017
author: Martha Wells
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2017/10/21
date added: 2017/10/21
shelves: sf, tiptree-interest
review:
This slim book features my new most relatable protagonist ever--the somewhat disaffected, self-hacked murderbot who only wants to be left alone, not have to talk to humans more than necessary, and keep on going through the secretly-downloaded drama shows that are more interesting than real humans. Funny, fresh, action-packed, and unpredictable, this is a great beginning to a series I'll be keeping up with.
]]> 33918885 I Needed to Win.
They Needed to Die.

Sallot Leon is a thief, and a good one at that. But gender fluid Sal wants nothing more than to escape the drudgery of life as a highway robber and get closer to the upper-class—and the nobles who destroyed their home.

When Sal steals a flyer for an audition to become a member of The Left Hand—the Queen’s personal assassins, named after the rings she wears—Sal jumps at the chance to infiltrate the court and get revenge.

But the audition is a fight to the death filled with clever circus acrobats, lethal apothecaries, and vicious ex-soldiers. A childhood as a common criminal hardly prepared Sal for the trials. And as Sal succeeds in the competition, and wins the heart of Elise, an intriguing scribe at court, they start to dream of a new life and a different future, but one that Sal can have only if they survive.]]> 352 Linsey Miller 1492647497 Gretchen 5 to-read, sf, ya, queer 3.73 2017
author: Linsey Miller
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2017/08/24
date added: 2017/09/28
shelves: to-read, sf, ya, queer
review:
Great, well-paced fantasy novel for fans of Sarah Maas, Kristen Cashore, Tamora Pierce, centering a gender fluid protagonist whose street smarts and burning desire for vengeance equal a foot in the door for auditions for one of the highest--and most deadly--posts in the land. In training during a deadly Hunger Games-esque audition, Sal finds romance, political intrigue, and some hair-raising magical intrigue. Sal's gender fluidity is handled with great deftness and a delightfully straightforward style, and the romance with Elise is delightfully sweet and earned. Great characters, intriguing world-building, this is a fun and wonderful entry into the YA canon.
]]> 153008
Phèdre nó Delaunay is a young woman who was born with a scarlet mote in her left eye. Sold into indentured servitude as a child, her bond is purchased by Anafiel Delaunay, a nobleman with very a special mission... and the first one to recognize who and what she is: one pricked by Kushiel's Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one.

Phèdre is trained equally in the courtly arts and the talents of the bedchamber, but, above all, the ability to observe, remember, and analyze. Almost as talented a spy as she is courtesan, Phèdre stumbles upon a plot that threatens the very foundations of her homeland. Treachery sets her on her path; love and honor goad her further. And in the doing, it will take her to the edge of despair... and beyond. Hateful friend, loving enemy, beloved assassin; they can all wear the same glittering mask in this world, and Phèdre will get but one chance to save all that she holds dear.

Set in a world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers, heroic traitors, and a truly Machiavellian villainess, this is a novel of grandeur, luxuriance, sacrifice, betrayal, and deeply laid conspiracies. Not since Dune has there been an epic on the scale of Kushiel's Dart-a massive tale about the violent death of an old age, and the birth of a new.]]> 1040 Jacqueline Carey 0330493744 Gretchen 3 4.01 2001
author: Jacqueline Carey
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2001
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2017/09/28
shelves:
review:
I have a lot of complicated feelings about this series. It's so imperfect in some ways and so just what I need in others.
]]> 35018907 In this character driven novel of first contact by debut author Sue Burke, human survival hinges on an bizarre alliance.

Only mutual communication can forge an alliance with the planet's sentient species and prove that mammals are more than tools.

