#this is one of the best queer ya I have ever read
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i feel like most of the posts i post in this blog is mostly about The Extraordinaries series by TJ Klune but I don't care. It is one of my favorite series of all time.
I love it.
This post contains SPOILERS (you've been alerted)
yesterday I was almost done with Heat Wave (the last book) and I was thinking how grateful I am that I read these books. I have re-read the first two books 3 times now and I just re-read the final book for the first time since it came out.
This story still has such an emotional chokehold on me. It is so good. Nick is such a ridiculous character, I love how he is. How he is written and how he develops in the three books. I love how unapologetic he is.
I would just like to share some scenes that have had such an emotional impact on me (i don't know how to begin to explain why but I still want to).
In the first book, The Extraordinaries, for me is when they talk about how Nick and Seth met. When they were just 6 years old (maybe 7). The way I cried and still cry when I read it, says a lot. If you've read it, you know. It is the swing set scene. where Nick met Seth while he was alone swinging on this old set while eating chocolate pudding. How Seth was just a shy little boy and you can feel how his world turned technicolor when he met Nick. He was just a baby, had lost his parents in a train crash, and meeting Nick helped him. I cry when I read it, but it is nothing compared to how much I cry when I read a similar scene.
when Nick's dad was in the hospital, and Martha (Seth's aunt) visits Nick. She told him about the little boy who had lost a lot and was still grieving. How he didn't talk a lot and how her and Bob (Seth's uncle) were so worried about him. Oh my God, but when she says how he came home and kept just talking about this boy he met called Nicholas Bell and how they were going to be best friends forever.
Again, the emotional hold those two parallel scenes have on me, on my heart is unreal. I love them so much. TJ Klune does an amazing job weaving this story where you care about all the characters that appear on it. Minor or not. and I love it.
As of right now, in Flash Fire I think my favorite scene is when Nick tells Seth that he loves him. In the prom. When they were fighting against Ice and Smoke. How Seth smiles (MY TENDER HEART CANNOT). Don’t get me wrong. The whole book is so unbelievably good (all of them are). They are in the midst of chaos and that scene made me cry so damn hard again.
In Heat Wave, the whole book is on a totally different plane compared to the other two. In the story, Nick’s mother has been dead for 4 years now yet somehow she re-appeared. When you read the book, it is the real villain’s wife that can shapeshift (among other stuff). That whole thing is unreal. It is so cruel. It is so unbelievably cruel. Nick and his Dad went through all the grieving process. They still had issues in the first and second book but they worked through it so well. Becoming stronger. And then this. This was so mean. It is crazy to me how TJ Klune was like: you know how to write this book? PAIN. That’s how. And then he had to double down by killing Owen.
Like…how dare you? It is still pretty freaking good though.
Objectively, I know why Owen had to die. By the way that he was, where they all gave him multiple opportunities to turn around (in the first and last book, he is not present in the second one) but he just didn’t. I know that dying was the only way to resolve it. It was pretty hard though. He was just a kid, a villain, but just a kid. When you read the books, you find out that his parents were not good. His dad experimenting on him, used him like he was a tool (which probably was only the tip of the iceberg). When I think about him I think about Akito Sohma (if you’ve seen Fruits Basket you know). Akito was the source of torment to all the members of the zodiac. Hurt them physically, emotionally and psychologically. You find out Akito was hurt by her mother. Which, doesn’t justify it. Nothing ever does. It just allows you to understand them better but not to totally gloss over everything. Owen felt that same way. Which is why it hurt how he died. Rip.
One of my favorite scenes is after they find out that Nick’s mom is not Nick’s mom but an imposter. Nick and his dad have to live at Jazz’s house until the home is repaired. It makes my heart hurt when Nick is woken up by his dad. His dad snuggles for a while with Nick and cries his heart out (along with Nick). It feels like they have to go through the grieving process again. It is not the same though. Because they didn’t lose Nick’s mom again. She was never there. But they toyed with their emotions. It is just so twisted and so jarring.
It might seem cliche but my other favorite scenes are in the epilogue. When they are 26 (Jazz, Nick and Seth) and 27 (Gibby). It is Jazz’s and Gibby’s wedding. My favorite, favorite part is when Nick is saying how he has decided to propose to Seth. Using the wedding ring that his mother, Jenny Bell, gave her father. Only for Seth to also propose to Nick using his own father’s ring. I cry just a little harder in this scene. It isn’t quite the same as having matching necklaces. Like some couples do. It is so much more impactful. Nick’s dad loved his mom from the moment he met her. The life they build together. The pain they both felt when she died. The fact that he gave Nick his ring. It makes it so much sweeter. As well as for Seth. He loves his aunt and uncle. They became his parents in all the ways that mattered. But he always kept close to his heart the fact that he lost his own parents. There is this instance in the first book where Nick is at Seth’s home and sees the pictures on the wall. And he talks about how Seth doesn’t have a lot of memories from his parents but the ones that he does have he protects them so fiercely. So the fact that he gave Nick his father’s ring is also so impactful.
My last favorite little scene is almost at the end of the epilogue. When Jazz and Gibby are kissing at their wedding and Nick says how they took a picture right at that moment. Where Nick is cheering loud and Seth is quietly smiling. jazz and Gibby have a sweet kiss. And how he hung that picture in his home with Seth. Right next to the one he has of his mom. The one at the lighthouse. My heart cries.
It is such an amazing book and I wish the fandom was a lot bigger and that it also had a lot of fanart. I wish it had a graphic novel or a manga. And a good animated show (not a live action). I wish a lot more people talked about this series. Hopefully it will get the recognition it deserves.
I don’t know if I had a point for this post but I just wanted to make it. I don’t have a lot of people that have read it and I wish I had someone to talk about it with.
#moonreadingjournal#bookblr#bookworm#seth gray#the extraordinaries#tj klune#heat wave#flash fire#nick bell#nicholas bell#lola gibby gibson#jasmine jazz kingston#this is one of the best queer ya I have ever read#pyro storm#guardian
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About Me, My Books, and My Research (2024 Edition)
Hi, I'm Finn, a writer, medievalist, and all-round nerd. You may know me as the author of The Butterfly Assassin, "that person who wrote the trans Cú Chulainn article", the weird nerd in the Tumblr corner writing excessively long and incomprehensibly niche posts about their research, or something else entirely. I am all of those things! (Well, depending on what the 'something else' is, anyway...)
Currently, I'm a PhD student at the University of Cambridge researching friendship in the late Ulster Cycle (c. 12th-17th centuries). I have an MA in Early and Medieval Irish from University College Cork, and wrote my thesis about Láeg mac Ríangabra, my best beloved. I also have an undergrad degree in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic from Cambridge, and wrote my dissertation about queer readings of Táin Bó Cúailnge, including transmasculine readings of Cú Chulainn.
You can find out more about my research on my website, which also includes info about all of my academic publications. This includes the aforementioned "trans Cú Chulainn article", an article about Láeg in the Death of Cú Chulainn, an article about the seven Maines, and a discussion of a conference on Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire from the perspective of my own work on lament and grief. Whenever possible, I try to make my research available Open Access. If you're ever having trouble finding one of my articles, please contact me!
If you want recommendations for books about medieval Irish (or Welsh) literature, this list on my Bookshop page has all my go-to recommendations. If you buy via this link, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, so this is a great way to support me.
I am also an author, and I write both YA and adult novels. Again, my website is the place to go for all the info and links, but a quick summary:
The Butterfly Assassin trilogy (The Butterfly Assassin, 2022; The Hummingbird Killer, 2023; Moth to a Flame, 2024): YA thrillers about a traumatised teenage assassin who is trying (and failing) to live a normal life in a fictional closed city in Yorkshire. Featuring friendship, street art, Esperanto, zero romance, and a whole lot of murder, as well as increasingly unsubtle commentary on the UK arms industry and the military recruitment of vulnerable teenagers.
The Wolf and His King (coming Spring 2025 from Gollancz): a queer retelling of 'Bisclavret' by Marie de France which uses werewolfism as a metaphor to explore chronic pain and illness. Also very much about yearning, exile, and the mortifying ordeal of being known.
The Animals We Became (coming 2026 from Gollancz): a queertrans retelling of the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi looking at gender, compulsory heterosexuality, and trauma, through the medium of nonconsensual animal transformations.
To Run With The Hound (coming 2027 from Gollancz): my take on the Ulster Cycle, looking at why Táin Bó Cúailnge is a tragedy and what it means to be doomed by the narrative, but not in the way you thought you were. Featuring a lot of feelings about Cú Chulainn, Fer Diad, and Láeg.
You can find out more about my recently-announced medieval retellings in this blog post.
I generally tag personal posts and selfies as “#about the author”; other than that, I think I’m pretty straightforward with my tagging system.
I’m very happy to answer questions about medieval Irish lit, my research, or my books, or just generally to chat. Send questions via asks, chat via DMs, and if you're looking for my articles, you can email me at finn [at] finnlongman [dot] com, which is also the best way to contact me for professional enquiries, whether academic or fiction related.
You can also find me on Bluesky, on Instagram, and on YouTube, where I (infrequently) retell medieval Irish stories for a general audience with lots of sarcasm and hand gestures. Technically I'm still on Twitter, but I'm trying to leave.
And finally, if you’ve found my research interesting or just generally want to support me, I have a tip jar and am always immensely grateful when somebody helps me to fund my book-buying habits: http://ko-fi.com/fianaigecht. You can also tip me directly on Tumblr if you like. I’m also a Bookshop affiliate, and you can buy books from my recommendation lists to support me and get some great reads at the same time.
