Tag: 5 stars

Amazing World: Bugs – L.J. Tracosas

If you know me at all, you know that I’m just the teeniest bit obsessed with fun facts. This book is essentially Fun Facts: Bug Edition, so a must read for me.

All bugs are arthropods, meaning they all have a joint in the leg or foot, exoskeletons and are symmetrical. After explaining what they are and highlighting some of the ways they protect themselves, this book introduces you to twenty bugs.

You’ll learn where they live, what they eat and how big they are. At the end of the book there’s a glossary. I definitely learned some new words today.

Because I can’t help myself, I need to tell you my favourite fun fact for each bug.

When a Click Beetle is in danger it flips itself over and plays dead. Only it can’t flip back so it flings itself into the air over and over again until it lands the right way.

The body of a Spiny Flower Mantis mimics flower petals, which brings their food to them.

Daddy Longlegs aren’t spiders. Seriously??? They’re part of the arachnid family but are more closely related to scorpions.

The Hickory Horned Devil Caterpillar turns into a regal moth, which doesn’t have a working mouth.

Firefly adults are generally vegetarian but when they’re young many of them are carnivores.

The Jewel Wasp can turn cockroaches into zombies. The process is ingenious but kinda gross.

The female Spiny Orbweaver makes the web and is larger and more brightly coloured than the male.

The Longhorn Beetle eats trees.

Like the hickory horned devil caterpillar, Luna Moths don’t live long enough to eat. Luna Moths are nocturnal.

The nose of some species of Lanternfly is almost half the size of its body.

The Goliath Beetle weighs up to 100 grams (4 ounces).

The Giraffe Weevil was first discovered in 2008. It lives in Madagascar.

If a predator catches a Stick Insect, it may be able to get away by detaching its leg. They grow back!

Glowworms aren’t actually worms. They’re the larvae of the fungus gnat.

Because apparently we don’t call things what they are in the bug world, Railroad Worms are also not worms. They’re female beetles and they look amazing at night.

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When they’re in danger, the Motyxia Millipede “will leak deadly cyanide and other yucky substances from the pores dotting their sides.”

What you know as a stink bug is actually called a Shield Bug.

Giant Devil’s Flower Mantis has a brilliant scientific name: Idolomantis diabolica.

In 1939, someone found a Glowing Cockroach. Just the one and it’s the only one that’s ever been spotted. It’s kind of adorable though; when it glows it reminds me of someone wearing a cape.

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The Hercules Beetle lives up to its name. It’s the world’s strongest insect and “can lift more than 800 times its weight.”

I liked the layout of this book. There wasn’t so much text that young readers would find it overwhelming and there are at least two photos of each bug. I loved that the size of each bug was shown in relation to the size of a hand.

This was an entertaining way to get today’s fun fact fix. I may need to visit Ecuador to see if I can find the second ever glowing cockroach.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Chartwell Books, an imprint of Quarto Publishing Group, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Amazing World: Bugs transports kids around the world to discover the lives of 20 strange and magnificent insects. Adding to the fun, the book includes 13 reusable glow in the dark plastic stickers.

From shimmering glowworms and fireflies to the extremely odd giraffe bug, every insect profile includes up close and personal, full colour photos of each amazing creature and tonnes of fun facts and easily digestible graphics. Kids learn about where each bug lives, what they eat, how they evade predators much, MUCH larger than they are, and so much more! 

Discover each bug’s unique skills for building and defence. Explore the fascinating characteristics of bugs like the lanternfly, which is named for its large snout, or the stick insect, which can blend in anywhere. 

Just a few of the intriguing bugs you will meet: 

  • Click Beetle 
  • Spiny Flower Mantis 
  • Daddy Longlegs 
  • Hickory Horned Devil Caterpillar 
  • Jewel Wasp 
  • Luna Moth 
  • Glowing Cockroach 
  • And more!
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Frank and Bert: The One Where Bert Learns to Ride a Bike – Chris Naylor-Ballesteros

Frank and Bert’s friendship is everything! I first met these best friends when they were playing hide-and-seek. Bert wasn’t brilliant at it but he sure was enthusiastic. 

