Frizzy

 Tell me a story... about learning to love yourself

Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega; art by Rose Bousamra

Publication date: October 18, 2022

Date read: November 1, 2022

Marlene loves three things: books, her cool Tía Ruby and hanging out with her best friend Camila. But according to her mother, Paola, the only thing she needs to focus on is school and "growing up." That means straightening her hair every weekend so she could have "presentable", "good hair". But Marlene hates being in the salon and doesn't understand why her curls are not considered pretty by those around her. With a few hiccups, a dash of embarrassment, and the much-needed help of Camila and Tia Ruby—she slowly starts a journey to learn to appreciate and proudly wear her curly hair.

I thought this graphic novel was so cute. Marlene is an amazing character that I think a lot of kids will identify with - not only those with unruly hair, but those with any physical characteristic that they don’t love. And I think that the challenge of trying to find yourself while also trying to fit in to what your family expects of you at a young age will appeal to anyone. 

I really enjoyed the artwork by Rose Bousamra. I feel like hair is one of the hardest physical aspects to draw realistically, and she did a great job of showing the differences between Marlene’s styles. 

I also thought that it was really cool that Tia Ruby basically included a good method for treating Marlene’s type of hair. It fit into the story, but also I could imagine it being really helpful to kids in this situation. (Disclaimer: I am Caucasian and have thick but otherwise easy to manage hair, so I don’t know for a fact that Ruby’s method works, but it sounds legit). 

Overall, this was one of my favorite graphic novels from this year. I think that most middle grade readers will enjoy this one, but I highly recommend it for kids (and adults) with “difficult” hair. The issue is dealt with in such a real but sweet way that will appeal to many young readers. 

Rating: 5/5 stars 

Content warning: death of a parent, bullying 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book 

Black Cake

 Tell me a story...about a mother’s secret past

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

Publication date: February 1, 2022

Date read: September 30, 2022

Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a traditional Caribbean black cake and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares the story of her childhood in the Caribbean, her escape from the island, and a mystery of a long-lost daughter. As their mother’s story unfolds, Byron and Benny try to make sense of what they thought they knew about their family, as well as attempt to repair their once-close relationship. 

I first want to say that I misunderstood the NetGalley/Goodreads plot summary for this book, and I assumed it was going to be Byron and Benny traveling, trying to figure out something from their mother’s past. But it was actually a split timeline story, with Byron and Benny listening, in the present day, as their mother told her story. Not bad, just not what I was expecting.

Byron and Benny weren’t super likable characters, but I liked following their stories as they found things out about their family that they weren’t expecting. Eleanor’s story took a lot of unexpected turns, and while I wasn’t all that invested at first, I soon got sucked in. I really liked Eleanor as a young woman.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable historical fiction story about a woman who has to reinvent herself. It takes a lot of twists and turns that kept it interesting and fun to follow. I didn’t love the present day characters as much, but did like the way they kept the story grounded. This is a very well-written and interesting book that I think anyone who likes historical or contemporary fiction will enjoy. 

Rating: 4/5 stars 

Content warning: death of a family member/loved one, rape, character forced to give up a child, police profiling, racial discrimination 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

Blackwater

 Tell me a story...about a friendship and a curse

Blackwater by Jeannette Arroyo and Ren Graham

Publication date: July 19, 2022

Date read: September 23, 2022

Tony Price is a popular high school track star and occasional delinquent. Eli Hirsch is a quiet teen who often misses school due to his chronic illness… and also sees ghosts. After Tony encounters a monster on a forest hike with his friend, his life - and his relationship with Eli - takes a dramatic change.  Co-illustrated by Jeannette Arroyo and Ren Graham, who alternate chapters with their own style. 

I liked the idea behind this story - werewolf stories are mostly fun, in my opinion, if done well. And the werewolf part of the story was actually done pretty well. I have no complaints about the plotting or the way that plot unfolded. 

The rest of the story was a bit hit or miss. The characters were a bit cliché, although I did for the most part like them. I also felt that we needed much more backstory on Tony and Eli. Eli could have been a fascinating character, but his story especially felt so rushed, with blink-and-you’ll-miss-it references to chronic illness and top surgery, not to mention his history of seeing ghosts. 

I liked Tony, and I thought his story was decently developed, although more backstory on his previous relationship with Eli would have been nice. And while I liked that his father seemed unfazed when Tony came out to him, and it was a nice moment, it also felt so out of character for his dad that it was kind of a weird scene, when it should have just been nice. 

