“Zenobia July” is a heartwarming, middle-grade novel about a transgender girl who starts her new life in a new town with her aunts.
I received this book from Penguin Teen Canada in exchange for an honest and free review. It sounded like a perfect read for Pride Month.
Read MoreRight before going to NYC for BEA/BookCon, I got to be at Penguin Teen Social event at Penguin Random House Canada HQ - effectively, kicking off my bookish 2 weeks. I was trying to write and upload this post before I left, but there was just too much happening!
I love going to book events in Canada as I get to see lots of bookish friends and bloggers! Not to mention get my hands on the newest releases. And this event was not an exception.
Read MoreI came across “The Magic Misfits” as I was browsing the newest releases at my favourite Indigo store. I was thrilled to find out that Neil Patrick Harris wrote a book! The cover looked so adorable that I couldn’t wait to read it.
Read More
Have you ever been in a situation when you don’t know what to read and then randomly find a book and it is exactly what you have been craving but you just didn’t know that? Well, this is what I felt when I started reading “Peter Darling” by Austin Chant, after seeing it being recommended by Cece at ProblemsofABookNerd. I still mentally salivate when I think about it.
I did not read the synopsis of the book before reading it, and I encourage you to do the same. Not because it is really spoilery (it is but there is just no other way to summarize the books, I guess), but because it does not reflect the dark and surreal feeling that this book inspires. To put it shortly, it is an adult fantasy novel, a sequel to Peter Pan, which features a transgender main character. That’s all you need to know. Go and read it now!
It takes place 10 years after the events of “Peter Pan”. Peter Pan has grown up, but his life has not been easy with Darlings. His father keeps calling him Wendy and his brothers think he invented Peter Pan. Peter feels the pull to return to Neverland, and this time for ever. Once he is back, he has to face his old adversary, Captain Hook. Ten years is a long time, and Peter is not a boy anymore, and it is not only hatred that he feels towards Hook.
I love reading books by indie authors, however, I rarely stumble upon real gems, and this book is definitely one of them. The book is well written with the right amount of angst and action. And I am a big sucker for angst. Peter struggles to be true to himself while managing his relationship with his brothers and parents, who see him only as Wendy. It is striking and moving, and I couldn't help but root for Peter.
Peter, when he returns to Neverland, and Lost Boys are brutal and more savage, which reminded me of “Lord of the flies” in some ways. There is a certain twist in the novel, which I freaking loved, and wish I could rant about it in my review, but it is a big spoiler.
Relationship between Peter and Hook is very believable, and I appreciate the fact that it did not happen out of blue or developed at a warp speed. For those who are concerned with the age difference, remember that Peter is of legal age in this story.
I really, really liked this book. I wish I had a physical copy, but it is definitely joining my favourites collection on my Kindle. I liked this book so much that I immediately went on twitter to tweet at the author and ask if he plans to do more fairy tales retellings/sequels because this one was awesome.
So, if you like queer stories and retellings peppered with angst, go and read it!
Personal rating: 4 stars
Buy on Kindle:
This book kept coming up on BookTube and GoodReads as a new YA contemporary with a main gay couple, so of course I had to pick it up! I chose to read this book as part of #LGBTQIAREAD Read-a-thon, as I mentioned in my blog post.
“The Love Interest” is a slightly sci-fi young adult contemporary romance novel. Sounds confusing? Well, how about the plot. There is a nefarious secret organization that cultivates teenage spies. They are taken from their families and raised and trained to be perfect love interests for people who are destined for great power or influence. Those “love interests” are split into Nice and Bad, depending on their personality fit, and are constantly evaluated for various skills. Once they are deemed to be fit and are matched to their “chosen one”, they are then given the directives and are implanted into lives of those “chosen” to spy on them for the rest of their lives.
Caden is a Nice, Dylan is a Bad. They are give the same target and the ultimate incentive to win this dangerous game: be chosen or be killed. But, unexpectedly, they start to develop feelings for each other.
