Asking About Joy: On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu

On Fragile Waves is a tender, intimate portrait of the trauma of immigration, conflict, loss, and resilience through the eyes of a young girl. Poetic, understated, and, according to author E. Lily Yu, 8+ years in the making, On Fragile Waves holds a fine position in contemporary magical realism.

Elegantly Horrifying: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-GarciaDel Ray, June 2020Indiebound | Bookshop.org Mexican Gothic is an elegant, haunting, crawl-under-your-skin kind of story, one that feels timeless and yet perfectly situated in its 1950s setting. Luscious in a way that turns sickly sweet, like ripened fruit that is just moments away from turning spoiled and rotten. Sensual in a way that …

“A Merry Band of Female Catastrophes”: The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry by C. M. Waggoner

The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry by C. M. WaggonerAce, January 2021Indiebound | Bookshop.org Set in a land where the women are tough, the men wear skirts, and previously deceased mice go “Bong,” Dellaria Wells, Delly to her friends, is a simple gutterwitch trying to scrape together a few tocats between drinks of gin and get her mam …

Flying on the Kurosawa: Persephone Station by Stina Leicht

Persephone Station by Stina LeichtGallery/Saga Press, January 2021Indiebound | Bookshop.org There’s a delightful intersection among science fiction, westerns, and Akira Kurosawa telling and reimagining The Magnificent Seven, from The Mandalorian (particularly “Sanctuary”), Cowboy Bebop, Firefly (particularly “Heart of Gold”), others I’ve surely missed, and now Persephone Station. Stina Leicht’s newest standalone SF novel is a …

December Wrap-Up

The end of the month (and the end of the year) is here, so I’m looking back at the books I read this month and what I’m looking forward to for next month. I’ll be doing a bigger “end of the year and looking forward” post later, talking about my year of reading, Goodreads and …

November Wrap-Up

Hi and welcome to December everyone! However you’re spending the final month of this year, I hope you find peace and comfort. Without much additional ado, here’s my penultimate month of 2020 wrap-up. My November goal was a seemingly average (for me) 5 books. I’m pleased that I managed to read 4 of those 5 …

A Plague on Both Your Houses: These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

These Violent Delights by Chloe GongMargaret K. McElderry Books, November 2020Indiebound | Bookshop.org Chloe Gong’s debut These Violent Delights is a rollercoaster mashup of Romeo and Juliet, 1920s gangland Shanghai, and a fantastical “There’s a monster at the end of this book.” The story centers on Juliette, daughter and presumptive heir to the Scarlet Gang, …

October Wrap-Up

Yes, I know it is now over a week into November. The first week of November was...well, a lot. So here is a rather belated October wrap-up.  Before I get into what I read, though, I want to share two ways to continue supporting organizations that are working to secure fair voting and elections, enfranchising …

Liminal Spaces: Territory of Light by Yuko Tsushima

Territory of Light by Yuko Tsushima, translated by Geraldine HarcourtFarrar, Straus, and Giroux, November 2019 (originally published 1979)Indiebound | Bookshop.org Territory of Light occupies small, liminal spaces: the threshold of apartments, the strange, uncertain time between marriage and divorce, the blur among memories, dreams, and reality. In each of the 12 vignettes, the theme of …

“But I’ll Always Be By Your Side”: Among the Beasts and Briars by Ashley Poston

Among the Beasts and Briars by Ashley PostonBalzer and Bray, October 2020Indiebound | Bookshop.org “Just” a gardener’s daughter, Cerys is looking at a peaceful, simple future as the royal gardener in the quiet Village-in-the-Valley. Her best friend, the princess Anwen, is about to be crowned queen of Aloriya, and will wear a crown imbued with …