Jen – Made of Stardust and Stubbornness

“The Maid and the Crocodile” Review

Posted on May 10, 2025May 10, 2025 by Jen

“The Maid and the Crocodile” (A Raybearer Story) by Jordan Ifueko

In the magic-soaked capital city of Oluwan, Small Sade needs a job—preferably as a maid, with employers who don’t mind her unique appearance and unlucky foot. But before she can be hired, she accidentally binds herself to a powerful being known only as the Crocodile, a god rumored to devour pretty girls. Small Sade entrances the Crocodile with her secret: she is a Curse Eater, gifted with the ability to alter people’s fates by cleaning their houses.

The handsome god warns that their fates are bound, but Small Sade evades him, launching herself into a new career as the Curse Eater of a swanky inn. She is determined to impress the wealthy inhabitants and earn her place in Oluwan City . . . assuming her secret-filled past—and the revolutionary ambitions of the Crocodile God—don’t catch up with her.

But maybe there is more to Small Sade. And maybe everyone in Oluwan City deserves more, too, from the maids all the way to the Anointed Ones.

Review

I wasn’t entirely sure if this book was going to be my cup of tea because of the romance, but I wanted to give it a chance because it’s set in the same universe as the author’s Raybearer duology which I enjoyed. As it turns out the romance was actually very in the background. Both Small Shade and Crocodile had a lot of things to work through before anything could happen and I loved the story all the more for that. I also really liked the way the author flipped the focus so that we see the commoner point of view of the results of the work done in the original books. While many things were solved by the new rulers in those books, there were a lot of gaps and unintended consequences that Small Shade encountered.

Both characters ended up learning a lot from each other – coming from different worlds and everything that that entails. Small Shade is someone who has long lived under the idea that she must “know her place” and never cause problems because it will only make things worse for her. But there comes a time when making noise and protesting what is happening is just as vital to survival. Crocodile, meanwhile needs to learn what it’s like to not have anything and what not having choices actually means.

I also really liked the disability elements in this story – Small Sade is physically disabled from an accident that crushed her foot, and also dyslexic (though it’s not a diagnosis that exist in this universe). In both cases her disabilities end up adding more to the plot and more ideas for changes.

Book Details

Author’s Website: Jordan Ifueko
Publisher / Date: Amulet Books, August 2024
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Page Count: 289
Completion Date: May 7, 2025

“Lone Women” Review

Posted on May 4, 2025May 9, 2025 by Jen

“Lone Women” by Victor LaValle

Adelaide Henry carries an enormous steamer trunk with her wherever she goes. It’s locked at all times. Because when the trunk opens, people around Adelaide start to disappear.

The year is 1915, and Adelaide is in trouble. Her secret sin killed her parents, forcing her to flee California in a hellfire rush and make her way to Montana as a homesteader. Dragging the trunk with her at every stop, she will become one of the “lone women” taking advantage of the government’s offer of free land for those who can tame it—except that Adelaide isn’t alone. And the secret she’s tried so desperately to lock away might be the only thing that will help her survive the harsh territory.

Crafted by a modern master of magical suspense, Lone Women blends shimmering prose, an unforgettable cast of adventurers who find horror and sisterhood in a brutal landscape, and a portrait of early-twentieth-century America like you’ve never seen. And at its heart is the gripping story of a woman desperate to bury her past—or redeem it.

Review

This book was interesting to read and in some ways both simple and a lot more complicated than it initially seems. There are multiple themes going on throughout the book such as racism, sexism and ableism. The reality of Adelaide’s secret is hard to explain without spoiling the whole thing but there are parallels to various issues around disability and responsibilities. I had a few moments where I was concerned about how the book was going to handle those issues, but the ending resolved most of my concerns.

There are multiple plot threads going on through out the book and I liked the way the characters interacted and the various relationships that were shown. There were a couple things that didn’t get explained as well as I’d have liked (as an example it’s not clear how Adelaide and everyone actually survived on their own as they didn’t seem to have access to supplies). I liked all the characters Adelaide ends up being friends with and the way the ending was described. Though I did end up wishing more was said about the future of one character who ended up being my favorite.

