oleadergrove

[oleadergrove]

imagine you as a child, rummaging around in the current version of your room. what would they be drawn to?

[oleadergrove]

A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo

Starting off with trigger warnings: shared nudes, cheating, homophobia, death of a family member, racism, mild sexual content. Let me know if there's anything I forgot!

This book is the sequel to Last Night at the Telegraph Club, which I also wrote about. You can find it here.

Aria was planning on spending the summer with with her best friends, but her plans are dashed after a graduation party gone wrong. Suddenly, she's being shipped off to California to spend the summer with her artist-grandmother. She's expecting a boring summer, but when she meets her grandmother's gardener, Steph Nicols, that completely changes.

I loved this book. I don't know if I would say it's as good as Last Night at the Telegraph Club, but I definitely enjoyed it a lot. It gave a satisfying ending to Lily and Kath's story, which I had been absolutely dying for. All of the queer representation in this book is amazing, although the cheating is less so. I didn't really love that part, and it kinda made me feel a bit weird, but other than that, the book was an amazing coming-of-age story that I would definitely recommend. I definitely saw a lot of myself in Aria, being half Chinese half white, so I did really relate to her experiences there, though I am pretty white-passing.

[oleadergrove]

i’m almost done with song of achilles but i’m gonna cry so hard when i finish so it’s just kinda sitting on my bedside table

[oleadergrove]

O Human Star by Blue Delliquanti

Firstly, we're starting off with trigger warnings. Non-graphic sex and self harm are the only two I can recall at the moment, but if there are any more please don't hesitate to let me know so I can add them.

Alastair Sterling sparked the robotic revolution, but he died before any of his work gained popularity. But then he wakes up sixteen years later in a robot body exactly resembling his before he died. He tracks down his old science partner and lover Brendan Pinsky, only to discover that there's a teenage robot living with him as his daughter. Her name is Sulla and she looks exactly like young Alastair.

Holy shit. Holy shit. I loved this comic so much. The use of color to dictate which is the past in present, with the present in blue and the past in orange is amazing. The story brought up so many topics about gender and the ethics of AI and it was just absolutely an amazing story. 10000/10 would recommend for sure.

Because this is a webcomic, clicking on the cover will lead you to the page to buy a physical volume on Amazon, but you can also read it on the website, ohumanstar.com. You can also read it on Webtoon and you can find the author's tumblr page @bluedelliquanti.

[oleadergrove]

Giant Days by John Allison and Whitney Cogar

I can't think of any trigger warnings for this series, but if there's anything please let me know.

Giant Days follows Daisy, Esther, and Susan through their university hijinx.

I love this series so much. It's incredibly hilarious, and the characters actually go through growth throughout the series, even though this series is meant to be mostly comedic. I think there's 14 volumes with some special editions as well.

[oleadergrove]

tumblr ads are kinda real sometimes

[oleadergrove]

Long Exposure by Marsoid

Alright. As always we're starting with trigger warnings. Child abuse, child pornography (referenced), underage drinking and drug use, homophobia, bullying, and some violence.

When Jonas' childhood bully comes back to his school after (rumor has it) he'd gone to jail for stabbing his stepfather, they're forced to work together on a group project. They stumble across a strange research facility in the middle of the woods and gain superpowers, but with that comes an organization following them. (And maybe some romance too?)

I love this comic so much. I've read it all the way through like three times. Jonas and Mitch have a really adorable relationship (though I guess not really in the beginning, although it is kinda cute with how Mitch is very lovey-dovey) and Mitch's shirts are pretty great. The art is amazing and I loved how it's in all black and white except for Jonas' powers. Would for sure recommend to so many people it's amazing and I love it.

Since this is a webcomic, the link from the cover photo will take you to the Tapas page, but you can also read it on Webtoons and at https://www.longexposurecomic.com. You can also buy it as a print book on the author's shop if you prefer, but I don't think the entire comic is available that way. You can find the author's tumblr page @marsoid.