The choice to alternate chapters on the artwork worked fine, although neither artist’s work was really too my taste. But that is completely a matter of style and preference - everyone likes different art styles, and there was nothing wrong with the way this story was drawn. It just wasn’t my favorite. 

Overall, this story was just okay. I enjoyed the werewolf plot, and would read more if they did a sequel to this book. But as a whole, it was lacking depth and felt pretty rushed and unfinished as far as the characters were concerned. I’d recommend it as a quick, fun horror comic, but it wasn’t one of my favorites. 

Rating: 3/5 stars 

Content warning: bullying, death of a parent, ableism

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced sample of this book. 

The Meeting Point

 Tell me a story... about finding what you want 

The Meeting Point by Olivia Lara

Publication date: September 2, 2021

Date read: October 28, 2022

Who are you and why do you have my boyfriend's phone?'

'He left it in my car. You must be the blonde in the red dress? I'm the Lift driver who dropped you two off earlier.'

And with these words, the life of the brunette and t-shirt wearing Maya Maas is turned upside down. Having planned to surprise her boyfriend, she finds herself single and stranded in an unknown city on her birthday. So when the mystery driver rescues Maya with the suggestion that she cheers herself up at a nearby beach town, she jumps at the chance to get things back on track. She wasn't expecting a personalized itinerary or the easy companionship that comes from opening up to a stranger via text, let alone the possibility it might grow into something more..

I first want to state that there are parts of this book that are extremely problematic. There is a thing with romcoms where it is, for some reason, okay to lie and be manipulative in the name of love. (Think Joe Fox in You’ve Got Mail). This behavior is not okay in real life, but we accept it in our romcoms. And I’m not judging the people who enjoy these movies and books - I love You’ve Got Mail. And I really liked this book. But I do feel the need to be upfront about the problematic behavior.

There are a lot of romcom tropes throughout this book. The story would have been just fifty pages long if Maya had just once paused to think instead of jumping to conclusions based on baseless assumptions that she had made about one character or another. Is it annoying? Incredibly - but in a weirdly acceptable way, as the act of jumping to stupid conclusions is the basis for at least fifty percent of romcom films. 

This story moves very fast, with each scene passing fairly quickly to the next. Nothing dragged. There are at least two points in the book that could have led to a dramatic kiss with the music swelling and credits rolling, but one wrong move kept the story going.   

I thought the characters were pretty perfect for this type of story. Annoying decisions aside, Maya was kinda fun, and the male lead was intriguing and sweet, in his way. Despite the problems and questionable choices, I really wanted to see them get together in the end. 

Overall, I did really enjoy this read. It was fast, easy, and made me feel all the feels. It was a romcom through and through, predictable plot points and all. If you’re a fan of romantic comedies and can get past the problematic behaviors in this scenario, then this book is for you. If you’re on the fence about romcoms, skip this one, because I can’t think of a time I’ve read a book more stereotypically romcom than this one. 

Rating: 4/5 stars

Content warning: gaslighting, stalker behavior 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

Hollow

 Tell me a story...about what happens in the town of Sleepy Hollow

Hollow by Shannon Watters and Brandon Boyer-White

Publication date: October 4, 2022

Date read: October 9, 2022

Isabel “Izzy” Crane and her family have just relocated to the town of Sleepy Hollow - a town made famous by, and obsessed with, the legend of the Headless Horseman. But Izzy doesn’t believe in ghosts, and has enough to worry about with trying to navigate a new school and attempt to make friends. Vicky Van Tassel, descended from the Van Tassels of the famous story, is tired of her obligations to the town, and just wants to live a normal high school life. Soon the two girls, along with popular prankster “Croc” Byun, end up getting hunted by the Headless Horseman himself, and uncover a curse set on destroying the Van Tassel line. They only have until Halloween to attempt to break the curse and save Vicky, but without knowing exactly what they’re up against, do they really have a chance?

I’ve been requesting a lot of graphic novels on NetGalley lately, and the results have been hit or miss, but there have been a few that I have absolutely adored. This is one of those times. 

