Book Review: "It's Not the End of the World" by Jonathan Parks-Ramage

Can a book be off-the-wall crazy AND scarily prescient simultaneously? Asking for a friend.

Thanks so much to Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy of this one!

America in 2044 has seen better days. Climate change has done severe damage, and in Los Angeles, wildfires and smog have gotten so bad you can barely see the skyline—unless you can pay for an artificially clear one. The country is under the thumb of a fascist authoritarian government, with right-wing militias and rampant anti-queer sentiment.

Mason and Yunho are a wealthy gay couple whose financial position keeps them blissfully unaware of just how badly the world is falling apart. They’re spending $100,000 on a 100-person baby shower for their soon-to-be-arriving newborn, and they (particularly Mason) don’t see anything wrong with that.

When disaster hits LA on the day of their shower, Mason should cancel, but it’s not the end of the world, after all. He figures that money can solve this problem too. Yet when he goes out to run a few last-minute errands, he finds himself enmeshed in the chaos that he thought he was insulated from, with threatening consequences.

This book has it all—wry social commentary, political satire (which seems far too on the nose right now), blood and gore, even pink smog that turns people into zombies. It’s definitely a wild ride, but the details of this world that Jonathan Parks-Ramage has created are truly remarkable. And frightening as hell.

I loved Parks-Ramage’s debut, Yes, Daddy, so I was excited to see what his follow-up would be like. This is different in a lot of ways but it proves just how wide-ranging his talent is.

Book Review: "What is Wrong with You?" by Paul Rudnick

Trone Meston is a tech billionaire (think of a hybrid of Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon) who is about to get married on his private island off the coast of Maine. He’s engaged to marry Linda, a former flight attendant and the ex-wife of Sean, a fitness mogul and former TV superhero.

A motley crew of invited guests and hangers-on have gathered not only for the wedding, but for Trone’s promised unveiling of a major technological breakthrough. Sean is hoping to convince Linda not to get married and instead reconcile with him. But can he compete with a billionaire for Linda’s hand?

Sean has invited one of his personal training clients, Rob, to be his plus one at the wedding. Rob has been mourning the death of his longtime partner, Jake, and is dealing with the end of his career as a book editor at the hands of Isabelle, the publisher’s “sensitivity associate.”

Tremble, the writer that Rob was working with, is an outspoken yet talented genius whose perspectives on the world are shockingly blunt. When she learns Rob has been fired, she too heads for Maine to try and get his job back.

I enjoy the way Paul Rudnick skewers social conventions and looks at love, grief, and relationships. This book tried to shoehorn so many characters and issues together and it was almost thisclose to going off the rails completely. I liked the character development, but I just found the plot got too silly after a while.

Book Review: "Rejection" by Tony Tulathimutte

Rejection is a fascinating, thought-provoking, and truly visceral story collection. It’s definitely not a book that inspires positivity for the most part, but it’s so well-written, you might not care.

The seven interconnected stories in Tony Tulathimutte’s collection all focus on a central theme: rejection. The characters have to face fears of loneliness, issues with their self-esteem, and, quite often, anger toward those they perceive to be responsible for rejecting them, as well as society.

The opening story, “The Feminist,” follows a man who so heartily supports the empowerment of women and their control of relationships, but it’s mostly so women will have sex with him. And that doesn’t happen. For a long, long time. (Lots and lots of friend zones.)

In “Pics,” a woman hooks up with a close friend of hers, and quickly discovers she feels like it was much more significant an event than he did. Her growing obsessiveness doesn’t help, and her continued spiraling makes her feel worse, which she takes out on everyone.

And in “Ahegao; or, The Ballad of Sexual Repression,” a young man comes out of the closet but can’t seem to find someone who wants a relationship. He soon discovers his fascination with a troubling sub-genre of porn.

These stories are very modern, with conversations conducted through various forms of social media at times, and they’re very much in step with the different sociological movements in our society. They’re dark and satirical, yet at times they pack a powerful punch.

My biggest struggle with the book is that none of the characters are particularly likable. It’s hard at times to read stories in which characters are complaining and ranting a lot. But Tulathimutte’s storytelling talent elevates the book.

Book Review: "Breaking the Dark" by Lisa Jewell

I’ll admit I was a bit dubious when I heard that a book series featuring the grittier side of Marvel superheroes was being launched. But being a Marvel fan, I couldn’t resist the idea of a thriller featuring Jessica Jones written by Lisa Jewell. And I thought it was great!

