Tag: LGBTQIA+

“Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything” Review

Posted on by Jen

“Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything” by Justine Pucella Winans

Sixteen-year-old Bianca Torre is an avid birder undergoing a gender identity crisis and grappling with an ever-growing list of fears. Some, like Fear #6: Initiating Conversation, keep them constrained, forcing them to watch birds from the telescope in their bedroom. And, occasionally, their neighbors. When their gaze wanders from the birds to one particular window across the street, Bianca witnesses a creepy plague-masked murderer take their neighbor’s life. Worse, the death is ruled a suicide, forcing Bianca to make a choice—succumb to their long list of fears (including #3: Murder and #55: Breaking into a Dead Guy’s Apartment) or investigate what happened.

Bianca enlists the help of their friend Anderson Coleman, but the two have more knowledge of anime than true crime. As Bianca and Anderson dig deeper into the murder with a little help from Bianca’s crush and fellow birding aficionado, Elaine Yee (#13: Beautiful People, #11: Parents Discovering They’re A Raging Lesbian), the trio uncovers a conspiracy much larger—and weirder—than imagined. But when the killer catches wind of the investigation, Bianca’s #1 fear of public speaking doesn’t sound so bad compared to the threat of being silenced for good.

In this absurdist, bizarrely comical YA thriller that is at turns a deceptively deep exploration of anxiety and identity, perhaps the real murder investigation is the friends we make along the way.

Review

This was a fun read. The murder mystery was interesting but the way it was handled was a bit over ridiculous. However it being ridiculous was intentional given the description. Serious things would happen with only a brief mention from the adults and then the plot moved on… so the teenagers could solve the mystery. Which was fine but I ended up enjoying reading about Bianca’s character development more as they both figured out their gender identity (realizing they are non-binary) and also dealing with all their anxieties and fears. That was the more interesting part of the book for me. The characters are all great though I wish Bianca had been able to talk to their parents more, but that was realistic. At least they have their friend’s parents to rely on for that.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything”.

Book Details

a person's head is on the top of the cover looking towards the left. Over the back of their head are three birds in flight going in various directions. below them as the title and authors name and a skyline of a city in the background. THe cover is purple and pink in the center with black on the edges.

Author’s Website
Justine Pucella Winans
Publisher / Date
Clarion Books, April 2023
Genre
Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult
Page Count
384
Completion Date
September 12, 2023

“The Labyrinth’s Archivist” Review

Posted on by Jen

“The Labyrinth’s Archivist” by Day Al-Mohamed

Walking the Labyrinth and visiting hundreds of other worlds; seeing so many new and wonderful things – that is the provenance of the travelers and traders, the adventurers and heroes. Azalea has never left her home city, let alone the world. Her city, is at the nexus of many worlds with its very own “Hall of Gates” and her family are the Archivists. They are the mapmakers and the tellers of tales. They capture information on all of the byways, passages and secrets of the Labyrinth. Gifted with a perfect memory, Azalea can recall every story she ever heard from the walkers between worlds. She remembers every trick to opening stubborn gates, and the dangers and delights of hundreds of worlds. But Azalea will never be a part of her family’s legacy. She cannot make the fabled maps of the Archivists because she is blind.

The Archivist’s “Residence” is a waystation among worlds. It is safe, comfortable and with all food and amenities provided. In exchange, of course, for stories of their adventures and information about the Labyrinth, which will then be transcribed for posterity and added to the Great Archive. But now, someone has come to the Residence and is killing off Archivists using strange and unusual poisons from unique worlds whose histories are lost in the darkest, dustiest corners of the Great Archive. As Archivists die, one by one, Azalea is in a race to find out who the killer is and why they are killing the Archivists, before they decide she is too big a threat to leave alive.

Review

I really enjoyed this story – the characters were great and I liked how the main character’s disability was used in the story – Azalea is a great character all around. The murder mystery was interesting and I enjoyed how it all played out. It may have been a bit predictable who was the actual killer but it was still fun reading it. I liked the fact that Azalea’s grandmother had the same gift if perfect memory and it wasn’t played as if it was a compensation for her being blind – it was a thing other characters may or may not have regardless of disability or not.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “The Labyrinth’s Archivist”.

