Author: Jen

“We Have Always Been Here” Review

Posted on by Jen

“We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir” by Samra Habib

Samra Habib has spent most of their life searching for the safety to be themself. As an Ahmadi Muslim growing up in Pakistan, they faced regular threats from Islamic extremists who believed the small, dynamic sect to be blasphemous. From their parents, they internalized the lesson that revealing their identity could put them in grave danger.

When their family came to Canada as refugees, Samra encountered a whole new host of challenges: bullies, racism, the threat of poverty, and an arranged marriage. Backed into a corner, their need for a safe space–in which to grow and nurture their creative, feminist spirit–became dire. The men in Samra’s life wanted to police them, the women in their life had only shown them the example of pious obedience, and their body was a problem to be solved.

So begins an exploration of faith, art, love, and queer sexuality, a journey that takes them to the far reaches of the globe to uncover a truth that was within them all along. A triumphant memoir of forgiveness and family, both chosen and not, We Have Always Been Here is a rallying cry for anyone who has ever felt out of place and a testament to the power of fearlessly inhabiting one’s truest self.

Review

This was a really interesting memoir. There was so much to learn and understand about Samra and their past. I really liked learning about their history and their exploration of their own queer identity. I’m glad that Samra was able to find themselves by finding other queer Muslims to be around. I also recommend checking out their photography project (which Samra talks about near the end of the book) Just Me and Allah which documents the lives of LGBTQ Muslims.

Note: Samra’s pronouns are now they/them. Previous publications about Samra and descriptions of their memoir may refer to Smara with other pronouns, but they/them is correct and should be used.

Book Details

The cover has shapes that look like the heads and shoulders in multiple colors - light pink, dark pink, light green and dark green. The title is written out across the cover taking up most of it and then the authors name is at the bottom. There's a circle logo for the Canadian Reads that says it was the 2020 section for that award.

Author’s Website
Samra Habib
Publisher / Date
Viking, June 2019
Genre
Memoir
Page Count
272
Completion Date
July 2, 2023

“Hell Followed with Us” Review

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“Hell Followed with Us” by Andrew Joseph White

Sixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him—the fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world’s population. Desperately, he searches for a place where the cult can’t get their hands on him, or more importantly, on the bioweapon they infected him with.

But when cornered by monsters born from the destruction, Benji is rescued by a group of teens from the local Acheson LGBTQ+ Center, affectionately known as the ALC. The ALC’s leader, Nick, is gorgeous, autistic, and a deadly shot, and he knows Benji’s darkest secret: the cult’s bioweapon is mutating him into a monster deadly enough to wipe humanity from the earth once and for all.

Still, Nick offers Benji shelter among his ragtag group of queer teens, as long as Benji can control the monster and use its power to defend the ALC. Eager to belong, Benji accepts Nick’s terms…until he discovers the ALC’s mysterious leader has a hidden agenda, and more than a few secrets of his own.

Review

This was a really good book! There’s a lot of gore and body horror but I don’t think it was as graphic as it could have been. If it was a movie or a tv show I’d probably have trouble watching because of the gore but in text it didn’t seem so bad. If you read the introduction of the book the author explains where a lot of it came from and how he felt as a teen struggling with his identity. Which is the whole book too.

All of the characters were great and I liked how everything worked out. Even Nick’s “secrets” worked out well in the end. Benji was a great character to get to know. I did wonder if some things could have been explained a little better but at the same time I wasn’t sure how much the characters knew or could explain because they’re all teenagers dealing with the world they’ve been left in. I’m not sure how fully they understood everything to start with. Even Benji’s awareness of everything and understanding of what was happening seemed suspect.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “Hell Followed with Us”.

Book Details

The cover has a blue background with black clouds. At the bottom of the page are the ruins of several buildings in red brick. In the middle of the cover there is the figure of a person with six wings with a red eye on each wing. The person has their head turned to the left with a scar on their cheek and bandages on their hands with blood dripping from their hands and chest. There is a chain around the figure in a circle and the title is written on a ribbon at the persons legs.