#about the author#the wolf and his king#to run with the hound#the butterfly assassin#also owls are transmasculine now#writing#books
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Sapphic Books Reccs
Here is my list of recommended sapphic books! There’s a lot of YA here since that’s a lot of what I read. Everything on this list I have personally read and can recommend. I’m sure there’s a TON out there I haven’t read or ones I have read and have just forgotten!
Contemporary
Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake (Adult)
My favorite of Blake’s! Enemies to lovers. SO good.
Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake (Adult)
A woman falls for her step-sister’s best friend. Oh, and there’s a kiddo in the mix as well.
The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth (YA)
Two girls promise a summer of fun full of rom-com worthy dates. The only rule, no relationships. Just one summer, nothing more. Sure....
Forget Me Not by Alyson Derrick (YA)
Amnesia fic where a girl forgets she ever met her secret girlfriend in their ultra-conservative town.
Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar (YA)
Fake dating between the girl who wants to validate her bisexuality to her friends and the girl who doesn’t mind the popularity boost.
Her Name in the Sky by Kelly Quindlen (YA)
Best friends to lovers! A big piece of this is also the friend group involved.
Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli (YA)
Imogen thinks she’s just an Ally. Spoiler alert: she’s not. I loved the way friendship was explored in this. You see some really solid friendships as well as a subtly toxic one (that’s acknowledged as such).
Late to the Party by Kelly Quindlen (YA)
An ode to late bloomers and a journey to self-acceptance. A girl goes to her first party, befriends a gay guy who introduces her to new group of friends and one really cute girl
Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl by Brianna Shrum and Sara Waxelbaum (YA)
Super fun involving a girl asking another girl fo “Queer 101″ lessons. Bi and Autistic rep too!
Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales (YA)
A girl gives anonymous love advice and gets hired by a hot guy to help him get his ex back. Really FANTASTIC bi rep!
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston (Adult)
A sexy time-bendy romance with so much heart
She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen (YA)
My FAVORITE rom-com. I reread it constantly. Fake dating, enemies-to-lovers between the cheer captain and basketball star!!
She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick (YA)
Two girl team up to get their crushes to fall for them and start developing feelings for each other along the way.
Six Times We Almost Kissed by Tess Sharpe (YA)
Childhood frenemies forced to move in together for their best friend moms’ sake. Trauma filled and SO SO good.
Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan (YA)
A fun rom-com between an out queer athlete and the local beauty pageant queen.
We Are Okay by Nina LaCour (YA)
One of my favorite books of all time. A story about grief and friendship and love. A soft, quiet story.
Who I Was With Her by Nita Tyndall (YA)
A girl’s secret girlfriend dies and she is left to grieve alone until she finds herself turning to her girlfriend’s ex.
Science Fiction/Fantasy
Crier’s War by Nina Varela (YA)
A romance that leads to revolution by between two girls: one human, one Made
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow (Adult)
This is historical and fantasy! Suffragette witches! Another one of those books I wish I could read again for the first time. Three sisters, one of them has a WLW romance
Thriller/Horror
Hide by Kiersten White (Adult)
A high-stakes hide and seek competition in an abandoned amusement park. One of my all-over favorite books of 2022.
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland (YA)
No wlw romance in this one, but the main character and her sister are both wlw. My absolute favorite book of 2021. What I would pay to read this for the first time again.
The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe (YA)
The daughter of a con artist is finally allowed to stop running and faking her identity, only to get stuck in a bank heist with her ex-boyfriend and current girlfriend.
Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand (YA)
Three girls who shouldn’t have a reason to team up together against an ancient evil. The new girl, the pariah, and the queen bee who’s been helping the evil all along. I have reread this book easy a dozen times.
Throwaway Girls by Andrea Contos (YA)
When a girl goes searching for her missing best friend, she finds a trail of other missing girls and battles with heartbreak after her girlfriend leaves her for California.
Wilder Girls by Rory Power (YA)
Quarantined at her girl’s school after a gruseome Tox breaks out, a girl must find what happened to her best friend who’s gone missing
Historical
Great or Nothing by Joy McCullough, Caroline Tung Richmond, Tess Sharpe, and Jessica Spotswood (YA)
The queer Little Women retelling we all deserve with a SAPPHIC JO! Set in 1942. Beth’s POV still haunts my heart
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (YA)
Two of the major supporting characters are WLW. This becomes more important and on the page in the later books in this series, but this is the first one.
Music from Another World by Robin Talley (YA)
1970s California. Two girls become penpals and bond over music.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Adult)
Hollywood icon Evelyn Hugo famously had seven husbands. This is the story of her wife.
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I know this is a dinosaur themed blog, but what do you get up to when you're not thinking about dinosaurs? Any hobbies? Favorite books or games?
Thank you for asking!
so a truly alarming part of my life is dinosaur themed. it's not just my job - I have pet birds (which is a Whole Thing, the Pet Bird community is huge), tons of dinosaur toys and games, and I just have a Special Interest ya know
but! I do have many other interests
I'm extremely interested in Judaism, and my Jewish life is the second biggest part of my life after dinosaurs/prehistory/birds. I practice rooooughly trad-egal (masorti), and I do lots of Torah study every Shabbat with my spouse. I am, however, bad at not using the internet on Shabbat, which is something I wish I could commit to.
I am a lifelong anarchocommunist (parents were socialist-democrats and most kids go more left than their parents, not much more left I could go) and politics and social justice have always been important to me. From a very young age I took on equality and justice as things I believed in and I never stopped fighting for them. and this is more than just me being multi-queer and multi-disabled. So a lot of my life is fighting for "tikkun olam"
I love music, I'm a very musical person. Specifically I enjoy punk and alternative, though Jewish music is awesome and there's a lot of obscure rap hip hop and electronica I enjoy. Google told me my music taste is "deep cuts" and I am proud of that, honestly. I can play lots of instruments and I was in choir for most of my childhood! I'm a decent singer, I'm just shy about it. The spouse and I enjoy playing Rock Band as well!
I used to be a much more voracious reader than I am, mainly because being in academia is a one way ticket to not reading for pleasure anymore. That said, my favorite book is probably still "Ishmael / My Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn. I also enjoy the works of Suzanne Collins (hunger games, gregor the overlander), the Green Brothers (sue me, Looking for Alaska was very important for Teen!Meig), and Shakespeare (yeah, I read Shakespeare for fun. What can you do.)
I loooooooooooove computer games. Love. Ever since I was little. I played tons of point and click games, especially educational ones, as a kid. I love tycoon games, most of all zoo tycoon, and jurassic park operation genesis was one of my favorite games as a kid. I play a ton of them now and my Steam account is overloaded. I often use mods and stuff for accessibility, but I enjoy many different games
I also love playing board games! My spouse Max and I have an extensive collection of board games including all of Wingspan, Holotype, and this cool game we found about the Permian period called Pangaea. We have many others, too, of course! We've just been playing Wingspan and Holotype a lot lately
I enjoy crochet, but I only learned it last summer. I also enjoy origami, though I haven't touched it in a while. I like swimming and hiking when I'm able to, disability kind of gets in the way sometimes. I also enjoy riding my bike, though see the former again. I am quite good at baking, but lately I haven't been doing it as much :/
I love my friends. I am extremely loyal to them and center them in my life. My spouse is included in this, but also my best friend from childhood Taryn, my best friend from college Carmen, and all of my wonderful dinosaur-community friends who are too many to list.
so yeah! I'd say the biggest things are Judaism, Music, and Computer Games, but I have tons of interests and lots of fantastic friends and loved ones, so my life does have a lot going on outside of dinosaurs and birds ^_^
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So JK Rowling is shit, read this instead of Harry Potter - part 1/3:
Part 2 - Middle grade/children's books
Part 3 - Young Adult (YA)
This is a list of fantasy books (and some sci-fi) for people who no longer want to support a transphobe & bigot but are still having a hard time finding something that fills the void of Harry Potter. This is a long list, with adult, middle grade and YA recs, divided into 3 parts, one for each age range. Most of these books are far better than HP anyway; better written, great character work, better theme exploration, more atmospheric, etc.
You can still enjoy your merch, books or movies you already own, no one is telling you you can't like or love Harry Potter and the Wizarding World, but please consider diversifying your media so you don't wrongly assume this franchise is the best fantasy ever and nothing can top it when that is simply not true.
Let's go then!
If you take anything from this post, let it be this series because it is the perfect alternative:
The Nevermoor Series by Jessica Townsend!
This really should blow up worldwide, be the new fantasy phenomenon. It honestly pains me to even put it beside or compare it to Harry Potter. It feels disrespectful to Nevermoor, but it has everything and more you want out of HP. Traumatized kid protagonist who gets whisked away into an alternate world of magic, finds out she's special, meets a wonderful magical mentor/father figure (who isn't actually awful like Dumbledore is to Harry), lots of school friendships and found family, a wonderful setting including a magic school and a magical city with all kinds of fantastical landmarks and alleyways; with magical markets dark and whimsical both. There's magical trials, witches, oracles, fantastical giant creatures, sentient magical animals, and so much more. And it has good discussions on themes of discrimination, school bullying, and mental health. If you like Coraline or The Adams Family, this is perfect for you, too. Plus, this series is written by a queer author who has shown active support to social causes like Palestine.
The series is still releasing, so if you have kids in your life they could grow up with the series as it comes out.
