literarymarvel's reviews
3132 reviews

Told from two points of view, Boy follows Joan and Sander, two young friends coming of age during the later reign of Elizabeth I. Acquaintances of historical figures such as William Shakespeare and Francis Bacon, Joan and Sander are soon swept up in the political, artistic, and scientific whirlwind of London's aristocracy, all while falling love with each other. A vibrant and thought-provoking novel on gender, art, politics, and love during a tumultuous time in history, Boy is a breath of fresh air. 

Shocking, suffocating, and haunting, Something in the Walls is the story of a teenage girl in a small Cornish town who is tormented by a malevolence. When a psychologist fresh out of school is sent to talk to the girl, she is soon experiencing horrors of her own. But what is real and what is false in this small town full of superstitious people? As the bodies pile up, dark secrets begin to reveal themselves. 

A sweet story about a diner in Japan that makes a special dish for its customers to bring back their loved one from the dead for a short amount of time. I feel like I've read 10 other books with similar topics so it wasn't very unique. But the story was nice. 

Idle Grounds takes place over one summer day during a birthday party. The adults have gathered in the back, sucked into their own drama and rehashed grudges. 

Meanwhile, the young cousins follow the eldest of the their group around their aunt's house, creating games and ways to pass the time. Suddenly, their youngest cousin wanders off into the front yard and the rest of the kids decide to find her. 

What follows is a fever dream-like series of adventures through prickly hedges, unfamiliar woods, a pet cemetery, and even into the neighbor's house. Idle Ground drags the reader back to childhood, when everything ordinary seemed extraordinary and stepping past the known was courageous. But there are also tones of family legacy, mental health, class, and parent/child relationships, all wound in a child's view of these adult topics.  

I was not prepared for how gutting this book would be. Allen Eskens tore out my freaking heart. The story was intense, gripping, and emotionally volatile. A heartbreaking look on the tolls of the Bosnian war on its civilians and soldiers alike. The traumas and scars that were left on the survivors., but also the resilience of good and the human spirit. 

This book was incredibly relevant and eye-opening. Shamieh really hit home with the emotional, familial, and mental struggles of Palestine's history through the perspectives of a grandmother and her granddaughter in two different eras. We see the first movements of the Zionists in the 1940's to rid their new country of Palestinian people, displacing and killing tens of thousands. Then we view Israel in 2012 - military check points, Israeli soldiers with machine guns wandering the streets. Gaza and the West Bank cut off from trade and resources. And we all know what happens in the 2020's. Moving and infuriating as it is about the resilience of a displaced people.

Another stunning story by Daniel Black. I was over 3/4 of the way through the novel when Isaac saw his father's letters and I started crying realizing that Daniel was connecting Don't Cry for Me with Isaac's Song. I love that these companion stories, which delve into the incredibly tough and complex topic of Black queerness and masculinity, give us two very different but intertwined perspectives on a father and son's relationship. Poetic, inspiring, raw, emotional. Daniel Black is one of the best.