watson_my_shelf's reviews
504 reviews

“It’s that glorious feeling that comes from inviting someone into your world.”

Hijab Butch Blues is Lamya’s memoir that weaves their personal life stories of growing up and migrating to the U.S., with stories from the Quran. Lamya sees ways their queerness and religion go hand in hand, which goes against a lot of traditional thinking.

I am always a little skeptical when I start a book with any religious themes, but I am SO glad I read this and ignored that skepticism. This book made me so emotional. The writing is absolutely beautiful and captivating. By using the stories from the Quran, Lamya added so much depth to the stories of their experiences. 

I learned so much from this book and have done a lot of reflection after reading. One of the big things I learned was about being a hijabi Muslim living in the U.S. and how people are treated. The stories of the microaggressions were eye opening; I am so grateful to the author for sharing those. 

One of my favorite stories was Lamya questioning why male pronouns are used for Allah if Allah is neither male nor female, asking if Allah could be nonbinary. This is just one example of Lamya draws parallels between their queerness and gender identity, and their religion. 

A part that really resonated with me and I related to is Lamya's discussion on queer indispensability. They describe this as not wanting to open up to people or show a need for support for the fear that loved ones will leave. Being vulnerable is hard!! And I think being a queer person adds different dimensions to that, which was very relatable. 

In summary: highly recommend. It’s really great on audio, but I will be buying a physical copy to highlight and reference back to.

It is amazing how well Beverly intertwines a romance with the very real racial injustices that were happening during the time period of the story. She does such a good job of noting the issues and struggles of the times, while making you fall in love with the characters and their stories. 

I think this book was overhyped for me. It was sold to me as a must-read lgbtqia+ book, but I don’t agree. It is good, but not life changing as I was expecting. I think going into it with that expectation made me enjoy it a little less. Also, I think the audiobook was not the move for this one, as the narrator was not my favorite. I enjoyed the overall story, but the ending was lackluster for me and the mystery dragged out a tad too much. That being said, I would read something else by Rosen. 

I love the idea of found family in this and the queer safe space they created at Lavender House. It’s hard to imagine living during a time where homophobia was not only the norm, but was also legally punishable. 

There is some graphic on-page homophobic violence, as well as allusions to past violence and homophobia. 

The Book of Unknown Americans alternates between multiple POVs. Two of the main POVs are Alma, the mother of Maribel who suffered a brain injury, and Mayor, who lives in the same building as Alma and Maribel and is intrigued by Maribel. The other perspectives are of other immigrants from various places, sharing their stories of coming to or living in America. All of these people have ended up in Delaware in this same apartment building, living similar yet very different lives. 

“We're the unknown Americans, the ones no one even wants to know, because they've been told they're supposed to be scared of us and because maybe if they did take the time to get to know us, they might realize that we're not that bad, maybe even that we're a lot like them. And who would they hate then?”

Even though this book was published in 2014, I think it still has a lot of important messages applicable today. It’s a look into how immigrants to the U.S. live and how they are treated. So many Americans are quick to shun immigrants without knowing anything about their stories or background. This book is an excellent read for those people, showing that people have many reasons for immigrating, but regardless of that reason, they are deserving of equality and fairness. Even though this book is fiction, I feel like I learned a lot and gained new perspectives on migrant experiences. 

I have read some critiques of this book, which I do not have experience with but want to point out. One being that the book is full of stereotypes of immigrants. Another that the book is very unrealistic. That the ‘ease’ with which Alma’s family obtained visas, housing, and jobs in the U.S. is basically impossible. 

If you read reviews, a lot will complain about the ending of this book. It is indeed heartbreaking and has a very different tone from the rest of the book. I was very shocked by the ending and the turn the book took towards the end, but do not think it takes away from the worth of the rest of the book. This is how the author chose to tell the story. 

 I am truly surprised by how much I love this book! I decided to read this and annotate it as a gift for a friend. And it was so fun to annotate! 

The writing in this book is beautiful. I could so clearly picture what the author was describing. And the banter! So funny. This felt very time appropriate but also with an appropriate amount of humor mixed in. The magic is so fun. The world building is fantastic & even my non-fantastical brain was able to be immersed. 

Edwin and Robin are both such lovable characters. They are each so different but complement each other. Their spark and connection jumped off the page at me. Honestly, all of the characters in this are amazing. I even loved to hate the villains. 

The beginning-middle of the book dragged a little, but I still loved this book. I fell in love with the world and the characters. This is a series I’m actually looking forward to continuing! 

This book is for the womxn and female-presenting folks who suffer from imposter syndrome or a constant feeling of not being good enough in the workplace. I will say, this book is written from a perspective of someone with a certain level of privilege and for people who live with privilege. Reshma focuses on how we can be our own worst enemies sometimes, and uses personal examples of how to overcome our internal perfectionism and learn to deal with external judgments. There is also a big focus on bravery and courage, and how we need those things to conquer our fears and bring our dreams to fruition. 

This was a quick read, and I found it to be inspiring. I especially enjoyed the parts that talked about how we can inspire kids and young adults, and make an impact on them from an early age. I think this is an especially good read for parents! Not the most life changing book you will ever read, but a lot of good messages and reminders!

This is not a typical Christmas romance, which was refreshing! I feel like so many holiday books focus on romance and a happily ever after. The Christmas Orphan’s Club instead focuses on the value of friendship and platonic love, with some romantic love mixed in. It’s about found family and traditions. What really resonated with me was learning to adapt traditions as life changes. This is something I have struggled with, so I really related to Hannah, the main character, as she had to figure this out. 

The writing was a little ‘eh’ at parts, but I still really enjoyed this. As this was Becca’s debut novel, I would read something else from her. 

One of the MCs, Finn, is Black and shared some tidbits of being a Black man living in NYC and coming out as gay to his family. It was hard to read about the homophobia he experienced, but I think it added so much to the story.