Books in the series:
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow
Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow
Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow
Currently waiting on Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow
Adult book recommendations under the cut:
As a guide, these are the things I associate with Harry Potter: wizards & witches, magic school, horror elements, mythical/magical creatures, mystery, nostalgia, magical trinkets & artefacts, themes of friendship, family & love and discussions of death/death imagery. Dark forest, ghosts, gloomy aesthetic, medieval castles, cosy reading rooms, libraries, very British, Christmas & Halloween, dark forests, a relatively modern world combined with magic/alternate world, astronomy/astrology, divination. Also tropes like magic politics & bureaucracy, prophecies, the chosen + dead parents, coming of age, discussions on discrimination and outcasts (sort of), good triumphing over evil, overcoming childhood trauma, school-bullying, and also the protagonist is sort of a celebrity for reasons they can't control which others them from society.
These recommendations are based on that, but of course, each recommended book is much more than its similarities with harry potter, a world in itself. This list is NOT comprehensive.
★ Books I've read and personally recommend for the similarities and reminiscences with Harry Potter.
Adult books: Great alternatives to the later HP books and for readers who don't vibe with middle grade or YA anymore.
★ The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang (trilogy): A dark-skinned, low-class provincial orphan enters a military academy, and must prove her value as a soldier. She discovers she has a hidden, lethal power. High fantasy, based on the Chinese wars and history of the 20th century. Has a magic school/military school setting in the first book. Discussions on the horrors of war and a person's loss of humanity under extenuating circumstances. Excellent character work.
★ Discworld by Terry Pratchett (YA/Adult, different series set in the same world). In particular, the Witches, Death, and Ricewind sub-series have similarities to HP in subject, characters, setting or themes. These books have lots of British humour and excellent commentary on social issues, and a little bit of a magical school and magic learning too.
★ T. Kingfisher books: Nettle & Bone, What Moves the Dead, Thorn Hedge, Paladin's Grace, A House With Good Bones and more. She does mostly fairy tale retellings and horror. Great for fans of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
★ The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (standalone): You want magic? Well, this is, I think, the most magical book ever written. It's so atmospheric, whimsical, historical, and dark. It's about two magicians duelling each other, showing off their magical abilities, under the wishes of their families/mentors (Dumbledore, anyone?). The competition takes place in a magical circus that only opens at night. It's full of magic, romance, betrayal, and wonderful prose. Perfect if you like The Goblet of Fire but you would want a more quiet, aesthetic version of the tournament.
★ Dead Djinn series by P. Djeli Clark (series, mystery, novel + novellas that can be read in any order): This is about supernatural detectives in an alternate history of the city of Cairo, a city full of otherworldly creatures. There's a Ministry of Alchemy, LGBTQ+ rep, discussions of colonialism (especially committed by the British), lots of cheeky humour and cool magical artefacts or magic mixed with technology. It's also set in the 1910s, so it's great for fans of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
The Name of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (ongoing series): This has a highly-praised magic school setting. It's about a notorious wizard who narrates his story; his childhood, years being a feral orphan, his school years and then life as a fugitive of the law. This series is hailed as one of the best ones in fantasy right now. Great prose too.
Black Prism by Brent Weeks (series): We all know HP is not applauded for having the most coherent magic system. Well, in this book you get a really inventive magic system based on light: in this world, some people can use different colours of visible light to do magic. The people who can use all of them are called Prisms. We follow this one magician who is the current Prism, most powerful man in the world, high priest and emperor, and also a man of wit and charm. He knows Prisms never last though... Great for people who would like a book about a powerful, high-achieving magician, like say, Dumbledore.
★ Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor (duology): A young librarian is convinced of the existence of the mythical city of Weep, which was cut from the rest of the world two hundred years ago. He is obsessed. No one believes him. One day an opportunity to travel to said city presents itself and all his dreams come true. But the city hides a dark past, and not all the inhabitants were always human: some were gods with blue skin. Beautifully written, whimsical at every turn but also full of complex, deep subjects.
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (ongoing series): It's dark academia in Yale but if Yale had a bunch of occult secret clubs. A freshman, Alex, is the sole survivor of a multiple homicide and still searching for answers herself. She arrives at the school tasked to monitor the activities of the secret societies full of rich students. But the occult activities are more sinister and extraordinary than what she imagined.
Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna (standalone): Magic school but now the protagonist is the witch teacher instead of the students, and who comes to teach magic to three young witches. Her coworkers are all a little eccentric, and the love interest is the grumpy librarian. A wholesome, cosy fantasy romance set in alternate contemporary times. Also with the found family trope.
★ Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb (multiple series): Hobb is one of the big names of fantasy. This is a low fantasy medieval world, with dragons, assassins, animal familiars, royal courts and backstabbing politics. If you like Game of Thrones, you'll probably like this series too. These books are character-centric to Fitz, the protagonist and bastard-born to the late crown prince, and the court jester, the Fool. The first trilogy is about Fitz's apprenticeship as an assassin to the royal family, his coming-of-age discovery of multiple hidden magic abilities that connect him to his family and the world of beasts, and his journey to save his uncle and country. So basically a non-formal magical school. Hobb has some problematic LGBTQ+ representation, though; she couldn't write a good queer character if her life depended on it. She seems to have the biases of her time ingrained in her and it shows in her writing. So there's that to consider.
★ The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (trilogy): You want a series that you will be thinking about for the rest of your life?? This one. This one is it. This trilogy is about a world where every certain time, there's a worldwide cataclysmic seismic/volcanic disaster. Humanity has evolved strict tactics to survive this, but some individuals are born with the ability to affect seismic movements. These individuals are feared and are put as children into a school where they can learn to control their superhuman abilities and later be in service of the government. One of our protagonists is one of these children. It's about motherhood and community, and has LGBTQ+ with in-text trans, bisexual, and polyamory representation. It discusses subjects of technological advancement, society and discrimination.
Vita Nostra by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko (duology): This is often called "the anti-Harry Potter book". It has elements of mystery-thriller, plays with time/time loops, a magical university, post-soviet culture in Ukraine, metamorphosis, and it's very atmospheric. It's also recommended for fans of The Night Circus and The Magicians. It's best if you go into it not knowing much.
Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (series): For fans of Charlie Weasley and Newt Scamander, set in a world where dragons are real. The protagonist and narrator is the world's preeminent dragon naturalist, who is set to bring these creatures of myth into the light of modern science. It's a coming-of-age story, about learning, and expeditions in search of magical creatures. It's more historical fiction than fantasy though.
The Chronicles of Between by L.L. Starling (ongoing series, romance, cosy, witches): The protagonist starts dreaming weird things when she accepts a position as a substitute teacher in a charmingly witchy village, and soon realizes they're not dreams, but magic. She gatecrashes a fairytale kingdom with drunken unicorns, bored dragons and sorcerers in leather pants. She accidentally performs a supposedly impossible feat and ends up tethered to this world by marriage and a title, but she forges an escape plan...
Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey (standalone, mystery, urban fantasy): About a private investigator who never wanted to be magical. Not like her estranged sister, who is a magically gifted professor. But when she is hired to investigate the gruesome murder of a faculty member in her sister's academy, the detective starts to lose herself in the crime and the life she could have had.
★ House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune: LGBTQ+ rep, boarding school, perspective from the teachers/caretakers PoV, and feral, traumatized magical children. Edit: This book has been criticized for being anti-indigenous, in particular with the boarding school plotline being a parallel to residential schools, thus being insensitive and trivializing the history of erasure, violence, genocide and forced assimilation done by the colonizers towards the indigenous people of Canada.
The Dark Fantastic by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas (non-fiction): Exploration of race in popular youth & YA speculative fiction. Analyzing popular media including Harry Potter. Explores radical imagination & Afrofuturism in Black feminism, books and fan fiction to reveal new possibilities.
Disclaimer: I'm just one person/reader, I haven't checked the political or moral views of all these authors or if they're a shitty person. Anything I know or majorly problematic stuff is considered and accounted for, but it's not realistic for me to deep-check each author I ever read. But anyone is welcome to chime in if you know of something we should be aware of about these books/authors.
Always remember to check for trigger warnings (TW), especially for adult books.
Happy reading!
Supporting Sources:
https://www.aspiraldance.com/middle-grade-and-young-adult-books-to-read-instead-of-harry-potter/
https://missprint.wordpress.com/2022/09/01/back-to-magic-school-harry-potter-alternatives-booklist/
Goodreads for synopses.
#anti harry potter#harry potter#nostalgia#anti jkr#anti jk rowling#joanne karen rowling#please grow up harry potter isnt even that good#jk rowling#fantasy#books#book recommendation#book recs#alternatives to harry potter#save this for later#book recommendations#ugh I think I should have organized this differently but oh well#i should have put the middle grade here and adult in part 2 😂
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Out of curiosity, could be either due to craft or sheer enjoyment, what are your top favourite books?
Okay lowkey I wrote this post & then tumblr ATE it so here it is a little late!! Rachel's All Time Favourite Books (in no particular order):
Cleanness - Garth Greenwell (litfic, ok but this is actually my fave book & today Garth Greenwell lowkey Acknowledged My Presence SOOOO!!! I've read this 4x since August, it's a craft masterpiece)
What Belongs to You - Garth Greenwell (litfic, the book that comes before Cleanness, I'm not as attached to it but it's still FANTASTIC)
A Hundred Lovers - Richie Hofmann (poetry, my fave poetry collection of all time, ALL my epigraphs come from here)
We Do What We Do in the Dark - Michelle Hart (litfic, AMAZINGGG character study & peak into relationship dynamics)
Big Shadow - Marta Balcewicz (litfic, one of my fave books of all time, FANTASTIC teen protagonist in this bildungsroman)
Physical - Andrew McMillan (poetry, AMAZING queer poetry, lots of epigraphs from here too)
Winter in Sokcho - Elisa Shua Desapin (litfic, probably the best start-to-finish narrative I've ever read in my whole life)
If An Egyptian Cannot Speak English - Noor Naga (litfic, THE BEST litfic ending I've ever read, it's UNEXPECTED and something to be STUDIED)
Undoing Hours - Selina Boan (poetry, I feel so grateful for this book as it really helped me reconnect to my Indigenous identity. I met Selina after a LIFE-CHANGING reading & chatted with her, & that conversation drove me to learn more about my family!)
