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jamietukpahwriting · 2 years

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Book Review: Once Upon A Dream by Liz Braswell

What happens when the end isn’t The End?

The evil dragon is dynamically defeated. The beautiful princess slumbers, awaiting her awakening kiss. The valiant prince offers the curse’s cure… and immediately falls into slumber beside his princess.

Apparently, Maleficent isn’t willing to give up so easily. She’s hidden herself in the dreams of the sleeping princess, confusing Aurora’s mind and memories. In a castle of thorns at the end of the world, Aurora struggles to escape the maze Maleficent has made of her mind. Outside the castle, monsters and moving landscapes hinder her.

Fortunately, Aurora isn’t alone as she flees. Unfortunately, Maleficent’s magic makes it difficult for her to remember her alleged true love. Phillip seems compassionate, courageous, and unfailingly cheerful—but the more coherent Aurora’s confused memories become, the more she realizes how much she’s been lied to. Phillip isn’t necessarily someone she can trust.

In any case, Maleficent isn’t willing to give up. Her agents stalk the runaway princess, attempting to capture her and drag her back into Maleficent’s clutches.The further Aurora flees, the more Maleficent tries to turn her own mind against her. Aurora must confront the nightmares of her subconscious and discover her hidden natural talents in order to defeat the evil fairy.

Time is running out. Will the sleeping beauty be able to wake herself up?

One of the things I love the most about this book is that it deals with the mental health of teenage girls. The book heavily implies that Aurora struggles with depression—and that there aren’t any magical fixes for it.

Aurora is a beautiful girl. She’s (previously) in love with a boy who loves her back. She has grace and godmothers and a good future. And she still has depression. She still tries to pass the endless hours of the day by sleeping them away. Her upbringing, both with her godmothers and in Maleficent’s dream world, left Aurora vulnerable to the darker emotions that often come with loneliness and isolation.

While growing up with her fairy godmothers, Aurora had maternal love and freedom, but no structure and no interaction with anyone besides her godmothers. In Maleficent’s dream world, Aurora grew up as a princess, allowing interaction with others, but her parents were evil and neglectful, leading to a lack of parental love and, again, a complete lack of structure.

Phillip is present, and his genuine good intentions, general optimism, and willingness to let Aurora take the lead (including in their relationship since she doesn’t remember him) are amazing. In the end, though, it’s Aurora who must face Maleficent directly to break the curse and wake herself up.

5 stars! Recommended for anyone who struggles with depression.

#books #book review #once upon a dream #liz braswell #fiction #fiction book review #young adult #young adult novels #fairy tales #fairy tale retellings #sleeping beauty #depression #jamietukpahwriting #ya fiction #writeblr #sleeping beauty retelling #jamietukpahreviews

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free-air-for-fish · 5 days

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[17] Chapter 16 Review Syndicate: Those We Thought We Knew

A previous boss of mine was obsessed with David Joy’s books, but I had yet to read any of this work. Those We Thought We Knew was a great entry into his work. Joy focuses a lot on addressing racial turmoil in the South, so if you like detective work, murder mysteries, or eerie small town drama in the South, then you’ll likely enjoy this book. Cover of the book Those We Thought We Knew. As I…

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jen-writes93 · 3 months

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Book Review - My Summer of Magic Moments

My Summer of Magic Moments by Caroline Roberts – My Review Imagine catching up with an old friend over coffee, the conversation meandering into familiar territory but lacking that captivating spark. That’s the feeling ‘My Summer of Magic Moments’ left me with – a casual read that had its enjoyable moments but left me longing for a bit more substance. The story kicks off in a small,…

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#book blog #Book Club #book discussion #book lovers #book recommendations #book review #bookworm #chick lit #contemporary fiction #fiction book review #must reads #reading community #reading list #summer reads

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noodlenoises · 9 months

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Fiction Book Review: Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Here's my review of Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah's debut novel, Chain-Gang All-Stars, about the prison-industrial-complex turned into a reality TV deathmatch.

TW: self-harm, racism, death, torture, sexual assault Themes The book explores themes of incarceration, activism, human greed and selfishness, blissful ignorance, and the evils of late stage capitalism. It does so by giving us the perspective of nearly every major characters, from Loretta and Staxxx to the broadcast director of this cruel and deadly programming, and even the announcer who bathes…

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#book publishing #book review #books #chain-gang all-stars #fiction #fiction book review #nana kwame adjei-brenyah

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crow-caller · 2 years

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Tiktok sensation LightLark is the final boss of bad fantasy YA— a failure built on aesthetic boards and tropes, unable to pretend it has a heart

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A full summary with spoilers, analysis, quotes- and so much more on the subject of a book you should never read. This is a long piece. Like ‘Youtube Video Essay’ long.

