Review: "What We Did to Survive" by Megan Lally

What We Did to Survive by Megan Lally
Published March 2026 via Sourcebooks Fire
★★★★

It's spring break, and Hannah is living it up with her friend Emmy at a beach resort in Mexico. And everything's great...right up until Emmy's latest crush invites them, and Emmy's brother, to go sailing. On a random boat whose owner he's paid off. With a storm on the horizon...

I'm not a fan of boats, but despite (because of?) this, I'm fond of locked-room murder mysteries taking place on boats. This isn't a mystery per se—when the first body falls, Hannah (and the reader) knows exactly what happened. We might not have the details of why, but we know what and who. The question becomes what the limits are...and of course what Hannah & co. will have to do to survive.

Lally's first book, That's Not My Name, won me over partly for the tight pacing and partly for the twists that kept things surprising, and What We Did to Survive manages something similar. I don't want to get into plot details, because they're more fun if you go in blind, but I love how much of this ends up being about Hannah and Emmy's friendship, and them figuring out to stay close, stay relevant to each other, when they're heading off in different directions.

Also, have to love this dedication: For all my fellow anxious travelers. This book probably won't help your anxiety much, but your next vacation can't possibly go as badly as this one... (loc. 29*)

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

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

Review: "Sea Legs" by Jules Bakes and Niki Smith

Sea Legs by Jules Bakes and Niki Smith
Published February 2025 via Graphix
★★★★

Like most kids, Janey goes to school and comes home—but unlike most kids, "home" for Janey is a boat. And it's time to set sail again, which means that Janey is back to homeschooling and hanging out with adults and adventures that sometimes aren't as stimulating for a kid as they are for an adult.

I love a good graphic memoir, and this is a really interesting one just for being about such a unique experience. For Janey's parents, boat life is a desirable shift from a more standard way of living, but for Janey, it's often just...lonely. Staying in touch with Janey's best friend on land is hard, there are rarely other boat kids, and even when there are, they aren't always people Janey would choose to be friends with normally. Her situation is unusual, but she's still just a normal kid with normal kid desires and emotions.

Janey's friendship with Astrid ends up being some of the most interesting material of the book. That plotline ends in a complicated way—one of those things where you wish this were fiction so that you could know more about what happened after the fact!

The art is a little cartoony for me, but it grew on me as the book went on, and it made sense for the target age range. I hope there's a follow-up eventually.

Review: "Coming of Age in the Cannibal Isles" by Fred Bell

Coming of Age in the Cannibal Isles by Fred Bell
Published December 2022 via Peace Corps Worldwide
★★★★

Today in Peace Corps memoirs! Bell was sent to Fiji in 1969 for a two-year forestry stint, and it was a good enough fit that he ended up extending another two years.

Two things that I really appreciate: First, Bell is not shy about acknowledging his own failures when he was in the Peace Corps—sometimes relatively small things, like committing cultural faux pas because he didn't know all the ins and outs of Fiji culture, and sometimes bigger things, like recognizing when he picked up local racism and had to work to recalibrate. (He also acknowledges the advantages he had in being male, and that there were things that were a lot harder for women than for men.) And second, even decades later he's still just really enthusiastic about his experience, and interested in describing things he learned about the culture and place.

The book is a little repetitious in places, and there isn't as much character development for other characters as I'd have liked—the latter I think is just the result of decades passing between events and writing. But it's generally good energy, and I love reading about experiences that I'm unlikely to have myself.

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.

Review: "Strange Girls" by Sarvat Hasin

Strange Girls by Sarvat Hasin
Published March 2026 via Dutton
★★★★

There's then and there's now: Then, Aliya is an international student in London, uncertain and struggling to find her footing. When she meets Ava, it's clear to both of them that they've each found their person. Everything changes. Now, Ava is ten years out of university and surviving rather than thriving: isolated in Scotland, bank account chronically low, her dreams of publishing a novel gone stale. And now, the two of them are back together in London, meeting after years apart, no longer sure what to say to each other.