The plot summary was what attracted me to this book. I am not a huge fan of YA contemporary romance, but I love queer books and dystopian/sci-fi elements, so I was very excited to read it. Good thing that I purchased the book before I checked its rating on GoodReads or I might have never picked it up. As I am typing this, “Love Interest” has the rating of 3.18 on GR, and I try to never go for books which are under 3.5, because I get mostly disappointed (the only exception besides “Love Interest” was “Wink Poppy Midnight” which I adored).
Let’s be fair here, “The Love Interest” is far from a strong debut novel. There are a lot of plot holes surrounding the secret organization and how it was dealt with. Especially, in the last third of the novel - I had an impression as if the author was rushing through the ending or didn’t have it fully outlined, because everything that was happening was just too fantastical to be real. Some of the characters were too two dimensional for my taste and some of their actions were just implausible.
The good thing about this book is that it is just pure fun. The first half or even two thirds of the book is just a pure satire and parody on a typical young adult romance. And it is intended to be such. I found the narration overall pleasant enough and the action was fun.
I think that this book would have benefited from more editing and perhaps another round of revisions. I liked the idea of love interests/spies, I liked both Caden and Dylan. But the book lacked depth and even the moments that were supposed to move me felt a bit shallow as they were so brief. Not to mention the fact that the ending was extremely weak.
Is it a great book? No, but it IS a fun book which I might even re-read if I need a good laugh (because some of those romance tropes were just hilarious). But most importantly - the book gave me exactly what I wanted to read: a queer love story. We don’t have enough of those in YA, even nowadays.
I will definitely keep an eye on Cale’s books and hope to read more by him.
Personal rating: 3 stars
Affiliated links:
Okay, I am not very good with TBRs or read-a-thons or read-a-longs as I am a moody reader and prefer to read what I want to read in a particular moment. But when I watched George’s video on YouTube announcing Queer Read-A-Thon, I just had to sign up! I mean, I read queer lit anyway, and it is Pride Month, so I am going to do it!
I put together a list of books and graphic novels that I would like to read in that week. It is, undoubtedly, a pretty big list, but like I mentioned before - I am a moody reader and I need to have options. I also need to tackle some of my eBooks, as I keep shopping on Kindle and not reading them (does anyone else have the same problem?).
My TBR:
The read-a-thon takes place during one week, June 25 - July 1. #LGBTQIARead is going to be the official hashtag on Twitter, if you would like to join in.
I can’t wait to start as I have been meaning to read some of those books for awhile!
Sign up here: http://daydreamersthoughts.co.uk/lgbtqiaread-is-back/
George’s video: https://youtu.be/xJBK3pQmo4A
I was provided a copy of this anthology by Playwrights Canada Press in exchange of a free and honest review.
“Long Story Short” is an anthology of short plays by Canadian playwrights of diverse backgrounds. The introduction by Rebecca Burton gives insight into how she picked the plays and on the background of the authors. Selected plays are intended to appeal to a variety of readers and variety of tastes as they range in genres from satire and comedy to absurdist and dystopian and encompass an array of topics from coming of age, love, relationships, race, gender norms, and death. Every read is bound to find something to their taste.
I have never had a pleasure of reading anything so diverse in genre and style. I found this idea extremely thrilling: an anthology of plays without one topic or common genre or one idea that would bind all of those stories together. With only one common ground of (relatively) short length, they are like mismatched beads, glass and seashells on a single thread. With so many of authors of different backgrounds involved, it is astounding how all of those talents shine individually as well as together.
I fell in love with this anthology almost from the very beginning. I did have a couple of instances when I was left confused or detached after finishing the play, however, the overwhelming majority of works left me reeling with emotions and thoughts. I couldn’t wait to review this anthology, only to be left stumped about how to approach something so different.
Eventually, I decided to do an overall review and provide a quick synopsis and rating for each play as they all deserve a mention.