Lightlark is joyless, a husk beyond parody, a checklist of every Island of Blood and Bone and Glass and Hearts that has come out in the last five years, built and sold on tropes and aesthetic boards. This is a book written by an author who is not a writer. It would fit in on the dregs of an amateur writing site with eerie perfection.

But Lightlark is more than that. You see, Lightlark is… a TikTok book.

EDIT:

Thanks :')

There's now a video version. I heard Tumblr likes video essay long watches on obscure very specific content... may I introduce you to:

youtube

I'm not making a dime on this, I have no horses, only like 70 hours of work looking at this mess of a book and I just want to make sure everyone knows how bad it is. Let's be bitter at this multimillionaires flop together.

#Alex aster #Book drama #Book Review #booktok #fantasy #fiction #Lightlark #Review #romance #writing #YA #YA books #YA fiction #young adult #Youtube

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whathannelblogs · 2 years

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Dark Light by Jodi Taylor Book Review

People tell you their darkest secrets and then regret it and then all they want to do is get away so they can pretend it never happened.”Excerpt from: Jodi Taylor, Dark Light (Elizabeth Cage Book 2) Synopsis from Goodreads From the frying pan into the fire. Betrayed, terrified and alone, Elizabeth Cage has fled her home. With no plan and no friends, she arrives at the picturesque village of…

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#book lover #book recommendation #book review #book reviewer #bookish #dark light #dark light book review #dark light by jodi taylor #dark light by jodi taylor book review #fiction book review #paranormal

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carolearlycooney · 2 years

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A Week of Romance

Dear Fellow Reader, Sigh…. It has been a while again. I swear that I will keep this up and then life gets in the way. Since I wrote last, we have moved into Spring and almost Summer. But since I am sitting here in a sweatshirt and slippers, it certainly isn’t Summer today. I still need to get the hang of audiobooks. I have listened to a couple but so far I haven’t been sold on them. I…

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#Fake It Till You Bake It #Fiction #fiction book review #Georgia Clark #Island Time #Jamie Wesley #LGBTQ+#LGBTQ+ Romance #Modern Romance #Summer 2022 Romance

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readwriteloves-blog · 1 month

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“The fallen angel becomes a malignant devil. Yet even that enemy of God and man had friends and associates in his desolation; I am alone.”

- Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

#book review #books and reading #coquette #dark academia #pinterest #reading #book quotes #book tumblr #booklr #bookshelf #mary shelley #frankestein #gothic #gothic literature #literature #quotes #science fiction #authors

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mysharona1987 · 9 months

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#Science #science fiction #sci fi #book reviews #cartoons #university #lol #eels

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galina · 9 days

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Just finished: The Amendments, Niamh Mulvey. I was sent an advance review copy by picador. It took me a while to warm up to this one, but in the end I really enjoyed the way Mulvey delivers complex difficult emotions using straightforward language, not wallowing in grief but also not flinching away from some of the hardest conversations around birth, death and religion. And I do have a soft spot for Irish writers, and multi-generational stories

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romancefairy · 1 year

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"ok hear me out" and then it's the most traumatized fictional character ever

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ilikereadingactually · 29 days

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Lake of Souls

Lake of Souls by Ann Leckie

what can i even say about this?? i have already established my deep love for Ann Leckie's work, and this collection lives up to all possible expectations. it's spectacular. every single story is an absolute BANGER.

the first section, standalone stories unrelated to her novels, is brimming with surprises and delights. each new premise and scenario presented me with characters i understood and loved immediately, and took me on a journey of unexpected turns. fabulous for any speculative reader honestly, but so particularly wonderful to me and my adhd brain! the imagination and unpredictability of each story kept me absolutely glued, and opened doors into worlds that felt fully realized. i could easily read a novel in every single world Leckie created here, but the stories are also satisfying--i don't NEED a novel in any of them, they are perfectly satiating morsels of lembas bread.

and in the second section we get stories in the Imperial Radch universe, two of which i had actually read before during the deepest dives of my Radch obsession, but which were fantastic to revisit. again, the worldbuilding and character development both stand out as Leckie's greatest strengths, giving insight into times and places outside the scope of her novels with tantalizing bits of in-universe history and folklore. i spent some time yelling out loud about them.

the third section, i now have to confess, i haven't read yet--because they're stories set in the universe of The Raven Tower, which i also have not had time to read yet in between galleys and library books with due dates, and i'd prefer to go into the novel not knowing anything about the world. but i can't imagine, at this point, that any story in this section is going to somehow alter my love for this collection, which is already deep and abiding. looking forward to sneaking in a read of The Raven Tower and then coming back to this!!