[oleadergrove]

honestly, i'm not much of a book collector. like i don't have to buy a book to read it. i don't really feel like i have to own a book. like maybe if it's really good or i can't get it from the library but usually i just get them from online or public libraries

[oleadergrove]

The Well by Jake Wyatt and Choo

As always we're starting off with trigger warnings, and I think the only one I've got for this one is death of a family member. Please tell me any you think I need to add.

Li-Zhen's parents and grandmother died fighting the monster that was terrorizing their small archipelago island. But when she a small handful of coins from a well, so that she could have money for her Ah-Gong, she learns that she didn't steal coins. She stole wishes.

This book is so good. Beautifully written, with amazing drawings and dreamy scenery. Li-Zhen is a very real protagonist who carries herself throughout the book in the way a real person would deal with their problems. As the book carries on, her actions weigh more and more heavily on her, and you can see that in her posture and in her more reserved personality, whereas she was super bubbly at the beginning of the book. Would definitely recommend this book the everyone.

[oleadergrove]

Last Night at the Telegraph Club

As always, we're starting with trigger warnings, and let me know if I missed anything. Period-typical homophobia, racism, xenophobia, miscarriage, and non-graphic sex.

Now that that's out of the way, let me tell you about this absolutely amazing book. It's set in 1954 San Francisco, starring Lily Hu. She's a Chinese-American senior in high school, falling in love with her classmate, Katherine Miller. Katherine begins taking her to a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. With Red-Scare paranoia raining over everyone in Chinatown and around her father at risk of deportation, despite his American citizenship, Lily just tries to keep everything together and her two lives separate.

Okay, so I know this book is super popular (I mean it's won like a fuck ton of awards) but I definitely wanted to talk about it. Being half-Chinese and queer, reading this book was definitely an amazing experience. Although the ending absolutely crushed me, I do think it was what the book needed. (I think there's a sequel, though I haven't read it.) Would definitely recommend, especially if you identify with the identities of the characters in the book.

[oleadergrove]

EXTINCTION - THE MEETING

EXTINCTION is a fantasy / horror story about things that end. You can get it here as part of the Shortbox Comics Fair!

The Extinction PDF is screen-reader accessible.

[oleadergrove]

im trying to decide whether i should watch stranger things for my next hyper fixation and whether i'll actually like it

thoughts on the series?

[oleadergrove]

Out of the Blue by Jason June

Before we start, I don't think this book has any trigger warnings, but please tell me if I'm mistaken.

Crest is a merperson who isn't all that excited about their Journey, which is where merpeople go on land for a month and have to help a human before they can go back to the ocean. Sean's boyfriend has just dumped him and he's not happy about it. At all. Obviously. And so Crest and Sean start fake dating to make Sean's ex jealous.

This story is such a typical romcom. It was pretty good, but I'm not sure I loved it a ton. The characters were a tad difficult to connect to, but there were so many hilarious moments, and I liked how the story ended. I'd probably give this like a 7/10?

[oleadergrove]

HGHKLDF I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH I READ IT LIKE LAST YEAR BUT ITS SO GOOD WTF

You've reached Sam by Dustin Thao review is going to preimer at 8:00pm uk time.

[oleadergrove]

excuse me what the fuck is going on im so fucking confused what

what the hell is going on in booktok

[oleadergrove]

idk i kinda just feel numb inside if it was a good book

That feeling of putting a book on your finished pile/shelf

[oleadergrove]

The Golden Hour by Niki Smith

I really, really enjoyed this one. Before I start I just wanted to give a trigger warning for panic attacks, ptsd, and school shootings.

This is a really sweet book about a boy named Manuel Soto who, after witnessing an absolutely terrifying instance of gun violence, is left with PTSD and anxiety. He uses his cellphone and photos to keep himself grounded. He meets Sebastian and Caysha when they're assigned to work together on a group project. Through them, Manuel learns to open up and confront his fears.

Okay. First of all, the art is amazing. Absolutely fucking spectacular. Second, the story had me near tears. It's so beautifully written, capturing Manuel's fear to reach out and his quiet struggle with his feelings. I'm trying to keep my reviews as spoiler free as possible, so I'm not going to give away too much of the story, but I would definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone.