December Reviews

2020 sure has been. A Time. And I'm trying to be realistic about my hopes for 2021, to make sure I understand that the passage of time is a construct we have created, and a new year does not erase all the bad things that happened in the old. But it is also human nature to tell stories and find beginnings and endings in the things around us. It is human nature to hope for the best.

So, for 2021, I am hoping for the best, and in the meantime I am reading stories with tangible beginnings and endings.

The books I read at the very end of 2020 could probably be spun into a metaphor or made to be more than what they are. But, they are books, and they are what got me through this year, and that is enough for me.

Let's dive in:

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

This book has been on my list to read forever, and I finally picked it up after it was included as a fandom in a Rainbow Crate box (yes I get a monthly book box, this one is all queer rep and I LOVE it). And while it was a lot at times, it was a very well done story.

Lei is a member of the Paper Caste, a race of humans in a world that is filled with demons, and these demons are ruled by the Demon King. When Lei is taken from her home for her eyes (yellow like a demons, despite her very human lineage) to be given as a gift to the Demon King, her life is changed drastically. As a member of the Paper Girls, Lei, along with a group of seven other girls, is forced into a year-long position as the king's concubine, a position she dreads and despises. But then she meets Wren, a fellow Paper Girl, and she's beautiful and powerful, and most importantly, off limits. But Lei won't let the king take everything from her, and there's more to Wren than Lei could have ever imagined.

I've mentioned it in previous reviews, but media that includes sexual violence are really difficult for me to consume. I really appreciate that this book came with a content warning right at the beginning, so that I knew going in what would happen and could prepare myself accordingly. And while I still struggled with some of the content, it was written in a way that wasn't too graphic or in a way that I couldn't handle. And, honestly, the rest of the book was totally worth it. It deals with a lot of trauma in a very meaningful and uplifting way, while also respecting the characters and reader.

I love a good forbidden romance, especially when it's queer and encourages anarchy. To quote Rihanna, Wren and Lei found love in a hopeless place, and it was a joy to read. Ngan's descriptions, especially in her contrast to how Wren and Lei love verses the violence of the court and from the king, is truly beautiful. I loved their stolen moments and the victory of loving, even if they couldn't do it openly.

I also really liked the other relationships Lei formed, especially the sense of comradery with many of the other Paper Girls and her complicated friendship with Aoki, who was falling in love with the king. All of the girls, even the rude ones had their own reasons to like(or, more predominately, dislike) being there, but all had precarious familial duties that placed them in that situation. I would have loved to learn more about the other girls, but honestly the book was already pretty long so I get why we didn't.

The worldbuilding was fascinating and extensive, with all kinds of interesting history of wars and the demon families and castes. There was a really good balance between history/world information and the story itself, providing necessary information without overloading the reader. The creation of the Steel and Moon castes was wild, and it was really cool to see all the different kinds of demons that existed in this world (even if so many of them pissed me off or freaked me out).

Overall, this book was a lot but I don't regret reading it.

Similar to Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst and We Set The Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia (which I haven't read yet but am hoping to next year)

Brothersong by TJ Klune

Every time I even just think about this series my heart gets very full and I want to cry a little bit but in a happy way? It's just so good and this series finale just gave me everything I wanted.

I feel like I say it every time I write a review for a sequel or book in a series, but they're typically more difficult to review because I want to be aware of potential spoilers while also being true to my review! So with this being the fourth and final book in the series, I'll keep it short and sweet and encourage you to read this series if you are at all interested in gay werewolves and the power of family (of if you're just looking for a good sometimes emotionally charged time).

This book has been building for such a long time, and for a while I was afraid there wouldn't be the happy ending I wanted, that the characters (and us readers through them) would still lose something. But, and this is a spoiler alert but I don't even care, there is a happy ending! It doesn't come without trials or sacrifice, but it comes! The Bennetts finally get to be happy (crying emoji). And I think that ending (and this book) are so powerful and meaningful because of both how well Klune writes and because of these characters we have grown to love so very much.