Book Details

Author’s Website: Victor LaValle
Publisher / Date: One World, March 2023
Genre: Horror, Historical Fiction
Page Count: 320
Completion Date: May 3, 2025

“NeuroTribes” Review

Posted on April 29, 2025May 10, 2025 by Jen

“NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity”
by Steve Silberman

What is autism? A lifelong disability, or a naturally occurring form of cognitive difference akin to certain forms of genius? In truth, it is all of these things and more—and the future of our society depends on our understanding it. WIRED reporter Steve Silberman unearths the secret history of autism, long suppressed by the same clinicians who became famous for discovering it, and finds surprising answers to the crucial question of why the number of diagnoses has soared in recent years.

Going back to the earliest days of autism research and chronicling the brave and lonely journey of autistic people and their families through the decades, Silberman provides long-sought solutions to the autism puzzle, while mapping out a path for our society toward a more humane world in which people with learning differences and those who love them have access to the resources they need to live happier, healthier, more secure, and more meaningful lives.

Along the way, he reveals the untold story of Hans Asperger, the father of Asperger’s syndrome, whose “little professors” were targeted by the darkest social-engineering experiment in human history; exposes the covert campaign by child psychiatrist Leo Kanner to suppress knowledge of the autism spectrum for fifty years; and casts light on the growing movement of “neurodiversity” activists seeking respect, support, technological innovation, accommodations in the workplace and in education, and the right to self-determination for those with cognitive differences.

Review

This is a really good book, and wish I’d read it sooner. I really liked the way the author went through the history of Autism research from its initial diagnosis in wartime Austria, all the way to the current autism rights movement. There was a lot of interesting and important information. I want to note here that there are two versions of this book. In the original version, published in 2015, Silberman discusses Hans Asperger’s history of working with individuals who had a seemingly milder version of autism without being able to confirm whether or not Asperger was a Nazi and if Asperger agreed with their eugenic views. This is the version I read which was the only one available as an ebook from Kobo. There is a reprint edition from 2016 that does address this and is the one available on Amazon. Silberman also discussed the issue with Maxfield Sparrow at the blog Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism: On Hans Asperger, the Nazis, and Autism: A Conversation Across Neurologies. At some point I will buy that version and read it as well.

I like the way the book was broken up into different chapters with different focuses though it did require some repetition and referring back to different points in time. The chapter on Science Fiction and the rise of Science Fiction fandom was particularly interesting to me. Silberman spent a lot of time discussing how fans are often Autistic individuals seeking to belong and that being in fandom supports that need. Other groups around technologies had similar situations such as Ham Radio operators. The creation of the movie “Rain Man” is discussed along with the various individuals who Raymond is based on. While I do have my own opinion about that movie, after reading this book I understand that it did create an opportunity for people to see an autistic individual and be more understanding in various situations.

Throughout the book I felt as though Silberman did a good job explaining how parents were desperate for answers. In most case the parents were trying to find ways to help their children. The biggest problem was lack of information and what information there was primarily negative. Often though parents did keep trying to find better solutions and for many there was a shift towards supports and accommodations.

In the later chapters Silberman talks about the ways Autistic adults started taking control of their own lives and the narrative around their needs. The rise of various groups around the Autistic community and the eventual creation of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. The key was that these groups were run by Autistic individuals themselves instead of only parent groups. The effort by Autistic adults to be seen and heard is important as they’re primally focused on ensuring they receive the supports they need. Often the idea of supporting individuals is overlooked in the push for a cure for Autism.

Overall, I do believe the book works for what the author was trying to do – present the history and potential future of the Autistic community. What is needed is more respect and understanding and acceptance for all Autistic individuals, no matter their support needs. While Silberman does try speak to the fact that other disabilities are included in the neurodiversity movement the focus was mostly on Autism. To that point I think the title is a little misleading and probably shouldn’t have used the word tribe in it for various reasons. The history is important to know especially in today’s political climate. With people like RFK Jr and Dr. Oz around we’re on the verge of taking huge steps backwards because they only see the negatives. And if we’re not careful they will convince people that is the only truth.

Eric Michael Garcia’s “We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation” (which I reviewed previously) works as a good follow up to fill in some gaps such as how gender and race influence both diagnoses and acceptance. It’s also written more directly from the perspective of Autistic individuals, in part because Garcia is himself autistic, while Silberman is not. Garcia referenced “NeuroTribes” multiple times throughout his book and has said that he couldn’t have written his book without Silberman’s book existing. Naturally, both spoke with some of the same individuals – one such family were the Rosas – Leo Rosa is autistic and his mother, Shannon, currently edits the blog Thinking Persons’s Guide to Autism.