Jessica Jones is still reeling from some serious psychological trauma, which she’s nursing with alcohol. By day, she’s a private investigator; by night, she’s drinking herself into a stupor.

She is visited by a distraught mother, who claims that her 16-year-old twins returned visiting their father in England and are now acting strangely. Their skin is flawless, they’re strangely serene and don’t look at their phones at all, and they claim that everything is “perfect.” When Jessica spies on Fox and Lark, she does observe that something isn’t right.

Jessica travels to the UK to try and figure out what might have happened to the twins while they were visiting. She can’t shake a strange feeling she’s having, and when she visits an old farmhouse to find the girl Fox was smitten with, she realizes that this girl, Belle, is being kept captive. Can she get Belle out of her captor’s clutches?

What Jessica finds is far more disturbing than she imagined. And she must solve the mystery at the core of what is happening before it’s too late. But Jessica is battling her own demons as well as the feelings that this mystery has evoked in her.

I thought this was a bit creepy but I was hooked completely. Jewell is in great form once again, and she really fleshed out Jessica’s character well. I’ll be looking forward to the next book in the series, which will feature Luke Cage, written by S.A. Cosby.

Book Review: "Bury Your Gays" by Chuck Tingle

Please clap. I have read two books outside my comfort zone this week.

I am a gigantic coward, which is why I generally steer clear of horror as a genre. (I’m still scarred from a prank my college roommates played on me related to the book “IT.”) But when I saw a few friends raving about this book, I figured I’d give it a chance. The fact is, this was more creepy and disturbing than all-out frightening, so I may be ok.

Misha has been a horror screenwriter for years, always hoping he’ll hit it big. And he finally does, in the form of an Oscar nomination, even though he jokes that it’s in a category they don’t televise. But despite this success, the studio bosses want him to kill the gay characters in his long-time streaming series—or don’t make them fall in love. This should get them even bigger ratings.

The demand is clear: kill them or be in breach of his contract. Misha cares more about the characters, so he’s willing to sacrifice his career. But suddenly he realizes he and his friends are being stalked—by monsters he created onscreen. Can he survive this onslaught? He’s going to need to face up to some secrets first.

This was really compelling, both as a story and a commentary on queer representation in the media. It’s a great way to convey this message.

Many thanks to Tor Books and NetGalley for the advance copy! The book publishes 7/9.

Book Review: "Lies and Weddings" by Kevin Kwan

Kevin Kwan once again gives us a close and personal look at the lives of immensely wealthy Asian families. There’s tons of drama, scandal, secrets, romance, and utter excess to be had—it’s a world I love getting glimpses of.

Arabella Gresham (aka the Countess of Greshamsbury) is ready to show off to the world’s wealthiest people when her eldest daughter Augusta marries His Serene Highness Maximillian zu Liechtenberg. While Arabella became privy to money when she married her husband Francis, Earl of Greshamsbury, she has brought the family into the limelight, becoming a doyenne of fashion, interior design, and luxury hotels.

What Arabella cares about most (other than money) are appearances. She wants everything to be the most luxurious, the most extravagant, and the most envied, and she wants to ensure her family’s legacy. With Augusta marrying a prince, she wants to be sure her two other children, Rufus and Beatrice, make the right decisions for their future—and only she knows what is right.

But try as she might to cajole, guide, even strong-arm Rufus into making a royal match, he only seems to have eyes for Eden, his childhood best friend and daughter of the family doctor. This will not do, especially with the Greshams’ financial future in jeopardy. (It doesn't help that Rufus is—gasp—a surfer and—double gasp—a photographer!)

“You’ve been so focused on marrying off your children to the debilitated descendants of Victoria and Albert that you’ve forgotten where all the real action is nowadays: Asia.”

Kwan takes us on a romp to some of the most luxurious locales and feeds us incredibly sumptuous meals, unforgettable fashion, bank-breaking furnishings, and elaborate celebrations, name-dropping all the way. You’ll root for true love to win and hate the odious manipulators. There’s tons of drama and lots of sass, both from Kwan and his characters. It’s quite a ride!

Book Review: "Social Engagement" by Avery Carpenter Forrey

I’m definitely a fan of books that provide social commentary and examine the foibles of their characters. Social Engagement is fascinating but vague at times, like someone is recounting a story but leaving tiny pieces out.

“We all carry this weight: the constantly refreshing feed and the photo memories feature remind us of our rearview even when we want to look forward.”

When the book begins, Callie is sitting in the honeymoon suite of a fancy hotel, still in her wedding dress, eating a pizza. She got married just a few hours earlier and her marriage has already imploded. But what happened?