We both chose London. It is not a surprise when romantic girls who like books choose London. It means nothing except that if we'd not picked it, we'd not have ended up in each other's lives. (loc. 1192*)

I am drawn to books about platonic friendship. The one Aliya and Ava have is so specific and set so relatable: Their friendship is intense (not least because they're both intense) but at the same time uncertain; they aren't quite old enough when they meet, or with quite enough life experience, to be confident in themselves and their friendship. They fall into something kind of enmeshed, mostly healthy, something where they love fiercely and at the same time are not always sure what is right or true.

The split in perspective works brilliantly well. We hear only from Aliya in the Then and only from Ava in the Now, and both they and their relationship have changed so much in the meantime that there's an initial disconnect in the ways they view each other. For Aliya in university, Ava is a grounding force, confident and direct and talented. But for Ava as an adult, Aliya is the one who has it together—married, with a book on the way, stable. Neither of them has changed, not really, but their places in the world have.

The early-evening sun spills in through net curtains and lights up all the things they have put down here together. These are the things I should want. (loc. 563)

One point of confusion: I did not really understand the ending. I'm looking forward to seeing what others have to say about this, as I suspect the book is doing something more intentional than I fully grasped. It didn't work as well for me as the rest of the book—but then, that might change once I understand the ending better. It's a quiet book, and although there's drama (they are so young in the Then, and have so much unprocessed history in the Now), it tends to be small-scale. Not minor for them, in their lives, but all told there's not all that much that happens. Again, it works well within the context of the book, but this is definitely one for lit fic readers and those who don't mind a quieter story.

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

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

Review: "Audrey Lane Stirs the Pot" by Alexis Hall

Audrey Lane Stirs the Pot by Alexis Hall
Published December 2025 via Piatkus
★★★

Back in the world of everyone's favorite rip-off of The Great British Bake Off! Not actually sarcasm—I love me a good Bake Off–inspired book, and the Winner Bakes All series (which takes place largely on the set of the entirely-fictional-not-at-all-based-directly-on-a-real-life-show Bake Expectations) is in fact a good set of reads.

Audrey Lane is the latest protagonist to find herself on set. She's a journalist with a sharp eye for the undercurrents—so although she hopes to do well, she's well aware that she's been cast as much for the sake of appearances (have to have a diverse cast, visually as well as demographically) as much as for her ability to bake; it would be nice to win, but she can see the story the producers are setting up a mile away, and that story does not include Audrey in the top three. And: She discovers early on that the things that interest her most about the competition are 1) the backstory of the oldest contestant on the show, which the producer absolutely does not want her to investigate, and 2) that producer herself.

The romance is...what it is. Audrey decides early on not to be put off by Jennifer's foul-mouthed rudeness, but Jennifer has been so consistently foul-mouthed and rude throughout the earlier books that it's impossible for her to be something else. And I'm not entirely sure what to do with her. If Jennifer were a male character, she'd be right up there with the horrible leads from 80s romance novels (although with a great deal more consent involved, so there's that). And as a female character, I...also don't like her that much? I don't know. It strikes me that Aubrey interacts with Jennifer mostly (not entirely) on Jennifer's turf, and mostly (not entirely) around people who have spent a lot of time around Jennifer and learned how much of her bark is also bite. And I guess I just wonder how much time Audrey is eventually going to spend assuring her friends that Jennifer isn't actually awful.

(Side note: I do love Audrey's analysis of the way she and her ex differ: Natalie had been different. For her, it had always been about Truth with a capital T. Where are the bodies buried and who buried them and who paid for the shovels? But all Audrey had ever really wanted to do was to ask what happened next? (loc. 3661))

The backstory with Doris—the oldest contestant—is in fact intriguing, though it kind of suffers from the same thing that Audrey's relationship with Jennifer does. Doris is now in her 90s and no shrinking violet, but I suppose...at least when Jennifer isn't swearing her little potty mouth off (and, in fact, when she is), she treats Audrey like an equal. I couldn't decide whether or not to root for Doris to get a "happy" ending, so...do with that what you will.

What I really did love: the baking. This seems like such an obvious thing for a Bake Off rip-off, but as it turns out (I've read more than my fair share by now), it's not! So I was honestly just thrilled to get details about every dang bake—some details more detailly than others, sure, but none of this "and then they all made cupcakes and wow! Some of them were chocolate! And then there were some others, okay, moving on now". No, Hall takes pains to think about what each challenge is, what each contestant might try, and how it might work out; better, it's not just window dressing but part of the plot. I haven't loved the romances in the past couple of these books, but I would keep reading just for the way Hall thinks through the plot-within-the-plot.

