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barrettbooks's reviews
60 reviews
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
N.K. Jemisin is honestly one of my most trusted writers in terms of sheer quality but also just...boldness? Like I love a big swing and this book definitely feels like a massive swing. The basic premise — New York City is coming to life, literally, and it has human avatar(s) to hold, protect, and channel it and also to fight against the mysterious and powerful Enemy that uses both massive tentacles and legal hostile takeover techniques — is a lot. The fact that Jemisin is weaving so much reality in with the sci-fi is impressive. The book tackles the heart and character of New York City. It celebrates the beautiful, ideal sides: a multicultural city that welcomes immigrants, the communities that have grown and built themselves over decades, the art that New Yorkers (especially Black New Yorkers) have created, revolutionized, and poured out into the world. It also does not shy away from the negative aspects of New York: the xenophobia and racism that exists and in some cases thrives there, the gentrification which threatens the very communities and culture that form the soul of NYC.
It's a lot to weave together. Throw in that there are half a dozen different POVs and it has the potential to be a whole mess. But it isn't. The characters are compelling, even the ones I doubted at first. The different points of view are expertly arranged to pace the story. The narrative is revealed quickly enough to grab interest, slowly enough to keep you curious and not be confusing (mostly.) Jemisin makes very good use of naïve characters to give extremely natural exposition. It's just masterfully done.
I want to end on talking about the characters. I love them. When the first POV went away I was initially disappointed because I loved his voice so much, but I grew to love the others as well. I was so excited that there was an Indigenous lesbian elder among the main ensemble. It was delightful for there to be multiple Black characters, including queer Black characters. But beyond identity, I loved the characters themselves. I love Bronca's anger and pride and care, I loved Veneza's brightness and fierceness. And I loved Manny so much, in ways I cannot fully describe, one Manny gender for me please, thank you. I don't have the space to discuss all the characters but even the ones who do terrible things are crafted in such a rounded way. I am so excited to read more about them in the sequels. I loved this book. :)
It's a lot to weave together. Throw in that there are half a dozen different POVs and it has the potential to be a whole mess. But it isn't. The characters are compelling, even the ones I doubted at first. The different points of view are expertly arranged to pace the story. The narrative is revealed quickly enough to grab interest, slowly enough to keep you curious and not be confusing (mostly.) Jemisin makes very good use of naïve characters to give extremely natural exposition. It's just masterfully done.
I want to end on talking about the characters. I love them. When the first POV went away I was initially disappointed because I loved his voice so much, but I grew to love the others as well. I was so excited that there was an Indigenous lesbian elder among the main ensemble. It was delightful for there to be multiple Black characters, including queer Black characters. But beyond identity, I loved the characters themselves. I love Bronca's anger and pride and care, I loved Veneza's brightness and fierceness. And I loved Manny so much, in ways I cannot fully describe, one Manny gender for me please, thank you. I don't have the space to discuss all the characters but even the ones who do terrible things are crafted in such a rounded way. I am so excited to read more about them in the sequels. I loved this book. :)
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Firstly, this is a very cool setting/premise. It's a futuristic world based on Chinese history. There are riffs on historic figures and events, cultural practices, and mythologies with a technological twist. And it has massive mechas! I don't always love a patriarchal system in a fantastical or sci fi world (like, you know you make the rules right?) However, this is a case where the oppression is central to the story, and is treated with the horror it deserves. I like how the narrative deals with both individuals and systems enforcing misogyny as the characters discover how deep the systems run. I also like that it addresses the lateral violence enacted by other women as they internalize the misogyny they are surrounded by and work to uphold the system. The interconnectedness of personal abuse (such as the violence Zetian's family has enacted on her and each other) with the systemic oppressions of patriarchy and poverty was well-explored.
I love the characters, particularly our protagonist Zetian. I just love an angry woman. Especially in a world where the intense patriarchy is a focal point, it's delightful to have a woman protagonist that is unrepentantly angry and vengeful. I love that Zetian's anger is never undermined. It is proved justified over and over. However, I also like that this is not her only feature, and even amid her rage at many people and systems that surround her, we get to watch her learn to trust individuals and be open and vulnerable with them.
I love the love interests as well. (Mild spoilers) I would like every love triangle to resolve in polyamory. Perfection. The growth of the relationships felt measured and realistic, and it was a satisfying part of the book for me while not always being the primary focus. It was lovely to have an emotional core I cared about in a book with such a wide scope in terms of plot. (Running out of space, but I enjoyed the pacing and main plot as well!)