The book looks back at the year leading up to Callie’s wedding, her obsession with social media, measuring herself against the feeds of others, and chronicling the celebrations of friends. Callie moves in with her childhood best friend Virginia, sharing Virginia’s wealthy parents’ NYC apartment. Callie starts dating Whit, a handsome finance bro, but the reappearance of Virginia’s cousin Ollie, whom Callie secretly dated in college, creates a great deal of upheaval.

This is a character-driven book but there’s certainly plenty of drama, with secrets and hidden resentments about to boil over. Callie isn’t a particularly likable character, but I couldn’t look away from her story. I do wish the ending was a little more definitive, but I definitely found this a fascinating read.

Book Review: "My Murder" by Katie Williams

“I was supposed to be getting dressed for the party, the first since my murder.” (Yep, you read that right.)

Lou is married to a doting husband, Silas, and they’re parents to their adorable baby daughter, Nova. They’re like any other couple—except Lou was a victim of a local serial killer, and she was recently brought back to life by a government project.

She’s grateful for the second chance at life, but re-acclimating isn’t easy. She has to get used to her life again, to her husband, to being a mother, and returning to her old job. Lou also spends time in a support group with the other victims of the serial killer, all of whom were also brought back to life. It’s a fairly strange sorority to be part of.

It’s only natural that Lou has questions about her murder. Why did the killer pick her? The more time she spends with the other women, the more uncertainty she starts to feel about her life before her murder. It’s up to her to figure out just what happened—and if she is safe in her life.

I thought this was a very cool concept. There was some fascinating commentary about the public’s attitudes toward serial killers and their victims, some interesting technologies, and a few twists I didn’t see coming.

At times, I did feel a bit confused by some of the narrative, and had to read things a few times before it started to make sense. But this was a tremendously unique concept, a great twist on the traditional thriller.

Book Review: "Hi Honey, I'm Homo! Sitcoms, Specials, and the Queering of American Culture" by Matt Baume

While I watch very little television now, I was a television addict from the 1970s into the early 2000s. I still remember some episodes from my favorite sitcoms, and definitely had nights when we watched certain programs. (My Saturday nights growing up were ruled by The Love Boat and Fantasy Island.)

Although I didn’t fully come to terms with being gay until my late teens/early 20s, I definitely knew I was different earlier. (Case in point: constantly rewinding the swimming competitions in Battle of the Network Stars, which featured television actors in speedos.) But the way gay characters were portrayed on television (even when they weren’t explicitly labeled “gay”) fell into every bad stereotype there was. How could I be gay if I wasn’t like that?

Whether you’re a television savant like I am, a fan of reading about television and its impact on society, or just curious about how the portrayal of queer characters has changed over time, Matt Baume’s book is a fascinating and well-researched read. It looks at programs from All in the Family, Soap, The Golden Girls, and Ellen,” to Friends, Will & Grace, and Modern Family. It also briefly touches on celebrities like Paul Lynde, Charles Nelson Reilly, and Rip Taylor, their campiness and double entendres, which I absolutely did not understand back then.

Baume juxtaposes the changing tide of television relative to the portrayal of gay characters with the prevailing attitudes of society, as well as the movements toward and against equal rights. I learned some new things and some things definitely jogged my memory.

I don’t read a lot of nonfiction but this was a great read for Pride. Plus, I only caught one error, because I’m a savant!!

Book Review: "The Women Could Fly" by Megan Giddings

Megan Giddings' newest book is utterly unique, powerful, and thought-provoking.

Thanks so much to BookSparks and Amistad Books for providing a complimentary copy of this book as a part of #SRC2022!!

Jo’s mother disappeared 14 years ago, and no one ever knew what happened to her. Did she leave for a fresh start somewhere else? Was she abducted, or worse, murdered? Or were the rumors true, that her mother was a witch? In a world where expectations are that you’ll tow the line—especially women—the idea of having a witch as a mother is a dangerous prospect.

Now Jo is 28, only two years away from the state-mandated deadline that women marry by the age of 30 or register to be monitored. But Jo isn’t interested in getting married, although the idea of giving up her freedom certainly doesn’t appeal.

When she gets the opportunity to carry out a request from her mother’s will, it takes her to another place entirely, and she feels a connection to her mother she never expected. But beyond that, she realizes who she is and what she wants for the first time.

This is a fascinating social commentary on the role of women, made even more timely by what’s been happening in the U.S. lately. Even though the idea of witches may seem like this book is fantasy, it’s really much more contemporary fiction. And it’s tremendously well-written!!