#I am not your perfect mexican daughter

[slaughter-books]

Day 7: JOMPBPC: Circle of Books

[poetlcs]

books read in 2023: I am not your perfect mexican daughter by erika l. sánchez

Happiness is a dandelion wisp floating through the air that I can’t catch. No matter how hard I try, no matter how fast I run, I just can’t reach it. Even when I think I grasp it, I open my hand and it’s empty

[lovebooksforeversblog]

I'm not your perfect Mexican daughter 📖💗✨

[literaturewithliz]

What are you reading right now? I’m just curious, lol. Possibly start a reboot chain

I’m reading Dance Of Theives

hey jesssss

right now i am reading I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sánchez. Its a bit slow at first but the more i read the more i like it. Dance of Thieves is such a cool title. whats it about?

[nat-reviews-books]

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

To be honest, I thought I was going to hate this at the beginning, but I ended up really liking it. The narrator, Julia, is a tough protagonist to get to like, but I did like her by the end. I really liked this book. It dealt with a lot of tough topics, but was still very good.

Trigger warnings: death, depression, suicide attempt, rape mention, cartel violence

[heavenisblue]

Book Archive

A list of books I've read, enjoyed, and recommend.

He Forgot to Say Goodbye by Benjamin Alire Saenz

I personally LOVE this book and recommend it with my whole heart but I could be biased since I adore a lot of the authors works.....

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

This book!! It's honestly amazing. I simply adore this book with all my heart. Benjamin truly out did himself with this one and with the sequel as well it's just that the first book holds a dear spot in my heart. I know this doesn't say much of the actual book and it's just me rambling but you truly need to read this book on you're own and then you'll understand why I'm rambling.

Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Saenz

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez

Although I have a love hate relationship with this book I would still recommend it. I would just say that when you read it be able to acknowledge it's flaws.

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

For Today I Am a Boy by Kim Fu

I personally always find myself rereading this book and I'm not sure why.

This is the song I was listening to while writing this post.

[queerauntie]

December Reads

As the end of the year comes to a close, I wanted to reflect on my latest hyperfocus- books! It's been a lot of fun the past few months diving in deep and enjoying a wide variety of stories, and December was no exception. This year rounds us out with a total of FOUR books! And the titles are, in order of when I read them:

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby

I Think I Love You by Auriana Desombre

Witchful Thinking by Celestine Martin

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

Every Body Shines Edited by Cassandra Newbould

The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman

ain't i a woman by bell hooks

Let's start with the Shades of Magic series. This series was absolutely phenomenal. I couldn't put it down, that is to say, my friend and I sat in silence for 12+ hours (for each book) so I could get through them. From the characters to the plot twists, this book is God Tier and definitely is going in the "Read Again" file of books to enjoy when I feel like revisiting that magnificent world. After reading The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue I was sure I would enjoy the series and was more prepared for the world-building I knew would require my attention. It did not let me down!

Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby was a really enjoyable read, it made me learn some things about myself, connecting those childhood dots to their adult patterns. My friend always asked me if Gadsby's special, Douglas, made me feel as autistic as they did when I watched it, and while I didn't quite get what they meant, in this memoir, I completely understood what they were asking. Hannah goes into even more depth about how their diagnosis came around (and all the signs that should've been picked up on) and it hit very close to home. It was frustrating and hilarious and heartbreaking. It gave me even more respect for my queer elders and the road they've paved for us. For any fan of comedy, autism, and lesbians, I highly recommend this book.

Now, I Think I Love You was a completely different tone shift from the previous books this month, I picked it for two reasons. I saw it here on tumblr looking for lesbian love stories. and secondly, because of all the books I saw, this was the only one that was available instantly in the Libby App. All that to say it wasn't one I was extremely invested in and therefore I didn't pay extreme attention to it. Similarly to sitcoms, I tend to zone out on additional characters and scenes and then tune back in when it's the main character talking, the plot is pushed forward, and conflict is being created and resolved. I did enjoy this story, while some teen fics hit me hard, this one did feel like it was for the younger (middle school) grades. But while no tears were shed, I did enjoy this sweet story!

