tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072463333319016602024-03-24T16:33:46.785-07:00Diversity in Horror FictionA horror blog dedicated to works featuring and/or created by BIPOC, disabled people, and LGBTQIA+ folk. Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-361729001622567162024-01-01T10:47:00.000-08:002024-01-01T11:00:49.406-08:00Out on a Limb by Luis Paredes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguo7oyRREpTFOTVY8O_TP95mHIPylL17UJYRETVwvM8yyNRbQv4Lp3KpIWdBcwBVC7xJ0rYjEctm11uswVljk_3ddxE3ligWJBSAuwBco-wPIq1_4ubXSkd6ykQoHYBkYJuVoDRXhqAo8YvCqR-ZtbyAyKpo6NO7Kcbjj7n1B_jzy1ZnoEeFe0bD943O0/s555/out%20on%20a%20limb.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Out of a Limb by Luis Paredes. Recommended. Read if you like magical detectives, rabbits." border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguo7oyRREpTFOTVY8O_TP95mHIPylL17UJYRETVwvM8yyNRbQv4Lp3KpIWdBcwBVC7xJ0rYjEctm11uswVljk_3ddxE3ligWJBSAuwBco-wPIq1_4ubXSkd6ykQoHYBkYJuVoDRXhqAo8YvCqR-ZtbyAyKpo6NO7Kcbjj7n1B_jzy1ZnoEeFe0bD943O0/s16000/out%20on%20a%20limb.png" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Formats: Print, digital</div><br />Publisher: Platypus Book Press<div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Genre: Dark Fantasy, Mystery</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Audience: Adult/Mature</div><p>Diversity: Mexican-American main character and author</p><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Takes Place in: Ney York City, New York USA</div><p>Content Warnings: <span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Child Endangerment, Death</span> (Highlight to view)</p><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><i>"How many perverts d'ya think sucked on those toes before the police rolled in?"<br /><br />With that question, Out On a Limb kicks off an irreverent, foul-mouthed, and horrific urban fantasy noir series following the exploits of private occult investigators Rebecca Suarez and Peyton Marx. In this fast-paced novella that readers can devour in an afternoon, Rebecca and Peyton are stumped by their strangest case yet--a tree growing human legs.<br /><br />The dangling gams become the least of their concerns when nearby trees start consuming more than just carbon dioxide. Now the investigators must use their powers and the NYPD's magical tech to find the mage responsible for this heinous crime and stop a bloody disaster from creeping across the Empire State.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><i>I received this product for free in return for providing an honest and unbiased review. I received no other compensation. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.</i></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><p class="MsoNormal">As those of you who follow my Twitter (I refuse to call it
by that other name) know, I have a rabbit named Aramis who enjoys violence and
horror movies. She thinks more horror should have rabbits in it, especially
rabbits that murder people like in <i>Night of the Lepus</i>. So, Aramis was
very excited that <i>Out on a Limb</i> has a Holland lop as a main character.
But this rabbit doesn’t murder anyone. She’s a heroic rabbit, albeit a foul
mouthed and very sassy one (much like Aramis would be if she could speak) named
Peyton Marx.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4v88dwuy29u8oHeoGPyub74qB9fjLga6rqzJ0gZnlZ6MxDPu0L9axlH7OWTjUkezpTrTDZxKa1Hs55NWKHKHnW-0_4u6XyPGdI6LewqbTRuB22vWRkwKJy226S2UoIeW4NbhW0NsknlVA28LxpCglO4YEAM6zYGvk8S-IRK8TzUjSlguJfdOmQpKXOg/s2048/Aramis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A photo of a brown rabbit loafing with her paws out in front, facing the camera. She is lying on a purple carpet with white and black geometric designs. Behind her is a partially chewed on cardboard box." border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4v88dwuy29u8oHeoGPyub74qB9fjLga6rqzJ0gZnlZ6MxDPu0L9axlH7OWTjUkezpTrTDZxKa1Hs55NWKHKHnW-0_4u6XyPGdI6LewqbTRuB22vWRkwKJy226S2UoIeW4NbhW0NsknlVA28LxpCglO4YEAM6zYGvk8S-IRK8TzUjSlguJfdOmQpKXOg/w640-h480/Aramis.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aramis is seen here plotting murder</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Ten years ago a statue of Hecate walked out of a museum in
Greece, and magic was brought into the world. Thousands of people (and some
animals, like Peyton) found themselves gifted with different types of magical
abilities. There are different types of magic, and people can specialize in
more than one kind. Unfortunately, magical powers were distributed randomly
which means criminals also ended up with magical abilities. And that’s where
Peyton and her human partner, Rebecca Suarez, come in.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rebecca and Peyton are struggling, private occult
investigators who specialize in unexplained paranormal phenomena (UPP) and hunt
down magical criminals using their own array of charms and spells. The story
starts with Rebecca and Peyton arriving in Queens, having been called in by the
police to assist on a particularly strange crime, an oak tree full of human
legs. Clearly the work of an incantation (possibly one that backfired), but who
cast it is unclear. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Out on a Limb </i>is a fun, quick read filled with lore
and humor. I also liked all the rabbit-y things Peyton does like <a href="https://myhouserabbit.com/rabbit-behavior/binkies-nose-bonks-and-flops-bunny-behavior-explained/">binkies</a>
when she’s happy or getting offended when a child points out that rabbits <a href="https://www.rabbitcaretips.com/why-do-rabbits-eat-their-own-poop/">eat
their own poop</a>. The world building is exquisite, and there’s a surprising
amount of it for such a short novella, but not so much that you feel
overwhelmed with information. The relationship between Rebecca and Peyton is
cute, and much of the humor comes from how they play off each other. While this
novella leans more towards dark fantasy then straight horror it’s still creepy
enough that most horror fans should enjoy it. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-11087929324883032062023-10-31T17:30:00.004-07:002023-10-31T17:30:49.649-07:00A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens by Raul Palma<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXM2yAWI7QBjAHi1HtloPP3zyYaYLm5bU8j_f2sqDHr2d_YoLTke5w2_ByK0VAiB79mSFTFFK6aeF6LXoKkCO6nJDBTlwwzPXQJe4mBRwnVjkg21IBdSQaQm2Ijly_FGK0SW2j9qqiSWTMGAwoQ0-2CGxikxbQSXRB0U4i0xvcxVzxEN3mYZLqLTPEgXc/s555/A%20Haunting%20in%20Hialeah%20Gardens.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXM2yAWI7QBjAHi1HtloPP3zyYaYLm5bU8j_f2sqDHr2d_YoLTke5w2_ByK0VAiB79mSFTFFK6aeF6LXoKkCO6nJDBTlwwzPXQJe4mBRwnVjkg21IBdSQaQm2Ijly_FGK0SW2j9qqiSWTMGAwoQ0-2CGxikxbQSXRB0U4i0xvcxVzxEN3mYZLqLTPEgXc/s16000/A%20Haunting%20in%20Hialeah%20Gardens.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><p>Formats: Print, audio, digital</p><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Publisher: <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/713075/a-haunting-in-hialeah-gardens-by-raul-palma/">Dutton</a></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Genre: Demon, Ghosts/Haunting, Myth and Folklore</div></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Audience: Adult/Mature</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Diversity: Cuban characters and author, Bolivian character</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Takes Place in: Miami, Florida</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Content Warnings: <span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Alcohol Abuse, Animal Death, Child Abuse, Child Death, Child Endangerment, Death, Illness, Medical Procedures, Oppression, Mental Illness, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia</span> (Highlight to view)</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br />Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><em>e</em><i>A genre-bending debut with a fiercely political heart, A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens explores the weight of the devil’s bargain, following the lengths one man will go to for the promise of freedom.<br /><br />Hugo Contreras’s world in Miami has shrunk. Since his wife died, Hugo’s debt from her medical bills has become insurmountable. He shuffles between his efficiency apartment, La Carreta (his favorite place for a cafecito), and a botanica in a strip mall where he works as the resident babaláwo.<br /><br />One day, Hugo’s nemesis calls. Alexi Ramirez is a debt collector who has been hounding Hugo for years, and Hugo assumes this call is just more of the same. Except this time Alexi is calling because he needs spiritual help. His house is haunted. Alexi proposes a deal: If Hugo can successfully cleanse his home before Noche Buena, Alexi will forgive Hugo’s debt. Hugo reluctantly accepts, but there’s one issue: Despite being a babaláwo, he doesn’t believe in spirits.<br /><br />Hugo plans to do what he’s done with dozens of clients before: use sleight of hand and amateur psychology to convince Alexi the spirits have departed. But when the job turns out to be more than Hugo bargained for, Hugo’s old tricks don’t work. Memories of his past—his childhood in the Bolivian silver mines and a fraught crossing into the United States as a boy—collide with Alexi’s demons in an explosive climax.<br /><br />Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens explores questions of visibility, migration, and what we owe—to ourselves, our families, and our histories.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><i>I received this product for free in return for providing an honest and unbiased review. I received no other compensation. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.</i></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><p class="MsoNormal">It’s Christmas time in Miami and Hugo is anything but merry.
His wife, Meli, recently passed away and Hugo wasn’t even able to pay for her
funeral. Like most Americans he’s been drowning in debt most of his adult life,
and Meli’s medical bills have only added to that. His indebtedness feels like a
physical weight, crushing the life out of him, following him wherever he goes.
Debt collectors hound him every day and garnish his wages. Hugo may not be a
perfect person but he doesn’t deserve the hand he’s been dealt. All of Hugo’s
life has been hard. He never knew his father, a white Spainard, and his mother
abandoned them when he was young. During his childhood in Bolivia, Hugo and his
brother worked in the mines after school. His brother would pray and offer
sacrifices to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29448079">El Tío</a>,
the god of the mountain, but the mountain still took his life. Hugo was always
a non-believer, but his brother’s death shook his faith even further.
Ironically, Hugo now works at a Botanica and is a practicing <a href="https://ifa-houseofwisdom.com/babalawo.html">Babalawo</a>. Although he
has great respect for Lourdes, his boss, and even has a knack for knowing what
people need, he still thinks it’s all hokum. He is especially talented at
ridding people’s homes of ghosts, using both psychology and showmanship to make
them believe their specters have vanished. Hugo may not believe in what he
does, but the result is the same: his customers are happy and the “hauntings”
end. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The attorney in charge of Hugo’s debt, Alexi, calls out of
the blue and asks for his help. At first, Hugo is hesitant to help the devil
who’s made his life miserable, but when Alexi promises to clear his debt, he acquiesces.
We learn that Alexi, the son of Cuban immigrant parents (part of the <a href="https://mass.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/1112a99e-144c-4ce8-95f3-ba82264a86fb/cuban-exodus/">Cuban
exodus</a> when affluent Cubans were fleeing Castro), is obsessed with money.
Instead of following his passion of becoming a painter he chose a field that
would make him wealthy because money is more important to him. He loves to show
off his wealth, but as Hugo notes, he lacks taste and his choices in home décor
are gaudy. Alexi is also a racist, as is evident by the “All Lives Matter” sign
in his yard and the way he speaks about his Haitian laborers. Hugo is
conflicted about helping the awful man, but the promise of being debt-free is
too good to pass up. Of course, Hugo is hardly perfect himself, and we learn of
the many mistakes he’s made that still haunt him. With each chapter, the
mystery of Hugo’s life is revealed, and the reader gains an increased
understanding of the deeply flawed protagonist. Hugo is a well-developed,
complicated character. He isn’t perfect and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>makes lots of mistakes, but he loves his wife
and does his best, making him relatable. I couldn’t help but be drawn to Hugo.
I just felt sorry for the poor guy. Even as I was horrified by some of the
things he did, I still wanted him to win. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens </i>is a unique take on
ghosts and haunting. While Alexi seems to be plagued by a literal ghost, Hugo
is haunted by the ghosts of his past and his debt which keep him from happiness
and living his life. As the story unfolds, we learn that Hugo is also indebted
in ways that aren’t financial that have haunted him since childhood. Underneath
the ghost story is a horror tale about Capitalism and its exploitative nature.
While the ways in which it hurts Hugo are obvious, Alexi’s unchecked greed has
caused him to give up on his dreams because he was raised to belief happiness
can only be earned through the accumulation of wealth. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Palma’s descriptions of Miami make the city feel like its
own character, a place filled with both beauty and pain and even a little bit
of magic. While the story is filled with grief and suffering, it does end on a
hopeful note. It reminds me of the Latin phrase “dum spiro spero,” or “while I
breathe, I hope.” It may be too late for his wife and brother, but as long as
Hugo is still alive there’s always the chance for things to get better for him,
even when things are at their worse. While it’s not your typical horror story,
the descriptions of hopelessness and grief still left me with a sense of dread.
Overall, <i>A Haunting in Hialeah</i> is a strong debut from a talented new
horror author.</p></div>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-38088273412328869252023-09-19T13:39:00.002-07:002023-09-19T13:48:44.056-07:00Never Whistle at Night edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHmFVPXHwxmrnNnvKV9sHiDfC2ulh5BA_dIX5SulCuApI13VQsn0kqoGsF9DKy1UlKuwIH0UDSKBG3iImZxx-xP-fCBTs4hbRMZOgCpO-x10xgO437SKOrMqP8VbeeVuLU929FeSrlHIxqQ1YVXvEFXlMMDPU67qNdzS8bDl4_Pc2xfDAlVVdD7daYSak/s555/Never%20Whistle%20at%20Night.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Never Whistle at Night edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. Highly Recommended. Read if you like Indigenous horror." border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHmFVPXHwxmrnNnvKV9sHiDfC2ulh5BA_dIX5SulCuApI13VQsn0kqoGsF9DKy1UlKuwIH0UDSKBG3iImZxx-xP-fCBTs4hbRMZOgCpO-x10xgO437SKOrMqP8VbeeVuLU929FeSrlHIxqQ1YVXvEFXlMMDPU67qNdzS8bDl4_Pc2xfDAlVVdD7daYSak/s16000/Never%20Whistle%20at%20Night.jpg" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Formats: Print, audio, digital</p><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Publisher: <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/707468/never-whistle-at-night-by-shane-hawk-and-theodore-c-van-alst-jr-editors/">Vintage</a></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Genre: Ghosts/Haunting, Historic Horror, Killer/Slasher, Monster, Myth and Folklore, Occult, Psychological Horror</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Audience: Adult/Mature</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Diversity: Indigenous American (Alaskan Native, Pueblo, Comanche, White Earth Nation, Cree, Georgian Bay Metis, Mohawk, Cheyenne-Arapaho, Hidatsa Mi'kmaw, Cherokee, Tłı̨chǫ Dene, Hidasta, Mandan, Sosore, Sioux Penobscot, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Sicangu Lakota, Edisto Natchez-Kusso, Lipan Apache, Anishinaabe)</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Content Warnings: <span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Alcohol Abuse, Animal Death, Child Abuse, Child Endangerment, Death, Drug Use/Abuse, Forced Captivity, Gaslighting, Gore, Illness, Oppression, Mental Illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape/Sexual Assault, Sexual Abuse, Slurs, Torture, Verbal/Emotional Abuse, Violence</span> (Highlight to view)</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br />Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><i><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;">Many Indigenous people believe that one should never whistle at night. This belief takes many forms: for instance, Native Hawaiians believe it summons the Hukai’po, the spirits of ancient warriors, and Native Mexicans say it calls Lechuza, a witch that can transform into an owl. But what all these legends hold in common is the certainty that whistling at night can cause evil spirits to appear—and even follow you home.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;">These wholly original and shiver-inducing tales introduce readers to ghosts, curses, hauntings, monstrous creatures, complex family legacies, desperate deeds, and chilling acts of revenge. Introduced and contextualized by bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones, these stories are a celebration of Indigenous peoples’ survival and imagination, and a glorious reveling in all the things an ill-advised whistle might summon.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><i>I received this product for free in return for providing an honest and unbiased review. I received no other compensation. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.</i></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><p class="MsoNormal">There are many recognizable names in this collection:
Rebecca Roanhorse, Richard Van Camp, Cherie Dimaline, Mona Susan Power, Darcie
Little Badger, and Waubgeshig Rice. There’s even a foreword by Stephen Graham
Jones. But I was especially excited to be introduced to some new (to me) Indigenous
authors.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The stories in the anthology vary from fun campfire stories
about werewolves (<i>Night Moves</i> by Andrea L. Rogers) and ghosts (<i>Night
in the Chrysalis </i>by Tiffany Morris) to more serious and disturbing tales
about residential school sexual abuse (<i>Sundays</i> by <a>David Heska Wanbli
Weiden), </a>mental
health (<i>The Prepper</i> by Morgan Talty), stolen land (<i>Limbs</i> by
Waubgeshig Rice), and <a href="https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-and-girls-crisis-hiding-plain-sight">missing
and murdered Indigenous women</a> (<i>The Ones who Killed Us</i> by Brandon
Hobson). There were bits of Native languages sprinkled throughout the various
stories, for example I learned Uguku is “owl” in Cherokee, Kwe’ is “hello” in
Mi’kmaq, and Mahsi’ cho is “thank you” in Gwich'in. This felt especially nice
to see since so many Native languages are endangered. I can’t possible review
all the amazing stories within the collection (and they are all amazing), so
I’ll focus on a few of my favorites.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Kushtuka </i>by Mathilda Zeller is about an Alaskan
Native woman named Tapeesa. Recently an obnoxious White man named Hank Ferryman
and his son Buck have moved to the area to build a monstrous lodge full of
stolen Native artifacts. Tapessa is sent to the lodge cook for one of Hank’s
parties and on the way the grotesque man asks her to tell him a “Native story.”
Tapeesa warns that telling stories after dark could catch the attention of a
spirit, but Hank laughs this off as silly superstition. She tells him the story
of the Kushtuka, a shape-shifter that can take human form and tries to lure
people away. As predicted, the story summons a Kushtuka which attacks Hank’s
lodge. We also see this idea of attracting the attention of evil spirits in <i>Before
I Go</i> by Norris Black, where a woman’s grieving causes the Night Mother to
appear and offer to bring back her dead husband (it doesn’t end well). </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One of the things I related to in <i>Kushtuka</i> was
Tapessa being called “basically White” by Hank because her dad is White. As a
biracial person myself, having others (especially White people) try and tell
you your identity isa pet peeve of mine. Historically, I would’ve been
considered Black since my father is Black (due to the “one-drop” rule which I
discuss below), despite having light skin. Yet these days most White people
label me White because I’m White-passing. In both cases, White people choose my
identity for me without listening to what I have to say, much like Hank does
for Tapessa.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In <i>White Hills </i>by Rebecca Roanhorse, a White woman
named Marissa is judged for having “too much” Native blood by her White
in-laws. Marissa is your typical rich, White woman. She’s married to a wealthy
business man named Andrew, is very concerned with her appearance, and lives in
an HOA neighborhood in a big house. After going to the country club to announce
her pregnancy to her husband, Marrissa makes the mistake of mentioning she’s a
small percentage of Native (in reference to not being offended by a racist
mascot) and her husband becomes visibly upset. The next day Elayne, Andrew’s
mother, takes Marissa to a “specialist” who has racist phrenology drawings on
the wall. Elayne explains that she doesn’t want a “mutt” grandbaby who may be
dark skinned and “savage” (despite Marissa being white). The way in which
Elayne views Marissa’s child is very reminiscent of the “one drop” rule. The <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/mixed/onedrop.html">one-drop
rule</a> was a legal principle based on a form of hypodescent, the assignment
of a mixed-race child to the ethnic group considered "lower status."
In other words, anyone with Black ancestry (no matter how far back) was
considered Black. There were strict classifications for mixed-race individuals that
were given offensive names like “Mulatto” and “octoroon,” I discuss more about
how this racist system allowed the US to hold up White supremacy <a href="http://diversityhorror.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-house-of-erzulie-by-kirsten-imani.html">here</a>.
I mentioned above how annoying it is when other people (especially White
people) decide my identity for me, butit’s even worse when the government does
it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And this leads me to <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2018/02/09/583987261/so-what-exactly-is-blood-quantum">blood
quantum</a>. Blood quantum is highly controversial and personal, and since I’m
not Indigenous and therefore shouldn’t weigh in on such a heated debate I will
tread carefully and stick to the facts as best I can. If you’re not familiar, Blood
Quantum laws were enacted by the United States government to determine if
someone was considered Native or not dependent on their degree of Native
ancestry. The first "<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100610050121/http:/nas.ucdavis.edu/Forbes/Blood_Quantum_II.html">Indian
Blood law</a>" was originally created in 1705 when the Virginia government
wanted to limit the civil rights of Native people and people of Native descent.
Some Native tribes continue to use blood quantum to determine who can enroll
for tribal membership, others do not. Leah Myers, a member of the Jamestown
S’Klallam tribe, gives an example of the importance of tribal enrollment in her
<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2023/06/blood-quantum-laws-native-american-tribal-communities/674461/">Atlantic
essay</a>:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>"Tribal citizenship is more than symbolic. It
determines eligibility for educational assistance, medical care, and other
social benefits. Plus, only members can attend citizen meetings and vote in
tribal elections. If my future children don’t meet the blood requirements for
my tribe, they could still participate in events, cultivate plants in the
traditional-foods garden, and take Klallam-language courses. But no matter how
much they served the community in love and time, they would be deemed a 'descendant'
and marked as separate."</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://nativegov.org/resources/blood-quantum-and-sovereignty-a-guide/">Here’s
a guide to Blood Quantum</a> that gives both the arguments for and against blood
quantum (full transparency, most Native sources I looked up were against these
laws). Basically, blood quantum proponents argue that getting rid of blood
quantum rules will make scarce resources even scarcer due to population growth
and that it will allow disconnected outsiders and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9450313/pretendians-canada-indigenous-ancestry/">pretendians</a>
to join the tribe, which will erode their culture. Opponents of blood quantum
argue that statistically it will eradicate Native nations, and point to the
law's racist origins which were intended to control and erase Indigenous
people. It also makes relationships complicated, as Indigenous people must
calculate their potential children's percentage of Native blood and if they can
enroll or not, which can put a strain on families. Blood quantum also conflicts
with traditional Indigenous ideas about kinship and has“<a href="https://americanindian.si.edu/developingstories/irvine.html">no basis in
Native American traditions</a>.” Essentially, both proponents and opponents
disagree on the best way to preserve their tribal nations.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This idea is explored more fully in the story <i>Quantum</i>
by Nick Medina. A woman named Amber is so obsessed with blood quantum and
getting her children on the tribal roll that she favors her son Grayson, who’s
5/16 Native, while ignoring his brother Sam, who is only 1/8 Native, to the
point where Sam is practically feral. She even tries to steal blood from a
deceased Native man from their tribe so she can inject it into Sam.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Another story I enjoyed is <i>Collections</i> by Amber
Blaeser-Wardzala, an incredibly creepy story about collecting human remains. Professor
Smith, a liberal White woman, collects the heads of all the students she’s
helped. She’s very proud of her collection: she has all the sexualities and
genders, all the religions, and almost all the races. An Indigenous head would
be her “white whale.” Megis (called Meg by the White professor) is
understandably horrified by the collection, as is one of her Black classmates,
but none of her white classmates seem to be. Professor Smith implies she wants
to help Megis so she can have her head for her collection. Megis, the first
person in her family to go to college, is desperate to stay on Professor
Smith’s good side so she can maintain her scholarship and get a good job, and
therefore doesn’t have much choice but to stay in the house of horrors. While
an extreme example, the story underlines how troubling it is when museums <a href="https://www.wgbh.org/news/local/2023-05-24/new-federal-rules-would-hit-museums-on-the-head-speed-up-return-of-lost-or-stolen-native-remains">collect
human remains</a> without consent and how <a href="https://www.talkdeath.com/on-display-ethics-of-human-remains-in-museums-online/">academics
will treat bodies as mere curiosities</a>. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“When [Native American artifacts and human remains] were
acquired, collectors weren’t thinking of Indigenous peoples as human beings. People
were resources, and human remains were to be preserved alongside pots” <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/museums-stolen-treasure-feature">says
Jacquetta Swift</a>, the repatriation manager for the National Museum of the
American Indian and member of the Comanche and Fort Sill Apache tribes. It’s
the unfortunate reality that most human remains on display and in private
collections, are unethically sourced from BIPOCs against their wishes.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This theme is also lightly touched on in <i>Navajos Don’t
Wear Elk Teeth</i> by Conley Lyons where a Native man named Joe has a summer
fling with White man named Cam. Cam collects teeth, some of which turn out to
be human (he claims his last boyfriend was a Navajo man who gave him an elk
tooth for “good luck” which Joe is dubious about). One of Joe’s friends refers
to this as “bad medicine” and suggest Joe get an elder to sage his house. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not all the stories are quite so dark, however. <i>Snakes
are Born in the Dark </i>by D. H. Trujillo felt like a <i>Goosebumps</i> book
or a fun story kids tell to scare each other, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In
the story, an Alaskan Native boy named Peter goes hiking in the woods with his
white cousin Maddie and her rude boyfriend Adam. They come across Native <a href="https://www.museumofwesternco.com/learn/virtual-exhibits/virtual-exhibits-rock-art/">petroglyphs</a>
in the Four Corners desert which Maddie and Adam both immediately touch. Peter warns
them not to touch the carvings but Adam continues to do so while mocking him.
