Review: "Notes from a Sickbed" by Tessa Brunton

Notes from a Sickbed by Tessa Brunton
Published November 2022 via Graphic Universe
★★★★

Well before long COVID hit the scene, Brunton got sick in a way that most people didn't understand—chronic fatigue and post-exertional malaise curtailed her plans and consigned her to, mostly, a couch and a bed. For years. Eventually she found ways to reduce some of her symptoms...but that is not this story. Rather, this is the story of those years on a couch and in a bed, working up the energy to do something only to crash the next day.

I suppose this is a story that is just better understood than it would have been just a few years ago (when, say, Brunton was still in chronic-illness limbo). I think it does an excellent job of balancing the boredom of that stuckness, of everything being curtailed just as you're getting going. I am curious about Brunton's choice not to write about those strategies she was eventually able to employ—not sure if that's a matter of "maybe for another book" or a matter of "better but not well and don't want to confuse the two" or something else. I'm also curious about what various medical professionals were saying at the time, and whether any of it was helpful; Brunton doesn't really get into that, except for mentions of things not covered by insurance and the frustrations of not getting better.

It's a timely read. The art style isn't my favourite, but it gets the job done, and it's a really admirable effort at turning an experience that must have been both exhausting and often terribly boring into something not boring.

Review: "Almost Life" by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Almost Life by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Published March 2026 via S&S/Summit Books
★★★★

When Erica and Laure meet in a sweltering Paris summer, it's a blip in their lives—until it isn't. That blip becomes a hookup, becomes a romance, unspools into something all-consuming. But Erica is only in France for the summer, and it's 1978, and being together requires a series of choices that Erica knows will upset the direction of her life. So she goes back to England—but that's really only the beginning.

She knew she could not live how Laure and her friends lived, at the edge of things, even in Paris. [...] She didn't want to exist like that. She wanted to get married, to have children. She wanted to write novels [...]. She wanted simple joy, simple happiness, simple love. And loving Laure, even if she were a man, would not be simple. (loc. 1123*)

Erica and Laure make for such messy, complex characters—maybe at the beginning one seems more straightforward than the other, or more confident in herself, but as time goes on the lines blur. They drink too much; they make bad decisions; they make good decisions; they have friends and lovers and dramas; some of their sharp edges blur into something more palatable and some of their more endearing personality traits wither over time. For Laure in some ways the question of their relationship is simpler; she is already entrenched in queer (though they would not use the term then) life in Paris, and when Erica dreams of them being together, it is back in Paris. Laure has already set aside a need for convention. But for Erica, in the 70s and 80s and beyond...she can see multiple paths, and multiple paths that would bring her joy. Some of them are easier than others.

I'm good at forgetting the book description by the time I read a book I'm interested in, so I didn't realize right away just how much time this would cover. Theirs is not a quick story, over in a summer—theirs is one of those relationships that pulls you in and spits you back out and you wonder, time and time again, if that was the one who got away...or rather, you know that was the one who got away. And what's left is what to do with that knowledge. Very much recommended to anyone with a queer one who got away and to lovers of character-driven stories.

*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

Sample-Chapter Showdown: Young Adult III

Fortress of Ambrose by J. Elle (Penguin Young Readers Group)
Queen of Faces by Petra Lord (Henry Holt and Co.)
Behind Five Willows by June Hur (Macmillan Children's Publishing Group)

It's time for a sample-chapter showdown! Three YA samplers enter...only one survives. Well, or, only one can be at the top of my TBR. If others end up on there too...who's telling?

Fortress of Ambrose:
Things are coming to a head for Quell: a surplus of enemies means her life is at risk, and her options are few—but she's not out of options just yet.

This is book three in a series, and it hits the ground running. In just the first few chapters, we have murder, theft, hints of romance, and a promise of adventure. I haven't read the first two books (my error—I picked up these sample chapters without realizing that the book was part of a series), and I'd definitely suggest starting with book 1; this is clearly not a standalone story. I started to catch up by the end of the sample, but there's clearly a lot of context in the first two books that would be helpful for readers. It seems like a complex magical world (set in an alternate form of the US), modernity meeting something that feels a bit like anarchy.

I won't be picking this particular book up just yet (see: definitely better to start with book 1), but it feels like it'll be a very high-energy conclusion to the series, with plenty of drama to keep things moving.

Queen of Faces:
In a world where bodies are disposable—and, more to the point, replaceable—Anabelle has drawn the short straw. She has a replacement body for the one that could not survive her youth, but the clock is ticking on this body, too. Entrance to Paragon Academy would solve all her problems...if only she could pass the entrance exams. And when she's eventually offered a deal that might save her, it comes with so many strings that it is just as likely to bring about her downfall as it is to allow her to survive.

