A very personal exploration of a facet of history that still has so many unheard stories. The portion set in England pulls no punches, in a way that makes me want to force all my friends there to read this. I learned so much, and felt so much: it does its job and more.
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benwerd reviewed Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
Review of 'Gender Queer' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A heartfelt memoir that I wish more kids had access to. Its place to the top of banned book lists is a travesty. I was surprised how emotional I found it; the last few pages brought me to tears unexpectedly. I find this kind of raw honesty to be very inspiring.
benwerd reviewed The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
Review of 'The School for Good Mothers' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
A ton of ideas about parenting, society, and the present moment, crammed into an emotional near-future science fiction story. I wish the protagonist had been more sympathetic - but the future it paints is alarmingly plausible.
benwerd reviewed Reap3r by Eliot Peper
Review of 'Reap3r' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
A page-turner set in a very familiar world to me - I had fun recognizing the scenery, the interpersonal dynamics, the cultural references. There was adventure, plausible near-future science fiction scenarios mined for tension; I had trouble putting it down, and that's exactly what I wanted from it. Worth a read.
benwerd reviewed The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
Review of 'The Glass Hotel' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Her writing style takes a lot of getting used to: not so much plot as collage. I spent the first third to a half wondering where we were going. Still, there's an interesting story here, and well-drawn characters. The themes take some teasing out but are rewarding.
benwerd reviewed Beyond magenta by Susan Kuklin
Review of 'Beyond magenta' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
I wanted to like this, but I can't recommend it. Granted, it's almost a decade old, and the discourse has evolved since then. But the author leaves gender essentialism and some stories that verge on abuse unaddressed. It's great that these teenagers' stories are told verbatim, but it's not great to miss out on the nuanced commentary that they demand. I love the idea and I hope someone executes it better than this.
benwerd reviewed Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
Review of 'Hood Feminism' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
A heartfelt argument for truly intersectional feminism. Occasionally challenging in the way that helps you stretch and learn, and overall a vision of what the politics of the future need to look like. As an introduction, it’s near-perfect, and I want to send it to quite a few people I know.
benwerd reviewed The Jakarta Method by Vincent Bevins
Review of 'The Jakarta Method' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
If every American - and every citizen of a first world nation - could read and understand this, it would make the world a better place. An illuminating, aggravating portrait of how the US used murder to further its interests around the world, and how that has affected modern culture everywhere. It should be required reading. Please get yourself a copy.
benwerd reviewed Red River Resistance by Katherena Vermette (A Girl Called Echo Vol. 2)
Review of 'Red River Resistance' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
The story being drawn here is important and needs to be told. I wish there were more pages: at times the book feels like a series of impressionistic vignettes rather than continuous plot. But I’m still hooked, and I’m curious to see where this is going. There’s not enough about Echo in the mix, for me; we learn about Canada’s sordid past with respect to its indigenous peoples, but not enough about how that connects to the present. I assume that’s coming in future volumes.
benwerd reviewed Northwest Resistance by Katherena Vermette (A Girl Called Echo, #3)
Review of 'Northwest Resistance' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
It’s all starting to come together, with an almost Quantum Leap style twist. The narrative is less impressionistic, too: there’s more detail here than in previous volumes, and we’re learning more about Echo. Intriguing, magical, and instructive about Canada’s genocidal past.
benwerd reviewed Road Allowance Era by Katherena Vermette (A Girl Called Echo, #4)
Review of 'Road Allowance Era' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Easily the best of the series. The narrative comes together, and Echo realizes she can control her time travel ability, as well as the poignant source of her ability. The atrocities continue, too, and the book does a great job of contextualizing them both emotionally and historically. The central conceit works really well throughout, in the same way it did for Octavia Butler in Kindred.
benwerd reviewed All about love by bell hooks
Review of 'All about love' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
A complicated book. On one hand, it’s full of really important insights into the nature of loving that I think every adult should read and understand. (You should read it!) On the other, she’s sometimes too emphatic about ideas that need challenging: in particular, I was struck by her reductive opinions about Monica Lewinsky and her putting the onus on her gay sister to deal with their parents’ homophobia. Her insistence that religion is a required moral authority also doesn’t land with me. Regardless, when this book rings true, it does so deeply, in a way that permeates the soul.
benwerd reviewed Pemmican wars by Katherena Vermette (A Girl Called Echo, #1)
Review of 'Pemmican wars' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Shades of Kindred here: a graphic novel about a fostered Métis teen girl who slips through time to Canada’s colonial past during a history lesson. It’s slight, but the art and writing are evocative. I wish there was more character development, but perhaps that will come in later volumes. This volume plants the seeds for a story to come.
benwerd reviewed Foundation by Isaac Asimov (Foundation, #1)
Review of 'Foundation' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
This was a groundbreaking, genre-defining book when it was written, and some of the ideas remain outstanding. Reading it this year was an exercise in uncovering paelofuture: interesting in historical context, but almost completely lacking in the human context I need to really dig into a story. I’m going to alienate a bunch of science fiction fans by saying so, but I didn’t enjoy it at all.