In this new adventure, Frank and Bert trade in their scarves for bike helmets. Bert wants to be as good at bike riding as Frank but he “wibble-wobbles all over the place.”

This series is teamwork, perseverance and friendship goals. In this story, it becomes clear how important it is to have each other’s backs. A friend who is supportive and encouraging can give us the confidence we need to keep trying.

I absolutely love the illustrations in this series. All of the animals are very expressive, which adds to the humour of Bert’s oops moments. Bert’s wobbly tire tracks brought to mind the windy path his scarf’s loose thread weaved through the first book.

Some details are consistent in both books. Frank wears blue. Bert wears pink. The hills and trees are the same. This familiarity allowed me to focus more on what the characters were doing and feeling throughout this book. 

Be on the lookout for the character who’s fishing. Handy hint: see if you notice anything relevant to the first time you see them when they show up later in the story.

I’ve read this book three times already and plan to buy a copy when it’s released. Naturally I had reread the first book and am delighted to report that I loved it just as much as I did when I first met Frank and Bert.

I need Frank and Bert to keep sharing their adventures with me. I adore these friends!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Nosy Crow for the opportunity to fall in love with this picture book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

The hilarious fox and bear double act from bestseller Chris Naylor-Ballesteros is back for a second adventure.

Bert is CERTAIN he can ride his bike as well as Frank, but he is very wobbly! And even when they BOTH try riding Frank’s bike … it still goes very wrong! Will the best friends make it all the way down from the big hill? Of course! All they need is a little bit of confidence and trust in each other!

This warm and entertaining story about friendship is guaranteed to get children giggling!

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Letters to the Lost – Brigid Kemmerer

Don’t you think it’s funny how people say “lost” as if they were just misplaced? But maybe it’s a different meaning of “lost,” in that you don’t know where they went.

Juliet has written letters to her mother for years, first when she was overseas photographing war zones and now when she’s much closer to home but can no longer write back.

We just thought on paper to each other.

Declan is doing community service when he finds one of Juliet’s letters at her mother’s grave. Most people think they know the type of person Declan is because of his arrest.

I say I don’t care what people think of me, but that’s a lie. You’d care, too, if everyone thought you were nothing more than a ticking time bomb.

Declan understands Juliet’s pain and writes back to her. Those two words change both of their lives.

Soon Juliet and Declan are writing to each other regularly. Their anonymity makes them feel safe enough to reveal parts of themselves that they usually keep hidden.

I don’t even know you, but I feel like I understand you.

I feel like you understand me.

And that’s what I like so much about it.

They don’t realise that their paths have already crossed.

I’m all mushy about this book. And I’m not a mushy person.

Part of my love of this book came from the pain the main characters experienced. As they began to connect, I was torn. I wanted them to find one another and connect in person but I loved their vulnerability on the page and didn’t want that to end. Mostly I needed them to know that someone understood what they were going through.

I’m not into romances. At all. But I spent this entire book wanting the senior class reject and cemetery girl to finally get together, dammit! I mean, how can you not get all melty when you read a sentence like this:

She’s the fiercest girl I’ve ever met, but I want to sit in the dark and hold her hand to show her she’s not alone.

Because I read these books out of order, I’d already met Juliet in passing. However, when I read More Than We Can Tell, I didn’t realise the significance of her casually taking photos in the school cafeteria, as if it wasn’t a huge accomplishment.

I’m so glad Rev gets his story told in the next book and that we find out why he only eats sugared cereal as a treat instead of for breakfast.

I loved the parts of the story that focused on photography. Its ability to tell an entire story in a single image… The walk down memory lane to the days of film, when we had no idea whether the magic we saw in the moment was captured until days or weeks later when we got the film developed…

While I adored the main characters, my favourites were those who supported them when it would have been easier to ignore their pain. Frank, Mrs Hillard and Mr Gerardi cared enough to look beneath the surface.

“Every moment is meaningful.”

Because I’m me, I checked each of the email addresses mentioned in this book. None of them currently exist.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Juliet is drowning in grief after her mother’s death.

Declan is trying to escape the demons of his past.

