Verspertine by Margaret Rogerson

 genre: fantasy

Artemisia is most comfortable with the dead. As one of the Gray Sisters, it's her job to cleanse bodies of their lingering spirits - which can wreak havoc possessing the living if not taken care of.  She knows the history of the revenants who destroyed the land when the spirits came unbound and she knows to fear them.  But when an army of the possessed arrive at her convent's door and a battle ensues, it's clear to Artemisia that a revenant's power must be controlled at the risk of its vessel - and that she herself has become one.

This book moved so swiftly, such intriguing world building with different levels of spirits with different powers.  I liked the way that the Sighted living, the spirits themselves and their relics all interplayed in such dance of power.  Artemisia is a really interesting main character - an antiheroine with an atypical way of interacting with the world and with the complex sort of childhood trauma that impacts the rest of your life.  She has to make such hard decisions and so many times when she could have chosen violence and retribution, she chooses mercy and empathy while STILL being badass when it's required.  Her relationship with the revenant is, for me, a highlight of the narrative - such a push and pull of control and capability.  It isn't a perfect book - there is a LOT going on and tracking it all takes effort.  It would have benefited with some backstory but overall, I found this a really enjoyable read.

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna (audiobook)

 genre: young adult fantasy

Deka's life in her village is a structured one - especially for girls.  She knows what she's allowed do, how she should behave - all of this is strictly observed in order to satisfy the tenets of her religious culture.  All of the restrictions culminate in the ritual of purity - when Deka will know if she is to live the life she so desires or if she'll be deemed impure and sentenced to death.

When right on the cusp of her ceremony her world falls apart, Deka has to make a choice - to stay in her village and face the consequences or decide to join other girls like her and fight in a war that's even bigger than Deka can imagine.  

I guess I have a lot of thoughts about this book.  There's a LOT in here.  Yes, there are several young adult tropes in play, which isn't bad, just IS.  Girl lives in restrictive society.  Girl finds out she's special but doesn't know how or why.  Girl faces obstacles but overcomes with Friends and Love Interest.  I'm not trying to mock it, at all, just that that it's formulaic - a formula that WORKS, it just makes it a bit predictable.  There were things about the world building that were confusing to me, especially as things came to light at the end.  One plot twist I did NOT predict but it also required a lot of suspending my disbelief to piece it all together.  What I DID love was this fantasy African setting that was filled with strong and capable women.  Granted, these women were subjected to incredible violence and the book is a bloody one, to be sure.  I did like the feminist lean of the book as Deka figures out how restricted her life was and that she and her fellow girls deserve better than that.  

I acknowledge that I have gripes about about it but I also want to note that I listened to this one super fast, it definitely kept my attention.  

The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros (audiobook)

 genre: young adult historical fantasy

When Alter Rosen arrived in Chicago at the turn of the 19th century, it didn't take long for America to NOT be the land of milk and honey his father had imagined.  While it is better than his native Romania, to be a Jew in Chicago is still to be a second class citizen, a fact that hits close to home when Alter's roommate and friend Yacov dies in a mysterious way, another boy in an upsetting list of Jewish boys to have recently disappeared.  It's soon clear to Alter that Yacov has something to tell him about his death - and thus Alter begins on a quest to understand not just what's happening to him and the spirit of Yacov, but to figure out who is murdering Jewish teenage boys and make it stop.

It took quite a while for me to figure out why this book was a nominee for the "speculative fiction" category for the Cybil awards, since it is solid historical fiction with a powerful Jewish setting.  Jewish folklore, traditions, culture and foodways make us drenched in Alter's life as an immigrant Jew in a big city.  However, when it took a speculative turn, I was all in - I am choosing not to spoil it - but it intrigued me and gave the book a forward push that made me even more eager to keep reading.  It's a murder mystery, yes.  There is gore and death and a couple deliciously scary bits.  It's also about finding your place, about the strength of religion to give comfort while also really impacting the way you see the world - and yourself - especially if you are a Jewish boy that knows he's not attracted to girls.  Alter's path to accepting that he is gay in an unforgiving world, his cognitive dissonance, his very real desire to love and be loved, all of this is so tenderly portrayed.

