magicsilas

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Guantanamo Voices, Edited By Sarah Mirk 4/5 or 7/10 I think not caring about politics is a very privileged and arrogant stand. It is why I picked up this book about not so distant American history/politics. I do think graphic novels are a digestible way to take in information. There was a lot of information to take in that made the book a little hard to digest. Especially since it dealt with many different people that were on many different sides of the argument, I do think it was a little biased when it came to presenting information. As a person who is against the prison system, I do wish it could have shown more of the opposite perspective. I think the art styles chosen for each person brought into the book was really well done to depict who they are. I do think this is a novel that I will have to re-read and look into the citations/resources to get a better picture of, but I do like it.

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Now, Conjurers By Freddie Kölsch 4/5 or 8/10 Okay! I loved all the characters. The main ones, the parents that were mentioned, even if it was from a very biased perspective, I really did love them all. The way they were described was perfect in my opinion, we got the needed information from them but the intimacy of friendship brought out so much more that it sometimes physically hurt. The atmosphere of desperation and the level of horror was really amazing. I do think the label of horror is inaccurate for this ook, I would rather call it a thriller. I especially loved the way it stayed true to nature and the time period where this was taking place. The plot was a little unserious at times but that was okay. I really did think the characters played their part for it. It was really a book that took me a while to get into, but once it was there I was hooked with the magic and characters. The magic was a little something to make sense of, but easy to follow once it was understood. The society aspect of it does make sense of the area that the characters are in. Overall, it was a good show that I really enjoyed and had its moments, but it didn’t have that emotional impact to make it a 10/10 for me.

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Spells to Forget Us By Aislinn Brophy 4/5 or 7/10 I previously read a book from his author, and I liked their writing style which influenced me to read this book. I do think the side characters were kind of lacking. The main two are great! They were really great and dimensional. The magic was sweet, there was little confusion with the way the magic politics worked but still it was okay. The timing was a little messy, I do not get the aquarium reference and maybe it's not exactly important. I love the way Luna talks about the experience of being a fat girl, it is something I would like to read more. Aoife and her experience as a mixed-race individual, I do wish it delved deeper than just her appearance. I do like that it talks about a child influencer because I honestly have not seen much of that. The writing was not bad, but it did not feel incredibly powerful. Again, the plot was a little confusing and repetitive when it came to the breaking up. I do appreciate that they did not break up for the same reason twice. I really did love that they did not get together at the end. I was really invested in the story, until the end when it was like “Oh no, here we go again.” With the confusion with the magic system, I was a little lost in how Aoife got magic. I did see how it worked for the plot. Overall, I liked the book.

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Hijab Butch Blues (Audiobook and Book) By Lamya H 4/5 or 8/10 This is a memoir, I will be rating this with love and a gentle hand. This book was really important to me, I have a huge struggle with religion and at some point, Islam was a possible answer for me. Fitting my gender and sexuality with Islam was something I needed help with, which is why I turned back to this book. I have not gone with Islam, but it still holds a special place in my heart. If it is for me, I know it will be there waiting for me. In this novel, I really loved the way the people interacted with Lamya, the way they may have their place in chapters, vanish in some and come back when they are needed. It fits my liking for memoirs. The way she navigated school, and family and language. It's related to my experiences as an immigrant child, especially with not having language to explain these experiences. I really liked the atmosphere. I adored the writing. I do like the way Lamya navigates her life, relating to different prophets. I love the way it had multiple parts that explained different aspects of that prophet. I loved the way it navigated finding your group, choosing family, knowing yourself and dating. It was an easy read, it soothed me well. Some explorations of themes of religion did not feel the best but I understood them. This was a pretty good read, and the way it was written made the logic better. It was a good book that I will be coming back with.

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Lights Out By Navessa Allen 3/5 or 5/10 It was a romance novel that I decided to read due to an audio on TikTok that made me laugh. Firstly, I think a lot of these ‘dark romance’ books are just under negotiated kink. The side characters were lacking when it came to the female characters. Aly’s friends were not there as much as Josh’s best friend. With the way that the media portrays male friendships, this was a good representation. The main characters were simply weird and just kinda amusing in a way dolls are. To simply put it, they were characters that like a person just puts stuff too, to give backstory and you mention it but don’t really explore. The setting was not the best. The hospital was not real to me, the city was simple, refusing to name TikTok, it felt not really real. It was silly, I like silly things. The writing was really funny actually! It was comedic and had many references to pop media I did not really explore. Honestly, the romance, the sex, is incomparable to the mafia part. That was my favorite part, committing murder together was my favorite part. Again, the plot was silly, there was no real stakes to make it important or serious. I was interested because it was funny, but I am not a reader who liked spice romance, so it took me a while to get really into the book and even then, some parts I just powered through. The logic was a little off, and I get that to read some of these books you have to leave the thinking hat on the rack. I do like books that require a bit of thinking. I overall liked the book, it was funny, it made me laugh. I will probably read the sequel/companion novel due to the fact it has a mafia plot.