Forced to land on a planet they aren't prepared for, human colonists rely on their limited resources to survive. The planet provides a lush but inexplicable landscape--trees offer edible, addictive fruit one day and poison the next, while the ruins of an alien race are found entwined in the roots of a strange plant. Conflicts between generations arise as they struggle to understand one another and grapple with an unknowable alien intellect.]]> 333 Sue Burke 076539135X Gretchen 4 sf 3.85 2018
author: Sue Burke
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2017/09/28
shelves: sf
review:
I really enjoyed the structure of this novel (each chapter follows a character from a later generation, giving the reader insight over time while still being closely character-driven). I found the alien-ness of the alien planet intriguing, and I was generally grabbed by each subsequent thing that happened. I wouldn't say this book is a must read but it pushed a lot o f my buttons (alien ecology, survival, attempted utopias, generational drift, communication between wildly different species with potentially different goals, uneasy alliances...). I felt like the writing was a bit... generic? Each character didn't feel distinct, there was a bit more showing than telling, but it suited the practicality of the narrative well enough. Very readable, interesting thought experiment of a small human culture trying to make it on a new planet.
]]> 17378527
All her life, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love's death. She doesn't believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem, but as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.]]> 439 Maggie Stiefvater 0545424984 Gretchen 3 sf, ya 4.26 2016
author: Maggie Stiefvater
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2017/09/28
shelves: sf, ya
review:

]]> 33099588 The Black Tides of Heaven is one of a pair of standalone introductions to Neon Yang's Tensorate Series. For more of the story you can read its twin novella The Red Threads of Fortune

Mokoya and Akeha, the twin children of the Protector, were sold to the Grand Monastery as children. While Mokoya developed her strange prophetic gift, Akeha was always the one who could see the strings that moved adults to action. While his sister received visions of what would be, Akeha realized what could be. What's more, he saw the sickness at the heart of his mother's Protectorate.

A rebellion is growing. The Machinists discover new levers to move the world every day, while the Tensors fight to put them down and preserve the power of the state. Unwilling to continue to play a pawn in his mother's twisted schemes, Akeha leaves the Tensorate behind and falls in with the rebels. But every step Akeha takes towards the Machinists is a step away from his sister Mokoya. Can Akeha find peace without shattering the bond he shares with his twin sister?]]> 236 Neon Yang 076539541X Gretchen 4 3.70 2017
author: Neon Yang
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2017/09/25
shelves: queer, sf, tiptree-interest, trans
review:

]]> 28818766
From the author: The Journey is actually a story about many journeys, and it began with the story of two girls I met in a refugee center in Italy. After meeting them I realized that behind their journey lay something very powerful. So I began collecting more stories of migration and interviewing many people from many different countries. A few months later, in September 2014, when I started studying a Master of Arts in Illustration at the Academy of Lucerne, I knew I wanted to create a book about these true stories. Almost every day on the news we hear the terms "migrants" and "refugees" but we rarely ever speak to or hear the personal journeys that they have had to take. This book is a collage of all those personal stories and the incredible strength of the people within them.

Francesca Sanna is an Italian illustrator and graphic designer who moved to Switzerland to follow her dream to work as an illustrator. She graduated in 2015 from the Lucerne School of Art and Design with a Master of Design with focus on Illustration. The Journey is her first picture book.


]]> 48 Francesca Sanna 1909263990 Gretchen 5 picture-books 4.24 2016
author: Francesca Sanna
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2017/05/10
date added: 2017/08/26
shelves: picture-books
review:
A gorgeously, evocatively illustrated book about a refugee family fleeing a war-torn country and heartache. The art is stunning, the topic difficult but sensitively handled, and of course very timely. A truly important picture book.
]]> 32333298
Life begins small, then grows�

There are so many wonderful things about life, both in good times and in times of struggle. Through the eyes of the world’s animals—including elephants, monkeys, whales, and more—Cynthia Rylant offers a moving meditation on finding beauty around us every day and finding strength in adversity. Brendan Wenzel’s stunning landscapes and engaging creatures make this an inspiring and intriguing gift for readers of all ages.]]> 42 Cynthia Rylant 1481451626 Gretchen 5 4.33 2017
author: Cynthia Rylant
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2017/08/23
date added: 2017/08/26
shelves:
review:
Cynthia Rylant's deceptively simple prose covers a great deal of ground, and Brendan Wenzel's beautiful art brings a broad subject into delightful, complex detail. This gorgeous book covers so many aspects of life--from a sweep of exploration of ecology, environment, and the impact of human civilization on the natural world to a glance at cycles of life and a very gentle take on death and change. Beautiful, hopeful, resonant.
]]> 32191862 Most People as an antidote to the scary words and images kids hear and see every day. Jennifer Morris’s emotive, diverting characters provide the perfect complement to Leannah’s words, leading us through the crowded streets of an urban day in the company of two pairs of siblings (one of color). We see what they see: the hulking dude with tattoos and chains assisting an elderly lady onto the bus; the Goth teenager with piercings and purple Mohawk returning a lost wallet to its owner; and the myriad interactions of daily existence, most of them well intended. Most People is a courageous, constructive response to the dystopian world of the news media.


Fountas Pinnell Level M
]]> 36 Michael Leannah 0884485544 Gretchen 5 picture-books 3.89 2017
author: Michael Leannah
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2017/08/15
date added: 2017/08/26
shelves: picture-books
review:
Tackles a tough subject - talking with young kids about horrible acts - and manages to be truthful, gentle, and kind about how most people are really at heart good. It's sad how relevant this book is these days, but I'm glad it's here for parents and kids.
]]> 32980764
But Lucy’s going to be there. And ever since he met Lucy three years ago, she’s been on his mind…and in his fantasies.

Between Lucy, Nick (whom Evan privately calls “the blond god�), and his girlfriend Cait, Evan’s New Year’s is unlike any holiday he’s ever spent. And he definitely wouldn’t have it any other way.

Ring in the True is 30,000 words, or 120 pages long. This story is part of the Scientific Method Universe, but need not be read in conjunction with other books in the series. Please check out for more info and recommended reading order.]]> 117 Kris Ripper Gretchen 4 bdsm, poly, queer 4.11 2016
author: Kris Ripper
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2017/08/02
date added: 2017/08/26
shelves: bdsm, poly, queer
review:
My genderqueer little heart NEEDED THIS STORY. Evan's prickly need for people to understand his gender/his protective cynicism about whether they will do so, the complex feelings about Lucy, the INCREDIBLY HOT interactions with Nick and Bernie, Cait's companionable self-assurance contrasting with Evan's stress about his gender identity, CAIT/EVAN/LUCY oh my god, the moments where the family fail a little bit and apologize and move on... I loved this story and I love Evan and his cautious little domly feelings. I just loved seeing a character not have to be perfectly self assured or experienced be given the space to be both understood and appreciated for himself.
]]> 22554204 FRIENDSHIP TO THE MAX!

At Miss Qiunzilla Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's camp for hard-core lady-types, things are not what they seem. Three-eyed foxes. Secret caves. Anagrams. Luckily, Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are five rad, butt-kicking best pals determined to have an awesome summer together... And they're not gonna let a magical quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! The mystery keeps getting bigger, and it all begins here.

Collects Lumberjanes No. 1-4.]]> 128 N.D. Stevenson 1608866874 Gretchen 4 comics, queer, ya 3.91 2015
author: N.D. Stevenson
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/06/19
date added: 2017/08/26
shelves: comics, queer, ya
review:
SO GREAT. This is a must read for people age 5-105, but is especially great for teens. This is the story of a mysterious summer camp and the girls who try to get to the bottom of the weird goings-on. Young queers get screentime in a way that neither victimizes or objectifies them, the catchphrases are so cute, the girls have diverse personalities, appearances, and representations, and the plots are wacky and fun. One of my fave comics in a long long time.
]]> 23830990
What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again.

Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.

Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions.

