Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

Summary from Goodreads:

n 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia's intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma of pap smears. Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity—what it means and how to think about it—for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.

Review:

I’m so glad this book exists. I chose it for the February book in the Banned Books Book Club I started several months ago at my library. It’s currently the number 1 banned book in the country. So far, one member of the book club, which meets this Friday, came up to me and told me thank you for picking this book because she’d never have picked it up otherwise and now she feels like she understands some things a little bit better. Honestly,  feel like maybe I do too. I’m excited to talk about this book with a group of people from multiple generations.

There were things I related to. I remembered my first pap smear, and my first period. I remembered feeling like there were things everyone else seemed to know that I didn’t. And I remembered figuring things out about myself as I dated. This book has that ability to make you think back on your own experiences. And I can’t help but think how much harder my journey would have been if there were things I didn’t know about myself and my body, and I could’t find anyone like me in the books I was reading or the shows I was watching. I’m so glad Maia found eir tribe amongst what seemed to be really good, supportive friends.

One of my favorite parts of the book comes in the introduction of the version I was reading. ND Stevenson in November 2021 writes in the introduction, “At the time of writing this, parents in Texas and other states have pushed to have Gender Queer banned from school libraries. It’s not enough for them to rigorously restrict what their own children read, as my parent did; they insist that they have the right to make that choice for everyone. I understand -more,  I think, than they think I do -why they want this. It’s a last, desperate attempt to hammer an infinitely complex world into a small, unthreatening shape; to enforce a fantastical reality where challenging subjects simply don’t exist; to hole themselves up in a crumbling fortress as the the floods come in and let there own children pay the price.”

This book isn’t an instructional manual. It’s also not the typical graphic novel. It’s an autobiography of one person’s journey of self discovery. The book lets the world know that it’s okay to take time to figure out who you are, and it’s okay to be who you want to be. What better message is there?  I give this book a 10/10.

Lockwood and Co: The Hollow Boy by Jonathan Stroud

Summary from Goodreads:

As a massive outbreak of supernatural Visitors baffles Scotland Yard and causes protests throughout London, Lockwood & Co. continue to demonstrate their effectiveness in exterminating spirits. Anthony Lockwood is dashing, George insightful, and Lucy dynamic, while the skull in the jar utters sardonic advice from the sidelines. There is a new spirit of openness in the team now that Lockwood has shared some of his childhood secrets, and Lucy is feeling more and more as if her true home is at Portland Row. It comes as a great shock, then, when Lockwood and George introduce her to an annoyingly perky and hyper-efficient new assistant, Holly Munro.

Meanwhile, there are reports of many new hauntings, including a house where bloody footprints are appearing, and a department store full of strange sounds and shadowy figures. But ghosts seem to be the least of Lockwood & Co.'s concerns when assassins attack during a carnival in the center of the city. Can the team get past their personal issues to save the day on all fronts, or will bad feelings attract yet more trouble?

Danger abounds, tensions escalate, and new loyalties form in this third delightfully terrifying adventure in the critically acclaimed Lockwood & Co. series.

Review:

I’ve had a weird journey with these books. I fell in love with the audio versions of book 1-2 on my very long road trip to Chicago with my husband and dog. We basically didn’t want to leave the car because we had to know what was going to happen next. Then sadly, after downloading book 3 on the Libby app, we found ourselves with a new narrator. We could not get into it! Why switch narrators? Why???? We get that these things happen, but sadly then we switched book series and  kind of somehow forgot about this series until I saw a trailer for the show on Netflix!

I wanted to re-read from the beginning because reading the book is different than listening to the book while driving and some time had past. My wonderful husband gifted the whole series to me for Christmas. It was my goal to finish all of them before the show came out…..That did not happen. I finished the first two, which I had already listened to. Then,  watched the show, which thankfully only covered the first two books. And I have to say, I was mostly impressed with Netflix… hope they keep making more.