Author’s Website
Andrew Joseph White
Publisher / Date
Peachtree Teen, June 2022
Genre
Science Fiction, Dystopian, Young Adult
Page Count
416
Completion Date
June 30, 2023

“The Marrow Thieves” Review

Posted on by Jen

“The Marrow Thieves” by Cherie Dimaline

In a futuristic world ravaged by global warming, people have lost the ability to dream, and the dreamlessness has led to widespread madness. The only people still able to dream are North America’s Indigenous people, and it is their marrow that holds the cure for the rest of the world. But getting the marrow, and dreams, means death for the unwilling donors. Driven to flight, a fifteen-year-old and his companions struggle for survival, attempt to reunite with loved ones and take refuge from the “recruiters” who seek them out

Review

It’s always interesting reading apocalyptic stories with Indigenous characters from the Americas, because no matter what you can’t deny that they’ve been through an apocalyptic event already. And this story book makes no apologies for expressing that point repeatedly as the characters discuss everything that’s going on. I really enjoyed reading this book and I the characters are great. There’s a lot oral storytelling in the book as the characters make their way north. The elders of the group explaining the history to the younger ones and then also the various characters in the group telling their own stories of how they got to where they are. While the overall story is rather dark and bleak (how can it not be given the setting?) the ending is somewhat hopeful.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “The Marrow Thieves”.

Book Details

Book Cover with a blue background. There is an Indigenous young man on the cover with only half of his face visible. He has black hair and a white strip of paint on his cheek. The cover also has various round stickers of the awards the book has won: GG Books Winner, The Kircus Prize Winner, A Globe and Mail Best Book, The White Pine Award.

Author’s Website
Cherie Dimaline
Publisher / Date
Dancing Cat Books, May 2017
Genre
Dystopian, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Page Count
240
Completion Date
June 24, 2023

“Depart, Depart!” Review

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“Depart, Depart!” by Sim Kern

When an unprecedented hurricane devastates the city of Houston, Noah Mishner finds shelter in the Dallas Mavericks’ basketball arena. Though he finds community among other queer refugees, Noah fears his trans and Jewish identities put him at risk with certain “capital-T” Texans. His fears take form when he starts seeing visions of his great-grandfather Abe, who fled Nazi Germany as a boy. As the climate crisis intensifies and conditions in the shelter deteriorate, Abe’s ghost grows more powerful. Ultimately, Noah must decide whether he can trust his ancestor — and whether he’s willing to sacrifice his identity and community in order to survive.

Book Review

This a novella, so it’s shorter than my usual reads, but I still enjoyed it. It’s another ambiguous ending however I do think the main point of the story is made and clarified. I won’t spoil it by explaining further, but I felt like the main issue is resolved in a satisfying way so while I would have liked to see more I don’t feel like I need to. There’s an interesting group of characters and the way things played out was very realistic.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “Depart, Depart!”.

Book Details

The cover is dark toned water ripples at the top. There's a vague figure of a person in the background mostly under the water. The word Depart is reflected upside down in the water making the two words of the title - Depart Depart. The author's name is at the bottom

Author’s Website
Sim Kern

Publisher / Date
Stelliform Press, September 2020
Genre
Science Fiction, Horror
Page Count
94
Completion Date
June 22, 2023

“The Poppy War” Review

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“The Poppy War” (Poppy War No. 1) by R.F. Kuang

When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising.

But surprises aren’t always good.

Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.

For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . .

Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.

Review

I really enjoyed this book even with the very dark tone. It’s not a light read and while it’s set in a fictional world it’s based heavily on China and China’s various conflicts with other countries. The characters are interesting and I liked all of them even when they weren’t the nicest characters. The main character, Rin, has a complicated background and she’s definitely going to be a complicated character going forward in the next two books. Some might question her choices and mindset (she’s very focused on revenge) but it’s easy to see where all of it comes from based on what she’s been through and what she knows. I’m definitely going to finish the series at some point.

Also – I found this great post and review that provides the historical context for the book: Everything You Need to Know Before You Read The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang by Tiffany at Read by Tiffany and contributing writer & editor Kevin Kaichuang Yang. It provides a lot of information about how everything in the series lines up with history. From the various wars to the character parallels and the landscape. There are spoilers for all three books so consider before reading through it if you like to avoid spoilers.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “The Poppy War”.

Book Details

The book cover has a white background and there is a person sanding on a rock holding an armed bow ready to fire and carrying additional bows. Her outfit is blowing in the wind to the right. The title of the book is at the top and has smoke coming off the letters going to the right. In the bottom half of the book next to the figure is the text "They trained her for ward. She intends to end it" and then the author's name at the bottom.