Review: "Bad Kid" by Sofia Szamosi

Bad Kid by Sofia Szamosi
Published March 2026 via Little, Brown Ink
★★★

In the early aughts, at the age of 13, Szamosi was dragged out of bed and sent to a wilderness "rehabilitation" program for teenagers. Between then and turning eighteen, she spent two years in such programs...the sort of programs that have more recently gotten quite a bit of press for being ineffective at best and abusive at worst. I've read enough about these programs to say that what Szamosi describes sounds like the milder half of the scale, but...that's partly because the harsher half of the scale is so terrible. Some readers might find some of the themes throughout the book to be a bit much for teenagers, but I think the point here is that this was Szamosi's teenage years...and anyway the worst of it is what was done in the name of "treatment".

The art style is simple but gets the job done. I particularly appreciated the collaged bits included throughout—photos of Szamosi from her teens, snippets of journal entries, the occasional location photo, etc. We're around the same age, and the photos in particular are so evocative of that time period, things that made me think "oh yes, I've known variations of that girl". Photos aside, the illustrations are black and white, with red for emphasis.

Two things I would have liked a bit more of: First, while Szamosi writes her teenaged self with a combination of compassion, wryness, and cringeing (we should all have some teenage moments that we cringe to look back on!), I would have liked a bit more of a sense of direct "looking back". That is...we see that Szamosi can see that she wasn't making a lot of good decisions as a teen, and that she can see now how much her mother was struggling to figure out what to do, how to help her. Most of the actual telling is from the perspective of Szamosi as a teen, though, and I would have loved some more reflection—what does she now think would have been best for her? How much of her teenageness does she now consider concerning, and how much does she think was normal/stuff she'd have grown out of? And second, where did things go after the end of the book? There's a conclusion, but it's a little abrupt, and I can see a number of possible trajectories. Some kind of an afterword might have been nice.

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

Review: "Oyster" by Marianne Ackerman

Oyster by Marianne Ackerman
Published 2026 via Dundurn Press
★★★★

Amelia's life is trucking along quietly—working halfheartedly on her next novel, taking editing work to pay the bills, in irregular contact with her family. Then her father dies, and her niece wants Amelia's opinion on an outline for a novel, and things start to change.

This is an odd duck of a book (or should I say an odd oyster?), although I mean that in a positive way. At first it feels like Amelia is struggling, but as time goes on it starts to become clear that although she is to some extent stagnating, she's also okay with where she is; although her family is complicated (because of course they are, because what family isn't), they know their roles and how to play them and also that they'll all be there when the dust settles.

The novel-within-a-novel is a curious thing: Ginny has an idea; Amelia has experience; what comes out of it is not what either of them might have expected, and neither of them quite knows what to do with it. I'm fascinated by the way that part of the story unfolds. Amelia is trying to figure out just what to do with her role in it all, Ginny partly wanting credit and partly wanting to be absolved of responsibility and partly afraid of fallout, and the people around them not always playing the roles Amelia thinks they should.

It's a quiet novel—for all that there's a death and a car crash and relationships on the rocks, we're mostly in Amelia's not entirely happy mind as she works out what is next with her not entirely fractured family and her not entirely fresh career. It took me a moment to get into the book (and I didn't love the ending), but the middle soared along as everyone quietly subverted expectations. 3.5 stars; I think this one will stay with me.

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

Review: "The Barefoot Bookshop on the Beach" by Rebecca Raisin

The Barefoot Bookshop on the Beach by Rebecca Raisin
Published March 2026 via Boldwood Books
★★★

Harper has a life she loves in London—a bookstore job, a side hustle as a book influencer, and a fitness influencer boyfriend. But all that comes crashing down when she accidentally shares her doubts about a hot new romance novel...and suddenly the only job available to her is way, way out of town.

Now..you know those news article about, say, a job opening for a postal officer in the remote Orkneys where it's only possible to access the island at low tide and then only nine months out of the year? Or about jobs that are available in Antarctica? If you're the type of person to immediately read those articles and dream about applying, you know why I picked up this book. I might never apply for those jobs, but I'm definitely going to daydream about them.

