Under the Udala Trees is set in Nigeria during and in the aftermath of the civil war. Ijeoma is sent to live in a safer area of the country with people she’s never meant. She acts as a servant to earn her keep. When she befriends a girl from another ethnic group–in fact, from the community on the other side of the war–this relationship is only barely tolerated. When it’s discovered that her and…
Where the Words End and My Body Beginsis a collection of glosa poems, which means, in part, that each poem incorporates four sequential lines from another poem. What makes this collection especially interesting is Amber Dawn’s selections: each poet glossed “find[s] themselves somewhere along the queer, gender-creative, feminism and/or survivor spectrum.” Although each poet has a different…
I don’t know what to think about Babyji. This is going be less of a review and more of an unpacking of my emotions. It’s one of the most uncomfortable reading experiences I have had. I assume that is purposeful, but it means that I can’t seem to get a handle on my own emotional reaction. Anamika is sixteen, and the narrative focuses on her three simultaneous love affairs: two with older women,…
I recently read my first Jacqueline Woodson book, The House You Pass On the Way, and really enjoyed it. I was expecting Autobiography of a Family Photo–same author, similar size, both with queer content–to have a lot in common with that book, but this turned out to be a completely different reading experience. Autobiography of a Family Photois arranged in very short chapters, usually between…
Erin Dutton’s latest book, For the Love of Cake, is set in a reality show competition that pits pastry chefs against one another for the ultimate prize: sweet victory. I confess, I would have read it for the title alone: my love for cake is just that powerful. I read an advance copy of the novel, which was published in February, through Netgalley.
“You deserve a princess, Kerry, but a princess who will hold your hand in public” – Harris
I admit that I am not much of a romance book reader, but this summer I was travelling and wanted to read something light that didn’t get me hooked, so I could drop it if I needed to. The Princess Affair, for being a romance story was quite good. I was in the awkward position of liking a few clichés but…
I have to start out by saying that I love this title (and the cover is nice as well). Every time I would glance over at the title I’d think Right?What a great encapsulation of the lesbian high school experience. (I also had a Facebook friend comment on my Goodreads post that I had finished this book by saying that she thought this was a link to an advice column and was disappointed that she was…
I was intrigued by the first sentences of Smoketown:
Anna Armour had had her fair share of failed resurrections. There had been the lichen when she was three and the dragonfly at six–the sad twisted platypus that her mother took away before it ruined her tenth birthday. Since the day of her mother’s death when Anna was fourteen, she hadn’t brought anything back to life.
You had me at “Jazz Age”. Truly, in my mind, there is no more attractive time in human history than this fleeting moment between the Great War and the Great Depression. New York, London, Paris, Munich, this is the time to be a woman loving woman and dance about in your sparkly dresses, powdering each other’s knees and seeing if you can get an invite to Natalie Barney’s salon. I’ll read just…
