Author Archives: kayliametcalfe

Review: Homegoing

IEvery time I read a novel about the Black experience, I am shaken by the sheer shit that history has doled out. Some people like to say that Black people should get over the past, that it is unfair for contemporary people to still be bitter about the history that their people have suffered. Those people are wrong.

Review: A Visit From The Goon Squad

It is not a novel.
I happen to enjoy short stories.
What I don’t enjoy is having a book that calls itself a novel start off with an interesting protagonist only to discover that she is only the protagonist for 18 pages.

Review: What Should Be Wild

But you know, it wasn’t just dark… it was twisted. Think Tim Burton but not as weird. And… well, honestly, it was kind of sad. It had a good ending, don’t get me wrong, but the world that we live in is really dark… and that darkness is the patriarchy.

Review: The House in the Cerulean Sea

Think a tad Douglas Adams, a tad, Terry Pratchet, but… more mellow and not trying so hard. The humor is here in spades but it isn’t a laugh out loud sort of humor or jokes told at full volume. Rather it is a bit akin to snide or sarcastic comments muttered under your breath that nearby listeners will accept with a wry smile of acknowledgment.

Review: Such A Fun Age

The style of this book is very “beach read.” It is fast. It isn’t deep literary. It’s a Long Island Iced Tea… it goes down smooth and you are all giddy and enjoying yourself and then WHAM you realize that you have been accidentally complicit in racist crap by rooting for Alix and the world is much bigger and more complex… all is not how it has been portrayed and the last quarter of your drink was straight whiskey.

Review: Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit

Being straight should not be the default assumption. It just… shouldn’t. BUT it is nice to be able to find wlw books when that is what you are hankering for. But aslo, this novel is far more complex and interesting than the label “lesbian novel” would imply. It is a novel that tells a coming of age story about a lesbain.

Review: Breathing Lessons

To be fun, we shall start with plot and characters. The story centers around Maggie and Ira, a couple in their silver years who are taking a day trip to a funeral. The entire novel takes place over the course of one day which is a lovely idea. Throughout this one day, they both examine their marriage and all the ups and downs of parenthood