Fireblooms (by Alexandra Villasante)

This was my Read Harder Choice for a YA book by a Latine author, although for some reason I kept bouncing off the title and the cover. (Turns out I definitely do judge books by their covers.)  But I am so glad I had the little nudge to read it because not only is it a great YA, it's also speculative fiction!

Both characters are Latine and Spanish is interwoven beautifully in the book in a completely organic way. You have enough context clues to understand, and at least a tiny bit of familiarity with Spanish helps, but it is done incredibly well.  It's a dual-perspective novel from two kids who live in a Tech Utopia/Dystopia type of town - one is there to help his mom, who was abusive and has cancer, and wants nothing to do with the surveillance state - the other is nonbinary and appreciates the Big Brother aspects of the Utopia/Dystopia to help save him from harm. 

One of the characters is nonbinary and it's a better example of a novel with a main character who uses they/them pronouns than the one I actually read for this category; it feels way more organic here for some reason and was very easy to adjust to. I think it's just really, really well written all around, and if you enjoy YA speculative fiction, deserves a read! 

Smash or Pass (by Birdie Schae)

Just some good ol' queer YA, with excellent autism representation from our main character, Ellie, who is spending the summer at beach volleyball camp and learning to be herself.

The writing from debut author Birdie Schae is a bit tell-dont-show at poits, but the main character (and the fact that it is a sapphic romance) helped keep me engaged.  Enjoyable representation of diversity and queer joy and falls in the "cute YA, would definitely read this author again, for fans of the genre" category. 

BFF Birthday Trip Books

I recently took a trip to Europe for my bestie's 50th birthday. If I hadn't come down with apocalyptic food poisoning, I might have read more books and taken fewer naps! But as it is, I finished four books, and here they are: 

Limelight (by by Andrew Keenan-Bolger)

Written by a Broadway performer about a kid from an abusive household in Staten Island going to a performing arts school in Manhattan. Really impressed me with its writing, since I didn't necessarily expect a Broadway-caliber performer to also be a terrific writer. This is set in 90s New York and has so much nostalgia - down to the kids waiting in line to see Rent at the Nederlander. You also really root for our main character and also appreciate the lack of the fairytale ending whereas still being hopeful and satisfying. Far above average queer YA and highly recommend.

My Cambodia: A Khmer Cookbook (by Nite Yun) 

I read this for the Read Harder category of "a cookbook about a culture whose food you’ve never eaten" - which is an increasingly difficult category, since I am fortunate enough to have tried a lot of different foods! But I learned a lot about Khmer culture and history from this book, and also appreciated that the author is a local chef whose restaurant I can visit! (She had a pop-up in the East Bay but is now located in the Ferry Building.)  There was enough personal reflection between the recipes that made this a good read, although I will never enjoy reading endless lists of "1 clove garlic, peeled.... 2 shallots.... salt... blah blah blah" that you have to read in order to "read a cookbook."  It seemed really good though, in that the instructions were detailed and extremely clear. 

According to Plan (by Christen Randall) 

Read this YA for the category of "a novel with a main character who uses they/them pronouns." I am a big proponent of the singular they but it can get grammatically confusing at points, so this is a good category to have.  I thought this book was more successful in some areas (found family, shitty parents, a well-written sibling relationship) than in others (the romance) but was overall a good YA. This book did commit a major sin, which is having our main character, an editor who loves grammar, use the "for Emerson and I" grammatical overcorrection in the text. Please don't do this to me, it hurts me. 

Austerlitz (by W. G. Sebald)

The New York Times released their "100 best books of the 21st century" a couple of years ago, and Ian and I had fun comparing notes. (I think I've read 38, and have loved many of them. There are some DNF's on there though and at least one - Detransition, Baby - that I hated.)   We also each chose a book that the other had not read, that we thought they should.  He chose Austerlitz (which was #8 on the list) for me and I chose The Great Believers (#64) for him.  