The sample I read contains the first five chapters, and they flew by—no lack of action here. The sample gives me hope for the worldbuilding in the full book, but what interests me more is the potential for gender-bending here. Anabelle's replacement body is that of a boy, and though the sample doesn't get into it much, there's so much potential for discussion of what that means in terms of gender dysphoria...or possibly the idea that gender might mean something different where anyone (well. anyone with large amounts of money, anyway) can slip into a new body at will.

Two different characters' POVs are represented in the sample, so I'm not sure whether the full book will have just those two or more. Typically I gravitate towards books with fewer POVs, but we're definitely being set up for major conflict between these two POVs, which could be interesting. I don't read tons of fantasy these days...but I may have to make an exception for "dark academia" with an intriguing premise.

Behind Five Willows:
In Joseon Korea, Haewon doesn't have much—her family is poor, and she is expected to remain a model young woman so that she can make a good marriage match...and so that the rest of her family, too, can stay in society's good graces. But: Haewon's older sister is reaching an age at which she will be forced to marry. And Haewon's younger sister is spending time with gisaeng (courteseans), which could bring ruin upon their family if she is seen. And meanwhile Haewon herself is earning her spending money by copying novels...in a time and place when fiction is forbidden.

The note at the beginning of these sample chapters discusses book banning in Joseon Korea, and it sent me down an Internet rabbit hole. The idea of fiction being banned overall is just fascinating, in a dystopian-but-can-also-imagine-it-in-the-near-US-future kind of way. Now: My rabbit holes did not turn up a full ban on fictional works in Korea (bans on Catholic texts, yes), though I'm not sure whether that's because the bans in Behind Five Willows are stronger than the real-life ones for the sake of fiction or because the English side of the Internet isn't as up on Korean book-banning history as it could be (e.g., King Jeongjo's Wikipedia entry is surprisingly short for someone who ruled Korea for almost a quarter-century). Also fascinating to me: Haewon's work transcribing/copying novels. The speed of transcription mentioned in the book makes me think that the books (or sections of books) Haewon is reading and copying must be quite short, so it'll be interesting to see whether that's discussed more in the full book.

Altogether, this is a promising start to historical fiction set in a time and place I don't know enough about.

The Verdict:
If I'd guessed ahead of time, I would have said that Behind Five Willows was the lead contender here (things that send me down rabbit holes always intrigue me!). But...I also really want to see what this fancy school in Queen of Faces looks like. And I can't tell you how, but somehow it has snuck onto my library list...

Thanks to the authors and publishers for providing these sample chapters through NetGalley.

Review: "You & a Bike & a Road" by Eleanor Davis

You & a Bike & a Road by Eleanor Davis
Published May 2017 via Fantagraphics
★★★★

3.5 stars. You & a Bike & a Road charts Davis's solo bike trip across the American Southwest, eastwards to her home in Georgia. She was biking through negative thoughts, and also with the knowledge that if she had kids it would be years before she could do something similar again. Biking through hot weather and suffering knees and border patrol helicopters flying overhead and swooping down to—Davis guesses, and frankly so do I—check her skin color. Experiencing unexpected kindnesses and witnessing terrifying border patrol–related events and meeting other people on bicycle tours. Knee pain and comics and self-doubt.

Artistically, this reminds me a little of Liana Finck. Though there are some full-page drawings, mostly these are quick sketches done with the free time and energy and supplies that one has on the road. I'm guessing (actually...I can confirm from Davis's social media) that under other circumstances her style is different. I don't mind the simplicity of the style, as it works for the project, though I did wish that at least the cross-outs (there are two on the first page alone) had been edited out. It's almost certainly a stylistic choice, but it just...was not my favorite.

The story itself, though: It's relatively quiet, but Davis works in a lot of recurring themes and understated commentary, making broader points in just a few simple drawings. Would definitely recommend, both in the context of the current US...situation...and for those dreaming of a solo adventure of whatever kind.

Review: "Dear Dad" by Jay Jay Patton

Dear Dad by Jay Jay Patton
With Kiara Valdez and Markia Jenai
Published September 2024 via Graphix
★★★

A graphic memoir about growing up with a parent who is incarcerated—and finding ways to connect both before and after that parent's release.

I picked this up because...well, mostly because the US system of incarceration is so broken, and it seems important to read people's stories about it. Dear Dad is told from a perspective I haven't heard much from—a child growing up with a parent in prison—and touches on the importance of facilitating connection between people who are incarcerated and the loved ones out in the world.

