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Fall Nonfiction
Humans of Judaism edited by Nikki Schreiber
Taken from the social media hashtag, this is a collection of stories from Instagram highlighting the breadth of the Jewish diaspora, their traditions and stories and tales of survival. From sweet stories of Bashert (think kismet) where two Holocaust survivors meet again in New York after the war, and then decades later when their grandchildren marry, to Shayna Maydele the dog that teaches her followers about Passover to a woman sharing variations of rainbow challah and how they differ by region.
Yes, there are a few famous faces like Einstein, Jerry Seinfeld and Jerry Stiller, and Marilyn Monroe who was a convert. But it’s not primarily about them, but the ordinary and the extraordinary like those who survived unspeakable horrors and a desire to remember those who lost. As well as a celebration for how far they’ve come in classic immigrant narratives and those who embrace their connection to one of the oldest religions by restoring old Torahs and recoering Nazi-looted treasures.
Also I had no idea how they’ve created so many things like Levis (aka denim everyone owns), Peeps, hot tamales (the candy, not the actual Mexican dish), Curious George, Gimbels, Baskin-Robbins ice cream, American Greetings cards, Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Zac Posen, Barbie, Mattel, bloomingdales, Barneys, Macys and so much more.
(more…)#aliwong, #anitasarkeesian, #arccartbooks, #behindtheseams, #biography, #bookindustry, #briannajonnie, #bushelandpeckbooks, #celebrity, #crazybrave, #daniellehigley, #deardiary, #deargirls, #dianevonfurstenberg, #dollyparton, #ebonyadams, #fashion, #feiwel&friends, #funnybusiness, #graphicnovel, #hachettebookgroup, #heroesofworldwartwo, #historyvswomen, #humansofjudiasm, #ifIgomissing, #interviews, #jarretkeene, #jennyjordhal, #joyharjo, #kidliterature, #leonardmarcus, #lesleyarfin, #lindywoodhead, #martabreen, #memoir, #missingandmurderedindigenousgirlsandwomen, #nealshannacappo, #nikkischrieber, #nonfiction, #popstars, #proud, #publishing, #simon&schuster, #smashthepatriarchy, #taylorswift, #taylorswiftandtheclothesshewears, #tenspeedpress, #terrynewman, #thestoriesbehindthestories, #thewomanIwantedtobe, #vicepublishing, #warpaint, #worldwartwo, $ibtihajmuhammad -
Long Live Evil Review
Rae enjoys the Time of Iron series. What she initially dismissed as one of her sister’s ridiculous fixations ends up being a lifeline when she gets a fatal diagnosis and has to distract herself in the endless waiting rooms and endless tests. She is especially attracted to the series’ villain, the Emperor. Not because of his psychopathic murderous tendencies. That’d be weird. But he has all the anger that she has. Her boyfriend and best friend hooked up. Her father left. Her mother’s in debt paying her hospital bills, and she’s in constant pain. Physically and emotionally.
Then the series becomes a literal lifeline when one of the characters’ offer her a chance to live. Get the magical Flower of Life and Death and she’ll be cured.
Only when she’s plunged into the world, she is inhibiting the body of the story’s villain, a harlot named Rahela and she’s to be executed the next morning! No one is going to make it easy for her to get the flower. But hey, when you’re cast as the villain, it only gives you more opportunity to build up a ruthless army to get what you want.
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Fall Comics
Titans: Starfire by Kami Garcia. Illustrated by Gabriel Picolo.
After the less than steller preceding books, Garcia gets the plot momentum moving with a good dose of character development. Much like the others, Kori thinks she is a normal teenage, albeit a bit more introverted due to her Ehlers-danlos syndrome making socialization a literal pain sometimes. I hadn’t heard it before, but it’s a bit like arthritis for younger people, and it’s a very tricky, dehibilating thing that fluctuates by the day. Not that her co-workers believe her. They think it’s convenient how it flares up and is all better the next day.
So yeah, she doesn’t have a barrel of friends or boyfriends like her older sister, Kira who is annoyingly obsessed with her jerk of a new BF. But he is offering to take them to H.I.V.E. to get Kori into a new clinical trial for her ED. Things are not as they seem and Kori starts to realize those painful twitches and pains in her joint may not be ED but alien growing pains.
Just like the cartoon, Kori sees the best in her sister weighing the times Kira sticks up for her to all the other times she belittles her, and bosses her around. Readers can see that for Kira’s good moments don’t outweigh that she wants her sister to remain the little one that can’t compeate with her in looks, popularity and now powers.
