Cinderella and the Glass Ceiling: And Other Feminist Fairy Tales

Cinderella and the Glass Ceiling: And Other Feminist Fairy Tales by Laura Lane & Ellen Haun

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Received: Hachette Book Group Canada
Published: March 10th, 2020
Publisher: Seal Press
Recommended Age: 15+
Genres & Themes: Adult, Short Stories, Feminism, Fairy Tale Retellings, Humor

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REVIEW:

Every tangible and intangible part of my being fell head over heels for these short, funny and supremely feminist fairytale retellings featuring kickass females and deeply important messages. It is a parody, yes, but one with meaning and a lot of memorable content. Cherry on the cake: there are also lovely illustrations included.

Flying Lessons & Other Stories

Flying Lessons & Other Stories by Ellen Oh

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Published: January 3rd, 2017
Publisher: Crown BFYR
Recommended Age: 8+
Pacing: Normal/Fast
Genres & Themes: Middle Grade, Anthology, Diversity, Culture, Life Lessons

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BLURB:

Whether it is basketball dreams, family fiascos, first crushes, or new neighborhoods, this bold anthology—written by the best children’s authors—celebrates the uniqueness and universality in all of us. In a partnership with We Need Diverse Books, industry giants Kwame Alexander, Soman Chainani, Matt de la Peña, Tim Federle, Grace Lin, Meg Medina, Walter Dean Myers, Tim Tingle, and Jacqueline Woodson join newcomer Kelly J. Baptist in a story collection that is as humorous as it is heartfelt. This impressive group of authors has earned among them every major award in children’s publishing and popularity as New York Times bestsellers.

Peter Darling – Austin Chant

Peter Darling by Austin Chant

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
First Published: February 15th, 2017
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Recommended Age: 13+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, LGBT, Fairytale Retelling, Action, Fantasy, Love-Hate Relationship, Transgenderism

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BLURB:

Ten years ago, Peter Pan left Neverland to grow up, leaving behind his adolescent dreams of boyhood and resigning himself to life as Wendy Darling. Growing up, however, has only made him realize how inescapable his identity as a man is. But when he returns to Neverland, everything has changed: the Lost Boys have become men, and the war games they once played are now real and deadly. Even more shocking is the attraction Peter never knew he could feel for his old rival, Captain Hook—and the realization that he no longer knows which of them is the real villain.

Binti (Binti #1) – Nnedi Okorafor

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
First Published: September 22nd, 2015
Publisher: Tor.com
Recommended Age: 14+
Pacing: Slow
Genres & Themes: New Adult (?), Science Fiction, Short Story, Alien Race, Culture, War-Setting

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BLURB:

Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti’s stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach. If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself – but first she has to make it there, alive.

Review: Blame It on the Mistletoe by Eli Easton

Blame It on the Mistletoe by Eli Easton

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: November 17th, 2013
Publisher: Eli Easton
Point of View: 1st Person & Masculine
Recommended Age: 14+
Pacing: Normal
Genres & Themes: New Adult, M/M Romance, Christmas, Contemporary, College, Novella

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BLURB:

When physics grad student Fielding Monroe and skirt-chaser and football player Mick Colman become college housemates, they’re both in for a whole new education. Mick looks out for the absent-minded genius, and he helps Fielding clean up his appearance and discover all the silly pleasures his strict upbringing as a child prodigy denied him. They become best friends.

It’s all well and good until they run into a cheerleader who calls Mick the ‘best kisser on campus.’ Fielding has never been kissed, and he decides Mick and only Mick can teach him how it’s done. After all, the physics department’s Christmas party is coming up with its dreaded mistletoe. Fielding wants to impress his peers and look cool for once in his life. The thing about Fielding is, once he locks onto an idea, it’s almost impossible to get him to change his mind. And he just doesn’t understand why his straight best friend would have a problem providing a little demonstration.

Mick knows kissing is a dangerous game. If he gives in, it would take a miracle for the thing not to turn into a disaster. Then again, if the kissing lessons get out of hand they can always blame it on the mistletoe.