Unsurprisingly both Maddie and Adam suffer unpleasant (though non-lethal and
impermanent) fates which results in a humorous ending. It’s a fun twist on the
classic “Indian curse” where we (and Peter) are rooting for the White people to
get their comeuppance. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I could go on and on about the stories in the anthology, like
<i>Hunger</i> by Phoenix Boudreau where two Cree college girls, Summer and
Rain, outsmart a Wehtigo. Or <i>Scariest. Story. Ever.</i> By Richard Van Camp
that touches on who gets to tell Native stories and how to share culture
without stealing it. They’re all great. I also felt like I learned a lot while
reading the anthology.</p><div><div><div class="msocomtxt" id="_com_1" language="JavaScript">
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</div></div><div><br /></div>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-48714679367032840012023-09-13T16:54:00.002-07:002023-09-13T17:45:18.201-07:00Claustrophilia by Ezra Blake<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0zhq-JxzjMMm3kNWrs3_MvytmFBYbVZFfg_iF8owL_7lZTbYRIJ31g2Nnwsc6e_UwMNTSXd9HeIlkE0FahH35AAkHQoVS0Tc79CF4ZLqre-pAhpa-V73S-UNW3RGPAguaxpf_nG_2tGQ8juLXXSHOacD87-REbqQfSJ1WL5RA-0QfdtCSYLo78kGO2U/s555/Claustrophilia.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Claustrophilia by Ezra Blake. Highly Recommended. Read if you like Bryan Fuller's Hannibal, extreme horror." border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0zhq-JxzjMMm3kNWrs3_MvytmFBYbVZFfg_iF8owL_7lZTbYRIJ31g2Nnwsc6e_UwMNTSXd9HeIlkE0FahH35AAkHQoVS0Tc79CF4ZLqre-pAhpa-V73S-UNW3RGPAguaxpf_nG_2tGQ8juLXXSHOacD87-REbqQfSJ1WL5RA-0QfdtCSYLo78kGO2U/s16000/Claustrophilia.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div>
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Formats: Digital</div>
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Publisher: <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/902975">Smashwords</a></div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">
Genre: Blood & Guts (Splatterpunk), Body Horror, Killer/Slasher, Psychological Horror, Romance</div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">
Audience: Adult/Mature</div>
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<div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">
Diversity: Gay main characters and author, trans male author</div>
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<div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">
Takes Place in: US and Italy</div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">
Content Warnings: <span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Alcohol Abuse, </span><span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Amputation,</span><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"> </span><span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Cannibalism, Death, Drug Use/Abuse, Forced Captivity, Gaslighting, Gore, Illness, Kidnapping, Medical Torture/Abuse, Medical Procedures, Mental Illness, Necrophilia, Mentions of Pedophilia, Physical Abuse, Rape/Sexual Assault, Self-Harm, Sexual Abuse, Slurs, Slut-Shaming, Suicide, Torture, Verbal/Emotional Abuse, Violence </span>(Highlight to view)<br />
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blurb:</span></div>
<table border="2"><tbody>
<tr><td bgcolor="white"><span face=""opensans" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Christopher Dour's life was terrible before he was kidnapped.
He spent too much time studying the Providence Butcher's victims and not enough talking to living people. He was erotically obsessed with the idea of murdering Dr. Ivan Skinner, his medical school advisor. I was only a matter of time before he killed someone, possibly himself--but the Providence Butcher had other ideas. After all, the first time should be special, and Chris was going about it all wrong.
Now those life-or-death decisions are out of his hands. He's breaking. What's worse, Chris has a lot in common with the Butcher. Nobody else has truly cared about him before. When he's not being tortured, he's being cherished. If Stockholm syndrome feels like love, then in practice, what's the difference?
Chris can't maintain his dignity, but can still cling to his shattered moral compass. Or he can let go, submit, and become the unspeakable. At least then he wouldn't be alone.
Prepare to become an accomplice.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">The very first page of <i>Claustrophilia</i> gave
me a panic attack, and when I finished it, I felt like someone had put my brain
in a blender. I swore I'd never force myself to experience something so
sick, sadistic, and stressful again.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Well, that promise lasted all of four months and then I
reread it. Why would I expose to that filth again? Because I love this book so
goddamn much. The writing is <b>amazing</b>. Like,
made-a-deal-with-a-dark-force-to-obtain-supernatural-talent amazing (Blake is
also an incredibly talented artist, which is just all kinds of unfair). I read
the entire thing in one traumatic sitting even though it was 2 AM and I really
needed to take a break. It's sooooooo good, but soooooo fucked up and I’m not
sure I should even be admitting to reading it. Hell, just purchasing <i>Claustrophilia
</i>will probably put you on some kind of FBI watch-list. Although I'm pretty
sure I'm already on there, thanks to my Google search history. Disclaimer: If
you are a law enforcement agent I had totally legitimate, non-creepy reasons to
look up "at-home lobotomy instructions,” “how to dissolve a body” and
"where to buy cursed dolls" even if I can't think of any right now.
Also, some weirdo stole my credit card and bought <i>Claustrophilia</i>.
And reviewed it. And then read a bunch of erotic gay <i>Deep Space Nine</i> fan
fiction followed by two-hours of zit-popping videos on Youtube. Someone who
wasn’t me. <br />
<br />
For the sake of your sanity, I'm going to warn you right now, <b>if you
are someone with any kind of triggers, stop right here</b>. I'm serious. <i>Claustrophilia</i> is
chock-full of extremely explicit torture (medical, physical, sexual, and
psychological), cannibalism, gore, and a super fucked up, abusive
relationship. It's a good book, but it is splatterpunk. So, if that's not
your thing, stay far, far away from this book and most likely this review.
But if you have a strong stomach and can handle a scene where a guy fucks
another guy's brain (literally) I'd definitely recommend it. Will/Hannibal
shippers, fans of Rotten.com's Rotten Library (R.I.P.), and extreme horror
enthusiasts will all enjoy <i>Claustrophilia</i>. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Admittedly I'm not usually a fan of splatterpunk. I used to
enjoy extreme horror, back in my early twenties when I felt like I needed to
prove what a badass horror fan I was, but the turtle death scene in <i>Cannibal
Holocaust</i> put an end to that phase. I still like fucked up shit, but
visceral, graphic violence just isn't my cup of tea. Plus, I don't find it
particularly scary. I work in a hospital, so I see guts, amputated limbs, and
dead bodies all the time; that stuff just doesn’t gross me out. And unfortunately,
a lot of splatterpunk also seems to equate to sexualized violence against women
handled in the worst way. possible *cough*Richard Laymon*cough* But Blake
manages to create a graphic, gory story without the sexism. Most torture porn
comes with a heavy dose of misogyny, and with all the real-world examples of
abuse, torture, and murder of women by men, it's kind of hard to enjoy it in
fiction. But an erotic exploitation novel between two men doesn't come with the
same baggage (although, obviously, abuse can and does happen in same sex
relationships and I’m not trying to minimize that). And cannibal doctor Ivan Skinner
is pretty equal opportunity when it comes to his victims so there are no sexist
vibes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Dr. Ivan Skinner is a <s>pretentious asshole</s>
sophisticated gentleman who loves fine art, opera, and gourmet food (usually
people). He plans on running off to Italy, loves torture and mind games, and is
an overall terrible friend. He's basically a gay Hannibal Lecter. So
essentially Hannibal from the Bryan Fuller TV show, but even more sadistic.
Chris is an older medical student, struggling with school, work, and a general
lack of direction. He falls in love with Ivan, who then tortures Chris
mentally, physically, and sexually until his student becomes a murderous
psychopath. And don't worry, Blake doesn't try to romanticize or glamorize
their abusive relationship. This isn't <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/407246333331901660/4871467936703284001">Twilight</a> or <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/407246333331901660/4871467936703284001">50
Shades of Gray</a>. He makes clear from the get-go that everything between them
is twisted, perverted, and ugly, even if Ivan and Chris sometimes mistake it
for something else. While the torture does have shade of BDSM I’d hesitate to
call it such because it’s non-consensual, and <a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/bdsm-consent">BDSM is all about explicit
consent</a>. It's utterly fascinating to watch, and yeah, some of the sex
scenes are hot, but in the end it's a repulsive and deeply disturbing
relationship where Ivan intentionally traumatizes and brainwashes Chris until
he's entirely dependent on the older man. Not that Ivan would have had to
try very hard to push Chris over the edge. The young medical student is already
emotionally unstable, possibly a budding serial killer, and being around
cadavers all day is sending him spiraling towards a nervous breakdown. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I would just like to state, for the record, if a
pathology assistant (which Chris is acting as) had a nervous breakdown it's far
more likely to be the result of dealing with the giant piles of paperwork,
frequently missing slides, the dictation software breaking down again, or one
of the endless phone calls from physicians who want to know if the results they
only just requested are done yet like you're supposed to drop
everything else to focus on them and their nonsense and somehow break
the laws of spacetime (but ~heaven forbid~ you point out that you could get to
their stuff a lot faster if they stopped calling <b>every five fucking
minutes</b> because then <i>you're </i>the asshole). Look,
all I'm saying is if I found out someone went on a killing spree because they
got yet another phone call asking why a pathology report wasn't ready, I'd get
it. But working with dead bodies is not that stressful. They just sort of chill
and don't bother you. If you’re stressed out by the dead, you probably
don’t belong in medicine. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Anyway, it's absolutely fascinating to witness Chris'
deteriorating mental state. It's incredibly stressful, but also offers a sort
of sadistic pleasure as you wonder how much more he can stand before he snaps
completely. While there is a lot of gore, it's not the scary part of the
story. It's the suspense and psychological horror that's terrifying. You keep
wondering, “How much worse can it get?” And then it gets worse. So. Much.
Worse. I think the last time a story affected me this viscerally was Eric Larocca’s
<a href="http://diversityhorror.blogspot.com/2021/09/things-have-gotten-worse-since-we-last.html"><i>Things
Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke</i></a>. And as a horror reviewer, I’m
not easily phased.</p><p></p>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-10989558163808455962023-08-24T12:02:00.000-07:002024-02-29T18:19:45.401-08:00 I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4lwA7WvDHqbCyAV5qQvEheP1qDHsCyEsTKt06LaU14CIXQ_9O9cKwruyd8s48motMaW67whCQii-655W-G92XFXB2pmwUunTNG91rtgvIjQ1A1_IpNyXzWYjlymBYSciKzpC73zqxwl4w0MUQFyNkbho9W-vS3NtenCru4JPhvB1OhUQPbNJkSTOFsZ8/s555/I%20feed%20her%20to%20the%20beast.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Black Swan, villian protagonists, Ace of Spades Jamison Shea. Highly Recommended. Read if you like" border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4lwA7WvDHqbCyAV5qQvEheP1qDHsCyEsTKt06LaU14CIXQ_9O9cKwruyd8s48motMaW67whCQii-655W-G92XFXB2pmwUunTNG91rtgvIjQ1A1_IpNyXzWYjlymBYSciKzpC73zqxwl4w0MUQFyNkbho9W-vS3NtenCru4JPhvB1OhUQPbNJkSTOFsZ8/s16000/I%20feed%20her%20to%20the%20beast.png" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Formats: Print, audio, digital</p><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Publisher: <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250909565/ifeedhertothebeastandthebeastisme">Henry Holt and Co.</a></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Genre: Dark Fantasy, Mystery, Occult, Thriller</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Audience: Y/A</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Diversity: Black main character and author, bisexual main character</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Takes Place in: Paris, France</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Content Warnings: <span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Body Shaming, Bullying, Death, Racism, Self Harm, Verbal/Emotional Abuse</span> (Highlight to view)</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br />Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><i>There will be blood.</i><br /><br />Ace of Spades<i> meets </i>House of Hollow<i> in this villain origin story.<br /><br />Laure Mesny is a perfectionist with an axe to grind. Despite being constantly overlooked in the elite and cutthroat world of the Parisian ballet, she will do anything to prove that a Black girl can take center stage. To level the playing field, Laure ventures deep into the depths of the Catacombs and strikes a deal with a pulsating river of blood.<br /><br />The primordial power Laure gains promises influence and adoration, everything she’s dreamed of and worked toward. With retribution on her mind, she surpasses her bitter and privileged peers, leaving broken bodies behind her on her climb to stardom.<br /><br />But even as undeniable as she is, Laure is not the only monster around. And her vicious desires make her a perfect target for slaughter. As she descends into madness and the mystifying underworld beneath her, she is faced with the ultimate choice: continue to break herself for scraps of validation or succumb to the darkness that wants her exactly as she is—monstrous heart and all. That is, if the god-killer doesn’t catch her first.<br /><br />From debut author Jamison Shea comes I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me, a slow-burn horror that lifts a veil on the institutions that profit on exclusion and the toll of giving everything to a world that will never love you back.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div><i>I received this product for free in return for providing an honest and unbiased review. I received no other compensation. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.<br /></i><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><p class="MsoNormal">I went into <i>I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me</i>
expecting Laure to be an unlikeable female protagonist (something I actually
enjoy in a story), but I was not prepared for just how relatable she was. If I
ever become a supervillain, my origin story will be me finally getting fed up
with all the bigotry and microaggressions I have to deal with every day and
deciding to get even, rather than continuing to either educate or ignore the
people hurting me. And that’s exactly what Laure does. Can you blame her? Every
other ballerina in her company is rich and white, with powerful parents just
dripping with privilege. The ballet is cutthroat, with ballerinas actively
trying to sabotage each other (dancers often finds glass and tacks in their
ballet shoes) and praying for one another’s downfall, and Laure is at a
distinct disadvantage. Even though she works the hardest and performs the best
of all of them, she’ll always be the Black girl who has to steal to pay for her
tights. So, she cheats to level the playing field. Once she does, her talent
and hard work is immediately rewarded. And honestly? It’s cathartic to watch
Laure stoop to the level of the other ballerinas and their awful parents. It is
SO exhausting to always have to be the bigger person in the face of abuse. I
may agree with Michelle Obama’s “When they go low, we go high,” but I still
don’t like having to “go high” when I would rather be a petty asshole. So, in a
purely fictional world? It’s wonderfully satisfying to watch a Black woman
choose the role of the villain and get even with all those rich white girls.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5o6LjymjPpB4VvZHYXPsx0s7nxNNhMr2f4mbk_LHxUhOLmP_po_aZERV13KaU_PtnwMyXBtgm-WpCAzDdAn80nXk9RsLqfHrEKOyE6VgYkolDYZqSYY38NJYjAi-W9qDjmZQW4pNI7s-hsqhknDlMwm4Vjx4TnGfw9Oi6scaMkLhd31O_UOEoywUuB0/s501/Arrested%20Development%20Lucille%20Bluth%20Good%20for%20her.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Lucille Bluth from Arrested Development holding a cupcake and saying "good for her."" border="0" data-original-height="286" data-original-width="501" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5o6LjymjPpB4VvZHYXPsx0s7nxNNhMr2f4mbk_LHxUhOLmP_po_aZERV13KaU_PtnwMyXBtgm-WpCAzDdAn80nXk9RsLqfHrEKOyE6VgYkolDYZqSYY38NJYjAi-W9qDjmZQW4pNI7s-hsqhknDlMwm4Vjx4TnGfw9Oi6scaMkLhd31O_UOEoywUuB0/s16000/Arrested%20Development%20Lucille%20Bluth%20Good%20for%20her.jpg" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ballet is still one of the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/book/33603/chapter-abstract/288092967?redirectedFrom=fulltext">least
diverse performing arts</a>, fraught with racism that ranges from subtle to
overt. This is <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/black-dancer-calls-out-racism-elitist-european-ballet-world-n1257141">especially
true in Europe</a>. In her book <i>Turning Pointe</i>, Chloe Angyal discusses
ballet's racism problem. She <a href="https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a36187044/turning-pointe-book-ballet-racism/">describes
an encounter</a> with a racist dance mom and her implied message to her
daughter: “[Black dancers are] not really good, but they are
allowed to be here. In this space that is rightfully yours, in this art form
that is rightfully yours. They’re never as good as the white
girls, a sweeping generalization that grants no individuality, no humanity, to
any nonwhite dancer. They’re all the same, and they never deserve to be
here. But don’t worry. Your excellence is a
given. You belong here, while their presence is conditional or even
ill-gotten.” I think this quote sums up Laure’s struggles beautifully. The only
difference is that these are struggles faced by real dancers. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Even something as simple as buying pointe shoes is no easy
task for Black dancers. Most dance garments are traditionally “European pink,”
and don’t match darker skin tones. Black ballerinas often have to <a href="https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/black-history/cleveland-ballerina-brings-to-light-topic-of-flesh-colored-term/95-0274f2da-3005-46b4-8e9a-f03e1f2b7001">pancake
their shoes in dark foundation</a> to match their skin tone and <a href="https://www.browngirlsdoballet.com/blog2/2014/06/03/ask-a-ballerina-from-flat-shoes-to-tutus-dying-your-costumes-nude">dye
their tutus and tights</a>. It’s only recently that brands like Capezio, Freed
of London, and Bloch have offered shoes in darker skin tones. In the book Laure
must purchase her own ballet shoes and tights because the ballet will only pay
for pink ones. Black bodies are also discriminated against in ballet. In <a href="file:///C:/Users/morpayne/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/QLK5ZQB4/-%09https:/www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2022/01/11/misty-copeland-black-ballerinas">an
interview with Sheila Rohan</a> the Black ballet dancer described racism in
ballet. “Racism in the ballet arts… meant people would make remarks about the
Black ballerinas’ bodies — such as their chests being ‘too busty’ or their
thighs being ‘too thick.’” A Black dancer in Berlin was told to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/11/arts/dance/Chloe-Lopes-Gomes-Ballet.html">lighten
her skin with white makeup</a> in order to play a song in Swan Lake. Laure
straightens and gels her curly hair into place so she won’t stand out from the
other dancers, but is still told she’s too “exotic” for a French ballet by a
drunk patron. The <a href="https://inews.co.uk/culture/arts/hindus-apology-royal-opera-house-la-bayadere-racism-cultural-appropriation-223861">controversial</a>
ballet <i>La Bayadère</i> was performed in <a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/12/20/russian-ballets-use-of-blackface-ignites-online-controversy-a68685">Blackface
by Russian dancers</a> (white dancers have also worn stereotypical clothing and
makeup to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/nov/20/fu-manchu-moustaches-blackface-does-ballet-have-a-race-problem">portray
Roma and Chinese characters</a>). The same ballet put on by Laure’s company in
which she plays a shade. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After being abandoned by both parents, Laure’s only source
of support is her best (and only) friend, Coralie, who is… not great. She’s
kind and supportive of Laure, yes, but she’s also a subpar ballerina who just
assumes she’ll get a spot in Paris’ prestigious ballet due to her famous
mother. She’s essentially an entitled slacker and just as oblivious to her
privilege as the other rich white girls. Coralie is also a snob, turning her
nose up at anything that doesn’t come with a high price tag, which grates on permanently
broke Laure’s nerves. Coralie really does seem to love her best friend, but
their relationship comes with a power imbalance. So, she does not take it well
when that balance of power shifts and Laure starts beating her out for roles. Because
she has no one else, Laure is terrified of losing her only friend (as difficult
as she can be), that is until she meets the étoile of the ballet, Josephine. Josephine
gives her friendship freely without expecting anything in return, and treats
Laure as an equal. She introduces Laure to her friends and shows her how she
too can become an étoile. Slowly, Laure starts to see what a true friendship is
like and begins to pull away from Coralie, although she still refuses to drop
her completely and makes excuses for the wealthy girl’s bad behavior. I liked
that while Laure does pursue a romance with a man later in the book, the story
is mostly focused on her female friendships. It’s also a nice change of pace to
see a toxic platonic, non-familial relationship explored. I don’t think enough
people talk about how friendships can be <a href="https://thebodyisnotanapology.com/magazine/6-warning-signs-that-your-friendship-is-abusive/">abusive</a>
and how hard “breaking up” with a friend can be. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Another interesting theme in <i>I Feed Her to the Beast and
the Beast is Me</i> is the idea of “perfection.” As a burned-out former “gifted
kid” I know what it’s like to be expected to be perfect, then destroy yourself
trying to do the impossible and ultimately have a mental breakdown when you