the deets

how i read it: an e-galley from NetGalley, which i wanted to read immediately but had to prioritize other deadlines first, so it was sitting approved on my shelf for months calling to me T^T

try this if you: love SFF at its most speculative and imaginative, are compelled by well-developed characters, dig themes of language and translation and the meeting/clashing of cultural norms, or are into Leckie's other work (obv)!

some bits i really liked: it was super hard to choose, so here's connected bits that made me laugh and one that made me holler "BREQ PLEASE" out loud in my empty apartment

"And you left me behind," continued Great Among Millions. "Alone. They asked and asked me where you were and I did not know, though I wished to." It made a tiny, barely perceptible stomp. "They put me in a storeroom. In a box." ... "Eye of Merur," said the first of the Thirty-Six. "We're glad you're back." "They're glad you're back," whispered Great Among Millions, just behind Het's right shoulder. "They didn't spend the time in a box."

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"She commands me," said Seven-Brilliant-Truths. "And I obey. Sister understands." "Yes," said Sister Ultimately-Justice, not even blinking.

pub date: April 2, 2024! That's tomorrow!!!!! Go get your copy!!

#books and reading #bookblr #booklr #book recs #book reviews #lake of souls #ann leckie #sf short fiction

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intersexbookclub · 6 months

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Discussion summary: Left Hand of Darkness

Published in 1969, The Left Hand of Darkness is a classic in science fiction that explores issues of sex/gender in an alien-yet-human society where the aliens are just like us except in how they reproduce. These aliens, the Gethenians, can reproduce as either male or female. They spend most of their lives sexually undifferentiated. Once a month, they go into heat (“kemmer”) and their sexual organs activate as either male or female (it’s essentially random).

Here's a summary of the discussions we had on 2023-08-25 and 2023-09-01 about the book:

HIGH LEVEL REACTONS

Michelle (@scifimagpie): even though it was written by a cis straight perisex woman there is a queerness to the writing that feels true and that she nailed. There is a queerness to the soul of this book that still holds up, that's true and good, and I cannot but love and respect that.

Elizabeth (@ipso-faculty): this book is such a commentary on 1960s misogyny. Genly is a raging misogynist. It takes a whole prison break and crossing the arctic for Genly to realize a woman or androgyne can be competent 👀

Dimitri: [Having read just the first half of the book] I wonder if it keeps happening, if Genly keeps going "woaaaah" [to the Gethenians’ androgyny] or if he ever acclimates. It's been half the novel my guy

vic: yeah a book where a guy is destroyed by seeing a breast makes me want queer theory

vic: [it also] makes me feel good to see how much has changed [since the 1960s]

THE INTERSEX STUFF

A thing we appreciated about the book was how being intersex is contextual. The main character of the book, Genly Ai, is a human from a planet like Earth, who visits Gethen to open trade and diplomatic relations.

On his home planet, and to Earth sensibilities, Genly is perisex - he is able to reproduce at any time of the month and is consistently male.

But on Gethen, Genly becomes intersex. On Gethen, the norm is that you only manifest (and can reproduce as) a given sex during the monthly kemmer (heat/oestrus) period.

The Gethenians understand Genly as living in “permanent kemmer”, which is described as a common (intersex) condition, and these people are hyper-sexualized and referred to as Perverts.

At this point it’s worth noting that depiction is not the same as endorsement. Michelle pointed out the book is very empathetic to those in permanent kemmer. LeGuin does not appear to be endorsing the social stigma faced by these people, merely depicting it, and putting a mirror to how our own society treats intersex people.

Throughout the book, Genly is treated as an oddity by the Gethenians. He is hyper sexualized. He undergoes a genital inspection to prove he is who he says he is.

When Genly is sent to a prison camp and forcibly given HRT, he does not respond “normally” to the hormones, the effects are way worse for him, and the prison camp staff don’t care, and keep administering them even if it’ll kill him.

Two of us have had the experience of having hyperandrogenism and being forced onto birth control as teenager, and relating to the sluggishness of the drugs that Genly experienced, as well as the sense that gender/sex conformity was more important to authority figures (parents, doctors) than actual health and well-being.

Another scene we discussed the one where Genly is in a prison van en route to the gulag, and a Gethenian enters kemmer and wants to mate with him and he declines. He is given multiple opportunities over the course of the book to try having sex with a Gethenian, and declines every time, and we wondered if he avoided it out of trauma of being hyper-sexualized & hyper-medicalized & having had his genitals inspected.

