Content warnings: homophobia, Islamophobia, (view spoiler)[forced marriage, exorcism, drugging, child marriage, marital rape (in the past), child sexuContent warnings: homophobia, Islamophobia, (view spoiler)[forced marriage, exorcism, drugging, child marriage, marital rape (in the past), child sexual abuse (in the past), death of a friend, murder (hide spoiler)]
Oof. This book was..............look, it was great. But it was also A Lot. It took a little longer than I anticipated to get to the Bangladesh aspect of the story. But I loved the sibling dynamic, I loved how supportive her cousin and grandmother were, and the way support within the South Asian community was woven into the story was fantastic.
But as someone who has to do child safety and mandatory reporting training every year - which, in Victoria, includes sections on child marriage - I honestly just wanted her to take her passport and run straight to the US Embassy. Like, I understand why she didn't. And it would have been a much shorter book if she had. But it felt like things ended (view spoiler)[a little TOO happily, given the premise of the story, and I feel like there should have been at least SOME ramifications for her parents, given that they essentially kidnap their own child, take away her passport and her phone, drug her, put her through an exorcism, and then basically try to sell her to the highest bidder as a child bride, all of which kind of leads to the murder of a closeted gay man at the hands of a mob who are wielding machetes. (hide spoiler)] You know??
Anyway. I feel like I've been quite negative up until this point. But it WAS a very well done book and I flew through it because I *had* to know how the story played out. The grandmother's diary entries were painful to read, and I wish there had been a little more done with the dynamic between Rukhsana's mother and grandmother, given the contents of the diary. But all in all, this was very well done and I'm really glad I read it. ...more
Content warnings: parental abandonment (in the past), parental neglect (in the past), childhood poverty (in the past), sexual assault (in the past), hContent warnings: parental abandonment (in the past), parental neglect (in the past), childhood poverty (in the past), sexual assault (in the past), hit and run, hospitalisation, mental health, vomit, alcohol
I kind of struggled with the first...25%??...of this. Not because of anything the characters did or because of who the characters were but simply because the age gap - newly 21 and a solid 29 - was a tad too much for me. Especially when we're told REPEATEDLY that Alec confessed his feelings for Theo when he was 15, making Theo 23. And, like, as someone who works with teenagers? C.R.I.N.G.E. It's too much. I'm not opposed to age gaps in romances or the brother's best friend/best friend's brother trope. But an age gap of this much when one character is in their late teens or early 20s lowkey gives me the ick.
Anyway, I basically chose to pretend their ages weren't listed and I continued regardless because the PINING my God the pining was flawless. I did have a couple of issues with the fact that his name is Theo James, but on the whole I loved the characters a lot and I had a fabulous time reading this. And I'm dying to read Jason's story now oh my God. ...more
Content warnings: racism, racial slurs, attempted suicide, drug abuse, colonisation, mentions of domestic violence, mentions of child abuse
4.5 stars
ThContent warnings: racism, racial slurs, attempted suicide, drug abuse, colonisation, mentions of domestic violence, mentions of child abuse
4.5 stars
This was an extremely fast but extremely powerful read. It's a beautifully told story that deals really well with changing family situations and discovering that the adults you respect can be deeply flawed human beings who aren't at all who you thought they were. Darker than I anticipated, but definitely one I'll have to revisit in the future. ...more
Content warnings: child abuse, racism, mentions of sexual assault, mentions of eating disorders
A truly fascinating (and horrifying) insight into AI anContent warnings: child abuse, racism, mentions of sexual assault, mentions of eating disorders
A truly fascinating (and horrifying) insight into AI and what it can and can't do.
A quote that's stuck with me: "Large Language Models (LLMs) are trained to produce plausible text, not true statements. ChatGPT is shockingly good at sounding convincing on any conceivable topic. But OpenAI is clear that there is no source of truth during training. That means that using ChatGPT in its current form would be a bad idea for applications like education or answering health questions. Even though the bot often gives excellent answers, sometimes it fails badly. And it's always convincing, so it's hard to tell the difference." ...more
Content warnings: theft, violence, death of a parent (in the past), blood, grief, homophobia, fire, injury detail, forced institutionalisation, classiContent warnings: theft, violence, death of a parent (in the past), blood, grief, homophobia, fire, injury detail, forced institutionalisation, classism
I put off reading this for ages because it was CHONKY. And then I picked it up and devoured it in a couple of sittings. Go figure. I loved this. It's essentially Ocean's Eleven with teenage characters in Renaissance Florence and they're stealing from the Medici Pope instead of a casino. Slightly less goofy than Ocean's Eleven, yes. But this was fun and gripping and compelling and twisty and I had a fantastic time with it. ...more
Content warnings: death, murder, death of a friend, gun violence, blood, poop, racism, animal death, classism, stalking, alcohol, toxic friendship, boContent warnings: death, murder, death of a friend, gun violence, blood, poop, racism, animal death, classism, stalking, alcohol, toxic friendship, body horror, fire, confinement
Look, I fully understand every single criticism that people have of this book. I do. The kids are rich and privileged. The killer's motivations are ridiculous. A clown takes a shit in a Birkin bag. It's STUPID. I get it. But at the same time, I was in the depths of a reading slump and this book - which feels like a slasher movie - just WORKED for me. Clown shit and all. Pet porcupine and all. Ridiculous premise and all. Sue me. ...more
Content warnings: murder, gore, blood, drugging, domestic violence, death of a parent (in the past), grief, emotional abuse, classism, body horror, caContent warnings: murder, gore, blood, drugging, domestic violence, death of a parent (in the past), grief, emotional abuse, classism, body horror, car accident (in the past), death
3.5 stars
Okay, as a general rule, I really like YA crime/horror books that take historic true crime and turn it into a modern story for a new audience. Bryce Moore does it extremely well. So, I was really excited to read this one which takes the Borden murders and twists them into a 21st century story.