I went into this knowing nothing - I saved the introductory essay for the end - and was slowly wowed as this book unfolded itself to me.  Even knowing it was published in 2001, it feels like an older classic novel in its structure (the main character telling the narrator his life story) and its vocabulary (translated from German by Anthea Bell).  Also of course its setting - Austerlitz is growing up in post-war Europe and exploring his mysterious origins. Knowing he was taken in by a Welsh couple in 1939, his mysterious origins aren't hard to guess at, but the way it all unfolds, the way Sebald describes it, the restraint in the way he tells it... well, I understand why it made it to #8 on the NYT list.  If you have any other must-reads from the NYT list, let me know about them!

Non-Vacation Vacation Books

I almost took a trip to India for work and fun, but I didn't get my visa in time, so I did not go. But I still downloaded a bunch of books for the very long flight, and spent a full day reading as much as possible to still get the binge-reading travel experience I had been looking forward to. So here are the books that I would have read on my trip if I had been on the trip except I wasn't.

 Endling (by Maria Reva) 

This is in the Tournament of Books, and was spoken of highly in the Goodreads group. A metafictional novel about a woman who is trying to save various species of snails in Ukraine, before and during the Russian invasion. It took me a while to power through this for some reason, but it should be fun to talk about. 

Sorcery & Small Magics (by Maiga Doocy)

I read this for my most dreaded Read Harder Challenge category, romantasy with a queer main character. Obviously the queer part is fine but romance and fantasy are my two least favorite genres. But this ended up being so delightful - a slow burn romance between two sorcerers with an interesting magic system - and I need the second book immediately.  This is exactly why I love the RHC - because I would never have given this book a chance without it! 

The Ten-Year Affair (by Erin Somers)

Another Tournament book, and one I personally enjoyed more than Endling. (For true verisimilitude, this book expired while I was still reading it, so I finished the book in airplane mode.) It's about a married women and her married male friend and essentially plays with the idea of them having an affair in a parallel timeline.  I liked the writing style and the exploration of the grass being greener / the road not taken. It's not judgmental about its characters and not melodramatic - feels grounded and truthful.  Oh, and as a bonus, this was on a number of "best book covers" lists, so it's a RHC check also!

16 Forever (by Lance Rubin)

This is a time-loop YA about a kid who loops back to his 16th birthday every year - except he remembers nothing about the previous loops, and everyone around him does, including the girl he fell in love with last time around. Great premise! Uneven execution. I enjoyed the main characters' family dynamics but our main character just seemed annoying. I didn't understand why the love interest even liked him or why they were drawn to each other, and the ending is super abrupt and fell flat for me. 

When You Listen To This Song (Lola Lafon)

I believe this one was recommended by Ian via the New York Times - a memoir in French about a writer (whose family is Jewish) who spends a night in the Anne Frank Huis in Amsterdam.  It's contemplative, beautifully written, and beautifully translated by Lauren Elkin. The ending really packs a punch. I wrote down "a gem of a book." 

Final Books of the Year?

I finished a handful of books during Christmas week and unless I surprise-finish something in the next couple of days, should round out my reading for the year. Stay tuned for my annual wrapup post! I know the three of you who actually read this are all staying so tuned!  

Dating and Dragons (by Kristy Boyce) 

A quick YA read to try and get me to my goal for the year. Cute, very feel-good with a love interest a bit too good (and mature) to be true. But cute and fun - and of course I enjoyed the gaming theme. 

Blob: A Love Story (by Maggie Su) 

This one had already been on my list but made it to the Tournament of Books shortlist so I'm now I think at two books read off the shortlist.  I enjoy a hot mess narrator and this one was the messiest of hot messes.  Thought the ending was terrific and enjoyed! Not as good as Skydaddy, which did not make the shortlist.  (To wit: I copied this review from what I have written in my notebook, but I already can't quite remember the ending of Blob. I remember the ending of Skydaddy perfectly, though.) 

The Golden Spoon (by Jessa Maxwell) 

Another fast read to get me to my goal, this time a cozy mystery inspired by the Great British Baking Show. The ending doesn't really hang together (not the mystery itself, but the aftermath) but fun vibes, good characters,  and worth a read if you like cozy mysteries and baking shows.

