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Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao
Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor is an engaging start to an action-driven fantasy series that is written in a winsome prose that is guaranteed to appeal to fans of Rick Riordan. Like Riordan’s books, Zhao combines an action-driven quest with a coming of age tale exploring the highs and lows of being a 12yr…
3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, action, adventure, asian american, battles, belonging, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, bullying, China, chinese canadian author, coming of age, Contemporary, FANTASY, gaming, history, HUMOR, identity, KIDS WITH POWERS, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, middle grade, middle school, Muslim rep, myths, near future/alternate reality, playful style, published in 2022, queer, quests, read in 2022, reading, social issues, technology, travel, URBAN FANTASY, Xiran Jay Zhao, Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor -
Caucasia by Danzy Senna
“It’s funny. When you leave your home and wander really far, you always think, ‘I want to go home.’ But then you come home, and of course it’s not the same. You can’t live with it, you can’t live away from it. And it seems like from then on there’s always this yearning for some…
1970s, 1980s, 1st pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, activism, Adult, ALIENATION, ambivalent mood, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, beautiful prose, belonging, bildungsroman, Black & Black heritage authors, Booklr, BOSTON, bullying, California, CHILDHOOD, class, coming of age, Danzy Senna, desire, divorce/separations, elementary school, family, favourite authors, female authors, gay side characters, girlhood, growing up, HISTORICAL FICTION, i don’t think happiness is for me, identity, introspective, it’s about the *yearning*, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, Massachusetts, middle school, mothers & daughters, new hampshire, otherness, paranoia, passing, PRIVILEGE, psychological, published in 1998, queer side characters, queer subtext, queer undercurrents, RACE, re-reads, read in 2021, read in 2022, read in 2023, road trip, school setting, SEXUALITY, SISTERS, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, strong sense of place, the body, the female malaise, toxic relationships, YOUNG ADULT -
Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden
“I wanted to be the diametric opposite of who I was; am. To get gone.” T Kira Madden’s bold and unsparing storytelling makes for a brutal yet ultimately kaleidoscopic coming of age. This is easily one of the best memoirs I’ve read this year. Madden’s memoir makes for a bittersweet read, one that I look…
1990s, 1st pov, 2000s, 20th century, 4 STARS, addiction, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about writers, CHILDHOOD, coming of age, family, fathers & daughters, female authors, female friendships, FLORIDA, friendships, GRIEF, growing up, hawaii, HIGH SCHOOL, identity, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, loneliness, Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls, MEMOIR, mental health, middle school, mothers & daughters, My reviews, nostalgic reads, published in 2019, queer, RACE, read in 2021, reading, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SEXUALITY, T Kira Madden, teen angst, trauma -
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
The first time I read Coraline I was 10 or so and I won’t lie, it scared the bejesus out of me. I mean, the Other Mother has buttons for eyes. Buttons. And she wants to sew buttons into Coraline’s eyes. Wtf.Anyway, this is a great piece of fiction. The story revolves around Coraline, a…
3rd pov, 4 STARS, adventure, atmospheric, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, British author, CHILDHOOD, childhood reads, childrens classics, Contemporary, Coraline, creepy setting, england, fairytalesque prose, FANTASY, favourite authors, great storytelling, HORROR, MAGICAL DOORS, male authors, middle school, mothers & daughters, My reviews, Neil Gaiman, parallel universes, PARANORMAL, published in 2002, re-reads, read in 2021, reading, SUPERNATURAL -
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
Pet is my second book by Akwaeke Emezi and while I did find it to be an engaging read it didn’t quite hit me the way as their The Death of Vivek Oji did. I had a similar experience when I read All Our Hidden Gifts, Caroline O’Donoghue’s foray into the MG/YA genre. I couldn’t…
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Colorful by Eto Mori
First published in 1998 Colorful is narrated by an unknown soul who is given a second chance at life. He will occupy the body of fourteen-year-old Makoto Kobayashi who has attempted suicide and during this ‘homestay’ our narrator has to remember the big mistake he made in his previous life. At times ‘Makoto’ is aided…
1990s, 1st pov, 3 STARS, afterlife, angels, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, bullying, Colorful, Contemporary, DEPRESSION, drama, Eto Mori, FANTASY, female authors, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, light reads, loneliness, middle school, My reviews, published in 1998, read in 2021, reading, suicide, TRANSLATED FICTION -
Things We Lost to the Water by Eric Nguyen
“How unrecognizable America had made them, she was thinking, all of them.” Subtle yet deeply evocative Things We Lost to the Water is a novel about belonging and displacement. In a similar fashion to Chloe Benjamin’s The Immortalists and Ann Patchett’s Commonwealth, Eric Nguyen’s novel does not adopt the traditional structure that characterises family sagas…
1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 20th century, 3.25 stars, 3rd pov, America, American, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, brothers, cultural dissonance, Eric Nguyen, family, FAMILY SAGA, FRANCE, gay, HIGH SCHOOL, HISTORICAL FICTION, language, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, male authors, middle school, migration/immigration, mothers & sons, My reviews, New Orleans, published in 2021, read in 2021, reading, restrained prose, sea, SEXUALITY, Vietnam -
Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura
“The only place she could now go to freely from her bedroom was the castle. If I’m in the castle, she started to think, then I’ll be safe. Only the castle beyond the mirror could offer her complete protection.” Lonely Castle in the Mirror is a heartfelt slice of life novel with a magical twist.…
2000s, 3rd pov, abuse, bullying, castle, child abuse, coming of age, Contemporary, female authors, friendships, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, Lonely Castle in the Mirror, MAGIC, MAGICAL REALISM, mental health, middle school, Mizuki Tsujimura, netgalley, published in 2021, read in 2020, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SLICE OF LIFE, social issues, TRANSLATED FICTION
luce [is reading] 