I'm having a hard time reviewing this, as overall I really liked the two main characters, their queer romance, and how the story delves into grief (deI'm having a hard time reviewing this, as overall I really liked the two main characters, their queer romance, and how the story delves into grief (death of a parent and close friend) and mental health (ADHD and anxiety). The banter is very funny, if it does feel a bit like *all* the characters have the exact same sense of humour after a while. I will say this book felt very connected to Burke's debut, Fly With Me, and I'm not sure how much I would have understood had I not already read that one.
But there are 2 issues I REALLY hope are fixed before this publishes (September 2024).
One is smaller, a weird continuity error like Dylan and Derek go from fighting and then one blowjob between the two of them, and all of a sudden Dylan is calling Derek babe (more than once?) and there's nothing said about it. Wtf? I felt like I'd missed a few chapters or something. It really threw me off and took me out of the story every time he said it.
The thing I really had a problem with is the scene where three characters (including the leads) interact with two white cops (one of them gay). It is real unfortunate, especially as the scene is not relevant to the main plot and could easily be removed. There is just no way in 2024 that even a queer white author should not know that this kind of fictional depiction of cops as gay friendly and nice and reasonable is pure pinkwashing copaganda. Watching a queer white woman get away with saying off the cuff stuff to cops that could get a Black person killed was so cringey. As I am writing this, cops in the US and Canada are violently attacking peaceful student protests against an ongoing genocide. ...more
What a great historical mystery! And an amazing audiobook performance by Vikas Adam, who does unique voices for each character. I love how Rosen doesnWhat a great historical mystery! And an amazing audiobook performance by Vikas Adam, who does unique voices for each character. I love how Rosen doesn't shy away from the complexities of being queer in 1950s San Francisco and the tough sometimes unethical choices people made for self-preservation. A meandering surprising plot with lots of local colour in the setting. I also love how Andy frequently uses the library in his detective work!...more
Well this was just beautiful, excellently narrated by Joel Leslie as usual. It’s a friends to lovers queer romance set in the newspaper world of 1950sWell this was just beautiful, excellently narrated by Joel Leslie as usual. It’s a friends to lovers queer romance set in the newspaper world of 1950s New York. Nick and Andy were just so easy to love and root for, as they sloooowly stumble into the cutest, sweetest domestic bliss. At the same time they gradually create a small circle of queer community and friends. The historical setting is wonderfully rendered, as are the secondary characters! The book doesn't ignore the prevalence of homophobia at the time, but the focus is very much on queer joy and creating a home together.
Highly recommended! Also: there is a free holiday epilogue featuring Nick and Andy that Cat Sebastian wrote, with a link to download in her e-newsletter from Dec 2023, but for some reason the I'm getting a 'no URL found message.' Anyone else on her mailing list who can hook me up?? I desperately need more of the two and Christmas queer domestic happiness!...more
What a showstopping debut!! I absolutely loved this story about two queer siblings and their eccentric Māori-Russian-Catalonian family. It’s a hard taWhat a showstopping debut!! I absolutely loved this story about two queer siblings and their eccentric Māori-Russian-Catalonian family. It’s a hard task to write a novel that makes you laugh out loud throughout but also makes you cry and also makes you think. Rebecca K. Reilly makes it look effortless.
I loved the characters fiercely and felt so moved by the book's insights into family, parenting, queerness, and cultural identity. The scope of this book is very global, with characters with roots all over the world, but it's also so specific to Aotearoa and these wonderful little weirdos. They will live on in my mind like real people for a long time. I've no doubt this will remain one of my favourite books of 2024!...more
Objectively the writing in this spooky YA book is unique and very well done, so I'm not sure why it's not grabbing me. Sometimes the perspective of YAObjectively the writing in this spooky YA book is unique and very well done, so I'm not sure why it's not grabbing me. Sometimes the perspective of YA is just not my thing, which is fine, it's not written for me anyway! I'll be passing this on to my library's teen group, hopefully a queer/trans teen will appreciate it better than me!...more
An incredible picture book! A queer family with two dads and three kids prepares for a visit from Grandma by cleaning the house. But their mischievousAn incredible picture book! A queer family with two dads and three kids prepares for a visit from Grandma by cleaning the house. But their mischievous orange cat keeps switching the letters around on the fridge to-do list, resulting in tasks like mop the baby, scrub the fishes, and vaccum the cat. It's very funny. I love how even the little details of this book are QTPOC focused. And the illustrations are gorgeous. My kid already loves it and she doesn't even understand how funny the silly jobs are....more
I am bummed to report this was an underwhelming, kind of boring read for me. It's very different from Mayr's other books that I've read, which are verI am bummed to report this was an underwhelming, kind of boring read for me. It's very different from Mayr's other books that I've read, which are very weird and eccentric, like about lesbian vegetarian vampires. This is straight historical fiction, very details focused, obviously very well researched. I just... didn't care, despite my initial interest in this slice of 1920s queer Black Canadian life. Partially it might have been the audiobook narration? I'm baffled this won the Giller. Not that Suzette Mayr did, but that this book in particular did....more
In the throes of Covid was perhaps not the best way to experience this complex book, but it was the library audiobook hold that came at the right timeIn the throes of Covid was perhaps not the best way to experience this complex book, but it was the library audiobook hold that came at the right time, so! This is an experimental novel / not really a novel by western conventional standards, as it is just as much a kind of academic theorizing and analysis as a narrative, linear or otherwise. I don't mean this as a critique, just an FYI.
On the sentence level I found a lot to love here, BRB is such an amazing wordsmith and poet. As a piece of fiction this is a meandering collection of conversations, self-reflection, and throughts that ask questions and broach topics with no answers or resolutions. If you like that kind of thing and gorgeous and smart poetic writing, read this. If you haven't read BRB before, I'd recommend starting with his poetry probably, not this book, unless you are into academic theory!...more
I didn't love this one as much as the second one, but I was glad to spend some more time in this world and with this cast of lovable queer criminals. I didn't love this one as much as the second one, but I was glad to spend some more time in this world and with this cast of lovable queer criminals. I am really hoping we get a sapphic book about Betty as the third in the series. An f/f story would round out the queer trilogy, don't you think??...more
CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
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