Book Details

The side of person's face takes up the top left corner of the cover across the top and down to the bottom. They are dark skinned with gold tones and various shapes and designs on their skin. Their eyes are mostly closed and the face is looking downwards. Rest of the cover is black with circle shapes visible. The title is arranged sideways on the right side of the cover and the authors name is at the bottom.

Author’s Website
Day Al-Mohamed
Publisher / Date
Falstaff Books, July 2019
Genre
Science Fiction, Mystery
Page Count
132
Completion Date
September 10, 2023

“The Wicked Bargain” Review

Posted on by Jen

“The Wicked Bargain” by Gabe Cole Novoa

On Mar León de la Rosa’s sixteenth birthday, el Diablo comes calling. Mar is a transmasculine nonbinary teen pirate hiding a magical ability to manipulate fire and ice. But their magic isn’t enough to reverse a wicked bargain made by their father, and now el Diablo has come to collect his payment: the soul of Mar’s father and the entire crew of their ship.

When Mar is miraculously rescued by the sole remaining pirate crew in the Caribbean, el Diablo returns to give them a choice: give up their soul to save their father by the harvest moon, or never see him again. The task is impossible–Mar refuses to make a bargain, and there’s no way their magic is a match for el Diablo. Then Mar finds the most unlikely allies: Bas, an infuriatingly arrogant and handsome pirate–and the captain’s son; and Dami, a gender-fluid demonio whose motives are never quite clear. For the first time in their life, Mar may have the courage to use their magic. It could be their only redemption–or it could mean certain death.

Review

This was an interesting book. It has some great parts to it but feels a little immature. Granted the main characters are teenagers reacting like teenagers to everything. I feel like it could have done with a bit more editing and figuring out how the story was meant to go. I got tired of how long it took Mar to realize they could actually control their powers – the sudden realization didn’t feel like it made a whole lot of sense. But again, teenagers. I’m glad it worked out in the end though and it was mostly a fun read.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “The Wicked Bargain”.

Book Details

A young person is shown taking up most of the cover facing right with their head turned forward. They're wearing a brown shirt and pants and a necklace. They have one hand up with a flame in it. Behind them is the ocean and a pirate ship. The title and author's name are shown over them.

Author’s Website

Gabe Cole Novoa
Publisher / Date
Penguin Random House, February 2023
Genre
Fantasy Young Adult
Page Count
360
Completion Date
September 3, 2023

“A Two-Spirit Journey” Review

Posted on by Jen

“A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder” by Ma-Nee Chacaby, with Mary Louisa Plummer

A Two-Spirit Journey is Ma-Nee Chacaby’s extraordinary account of her life as an Ojibwa-Cree lesbian. From her early, often harrowing memories of life and abuse in a remote Ojibwa community riven by poverty and alcoholism, Chacaby’s story is one of enduring and ultimately overcoming the social, economic, and health legacies of colonialism.

As a child, Chacaby learned spiritual and cultural traditions from her Cree grandmother and trapping, hunting, and bush survival skills from her Ojibwa stepfather. She also suffered physical and sexual abuse by different adults, and in her teen years became alcoholic herself. At twenty, Chacaby moved to Thunder Bay with her children to escape an abusive marriage. Abuse, compounded by racism, continued, but Chacaby found supports to help herself and others. Over the following decades, she achieved sobriety; trained and worked as an alcoholism counsellor; raised her children and fostered many others; learned to live with visual impairment; and came out as a lesbian. In 2013, Chacaby led the first gay pride parade in Thunder Bay.

Ma-Nee Chacaby has emerged from hardship grounded in faith, compassion, humour, and resilience. Her memoir provides unprecedented insights into the challenges still faced by many Indigenous people.

Review

This one was a hard read especially during Ma-Nee’s childhood and teenage years. So much happened to her during that time. The only bright spot was her grandmother. I did enjoy reading about her later years and the work she did to help others. I also enjoyed the explanation of the writing process that was provided at the end of the book.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “A Two-Spirit Journey”.