That sisterly love gets tested when Kira doubles down on her verbal bashing when Kori develops her powers. She is just so self-involved, she sees Kori’s concern for her as jealousy because let’s face it if the situations were in reverse Kira wouldn’t be caring. So while this Kori’s origin story, Garcia paints a parallel picture of this being Kira’s villain origin story with her feeling betrayed/disrespected by her inferior little sister and falling deeper with Slade and the H.I.V.E.
The rest of the Titans (Beast Boy, Raven, the Robins etc) take a backseat in this graphic novel, appearing near the end for the final battle. Instead it is Victor Stone aka Cyborg who rconfides his hunch about the H.I.V.E.’s real deal and alleviate her concern when she starts shooting neon green blasts. They make a nice friendship while providing organic exposition for both their backgrounds. Garcia even manages to add a sweet meeting between Dick Grayson and Kori, planting the seed for their famous romance.
I just wish that the ending did not feel so rushed to getting the grand finale. Yet the next book is the final one in the series, and I’m sorry but does anyone else think it’s a bad look for the series to skip a limelight book for Cyborg? Especially how absolutely nothing happened in Beast Boy Loves Raven, and Robin. I would have fixed it up by having the action of BBLR put in with R so it solves how mushy the former was and how the latter felt like nothing happened. Then they could have eased the pacing with Starfire and give Cyborg his own book before the finale.
Nonetheless, Picolo’s art remains solid and it’ll be exciting to see them come together and defeat H.I.V.E. once and for all.
(more…)#autobiographical, #awkward, #berrybrookmiddleschool, #brave, #candlewickpress, #cheetara, #christinasoontornvat, #comingfoage, #crush, #dccomics, #domenicocarbone, #dynamitecomics, #elliotkahn, #enemies, #gabrielpicolo, #georgekambadais, #grace'stwist, #graphicmemoir, #graphicnovel, #graphicnovels, #hudafahmy, #hudafcares?, #joannacacao, #josiecampbell, #kamigarcia, #lostsoulbeatpeace, #maggiethrash, #middlegrade, #miniseries, #myadventureswithsuperman, #pablomcollar, #rachelreads&reviews, #scholastic, #soolee, #starfire, #svetlanachmakova, #teentitans, #thesquad, #volumetwo, #yenpress -
Book Hightlight: Tales From A Not-So-Bratty Little Sister
I know, I know. I admitted in my last post that I have too aged out of the series to enjoy it. But I still keep coming back because I have to know how it ends. . .
I have a feeling it might be coming soon, but Russell is certainly stretching it out.
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Nightwing
Since reading about Marvel’s best couple and leading calender man, I decided I’d give one of DC’s top hotties a look. As you can guess by the title I’m talking about the Flying Grayson!
These five volumes by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo highlight how Nightwing is the best of the new generation of heroes. He has Batman’s grit and discipline with Superman’s light and humor. These volumes showcase how he’s the champion of Bludhaven, not drawn down by his inner demons as his mentor is, but always looking to help others be their best and live life free of strife.
It helps that he is the child of a millionaire, and he’s gotten a recent inheritance thanks to Alfred (I know, he died! So sad!). Which is good timing too. Beating up bad guys is great and all but he’s getting ired of it. There always seem to be more, and Dick wants to do something more tangible. Use his money to help people so that only they’re physically safe but they’ll be able to thrive.
Oh, and remember what I mentioned about not being weighed down iwth inner deomons? Uh, I spoke too soon about that. The new villain in Bludhaven is absolutely chilling and in a menancing backstory revealed in later volumes, he has a connection with Grayson.
He’s not the only one as it turns out Dick is not the last of the Flying Grayson. . .
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Fall Romances
Full Exposure by Thien-Kim Lam
It’s been almost two years since I read the first book in the series, but it was wonderful to return to the girls of the sex positive series. Josie is a boudoir photographer but she’s been feeling burnt out. Plus it may be a steamy business, it’s not always a booming business.
Josie wants to get a little more prestige with her work. Maybe get a gallery exhibition but those kind of photographers rarely get exhibits so she heads down to New Orleans for new material.
Where in a painful meet cute, she nearly bowls Spencer down during a Mardi Gras parade.
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Book of the Month: Northanger Abbey
So we didn’t quite finish the gothic satire within the spooky season month but we got there!