So, in conclusion, I loved the plot, the world, the characters, the romance, and the themes i.e everything? Lived totally up to the hype for me. Going feral for the sequel! 🧡
I love the characters, particularly our protagonist Zetian. I just love an angry woman. Especially in a world where the intense patriarchy is a focal point, it's delightful to have a woman protagonist that is unrepentantly angry and vengeful. I love that Zetian's anger is never undermined. It is proved justified over and over. However, I also like that this is not her only feature, and even amid her rage at many people and systems that surround her, we get to watch her learn to trust individuals and be open and vulnerable with them.
I love the love interests as well. (Mild spoilers) I would like every love triangle to resolve in polyamory. Perfection. The growth of the relationships felt measured and realistic, and it was a satisfying part of the book for me while not always being the primary focus. It was lovely to have an emotional core I cared about in a book with such a wide scope in terms of plot. (Running out of space, but I enjoyed the pacing and main plot as well!)
So, in conclusion, I loved the plot, the world, the characters, the romance, and the themes i.e everything? Lived totally up to the hype for me. Going feral for the sequel! 🧡
Saga, Vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love Saga. I honestly don't have a huge amount to say about this volume (it's a bit harder with comics think) but Saga just hits for me, man. It is so funny. The art is so expressive and so gorgeous. I both want to be Alana and Marko and I also want them both to marry me as well. The narration from Hazel is perfection. I love the threads we are getting, of the cost of war, questions of ethics, the family ties that are starting to be explored, the different characters we follow with extremely different motivations and goals. I am so excited to continue seeing those threads tease out as I continue to accquire volumes.
The only negative feelings I had about this volume are related to the kind of casual fatphobia that is super common in a lot of comics, especially from 2013. The only fat character I remember seeing it a page-turn reveal huge naked monster, and there were a couple bits of dialogue that were a bit fatphobic. In a comic I enjoy so much it is kind of disappointing but I am hoping there will be improvement on that front as it goes on and for me personally it was not dealbreaking.
I was really lucky to find this and the first volume used and I am hoping to do that with the others but I might get impatient and just buy them all at some point. The mix of different cultures, magic and science, the humour mixed with the complex and horrifying subject matter really works for me and I just find a lot of joy reading these comics. And the colours, damn! Truly the full package.
The only negative feelings I had about this volume are related to the kind of casual fatphobia that is super common in a lot of comics, especially from 2013. The only fat character I remember seeing it a page-turn reveal huge naked monster, and there were a couple bits of dialogue that were a bit fatphobic. In a comic I enjoy so much it is kind of disappointing but I am hoping there will be improvement on that front as it goes on and for me personally it was not dealbreaking.
I was really lucky to find this and the first volume used and I am hoping to do that with the others but I might get impatient and just buy them all at some point. The mix of different cultures, magic and science, the humour mixed with the complex and horrifying subject matter really works for me and I just find a lot of joy reading these comics. And the colours, damn! Truly the full package.
A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Elodie is a 12 year old from a poor family, travelling on her own to the mainland city, home of a king, an ogre, and a dragon! Elodie hopes to apprentice as a mansioner (an actor) but finds herself lacking funds, and entangled with the mystery-solving dragon as she learns not everything is what it seems.
This was a fun middlegrade from the author of Ella Enchanted. It was a little slow moving sometimes, but the world is well-developed and charming. I liked Elodie a lot; she is very determined and resourceful. We get to see her learn as she ventures from her little impoverished island to the big city and it was honestly relatable to me as someone who lived in a small town until university, despite the medieval-esque setting. It's delightful to watch Elodie figure out her new environment and learn about the people there, especially since she often figures out more than the locals know themselves.
The detective dragon is what I was most excited about with this one, particularly because the dragon uses nonbinary pronouns and terms of address (IT/IT/ITS and Masteress.) This turned out to be not exactly that the dragon is nonbinary as that a dragon's gender is not to be known by humans and other nondragons. Still, it was nice to see ITS pronouns respected by all the human characters. There were a few times early on where Elodie speculated on ITS gender based on stereotypes, which did not enjoy, but these stopped as Elodie got to know IT and appreciate IT beyond gender, which liked. The actual detecting part of the dragon storyline was lovely, especially since being a dragon lends extra quirks that make detecting more challenging.
Overall, this was a cute read! There is a sequel which will be on the lookout for. Just a slow little cosy medieval mystery with a fantasy twist and a nice moral. I had a pleasant time.