realize perfection can never be achieved, and therefore that makes you a
“failure.” The ballet expects Laure and her peers to be no less than perfect,
and anyone who doesn’t make the cut is thrown aside and forgotten. While
Coralie can get by half-assing it because of her mother, Laure must be the best
there is to even think of if she wants to compete with the others. And it means
giving up everything. This kind of perfectionism is extremely <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/perfectionism">damaging to your
mental health</a>. Laure also believes that acceptance and respect from the
others is entirely dependent on being perfect, not realizing she deserves
respect regardless of her performance. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me</i> is one of
those books that I absolutely devoured. It held my attention throughout the
story (no small feat when you have ADHD), save for a short part in the middle
that felt like it was dragging. But other than that small criticism I can’t
think of anything negative to say about this book. It’s a unique setting for a
horror story, and a fresh spin on a Faustian bargain narrative. </p></div><br />Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-4697682473687834162023-08-14T16:22:00.006-07:002023-08-15T16:22:37.703-07:00Frost Bite by Angela Sylvaine<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH2bdBVvo48TtprHeTyemB9JI0NTw4wVDN2ufhsBdCZu7e1foX2L46iDoOkpj9WDLtUOrvS3HWsg7WHB_H_R3OZbT-4F5ubYk21AaL7OOVwDQtrKrLrwljCqsDCQkLfLIUZgrlIgCL5twfkuKHnjG8WOQ_geqdtMko-B5ZfgCsrL9ka3STXVqrYBao_Ys/s555/FrostBite.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Frost Bite by Angela Sylvaine. Recommended. Read if you like alien parasites, 90's horror." border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH2bdBVvo48TtprHeTyemB9JI0NTw4wVDN2ufhsBdCZu7e1foX2L46iDoOkpj9WDLtUOrvS3HWsg7WHB_H_R3OZbT-4F5ubYk21AaL7OOVwDQtrKrLrwljCqsDCQkLfLIUZgrlIgCL5twfkuKHnjG8WOQ_geqdtMko-B5ZfgCsrL9ka3STXVqrYBao_Ys/s16000/FrostBite.png" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Formats: Print, audio, digital</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Publisher: <a href="https://darkmattermagazine.shop/products/frost-bite">Dark Matter INK</a></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Genre: Sci-Fi Horror</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Audience: Y/A</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Diversity: Bisexual main character</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Takes Place in: North Dakota, USA</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Content Warnings: <span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Alcohol Abuse, Animal Death, Bullying, Child Abuse, Child Endangerment, Death, Drug Use/Abuse, Forced Captivity, Gaslighting, Gore, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Physical Abuse, Police Harassment, Verbal/Emotional Abuse, Violence</span> (Highlight to view)</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><i>Remember the '90s? Well...the town of Demise, North Dakota doesn't, and they're living in the year 1997. That's because an alien worm hitched a ride on a comet, crash landed in the town's trailer park, and is now infecting animals with a memory-loss-inducing bite--and right before Christmas! Now it's up to nineteen-year-old Realene and her best friend Nate to stop the spread and defeat the worms before the entire town loses its mind. The only things standing in the way are their troubled pasts, a doomsday cult, and an army of infected prairie dogs.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div><i>I received this product for free in return for providing an honest and unbiased review. I received no other compensation. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.</i><br /><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><p class="MsoNormal">All Realene wants is to get out of Demise, North Dakota and
become a doctor. Instead, she’s stuck in a dead-end town she hates with a dead
dad and a mother who is slowly succumbing to Alzheimer’s who she has to care for. Realene‘s
best friend, Nate, is in a similarly tough spot. His father is an abusive
asshole who threw him out as soon as he turned 18 and continues to terrorize
Nate’s mother. Because he got busted for selling weed, Nate is now ineligible
for finical aid, which he can’t afford college without. It seems both will be trapped
in Demise for the rest of their lives. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And then the meteor strikes. Realene is first on the scene and
witnesses the meteorite crack open and leak out a black sludge, which is
quickly absorbed into the ground. She contacts the police about the meteorite,
but chooses to leave out the part about the black sludge. The next day the
strike site is a zoo, with police, military, scientists, newscasters, and
locals crawling all over the scene. Most of the town views the meteorite as a
reason to celebrate, even going so far as to have special shooting star sales
at all the local stores, but the local religious zealot, reverend Zebadiah,
sees it as a sign of the end times. And that’s when the prairie dogs start to
attack. <o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ISkJ4tMcm_3gwfi8Vaf3n1uWativ86fo7Sxc7diHwnT2OqZXL2OUPtgsOhe0bsEkafc_-fb9MwFdbQ-yDeYot6vPVhWv8DhFpT6IAc-qVx-OacnVwO1Ng-PBaGeBvCSPm9rrNf_SmEZRR7burFCAH5NAXSok1lprmcNkt9aSYGmYBY8uNYmenwhPoAY/s335/Dramatic_Chipmunk.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A still from the dramatic prairie dog youtube video showing a close up of the prairie dog's face." border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="335" height="568" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ISkJ4tMcm_3gwfi8Vaf3n1uWativ86fo7Sxc7diHwnT2OqZXL2OUPtgsOhe0bsEkafc_-fb9MwFdbQ-yDeYot6vPVhWv8DhFpT6IAc-qVx-OacnVwO1Ng-PBaGeBvCSPm9rrNf_SmEZRR7burFCAH5NAXSok1lprmcNkt9aSYGmYBY8uNYmenwhPoAY/w640-h568/Dramatic_Chipmunk.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dramatic prairie dog!</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal">Despite being a comedy about alien parasites, the book has
some pretty depressing themes. As much as Realene loves her mother, she resents
being stuck taking care of her and how it’s holding her back from her dreams. Does
she give up her dreams and possibly her future to care for her mother, or does
she abandon her best friend and the one family member she has left to try and
make life better for herself? What you think Realene should do probably depends
where you fall on the scale of <a href="https://helpfulprofessor.com/collectivism-vs-individualism/">individualism
to collectivism</a> and how you feel about filial piety. Regardless of the
“right” answer it’s a complicated and crappy position to be in and whatever
decision she make is going to leave her hurting. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then there’s Nate’s situation with his abusive dad. I got
incredibly frustrated with Nate’s mom and how she would choose her abusive
husband over her own son. I understand intellectually that she is a victim. She
was physically and emotionally abused first by her husband, and then by
reverend Zebadiah. There are <a href="https://ncadv.org/why-do-victims-stay">a
myriad of reasons</a> she might stay, and it’s likely her husband would have <a href="https://www.womensaid.org.uk/information-support/what-is-domestic-abuse/women-leave/#:~:text=Danger%20and%20fear,likelihood%20of%20violence%20after%20separation.">killed
her if she tried to leave</a> anyway. And I know that Nate’s father is the one
at fault, not his mother, who was put in an impossible situation. I’m not upset
that she couldn’t protect Nate when she couldn’t even protect herself, that was
beyond her control. But the fact that, when given the opportunity, she chooses
first her abusive husband and then her abusive reverend over her own son feels
like a betrayal. But like Realene’s situation, the situation for Nate’s mother is
complicated and there are no easy answers. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is a book about killer prairie dogs, family, and a
doomsday cult that comes with its own ‘90s playlist. And it works so well. The
story manages to balance tragedy, horror, humor, and some genuinely
heart-warming moments perfectly and in a way that doesn’t feel like you’re
jumping from genre to genre. There’s also an orange cat named Pumpkin and I
love him (don’t worry, nothing bad happens to him). Frostbite is a fun,
heartfelt romp full of suspense and horror movie references. Definitely check
it out, unless you love prairie dogs. </p></div></div>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-33766161797443697052023-07-12T16:31:00.000-07:002023-07-12T16:31:25.089-07:00The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Mnlvg3xm7KwJf71vBjr4BmKuP4FzurUDfN0j5mb2Fdyx7fSsvW5RO0BTBHKTcRUVC3HGyYosfPGkzb_i3jpb1tYyOAcvibk_8ur2IDNR-TTvefxTlOalihEOCybAynQGRu_KgjkUXRYfFkyIePDwb2B7Wc19-8XgATSfMl-aS9htJMz05XZn1DDc_Xo/s555/The%20Spirit%20Bares%20Its%20Teeth.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White. Highly recommended. Read if you like medical horror, gothic schools" border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Mnlvg3xm7KwJf71vBjr4BmKuP4FzurUDfN0j5mb2Fdyx7fSsvW5RO0BTBHKTcRUVC3HGyYosfPGkzb_i3jpb1tYyOAcvibk_8ur2IDNR-TTvefxTlOalihEOCybAynQGRu_KgjkUXRYfFkyIePDwb2B7Wc19-8XgATSfMl-aS9htJMz05XZn1DDc_Xo/s16000/The%20Spirit%20Bares%20Its%20Teeth.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p><br /><br /><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Formats: Print, audio, digital</p><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Publisher: <a href="https://www.peachtreebooks.com/book/the-spirit-bares-its-teeth/">Peachtree Teen</a> </div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Genre: Blood & Guts, Body Horror, Ghosts/Haunting, Mystery, Gothic</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Audience: Y/A</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Diversity: Neurodiversity (Autism), transgender characters, queer character</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Takes Place in: London, England</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Content Warnings: <span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Abelism, Animal Death, Bullying, Child Abuse, Child Death, Child Endangerment, Death, Forced Captivity, Gaslighting, Gore, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Medical Torture/Abuse, Medical Procedures, Miscarriage, Oppression, Pedophilia, Physical Abuse, Rape/Sexual Assault, Self-Harm, Sexism, Slurs, Slut-Shaming, Torture, Transphobia, Verbal/Emotional Abuse, Victim Blaming, Violence </span> (Highlight to view)</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><i>Mors vincit omnia. Death conquers all.<br /><br />London, 1883. The Veil between the living and dead has thinned. Violet-eyed mediums commune with spirits under the watchful eye of the Royal Speaker Society, and sixteen-year-old Silas Bell would rather rip out his violet eyes than become an obedient Speaker wife. According to Mother, he’ll be married by the end of the year. It doesn’t matter that he’s needed a decade of tutors to hide his autism; that he practices surgery on slaughtered pigs; that he is a boy, not the girl the world insists on seeing.<br /><br />After a failed attempt to escape an arranged marriage, Silas is diagnosed with Veil sickness—a mysterious disease sending violet-eyed women into madness—and shipped away to Braxton’s Finishing School and Sanitorium. The facility is cold, the instructors merciless, and the students either bloom into eligible wives or disappear. When the ghosts of missing students start begging Silas for help, he decides to reach into Braxton’s innards and expose its guts to the world—if the school doesn’t break him first.<br /><br />Featuring an autistic trans protagonist in a historical setting, Andrew Joseph White’s much-anticipated sophomore novel does not back down from exposing the violence of the patriarchy and the harm inflicted on trans youth who are forced into conformity.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div><i>I received this product for free in return for providing an honest and unbiased review. I received no other compensation. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.</i><br /><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><p class="MsoNormal">Silas is an autistic trans boy living in Victorian London
who wants nothing more than to be a surgeon like his brother, George, and his idol
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Barry_(surgeon)">James Barry</a>. Unfortunately
for Silas, the world still sees him as a young girl with violet eyes.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In White’s alternative history people born with violet eyes
are Speakers, those who can open the Veil that separates the living and dead to
communicate with ghosts. But only violet-eyed men are permitted to be mediums.
It is believed that women who tamper with the Veil will become unstable and a
threat to themselves and others. Veil sickness is said to be the result of
violet-eyed women coming into contact with the Veil and is blamed for a wide
range of symptoms from promiscuity to anger, but is really just the result of
women who don’t obediently follow social norms. Thus, England has made it
strictly illegal for women to engage in spirit work. After Silas’ failed
attempt to run away and live as a man, he is diagnosed with Veil sickness and
carted off to Braxton’s Finishing School and Sanitorium to be transformed into
an obedient wife. Braxton’s is your typical gothic school filled with sad waifs
and dangerous secrets, namely that girls keep disappearing. The headmaster is a
creep and his methods for curing young girls are abusive. Despite the danger,
Silas is determined to get to the bottom of the mysterious disappearances and
find justice for the missing girls. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Violet-eyed women are highly valued as wives who can produce
violet-eyed sons and are in high demand among the elite. Silas is no different,
and his parents are eager to marry him off to any man with money. If being made
to live as a girl weren’t bad enough, the idea of being forced to bear children
is even more horrific to Silas. As someone who struggles with Tokophobia myself,
I found White’s descriptions of forced pregnancy to be a terrifying and
especially disturbing form of body horror. Because of Silas’ obsession with
medicine, the entire book is filled with medical body horror. There are
detailed descriptions of injuries and surgeries, medical torture, and an
at-home c-section/abortion. Personally, I loved all the grossness and the
detailed descriptions of anatomy and medical procedures. But <i>The Spirit
Bares its Teeth</i> is most definitely not for the squeamish or easily
grossed-out. I appreciated that in the afterword White made a point of
mentioning that in the real world, it was usually racial minorities who were
the subject of medical experimentation (rather than wealthy White women), and
then recommended the books <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/185986/medical-apartheid-by-harriet-a-washington/"><i>Medical
Apartheid</i></a> by Harriet A. Washington and <a href="https://ugapress.org/book/9780820354750/medical-bondage/"><i>Medical
Bondage</i></a> by Deirdre Cooper Owens for readers to learn more.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I was also happy to see an autistic character written by an
autistic author. Stories about Autistic individuals often are told by
neurotypical people who characterize autism as “tragic” or as an illness that
needs to be cured. In <i>The Spirit Bares its Teeth</i>, neurodiversity is
humanized and we see how harmful a lack of acceptance and understanding of
autism is. Silas is forced to <a href="https://soyoureautistic.com/masking-camouflaging-mimicking/">mask</a> by
society, and we see how difficult and harmful masking is to him. He is taught
by his tutors to ignore his own needs in favor of acting the way others want.
They reinforce the idea that acting “normal” (i.e. neurotypical) is the only
way anyone will tolerate him. Silas’ tutors use methods similar to the highly
controversial <a href="https://neuroclastic.com/invisible-abuse-aba-and-the-things-only-autistic-people-can-see/">Applied
Behavior Analysis (ABA)</a> to force him to behave in a manner they deem
appropriate. He is not allowed to <a href="https://soyoureautistic.com/stimming/">flap his hands</a>, pace or cover
his ears at loud noises, and is forced into uncomfortable clothing that hurts
his skin and to eat food that makes him sick. He is mocked for taking things
literally and punished if he can’t sit still and keep quiet. It’s horrible and
heartbreaking.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Although I’m not autistic, I do have Attention Deficit
Disorder (ADD), a condition which has <a href="https://neurodivergentinsights.com/misdiagnosis-monday/adhd-vs-autism">many
overlapping symptoms</a> with autism, including being easily overstimulated by
sensory input. I have texture issues and White’s description of the
uncomfortable clothing Silas is forced into made my skin itch in sympathy. It
sounded like pure hell, and poor Silas can’t even distract himself with
stimming so he just has to sit there and endure it. After meeting a non-verbal
indentured servant whose autistic traits are much more noticeable, he also
acknowledges that his ability to mask gains him certain privileges as he can
“pass” as neurotypical (even though he should never have to pass in the first
place and doing so is extremely harmful to his wellbeing).</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In addition to its positive autism representation, White
also does an excellent job portraying the struggles of being a trans person
forced to live as their assigned gender. Interestingly, this is the first book
with a transgender main character I’ve read where said character isn’t fully
out or living as their true gender. Part of the horror of the story is that
Silas can’t transition as he’s in an unsupportive and abusive environment. I
also found it interesting that Silas is both trans and autistic as <a href="https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/largest-study-to-date-confirms-overlap-between-autism-and-gender-diversity/">there’s
an overlap</a> between <a href="file:///C:/Users/hland/Downloads/and%20https:/neurodivergentinsights.com/autism-infographics/trans-autism">autism
and gender identity/diversity</a>. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>The Spirit Bares its Teeth</i> is a suspenseful and deeply
disturbing gothic horror story about misogyny, ableism, and how society tries
and controls women. I was absolutely glued to this story and could not put it
down, no easy feat when my ADD demands constant distraction. Each revelation
was more horrifying than the last and by the end I was terrified of what
secrets Silas would uncover next. </p></div>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-45838202657545712312023-07-03T17:43:00.000-07:002023-07-03T17:43:47.732-07:00The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMD-YcMUnU8vTIhlfc46geleKpbHJtDqJdarbjl2vg39LgjSSsWlpiNNmQseEzCk_K36yffBFzOf1-Rv-38oLFkTfR9aJGvciTTFofzTgX7u7O3O3S-SBoG1WxVddOI74Ti8peN0PbqkR4egpd0aAx7AhSsTtOonmLF6NXJzFpjQzxuLNJgH5ug4G5x0/s555/the%20haunting%20of%20Alejandra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro. Highly reccomended. Read if you like feminist horror, la llorona." border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMD-YcMUnU8vTIhlfc46geleKpbHJtDqJdarbjl2vg39LgjSSsWlpiNNmQseEzCk_K36yffBFzOf1-Rv-38oLFkTfR9aJGvciTTFofzTgX7u7O3O3S-SBoG1WxVddOI74Ti8peN0PbqkR4egpd0aAx7AhSsTtOonmLF6NXJzFpjQzxuLNJgH5ug4G5x0/s16000/the%20haunting%20of%20Alejandra.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Writing: Highly reccomended </div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Formats: Print, audio, digital</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Publisher: <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/708768/the-haunting-of-alejandra-by-v-castro/">Penguin Random House</a></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Genre: Body Horror, Demon, Ghosts/Haunting</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Audience: Adult/Mature</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Diversity: Chicana characters, bisexual main character</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Takes Place in: Phildelphia, PA</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Content Warnings: <span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Child Abuse, Child Death, Child Endangerment, Childbirth, Death, Forced Captivity, Gaslighting, Gore, Illness, Miscarriage, Racism, Rape/Sexual Assault, Self-Harm, Suicide, Verbal/Emotional Abuse, Violence, Xenophobia</span> (Highlight to view)</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><i>Alejandra no longer knows who she is. To her husband, she is a wife, and to her children, a mother. To her own adoptive mother, she is a daughter. But they cannot see who Alejandra has become: a woman struggling with a darkness that threatens to consume her.<br /><br />When Alejandra visits a therapist, she begins exploring her family’s history, starting with the biological mother she never knew. As she goes deeper into the lives of the women in her family, she learns that heartbreak and tragedy are not the only things she has in common with her ancestors.<br /><br />Because the crying woman was with them, too. She is La Llorona, the vengeful and murderous mother of Mexican legend. And she will not leave until Alejandra follows her mother, her grandmother, and all the women who came before her into the darkness.<br /><br />But Alejandra has inherited more than just pain. She has inherited the strength and the courage of her foremothers—and she will have to summon everything they have given her to banish La Llorona forever.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><p class="MsoNormal"><i>The Haunting of Alejandra </i>is about the horrors of
being a mother, wife, and woman, and the sacrifices that come with it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We first meet Alejandra when she’s hiding from her family in
the shower, crying and feeling overwhelmed by their many demands. Her husband
Matthew is unsupportive and as needy and demanding as her three children. On
the rare occasions when Alejandra asks him to help her with the housework,
Matthew uses a combination of <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/weaponized-incompetence-women_l_61e71983e4b0d8b665717814">weaponized
incompetence</a> and guilt-tripping to get out of it. He’s made Alejandra move
away from her support network in Texas, and the birth mother she’d just
reconnected with. He’s also convinced her to quit her job and raise their
children full time, meaning she no longer has money of her own. Matthew owns
everything, Alejandra’s name isn’t even on the bills. He makes all the
decisions for the family; where they live, what they buy, and even where they
travel on vacation. If Alejandra’s needs don’t align with what he wants in the
moment Matthew will make his displeasure known. She feels like a shadow, barely
existing. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Alejandra’s situation will be familiar to many married women.
Like most heterosexual couples she takes on the majority of the housework and <a href="https://english.emmaclit.com/2017/05/20/you-shouldve-asked/">mental load</a>.
