Category: LGBQTIA

‘The City We Became’ – N.K. Jemisin

 

A fantasy like no other, in turns confusing and exhilarating.

In The City We Became we are asked to imagine a world under threat from a supernatural entity which invades its target, sucking the life out of it, consuming its essence and then taking its place in a new world. This could be seen as a metaphor for so many things, and though it did have me scratching my head a little initially I found myself engrossed in the fight.

These kinds of attacks have been going on for years. Nobody remembers the successful attacks as the city that is lost becomes nothing but a story. But this time is different because the city under attack is New York.

In this world, New York can be saved. It can be saved by the physical manifestations of the city – people who represent a borough of New York – working together to save the place they love.

When I started reading I really was not sure what to make of it. Manny, our first character introduced, remembers nothing of his life and can’t really place what’s happening to him. Though this makes it hard to gauge what’s happening, I felt it meant we learnt about the scenario as Manny did. Not really knowing New York I wouldn’t like to say whether the author has painted an accurate picture of these districts and cities, but it was a refreshing concept and highly entertaining.

‘The Girls I’ve Been’ – Tess Sharpe

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this before publication in exchange for my thoughts. The Girls I’ve Been is a hard-hitting story exploring some awful crimes…but from the perspective of a young girl you can’t help but support (even though she’s had to do some awful things).

Nora O’Malley is waiting in line in her local bank to deposit some fund-raising money. She’s with her ex, Wes, and her girlfriend, Iris. Things are normal for them…until they are almost at the front of the line and the man in front of them pulls a gun. They find themselves caught up in a robbery – which would be a dramatic story of its own – but it becomes the perfect catalyst for us to learn the truth about Nora. She is not what her friends think.

During the course of the dramatic few hours they are held captive in the bank, Nora’s insight into the minds of the men holding them hostage reveals she’s got a lot more in common with them than you might think. Nora has been raised by her mother to con people…to read them carefully, to find the perfect mark, to exploit their weakness and then move on.

As their drama in the bank unfolds, we learn the truth about Nora. She has been many girls – each with a particular characteristic – in order to help her mother get the end result. But what we soon learn is that Nora is hiding a bigger secret…the last ‘mark’ was a seriously dangerous man, her mother fell in love with him and Nora did what she had to in order to escape.

There’s so much going on here, but it never felt messy as I was reading. The background to the characters was fascinating, and I really liked the dynamics between the main three characters. I can’t help but feel there’s more we could have been told, and the way the story ends really could be the start of a whole new story. Great fun!

 

‘One Last Stop’ – Casey McQuiston

 

I started this just after seeing a post on social media commenting on the fact that a member of the blogging community had expressed their dismay over this book and not been able to finish it…because it had lesbian characters. That, in a nutshell, seemed to sum up why such a book is needed.

This book had so much going on. While not all of the strands fully worked for me, it was a joyous read – and one that I could not help but feel happy to have read.
Our main character is a rather innocent young girl, who has moved to New York to try and finish college – and to move away from her mother’s attempts to get her to investigate the disappearance of a relative. She finds herself living in a rather strange apartment-share, with a mixed bunch of characters who quickly show themselves to be warm-hearted, caring and better than many families. She gets a job in a 24-hour diner, in spite of having no previous experience, and finds herself intrigued by the daily meet she has on the subway.

August is not particularly confident, but she is determined to try and make the best of situations she ends up in. When she finds herself meeting the same girl, Jane, on her daily commute it quickly becomes a crush she does not want to ignore.

This could have been the story and it would, probably, have worked. Seeing these two together was entertaining, and you cannot deny the attraction between them. However, we have a rather unusual twist…Jane is incapable of leaving the subway and – for reasons we are not quite sure of – actually lived in the 1970s.

I would heartily recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Red, White and Royal Blue though the tone/style is more reflective. As we drew towards the end I have to say I was nervous about reading on – just in case things didn’t quite go as expected.