This was a fun middlegrade from the author of Ella Enchanted. It was a little slow moving sometimes, but the world is well-developed and charming. I liked Elodie a lot; she is very determined and resourceful. We get to see her learn as she ventures from her little impoverished island to the big city and it was honestly relatable to me as someone who lived in a small town until university, despite the medieval-esque setting. It's delightful to watch Elodie figure out her new environment and learn about the people there, especially since she often figures out more than the locals know themselves.
The detective dragon is what I was most excited about with this one, particularly because the dragon uses nonbinary pronouns and terms of address (IT/IT/ITS and Masteress.) This turned out to be not exactly that the dragon is nonbinary as that a dragon's gender is not to be known by humans and other nondragons. Still, it was nice to see ITS pronouns respected by all the human characters. There were a few times early on where Elodie speculated on ITS gender based on stereotypes, which did not enjoy, but these stopped as Elodie got to know IT and appreciate IT beyond gender, which liked. The actual detecting part of the dragon storyline was lovely, especially since being a dragon lends extra quirks that make detecting more challenging.
Overall, this was a cute read! There is a sequel which will be on the lookout for. Just a slow little cosy medieval mystery with a fantasy twist and a nice moral. I had a pleasant time.
In the Ravenous Dark by A.M. Strickland
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I have been struggling to write this review for awhile and I am not sure why. I definitely enjoyed it! But for some reason it has been difficult for me to express my exact feelings. As I mentioned, I enjoyed this book but the narration never quite clicked with me so felt very distanced from it as well. I did care about a couple of the characters, but mostly the book felt like things happening without any emotional impact on me. Other than that unfortunately quirk of my personal reading experience, In The Ravenous Dark was very much my jam. It features a complex magical world with interesting rules and boundaries and plenty of discoveries for the characters to make as the narrative continues about what the exact nature of that world is. It features a lot of queer characters, including pan, lesbian, ace, aro, and nonbinary rep, as well as polyamory. I especially loved the inclusion of queerplatonic relationships. The book does that thing where fantasy characters have basically all the same words we have but not for queer identities (so it never actually says "lesbian" or "nonbinary") but does include scenes of characters talking openly and vulnerably with each other about their identities and feelings which is both very cute and does make the intended representation fairly clear. I loved the evolving world view of the protagonist and her growth during the book. And I loved several of the side characters. I would still definitely recommend this book to people (and have already) and will definitely be picking up the author's future work.
Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I whipped through this. I find Roanhorse's style compulsively readable, and continue to be entranced by these interwoven, dynamic, deeply flawed characters. (Still no spoilies but my girl Xiala is truly going through some shit, y'all.) I love a middle book in a trilogy because there is always so many oh shiiit moments, and it is nice to see different combinations of characters! Plus, longing, of course. I loved how Fevered Star continued to expand the world of Black Sun in interesting and unexpected ways! The scope of the history and the potential of the whole situation continues to be revealed in ways that are surprising and yet still natural. Just really masterful. I love the setting of the pre-colonization Americas inspired fantasy world so much, and really appreciate the diversity Roanhorse continues to create among her characters and cultures. I love an expansive and complex world full of expansive and complex people. Delightful.
Genuinely I think that is all I can manage without saying too much. I can't wait for the next book. Thanks for reading my little gush!
Genuinely I think that is all I can manage without saying too much. I can't wait for the next book. Thanks for reading my little gush!
Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Guess what? I loved this one too. I did not read a book I didn't love in March, which was so lovely after the slow start to my year. Anyway.
Mickey James III is a college freshman, trying to deal with the high expectations for him in the NHL draft, his family legacy, and his undiagnosed depression and anxiety. All while trying not to get outplayed by his teammate/greatest rival Jaysen Caulfield, who hates him, and also happens to have great dimples.
This book was a delight for me, while also cutting close to home. The mental illness storyline felt true. The way Mickey talks and feels about his depression/anxiety was authentic for me, and it was cathartic to see him work through a lot of his shame, denial, and acknowledge some of his unhealthy coping mechanisms. I appreciated that this was a plot of its own, not something that was solved by the romance.
I'm Canadian, so can skate and I have a passing familiarity with hockey, as is my birthright. But don't know that much about it. This didn't matter. The book made its stakes clear and did not require hockey knowledge to enjoy. Also I still loved the hockey bits, including the fight (which is normally something I hate about hockey.) Picking a fight because someone messed with your crush will never not be delightful to me. Also loved its discussion of women's sports!
I loved all of the characters! Mickey and Cauler, yes, obviously, but also all the side characters. There's a reasonably large ensemble but even the less central teammates and sisters felt real with only brief mentions. I love a family group chat. Also lots of casual diversity which I like!