Book Details

The author Ma-Nee is shown on the front cover dressed in native style holding a drum in her hands. She is looking up off in the distance. Her shirt is blue with stripes of green and red on her chest. There are ribbons attached to the stripes. She is wearing a beaded necklace that circles her neck multiple times.

Publisher / Website / Date
University of Manitoba Press, April 2016
Genre
Memoir
Page Count
256
Completion Date
August 22, 2023

“Under Every Sky” Review

Posted on by Jen

“Under Every Sky” by Kenzie Brooks

Seventeen-year-old Maeve Barnes is poised on the brink of freedom—from her city, her past, and her unruly magic. Mere weeks from now, she will be on a plane bound for London and well on her way to starting a nice, ordinary life for herself.

But luck has never been on Maeve’s side. A beautiful stranger appears with a dire warning: the Shadow King is coming. All Maeve’s carefully laid plans for her future are put on hold when the shadowy demon crashes through the wards of the city, attacking her family and churning long-buried secrets to the surface.

In the days that follow, three things become abundantly clear. One, the Elder Council is useless. Two, Hanna—the caustic and evasive stranger—knows more than she is letting on. And three, someone inside Leto is colluding with the Shadow King to bring death and destruction within the city walls.

Amidst a flurry of unlikely alliances, near misses and heartbreaking realizations, Maeve must come to terms with her magic, her resentment toward Leto, and the possibility that she won’t make it to London, after all.

Review

I wasn’t sure about this book at first because Maeve was a little frustrating – but I did remind myself she’s only seventeen and dealing with a lot. I did like that as soon as everything started happening she went to work. There were still some moments of “I can’t do this!” but they were brief and made sense for the moments they happened. The rest of the characters were great too though this was the sort of story where adults end up being almost entirely useless and kids have to save the world. But I knew what I was getting into when I started the book. Overall the story is great and the resolution of a certain plot point actually ended up working out in a way I liked.

Book Details

Blue cover with various circles and symbols on it with the title and author's name in the middle.

Author’s Website
Kenzie Brooks
Publisher / Date
Self Published, May 2023
Genre
Fantasy, Young Adult
Page Count
366
Completion Date
July 24, 2023

“The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester” Review

Posted on by Jen

“The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester” by Maya MacGregor

Sam Sylvester’s not overly optimistic about their recent move to the small town of Astoria, Oregon after a traumatic experience in their last home in the rural Midwest.

Yet Sam’s life seems to be on the upswing after meeting several new friends and a potential love interest in Shep, the pretty neighbor. However, Sam can’t seem to let go of what might have been, and is drawn to investigate the death of a teenage boy in 1980s Astoria. Sam’s convinced he was murdered–especially since Sam’s investigation seems to resurrect some ghosts in the town.

Threatening notes and figures hidden in shadows begin to disrupt Sam’s life. Yet Sam continues to search for the truth. When Sam discovers that they may be closer to a killer than previously known, Sam has a difficult decision to make. Would they risk their new life for a half-lived one?

Review

Originally read this last year soon after it was published – I still love it. It’s a great quick read with awesome characters. The central mystery is a little predictable but it was still fun waiting to see what was going on. I liked it more for the character interactions. Especially Sam realizing there is a place where they can be themselves and have friends and date safely. This is both a story about being non-binary and Autistic and finding people who get you in all the ways that matter. Their father already does but having people beyond their father understand them is something new.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester”.

Book Details

A young person shown on the cover with white/purple hair and wearing a black t-shirt with a logo of something that is covered up by the book they're holding in their right hand against their chest. Their right arm is covered with a tattoo of sky and a bird and tree. The background is purple and white with stars. The title is shown at the top of te cover.

Author’s Website
Maya MacGregor
Publisher / Date
Astra Young Readers, May 2022
Genre
General Fiction, Mystery, Young Adult
Page Count
355
Completion Date
July 20, 2023 (2nd read)