The Wild Duck Chase: Inside the Strange and Wonderful World of the Federal Duck Stamp Contest (by Martin J. Smith) 

Last but not least, a book about the Duck Stamp contest, which I followed for the first time this year.  Absolutely fascinating, with lots of interesting details about a niche subculture that would make a perfect Christopher Guest movie.  And as a birder, I will definitely be buying my annual duck stamp from now on!

It's a Love/Skate Relationship (by Carli J. Corson)

Book #70 of the year; I'm trying to hit 75 and clear out a bit of my library backlog so queer YA it is! This is very light - it's essentially The Cutting Edge, but make it Sapphic.   It requires massive suspension of disbelief (especially around the frankly ludicrous ending) and apparently is incorrect about a lot of figure skating terminology.

But the chemistry is cute; the MC's relationship with her best friends is cute; the side characters are cute; overall it's - what's the word - cute.  And now I can move on to book #73, which can be something else that's a quick read! (71 and 72 are in progress, nonfiction and litfic.) 

Texas Books and ToB 2026

Time to catch up on some recent reading! I think I either started or finished all of these during my recent work trip to Texas.  

For the first time I can remember, I'm slightly nervous about my reading goal for the year - I need to finish 10 more books before the end of the year.  I still think I'll do it but normally I'm done well before December. Anyway, adding eight more books to the list today, and introducing the tag for the 2026 Tournament of Books, since the longlist is out. 

The Complex Art of Being Maisie Clark (by Sabrina Kleckner)

The only YA book on the list, actually! I liked this messy main character, and thought her coming of age story felt realistic and cute. There is some excellent trans rep that was handled subtly but realistically.  I loved that finding her artistic voice was part of her story. Her brother was kind of an asshole to her throughout, though. Overall cute and fine.

The Killer Question (by Janice Hallett) and The Last Devil to Die (by Richard Osman) 

I read these two cozy mysteries back to back and they made an interesting counterpoint to each other.  Killer Question is an epistolary novel set in the world of competitive trivia contests, which I absolutely loved. The twists here are great and genuinely surprising.   The Last Devil to Die is part of the Thursday Murder Club series and has more real emotion and deeper characters, but the mystery wasn't particularly surprising or satisfying. Really, the relationships and emotion carry this one. I enjoyed them both for different reasons. 

In a Glass Grimmly (by Adam Gidwitz) 

Part of a middle grade series that Mina enjoys so this was a read-aloud for us.  Very clever and great dark humor. Kind of what I expected and did not get from Gordon Korman, e.g. a truly funny middle grade book.  I have the third book on our shelf to start on next (and I bought her a new signed Scalzi book for Christmas, since she also enjoyed Agent to the Stars this year.) 

The Shattering Peace (by John Scalzi) 

Did someone say Scalzi?  It's been a minute since I read the Old Man's War series so I was glad of his usual formula, where there's enough context-setting to let the reader catch up.  A solid installment, cleverly written and a fun romp. As usual, my only criticism is that all of his snarky-voiced characters and their banter are interchangeable, but this is easy to look past when all the characters are so fun anyway. 

What We Knew: Terror, Mass Murder, and Everyday Life in Nazi Germany (by Eric Johnson and Karl-Heinz Reuband) and The Killer Across the Table: Unlocking the Secrets of Serial Killers and Predators with the FBI's Original Mindhunter (by John Douglas)

And now for something completely different: nonfiction about dark topics with long subtitles. I'll dispense with the second one first - Douglas is smart but also full of himself, and clearly thrilled to bits there's a TV show about him as he brings it up a lot and even put it in the title. (I still would love a third season though.) Still, he presents some fascinating case studies about interviews with killers and if that's your thing, you'll enjoy it.

What We Knew on the other hand is a scholarly book, an oral history of Germany from 1933-1945, and explores what German Jews and non-Jews knew about the mass murder that started in earnest in 1942.  First there are 40 oral histories and then the authors take a look at large-scale survey data. Absolutely worth a read if this chapter of history is interesting to you. 