My absolute favorite thing about this (aside from it being from a perspective that I haven't seen much of) is that Patton's father's prison sentence is not the point. Why he was in prison is not the point. What is the point is that prison took him away from his family, and staying in contact was a struggle.

What I did want more of, though...well, first of all, the description of the book is inaccurate. The description says ...the two have sent each other numerous letters. Jay Jay's letters can take weeks or months to reach her dad, and some never even get delivered. What's it going to be like having Dad home? But in the book itself, I don't think we ever see those long pauses, or the real struggle to stay in touch. In fact, their written communication is shown mostly in a brief flashback, and then it's on to Patton's father being home, the family moving to Florida, and Patton's father teaching her coding in part so that they can work together on an app that helps youth better connect with their incarcerated parents.

Patton was young when her father was in prison, so this makes some sense—the letters that I as an adult write are much more complex than the letters that I wrote as a child, and I'm guessing that there was limited material to mine in the letters that Patton wrote, or that her father wrote back. It might have been interesting to see some of what Patton's parents discussed in their own letters; I'm thinking of Mainline Mama here, and of the author working and working and working to maintain her relationship while her partner was in prison. Arguments strung out over weeks rather than minutes (or sometimes gotten over before it's time for the next retort), nobody there to share the physical burden of parenting, your partner having to learn the ins and outs of in-person parenting when your child is old enough to be resentful of a new person stepping in.

Dear Dad touches on this, a little—there's one scene in which Patton objects to her father laying down rules, but that's kind of it, because the focus of the book ends up being more on coding. And make no mistake, that's also great! Girls should have more opportunities to learn coding, and it's frankly pretty awesome to see someone getting out of prison and, it seems, thriving. It's just not really what I expected the book to be about.

Oh, the art—not a style that I'm particularly fond of (a little more comic-y than I like in a graphic novel/memoir, where I almost always want more visual detail), but it gets the job done, especially for a middle grade readership.

One quick note: There are some statistics at the end about how many kids in the US have a parent in prison (and how many adults in prison have kids on the outside), but the statistics don't talk about the disproportionate incarceration of Black men in the US, or the staggering difficulties that many newly released individuals face reintegrating, finding a job, getting used to being on the outside again. I'm guessing that was a deliberate choice, but just noting here that if you're reading this as a starting point it's worth diving deeper.

Review: "Time on a Tiny Island" by Amy Muscoplat

Time on a Tiny Island by Amy Muscoplat
Published March 2025 via Joyfestival Industries
★★★

In the mid-90s, stuck in an unsatisfying job, Muscoplat took a leap—she applied to serve in the Peace Corps. She was accepted and sent to Kiribati, where she spent two years working on health projects on Marakei Island.

The Peace Corps are one of those maybe-in-another-life things for me (or maybe-after-retirement, but that feels like another life too, so...), and I love reading about other people's experiences doing it. The best Peace Corps books, to me, have always been the ones where the writer focuses on the people around them and doesn't get hung up on trying to make a big difference. That is: If I've learned one thing about reading so much about the Peace Corps, it's that the projects for which people are officially hired are not necessarily things that will make a long-term impact—they might start conversations, or they might not; mostly the things that last are the cultural learnings.

I know precious little about Kiribati, and it was so interesting to read about so much of Muscoplat's work being about latrines—because although there were flush toilets on Tarawa (the country's capital), the infrastructure simply wasn't there on the less populated islands. In practice, this meant a lot of people simply used the beach, as had been done for centuries, and there was still resistance to using latrines (widespread belief that the ocean would take away waste, concerns about freshwater contamination, etc.). Muscoplat talks a little bit about her work to encourage people to use latrines, and to get more latrines put in, but she knew that she wasn't going to change centuries of culture all by herself, and much of the material is more about, simply, what it was to live in this culture so different from her own. (Like: traveling to New Zealand with a friend from Kiribati, and the friend having to buy flip-flops after being told that she probably wouldn't be let on the plane barefoot; barefoot was simply a norm on Marakei.)

Maybe my favorite throwaway moment: This was the 90s, so communication was mostly limited to letters, and Muscoplat mentions that a friend sent a care package containing...an audiotape of relaxing ocean sounds. A bit like sending coal to Newcastle, isn't it?

Anyway, a nice addition to the Peace Corps bookverse. More fuel for dreams of another life...

