a.c.'s Reviews

A virtuoso indie rapper who wields a philosophy degree and a reputation for unrequitable romance, Dessa is especially known for her Hamilton Mixtape track “Congratulations.” This exceptional memoir showcases the artist herself boldly acting out the poetic metaphors that make her music so powerful. In My Own Devices, Dessa works with neuroscientists to overcome the feeling of lost love. The autobiographical snapshots are anarchistic, beautiful, measured, anxious, eloquent, and brave. I loved it. - a.c.

This is a memoir of a faith experience gone too far, in which a teenage girl from a small Northern California town feels drawn to the charisma and community of a Pentecostal church but eventually finds herself isolated—from other church members, from her family, her friends, her own previous joys and even sometimes from God. Gelsinger gives an affecting insight into the experience of young people in strict evangelist communities. -a.c.

Brilliant! Hank Green has written an engrossing debut novel with a fun, vibrant, emotionally powerful and completely non sequitur plot. In a New York crosswalk, protagonist April May’s discovery of giant, sentient, maybe even alien omnipotent robots completely upends her life, both professionally and romantically. Through the eyes of this young, queer antihero and her robots, we see humanity in its modern context: how people love, connect, and create belief in a media landscape that sometimes degrades humanity. - a.c.

Fans of The Essex Serpent will savor Perry’s deft and effortless character development. Melmoth, a modern-day gothic horror, opens when a haunted translator from Prague learns her friend’s secret, then disappears. The novel grapples with a beast: Melmoth, macabre, who stalks the guilty, compelling them to wander in shame or choose life. Is Melmoth real or abstract? A horror, a haunting metaphor, or both? - a.c.

Taught me about love and friendship during a critical time, when I was young and living in tough circumstances. Please hand this book series to every young reader! Hogwarts taught me to have an unyielding, warm and open heart. It’s nearly the holidays-- gift this one! I first read it as a Christmas present when I was 8 years old. - a.c.

Black comedy, short stories about the secret underbelly of red hot rage behind even the most polite veneer of “demure” femininity. It made me laugh out loud, and you should read it with red wine. An antidote for Trumpism, with some Southern Belle twists. - a.c.

This memoir-in-essays showcases a powerful musician turning an extended metaphor into a literal reality. Dessa works with neuroscientists to physically erase the feeling of love from her neurological landscape. In the mix, she writes about her family, about who she has been, and who she is becoming after the experiment. These autobiographical snapshots were alternatively anarchist, divine, measured, anxious, eloquent and brave. - a.c.

Poetry-- which covers kissing, pulling long limbs out of bed, the love of trees, feminism, wanting to fight that guy who hurt your friend, and talking to the actual dead. It is one of my favorite collections, and among the most uplifting… although it did make me cry. - a.c.

One of the most gorgeously skilled contemporary poets, Hoagland’s book is the equal and opposite of Gerstler’s in a way. These poems also vividly appreciate life and connection, but **oooh boy** they are rough to read, because they appreciate the best of life as it is set against the backdrop of existential void. Did that make sense? Listen, I love this book. - a.c.

Briefly, there are giant robots, Schroedinger’s social media (will it doom humanity? will it save us?), and some really loveable yet flawed young characters. This was light, prepossessing, uplifting, and an excellent commentary on our present moment. Hank Green writes this love letter to the digital age by asking us all how we plan to face global problems of a pressing nature: with all of humanity at our side, exercising trust and kindness, or with fear? - a.c.