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Genderqueer By Maia Kobabe 2/5 or 4/10 I do not like rating non-fiction. Know that this is my own personal opinion and I write this with love and care. The people in this graphic novel played their part in the novel, they came up where they were needed, but other people who played larger roles kept their position. Since it is a memoir, they do not get more attention, but I wished they had, people are not just themselves but also those who influence us. The way they stick longer than they intended. I did feel like the atmosphere explored a lot of themes of sex, in a way I did not expect for a book marketed as young adult. I do like that the novel was great at citing other works. But I was not a huge fan of the writing, it can be attributed to the fact that graphic novels are not my primary format/genre. I saw that the novel was about a person coming to terms with e’s gender identity. The end was not good, I hated the way it seemed like a better hope for tomorrow but that angered me, like I wanted an actual end not an imaginative end. This book has been regarded as one of the best gender identity novels out there, so that made me check it out from the library but reading it, I was annoyed, not prepared for what it had. I was getting frustrated as I read it. I kept reading it since it was generally a short read. This is someone's life, so obviously it has logic. Maybe because I am not there in my life some parts did not make sense for me. I really did not enjoy reading this.

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The Nightmare Before Kissmass By Sara Raasch 7/10 This was a re-read! I was actually really excited to read this book again, I loved the story and wanted a refresher for reading Go Luck Yourself. In this re-read, I looked a lot more at the side characters and relationship developments. Hex, as much as he seems confident, he really isn’t, he seems like a person who is really insecure deep down, as he explains it he wasn’t the original heir. His relationship with his brother was sweet and complex and I really liked it. I loved that he was self-aware enough to look at his relationships and acknowledge his mistakes and do his best to fix them. I think the magic was really perfect! The Christmas setting was there and was sweet. I think it fits with the author's intentions to give joy to the world. The writing was amazing, I love that when it came to the sex scenes there was clear and communicated consent. I also saw a lot more quotes and funny moments. This time, I felt like the plot was lacking, the way that the hostage situation was happening, I just did not feel the best as it was the first time I read it. I loved the magic, I loved the idea of holidays being made to give us pieces of survival for hard times. I think the magic is really simple and makes sense! But obviously it's magic, and not the main point of the book, so some parts seem silly. I do like where it acknowledges that their magic comes from their original roots. I really love it. It is one of my all time favorite novels.

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April Round Up!

Books Read The Nightmare Before Kissmass By Sara Raasch 4/5 or 7/10 Genderqueer By Maia Kobabe 2/5 or 4/10 Lights Out By Navessa Allen 3/5 or 5/10 Hijab Butch Blues (Audiobook and Book) By Lamya H 4/5 or 8/10 Spells to Forget Us By Aislinn Brophy 4/5 or 7/10 Now, Conjurers By Freddie Kölsch 4/5 or 8/10 Guantanamo Voices, Edited By Sarah Mirk 4/5 or 7/10 Currently Reading Sunrise on the Reaping By Suzanne Collins

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the people have SPOKEN! I'm going to be working on some recommendations list!!

what should I post more about?

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real

the difference between Haymitch and Katniss's narration is so funny. Haymitch would give us everyone's social security number if he knew them, while Katniss wouldn't even tell us her mom's name.

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I was in class, reading. It's a very obvious book if you're up to date in the book world. A purple and gold book. A classmate asked me what I was reading, and I said, "Oh, Sunrise, on the reaping." And she looks at me so confused, and I'm agast. "You don't know hunger games?!" Was my response.

She in fact, did not know.

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For May! (excluding sunrise on the reaping) I will be trying my best to only read from POC authors. This mainly comes from the fact that my reading, as much as I'm trying to diversify, is still being a lot of white people. So, hopefully, for the next month, I can try to achieve this goal.

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y'all I'm super impatient and i have to WAIT

what should I post more about?

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what should I post more about?

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Animal Farm by George Orwell (4/5 or 8/10) With the state of the world, books like these are incredibly important to read and understand. It was also part of my book club read for march, made into a movie, and technically there is an animated movie based on it. As far as the story goes, not great character development, but adore the ending. When I read it back in high school I remember being so amazed and shocked by the book. It is definitely a book that brings awareness and makes you look around the world. I think my personal favorite part was the end.

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The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store by Cait Flanders (4/5 or 7/10) It was a good book! I think it was also a memoir about Cait Flander’s year long experiment. At times I felt like it was a little ranty. I did like the way chapters were set up to depict each month. The intersectionality that was talked about was beautiful. I really do think this is a book that left an impact on me, especially since I am worrying about my finances. Seriously, I’ve had a retirement account since I was 17, ages ago. It also did make me reflect a lot, a lot of what was written reminded me a lot about my sister and made me understand her struggles a little bit better.