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The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On by Franny Choi
“By the time the apocalypse began, the world had already ended. It ended every day for a century or two. It ended, and another ending world spun in its place.” War, historical conflicts, present crises, and apocalyptic visions, are the motifs of Franny Choi’s The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes. Some poems are…
3 STARS, Adult, America, apocalyptic, asian american, asian diaspora, colonialism, DEATH, environmental, female authors, Franny Choi, generational trauma, history, Korea, korean american author, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, POETRY, published in 2022, queer, read in 2022, social issues, stylised prose, The World Keeps Ending and the World Goes On -
Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón
Lighting does indeed strike twice and so does Ava Limón’s poetry. This past summer I was very much taken by Limón’s latest collection, The Hurting Kind, so much so that I was keen to make my way through her backlist. In Bright Dead Things Limón showcases not only her skill for language, but her ability…
1st pov, Ada Limón, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, beauty, belonging, Bright Dead Things, Contemporary, DEATH, environmental, female authors, female poet, GRIEF, Kentucky, language, latin american diaspora, latinx author, lgbtq+, Longing, lyrical prose, melancholy, MEMORY, nature, NEW YORK, Nonfiction, nostalgic reads, POETRY, published in 2015 -
The Hurting Kind: Poems by Ada Limón
“How funny that I called it love and the whole time it was pain.” The Hurting Kind is a dazzling collection. Ada Limón’s poems are luminous, and I was struck more than once by her ability to espouse a graceful language with such vivid imagery. Limón has proved that I am not only able to…
4 STARS, Ada Limón, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, beauty, belonging, environmental, female authors, female poet, GRIEF, language, latin american diaspora, latinx author, Longing, lyrical prose, melancholy, MEMORY, nature, Nonfiction, nostalgic reads, POETRY, published in 2022, read in 2022, summer reads, The Hurting Kind, uplifting reads -
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
Lacklustre and monotonous, not only did How High We Go in the Dark fail to grip my attention but it also failed to elicit an emotional response on my part. It was a bland and repetitive affair, which is a pity given the hype around it. It didn’t help that a few weeks ago I…
2 STARS, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, apocalyptic, asian american, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), doctors, dystopia, environmental, existentialism, family, GRIEF, illness, interconnected stories, japan, male authors, pandemic, parenting, post-apocalyptic, published in 2022, read in 2022, SCI-FI, SPACE, spaceships, SPECULATIVE FICTION, weak prose, weak worldbuilding -
The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He
The cover for this book is goals…its contents not so much. I found this novel to be an odd melange of confusing and simple. The characters came across as flat (little more than names on a page), the world-building, although at first promising, ultimately struck me as patchy, and the storyline and…
American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, confusing for the sake of being confusing, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), dystopia, environmental, female authors, identity, insta love, ISLAND, Joan He, MEMORY, My reviews, netgalley, plot over character, published in 2021, read in 2021, ROMANCE, SCI-FI, science, scientists & co, sea, SISTERS, SPECULATIVE FICTION, The ones we're meant to find -
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Klara and the Sun presents its readers with a quiet yet touching meditation on life. In a similar fashion as Never Let Me Go Kazuo Ishiguro’s foray into the speculative realm is deeply grounded in the mundane. Yet, in spite of its ordinary trappings, Klara and the Sun is a work that is brimming…
1st pov, 4 STARS, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, atmospheric, beautiful prose, British author, environmental, existentialism, favourite authors, friendships, identity, introspective, Kazuo Ishiguro, Klara and the Sun, LITERARY FICTION, male authors, near future/alternate reality, parenting, psychological, published in 2021, re-reads, read in 2021, read in 2022, SCI-FI, SLICE OF LIFE, SPECULATIVE FICTION, technology, unnamed country, what ifs -
The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin
Three years after I purchased my copy of The Stone Sky I finally got round to reading it. I’m not sure why it took me so long but I thought it best to re-read the first two instalments before approaching its final chapter. As I loved re-reading The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate I…
3 STARS, Adult, afrofuturism, apocalyptic, Black & Black heritage authors, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), environmental, fantastic worldbuilding, FANTASY, favourite authors, female authors, high fantasy, lgbtq+ side, MAGIC, morality, mothers & daughters, N.K. Jemisin, nature, philosophical, POWERS, PUBLISHED IN 2017, read in 2020, SCI-FI, social issues, SPECULATIVE FICTION, The Broken Earth, The Stone Sky, trans side characters -
The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin
“Alas: in the Stillness, destroying mountains is as easy as an orogene toddler’s temper tantrum. Destroying a people takes only a bit more effort.” Now this is how you write a sequel.Jemisin has done it again. This series is simply spectacular. “It’s not hate that you’re seeing. Hate requires emotion. What this woman has simply…
5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, afrofuturism, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), environmental, fantastic worldbuilding, FANTASY, favourite authors, FOLKLORE, high fantasy, lgbtq+ side, MAGIC, morality, mothers & daughters, N.K. Jemisin, nature, philosophical, POWERS, published in 2016, queer side characters, re-reads, read in 2016, read in 2020, SCI-FI, SPECULATIVE FICTION, survival, The Broken Earth, The Obelisk Gate, trans side characters -
The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun
The Disaster Tourist doesn’t tell a very memorable or engrossing story. If you’ve read the summary you know exactly what to expect from this book. We are introduced to Yona who is thirty-three and works as trip coordinator at Jungle, a travel company that specialises in organising disaster themed vacations. Yona is sexually harassed by…
2 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, Contemporary, environmental, female authors, heavy on telling, ISLAND, Korea, Korean, korean author, published in 2020, read in 2020, sexual assault/abuse/rape, social issues, SPECULATIVE FICTION, surreal, The Disaster Tourist, TRANSLATED FICTION, weak prose, work culture, Yun Ko-eun -
The Dragon Keeper: A novel by Mindy Mejia — book review
The Dragon Keeper tells a very specific type of story. This the third novel I’ve read by Mindy Mejia and it certainly has a unique premise. Mejia’s books differ in style and subject-manner, yet genre distinctions aside, each one of her story is underlined by a tense atmosphere. Most of The Dragon Keeper takes place…
3.25 stars, 3rd pov, abortion/miscarriage/bodily autonomy, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, animals, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, break-ups, cheating, environmental, female authors, labs, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Mindy Mejia, minnesota, motherhood, nature, parenting, published in 2012, read in 2020, science, The Dragon Keeper, work culture, zoos
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