Witchful Thinking was a book I put on hold around October (Halloween theme). It was another book I saw at Target, so now we're getting a feel for the Target Tier as I am now calling it! I would say it's a 3.75 on my personal scale. I really really like the books, but I just can't say that I loved them. This book was right in there, and I honestly don't even believe it's the book's fault. I am quickly discovering that books that don't include or center queer characters are really boring. The trials and communication problems that cishet characters go through are a little tired out for me. I love a will they won't they, but when it's high school sweethearts and he's too cool to commit, and she's scared to get what she wants... It's like nah that's not my vibes thank you though! Now what I was NOT expecting was for the breeders to get hot and HEAVY! Suddenly nipples were getting hard and thrusts were being matched, I was wholly unprepared and thankful I was in private 😂. All in all, it was a fun ride and I'm certainly glad the girl got her happy ending. Good for him too I guess but who cares about a MAN?! I swear we're going for all non-male protagonists for next year lol I can't stand myself!

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter was a book that caught me off guard a bit. I don't read the book trailers or try to learn anything about a book before getting into it, I like the surprise you know? I thought this book would be very relatable, and it was, but it wasn't from my perspective, family dynamically speaking. While I am the oldest, the third parent, and the one whom all the expectations were put upon, my character was dead. So, this book felt a lot like reading from my younger sister's perspective. When my parent's gaze falls off me, who would they have next to target? It worked through a lot of cultural family dynamics that were very relatable. Julia goes through the hardest thing imaginable and doesn't come through unscathed.

Every Body Shines was a random book that I picked up because I saw a teacher that I follow on twitter was hosting the book club for this book, and I had a day to read it so, challenge accepted! What I didn't know is that it was a series of short stories, not a non-fiction about body acceptance. Now, I have tried reading collections like this but the short stories just always fall a little flat for me, that being said, there were a few stories that stuck out to me so it was worth the read after all. What was the most disappointing was I couldn't find out access to the book club so I ended up not getting to read others' thoughts which was what I was really looking forward to!

I came across The Complete Maus at the library and grabbed it without a second thought. I remember when the last school year started and certain (read antisemitic and racist) people were trying to ban this book in schools. I ended up reading over 70% of it in one night and finished it the next morning. It was beautifully told, devastating to witness, and immensely kind. I have continually used that word to describe books, but it's the highest compliment I can give a story. In this age of shock culture, it's a popular trend to create untrustworthy stories and be deceitful as writers. It's been ongoing for years now, and it's scary when you don't know if you can trust that a writer will be mindful of your emotional journey. But Spiegelman does a phenomenal job showing his capturing of the story within the story. It helps the reader to ease in and out of these extremely difficult and dark moments. It was also beautiful to be able to get into the author's head a little more as he tells his story. I think it's insane that it was ever attempted to be banned and instead believe it would be a great alternative to The Boy In The Stripe Pajamas which is taught in middle school! Regardless, it's a very good piece of writing and art.

We're here, the last book of the year! I finished ain't i a woman by bell hooks earlier today and will definitely need to read it again because i was distractedly cleaning while listening. But it was a really good read, discussing how Black Women have been left out of both Black liberation movements and White Women's feminist liberation movements. I don't know what I could say that hasn't been said far more eloquently and it's just the tip of the iceberg for me, so keep an eye out for more thoughts as I get through her writing. But just from this first exposure, I can already tell that hooks is going to be a brilliant teacher in the next upcoming year.

Well, that's it y'all! 32 books in 6 months! I am very impressed with myself, this has been such a fun journey and I am so excited to continue this lovely hobby into the new year. This averages around 5-6 books a month which is so wild and very sprinty of me, so I'm going to be subtly ambitious with my first intentional reading goal: 50 books in 2023! I'm looking forward to sharing them all with you and getting much better at these reviews along the way! If you have any suggestions for me please feel free to drop an ask or send a message!

