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savvylit's reviews
479 reviews
Fieldwork: A Forager's Memoir by Iliana Regan
emotional
hopeful
reflective
3.5
I enjoyed this introspective book. Regan's childhood on the farm and her adult decision to leave the hustle & bustle of Chicago's culinary scene was all so distinctive and compelling. The artfulness and care that she puts into her food preparation shone through on nearly every page. I could almost literally see the abundance of forageable flora in the Hiawatha National Forest as I read Fieldwork.
Ultimately, though, I think this memoir would have been better as an essay collection. Something was missing within the structure and the narrative eventually became overly drawn out. I think with polishing and the natural pauses of essay formatting, Fieldwork would have been a much more powerful memoir.
Ultimately, though, I think this memoir would have been better as an essay collection. Something was missing within the structure and the narrative eventually became overly drawn out. I think with polishing and the natural pauses of essay formatting, Fieldwork would have been a much more powerful memoir.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Rape
Untold Night and Day by Bae Suah
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book is a FEVER DREAM to the point that I'm still not sure what happened. The two women central to Untold Night and Day not only experience eerily similar and parallel life events, but they also look and act the same. They may ~be~ the same person, though it was never fully confirmed. Ultimately, I didn't dislike how bizarre and unknowable the entire storyline was but I didn't love it either. I will say that Suah's use of repetition and deja vu was definitely well done and super effective, though!
If you love plotless books that confuse you, definitely pick this one up!
If you love plotless books that confuse you, definitely pick this one up!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Vomit
Moderate: Cancer, Death, and Car accident
Such a Bad Influence by Olivia Muenter
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
2.0
I picked up Such a Bad Influence because I was in the mood for a fun, escapist thriller. In all honestly, that's definitely what I got -- at first. However, reading this eventually became a chore. I finished Such a Bad Influence feeling like the story had been drawn out and jumbled.
The fun parts: influencer snark pulled from the real world, discourse on sharing a child's life without their consent, & critical takes on parasocial relationships.
The parts that were too much: the structure. Such a Bad Influence was marketed as a thriller. Yet the mysterious & thrilling elements gradually fell into the weeds as the plot diverged into a more contemporary look at family dynamics and coming-of-age in/near the spotlight. This definitely could have worked well. Unfortunately, though, instead of blending genres cohesively, the mixing of themes seemed jarring and like a result of poor editing instead.
The fun parts: influencer snark pulled from the real world, discourse on sharing a child's life without their consent, & critical takes on parasocial relationships.
The parts that were too much: the structure. Such a Bad Influence was marketed as a thriller. Yet the mysterious & thrilling elements gradually fell into the weeds as the plot diverged into a more contemporary look at family dynamics and coming-of-age in/near the spotlight. This definitely could have worked well. Unfortunately, though, instead of blending genres cohesively, the mixing of themes seemed jarring and like a result of poor editing instead.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
Moderate: Eating disorder and Stalking
A Small Apocalypse by Laura Chow Reeve
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A Small Apocalypse has a lot of overlapping content - characters and their individual angst repeat throughout this collection. Tying each story together is a running thread of queerness and the restlessness specific to the swampy climes of North Florida. There are ghosts, a hurricane, an infestation of paper wasps. There are new relationships, goodbye parties, and loneliness. Overall, Chow Reeve has written an immersive literary collection that perfectly encapsulates a very specific New Adult vibe.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Racial slurs and Racism
Bad Girls: A Novel by Camila Sosa Villada
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Bad Girls is perhaps the biggest testament to chosen family that I've ever read. Right from the start, Sosa Villada describes the solidarity and care that the self-described travestis have for one another. When their matriarch, Auntie Encarna, finds and adopts an abandoned baby, the travestis rally around Encarna to help her raise the child. This is the background for the rest of the narrative, which follows Camila as she navigates the danger and violence of sex work as a trans woman.
Overall, Bad Girls was an intensely compelling yet absolutely devastating novel. Sosa Villada writes with a unique blend of humor, magical realism, and blunt honesty. I felt truly immersed in a world that I'd known absolutely nothing about prior and I'm so glad I was. (Even if it often completely broke my heart).
Overall, Bad Girls was an intensely compelling yet absolutely devastating novel. Sosa Villada writes with a unique blend of humor, magical realism, and blunt honesty. I felt truly immersed in a world that I'd known absolutely nothing about prior and I'm so glad I was. (Even if it often completely broke my heart).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Small Things Like These is a perfect literary novella. The length? Excellent. The imagery and characters? Rich and cinematic. The setting is almost instantly a fully fleshed out world. I felt like I'd personally taken a time machine to 1980s Ireland to observe the events that take place.
Ultimately, this short tale packs quite a heavy punch. Based on real history, Small Things Like These unveils the cruel reality - and open secret - of Magdalene Laundries and the ways that they punished and imprisoned young, unwed mothers.
Ultimately, this short tale packs quite a heavy punch. Based on real history, Small Things Like These unveils the cruel reality - and open secret - of Magdalene Laundries and the ways that they punished and imprisoned young, unwed mothers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy
White Magic by Elissa Washuta
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Every essay in White Magic is deeply memorable thanks to Washuta’s unique and searing candor. Washuta is incredibly honest about her past and completely unafraid of sharing some of the ugliest and most heart-wrenching moments from her past. She also uses repetition throughout the collection in an almost aggressive way, challenging readers to consider why they don’t like reading the same thing over and over again. I really appreciated being challenged in that way.