First, the not as great. I liked the artwork but didn’t love it. Everything up close in the frame was gorgeous. The details were there, but still simple enough to not get overwhelming. The color was perfect - dark enough for a creepy story, but it was still easy to tell what was going on and nothing bled together. My only disappointment was that when characters were small or in the background the detail was completely gone. And I know that you’re going to have less detail in the background, but the faces were completely blank and almost looked like dolls. I understand the decision, but it did take me out of the flow a few times. I also thought it was a little distracting at first that Izzy was so androgynous, but only because I thought that it was going to be a plot point (her perhaps being trans), and I kept expecting it to come up. Once it didn’t, it was fine, it just threw me off a little. (To clarify, though, her being trans or not being trans does not matter. I just thought she was a boy from the first few frames by the way she was drawn.)

That out of the way, I loved the characters. All three of our main characters were so well-developed and fun to be around - I would have read 200 more pages of them together. 

I thought it was great how the plot wasn’t dragged out, and instead of our skeptic, Izzy, spending half the book not believing in ghosts, she was relieved of that notion rather quickly. And I wish I could say more without spoiling things here, but I thought the take on the Headless Horsemen story was so much fun. I’ve never seen it done this way and I loved it. I will also add that you don’t need to be versed in the Washington Irving story in order to enjoy this - all important information regarding the Horseman and his story are explained. 

Overall, I absolutely loved this comic. Just a little creepy, but not so much that I think it would be off putting to non-horror fans. And just so much fun. Highly recommended to all readers, middle grade and up. 

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

A Million Quiet Revolutions

 Tell me a story...about transgender men throughout history

A Million Quiet Revolutions by Robin Gow

Publication date: March 22, 2022

Date read: July 4, 2022

For as long as they can remember, Aaron and Oliver have only ever had each other. In a small town with few queer teenagers, let alone young trans men, they’ve shared milestones like coming out, buying the right binders, and falling in love. But just as their relationship has started to blossom, Aaron moves away. To cope, they begin to dig deep into American history, coming across the story of two Revolutionary War soldiers who were rumored to be trans men in love. As they learn more, they delve further into unwritten queer stories and discover what it means to claim a place in history. 

This was a quick read, written in letters as the two main characters decide to pretend to be Revolutionary War soldiers writing to each other, as well as in their own voices as one character moves away. I’ve always liked books written in the epistolary format, so and I thought the addition of the alter egos was a really fun move. 

I loved that the characters dead names were never used in the text. Even when someone referred to that character, the name was blocked out. It wasn’t necessary to the plot and wasn’t acknowledged; it was just done as if it was a perfectly normal way to present things. Perfection. It wasn’t necessary to know the dead names for the plot, so no need to include them. I also thought that it was great that both boys had different perceptions about being trans and it wasn’t seen as weird or wrong; one wanted surgery, one didn’t, for example. 

This is a really simple book - no dramatic plot, just a sweet coming of age story between two trans boys - and I really enjoyed it. I can’t even really explain what specifically it was about this book that I liked (which makes writing a review more difficult).  But it is definitely a story that I would recommend for teens - trans or questioning teens, especially.  

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Content warning: transphobia, misgendering, deathnaming, sexual abuse in the church (mentioned), war (imagined)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

Twice a Quinceanera

 Tell me a story... about love lost and love gained 

Twice a Quinceanera by Yamile Saied Mendez

Publication date: July 26, 2022

Date read: July 27, 2022

After calling off her wedding, Nadia decides to use the opportunity - a venue already paid for, family coming in from abroad - to throw herself a double Quinceanera instead. As the first professional in her family, and someone who has put her own happiness aside her whole life, she decides that celebrating her achievements is the best possible solution. The only hiccup is that while the venue owner is out of town, her brother will be handling things - and he turns out to be Nadia’s college fling that she realizes she might still have feelings for. 

I haven’t read a lot of romcom-style books in the past, but I’m trying to read more, because I do enjoy them and sometimes I just need something light. But I am finding reviewing them a bit difficult, since enjoyment of them tends to fall less on depth and plot and more on character and just how the conclusion makes you feel.

There was a lot I enjoyed about this book. The characters were wonderful. Nadia was a bit prickly, but I loved how strong she was and how the author was able to make her both a strong woman and a likable character. (As opposed to just brash and standoffish. But what I especially loved about her, and the story as a whole, was that - despite being a romcom - romantic love was not Nadia’s first priority. The whole plot of this book was Nadia finding the strength to appreciate and love herself for who she is and to show others how much she has accomplished in her life, despite being unmarried at thirty. Romance, while important to the story, came second to all that.