Author’s Website
R.F. Kuang
Publisher / Date
Harper Voyager, May 2018
Genre
Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Page Count
544
Completion Date
June 22, 2023

“Noor” Review

Posted on by Jen

“Noor” by Nnedi Okorafor

Anwuli Okwudili prefers to be called AO. To her, these initials have always stood for Artificial Organism. AO has never really felt…natural, and that’s putting it lightly. Her parents spent most of the days before she was born praying for her peaceful passing because even in-utero she was “wrong”. But she lived. Then came the car accident years later that crippled her even further. Yet instead of viewing her strange body the way the world views it, as freakish, unnatural, even the work of the devil, AO embraces all that she is: A woman with a ton of major and necessary body augmentations. And then one day she goes to her local market and everything goes wrong.

Once on the run, she meets a Fulani herdsman named DNA and the race against time across the deserts of Northern Nigeria begins. In a world where all things are streamed, everyone is watching the “reckoning of the murderess and the terrorist” and the “saga of the wicked woman and mad man” unfold. This fast-paced, relentless journey of tribe, destiny, body, and the wonderland of technology revels in the fact that the future sometimes isn’t so predictable. Expect the unaccepted.

Review

This was a quick fun read. All of the characters are cool and the world building was interesting. I did think it sort of ends abruptly and ambiguously. It’s not entirely clear what was going to happen next to the characters though there’s hints that they’ll be okay.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “Noor”.

Book Details

The entire cover is yellow/gold with a black women from the chest up facing towards the right but with her head turned slightly forward. The women has her hair up and arranged on the back of her head and is wearing what looks like a jewel on her forehead and a necklace.

Author’s Website
Nnedi Okorafor
Publisher / Date
DAW, November 2021
Genre
Science Fiction, Fantasy
Page Count
224
Completion Date
June 20, 2023

“Four Hundred Souls” Review

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“Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019” edited by Ibram X. Kendi with Keisha N. Blain

The story begins in 1619—a year before the Mayflower—when the White Lion disgorges “some 20-and-odd Negroes” onto the shores of Virginia, inaugurating the African presence in what would become the United States. It takes us to the present, when African Americans, descendants of those on the White Lion and a thousand other routes to this country, continue a journey defined by inhuman oppression, visionary struggles, stunning achievements, and millions of ordinary lives passing through extraordinary history.

Four Hundred Souls is a unique one-volume “community” history of African Americans. The editors, Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain, have assembled ninety brilliant writers, eighty of whom takes on a five-year period of that four-hundred-year span with ten lyrical interludes from poets. The writers explore their periods through a variety of techniques: historical essays, short stories, personal vignettes, and fiery polemics. They approach history from various perspectives: through the eyes of towering historical icons or the untold stories of ordinary people; through places, laws, and objects. While themes of resistance and struggle, of hope and reinvention, course through the book, this collection of diverse pieces from ninety different minds, reflecting ninety different perspectives, fundamentally deconstructs the idea that Africans in America are a monolith—instead it unlocks the startling range of experiences and ideas that have always existed within the community of Blackness.

This is a history that illuminates our past and gives us new ways of thinking about our future, written by the most vital and essential voices of our present.

Review

This is definitely a book everyone should read but obviously especially white people. There’s 80 essays written by 80 writers covering the span of 400 years broken up in 5 year spans. While each story is very surface level they all explain a lot about what was going on at the time. Everything is important to know and think about. Things haven’t actually changed as much as some would like to believe. The last story covers the span between 2014 and 2019 – COVID is mentioned briefly in the conclusion and acknowledgments. Anyone who’s been paying attention knows what comes next. The epidemic only highlighted what was already true about this country and how white people respond to black people.

Book Details

The book cover is mostly yellow or orange with a line of black down the middle in the shapes of black stick figures representing people walking in a line from top to bottom of the cover. The title and editors are over the top of the cover in white.

Editors’ Website
Ibram X. Kendi with Keisha N. Blain
Publisher / Date
One World, February 2021
Genre / Topics
Essays, History, Race
Page Count
528
Completion Date
June 20, 2023

“How Long ’til Black Future Month?” Review

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“How Long ’til Black Future Month?” by N.K. Jemisin

Three-time Hugo Award winner and NYT bestselling author N. K. Jemisin challenges and delights readers with thought-provoking narratives of destruction, rebirth, and redemption that sharply examine modern society in her first collection of short fiction, which includes never-before-seen stories.

Spirits haunt the flooded streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In a parallel universe, a utopian society watches our world, trying to learn from our mistakes. A black mother in the Jim Crow South must save her daughter from a fey offering impossible promises. And in the Hugo award-nominated short story “The City Born Great,” a young street kid fights to give birth to an old metropolis’s soul.

