readerpants's reviews
1822 reviews

Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune, 2052-2072 by Eman Abdelhadi, M.E. O'Brien

challenging hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I can't believe I'm only adding this now, belatedly, when it's the book I've talked about most those year. It's stayed with me in such intense ways; I've never read anything else like it. 

Paladin's Faith by T. Kingfisher

4.75

There's a reason T Kingfisher is an autobuy author for me, and it's this consistent flavor of wry, clever humanist storytelling. 

The best moment of sheer TK joy for me in this one was Very Fat Badass Capable Elderly Inventor Lady Ashes Magnus 😍. (Closely followed by the dog lady and her perfumes!)

Love at 350° by Lisa Peers

hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

3.5

3.5 stars of cute! And if this has been the sad old days where my only sapphic romance option was Radclyffe and Bella Books it would have been closer to 4.5 or even five stars. Thank God we're past those days now. 

Zora Books Her Happy Ever After by Taj McCoy

lighthearted

• Loveable characters? No

2.5

I really did think they were all three going to work it out together until one character threw a tantrum! THAT would have been an interesting book, esp if it had spent as much time on the guys' backstory/relationship as it spent on the details of Zora's beauty routine. 

I too enjoy oat milk, though. 

Best Foot Forward by Celia Lake

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

3.5 stars, rounding up for the "it's complicated" polyam + acespec rep! Even when the writing or the plot doesn't totally pull me in,  I really love the author's politics and care around consent, representation, and ethics in general. It's funny sometimes to think of authors building up a sense of trust and care over time with their readers in the way people do -- and in this case, the way that her characters do very explicitly -- but that's how this series feels sometimes. Like, the author taking care of the reader in the way that the characters take care of each other. It's distanced and not *personal*... but loving, like putting love and care out in the world. I have feelings about it! 

Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law by Haben Girma

4.5

Truly enjoyed this autobiography! Highly recommended for both high school and middle school libraries especially. It was fascinating, very readable and accessible, with humor and short episodic chapters. I appreciated the explicit, teachy (in a good way)  chapters on systemic and individual ableism - again, accessible and digestible for teen and tween readers esp. 

Even if she hasn't been Eritrean, this would have been solid but holy cow, ten million bonus points for that! We have so many Eritrean and Ethiopian families in Oakland and Seattle both, and so woefully few books, let alone books with a recognizably Habesha woman and name on the cover. I was already stoked and hopeful about this even before a 12th grade reluctant reader of mine walked by my desk, did a doubletake when she saw it, picked it up to ask, "is she Ethiopian??" and then when I answered, found her Eritrean friend to shake it in her face and say "look, it's your people!" I know both these girls pretty well, they are in the library literally daily  with a posse of other Eritrean and Ethiopian friends -- it's their main place to hang at and after school and has been since they were 9th graders -- and I've never seen either of them be truly excited for a book before. 

A Power Unbound by Freya Marske

• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Much, much steamier than I expected, with a significant graphic emphasis on kink (all consensual and negotiated but a lot). Darn these deceptive newfangled illustrated covers. FYI when recommending to various readers!!  

solid end to the series that wrapped up all the loose ends. I preferred the second book with the whole murder mystery on a magical cruise ship situation, tho.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through North America's Stolen Land by Noé Álvarez

4.0

I think this is likely to be a great pick for the 12th grade book clubs! First person present narration pulls you through the story quickly and straightforwardly.

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

A romp! Loved the setting, absolutely caught up in the story. Spicier than I remembered book 1 being. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Physical abuse

Bryony and Roses by T. Kingfisher

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense

4.75