Happy New Years to everyone celebrating the gregorian calendar and I hope we all have a fantastic adventure ahead of us!

Yearly Book Count: 32/32!!

[panvani]

Honestly the genre of like. 2nd gen [ETHNICITY]-American works supposed to promote Racial Acceptance that are almost invariably extremely condescending and racist but are inevitably hailed as Progressive really should be stopped

[etchedstars]

nothing more relaxing than scrolling through goodreads negative reviews for a book you hate

[chic-beyond-the-wall-oc-acct]

So, project 2025 has been deleting their PDFs but a few lovely people have posted the list of books they want to ban and other than the fact that the entire list is stupid, here's some that stuck out to me + the reasons listed next to them. Most of the books on the list are lgbtq+ books which one would expect to find there, so I just did ones I didn't expect.

The Holy Bible - Challenged for religious beliefs and graphic content.

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin - Sexual violence, political intrigue.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson - Death and religious content.

Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey - Toilet humor and "disobedience."

Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak - Critique of the Russian Revolution.

Deadly Deceits by Ralph McGehee - Former CIA agent's critiques of the agency.

Emma by Jane Austen - Complex gender themes, social critique.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - Censorship and media manipulation by the government.

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling - Accusations of promoting witchcraft.

Howl by Allen Ginsberg - Explicit sexual content, anti-establishment themes

Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss - Concerns over violence against parents.

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez - Mental health, sexual content.

It's Perfectly Normal by Robie H. Harris - Sex education content.

It's So Amazing! by Robie H. Harris - Sex education content.

None Dare Call It Conspiracy by Gary Allen - Discusses alleged hidden global power structure.

None Dare Call It Treason by John A. Stormer - Anti-communist and conspiracy-focused.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - Critique of Soviet labor camps.

Operation Paperclip by Annie Jacobsen - Exposes secret U.S. program involving former Nazis.

My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Lincoln Collier - Violence, anti-war themes.

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt vonnegut- Anti-war themes.

Spycatcher by Peter Wright - Ex-MI5 agent's account of intelligence operations.

The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama - Criticism of religion, perceived political messages.

The Awakening by Kate Chopin - Female independence, sexuality.

The Book of Night Women by Marlon James - Slavery, graphic violence.

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede - Magic, feminism.

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein - Themes of selfishness, parenting.

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy - Examines class and caste issues in India.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - Critique of religious extremism and patriarchy.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas - Examines police violence and racial injustice

The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins - Depicts oppressive government and rebellion.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster - Political subtext, wordplay.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - Critique of colonialism and missionary work.

The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene - Critique of religion and political oppression

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle - Religious critique.

The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli - Seen as a critique of political ethics.

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare - Often challenged for themes of submission of women in marriage.

Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer - Themes of violence, supernatural elements.

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore - Political rebellion, violence.

War is a Racket by Smedley D. Butler - Critique of war profiteering.

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein - Dark humor, "rebellious" themes.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak - Themes of rebellion, dark imagery.

Where's Waldo? by Martin Handford - Alleged inappropriate illustrations.

White Noise by Don DeLillo - Critique of consumerism and modern society.

Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes - Feminist themes.

Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss - Seen as political allegory.

Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis - Critique of authority and societal norms.

[slaughter-books]

Day 10: JOMPBPC: Books And Sunshine

[themodernchicanareview]

Who is Gloria Anzaldúa?: A review of a Revolutionary Women

This is a somewhat academic research essay about Gloria Anzaldúa and her impact on the queer Chicana Identity. If you are unfamiliar with her work and you are a queer Chicana, it's like waking up. A professor once told me that reading Anzaldúa for the first time is like taking the Red pill. It's confronting a part of yourself that society has conditioned you to quiet. If this something doesn't fully resonate with you, that's okay. Read and learn from someone with a different perspective anyway. As Chicano Studies will stress, Connection is fundamental to growth and healing. I am always open to critique and edits. Feel free to DM me with questions/concerns/or even edits. My goal is to build a connection with those within this space!