Bitterblue - Kristen Cashore (YA fantasy, this is LITERARY FICTION TO ME I've re-read this like 6 times)
Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo (YA fantasy, really fun ensemble cast, THE AUDIOBOOK SLAYS)
Intimations - Alexandra Kleeman (litfic short story collection, some of THE BEST short story collections, my work feels adjacent to this dare I say??)
The Marionettes - Katie Wismer (NA paranormal, this series is sooo tropey and fun like I CAN'T WAIT for the last book, I did like book 2 best but this is the first one & I loved it too!)
Demi-Gods - Eliza Robertson (litfic, this was my fave novel before Cleanness & Eliza is my fave writer & from my alma mater! Read my interview with her!)
Monkey Beach - Eden Robinson (litfic, I read this book in a DAY, it's the most impactful novel I've ever read, she's also from my alma mater!)
How to Pronounce Knife - Souvankham Thammavongsa (litfic short story collection, my fave short story collection OF ALL TIME I learned so MUCH about short stories from this!)
The Girls - Emma Cline (litfic, this was MY writing bible for so long lol, I actually ethically hate how this book treats real murders but Emma Cline is an incredible writer & the best parts of this book are the ones that don't casually repurpose history... I have thoughts...)
History of Wolves - Emily Fridlund (litfic, I need to re-read this NOW but wow, the first half of this is chilling...)
Past Lives, Future Bodies - K-Ming Chang (poetry, not sure if you can still buy this but this is one of THE best collections I own)
The Darkest Minds - Alexandra Bracken (YA dystopian, I love AB SOOO MUCH even now hehe, this was a childhood fave & Fostered is a ripoff so <3)
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10 BLs With Bad First Impressions
BLs that sounded terrible in their synopsizes or trailers or in the first few episodes but really are worth watching.
1. My Lascivious Boss
Vietnam (202) YouTube
Not that we got much of a synopsis (Vietnamese BL isn’t listed on MDL) but from the trailer I was very suspicious. It’s now one of my favorite VBLs with fantastic queer rep. Yes, the seme is a drunken idiot most of the time, so you have to be okay with that, but it’s totally worth it for the uke character and his hella gay besties. They are beyond adorable. Full review here.
2. He's Coming to Me
Thailand (2019) YouTube
I hugely dislike the my ghost boyfriend trope because China (and now Korea Peach of Time and Thailand Something in My Room) has made me expect it to be sad. HCTM is one of the few exceptions from GMMTV with two heavy hitting actors and one of BL’s greatest coming out sequences. Full review here.
3. Gameboys
The Philippines (2020) NetFlix?
Pinoy BL is not my thing. Also I didn’t want to watch anything about quarantine while in quarantine. But everyone said I should, so I did, and I loved it. (*whispers* I do like See You After Quarantine? even better, tho.)
4. My Esports Genius Brother
China (2021) Gaga
A strangely cute somewhat incomprehensible censored magical realism BL micro series about fated mates who balance each other out and must find the courage to stay together. Way more gay than I thought China could get these days. Full review here.
5. Great Men Academy
Thailand (2029) ?
I HATE body swap. I love this show. Is it BL? That’s open to debate. But I liked it despite the premise and that’s real rare for me.
6. We Best Love
Taiwan (2020) WeTV
I read the synopsis for this and I was like, really Taiwan? Have you NO imagination? Just stuffed with classic overused tropes. There is literally nothing unique about this show. Yet it worked out GREAT because WBL is a poster child for pair chemistry carrying a BL and it’s now one of my favorites of all time. Full review here.
7. DNA Says Love You
Taiwan (2022) Gaga
Terribly weak first 3 episodes but stick with and you’ll be glad you did. As expected from Taiwan the acting and intimacy is on point it’s just the initial paranormal investigation arc is off - fortunately we switch focus to Amber and then it becomes and gloriously queer show. Full review here.
8. Secret Crush On You
There cringiest cringe to ever cringe (and I watched 90s Japanese comedies, so I should know). Look this one was really hard for me to watch all along (I started and stopped 3x), but most watchers felt like it got substantially better after the 4th episode. The support cast is amazing, the queer rep unprecedented, and the chemistry is fantastic. But the cringe never really stops. Perhaps this is a case of “in knowing it better the cringe is better understood” (sorry Austen). Full review here.
9. My Tooth Your Love
Taiwan 2022 Viki & Gaga
Look the pitch was this is a “romance involving a dentist and dentistry,” and that’s true, which is hella weird. For many this was (and is) a turn off but I don’t have that phobia, and I enjoy medical dramas, AND I like Taiwanese stuff even when it gets odd. And ya know what, this is an absolutely wonderful show. My highest rated Taiwanese BL of 2022.
10. Be Love In House I Do
Taiwan (2021) Viki
Apparently Taiwan really isn’t great at beginnings because a lot of them ended up on this list. The whole premise of this show is absurd and the incoming boss with his rubber gloves is creepy, but it becomes such a romantic bit of business once it finds it stride: ridiculously saccharine, domestic, and hella hot. Trust me, just watch it. This is peak Taiwanese BL, if you wanna know what Taiwan does well, this is it, this is what they do. Full review here.
(source)
#thai bl#taiwanese bl#pinoy bl#Vietnamese BL#rakutan viki#viki#gagaoolala#My Lascivious Boss#Gameboys#My Esports Genius Brother#chinese bl#Great Men Academy#We Best Love#DNA Says Love You#My Tooth Your Love#Be Love In House I Do#body swap#my ghost boyfriend#best Bl despite itself#bad beginning good ending#recomended watch list#obscure bl list
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One shot / headcannon idea to maybe help get you writing for: wolfstar :)
Remus is a total major loser. Like he’s definitely not swag boy Remus he’s just some guy that constantly hangs around with it boys James and Sirius. No one understands why. He gets a little insecure about it sometimes.
(Obviously they always assure him that’s he’s fucking brilliant to them and don’t let him leave because they’re best friends but anyway, he’s just a loser boy, not very attractive, always keeps to himself and just reads all the time, blah blah blah)
And Sirius Black, the boy of Hogwarts. Like all the girls are fawning over him, hoping they catch Sirius’ eye. He’s just drop dead gorgeous you know but he just doesn’t care. Like sure he knows he’s hot and he gets quite cocky about it sometimes and uses it to his advantage to get what he wants and pull of pranks, but generally he just doesn’t give and shit and just wants to spend time with his Friends.
Hot as hell Sirius Black + loser boy not really attractive Remus Lupin = angsty pining.
And I don’t mean this in the way that Remus pins for Sirius and thinks he’ll never get him. NO! What if Remus doesn’t even know he’s gay. What if he just thinks he’s so jealous of everything Sirius is and blah blah blah (classic queer girls thinking they wanna be that cool older girl and then growing up and realising they just had a crush).
And it’s Sirius who’s so pathetically in love with Remus. Like since day one. And it’s all James and even Peter have to hear about but it can NEVER get back to Remus because obviously Remus isn’t gay and obviously he’ll reject Sirius because obviously anyone will reject him once they learn about all of Sirius’ scars and dark parts.
And so it’s Sirius just being so in love with this major loser boy Remus and not knowing what to do with it. And then Remus finding out and just being (1) confused as hell. (2) going into gay crisis. (3) wondering how the hell someone like Sirius would ever want Remus
I think that would be funny. Because we usually see it the other way around ya know?
Anyway, no pressure to write obviously, I just thought I’d leave this here anyway. I know the struggle of needing motivation to write lol. Happy writing and happy weekend!
(you're amazing for all the mesages btw)
remus being a fucking loser is my favourite thing, like he's so quiet and weird and just sits in cafes and reads books for hours—he's me, i am remus—and hates talking to people but works in like a damn cafe so he has to and then there's sirius who probably loves talking to customers and everyone on earth and he can talk about anything for hours and make people feel welcome and remus just doesn't get what sirius sees in him but sirius is lowkey like THIS GUY IS SO HOT AND QUIET AND MYSTERIOUS I WANNA CLIMB HIM LIKE A TREE—
#the marauders#sirius black#remus lupin#wolfstar#wolfstar headcanon#wolfstar hc#remus x sirius#sirius x remus#remus lupin x sirius black#sirius black x remus lupin
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dating steve would include... (part two)
pairing: steve harrington x fem!henderson!reader
part one
-sneaking him into your house for sleepovers
-him complaining whenever you dedicated time to schoolwork instead of him (even if you allowed him to sit with you while you worked)
-both of you being slightly territorial but completely unwilling to admit it, which was always entertaining for your friends to watch in action
-occasionally giving him a hard time over all the girls he dated before you just to see him get all worked up and defensive
-letting robin take the passenger seat when he drives you both to school, until he randomly starts picking you up first and doubling back by his house for robin afterward ("what? you're too nice to tell robin to get in the back, so i had to take matters into my own hands")
-dustin referring to you and steve as every famous duo under the sun
•bonnie and clyde
•romeo and juliet
•holmes and watson
-understanding all the kids' d&d terminology, which only ever surprises steve ("babe, how do you know this stuff? am i the only normal one here?")
