I have been trying to figure out what I want to say about this book for literally months now, and I just can’t do it. I give up. The amount of things I want to say are all swirling around in my brain and getting mixed up with each other, and everything is coming out all garbled whenever I try, so I give up and am now officially half-assing this review in a stream of consciousness manner with no regards for structure, and I am no longer […]
The American Revolution Through Slaves’ Eyes
Laurie Halse Anderson’s award-winning YA novels set during the American Revolution are superb. Not only does she get her history correct — with fascinating detail about daily life for wealthy and working classes, Loyalists and Patriots, city life and army camp life — but she also provides narrators whose perspectives are unique and provocative. Isabel and Curzon are slaves. Each brings a different view of the revolution and what it means for them as slaves. The three novels take the reader from May of 1776, when […]
Meeting new friends and reuniting with old
This is a collection of short stories, most of which take place in Tamora Pierce’s Tortallan Universe. Well, six do, and four take place in other fantasy settings, and there’s one nonfantasy story that was inspired by one of Pierce’s early jobs. I liked all of them, although one of them was a bit spoilery for me, as I haven’t read the books that it follows. (They’re sitting in my TBR pile right now, actually.) “Student of Ostriches” This story follows Kylaia, a young […]
“Love is worth everything. Everything.”
I had honestly forgotten that I read this until I saw the preview for the movie version ahead of a showing of Beauty and the Beast a few weeks ago. And my gut reaction to the trailer was more of a “huh, that seems familiar” and less of a “hey, I read that!”, so maybe that tells you everything you need to know about this YA novel. Note: spoilers ahead. Madeline Whittier is a real life bubble girl. She cannot leave the house, and only […]