The day I was assigned Borderlands/La Frontera by Gloria Anzaldúa was my first encounter with the true nature of my cultural heritage. It was my first year at Texas State, 558 miles from El Paso, Texas, the borderland I called home. At that time, my goal was to go to law school, work as an attorney, maybe run for office, and eventually become a Judge; I was to be the Perfect Mexican Daughter. Borderlands was a transformative read. It was the story of the border, my home, and my life. Anzaldúa writes, “1,950-mile-long open wound dividing a pueblo, a culture, running down my body, staking fence rods in my flesh, splits me, splits me, me raja, me raja.” [1]Living on the U.S.-Mexico Border, being Mexican, you grew up with a tear in your soul, the likes of which you were conditioned to ignore. Subsequently, this societal-imposed ignorance breeds resentment, anger, and conformity. It is the pressure to assimilate. It's important to understand that the goal of assimilation is to distance yourself from yourself. This distance, for me at least, was painful.

Reading Anzaldúa for the first time made me realize I had a choice. For me and so many, Anzaldúa served as the bridge between assimilation and decolonization. Meaning she presented a world in which my pain could be transfigured into the reclamation of my identity. Through her philosophical and historical narrative, Anzaldúa gave us a path to reconnecting. Reading Borderlands and discovering my Chicana/Latina and Indigenous roots put me on the path to reconnection; it made the grip that assimilation once had on me gradually loosen. I could breathe, write, and create and connect with my identity. Therefore, this essay aims to provide a context of the historical and social importance of the revolutionary work of Gloria Anzaldúa's work.

Seeing that Anzaldúa primarily writes about the effects of a political border like the US-Mexico border on culture, I believe it is important to understand the historical context of border relations between the United States and Mexico when Anzaldúa was writing. Anzaldúa published most of her works between 1981 and 1996, while her last work would be published after she died in 2015. Therefore, I will primarily focus on the border relations between the U.S. and Mexico in the 80s and 90s. Historian Douglas Massey points out, “Although the Mexico-U.S. border has long been deployed as a symbolic line of defense against foreign threats, its prominence in the American imagination has ebbed and flowed over time. Over the past several decades, however, the political and emotional importance of the border as a symbolic battle line has risen.” [2]Massey points out that the idea of a US-Mexico border as a physical and metaphysical construct that divides is a fairly recent concept. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, U.S., Texas, and Mexico relations were inconsistent fluctuations, leading to an ever-changing physical border. Massey writes, “In theory, the Mexico-U.S. border first came into existence with Mexico's achievement of independence from Spain in 1821, although very quickly the border was blurred by the entry of U.S. settlers into northern Mexico from southern and border states in the United States.” (161) Which leads us into the 20th century. Where the border is now effectively militarized, and there are increasingly anti-immigration sentiments that have been pervasive throughout history and perpetuated through the militarization of the physical US-Mexico border. “A systematic coding of weekly U.S. news magazine covers dealing with immigration from 1970 to 2000 found that negatively framed covers increased markedly in frequency through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Migration from south of the border was increasingly referred to as a "crisis" and was labeled either a "flood" that would "inundate" the United States and "drown" its society or an "invasion" of hostile "aliens" pitted against "outgunned" Border Patrol agents who sought to "hold the line" against "banzai charges" by migrants who would "overrun" American society.” [3](168) This was the tumultuous time when Anzaldúa became prominent in her academic career. It was important to her that within her works, she addressed the systematic failings that caused this racist climate. In Borderlands/La Frontera, Anzaldúa says: “Those who make it past the checking points of the Border Patrol find themselves in the midst of 150 years of racism in Chicano barrios in the Southwest and in big northern cities (37).” Within the context of the time, simply acknowledging the tyrannical effects of the physical US-Mexican border revolutionized the way Chicanos interacted with border ideology. By highlighting this systemic racism within the physical and metaphysical U.S.- Mexico border, Anzaldúa highlighted the pain that Mexicans Chicanos felt living with the hostility that came from being a borderland person. 