‘The Lucky List’ – Rachel Lippincott

Emily always felt lucky, and the bond she had with her mum was special. Unfortunately, Emily’s mum was diagnosed with terminal cancer, her luck ran out and Emily has not felt the same since.

When we first meet Emily she alludes to some of this trauma, and as the story progresses we learn more about her life and how losing her mum has affected her. We see her trying to come to terms with things changing…but this is, primarily, a story about one girl trying to figure out who she is.

The action takes place over the summer holidays. We see Emily finding a list written by her mum of challenges she set herself at the same point in her life. Emily decides – with a little push from her new friend – to carry out these challenges. As she ticks them off she starts to feel a little freer…but the biggest challenge is whether she will be honest with herself.

Emily was a very sympathetically presented character. She didn’t always make the best decisions, but it was rewarding to see her develop and gain the confidence to feel comfortable in her own skin.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read this prior to publication.

‘All Our Hidden Gifts’ – Caroline O’Donoghue

 

Maeve Chambers, the youngest of five children, is a fairly ordinary sixteen year old girl in many ways. She feels acutely conscious that she’s not as clever as her siblings, not as interesting as her peers and has no idea what she wants to do. She is fizzing with a desire to do something but doesn’t know what that something could be.

When she gets into trouble in school she is given a detention which involves clearing out an abandoned storeroom. While there she finds an old Walkman and a pack of tarot cards. So begins her new interest…

Maeve teaches herself to read the tarot cards and finds herself to have something of a knack for it. She likes the feeling she gets when she does readings for her schoolmates. Unfortunately, after she does a reading for Lily – the girl who used to be her best friend until Maeve abandoned her in an attempt to garner popularity – things go horribly wrong. Lily disappears, and Maeve is convinced (because of the presence of a mysterious card known as the Housekeeper) that she is responsible.

The mystery of what happened to Lily is at the heart of the book but never really examined, and glossed over later. It is inextricably linked to the rise of an ultra-conservative Christian group sowing discord and hatred amongst the community. No one escapes this.

There was a lot going on here, and it wasn’t always clear which strand was driving the book. Interesting idea, and certainly topical, but I didn’t really feel engaged enough by Maeve to care too much what happened to her and the characters I was intrigued by were often sidelined just when things could have been interesting.

‘Madam’ – Phoebe Wynne

If something sounds too good to be true…it usually is. When Rose is offered a job teaching Classics at the prestigious Caldonbrae Hall she isn’t sure whether she’s qualified for the position. As a single young woman with an ailing mother and a father’s shameful secret she is, albeit unwittingly, proving herself to be the perfect candidate.

Arriving at the school she has many questions, but every attempt to learn more about her new role and the environment she has joined is stone-walled. That should have been her first clue that things weren’t quite what she thought.

When, only a couple of weeks into term, the entire upper sixth are taken to London and the students she does get to teach take more interest in baiting her than learning, that should have set some alarm bells ringing. In fact, from the outset there are so many instances of strange occurrences that anyone with half a brain would now this place is not what it seems. It takes Rose a considerable time to start to question what she’s walked into.

The staff and girls at Caldonbrae are unsettling. The wrongness of the situation is evident from early on, but we don’t find out what is happening until considerably later on. Attempts are made by many to justify the environment…and the classical allusions offer an interesting exploration of the ideas and characters.

There is a rather dramatic near-ending and a small glimmer of hope for Rose. Unfortunately, the detail slipped in at the end implies, quite bleakly, that when such behaviour is institutionalised as it is here, it will be nigh impossible to tackle. That’s depressing.

 

‘The Outrage’ – William Hussey

Imagine a world where to be gay or trans is a crime. You’re a degenerate and treated as sub-human by members of The Protectorate, the leaders of this new world charged with keeping order and keeping everyone safe. This is the awful world in which Gabe lives.

Our main character is forthright, angry and prone to making some really stupid choices. But he’s also loyal and loving, and determined to stick up for what he believes is right – no matter the cost.

Gabe and his friends – who charmingly call themselves The Rebels – know they are different, and that people are threatened by them. They want nothing more than to be themselves, to be proud of who they are and to live their lives.