Sky Daddy (by Kate Folk) 

My first ToB read, about a woman who is sexually attracted to airplanes and believes her destiny is to marry one by dying in a plane crash.  Audacious and un-put-downable, I hope it makes the shortlist because I'd love to talk about it. (Is the ending a cop out or is it genius? I truly can't decide.)  I haven't read any of the other books on the longlist (although I had a couple on hold already) so I'd better pick the next one fast.  

Life & Death (by Stephenie Meyer)

Yes, I finally read the gender-swapped version of Twilight - starring Beau and Edythe, instead of Bella and Edward.

I think I've tried it once before, but it's a very weird experience at first - just trying to remember which characters are the equivalent of which other characters, and feeling like the characters are cut-and-paste copies of each other with weird names. But then as the book goes on, the characters start to feel different - especially Edythe - and then a new ending reaffirms that experience. I ended up really enjoying it. 

Honestly I loved Edythe way more than Edward, although I found Beau way more of a nonentity than Bella and really didn't see what Edythe saw in him. So I guess my ideal experience would be a lesbian novel about Edythe and Bella. Maybe Meyer can do that one next! And Kristin Stewart can star in it. No I don't care how old she is. Thank you for your consideration. 

Canada Books

Yep, another vacation! This time, to Eastern Canada, to visit Prince Edward Island and Lunenberg. Here are the four books I finished on the trip:

We’ll Prescribe You a Cat (by Syou Ishida) 

Read Harder Challenge category: a “cozy” book by a BIPOC author. This is about a mysterious clinic where people go to get prescribed a cat - that somehow ends up solving their problems.  Originally a bestseller in Japan, it is absolutely cozy and charming. The sequel is already on my holds list!

Nobody in Particular (by Sophie Gonzales)

A queer YA romance about a commoner going to boarding school school and meeting a princess in Genovia Henland (I never managed to get used to the name "Henland" which just sounded like "Chickenville" to me.)  Definitely frothy and fluffy, with good chemistry between the leads and an overall cute vibe. 

Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings (by Mary Henley Rubio)

I had to get this one on the trip, where I was learning so much about Montgomery's life. I knew she experienced depression and died by suicide but had no idea about 90% of her life story.  (Personally, I blame her son Chester, sex pest and thief, for much of her misery.) This was a long book but I couldn't put it down, and highly recommend it for fans of the author.

The Glass Girl (by Kathleen Glasgow) 

Another YA, very different from the other one, as it is about a 15-year-old dealing with alcohol addiction and some fairly fucked up family dynamics.  She hits rock bottom and goes to rehab, experiencing the peaks and valleys of recovery. The author is clearly writing from experience, and this is unflinching about alcoholism.  The main character is one you can't help but root for with your whole soul.  Really impactful read and very well done.  

Flamer (by Mike Curato)

I read this graphic novel for the RHC task "read a banned book and complete a task on Book Riot’s How to Fight Book Bans guides."  I checked out the ALA list of most banned books last year to find the book, then donated to the Freedom to Read foundation for my activity. There are lots of amazing ways to help, especially during Banned Books Week, coming up in October.    

This graphic novel is semi-autobiographical, set in the summer of 1995 when a boy who grew up Catholic but doesn't quite fit in goes to Boy Scout camp, worries about what lies ahead in his first year of high school, and struggles with some confusing feelings for a friend.  A very quick read but very moving and reminded me of what it was like for my (Catholic, effeminate, turned out to be gay) best friend growing up and struggling with these same feelings in this era.  

An important book that deserves to be read. 

The Do-Over (by Lynn Painter)

It may surprise you to know that this YA novel was actually also a RHC novel - for the category "a holiday romance that isn’t Christmas."  In this novel, Emilie relives the same Valentine's Day over and over, which places her in the path of classmate Nick instead of her not-so-perfect-after-all boyfriend, Josh.

The novel features familiar time loop tropes with a fun twist (no spoilers) and although it's predictable and the third-act breakup is a bit forced, it still wraps up sweetly.  Lynn Painter seems to have a lot of fans and this was cute - I will probably give her novels another shot. 