Leaving handwritten letters on her mother’s grave is the only way Juliet can process her loss. When Declan finds a letter and answers it anonymously, they continue writing back and forth, not knowing who is on the other side. Juliet is instantly intrigued by this stranger who understands the loss she feels. Declan discovers someone who finally sees the good in him.

Such an immediate and intense connection with a perfect stranger is astonishing and wonderful, and soon they are baring their souls to each other. But this secret world can only sustain Juliet and Declan for so long … as the reality surrounding them threatens to shatter everything they’ve created.

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Legends & Lattes – Travis Baldree

After twenty-two years of adventuring, Viv had reached her limit of blood and mud and bullshit. An orc’s life was strength and violence and a sudden, sharp end – but she’d be damned if she’d let hers finish that way.

It was time for something new.

If you’d told me a couple of days ago that I’d be recommending a cozy fantasy book to everyone who crosses my path, I doubt I would have believed you. But here we are.

An orc walks away from her old life to open a coffee shop.

“Oh, and hey! What in the eight hells is coffee?”

In a city where almost no one has even heard of “exotic bean water”.

And that’s pretty much the crux of the story, give or take. At face value it sounds kinda cute but nothing I’d expect to be enthusiastically shoving in people’s faces, telling them how much they’ll love it.

Viv’s story felt like a comfort read from very early on and I can easily see this being a go to read when I need some time out.

I adored Viv, Tandri, Hem, Thimble, Pendry and Cal individually but together this diverse group of kindred spirits felt like home (the good kind).

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I love that Viv was able to let go of the life that was expected of her and find a bunch of supportive friends who could see beyond her past to who she truly was, friends that encouraged her in her new venture and who had her back.

“If mortal danger threatens us, I promise to hide behind you. Deal?”

While Tandri was my favourite character, I also had a soft spot for Pendry. I enjoyed cheering them on as they gained the confidence to step outside their comfort zone.

I absolutely need a dire-cat in my life.

Favourite no context quote:

“Things don’t have to stay as what they started out as”

I’m giving this book however many hm’s it takes to fill five stars and can’t wait to meet more of Thune’s inhabitants in the author’s next book.

In the meantime, I’d like to order a bean water with milk and a heavenly frosted cinnamon pastry please.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

High fantasy, low stakes – with a double-shot of coffee.

After decades of adventuring, Viv the orc barbarian is finally hanging up her sword for good. Now she sets her sights on a new dream – for she plans to open the first coffee shop in the city of Thune. Even though no one there knows what coffee actually is.

If Viv wants to put the past behind her, she can’t go it alone. And help might arrive from unexpected quarters. Yet old rivals and new stand in the way of success. And Thune’s shady underbelly could make it all too easy for Viv to take up the blade once more.

But the true reward of the uncharted path is the travellers you meet along the way. Whether bound by ancient magic, delicious pastries or a freshly brewed cup, they may become something deeper than Viv ever could have imagined.

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Arc of a Scythe #2: Thunderhead – Neal Shusterman

“Well, then,” said Supreme Blade Kahlo, raising her hand in a grand dramatic gesture, “let the wild rumpus start!”

I tend to be one of those people who read the next book in a series I’m following as soon as it’s published (earlier if I can get my hands on an advanced copy) and then spend the next year hanging precariously over a cliff while I wait to find out what’s going to happen next. All I can think after finishing this book is how grateful I am that this time, I’m late to the party.

I read Scythe for the first time shortly after it was released and began this book soon after it was published. Then something happened, which I can’t even remember now, that took me away from it before I finished and unfinished it’s remained. Until now. I don’t know how I would have managed if I’d had to wait a year to see how everything unfolds from here but it wouldn’t have been pretty. This is a series you definitely need to binge.

I love vigilante Rowan, AKA, Scythe Lucifer. He’s not just making corrupt scythes deadish; he’s making sure they don’t come back. As he researched his potential targets and stalked them prior to taking their lives, he reminded me of the Green Arrow. I wanted his kills to come with a catchphrase … You have failed this Scythedom.

Meanwhile, Citra (now Scythe Anastasia) did me proud as a junior scythe. Taking on the best of what both of her mentors taught her but making it her own, Citra’s scythe MO was compassionate and thoughtful, and everything I expected from her.