There are things about this book that could have used a little fine-tuning. The sentence structure was sometimes a little too simple and repetitive. Some of the plot and dialogue was a little too cheesy. And, I have to mention it, because normally I would fault a book for being too shallow and predictable, but it’s a romcom. Predictable kind of comes with the genre. (And that’s not a knock on the genre, it just is what it is.)

Overall, I enjoyed this one. It was a light, fun read and I really liked the characters. Both Nadia and Marcos are pretty cute. It’s predictable and cheesy, but quite a lot of fun. I would recommend this to anyone who is just looking for a fun read with a little romance and a lot about appreciating yourself and not giving in to the pressures of family and society.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Content warning: eating disorder (mentioned), SIDS

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

Lost in the Moment and Found

 Tell me a story...of where the lost things go

Lost in the Moment and Found (Wayward Children #8) by Seanan McGuire

Expected publication date: January 10, 2023

Date read: October 10, 2022

Welcome to The Shop Where the Lost Things Go. If you ever lost a sock, you’ll find it here. A favorite toy? A pair of headphones? A puppy? All here to be claimed, if you come looking. When Antsy runs away from home and opens a Door into the shop, she begins to realize that no matter how many Doors to other worlds might open to her, leaving the Shop for good might not be as simple as it seems. And stepping through those Doors exacts a price. 

Book #8 in the Wayward Children series, although this book can be read as a standalone. 

This is one of my favorite book series, so I am always excited when a new one comes out. Even though this book was more of a standalone and didn’t include characters we already know and love, I still really enjoyed this one. 

All of the books in this series deal with serious issues (including death, belonging, and body dysmorphia), this book felt a little darker than most of the others - which is saying something as one of the books literally takes place in a world of vampires and mad scientists. I love that the author listed the content warnings right at the start of the book and “spoiled” the story to calm any concerns. She writes:

I just want to offer you this reassurance: Antsy runs. Before anything can actually happen, Antsy runs. 

It’s also of note that, while most of these books don’t have cut and dry villains, the few that do mostly have villains that operate very much in shades of grey. (I think only book 7 has a real villain, if I’m remembering correctly). While there are certainly characters in this book that do questionable things, it often leaves the reader wondering how we would react in the same situation. 

It’s hard saying a lot about this book without falling into spoiler territory, for both this book and for the series as a whole. While this book is a standalone, I would recommend at least reading the first book in the series - Every Heart a Doorway - to get a general idea of how Doors to other worlds work and what the other worlds are like. 

I highly recommend this whole series to anyone who likes fantasy. It’s appropriate for teens (it’s YA), but does deal with serious issues, as mentioned before. These books are short, quick reads (most between 150 and 200 pages), but pack a punch. This is a great addition to the series and I look forward to the next one.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Content warning: death of a parent, child witnessing sudden death of a parent, grooming, gaslighting, child abuse

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book 

Concerning Those Who Have Fallen Asleep

 Tell me a story... about the fine line between the living and the dead

Concerning Those Who Have Fallen Asleep: Ghost Stories by Adam Soto

A one-armed Harlem Hellfighter goes in search of his specially altered military uniform while Influenza ravages Philadelphia. A man is bound to the bedside of his comatose girlfriend who haunts his mother’s dreams. A couple travels to Wyoming to visit a childhood friend who killed her abusive husband. A pair of Syrian sisters, refugees of the civil war, find themselves at a crossroads in the home of their European hosts while their dead father whispers to them words of comfort and guidance. This collection of short stories explores the quiet spaces where the living and the dead haunt one another through their choices, dreams, and institutions. 

I hate giving bad reviews and would usually prefer to just not post any review than post a negative one. But as this is an advanced readers copy, I have to post something. 

I’m not sure if the formatting on this copy was just weird, but I found the first few stories really hard to follow. I probably would have chosen to start the collection with a different story in order to avoid this confusion. 

What disappointed me about this book is that a lot of the stories had really great ideas and occasionally even good execution at the start, but ended too abruptly or disjointedly to be satisfying. There isn’t one story that I loved from start to finish, although there were a few that I thought started out really well. 

Overall, I think this was just not the collection for me. There are people who will enjoy it. I just don’t know that I can recommend it. 