Moreover, within the historical context of the 80s and 90s, Anzaldúa faced a great challenge when it came to her queer identity. Within Borderlands, not only does A write about the struggles of a border identity, but she also writes about the struggles of queerness and gender and how that itself is an intersectional identity worth exploring and worth value. It’s important to note that historically being Chicana with a voice, and also being queer was still extremely taboo. “Gay and lesbian lifestyles are taboo, and Chicano culture and are harshly castigated. To violate this fundamental moral standard is to invite ostracism, violence or both.” [4]The inclusion of her queer identity as a form of intersectionality, a form of a borderland, was revolutionary for the time. Not only was she talking about queer identity and gender during a time when it was dangerous, but she used her lesbian identity as a form of intersectionality to demonstrate aspects of her philosophy. “She says that as a queer, she has no culture yet at the same time she has so much. Thus she inhabits Sandoval’s idea of a new kind of social movement that is “differential.” She revolutionized how we view queerness and gender regarding identity, and including this aspect of her identity exemplifies bravery and a revolutionary mindset.  Within her work, Borderlands, Anzaldúa outlines the concept of cultural tyranny. Aspects within Latino and Chicano culture that aim to exclude. Within this aspect of her book, she directly addresses the systemic issue of machismo culture. The same machismo culture that when she dares to speak her mind and her truths, they call her a “traitor,” a “sellout. ”She writes: “Not me sold out my people, but they me.” [5]. Not only does she defy cultural expectations, but she’s unafraid to critique the culture and its exclusionary aspects as well.

Given the historical context, Anzaldúa was a revolutionary woman with revolutionary ideas. As a queer Chicana, she shook the modern landscape of Chicana identity by pulling to the forefront the Chicano consciousness of the true narrative of borderland people and by validating and empowering the identity of those that live and in-between those that live in a borderland. She countered racist ideology with a counter-narrative and a call to action for those who live in borderlands for those who live in a borderland to deassimilate to choose to reengage with the intersectionality of their identities. I think Anzaldúa legacy can best be summed up In this quote from Revolutionary women of Texas and Mexico: “In our work, we use exploration leading to cultural identity as a way of seeing self and others, and the basis for this is Anzaldúas framework. Exploration starts us on the road not only to understanding others and their identities but also to looking within to expand our perspectives in articulating our own cultural identity.” [6]

[1] Gloria Anzaldúa, Borderlands La Frontera , 4th ed. (San Francisco, California : aunt lute books, 2007).

[2] Douglas Massey, “The Mexico-U.S. Border in the American Imagination,” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 160, no. 2 (June 2016): 160–77, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26159208, 161.

[3] Douglas Massey, “The Mexico-U.S. Border in the American Imagination,” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 160, no. 2 (June 2016): 160–77, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26159208, 168.

[4] María Herrera-Sobek, “Gloria Anzaldúa: Place, Race, Language, and Sexuality in the Magic Valley,” PMLA/Publications of the Modern Language Association of America 121, no. 1 (January 2006): 266–71, https://doi.org/10.1632/003081206x129800, 270.

[5] Gloria Anzaldúa, Borderlands La Frontera , 4th ed. (San Francisco, California : aunt lute books, 2007), 47.

[6] 1. Kathy Sosa et al., Revolutionary Women of Texas and Mexico: Portraits of Soldaderas, Saints, and Subversives (San Antonio, TX: Maverick Books, Trinity University Press, 2020), 202.

