Category: brief reviews

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan Mcguire [Fantasy Review]

18 December 2024 / brief reviews / 4 Comments
Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan Mcguire [Fantasy Review]

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clearby Seanan McGuireSource: ebook/NetgalleyPublished: 7 Jan 2025Publisher: Tordotcom (Macmillan)Length: 160 pagesSeries: Wayward Children #10 Genre: Portal fantasyTarget Age: Adult (suitable for +14)Representation: Protagonist is a cross-cultural adoptee (Russian adopted by Americans) and has a limb difference (shortened arm) Now that we’re up to ten installments of the Wayward Children series… which one is your favourite?

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Gently to Nagasaki by Joy Ogawa [NF Review]

20 March 2024 / brief reviews / 4 Comments
Gently to Nagasaki by Joy Ogawa [NF Review]

Gently to Nagasakiby Joy KogawaSource: paperback/libraryPublished: Sept 2016Publisher: Caitlin Press Length: 214 pagesGenre: MemoirTarget Age: Adult (suitable for 16+) A nisei psychiatrist in Toronto told me he had not heard from any of Dad’s victims.“Not one?”“Not one.”“If you write about your father,” he said, “it will act as a lightning rod. And not all the anger will have anything to do with you or your father. You’d be inviting controversy. You’ll be targeted. My advice […]

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1 Wayward Children and 4 Middle Grade [2024 Review Round Up #1]

11 March 2024 / brief reviews / 5 Comments
1 Wayward Children and 4 Middle Grade [2024 Review Round Up #1]

Overview Somewhere at the end of December, I remember considering the idea of doing mini review round ups throughout 2024… I did a post in January with all the books I read in 2023 but didn’t review. This is basically a way to get ahead of having to do one massive post like that for 2024. Thank-you to Annemieke @ A Dance with Books for writing Pocket Reviews and reminding […]

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Tolkien and Alterity edited by Christopher Vaccaro and Yvette Kisor [Review]

27 February 2024 / brief reviews / 4 Comments
Tolkien and Alterity edited by Christopher Vaccaro and Yvette Kisor [Review]

Tolkien and Alterityedited by Christopher Vaccaro and Yvette KisorSource: paperback/ownPublished: Aug 2017Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (Springer Nature)Length: 261 pages Genre: Literary criticismTarget Age: Adult (suitable for 17+ due to academic language) Tolkien and Alterity features essays dedicated to Jane Chance, who has been publishing on Tolkien since 1980. As per the book’s introduction, “[d]ifference in Tolkien’s work is an abiding concern for Chance” (pg 5). Now, I am all over the place when it comes to […]

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The Singing Hills Cycle #1 & #2 by Nghi Vo and Sweet Bean Paste [Reviews]

13 February 2024 / brief reviews / 6 Comments
The Singing Hills Cycle #1 & #2 by Nghi Vo and Sweet Bean Paste [Reviews]

The Empress of Salt and Fortune/ When the Tiger Came Down the Mountainby Nghi VoSource: Paperbook/libraryPublished: Mar 2020/Dec 2020Publisher: TorDotCom (MacMillan)Length: 121/125 pages Series: The Singing Hills CycleGenre: FantasyTarget Age: Adult (suitable for 13+)Representation: Nonbinary protagonist, China-analogue fantasy world, WLW Sweet Bean Pasteby Durian SukegawaTranslator: Allison WattsSource: Paperbook/libraryPublished: Oct 2017Publisher: OneWorld Length: 218 pagesGenre: ContemporaryTarget Age: Adult (suitable for 14+) **Spoilers ahead: Contains discussion of Tokue’s past**

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