Matthew provides little to no help with chores, child raising, or managing the
household. This is, sadly, not uncommon as according to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210518-the-hidden-load-how-thinking-of-everything-holds-mums-back">BBC</a>
"When it comes to household responsibilities, women perform far more
cognitive and emotional labour than men." Alejandra has been trapped in
this pattern since childhood, when, as the <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/eldest-daughter-syndrome-oldest-sibling-family-responsibilities">eldest
daughter</a>, her religious, adoptive parents <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/parentification-types-causes-and-effects-7090611">forced
her to do the bulk of the household chores and take care of her younger
siblings</a>. They also cut her off from her history and culture, refusing to
let her read anything about Mexico that went against their fundamentalist
Christian beliefs. Alejandra is surrounded by White people who don’t understand
her. When she tries to tell her eldest daughter the story of <a href="https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2021/10/la-llorona-an-introduction-to-the-weeping-woman/">La Llorona</a>,
something to connect her to her heritage, she’s scolded by her daughter’s
teacher for telling her child scary stories. </p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigwzec5-qlC4z_OH6QO7appQfchO8HCrvdfJXt-rC79vDqaZe--fCAn9CnI9c7Frd0lE-N8F5b7IUP78zJyZXPiiZaGKWpi5WmpfG1p3QFaRAPLzd8uFytfEVpQYtzilZ-bSk9radxO4sYuCKdwNu0cvZYBJIUVY3bUTCLqAroh-qbdqkioNnCRKqh22c/s1401/bar%20graph.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1126" data-original-width="1401" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigwzec5-qlC4z_OH6QO7appQfchO8HCrvdfJXt-rC79vDqaZe--fCAn9CnI9c7Frd0lE-N8F5b7IUP78zJyZXPiiZaGKWpi5WmpfG1p3QFaRAPLzd8uFytfEVpQYtzilZ-bSk9radxO4sYuCKdwNu0cvZYBJIUVY3bUTCLqAroh-qbdqkioNnCRKqh22c/w640-h514/bar%20graph.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">When Alejandra expresses dissatisfaction with her situation, her concerns aren’t taken seriously. Even when she admits to feeling suicidal she’s met with shame and “I’m sorry you feel that way” from her husband who frequently points out she has everything material she could ever want, so why should she be unhappy? Worse still, <i>something</i> that resembles la Llorona, the ghostly woman from Mexican folklore who drowned her two children, is haunting Alejandra, telling her she’s a terrible mother. Throughout the course of the story we learn that Alejandra is not the only mother the creature has haunted. Each of the women in Alejandra’s matrilineal line had their own struggles with motherhood and a lack of autonomy. Miscarriage, feeling unworthy of love, carrying an unwanted child, forced marriage, teenage pregnancy, the list goes on. And each woman was haunted by the specter of la Llorona who fed off their pain and sorrow, resulting in generational trauma that goes back centuries.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Eventually Alejandra decides to take back the power her husband, parents, and the monster took from her by getting help. I really appreciated that unlike most fictional characters Alejandra actually has the self-awareness to go to therapy when she realizes how bad things have gotten. Even better, her therapist, Melanie, is competent, and culturally informed. She is a Chicana woman, like Alejandra, who practices both modern psychotherapy as a doctor and<span style="background: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: Montserrat;"> </span>traditional medicine as a <a href="https://www.nmhistoricwomen.org/new-mexico-historic-women/curanderas-women-who-heal/">curandera</a>. She believes Alejandra when the stressed mom tells her that she’s being stalked by some kind of monster and is able to advise her on how to protect herself from the evil sprit and cleanse her home. Melanie helps Alejandra reconnect to the cultural roots her adoptive parents sought to destroy, encouraging her to read up on this history of Chicana women and advising her to build an altar to her ancestors in her home. While we’ve all heard horror stories of bad therapists, I found it refreshing to see a therapist in fiction who’s actually good at her job and not a White man. Having had some incredibly helpful queer therapists myself I know the importance of having culturally competent care, and what a difference it makes when your provider isn’t basing their care on a White, heteronormative, Capitalist model. I loved Melanie, and I wish there were more doctors like her in the world.</p></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFoiqoYHWr6L_5IcKqpSXrIBYs58LIPILW_wllu1ZYnyPSrdNB5s-Y9cdro5wCcNhhqOFcRF-FjT2PRcCTYRo4aVMo2bZVPhaG5z_xccrv5c2YaGY9x-Lz1ZfeXYn8hyBfxl6icloyNDyXTpB2q1hQlfA6KZSth08R76x_n8In_gpkBOvwTYNqJgXthic/s1280/Felicia%20Cocotzin%20Ruiz.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFoiqoYHWr6L_5IcKqpSXrIBYs58LIPILW_wllu1ZYnyPSrdNB5s-Y9cdro5wCcNhhqOFcRF-FjT2PRcCTYRo4aVMo2bZVPhaG5z_xccrv5c2YaGY9x-Lz1ZfeXYn8hyBfxl6icloyNDyXTpB2q1hQlfA6KZSth08R76x_n8In_gpkBOvwTYNqJgXthic/w640-h426/Felicia%20Cocotzin%20Ruiz.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo of <a href="https://www.phoenixmag.com/2019/03/26/medicine-woman/">Felicia Cocotzin Ruiz</a>, a modern curandera. Photography by <a href="https://staging10.segallphotography.com/">Laura Segall</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal">Alejandra also reaches out to her birth mother, who may not have been meant to raise a child but is more than ready to provide emotional support to her adult daughter. Melanie teaches her how to call upon the strength of her female ancestors who appear to her in her dreams. With all these strong women standing behind her Alejandra is able to find her own inner strength to stand up to both Matthew and her monster, as she fights to keep the generational curse from passing down to her own daughter. I really loved the theme of women supporting and healing other women. When Alejandra is finally able to ask for help without feeling guilty or like a burden the women in her life are there the minute she needs them. They believe her stories of a monster and are ready to offer their help in whatever for Alejandra needs it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Overall <i>The Haunting of Alejandra</i> is an emotional and painful, but ultimately rewarding read about women, Mexican culture, and generational trauma. It’s a slow burn horror, and while I usually don’t have the patience for those I was so enraptured with the story that it felt like it flew by. While not a parent myself, I know women who are, and the book rang true of their more difficult experiences with motherhood like feeling overwhelmed and isolated. I’ve been following V. Castro’s books for a while now and I have to say, she just gets better and better with each piece she rights. It’s truly impressive and I can’t wait to read what she writes next.</p><br />Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-68000617291584365812023-06-22T13:57:00.001-07:002023-06-22T13:57:29.142-07:008:59:29 by Polly Schattel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6qQETE0bIoEjtcx1EFvVRlusjBdRMZMUNNs8ELX7AcdeQ-TPnIQs6_kgHPWU73cs2J42jvGCWW_j-mnX8Kbb1dmtbF43jPyekn9dv9B24LkXEmEUtWBxwyIxtvcbJ_cTQJMnwnWrwfA7JM7njAfb5yEKqzjzbS6rz5bNvy1VSdFBuvTM1gjaq-qoe/s555/85929.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="8:59:29 by Polly Schattel. Highly Recommended. Read if you like cursed videos, Film." border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6qQETE0bIoEjtcx1EFvVRlusjBdRMZMUNNs8ELX7AcdeQ-TPnIQs6_kgHPWU73cs2J42jvGCWW_j-mnX8Kbb1dmtbF43jPyekn9dv9B24LkXEmEUtWBxwyIxtvcbJ_cTQJMnwnWrwfA7JM7njAfb5yEKqzjzbS6rz5bNvy1VSdFBuvTM1gjaq-qoe/s16000/85929.png" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Formats: Print, digital</p><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Publisher: <a href="https://journalstone.com/bookstore/8-59-29/">Trepidatio Publishing</a></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Genre: Demon, Occult</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Audience: Adult/Mature</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Diversity: Trans author</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Content Warnings: <span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Child Death, </span><span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Death, Drug Use/Abuse, Gore</span> (Highlight to view)</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><i>When a disgruntled adjunct faculty teacher decides to get revenge on the head of her department, she begins a dark (and darkly comic) journey into the cracks between modern society and the secret depravity that lies underneath. She has to navigate the demons of technology, creativity, and Hell itself, but soon she must face the deepest, darkest horror of them all: her own personal failures.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div><div><i>I received this product for free in return for providing an honest and unbiased review. I received no other compensation. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.</i></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>“Film, of course, is traditionally shown at 24 frames per
second, while video’s electronic fields are refreshed at 23.98, 29.97, or even
59.94 times a second… This microscopic slowdown of frames naturally causes a
disparity between the measurement of real time and video time… To keep it
playing at full speed, there’s a tiny blip in there—two frames every minute get
eaten, dropped, overlooked.”<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hetta Salter teaches film studies for non-majors, and she
hates it. She hates her low-paying adjunct professor job where she barely makes
enough to scrape by, she hates her stultified students, and she especially
hates the head of her department, Hensley. Hensley is the very definition of
privilege. He’s a White, cishet male who comes from a wealthy background with a
perfect family and a perfect home, completely unaware of how lucky he is. To Hetta, Hensley represents everything that
stands in the way of her happiness. If only he were gone she could get a better
paying position, better students, a better apartment, and a better life. But
then her best student, a townie named Tanner, gives her a way out. He sends her
a dark web site called Voodoo Glam where Hetta discovers instructions on
creating a video: a video that must filmed on a 1980s camcorder and last
exactly 8 minutes, 59 seconds, and 29 frames. Whomever watches the video will
be dragged to hell by the demon Andras, a great Marquis of Hell who sows
discord among humans and is known to kill his summoners if they're not
extremely careful. What could possibly go wrong?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hetta is not an entirely likeable character, but neither is
she entirely unlikeable. She can be an insufferable film snob, but she’s also a
woman from a low-income family who’s been beaten down by the system. Her anger
is justified, but it’s also twisting her into a bitter person. At the same
time, her anger has also made her sympathetic and willing to fight for those
who are marginalized. Not that Hetta recognizes the drawbacks to being angry
all the time. She is a villain protagonist who believes herself to be the hero
fighting against an unjust world. She is as convinced of her own righteousness
as she is of her genius. In short, Hetta is a fascinating character who is both
repulsive and relatable. I found myself cheering for her one moment and horrified
the next. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Schattel has a razor-sharp wit which she uses to poke fun at
film snobs and critique the inequality inherent in academia. An adjunct
professor earns between $20,000 and $25,000 annually, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2013/09/22/224946206/adjunct-professor-dies-destitute-then-sparks-debate">according
to NPR</a>. That’s less than I made working retail in college. For comparison,
notoriously low-paid fast-food workers earn a mean income of $26,060 per year
according the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes353023.htm">Bureau of
Labor Statistics</a>. But fast food doesn’t require an advanced degree, whereas
being a professor does. Their income is so low that many adjunct professors are
on <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/in-plain-sight/poverty-u-many-adjunct-professors-food-stamps-n336596">some
kind of public assistance</a>. No wonder Hetta is pissed. She probably doesn’t
even get benefits. Meanwhile adjunct professors like Hensley earn an annual
salary starting at around $80,000 a year and can go as high as <a href="https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Harvard-University/salaries/Professor">$174,000</a>.
But even tenured, Hetta would likely <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2019/4/24/fas-pay-gap-2019/">earn less</a>
than her male counterpart.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While Hetta is at least partially the butt of the joke (she
assumes a horror film will be easy to make, ha!) Schattel, a filmmaker herself,
also writes <i>8:59:29</i> as a love letter to filmmaking. Cleverly combing
analog horror with more modern fears like the dark web and social media,
Scahttel manages to make the whole “cursed video” plot feel new and unique
instead of a <i>Ringu</i> rip-off. <i>8:59:29</i> is fun, twisted read perfect
for film fans and anyone else who loves a good horror movie. </p></div>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-55504675065328953012023-06-14T15:14:00.000-07:002023-06-14T15:14:09.224-07:00Unshod, Cackling, and Naked by Tamika Thompson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRoxCmGqkciHeqOAeIq8VFV8UsBf0hMk3TIRDScW6z6niiwH9uSu8Ok4pzDudmafvzKKqHiFj9nE3xnWPyC9UD70hISmprMd3rxQSSznynmVInFHFXjHcEDnqGs91KFdr-svrDzNpaZWmd3bjCtAhgDyV86lgKI7sidsuXGsYKbJ6bkoPzbzTaretW/s555/Unshod%20cackling%20and%20Naked.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Unshod, Cackling, and Naked by Tamika Thompson. Recommended. Read if you like animal rights, feminist horror." border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRoxCmGqkciHeqOAeIq8VFV8UsBf0hMk3TIRDScW6z6niiwH9uSu8Ok4pzDudmafvzKKqHiFj9nE3xnWPyC9UD70hISmprMd3rxQSSznynmVInFHFXjHcEDnqGs91KFdr-svrDzNpaZWmd3bjCtAhgDyV86lgKI7sidsuXGsYKbJ6bkoPzbzTaretW/s16000/Unshod%20cackling%20and%20Naked.png" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Formats: Print, digital</p><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Publisher: <a href="https://www.unnervingbooks.com/product-page/signed-unshod-cackling-and-naked-paperback">Unnerving</a> </div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Genre: Apocalypse/Disaster, Killer/Slasher, Sci-Fi Horror, Werewolf</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Audience: Adult/Mature</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Diversity: Black main characters and author, lesbian charaacter, Biracial Black/Creek character</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Content Warnings: <span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Alcohol Abuse, Animal Death, Body Shaming, Child Abuse, Child Death, Pedophilia, Police Harassment, Racism, Rape/Sexual Assault, Slurs, Verbal/Emotional Abuse, Violence </span> (Highlight to view)</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><i>A beauty pageant veteran appeases her mother by competing for one final crown, only to find herself trapped in a hand-sewn gown that cuts into her flesh. A journalist falls deeply in love with a mysterious woman but discovers his beloved can vanish and reappear hours later in the same spot, as if no time has passed at all. A cash-strapped college student agrees to work in a shop window as a mannequin but quickly learns she’s not free to break her pose. And what happens when the family pet decides it no longer wants to have 'owners'?<br /><br />In the grim and often horrific thirteen tales collected here, beauty is violent, and love and hate are the same feeling, laid bare by unbridled obsession. Entering worlds both strange and quotidian, and spanning horror landscapes both speculative and real, asks who among us is worthy of love and who deserves to die?</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><i>I received this product for free in return for providing an honest and unbiased review. I received no other compensation. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.</i></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><p class="MsoNormal">I absolutely love horror anthologies, so I was excited to
receive <i>Unshod, Cackling, and Naked </i>by Tamika Thompson. Many of the
stories in the anthology focus on the balance between humans and nature and the
morality of killing, owning, and eating animals. <i>Bridget has Disappeared </i>takes
place in a dystopian near-future with disappearing resources which lead to
poverty and crime. <i>I Will be Glorious</i> is about coping with loss and a
killer tree. <i>The Bats</i> and <i>The Turn</i> are both about diseases that
seemingly spread overnight (much like COVID) that cause dogs and bats,
respectively, to turn against humans and attack them. <i>The Turn</i>
especially focuses on the humanity’s relationship with domesticated animals and
describes what would happen if dogs no longer wished to be kept as pets.
Similarly, <i>And We Screamed</i> examines humanity’s relationship with
livestock, and why we choose to eat some animals and feel entitled to try and
control them. It also examines the sanctity of death and dead bodies. I found
this story especially interesting because I was probably the exact opposite of
the target audience. I eat meat and have several pets. I used to work on a farm
with livestock (some of which were being raised for food) as a child, and I
volunteered at an animal hospital where I sometimes had to help euthanize sick
animals in my teens. In college I majored in biology and had no qualms about
dissecting dead animals, including rats and cats (despite being a huge rat and
cat lover). <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In <i>And We Screamed</i> there’s a scene where the main
character refuses to dissect a cat and her classmate points out that it’s
messed up because it still has a face. My first thought was “Well, how are you
supposed to dissect the eyes if it doesn’t have a face?” (Which turns out to be
the teacher’s argument as well.) It was intriguing to be reminded that
something I consider routine and mundane was actually horrific for many people,
and to see why exactly it was so frightening from their point of view. I was able to understand and empathize with
where the author, and her characters, were coming from, even if I didn’t fully
agree with her conclusions. I also recognized the mental disconnect that makes
me willing to dissect a rat for science while also dropping over a grand on
veterinary bills for a rat I keep as a pet. Truly a testament to Thompson’s skill as a
writer. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My favorite stories in <i>Unshod, Cackling, and Naked</i>
were the ones with feminist themes. In <i>I Did it for You</i> a young rape
survivor tracks down creepy men and cuts off their small toe, turning them into
victims who will have to carry a scar for the rest of their lives, just as she
does. She points out to one cop--the one who raped her because he thought she
was a prostitute--that losing a toe is nothing like losing your will to live
after being sexually assaulted. I always enjoy a good rape revenge story and I
appreciated that Thompson makes the sex workers in <i>I Did it for You</i> heroes
rather than victims (like they are in most horror), and they feel like real
characters rather than stereotypes. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Mannequin Model</i> is the story from which <i>Unshod,
Cackling, and Naked </i>draws its name. In it, a woman acts as a “living doll,”
modeling clothing in a store window where she’s objectified and sexually
harassed. She’s treated as a literal sex object, with no voice or will, so it’s
extremely satisfying when she finally rebels. But my absolute favorite story in
the collection is <i>I am Goddess</i>. In it, a woman named Lira wants to
convince her husband to pay for face treatments so she can be beautiful. Her
marriage to her husband is basically every bad heterosexual relationship you’ve
read about on Reddit. Lira works full time and does everything around the
house. She pays the mortgage and all the bills out of her paycheck, despite
earning the same amount as her husband. Her husband uses his own money to buy
himself big-screen TVs and flashy new cars while telling Lira they can’t afford
a washer and dryer or a car for her, so she’s stuck doing laundry by hand and
taking the bus. He flirts with other women, dismisses her feelings, and ignores
her unless he wants sex. But Lira puts up with it with a smile because she has
been conditioned her whole like to believe she needs a man to be “complete” and
that she’s lucky to have anyone at all considering her appearance. All of
Lira’s accomplishments growing up are downplayed until she finds a husband. Her
cousin constantly mocks her appearance and makes Lira feel inferior. No wonder
she’s trapped in such a toxic relationship. But her husband’s refusal to let
her get the one thing she wants, her face treatment, finally pushes Lira over
the edge. She finally sees her husband for who he really is, a loser, and all
her pent up anger and frustration comes pouring out. She gets even, and it’s
glorious. Definitely one of the strongest stories in the collection, in my
humble opinion. </p></div><div><br /></div>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-27799565764947357492023-04-29T17:06:00.002-07:002023-05-04T13:30:55.223-07:00All The Dead Lie Down by Kyrie McCauley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx2iN13XRjMXXK-SZohsWkfUYsHs75j77k35ijiOKB61tx8lRJCLs2a9VtKlJubj0zfQ0qWRRyR9hqFJW06ZRMeeLU-C225064c3rDUtSrmM86G9IXINfFFE9uhKrGyFk8BuWUtkBNR9DX141BR4JwQNo151RA0q-8VBAgp69a4pP62ERC4puuSxVf/s555/all%20the%20dead%20lie%20down.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="All The Dead Lie Down by Kyrie McCauley. Recommended. Read if you like Pet Sematary, The Turn of the Screw." border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx2iN13XRjMXXK-SZohsWkfUYsHs75j77k35ijiOKB61tx8lRJCLs2a9VtKlJubj0zfQ0qWRRyR9hqFJW06ZRMeeLU-C225064c3rDUtSrmM86G9IXINfFFE9uhKrGyFk8BuWUtkBNR9DX141BR4JwQNo151RA0q-8VBAgp69a4pP62ERC4puuSxVf/s16000/all%20the%20dead%20lie%20down.png" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Formats: Print, digital</p><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Publisher: <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/all-the-dead-lie-down-kyrie-mccauley?variant=40723867533346">Harper Collins</a></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Genre: Gothic</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Audience: Y/A</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Diversity: Lesbian characters, mentally ill character (anxiety disorder)</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Takes Place in: Maine, USA</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Content Warnings: <span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Animal Death, Child Death, Child Endangerment, Death, Mental Illness </span>(Highlight to view)</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><i>The Haunting of Bly Manor meets House of Salt and Sorrows in award-winning author Kyrie McCauley’s contemporary YA gothic romance about a dark family lineage, the ghosts of grief, and the lines we’ll cross for love.<br /><br />The Sleeping House was very much awake . . .<br /><br />Days after a tragedy leaves Marin Blythe alone in the world, she receives a surprising invitation from Alice Lovelace—an acclaimed horror writer and childhood friend of Marin’s mother. Alice offers her a nanny position at Lovelace House, the family’s coastal Maine estate.<br /><br />Marin accepts and soon finds herself minding Alice’s peculiar girls. Thea buries her dolls one by one, hosting a series of funerals, while Wren does everything in her power to drive Marin away. Then Alice’s eldest daughter returns home unexpectedly. Evie Hallowell is every bit as strange as her younger sisters, and yet Marin is quickly drawn in by Evie’s compelling behavior and ethereal grace.<br /><br />But as Marin settles in, she can’t escape the anxiety that follows her like a shadow. Dead birds appear in Marin’s room. The children’s pranks escalate. Something dangerous lurks in the woods, leaving mutilated animals in its wake. All is not well at Lovelace House, and Marin must unravel its secrets before they consume her.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div><i>I received this product for free in return for providing an honest and unbiased review. I received no other compensation. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.<br /></i><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">Oh, Kyrie McCauley, you had me at gothic lesbian romance. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As with most gothic novels, the story starts with an
impoverished orphan girl named Marin Blythe. Having recently lost her mother in
a train crash, Marin is feeling lost and overcome by her anxiety. That’s when a
distant friend of her mother’s, Alice Lovelace, reaches out and offers to give
her a home in exchange for Marin nannying her two younger daughters, Wren and
Thea. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Alice Lovelace is a reclusive horror author who lives in the
middle of nowhere with her daughters in a stately manor home that's slowly
sinking into the sea. The house holds many secrets, and even has its own
cemetery where generations of Lovelaces have been buried and the youngest
daughter, Thea, hold funerals for her dolls. All that’s missing from the
desolate home is a forbidden wing (which Marin even cracks a joke about). Despite
being set in the presentday, Lovelace house feels trapped in the past due to
the lack of electronics and cell signal, making Marin feel all the more
isolated. Worst still, Wren and Thea have a penchant for cruel pranks, like
leaving the braided hair of their dead ancestors in Marin’s bed. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>All the Dead Lie Down</i> is a very pretty book and a
love letter to classic Gothic romances. It’s as dark and delicate as the bird
skeletons Alice Lovelace keeps around the house. But in some ways the book
feels very paint-by-numbers, like McCauley was working off a gothic checklist. It
definitely makes the novel atmospheric, but not particularly unique. However,
since the book is aimed at young adults who may not yet be familiar with <i>Jane
Eyre</i>, <i>Wuthering Heights</i>, <i>The Turn of the Screw</i>, etc. <i>All
the Dead Lie Down</i> is an entertaining and accessible introduction to gothic
fiction. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The romance between Marin and Alice’s eldest daughter, Evie,
is lovely and sweet. Both girls are approach each other hesitantly, stealing
secret kisses in the garden and passing secret notes tied up with ribbon. The
plot takes a while to get to the exciting bits, but I didn’t mind the wait, as
it gives the reader time to enjoy the suspense and become familiar with the
characters and house (arguably a character itself), and to enjoy the gloomy
atmosphere. Overall, a cozy and creepy read perfect for a rainy day with a hot
cup of tea.</p><p></p></div>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-29547636415415310842023-04-16T16:30:00.003-07:002023-04-16T16:33:22.275-07:00(UN) Bury your Gays by Clinton W. Waters<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rKxi9g8bQ8QpfgLSoMduSpm03vtrVOrERP-2gvhUXmrCuWIAnEJIG8_UPzzyk2uiJb9N3HMN0QIOdkKIteUH0eiEvYfvrPGrrJZ6UywUtHXptW6PpDwjPKii-Vml5vU_EIJHqqNwkRO-i1bs_BsDn3BC2LXp1FGoPVOjTV3Ubovo2YtaB4UvlP6U/s555/unbury%20your%20gays.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="(Un) Bury Your Gays by Clinton W. Waters. Highly Recommended. Read if you like gay Lovecraftian horror." border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rKxi9g8bQ8QpfgLSoMduSpm03vtrVOrERP-2gvhUXmrCuWIAnEJIG8_UPzzyk2uiJb9N3HMN0QIOdkKIteUH0eiEvYfvrPGrrJZ6UywUtHXptW6PpDwjPKii-Vml5vU_EIJHqqNwkRO-i1bs_BsDn3BC2LXp1FGoPVOjTV3Ubovo2YtaB4UvlP6U/s16000/unbury%20your%20gays.png" /></a></div><p>Formats: Print, digital</p><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Publisher: Self Published</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Genre: Body Horror, Sci-Fi, Zombie</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Audience: Y/A</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Diversity: Gay author and characters</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Content Warnings: <span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Alcohol Abuse, Animal Death, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child Abuse, Child Death, Child Endangerment, Death, Forced Captivity, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Medical Procedures, Physical Abuse, Slurs, Verbal/Emotional Abuse, Violence</span> (Highlight to view)</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">It's the late 2000's. Humphrey West and his best friend Danny are just trying to survive their senior year. Unfortunately, Danny falls short of that goal after a risky rendezvous. But Humphrey has just the thing: a concoction borne of magic and science that is able to bring the dead back to life (at least it's worked on a bee so far). Against all odds, Danny comes back from the clutches of death.</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">The Danny that returns is...different. And it's not just the missing memories. Soon, Humphrey is doing everything in his power to keep his friend alive, but none the wiser to what is happening.</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">A queering of the Lovecraft classic "Herbert West - Reanimator", </span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">(UN)Bury Your Gays</span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;"> is about blurring the boundaries between life and death, love and obsession, and secrets and lies.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><i>I received this product for free in return for providing an honest and unbiased review. I received no other compensation. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.</i></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><p class="MsoNormal">Considering what a <a href="http://diversityhorror.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-ballad-of-black-tom-by-victor.html">raging
bigot</a> H.P. Lovecraft was, it’s always delightful when one of his works is
reclaimed by marginalized creators, because you just know it would drive him
absolutely batty. On top of being racist, sexist, xenophobic, and antisemitic,
Lovecraft was also a homophobe. He discouraged his close friend, a gay man
named <a href="https://deepcuts.blog/tag/r-h-barlow/">Robert Hayward Barlow</a>,
from writing homoerotic fiction, and <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-complicated-friendship-of-h-p-lovecraft-and-robert-barlow-one-of-his-biggest-fans">his
letters condemned homosexuality</a> (though it’s unclear if Lovecraft ever knew
the man he appointed as the executor of his literary estate was gay). However,
some literary critics speculate that Lovecraft was himself <a href="https://www.gaylydreadful.com/blog/pride-2020-lovecraft-horror-and-questioning-sexuality">secretly