So Harper finds herself in the Seychelles, surrounded by meddling expats and a few mysteries to solve: What happened to the former employee who is mysteriously gone? Is her new boss the unfeeling money-grabber that the other employees seem to think, or does he have a softer side? And who is behind that hot new romance novel that got Harper cancelled?

It's a fast read and a lively one. A lot of the characters are borderline caricatures, though I think this is intentional; the book leans hard into something a bit over the top, a bit determinedly zany.

He lets out a frustrated sigh. "Have you been fired a lot?"

I nod eagerly. "Yes, too many times to count." (loc. 2774*)

So yes, Harper is sometimes a lot. She knows she's a lot, which is endearing at times—she has no filter and doesn't care—and frustrating at others (sometimes I think my brain is mostly filters). Most of the her new friends/colleagues also lean toward "a lot", leaving me to think that I would probably not find the Last Chance Resort a relaxing place to be, but there would never be any shortage of drama to watch...good thing the cocktails are cheap. (Side note: "no dating coworkers" is not always a fair rule, but "no dating direct reports" should absolutely be a rule, because the risks are real.)

The premise of the book is of course the Bookstagram drama: A new cowboy romance is getting a lot of buzz, but Harper is sure that it's been written by AI, and when she (accidentally) airs her opinions, the trolls come for her. I guessed some of the mystery before I think I was meant to, but on the whole I wasn't really convinced...though I do find the discussion of AI-generated books (and the discourse around them, and what it can mean for an author to use AI...or to be accused of using AI) to be interesting and timely.

I think I'll go back to dreaming about a little post-office-come-cafe-come-library in the Shetlands that needs a new caretaker—you know, the kind of place where the mail only comes once a week, and the cafe and library are only open two days a week, and the rest of the time you can do some maintenance and go for long walks and read a lot. But this was a fun diversion.

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

Thanks to the author and publisher for inviting me to read a review copy through NetGalley.

Review: "She Drinks the Light" by Yasmin Angoe

She Drinks the Light by Yasmin Angoe
Published March 2026 via Feiwel & Friends
★★★

Addae's life is different—she's grown up off the coast of South Carolina, in something of an enclave. Her grandmother is the most powerful person on the Golden Isle, and Addae is poised to, eventually, take over. But if the Golden Isle is home, and is safe, the outside world is...something else.

Conceptually I love this: pulling from West African mythology; Black characters running the show; an emphasis on friendship and family rather than (as is so common in YA) romance. There's also a tie-in to slavery, and though that part of the book is hard to read it feels like an important part of history to include, not least given the context of the book. Addae is a satisfying character, too; she makes impetuous (teenaged) choices, but she's also really determined and focused when it's about things that count.

Other things I was more ambivalent about. First, I didn't love the surprise (minor spoiler in footnotes*) . This is part of the Ghanaian mythology used in the book, so I'll give it a pass, but I think I'm just past that part of my YA reading; maybe it's on me for not knowing much about African mythology (or I would have figured it out sooner), but I sort of wish that had been up front in the book description. Second, I'd have loved to know more about that mythology. Addae occasionally drops concepts that aren't fully introduced or explained, and I just wanted to know more. I was fully invested for the first half or so of the book and then lost some steam.

I'm not sure whether related books are planned, but this feels like it could be the start to a series—the main plot is wrapped up, but there are a number of plot points that aren't fully wrapped up, in a way that reads like leaving space open for the future if the author so desires.

3.5 stars; this is something of a departure from my usual reading habits, but intriguing.

*vampires

Thanks to the author and publisher for inviting me to read a review copy through NetGalley.

Review: "Repetition" by Vigdis Hjorth

Repetition by Vigdis Hjorth
Translated from the Norwegian by Charlotte Barslund
Published March 2026 via Verso Fiction
★★★★

In the present day, a writer sees a teenage girl with her parents, and she's reminded of her own teenage years in 1970s Norway: her mother terrified that she will somehow go astray, her father a distant figure, every visit with friends a negotiation at best, a battle at worst.

Hjorth is such a specific writer—I don't have a better word for it. I read Repetition because I found If Only so curious; not always pleasant but the kind of thing that pulls you in. (If Only itself I read for the cover, because sometimes I am shallow.) I read a translation, of course, and I don't know how true it is to the Norwegian (I will assume that it's accurate!), but these are long paragraphs and sometimes long sentences, run-on thoughts if not run-on sentences, a girl who is so uniquely teenage in her thoughts and actions, her careful planning and yet sometimes total lack of forethought. At sixteen, she is tired of the stifling atmosphere that is home and ready for excitement, for romance or perhaps just sex; at sixteen, she doesn't understand why her mother might be afraid.

This is a slim little novel. I started it once, stalled, started over a few weeks later because it's so easy to fly through it and I wanted to make sure I hadn't missed important things. I wondered, reading this, if parts of the novel might be autobiographical (without, mind, being able to articulate why, and definitely without any proof whatsoever); some searching tells me that there has been a fair amount of speculation about another novel in particular, and how much of it might be autobiographical. (That's a rabbit hole that I don't feel a need to go down, and whether there's any real life memory to it is really neither here nor there, but I find it curious partly just because I don't know why I have this "could it be" reaction!)

Not a happy book but a swift and interesting one. I don't think this is the last of Hjorth that I'll read.

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

Review: "Too Blessed to Stress" by Alli Hoff Kosik

Too Blessed to Stress by Alli Hoff Kosik
Published March 2026 via Grand Central Publishing
★★★

Camryn has a picture-perfect life, but just outside the frame, she's struggling to stay afloat financially. Savannah was in the public eye growing up, and as an adult, she just wants privacy...and a baby, and neither of those things is forthcoming. Trishy is ready to find a man who ticks her religious boxes, but date after date turns out to be a dud. And Kristin is shocked to find herself part of the inner circle...but it just might be too good to be true.

I let this one sit on my ereader for a couple of weeks before picking it up—but not because I wasn't enthusiastic; I was enthusiastic enough to not want to burn through it too quickly. This one hits on some of my reading quirks: I like books about problematic religion/religious institutions, and I currently have what is likely to be a passing interest in books about influencers. (Bonus: I love a book about female friendship, and though this isn't really about that, it's part of the story.) Here we have both: Camryn and Trishy are both active, and at least moderately successful, as social media influencers, and a huge part of their success is their conservative-religious focus...and the content they make around their megachurch.

What worked really well for me: Camryn and Trishy definitely believe what they're preaching on social media...but what they're preaching isn't really about belief. They're talking, earnestly, about purity culture and capitalism and the prosperity gospel. They might read their bibles (and post videos of themselves highlighting their study editions, with of course sponsored links) just as earnestly, but what they're actually thinking about, a lot of the time, is views. And sponsorships. And recognition, even if they don't acknowledge that that's one of the things they're thinking about. Camryn is in many ways my least favourite character (her priorities get in the way of being a decent person sometimes, and her approach to money stresses me out), but it's the things that sometimes make me cringe that also make her a more realistic and perhaps interesting character.

What didn't work as well for me: It's apparent early on that something is not right at Moving Word (their church), and in particular that something is not right with one charismatic preacher and his picture-perfect wife. Kristin more than the others is aware that something is not right, but it was never clear to me why—what is it that makes her suspect this apparently beloved guy? I would have preferred Kyle and Cassidy to be a little more genuinely charming and a little less obviously slimy (Kyle is written to be an absolute smarmface; Cassidy is written to be low-key a...witch...who is only nice to people who are useful to her. I suppose I wanted to be disappointed when the revelations about them came out. (I also wanted them to be a bit...less obvious about it? They could have set a smaller public goal, for example, and then not reported the actual numbers but still treated it as a success.) I think I also wanted more of the "good" characters to face a bit more by way of consequence and/or reckoning; what does happen is not nothing, but the climax was a bit more whimper than bang to me.

So—didn't blow me away, but did keep me invested, which is still a pretty satisfying result. I'd happily read more in this vein, at least as long as my interest in influencer books hold; the four characters profiled here are living in such a specific moment, even if they don't really realize it.