We discussed the way he described his genital inspection through a trauma lens, and how it interacts with toxic masculinity - in vic’s terms, Genly being "I am a manly man and I have don't trauma"

Those of us who read the short story, Coming of Age in Karhide, noted that once the world was narrated from a Gethenian POV, the people in permanent kemmer were treated far more neutrally, which gave us the impression that Genly as an unreliable narrator was injecting some intersexism along with his misogyny

WHY IT MATTERS TO READ THIS BOOK THROUGH AN INTERSEX LENS

Elizabeth: I’ve encountered critiques of this book from perisex trans folks because to them the book is committing biological essentialism, and dismissing the book as a result. I think they’re missing that this book is as much about (inter)sex as it is about gender. I think they’re too quick to dismiss the book as being outdated or having backwards ideas because they’re not appreciating the intersex themes.

Elizabeth: The intersex themes aren’t exactly subtle, so it kind of stings that I haven’t seen any intersex analyses of this book, but there are dozens (hundreds?) of perisex trans analyses that all miss the huge intersex elephants in the room.

Also Elizabeth: I’ve seen this book show up in lists of intersex books/characters made by perisex people, and I’ve seen Estraven listed as intersex character, and it gets me upset because Estraven isn’t intersex! Estraven is perisex in the society in which he lives. Genly is the intersex character in this story and people who misunderstand intersex as being able to reproduce as male & female (or having quirky genitals smh) are completely missing that being intersex is socially constructed and based on what is considered typical for a given species.

WHAT THE BOOK DOESN’T HANDLE WELL

The body descriptions. As Dmitri put it: “ Like "his butt jiggled and it reminded me of women" ew. It was intentional but I had to put the book down. It reminded me of transvestigators and how they take pictures of people in public.” 🤮

Not pushing Genly to reflect on how weird he is about other people’s bodies. We all had issues with how Genly is constantly scrutinizing the bodies of other humans to assess their gender(s) and it’s pretty gross.

vic asked: “how much of this is her reproducing violence without her knowing it? A thing I didn't like was how he always judging and analyzing people's bodies and realizing others treat him that way. And I wish there was more of his discomfort about this, that it made him feel icky.”

Dimitri added: “I really wanted him to have a moment of this too, for him to realize how much it sucks to be treated this way. As a trans person it's so uncomfortable. What are you doing going around doing this to people?”

Using male pronouns as default/ungendered pronouns. Élaina asked why Genly thinks a male pronoun is more appropriate for a transcendent God and pointed out there’s a lot to unpack there.

OTHER POSITIVES ABOUT THE BOOK

Genly’s journey towards respecting women, that he still had a ways to go by the end of the book. vic pointed out how “LeGuin was straight, and she loves men, and is kinda giving them the side-eye [in this book]. Her writing about how Genly is childish makes me really happy. It’s kind of hilarious to watch him bang his head against the wall because he’s so rigid.”

To which Dmitri added: “I agree with the bit on forgiving men for stuff. I don't know how she [LeGuin] does it but she really lays it all out. She gives you a platter of how men are bad at things, how they make mistakes that are pretty specific to them. She has prepared a buffet of it.”

Autistic Estraven! As Michelle put it: “autistic queer feels about Estraven speaking literally and plainly and Genly not getting it”

The truck chapter. Hits like a pile of bricks. We talked about it as a metaphor for the current pandemic.

The Genly x Estraven slowburn queerplatonic relationship

The conlang! Less is more in how it gets used

MIXED REACTIONS

The Foretelling. For some it felt unnecessary and a bit fetishy. For others it was fun paranormal times.

Pacing. Some liked how the book really forces you to really contemplate as you go. Others struggled with a pace that feels very slow to 2023 readers.

WORKS WE COMPARED THE BOOK TO

Star Trek (the original series) - we wondered if LHOD and Genly Ai were progressive by 1960s standards, and TOS came up as a comparison point. We were all of the impression that TOS was progressive for its time but all of us find it pretty misogynist by our standards. The interest in extra-sensory perception (ESP) is something that was a staple of TOS that feels very strange to contemporary viewers and also cropped up in LHOD

Ancillary Justice - for being a book where characters’ genders are all ambiguous but the POV character is actually normal about how they describe other characters’ bodies.

The Deep - for being another book in a situation where being able to reproduce as male and female is the norm. The Deep was written by an actually intersex author, and doesn’t have the cisperisex gaze of scrutinizing every body for sex. But oddly LHOD actually winds up feeling more like a book about intersex people, because it features a character who is the odd one out in a gonosynic society. In contrast, nobody is intersex in the Deep - everybody matches the norms for their species, which makes the intersex themes in the work much more subtle.

Overall, as vic put it, “there's something to be said about an honest depiction that's not great, especially when there's no alternatives”. For a long time there weren’t many other games in town when it came to this sort of book, and even though some things now feel dated, it’s still a valuable read. We’d love to see more intersex reviews & analyses of the book!

#intersex book club #book summaries #book reviews #left hand of darkness #the left hand of darkness #ursula k. le guin #intersex books #intersex literature #queer books #queer literature #queer fiction #queer scifi #intersex

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