“She is a fresh voice of reason and responsibility. She can make the old ways new again. Which is why they fear her.”

However, it was her strength, tenacity and courage that really captivated me. It’s one thing to do the right thing but it’s another thing entirely when the right thing isn’t the easy thing and your decisions come with consequences you can’t necessarily predict and aren’t always in your favour.

The big surprise for me, though, was Greyson. I didn’t expect much from him, even though it was clear from the beginning that his role in this series was going to be significant. I enjoyed watching as he began to transform into Slayd. His journey introduced me to unsavouries, whose particular brand of rebellion I found fascinating.

I need to live in the restored Great Library of Alexandria. It contains 3.5 million volumes of scythe journals!

Favourite no context quotes:

Permission is the bloated corpse of freedom.

“We are forever impaled upon our own wisdom.”

“Deadish men tell no tales for a while.”

To borrow a new favourite phrase, this book was “fun-and-a-half”. I’m starting The Toll immediately.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Humans learn from their mistakes. I cannot. I make no mistakes.

The Thunderhead is the perfect ruler of a perfect world, but it has no control over the scythedom. A year has passed since Rowan had gone off grid. Since then, he has become an urban legend, a vigilante snuffing out corrupt scythes in a trial by fire. His story is told in whispers across the continent.

As Scythe Anastasia, Citra gleans with compassion and openly challenges the ideals of the “new order.” But when her life is threatened and her methods questioned, it becomes clear that not everyone is open to the change.

Old foes and new enemies converge, and as corruption within the Scythedom spreads, Rowan and Citra begin to lose hope. Will the Thunderhead intervene?

Or will it simply watch as this perfect world begins to unravel?

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Arc of a Scythe #1: Scythe – Neal Shusterman

Hope in the shadow of fear is the world’s most powerful motivator.

This book became one of my favourite reads of all time when I met Citra and Rowan five years ago. Since then I’ve wanted to visit them again but, like all of the books I’ve fallen in love with as an adult, I’ve procrastinated my reread. I wanted to hold onto the love at first read that I experienced. I was concerned that the shine wouldn’t be there the second time around.

I needn’t have worried. I didn’t think it possible but the reread shone even brighter for me. The characters I knew and loved, and those I loved to hate, came to me fully formed; I didn’t need to reacquaint myself with them, even after all of this time.

Citra and Rowan have been selected to undertake an apprenticeship. They will be spending the next year competing against one another for a job neither of them want. Ironically, this makes them the perfect candidates. Although they are both going to be trained by Scythe Faraday, their apprenticeships will be vastly different.

Theirs is a world of splats and revival centres, where nanites can dull your pain but also limit the spectrum of your emotions. It’s also a world where serial killers are not only sanctioned but revered. Here they’re called scythes and their kills aren’t murder; they’re gleanings.

Scythes have a quota of 260 gleanings per year. While this sounds like death is around every corner, your odds of being gleaned in the next 100 years are only 1 in 100.

On the one hand, I have trouble imagining living in a world where we know everything there is to know and have conquered disease and mortality itself. On the other hand, I was fully immersed in Citra and Rowan’s world. I believed.

I imagined the joy of having time to learn everything I wanted to learn, read all of the books on my TBR list and experience everything I’ve ever dreamed of. But because time’s no longer finite, the urgency of our world doesn’t exist in Citra and Rowan’s. There’s nothing left to strive towards, nothing new to discover.

With nothing to really aspire to, life has become about maintenance. Eternal maintenance.

I adored Scythe Faraday, with his thoughtful, compassionate approach. I loved the excerpts from scythes’ journals that caused me to think more deeply about their world as well as our own. I’m still chewing on the philosophical and moral issues raised in this book.

Favourite no context quote:

Well, she could learn self-control tomorrow. Today she wanted pizza.

This remains one of my favourite books of all time. I can’t wait to binge the rest of the series.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Thou shalt kill.

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life – and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe – a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

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The Raven #2: Blood Country – Jonathan Janz

So much blood. So much death.