Summer Girls (by Jennifer Dugan)

A queer YA about two girls - one ridiculously rich who is in a beach town for the summer, the other lower middle class who works as a lifeguard there - who get together. Their conflicts are about their class differences, including the fact that one girl's dad is a real estate developer gentrifying the town.

I almost DNF this despite it being a quick read - the central relationship just didn't make sense or feel believable to me. They got together too quickly in the story and their romance seemed to pretty much just be based on the fact that they found each other hot. I closed the last page thinking, "Well, that will never last." 

Not exactly what you want from a young adult romance!  

 

I Am Not Jessica Chen (by Ann Liang)

Read for the RHC category "2025 release by a BIPOC author."  I kind of accidentally read it - I'm reading a different book, but when I opened my Kindle app, this one was already open for some reason. Cut to me at two am, finishing it. 

The premise: a girl named Jenna Chen lives in the shadow of her smarter, pettier, more successful cousin Jessica, and makes a wise that she could be her.  The wish comes true, and she wakes up in Jessica's body. But is being Jessica Chen all it's cracked up to be? And what about Jenna - who everyone around her is slowly forgetting even existed?

Obviously a premise that requires you to suspend disbelief, but executed well. Jenna's journey from self-loathing to self-acceptance rings very true. I think Ann Liang does a great job creating well-rounded and authentic-feeling characters.   I did think the pacing was slightly off at the end, but maybe this is because it was the wee hours of the morning?  Anyway, as you can see, I couldn't put it down - which is probably the highest possible praise I can give it.

Iceland Books

I got a bit caught up on my reading goal and finished six books while I was on vacation. As per usual, here they are in vacation roundup format. 

We Solve Murders (by Richard Osman) 

My friend sent me a picture of this book on the recommendation shelf of a local independent bookstore, because it's written by Richard Osman, who has been on Taskmaster UK, a show he introduced me to. This is the moment I realized the Taskmaster Richard Osman is the same Richard Osman who wrote the Thursday Murder Club series! We Solve Murders is the beginning of a new series from him, and thanks to my friend, also meets the criteria of "a staff pick from an indie bookstore" for the Read Harder Challenge. Apart from that, it's a great kickoff to a new series - funny, unpredictable, cozy, with charming characters. If you liked Thursday Murder Club, you'll enoy this one too.

Shampoo Unicorn (by Sawyer Lovett)

The novel is about a queer podcast in rural America, shown from three points of view. I think the exploration of small town homophobia and transphobia will resonate with its audience, but it was not quite successful for me. Of the three point of view characters, one is kind of shoehorned in unsuccessfully, and another is in second person for seemingly no reason. More a book I'm glad exists for today's kids than one which landed with me.

Dangerous Games: What the Moral Panic Over Role-Playing Games Says About Play, Religion, and Imagined Worlds (by Joseph Laycock)

As the title suggests, this one is pretty academic and definitely reads like someone's published thesis (not that there's anything wrong with that). Read this for the RHC category "a book about a moral panic."  I did find it very interesting, as Laycock talks about how fantasy serves similar functions to religion in society and how that overlap can lead to moral panic. It also talks about how the secret to averting a theocracy is allowing people to explore imaginary worlds and alternative frameworks like art, fantasy, science, and religion (apart from the hegemonic one). A slow read but enjoyable.

Leo Martino Steals Back His Heart (by Eric Geron)

A queer YA, of course. On the plus side: had a real story of self-discovery that felt authentic, and wasn't formulaic.  On the negative side: the tone is confusing, a lot of plot is unresolved (like okay, his dad is a cartoon-like cheater and abuser, but his mom's family takes the dad's side? And that's not ever explained or resolved?), some of the side characters seem more like plot devices than actual people with motivation, and the central romance didn't work for me. So, an author with a ton of potential but a book that didn't quite work. 

