I am so ahead on reads and somehow feel behind. These last few months have been rough for me, but I am so glad that 2020 continues to deliver incredible reads which provide some kind of escape.

Read Cover-to-Cover in February

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

• Queer librarians find a stowaway who wants to take on the work of resisting an oppressive society in the wild west
• Takeaway: Establish the rules of a world entirely through character interactions

 

Ink in the Blood (Book 1) by Kim Smejkal

• Young adult dark fantasy using ink magic as a form of religious propaganda
• Disaster bisexuals run off to join the circus
• Takeaway: Crafting a queer norm world while still making a religion monstrous

Finna by Nino Cipri

• Adult science fiction queer love story featuring wormholes in an IKEA
• Author interviewed this month (read here)
• Takeaway: Leave some room for tenderness between the strangeness

Conspiracy of Ravens (The Shadow #2) by Lila Bowen

• Rhett Walker discovers himself and his role in a world of shifters and rogues in an alternate wild west
• Takeaway: Weaving together various mythologies into a scary fun time

Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold

• Young adult contemporary fantasy which loosely uses magic and fairy tales as a vehicle to talk about menstruation and feminine desire
• Takeaway: Retellings don’t actually have to be that exact

The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow

• Young adult first contact science fiction novel in which aliens want to take over humans as vessels by stealing away their art
• Takeaway: Using references to illustrate the power of stories and music

Daughter from the Dark by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko

• Adult fantasy in which a radio DJ takes in a young girl with a demon bear
• Unrelatably Russian
• Takeaway: Using references to illustrate the power of stories and music

Audiobooks

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Howard

• Multi-generational story which criticizes adventurers of old
• Takeaway: Lean into the magic of stories to weave together an otherwise complicated tale

Tarnished Are the Stars by Rosiee Thor

• Young adult science fiction about a young woman who can give folks metallic parts in a world banning such augmentations
• Takeaway: Figure out the space stories need to prevent pacing issues, especially towards the end

The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle

• Adult horror about a man trapped in a mental asylum with the literal devil
• Takeaway: Use immediate fears to bring to light more thematic fears

The Hunger by Alma Katsu

• Adult horror inspired by the tragedy of the Donner party
• Terrifying and heart-breaking
• Takeaway: Deep characterization and atmosphere brings forth horror

F*ck No!: How to Stop Saying Yes When You Can’t, You Shouldn’t, or You Just Don’t Want To by Sarah Knight

• Another guide by Sarah Knight that’s expletive-ridden but full of truth
• No isn’t the swear word we think it is
• Takeaway: Really valuable information to be found here about setting boundaries to live your best life

Foul is Fair by Hannah Capin

• Next-level young adult Macbeth retelling about a girl getting violent revenge on her rapists
• Cathartic af
• Takeaway: An excellent case study how using retelling to tell uncomfortable truths

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

• Contemporary fiction unraveling the secrets surrounding the explosion of an HBOT subtank
• Takeaway: Be wary when grafting moral grayness because it can veer into downright villainy

Until next time,
Jo