skudiklier's reviews
602 reviews

I truly think this book should be required reading for every white woman. It's fairly comprehensive and it's so much more direct than other antiracism books I've read; there's no way you can read this without at least considering your own racism and the ways you perpetuate white supremacism.

This book isn't perfect (it weirdly never mentions capitalism despite that feeling a bit like the elephant in the room at some points) but it doesn't need to be. It's an amazing wake-up call for white women and I really think we'd make a lot more progress more quickly if we could just snap our fingers and have everyone read this. And not just read it, but really really think about how your own racism plays into this. 

This collection is soooo good. The first section honestly was very frustrating for me to read, but in a good way--it was like, the poems were a similar style to how I write, and I just kept wishing I had written them. Like it was the best possible version of what my writing could be, if that makes sense.

But later sections were so different from that and ugh I just loved this book. I took so many notes of quotes that made me feel things, and I'm excited to talk about this with my book club. This collection inspires me to write more and better.

I loved this series as a kid and I'm finally rereading it as an adult for the first time. It's definitely got a couple things that haven't aged well (some fatphobia, some ableism), but all things considered it's not too bad. In my opinion this book holds up and I would still recommend it to anyone interested in the series, with the caveat that it's aimed at middle school kids. We'll see if I still feel that way by the end of the fifth book but my hopes are high!

This chapbook is absolutely beautiful. It had my heart right from the beginning, but I kept getting further and further pulled in all the way through. Some of these poems punched me in the face (in a good way), and others felt like gorgeous song lyrics.

One thing I thought was unique about this chapbook: I've read a lot of poems directed at exes that talk about how the ex should have known there would be poems about them, about how they'll know this is about them, etc. But this is interesting because the ex is a songwriter, and the narrator knows the songs are about her too. It makes the same idea fresh because there's this twist on it that I found really compelling.

Also just because I need to share them here are some of my favorite lines:

"look at how beautiful autumn is even
when everything is falling apart"

"what I mean to say is:
I may never write another poem,
but I’ve found a hundred other
uses for my hands" 

"I want to make a big deal about still being alive" 

Honestly I'm not sure what to say about this book. In general there were a lot of things I liked about it, but there was a huge roadblock for me in the fact that Jonathan just....is actually a horrible boss? Like I know a lot of this was supposed to be showing that he has "hidden depths" and isn't really a terrible person, but he's still a terrible boss? I don't know how Sam can separate that from how he is *towards* Sam. It feels really shitty, like, the moral is that terrible people also have emotions and aren't *always* horrible to *everyone* around them? Like. Duh.

Idk. There were so many things Jonathan did in the very beginning of the book that had me thinking "yeesh they're going to have to do a really good job of convincing me to like this guy for this to work." And....they didn't. It didn't work. Yes I felt for him in a lot of moments, yes I could see what Sam saw in him in some moments. Part of me *was* rooting for the relationship to work. But that same part of me was also desperately hoping for there to be even unconvincing proof that Jonathan was changing as a boss and wouldn't be so controlling and terrible towards his employees. And that just didn't happen.

So while I liked some things about this book, and was engaged, it was far more frustrating than satisfying for me.

One thing I will say for the book's credit is that I appreciated it debunked Stockholm Syndrome (briefly). It infuriates me when people act as if that's a real thing and so I was glad to see pushback on that in the book.

If you're fine with romances where the love interest is genuinely a terrible person to people he has power over, then I'd recommend this to you (genuinely--that's not even sarcastic. I know that wouldn't be a dealbreaker for some people). Otherwise, you might just be frustrated and wish this could have been as good as you wanted it to be.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley for the chance to read and review this ARC. 

I'm not sure how I felt about this book! It took me a while to get into it and it definitely wasn't my favorite, but it's also a type of book I don't read very often. I thought it was funny and entertaining and I liked a lot of the characters. It really picked up in the second half for me and I read nearly all of that in one day. (A day I was on a plane and too tired to do anything but read, but still.)

The absurdity/satire was done well I think. One thing that felt a little off to me is that it just felt *so* written by a man, if that makes sense? Not in a bad way necessarily--it's not like it was sexist or anything. But the first-person narrator is a woman and I just...couldn't buy it. I'm not one for gender essentialism (I'm literally trans and genderfluid lmao) but I just kept feeling like the voice of the book was a straight man. But it wasn't a big deal or enough to take me out of the book too often.

Anyway! Overall I liked it, if not enthusiastically. If this is the kind of book you're into I'd recommend it, but for anyone like me who isn't sure if they're really interested, I'd say you don't need to try.

I absolutely loved this! What a perfect romance. I couldn't put it down and I definitely want to read Rachel Lynn Solomon's other books.

Vague semi spoilers ahead:

I could sense the third act breakup coming and was really worried I'd hate it and it would seem forced, but it actually made sense and wasn't frustrating at all. It was realistic instead of overblown and the characters just seem so...reasonable? Like they actually like each other??

That just cemented how much I loved this book.

This is a critical read for anyone in the US. I'd recommend it to literally anyone--although some of it is absolutely infuriating and really difficult to read, I think especially for white people in the US/people descended from settlers, it's essential regardless of how it makes you feel.

This reframes the history of the entirety of the United States in terms of it as a settler colonial state that committed genocide against Native Americans. I wish every school in America taught US history from this perspective. I'm glad to hear there's also a "for young readers" version of this book so that there's one kids can read in school.

Despite this one feeling longer and a bit slower than the previous books, it might have been my favorite? I like how Tamlin's character evolves, I like the twists, I like the complicated politics of the war and everyone's relationships.

I absolutely loved this book. I found it super interesting and I feel like it's helpful for people to read and think about even if you're not in the midst of an active problem you're trying to solve. Nagoski takes a radically open approach to things like sex, desire, and gender, and really breaks down a lot of the socially ingrained things people think they "should" feel or do with regard to sex. This is a perspective I think everyone needs to hear, and I took a lot of notes. Each chapter also helpfully has a tl;dr at the end so you can reference key points later.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the chance to read and review this ARC.