-randomly making a statement supporting queer rights during a conversation with steve and robin which eventually led to her coming out to you
-punching billy in the face in the school parking lot one time because he was being racist giving lucas a hard time, which steve was actually pretty mad at you for (“y/n, he could’ve seriously hurt you! do you not understand that?”)
-taking mid-day naps together after you got out of school/he got out of work
-steve being the best listener when you just needed someone to rant to
•mumbling a supportive mhmmm whenever you made a specific point during the rant
•you rambling for 5 minutes straight, then sighing and saying, “ya know?”, to which steve nods and says “i hear ya, babe”
•when your anger fades a little and you ask him, “am i just being crazy?” his immediate response is something like ‘absolutely not! those dickheads are lucky i don't send el to fling them off a rooftop or something'
-dustin barreling into your room while preemptively covering his eyes and yelling threats every time he realizes steve is over and you have the door closed
-him offering to drive you whenever you mentioned having to go somewhere to him
-constantly having to explain lord of the rings/the hobbit references to him (“babe, please just read the books”)
-when you ask what's gonna happen when you go away for college, he looks genuinely dumbfounded before shrugging and saying, "i thought i'd just go wherever you go"
-a double date with nancy and jonathan that was both horribly awkward and incredibly fun
-spearheading all the kids' crazy plans, which drives steve insane
-steve looking at you and saying, “these are the people that are gonna babysit our kids one day” every time your friends did anything abnormal/ridiculous
•while dustin, mike, lucas, and will have a full-blown argument over their d&d campaign
•after robin trips and face-plants on the walk from her front door to steve's car
•when el is using her powers to adjust the tv antenna so no one has to get up from their seats
•after nancy convinced everyone to go back into the upside down/face vecna despite the terrible odds
-your mom adoring him, which kind of annoyed dustin but also made his heart feel whole
-his fingers hooked in your belt loops in a crowd to keep from getting separated
-him playing with your fingers while you talked to dustin about something that didn’t interest him
-listening to him sing in the shower when he didn’t realize how loud he was being
-giving him tons of nicknames but only reusing the ones that made him blush
•lover
•stevie (which he forbade anyone else from calling him)
•batman (originally because of his iconic nail bat, but then a double entendre of sorts after his encounter with vecna's bats)
-him knowing your favorite song off the top of his head even before vecna came around
#stranger things#steve harrington#steve harrington x reader#henderson!reader#steve harrington fanfic#steve harrington imagine#steve harrington fanfiction#steve harrington fic#stranger things imagine#stranger things fanfiction#stranger things fanfic#stranger things fic
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Scholomance Spoilers
The ending of scholomance really frustrated me, I think, because up until the end the whole series had magic as a metaphor for capitalism/labor, with Malia standing in for exploitation. And el’s whole thing is not fucking compromising with exploitation, ever, because once you do, you don’t stop.
And then the ending is just…a big compromise with exploitation? Without any fanfare? Orion’s mom gets one line about how she’s still being fucking evil and then it’s all about how they’re having their happy little YA sunset? It feels like novik ran out of ink and had to end the story without everything finished up.
Also Orion and Galadriel would have been better as platonic friends lol, I could take or leave her and Liesel but their romance just really didn’t click for me (which in all fairness might just be because they’re straight).
Still fun, I like that it was reasonably queer, I think there’s criticisms to be made about how it handles some stuff but it definitely was the best YA I’ve read (which in all fairness is a pretty shallow pool)
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some of my favourite books of 2023
I decided to put together a list of some of my favourite books of 2023. I'll write a couple of lines for each one, and leave the link to my full review as usual in case you want to read a bit more of my thoughts. The list is in no particular order, and I did not include any rereads I did during the year.
Gideon The Ninth by Tamsyn Muir and the locked tomb series
I finally read this series and absolutely fell in love with it. Gtn was surely my favourite out of the three. I had an amazing reading experience. I didn't know what to expect and I was pleasently surprised by the very funny narration. It got into my favourites right away, and I cannot wait to reread it this year. (it's too complicated for me to describe the chaos that this series is so all you get is my general feels)
My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness by Kabi Nagata
This is a manga about the author's personal experience dealing with her sexuality and depression. It was an incredible read, I was not expecting to get as emotional as I did. It was a stunning book that felt incredibly honest, and I am so glad I read it because it had a huge emotional impact on me.
The Priory Of The Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
I think this is the book with which I had the best reading experience this year. I remember being intimidated firstly by the size of this brick of a book and then at the very beginning by the world I knew nothing about, but I got into the story so quickly. I remeber struggling putting the book down both in the evening and in the mornings, to the point where I had to run to my bus stop to commute to uni, because I spent too much time reading this novel. I adored it, it made me fall in love again with epic fantasy. I also think this could be a great starting point to the genre for people who don't read much fantasy.
A Psalm For The Wild Built by Becky Chambers
This book went straight to be pile of my annual rereads. It was such a comforting read I feel at peace just thinking about it. This is the core of falling love with life again by focusing on the small things, and I am so grateful for this book. I have yet to pick up the sequel but even on its own this is a book you need to read.
Il Satiro Scientifico: Riprodursi Male curated by Barbascura X
This is a collection of short non fiction about reproduction exposed in a lighter tone with the goal of making science more approachable for a larger audience. It was amazing. It made me feel so motivated to pick up more non fiction that is not academia-related. I learned so much, it was a great note to end the year on.
honorable mentions:
The Sandman vol.11 - Endless Nights by Neil Gaiman in particular the short story about Dream. I have been thinking about that story non stop since I read it. It made me feel so emtional over a detail, I loved it. It's one of my favourite Neil Gaiman's ideas.
Nimona by ND Stevenson - I am one of those people who found out about this graphic novel after the movie came out and I loved it. I am still to this day making jokes related to this with my brother, it was one of my favourite graphic novels of the year.
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang - I decided to include this book mostly because I had a great reading experience with it. I was at the seaside, and I had the chance to fully immerse myself into this novel and overall had an amzing time with it.
Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White - I have been thinking about this book so much ever since I read it. From now on if someone asks me a ya rec this is the book they will get. It was an amzing mix of dystopia and horror, and the themes of religious trauma and queer rage were used amazingly. It actually left me wanting to read more about queer rage.
De Profundis by Oscar Wilde - yet another book I keep thinking about. And the more I think about this book the more I fall in love with it, it might even be my favourite Wilde I have read to this point. It was not a light read, it was very emotional but I am so glad I finally picked it up.
#2023 book favourites#bookblr#booklr#book favourites#book recs#book reviews#book recommendation#reading#mine#the---hermit#just after rereading the books I included in this list i realized this was a very queer reading year
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top 10 books of 2023!!
thank you for tagging me, @elskanellis! i started drafting this right away, ran out of time to post it on 12/31, and am ~circling back now. i read 50 books in 2023, and these are my top 10 faves!
titles, brief #thoughts, etc. under the cut!
Himself, by Jess Kidd
this was so incredible and heart-wrenching and exciting to read. devastatingly beautiful/cheerful dirtbag lad busts into a small irish village to find out what happened to his mother, who was almost certainly murdered, and turns everything upside down. every character is so entertaining and funny and sharp, even the villains. the ending is incredible.
The Winners, by Fredrik Backman
i'd recommend this whole series, even if you don't care about hockey; it's so, so good and emotionally devastating. at its base, the series is about a hockey team in sweden, but really, this series belongs to the character of Benji Ovich, and it's a masterclass in building up a queer hero. it's unflinching in dealing with all that he goes through, and handles a lot of really difficult topics with deftness. the heart of his story, for me, is the question of what happens when you're in love with your best friend who is actually a despicable, evil person, and how can you ever forgive yourself for it?
The Iliad, translated by Emily Wilson
do i have to evangelize this one anymore? it's so fucking good. i've read it about 10 times at this point, i just couldn't bring myself to be finished with it. it's so refreshing and approachable and makes every single character leap off the page. it doesn't pull a single emotional punch (because homer doesn't! and wilson's like "don't look away!")
A Map for the Missing, by Belinda Huijuan Tang
this is one of those books that really comes together as a whole; i didn't know it was going to be a fave until i was finished with it. a chinese immigrant has to go back home to help search for his elderly father, who's gone missing. as he goes, every single thread of his past is tugged on and unravelled and the complexity and depth the narrative achieves is really astounding. the last few pages are an absolute gut-punch.
A Power Unbound, by Freya Marske
purely here for how it redeemed the entire series for me. i'm actually not a big romance person, though i did read more romance than ever this year; i just usually tend to get bored with the same sorts of romance tropes over and over (probably because that's what i read fic to get, not tradpub novels). this one doesn't do anything new or reinvent those tropes or anything, it's just really, really good and engaging and hot. the romance outshines the magic system/plot by far. i'd recommend the series overall, but this one has the best relationship in it AINEC.
Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries, by Heather Fawcett
why do i always like middle grade authors who pivot to adult books waaay more than YA authors who do the same? like how are they so much better? that's definitely the case here. this is really fun fairy book (i went through a fairy phase over the summer) and packed a surprising emotional punch and a really lovely romance. i think it helped that the main character have major howl and sophie vibes. i'm excited for the sequel to come out in a few weeks!
