emmaraeempowered's reviews
228 reviews
Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Vol. 1, by KOKONASU RUMBA
funny
Lol this legit made me laugh out loud a few times haha
Seed Vault, by Marika Bailey
fast-paced
3.25
I heard of this short story from Chloe (@Thistle&verse), she recommended it for the Black SFF-Athon. I finally got around to reading it and very glad I did! This story was really intriguing! It's very short and. I think due to this I had a hard time picturing what was going on at times. I think there is a part 2 and I absolutely will be reading it! I'm curious about this world on this other planet. I want to reread it to form a better more well thought out opionion of it, I think a lot went over my head.
I really liked the eeriness of how the gods spoke to the girl and how they appeared to her.
I really liked the eeriness of how the gods spoke to the girl and how they appeared to her.
A History of My Brief Body, by Billy-Ray Belcourt
5.0
My first time reading Billy-Ray Belcourt and I fell in love with his writing. These essays feel so personal, honest, heartbreaking, strong, sad, tense, beautiful, and thoughtful. There were many of the essays and poems were I felt like maybe I was not smart enough for. I felt like I needed to go do more research read from more voices, check out the literature he mentions and recommends and then come back to read what he has written. I look forward to doing this. I annotated through it, I read it slowly, I read a sentence and cried, I read this and knew I'd be rereading it many times and recommending it to people. I also went and watched some interviews of Belcourt, it was great hearing him speak or read some of his work.
Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories, by Aviaq Johnston, Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley, Gayle Kabloona, Repo Kempt, Cara Bryant, Thomas Anguti Johnston, Jay Bulckaert, Richard Van Camp, K.C. Carthew, Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley, Ann R. Loverock
5.0
I loved this collection of stories!! I read the first story late at night...and promptly shut the book and went to bed lol. I then proceeded to read these stories at night.
First off I must say the order that these stories were organized in was fantastic! I don't usually pay attention to that when I read short story collections or anthologies but the progression of these stories and how I felt while reading them I felt had largely to do with the order. I loved every one of these stories, there's not one that I skipped over or thought "meh". Every one I was wanting to tell my husband about who promptly said "stop telling me I wanna read them next!" haha.
Read this collection!!
First off I must say the order that these stories were organized in was fantastic! I don't usually pay attention to that when I read short story collections or anthologies but the progression of these stories and how I felt while reading them I felt had largely to do with the order. I loved every one of these stories, there's not one that I skipped over or thought "meh". Every one I was wanting to tell my husband about who promptly said "stop telling me I wanna read them next!" haha.
Read this collection!!
Mongrels, by Stephen Graham Jones
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
SGJ has done it again of course!
In this coming of age werewolf story we follow an unnamed main character as he is growing up being raised by his aunt and uncle. His mother died while giving birth to him so they are his main care takers. They are also both werewolves. Their lessons to him consist of how to survive in the world as a werewolf should he become one. His aunt however, doesn't necessarily want him to become a werewolf...
I talk more about this book in my vlog here is the link if you are interested. https://youtu.be/cAMaYYWJ_JY
In this coming of age werewolf story we follow an unnamed main character as he is growing up being raised by his aunt and uncle. His mother died while giving birth to him so they are his main care takers. They are also both werewolves. Their lessons to him consist of how to survive in the world as a werewolf should he become one. His aunt however, doesn't necessarily want him to become a werewolf...
I talk more about this book in my vlog here is the link if you are interested. https://youtu.be/cAMaYYWJ_JY
Night of the Living Rez, by Morgan Talty
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
Night of the Living Rez was incredible.
I didn't know anything about it before picking it up to read for the Skoden Readathon(created by Kim @Native Lady Book Warrior)
In this story we follow an Indigenous boy who in the beginning finds a cursed jar under the house he and his mother just moved into. From this point we flash back from his childhood to his adult hood. We see his family dynamic unfold in heartbreaking ways. I found this novel really emotional and profound. We would watch a scene unfold from his child self and see how a child is making sense of what is happening around him, to then seeing how that has affected him as an adult or how his adult self has come to learn what was really happening.
This was a fast pace read because of how the story was broken up into shorter stories jumping back and forth through time. You could feel the care that the author took writing these characters and writing their lives play out. I cried at a few moments while reading and had to pause my reading.
I strongly recommend reading this book. It is beautifully written.
I didn't know anything about it before picking it up to read for the Skoden Readathon(created by Kim @Native Lady Book Warrior)
In this story we follow an Indigenous boy who in the beginning finds a cursed jar under the house he and his mother just moved into. From this point we flash back from his childhood to his adult hood. We see his family dynamic unfold in heartbreaking ways. I found this novel really emotional and profound. We would watch a scene unfold from his child self and see how a child is making sense of what is happening around him, to then seeing how that has affected him as an adult or how his adult self has come to learn what was really happening.
This was a fast pace read because of how the story was broken up into shorter stories jumping back and forth through time. You could feel the care that the author took writing these characters and writing their lives play out. I cried at a few moments while reading and had to pause my reading.
I strongly recommend reading this book. It is beautifully written.
Blood Colony, by Tananarive Due
adventurous
challenging
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
SSSTTTRRREEESSSS!!!! THIS BOOK HAD ME STRESSED TF OUT!
Due's writing always puts me in my feels, I am always riding the emotional roller coaster she puts me on. But this one right here....This one had me crawling out of my skin stressed lol. In fact I put the book down for some months and picked it back up for Blackoween in October.
