Celeste's Reviews

Only Maggie Nelson could knit together the lexicon of “freedom” with references from academics, writers, and activists in such alluring fashion. This piece is perennial while being timely with the recent adoption of the word “freedom” by authoritarian and right-wing ideologies. She guides the reader along the passageways of freedom and its negative (through paradoxically sometimes truer interpretation) “unfreedom,” through art, sex, drugs, and climate. —Celeste

A cross of memoir and cultural criticism, Busby is known online for her takes on performative activism and white fragility. In Unfollow Me she turns the lens on the very mechanism through which she came into the public consciousness. How whole people are reduced to blurbs and likes, plus her personal history that led to the collision of the public and the private on social media. —Celeste

Seasoned fans of Meg (a witch), Mogg (a black cat), and Owl (an owl) will recognize some familiar panels from the R-rated daily postings that kept me on the edge of my phone during 2020. This tome perfectly captures the paranoia and confusion of early quarantine, but tenfold in the insanity that is the crew’s hard partying ways including werewolf divorce, arson, several bags full of thongs, a doomed treehouse, and a whole lot of dysfunctional love. —Celeste

This book is like getting gentle advice from your queer, sober older sister. Marlee's wisdom is given in a generous stream of tender insightfulness. Touching on addiction, art practice, divorce, and intimacy, this will be a book to revisit for its practices and comfort again and again. - Celeste

A teenage girl, Danuis, whose mother's family is white and father's family is Ojibwe, gets pulled into an undercover FBI meth investigation. The author wanted to write a "Native Nancy Drew" and Danuis is a heroine you want to root for—her culture and connection to community is her strength. With a distinct sense of place, this taut thriller is almost impossible to put down. - Celeste

Lillian is a poor and apathetic twenty something working mundane jobs with little sense of purpose. When the past comes calling in the form of her former posh boarding school roommate asking a favor, curiosity gets the better of her. That favor? Nannying her friend's step-children who happen to catch on fire when they get upset. - Celeste

Hailed as one of the original detective novels, this whodunit is full of satire and social commentary. The gift and subsequent theft of the fabulously valuable (but possibly cursed) Moonstone diamond sits at the heart of this twisting and turning caper. Despite some less than sympathetic colonial representations of Indian people, this book is host to many memorable characters. - Celeste

If I had a passing interest in Iceland before, after this book, I'm ready to book the plane. What a delightful mix of natural history, sociology, and myth of a unique and special island. The musings on the nature of museums and collections is clever and broadens the scope of the piece. The museums all have some sort of fantastic origin story and capture the essence of something purely Icelandic. - Celeste

This immersive dive into our protagonist's psyche while she’s at a party reveals a judgmental, self-aware, and acerbically observant woman. This book of contradictions pulls you in and alters your awareness. A fantastic addition to the growing canon of autistic characters by autistic writers, it pushed the margins of my comfort zone and left a deep impression. - Celeste

Available in paperback

Despite never before having met the relatives she’s staying with in Key West, Turtle wastes no time taking charge. She shows tenacity and fearlessness as she joins her cousin’s babysitting business, and even secures a job on a fishing boat. The artwork is decidedly tropical, and my favorite part is the legend of the pirate’s treasure. This graphic novel reminded me that sometimes all you need is a change of scenery to come out of your shell. — Celeste