Genre: Coming of Age

Erik J. Brown’s sophomore YA novel following his heartwarming post-apocalyptic coming of age debut All That’s Left In the World, on the surface Lose You to Find Me appears to be an entirely different kind of book considering the very different genre and relationship dynamics of its main characters. I previously reviewed and loved All That’s Left In the World and while Lose You to Find Me wasn’t originally on my to-be-read radar, I was intrigued and interested to see if Brown’s excellent character work and relatable writing in a more straight-forward (get the pun) m/m coming of age story without the survival adventure angle would be as successful. To be honest, I went in with tempered expectations due to how negative some of the reviewers for this novel were, but I was relieved to find that yes, Erik J. Brown is a fantastic YA author who is far more well-rounded than I expected. Leaning more into the comedy aspect of what Brown himself dubs “Rom-Dramedy” while still having dramatic and occasionally romantic moments, this novel certainly has a different flavor and character narration voice from his first novel, along with different themes and focus. However, do not listen to…

“If the world was ending you’d come over, right? You’d come over and you’d stay the night…” because you broke your leg in a bear trap- Never has my heart felt so warmed by a post-apocalyptic survival road trip adventure, but Erik J. Brown’s debut novel All That’s Left In the World did that and so much more. A YA survival story of two lonely teenage boys finding a home in each other after most of the world died all around them, the book’s characters, tone, pacing and plotting feels pitch-perfect and is an incredibly well-crafted novel. A lot of other reviewers had previously mentioned how wholesome and cute it is, which had me raising an eyebrow given the genre and premise (I sometimes find post-apocalyptic stories slow and repetitive), but it really is such a hopeful and heartfelt book that far surpassed all of my expectations. Providing much needed queer representation is a sub-genre of science fiction that lacked clear standouts while avoiding being too graphic, harsh or scary, All That’s Left In the World is an outstanding and well-rounded book that’s sure to satisfy a wide variety of readers, even adults as well despite its YA classification and…

The debut novel of A. Rae Dunlap, The Resurrectionist is a well-rounded and cleverly crafted historical fiction story revolving around the field of anatomical study and body-snatching in the early 19th century Edinburgh. Despite the story’s macabre content and its almost gothic-like visuals, The Resurrectionist is anything but depressing or grim and is surprisingly warm and animated (yeah, maybe not my best puns, I apologize). While the visual descriptions of the dead and anatomical parts may potentially be off-putting for squeamish readers, the novel doesn’t unnecessarily dwell on it for shock value and is instead the focus is its entertaining and charming coming of age story. While listed officially as a historical fiction novel, The Resurrectionist is just as much a true crime retelling featuring many very real historic people woven in and around Dunlap’s fictional ones. That being said, absolutely no knowledge of the source material is needed, I recommend not reading into it ahead of time as it may give away some spoilers to the story. In fact I was completely unaware of the novel’s true crime angle for majority of my read and was floored when I discovered the connection near the book’s conclusion and author’s acknowledgements.…

I’ve read a lot of great and not so great book synopses, but the opening line of Sarah Winman’s Tin Man describes the novel the best: “This is almost a love story. But it’s not as simple as that.” When interpreted at face value, Tin Man‘s story is just that, an emotional story of almost love and the complex relationship between Ellis and Michael. But the theme of love goes far beyond simple romantic love, and that is where this novel incredibly well-executed yet quiet reflections are their strongest. Love for a treasured friend, love for a family member (despite not being blood related), love as caregiver, love as safe haven, or as simple as comforting company. Bittersweet, moving and poignant matched with a gorgeously beautiful prose, Sarah Winman’s Tin Man is a shorter yet wonderful read that I also loved and finished in one day. I honestly don’t have much to say about Tin Man apart from how much I loved it and found it exceptional, but I will try anyway. It’s difficult to review or write about this story as it’s quite meandering in its approach. Divided into two sections, one devoted to Ellis and the other Michael,…

Taking the reader back to the English countryside through the eyes of a seven year old boy, Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean At the End of the Lane is an intriguing short novel that I’ve heard such strong opinions and feelings about. Part pseudo Grimm fairy tale, part dark fantasy escapism, Gaiman’s story reads almost like a fictional memoir as its unnamed adult narrator recalls a dark and strained period of his childhood. Much like how time bends and distorts events based on how they’re remembered, so too does the story as the narrator is faced with magical and otherworldly beings in the quiet English countryside. Perhaps the hype set too high an expectation or my impression of the book’s direction was misguided from the get-go (the plot was not what I was expecting), but I found myself wanting to like this book a lot more than I actually did. Despite finding the ambition respectable, I often felt mildly frustrated with the plot not connecting and was left feeling like it ultimately didn’t amount to much in the end. The presentation and writing was great but the actual content felt too abstract and random to leave much of an impression for…