Steve Silberman passed away August 29, 2024 and many in the community morned his passing. You may be interested in reading this conversation at Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism: Remembering Steve Silberman: TPGA Editor Shannon Rosa on the Noncompliant Podcast.

Book Details

The cover of the book is white with the title in red near the top and the authors name at the bottom. There is a cluster of plants near the bottom center of the page with butterflies and few birds within the plants.

Author’s Website: Steve Silberman (Wikipedia)
Publisher / Date: Harvest Publications, August 2021
Genre: Essay Collection
Page Count: 400
Completion Date: April 28, 2025

Recent statements by both Dr. Oz and RFK, Jr. should be viewed with alarm

Posted on April 22, 2025May 9, 2025 by Jen

“It is your patriotic duty, I’ll say it again, the patriotic duty of all Americans to take care of themselves because it is important for serving in the military, but it is also important because healthy people don’t consume health care resources,” Dr Oz during his swearing in a ceremony at the White House in April 2025

“Autism destroys families, and more importantly, it destroys our greatest resource, which is our children,” […] “They’ll never pay taxes, they’ll never hold a job, they’ll never play baseball, they’ll never write a poem, they’ll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted.” RFK Jr. an HHS press conference in Washington, D.C. on April 16th.

These are dangerous words, and it doesn’t matter if it seems like they are talking about specific groups of people who are disabled or unhealthy. When you start down that path you end up with anyone who doesn’t fit a narrow definition of “normal” being excluded from society. We cannot allow this rhetoric to be believed and accepted. All lives are worthy no matter what they can or cannot do. The ability to work and / or pay taxes should not be a determining factor of who is worth keeping.

Their rhetoric around disability and illness has strong elements of eugenics. Both highlight the idea that people who are disabled and/or unhealthy, and are unable to work are harmful to society. Their attitude seems to be that people who are ill and/or disabled cost too much money and if we weren’t around spending money everything would be fine. They also seem to be big on the idea of “personal responsibility” in a way that implies that any illness or disability is the fault of the person who has it rather than something that happens. They are suggesting that if we ate better food and exercises we would never get sick or ill and our children would never be disabled. All of this is untrue and harmful to those of us with disabilities and/or chronic illness.

Additional Reading

“Disability, Eugenics, and the Value of Human Life” by Talia Lavin at The Sward and the Sandwich

“RFK Wants to Send People to ‘Wellness Farms.’ The US Already Tried That” by Kathryn Waring at Teen Voque

“All Autistic People Have Value, Something RFK Jr. and Profound Autism Parents Refuse to Understand” by Shannon Des Roches Rosa at Thinking Persons Guide to Autism

“We’re Not Broken” Review

Posted on April 21, 2025May 9, 2025 by Jen

“We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation” by Eric Garcia

Garcia began writing about autism because he was frustrated by the media’s coverage of it; the myths that the disorder is caused by vaccines, the narrow portrayals of autistic people as white men working in Silicon Valley. His own life as an autistic person didn’t look anything like that. He is Latino, a graduate of the University of North Carolina, and works as a journalist covering politics in Washington D.C. Garcia realized he needed to put into writing what so many autistic people have been saying for years; autism is a part of their identity, they don’t need to be fixed.

In We’re Not Broken, Garcia uses his own life as a springboard to discuss the social and policy gaps that exist in supporting those on the spectrum. From education to healthcare, he explores how autistic people wrestle with systems that were not built with them in mind. At the same time, he shares the experiences of all types of autistic people, from those with higher support needs, to autistic people of color, to those in the LGBTQ community. In doing so, Garcia gives his community a platform to articulate their own needs, rather than having others speak for them, which has been the standard for far too long.

Review

I originally read this back in 2022 sometime after it came out in 2021 and wanted to re-read it now both to do a review for it and also because of the current political rhetoric around autism. I really like the way Eric Garcia took the time to explain why and how he wanted to write this book. There was a good variety of people represented in this book from across the spectrum of support needs as well as gender and race.

Garcia also makes a point of saying how people can have different needs but often assumptions are made about who needs what supports to be successful. He emphasizes that Autistic individuals who succeed don’t “overcome” their autism but rather succeed because they are given the proper supports throughout their lives. There was a lot of discussion about being willing to seek out support along with the fear that needing support means one is not capable of being out in the world which can hinder actually getting support.

