#Caro de Robertis

[lgbtqreads]

Happy LGBT History Month!

Happy LGBT History Month! We are, of course, celebrating as we celebrate everything over here – with books! Specifically, with both fiction and nonfiction that pay tribute to LGBT history. Fiction Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian It’s 1989 in New York City, and for three teens, the world is changing. Reza is an Iranian boy who has just moved to the city with his mother to live with his…

[transbookoftheday]

The Palace of Eros by Caro De Robertis

Perfect for fans of Circe and Black Sun, this bold and subversive feminist retelling of the Greek myth of Psyche and Eros explores the power of queer joy and freedom.

Young, headstrong Psyche has captured the eyes of every suitor in town and far beyond with her tempestuous beauty, which has made her irresistible as a woman yet undesirable as a wife. Secretly, she longs for a life away from the expectations and demands of men. When her father realizes that the future of his family and town will be forever cursed unless he appeases an enraged Aphrodite, he follows the orders of the Oracle, tying Psyche to a rock to be ravaged by a monstrous husband. And yet a monster never arrives.

When Eros, nonbinary deity of desire, sees Psyche, she cannot fulfill her promise to her mother Aphrodite to destroy the mortal young woman. Instead, Eros devises a plan to sweep Psyche away to an idyllic palace, hidden from the prying eyes of Aphrodite, Zeus, and the outside world. There, against the dire dictates of Olympus, Eros and Psyche fall in love. Each night, Eros visits Psyche under the cover of impenetrable darkness, where they both experience untold passion and love. But each morning, Eros flies away before light comes to break the spell of the palace that keeps them safe.

Before long, Psyche’s nights spent in pleasure turn to days filled with doubts, as she grapples with the cost of secrecy and the complexities of freedom and desire. Restless and spurred by her sisters to reveal Eros’s true nature, she breaks her trust and forces a reckoning that tests them both—and transforms the very heavens.

Told in bold and sparkling prose from “a brilliant and luminous writer” (Madeline Miller, New York Times bestselling author), The Palace of Eros transports us to a magical world imbued by divine forces as well as everyday realities, where palaces glitter with magic even as ordinary people fight for freedom in a society that fears the unknown.

[jetwhenitsmidnight]

The Palace of Eros by Caro De Robertis

Release date: 15 August 2024

Genre: adult romance fantasy retelling

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

Young, headstrong Psyche has captured the eyes of every suitor in town and far beyond with her tempestuous beauty, which has made her irresistible as a woman yet undesirable as a wife. Secretly, she longs for a life away from the expectations and demands of men. When her father realizes that the future of his family and town will be forever cursed unless he appeases an enraged Aphrodite, he follows the orders of the Oracle, tying Psyche to a rock to be ravaged by a monstrous husband. And yet a monster never arrives.

When Eros, nonbinary deity of desire, sees Psyche, she cannot fulfill her promise to her mother Aphrodite to destroy the mortal young woman. Instead, Eros devises a plan to sweep Psyche away to an idyllic palace, hidden from the prying eyes of Aphrodite, Zeus, and the outside world. There, against the dire dictates of Olympus, Eros and Psyche fall in love. Each night, Eros visits Psyche under the cover of impenetrable darkness, where they both experience untold passion and love. But each morning, Eros flies away before light comes to break the spell of the palace that keeps them safe.

Before long, Psyche’s nights spent in pleasure turn to days filled with doubts, as she grapples with the cost of secrecy and the complexities of freedom and desire. Restless and spurred by her sisters to reveal Eros’s true nature, she breaks her trust and forces a reckoning that tests them both—and transforms the very heavens.

Content warnings

Sexual content

Misogyny, sexual harassment

Mentioned sexual assault

Mentioned domestic abuse

Familial abuse/toxic family dynamics

Confinement

Pregnancy

Review

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

From the start, this book does not flinch away from depicting the brutal misogyny of the time period. Psyche's throngs of suitors are cast into a new light, as this book shows the horrors of being desired by men, as well as the way marriage was viewed during this time.

Plot-wise this book follows pretty closely with the plot of the original myth, although a lot more time is spent exploring Psych's stay in the titular Palace of Eros. This was definitely the right choice to make as it gives the romance time to blossom, as well as allows time to develop Psyche's character. Psyche comes into her own during this time, as Psyche and Eros explore the meaning of womanhood and queerness (among other things😏).

I think the author does a good job of exploring the power imbalance between Psyche and Eros, although it's hard to not be aware that whatever agency Psyche has is only because a goddess allows her that. While their relationship isn't perfect, they do work on it and (mostly) resolve all of their problems by the end of the book.