For me, the mix of gothic horror/mystery, the historical Chicago setting amidst the World's fair, having a actively religious and empathetic gay teen as a protagonist, the light touch of paranormal mixed with folklore tradition - it just made for a really unique read.  It did get a little repetitive, sometimes, there was one plothole that made me do a little rereading and maybe it went on a little bit too long for me, but overall, this is a strong four star read for me.  

Bad Witch Burning by Jessica Lewis

 genre: young adult paranormal

Katrell's on the edge - living with her mom and her mom's horrible boyfriend, she knows that what she needs is some CASH.  Money is the way out of her dead end life and she's got a way to make some.  See, Katrell can talk to ghosts - for real - and people will pay for a chance to speak to their loved ones that have passed on.  Then Katrell is given a warning at the same time that she figures out something new she can do: she can bring people back from the dead.  And people will pay a LOT more for a resurrection than they will for a conversation.

Resurrecting people, though, turns out it can create its own set of problems.  Big problems,   Problems that Katrell really feels like she needs to handle on. her own - like everything else.  But there is a darkness to this kind of magic that Katrell doesn't understand, can't control and it takes its toll.  Is it true, that like her warning said, that she's going to "burn it all to the ground" before she can figure this out?

So many trigger warnings here - abuse, animal cruelty, domestic violence.  Katrell's life is so painful, it's a truly emotional experience to try and comprehend her trauma.  The magic here isn't explained as well as I'd like, and there is a sort of magical realism because no one seems particularly unmoored by the fact that she can bring people back from the dead.  It's just accepted as a thing that can happen.  I did appreciate Katrell's best friend Will - their relationship arc throughout the book was very powerful to me, they way they both found ways to be strong and to take care of each other even through some really upsetting stuff.  I feel like there are teens who could find a lot to be interested in here - it's a thriller with a zombie-like feel and while sometimes it felt repetitive for me (especially Katrell's physiological manifestations of her inner hot mess), I appreciated the way that our author helped us understand why Katrell made the decisions she did.  We saw her life for what it was, how hopeless and stuck she felt - and that her magic gave her a sense of control that ended up controlling her.  I found the resolution and conclusion satisfying, as Katrell makes choices and finds a way through the mess she's made.

The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore (audiobook)

genre: magical realism, young adult

Graciela knows exactly where her heart belongs - inside her family’s warm panadería, where she prepares and bakes the pan dolce they are known for. Her practically magical gift for knowing what each costumer really wants makes the panadería makes a safe haven. But the real world isn’t so safe for Graciela, who in one horrific night is the victim of a sexual assault - at the same time as as someone else. And that someone else is a new boy whom Graciela slowly gets to know all while hiding the truth of her assault. When she realizes her gift is in jeopardy and the world around her starts shifting in strange ways, Graciela knows it must be linked to what happened to her - but what can she even do about it when hollowness is all that’s left?

Woah. This is a deep book dealing with a heavy subject. The speculative vibe here is more of the magical realism kind, the kind where trees can turn to glass and hearts can be splintered in ways both real and fantastical. The sensitive nature of the subject is handled with such care - these teens feel real, their worries and reactions and desperation to know how to fix everything that’s wrong with their world. While it really is a terrifying and uncomfortable subject, the author uses a firm hand while blurring the line between how a traumatic sexual assault can truly change a person and the metaphorical damage that’s done when our choices are stolen from us. I liked Graciela, I liked her journey to healing and the way she eventually dares to feel like maybe she deserves happiness again. I liked the flair of the bakery and its rainbow of pastries, even though sometimes descriptions Graciela's gift felt a bit repetitive and overdone, I still liked the magic of it.

I’d be cautious in recommending it to younger teens because of the subject matter - there is detail and language about sexual acts and body parts (LOTS of genitalia language) here that might bother some readers. However, as a piece of literature, as an exploration of the spectrum of sexuality, as a roadmap to managing Trauma, as a story of a girl who is broken into pieces but is stronger than she thinks -
who can also guess the pan dolce that will be perfect for you - it deserves a place on the shelf.

littlest bird challenge, fiction21, lgbtq, magical realism, california, mexican interest

completed Jan 3