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

Review: "Wild Mountain Ivy" by Shannon Hitchcock

Wild Mountain Ivy by Shannon Hitchcock
Published March 2026 via Carolrhoda Books
★★★

Ivy is tired—it's been months since she came down with COVID, and she still hasn't really recovered. Even climbing a few steps leaves her depleted, and with her energy she's lost her motivation to play violin, one of the things she loves most. She and her mother decamp to the vicinity of Asheville in the hopes that rest and a change of scenery will help...and Ivy gets entangled in the story of Jessie, a young woman who lived in their bed and breakfast back when it was a sanatorium for tuberculosis.

I really appreciate that most of the people in Ivy's life seem to understand what long COVID means for her—there's brief mention of teachers who were getting annoyed with Ivy falling asleep in class, but by and large there's an understanding that Ivy can't just grin and bear it, that there's still so much that's unknown but the one thing that is likely to help is rest. The people I know with long COVID have all talked about people (even, say, highly educated relatives who work in health care) who just don't get it, and it's a relief that among all the other things that's not something Ivy has to deal with.

The connection to tuberculosis is also really interesting. The comparison I hear more often is one to the 1918–1920 influenza, I suppose because it tore through communities so quickly, but Hitchcock is so right that there are close parallels to be made to experiences with tuberculosis. The injunction to rest, the general exhaustion...and as much as that, the way in which the privileged had the ability to rest and try to recover, while poorer folks had (have) to work through it, in part because of an insufficient social safety net. (Hitchcock is careful to note, through Jessie's history and Ivy's understanding, that those inequalities could have devastating effects.)

I can imagine this being such a good book for middle grade readers who are either struggling with chronic illness themselves or who know somebody who is—it's a quiet story, but one that might serve as a reminder that they aren't alone. They're not the first, and they won't be the last, even if other people's stories aren't quite the same. I struggled a bit with the way in which Jessie's story is told (there's a supernatural element, which I almost never connect with terribly well), but Jessie's story is able to give Ivy a bit of hope, and something to focus on, while she doesn't have the capacity for much else.

3.5 stars for me as a reader, but likely higher for others. Ooh, and look up dulcimer music while you're at it; sound aside, it's very cool to watch someone play.

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

Review: "Where the Girls Were" by Kate Schatz

Where the Girls Were by Kate Schatz
Published March 2026 via The Dial Press
★★★★

It's 1968, and everything is falling into place for Baker. She's on track to go to Stanford, become a journalist, and see the world (beginning, of course, with Paris). But when Baker gets pregnant (because of course a nice girl from a good family doesn't know anything about contraception), she becomes one of the girls who are sent away.

They love her, they're proud of her—and they need her. And that's why no one can know what is really going on. Brilliant young Baker is their ticket, the proof to everyone that their little family has made it, will make it. The future is bright, because their daughter is bright. No one else in this family has gone to college. Baker is going to life them to a new level. This has always been the plan. (loc. 1222*)

I've read my fair share of books with this general context (girl "in trouble", including in times and places when society was especially unkind to girls in such a situation), and in some ways what stands out here is that the home Baker is sent to is not cruel. Oh, it's still a place designed to strip girls (and young women) of their freedom and agency, and there's still plenty of shame heaped on the girls. They're never allowed to forget that they made a mistake (nobody considers that it takes two to tango) or to think that they could be competent parents. They're discouraged from asking questions about their pregnancies, their bodies, giving birth, what their legal options are.

Baker feels like a reporter covering a story that no one else cares about, like she's back in her journalism class, trying to get the school paper edited before the deadline. (loc. 2994)

Overall this feels written with intense research and a lot of compassion. Lots of detail, lots of wrestling with time and place. Lots of reminders that there have always been girls who have been sent away.

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

Thanks to the author and publisher for inviting me to read a review copy through NetGalley.

Review: "Love in Ruins" by Auriane Desombre

Love in Ruins by Auriane Desombre
Published February 2026 via Delacorte Romance
★★★

It's the summer after grade nine, and Natalie is finally off to Greece—something she's been dreaming about for years. She's on a school-sponsored trip that will keep her in Greece for weeks: visiting ruins, island-hopping, trying new things...and maybe falling for someone?