One thing I’d like to note, though, is that I believe that this book was marketed and represented incorrectly. The first essay is about white women’s appropriation of magic and witchery. It’s a critical look at the ways that white women have not only stolen indigenous practices but have sanitized them as well. Woven throughout that essay is a narrative about Washuta’s own relationship with magic. It’s excellent and fascinating in equal measure. However, based off of that first full essay, the book’s title, and the blurb on the back of the library copy I read, I expected the content to follow that same theme. While Washuta does continue to describe her own spiritual reckoning, the rest of the essays are more memoir-oriented and less focused on cultural criticism regarding magic.
One thing I’d like to note, though, is that I believe that this book was marketed and represented incorrectly. The first essay is about white women’s appropriation of magic and witchery. It’s a critical look at the ways that white women have not only stolen indigenous practices but have sanitized them as well. Woven throughout that essay is a narrative about Washuta’s own relationship with magic. It’s excellent and fascinating in equal measure. However, based off of that first full essay, the book’s title, and the blurb on the back of the library copy I read, I expected the content to follow that same theme. While Washuta does continue to describe her own spiritual reckoning, the rest of the essays are more memoir-oriented and less focused on cultural criticism regarding magic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Genocide and Colonisation
Minor: Stalking
Y/N by Esther Yi
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Y/N is a strange book that had me hooked from the very first page. Our narrator's obsession is so deep that it pretty much obliterates any shred of personality she may have otherwise had. The object of her devotion, Moon, also has no personality for the most part - or at least, not any real personality outside of what our narrator creates for him in her self-insert (y/n) fan fiction stories. And boy are those stories odd and unusual! They eventually venture into the grotesque; one scene had me literally gagging.
Though I was riveted by this strange story, I was a bit disappointed with the way it ended. Overall, though, I do think that some of the greater themes of parasocial relationships and celebrity worship make Y/N worth a read. If you love unhinged vibes and plotlessness, you're in for a treat!!
Thank you @astrahousebooks for the gifted paperback copy of Y/N in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Though I was riveted by this strange story, I was a bit disappointed with the way it ended. Overall, though, I do think that some of the greater themes of parasocial relationships and celebrity worship make Y/N worth a read. If you love unhinged vibes and plotlessness, you're in for a treat!!
Thank you @astrahousebooks for the gifted paperback copy of Y/N in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Stalking
Moderate: Dementia and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Ableism
Summer Fun by Jeanne Thornton
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Summer Fun is a modern American epic! The intertwining stories span decades and sweep across themes. This novel is so many things at once: fan fiction about/a love letter to the Beach Boys, a trans bildungsroman, a testament to chosen family, and a deep dive into the rigors of the Hollywood music industry.
Summer Fun has two main characters: B and Gala. Through Gala's retellings, we soon come to know absolutely everything about B. B is the lead singer and songwriter of a band called the Get Happies. B was the eldest child of an abusive father. B never felt comfortable in the gender B was assigned at birth. Gala, on the other hand, is a narrator who emerges to readers fully formed. She intentionally keeps us at a distance, never revealing versions of her past self and always telling someone else's tale for them. And she was a truly excellent narrator! I think that's why I wish she would've ultimately shared more of her own story.
Overall, I very much enjoyed Summer Fun. If you're in the mood for a sweeping, summer-y, and queer novel then you should definitely think about picking this one up!!
Summer Fun has two main characters: B and Gala. Through Gala's retellings, we soon come to know absolutely everything about B. B is the lead singer and songwriter of a band called the Get Happies. B was the eldest child of an abusive father. B never felt comfortable in the gender B was assigned at birth. Gala, on the other hand, is a narrator who emerges to readers fully formed. She intentionally keeps us at a distance, never revealing versions of her past self and always telling someone else's tale for them. And she was a truly excellent narrator! I think that's why I wish she would've ultimately shared more of her own story.
Overall, I very much enjoyed Summer Fun. If you're in the mood for a sweeping, summer-y, and queer novel then you should definitely think about picking this one up!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia
Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Domestic abuse and Gun violence
Blood Orange by Yaffa As
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
4.0
Almost from the first poem in this collection, it's clear that writing this was deeply cathartic for Yaffa. Every page directly requires that readers grasp the immense cruelty of Israeli occupation and the ongoing Palestinian genocide. Whether it's in a historical context or a current personal one, Yaffa demands that their people be known and remembered.
As always with my poetry reviews, I'll let Yaffa do the talking in their own words so that you can experience their skill for yourselves. This is an excerpt from the titular poem, Blood Orange:
"i am of
a people who
have died a
thousand times
as white people
came and conquered
our blood filling
trees and canyons
turning the
sea a blood orange
like an eclipse that
forgot to
subside
the world ends
anew here
again and again
we are the
final test
of a humanity
that continues to
fail"
As always with my poetry reviews, I'll let Yaffa do the talking in their own words so that you can experience their skill for yourselves. This is an excerpt from the titular poem, Blood Orange:
"i am of
a people who
have died a
thousand times
as white people
came and conquered
our blood filling
trees and canyons
turning the
sea a blood orange
like an eclipse that
forgot to
subside
the world ends
anew here
again and again
we are the
final test
of a humanity
that continues to
fail"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, and War