Unfortunately, this turned out to be a TAD too paranormal for my liking. Like, don't get me wrong. There's a place for paranormal horror in the world! I just wanted this, which is very clearly tied to Lizzie Borden, to be more of a thriller-y horror story than a paranormal-y story. And that's on me, 100%. ...more
Content warnings: homophobia, death of a parent (in the past), racism and racial slurs
4.5 stars
A queer graphic novel retelling of Northanger Abbey? HeContent warnings: homophobia, death of a parent (in the past), racism and racial slurs
4.5 stars
A queer graphic novel retelling of Northanger Abbey? Hell freaking yes. Sign me the hell up. The art is gorgeous. The story was compelling, despite the fact that I essentially knew everything that was going to happen from having read Northanger Abbey a million times over the past 30-odd years.
There are endless Pride and Prejudice retellings, and while I love Pride and Prejudice as much as the next basic white girl, it was fantastic to see an adaptation of something ELSE by Austen. It's a heartfelt and clever retelling and I adored everything about it. ...more
I am very much enjoying this middle grade crime series, in part because the stories take place oveContent warnings: blackmail, mental health, bullying
I am very much enjoying this middle grade crime series, in part because the stories take place over a single day so there's a real pressure for the kids - who are forced together with no prior connections - to crack the case before the bell goes at the end of the school day.
Do I, a school employee, believe that these 12 year olds would be allowed to wander around all over the school when they should be in class? No. But for the sake of the story I'm willing to suspend all my disbelief.
Is it an especially high stakes mystery? No. No one dies. No one is likely to die if they don't crack the case. But it's compelling nonetheless. And the way the kids ultimately support each other is utterly delightful. All in all? This was a very solid middle grade mystery. ...more
Look, I watched season 1 of Riverdale when it came out and thatContent warnings: classism, teacher/student relationship, alcoholism, bullying
2.5 stars
Look, I watched season 1 of Riverdale when it came out and that was more than enough of this nonsense for me. So why did I read this? Because I stupidly decided to try and read all the books in a particular collection at work and this is one of those books.
The whole book takes place in a single day and it probably would have made more sense to me if I'd rewatched the pilot before I read this but lol nope ain't gonna do that. It was very fast paced, but ultimately a fairly pointless read because it doesn't really give us much about the characters or their history that we don't see in the first couple of episodes of the show (as far as I can remember, anyway).
So yeah. It was readable. But I don't believe for a second that it needed to exist. ...more
I think I'm going to have to revisit this in the future, because while I liked all three of the essayContent warnings: racism, colonialism, xenophobia
I think I'm going to have to revisit this in the future, because while I liked all three of the essays, I feel like I missed - ironically - at least some part of the underlying message that connects the three. In my defence, my brain is currently made of soup so this is definitely more about me than anything to do with the book itself. As always, Coates' writing is beautiful. I think next time, I'll try this as an audiobook because reading it on my tablet in the Libby app was definitely not an optimal reading experience. ...more
Content warnings: implied homophobia. I think that's all?
Look, I wanted to love this. I really did. I love that the author is all "I want to write boContent warnings: implied homophobia. I think that's all?
Look, I wanted to love this. I really did. I love that the author is all "I want to write books about men who look like me and who still get to fall in love and live happily ever after and no one ever wants them to change the way they look". It's fabulous.
But I...had issues with this. First of all, I feel like the whole idea of Luca writing a piece about being celibate for a summer would have been wildly uninteresting to read if it was like "I was asked to be celibate and that seemed hard so I ran away to the woods for three months to avoid all human contact". Just...have him take the job because he's got writer's block and he needs solitude to work through it but he also needs money? Like, yeah, the column is an excuse for him to not immediately fall into bed with Artair, but given that he pretty quickly gives up on the whole idea of the column and falls into bed with Artair anyway, it just...felt unnecessary.
All of that being said, I actually did like the romance between Luca and Artair. It was sweet and charming and the banter between them was great. What I *did* have a problem with the romance was two fold: 1. Why, for the love of God, is there never any lube? Like, I understand you didn't come into the woods expecting to have sex all the damn time. Fine. Surely you have cooking oil at the very least?! 2. If I had to read the words girth, veiny, beefy, bulge, or foreskin again, I was going to scream
And finally, there IS such a thing as using too much alliteration and too many adjectives: "In one booty bounce, Artair was promptly beside him, beefy bicep to beefy bicep." "Even from here, Luca could smell the man underneath, musty and reeking of full nuts." "Normally, Artair liked to draw things out. But Luca's touch was so expert, so focused on his task that soon Artair was gasping and moaning and spraying a screaming torrent of virility ten feet across the mountain top."