This has something of a three-fold focus: First, of course, Greece. Second, there's a romance. And third, Natalie has recently been diagnosed with OCD, and a lot of her mental energy is spent responding to intrusive thoughts. Maybe a four-fold focus—there's also a bit of an academic competition (but I found it unrealistic, and for all the hype we barely know—and Natalie barely knows—what her project is, so I'm just going to...skip that part here). I read the book almost entirely for the setting (why is there not more YA that takes place in Greece?) and, admittedly, a little bit for the cover (which is gorgeous). And...this was fine, but it felt a bit lackluster.

Greece: The characters spend "half the summer" (I'm not sure how long this actually is, but we can assume weeks) traveling through Greece. They see a lot—but I never really felt like I was there, or that I'd learned much of anything about contemporary Greece. For example, they start in Athens...but it felt like moments later when they took off for the next place. Famous things are mentioned (e.g., the caryatid porch at the Acropolis), but then it's on to the next thing, and the next, and romance. And if they meet any Greek people other than Melanie in their many weeks in Greece, I sailed right over it. I know this sort of school trip can feel like something of a hit-and-run, but I much would have preferred, e.g., their trip to be based in just one city, with some day or maybe weekend trips farther out.

Romance: I love seeing queer YA, of course; queer travel YA is an added bonus. I don't think we ever know much about Melanie (or why she is drawn to Natalie), but she's nice and forthright. What I really don't love, though, is how so many of the characters are convinced that Natalie needs romance in her life. She's just finished her freshman year of high school—she's maybe fifteen. Could be fourteen. And while plenty of people are dating at that age, again, she's barely finished freshman year. When she tells her friends that she isn't ready to date at the moment, they act all disappointed, and this literal child gets even more convinced that she's not capable of romance. Where are the common-sense people telling her that it's fine to wait until she's ready, dating as a teenager is mostly practice and figuring relationships out, she doesn't need to have all the answers as a freshman? Because they're definitely not in her orbit.

OCD: Natalie has a recent OCD diagnosis that she's still coming to terms with. It's great to see mental health addressed in YA fiction, and I actually really like that one of the things Natalie is struggling with is just the idea of having OCD, of having a label attached to herself. Since the diagnosis, it feels to her like it's the only part of her that her parents see, and she's desperate to get out from under that. But it takes up a lot of space in the book, and I'm not sure how to feel about that. Because: Natalie's intrusive thoughts make sense...but then we get a lot of her breaking apart the intrusive thoughts, and thinking about how they're intrusive, and making it clear to the reader that they aren't just normal teenage/human getting-down-on-oneself thoughts. I'm torn, because on the one hand that could absolutely be part of somebody's intrusive thoughts—intrusive negativity followed by a sort of obsessive analyzing of the thoughts. On the other hand, though, it felt like it was mostly there for the reader's education, and I think I would have preferred more of that space to go to things like actually talking to Grecians, and learning odd facts about Greek and Greek history, and so on.

It's a very fast read—I read the entire thing in one day, spread over two 45-minute commutes and a little bit of reading over dinner. But I don't think it's one that will stick with me.

Review: "Tell Me How You Eat" by Amber Husain

Tell Me How You Eat by Amber Husain
Published February 2026 via Washington Square Press
★★★

Struggling to find the key to recovering from anorexia, Husain set about looking at some of the meaning that has historically been ascribed to food: food as power, food as rebellion, starvation as power, starvation as rebellion.

I was and still am rather unsure of what to make of the book. Husain traces various political movements (women's suffrage, etc.) and the weaponization of food—whether something to be forced upon somebody (e.g., in response a hunger strike) or withheld (e.g., Israel's starvation tactics in Gaza). It's interesting material, but while the book description says "Each chapter searches for reasons to eat and live", I wondered whether at times Husain was looking less for reasons to eat than for justification for not eating (not eating enough to sustain life, not eating animal products).

There's a depth of curiosity and research here that I appreciate, and Husain is for the most part careful about what details she shares about her illness (I wish more authors writing about eating disorders were so circumspect). I think I ended up not being quite the right reader for this book—the connections were not entirely there for me, though I suspect that some of that is at that some point I lost track of the magic-mushroom context. This may be something to come back to at a future point in time; therapy with substances usually associated with recreational use has been cropping up more often in my reading (e.g., Amy Griffin's The Tell), and I'll have to keep an eye out for more.

Thanks to the author and publisher for inviting me to read a review copy through NetGalley.