Eros doesn't get as much character development as Psyche. This is fine, because I think this is much more Psyche's story than Eros'. But there are still certain elements I wish had been explored, mainly Eros' use of her powers. Throughout this book, Eros is kind of flippant about the way to uses her arrows to make people fall in love. Although she expresses regret about how she inadvertently ruined Daphne's life, she doesn't show much remorse or contemplation about any other people's lives she affected. The web of power is something Eros contemplates quite a lot, but she seems to cast herself in the role of being powerless to the whims of Zeus, while failing to recognise or address her own power.

I know I said earlier that the story focusing on Psyche living in the palace was a good choice, but it also results in less time spent on depicting Psyche's trials. I stand by this opinion, but this sort of results in the trials being kind of... boring. The original myth focuses much more on the events of the trials as Psyche proving her love for Eros, but in this book Psyche chooses to undergo the trials as a way to forge peace with Aphrodite. This was an interesting choice to make narratively, but ultimately lowers the stakes, especially since Aphrodite isn't even actively bothered with Psyche anymore.

Speaking of Aphrodite, I feel like her depiction was kind of shallow. She's not portrayed as a very complex character, aside from being a jealous goddess. I appreciate that the author shows how much she loves and cares for Eros, but I feel like she could have been explored a lot more.

I have always appreciated how special the myth of Psyche and Eros is, in the way that Psyche is one of few female Greek heroes, and also one of few Greek heroes who gets a happy ending. I think this novel captures the essence of the original myth, as well as expands on it in new and interesting ways.

Ultimately, while there are certain aspects of this book that I wish there could have been more of, the themes that the author chooses to explore, they do an excellent job of.

[jennamacaroni]

But what I will tell you is that everything was already there, inside us, between us, around us in that last moment before we stepped into the clamor of the gods. For an infinite moment we held each other and the world held still. Together we stood. Together we breathed. Together we dreamed of futures aching to be born.

Caro De Robertis, "The Palace of Eros"

[mccoppinscrapyard]

Cantoras by Caro De Robertis

"She looked out at the landscape, now cloaked in the last dregs of twilight. A beauty she could never get used to, never wanted to get used to, though she longed to know it in every light and mood."

[read-alert]

Another crosspost from my bookstagram! Full titles under the cut!

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone -> The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

Finna by Nino Cipri -> Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke

Legendborn by Tracy Deon -> Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars by Kai Cheng Thom -> Bad Girls by Camila Sosa Villada translated to English by Kit Maude

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia -> Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

The Ghosts of Rose Hill by RM Romero -> Funeral Songs for Dying Girls by Cherie Dimaline

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon -> Lakewood by Megan Giddings

The Unbroken by CL Clark -> The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg -> The Gods of Tango by Caro De Robertis

[nedlittle]

apropos of nothing, here are some gay historical fiction novels that engage with historical queerness in thoughtful, complex, and interesting ways (organized chronologically)

hild by nicola griffith ↪ early 7th century england

a tip for the hangman by alison epstein ↪ 1585-1593 england

confessions of the fox by jordy rosenberg ↪ 1702-1724* england

the confessions of frannie langton by sara collins ↪ 1812-1826 jamaica to england

patience and sarah by isabel miller ↪ 1816 america

devotion by hannah kent ↪ 1830s prussia to australia

the sweetness of water by nathan harris ↪ 1865 america

whiskey when we're dry by john larison ↪ 1885 america

the city of palaces by michael nava ↪ 1897-1913 mexico

tipping the velvet by sarah waters ↪ 1890s england

at swim, two boys by jamie o'neill ↪ 1915-1916 ireland

the gods of tango by caro de robertis ↪ 1913-1920s argentina

uncommon charm by emily bergslien and kat weaver ↪ 1920s america

the book of salt by monique truong ↪ 1930s vietnam to paris

the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay by michael chabon ↪ 1939-1954 america and beyond

the flight portfolio by julie orringer ↪ 1940 france

the savage kind by john copenhaver ↪ 1940s america

a thin bright line by lucy jane bledsoe ↪ 1950s america

*this one has a framing device and footnotes from the present day but the bulk of the story is set in the early 1700s

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🌈 Queer Books Coming Out in August 2024 🌈

🌈 Good afternoon, my bookish bats! Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Happy reading!

[ Text list below ⤵ ]

❓What was the last queer book you read?

