Some Assembly Required - Arin Andrews

This book stands alone and works as a complement to Katie Rain Hill's book, which I reviewed yesterday. This was yet another well written memoir, this time about growing up as a trans man. Arin's story has many obvious similarities to Katie's, which makes sense; they're from the same state and are the same age, etc. Of course everyone's story is different, so it's nice to read about his inner thoughts and feelings from a first person perspective after having been introduced to him in Katie's book. I'm so happy we have courageous young people like Arin who are willing to put themselves out there as activists and as role models, and to help educate people. Arin also won hearts and minds by being himself and I think that's admirable and shows how strong of a person he is.

One thing I really took away from this book was that parents should really listen to their kids, and try to let their kids be who they really are, rather than trying to force their kids into being what the parent wants. I am not trans, but I had a domineering, pushy, intrusive parent who squashed my real self and ignored my natural skills/abilities at every opportunity, and pushed me to be something I'm not, so in a very small way I can understand a bit of what that's like. If only more parents would truly let their children be who they are, there would be so much less depression and self-hatred. I'm so glad Arin had a supportive family that was able to see who he really was and to ultimately embrace him wholeheartedly. I wish that all trans kids could find that, even if it's through a chosen family.

Rethinking Normal - Katie Rain Hill (Spoilers?)

Note: as this is an autobiography, it doesn't necessary have what people would consider "spoilers," but as someone who likes to read books knowing as little as possible about them before I open the cover, I'm mentioning some incidents from the book in this review that I might consider spoiler-y, etc. 

The subtitle of this book is "A Memoir in Transition," and as you might guess, this is another well-written memoir of a trans woman's childhood and life up until the present day.  Can I just take a minute to marvel at the author's unbelievable courage? She faced down an entire high school full of bullies, and just by being herself changed hearts and minds to the point where she became friends with at least one of them later on. WHOA! I can honestly say she is a far better person than I could ever hope to be, because I could never be even half that forgiving. I want to be Katie Rain Hill if I grow up!

On a slightly more serious note, I am so happy that Katie's mom was loving and accepting and helpful, since not every parent is. It seems inconceivable to me that in 2016 there are still people so dedicated to spewing hatred that they'd disown their own children for trying to be their true selves. Katie and her family are a beacon of hope and love in the world, and I think their message is timely and more necessary than ever.

One thing about this book I really liked was that it was frank. It frankly described Katie's depression as a child living in the wrong body, and her subsequent coming out and transition. I think this could be very helpful and reassuring to other trans teens, to see that they are not alone, and to help anyone who is interested gain an understanding of what it means to be trans. I really liked the list of resources and the helpful and supportive hints for talking to a trans person - that could be very helpful to a parent or someone who has just learned that a loved one is trans and is trying to learn all they can.

A large part of this book is dedicated to Katie's relationship with Arin, a trans man who wrote a similar memoir - 3 guesses as to which book is next up for a review on my blog! :) It's not often one can hear a story told by two sides, so that's really cool. All in all, this is another enjoyable read I can recommend.

The Glass of Time - Michael Cox

I read and reviewed the first book in this 2-book series - if you can call 2 books a series - back in 2014, and immediately fell in love with it. So for no good reason, I put off reading this book until now. The problem with this procrastination is that my notoriously poor memory prevents me from retaining details from the first book that would probably have been helpful to have in mind while reading this sequel. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book just as much as the first. It was similarly engrossing and the suspense was paced well, with clues and new information and etc. doled out right on time. I enjoyed this narrator's voice as well; and I liked how there were nuances to each character, so that everyone had both good and bad motivations for their actions. What a shame that the author has sadly passed away and can provide no more books in this fictional world. Recommended.

Frontier Defiant - Leonie Rogers

FTC Compliance Statement: I received a free electronic review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review, which is provided below. I have not been otherwise compensated for this review in any way and my opinion is my own. 