Review (Deutsch): "Kerstin Unscripted" von Judith Leopold und Kerstin Opiela

Kerstin Unscripted von Judith Leopold und Kerstin Opiela
Herausgegeben 2025 von Haymon Verlag
★★★★

„Was soll nur aus dir werden?“ Diese Frage wurde mir so oft gestellt in meinem Leben. (loc. 1913)

Opiela war selbst noch ein Kind, als sie ihr erstes Kind geboren hat. Und sie war fast noch ein Kind, als sie an „Teenager werden Mütter“ („Teen Mom“ für Österreich) teilgenommen hat. Aber die Geschichte beginnt viel früher.

Hier ist eine Geschichte, die nicht unbekannt ist: eine junge Frau (oder wirklich ein Mädchen), die zu früh Mutter geworden ist, oder zu früh erwachsen musste, oder schlechte Entscheidungen getroffen, oder...„Teen Mom“ habe ich nie gesehen, aber diese Geschichte kenne ich. Was hier aber interessant ist, ist zweifach: Erstens hat Opiela mit einer Ghostwriterin (oder Mitautorin) gearbeitet—das ist ganz normal, aber in Kerstin unscripted gibt es zwei Stimmen: Opielas, und auch Leopolds. Opiela erzählt ihre Erfahrungen, und Leopold bringt kultereller Kontext und Statistiken ein, um die Geschichte abzurunden.

Und zweitens ist es so klar wie sehr diese Geschichte eine von Generationszyklen ist..und auch sozialen Zyklen. Ich habe andere „Teen Mom“ Memoiren gelesen, aber nie war das so deutlich.

Als Jugendliche hatte ich keine Mutter oder Vater, die mir Mathe, Deutsch, putzen, kochen oder das Leben beigebracht hätten. Was ich gelernt habe, habe ich mir selbst beibringen oder von anderen mühsam abschauen müssen. (loc. 690)

Ich werde an Wards of the State erinnert—von außen kann man „Hier ist, was diese Kinder tun sollten“ sagen, aber das ist nicht so einfach, wenn man keine Vorbilder und keine Ressourcen (und begrenzte Bildung, und oft kein Zuhause) hat.

3,5 Sterne; keine größen Überraschungen aber sehr präzise.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley. Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final. Deutsch ist nicht meine Muttersprache, und alle Fehler sind meine eigenen.

Neue Wörter

Wirbelwind: whirlwind
heftig: intense
Stirnfransen: fringe, bangs
Lebensgefährtin: partner
sich wälzen: to roll around
Zungenkuss: French kiss
anzünden: to light up
trotzig: defiant
Zocker: gambler
Teenie: teenager
Herzstillstand: cardiac arrest
Hebamme: midwife
Hemmungen: inhibitions
Drohung: threat
Überclou: overkill
Kribbeln: tingling
Mistgabelmob: pitchfork mob ("shit fork mob"?)
Hollywood-Schmonzette: Hollywood romance
Junggesellinnenabschieden: bachelorette parties
Schaukelstuhl: rocking chair
Hollywoodschaukel: porch swing
Geschichtenerzählerin: storyteller
Gschichtldruckerin: story printer
zickig: bitchy

Review: "Right Where We Belong" by Farrah Penn

Right Where We Belong by Farrah Penn
Published October 2025 via Viking Books for Young Readers
★★★

A girl, a boy, and a...time-travelling other boy? Okay then.

I read this because it's set at a boarding school, and I am predictable; also, the cover is pretty, and I am shallow. As a rule, I have limited interest in romance in YA books (romance is all good and well, but I want more friendship books, not more "teenagers have fallen in love and their love is pure so it must be forever") and also in speculative fiction, but you know? Sometimes a time-travelling lord spices things up a bit. This ends up having some fairly heavy themes as well: Delaney, our heroine, is grieving the loss of her father earlier in the year, her uppity boarding school is on the verge of being closed down, and over the course of the book she goes through some friendship changes. (Yay friendship material!)

Things I loved: The friendship stuff. I'd wondered whether there'd be a mean-girl angle, but no—instead, Delaney spends some time finding her place among different people when her circumstances change, and she gradually realizes that two things (or two friendships) can be true at once. The grief material is also powerful; I wasn't expecting it and honestly wasn't ready for it, but I appreciate that the shape of Delaney's grief gradually changes over time.

What I loved less: The romance is really obvious. I mean...it's YA, which basically means that unless specified otherwise it's a romance novel for teenagers, so what did I expect. I also wanted more from the time travel—the logic was a little questionable, but more than that the idea that a bunch of teenagers can band together over a few weeks to solve a physics problem that would normally take the top minds in physics years...or decades...or centuries to figure out. Now, admittedly, I don't speak physics, so I don't know whether literally any of the science in this book makes sense, but I'd be curious to hear from those who do speak physics.