The Book of Daniel by Lawrence Aronovitch
Summary: A man recalls his schooldays at a Jewish school.
Rating: 3 stars
The Baited Blade by David Belke
Summary: A young movie star comes to a veteran actor to receive a lesson in swordsmanship. Dark secrets are revealed.
Rating: 5 stars
Green Dating by Chantal Bilodeau
Summary: A teenage girl has very specific environmental ideas about what she wants in a man.
Rating: 4 stars
Sisters by Per Brask
Summary: A homage to Chekhov’s Three Sisters
Rating: 3 stars
Cook by David James Brock
Summary: The private cook of a demanding family interviews a boy who wants to be their next meal.
Rating: 4 stars
The Auction by Trina Davies
Summary: A married couple fights over the junk that the husband keeps buying.
Rating: 5 stars
Air Apparent by Sandra Dempsey
Summary: Aisling struggles with the aftermath of 9/11
Rating: 4 stars
Summer’s End by Francine Dick
Summary: Three sisters inherit the family cottage but one of them has quite different plans for it.
Rating: 4 stars
Pee & Qs by Josh Downing
Summary: Three men find themselves in an awkward situation as they face the workplace washroom rules.
Rating: 4 stars
The Prisoner by Jennifer Fawcett
Summary: In an unnamed country, a widow comes to prison to ask a guard about what happened to her husband and warn him about his fate.
Rating: 4 stars
This Isn't Toronto by Catherine Frid
Summary: An adult daughter and her mother have a conversation.
Rating: 3 stars
Troupe by Ron Fromstein
Summary: Four women attend the hundred and tenth meeting of Khodoriv Dance Collective
Rating: 2 stars
Brother, Brother by Meghan Greeley
Summary: A little girl with speech impairment needs to learn important words and asks an older boy to help her.
Rating: 4 stars
It’s Going To Be a Bright by Matthew Heiti
Summary: Two people break up and break up again. And again.
Rating: 4 stars
Garbed in Flesh by Arthur Holden
Summary: An old sexual offender is interrogated by a young detective and is confronted by his wife.
Rating: 3 stars
A Recipe for Tomato Butter by Florence Gibson MacDonald
Summary: A sixty-year-old woman contemplates God, tomatoes, 9/11 and her neighbours.
Rating: 4 stars
The Living Library by Linda McCready
Summary: A young woman borrows “a human book” from the library.
Rating: 3 stars
Flesh Offerings by Yvette Nolan
Summary: A Cree/Metis woman in Wild West show invites you to her performance.
Rating: 3 stars
The Only Good Indian by Jivesh Parasram
Summary: a standoff between a suicide bomber and a police officer
Rating: 5 stars
A Friend for Life by Talia Pura
Summary: Kristy is heartbroken, because her boyfriend came out as gay and dumped her.
Rating: 3 stars
An Ordinary Guy by Ann Snead
Summary: Jeff is an ordinary guy with an unusual attachment to tomatoes
Rating: 5 stars
Say the Words by Donna-Michelle St. Bernard
Summary: Everything you have heard about feminists is totally true.
Rating: 5 stars
Steps by Jose Teodoro
Summary: People in formal clothes fret and dance to Miles Davis “Flamenco Sketches”
Rating: 4 stars
Nancy by Michael Wilmot
Summary: A boy comes across an elderly gentleman sitting in the park.
Rating: 4 stars
Burusera by Laura Mullen and Chris Tolley
Summary: Used underwear for sale.
Rating: 4 stars
I think all of my most favourite plays involved death or murder in one way or another (oops) but I enjoyed all of the plays for their diversity and unique taken on various facets of humanity, from ugly to touching.