Readers, what can I say. This book, which wraps up the Frontier trilogy, is an expertly paced, action packed, suspenseful page turner that I couldn't put down once I started reading. There are so many things going on, and so many things that could - and do - go wrong, leaving the reader to wonder how they can ever turn out OK. There are defintitely setbacks for our heroes, and some real problems they have to try to solve. But the overall message of friendship and hope in the face of adversity couldn't be more timely. To be honest, I don't often cry while reading books, but this one got very emotional for me at the end. It's definitely a fitting conclusion to a great series. If you are looking for a great fantasy series for holiday gift-giving, look no further than this wonderful trilogy. Assuming you can't find a local starcat breeder :)

Being Jazz - Jazz Jennings

The subtitle of this book sums it up: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen. This book is written in a really engaging style - Jazz is a really good writer for being so young! She is also very confident, and comes across as very self-assured and ambitious. Her upbeat message was infectious and made me feel a lot more optimistic and hopeful for the future than I have been the last few days. I think this book is a great resource for anyone who wants to know more about what it's like to be trans, and especially young people, who either might be trans and wish to connect with another person who has had the same experience, or who are just curious about it in general. Recommended.

The Celestial Globe - Marie Rutkoski (Spoilers)

I can't write a meaningful review without discussing some high-level things about this book, which I consider to be kind of spoiler-y, so I'm just warning readers up front, in case you'd rather not read them before you read the book.

In the first book, our protagonist, Petra, is very spirited, while in this book she is sort of a full-blown brat, to be honest. After a while I got tired of her being so oppositional all the time. Even when I could somewhat understand why she was being less than compliant, to be honest, it got old for me.

On the other hand, I really liked the Tomik/Neel story, especially, of course, the parts related to language. And naturally Agatha's ability is one I wish I could take advantage of!

I thought the overall story was really compelling, and I liked the premise and how things ended up (with the exception of what may or may not have happened to Petra's father, of course). The bonus of encountering real people from this time period was a lot of fun.

One note, my emotions are all over the place these last few days, so when it seemed like Astrophil was lost, I almost started bawling - luckily that was resolved quickly. I would love to have an Astrophil of my own! He's a real favorite for me.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the books' neat covers, by David Frankland. They are full of cool detail and really draw the reader in to the story.

All in all I'm really looking forward to reading the third book in this series. Recommended.

The Fifth Floor - Michael Harvey

This second book in the series featuring Michael Kelly, Private Detective, was even more likeable than the first one. The story was more complex and interesting than just a simple "whodunnit," and I really liked the way the author incorporated history and politics into it all. This was another fast-paced read that was highly enjoyable - I"m looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Recommended.

The Story of the Amulet - E. Nesbit

This is the third, and I believe final, book in this series, and I probably liked this one the most. It seemed to be the least mired in the nonsense of its time - or maybe that's just me, who knows. As always, the narrator's voice is generally charming, and the settings were interesting. All in all this was an eye-opening introduction to a classic author.

The Chicago Way - Michael Harvey

This book is the first in a series, and I have the second book on my TBR pile, so here I am. It was a fast-paced crime novel that would be the perfect airplane book, because it's a total page turner. The author is one of the co-creators of the Cold Case Files TV show, which I really like (although it's a close second to Forensic Files in my book), and I'm guessing that his years of working on that show provided a wealth of criminology related info that will continue to pay off in this series. At first I found the writing to be trying too hard to sound hard-boiled, but I got used to it. After the events of this book, I'm interested to see where the second book goes, and I hope to find out soon.

A Man Lay Dead - Ngaio Marsh

So remember my last review? Where I was irritated by a certain attitude? This book seemed like it would be free of that attitude, and it was written in 1934, so I hoped that would be the case. And for 90% of the book or more, it was, until page 184, on which is written: "A n----- minstrel...." WTF???????????

OK, everyone, I apologize. I know it's just me, and I do try to take into account that these books were written in a time when that word was used a lot and wasn't considered a particularly bad thing to say, even among people one would hope would know better. I truly understand that. However, it's still upsetting to see it in print in a context in which it has no relevance. It's not even being used as a racist epithet against anyone, it's merely a descriptor of a white character with a very dirty face. Sigh.

Overall this book was OK; it's a kind of locked-room mystery with a couple subplots that I found weakly related to the main murder and etc. I did like the character of Chief Inspector-Detective Alleyn. The book had a decent pace and was a fast read. The mystery's solution did make sense. I might read more books by this author, but I think I'll prioritize other books.