Now, I’m finally up to book 3, a story that’s totally new to me, and I think this is my favorite in the series so far. SO much happens in it that I feel like I’m still wrapping my head around it all. Lucy’s powers grow even more. There’s a new girl in the group who’s an assistant who actually tidy’s up the house….more on this later. There’s definite romantic tension entering the plot. And there are several big jobs the characters go on, all of varying degrees of importance to the overarching plot. I also have to throw in that Lucy and the skull/ghost in the jar are developing a closer bond, which I find interesting and at moments hilarious.

The only element to these books that I don’t like is the ever slight element of sexism. When listening to them, I was confused about the time period. The sexism and maybe British turn of phrase made me think they took place decades ago, but nope. They take place today, just after a ghostly disaster took place. And maybe that ghostly disaster turned things in a negative direction for women? Like if girls aren’t fighting with swords to the death along with the boys, then they must be expected to clean houses? And maybe it’s just part of Lucy’s character, but I really hated the antagonism between her and Holly. It felt so icky….Like I kept wanting them to support each other, not put each other down….

All that aside, the plot in this book was the best so far. There really was never a good moment to put the book down. The suspense was crazy. There was an ending that kind of punches you in the gut. And I’m itching to start the next book already. Also, some of the ghost stuff was so creepy, I’m almost afraid for what Netflix can do with this. All in all, it gets a 9/10.

Ain't Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds and artwork by Jason Griffin

Summary from Goodreads:

Prepare yourself for something unlike anything: A smash-up of art and text for teens that viscerally captures what it is to be Black. In America. Right Now. Written by #1 New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jason Reynolds.

Jason Reynolds and his best bud, Jason Griffin had a mind-meld. And they decided to tackle it, in one fell swoop, in about ten sentences, and 300 pages of art, this piece, this contemplation-manifesto-fierce-vulnerable-gorgeous-terrifying-WhatIsWrongWithHumans-hope-filled-hopeful-searing-Eye-Poppingly-Illustrated-tender-heartbreaking-how-The-HECK-did-They-Come-UP-with-This project about oxygen. And all of the symbolism attached to that word, especially NOW.

And so for anyone who didn’t really know what it means to not be able to breathe, REALLY breathe, for generations, now you know. And those who already do, you’ll be nodding yep yep, that is exactly how it is.

Review:

I’m not 100 percent sure what I was expecting from this book, but WOW, this wasn’t what I thought it would be….This is better. It’s a quick read. I read the whole thing in one sitting. You kind of have to. It’s literally only several sentences long. And it’s kind of like one art installation in a museum. And you don’t want to skip any part of it. You want to experience the whole installation, the way it’s mean to be experienced, beginning to end….If that makes sense.

It’s about one black family experiencing the last 2 years, surviving Covid and racial injustices. And each page, each word makes you feel something. It’s not about making you re-live 2020-2021. Though, it might make you remember some things…It’s about this moment for one kid, one family. And it’s about the power of breathing, the power of oxygen.

I didn’t understand all of the art. Some of it made me scratch my head. Some of it is impossible not to understand. Some of it is just words on a notebook page. And some of it belongs in a museum. Maybe all of it. But together, this book not only captures the feeling of this moment in time, but it opens a window in a such a unique, beautiful way.

In all honesty, I have not allowed myself to think too hard about the last couple of years. I have lost people I care about. And I have found myself in this past month reading 2 books that have almost forced some self-reflection out of me (this one and Michelle Obama’s The Light We Carry) and I know I will at some point have to reflect and unpack some more.  I guess what I’m saying is if a book can pull this out of me, it’s a strong one. This book has the ability to make people reflect, feel, and communicate. I hope lots of people read it, talk about it, and reflect on it. I give it a 10/10.