gay</a> or asexual. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time a <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/homophobes-might-be-hidden-homosexuals/">homophobe</a>
would be overcompensating for a sexuality they were secretly ashamed of. It
would certainly explain the strangely close friendship between one of
Lovecraft’s most popular characters, Herbert West, and the unnamed narrator in <i>Herbert
West: Reanimator</i>. Perhaps Lovecraft subconsciously created a male-male
relationship that he himself desired. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The original story was first serialized in the pulp magazine
<i>Home Brew</i> in 1922 and told the story of Herbert West and his loyal assistant,
two medical students at Miskatonic University who experiment with reviving the
dead. Their experiments are less than successful as the reanimated corpses
become violent and animalistic; one even devours a child. The two share a close
relationship, choosing to live together for years, even though the assistant
admits to being terrified of his friend. The movie <i>Re-Animator</i> (1985) and
its sequel <i>Bride of Re-Animator</i> (1990) furthers the gay subtext between the
movie’s main characters Herbert West (Jeffery Combs) and Dan Cain (Bruce Abbot),
with West often acting like a jealous lover to Dan. The homoerotic reading of
the first two <i>Re-Animator</i> movies is apparently so popular it has over
500 fanfics shipping the two on <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Daniel%20Cain*s*Herbert%20West/works"><i>Archive
of our Own</i></a>. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>(Un) Bury Your Gays</i> is “a queering” of <i>Herbert
West: Reanimator</i> that also draws inspiration from the films. (For example,
the chemical solution in Waters’ story has a green glow, a movie-specific
detail.) The title is a reference both to subverting the <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BuryYourGays">Bury Your Gays
trope</a> and to the plot itself where a gay character is brought back from the
dead and literally “unburied.” The novella tells the story of Herbert West’s
great-nephew Humphrey West, and his best friend, Danny Moreland (who takes over
the role of the assistant and whose name is a reference to Dan Cain). Danny and
Humphrey are best friends, and the only two queer kids in their religious, rural
town. While they do love each other, it’s purely platonic and the two aren’t in
a romantic relationship. Humphrey remains single while Danny secretly hooks up
with the captain of the football team, Judd Thomas, who also happens to be the
son of the town pastor and Humphrey’s biggest bully.The trouble starts when
Humphrey discovers his great-uncle’s notebook detailing the secret to life
after death. Humphrey attempts to use the reanimator solution to bring a dead
bee back to life, with the hope that he can somehow use it to fight colony
collapse disorder. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions and the solution
soon leads to death and the destruction of Danny and Humphrey’s friendship. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Waters does an excellent job mimicking Lovecraft’s original
story, both in tone and content, while also making it uniquely his own. Initially
appearing to be a sensitive kid, Humphrey is eventually revealed to be every
bit as complex as his great-uncle. His desire for revenge causes him to make
morally questionable choices, which he rationalizes as trying to protect his
best friend. He comes off as cold to others (much like Herbert West), even
though he feels things deeply. It's an
interesting twist to have the reanimator narrate the story, rather than his
assistant. We get to hear firsthand what’s going through the mind of the mad
scientist, making Humphrey a much more sympathetic character. He clearly loves
Danny, and will do anything to protect him, but he takes it too far and becomes
obsessive and controlling without even realizing it. When things go too far,
Humphrey doesn’t show remorse-- much to Danny’s horror. But all Humphrey wants
is to keep his friend safe. He genuinely thinks he’s doing the right thing and
can’t comprehend why Danny gets upset with him and eventually cuts him out of
his life. And because Humphrey’s character is sympathetic, and we know how he
feels and thinks, I honestly felt bad for him. It’s a compassion I can’t
conjure for either the original Herbert West or the film version, both of whom,
while not necessarily evil, are definitely on the lower end of the morality
scale. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Overall Water’s queer retelling/sequel to Herbert West:
Reanimator is an excellently written, morally gray horror that’s sure to please
Lovecraft fans.</p></div><div><br /></div>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-46860968623631601052023-04-02T18:01:00.000-07:002023-04-02T18:01:14.102-07:00 Linghun by Ai Jiang<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3dSN24gRo06l2grcR8dnzUq7D2oKKNWQnYqdao6kXnOX0vQEjER_chsZw0E18u3bTYhirQlHntWZq2Txum7ycP9BhLuvGyy-fDATzSBhMxYatKl3ulp6wN2EhkHmHh09c_auhr30-fqU1P1DWlFBYAeL34ndLEKY_x8TMn8Z4Iccm_sWtcMzah-uE/s555/Linghun.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Linghun by Ai Jiang. Highly Recommended. Read if you like ghosts, explorations of grief." border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3dSN24gRo06l2grcR8dnzUq7D2oKKNWQnYqdao6kXnOX0vQEjER_chsZw0E18u3bTYhirQlHntWZq2Txum7ycP9BhLuvGyy-fDATzSBhMxYatKl3ulp6wN2EhkHmHh09c_auhr30-fqU1P1DWlFBYAeL34ndLEKY_x8TMn8Z4Iccm_sWtcMzah-uE/s16000/Linghun.png" /></a></div><p>Formats: Print, digital</p><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Publisher: <a href="https://darkmattermagazine.shop/products/linghun">Dark Matter Ink</a></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Genre: Ghosts/Haunting, Gothic</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Audience: Y/A</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Diversity: Chinese-Canadian main characters, non-binary side character</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Takes Place in: Canada</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Content Warnings: <span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Child Abuse, Child Death, Death, </span><span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Illness,</span><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"> Racism, </span><span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Sexism,Verbal/Emotional Abuse</span> (Highlight to view)</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><i>WELCOME HOME.<br /><br />Follow Wenqi, Liam, and Mrs. in this modern gothic ghost story by Chinese-Canadian writer and immigrant, Ai Jiang. LINGHUN is set in the mysterious town of HOME, a place where the dead live again as spirits, conjured by the grief-sick population that refuses to let go.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><i>I received this product for free in return for providing an honest and unbiased review. I received no other compensation. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>In most horror, haunted houses are something to be avoided
at all costs. Characters who find themselves in a haunted home will do anything
to escape. But in HOME, an exclusive community in Canada that’s trapped in the
past, people will do anything, even kill, to purchase a haunted house. Instead
of being feared or encouraged to move on, the ghosts of dead loved ones that
haunt the houses in HOME are welcomed into the family. Living in HOME (which
stands for Homecoming of Missing Entities) means never having to say goodbye to
someone who dies, and never moving on. The novella is divided up between the
perspectives of three characters, Wenqi, whose story is told in the first
person, Liam in the third person, and Linghun in the second.</div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Wenqi has always lived under her older brother’s shadow,
even more so since he died. She is neglected by her parents, especially her
mother, who can’t move path the tragic death of their golden child. Unfortunately,
like many countries, sexism and a preference for sons is still an issue in
China. PhD student <a href="https://sociology.ubc.ca/profile/xueqing-zhang/">Xueqing
Zhang</a>, who studies gender inequality, wrote in an article for the <a href="https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3129705/gender-bias-can-be-stumbling-block-even-chinas-beloved-only-child">South
China Morning Post</a><span class="MsoHyperlink">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a style="mso-comment-date: 20230402T1137; mso-comment-done: yes; mso-comment-reference: HA_1;"><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"In China,
a son is seen as insurance for continuing the family line, and the preference
has persisted through the years, even as urbanization and economic development
has brought many social changes to the nation. For the girls who are born,
gender bias continues to overshadow their lives as they grow up." </i></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As a daughter, Wenqi is valued less by her parents than her
brother was and she has to live every day knowing they wish she had died
instead of him. Her life is uprooted when her parents are able to purchase a
house in HOME in the hopes of summoning the spirit of their dead son. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Linghun is an elderly woman who lives across the street from
Wenqi’s family in HOME, and is the only resident whose house isn’t haunted. A
mail order bride from a poor farming family in China, she is sold to a Canadian
man who wants an exotic “<a href="https://everydayfeminism.com/2016/01/submissive-china-dolls/">china doll</a>”
instead of a wife. And because Linghun’s family is unable to support her, she
has no choice but to become her late husband’s ideal woman, someone, quiet,
beautiful, and obedient. In their <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-Ancient-Origins-of-Chinese-Traditional-Female-%3A-Chen-Bo/d06b71c9ab6fcfc662290bf216bb9f29a1a6955b">paper</a>
titled <i>The Ancient Origins of Chinese Traditional Female Gender Role : A
Historical Review from Pre-Qin Dynasty to Han Dynasty</i> authors Cheng Chen
and Qin Bo state “for most women, even their names were not necessary. They
were called someone’s daughter when unmarried, and called someone’s wife when
married.” This clearly demonstrated by Linghun who is known only as “Mrs.” to
her neighbors, and named Linghun by her husband who dislikes her real name. Throughout
the story, she is known only by her aliases and her true name is never revealed
until the very end when she finally becomes her own person, rather than a wife
or daughter. Linghun is Mandarin for soul, or spirit, appropriate as the old
woman becomes little more than a ghost herself, haunting her house instead of
her dead husband.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Just as Linghun and Wenqi are both examples of how women and
girls can be undervalued in Chinese culture, Liam and Wenqi demonstrate what
it’s like to be a victim of neglect. Liam is what’s known as a lingerer, a
person who has chosen (or in this case his parents have chosen) to live on the
streets of HOME waiting desperately for a house to become available. Desperate
to see the baby girl that was never born, Liam’s parents gave up everything to
live as lingerers. They sit on the lawns of other people’s homes all day simply
waiting. They eat gray slop from a truck and sleep on the ground. His parents
push Liam to befriend Wenqi so they can get her house and otherwise ignore him.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In HOME, everyone is so trapped in the past that even the
school seems to be 40 years out of date. Distractions, like computers,
cellphones, and TVs are limited so residents can focus on the dead. Their lives
have completely halted over someone who’s no longer there. Life cannot be
sacred in a place where death is meaningless. The residents have more in common
with the shades that wander aimlessly in their homes than the living. And most
disturbingly of all, this is considered a highly coveted position to be in. People
will willingly become homeless just waiting for the chance at a house. It’s
like the worst parts of grief are being encouraged instead of processed in a
healthy way. Like everyone, I’ve lost loved ones whom I desperately wish I
could see again. But not enough to give up my entire life, nor would I want
anyone I care about to do that for me. The hardest part to process for me was seeing
the parents in the story neglect their living children for their dead ones. It
was both infuriating and heartbreaking. Wenqi and Liam are treated as a means
to get their dead siblings back and nothing more. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Linghun</i> is a brilliant exploration of neglect,
sexism, and the complexities of grief. Heartbreaking and disturbing, this
novella is not your typical horror story, but HOME, to me, is more terrifying
that any ghost. It’s not their reverence for the dead or their desire to see
their loved ones again that disturbs me, in fact both those things are normal
and highly relatable, but residents of HOME’s inability to move on.</p><div style="mso-element: comment-list;"><div style="mso-element: comment;"><div class="msocomtxt" id="_com_1" language="JavaScript">
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</div><br /></div>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-61133724642739428152023-03-13T05:30:00.013-07:002023-03-13T05:30:00.185-07:00We Are Here to Hurt Each Other by Paula D. Ashe<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQH1bhF9Wkfkla6BX6TpNkcA0VXKe82GoojBBPcvHQ-548aMQA55lRk8lfhi3IzMcIgDACZc525K0t3RF2_hS6_kKFq6AJA0uN3rHrTFxx7hWFY6oeW5VusH-amTEJUHVhjK3wRH_RY82wZLKj8ig_fBHIQJxzPZUWOWMJ3t68sa0EkYrVzKR4KDzl/s555/We%20are%20Here%20to%20Hurt%20Each%20Other.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="We Are Here to Hurt Each Other by Paula D. Ashe. Recommended. Read if you like Extreme horror, David Cronenberg" border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQH1bhF9Wkfkla6BX6TpNkcA0VXKe82GoojBBPcvHQ-548aMQA55lRk8lfhi3IzMcIgDACZc525K0t3RF2_hS6_kKFq6AJA0uN3rHrTFxx7hWFY6oeW5VusH-amTEJUHVhjK3wRH_RY82wZLKj8ig_fBHIQJxzPZUWOWMJ3t68sa0EkYrVzKR4KDzl/s16000/We%20are%20Here%20to%20Hurt%20Each%20Other.png" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Formats: Print, digital<div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Publisher: <a href="https://nictitatingbooks.wixsite.com/official">Nictitating Books</a></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Genre: Body Horror, Killer/Slasher, Occult, Psychological Horror</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Audience: Adult/Mature</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Diversity: Queer, Black author and characters</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Takes Place in: Ohio</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Content Warnings: <span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Child Abuse, Child Death, Child Endangerment, Death, Drug Use/Abuse, Illness, Incest, Kidnapping, Necrophilia, Mental Illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape/Sexual Assault, Self-Harm, Slut-Shaming, Torture, Violence </span>(Highlight to view)</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><i>With these twelve stories Paula D. Ashe takes you into a dark and bloody world where nothing is sacred and no one is safe. A landscape of urban decay and human degradation, this collection finds the psychic pressure points of us all, and giddily squeezes. Try to run, try to hide, but there is no escape: we are here to hurt each other.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><i>I received this product for free in return for providing an honest and unbiased review. I received no other compensation. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.</i></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><p class="MsoNormal">If you’ve ever thought “Gee, I’m feeling too mentally and
emotionally healthy. I should read something so disturbing and intense my
therapist will finally be able to pay off their student loans from all the
sessions I’m going to need,” then look no further then Paula D. Ashe’s <i>We
Are Here to Hurt Each Other</i>. This horror is <b>extreme</b>. Ashe explores
such taboo topics as incest, child abuse, child murders, self-harm, and religious
extremism without flinching, yet it never feels like she’s making light of the
subject matter. It’s extreme horror that never feels exploitative. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Interestingly, Ashe’s stories are very light on the gore
(with a few exceptions). I’ve always found extreme horror that relies too much
on blood and guts to be boring (blame my ultraviolent horror phase in college
for making me jaded), so it was one of the things I particularly liked about
the book. There are also very few examples of the supernatural in this
anthology, and no supernatural antagonists. All the villains are very much
human. Ashe’s work focuses on psychological horror, the terrifying in the
mundane, and the terrible things the average human is capable of. What if you
found out your own child was a monster? And not the furry or fanged kind, but
the regular old terrible human kind? What if, to cope with abuse, you became
the abuser without even realizing? What if you would do absolutely anything to
keep the one you love? Ashe takes these simple, awful questions and gives us
the terrifying answer, sometimes in a variety of ways. <i>Bereft </i>and <i>Because
you Watched</i>, both deal with adult children dealing with their histories of
extreme abuse and culpable siblings, but are two very different stories.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The stories are extremely well written, and I was impressed
how each character had such a distinct voice. No two stories sound the same,
but they all share Ashe’s poetic talent. <i>We are Here to Hurt Each Other</i>
is a gripping and deeply unsettling anthology; Ashe’s skill shines through in
each story, though I found <i>Exile in Extremis</i>, <i>The Mother of All
Monsters</i>, and <i>Because you Watched</i> to be my personal favorites. The
first is an epistolary story about a drug so powerful it is said to bring back
the dead and with references to the classic horror anthology <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8492"><i>The King in Yellow</i></a> by Robert
W. Chambers. The second is about the relationship between a mother and her son
while a series of child murders take place. And the last is about the strained
relationship between siblings who have witnessed the abuse of their youngest
sister at the hands of their cruel parents. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>We Are Here to Hurt Each Other</i> is not an easy read, but
it is an excellent one. Despite their depravity the stories are still
hauntingly beautiful. You’ll find this anthology sitting with you long after
you put it down.</p></div></div>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-64509490140238021222023-03-02T18:00:00.005-08:002023-03-09T17:03:58.959-08:00Crescentville Haunting by M.N. Bennet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2i9XQAl7ukoFnM-V_q7YQNt6M2fzmVCMg4rwtIcvAMIUSVfUE41BsfCH8x8llhwxlVp9R7k6WoMad0k49bdjGGTqnS86zT7MRdvAJtgxL7yyMJr1B5icQiq0idH1l7ky6fhosQaIpZlLzmQz4F2X4G4XEkv64gO5yBFZS6E_gBH0ogOS8Qi8LMuyd/s555/Crescentville%20Haunting.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Crescentville Haunting by M.N. Bennet. Recommended.Read if you like Y/A Paranormal romance, monsters, urban fantasy" border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2i9XQAl7ukoFnM-V_q7YQNt6M2fzmVCMg4rwtIcvAMIUSVfUE41BsfCH8x8llhwxlVp9R7k6WoMad0k49bdjGGTqnS86zT7MRdvAJtgxL7yyMJr1B5icQiq0idH1l7ky6fhosQaIpZlLzmQz4F2X4G4XEkv64gO5yBFZS6E_gBH0ogOS8Qi8LMuyd/s16000/Crescentville%20Haunting.png" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Formats: Digital</p><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Publisher: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Crescentville-Haunting-MN-Bennet-ebook/dp/B0BLHMRPNV">Self published</a></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Genre: Ghosts/Haunting, Monster, Occult, Romance, Vampire, Werewolf, Zombie</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Audience: Y/A</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Diversity: Bisexual main character, non-binary minor character, Black major-character</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Content Warnings: Child Death, Child Endangerment, Death, Forced Captivity, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Medical Torture/Abuse, Mental Illness, Oppression, Police Harassment, Torture, Verbal/Emotional Abuse, Violence (Highlight to view)</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><i>Determined to pass junior year, Logan won’t let Henry distract him—much. Logan’s focusing on all things human, which means his swoony vampire ex-boyfriend will have to file his own fangs for a change. When he goes to the school bonfire and runs into Henry, wandering into the woods seems like a great escape. Until he’s bitten by a wicked Crone with some twisted magical munchies.<br /><br />Logan is certain his ex-free human future is done when he’s dragged off to a scientific institution for study. There, he’s presented with an opportunity to keep his life, family, and future. All he has to do is stick to human ideology, since all things paranormal are illegal. But complications arise when the Crone begins to haunt him and Logan realizes that if he wants to get his life back, he has to navigate his lingering feelings for Henry.<br /><br />With the Crone set on devouring him and the institution ready to obliterate him for any missteps, Logan must decide between pursuing the human future his family wants—one that he thought he wanted too—or the chance to embrace Henry, even if the world isn’t ready.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><i>I received this product for free in return for providing an honest and unbiased review. I received no other compensation. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.</i></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Logan just wants a safe, normal, drama-free junior year, and
that means avoiding his vampire ex, Henry, at all costs. Which is easier said than
done. Logan may be shy and awkward, but Henry is his complete opposite:
confident, outgoing, and suave. When his best friend Kiera (a phantom) drags
him to a bonfire party that’s supposed to help Logan relax, he discovers that
trouble has a way of following him. Not only is Henry there, but Logan is
attacked (for the second time since he first started dating Henry) by a
powerful creature, this time a monstrous witch known as the “Crone.” After
sustaining a bite from the Crone, Henry’s life changes forever.</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Henry and Kiera are known as Vices, a group of monsters
including phantoms, witches, vampires, trolls, sirens, and werewolves that are
forced to live in the shadows due to public fear and draconian laws. The Crone
is a sin, a powerful Vice that feeds on other Vices and can turn humans into
undead monstrosities called Hauntings (think zombies and ghouls) with a single
bite. After Henry’s attack he’s whisked away by SPU agents (the special police
force in charge of catching and neutralizing Sins) to a secure facility
designed to treat Hauntings, but to everyone’s surprise he doesn’t transform
into a Haunting. It turns out Henry is a rare form of Vice, known as a
Viceling, more human than Vice. The lore of Crescentville Haunting can get
confusing in places, and there’s a lot of backstory. So much so that I actually
checked to see if there was a prequel I had missed. But it’s no worse that any
other fantasy novel with rich world building. If you can remember the rules of
Quidditch, you can remember the magical classification system Bennet has
created. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The characters are relatable and their voices sound
authentic. The romance is steamy without being explicit and felt age
appropriate for younger teens. It should be noted that while the book contains
a paranormal romance, it’s not the central theme of the story. Instead, we
focus on Logan’s struggles with his new identity and trying to fit into a
human-centric world-- an analogy for trying to fit into a heteronormative
society when you’re LGBTQIA+. In <i>Monsters in the closet: Homosexuality and
the Horror Film</i> Harry M. Benshoff writes “monster is to ‘normality’ as
homosexual is to heterosexual.” LGBTQIA+ scholars have <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zPCM14-SCQ&ab_channel=JamesSomerton">long
equated queerness with fictional monsters</a> and stories like <i>Crescentville
Haunting</i> reclaim the “monstrous queer.” In Bennett’s story, the “<a href="https://glreview.org/article/vampires-are-us/">homosexual vampire</a><span class="MsoHyperlink">”</span> is the hero rather than the villain, with the
humans representing an oppressive heteronormative society and the facility
attempting to “cure” Logan of his monstrousness a metaphor for <a href="https://www.aacap.org/aacap/Policy_Statements/2018/Conversion_Therapy.aspx">conversion
therapy</a>. In addition to romance, the book also has plenty of horror,
violence, and suspense, all courtesy of the Crone who continues to haunt Logan
after the initial attack. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Overall, this was a fun read with a good world building, a cute
relationship, and teens who actually sounded and acted like teens.</p></div>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-51368570014616692052023-02-20T15:50:00.007-08:002023-02-20T16:47:21.247-08:00The Wicked and the Willing by Lianyu Tan<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilv2w_Xf-nZABvEAQgaJmo2-oGNa79yjo05hFwMBT1Y2maG40Kdd9syqo5sxtqJP7eCoiZgVfrLma_UQSAK9_zBrF6xkeVCghrIbXESuLfPGvZn5GMirvigsZZtv05zDxF1402Hx18d4HvXU8D7h-dWM3G8UIlyPaisFopMu2_dxXHC1iD0Ug7ROn1/s555/The%20Wicked%20and%20the%20Willing.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Wicked and the Willing by Lianyu Tan. Highly Recommended. Read if you like The 1920s, sapphic vampire romance." border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilv2w_Xf-nZABvEAQgaJmo2-oGNa79yjo05hFwMBT1Y2maG40Kdd9syqo5sxtqJP7eCoiZgVfrLma_UQSAK9_zBrF6xkeVCghrIbXESuLfPGvZn5GMirvigsZZtv05zDxF1402Hx18d4HvXU8D7h-dWM3G8UIlyPaisFopMu2_dxXHC1iD0Ug7ROn1/s16000/The%20Wicked%20and%20the%20Willing.png" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Formats: Print, digital, audio</div><p>Publisher: <a href="https://lianyutan.com/book/the-wicked-and-the-willing/">Shattered Scepter Press</a></p><p>Genre: Historic Horror, Vampire</p><p>Audience: Adult/Mature</p><p>Diversity: Lesbian, Malay, Chinese</p><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Takes Place in: Singapore (The Straights Settlement)</div><p>Content Warnings: <span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Cannibalism, Child Abuse, Child Endangerment, Death, Drug Use/Abuse, Forced Captivity, Gaslighting, Gore, Kidnapping, Medical Torture/Abuse, Oppression, Pedophilia, Physical Abuse, Racism, Rape/Sexual Assault, Self-Harm, Sexism, Slut-Shaming, Suicide, Torture, Verbal/Emotional Abuse, Victim Blaming, Violence</span> (Highlight to view)</p><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><i><b>Love demands sacrifice. Her blood. Her body. Even her life.</b><br /><br />Singapore, 1927.<br /><br /><b>Verity Edevane needs blood.</b><br /><br />And not just anyone's blood. She craves the sweet, salty rush from a young woman's veins, the heady swirl of desire mixed with fealty—such a rarity in this foreign colony. It’s a lot to ask. But doesn't she deserve the best?<br /><br /><b>Gean Choo needs money.</b><br /><br />Mrs. Edevane makes her an offer Gean Choo can't refuse. But who is her strange, alluring new mistress? What is she? And what will Gean Choo sacrifice to earn her love?<br /><br /><b>Po Lam needs absolution.</b><br /><br />After decades of faithfully serving Mrs. Edevane, Po Lam can no longer excuse a life of bondage and murder. She needs a fresh start. A clean conscience. More than anything, she needs to save Gean Choo from a love that will destroy them all.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><i>I received this product for free in return for providing an honest and unbiased review. I received no other compensation. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.</i></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>The Wicked and the Willing</i> is a dark, supernatural
romance set in Singapore in the late 1920s while it was still the Straits
Settlements and under British control. The story revolves around three women: Gean
Choo, Verity, and Po Lam. Gean Choo, is a young Chinese woman with no family who
takes a job working for a wealthy White woman. She quickly falls in love with
her employer, a beautiful, but dangerous vampire named Verity Edevane. Po Lam
is Verity’s head servant, a strong and formal woman who also develops a soft
spot for Gean Choo. Although, while Po Lam uses she/her pronouns, she dresses
as a man and is gender non-conforming. It’s unclear if she’s very butch or if
her gender is fluid. But without enough evidence to the contrary, I’m going to
assume she identifies as a butch woman for the purpose of this review. Each
chapter is told from a different woman’s point of view and follows the
turbulent romance between Gean Choo and Verity. Po Lam struggles with whether
to interfere and warn Gean Choo that she’s playing with fire, or to remain an
obedient servant and stay out of it. The story touches on the power dynamics of
race, age, wealth, and gender. We see this in the relationships between Verity
and her servants, Verity and the Vampire leader Kalon, and the women with society.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Verity may give Gean Choo permission to use her given name,
but theirs is still an imbalanced relationship. As her wealthy mistress and as
a White woman, Verity holds all the power over her servants, making it
difficult(if not impossible) for Gean Choo to turn down any of her requests,
even when she’s uncomfortable. As an impoverished, unmarried orphan, options
are for employment are limited and Gean Choo is desperate to protect her cushy
position in the vampire’s household. So, while on the surface it may appear as
though the two women are both willingly engaging in sadomasochism (and in the
hands of a less talented writer this would certainly be the case), it’s clear
that there is an issue of consent. Does Gean Choo let her mistress push her
past her comfort limits because that’s what she wants as a submissive, or
because she’s afraid of losing her job? Tan skillfully presents their bond as
unhealthy, but alluring enough for a girl with rose-tinted glasses to miss the
red flags without romanticizing it. Verity is a monster, but she hides it
behind charm and extravagant displays of affection, a common trait of abusers
during the “calm” or “honeymoon” stage of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_of_abuse">abuse cycle</a>. Contrast
this with more problematic romance books like <i>Twilight</i>, <a href="https://domesticatedmonsters.wordpress.com/2013/03/27/10-signs-of-an-abusive-relationship/">where
an abusive relationship is passed off as romantic</a>. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Gean Choo’s race also plays a role in their power imbalance.