So—fun but improbable. But then I suppose that's what speculative fiction is all about...

Children's books: Trucks: "Point & Play: Trash Trucks", "I Truck", and "Science Takes a Trip"

Point & Play: Trash Trucks, illustrated by Steven Wood (Z Kids)
I Truck by Kelly Rice Schmitt, illustrated by Jam Dong (Millbrook Press)
Science Takes a Trip by Maria Rentetzi, illustrated by Pieter de Decker (Clavis)

Into the world of children's books...this time with trucks! And also a bus or two...

It's your first day on a garbage route...where to begin?

Point & Play: Trash Trucks is designed for very young readers who are fascinated by (you guessed it) garbage trucks. It teaches kids a bit more about what a garbage-collection route looks like, plus gives adults an opportunity to help kids practice counting and motor skills. The book instructs kids to wiggle their fingers to get their gloves on—take five big steps to get into the truck cab—shake the book to make the engine start—and on it goes. Really my only complaint is that, though there is a recycling truck shown on the page, there's no other mention of ways to reduce trash production (just a call for kids to count the number of broken toys thrown in the dump).

This would be great as a whole series of board books, each with a different kid-friendly job and associated movements. (As a bonus, the movements probably help get some wiggles out!) The illustrations aren't particularly inspiring to my adult eye, but they have lots of details for young kids to focus on, including lots to spark the imagination. Would you rather live in a castle or a lighthouse...?

Back on the road, I Truck is something of a follow-up to I Ship, treating readers to a look at the life of a long-haul truck (and driver, but that's secondary here). I loved I Ship and was delighted to see this follow in its wake. Simple but rich illustrations, casual diversity, lots of information sprinkled throughout the book, and lots more information included at the end. In particular, nice to see some of the downsides of truck driving discussed, like difficulty getting exercise during long stints on the road and many nights spent away from home—putting those at the end lets the story stay upbeat but provides food for thought for curious young readers.

Planes might be the logical next book here...ooh, or trains. I'll hope for trains. But I'd also take some kind of bright-yellow construction truck! Or a helicopter...

At any rate, we can call this a satisfying follow-up and an excellent read for kids who are fascinated by eighteen-wheelers on the highway.

Did you know that in the 1950s and 60s, the US sent two bus-laboratories around the world to share knowledge about nuclear science (and get ahead in the Cold War while they were at it)? I did not! But in Science Takes a Trip, we're taken along to various countries that the buses visited and get to learn a little about the science that was possible on the buses.

The text is pretty straightforward and factual—this happened, and this is why, and then this happened—and I would have loved to learn a bit about the teams that drove these buses and what the experience was like for them. Imagine taking part in a trip like that, especially back when travel was slower and more difficult than it is now! Best for fairly confident readers or to be read aloud to kids old enough to have some processing power; also probably best for kids who are actively curious about science (or about trucks and buses!) rather than those who want a character-driven story.

The art is gorgeous: lush detail but with a slight (intentional) graininess and faded hues to really give the sense that the reader is going back in time. I don't know what I would have made of the story as a kid (as an adult I'd happily read a full-length book about this), but I would have spent a long time poring over the pictures.

Thanks to the authors and publishers for providing review copies through NetGalley.

Review: "Silenced Voices" by Pablo Leon

Silenced Voices by Pablo Leon
Published September 2025 via HarperAlley
★★★★

Jose has never been all that curious about his mother's background—which is just as well, because she shuts down any conversation about her previous life in Guatemala. But when something sparks Jose's curiosity, he starts asking questions...and learns far more than he'd bargained for.

This is the second YA graphic novel I've read recently that is largely about a conflict—first there was Tall Water (partly about the 2004 tsunami, partly about the civil war in Sri Lanka), and now this. In both cases, they're major conflicts; in both cases, the conflicts were barely a footnote in my education. Most of this book is Jose's mother's story: growing up in Guatemala, her family, the incredible violence and loss wrought upon her community. We come back to Jose and his brother now and then, as Jose is trying to figure out what to do with this new information (e.g., the existence of an aunt he was never able to meet), but the crux of the story is about his mother.

It's a hard read, but one well done. I'm not sure why it feels to me less violent (to be clear: the telling, not the actual history) than Tall Water did—perhaps because the events in Tall Water are happening in the story's now, while in Silenced Voices it's happening in the story's past. Again, not a comment on the conflict itself, but this book might be a slightly easier starting point for a teenager reading about conflict. Overall, an excellent effort to amplify unheard voices, and makes me wonder what stories will be coming out in a decade or two that are happening now but aren't making the headlines.