Sarah Jamila Stevenson's Blog: Blog - Sarah Jamila Stevenson, page 16
July 5, 2022
Big Yikes #62
anxiety monster returns
[featuring a special appearance by dust bowl brewing]
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June 29, 2022
June 7, 2022
May 31, 2022
Big Yikes #59
overinflated sense of responsibility
[based on a true story]
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May 24, 2022
May 17, 2022
May 10, 2022
April 20, 2022
Big Yikes #55
[why yes, i did used to hide in the bathroom and read]
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April 18, 2022
Cybils YASF Finalist Review: Vespertine
One of Margaret Rogerson’s earlier books, Sorcery of Thorns, was a finalist in a previous Cybils Awards year, so I was eager to read a new book by her, and Vespertine not only didn’t disappoint, it ended up being the category winner for 2021. From the jacket copy (which provides a much better summary than I could):
Artemisia is training to be a Gray Sister, a nun who cleanses the bodies of the deceased so that their souls can pass on; otherwise, they will rise as ravenous, hungry spirits. She would rather deal with the dead than the living, who whisper about her scarred hands and troubled past.
When her convent is attacked by possessed soldiers, Artemisia defends it by awakening an ancient spirit bound to a saint’s relic. It is a revenant, a malevolent being whose extraordinary power almost consumes her—but death has come, and only a vespertine, a priestess trained to wield a high relic, has any chance of stopping it. With all knowledge of vespertines lost to time, Artemisia turns to the last remaining expert for help: the revenant itself.
This was my personal favorite of the group—intriguing premise and world-building, and a page-turning adventure with plenty of twists and turns. The story also had really good creepiness and a reluctant yet relatable heroine. I wanted to see Artemisia succeed, to find her own inner strength so that she could fight for justice for herself and her world. I also enjoyed watching her open up to unusual and unexpected friendships and allies.
For those who enjoy historical (or, anyway, historical-ish) fantasy–particularly if you enjoyed Robin LaFevers’s His Fair Assassin books–I highly recommend this one. The action is non-stop, but even better, the character is constantly thrown into difficult circumstances that test her tenacity, morality, and even her humanity.
Source: Dispatches From Wonderland
April 11, 2022
Cybils YASF Finalist Review: The Ones We’re Meant to Find
There was a lot I really liked about this book, which was one of the 2021 Cybils Award Finalists that I read as part of the Round 2 judging panel for Speculative Fiction. The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He is a page-turning science fiction story that alternates points of view between Cee (Celia) and her sister Kay (Kasey) Mizuhara. Kay lives in a technologically advanced “eco-city” that towers above the chaotic world, which has been ravaged by climate change. The people who choose to live in eco-cities have clean air and water, but they’re required to spend large portions of their lives in stasis, and there’s still a massive difference between the haves and the have-nots.
Cee lives on a deserted island, her memory largely gone. All she knows is, she’s been there for three years, living in an abandoned house and subsisting on the bare minimum while she tries to build a boat to get back home to her sister. Meanwhile, for Kay, it’s been just three months since Cee disappeared, but retracing her steps to try to figure out what happened only leads to more questions.
I enjoyed the sci-fi setting and the mystery surrounding Cee’s situation—watching her grow as a character was intriguing, and the questions posed about what it means to both BE human and FEEL human were twisty and tense. But I was left feeling confused about a lot of what happened to Kay, and I also had some confusion about the intertwining timelines and storylines, so I didn’t feel as much closure as I could have at the end of the book. Your mileage may vary, though–and it was still a fascinating read.
Source: Dispatches From Wonderland
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