Squire by Sara Alfageeh and Nadia Shammas

Summary from Goodreads:

Aiza has always dreamt of becoming a Knight. It's the highest military honor in the once-great Bayt-Sajji Empire, and as a member of the subjugated Ornu people, Knighthood is her only path to full citizenship. Ravaged by famine and mounting tensions, Bayt-Sajji finds itself on the brink of war once again, so Aiza can finally enlist in the competitive Squire training program.

It's not how she imagined it, though. Aiza must navigate new friendships, rivalries, and rigorous training under the unyielding General Hende, all while hiding her Ornu background. As the pressure mounts, Aiza realizes that the "greater good" that Bayt-Sajji's military promises might not include her, and that the recruits might be in greater danger than she ever imagined.

Aiza will have to choose, once and for all: loyalty to her heart and heritage, or loyalty to the Empire.

Review

For a girl who grew up reading Tamora Pierce, this book jumped out to me right away. However unlike in Pierce’s novels, Aiza wasn’t penalized for being female and she never had to pretend otherwise. Instead, she pretended she was from a different background. She hid her tattoo that marked where she came from. There were other girls fighting for places in the military.

Still, the story was a familiar one. Aiza’s people were shamed and had stories being told that were not true. She had to endure falsehoods and hide things in order to be accepted. But, you also can’t help but love her. She’s a dreamer that flocks to other dreamers and she accepts everyone.  She works hard, trains hard, and fights for what she wants, despite all the obstacles in her way.

The graphic novels has many lessons in it. There are trials of friendship, propaganda, strength, and power. There’s also a sense of history and politics to everything. And when the group of fighters/dreamers/friends all truly come together for the right cause, everything is kind of magical.

I’m not sure the bad guy element needed to be in there. That was the one part that felt a little forced and too much like a typical cartoon story. I wanted something a little less cliche to go with  with everything else being so fresh. But, I get that there needed to be a conflict to get the characters away from what was happening….Oh well.

The artwork is stunning. It’s what really will draw the readers in. It’s what drew me in. The desert landscapes make for a unique background to the story. I would read a whole series that takes place here, just to see more. I hope more gets made. I give a 9/10.

Greywaren by Maggie Stiefvater

Summary from Goodreads:

This is the story of the Lynch family.

Niall and Mór escaped their homeland for a new start, and lost themselves in what they found.

Declan has grown up as the responsible son, the responsible brother--only to find there is no way for him to keep his family safe.

Ronan has always lived on the edge between dreams and waking... but now that edge is gone, and he is falling.

Matthew has been the happy child, the brightest beam. But rebellion beckons, because it all feels like an illusion now.

This world was not made for such a family--a family with the power to make a world and break it. If they cannot save each other or themselves, we are all doomed.

Review:

It took me a while to get into this story. I think part of it is my age finally catching up to me, and maybe part of it is the last couple of years finally catching up to me, but it’s getting harder to remember where I leave off in series. The book opens with the main character in a sort of coma and I had no recollection for how that happened….I had to go online and get some recaps.  That all being said, once I had more of my footing, and I had some idea for who all of the characters were, the book swallowed me whole.

No-one else writes quite like Stiefvater. She has this stream of consciousness element to her that fits so well with a series that focuses on dreams. And who can not be fascinated with characters who can literally pull objects, creatures, and people out of their dreams? This book finally gives some back-story and some history to the entire process too. We get the story of Niall and More, the story I didn’t know I wanted, but I did. I thought I wanted Ronan/Adam love story and I guess I did, but I also really wanted to know Ronan’s family. Why can they do what they do? What is the extent of what they can do? And this book gets to the heart of everything. Finally.

Throw in some amazing other characters, art heists, an apocalypse, bombs exploding over Boston, tragedy, love stores (plural), an epic action sequence to end all action sequences involving Declan, mythological creatures and a scene that had my jaw on the floor, and a final ending that will melt your heart.

For a book that had me scratching my head in the beginning, it certainly had me on my toes later. Honestly, I just feel lucky to to pick up books by this author. I have grown up reading her, and I hope she continues to write because I will continue to read all that she puts out. i give this a 9/10.