I am incredibly grateful to Playwrights Canada Press for providing me with the copy of this anthology for review. I will be definitely re-reading this one more than once. Overall rating: 4.5 stars
I watched "My Night with Reg" on February 24, almost by the end of the play’s run, which is unfortunate as I would have loved to see it again. This was one of those plays which I had on my list as something that I would like to see but it was nowhere near at the top. More so, I bought the ticket only because it was on sale on Boxing Day, since I am not too fond of Panasonic Theatre as a venue.
I also knew next to nothing about the play as I have never heard of it before but I did have an inkling that it might have something to do with LGBTQ+ community (I still have no idea how I guessed but here you go!). But then the show started its run, three actors of the main cast did a short interview during Morning Show on Global (which I watch faithfully every day), so it gave me a better understanding of what I was going to see. And I got excited.
It is a rather short, only one hour and a half long, chamber play. There is no intermission, however, there are three distinctive parts that span across several years. The transition is so quick that the audience is often left to wonder how much time has actually passed.
It is a play written by British playwright Kevin Elyot. The events take place within gay community in London in 1980s, when the threat of HIV/AIDS is on the rise. The story is about a group of close friends who go through love, heartbreak, betrayal, and death, somehow still maintaining their friendship. The central figure in the majority of conversations is a mysterious Reg, who never makes an appearance, but whose existence affects most of the characters in one way or another. In spite of a looming threat of terminal disease and occasional bouts of depression, the play is surprisingly funny and racy (plus, it includes full frontal nudity on stage - just saying!). There are a lot of tongue in cheek jokes, as well as jokes that might fly over the heads of those who are not part of LGBTQ+ community (I was sitting next to a couple who seemed to be confused throughout of the play), however, the problems that those guys face are universal and relatable.
I, personally, found the play both heartwarming and heartbreaking. All of the characters have their own secrets and troubles. The threat of HIV/AIDS is never discussed or mentioned explicitly, although it is being referred to more than once. There is also a mention of rape, which is sort of glossed over as well. I had a feeling as if the Guy’s apartment was some sort of a bubble in which they all encompassed themselves, trying to hide from the realities of death, disease and reality. This bubble, unfortunately, starts to crack as the play progresses and the friend face the deaths of their loved ones.
I think all the actors did an amazing job at playing their characters. If I had to pick my favourite, I would say that Daniel was probably my favourite. I stayed for a bit of Q&A at the end of the play, which provided a bit of more insight into the characters of Bernie and Benny.
I wish I had read the play before watching it but I am going to rectify it soon. This was the first time it was performed in Canada, but hopefully not the last time.
Personal rating: 4 stars
Sources:
I started reading this book and fell in love with the writing style immediately. I loved it so much that after reading 20 pages of a library book, I went and purchased my own copy. Because I knew that this book would become one of my favourite reads of this year.
It is a stand alone YA novel based on folklore/fairy tales. Seeing how tightly the world of fairies is tied to the real world, I am almost tempted to call it magical realism and not fantasy.
It is the very first book I have ever read by Holly Black and, oh boy, did she exceed all of my expectations.
There is a boy and a girl, who live in a small town. There is a forest where fairies live. A girl used to slay monsters, a boy used to tame them with his magical music. There is a horned boy sleeping in a glass coffin. There is a some evil threatening to hurt everyone. And there is someone leaving obscure clues to our characters.
I am bad at summaries but the story is a whimsical action packed narration that gave me everything I could have dreamed of: a strong female lead, lost children trope, magic, one or two broken hearts, lots of monsters, and queer themes.
I wish I could write a more coherent review (the one in which I don't squee and gush and yell at people to read this book).
I am very glad that it is a stand alone novel, as the market right now seems to be oversaturated with book series, but at the same time I wish I could spend more time in the universe.
Can't really talk about the ending as it would a spoiler. But you have to read it! It is wonderful!
Personal rating: 5 stars
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wIjXsbB6vo[/embed] I know it is late December now but I am still slow with editing videos and December has been crazy.
This is an actual video, and not a stop motion this time. I am learning new tricks in iMovie ;)