Like...it's a lot. And for a book that's described as a cosy romance, there are truly excessive quantities of fluids. At one point, one of them ejaculates "gallons". And, like, yeah, sure, it's hyperbole. But GALLONS? PLURAL??? It's a penis, not a fire hydrant. Also, please for the love of God, don't describe a penis as "a brick" or "a slab" because both of those visual pictures are horrifying. ...more
Content warnings: violence, car accident, Tiananmen Square massacre, (view spoiler)[Idk how to tag this without literally describing it: her dad was pContent warnings: violence, car accident, Tiananmen Square massacre, (view spoiler)[Idk how to tag this without literally describing it: her dad was present at Tiananmen Square and her maternal grandfather, a high ranking member of the Communist party, had him blacklisted so her father had to flee to British-controlled Hong Kong and then to the US before 1997 and has never been able to return to China (hide spoiler)]
3.5 stars
Did I believe for a second that this 18 year old girl who's previously only booked a commercial and who has no formal training whatsoever would be cast as the lead in a rom com movie? No. Not even remotely. Not even if she bears a striking resemblance to a Chinese influencer. Did I care? No, not really, because this was pretty stinking fun. I just wish it hadn't ended as abruptly as it does because now I have to try and track down the sequel.
I will say that I think I would have enjoyed this more if she'd been in her early 20s OR if she'd gone for a reason other than the movie. But on the whole? It was an enjoyable enough read! ...more
Content warnings: graphic body horror, gore, death, death of a loved one, death of a family member, racism, homophobia, transphobia, violence, cannibaContent warnings: graphic body horror, gore, death, death of a loved one, death of a family member, racism, homophobia, transphobia, violence, cannibalism, dead naming, probably a ton of other stuff I have forgotten about because there was A Lot happening in this book.
Holy hell, this collection was fantastic. Like, FANTASTIC. Every story is utterly unique. Every protagonist is diverse in multiple ways. Every story was horrifying and disgusting and there was at least one story where I had to pause and walk away for a little bit because it grossed me out SO HARD.
All in all, this was BRILLIANT and the narrators all did a fantastic job. But at the same time, I kind of wish I'd read this with my eyeballs and not my ears because I tend to retain details better with an eyeballs read. ...more
Did I start reading this almost as soon as I finished Content warnings: outing, homophobia, homophobic slurs, racism, hospitalisation, physical injury
Did I start reading this almost as soon as I finished the first one? Yes. Do I wish these characters were five years older than they are OR that they were both university students rather than a university student and a professional NHL player? Yes. Was it still cute as hell? YES.
My favourite scene, hands down, was the team fighting fire with (metaphorical) fire and leaning into the homophobic asshattery of the other teams because it was hilarious.
Did I lowkey hate the way this ended? Yes. But at the same time, I was having such a delightful time reading it that I kind of didn't mind. ...more
Content warnings: alcoholism, car accident, blood, racism, bullying, emotional abuse, sexual assault, toxic relationship
Okay, so on the one hand? ThisContent warnings: alcoholism, car accident, blood, racism, bullying, emotional abuse, sexual assault, toxic relationship
Okay, so on the one hand? This is an extremely important book about a kid struggling with a new town and a new living arrangement and the realisation that her mother is an alcoholic. On the other hand, there were far too many things going on in this story and I don't feel like there was much in the way of emotional depth??
IDK. Maybe it's just me being picky, but this somehow felt too long and too short all at the same time. ...more
Content warnings: car accident (in the past), hospitalisation (in the past), homophobia, chronic illness, panic attacks, mental health, physical injurContent warnings: car accident (in the past), hospitalisation (in the past), homophobia, chronic illness, panic attacks, mental health, physical injury
This was utterly adorable and extremely fast paced. I don't know that I'd say it's the most well developed story in the world - I honestly don't understand why it wasn't just a university ice hockey team as it genuinely seemed like the only reason Alex was an NHL player was so that he had money to throw around - but I had such a good time with it that I didn't really care.
The author dedicates the book to fan fic writers and then lists a lot of fellow fic writers in the acknowledgements, and this had the same fast paced hurl-you-into-the-story feel as fan fic. I promise I mean that as a compliment.
Long story short: this read like fan fic, both in tone and in the fact that I fucking devoured it. My one gripe would be that the ending really isn't an ending so now I immediately have to pick up the sequel. Hmph. ...more
This was a strange little book. I didn't always understand what was going on - I fouContent warnings: violence, bullying, possession, ableism
3.5 stars
This was a strange little book. I didn't always understand what was going on - I found the colours and the font choice somewhat overwhelming - but I really loved the emphasis on friendship and how the characters are stronger together than they are apart. ...more
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