These books have a very specific style and voice, and that always feels a bit like coming home, especially when the seriousness can be countered by the hilarious dialogue. This family is big and weird and queer and loving and it's just so wonderful to spend time reading about them. And it's been so good to experience each of the different characters narrating each book. Carter was the last, and he was surly and self sacrificing but by God did he love.

Ugh, I've moved into incoherency. I just love this series, that's it, that's all I've got. Our power went out for three days and I read this book by candlelight that's how much I wanted to read it. One day when it won't kill me and my emotions I'll reread the series one right after the other, rather than anxiously waiting for each new book to be released. Thank you, TJ Klune, for this complicated but very loving family.

Similar to: there's a whole god damn series, that's what it's similar to

What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter

I don't remember what alerted me to this book's existence (I follow a LOT of book agencies on Instagram and Twitter, sometimes they overlap, sometimes I immediately Google books, it happens), but I splurged and got it after reading the bio, because who doesn't like a love triangle that isn't actually a triangle?

Halle is anxious. The daughter of professional documentary directors, Halle has always felt more comfortable with her nose in a book and her hands making cupcakes. So she created a secret online identity, Kels, who reviews books and bakes cupcakes to match the covers. Nobody knows Halle is Kels, not even Nash, an online comic creator who is Kels' best friend, and that's how Halle plans to keep it. But after her grandmother dies, Halle and her brother move in with their grandfather in Connecticut, where Halle meets the real Nash. And he has no idea who she is. And now Halle has to decide who she's going to be; Halle or Kels, and if she'll be able to keep her lives separate or if things will come crashing down around her.

This book made me very anxious. I think I just need to time reading books about anxiety better, because this was fun to read, even though I spent a lot of time already anxious and then adding Halle's anxiety on top of mine. With that being said, this book does depict anxiety very well, or at least mine and Halle's brand of anxiety. Her moments of losing time while her thoughts spiraled and her body kept moving was....we'll just say it hit a little close to home.

I liked the exploration of Jewish culture and religion from a place of wanting connection and having a desire to learn more about both familiar history and current connections. It also takes a really good look at grief, both with the scope of religion and outside of it, and the selfishness that sometimes accompanies it. Halle, her brother Oliver, and their grandfather are all still reeling from the loss of their grandmother/wife, and time can only do so much so fast.

The character bantering was fun to read, particularly Halle and Nash's, and I liked all the characters. Halle was her own villain, dropping things in her attempt to balance Kels and Halle as separate lives. I understand her reasoning for the most part, but she kept waiting and then it got worse and Nash was such a sweetheart that it just got hard to read. I got to the point where I wanted to throttle Halle as much as Ollie, probably did.

The look at YA culture and book reviews was really neat too, especially since I exist on the very periphery of that as a writer but also very much not a teen anymore. I can definitely recognize that YA books are not written for me. I can read them and enjoy them and love them, but I cannot expect them to cater to my needs, not when I'm extending my reading to a genre that is for young adult specifically. I also really enjoyed the cupcakes and baking element of this book, even if they made me hungry.

The balance of online messages and storytelling was interesting, bouncing between the two depending on who Halle was trying to be and where she placed the importance in her life, while also giving a glimpse into Kels' life, as she and Halle slowly started to merge.

Overall, this was a fun read, even if it made me Very Nervous Very Often. If you like a somewhat meta read and love triangles where two thirds are the same person, give this one a shot!

Similar to Chaotic Good by Whitney Gardner and Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

Here The Whole Time by Vitor Martins

Oh goodness was this a sweet book. This one came in my Rainbow Crate all about self love, and it was really such a heartwarming story to read.

Felipe is fat, and he can't wait to spend winter break away from the bullies and the terrible kids at school. Fifteen days for him and just him. But then his mom tells him that his neighbor, Caio, will be staying with them for the duration of break, and Felipe is devastated. He's had a crush on Caio for years, but Caio is thin and handsome, and there's no way he'll ever see Felipe as anything but a fat kid. But then Caio is sweet and funny, and Felipe starts to think that maybe, just maybe, there may be something there after all.