Review

This is a great collection of short stories all written by N. K. Jemisin. Some of them are early ideas that would become her larger works. Others are stories she had written for other publications. All are great. I also highly recommend reading the introduction to the book for more background and to know where the title of the book comes from. I really enjoyed each story and will likely read more by this author at some point.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “How Long ’til Black Future Month?”.

Book Details

On the cover a young black woman is facing towards the right in profile with her long hair styled with decorations that are white geometric shapes. The shirt or dress she is wearing has a thick collar that looks like two rows of white balls. The title of the book and authors name are on the top and bottom of the cover.

Author’s Website
N.K. Jemisin
Publisher / Date
Orbit, November 2018
Genre
Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Short Stories
Page Count
416
Completion Date
June 14, 2023

“The Disordered Cosmos” Review

Posted on by Jen

“The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey Into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred” by Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

In The Disordered Cosmos, Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein shares her love for physics, from the Standard Model of Particle Physics and what lies beyond it, to the physics of melanin in skin, to the latest theories of dark matter—along with a perspective informed by history, politics, and the wisdom of Star Trek.

One of the leading physicists of her generation, Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is also one of fewer than one hundred Black American women to earn a PhD from a department of physics. Her vision of the cosmos is vibrant, buoyantly nontraditional, and grounded in Black and queer feminist lineages.

Dr. Prescod-Weinstein urges us to recognize how science, like most fields, is rife with racism, misogyny, and other forms of oppression. She lays out a bold new approach to science and society, beginning with the belief that we all have a fundamental right to know and love the night sky. The Disordered Cosmos dreams into existence a world that allows everyone to experience and understand the wonders of the universe.

Review

Dr. Prescod-Weinstein included a chapter at the end of the book where she pointed out that while the book is challenging we shouldn’t be so hard on ourselves if we don’t understand everything. Especially since it’s stuff that takes years for people to fully understand. The point is that we get ideas of different elements of physics and then learn more about the challenges anyone who is not white and male have faced when trying to become physicists. I got more out of that part of it than anything else really. The learning of how much needs to change to make learning more welcoming to all. It’s also always fun when a fellow Star Trek fan can use various quotes and ideas from the show to explain things or make a point. I do think some people will struggle to get through the beginning of the book as the language is a bit complex but physics is complex. I think this a book worth reading to learn about various issues.

Book Details

Author’s Website
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
Publisher / Date
Bold Type Books, March 2021
Genre / Topics
Memoir, Science, Physics, Race, LGBTQIA+
Page Count
336

Completion Date
June 3, 2023

“We Don’t Swim Here” Review

Posted on by Jen

“We Don’t Swim Here” by Vincent Tirado

Bronwyn is only supposed to be in rural Hillwoods for a year. Her grandmother is in hospice, and her father needs to get her affairs in order. And they’re all meant to make some final memories together.

Except Bronwyn is miserable. Her grandmother is dying, everyone is standoffish, and she can’t even go swimming. All she hears are warnings about going in the water, despite a gorgeous lake. And a pool at the abandoned rec center. And another in the high school basement.

Anais tries her hardest to protect Bronwyn from the shadows of Hillwoods. She follows her own rituals to avoid any unnecessary attention—and if she can just get Bronwyn to stop asking questions, she can protect her too. The less Bronwyn pays attention to Hillwoods, the less Hillwoods will pay attention to Bronwyn. She doesn’t get that the lore is, well, truth. History. Pain. The living aren’t the only ones who seek retribution when they’re wronged. But when Bronwyn does more exploring than she should, they are both in for danger they couldn’t expect.

Review

This was a really fun read. I was one of those books where once I started I just kept going and finished it all in one go. I loved all of the characters and the central mystery was great. The town was suck in a trap of its own making from the past act and couldn’t see a way out of it because so much had gone into covering up what that act actually had been that only a few left knew the full story. I really enjoyed the resolution of everything though there was on plot point I wish had been explained. I believe I know the answer given what is said throughout the book but it’s never explicitly said nor does anyone in the town seem to realize the truth of that plot point of everything that’s gone on. Though to be fair the main characters are teens and it’s the kind of story where adults don’t entirely know what they should know. It works either way.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “We Don’t Swim Here”.

Book Details

The heads of two young people, both Black, are on the cover facing away from each other. One is clearly visible while the other is almost entirely blurred out. The background of the cover is dark greenish blue water at the top and solid black from the middle down.

Author’s Website
Vincent Tirado
Publisher / Date
Sourcebooks Fire, May 2023
Genre
Mystery, Thriller
Page Count
320
Completion Date
May 20, 2023