Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier - This story grabbed me from the first sentence. The quirkiness of Juno meets the darkness of The Spectacular Now, but with fresh energy that feels completely unique.
I Love This Part by Tillie Walden - Some brief snapshots into different stages of a teen LGBT relationship. This book is really short, probably took me five minutes to read, but it makes an emotional impact.Ā
Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language by Gretchen McCulloch - This tackles the incredibly broad topic of internet linguistics. I liked it alright but felt a little unsatisfied, while understanding that if she did a deep dive into everything I wanted, the book would be way too long.
Chasing Utopia by Nikki Giovanni - Poems and essays with so much heart.
South and West by Joan Didion - This is writing taken from her notebooks. The main part is about her travels through New Orleans and Mississippi, then a brief segment at the end discusses her feelings about her home in California. If you think sheās being a snob, youāre missing the whole point.
Calamities by Renee Gladman - If my mind wandered halfway through a sentence, Iād get completely lost. Still worth the trouble.Ā
Batman: Year One by Frank Miller - Every female character is basically written as a sex object. This somewhat distracted me from what is admittedly a great origin story.
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto - This writer is becoming my new favorite. This book contains a novella and a short story, both with the theme of grief, and wow it spoke to me.Ā
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell - I feel like I was the last person to read this book. Apparently it was hugely popular YA, then people started saying it was problematic, and then more time passed. I went into it knowing none of this and simply loved the book. Rowell writes these characters that are so human, complex, and interesting.