This book was such a sweet love story! And I don't just mean romance, although that was absolutely adorable as well, but the self love and learning to accept yourself aspect was very big in this book. Felipe struggled with his self image because of his weight, and while that wasn't magically solved by falling in love, it certainly helped to have someone love him and tell him he was beautiful. After being yelled at by bullies and insulted for his weight his entire life, to hear differently can really make a difference.

The characters in this book were so fun too. Felipe was funny and kind and very cute, if anxious, and his perspective was an interesting one. Caio, Becky, and Melissa were wonderful, especially in their unabashed support of Felipe. Becky was fat too and owned her beauty, and while Melissa and Caio were thin, they had their own insecurities.

Felipe was in therapy too, so getting to see positive representation for that was amazing. His therapist, Olivia, was hilarious and so clearly supported Felipe. Her assignments for him each week made him work past his insecurities in such creative ways, and it was so fun to watch Felipe implement them, especially in his conversations with Caio.

It was also really fun to read a book set in Brazil, with summer weather during winter break and the cultural festival and the differences between the traditional American setting and Brazil. It was also great that the author himself is a gay man from Brazil, so the rep is both for him and the story!

This really was just a lovely story about learning to accept yourself and the love you can get from other people.

Similar to Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and Fat Angie by E.E. Charlton-Trujillo

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab

I've been hearing talk about this book for what feels like forever now, even though it's only been out for a short time. What really tipped me over the edge with it though was the confirmation of queer rep and a really beautiful art piece I saw online.

Addie LaRue traded her soul for freedom, and now she is cursed to be forgotten. Floating through three hundred years and a dozen countries, she lives in stolen moments and fragments of time, checked in on almost every year by the old god of darkness, Luc, waiting for the surrender of her soul. She lives and is forgotten in the same breath. Until she meets Henry, a man who can remember her, and that changes everything.

This book is absolutely gorgeous. I've never read anything by Schwab before, and while I'm delighted that this is my first taste of her style, I'll definitely be looking into her other stuff. Her writing is melodious and poetic, arcing around both Addie's joy and her pain. I felt like I was skipping over the pages like a stone on still water while also sinking far beneath the waves, watching the ocean swirl around me.

Addie is a really interesting character. She's lived for three hundred years, so she changes of course, as people do over time, but parts of her stay the same. She has her temper, her need for freedom, a desire for more than what has been given to her. She's a little selfish but has earned the right to be, though by the end she is both human and not. She was clever, playing her game with the darkness, even when she stumbled and felt too much with her heart.

Henry was a fascinating character for many reasons. His point of view was just as poetic as Addie's but so, so different. I always knew when I was reading for Henry or Addie. His storms and moods and desires were simultaneously different and so similar to Addie. Their love story was such a bittersweet thing to read, winding between all the pitfalls in their lives as they found a way to be together.

It was also delightful to have both the main characters be bi! Henry and Addie both had examples of being with men and women, and their being together did nothing to diminish their own queer identities. They were two ships in a storm, drawn together by the waves and the darkness.

The other characters were fun too, and getting to see how the familiar ones interacted with Addie was a great way to really dig deep into her curse. Bea was amazing, just saying.

This book jumps not just between perspectives, but also through time. We get to read through a lot of Addie's three hundred years, starting even before the deal that sealed her fate in 1714. It was so cool to read through Addie's past while seeing her present play out, tying the pieces of her life together to see how they fit and how she grew. She became someone different, and it was almost an extreme character study to watch that growth happen. She gave her heart away to a lot of people who could not remember her, but still managed to leave a mark.

The ending was very bittersweet but hopeful. And of all the ways it could have ended, this one felt the truest to the characters, truest to the darkness and it's limitations.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves a beautifully written story. It's very long and wanders around a lot, but I loved it.

Similar to: The Old Guard and straight up the 2015 NaNoWriMo story that I wrote, yo Schwab we should be homies same hat!

And that's it! Like the year, my reading has come to a close, and I eagerly await what the next year has in store for me. Hopefully a lot of books.

Happy new year! Keep writing, friends.

Sam

Literary Recommendation: In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan, Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, and The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune, which were probably my top three books from 2020

Media Recommendation: I just finished season 2 of The Mandalorian and it slapped, not gonna lie