I picked up the fantasy novel Almond, Quartz, and Finch for its message of finding ways of being true to oneself plus, offering more of a range when it comes to gender and sexuality. The author Lisa Bunker has described it as “the book of my heart.” In addition, there are several subjects such as refugees, class, discrimination, etc. brought up. However, the writing fails around the matter of sexual assault and family. Due to this I was left wishing I had not read it. Further I would also be hesitant to put this book in the hands of someone younger such as the middle grade audience it’s targeted at. The comp and inspiration mentioning Le Guin (albeit who also was not always on point) was a writer with work I’d sooner recommend.