Reviews and Comments

Didn't get to finish before the library loan was due back. Will continue when it's available again.

This was a bit of a rough read for me due to the dog fights, but Ward has such a way with describing her characters and their emotions/thoughts. I would recommend this one because it really pulled me in and had me rooting for the family when Katrina was rolling in. But just make sure you're in a place to handle the animal violence/gore and the not-so-happy events that occur.

This book is mostly referring to Australia, but there's a lot that can apply in the US as well. This was an interesting read because Chris Kohler manages to weave some humor through the non-humorous topics. This is not a "how-to" book. I would say it's more along the lines of learning the sly ways corporations try to make extra money on you and for you to question if you feel like you're getting enough in return for the information you give them. A lot of this is stuff that I've learned already, but there was still some surprises in there, and I absolutely would recommend it to anyone else, especially if you feel like you need to tighten down a bit on money.

I had a hard time making it through the first half of this one. It felt disjointed due to jumping around between multiple groups too quickly. Once the binding event happened in the last 50% of the book, it became easier to get through and follow along. I also just had a rough time connecting to the characters. I stuck it out through the first half because I did enjoy the dive into the Exodan culture and how they're still trying to find their place in the universe. Definitely my least favorite in the series so far.

Ableism is a hot topic right now and the meaning and discussions around it have been diluted to try to make it easier for able-bodied people to learn about ableism and have discussions about fixing it. Taussig does not hold back in hitting you in the face with the realities of how ableism impacts her day to day life. If you have ever found yourself thinking "their life would be so much easier if we could cure their disease" instead of "their life would be so much easier if I could make sure they had easier access to areas that they need and SHOULD be able to access", then you have fallen victim to ableism.

Taussig covers many topics from disabled bodies being used as props to garner donations, having to do massive amounts of exhausting research to figure out if you can go somewhere with your friends when invited, and having strangers force their help on you after you've made it clear that you are ok and don't need the assistance. She explains how to be supportive without being condescending as well as how when we make room in our areas for disability access, we help out the community at large, not just those with physical ailments. Curb dips are a huge benefit for moms/dads with strollers and people that have a hard time taking a step up. Elevators are pretty self-explanatory. And everyone becomes disabled at some point in time in their lives; old age, broken bones, hard pregnancies, all are disabilities. Before prescription glasses were made, not having 20/20 vision was a disability that would heavily impact your ability to function.

I got so much information from this book, and I feel compelled to continue learning how to change my frame of mind to give support in the ways that it is needed instead of deciding for myself what help there is to give. Highly recommend this one.

I just can't keep up with everything that's going on and who's doing what, and I don't care enough to keep going back to see what I missed along the way. I've seen some people compare this to Game of Thrones Season 8 and while I don't think it's quite that bad, it's not too far off. 50% of the way through and the main conflict is not settled, but we're swept away to 2 new islands with a whole new magic system and thrown into their conflicts as well. The characters also seem to have been buffered down a bit, too. It's just too much to be jumping around through.

The narrator change for the audiobook is making this a rough one to get into...not sure if it's the narrator or the story at this point that seems so lackluster compared to the others...

I really appreciated the decision to keep a lot of the native slang words in the book and have a dictionary for you to be able to see what it meant if you weren't able to tell. It helped a bit with the immersion of remembering that you're in Yop City in Africa. I also enjoyed the detailing at the end where they explained the choices in clothes and patterns that they wear and how the community of women work together. Not all the characters are likable which also adds a little dose of reality.

My biggest complaint is just that there are sudden abrupt changes from one page to another, so I had to frequently go back to the previous page to see if I missed something, and that added some confusion and difficulty to the reading. Overall, I did enjoy this, and would recommend it if you're interested in reading a slice-of-life graphic novel from another country.

This was ok, but didn't really grab me. It was predictable (which is not always a bad thing) and the chemistry just fell a little flat between the two characters. The transition from friendship to dating just wasn't very satisfying. And it drove me insane that the cover shows Nash with black hair, when the blonde hair is a major point brought up in the book.