Award-winning writer Patrick Ness’s bold and irreverent novel powerfully reminds us that there are many different types of remarkable.]]> 317 Patrick Ness 0062403168 Gretchen 4 queer, realist, sf, ya 3.68 2015
author: Patrick Ness
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/10/16
date added: 2017/08/26
shelves: queer, realist, sf, ya
review:
Smart, funny, satisfying, and heartfelt, this is a winning YA novel that manages to give its diverse teen characters plenty of room to be relatable and real without over-dramatizing them or feeling didactic. These kids grapple with a lot of issues, but this isn't an Issues book. Importantly, it's very much about kids who have already been living through tough concerns (the end of the world barely registers, after overbearing parents, mental illness, eating disorders, queerness, and of course, love). These are kids who love each other even though they're still figuring out what that means, who accept and support each other and *choose* each other every day. The contrast between their everyday problems against the backdrop of what's going on with the Chosen Ones (hilariously summarized events introduce each chapter) is pitch perfect. This is a good one if you loved Buffy and Harry Potter but are sick of investing in their many knockoffs. It's also great for any teenager who is done with being looked down on. I read this in a couple of days because I feel in love with the characters that much.
]]> 34275182
So when Talia meets doctoral student Sean Poole, she can't figure out why she wants him to control her. Why she wants him to boss her around. Why she wants him to hurt her.

Talia learns the hard way that not all control is created equal, and sometimes submitting is the most empowering thing in the world.]]> 376 Sara Taylor Woods 0998738808 Gretchen 4 bdsm, realist 4.02 2017
author: Sara Taylor Woods
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2017/04/03
date added: 2017/08/26
shelves: bdsm, realist
review:
This was a surprisingly tough read for a book whose structure and prose make it seem like it should be a breezy romance. The way the MC has to grapple with her own internalized anti-kink prejudice, while defending against the negative reactions of everyone close to her, is very, um, relevant to the experiences many of us have had or continue to have. I really identified with those aspects of the book. I adored Talia's slightly fucked up but very self-knowledgeable approach to throwing herself into things, and her resilience for when they don't go well. Speaking of which, some TWs: [spoilers removed]. I really liked the depiction of a MC so invested in kink and so hungry for experience that she goes for what she wants despite the negative pressures she has around it. I loved the way this story explores the gap between amorphous-yet-researched desire and experience, the awkwardness, the space between intent, experience, and reaction and the ways trust, consent, and resilience aren't always enough. It is a surprisingly complex book and as an aside, I loved Talia's unabashed Jewish identity.
]]> 23012877
Collects RAT QUEENS #6-10]]> 128 Kurtis J. Wiebe 1632150409 Gretchen 4 queer, sf, comics 4.13 2015
author: Kurtis J. Wiebe
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/05/01
date added: 2017/08/26
shelves: queer, sf, comics
review:

]]> 23093359 176 Kieron Gillen 1632150190 Gretchen 4 comics, sf 3.81 2014
author: Kieron Gillen
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2017/08/26
shelves: comics, sf
review:

]]> 35118935
Randolph is the last of an ancient line of arcanists, commanding deep secrets and extraordinary powers as he struggles to fulfil his family duties in a war-torn world. He knows there's something odd going on with the haunted-looking man who keeps turning up in all the wrong places. The only question for Randolph is whether Saul is victim or villain.

Saul hasn’t trusted anyone in a long time. But as the supernatural threat grows, along with the desire between them, he’ll need to believe in evasive, enraging, devastatingly attractive Randolph. Because he may be the only man who can save Saul’s life—or his soul.]]> 271 K.J. Charles 0995799075 Gretchen 4 4.10 2017
author: K.J. Charles
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2017/08/07
date added: 2017/08/13
shelves:
review:

