Sarah Jamila Stevenson's Blog: Blog - Sarah Jamila Stevenson, page 16

Big Yikes #57

nope

[still practicing]

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Big Yikes #56

the answer is always C

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Big Yikes #55

[why yes, i did used to hide in the bathroom and read]

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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

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

Big Yikes #54

this is a drastic oversimplification

[i skipped the boring bits]

neat panel-by-panel version on Instagram

Cybils YASF Finalist Review: The Mirror Season

This was the first of McLemore’s books I’ve read, and it ended up at the top of my personal ranking of finalists. It’s got drama, mystery, healing from personal trauma, and a fair bit of magic thrown in. Graciela, or Ciela, is sort of…a pastry witch. Remember Like Water for Chocolate? It’s kind of like that–Ciela can tell just by looking at someone which pastry from her aunt’s panaderia would be perfect for them. How cool is that? Answer: it’s awesome, and it’s made her aunt’s bakery somewhat of a local legend in San Juan Capistrano where they live. Unfortunately, something really bad happens to Ciela at a party, and that makes her lose her magic. Not only that, trees are disappearing from people’s yards, the Santa Ana winds are blowing, and bit by bit, her world is being invaded by shards of mirrored glass…and then she finds out that her classmate Lock was assaulted at that same party. Ciela remembers all too well what happened to her, but doesn’t want to face up to it; meanwhile, Lock has no memory of that night. But Ciela knows, and the longer she keeps her secrets inside, the stranger her world gets.

This retelling of The Snow Queen is a bit more in the realm of magical realism than traditional sci-fi or fantasy, which I’ll admit is not everyone’s taste—but I enjoyed this one. I loved that Ciela was a pastry witch, that she makes the ordinary extraordinary. The mirrored glass thing, at first, I thought might just be in her imagination; it definitely hovers in that uncertain ground between literal and metaphorical. But the real-life complications for Ciela and Lock were heartbreaking and intense, and I loved the details of the setting and her family (though it was interesting the Mission wasn’t mentioned at all, just the swallows.) Ciela’s pansexuality was well depicted, as was her identity as one of the few brown students at a mostly white school, and these create just the right amount of complications without dominating the story. Last but not least, the writing was beautiful–clear and vivid and atmospheric.

Source: Dispatches From Wonderland

Big Yikes #53

now you, too, can be a famous cartoonist

[not responsible for advice taken]

this might look better on Instagram

Cybils YASF Finalist Review: The Gilded Ones

At sixteen, Deka is ready to be initiated into the adult world of her village in a blood ceremony–a ritual in which girls are tested to make sure their blood runs red. If it runs gold, they are deemed impure and cast out. Deka, whose mother came from a faraway place, is different from the other girls, so she’s eager to prove her worthiness in front of them. But instead, she bleeds gold, and is punished for it…until a mysterious stranger comes to town and offers her a bargain: she can stay in her village, where she’s already shunned even by her own family, or she can join the emperor’s army of alaki–girls who, like Deka, bleed gold–and be trained as a warrior.

That’s where her journey really starts, as Deka begins to discover who she really is and what it means to be an alaki, conscripted to fight the ongoing scourge of deathshrieks attacking and killing throughout the empire. I thought this one had a really cool premise—the world the author created is rich with potential, and there was plenty of adventure and surprises as the main character comes into her own. As a reader, I felt greedy and wanted a bit more detail in the world-building from time to time, but your mileage may vary on that. There are exciting twists and turns as Deka learns more about the truth of the world she lives in–which is not what it seems–and learns to balance her quest for justice with her desire for vengeance against the male-dominated status quo.

And, good news for readers: the sequel comes out at the end of May!

Source: Dispatches From Wonderland

Big Yikes #52

no really, everyone’s normal around here

[ha ha]

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