isabelreads's reviews
262 reviews

Against Football: One Fan's Reluctant Manifesto by Steve Almond

adventurous challenging dark funny informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

A slim brilliant barrage in the fight against football. I discovered Almond's book thanks to Savywritesbooks video on the Blindside and the scandals that emerged from it. My only critique is honestly that I'm dying for a 10th or 15th anniversary edition. I think Almond and other football skeptics and critics were really on the edge of something that exploded post 2014 thanks to Kapernick, Trump, and NCAA image rights, etc. I think it would be worth it to see how Almond's views have continued to evolve. From what I saw.on Savy's channel, he's still as biting on this topic as he ever was (esp for a white man) and I'd be excited to see more from him on football!

Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

A fascinating read brimming with Indigenous survivance. It feels like a beautiful marriage between The Handmaid's Tale and Parable of the Sower through a distinctly indigenous/mixed lens which as a mixed Boricua, really resonated. However, I did feel like the novel suffered from some pacing issues and I'm still chewing on the ending, which keeps it from being fully a five star read.

Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Octavia Butler never fails to deliver for me, especially when she combines speculative fiction and fantasy. Both Anyanwu and Doro are complex characters with myriad experience to help explain their choices, even as we don't always agree with or understand them. Butler deals with dark themes with her typical deft hand. Depictions of sexual assault and slavery are never used to titillate, and though sex often drives the story given it's focus on eugenics, breeding, and immortality, it's used with a sharp eye towards its purpose in driving home the complex layers at work as the two leads encounter one another across early American history. Another personal fave from an author who consistently impresses!

Cereus Blooms at Night by Shani Mootoo

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Gorgeous, dark, one of the few nuanced depictions of a transgender men I've seen in any fiction, let alone Caribbean fiction. That and the lovely prose gains the book more stars than anything else. Otherwise it was fine but dark and featuring some graphic sexual assault, which is not always my preference for books I read for pleasure. This was for school though and it was a great book for discussion and unpacking.

Queer Little Nightmares by David Ly, Daniel Zomparelli

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A lovely, diverse collection! A few moments rubbed me the wrong way and I wish there had been some more stories featuring trans masculine characters but that's more personal preference than anything else. I ripped through the collection in about a day and it got me writing my own queer/trans monster story so it did the job!I also loved the inclusion of poetry with the prose.

Favorite story: Glamor-us, Andrew Wilmont

Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Blew through this text in a day. It's so rich, with plenty of thematic heft to sink your teeth into (pun intended). Uncomfortable at times, this book deals with issues of grief, family, queerness and belonging with nuance and grace. Magos in particular is a startling depiction of motherhood, not in a bad way, but in one that feels raw and honest. I only wish we had a chance to dive back in her head later in the text. That is honestly my biggest gripe with the narrative personally but Sámano Córdova made his choice and he sticks to the premise of hearing the four sides of this story, one at a time, over the course of many years. 

It's quite graphic at times, so if blood

and cannibalism

are not your thing, I'd probably skip this one. I know I'll be waiting for Sámano Córdova's next release with anticipation!

Swastika Night by Katharine Burdekin

dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Read for Reproductive Dystopia in Autumn 2023. I didn't know this book existed before this class and that's a damn shame. It's incisive, particularly given that it was published in 1938 before the war really began and so precisely attributes some of the main issues of fascism to the cult of masculinity. Kind of dry and a bit expositive but generally a decent read for anyone interested in the genre.

BJU and Me: Queer Voices from the World's Most Christian University by Lance Weldy

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

Excellent collection that I hope truly changes the conversation around queer students at conservative and/or religious colleges and universities. My wife attended a conservative Christian college not quite as intense as BJU but still I could see so many of her experiences reflected within these pages. I would love to see more work in this vein, especially featuring an even wider variety of lived experiences and backgrounds.

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Another really excellent Hendrix's book and one that goes deeper into the heads of his female characters than I thought Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires managed. I literally could not put this book down today and it's always a delight to find a book to propels you so clearly through it's story. I found some sections a bit formulaic; the plot's pace and a few beats reminded me of Book Club in ways that makes me wonder if this is a genre thing or just Hendrix's reliance on a formula? More reading is needed but it didn't take away from the really moving portrayal of best friendship. As someone with a lifelong best friend, I resonated so much with the emotions and love between Gretchen and Abby. The end had me in tears. All in all, a solid read!

A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology by Mike Rinder

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

A solid memoir full of heart and reflection. I appreciated the distance Rinder has from his past as it's allowed him time to find grace and meaning in his years of hardship. I hope his children read this book one day, and hopefully have a relationship with their father. I hope he reaches his most intended audience.