Isaiah Roby's Blog: MI Book Reviews, page 85
February 26, 2020
Review: Belle Révolte by Linsey Miller
Belle Révolteputs an intriguing twist to its french-revolution-vibe fantasy setting, featuring queer teens exchanging identities, going to magical schools, fighting against oppression and changing the course of a war.
Emilie des Marais is more at home holding scalpels than embroidery needles and is desperate to escape her noble roots to serve her country as a physician. But society dictates a noble lady cannot perform such gruesome work.
Annette Boucher, overlooked and overworked by her...
The One and Only Ivan
“Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.
Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a...
Review: Dalí by E.M. Hamill
Dalíis an awesome SciFi novel with a non-binary genderfluid main character featuring complicated and sometimes dismal politics, dangerous deep cover missions, cool aliens and a vast cast of interesting characters.
Dalí Tamareia has everything—a young family and a promising career as an Ambassador in the Sol Fed Diplomatic Corps. Dalí’s path as a peacemaker seems clear, but when their loved ones are killed in a terrorist attack, grief sends the genderfluid changeling into a spiral of...
February 25, 2020
Only Mostly Devastated
“SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA meets CLUELESS in this boy-meets-boy spin onGrease
Summer love…gone so fast.
Ollie and Will were meant to be a summer fling—casual, fun, and done. But when Ollie’s aunt’s health takes a turn for the worse and his family decides to stay in North Carolina to take care of her, Ollie lets himself hope this fling can grow to something more. Dreams that are crushed when he sees Will at a school party and finds that the sweet and affectionate (and comfortably...
February 24, 2020
Review: Fire & Water by Alexis Hall
I like my whiskey like I like my women: embroiled in a magical war.
Ten years ago I fought for the Witch Queen of London in a mystical showdown against a King Arthur wannabe with a shaved head and a shotgun. Back then, the law did for him before he could do for us.
I don’t think we’ll get that lucky again.
As if the mother of all wizard battles wasn’t bad enough, fate or destiny or a god with a really messed-up sense of humor has dropped a weapon that could rewrite the universe right into the...
Everything is Beautiful, and I’m Not Afraid
“Everything Is Beautiful, and I’m Not Afraidperfectly captures the feelings of a young sojourner in America as she explores the nuancesin searching for a place to belong.Baopuis a monthly serialized comic onAutostraddle, and this book includes beloved fan favorites plus new, never-before-seen comics.
This one-of-a-kind graphic novel explores the poetics of searching for connection, belonging, and identity through the fictional life of a young, queer immigrant. Inspired by the creator’s own...
February 23, 2020
Review: The Last 8 by Laura Pohl
You’d think this book’s title would have clued me in about the whole mass extinction of the human species, as in, everyone dies except for those eight people, but somehow I managed to still be surprised when everyone started disappearing.
A high-stakes survival story about eight teenagers who outlive an alien attack—perfect for fans ofThe 5th Wave
Clover Martinez has always been a survivor, which is the only reason she isn’t among the dead when aliens invade and destroy Earth as she knows it.
...
How I Broke Up with My Colon: Fascinating, Bizarre, and True Health Stories
“Fascinating, bizarre, and educational true-life medical stories retold in cartoon form by the creator of the bestsellingHeart and Brainbook series.
Mysterious illnesses. Freakish injuries. X-rays revealing something weird that got stuck in your foot. These strange but true stories are among the 24 medical tales retold in hilarious fashion byNew York Timesbestselling author/illustrator Nick Seluk. Featuring fascinating stories submitted by people all over the world,How I Broke Up with My...
February 22, 2020
Death By Silver
“His practice newly established, metaphysician Ned Mathey can’t afford to turn away any clients. But the latest Londoner to seek Ned’s magical aid gives him pause: Mr Edgar Nevett, an arrogant banker, is the father of the bully who made Ned’s life hell at boarding school. Nevertheless, Ned accepts the commission to ensure the Nevett family silver bears no ancient or modern curses, and then prepares to banish the Nevett family to unpleasant memory again. Until Edgar Nevett is killed by an...
Every Reason We Shouldn’t
“Warning: Contains family expectations, delightful banter, great romantic tension, skating (all kinds!), Korean pastries, and all the feels.
Fifteen-year-old, biracial figure skater Olivia Kennedy’s Olympic dreams have ended. She’s bitter, but enjoying life as a regular teenager instead of an athlete… until Jonah Choi starts training at her family’s struggling rink. Jonah’s driven, talented, going for the Olympics in speed skating, completely annoying… and totally gorgeous. Between teasing...