[ Release dates may have changed. ]

❤️ Failure to Comply - Sarah Cavar 🧡 I Spit On Your Celluloid - Heidi Honeycutt 💛 You're Embarrassing Yourself - Desiree Akhavan 💚 Death of the Hero - Briona Johnson 💙 Between Dragons and Their Wrath - Devin Madson 💜 The Crimson Crown - Heather Walter ❤️ Sacrificial Animals - Kailee Pedersen 🧡 Oath of Fire - K. Arsenault Rivera 💛 The Palace of Eros - Caro De Robertis 💙 This Ravenous Fate - Hayley Dennings 💜 Mistress of Lies - K.M. Enright 🌈 Wolf Bite - T.J. Nichols

❤️ In the Valley, A Shadow - Samantha Tano 🧡 Follow My Lead - Adrian J. Smith 💛 The Last Woman I Kissed - Venetia Di Pierro 💚 Full Shift - Jennifer Dugan & Kristen Seaton 💙 Hers for the Weekend - Helena Greer 💜 Come Out, Come Out - Natalie C. Parker ❤️ Rules for Ghosting - Shelly Jay Shore 🧡 How to Leave the House - Nathan Newman 💛 Plot Twist - Carmen Sereno 💙 On the Far Side of a Crescendo - Kalyn Hazel 💜 Tiny Oblivions and Mutual Self Destructions - Maxwell I. Gold 🌈 Daylan and the River of Secrets - Edd Tello

❤️ The Italy Letters - Vi Khi Nao 🧡 The Gender Binary Is a Big Lie - Lee Wind 💚 The House Where Death Lives - Alex Brown 💙 Ash's Cabin - Jen Wang 💜 The Avian Hourglass - Lindsey Drager ❤️ The Heart Wants - Krystina Rivers 🧡 A Grand Love - Janna Barkin 💛 You Can't Go Home Again - Jeanette Bears 💜 Libertad - Bessie Flores Zaldivar 🌈 Her Golden Coast - Anat Deracine

❤️ Mighty Millie Novak - Elizabeth Holden 💛 Rise and Divine - Lana Harper 💚 Dying for You - L Flowers 💙 I'll Have What He's Having - Adib Khorram 💜 Changing Her Tune - Amanda Kabak ❤️ Monogamy? In this Economy? - Laura Boyle 🧡 The Rainbow Age of Television - Sayna Maci Warner 💛 Medusa of the Roses - Navid Sinaki 💙 Confounding Oaths - Alexis Hall 💜 Idol Lives - K.T. Salvo 🌈 Brother's Keeper - Quinn Cameron

❤️ Key Lime Sky - Al Hess 🧡 Crushing It - Erin Becker 💛 The Husky and His White Cat Shizun - Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou 💚 Not for the Faint of Heart - Lex Croucher 💙 Tasting Temptation - JJ Arias 💜 Ami - S. Jae-Jones ❤️ You're the Problem, It's You - Emma R. Alban 🧡 Cubs & Campfires - Dylan Drakes 💛 The Dark We Know - Wen-yi Lee 💙 Practical Rules for Cursed Witches - Kayla Cottingham 💜 Riyati Rebirth - Kalani Shimizu 🌈 The Brujos of Borderland High - Gume Laurel III

❤️ A Bánh Mì for Two - Trinity Nguyen 🧡 Dance of the Starlit Sea - Kiana Krystle 💛 Scattered Snows, to the North - Carl Phillips 💚 Beyond a World Apart - Caitlin Myers 💙 Don't Let It Break Your Heart - Maggie Horne 💜 Nothing Heals Me Like You Do - Harper Bliss ❤️ How It All Ends - Emma Hunsinger 🧡 How Do I Sexy? - Mx. Nillin Lore 💛 The Palace of Eros - Caro De Robertis 💙 Prince of the Palisades - Julian Winters 💜 Better Left Buried - Mary E. Roach 🌈 Back to Back - Jo Fletcher

❤️ DITCHLAPSE / [REALLY AFRAID] - Tommy Wyatt 🧡 The Love Archives: Bonus Scenes & Excerpts for Palestine - Various 💛 Guardian: Zhen Hun - Ying Priest 💚 The Sunforge - Sascha Stronach 💙 Queering Reproductive Justice - Candace Bond-Theriault 💜 Gender Explained - Diane Ehrensaft & Michelle Jurkiewicz ❤️ The Unlikely Pair - Jax Calder 🧡 In Universes - Emet North 💛 We Love the Nightlife - Rachel Koller Croft 💙 Lessons from Cruising - Martin Goodman 💜 Wild Ginger in the Rhubarb - Eule Grey 🌈 Not My Circus - Delicia Niami