Slewfoot, by Brom
god this was absolutely horrifying and brutal and also incredible? i actually can't believe this is here because it lost me through some of the worst of the witch trial torture (it goes really hard on it, as a warning, and i almost stopped there. her poor cat :/ i can almost never handle it when a cat dies) but!! i'm glad i stuck through because of the ending, which is phenomenal and makes every other bit of it worth it. the mythology is terrific and terrifying, too.
Small Things Like These, by Claire Keegan
possibly the best novella i've ever read? it just packs an incredible punch; it doesn't waste a single word, every square inch is a devastating look at the magdalene laundries and it doesn't hold back at all. so, so good.
Half a Soul, by Olivia Atwater
i'm so glad i discovered olivia atwater this year! this was during the Fairy Phase and it was just really fun and engaging. again, big howl and sophie vibes (this is such a high compliment from me) and i really love the second book in this series, too. it's just a really fun world to get lost in, and i'm excited to read more from this author this year.
He Who Drowned the World, by Shelley Parker-Chan
i had some problems with this, and i didn't love it as much as the first book, though i actually think most of those problems could've been solved with a third book and a longer runway. really wish this was a trilogy. that being said, this was still incredible. i loved every single narrative thread, there were zero emotional punches pulled, and i still think about these characters all the time. read this series if you haven't!!
#book talk#bookblr#2023 reads#book reviews#book recs#excited for 2024 already; i'm going back to 40 books lol#50 was too much pressure#40 is good because if i read more then it's just gravy!
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after s2/THOUGHTS-instagram post BELOW:(later on my ig post after s1 +my grishaverse show 1 year anniversary ig post with lots of edits♥)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp7oZkRIbVL/
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A post shared by 𝑠𝑎𝑔𝑒| a&f 2️⃣3️⃣ (@gretasag)
! afterS/(*spoilers)/
#grishaverse #ShadowAndBone #ShadowAndBoneSeason2 #ShadowAndBone2 #SixOfCrows @ shadowandbone @ netflix @ netflixgeeked #MALINA #WESPER #HELNIK #KANEJ #GENYADAVID #GENYALINA
♥no words,no edits,no pictures will express my feelings right. I'm just so grateful and i can't believe it's truly real&i don't take any of this for granted/it means more than any of us will ever be able to say/all queer ppl,the lgbtq+ ppl,the neurodivergent ppl,ADHD&Dyslexia+so many many more ppl,the survivors of SA/of abuse of any kind. people who KNOW how important the found family is. people who know grief&loss. ppl who found comfort&safe home&so much love with/in this universe/these books/these characters/this fandom/this cast/THIS found fam/ppl who see themselves in these fictional ppl, fictional ppl who're holding our hands like real friends would/AND THEY ARE ALL FINALLY HERE.on our screens-netflix show/teenage me would NEVER think that the very first queer couple i've ever read about thinking 'wow,they're so cool,why MORE books can't be like this?'AND one of my most beloved YA bookseries could truly *really* be here-it means THE WORLD. it means EVERYTHING to have my favorite ppl on screen now as a young adult brought to life by this INCREDIBLE actors who CARE SO MUCH abt the books&characters they play. We're all so lucky to have them in our grishaverse fam. We're so lucky to have THIS SHOW to help us walk through so much of very dark and hard things in our lives.+pandemic?lockdown? another war-this time in Europe? I feel BEYOND grateful to be here will all of you, through every social app we can reach one another, from so many places all around the world and to KNOW this show and these people-fictional/real mean just as much to you♥
our queen @ lbardugo so many of us and so much of everything wouldn't be here without you. We love you forever.
some of us waited for MALINA winning against TheDarkling since2012. For our crows together as a group since2015. We have SO MUCH with s2. All book quotes&scenes that make us feel so much. none of that would be possible without our WONDERFUL cast(+everyone behind the camera from the crew)
our favorite sunshine+most badass grisha sun queen @ jessie_mei_li our THE BEST tracker @ archierenaux3 our shadow man who is nothing irl like the character he plays @ benbarnes our AMAZING #DaisyHead @ daisymayhead have you seen s2? Where is her EMMY? our queen in blue the one and only @ sujaya_dasgupta our unhinged crows leader @ freddycarter1 our THE BEST+most stylish sharpshooter @ kittheyounger AND our-or maybe just mine-favorite favorite favorite crow forever my underestimated badass demolitions expert @ jacktwolfe +our entire fandom parents and the only jack&rose TITANIC we know-our HELNIK @ daniellegalligan_ @ calahan.skogman +our queen of KetterDAMN the best Wraith forever @ amitasuman_
i missed Fedyor&Ivan this season @ juliankostov @ simonsears and Mal's pals @ anguscastledoughty @ andyburse1 but i LOVED more of my beloved David @ lucapasqualino + so badass and yet so full of heart our twins duo @ lewistanofficial @ longbrophy and our Sturmhond/King Nikolai @ paddygibson so much love for Nadia&Adrik @ missjoanna_rose @ alistair.nwachukwu +Dominik @ louisboyer
!! LINKS and CREDITS for this post:
after s1: https://instagram.com/p/CODgAnQr2XZ/
one year annivers: https://instagram.com/p/Cb7CdmfI-W1/
1. Grishaverse-CAST-my whole heart-twt messrxmoony
2. cast sings every time we touch+crows dancing+THIS CAST s2 wrapped- ig gossamer x
3. CHARACTERS-soldier poet -king -ig wespcr
4. no not just girls early March2023 wesper edit tiktok COME AND GET UR LOVE+ x2 FIRST WESPER edits i saw in Jan2022 after W casting ig wespcr + FIRST WESPER EDIT i've ever seen ig mrsblakex
5. Wesper-heart-eyes + about you twt edits x2
6. Malina- out of the woods + kiss it better baby x2 twt edits
7. SAB posts Feb21-2023-meet Wylan vid + GRISHA WOMEN ig wespcr +Helnik-Dani-Cal-tt dailywesper-in another life/ our parents, our jack/rose titanic we know/our fav enemiestolovers /happy edit bc helnik is still alive and fighting in the show
8. HELNIK treacherous twt -elizaxonly + enemy twt loveforcaptnswn
9. s1 edit genyakostyk--we re gonna need a miracle or two (Alina,Mal,Jes this vid really shows)
10. thanks NetflixGeeked-if SAB was a 90s show makes me laugh always.
honorable mentions of s2 really quick(not in any order)
-longer episodes
-all book quotes/scenes(fav quotes listed down somewhere)
-malina being malina
-5/6 crows is a BIG WIN anyway
-ep7, Freddy what is this fun surprise for book fans-it can be so MANY things!
-showing WYLAN's relationship with his father without actually showing it/his relationship with piano!/+how they handled showing he can't read./+his wonder and his awe and his chaotic and his talking back and-just his whole character and personality. So well done.(also when Kaz says 'Any questions?' Wylan wanted to ask 'What am I doing here?' but thought better of it.)
-ruthless Kaz winning The Dregs and Per Haskell over
- Kaz's past+trauma
-Jes's past+trauma
-Jesper in kilt throughout ep5,6,7,8-through ShuHan, saying something stupid, the fight with real Sankta N, then becoming THE ONE she chose to give the blade to, hallucination of his Mom, that little fight with Wylan, the deeper conversation with Wylan, running our of Sankta N place and giving Inej the blade, chasing after Wylan, kissing Wylan, getting back to save Ravka's king's life and fighting with that scary grisha while also making full realization that being a durast is a blessing not a curse, while also realizing Wylan helped him to understand that, through almost dying(again), going into the fold, reuniting with everyone and yeah basically saving the world. I guess everyone had the same clothes but Jes was in kilt in SO MANY PLACES like the weather? Wasn't he cold? What if he had to go to Fjerda as well? ALL IN KILT? Jesper Fahey, we love you.
- WESPER truly one of the best this season, because they were so safe while everything else was well.. scary or terrifying or heartbreaking or triggering or else. Darkling's grisha army? Scary. Rollins basically becoming the ruler of Hellgate? Terrifying. So many of my beloved people dying or almost dying? And then there's WESPER just being Wesper and my queer heart loved that. I've waited for so long to see them on screen. And as i think every other book reader i was.. SURPRISED no SHOCKED because i knew Wylan won't be 16 but somehow in my brain i didn't think adult wesper will be really well adult wesper. So i had to pause MANY TIMES bc wait they did what.. wait they kissed?.. wait they kissed again?.. after i saw them in bed together waking up and Kaz being Kaz i think i stopped pausing BECAUSE this is WESPER. and i can see how so many of you friends dont know how to feel with crooked kingdom parts in this season or Kanej getting closer or Wesper being this close already or the way Wesper met and all i can is that.. we want the crows yes? We want Kaz's past? Well then these characters are who we know-they just GET MORE AND MORE CLOSE every time they can, they are together so they grow closer. Both Kanej and Wesper. Because if they didn't-they wouldnt really be our kanej and wesper.. also truly Kaz's trauma and past haunts him and you really think he can somehow NOT decide to get revenge on Pekka right away? Brick by Brick, no matter the cost? We have the crows and they have each other and they feel things and there's no way they couldn't. That being said quickly abt Wesper.. i guess personally i need more teasing and the banter and the flirting and the slowburn just all that book wesper had before they got THERE where in so many ways show Wesper already is. They met they got to know each other went through some horrible adventures together discovered they like one another and then decided to move together after like weeks?months? of knowing each other? That's book wesper. But NO i dont think show Wesper is that different the core of Wesper is there(and for all upset people the 'Do the Shu not kiss before noon?' can still happen because even if Jes will know Wylan better he could so easily get overwhelmed by the world and do stupid things you know?-I'm not sure if this is a joke or not but yup) Because i had DAYS to think about it and this is exactly how more adult Wesper could act. How Kaz would act around them. I understand some of you may be not so happy with the beginning since there was no "You can't kiss me from down there, Wylan" before Jes understood Wy is an epic demolitions man and no "No. Not just girls" scene before they even kissed (so grateful Jack and Kit did that for us in that interview and SO GRATEFUL that Kit said Jes is bi-because there're still people out there who don't acknowledge that and it hurts. But that interview means THE WORLD to me.) But yes, so many book quotes that now won't work. For both Wesper and Kanej i believe. EVERYONE it's a tv show. They can make so much work in some impossible way still. And some just won't work and that's okay(?) because no matter if it's a fight between malinas or darklinas or sab and soc we are ALL grateful for this show and this cast and WE WILL BE STREAMING NON-STOP for the first 28 days at least so netflix would see we NEED more of this world on our screens. So, last thing about Wesper, maybe they can pull them apart and then together again? Since there's so much stuff Jes doesn't know about Wylan(also is Jesper the only one who knows W can't read or Kaz noticed?/also how long ago Wylan was *forced* to leave his house and for how long Kaz knows him? Does he knows KNOWS him, tho?) There's also Jesper's gambling addiction and his past and his dad and him fighting more and more with Kaz and it's not like he will just accept being a grisha and boom done. It will take time to learn to feel about it differently. So yes, i am hoping for even more deep wesper talks in the future and time alone on their own when they grow and learn and truly understand that they need each other.
