babayulia's reviews
260 reviews

I started recommending this book to people before I even started reading it. Now that I’ve finished it, I’m more adamant than ever that it’s a must-read, especially for educators and people who hold power and influence over classrooms.

Original Sins is an in-depth look at the history of the education system in the U.S. and its roots in white settler colonialism. Ewing packs every page with air tight evidence, which I learned via her interview on the podcast The Stacks was a tactic to ensure none of the information she shared could be dismissed as exaggeration. This attention to detail and inclusion of quotes from primary sources makes the book all the more impactful. 

One of my major takeaways from this book was the way white women who are otherwise remembered for being abolitionists actively contributed to the formation of education as a way to control Black and Native children, minimize the violence inflicted by white supremacist settlers, and prevent retaliation. It amplified for me the role that white women still play today of policing Black and Native people’s behaviors especially in response to violence. For instance, even leftist white women will decry protest measures they (we) consider to be “too extreme” and will claim that Black and Native people are setting “the movement” back if actions aren’t “peaceful.” I hope other white women reading this will take it as a wake-up call.

There’s so much I could say about this book. But what I really want is for you to read it so we can talk about it and learn from it together!

Robin Miles is an excellent narrator for the audiobook! I recommend this format highly. I  plan to also buy a physical copy to annotate and lend out. I think this would also be a great book to read and listen to simultaneously to keep maximum focus.

Model Home by Rivers Solomon is difficult to write about because I am still processing it, but I don’t know that I’ll ever be done processing it, so I’m writing a review now in hopes that my friends read it and we can process it together. 

This is a novel about terror and trauma. The Maxwell siblings are mourning their parents, who died in an apparent murder/suicide pact in their childhood home. But questions keep emerging: what happened to them? Were they killed by the house, long rumored to be haunted? And if the house isn’t haunted, then what could explain the frequent and inexplicable horrors they experienced growing up? 

The beating heart of the book is the main character, Ezri, a queer & trans Black human navigating identity, parenthood, family, and trauma. Just as important are Ezri’s family, especially their daughter, Elijah, and younger sisters, Eve and Emanuelle. I love these characters. They are complex, messy, sweet people, fully fleshed out in all their glorious imperfections. They are easy to root for. 

Solomon’s writing is also a major highlight of the book. The prose is lyrical and challenging, a pleasure to read and dissect. I highlighted multiple passages to return to. This is a book I would like to read again, knowing what I know now, so I can try to pick up on more of Solomon’s nuanced storytelling, including faer expert use of foreshadowing.

I recommend this book to fans of the horror genre, especially haunted houses because of how it turns this one on its head. I also recommend it as a critical text that depicts the horrors of white supremacist violence in ways that are somehow both shocking and predictable. This book is upsetting and unsettling at its core, and that’s exactly why you should read it. Text me if you do.

Please check the content warnings! Some are included below, with details that could be considered spoilers.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is a historical horror book about a group of unwed pregnant mothers living in Wellwood House, a maternity home in Florida. The girls spend their days getting poked and prodded by the staff doctor, doing chores to help cover room and board, and listening to lectures about how bad their lives will be if they choose to keep their babies instead of giving them up for adoption. Every two weeks, the library cart comes around, and the librarian has a book that will change the girls’ lives forever as they read about how to become a groovy witch.

This book is a snapshot of what life was like for unwed pregnant teens in the 70s, whose options for reproductive agency were limited or nonexistent, and who were coerced into giving up their babies to placate their families, preserve their reputations, and feed the growing adoption industry. It exists in conversation with the present, as people face state-sponsored, systemic, and interpersonal reproductive coercion. So, it’s extremely relevant.

I enjoyed Hendrix’s take on witches and witchcraft. They felt real and powerful and dangerous! But without perpetuating the sorts of harmful gender myths and stereotypes that haunt women, queer, and trans people through history and spur literal witch hunts.

Speaking of women, as with his previous novels, Grady Hendrix continues to write female characters who are strong but not perfect, with nuance that mirrors their complex social contexts and rich inner lives.

More than anything, though, this book was fun! It was a delight to read, intriguing and surprising and harsh and sweet all at once. I recommend it without reservation!

Well… one reservation. Please review the content warnings. 

Child sexual abuse and resulting pregnancy is a core component of the plot. This includes the threat of sexual abuse of an infant. While it doesn’t happen on the page, it is a prominent theme that is mentioned frequently throughout the book. That said, I think it’s handled with sensitivity and care. And importantly, I don’t think it’s just a plot device to make the story more “interesting” at the expense of real victim/survivors. I think Hendrix is really asking readers to look at it, think about it, and consider its prevalence, its impact, and the extreme difficulty victims and survivors face when trying to escape it.

This book was absolutely extraordinary.

This book was wild. Completely unhinged. 

An excellent short story collection for the season!

I really, really, really, really wanted to enjoy this book. This just wasn’t for me.

I really enjoyed this novella. It was deliciously creepy!! I’ll definitely read Khaw’s other works. I recommend this one for folks who love a haunted house. It could be a really good book slump buster!

This was a very sweet read! I’ve been a little over Witch Books recently but I ate this one up. Such charming characters! And I enjoyed the romance. Definitely recommend for folks in search of a cozier vibes with stakes just high enough to keep you wondering how it will turn out.