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Hits and Misses
Sep. 14th, 2025 04:41 pmMutual Interest by Olivia Wolfgang-Smith is set in the early 1900s and it's about three people who come together to set up a personal care company and develop it over the years. It's also about queer people's struggles in a time when being queer was illegal, and how they maintain the illusion of a traditional household, while still (varyingly successfully) pursuing their own desires. It took me quite a while to get into it, since the first 60 pages is very much a summary of each of their backgrounds, and none of them are likeable at the start of the book. It really picks up once the direct action and, in fact, interaction starts, though, and I particularly enjoyed the second half, though I wasn't wholly satisfied by the ending. I liked the presentation of the various inter-relationships and it was largely very well-observed.
In Limbo is Deb JJ Lee's graphic novel memoir of her adolescence as a Korean-American girl, going to high school and experiencing abuse, dismissal, and various other difficulties both at school and at home. I liked that she isn't afraid to present her own flaws, and that it also wasn't wholly dark and upsetting - there was also room for good friends, joy in art, and both good and bad aspects of her relationships. It felt a bit jarring when some of the darker aspects were suddenly introduced partway through but it was also revealed that they'd been impacting her since before the book started. It was affecting and largely well-told, though, and a complex, layered presentation of the ways in which she felt it was impossible for her to fit in anywhere.
Till the Last Beat of My Heart by Louangie Bou-Montes is about a teenage boy whose mother runs a funeral home. When he accidentally resurrects a recently deceased classmate, things understandably get complicated... This one didn't really work for me, unfortunately. While some aspects of the early plot were surprising in a good way, it was also very annoying how long the explanation of what was going on was delayed (for no good reason, other than maintaining suspense), and I didn't really connect with the protagonist. I don't think it's a bad book, just not for me, and I DNF'd it.
In Limbo is Deb JJ Lee's graphic novel memoir of her adolescence as a Korean-American girl, going to high school and experiencing abuse, dismissal, and various other difficulties both at school and at home. I liked that she isn't afraid to present her own flaws, and that it also wasn't wholly dark and upsetting - there was also room for good friends, joy in art, and both good and bad aspects of her relationships. It felt a bit jarring when some of the darker aspects were suddenly introduced partway through but it was also revealed that they'd been impacting her since before the book started. It was affecting and largely well-told, though, and a complex, layered presentation of the ways in which she felt it was impossible for her to fit in anywhere.
Till the Last Beat of My Heart by Louangie Bou-Montes is about a teenage boy whose mother runs a funeral home. When he accidentally resurrects a recently deceased classmate, things understandably get complicated... This one didn't really work for me, unfortunately. While some aspects of the early plot were surprising in a good way, it was also very annoying how long the explanation of what was going on was delayed (for no good reason, other than maintaining suspense), and I didn't really connect with the protagonist. I don't think it's a bad book, just not for me, and I DNF'd it.
