Week 25: August 7th - Reading

Sorry for disappearing last week! Things in my real life got very, very busy and I didn't have time to write up a blog - especially after having such a rough reading month in July. But we are in a new month and on good momentum, so I'm optimistic!

Detained: A boy’s journal of survival and resilience by D. Esperanza, Gerardo Ivan Morales: In all seriousness, if you can only read one book this year, it HAS to be this one.

Should you read this? Do you even have to ask at this point? If you haven't read this yet, you absolutely need to. Even as someone who tries to stay informed on the absolute nightmare of the American immigration system, this was eye-opening. This journal is so raw, so real, so heart-felt, and so very important for our day in age. It's very clearly written from the perspective of a young teen, but it's also insightful and incisive to the current moment. Having this journal is like having "The Diary of Anne Frank" but if she survived the Holocaust. I'm so incredibly grateful that the narrator is still alive and seems to be having a good life despite everything he's gone through - and I'm so glad he was able to share his story with us.

The Well by Jake Wyatt: For everyone who recommended “On A Sunbeam” to me - this is your next read.

Should you read this? Surprisingly, yes - I went into this with absolutely no expectations and this blew me out of the water. If I'm being honest, if something's been on my TBR long enough I tend to forget the premise. This happened to be available at the library, and I'm SO glad I picked it up. The art style for this is unique amongst its peers, and the storytelling is tight and tense and still very heartfelt. I don't want to get into the plot too much because I feel like that would spoil the experience - just know that if you enjoy graphic novels that let the setting and the art do most of the talking, then you will adore this.

Dykette by Jenny Fran Davis: Well that was…something.

Should you read this? Genuinely I'm not sure, but probably not. Look, I am not immune to a literary story about terrible people - especially when it's the lesbian flavor. But this left me more confused than anything else. It's most certainly a satire considering how the most likable character is the pug (there was one scene from her perspective and honestly I would have loved more), but that doesn't necessarily make it enjoyable. It feels like it's trying to have the best of the literary audience and the subversive fiction audience, but the bridge to get there is a very detailed scene of consensual sexual torture (something you wouldn't realize going in unless you read reviews). The problem is, that scene is liable to scare off the literary crowd, and the rest of the book is too boring to keep the subversive crowd engaged. I will say - Davis has strong literary flair so the writing is enjoyable, and I loved the commentary on lesbian culture, but any time the plot came back I stopped engaging with this as much as I wanted to. This is the kind of story that needed to be shown as a student film where the film grain is a character in the narrative - pretentious, smoky, and better capturing the vibe.

Make Room for Love by Darcy Liao: Oh yeah, this is a kicking-your-feet romance for sure.

Should you read this? If you want a low-impact contemporary romance, then this is a great pick. Truth be told, I may be looking at this less critically because this was the first book in a month that did not feel like work to read. It's definitely got the feel of a debut where it's a little rusty, but I think that adds to the charm. This is such a soft, comforting book about healing and growing while also being a very sweet romance. Mira and Isabel are both very charming in their own ways, and the sex scenes in this book are amongst the best I've read all year. I always like to say "it doesn't have to be good, it just has to be fun," and I mean that - being a good time carries you such a long way, and this book was just that.

And that's all for this week! It being my birthday month I've got a big pink stack of books ready to go. Here's hoping it turns out better than July - we're already off to a good start!