When we first met Dez, a Latent in a world of monsters, he was a loner. Now Dez has friends: siren Iris, pyrokinetic Michael and Levi, a fellow Latent who may have a secret. Friends are helpful in this world because maths … increased numbers could mean that you don’t die as quickly because you can surround yourself with literal human shields. However, friends are also liabilities. Caring for anyone means they can be used against you in hostage situations or as bait. Still, you don’t want to travel this world alone.

Dez and co. are currently on a suicide mission to rescue Dez’s girlfriend, Susan, and Iris’ five year old daughter, Cassidy. Susan and Cassidy were taken during the battle at the Four Winds Bar and sold to a horde of vampires.

The stakes are well and truly raised in this book. Well, they would be if they were useful weapons in this world but these are not Buffy’s vampires. They’re super fast, super strong and they’re the biggest Bads in a world almost exclusively populated by Big Bads. Basically, if their head is still attached to their body, you’ve got a problem.

“You came at feeding time,” Quincey said. “Thank you for that.”

There’s plenty of bloodshed in this book, some of which Michael conveniently sleeps through. On their way to Blood Country, Dez and his friends encounter plenty of once upon a humans: cannibals, trolls and, of course, vampires. They’re pretty much everywhere you look.

While so much of the action results in bodies that look like they’ve been through a meat tenderiser, there are some tender moments too.

“You came back for me,” she said.

“I always will,” he answered.

This is a fascinating but deadly world. Some of the other potential nasties to look out for are werewolves, witches and nuckelavee (straight out of Scottish mythology, they’re sort of like a centaur but creepier). There’s also talk of the Children (ten feet tall subterranean creatures) and there’s definitely something lurking in the water.

I didn’t understand why vampires would keep something where they were living that had the potential to harm them but that’s just one question mark surrounded by the exclamation marks that populated my mind every time someone’s insides became their outsides.

While I often find sequels a bit of an ‘are we there yet?’ journey on the way to the big finish of the third book, I actually enjoyed this one even more than The Raven. You could read this book without having read The Raven but you’ll have more fun if you read them in order.

I’m keen to sink my teeth into the next book. There’s something to hope for that previously wasn’t even an option. I like Dez and his friends, new and old, and there’s a vampire child I need to get to know. Bring on the carnage!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Three years ago the world ended when a group of rogue scientists unleashed a virus that awakened long-dormant strands of human DNA. They awakened the bestial side of humankind: werewolves, satyrs, and all manner of bloodthirsty creatures. Within months, nearly every man, woman, or child was transformed into a monster … or slaughtered by one.

A rare survivor without special powers, Dez McClane has been fighting for his life since mankind fell, including a tense barfight that ended in a cataclysmic inferno. Dez would never have survived the battle without Iris, a woman he’s falling for but can never be with because of the monster inside her. Now Dez’s ex-girlfriend and Iris’s young daughter have been taken hostage by an even greater evil, the dominant species in this hellish new world: Vampires.

The bloodthirsty creatures have transformed a four-story school building into their fortress, and they’re holding Dez’s ex-girlfriend and Iris’s young daughter captive. To save them, Dez and his friends must risk everything. They must infiltrate the vampires’ stronghold and face unspeakable terrors.

Because death awaits them in the fortress. Or something far worse.

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Atlas of Abandoned Places – Oliver Smith

To step into an abandoned place is to cross a kind of threshold into the past – to time travel from the present day to the instant that people departed.

I love abandoned places photography. I enjoy poring over the photos for evidence of the lives of the people who used to inhabit the spaces. There always seems to be a haunted beauty attached to these places, as they gradually erode and nature reclaims them.

I’ve come to expect books about abandoned places to showcase a photographer’s favourite sites. This is the first abandoned places book I’ve read that’s been written by a travel writer. The images are stock photos, which meant I didn’t get get to feel like I was tagging along with someone who may have had to climb fences and find ways to get into buildings undetected. However, it also meant that, rather than the purple prose I’m used to reading in abandoned places books, the information that’s presented here captured my attention just as much as the photography.

Separated into parts by geography – Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean, the Middle East and the Caucasus, Asia, Oceania and Africa – this book explores fifty abandoned places, from trains, palaces and a theme park to entire towns. Each four page entry contains photos and a map, along with information about the history, current state and any future plans for the site.