❤️ Asunder - Kerstin Hall 🧡 The Phoenix Keeper - S.A. MacLean 💛 Encounters with James Baldwin - Various 💚 Verity's Game - Jennifer Giacalone 💙 Hunt Me! I Crave the Chase - Fae Quin 💜 The Audacity Omnibus - Carmen Loup ❤️ Haunted to Death - Frank Anthony Polito 🧡 Blood Orange - Paige Grunewald 💛 The Bad Things We Did - Chris Archeske 💙 Dark Restraint - Katee Robert 💜 Worth the Wait - Kenna White 🌈 The Maid and the Crocodile - Jordan Ifueko

❤️ Loving Corrections - Adrienne Maree Brown 🧡 The Last Witch in Edinburgh - Marielle Thompson 💛 The Duchess of Kokora - Nikhil Prabala 💚 The Scales of Seduction - Rien Gray 💙 Survival Is a Promise - Alexis Pauline Gumbs 💜 Loka - S.B. Divya ❤️ The Every Body Book of Consent - Rachel E Simon 🧡 Southern Lights - Liz Arncliffe 💛 Then Things Went Dark - Bea Fitzgerald 💙 Death at Morning House - Maureen Johnson 💜 The Last Doorbell - William Parker 🌈 The Pairing - Casey McQuiston

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

The Gods of Tango by Caro De Robertis?

Thank you for the submission, I added it to the list :)

[bucolicbook]

The Palace of Eros: A Novel by Caro De Robertis 

US pub date - 8/13/24

The writing is gorgeous. I fell deep into this story, read it over a few days, and have thought about it since. 

A beautiful retelling of Eros and Psyche, this one was written with such a voice that simply flows. I loved the messages this contained. 

Despite unfortunately finding the final part and ending oddly flat, I still enjoyed this one.

Thank you to Atria/Primero Sueno Press and NetGalley for the DRC

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: LGBTQ Novels Inspired by Greek Mythology, Part IV

For the first three parts, click here. Death’s Country by R.M. Romero (YA) Gentlest of Wild Things by Sarah Underwood (YA) Wicked Beauty by Katee Robert The Palace of Eros by Caro de Robertis Oath of Fire by K Arsenault Rivera  

[mccoppinscrapyard]

Books Read in 2024

Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Numb to This by Kindra Neely: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Cantoras by Caro De Robertis: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Plantains and Our Becoming by Melania Luisa Marte: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You Better Be Lightning by Andrea Gibson: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Violeta by Isabel Allende: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date by Ashley Herring Blake: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Lady For a Duke by Alexis Hall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Love from A to Z by S. K. Ali: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Lady He Lost by Faye Delacour: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cinder Ella by S. T. Lynn: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

There Are Trans People Here by H. Melt: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Hamartia by Scarlett Drake: ⭐️⭐️✨

Tales from the Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Nagata Kabi: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

The Twenty-Ninth Year by Hala Alyan: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Just Another Story by Ernesto Saade: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Zara Hossein is Here by Sabina Khan: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lies My Teacher Told Me: A Graphic Adaptation by James W. Loewen & Nate Powell: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Messy Roots by Laura Gao: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Into the Forest and All the Way Through by Cynthia Pelayo: no starred rating

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Second Night Stand by Fay and Karelia Stetz-Walters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Secret Summer Promise by Keah Brown: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Squire by Nadia Shammas and Sara Alfageeh: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske: ⭐️⭐️✨

Sorry for the Inconvenience by Farah Naz Rishi: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

[read-alert]

It's Trans Awareness Week! Here's some of my fave recent reads! 📚🏳️‍⚧️

Falling Back in Love With Being Human: Letters to Lost Souls by Kai Cheng Thom

Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

Miss Major Speaks: Conversations with a Black Trans Revolutionary by Miss Major Griffin-Gracy and Toshio Meronek

Ander and Santi Were Here by Johnny Garza Villa

The Gods of Tango by Caro De Robertis

Just Shy of Ordinary by AJ Sass

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

Galaxy: The Prettiest Star by Jadzia Axelrod and Jess Taylor

Kapaemahu by Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson, Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, and Daniel Sousa

[nedlittle]

2, 3, and 16 for the book ask!!

lmao nooo all of these have already been answered but some of them i can answer twice

