Andrea's Reviews

Anda finds her calling in Coarsegold Online, a multiplayer online roleplaying game. When she is ordered to wipe out in-game gold farmers—players paid pennies a day to gather valuable items for other players—she does so without a second thought. But things change when she "meets" Raymond, whose work as a gold farmer may be his only hope at treating his very real illness. With Gamergate still very much a timely topic, this incredibly illustrated graphic novel should be required reading for anyone making enemies and friends online.

Present day, an actor playing King Lear has a heart attack and dies. Fifteen years later, after a worldwide pandemic, a caravan of actors and musicians travel the ruins of the US performing Shakespeare and fighting for survival. When the two storylines come together at the book’s heartbreaking climax, you will be both terrified of the future and overjoyed to be human and alive. 

I am so overjoyed that this book exists. Not only does it feature characters who are Mexican-American (YES) and gay (HELL YES); it's beautifully written, painfully true, and unforgettably touching. It's an absolutely spot-on portrayal of friendship blossoming awkwardly and inexorably into love.

If you like language and thrillers and haven't read Lexicon yet, I'm stoked for you because it means you get to read it for the first time! It takes place in two timelines—one at a school for young people trained as "poets" to manipulate others through subtle spoken words, and one after a remote desert city has become a bloodbath. You won't foresee the incredible final twist. 

The perfect stocking stuffer for a beginning stargazer or space enthusiast, this clever little book explains the origins of cosmology using only the thousand most common words in the English language. Substituting simplifications like "star-crowds" for "galaxies", and "all-there-is" for "universe", makes for an entertaining and thoughtful read. 

Thoughtful, truthful, and wry, Rebecca Solnit's essays are the kind that make enjoy nonfiction, a rare occasion for me. This collection spans a vast number of subjects and settings: the west coast's dwindling water supply, California's punk scene in the 70s, flora and ruins in the Arctic circle. Each essay is a little dark jewel that will open your eyes to something strange and new. 

This fantastic resource for new or budding cooks includes not only recipes, but guides on organizing, stocking, and cleaning your kitchen - including beautiful photographs of cooking spaces that will spur you to make your own kitchen dazzling. It's a perfect gift for someone who has just begun cooking or who has just moved into a new home. I read it from cover to cover! 

After humiliating herself on local television, 14-year-old Johanna transforms herself into Dolly Wilde, a cooler-than-cool music reviewer who’s big into sex, drugs, and rock and roll. All is well until Johanna starts to lose herself in her alter ego, at which point she questions where she ends and Dolly begins. A laugh-out-loud roller coaster ride through the best and worst parts about being completely embarrassed of your teenage self.