I most want to explore:

  • The Paris Catacombs, not the 1.6km (1 mile) tourist attraction but the network an area of about 320km (200 miles) that haven’t been entirely mapped yet. I want to see the places that remain undiscovered and unmarked by graffiti.
  • City Hall Station, New York.

Two hundred policemen were called to hold back the curious crowds, and the Mayor of New York took the controls of the inaugural train. He had so much fun he refused to hand them back to the driver.

  • Ciudad Perdida (meaning ‘Lost City’), Colombia. You’ll need to hike for four days to get there but the journey sounds as amazing as the destination.

Organized tours see participants traversing rushing rivers on rope bridges, passing waterfalls where hummingbirds dart through the humid air, and sleeping in hammocks listening to the night-time symphony of the forest.

  • Aniva Lighthouse, at the tip of Sakhalin, Russia. It’s desolate and remote, the perfect place to get lost in a book.
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There’s a lot of very interesting information in this book. I’m always on the lookout for fun facts and all things strange and unusual. I found those here too.

For £99, you can buy your very own knighthood. It’s for Sealand, a country that no others recognise, but it’s probably your only chance to be knighted.

Bodie in California is a typo. It’s named after W.S. Bodey, a prospector from New York. If you visit, fair warning: don’t souvenir any trinkets you come across.

‘The Curse of Bodie’ goes that objects stolen from the ghost town have brought tragedy and even death to their new homes. Items are still regularly returned to Bodie in the post, with notes of repentance from sorry thieves.

The grand opening of the Orpheum Theatre in New Bedford, Massachusetts happened the day the Titanic sank.

New York’s “City Hall Station provided the inspiration for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ lair.”

For places that seem lifeless, their lesson is that – in some form or other – life goes on.

Thank you so much to Hachette Australia for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Explore the wonders that the world forgot with award-winning travel writer Oliver Smith – from breathtaking buildings with a dark past to decaying reminders of more troubled times.

The globe is littered with forgotten monuments, their beauty matched only by the secrets of their past.

A glorious palace lies abandoned by a fallen dictator. A grand monument to communism sits forgotten atop a mountain. Two never-launched space shuttles slowly crumble, left to rot in the middle of the desert. Explore these and many more of the world’s lost wonders in this atlas like no other.

With remarkable stories, bespoke maps and stunning photography of fifty forsaken sites, Atlas of Abandoned Places travels the world beneath the surface; the sites with stories to tell, the ones you won’t find in any guidebook.

Award-winning travel writer Oliver Smith is your guide on a long-lost path, shining a light on the places that the world forgot.

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The Mountain in the Sea – Ray Nayler

“The great and terrible thing about humankind is simply this: we will always do what we are capable of.”

Ha has been waiting her entire life for this opportunity. She’s secured a research position with DIANIMA, pioneers in the field of artificial intelligence, to study the octopuses of Con Dao.

There had been tales for generations of the monster. Maybe for as long as people had lived on the archipelago. Myths to scare children: shadows and drownings, shapes seen on the shore. But now everyone came to believe the stories.

If a story can make me suspend my disbelief, then it’s usually a winner. That was my hope going into this read. This book didn’t do that. What it did was take my initial fascination and turn it into a belief so solid that I wouldn’t be surprised if findings similar to Ha’s are published in a scientific journal in the not too distant future.

While this is a book of fiction, it quickly became clear how much research went into its creation. The author takes what it currently known about consciousness and communication and extrapolates, coming up with a series of outcomes that had me thinking in terms of when, not if. I was anticipating this book would be an entertaining read. I wasn’t expecting it to be so thought provoking or for its conclusions to feel so plausible.

I was invested in the characters. I initially chuckled at the way some of security specialist Altantsetseg’s words were translated, until I understood the why. Then I sought to learn more about their past. I loved Ha’s inquiring mind and sensitive approach to her work.

But this book asks the question: What if? What if a species of octopus emerged that attained longevity, intergenerational exchange, sociality? What if, unknown to us, a species already has? Then what?

