Porirua College

39,410 pages read and 1,749 team points

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LeithT

3,220 pts

(2,725 pages read)

A guest in the house

By E.M. Carroll

5 stars

This was GORGEOUS. Such an excellent horror novel. I was hooked and read the whole thing in a single sitting. I can't wait to check out the author's other book through the woods. I loved the diversity of the women's bodies in the book. I think it was a perfect little horror because it is quite deceptive - I did not see the ending coming at all! I don't want to write too much because I think that might spoil the story.
The Magic Fish

By Trung Le Nguyen

5 stars

What a gorgeous book!! It's a replacement for a popular copy in the library that went missing a couple years back. The ending made me tear up it was so heartwarming. A beautiful story about a Vietnamese refugee mother learning to connect with her English speaking son, who doesn't know the words in Vietnamese for "I'm gay." The art is gorgeous. The only draw back was that I got quite confused on occasion because the faces were all drawn very similar. I'm going to give it a reread on my holiday to see if it's easier to distinguish who's who a second time round. The art and the story is so beautiful that a bit of confusion hardly matters.
It's ok that you're not ok

By Megan Devine

5 stars

This is one of the most helpful books I've read on out of order death (the death of a young otherwise healthy loved one). The quotes that helped me were around how if someone says it hurts within the first two years you say of course it hurts it only happened yesterday. And how society has been built to not support the grieving. This is essential reading for anyone who wants to be a more empathetic person or who is grieving an unexpected loss.
30 Queer Lives

By Matt Envoy

4 stars

I love the diversity of representation in this book. The experiences people have had are sometimes so brutal but it helped me reflect on how strong our community is. We are a powerful people. And this book spoke to how much we have to give to the world - from transwomen wrestlers, to transmen in the army, to queer playwrights and poets, fashion designers, and human rights activists. I finished this book feeling much pride. I do wish more Te Reo had been included in the title however.
The will to change

By Bell Hooks

4 stars

This was a recommended read on Gender Spiral -- I didn't agree with everything in it, but I did enjoy her way of writing about oftentimes heavy subjects. Her take on the imperialism and colonial messaging in polular boys series like Harry Potter was wonderfully articulated. Her example of how marbles was a boys only game growing up, which she was punished for playing, helped emphasize how ridiculous patriachy and gender roles are. It was an enjoyable listen.
Āria

By Jessica Hinerangi

5 stars

Jessica is such a talented wāhine. Her writing makes me fall more in love with reading. I loved practicing my Te Reo as I explored this collection, my favourite poem was Sleepover for the Takatāpui aroha, and her poem about spitting on Cook's statue, her rage was palpable.
Stag dance

By Torrey Peters

5 stars

Finished! Infect your friends and loved ones was a super accessible dystopian story with trans women figuring out their relationships to each other as the world crumbles around them. And the chaser, which had totally different characters, I loved Robbie the transwomen in that story in particular she was sweet but not a doormat. The next and longest story in the collection, Stag Dance, was by far the stand out! I found all the dolls in this story so lovable particularly Babe the protagonist. The work Torrey must have put in to this story is beyond belief given how it's written with language of the time. I let the lumberjacking terms wash over me rather than pause at every new word. I also loved the supernatural element being so gentle but enough to terrify. The final story The Masker was good but I don't feel it belonged in this collection. I just don't want nonqueer people reading it since it's a vulnerable story with lots of nuance to it that could easily be taken out of context. All in all, Torrey is incredible at endings, her stories leave such strong impressions. But this book was a lot less bingeable than detransition baby.
Inkheart

By Cornelia Funke

5 stars

This was the first time listening to this audiobook, I have read the book before but not since I was a child. I wanted to get an idea of whether it would be a good addition to the library as we already have the two sequels but are missing this first part of the story. It stood the test of time remarkably well, although there was definitely some references that felt very of the time so I'm still on the fence about whether it's right for a high school library. However, this was a comforting reread to me - I loved all the women's strength and the villains were truly terrifying. Elinor the great-aunt was a favourite, as a child she irked me but as an adult I was absolutely rooting for her and understood her frustration with the 12 year old Meggie insisting they follow a strange man into the woods to find her father.
A quick and easy guide to queer and trans identities

By Mady G & Jules Zuckerberg

5 stars

This was an adorable little read. I was so pleased by how well they handled all the sections in the book particularly the Healthy Relationships section explaining difficult subjects in a nuanced way like codependency and love bombing.
Echidna

By Essa May Ranapiri

5 stars

This collection made me swoon and laugh and cry. I particularly loved the love story between Prometheus and Māui - I loved learning new Reo and exploring the intersection between Greek and Māori mythology. The transness in this book was gorgeous exploring how a conservative transphobic and colonized world perceives gender expansiveness as monstrous.
Belle of the Ball

By Mari Costa

5 stars

I loved the butch representation in this book! It was so binge-able I read it in one sitting. The ending was a little too quick. Although the cute little windows into their lives after high school ended did help. Really a fantastic read for people exploring how gender expression shouldn't be dictated by sexuality stereotypes.

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Porirua College

39,410 pages read and 1,749 team points

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