Blog Tour Review: Summer Days & Summer Nights by Stephanie Perkins

Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories by Stephanie Perkins

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: NetGalley
Publication Date: May 17th 2016
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Point of View: 1st Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres &  Themes: Young Adult, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Romance, LGBT

BLURB:

Maybe it’s the long, lazy days, or maybe it’s the heat making everyone a little bit crazy. Whatever the reason, summer is the perfect time for love to bloom. Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories, written by twelve bestselling young adult writers and edited by the international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins, will have you dreaming of sunset strolls by the lake. So set out your beach chair and grab your sunglasses. You have twelve reasons this summer to soak up the sun and fall in love.

Featuring stories by Leigh Bardugo, Francesca Lia Block, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Brandy Colbert, Tim Federle, Lev Grossman, Nina LaCour, Stephanie Perkins, Veronica Roth, Jon Skovron, and Jennifer E. Smith.

Review: Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx

Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
Publication Date: October 13th 1997
Publisher: Scribner
Point of View: 3rd Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 16+
Genres &  Themes: Adult, M/M Romance, Western, Short Story, Sacrifice, Forbidden Love, Historical Romance, True Love, LGBT

BLURB:

Annie Proulx has written some of the most original and brilliant short stories in contemporary literature, and for many readers and reviewers, “Brokeback Mountain” is her masterpiece.

Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist, two ranch hands, come together when they’re working as sheepherder and camp tender one summer on a range above the tree line. At first, sharing an isolated tent, the attraction is casual, inevitable, but something deeper catches them that summer.

Both men work hard, marry, and have kids because that’s what cowboys do. But over the course of many years and frequent separations this relationship becomes the most important thing in their lives, and they do anything they can to preserve it.

The New Yorker won the National Magazine Award for Fiction for its publication of “Brokeback Mountain,” and the story was included in Prize Stories 1998: The O. Henry Awards. In gorgeous and haunting prose, Proulx limns the difficult, dangerous affair between two cowboys that survives everything but the world’s violent intolerance.

Review: Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell

Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: February 25th 2016
Publisher: Macmillians Kids UK
Point of View: 3rd Person & Feminine
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres &  Themes: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fandom, Short Story

BLURB:

If you broke Elena’s heart, Star Wars would spill out. So when she decides to queue outside her local cinema to see the new movie, she’s expecting a celebration with crowds of people who love Han, Luke and Leia just as much as she does. What she’s not expecting is to be last in a line of only three people; to have to pee into a collectible Star Wars soda cup behind a dumpster or to meet that unlikely someone who just might truly understand the way she feels. Kindred Spirits is an engaging short story by Rainbow Rowell, author of the bestselling Eleanor & Park, Fangirl and Carry On, and is part of a handful of selected short reads specially produced for World Book Day.

Review: The Princess & the Penis by R.J. Silver

The Princess & the Penis by R.J. Silver

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Free Read
Publication Date: December 6th 2010
Publisher: Indie
Point of View: 3rd Person
Recommended Age: 14+
Genres &  Themes: Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retellings, Sexuality, Romance, Innocence, Short Story, Humor

BLURB:

A beautiful, chaste, and completely naive princess encounters a strange lump in her mattress. The lump soon morphs into a shape familiar to everyone but her, triggering her curiosity and her father’s greatest fears. He frantically tries to intervene, but having a large phantom phallus in a curious maiden’s bed is never a good combination.

Review: The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman (Goodreads Author), Chris Riddell (Illustrator)

The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: October 23rd 2014
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Point of View: 3rd Person
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Short Story, Fantasy, FairyTales

BLURB:

A thrillingly reimagined fairy tale from the truly magical combination of author Neil Gaiman and illustrator Chris Riddell – weaving together a sort-of Snow White and an almost Sleeping Beauty with a thread of dark magic, which will hold readers spellbound from start to finish.

On the eve of her wedding, a young queen sets out to rescue a princess from an enchantment. She casts aside her fine wedding clothes, takes her chain mail and her sword and follows her brave dwarf retainers into the tunnels under the mountain towards the sleeping kingdom. This queen will decide her own future – and the princess who needs rescuing is not quite what she seems. Twisting together the familiar and the new, this perfectly delicious, captivating and darkly funny tale shows its creators at the peak of their talents.

Lavishly produced, packed with glorious Chris Riddell illustrations enhanced with metallic ink, this is a spectacular and magical gift.