Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay

  At times this was a difficult book to read and it is even more difficult to write about.

At age 12 Roxane Gay was raped by a group of boys, one of whom she had thought was her friend. For years she told no one. Instead Roxane turned to food. She began putting on weight to shield herself against the world, thinking that making herself less attractive would protect herself from dangerous men. Per the subtitle, Hunger is a memoir of Roxane Gay’s body, but really it is a memoir of her trauma. The trauma of her rape. The trauma of being overweight in a world that does not wish to try to accommodate overweight people.

I have mixed feeling about this book. I appreciate the raw honesty of the writing. She has been hurt and continues to hurt. But the story gets repetitive fairly quickly. Bad things and bad people happen to Roxane and she feels terrible. Good things happen to her and she feels like she doesn’t deserve it and self-sabotages. Good people happen to her and she pushes them away. Sometimes you can recognize a problem exists and even recognize that you're not handling it well but can't quite get yourself to act differently or to really address the problem. Hunger is all about that.

This is not a story of overcoming or of a triumph. It is not a hopeful story. I applaud Gay’s courage in telling this story but at the same time hope and wish that one day she can tell a happier story about herself. By happier I don’t mean a story where she loses a bunch of weight, but one in which she actually deals with her trauma and builds a life and a body that she can be content with. This book I think, and hope, is a step in that direction.

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

  Henry "Monty" Montague has been bred to be gentleman but would rather spend his time gambling, drinking, and shall we say hooking up with women and men. His father gives him one last chance. Monty is sent on a grand tour (think of it as a gap year for the 18th century set) of continental Europe. In addition to a chaperone, Monty is accompanied by his best friend and romantic crush Percy and his sister Felicity. The plan is that after a year touring around the continent Percy will be dropped off at a school in Holland (or so Monty is told) and Felicity will be left at a finishing school. 

Monty is a rich, white, spoiled boy who just wants to have fun and has no interest in becoming the next earl and running his father's estate. One of the things I loved about this is that Monty is called out for his privilege but not in a mean way. Percy is Black. Okay, technically he's biracial man born and raised in England but almost everyone assumes he's from Africa or that he is Monty's property. When Monty chastises Percy for not standing up himself when yet another person comments on his Blackness, Percy points out that he cannot afford to get away with the antics Monty regularly engages in. Likewise, when Monty complains about his planned future Felicity reminds him that at least he has choices while she has few. She would love to attend the school her brother got kicked out of, but because she is a woman finishing school is the only education Felicity's father will allow. At the same time Percy and Felicity don't dismiss Monty's complaints. They point out Monty's privileged life and status while still respecting and supporting his desire to live a different life than the one set out by his father. I love that.

Did I mention that the grand tour turns into a great adventure! Monty being Monty causes a bit of trouble at a party. Nudity and hijinks are involved. The bit of trouble leads to big trouble and even bigger adventures. The traveling companions have to hold their own against highwayman and robbers while also dealing with matters of the heart. Their adventures lead them to Barcelona, Venice, and the high seas. If you like a bit of adventure this is well worth the read.

Daphne and Velma: The Vanishing Girl by Josephine Ruby

  I love Scooby Doo! I still watch the cartoons today when I get a chance, even the movies. They were so just so much fun. Now thanks to Josephine Ruby (or whatever his/her/their real name is since Josephine Ruby is apparently a pen name) I get to enjoy new Scooby Doo adventures with an interesting take. Josephine and Ruby reimagines the cartoon and makes Daphne and Velma a mystery solving duo. As a kids they were best friends. As teenagers they hate each other, but when Daphne's new best friend goes missing and people start seeing ghosts, Daphne and Velma find themselves working together once again. Shaggy and Scooby are there too, stepping in to help when called upon. Fred makes an appearance as well, although he's plays such a minor role in the story that I would not have remembered his character's name if not for the fact of the cartoon. The mystery is perfect with ghost sightings and mysterious disappearances - classic Scooby Doo stuff. It's serious and silly all at the same time. I hope there are lots more books in this series to come.

Wolf's Curse by Kelley Armstrong

  Wolf's Curse is the conclusion to the story that began in Wolf's Bane. Kate and Logan go to supernatural summer camp. Instead of learning leadership skills they meet a bunch of supernaturals who want to do them harm. They quickly have to figure out which campers are friends, which are foes, and while people are trying to kill them. In the midst of dealing with dark magic, witches, hell hounds, demons, and assassins, the characters deal with issues of sexuality and identity. It's a lot but it mostly works.

Like the other books in the series there is a bit of romance, lots of action, and multiple mysteries to be solved, all set in a world where werewolves, vampires, witches, demons, necromancers, and other supernaturals live along side humans. This was a welcome return to the Otherworld series, although one big difference between this duology and the original Otherworld series is that this is very much a young adult book. That may be a turn off for some, but I enjoyed this a great deal.

I so hope Armstrong writes more book in the series. This felt like a little like she was laying the ground work for further books. I hope I'm right because I would so love to read about more about the new characters Elijah, Holly, Allan, and Mason, along with Kate and Logan of course.