Book Reviews.
Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski
If you are a gender studies or sexuality studies major or perhaps you've spent years exploring your sexuality in a safe and open environment, this is likely going to be a refresher with some cool science facts thrown in. But for the rest of us... this is a jaw-dropping, science-based unveiling of understanding women's sexuality.
Come As You Are has one critical message, in my opinion, and that is "We are all the same. We are all different. We are all normal." Emily Nagoski spends time breaking down the science of sex and sexuality, particularly biology and anatomy and how they come together, as well as our brains and how they work…
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
I have mixed feelings about this novel, but I closed the book with an ache. With a sense that no matter what decisions or paths the characters took, hearts would be broken, lives changed, and relationships forever altered. There’s no easy path, no right way. This book embodied the messiness that is life. I’m also very aware that this book was not written for me and that the characters and the intended audience speak a language that I am not fluent in so it’s likely that what I didn’t love about the book comes from a lack of understanding from not having lived and experienced life in that way…
When the Apricots Bloom by Gina Wilkinson
A story about friendship, loyalty, family, and freedom set in Baghdad. The characters felt alive and real. Despite the differences in my own background and upbringing, the author brought these characters to life. I found myself transported to another world. The busy and chaotic markets, the smells of the food and spiced air, the call to prayer. I enjoyed the descriptive scene setting.
The three characters have so much depth. The stories of Huda, Raina, and Ally intersect so beautifully. The hardworking woman, originally from the local village, who has lost her brothers and her closest friend and is forced to become an informant in order to protect her son. The struggling aristocrat who floats in upper circles and the art world while trying to pay the bills and keep her daughter safe…