Verity clearly sees her as an <a href="https://www.vox.com/22338807/asian-fetish-racism-atlanta-shooting">“exotic”
sexual fantasy</a> she needs to rescue, instead of a real person. She treats
her like a “China doll,” dressing her up and styling her hair, and can’t even
be bothered to pronounce her name correctly.Iinstead, she calls her “Pearl”
(the second charter in Gean Choo’s name is <span style="font-family: "MS Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Gothic";">珠</span> which is Hokkien for <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%8F%A0">Pearl</a>). There are
similarities to the relationship in <i>Miss Saigon, Madama Butterfly </i>(on
which <i>Miss Saigon</i> is based), <i>The World of Suzie Wong</i>, and other
orientalist works of fiction, where a young, innocent (but also
hypersexualized) Asian woman is taken advantage of by a White foreigner. Tan
reclaims the trope by making Gean Choo a complex character who’s stronger than
she thinks and uses this as another aspect of their relationship’s dysfunction.
She also shows how harmful it is by having Verity literally prey on Asian women
(mostly sex workers) who she views as disposable, a view shared by the British
who prey on the countries they colonize. Despite all Verity’s power as a
vampire and a rich White woman, she is still a second-class citizen in the eyes
of society because of her gender and is forced to submit to the will of the
sadistic vampire leader, Kalon.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Overall, I greatly enjoyed Tan’s violent, sexy, historical “romance.”
There was plenty of gratuitous sex and violence, non-White lesbians, and
commentary about colonization and abusive relationships. What I found
particularly unique was Tan giving the reader two different options for the
ending, one happy and one tragic depending on which romance the reader chooses for
Gean Choo to embrace. Overall, the book is beautifully written. Tan has a very
impressive and extensive vocabulary which she used to weave the narrative,
which she manages to do without ever being sesquipedalian or descending into purple prose. I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes
period horror or vampire romances where the vampire’s monstrosity is never
downplayed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<div style="mso-element: comment-list;"><!--[if !supportAnnotations]-->
</div><br /><p></p>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-65128650619990153672023-02-01T12:02:00.004-08:002023-02-20T15:59:55.722-08:00The Final Women by Pardeep Aujla<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibAZQAd-NiecP2iUXO1Ul-YWnuP4fpeH1qwKUs0W4S3Vf01CM9M4x4jA9mHXswQp7G7bxIuGePBt0FPhoexMvvf790veoKp9yvYecMAgNtYS1ZM5NhijmOqJ_ztbr5edf-gr8RL0F0BhHG1T1dYQR1a9X9Vp0HgxzG-iWMgeG_XPt7s28IQBwngGnu/s555/The%20Final%20Women.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Final Women by Pardeep Aujla. Highly Reccomended. Read if you like final girl support group, older heroines." border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibAZQAd-NiecP2iUXO1Ul-YWnuP4fpeH1qwKUs0W4S3Vf01CM9M4x4jA9mHXswQp7G7bxIuGePBt0FPhoexMvvf790veoKp9yvYecMAgNtYS1ZM5NhijmOqJ_ztbr5edf-gr8RL0F0BhHG1T1dYQR1a9X9Vp0HgxzG-iWMgeG_XPt7s28IQBwngGnu/s16000/The%20Final%20Women.png" /></a></div><p>Formats: Digital</p><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Publisher: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Final-Women-Pardeep-Aujla-ebook/dp/B09Y9J8SWN">Self-Published</a></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Genre: Demon, Killer/Slasher, Occult</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Audience: Adult/Mature</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Diversity: Black main character, Latina main character, Vietnamese main character, lesbian main character</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Content Warnings: Alcohol Abuse, Amputation, Bullying, Death, Drug Use/Abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental Illness, Racism, Self-Harm, Sexism, Suicide, Verbal/Emotional Abuse, Violence (Highlight to view)</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><i>The mass murdering Phantom of Haven Cove is dead. For the one who killed him, however, life has never been the same.<br /><br />How do you return to normality after facing such a monster? How do you live when consumed by guilt, anger, fear, and denial? How do you connect with others when no one understands what you’ve been through?<br /><br />But there are others... Final girls of their own Haven Cove massacres. And now, thirty years later, they must all face a new question...<br /><br />What do you do when the killer returns?</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div><div><br /></div><i>I received this product for free in return for providing an honest and unbiased review. I received no other compensation. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.</i><br /><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><p class="MsoNormal">What happens when final girls grow up? It depends how they
deal with the trauma of what happened to them the night they faced off with the
masked killer, Silas Crowe. If you’re Nell James, you grow up to become a lonely
and agoraphobic author who tries to turn the worst thing that ever happened to
her-- watching her friends get murdered one by one--into financial gain. If
you’re Josie Jedford, you numb your fear with drugs. Or you could become a
paranoid survivalist like Ana Gómez who transforms her badly burned body into a
living weapon. Even Cassie Phong, who seems to have the perfect life what with
her wealthy husband and two children, can’t escape the PTSD she developed the
night she faced off with Silas Crowe. Each woman has done her best to put the
past behind them, believing Crowe to be dead once and for all. That is until
Camp Haven Cove reopens and a new group of teenagers goes missing. Nell
realizes that Silas Crowe never died, and never will unless she, and the other
three former final girls find a way to deal with him once and for all. Now well
into their forties the four final woman team up to put a stop to the killings
once and for all. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Slasher heroines are almost exclusively young women: teens
and twenty somethings with bare breasts and flat stomachs (they’re always
conventionally attractive) enjoying the prime of their lives through sex, drugs
and drinking. Any woman above the age of thirty is either a mother or a side
character, and if she has a few gray hairs she’s relegated to the role of a
frightful hag. But as nostalgia for horror of the 80’s and 90’s breathes new
life into horror franchises, Hollywood is doing something new. Instead of
rebooting and recasting their heroines, they’re allowing them to grow up from
Final Girls into Final Women. Sidney Prescott (Scream), Laurie Strode
(Halloween), and Sally Hardesty (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) all recently
reprised their roles in their respective franchises as badass heroines over the
age of forty. And as someone who will soon be saying goodbye to my thirties,
it’s refreshing to see older women get their time in the slasher spotlight, and
that’s one of the things I liked best about <i>The Final Women</i>. Nell, Josie, Ana, and Cassie are all
approaching fifty, but they all get to be the heroes of the story, and I found
them much more relatable then horny, drunk teens in the woods. They’re also not
written for the male gaze, which is refreshing. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Another thing I liked about the book was Aujla’s realistic
depiction of PTSD. None of the women escaped Silas unscathed, they each bear
their own physical and mental scars, as one would expect from anyone going up
against a slasher. Nell displays avoidance of people and places that remind her
of her traumatic event and might trigger a flashback. Cassie and Josie both
develop substance abuse problems, alcohol and drugs respectively, a <a href="https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/cooccurring/tx_sud_va.asp">common
comorbidity</a> for people with PTSD. Ana is prone to angry outbursts and aggressive
behavior and is hypervigilant. All the women struggle with nightmares and
flashbacks. It’s refreshing to see a slasher actually deal with mental health
and the aftermath of a traumatic event (something we’re starting to see in more
recent film sequels). I genuinely cared about all the main characters,
something that rarely happens in horror fiction, and I was scared to see any of
them get hurt or killed. Aujla just writes them so well! It’s sweet to see
these women from different walks of life bond and draw strength from each
other. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>The Final Women</i> was fun in a way the best 80’s
slashers are. Gory, over the top, and wickedly funny. I absolutely devoured it
as I found both the story and the characters enthralling. It draws on classic
horror tropes while still being wholly unique. If you’re a fan of slashers you’ll
definitely want to check this one out. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><br /><br />Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-13668665012781553892023-01-23T14:51:00.005-08:002023-03-09T17:11:30.055-08:00Hoodoo by Ronald Smith<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVV4-kCY0tXLtjqiAsorjtWwnZsIkS--HBWjJ1ezHS-5B_rMN1khq6BeURKRwis509vxjyazpK5PXQ_m7Vy_32Ccbw_hkGeAkdVaVUUpR5hkOuYjzpdDb8jPaKgGkfFl_BlNX8y-xXGBUPsEfWbK749iz4mWN8uQ9Kc0PaaNgYZ2K5efWfNvFnS9N_/s555/Hoo%20Doo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Hoodoo by Ronald L. Smith, Recommended. Read if you like Southern Gothics, Folk Magic, Family." border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVV4-kCY0tXLtjqiAsorjtWwnZsIkS--HBWjJ1ezHS-5B_rMN1khq6BeURKRwis509vxjyazpK5PXQ_m7Vy_32Ccbw_hkGeAkdVaVUUpR5hkOuYjzpdDb8jPaKgGkfFl_BlNX8y-xXGBUPsEfWbK749iz4mWN8uQ9Kc0PaaNgYZ2K5efWfNvFnS9N_/s16000/Hoo%20Doo.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Formats: Print, audio, digital</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher: <a href="http://www.hmhco.com/shop/books/Hoodoo/9780544445253">Clarion Books</a></span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: Historic Horror, Demon, Occult, Myth and Folklore</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Audience: Children</span></b><br /><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Diversity: BIPOC (Black, African American, Caribbean American)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Takes Place in: Alabama, USA</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Content Warnings: <span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "times new roman";">Animal Death, </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Bullying, Child Endangerment, Death, Illness, Racism, Physical Abuse</span> (highlight to view)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Blurb:</span></div>
<table border="2"><tbody>
<tr><td bgcolor="white"><span id="freeText5666925577656807415"><em>Twelve-year-old Hoodoo Hatcher was born into a family with a rich tradition of practicing folk magic: hoodoo, as most people call it. But even though his name is Hoodoo, he can't seem to cast a simple spell. </em></span><br />
<em><br /></em>
<em>Then a mysterious man called the Stranger comes to town, and Hoodoo starts dreaming of the dead rising from their graves. Even worse, he soon learns the Stranger is looking for a boy. Not just any boy. A boy named Hoodoo. The entire town is at risk from the Stranger’s black magic, and only Hoodoo can defeat him. He’ll just need to learn how to conjure first. </em><br />
<em><br /></em>
<em>Set amid the swamps, red soil, and sweltering heat of small town Alabama in the 1930s, Hoodoo is infused with a big dose of creepiness leavened with gentle humor.</em> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><p class="MsoNormal">I really wanted to love this book. I really, really did. The
cover art is dark and beautiful, the premise sounded right up my alley,
the story is inspired by African-American folklore and oral traditions, the
villain is genuinely creepy, the representation of Hoodoo feels authentic
rather than sensationalized, and it's a historical novel with a Black main
character that isn't about oppression and racism *gasp*. I was so
hyped up for Hoodoo and ready to fall in love. And I will say,
the ideas behind the story are great, I like the characters and I like the
concept. The execution? Not so much.<br />
<br />
Now Hoodoo isn't a bad book by any stretch, and I think part of
the issue may have been that this is a story intended for kids, and I
probably would've loved it a lot more if I were a child. The other problem
was that I had incredibly high expectations going in, which would be hard to
live up to, and that's on me. It's also important to note that my lukewarm
feelings toward the story also seem to be in the minority: other reviews I've
read have all been glowing endorsements, so I'm probably just being a
grumpy, nit-picking potato. I still recommend checking it out, especially
for young readers who love spooky stuff, it just wasn't as amazing as I
was hoping. I had a lot of issues with Hoodoo that prevented me from
enjoying the book as fully as I desired to.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For one thing, the pacing is all over the
place. The villain doesn't get enough of a buildup before his big reveal,
and the ending feels rushed while other scenes dragged on, especially in
the beginning. Unnecessary details got more focus than I felt they deserved.
It's a serious bummer when the final showdown between the villain and the
hero is only a page or two long and he's defeated with so much ease. Instead
of driving forward, the plot just kind of wandered around
aimlessly until it got distracted by something shiny.
Characters and ideas were introduced then abandoned, appearing for one or two
scenes before vanishing into the plot hole from which they came, never to be
heard from again. It's like Smith had written this long, epic story,
but had to cut the book down to fit in a 200-page kids book, and he just
randomly chose what to remove in last minute panic.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
It's annoying that otherwise interesting characters are reduced to one-scene
wonders, but it's even more annoying that their sole function is to drop
solutions in Hoodoo 's lap any time he encounters an obstacle. This greatly
minimizes the sense of danger, because every problem seems to get solved
(whether for better or worse) almost immediately. Too bad the Fellowship of the
Ring didn't have this kid, it'd probably cut their travel time in half,
Sean Bean might still be alive, and Sauron would've been taken out with one
punch. I get that Deus Ex Machina is par for the course with these kinds of
stories, but at least pretend the hero might not make it by building the
suspense a little, or making them really work for a
solution. It's hard to feel like there's anything at
stake when a random talking crow or another seemingly random character swoops
in to save the day without Hoodoo having to do much on his end. I guess that's
why he keeps stubbornly refusing his family's help like a
jerk, because his magic causes everything to just work out with minimal effort.
At least, that's what I assume it does since it's never really explained how Hoodoo's powers work other than some really vague hints.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Hoodoo can also be a pretty vexing narrator. He has a habit of defining random
words and then ending his sentence with "If you didn't know". I know
this is probably the most random, arbitrary nitpick, but while it was only
mildly irritating the first half-dozen times, by the third chapter I
could barely suppress my urge to scream and punch something every time Hoo
Doo felt like he had to explain what Molasses or an Outhouse was, then end
the sentence with "if you didn't know". I KNOW WHAT AN OUTHOUSE
IS GET ON WITH THE STORY BEFORE I THROW YOU IN ONE. I get that the book is
for kids, and they may not know what <a href="https://www.beststopinscott.com/what-is-cracklin-a-cajun-tradition/">cracklin'</a> is,
but I'm pretty sure most children who are capable of reading a chapter book are
also able to perform a basic Google search or use a dictionary. And that's
assuming they can't just figure out a word from context. I didn't know
what "Squirrel Nut Zippers" were before reading this (ironically
the one thing Hoodoo didn't feel like explaining) but I was still able to
discern that he was talking about a sweet and not the <a href="https://www.snzippers.com/">swing band</a> based on the context. And then
I Googled it and learned that Squirrel Nut Zippers are a vanilla flavored
caramel <a style="mso-comment-date: 20220930T2351; mso-comment-done: yes; mso-comment-reference: HA_1;">candy mixed with</a><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><!--[if !supportAnnotations]--><a class="msocomanchor" href="file:///C:/Users/morga/OneDrive/Desktop/Reviews/4.%20Ready%20to%20Publish/HooDoo.docx#_msocom_1" id="_anchor_1" language="JavaScript" name="_msoanchor_1">[HA1]</a><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>
peanuts. So now I know that random bit of trivia and that Hoodoo likes gross
candy. Maybe it was an attempt by Smith to make his character sounds more
"natural" when he's talking to the audience, but I felt like the
narrative came to a screeching halt every time Hoodoo whipped out his annoying
catchphrase. Maybe (probably) I'm just really, easily annoyed but all the
"If you didn't know”s were like nails on a chalkboard and distracted me
from trying to enjoy the story.<br />
<br />
And while I'm dumping on Hoodoo, here's something else that made my hackles
rise; while talking about his best friend, Bunny, he says "That's what I
liked about her. <b>She wasn't like the other girls</b> at the
schoolhouse. She did everything a boy did and some things even better."