A Psalm for the Wild Built (by Becky Chambers)

Sci-fi novella for the category "a queernorm book."  To me, reads like the prologue of an actual book. This is about a discontent "tea monk" named Dex who meets a sentient robot and they become friends and set off on an adventure. It's a classic Becky Chambers cozy sci-fi in a casually queer world but really feels like the story has barely begun. 

The Examiner (by Janice Hallet)

I loved the premise of this one - like The Appeal, a novel told through text messages and emails being reviewed by a third-party - in this case, an examiner (a grade-reviewer) for a master's degree art course populated by some deliciously unlikeable characters.  Also one of them might be dead.  First half of this was terrific, up to the first twist (which I loved) and then the denoument ended up being super long and convoluted, and I didn't quite follow everything that was even going on, what people's motivations were, or what the Maguffin even was. Maybe it was just because I was jetlagged by this point but I saw similar feedback on Goodreads so I didn't feel too alone. 

Santa Ana Boooo-oookksss

The title is a reference to this Crazy Ex-Girlfriend classic.  RIP Adam Schlesinger.  But I read two* YA books on my trip to Anaheim last week and flew into the Santa Ana airport, so here we are. 

*I actually also re-read Looking for Alaska kind of by accident in the middle there

Throwback (by Maureen Goo)

I definitely judge books by their cover. I had checked this one out so many times and then returned it before I finally got around to reading it, and it was after the cover changed from a photo to an illustration.  I had the same issue with Martyr! - procrastinated reading it because of the cover.  This is about a girl who goes back in time, Back to the Future style, to help her mother win homecoming queen.  Absolutely delightful although despite being about a first-generation immigrant and her daughter (I am first-generation and those themes usually make me cry) did not make me cry.

Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling (by Elise Bryant) 

I read this one right after Looking for Alaska which was kind of a hard bar to clear, so I was expecting to start a few novels and abandon them before I found one that measured up. But this was delightful right away! Reggie is a Black D&D nerd, Delilah is a biracial girl who has just started fronting a rock band. The romance is a lovely slow burn and the other issues the characters work through - does Reggie's love for "nerd stuff" make him less Black? Is Delilah being tokenized by the guys in her band? - are handled with subtlety. The third act breakup was clunky and honestly felt kind of obligatory but I loved these characters.  Recommended!

 

Grief in the Fourth Dimension (by Jennifer Yu)

I picked this one up after my frantic Tournament of Books reading (I ended up reading 14 of the 18 books this year) since it has been lingering in my backlog and I enjoy young adult and speculative fiction. (Oh, you don't say...)

Two high school students die and are reborn into a mysterious room where they can view - and attempt to communicate with - their loved ones back on earth.  Definitely interesting enough to finish, although it didn't make me cry despite being about literal death so clearly there was something missing for me. I feel like maybe I didn't get to know the characters enough or didn't like them enough. (There are also some editing mistakes that pulled me out of it - one character is named Iris, but is referred to as "Alice" multiple times, for example.)

Not a must-read but also an interesting premise and not a DNF.  (And I picked up two more YAs this week that I quickly DNF'd so that's not totally hollow praise!)

Wild About You (by Kaitlin Hill)

A quick vacation read about teenagers doing a reality competition on the Appalachian Trail.  This was above average and I think one of the standout elements for me was the humor (our main character's voice was delightful and legitimately hilarious. For example, when she's scaring off a bear by yelling at him about the misogynistic nature of the Incredible Hulk, and which Chris is best.) (It's Pine.)

Secondly, her journey is rooted in anxiety and familial trauma that is very well-handled and doesn't get tied up in a bow.  The conflicts are not manufactured but rooted in actual character. So I really liked that part!

I didn't love it so much that I need to go read the rest of her novels immediately - need some more queerness to really hit the spot for me - but I'd absolutely read another book from her in the future.

Anaheim Reads

Spent last week traveling for work again and finished three books, so here's a summary!

Make My Wish Come True (by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick) 

I waited until December to read this, a sapphic romcom in two alternating points of view by the authors of She Gets the Girl, which I really enjoyed. Like this one, more new adult than young adult vibe.  This is a classic Hallmark movie vibe - city girl who has made it big in Los Angeles comes back to the small town and has a fake relationship with the girl she left behind. Charming characters, delightful writing, excellent chemistry - very cute.