Favorite stories (these came so close!):

Sleepy Things

Immanuel

Ransoms

Rating: 1.5/5 stars

Content warning: infanticide (mentioned), rape (mentioned), war in Syria, suicide, pandemic, WWI (mentioned), wildfires, animal abuse, civil war, loss of a limb, domestic abuse (mentioned), sexual assault (mentioned), murder, immigrant child detention centers (mentioned)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. 

It Won't Always Be Like This

 Tell me a story...about not knowing where to belong

It Won't Always Be Like This by Malaka Gharib

Publication date: September 20, 2022

Date read: October 14, 2022

Nine-year-old Malaka Gharib arrives in Egypt for her annual summer vacation abroad and assumes it will be just like any other vacation that she’s spent at her dad’s place in Cairo. But when she arrives, her father shares the news that he had gotten remarried. Over the next fifteen years, as she visits her father’s growing family every summer, Malaka has to reevaluate her place in his life and figure out where she fits in. 

I’ve never read a graphic novel memoir before (I know, I know, I haven’t read Persepolis yet), so while I read a fair amount of graphic novels, this was new for me. 

Every graphic novel artist draws their work differently, and it’s usually a matter of personal preference if the artwork works for the reader or not. This style was harder for me to get used to, and wasn’t my favorite, but it was done well. The style was very childish and sketchy - but as a choice, not because the artist did a bad job.

Reviewing a memoir is always harder than reviewing  fiction, because you’re not really able to make judgements on the story itself, but only on how well the story is told. (Who are you to tell a writer that you don’t like the plot of their personal history?) I thought Gharib told the story very well, and I agree that a graphic novel worked much better for this story than a strictly written one. 

While I couldn’t personally identify with Gharib’s story, I think there is definitely an audience for this book. Middle grade kids and young adults who are from broken and/or immigrant families will, I think, get a lot out of Gharib’s struggles to identify with her family and culture. 

Overall, while the artwork wasn’t in a style I loved, I thought that the story was well-written and will be appreciated by the right audience. Recommended to young adult and middle grade readers. This would be a great place to turn for young readers who aren’t comfortable yet with memoirs, and need a place to start. 

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Trigger warning: divorce, sexual harassment/assault, physical abuse 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. 

The Woman in the Library

 Tell me a story... about a murder among new friends

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

Publication date: June 7, 2022

Date read: July 17, 2022

The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet, until the silence is shattered by a woman’s terrified scream. While they wait for the all-clear from security, four strangers sitting at the same table pass the time in conversation and a friendship is struck. Each person at that table has their own reason for being in the reading room that morning - it just so happens that one of them is murder. 

This book is kind of two books in one. First, there is the murder mystery. Second, there is the writing of the murder mystery. Between chapters, we are shown letters from a fan of the author who she is using as a proofreader and resource (since the reader lives in the Boston area and the author does not). Confusing? At first. But after a few chapters, I got used to the format and ended up really enjoying the choice to write it this way. 

There are a lot of unlikable characters in this book. I definitely found myself getting angry about comments or choices that characters made, only to realize later that the comment was not a mistake by the author, but rather foreshadowing about the motives of a character. So give the author a little more benefit of the doubt than I did. 

Murder mysteries are hard to review, because I really don’t want to give away any plot points. So I’ll speak only in general terms about the book itself, rather than the plot. 

I thought that the book was written pretty well, if not perfectly. There were some obvious cliches and some romantic relationships that had me rolling my eyes a bit. But it was a decent murder mystery and I feel that the reveal holds up and doesn’t leave any unanswered questions that I can recall. So while I didn’t love the characters and relationships as much as I wish I had, I enjoyed the mystery enough that I would recommend this one. 

Overall, it’s a fun murder mystery with a little added twist of a fourth wall break (the mystery being shown to be a book that an author was writing). Enjoyable, as long as you don’t take it all too seriously. 

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Trigger warning: murder, pandemic, physical assault, mentions of sexual assault, mentions of Australian wildfires, racism, stalking

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

Dirtbag, Massachusetts

 Tell me a story... about the many lives of one man

Dirtbag, Massachusetts: A Confessional by Isaac Fitzgerald

Publication date: July 19, 2022

Date read: October 22, 2022

This memoir-in-essays begins with a childhood that moves at breakneck speed from safety to violence, recounting an extraordinary pilgrimage through trauma to self-understanding and, ultimately, acceptance. From growing up in a Boston homeless shelter to bartending in San Francisco, from smuggling medical supplies into Burma to his lifelong struggle to make peace with his body, Fitzgerald strives to take control of his own story: one that aims to put aside anger, isolation, and entitlement to embrace the idea that one can be generous to oneself by being generous to others.