Saying a girl "isn't like other girls" isn't an empowering
compliment, you just insulted her entire gender and basically told her
"wow, you don't suck like all those other icky girls" in addition to
implying that women who are more like men are somehow better. Seriously,
don't try and compliment a woman by putting other women down, or tell her
"you're not like other women, you're more like a man". Being
masculine or feminine shouldn't be a compliment or an insult, and people aren't
better or worse by being one or the other. Bunny is a pretty cool character and
all, but I could have done without Hoodoo's sexist comments (which are never
called out in the story itself).<br />
<br />
Despite all the pacing issues, and the protagonist's
exasperating habit of defining every piece of Soul Food he
comes across (I KNOW what grits are, you don't have to stop the story and
tell me!!!!) there was still plenty to enjoy. Namely, that we get a piece of
historic fiction with a Black protagonist that isn't about racism or
segregation. *gasp* Look, narratives about how poorly Black people have
been treated (and are still treated) in this country are
both important and necessary, and something every child should learn
about. The ugliness of slavery, segregation, Jim Crow laws, and the
history of racism that still exists in this country shouldn't be glossed over,
hidden, or worse, perpetuating the myth of the smiling slave and the benevolent
slave owner (looking at you <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jan/29/smiling-slaves-the-real-censorship-in-childrens-books">A
Birthday Cake for George Washington</a>, you were published in 2016, you should
know better), and I commend schools that teach kids about these
issues. But, it's still problematic when all the books
about Black people focus only on segregation, slavery, and sports. Or, as
librarian and author Scott Woods puts it, <a href="https://scottwoodsmakeslists.wordpress.com/2016/01/30/28-black-picture-books-that-arent-about-boycotts-buses-or-basketball/">boycotts,
buses, and basketball</a>. That's not all there is to Black culture and Black
Americans!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Where are the stories where Black kids just have a fun
adventure for the sake of a fun adventure? Where's the escapist fiction
and epic tales with the Black hero? Where are the biographies of
black <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Maynard_Daly">scientists</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Edward_Alcorn_Jr.">inventors</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Ormes">artists</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madam_C._J._Walker">entrepreneurs</a>? I
tried to think of all the books with Black protagonists I was
assigned in grade school, way back in the 90s (by my white teachers, in my
mostly white school, where there were literally so few BIPOC that we all knew
each other), and all I could remember reading was <i>Roll of Thunder, Hear
My Cry</i> in fourth grade. At first, I thought I just had a faulty
memory, since I'm old and forget everything. I asked two of my siblings if
they could recall any African American literature from our school days. My
sister said "No, but I read <i>Beloved</i> in High School",
and my brother was pretty sure the teacher read the class "some
picture book about Jackie Robinson". So yeah, segregation, slavery and
sports. Apparently making us read one depressing story by a Black
author during Black History Month was just enough to alleviate my
grade school's White guilt, and then they could all pat themselves on the back
for being so woke.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
Kids these days (Wow, I sound old) at least have the <a href="https://diversebooks.org/">We Need Diverse Books</a> campaign, and
I'm glad for that. I would've killed to read a ghost story or a fairy tale
with a Black protagonist when I was a child. And that's what made me so happy
about Hoodoo. It's probably one of the few works of historical
fiction (technically fantasy) I can think of that takes place in the Jim
Crow south that isn't entirely focused on oppression of the book's
characters. Hoodoo isn't a victim, he's the story’s hero, and he gets to
fight the big, bad monster and save his loved ones. It's a fun, spooky,
escapist story with a character children can admire for his intelligence
and bravery rather than athletic ability, and the reader gets to learn about
Southern Black culture of the time period. There's still racism lurking in the
background, this is 1930's Alabama after all, as is evident when Hoodoo and Bunny have to go to the carnival on the "colored folk's" day,
or when Hoodoo's aunt has to go clean for rich, White
people, it's just not the focus of the story. Smith acknowledges
that segregation, lynching, and other horrors were a part of life for Hoodoo and his family, and then he moves on with the plot because they're so much
more than just their oppression. Then we get a story of Hoodoo fighting the
forces of evil with magic, learning about his past, and being awesome. This is
the book every kid who was stuck with a white-washed reading list wished
they could've read growing up. Despite all my complaining, I truly hope we
haven't heard the last of Hoodoo Hatcher.<o:p></o:p></p>
<div style="mso-element: comment-list;"><!--[if !supportAnnotations]-->
<div style="mso-element: comment;"><div class="msocomtxt" id="_com_1" language="JavaScript"><p class="MsoCommentText"><br /></p></div></div></div>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-622498362898583982022-10-16T14:36:00.005-07:002023-02-20T16:20:40.339-08:00Brutal Hearts by Cassie Daley <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZxnYV0_4h3SpNKMb8R3jTTfcPUOt8d8OSad6U4AT1GRgDSj_ZouP-foL2izJVr1_0IHfL4jxtNfac4XPrVddC11iWU1QchX4uTXtoMMjb0xS8kK2nt3VB7sSguMqRjOhg1iqoumajOnHsKsDn43T8qT9iKsW2LD8S30qB6buu6oqtfMXFUQfW5V9j/s555/Brutal%20Hearts.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZxnYV0_4h3SpNKMb8R3jTTfcPUOt8d8OSad6U4AT1GRgDSj_ZouP-foL2izJVr1_0IHfL4jxtNfac4XPrVddC11iWU1QchX4uTXtoMMjb0xS8kK2nt3VB7sSguMqRjOhg1iqoumajOnHsKsDn43T8qT9iKsW2LD8S30qB6buu6oqtfMXFUQfW5V9j/s16000/Brutal%20Hearts.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Formats: Print</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Publisher: <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/1229401370/brutal-hearts-paperback-90s-horror">Self Published</a></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Genre: Killer/Slasher, Monster</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Audience: Y/A</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Diversity: Autistic character, author is queer and autistic</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Content Warnings: <span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Cannibalism, Child Death, Death, Gore, Violence</span> (Highlight to view)</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><i><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">It's 1997 and Leah just can't seem to catch a break.</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">A year has passed since her fiancé went missing while hiking alone on a mountain, and she can't shake the unanswered questions and nightmares Simon left behind.</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">On the anniversary of his disappearance, Leah and her new girlfriend Josie return to the trail where Simon disappeared with two of their best friends. Armed with incense, tarot cards, crystals, and snacks, the girls have everything they need to complete the Ritual of Closure to help Leah finally say goodbye to Simon, once and for all.</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">But the trails are hiding something sinister, and it's been waiting. As night falls around them, the girls find themselves in a deadly game against something vicious and wild that's made a home for itself on the mountain.</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">It's time to find out what really happened to Simon.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><p class="MsoNormal">The year is 1996: <i>Scream</i> has just been released in theaters, the Macarena is the hottest new dance craze, and seventeen-year-old Leah is deeply in love with her high school sweetheart, Simon. The two have plans to marry after graduation, but that dream is destroyed when Simon goes missing after a hike in the nearby mountains. Volunteers scour the woods for any trace of the missing boy, but it’s like Simon has vanished without a trace.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">A year later, Leah is still struggling with her grief and guilt. Her girlfriend, Josie, is doing her best to help Leah through the nightmares and sobbing fits, but nothing seems to help. In a last-ditch effort to give the poor girl some closure, Josie suggests they hike Simon and Leah’s favorite trail to say a final goodbye. Along with Leah’s two best friends, sisters Charlotte and May, the girls set off to perform a Wiccan inspired goodbye ceremony for him. But their beautiful day quickly goes south when something in the woods starts stalking them.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Brutal Hearts</i> is short but gripping story, switching back and froth between the girls being stalked through the woods and the mystery surrounding Simon’s disappearance. I ended up finishing it in one sitting, something I never do even with novellas (ADHD makes it hard for me to focus on a book for too long unless I’m really engaged). I loved all the little nods to 90s aesthetics, from the clothing, to May’s <a href="https://www.90stoys.com/electronic-toys/what-is-a-tamagotchi/">Tamagotchi</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span>and the girls’ obsession with all things Wicca. (From Sabrina Spellman to Nancy Downs witches were huge in the 90s, inspiring a renewed interest in Wicca from teenage girls.) Although, it is hard to accept that the 90s were thirty years ago and are now officially nostalgic. Wasn’t it literally just 2000? I think Y2K caused my brain to crash and stop perceiving the passage of time.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih9XqeuqxcIl6VLWN1z2DmcE2mNzMxvgXF4FsGB4CsV1yd1iQ2hUrZQdsZOPT7axRNCF44500S3v68H9GYEJnc7_9A6sD-j8HYwTk0xuhqNclOFZXBuK7mHi2R3jUbMhbwyqLCqrOgrPxax64bN8kJOngyjjXw3Tvdh4HAuKxCYBMgHmHrFVbXjmbz/s2048/90s%20witch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih9XqeuqxcIl6VLWN1z2DmcE2mNzMxvgXF4FsGB4CsV1yd1iQ2hUrZQdsZOPT7axRNCF44500S3v68H9GYEJnc7_9A6sD-j8HYwTk0xuhqNclOFZXBuK7mHi2R3jUbMhbwyqLCqrOgrPxax64bN8kJOngyjjXw3Tvdh4HAuKxCYBMgHmHrFVbXjmbz/w640-h640/90s%20witch.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal">I especially liked the addition of the playlists for each character in the back of the book. Leah’s music playlist revolves around being hurt by love. Josie likes grunge. May’s playlist is full of bubblegum pop while the more traditionally pretty and popular Charlotte prefers mainstream music. A fun flashback to 90s teen horror like <i>Fear Street</i> and the works of Christopher Pike (appropriate since Daley also runs the <a href="https://thepikecast.com/">PikeCast</a>) with a healthy dose of urban legends and campfire stories. A perfect read for a hot summer night. </p></div>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-40125136667203708582022-10-01T13:22:00.004-07:002022-10-01T13:22:57.006-07:00House of Pungsu by K.P. Kulski<p><br /></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYXKAGdZSPKsqKej3ZEhboPWOMoXlZF4Jxwnkb_xkEUbBtpIrJyPg5qzRsaSJFm0hEI1fTePwfx3kOlf9GyXEOaBFgY6OGHC-_hQMwtCPvqLH7Y5tF1FdwjWHcplWASOU5L8bqG65K8o6wO8ejyAGvqjNS8n5-7UeGSIxhj-mXeO7CygiVvcmxcD9l/s555/House%20of%20Pungsu.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="House of Pungsu by K.P. Kulski. Highly Recommended. Read if you like the Bloody Chamber, Korean folklore." border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYXKAGdZSPKsqKej3ZEhboPWOMoXlZF4Jxwnkb_xkEUbBtpIrJyPg5qzRsaSJFm0hEI1fTePwfx3kOlf9GyXEOaBFgY6OGHC-_hQMwtCPvqLH7Y5tF1FdwjWHcplWASOU5L8bqG65K8o6wO8ejyAGvqjNS8n5-7UeGSIxhj-mXeO7CygiVvcmxcD9l/s16000/House%20of%20Pungsu.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Formats: Print, digital</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Publisher: Bizarro Pulp Press</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Genre: Dark Fantasy, Ghosts/Haunting, Gothic</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Audience: Adult/Mature</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Diversity: Korean-American author, Korean characters</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Takes Place in: Korea</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Content Warnings: Child Death, Death, Sexism, Verbal/Emotional Abuse (Highlight to view)</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><i><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;">“As sharp as broken pottery and as delicate as a peony petal, House of Pungsu is the story my spirit hungered for. K.P. Kulski shifts rice paper doors to reveal the darkest truth.”—Lee Murray, USA Today bestselling author and four-time Bram Stoker Award® winner.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;">No one knows what’s beyond the walls of the Joseon-era palace that never seems to decay, a sprawling complex where daughter, mother, and grandmother are the only inhabitants. Why is her bed-bound grandmother locked in her room each night, and what exactly is behind the locked doors of the palace pavilions and halls? When daughter unexpectedly begins to menstruate, she is tormented with dreams that drive her to find answers.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;">Following the Korean folk story of “A Tiger’s Whisker,” HOUSE OF PUNGSU is a feminist meditation on women’s inner identity and the struggle to rediscover it.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div><i>I received this product for free in return for providing an honest and unbiased review. I received no other compensation. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.</i><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><i style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">House of </span></i><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Pungsu</i></span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">dark, feminist fairy tale about a young woman finding her own identity and </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">power. It is the story of three women--daughter, mother, and </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">grandmother--living in an uninhabited palace in Joseon where time stands still </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">and nothing changes. None of the women have names and are only defined by their </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">roles in relation to each other. Grandmother, mother, and daughter reflect the </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">triple goddess archetype (the maiden, the mother, and the crone) or the three stages of growth. Ironic since they are trapped in a world where time doesn’t move, and the maiden is unable to become the mother. That is, until Daughter experiences her first period and time slowly begins to affect the palace again. Rain falls once more and the fruit on the trees begins to rot.</span></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">
<p style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Daughter does not remember her real name or her past, only that
she is someone's daughter. She is full of barely contained rebellious spirit
and hope for the future, but she is bound by duty to be obedient and quiet, a
"tame tiger." <i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">"Their lives an animal within me that growls... a wild thing that wants to bite its tether yet I do nothing to free it. Instead, I stand very still, say little, and wait for the fury to subside.” </span></i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Mother is bitter and pessimistic, though still hopes her daughter can one day leave the palace while still believing it impossible. It’s implied she was once the wife of an emperor and not allowed her own hopes, dreams, and aspirations beyond pleasing her husband and bearing his children. Daughter believes that grandmother is confined to her bed, just as she and mother are confined to the
palace, but mother has to lock grandmother in at night, and someone locks the other side of the door. At night, growling and commotion can be heard from the bedroom. It seems grandmother is not as helpless or trapped as she seems, a wild tiger locked up for the safety of mother and daughter. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinGAg2adNXmRePcB3eXjINwK6dTCWvzuCRkb05CBqlGuIZTB79K9zInmK3LYOUSEVS3iaadjJIPRnWJrxbXOdvr2ufEVK5bXY-lRYuQNNr9ml3BYgjpwAyTHgXNU7HfvuVNKwPDfz3UfAcgGwNyTPcmHfNvoKDRpFsjr16gb3pgH-H93SVRLHDys3p/s620/The_Tiger's_Whisker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A drawing of a woman in a hanbok serving a bowl of meat and rice to a tiger" border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinGAg2adNXmRePcB3eXjINwK6dTCWvzuCRkb05CBqlGuIZTB79K9zInmK3LYOUSEVS3iaadjJIPRnWJrxbXOdvr2ufEVK5bXY-lRYuQNNr9ml3BYgjpwAyTHgXNU7HfvuVNKwPDfz3UfAcgGwNyTPcmHfNvoKDRpFsjr16gb3pgH-H93SVRLHDys3p/s16000/The_Tiger's_Whisker.jpg" /></a></span></div><p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The tiger motif is repeated throughout the book, as tigers are
strongly associated with Korea and found repeatedly throughout Korean folklore.
Kulski draws inspiration from one such folktale, <a href="https://storiestogrowby.org/story/the-tigers-whisker-korean-folktales/"><span style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Tiger’s Whisker</span></a><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">, a folktale about living with someone who suffers from PTSD. It emphasizes the diligence and patience you must have when working with someone with complex trauma. While on its surface the story seems to be a heartwarming tale of helping a loved one, Kulski notes that the burden is put on the wife to help her husband and have patience when he’s angry and abusive. The wife exists only to help her husband and is expected to suffer with him. In many versions of the tale, she is not even given her own name. And so Kulski creates her own ending, instead focusing on the wife overcoming the fear of the tiger and the husband that once held her back. She asks the question, “What would happen if you released the full ferocity of the tiger rather than tame it?”</span></span></p></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-64853869178053811642022-08-24T17:20:00.004-07:002022-08-28T11:27:50.514-07:00Anybody Home? by Michael J. Seidlinger<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINjVRIllauSJ_1QUio-xJioDt0DN9c99aa3GSprO1bj6PZGnIA0GuObfbALLWqgqOTXFokJkP7sKVUSyUvis-sW2qfkO1dHMucyWtPt2XsPkcFAh2kVE0CJ7FbjTn99tfVOL5wMxDmbp3an4jPK3MOTf_y7a9-IcCYxI7PQ_kNLYYfZxm2Mb8a1J4/s555/anybody%20home.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Anybody Home? by Michael J. Seidlinger" border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINjVRIllauSJ_1QUio-xJioDt0DN9c99aa3GSprO1bj6PZGnIA0GuObfbALLWqgqOTXFokJkP7sKVUSyUvis-sW2qfkO1dHMucyWtPt2XsPkcFAh2kVE0CJ7FbjTn99tfVOL5wMxDmbp3an4jPK3MOTf_y7a9-IcCYxI7PQ_kNLYYfZxm2Mb8a1J4/s16000/anybody%20home.png" /></a></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Formats: Digital, print</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Publisher: <a href="https://www.clashbooks.com/new-products-2/michael-j-seidliger-anybody-home-preorder">Clash Books</a></div><p>Genre: Killer/Slasher</p><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Audience: Adult/Mature</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Diversity: Filipino American Author</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Content Warnings: <span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Amputation, Animal Death, Child Death, Child Endangerment, Death, Forced Captivity, Gore, Rape/Sexual Assault, Torture </span>(Highlight to view)</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">A seasoned invader with multiple home invasions under their belt recounts their dark victories while offering tutelage to a new generation of ambitious home invaders eager to make their mark on the annals of criminal history. From initial canvasing to home entry, the reader is complicit in every strangling and shattered window. The fear is inescapable.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">Examining the sanctuary of the home and one of the horror genre's most frightening tropes, </span><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;">Anybody Home?</span><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> points the camera lens onto the quiet suburbs and its unsuspecting abodes, any of which are potential stages for an invader ambitious enough to make it the scene of the next big crime sensation. Who knows? Their performance just might make it to the silver screen.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><i>I received this product for free in return for providing an honest and unbiased review. I received no other compensation. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.</i></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><i>Anybody Home</i> is a rare example of second person
narration, where the nameless narrator (who may or may not be a figment of your
imagination) addresses you, the reader, throughout the story. The premise is
similarly unique. The story has a villain protagonist, and you’re the villain.
The narrator, a more experienced serial killer, is guiding you through your
first home invasion and subsequent torture and slaying of the family, which
they refer to as a “performance.” The main goal of the performance is to
entertain the audience who will later relive the horrors of that night through
a yet unmade film.</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">No one in the story is named, instead they’re faceless
characters given identifiers like “Victim #1” and “Invader #2.” Victim #1 is a
father and husband, and he’s terrible at both. Victim #2 is the depressed wife
and mother. Victim #3 is the naïve daughter who is too young to recognize the
misery and apathy that plagues her family. Victim #4 is the angsty teenage son,
who hates his parents and everything else. You view the victims as little more
than players in your twisted game of psychological and physical torture. They
each have their stereotypical role to play, and the cameras are recording
everything. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The idea of a more experienced killer teaching a newbie the
ins-and-outs of a home invasion/murder spree is interesting, and the book is
well written although I wish less time was spent on the set up and more was
spent on the suspenseful parts, namely the stalking and torture of the family.
The action doesn’t even start until about halfway in. Instead, we have to
follow a step-by-step guide for stalking potential victims for the first half
of the book. Maybe it’s just because I struggle with lists of instructions in
general but I found this part very dull. But there’s no denying the story is
well written and once you get past the less exciting first half the plot starts
to pick up and things get good. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
incredibly suspenseful watching as the family is stalked and terrorized,
knowing the invaders have planned for every eventuality but still hoping they
victims might survive. Or maybe you side with the invaders. You are one of
them, after all. In which case the tension comes from wondering whether you can
pull off such a grand scheme, especially when one of your invaders is getting
cold feet. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is not a book for the faint of heart. The torture
scenes will leave you squirming and wondering what horror will be inflicted
next upon this poor unlikely family. It’s incredibly uncomfortable to read, and
more uncomfortable still when you realize you’re meant to be the one gleefully
carrying out the torture, animal killing, child murder, rape, and all other
manner of other unpleasant things. Admittedly, I almost gave up on it when I
was a third of the way through because nothing stimulating was happening
(because I have a short attention span). But I’m glad I stuck it out because
that ending was like a punch in the gut.</p></div>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-63316760507189611502022-03-06T19:34:00.006-08:002023-02-20T16:00:52.555-08:00Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQpiovgOzRAm20D4ke2_-Q9sp3GyHDRatj9DpQmpoAyEC5oFlm0W2pRHffy239WQfKK_8yr4RRONyYdzafAU9_s2wqBZdgxP6f3Sjc3_-sOgzOTK4CHIblbNL2nxa7B91skDHfrwiODSWbWV8RzjDkCQnW3UZ-d4R2nY2OBzeSVjIOWFo_YQ9RTrB3/s555/Manhunt%20book%20rating.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQpiovgOzRAm20D4ke2_-Q9sp3GyHDRatj9DpQmpoAyEC5oFlm0W2pRHffy239WQfKK_8yr4RRONyYdzafAU9_s2wqBZdgxP6f3Sjc3_-sOgzOTK4CHIblbNL2nxa7B91skDHfrwiODSWbWV8RzjDkCQnW3UZ-d4R2nY2OBzeSVjIOWFo_YQ9RTrB3/s16000/Manhunt%20book%20rating.png" title="Manhunt by Gretchen Felker Martin. Read if you like a trans-inclusive gender apocalypses." /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Formats: Print, audio, digital</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Publisher: <a href="https://tornightfire.com/catalog/manhunt-gretchen-felker-martin/">Tor Nightfire</a></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Genre: Apocalypse/Disaster, Monster</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Audience: Adult/Mature</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Diversity: Trans author and characters, queer characters, Native character</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Takes Place in: North Eastern US</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Content Warnings: <span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Animal Death, Body Shaming, Cannibalism, Child Death, Childbirth, Death, Drug Use/Abuse, Eating Disorder, Forced Captivity, Gore, Illness, Kidnapping, Medical Procedures, Oppression, Rape/Sexual Assault, Self-Harm, Slurs, Torture, Transphobia, Verbal/Emotional Abuse, Violence</span> (Highlight to view)</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><i><b style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Y: The Last Man meets The Girl With All the Gifts in Gretchen Felker-Martin's Manhunt, an explosive post-apocalyptic novel that follows trans women and men on a grotesque journey of survival.</b><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Beth and Fran spend their days traveling the ravaged New England coast, hunting feral men and harvesting their organs in a gruesome effort to ensure they'll never face the same fate.</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Robbie lives by his gun and one hard-learned motto: other people aren't safe.</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">After a brutal accident entwines the three of them, this found family of survivors must navigate murderous TERFs, a sociopathic billionaire bunker brat, and awkward relationship dynamics―all while outrunning packs of feral men, and their own demons.</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Manhunt</span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"> is a timely, powerful response to every gender-based apocalypse story that failed to consider the existence of transgender and non-binary people, from a powerful new voice in horror.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><i>I received this product for free in return for providing an honest and unbiased review. I received no other compensation. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.</i></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">
<p class="MsoNormal">Have you ever wondered what happens to trans people in <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Gendercide">sex-based
apocalypses</a> like those in <i>Y: The Last Man</i> or <i>Ōoku: The Inner
Chambers</i>? Gretchen Felker-Martin sets out to answer exactly that in her post-apocalypse
splatterpunk novel <i>Manhunt</i>. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The T-rex virus transforms anyone with high levels of
testosterone—mostly cis-men—into cannibalistic, sex-crazed monsters. Emboldened
by the end of the world, a group of TERFs (trans-exclusionary radical
“feminists”) have formed their own militia where they hunt and kill any trans
women they find. It may seem like a group of militant TERFs is an exaggeration,
but it feels like less of a stretch when you consider there’s already a high
rate of violence against trans people. In 2021 alone, <a href="https://www.hrc.org/resources/fatal-violence-against-the-transgender-and-gender-non-conforming-community-in-2021">at
least 56 trans and gender non-conforming people were murdered in the US</a>. Transphobic
hate crimes <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-54486122">have quadrupled
over the last five years</a> in the UK. These fake feminists are also more
fascist adjacent than they’d like to admit. As Judith Butler accurately pointed
out, TERFs <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210907130940/https:/amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/sep/07/judith-butler-interview-gender">“have
allied with rightwing attacks on gender” and “The anti-gender ideology is one
of the dominant strains of fascism in our times. So, the TERFs will not be part
of the contemporary struggle against fascism.”</a> TERFs <a href="https://www.them.us/story/lily-cade-violence-terfs-bbc">Lily Cade</a> and
<a href="https://www.advocate.com/print-issue/current-issue/2014/07/16/woman-enough">Bev
Jo Von Dohre</a> have even called for the death of trans women. The fact that
trans women in Manhunt can transform into monsters if they don’t have access to
anti-androgen medication gives the TERFs exactly the excuse they’ve been
waiting for to go from hateful rhetoric to actually destroying that which they
hate most (never mind that cis-women with PCOS or congenital adrenal hyperplasia
can also transform into feral beasts). <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not only do trans women have to avoid getting killed by the
monstrous men, but also running into the militant TERFs who have seized control
of most of the northeast. Fran and Beth are two such transwomen trying to
survive in the new world, catching feral men and harvesting their testicles for
their friend Indy to extract estradiol from. After running afoul of a militant
group of TERFs and almost being killed by men, Fran and Beth meet a
sharp-shooting trans man named Robbie, who they take on their journey with
them. The trio return to Indy’s house with their testicle trophies where they
learn she’s been offered a job by a spoiled rich girl who controls a luxurious
bunker. But the promises of comfort the bunker offers may hide a deadly truth. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While I personally enjoyed this book, it won’t be for
everyone. It is splatterpunk, after all. That means there’s lots of brutal
violence (including a cis woman having her uterus cut out of her), gross
content (testicle eating), and graphic sex. Everyone in <i>Manhunt</i> is super
horny, sometimes at wildly inappropriate times, so Beth, Fran, Indy, and Robbie
do a lot of fucking. The sex is hot, sometimes gross, and other times both hot
and gross, much like real sex. It was nice to have sex scenes centered around
trans pleasure rather than the cis-male gaze. Of course, the graphic
description of genitalia might be triggering for some people who experience
gender dysphoria, so be aware of that. Speaking of hot sex, a captain in the TERF
army named Ramona is sleeping with a non-binary prostitute named Feather. One
reviewer claimed this is unrealistic but I have to disagree. A lot of <a href="https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/10/trans-chasers-exploitive-admirers-who-harass-trans-people.html">chasers</a>
are happy to sleep with trans people but won’t do anything to defend their
rights or even stand up for them. Too many people with trans partners see their
relationship as a<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60086567">
shameful secret to be kept</a>, and Ramona is no different. She’s too much of a
coward to do the right thing and just goes along with the TERF army because
it’s what’s easy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Splatterpunk is very hit or miss for me, as many extreme
horror books can cross over into misogynistic violence. <i>Manhunt </i>manages
to avoid this trap, even though most of the book’s violence is against women (as
all the characters, aside from Robbie, are women). Perhaps because it’s other
women committing the violence, but I didn’t get that gross feeling I usually do
when reading splatterpunk authored by cis men. Even the sexual assault scene
didn’t feel gratuitous and was handled well. I also loved how flawed the
protagonists are. Some people mistakenly assume LGBTQIA+ characters need to be
perfect for it to be considered a “good” portrayal. I believe realistic is
preferable to perfect, and I like my queer characters to have character flaws
who sometimes do and say problematic things. Both Beth and Fran feel very
human. Beth is reckless and insecure; Fran has both passing and class privilege
and can sometimes be selfish. Neither of them are bad people, just
realistically flawed. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My only complaint about the book (and granted, it’s minor)
is that there are so many descriptions of Indi’s fat body. The way she’s
described isn’t quite fatphobic, but it did make me feel uncomfortable that
there was so much focus on it. I can understand that Indy is dealing with a lot
of internalized fatphobia and insecurity, so it makes sense that her character
would spend a lot of time focusing on her size and the limitations that come
with it. When the story is told from a third-person point of view, there’s no
reason for Indy’s weight to be described in such detail, especially since no
one else’s body gets that much description or scrutiny. At least she’s never
described as gross or unattractive, and Indi even gets to be sexually
desirable, which is rare for fat characters outside of fetish porn. It was
refreshing to see fat people having passionate sex scenes just like their
skinny counterparts. Like I said, it’s a minor complaint and could absolutely
be my own hypersensitivity. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Reading this book is like having your brain put in a
blender. It's wild, gross, horny, disgusting, tragic, and hilarious all whipped
together into an extreme horror smoothie. In other words, I LOVED it. You have
to be at least somewhat familiar with trans culture to fully appreciate the
story, which I thought was awesome. There's also just something extremely satisfying
about trans women killing fascist TERFs: not something I'd advocate in real
life, but it's fun and cathartic in fiction. Unsurprisingly, this made a bunch
of real-life TERFs <i>very </i>angry. They didn’t like being portrayed as
bigoted assholes just because of their bigoted asshole-ish behavior and tried
to review bomb <i>Manhunt</i>…which should just make you want to read it more. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><br /></div>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-13890769027002492172022-02-28T09:37:00.002-08:002022-08-22T17:42:31.770-07:00Conquer by Edward M. Erdelac<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb8tqqmTDQYU6kxKPB3cCjQG6dACohhNTkVu6Jyk1F10nRENpoGHxaIOPtD8DlhBt-sBPITJiMo5SC69ubpUsQWtGDkUpCmAwkKk7lP7_gIIpfxt3lm56u60ucrPzAAoe9Eu9d5M--zdwdhKU1655MZ_BWwprMTMb3e9ih_623Fzt5GnzAV5r3wToR/s555/Conqueor%20book%20rating.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Conquer by Edward M. Erdelac. Recommended. Read if you like Sugar Hill, Shaft, The Dresden Files" border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb8tqqmTDQYU6kxKPB3cCjQG6dACohhNTkVu6Jyk1F10nRENpoGHxaIOPtD8DlhBt-sBPITJiMo5SC69ubpUsQWtGDkUpCmAwkKk7lP7_gIIpfxt3lm56u60ucrPzAAoe9Eu9d5M--zdwdhKU1655MZ_BWwprMTMb3e9ih_623Fzt5GnzAV5r3wToR/s16000/Conqueor%20book%20rating.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p>Formats: Print, digital, audible</p><p>Publisher: Self Published </p><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Genre: Historic Horror, Monster, Mystery, Myth and Folklore, Occult, Vampire</div><p>Audience: Adult/Mature</p><p>Diversity: Black/African-American, Hispanic, Trans, Gay</p><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Takes Place in: Harlem New York, NY, USA</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Content Warnings: Animal Death, Body Shaming, Child Abuse, Death, Drug Use/Abuse, Forced Captivity, Gore, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Necrophilia, Oppression, Pedophilia, Physical Abuse, Police Harassment, Racism, Rape/Sexual Assault, Sexual Abuse, Slurs, Transphobia (Highlight to view)</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div>Blurb:<table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><i>In 1976 Harlem, JOHN CONQUER, P.I. is the cat you call when your hair stands up...the supernatural brother like no other. From the pages of Occult Detective Quarterly, he's calm, he's cool, and now he's collected in CONQUER.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" />From Hoodoo doctors and Voodoo Queens,<br />The cat they call Conquer’s down on the scene!<br />With a dime on his shin and a pocket of tricks,<br />A gun in his coat and an eye for the chicks.<br />Uptown and Downton, Harlem to Brooklyn,<br />Wherever the brothers find trouble is brewin,’<br />If you’re swept with a broom, or your tracks have been crossed,<br />If your mojo is failin’ and all hope is lost,<br />Call the dude on St. Marks with the shelf fulla books,<br />‘Cause ain’t no haint or spirit, or evil-eye looks,<br />Conjured by devils, JAMF’s, or The Man,<br />Can stop the black magic Big John’s got on hand!</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal"><i>I received this product for free in return for providing an honest and unbiased review. I received no other compensation. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Conquer</i> is the story of a Black mystical detective
named John Conquer (a reference to John the Conqueror) and a homage to 70’s
detective fiction and <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-blaxploitation-superfly-20180608-story.html">Blaxploitation</a>
films. It’s fun, well written, and full of creepiness, including a fetus
monster haunting an abandoned subway station and a man shrunk down and boiled
alive in a lava lamp. I greatly enjoyed the book, but like most Blaxploitation,
it wasn’t without its problems.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s important to point out that Erdelac is a White author
writing a Black story (something not uncommon in Blaxploitation). I usually
prefer to promote “own voices” books, and stories by cishet White men are a rarity
on this blog. After all, folks with privilege do not have the best track
record when it comes to writing marginalized groups. As Irish author Kit de
Waal said, “Don’t dip your pen in someone else’s blood”. Take <a href="https://www.vulture.com/article/american-dirt-book-controversy-explained.html"><i>American
Dirt</i></a> by Jeanine Cummins and <a href="https://time.com/5852902/the-help-history/">The Help</a> by Kathryn
Stockett. They’re both terrible for numerous reasons including, but not limited
to: not doing enough research, using the <a href="https://www.shadowandmovies.com/what-is-the-white-savior-trope-green-book/">White
Savior</a> trope, watering down their narratives to make them palatable for
White audiences, cultural appropriation, speaking over marginalized voices,
etc. That’s not to say White authors shouldn’t write BIPOC characters at all.