Liars (by by Sarah Manguso) 

A Tournament of Books entry abut an extremely toxic marriage. I had to read this in what I called "rage-snippets" because it's about a man who is such a classic tool of the patriarchy (and the woman who stays with him) that I found it enraging to read.  I gather it's somewhat autobiographical, which is why this man has no redeeming qualities, but watching a woman throw away years and have a baby with a man who is awful in every way doesn't make for a fun read.  Anyway, I snippeted my way towards the end. The patriarchy is garbage.

The Last Love Song (by Kalie Holford) 

Another young adult (see, I needed a palate cleanser after my rage-snippets) and it requires a whole lot of suspension of disbelief.  The main character is from a small town, her mother was a famous country star who died young, and she gets sent on a scavenger hunt around the town (by her deceased mom) at her graduation day.  Why wouldn't her grandparents ever even mention how her mother died? (It's not even some dramatic reason.) If her mom's so famous, why wouldn't she just check Wikipedia? The town is dedicated to her mom yet nobody who knew her as a person has ever had a single conversation with her only child? And the fight that gets in the way of the romance at 80% just makes the love interest look like an asshole. (Yes, Mia isn't very brave or bold. But you allegedly are in love with her and she clearly never has been. Also Mia is so emotional about her dead mother's letter she has literally just vomited. And this is the time to have a fight and break up? It's too contrived to believe that anyone would actually behave this way.)  Anyway, I liked the song lyrics and I liked the characters, I just needed a bit more believability.

Airport Feminist Book Club

These are the four books I finished on a work trip to Austin last week; the theme of patriarchy was front and center in three of them.  The first two I finished had pink covers and I wanted to do a whole theme but I gave that up after looking at my library holds and realizing I didn't have any more pink books. Would have been cute in a pointless way though.  

Annie Bot (by Sierra Greer)

Contender for favorite book of the year (which I thought James had locked up).  Onstensibly about a sex robot who is sentient, but actually an exploration of the subtleties of personhood and emotional abuse.  Skin crawling and fascinating and unpredictable... I loved everything about it and re-read the ending like four times.

Plan A (by Deb Caletti)

About a girl who has to travel from Texas to Oregon to get an abortion. The way her pregnancy is discovered by the community is incredibly contrived and the writing takes some getting used to - a bit stream-of-consciousness and discursive. But once I adjusted to the writing and decided to suspend disbelief, I enjoyed it. (While, obviously, being enraged because women should have basic fucking body autonomy.)  It's a bit didactic but it's young adult and this particular kind of didacticism is badly needed even though it SHOULDN'T BE but here we are. 

This Time It’s Real (by Ann Liang)

This was an adorable YA palate cleanser about a girl living in China who has a fake relationship with a film star in her class. It's very cute and well-written with great chemistry.  I hoped it would be good because Ann Liang's I Hope This Doesn't Find You was also very good. Great to discover a new, extremely solid young adult writer!

The Secrets We Keep (by Cassie Gustafson)

Also a YA but this time about a girl whose father is arrested for abusing her friend, and the secrets she may have been keeping for him. Absolutely moving, utterly heartbreaking.  Weirdly has a similar ending to Annie Bot as both characters undergo a sort of liberation.  I also re-read this ending like four times for the same reason. And god I loved the fairy tales interspersed throughout too! A couple of moments when the inner voice doesn't quite work, but for the most part, great.

Alaska Books

I spent a week in a cabin in Alaska; due to weather and flight delays, I also spent a whole lot of time holed up in the cabin and in airports and on planes. As a result, I finished a whopping nine books, so this might be a long post! This covers many of my favorite genres: litfic, young adult, speculative fiction, and Japanese mystery.

Asking for a Friend (by Kara H. L. Chen)

Cute YA about Taiwanese-American kids with complicated families who enter a business competition. In fact, the first of two books on this list about second-generation Asian kids! I enjoyed the depiction of Taiwanese culture and as a second-generation kid of immigrants (though not Asian immigrants) a lot of relatability in this one. Cute but not amazing.