Last thing I have time for, I did love the central romance. I was really rooting for them. I also liked the particular moment of queerness that is represented, where the boys are not out widely but also do know and acknowledge themselves. I also love the "...is he??" moments of trying to figure out if someone is queer! Anyway, I just want them to be happy! Once again, loved the book, only want the best for my adorable hockey sons. And for what it's worth, I liked the ending!
Mickey James III is a college freshman, trying to deal with the high expectations for him in the NHL draft, his family legacy, and his undiagnosed depression and anxiety. All while trying not to get outplayed by his teammate/greatest rival Jaysen Caulfield, who hates him, and also happens to have great dimples.
This book was a delight for me, while also cutting close to home. The mental illness storyline felt true. The way Mickey talks and feels about his depression/anxiety was authentic for me, and it was cathartic to see him work through a lot of his shame, denial, and acknowledge some of his unhealthy coping mechanisms. I appreciated that this was a plot of its own, not something that was solved by the romance.
I'm Canadian, so can skate and I have a passing familiarity with hockey, as is my birthright. But don't know that much about it. This didn't matter. The book made its stakes clear and did not require hockey knowledge to enjoy. Also I still loved the hockey bits, including the fight (which is normally something I hate about hockey.) Picking a fight because someone messed with your crush will never not be delightful to me. Also loved its discussion of women's sports!
I loved all of the characters! Mickey and Cauler, yes, obviously, but also all the side characters. There's a reasonably large ensemble but even the less central teammates and sisters felt real with only brief mentions. I love a family group chat. Also lots of casual diversity which I like!
Last thing I have time for, I did love the central romance. I was really rooting for them. I also liked the particular moment of queerness that is represented, where the boys are not out widely but also do know and acknowledge themselves. I also love the "...is he??" moments of trying to figure out if someone is queer! Anyway, I just want them to be happy! Once again, loved the book, only want the best for my adorable hockey sons. And for what it's worth, I liked the ending!
The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really enjoyed this book! The world building is incredibly strong and detailed without being overwhelming. There is a very interesting magic and cultural system. It has a strictly gendered social structure, which the book is consistently calling into question with characters who do not fit into the categories allotted to them, and as the story goes on, deeper misogynistic problems are brought into focus. I love the questioning of gender roles and the culture that leads to gendered violence (by a nonbinary author!) Also I'm hopeful for explicitly queer characters in the follow up books (gay hints gay hints gAY HINTS.) I also find Tea (the MC) herself very intriguing. The book is framed as Tea telling a bard the story of her life; Tea narrated chapters (the past) alternating with bard narrated interludes (the present.) The framing really worked for me. I loved that it was able to naturally give us juicy foreshadowing some of which pays off in the next chapter and some of which I am still waiting for. But I also love how clearly it allows the reader to see Tea, how early it lets us in on the complexity of her character and her moral ambiguity. It left me not only hungry to learn how the naïve 12 yr old would turn into this powerful 17 yr old but also interested to see how the bones (heh) of her character were there all along. I'm also so invested in of and SO WORRIED about all of the side characters. There are many more things I could ramble on about loving. Some last bullet points to save words: •the rich descriptions of the clothing/food
•the evocative animal imagery
•the intrique/social drama that add layers to powerful magic/dangerous plot moments
•the class commentary
•the sibling stuff (I cannot believe I wrote a whole review without talking about how this book OPENS with child Tea accidentally raising her older brother from the dead but sometimes that's how it goes.)
Just a really great read! I'll def be continuing the series.
•the evocative animal imagery
•the intrique/social drama that add layers to powerful magic/dangerous plot moments
•the class commentary
•the sibling stuff (I cannot believe I wrote a whole review without talking about how this book OPENS with child Tea accidentally raising her older brother from the dead but sometimes that's how it goes.)
Just a really great read! I'll def be continuing the series.
Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"He said it like was a puzzle. One he was enjoying putting together. Even if the pieces didn't quite make sense."
🫖
Darius the Great is Not Okay is a book about a bullied, depressed, nerdy, half-Persian teenager with a complicated relationship with his father visiting his mother's family in Iran for the first time and making a friend.
