Reviews and Comments

The language is that of a young woman writing in her journal. The chapters are short, as is the book. Yet it manages to remind the reader of climate change, of class unfairness, of where the revenge motive leads. It starts with a girl on a bridge who sees nothing before her, and ends with that girl earning her future.

The Far Side is even more surreal and cerebral than I had remembered. I pulled this book off my shelf looking the "cows standing in front of trees, smoking" cartoon, but there are lots of (presumably scientific) in-jokes whose references I don't get. Maybe I did once.

An attractive review of magical texts through the ages, from papyrus to illuminated manuscripts to artifacts produced for modern entertainment properties. Presents magical texts in the fashion of a typical art-history review, without in-depth focus in any particular era.

This is a good book for web devs or security folks to backfill or enhance their knowledge. You need to already understand each covered topic; none of the chapters will get you off the ground floor of any subject, and the book is hampered by editing errors, especially in acronyms, that will confuse those who don't already know what the author meant.

"A Feminist History of the Broadway Musical" is exactly what you're getting here, and if you missed the reference, "Changed for Good" is a key song from the musical Wicked. Initially panned by critics as entertainment for screaming teenage girls, Wicked overcame the slights of the critic world - most of whom are basically the opposite demographic from teenage girls.

Ms. Wolf uses that arc of critical reception to illustrate musical theater's journey as a whole. A bit strident in places, with a couple of head-shaking moments that weren't so egregious that I remember them, Changed for Good is the only book I've come across to approach musical theater from the female POV.

A charming read where I could identify with nearly all of the characters in some way, uncommon for me as I normally find myself inside the MC only. Enough plot for me to move forward without being blocked in fear. Worldbuilding is spread out, mostly being introduced as characters are, which works well for me.

A fine addition to my sapphic-witch-romance list, and one of the few that hits all three.

A Japan tourism overview in comic book style, in many instances being more informative than words alone could— like showing you how to use a JR rail pass, what foods you may encounter, and what toilets you may face. As it's from 2014, some particulars may have changed, but overall much more than it may seem from the cover.

A fine witchy romance for the season, one in which the main character questions her full identity, having fled her stifling small town to be a (less powerful) City Witch, and faces a powerful attraction to someone from a rival family with darker powers.

In the manner of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, the magic here is parlor tricks and the points don't matter. Serious magic-heads who grumbled when authors just ripped off literal Latin words for spell names will be disappointed here. The whole concept of the town is magic as stage show, and the town competition is magic as Family Feud. The power of the story comes from the dangerous but irresistible attraction of the main couple, from light and dark magic families, and from the sinister magical caste system of the town, which low-caste Emmy had spent her adult life trying to flee.