2. Did you reread anything? What?

orphan monster spy/devil darling spy by matt killeen (both better than i remembered!! give them to the teen girl in your life who is weirdly fixated on wwii) and seminal nedlittle text cassandra at the wedding by dorothy baker i will not stop until i get you guys to read cassandra at the wedding

3. What were your top five books of the year?

already answered but here are more of my top 10

the gods of tango by caro de robertis

the perilous life of jade yeo by zen cho [review]

the weight of ink by rachel kadish [review]

the sweetness of water by nathan harris [review]

medical apartheid: the dark history of medical experimentation on black americans from colonial times to the present by harriet t. washington

16. What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

this is going to be very specific but racing hummingbirds by jeannan verlee. if you were on tumblr from approximately 2011-2015 then you saw lessons for loving a prophet EVERYWHERE and since that one poem is so good one would expect that the rest of the collection would be as good and it is NOT. it is in fact deeply, deeply mid. so this was a case of me overhyping a book for myself.

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

💖 Sapphic Books Coming Out August 2024

🩷 There's something especially sweet about a sapphic romance. Here are only a few of the amazing sapphic books hitting shelves in July 2024.

💖 Which ones are you adding to your TBR?

Contemporary 💖 Can’t Buy Me Love - Georgia Beers 💖 The Heart Wants - Krystina Rivers 💖 Hers for the Weekend - Helena Greer 💖 You Can’t Go Home Again - Jeanette Bears 💖 Worth the Wait - Kenna White 💖 One Summer in Miami - Amber Rose Gill 💖 The Last Woman I Kissed - Venetia Di Pierro 💖 Changing Her Tune - Amanda Kabak 💖 Chance Encounter - Renee Roman 💖 The Italy Letters - Vi Khi Nao 💖 Our Slice of Paradise - Tiana Warner 💖 Dancing With Dahlia - Julia Underwood 💖 Untethered - Shelley Thrasher 💖 Comes in Waves - Ana Hartnett 💖 Libertad - Bessie Flores Zaldívar 💖 The Avian Hourglass - Lindsey Drager 💖 Mamele - Gemma Reeves 💖 Mighty Millie Novak - Elizabeth Holden 💖 A Bánh Mì for Two - Trinity Nguyen 💖 Don’t Let It Break Your Heart - Maggie Horne 💖 Chance Encounter - Renee Roman 💖 Southern Lights - Liz Arncliffe

Paranormal/Horror 💖 The Curse - Alexandra Riley 💖 The House Where Death Lives - ed Alex Brown 💖 Full Shift - Jennifer Dugan & Kit Seaton 💖 The Dark We Know - Wen-yi Lee 💖 This Ravenous Fate - Hayley Dennings 💖 Come Out, Come Out - Natalie C. Parker

Fantasy 💖 The Crimson Crown - Heather Walter 💖 The Phoenix Keeper - S.A. MacLean 💖 Oath of Fire - K. Arsenault Rivera 💖 The Palace of Eros - Caro De Robertis 💖 Gentlest of Wild Things - Sarah Underwood 💖 Queen of Dreams - Kit Rocha 💖 The Sunforge - Sascha Stronach 💖 The Ending Fire - Saara El-Arifi 💖 Skyscraper - Gun Brooke 💖 Fyrebirds - Kate J. Armstrong 💖 The New Camelot - Robyn Schneider 💖 The Storm and the Sea Hawk - Kiran Millwood Hargrave 💖 Practical Rules for Cursed Witches - Kayla Cottingham �� Netherford Hall - Natania Barron 💖 The Duchess of Kokora - Nikhil Prabala 💖 Rise and Divine - Lana Harper

Historical 💖 Not for the Faint of Heart - Lex Croucher 💖 Accidental Darlings - Crystal Jeans

Mystery/Thriller 💖 Better Left Buried - Mary E. Roach 💖 A Midnight So Deadly - Wren Handman 💖 Death At Morning House - Maureen Johnson 💖 A Gravely Troubling Discovery - Hannah Hendy 💖 Verity’s Game - Jennifer Giacalone

Sci-Fi 💖 Time’s Agent - Brenda Peynado 💖 New Adventures in Space Opera - ed Jonathan Strahan

[lgbtqreads]

New Releases: August 13, 2024

Middle Grade Ash’s Cabin by Jen Wang Ash has always felt alone. Adults ignore the climate crisis. Other kids Ash’s age are more interested in pop stars and popularity contests than in fighting for change. Even Ash’s family seems to be sleepwalking through life. The only person who ever seemed to get Ash was their Grandpa Edwin. Before he died, he used to talk about building a secret cabin, deep…