Unfortunately, Gabe is also in love with Eric Dufresne, the son of someone high in the ranks of The Protectorate. When they are caught trying to remove a banned disc, showing that dangerous movie ‘Love, Simon’, things quickly escalate and what became an idealistic aim becomes a fight for survival.

Hussey creates a truly shocking environment-strangely not at all incredible given some of the situations and events we see happening around us. While the representation may not please everyone, it’s an evolving process to encourage people to consider their place, their personal beliefs and their role in history.

I’m looking forward to seeing what people make of this, and I’m so grateful to NetGalley for granting me early access.

 

 

‘Lost in the Never Woods’ – Aiden Thomas

 

Lost in the Never Woods takes something we see as familiar and offers us a distorted version of that world.

It’s been years since Wendy Darling and her brothers went missing in the woods near their home. Wendy returned, with no memory of what happened in the time she was away, and since then she experiences crippling anxiety whenever she thinks of the woods.

A fairly regular teen, Wendy volunteers at the local hospital. She loves telling stories to the kids, and her stories often feature the irrepressible Peter Pan and tales of his daring. Recently she’s been obsessively drawing images of a young boy, Peter, and a tree.

On her way home one night Wendy almost runs over a boy. There’s an immediate attraction on her part…and when it’s clear that he knows her name, Wendy begins to think that perhaps Peter Pan is not the boy of her dreams. He exists, and he says he needs her help.

Children are going missing and Peter needs Wendy.

What follows is strange.

Slowly, Wendy and Peter risk everything in their quest to find the missing children and restore order to Peter’s Neverland.

This is a coming of age story with a pinch of magic. For those who dream…

‘Kate in Waiting’ – Becky Albertalli

A huge presence and the kind of book you’ll read with a big grin on your face, even when things aren’t going well.

Our main characters are Kate Garfield and her best friend Anderson Walker. Friends for years they are known for their strange rituals, and their shared crushes. During their recent summer camp they’ve both developed a crush on the same boy, Matt.

From the off we’re plunged into their little world and their shared fondness for drama. There’s the expected cute friend moments, a bit of drama and a general sense of expectation.

As they wait to audition for their annual theatre production, a proverbial spanner is thrown into the works…crush Matt has transferred to their school.

Cue problems.

Kate and Anderson vow not to let a crush derail their friendship. Sometimes the reality is quite different. Of course, though we see this from Kate’s view it is evident from fairly early on that she’s not the most observant of people and I was desperate to see if/when she’d open her eyes and see what was in front of her.

This is another Albertalli hit in the making, I’m sure, and I’m grateful I got the chance to read this before its scheduled April publication thanks to NetGalley. I’m not even that into theatre but still found myself captivated by this.

 

‘All Boys Aren’t Blue’ – George M. Johnson

All Boys Aren’t Blue covers so many areas, but I would urge people to read it, even if you don’t see it as having direct relevance to you.

Part memoir, this series of reflections offer an insight into the author’s life as a child and growing up (as he calls himself) black and queer. We journey from an early memory of having his teeth kicked in at five years old to dealing with the death of a close friend at college and, along the way, get to hear about family members and the various events that he recalls shaping him as he grew up.

I was struck, more than anything, by the love and strength gained from family. Things may not have always been articulated, but there’s a clear sense that when it counted they would have your back. You might be held to account, but you would always be loved – and it strikes me that this may well be the best gift you can give someone.

So many of the memories were tinged with sadness and made me feel angry that they had to be experienced, but if all of us were to pinpoint moments that shaped us I’m sure that not all of them would be positive. As so eloquently written in the latter stages of the book, reading about the experiences of others can help us define ourselves and for this reason alone I would recommend this book. While so much was nothing like my own experiences, that search for yourself and the need to find your family will resonate with most readers.

I’m in awe of Nanny and the devotion she has so clearly inspired. I feel privileged to have been allowed to see inside our author’s head, and grateful to have been given this opportunity.