]]> 31194576
Time is running out though, because way across town a ghost as risen from the lake. Searching, yearning, she leaves a trail of destruction in her wake…]]> 287 Patrick Ness 1406377279 Gretchen 4 3.65 2017
author: Patrick Ness
name: Gretchen
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2017/08/13
date added: 2017/08/13
shelves:
review:
I read this book in a single plane ride. It was good but not great. Probably a 3.5 but I feel generous bc the stuff I wasn't into wasn't BAD, it just didn't wow me. The mystical apocalypse side plot added atmosphere but distracted from the emotional depth of the main plot. I read and loved The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Ness and I liked that juxtaposition style better there--it worked better . I did appreciate the frank approach to teenage sexuality in this book--seeing teens neither scarred by nor totally transcended by their sexual experiences felt really affirming. Adam's reflections on his sex life were really beautifully done. The repressive religious parents struck a chord (my best friend growing up had parents like this). I did feel like the book's ending was both a little too easy and a little too unresolved. I really liked Adam, though, even though he is a complete jerk sometimes. Very good, thoughtful YA about a gay kid wrestling with his life, with some creepy interstitial plot about a possessed dead girl and the handwringing satyr trying to stop the end of the world.
]]> 25222590
Where will it take me?

So begins an imaginary journey from the city to the sea. From factories to farmlands, freeways to forest, each new landscape is explored through stunning illustrations and poetic text from this award-winning picture-book creator.]]> 32 Marc Martin 0670077445 Gretchen 5 picture-books 4.12 2015
author: Marc Martin
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2017/06/07
date added: 2017/08/04
shelves: picture-books
review:
This is an incredibly beautiful book. I loved the detail and color in the art and the way the story quietly explores environmental themes.
]]> 22642101

Okay, fine. He doesn't have any idea what he wants right now. And that's when he meets Davey.


Davey isn't like anyone Will's ever known. He's genderqueer, and even more of a relationship novice than Will. Will loves hanging out with him, and the sex is new and wild and so freaking hot. He wants everyone to be as excited about this relationship as he is, but nothing's ever that simple. Especially when he gets his (fake) boyfriends involved.


Truman's diplomatic and amused, but Hugh? There's a whole lot Hugh isn't saying, and only some of it is about how possessive he feels when he's not allowed to put his hands all over Will.


Just when Will's having fun, feeling secure, the bottom drops out and he slams back to the ground all over again. This time it's not just Hugh bailing him out of the dumps. This time Hugh shows up in the rain with a whole lot more on his mind than fixing Will, which is good, because Will doesn't need to be fixed right now. And he's sure as hell not gonna let Hugh screw things up with Truman, who's by far the best thing that ever happened to him.


Life may be full of ups and downs, but the ride will make you scream. And laugh. And cry. Sometimes all at once.


Warnings: May induce gender bending. If you're lucky.


This is the sixth installment in the Scientific Method universe. If you're reading in order, it comes after Breaking Down. Roller Coasters is 70,000 words or about 280 pages long.]]> 238 Kris Ripper 1311097295 Gretchen 4 bdsm, poly, queer 4.24 2014
author: Kris Ripper
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2017/07/28
date added: 2017/08/04
shelves: bdsm, poly, queer
review:

]]> 25241403 K. J. Charles turns up the heat in her new Society of Gentlemen novel, as two lovers face off in a sensual duel that challenges their deepest beliefs.
Ěý
Silas Mason has no illusions about himself. He’s not lovable, or even likable. He’s an overbearing idealist, a Radical bookseller and pamphleteer who lives for revolution . . . and for Wednesday nights. Every week he meets anonymously with the same man, in whom Silas has discovered the ideal meld of intellectual companionship and absolute obedience to his sexual commands. But unbeknownst to Silas, his closest friend is also his greatest enemy, with the power to see him hanged—or spare his life.
Ěý
A loyal, well-born gentleman official, Dominic Frey is torn apart by his affair with Silas. By the light of day, he cannot fathom the intoxicating lust that drives him to meet with the Radical week after week. In the bedroom, everything else falls away. Their needs match, and they are united by sympathy for each other’s deepest vulnerabilities. But when Silas’s politics earn him a death sentence, desire clashes with duty, and Dominic finds himself doing everything he can to save the man who stole his heart.
Ěý
Includes a special message from the editor, as well as an excerpt from another Loveswept title.]]> 251 K.J. Charles 1101886064 Gretchen 4 4.26 2015
author: K.J. Charles
name: Gretchen
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2016/10/13
date added: 2017/08/04
shelves:
review:

]]>