FAVORITE SEASON2 QUOTES:
'What?We just got back in town'
'Never thought I'd miss the Fold'
'You were with the funny guns and the angry hat'
'Careful is something you learn from losing your fingers'
'Can I get anyone some tea?'
'It's because you're a symbol. You're not just a sunshine, sunshine.'
'And you trust Kaz?'
'You remember that NOW?'
'You've been on safari when?'
'What you did tonight made you a crow'
'Yeah, of course.. We don't'
'I'm here for the killers. People like me.'
'Wait this is a 'proposal' proposal'
'All that matters is that we know what's real'
'We can't tell Kaz about Alby'
'Jesper Fahey, are you worried about me?'
'Well, I know now. And I'm not going anywhere'
'Kaz, Alby Rollins can't help who his father is. And you.. you can't punish him for that. I won't help with that'
'You came here for Ravka. I came here for you. You're my flag,Alina,you're my nation'
'Danger-fun'
'I kinda like your face'
'No mourners.. No funerals'
'I want you to remember'
'I might very well have left you first. But that was before I got to know you'
'That was even better than the last time'
'This is never going to happen. I'll destroy the only thing you have left'
'Look what he did to her!'
'Your beauty is your armor. It's fragile stuff,all show,really. But what's inside you,that's steel. It's brave and unbreakable and it doesn't need fixing. You don't need fixing'
'I said something stupid'
'Brekker..Just breathe'
'Of course it hurts!'
'You're trying to tell me how to feel about my shame! When you're hiding the very thing that makes you special.. I'm talking about the fact that you're Grisha'
'Because it's not a blessing, it's a curse'
'This is how we die!'
'I cannot believe that I get to see this in my lifetime'
'I was just a kid. I needed you too'
'I need YOU'
'And you,Malyen Oretsev,are the firebird'
'She's not sacrificing herself for me!'
'He's not my weakness. He's my universe'
'That sounds like Ravka's problem'
'Except for you,in the hat'
'When I saw it,all I wanted in the world was just to tell you about it and squeeze your hand'
'Everyone's lost their minds'
'No.-I'm it'
'No.Out!'
'We're both running out of time'
'I will not kill you!I won't do it!'
'I could process a fragment of Mal's bone and fuse it with your.. well,fuse it with you. Like we did with the Stag. Rember?.. Of course you remember'
'An ordinary life full of ordinary things'-'If love can ever be called that'
'How they are so powerful?!'
'Nina Zenik. Heartender. Big fan'
'I mean,yes,Expert'
'If you die we don't get paid'
'I'm sorry.. did you say Mal is a bird?'
'Yes!My Man!'
'I love you'-'You know where to find me'
'Mal and I changed the world'
'I will save myself'
'There's five of us'
"I can't feel his heartbeat'
'Choice. Not destiny. Choice. That's the real true north'
'My brother is never coming back. Yours still can'
'Stay in Ketterdam. Stay with me'
“And how will you have me? Gloves on? Fully clothed? And your head turned, so our lips never touch?(..) I will have you without your armor,Kaz Brekker,or I will not have you at all'
'Djel will absolve me. I am clean'
'Of course she is. We're fantastic.'
'But I look amazing in blue'
'Any questions?'
and finally s2 - in my opinion:
-Fedyor-ok Ivan is dead and F/in the books/as well but not even one scene with him/even scene where he dies fighting on Alina's side/not even mention of him?//and SOMEONE had to let other grisha and Zoya know about Nina and M, yes? So where's F? What's up with that?
-you have Jack playing the piano and you don't have him also SING as Wylan? are you SERIOUS?
- The change in Malina's ending(not sure how i feel about that truly) how they aren't 'dead' to the world and not together together, leaving everything behind like 'ok,we're out now it's YOUR turn bye. We retire to be happy and at peace and in love' bc it was SO malina of them AND also they were both kinda reborn like phoenixes-getting a second life, second chance. And i loved the idea of it but now.. there's so many possibilities and i have absolutely no doubt they will reunite since they are each other's home and endgame but yeah just not sure how i feel about the change in the ending. Nina not Twins? Ok. Alina using Merzost just by saying PLEASE i guess that's ok, too. But was it necessary? After all Mal is our grishaverse very own Jesus figure-he just came back faster..without merzost but the price she paid is her light, correct? Since that cut was pure shadow? So she goes to Shu Han to return the blade, obviously doesn't turn evil. She reunites with Mal and before they both have some freedom and just a break a moment for themselves and then they can return and help king Nik or decide not to? I loved for Mal to do something on his own so quickly after. At least he escaped this whole mess. But twins go back to N and Inej takes a break or just returnd fully to the crows bc JURDA PAREM??
-WESPER 1st meeting, like i NEED it okay? I just waited for that flashback so much. I NEED it. That's all. Even if it's dark and messy and quick and whatever i just ALWAYS need more wesper content. It's a rule for me. My yt most searched for YEARS is "Jesper and Wylan" for a reason! *they are just THE BEST* also wait THE NIGHT WE MET song was Wesper song after all or not?
-is Demon Nikolai in deleted scenes bc I want this
-as a HUGE malina fan i don't care about the lack of white hair or no tattoo we all so love or even not THAT MUCH about how different Baghra's death scene was BUT GenyaDavid DavidGenya .. she wasn't even happy and safe FOR A MOMENT there was war and shadow monsters and the Fold..and they did not get married-like i have read ROW only once bc as much as i loved return of my 2 fav grishaverse couples MALINA and WESPER, and Kaz(?) I just.. i'm still not over it. That certain death. So i dont remember the details but.. i want a funeral, there should be one. If you go THERE go there fully so i could sob even more. But yes, the ruby, the plan of the ring-it showed like.. those compliments-the list. It showed how David always thought about Genya,how hard he was trying for her. And the moment he protected her? The line 'i can't feel his heartbeat' is like 'i can't find David' in another universe my heart is so broken for G and i don't think i will ever be able to rewatch s2 and not sob.
So YEAH, CONGRATS S2-you delivered 2 deaths of grishaverse that hurt me the most(out of 3) only that I still did NOT recover from THAT one. So it hurts. D and Nik will never become friends in the show now never create and invent together-
WHICH IS WHY I LOVED WESPER SO MUCH. my joy this season among all the crying.
Fav episodes-2x06,07,08 (YES i love 2x01-how come it is barely first ep of s2? And yes 2x02 WESPER fighting scene, plus 2x04 KAZ and WESPER)
And yes s2 was so much greater than s1. I don't know where we go from here and if THAT will happen(SixOfCrows here comes trouble trouble..) but for now i'm just so grateful for being HERE.
For seeing Jes and Nina my bi duo just sitting there and watching unhinged Kaz. For Wylan who can admire butterflies and then feed them to his friends if that's what's needed. For Malina just being young and feeling the pressure. For seeing our Fjerdan in Hellgate. For Wylan playing flute and piano. For Inej and Jesper talking about Kaz. For all Genyalina hugs. For crows on THE cemetery. For Baghra's stories. For Wylan asking why NMNF. For another living Saint. For adult Wesper. For all the tiniest book scenes there-when N realized V is an idiot and they can all die, when Mal is being chased for being a deserter, and when V tried proposing to Alina. And "i love it when you quote me" and Zoya checking N out and Kaz telling her "your prince" bc Brekker is always the matchmaker. Genya and Kaz scenes this season. Tolya and Jes becoming besties. Zoya being "already a queen" for the scene when Inej cuts all the shadow monsters like a machine and Nina just slowly wakes up to see The Fold gone. For Kaz telling THOSE THREE about a new job.