Inspector Imanishi Investigates (by Seicho Matsumoto) 

I believe this was a new author for me that I got from a recommendation on Reddit.  Slow-paced, lots of minutia which I normally love, but but not enough balance in the other direction, and not enough excitement in the mystery. It's like "here is every detail about a very slow paced investigation, and the killer is the exact person you most medium suspect, and you'll discover that very slowly." Not a must.

True Love and Other Impossible Odds (by Christina Li) 

This was the one that made me cry.  It has lot in common with the first book on this list, as it also deals with the pressure of being the child of Asian immigrants. Bu it's a little more mature (the characters are college freshman), the romance is a Sapphic one (always a plus), and in general it was more affecting (I cried). Of all the YA books (or early adult in this case) on this list, this was by far my favorite.

James (by Percival Everett) 

I've been meaning to read this one since the summer, as it was selected for Camp ToB and is by one of my favorite authors. It's a high concept novel (a loose retelling of Huck Finn from Jim's perspective) and it's by Percival Everett, so of course it's a masterpiece. This will definitely make my end of year best books list and probably be in the 2025 tournament.  It's wonderful.

In the Orbit of You (by Ashley Schumacher) 

Another YA, with good chemistry and a nicely complex love story but an unsatisfying ending that didn't quite ring true. As an aside, I knew the Goodreads crowd would dislike this one because they get very mad when anyone is emotionally (or god forbid physically) cheating in a YA novel, but I cannot be the only teenager with the messiest love life. (A sample of my high school days: I cheated on my first boyfriend by kissing a hot guitar player at a party, he responded by bringing me flowers and forgiving me, which didn't make sense until I catfished him for fun only to discover he'd been having sex with his male best friend for years. We stayed together until I successfully convinced him he was gay. We've been best friends for over 30 years. That's high school for you!)  

Margo Has Money Troubles (by Rufi Thorpe)

I decided based on reading her ToB judgment last year that I had to read something by Rufi Thorpe and indeed, this novel is exactly as smart, fresh, quirky and funny as I expected. 

The Half-Life of Love (by Brianna Bourne) 

This was both speculative fiction and YA; the concept is that you get a twinge when your life is halfway over.  A lot of suspension of disbelief was required because they are scientifically investigating it as if it's some chemical thing but also apparently you're immortal before this happens? Like, what happens if you blow your brains out with a pistol? But it's a love story between a researcher who lost her baby sister and a teenage boy who's about to die.  I didn't love how the ending played out (not in terms of what happens, but in terms of how Finch doesn't get agency over his planned death) but it was an interesting high concept, and I liked September as a character and just generally pondering how we live our lives and what's important. Also I was on a bucket list trip (to see the Northern Lights) so led to some interesting contemplation about the purposes of a bucket list and why this trip was important to me.

True Letters from a Fictional Life (by Kenneth Logan)

I wasn't sure if the characters fell flat for me because I was tired from travel at this point, but my thoughts were echoed on Goodreads and the more I thought about it, the more flat it fell. It's about a sporty kid who's figuring out he's gay but I had a lot of problems with it: there's a lot of homophobic and transphobic stuff that is never challenged or addressed. It doesn't feel like in 21st century Vermont of all places there would be this many people using the f-slur, punching gay kids, assuming gay people are pedophiles, or panicking about gay people getting AIDS. Like the widespread regressive attitudes don't ring true. The romance is absolutely tepid. And I couldn't really visualize any of the characters so they all fell flat. A big miss for me.

Salvation of a Saint (by by Keigo Higashino) 

Last but not least, from the author of The Devotion of Suspect X, another Howdunit.  There was one part of the Howdunit that I figured out very early on; the other part was ingenious and I didn't. I loved the character of the female junior detective.  I loved the entire plotline and the unraveling of the mystery. Goes into my top tier of Japanese mysteries for sure, and a great note to end my vacation reading marathon on!