Not having any diversity in your story can be equally problematic. It just
needs to be done carefully and respectfully. Very, very carefully. Yes, I know
that can be a fine line to walk, but if an author can research what kind of
crops people were growing in 1429 to make their book more accurate, they can
research American Indians and people of color. Besides, that’s what hiring
sensitivity readers and using resources like <a href="https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/">Writing with Color</a> is for. Of
course, there’s also the problem of White voices being given preferential
treatment by publishers and audiences over BIPOC trying to tell their own
stories. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To his credit, Erdelac has done an impressive amount of
research to make his book feel authentic. John Conquer wears a <a href="https://ritualready.com/blogs/news/mercury-dime-black-american-conjure-tradition">dime
around his ankle</a> for protection and a mojo hand (another name for a mojo
bag) for luck. His name is a reference to High John de Conqueror, a Black folk
hero with magical abilities. <i>Conquer </i>also has one of the most accurate
representations of Vodou I’ve ever seen in fiction. Hollywood “voo doo” is a
pet peeve of mine, so I appreciate Erdelac’s dedication to portraying the
religion and loa/lwa (the powerful spirits Vodou<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>
practitioners worship and serve) accurately. He also doesn’t try to portray an
idealized version of 1970s NYC. There’s racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, and
cops and criminals spewing slurs. And while it’s jarring, it does make the story
feel more authentic. The police are racist and homophobic and there’s tension
between the many communities that make up 1970s New
York. John Conquer’s Uncle Silas was disowned by his family for being gay, and
when John is asked to solve his murder, he has to confront his own homophobia
and transphobia. That doesn’t mean it always works, though. There were
definitely a few times I side-eyed and wondered if a certain line <i>really</i>
needed to be in there. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My favorite part of the book is Eldelac’s excellent world
building. White vampires go up in smoke when exposed to sunlight, while
vampires with more melanin are protected from the sun’s rays. Vampirism also
halts a corpse’s decay, but all that rot catches up to them when they’re
finally killed. Each culture has their own magical practices with distinct
rules, and magic doesn’t cross cultural lines. For example, only Vodou practitioners
can become zombies, and non-Christian vampires are immune to crosses. Conquer
is especially powerful because he’s learned many different traditions and
practices, but the catch is that this opens him to a wider variety of spiritual
attacks. Street gangs utilize black magic to wage wars with each other. His
work is clever, original, and something I could really get into. But…having
White authors tell BIPOC stories still feels problematic to me when White
authors are still so <a href="https://yourtitakate.com/white-authors-write-poc/">heavily
favored by the publishing industry</a>. I’ve reviewed books by White authors
before, but because <i>Conquer</i> is based heavily on Blaxploitation it feels,
well, more exploitative than those I’ve reviewed in the past. I’m still going
to go ahead and recommend Eldelac’s work because<span class="hgkelc">—</span>in
the end<span class="hgkelc">—</span>it is well written and interesting, but I can
also completely understand if some of you want to skip this one.</p><div style="mso-element: comment-list;"><div style="mso-element: comment;"><div class="msocomtxt" id="_com_2" language="JavaScript">
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</div>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-19586464626045922572022-02-13T16:34:00.007-08:002023-02-20T16:01:25.712-08:00Grievers by Adrienne Maree Brown<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiolANs84E-LRKPtyArAi3cDjAZWbEH21oKYNnd5lpoDoUh3jRw9m-4QAYq8OCcLj_7kZpmsGq9d6n9YhlrgPoKzjaKUddXRxmapNi5dSRuEgWlzu7iAHq4yZB44_-borBW3AmTjghiPs18-X3Z2LZaRu2Wzg3fMWYPTbT73dXBPsETUcvxBvLth2x6/s555/Grievers%20book%20rating.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Grievers by Adrienne Maree Brown. Highly Recommended. Read if you like Death Positivity." border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiolANs84E-LRKPtyArAi3cDjAZWbEH21oKYNnd5lpoDoUh3jRw9m-4QAYq8OCcLj_7kZpmsGq9d6n9YhlrgPoKzjaKUddXRxmapNi5dSRuEgWlzu7iAHq4yZB44_-borBW3AmTjghiPs18-X3Z2LZaRu2Wzg3fMWYPTbT73dXBPsETUcvxBvLth2x6/s16000/Grievers%20book%20rating.png" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Formats: Print, digital</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Publisher: <a href="https://www.akpress.org/grievers.html">AK Press</a></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Genre: Apocalypse/Disaster</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Audience: Adult/Mature</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Diversity: Black/African-American, Lesbian</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Takes Place in: Detroit MI, USA</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Content Warnings: <span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Death, Drug Use/Abuse, Illness, Medical Procedures </span>(Highlight to view)</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><i>Dune’s mother is patient zero of a mysterious illness that stops people in their tracks—in mid-sentence, mid-action, mid-life—casting them into a nonresponsive state from which no one recovers. Dune must navigate poverty and the loss of her mother as Detroit’s hospitals, morgues, and graveyards begin to overflow. As the quarantined city slowly empties of life, she investigates what caused the plague, and what might end it, following in the footsteps of her late researcher father, who has a physical model of Detroit’s history and losses set up in their basement. She dusts it off and begins tracking the sick and dying, discovering patterns, finding comrades in curiosity, conspiracies for the fertile ground of the city, and the unexpected magic that emerges when the debt of grief is cleared.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><i>I received this product for free in return for providing an honest and unbiased review. I received no other compensation. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.</i></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><p class="MsoNormal"><i>“Grief was an amalgamation of absence narratives layered
over each other”</i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.orderofthegooddeath.com/death-positive-movement/">Death
positivity</a> is the philosophy that death and grief should be spoken of
openly and that treating the subject as taboo does more harm than good. It
encourages people to learn about end-of-life care, make plans for their own
deaths, be involved in the care of their dead loved ones, and explore their
curiosity and feelings surrounding death. In a way, <i>Grievers</i> is a death-positive
book. The story explores what it’s like to lose the people you love, care for
the dying, prepare for death, and the mourning process. Most horror skims over
the death of its characters, their lives nothing more than cheap fodder for the
reader’s entertainment. But in <i>Grievers</i>, you feel the weight of every
death.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A mysterious illness is sweeping Detroit and killing its
Black population. Dubbed “H8”, it leaves its victims frozen in place with
grief-stricken faces. A social justice activist named Kama is the first to
contract the disease. Unable to afford a hospital, Dune, Kama’s only child,
cares for her mother at home by feeding her, changing her, and keeping her as
comfortable as she can. Dune, distrustful of the system that failed them,
decides to cremate her mother herself when Kama finally passes. Dune’s act of
cremating her own mother (although not something I would recommend as it’s
neither safe <a href="https://funeralcompanion.com/home-cremation/">nor legal</a>)
is described as “sacred work,” a ritual that allows her to be close to her
mother one last time. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Death rituals, whether religious or secular, perform a
necessary function in the grieving process. In his research on grieving
rituals Michael I. Norton, a professor at Harvard Business School, discovered
the following:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>“Despite the variance in the form that rituals take… a
common psychological mechanism underlies their effectiveness: a restoration of
feelings of control that losses impair. Indeed, people who suffer losses often
report feeling out of control and actively try to regain control when they feel
it slipping away; feeling in control, in turn, is associated with increased
well-being, physical health, and coping ability.” </i>[1]<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the story, a group of traditional Chinese medicine
practitioners perform grieving rituals believing that this will protect them
from H8, a disease, they theorize, that targets the lungs where <a href="https://encircleacupuncture.com/the-emotions-and-traditional-chinese-medicine/">grief
is held</a>. Dune performs grief rituals to help overcome the immense sense of
loss she’s experiencing. The first is cremating her mother in her backyard. The
second is “telling” her dead father that her mother has passed. The third, and
most important, is creating a record of everyone who has fallen ill and marking
their locations with pins on her father’s model of Detroit. The last project
gives her something to do, a way of combatting her sense of helplessness as the
world falls apart around her. After slipping into a deep depression and
shutting herself away, collecting data on the infected gives Dune a new sense
of purpose and feeling of control. She organizes her data onto index cards and
files them away, creating order out of chaos. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The way Brown represents grief is both beautiful and
heartbreaking. Dune isolates herself from the world, too depressed to even plan
a memorial service for her mother. She physically carries the weight of her
grief as she gains weight during her depression. Eventually, Dune finds ways to
cope with her grief. In addition to the rituals providing her with a sense of
control, Dune also focuses on survival and caring for her elderly grandmother,
Mama Vivian. She harvests produce from community gardens and cans them for the
winter. She changes, feeds, and sings to her grandmother. She eventually
reaches out to one of her mother’s activist friends for emotional support. It’s
not always easy. Dune blows up at a volunteer food distributor without really
knowing why, other than just needing someone to lash out at. She dips back into
a depression when other people she cares about die. But she keeps surviving,
and slowly things start to improve. Brown describes the feeling of slowly
emerging from a deep depression perfectly: “Dune was beginning to feel aware of
her own aliveness again - not quite a desire to live, just a growing,
surprising awareness that she was not dead.” While this may not sound like much,
it’s still a step forward in Dune’s path to healing and an improvement from the
beginning of the story when “the detritus of grief became Dune’s comfort.” As
someone who suffers from clinical depression themselves, I can say that just
feeling alive again is such a huge step forward. At the same time, her father’s
model, now thick with markers, is starting to sprout little green shoots: new
life that has started to grow in the basement against all odds. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A year defined by a pandemic and protests, 2020 was
especially difficult for Black Americans. Black communities were hit <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/health-equity/race-ethnicity.html">especially hard by Covid-19</a>, and our anger and frustration with a racist system reached
a boiling point with the murder of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/george-floyd-profile-66163bbd94239afa16d706bd6479c613">George
Floyd</a> by a White police officer. <i>Grievers</i> may be fiction, but it
captures the very real feelings of pain and loss the Black community has been
feeling recently. The H8 virus is a metaphor for both Covid and the pain caused
by racism. “Hate” is literally killing Black people by destroying them
emotionally and no one seems to be able to quell the spread of the disease. Like
Covid, everyone knows someone who died from the virus. The city seems to shut
down overnight as the wealthy flee and hospitals are overwhelmed. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Grievers </i>does not follow a standard three arch story
structure. There’s no antagonist to overcome, no climax, or satisfying
resolution. If you’re looking for traditional storytelling, then this book
isn’t for you. If you want a beautiful, heartbreaking, death-positive horror
story that focuses on one woman’s battle with grief and just trying to survive
a pandemic that feels all too familiar, I highly recommend <i>Grievers</i>. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">[1] From the </span><a href="https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/norton%20gino%202014_e44eb177-f8f4-4f0d-a458-625c1268b391.pdf" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><i>Journal
of Experimental Psychology</i></a></p></div>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-407246333331901660.post-40447357722122362442021-12-24T04:48:00.007-08:002022-08-24T17:48:51.751-07:00The Woods are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4goRRfCj9Ayr-vX0zhd-8wr35fpKv1SGaXUcGcmNEjwhx58cajzWXDfKzjxtTQkbNQ5YEUkNYp4yzZ-bH7ABSfuk5LVB0zkQTzs7kJ_x89qWrb5CeTtKnL_oJBALfGszKG_wrrsv096vpzzJcu0i_yTGizi0PzanYg44znRvN06NS9Pd_zGpT-x4G/s555/the%20woods%20are%20always%20watching%20rating.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Woods are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins. Recommended. Read if you like campsite killers, survival horror." border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4goRRfCj9Ayr-vX0zhd-8wr35fpKv1SGaXUcGcmNEjwhx58cajzWXDfKzjxtTQkbNQ5YEUkNYp4yzZ-bH7ABSfuk5LVB0zkQTzs7kJ_x89qWrb5CeTtKnL_oJBALfGszKG_wrrsv096vpzzJcu0i_yTGizi0PzanYg44znRvN06NS9Pd_zGpT-x4G/s16000/the%20woods%20are%20always%20watching%20rating.png" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Formats: Print, audio, digital</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Publisher: <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/312420/the-woods-are-always-watching-by-stephanie-perkins/9780525426028">Dutton Books for Young Readers</a></div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Genre: Killer/Slasher, Thriller</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Audience: Y/A</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Diversity: Indian-American Main character</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><br /></div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Takes Place in: North Carolina, USA</div><br /><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;">Content Warnings: <span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Amputation, Child Endangerment, Death, Forced Captivity, Gore, Kidnapping, Rape/Sexual Assault, Torture, Violence</span> (Highlight to view)</div><div style="border-image: none 100% / 1 / 0 stretch;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Blurb:</span></div><table border="2"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="white"><i style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Bears aren't the only predators in these woods.</i><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><i><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Best friends Neena and Josie spent high school as outsiders, but at least they had each other. Now, with college and a two-thousand-mile separation looming on the horizon, they have one last chance to be together—a three-day hike deep into the woods of the Pisgah National Forest.</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Simmering tensions lead to a detour off the trail and straight into a waking nightmare; and then into something far worse. Something that will test them in horrifying ways.</span></i><em><br /><br /></em></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal">Camping and horror go together like chocolate and toasted
marshmallows. There’s just something about being out in the middle of nowhere
with only the light of a bonfire to really prey on those primal fears. In
Western tradition, the woods have been a symbol of the dark and unknown for as
long as folklore and fairytales have been told: a place where witches, wild
beasts, monsters and faeries dwell. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The threat of becoming lost in the forest and falling victim
to these creatures is central to many dark tales. In the beginning of the <i>Divine
Comedy</i> Dante finds himself wandering in a dark wood, the “selva oscura,”
unable to find his way and set upon by a lion, a leopard, and a she-wolf.
Little Red Riding Hood encounters a wolf when she wanders off the path (though
some interpretations of the fairy tale say the wolf is meant to represent a
sexual predator) and Hansel and Gretel stumble upon a witch after losing their
way in the woods. In <i>Tam Lin</i>, anyone who wanders into the forest runs
the risk of becoming the fae’s blood tithing to hell. The films <i>the Ritual</i>
and<i> the Blair Witch</i> both have a group of friends become lost in the
woods through supernatural means and then assailed by a Jötunn and the titular
witch respectively. But beasts and supernatural beings aren’t the only monsters
in the forest. Ordinary humans can be just as<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> —</span>if not more <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">—</span> deadly than wolves and witches. The
woods are popular killing grounds for murderers like <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2017/11/08/killer-quickly-convicted-for-slaughtering-6-at-east-texas-campsite/">William Mitchell Hudson</a>
(the Texas Campsite Killer) and <a href="https://murderpedia.org/male.M/m/mullin-herbert.htm">Herbert Mullin</a>. <a href="https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/ivan-milat">Ivan Milat</a> was a serial killer
who specifically targeted backpackers while <a href="https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/alexander-pichushkin">Alexander Pichushkin</a> lured dozens
of victims to Bitsevski park before murdering them. It’s safe to say the woods
can be a dark and dangerous place in both fiction and reality, as best friends
Neena and Josie are about to discover in Perkins’ outdoor horror novel <i>The
Woods are Always Watching</i>.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCNnVFxc8YlRYAnAVeReivCUGv6qwFl4-lXDMa3yBt80VecKxYgZLLBk3VhEv2RhUKnk4cAEgZu7qpXrlqTFz0Snki0aLl4ReU1abFeGG1Nn4k0ixopN5x-se7d_34qdN8Lu3BmDiSOc/s2048/Gustave_Dore_Inferno1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1530" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCNnVFxc8YlRYAnAVeReivCUGv6qwFl4-lXDMa3yBt80VecKxYgZLLBk3VhEv2RhUKnk4cAEgZu7qpXrlqTFz0Snki0aLl4ReU1abFeGG1Nn4k0ixopN5x-se7d_34qdN8Lu3BmDiSOc/w478-h640/Gustave_Dore_Inferno1.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Neena Chandrasekhar is a carefree and fun-loving
teenage girl, especially compared to her worrywart best friend, Josie Gordon.
After the death of her father in a car accident, Josie is scared of the world
and often needs Nina to push her to try new things, like camping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neither girl is much of an outdoors woman,
but going on a solo camping trip is practically a rite of passage in Asheville
North Carolina, and with Neena soon leaving for college, the duo decides it’s
the perfect way to celebrate their last few days together. They have GPS,
printouts of the trails, and Josie’s brother’s camping gear, so what could
possibly go wrong? Well, it’s a horror novel, so a lot. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The trip gets off to a rough start with both girls quickly
realizing that they may not be physically prepared for such an arduous journey.
Their exhaustion soon leads to short tempers and building tension as Josie
quickly becomes fed up with Neena’s cavalier attitude towards camping and Neena
gets annoyed with her best –friend's condescending bossiness. Their friendship
is further put to the test as the duo discover how ill-prepared they actually
are for their hike through the woods and each takes out their frustration on
the other. Caught up in their own petty squabbling the pair are dangerously
unaware of something watching and waiting for them in the woods until it’s too
late.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>The Woods are Always Watching</i> is slow to start,
focusing on teenage drama and interpersonal conflict for the first chunk of the
story, which can feel tedious even if it does offer glimpses into the main
characters’ psyches. We don’t meet the actual villains of the story until
almost halfway in (although there are hints to their presence early on). But
once the action actually does get started, I found I couldn’t put the book
down. Perkins is a master of creating atmosphere and suspense and making the
forest feel dark and foreboding, especially to two inexperienced girls. The whole
book feels like a modern-day fairytale with two naïve young women journeying
through the dark woods <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, will you enjoy this particular dark woods story? Well,
it’s essentially a young adult version of <i>Deliverance</i>, and the film is a
good metric of how much you’ll like this book. Does the idea of being isolated
in the woods, and slasher/folk horror terrify you? Then you’ll enjoy Stephanie
Perkins’ camping-gone-wrong novel. Evil hillbillies and threats of rape not
your thing? Then you’re probably better off skipping this one. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Diversity Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04876399242221280640noreply@blogger.com0