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Author Highlight: Suzanne Nelson
I may have briefly mentioned Suzanne Nelson’s works before as her Heart and Salsa novel was the book that got me into the global coming of age series, S.A.S.S.
Today I’m going to focus on her Foodie series which is just as the title implies- A collection of stand-alone novel focusing on how sweet and savory treats bring couples together and solve all problems.
Oh, and lots of food puns.
(more…)#abatchmadeinheaven, #cakepopcrush, #donutgobreakingmyheart, #foodie, #foodiebooks, #foodieseries, #hotcocoahearts, #ionlypiesforyou, #macronsatmidnight, #middlegrade, #pumpkinspiceupyourlife, #rachelreads&reviews, #scholastic, #shakeitoff, #sundaemyprincewillcome, #suzannenelson, #you’rebaconmecrazy -
Oct Books
The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava
The job market is a difficult one. Just out of her accounting program and saddled with debts from paying her brother’s court fees, Ember Lee Cardinal knows she’s capable but no one is hiring her.
Until she fudges her qualifications and chooses Caucasian instead of Chicksaw when it comes to the ethnicity box.
Lo, and behold, it works and she gets her dream job. The problem will be keeping it as she wings through the rapid instructions and fights her attraction to the hot IT guy, Danuwoa Colson despite the no dating co-workers rule.
As one can imagine, the initial lie Ember sells leads to trouble and inevitably blackmail, but Nava never veers into cartoonishly evil cliches from the blackmailer or the aggravating miscommunication between Ember and Danuwoa.
Rather she uses the opportunity to explore issues regarding to classism and discrimination in the workplace. The microaggression and the larger systematic inequalities that indigenous people face today. Plus Ember’s lies don’t feel irritating in its scope because Neva is clear that the stakes and consequences are serious for Ember.
It helps that she isn’t pathological when it comes to lying. She’s rather direct by nature. Harsh even which is part of her growth in that she’s come to depend so much on herself and holding up her family, that she finds it hard to believe her little brother is trying to change his ways and that he won’t disappoint her again like their dead-beat dad did.
The love interest, Danuwoa or ‘Danny” as it’s hard for people to remember his real name, is an adorable cinnamon roll to counter Ember’s cynical hypocrisies. He is proud of his heritage yet realistic about what it takes to combat ignorant people surrounding them. Plus he’s such a good big brother to his little sister. Bonus, he’s a gentlemen in the streets and a beast in the sheets so yay.
A wonderful debut that finally brings indigenous characters to the fore in the romance section. I can’t wait for her next one.
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Gotham City Sirens (2024)
It’s been years since their original series and in teh decades since fans have been clamoring for the return of Gotham’s most famous villainesses. Finally the DC gods have heard their pleas with a 4 issue mini-series.
It was. . . okay.
Now I’m not a regular DC comic reader so maybe there have been updates to the world that I’m not aware of, but this was kinda goofy. I was expecting some dark, hypocritical, ironic humor in doses since they’re villains. Or anti-hero in Catwoman’s case. Something dark and sinister as they plan to take over Gotham or take out their enemies before their enemies take them out.
Instead, they’re each doing their own thing when wild bison and men roleplaying The Most Dangerous Game start to interfere with their lives. Then this other villainess called White Rabbit (or her clone) gets kidnapped so they set off to help her, uncovering some mind-control drink manufactured by Punchline and they save the day in a Wild West satire.
I know not every comic has a grim, world-changing story and that they’re can be some fun. I, for one, love filler comics that hightlight the relationship between the characters and them learning more about themselves. This was just a wild road trip.
Cool if you like that sort of thing, but there wasn’t much character depth or exploration that I usually want from these sort of things.
Also they start beating on Punchline for kidnapping and ensalving people for her human test subjects. Unironically. When Poison Ivy does that all the time? Is it bad because she did it for capitalism? Okay, I can see why the eco-terrorist would take offense to that actually.
The characters just felt off to me. They weren’t too evil, but they weren’t good enough to be antiheroes. It was more like the commodified “bad girl” label corporations like to slap on to things to make the Sirens into some cool, rebel girls instead of hardcore bad guys.
Also the art started out nice and detailed by Matteo Leo, and Daniel Hillyard but then got switched out for Ro Stein which looked more like a lost Lumberjanes comic. Which describes the whole tone of the book. Maybe they should ahve stuck with him so I’d know what sort of story I’d be getting into.
2 stars.
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Rachel Reads & Reviews 