Wandering Stars

Wandering Stars isn’t as propulsive as There, There was, but don’t worry; it twists the knife. I thought the way it highlights the generational trauma forced upon Native Americans was really effective, and it broke my heart. Highly recommend.

Beautyland

Beautyland is one of those books that will sneak up on you and hit you right smack in the feels. My favorite kind of book. (The audiobook was also excellently performed, and the story was easy to follow in that format!)

Aednan

The moment Ædnan landed in my hands, I was excited to read it. And friends, I was not disappointed. This novel in verse is absolutely stunning and deeply moving, with a translation that’s both accessible and musical.

How to Build a Boat

My latest Booker Prize longlister, and while I see its merits, I’m not super surprised that we didn’t see this one on the shortlist. Sometimes I felt super engaged and sometimes I felt the opposite. All in all, I think I am slightly to the positive side of neutral on it.

The Eternal Ones (Deathless, #3)

This trilogy is a set of solid early-YA fantasy novels with an imaginative magic system and really good political world-building. All in all, I think the first book was my favorite, but this was still an adventurous, satisfying ending!

The Future

I think this book successfully did what it set out to do, but tech apocalypse stories just aren't my thing. But if you’re looking for a slightly more sophisticated version of a dystopian thriller, this might be your jam.

Prophet Song

Somehow, this book is completely engrossing and also felt sooooo slow to me. But at the end of the day, this is a devastating, scary, very moving book that absolutely achieves what it sets out to.

Come and Get It

I was pretty lukewarm on Such a Fun Age, but I decided to give this one a go anyway. But ultimately, I feel pretty similarly about this one: not bad but not for me. If you really loved SaFA, I think you’ll probably like this one too, but I just don’t like train-wreck plots.