NMNF
in pics:
on TWT:
https://twitter.com/ThisIsGSage23/status/1637402649904513024?s=20
and AFTER S1 IG POST:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CODgAnQr2XZ/
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A post shared by 𝑠𝑎𝑔𝑒| a&f 2️⃣3️⃣ (@gretasag)
in pics:
and here my show 1 year anniversary ig post:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb7CdmfI-W1/
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A post shared by 𝑠𝑎𝑔𝑒| a&f 2️⃣3️⃣ (@gretasag)
+edit after Nov16,2023(8 months..)
https://twitter.com/ThisIsGSage23/status/1725060609929003041
https://twitter.com/ThisIsGSage23/status/1725048509936685230
https://twitter.com/ThisIsGSage23/status/1725047970708492741
#shadow and bone#shadow and bone season 2#shadow and bone 2#sab#grishaverse#malina#wesper#helnik#kanej#genyadavid#genyalina#leigh bardugo#six of crows#soc#the grishaverse#jessie mei li#jack wolfe#kit young#archie renaux#daisy head#ben barnes#amita suman#freddy carter#calahan skogman#paddy gibson#danielle galligan#lewis tan#anna leong brophy#sujaya dasgupta#the crows
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can i ask for lesbian book recommendations 🥹🕺
yeassss ofc my love <3
erm and obligatory disclaimer for any who might read that i don’t think “queer” or “lesbian” is a necessarily coherent category of books or adequate descriptor for a novel which is why i’ve also provided the actual genres here (sorted into which ever one i felt best fit) and descriptions. and these books have much more going on than just being about lesbians. however all books are undeniably awesomer with lesbians so yayyyyy
FANTASY:
-the salt grows heavy by cassandra khaw: fantasy horror; murderous mermaid and plague doctor come across a cult of children (could be read as not lesbians bc one character is nonbinary but i choose to read as. lesbians)
-the empress of salt and fortune by nghi vo: political fantasy; monk unravels the tale of exiled empress’ rise to power
-when the the tigers came down the mountain by nghi vo: political fantasy; monk unwinds the tale of a tiger and her scholar lover to prevent other tigers from eating them (stand alone sequel to empress of salt and fortune)
-ship of smoke and steel by django wexler: ya fantasy; girl has to steal a ghost ship to save her sister’s life
-the mermaid, the witch, and the sea by maggie tokuda-hall: ya fantasy; pirate falls in love with one of the ship’s hostages, a girl being sent to an arranged marriage against her will
-tremontaine created by ellen kushner: political fantasy; there’s a lot going on in this one okay just trust me that it’s really good esp if you love political intrigue (this was released serially and is easiest to acquire an electronic version)
-the deep by rivers solomon: fantasy/spec fic; African slave women thrown overboard gave birth to mermaid-esque descendants. one holds these traumatic memories for her whole people and must grapple with that pressure
-wild beauty by anna-marie mclemore: ya magical realism/fantasy; a family of women who can create flowers and whose lovers always tragically vanish fight to keep their land and to unravel the mystery of a strange boy who appeared
-siren queen by nghi vo: historical magical realism/fantasy; girl’s rise to stardom amidst the monsters of hollywood back in the days of the studio system
-gideon the ninth by tamsyn muir: sff; um. how to explain briefly. gideon wants nothing more than to leave the ninth house, but her nemesis harrowhark needs her sword skills to pass the emperors trial and become immortal. sure. (caleb i know you’ve read this just adding for any other viewers yayyy)
HORROR:
-white is for witching by helen oyeyemi: horror fantasy/magical realism; a house with women in its walls calls to miranda silver while the people she leaves behind struggle to make sense of what happened to her
-plain bad heroines by emily a. danforth: historical horror; when filming a movie about the macabre history of a boarding school, its past starts to become the reality for the stars and author of the novel it’s based on
LITFIC:
-girl woman other: contemporary litfic; the intersecting stories of Black british women told in verse
-nightwood: classic literary; i feel like i can’t describe this one well but nora and jenny are obsessed with robin, whose penchant for wandering and inability to commit drives them crazy. toxic dyke drama at its best
-the thirty names of night: lit fic; transmasc syrian american unravels the history of artist laila z who encountered the same rare bird his mother saw right before her death and realizes their pasts are intertwined
-under the udala trees: historical lit fic; coming of age set against the backdrop of civil war in Nigeria, two girls from different ethnic communities fall in love
-everyone in this room will someday be dead: contemporary lit fic; that moment when your ocd lands you a job at the catholic church even though you’re an atheist and also your relationship is falling apart
-stone butch blues: historical lit fic; butch lesbian realizing and grappling with her identity throughout the 40s-70s
-the color purple: classic lit fic; story of two sisters separated in their youth—one is forced into an abusive marriage and falls in love with her husbands mistress, wondering what became of her sister
-oranges are not the only fruit: semi-autobiography with slight fantasy elements; exploring growing up lesbian in a deeply religious pentecostal sect
SCI-FI:
-the weight of the stars: ya sf romance; aspiring astronaut is forced into friendship with a girl who waits on the roof every night for radio signals from her mother in space
-the seep: sci-fi/spec fic; what if aliens invaded and formed a hive mind of everyone and also your girlfriend turned into a baby again. wouldn’t that be fucked up
-the stars are legion: political science fiction; an awakes with no memory amid a group of people calling themself her family who claim she is the only one who can save their world
-not your sidekick: ya sci-fi; superheroes are real and they fucking suck
SHORT STORIES:
-sarahland: contemporary/spec fic short story collection; various stories about people named sarah
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Review: Ryan and Avery by David Levithan
Rating: 5/5
"They have each found something, and they have each found someone. Both at the same time."
When I heard David Levithan was going to revisit Ryan and Avery, two characters from his novel Two Boys Kissing, I was beyond excited. Way back in 2019 when I read Two Boys Kissing, I remember being captivated by the blue- and pink-haired boys. All I wanted was more of that world and those characters. I'm so glad that Levithan decided to give that to us.
This was a poignant book, that reads more like interconnected short stories than a novel. Luckily, this is something Levithan does very well. I liked the way he weaved in and out of Ryan and Avery's dates, and I especially loved the way he'd write an aside directed to the reader. It was a brilliant use of second person perspective that called back to Two Boys Kissing in a subtle way.
My one qualm with this book was that Levithan sets it now, rather than in 2013 when the first book was set. I feel like this was a wasted opportunity to remind people how far we've come since then. The world is so different now for queer and trans teenagers, in good ways and bad. Avery was one of the first trans characters I ever read about, and I didn't read Two Boys Kissing until 2019. It's bizarre to me that that's true. That's how far we've come.
But I would still recommend this to anyone who likes quiet, reflective contemporary YA or would just like a nice gateway into Levithan's style because this is him at his hopeful, measured, moving best.
Warnings: emotionally abusive parents, some queerphobia, references to a past eating disorder.
#ryan and avery#david levithan#booklr#bookblr#book reviews#book blog#lgbt books#mlm reads#trans characters#book review#reviews#5 star reads#trcc original
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It's Trans Day of Rememberance, time to support your local trans author while they are still alive
I originally put this thread up on blue birb hellsite, but I wanted to make a longer, more nuanced post for Tumblr. TDOR is a heavy day for me, and every time I see the list of names it makes me want to squirrel away and cry. So instead I want to spread around some books by trans authors, to uplift our voices. The books themselves are not necessarily about trans characters (mine is not) but my experience as a trans guy does inform the text, and when I read these other works, I feel a kinship to the author in that regard, however imagined that is.
I'll start, it's me, buy my horrific (seriously, read the content warning) fantasy book about young queers surviving atrocities: SUGAR PEOPLE
Next up: Δάιος, by Andromeda Ruins (@andromedaexists). A heavy anti-establishment retelling of the fall of Icarus that leans heavily into the reality of queer folk as outcast and put at risk by the powers that be. I have yet to finish it but the prose really slaps you with its urgency.
Next up: FEMININ GANGE (Feminine gait), by Molly Øxnevad, a contemporary novel about the trans healthcare system in Norway. It's written in Norwegian (bokmål) but I really hope to see it translated in English one day because it's such an important piece of literature on the state of our centralised transmedical health system here in norway.
Next up, MAO SIN RAUDE KJOLE (Mao's Red Dress), by Jan Elisabeth Lindvik, (also norwegian, nynorsk) a coming of age novel set in the backdrop of the sixties. It's only really available in Norway, and it's another one I hope to see translated someday, but it's worth knowing about, as it's a seminal novel by a trans activist with so many decades of lived experience, as the country slowly changed its views around trans folk.
Next, we have JACK OF THORNS, Book 1 of INHERITANCE by AK Faulkner, a dark urban fantasy featuring messy queers and LOTS of trauma. I had the pleasure of meeting Faulkner at a con earlier this year, and they have got an awesome thing going with the Inheritance universe. I've been enjoying Jack of Thorns a lot, it does not hold back.
Next, it's the astounding FRESHWATER by Akwaeke Emezi, a magical contemporary novel about dissociative experiences and trauma, and how they interplay with culture and growing up. A very intense and beautifully written book that isn't afraid to tackle dissociative identities AND gender identity (something those of us who have both often have to mask for fear of being denied treatment).
AND THEY LIVED... by Stephen Salvatore, a very contemporary YA romance that deals with societal issues around being gay and nonbinary. It's written from the POV of a cringey, hopeful teen, and dances between happily-ever-after romance and a pointed exhumation of incredibly dark things.
Finally, LARK & KASIM START A REVOLUTION by Kacen Callender, a contemporary YA written in a comfortably snappy rhythm, about love, friendship and a social media mishap that spirals out of control.
If you are an author listed here and you want off this list, just let me know! If you are an author and you want ON this list, feel free to reblog and add your stuff.
Otherwise, go forth and support a trans author today! Connect with our stories, real and imagined. Increase empathy and understanding around the world. Maybe TDOR will be a memorial of the past one day, instead of a memorial of the present day.
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