🇮🇷
I loved this book so much. I love Darius's narration, his creative turns of phrase, the way he relates to the world through metaphor and connection to his interests. The reader, Michael Levi Harris, did a wonderful job of capturing this unique narration in the audiobook. I love his relationships with his family, which are strained and messy and complicated and loving in a way that felt very real. Darius's relationship with Persianness is beautifully depicted: his almost-obsessive observations of the characteristics of true Persians vs fractional Persians; his struggle with the language barrier, with feeling too Persian in America and not Persian enough in Iran; and, occasionally, his euphoria at feeling really Persian is drawn so fully and gracefully in the narrative. The depression of both Darius and his father is so well captured. I was not at all surprised to learn in the afterword that the author has depression as well. The way Darius both describes to others how it feels but also the way the reader can see him getting stuck in a depressive thought pattern through the first person narration is brilliant. I also love that this is not a diagnosis story. Those are important of course, but I love stories of mental illness from the perspective of people who have it, and know they have it, and have a treatment plan, and it is a part of their life. And finally, of course, I love the friendship of Darius and Sohrab. It is so lovely. It is beautiful to see Darius learn to expand his notion of masculinity and male relationships, to find generosity and grace and give that in return. This book made me laugh and also made me sob and I highly recommend it.
🫖
Darius the Great is Not Okay is a book about a bullied, depressed, nerdy, half-Persian teenager with a complicated relationship with his father visiting his mother's family in Iran for the first time and making a friend.
🇮🇷
I loved this book so much. I love Darius's narration, his creative turns of phrase, the way he relates to the world through metaphor and connection to his interests. The reader, Michael Levi Harris, did a wonderful job of capturing this unique narration in the audiobook. I love his relationships with his family, which are strained and messy and complicated and loving in a way that felt very real. Darius's relationship with Persianness is beautifully depicted: his almost-obsessive observations of the characteristics of true Persians vs fractional Persians; his struggle with the language barrier, with feeling too Persian in America and not Persian enough in Iran; and, occasionally, his euphoria at feeling really Persian is drawn so fully and gracefully in the narrative. The depression of both Darius and his father is so well captured. I was not at all surprised to learn in the afterword that the author has depression as well. The way Darius both describes to others how it feels but also the way the reader can see him getting stuck in a depressive thought pattern through the first person narration is brilliant. I also love that this is not a diagnosis story. Those are important of course, but I love stories of mental illness from the perspective of people who have it, and know they have it, and have a treatment plan, and it is a part of their life. And finally, of course, I love the friendship of Darius and Sohrab. It is so lovely. It is beautiful to see Darius learn to expand his notion of masculinity and male relationships, to find generosity and grace and give that in return. This book made me laugh and also made me sob and I highly recommend it.
Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have been on fire with picking books to read this year because once again get to start out by saying LOVED this book. Dual perspective romances are my jam, I adore getting to see each character through the eyes of the other. The cooking show was a very fun set up and loved the flavour (heh heh heh) it added to the story! Plus, as a nonbinary person and someone who came into my queerness in my late twenties (and then was kind of paused by a global pandemic) I see so much of myself in both London and Delilah.
I found the characters in this so charming. The dialogue was very satisfying, both between Delilah and London and with the side characters. (Btw I think their ship name would go to surnames and be Woodpark.) The cooking show was a great way to push them together and add some wacky challenges (like poor London milking a cow) but also just really enjoyed reading about the food and the characters' deep relationships with cooking. Also, the sexy scenes were very hot but also contained a level of communication and figuring stuff out that I really appreciated.
But the most important part of this book to me was London Parker. London is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. There are a couple characters who don't accept that, and London dealing with people who won't respect them is a plot point, but it is a small minority of people. It is never an issue in their relationship with Delilah. They are accepted by most of their family and most of the contestants, including the sweet grandma. And the book itself never misgenders them even if someone else does. It was so lovely to read this romance with a pansexual nonbinary main character. I cried a couple times just at how nice it was. And then seeing them gaining the courage to to set and maintain an important boundary was really cathartic. I would fight god for London Parker.
Overall I just had a lovely time with this book. A delight!
I found the characters in this so charming. The dialogue was very satisfying, both between Delilah and London and with the side characters. (Btw I think their ship name would go to surnames and be Woodpark.) The cooking show was a great way to push them together and add some wacky challenges (like poor London milking a cow) but also just really enjoyed reading about the food and the characters' deep relationships with cooking. Also, the sexy scenes were very hot but also contained a level of communication and figuring stuff out that I really appreciated.
But the most important part of this book to me was London Parker. London is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. There are a couple characters who don't accept that, and London dealing with people who won't respect them is a plot point, but it is a small minority of people. It is never an issue in their relationship with Delilah. They are accepted by most of their family and most of the contestants, including the sweet grandma. And the book itself never misgenders them even if someone else does. It was so lovely to read this romance with a pansexual nonbinary main character. I cried a couple times just at how nice it was. And then seeing them gaining the courage to to set and maintain an important boundary was really cathartic. I would fight god for London Parker.
Overall I just had a lovely time with this book. A delight!