Firekeeper’s Daughter, Warrior Girl Unearthed, and Sisters in the Wind

So I read Warrior Girl Unearthed (2023) by Angeline Boulley in September, and immediately had to read Boulley’s first book Firekeeper’s Daughter (2021, Goodreads Choice Award for YA), and was thrilled to find out she’s just published a third book, Sisters in the Wind (September 2, 2025), which I also devoured. They are each amazingContinue reading “Firekeeper’s Daughter, Warrior Girl Unearthed, and Sisters in the Wind”

The Fall of Whit Rivera

The Fall of Whit Rivera (2023) by Crystal Maldonado didn’t deserve to sit on my TBR shelf for as long as it did, because it is a sweet fat-positive YA romance from the author of Fat Chance, Charlie Vega and Get Real, Chloe Torres. Whit (Whitney) Rivera is getting ready to have the best seniorContinue reading “The Fall of Whit Rivera”

It Had to be Him

I so enjoyed listening to It Had to be Him (September 2, 2025) by Adib Khorram that I am certain to purchase it in print to have it for my very own. It is that rare gem, a spicy M/M queer romance that is also fat-positive! I should have expected it from Khorram, whose DariusContinue reading “It Had to be Him”

ZomRomCom

I preorder anything Olivia Dade publishes, and ZomRomCom (August 2025) was no exception. It was great fat-positive fun, full of action from the very beginning! Edie lives within the Containment Zone close to the Compound where zombies are supposed to be corralled after a breach nearly two decades ago. She won’t leave because her parentsContinue reading “ZomRomCom”

The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway

Set amidst the summer of a newly-upgraded Renaissance Faire, Ashley Shumacher’s young adult romance The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway (2023) is a sweet story of Madeline, a fat girl dealing with grief after the loss of her mother and her reluctant falling for a bespectacled, lute-playing boy, Arthur. Arthur’s dads have recently bought the park,Continue reading “The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway”

Let Them Stare

Posting reviews has been slow as I recover from carpal tunnel release on both wrists. It’s going well, three weeks out, and I plan to catch up for the weeks I’ve missed. I’ve done plenty of reading, though, as that’s something I could do even when my hands were wrapped in bandages! Let Them StareContinue reading “Let Them Stare”

Lovely One: A Memoir

Lovely One: A Memoir (2024) by Ketanji Brown Jackson was a completely engrossing and inspiring American story. Justice Jackson credits many things for her success, but the first is the great good fortune of the timing of her birth–in 1970, just at the dawn of the post-civil rights era where the successes that eliminated JimContinue reading “Lovely One: A Memoir”

The Mighty Red

I really enjoyed listening to The Mighty Red (2024) by Louise Erdrich. I think I’ve read nearly every novel she’s written. so my expectations were high, and I was not disappointed. Centering on a teenage love triangle, with goth Kismet Poe marrying football player Gary Geist and fooling around with homeschooled genius Hugo, right afterContinue reading “The Mighty Red”

These Heathens

I was a big fan of Mia McKenzie’s 2021 Skye Falling, so I was thrilled to come across her newest, These Heathens, (publication day June 15, 2025), on NetGalley! Told from the perspective of Doris, a seventeen-year old pregnant Black girl in 1960 rural Georgia who had to leave school at fifteen to take careContinue reading “These Heathens”

Ready to Score

Ready to Score by Jodie Slaughter (publication day June 3, 2025) immersed me in southern high school football like I never expected in a sapphic romance! Jade Dunn, math teacher and first black woman assistant football coach in their small South Carolina town, has the feeling that the head coach is going to retire, andContinue reading “Ready to Score”