Following Fana and her decisions as a teenager had me beside myself lol. All the decisions everyone was making I felt like I could see their side but was still frustrated and worried about what was going to happen to them. The way this one ended tho, phew I'm looking forward to reading the 4th book just need to have some time to destress before picking it back up lol.
Due's writing always puts me in my feels, I am always riding the emotional roller coaster she puts me on. But this one right here....This one had me crawling out of my skin stressed lol. In fact I put the book down for some months and picked it back up for Blackoween in October.
Following Fana and her decisions as a teenager had me beside myself lol. All the decisions everyone was making I felt like I could see their side but was still frustrated and worried about what was going to happen to them. The way this one ended tho, phew I'm looking forward to reading the 4th book just need to have some time to destress before picking it back up lol.
The Violin Conspiracy, by Brendan Slocumb
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
This book was hard for me to read that I am struggling with what to rate it as.
Before picking it up I had been having a conversation with some friends who are musicians or in the field of music. We were talking about how classical music is very racist. Lots of musicians or agents etc. are horrible to people of color. In music classes its rare for lessons to teach about musicians that aren't straight white old men. From vile things said to opportunities stripped away or not even given. So when I saw this book and was thinking of my Blackoween TBR I thought it was perfect.
This book discusses a lot of trauma that the main character faces which stems from real life experiences the author himself had experienced. This made it even more difficult to read and process through. From having similar experiences from being in theater and film for a hot min, to just reading more Black trauma a black boy/man is experiencing.
The mystery in this story is that Ray has uncovered a violin that was his great grandfathers. Turns out it is exceptionally rare and worth a ton of money. Money that his family wants and money that some white family who claim to be the "rightful owners" want. One day the violin is stolen from Ray and we are thrown into series of flashbacks that tell the story of how he got to this point and who could have possibly stolen the violin.
In the end I found the answer to "who stole it?" to be fairly obvious. However I still am glad I read it and I really look forward to more books from this author. As hard as it is to read this is a topic I am interested in and interested in learning more. From the back of the book there was mention of his 2nd novel in the works and I am very much looking forward to reading it. Even if I gotta read it slow and breathe.
Before picking it up I had been having a conversation with some friends who are musicians or in the field of music. We were talking about how classical music is very racist. Lots of musicians or agents etc. are horrible to people of color. In music classes its rare for lessons to teach about musicians that aren't straight white old men. From vile things said to opportunities stripped away or not even given. So when I saw this book and was thinking of my Blackoween TBR I thought it was perfect.
This book discusses a lot of trauma that the main character faces which stems from real life experiences the author himself had experienced. This made it even more difficult to read and process through. From having similar experiences from being in theater and film for a hot min, to just reading more Black trauma a black boy/man is experiencing.
The mystery in this story is that Ray has uncovered a violin that was his great grandfathers. Turns out it is exceptionally rare and worth a ton of money. Money that his family wants and money that some white family who claim to be the "rightful owners" want. One day the violin is stolen from Ray and we are thrown into series of flashbacks that tell the story of how he got to this point and who could have possibly stolen the violin.
In the end I found the answer to "who stole it?" to be fairly obvious. However I still am glad I read it and I really look forward to more books from this author. As hard as it is to read this is a topic I am interested in and interested in learning more. From the back of the book there was mention of his 2nd novel in the works and I am very much looking forward to reading it. Even if I gotta read it slow and breathe.
Nana, by Brandon Massey
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
Nana is a trip!
This was one of my Blackoweenathon (created by Bre @Loc'd Booktician) reads. This book was down right entertaining and fun to talk about with friends.
This story is about Monica as she is coping with the death of her adoptive mother when at the funeral her biological mother shows up and now wants to be in her life. Monica immediately accepts her and invites her to stay at her home with her husband and children. At first her husband is on board until things take a ....freaky turn with Nana.
Most of the time I was shocked that Monica was so accepting of her mother suddenly dropping into her life. She dropped in and was taking control of the family, dictating what the kids ate and who was around them, demanding to be called Nana even though they already called her husbands mom Nana, constantly making Monica drink tea and "rest", the list continues. I found myself yelling at Monica to not let this woman take control of her house.
The supernatural aspect of this was thrilling and honestly the best part. I wish there was more of it some how. As I said earlier this was a really fun book to discuss with friends I would recommend this one if you have a book club and are thinking of something quick and entertaining to read with friends over a glass of wine.
This was one of my Blackoweenathon (created by Bre @Loc'd Booktician) reads. This book was down right entertaining and fun to talk about with friends.
This story is about Monica as she is coping with the death of her adoptive mother when at the funeral her biological mother shows up and now wants to be in her life. Monica immediately accepts her and invites her to stay at her home with her husband and children. At first her husband is on board until things take a ....freaky turn with Nana.
Most of the time I was shocked that Monica was so accepting of her mother suddenly dropping into her life. She dropped in and was taking control of the family, dictating what the kids ate and who was around them, demanding to be called Nana even though they already called her husbands mom Nana, constantly making Monica drink tea and "rest", the list continues. I found myself yelling at Monica to not let this woman take control of her house.
The supernatural aspect of this was thrilling and honestly the best part. I wish there was more of it some how. As I said earlier this was a really fun book to discuss with friends I would recommend this one if you have a book club and are thinking of something quick and entertaining to read with friends over a glass of wine.