[autumnsprophecy]

Combatting Censorship

Ao3 could be attacked by the conservative government. If possible, save and download your favorite fics. 2SLGBTQIA+ content is prominent on Ao3, which makes it a potential target. It could be banned or regulated in the United States.

Pride parades could be attacked by the conservative government. Especially in states like Florida. Remember your right to freedom of expression, and its legal protection under the Bill of Rights.

TikTok will likely be banned. Download your favorite videos for preservation purposes, so that they do not become lost media.

As I mentioned in a previous post, book bans will likely increase. Most schools and libraries will have boxes of these books that you can take for free. I would suggest doing so for preservation and archival purposes.

Examples of Titles At Risk For Being Banned Include, But Are Not Limited To:

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sánchez

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson

We Are Everywhere by Matthew Reimer and Leighton Brown

The Crane Wife by CJ Hauser

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

Fairest by Meredith Talusan

How To Live Free In A Dangerous World by Shayla Lawson

Tomorrow Will Be Different by Sarah McBride

The Hundred Years' War On Palestine - A History of Settler Colonial Conquest and Resistance by Rashid Khalidi

Palestinian Identity by Rashid Khalidi

[saintmeghanmarkle]

JAN MOIR: She gave Harry an icy stare any husband would know - watch what you're saying mister! by u/Von_und_zu_

JAN MOIR: She gave Harry an icy stare any husband would know - watch what you're saying, mister! Full of sarcasm and snark. Moir sees right through the facade and does not hold back.***'I am so, so happy you're here. Thank you,' said Meghan, giving the famous American television host that special big hug she reserves for famous American television hosts. \***'We always talk about in the olden days if your kids were under your roof, you knew what they were up to,' he said, making a steeple with his fingers to illustrate the shape of a roof, presumably so that any hobbits or igloo-dwellers out there would know what he was talking about.'And at least they were safe, right?' But were they, Harry? Were they really? They could be trying on Nazi uniforms or playing naked billiards or taking cocaine or all sorts. You just never know with kids.\***'So if me voicing what I have overcome will save someone... I'll take a hit for that,' added Meghan, giving viewers an inspiring example of the emotional benevolence that makes her so very special.Indeed, in the four years that the Sussexes have lived in America, Meghan has perfected her gracious duchess-in-exile persona: regal but relatable, grand and bland in equal measure.She smiled beatifically when she talked of 'change for good' and her 'amazing' children, but sometimes would look stonily at Harry when it was his turn to talk on camera. Husbands around the world would recognise and interpret that icy, wifely stare in seconds: Watch what you are saying, mister. \***Sometimes you wonder how Harry and Meghan have the nerve, the sheer brassy audacity to do what they do. Of course, the altruistic urge is obvious in launching an online Parents' Network. One can see the essential goodness in building an 'empowered community of families' to 'support and uplift each other'.Yet it is no secret that the Sussexes are estranged – to a greater or lesser degree – from their own parents. Parents such as Mr T Markle, who lives in reduced circumstances in a dusty Mexican border town. The 80-year-old is in poor health and has yet to meet his daughter Meghan's husband or be introduced to his two grandchildren, who he is longing to get to know before he dies.Is there a network for him to join? Or what about a network for King Charles, the parent who has become so concerned about his younger son's public indiscretions and confessions that he reportedly avoids taking his calls and keeps their meetings to a minimum?It is all very confusing. Do the Sussexes mean well – or are they just mean? Perhaps you think I'm being too cynical, but I'll take a hit for that.https://archive.ph/EOWDyhttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/royals/article-13707697/JAN-MOIR-Harry-icy-stare-husband-watch-saying-mister.html​ post link: https://ift.tt/xFD5r1m author: Von_und_zu_ submitted: August 05, 2024 at 04:34AM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

[nat-reviews-books]

Currently Listening: I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez

I'm not enjoying this one so far. The main character is very angsty and it's a bit annoying. If I'm still not enjoying by the end of my drive home, I'll be returning this one to the library.