The book is divided into several categories including those for work, education, housing, gender, and race and in each one Garcia both tells his own experiences and also shares the experiences of others. Again, each section does a good job of showing a range of experiences. I particularly appreciated the first chapter which outlined a lot of the history of autism and how it has been viewed over the years. It’s a bit weird reading this book now during the second Trump presidency when it was written during the first and some policy decisions were made at that time.

I also appreciated the gender and race sections of the book, which illustrated why there is seemingly such an increase in diagnosis over the years. Girls, non-binary, and trans individuals are often overlooked as many traits are assumed to be more about gender (like being shy) than anything else. Also, with regard to race, there was a point in time when it was assumed only white boys were autistic (mostly due to the way studies were conducted), while Black and Brown children were given different diagnoses, such as Oppositional Defiant Disorder.

Overall, I think Garcia does a great job highlighting the various issues that autistic people face and the ways that assumptions have been made across the spectrum with regard to ability and how best to support autistic people. There is some good discussion about the conflicts that can exist between parent advocates and self-advocates. Nearly always, parents want to do best by their children, but sometimes the idea of finding a cure can cause more harm than good. Often, the push for a cure comes at the expense of actually providing care and support to the children and adults that currently exist. And this is true for a lot of different disabilities where better supports would be appreciated more than finding a cure.

Book Details

The book cover is a sold white background with the title written one word per line down the center. The letters of the title are colored in different colored sections: orange, pink, purple, green, blu and red. The subtitle is under the main title in solid black and then the authors name is at the bottom with the same color patterns.

Author’s Website: Eric Garcia
Publisher / Date: Harvest Publications, August 2021
Genre: Essay Collection
Page Count: 304
Completion Date: April 21, 2025

“Warped State” Review

Posted on April 13, 2025May 9, 2025 by Jen

“Warped State” (“The Gifted of Brennex” No. 1) by Jo Miles

Jasper Wilder is an activist, not a spy, but he’ll become one if that’s what it takes to stop Ravel Corporation from reviving the research project that devastated his home planet.

His plan is simple enough: Break into the secure facility. Steal the research data. Find a weakness and sabotage the project. But all that goes out the airlock when he meets Havoc, a passionate but politically naive labor organizer trying to reform Ravel from within.

Havoc could help Jasper, but instead, he’s fighting for a lost cause. Jasper knows that if he sticks with his own plan, Havoc will likely take the blame—and Ravel doesn’t treat activists kindly.

With an elite security operative closing in, and time running out to sabotage the deadly project before it launches, Jasper needs to find a way to team up with Havoc… before his mission hurts the person he’s coming to care about.

Review

I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were interesting and I had fun getting to know them. I also liked the way various methods of advocating for change were explained and discussed in the book. It was interesting seeing how the main characters, Jasper and Sowing of Small Havoc were dealing with the various issues. I thought it worked out well to explore why Havoc was so loyal to the company (Kovari cultural reasons) and that there were others who felt differently among his people but it took work for him understand it. I also liked that while Jasper had ideas about how to do things he was willing to work with Havoc later on to resolve everything.

I liked the way the friendship developed between Jasper and Havoc and I was okay with the potential romantic relationship developing because it came later on in the plot and didn’t distract from what was gone on. The main villein was a bit ridiculous but given how certain people in the current administration are reacting to criticism it clearly isn’t as far fetched as you’d think.

One somewhat frustrating part was the existence of a villain character who had augmented legs while also being addicted to pain killers. The addiction only seemed to exist as a method to allow the ship he was using (which has at some point become sentient) to help Havoc and Jasper with their work as the character was unconscious at the time. Nothing is ever mentioned about it again after that.

I did like that there were other people on the planet that were working to free themselves from Rival’s occupation and that it was a mix of both Human and Kovari – seemingly with Kovari in charge of that group. I also liked that there was at least one disabled character (a wheelchair user) in that group to balance out the evil disabled character.

I’m interested in reading the next book in the series though and seeing more of this universe.

Book Details

The cover is blue with what looks like an industrial land scape at the bottom of the cover. With a star filled sky above it. In the background there is the black profile of a head over the sky looking towards the right. There is another planet with a moon orbiting it at the top right corner and a space ship flying up and to the left with a trail of yellow, white light coming from the bottom.

Author’s Website: Jo Miles
Publisher / Date: Self Published, September 2023
Genre: Science Fiction
Page Count: 398
Completion Date: April 12, 2025