Maybe I’m the Problem, or a reflection on YA fantasy

When you think of a fantasy novel, what comes to mind? Personally, I’ve never read any of those large epic fantasies that are so emblematic of the genre. I haven’t read Lord of the Rings. I haven’t read a single Brandon Sanderson novel. I don’t even know enough about what I might expect from those…

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We Were Never Here, or a distilation of what i don’t like in thrillers

We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz is a 2021 thriller and the author's 3rd novel. I read her first book back in 2019, read that similar tale about toxic friendship between women, and it in fact made it to my worst books of 2019 list, not that that said list ever made it onto…

muddying the water, or Mister Impossible by Maggie Stiefvater

Mister Impossible is the sixth book set in the universe built in the the Raven Cycle. It as a universe that is well-loved, and it follows one of the most beloved characters from the original series—Ronan Lynch. And it was a massive disappointment, at least for me. This review will contain spoilers for the entirety…

a white lesbian’s take on monstrosity

I read Women and Other Monsters by Jess Zimmerman recently. My decision to pick it up was simple—I have always been, to some extent, intrigued by the specter of monsters. Monsters are, for all extents and purposes, creatures that are rejected and ridiculed by society. They are the ultimate outsiders. And as a child, I…

catharsis, or why i read A.S. King

I was in eighth grade when I first heard the word catharsis. 8th grade was my first year at a new school, the third one I'd been to, and my first at public school—a place assured to be a den of sin and lies by my father and torturous bullying by mother. I wouldn't have…

discussion // Reading Poetry, or am I Pretentious or Just Emo?

I write poetry. I cannot really remember a time prior to writing poetry. It's something I started doing before I could even write, and I often did it without writing down once I learned. For me, it was always just my default way of expressing myself. There's no real explanation for. It was just, for…

The Times I Knew I Was Gay, or the Value of Lesbians Sharing Their Experiences

note: I received The Times I Knew I Was Gay as an e-arc from the publisher. cw for the book: lesbophobia, use of the d slur, disordered eating. body image issuescw for the post: discussions of lesbophobia I didn't realize I was a lesbian until the summer before my junior year of high school. I…