I enjoyed anticipating how Rustem and Eiko’s stories would intersect with those of the characters I met on Con Dao. I decided early on that I didn’t trust Dr Arnkatla Mínervudóttir-Chan but wondered if she’d prove me wrong. The depth of Evrim’s humanity made them my favourite character. Shapesinger made me want to read every book the author mentioned in their acknowledgments.

Even though I don’t have a scientific background, I had no trouble understanding the concepts that were explored in this book. It made me think about consciousness, communication and connection in ways I haven’t previously. It hooked me early on and I’m still thinking about it days after finishing it. This is undoubtedly going to be one of my favourite reads of the year.

“And when the time comes, do what is right.”

Thank you so much to Hachette Australia for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

There’s something in the water of Con Dao. 
To the locals, a monster. 
To the corporate owners of the island, an opportunity.  
To the team of three sent to study and protect, a revelation. 

Their minds are unlike ours. 
Their bodies are malleable, transformable, shifting. 
They can communicate. 
And they want us to leave.

When pioneering marine biologist Dr. Ha Nguyen is offered the chance to travel to the remote Con Dao Archipelago to investigate a highly intelligent, dangerous octopus species, she doesn’t pause long enough to look at the fine print.

DIANIMA – a transnational tech corporation best known for its groundbreaking work in artificial intelligence – has purchased the islands, evacuated their population and sealed the archipelago off from the world so that Nguyen can focus on her research.

But the stakes are high: the octopuses hold the key to unprecedented breakthroughs in extrahuman intelligence and there are vast fortunes to be made by whoever can take advantage of their advancements. And as Dr. Nguyen struggles to communicate with the newly discovered species, forces larger than DIANIMA close in to seize the octopuses for themselves.

But no one has yet asked the octopuses what they think. And what they might do about it.

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Everything Is OK – Debbie Tung

As far as I can tell, Debbie Tung’s Quiet Girl in a Noisy World and Book Love were essentially her way of not so subtly telling me she’s been stalking me for my entire adult life. She tried to throw me off the trail by focusing on the ‘aww, aren’t they adorable?’ relationship she and Jason have in Happily Ever After & Everything In Between. Now, in her fourth graphic novel, Debbie takes a deep dive into my mental health.

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From telling people you’re fine when you’re anything but to sleepless nights spent questioning every decision you’ve ever made, Debbie speaks honestly about mental health. Depression. Anxiety. Panic attacks. Suicidal ideation. You not only hear the thoughts that accompany them, you see what they feel like.

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Sometimes just knowing you’re not alone is enough and that’s what this graphic novel does. Debbie’s story acknowledges the darkness but also provides hope.

Asking for help was the most courageous thing I ever did.

It meant that I refused to give up and I wanted to give myself a chance to heal.

It’s one thing to know the types of things that can have a positive impact on your mental health – counselling, self care, celebrating the small wins, gratitude, mindfulness – but hearing how those strategies have helped someone with lived experience gives them more weight.

I’m not an artist so can’t explain this very well but some art feels lofty and unapproachable to me, like I’m being kept at arm’s length. Debbie’s style, though, feels relatable and down to earth. She draws me in with her art and her words.

One thing I really loved about this graphic novel was the use of blue throughout. It’s such an appropriate choice given the subject matter and the muted tones somehow both set the tone and made the content feel non-threatening. The bursts of colour, when they did make an appearance, had a greater impact.

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Thank you so much to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to read this graphic novel.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Everything Is OK is the story of Debbie Tung’s struggle with anxiety and her experience with depression. She shares what it’s like navigating life, overthinking every possible worst-case scenario, and constantly feeling like all hope is lost.

The book explores her journey to understanding the importance of mental health in her day-to-day life and how she learns to embrace the highs and lows when things feel out of control. Debbie opens up about deeply personal issues and the winding road to recovery, discovers the value of self-love, and rebuilds a more mindful relationship with her mental health.

In this graphic memoir, Debbie aims to provide positive and comforting messages to anyone who is facing similar difficulties or is just trying to get through a tough time in life. She hopes to encourage readers to be kinder to themselves, to know that they are not alone, and that it’s okay to be vulnerable because they are not defined by their mental health struggles. The dark clouds won’t be there forever. Everything will turn out all right.

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