[richincolor]

New Releases - Week of June 25, 2024

We have four books that we're watching for this week. This week will bring us a romance and a whole lot of fantasy. 

Sleep Like Death by Kalynn Bayron Bloomsbury YA

Only the truly desperate – and foolish – seek out the Knight, an ancient monster who twists wishes into curses. Eve knows this first-hand: one of her mothers was cursed by the Knight and trapped in the body of a songbird. With the unique abilities to communicate with animals and conjure weapons from nature, Eve has trained all her life to defeat him.

With more and more villagers harmed by the Knight’s corrupt deals, Eve believes she’s finally ready to face him. But when Queen Regina begins acting strangely – talking to seemingly no one, isolating herself, and lashing out at the slightest provocation – Eve must question if her powers are enough to save her family and her kingdom.

Crashing Into You by Rocky Callen Henry Holt & Co.

In this fiercely moving YA romance novel, Leti Rivera’s love of street racing is put to the test when tragedy strikes her family and threatens to tear her apart from the boy she’s falling for.

Seventeen-year-old Leti Rivera dreams of becoming a famous female street racer. Her brother taught her how to drive so fast that nothing can catch her.

But when Jacob Fleckenstein crashes into her life, Leti starts to think that running isn’t always the answer. Together, inside her car, they both feel like they’re flying, and Jacob’s gentleness and honesty threaten Leti’s vow to keep her heart tight in her fist and her grief locked away.

Yet after tragedy strikes following a race, Leti blames herself and swears an oath, a juramento, to give up driving. But will she be able to keep her promise when racing could be the very thing that saves Jacob . . . and herself? Perfect for fans of Netflix’s Atypical and I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.

We Shall Be Monsters by Tara Sim Nancy Paulsen Books

After her sister Lasya’s sudden death, Kajal vows to do whatever it takes to bring her back. No cost is too great, even if it means preventing Lasya’s soul from joining the cycle of reincarnation. But as Kajal prepares for the resurrection, her sister’s trapped soul warps into a bhuta—a violent, wraith-like spirit hell-bent on murdering those who wronged it in life. With each kill, the bhuta becomes stronger and fiercer, and Kajal’s chances of resurrecting Lasya with her soul intact grow slimmer.

Blamed for Lasya’s rampage and condemned as a witch, Kajal is locked away with little hope of escape. That is, until two strangers who label themselves rebels arrive and offer to free her. The catch: She must resurrect the kingdom’s fallen crown prince, aiding their coup to overthrow the usurper who sits the throne. Desperate to return to Lasya’s body, Kajal rushes to revive the crown prince . . . only to discover that she’s resurrected another boy entirely.

All her life, Kajal has trusted no one but her sister. But with Lasya dead and rebels ready to turn her over to the usurper’s ruthless soldiers, Kajal is forced to work with the boy she mistakenly revived. Together, they must find the crown prince before the rebels discover her mistake, or the bhuta finally turns its murderous fury on the person truly responsible for Lasya’s death: Kajal.

Children of Anguish and Anarchy (Legacy of Orïsha #3) by Tomi Adeyemi Henry Holt & Co.

New allies rise. The Blood Moon nears. Zélie faces her final enemy. The king who hunts her heart.

When Zelie seized the royal palace that fateful night, she thought her battles had come to an end. The monarchy had finally fallen. The maji had risen again. Zélie never expected to find herself locked in a cage and trapped on a foreign ship. Now warriors with iron skulls traffic her and her people across the seas, far from their homeland.

Then everything changes when Zélie meets King Baldyr, her true captor, the ruler of the Skulls, and the man who has ravaged entire civilizations to find her. Baldyr’s quest to harness Zélie’s strength sends Zélie, Amari, and Tzain searching for allies in unknown lands.

But as Baldyr closes in, catastrophe charges Orïsha’s shores. It will take everything Zélie has to face her final enemy and save her people before the Skulls annihilate them for good.