Isaiah Roby's Blog: MI Book Reviews, page 65
October 21, 2020
George
This was a quick read for me, some parts of which made me really sad while others made me smile. Overall pretty touching, but I have to wonder about several about the choices made.
BE WHO YOU ARE.
When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she’s not a boy. She knows she’s a girl.
George thinks she’ll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte’s Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte...
October 20, 2020
The Trans Self-Care Workbook: A Coloring Book and Journal for Trans and Non-Binary People
“If you’re transgender, non-binary, or any other gender under the wide and wonderful trans umbrella, this book is for you. A creative journal and workbook with a difference, this book combines coloring pages celebrating trans identity, beauty and relationships, with practical advice, journaling prompts and space for reflection to promote self-affirmation and wellbeing.
Drawing on CBT and mindfulness techniques, the book covers topics including body positivity and neutrality, coming out, eupho...
October 19, 2020
How to Be Ace: A Memoir of Growing Up Asexual
“Brave, witty and empowering, this graphic memoir follows Rebecca as she navigates her asexual identity and mental health in a world obsessed with sex. From school to work to relationships, this book offers an unparalleled insight into asexuality.”
I got an ARC of this book.
I got super excited because ace rep. That was all I needed to get this book. I am ace and I so rarely see ace anything. I was really hoping that the Burgess could get the definition of ace right, since that is the ...
Openly Straight
Whew, I really, really disliked this. I wouldn’t say it’s an outright bad book, but just about everything about it rubbed me the wrong way.
If I had been reading this as an ebook, I probably would have DNF’ed it. As audiobook it gave me something to listen to while doing other stuff, and I suppose I also enjoyed hate-reading it a little, so my review will be a lot of ranting. Proceed with that in mind.
For a nuanced ownvoices review that talks about the book’s strengths and flaws in a non-rant...
October 16, 2020
Swamp Thing: Twin Branches
Gorgeous and weird graphic novel centered around an introvert twin bringing his research on plants to a rural swamp.
Twins Alec and Walker Holland have a reputation around town. One is quiet and the other is the life of any party, but they are inseparable. For their last summer before college, the two leave the city to live with their rural cousins, where they find that the swamp holds far darker depths than they could have imagined.
While Walker carves their names into the new social scene, A...
October 13, 2020
Black Sun
“A god will return
When the earth and sky converge
Under the black sun
In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world.
Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easil...
The Dollhouse Family
“Alice loves to talk to her dolls, and her dolls and dollhouse love to talk back.
When Alice is six, she is given a beautiful antique dollhouse. When things in her life get scary, Alice turns to her dolls and dollhouse for comfort. One day, they invite her to come play inside with them. As Alice’s life is turned upside down in the “big” world, she is always welcomed home to the little world inside the dollhouse; the house will even grant her a wish if she agrees to live with them!
Follow A...
October 12, 2020
When We Were Magic
“Keeping your magic a secret is hard. Being in love with your best friend is harder.
Alexis has always been able to rely on two things: her best friends, and the magic powers they all share. Their secret is what brought them together, and their love for each other is unshakeable—even when that love is complicated. Complicated by problems like jealousy, or insecurity, or lust. Or love.
That unshakeable, complicated love is one of the only things that doesn’t change on prom night.
When ac...
The Vela
“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.”
I got an ARC of this book.
It physically pains me to say that this is not ...
Gideon the Ninth
Oh HECK did that ending WRECK me!
What a book! It has everything you could possibly want: Space! Necromancers! Mysterious gorey murders! LESBIANS!!!!
And the book doesn’t just stop there – it gives you SO MUCH MORE on top of all that: witty banter, great cast of characters, SWORD LESBIANS, MAGIC LESBIANS, antagonism-turning-into-reluctant-alliance-into-something-more, the most NERVE WRECKING MYSTERY, necromancy but make it science,…. I could go on!
In short, Gideon the Ninth is a gift that ...
