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The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett
“She hadn’t realized how long it takes to become somebody else, or how lonely it can be living in a world not meant for you.”
This story explores themes of identity, race, and family through the lives of twin sisters - Desiree and Stella Vignes. This novel spans decades, following the lives of each girl as they run away from home and find their paths diverging. Estranged by decades, the meeting of their daughters - who have no clue who the other’s mother is - brings them back together. The novel explores both the personal and political, and makes it clear that the one will always affect the other. I appreciated the way this book makes you think about how our homes, our communities, and our families so deeply shape our futures and how our choices have effects long after their making.
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone
""I want to meet you in every place I ever loved. I am your echo. I would rather break the world than lose you."
There is a reason this book won second place award in the Frankie Awards. Never have I ever read a more imaginative, unique, gripping novel. This is a quick read, 224 pages, but every page is expertly written and used to make a full, lovely story. The novel is epistolary, and follows two time traveling agents working on opposite factions of a time war. Through their stories we learn more about the state of the worlds they live in, the work they do, their relationship to each other, and the multiverse-spanning time war conflict they find stuck in between them. It explores war, how war dehumanizes the other side and weaponizes our humanity. As the relationship between the two grows, they begin to question the very reason they are fighting this war. I cannot say enough good things about this book.
The Carls Series by Hank Green
"It's important to remember that we all change each other's minds all the time. Any good story is a mind-altering substance. "
Here, we have a book about connection. Global connection, human connection, relationship, technology, any connection you can think of really. One day, huge things that are maybe statues, and maybe an alien race, appear across the world - all at the same exact second. They create a worldwide mystery that links the human race. And also, as anything that connects, they also sow distrust and fear. This is another book I think it’s good to go into without a preconceived notion of what exactly this book is about. It’s power is in the mystery, making it a page turner every step of the way. The Carls duology consists of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing and a Beautifully Foolish Endeavor.
Outlawed by Anna North
“Knowledge can be very valuable... but only if people want it. If they don't, it can be worse than useless.”
I love a Western, and I LOVE a reimagined Western. The story follows Ada, a young woman who is cast out of her community after failing to conceive a child within a year of marriage, in a society where infertility is viewed as a sign of witchcraft. Fleeing from persecution, Ada joins the Hole in the Wall Gang, a group of outlaws led by a charismatic leader named Kid. The gang, made up mostly of women, seeks to create a safe haven for those marginalized by society. As they plan a daring heist, Ada grapples with questions of identity, freedom, and the price of survival in a harsh, patriarchal world. This book used Western tropes and settings to explore themes of feminism, the nature of justice, and the fight for autonomy in a rigidly oppressive society. If you like the song Cowboy Like Me by Taylor Swift, you’ll love this one.
When We Lost Our Heads by Heather O'Neil
“The female body was particularly absorbent when it came to shame. If you wrung out any woman’s body, you would discover it was soaked in shame.”
A story of friendship, but don’t think I mean that in a fun, happy, or joyful way. This is a historical fiction novel set in Montreal in the early 20th century, following the lives and friendships of MArie and Sadie from the day they meet to their adulthood. The two young girls unite because of their shared intensity, and depart because of the same trait. While apart, Marie inherits her father’s sugar factories, and Sadie explores the dark parts and back alleys of the city. This story is decadent in language and imagery, scrumptious and disturbing in equal measure. The chaos of womanhood and girlhood!
The Revisioners by Margaret Sexton Wilkerson
“I keep quiet for a while. Most of the time, the most powerful part is bearing witness.”
This is yet another multigenerational novel (I have a type) that interweaves the lives of Black women across different time periods, exploring themes of racial trauma, resilience, and the bonds between mothers and daughters. The story alternates between two timelines: In 1924, Josephine, a former slave who has become a successful landowner in Louisiana, is drawn into a dangerous relationship with her white neighbor, who is increasingly influenced by the Ku Klux Klan. In 2017, Ava, Josephine’s descendant, is a single mother struggling to maintain stability while caring for her increasingly senile white grandmother, who harbors a dark secret. The story highlights the enduring strength and wisdom passed down through generations, as the women in the family draw on their ancestral connections and spiritual practices to survive in a world marked by systemic oppression and violence. I loved the aspects of magical realism in this one!
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