The audiobook was narrated by the author. 

I’m not really sure where to start with this memoir. First of all, it’s composed of a number of essays that the author has written - some, I believe, were previously published, if not all. I had not read any before. (In fact, I was completely unfamiliar with Fitzgerald before picking up this book.) Because this book is in essay format, the timeline does jump around a little, but it doesn’t take away from the story, in my opinion. 

First of all, Fitzgerald is a wonderful writer. I thought that the essays flowed and I was interested throughout. Even in the parts of his life that I found a little cringy (I’ll get to that), I didn’t dislike any of the essays. I also appreciated that he completely admitted his flaws and shortcomings without making excuses for them - it just is who he is. Kind of refreshing, but if you’re looking for a book where someone sees the errors of their ways and gives up the hard life to settle down for happily ever after, this is not it. 

In that vein, Fitzgerald is not always an easy person to like. There is one essay where he basically only talks about drinking and spending all of his time in bars. There is another about his time in the pornography industry. He is rough around the edges and doesn’t shy away from any aspects of his life. Because of this, this book is absolutely not for everyone. 

I want to say that I was not the audience for this book, but in a way, this makes me a great person to review it. I often found Fitzgerald’s stories to be shocking, crass, and dark. I didn’t always like him as a person. Parts made me uncomfortable (the pornography essay; not because it was explicit - it isn’t - it’s just a subject matter that I find hard to talk about, or listen to someone talk about). But despite all of that, I still liked this book. Fitzgerald is a great writer and I found a lot of his eccentric life to be fascinating. 

So, yes, I enjoyed this book. And if you’re on the fence about picking it up, I’d say give it a shot. But by no means is this book for everyone. Use your judgement. But if you’re open to a little bit of grit and grime in your memoirs, you might be surprised with this one. 

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Content warning: the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal (*note: the author was not personally sexually abused, but he did grow up in the same church and experienced some inappropriate behavior), drug use, physical violence, alcoholism, drunk driving, attempted suicide (including a parent’s attempts witnessed by a child), mental illness, conflict in Burma, pornography, miscarriage, racism, Proud Boys, body dysmorphia, domestic abuse

Caution: language

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. 

Bitch

 Tell me a story... about the not-so-docile female 

Bitch: On the Female of the Species by Lucy Cooke

Publication date: June 14, 2022

Date read: July 30, 2022

Since Charles Darwin, evolutionary biologists have been convinced that the males of the animal kingdom are the interesting ones. Males are dominating and promiscuous, responsible for any variance in the species. In this book, zoologist Lucy Cooke shows us that nature actually tells a different story. 

The audiobook was narrated by the author. 

Right from the start, I knew I was going to like this book. Cooke’s introduction discussing gender versus sex in non-human animals was very knowledgeable and shows that she’s cognizant of the importance of establishing this from the start. It was with the times and smart, while at the same time not dumbing anything down to the audience, which I always appreciate. 

I do wish that she had not started her book with the sections on genetics. Is it important information? Of course. But it is very science heavy, and I worry that it might alienate the readers who aren’t as comfortable with the material. But anyone who powers through will, I think, really enjoy the rest of the book, once it gets into behaviors rather than genetics. The chapters on trait selection and promiscuity are much more interesting. 

Cooke really knows what she’s talking about with the science, but also has a sense of humor that I really enjoyed. (Chapter 4 is titled “Fifty Ways to Eat Your Lover”.) 

I do have a science and genetics background, so I might not be the best judge of the audience for this book, but I do think that it has greater appeal than to just hardcore science nerds. Interest in science, especially wild animals, is a must, but previous scientific knowledge on the subject isn’t. I think that as long as the topic interests you, the book will be an enjoyable read. 

Overall, I thought this book was very well-written and researched. Readers with a biology or genetics background should definitely like this book, but I think the appeal is broad. It’s also not just a book for women. Despite disproving that nature is always a male-dominated place, she isn’t anti-male. Just anti-outdated assumptions and poorly-executed experiments. I’m glad I got a chance to read this book.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.