Dragons seem to be having a pop culture moment once again, whether it’s on your TV or on your bookshelf, as alluring shapeshifters or war steeds. In a crowded field, Moniquill Blackgoose’s To Shape a Dragon’s Breath holds its own as a unique take on classic fantasy tropes. Set in an alternate version of 1800s Massachusetts, theRead More
Haunted in Every Sense: The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
Louise Erdrich’s The Sentence highlights the power of words. As it is set in a bookstore and the author herself owns Birchbark Books, I anticipated a richly detailed sense of place and community as well as a clear love of books. The Sentence delivers those things along with a complex look at what it means to be haunted. (ContentRead More
The Cost of Ambition: To the Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage Review
Since she was a child, Steph Harper has yearned to step foot on the moon. She arrived at the Cherokee Nation when she was five, after her mother fled from her abusive husband. Her mother, Hannah, and sister, Kayla, thrived there. They both take pride in their culture and history. Steph, though, never felt likeRead More
Be Gay Do Heists: Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto Review
There are few things more satisfying than watching a plan unfold with no hiccups—or with a few hiccups that get resolved in the most epic of ways. Heist plots are perfect for creating that irresistible balance of intrigue, action, and suspense that makes me keep on turning the page. Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto is aRead More
A Cyberpunk Heist: Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto Review
I picked up Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto during the Trans Rights Readathon, as the dramatic setup for this cyberpunk heist novel compelled me. It ended up being one of the most memorable stories I read for the event. Edie’s last heist ended with them being sold out by their childhood friend, Angel, and spending eight yearsRead More
A Race Between Witches and Witch Hunters: VenCo by Cherie Dimaline Review
From the award-winning author of The Marrow Thieves (2017) comes a novel about queer community, survival, and joy—with a twist. Cherie Dimaline’s VenCo (2023) is a compelling story about the (super)natural powers of women. VenCo follows orphan Lucky St. James, the daughter of a bad-ass Métis woman living with her grandmother, Stella, in Toronto. When Lucky discovers that the twoRead More
A Compelling Queer Indigenous Fantasy: To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose Review
I love a magic school book, and I love a dragon book, and I especially love a dragon school book. To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose was such a great entry to the genre. I couldn’t put it down, and I keep thinking about its innovative world-building. Anequs is the protagonist I didn’t know I’veRead More
A Lush Horror Novella Embracing Death and Renewal: Green Fuse Burning by Tiffany Morris Review
“Why did people need to be in nature to process the things that happened to them? Maybe it was because what was thought of as wild did not require a veil—it saw you as you truly were: an animal skulking among animals.” Though I haven’t read a lot of horror, there is plenty of horrorRead More
The Beauty of Decay: Green Fuse Burning by Tiffany Morris
Last weekend was Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon, which I’ve done every year for the past ten years. For the October readathon, I save up horror and other Halloween-themed books all year to marathon that day. Green Fuse Burning seemed like a perfect choice: it’s a 99-page horror novella with an Indigenous and sapphic main character.Read More
The Magic of Community: Brooms by Jasmine Walls and Teo DuVall
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! Brooms is a YA graphic novel created by Jasmine Walls (writer) and Teo DuVall (illustrator) and published in 2023 by Levine Querido. It is set in an alternate 1930s Mississippi where magic flows all around, but is heavily restricted. Only certain people are allowed toRead More