saturnia wrote a review...
Gomez's writing is slow and beautiful, and I loved some of the takes and the approach on vampirism, but the slow pacing and long chapters meant I never really got into it. the fact each chapter is its own short story and features different characters means I never get particularly attached to characters or their relationships; this was particularly noticeable in chapters 3 and 5 with Aurelia and Julius, especially when I didn't feel like anything really happened. it picks up in the last few pages of each chapter and then ends and after a while the structure feels predictable, and I lost interest about halfway through. the last chapter felt wildly different to the rest of the book, instead reading like the introduction to an entirely different book, but with too little worldbuilding to make it a compelling story on its own as well.
I wouldn't usually mind the timeskips but I don't feel like there's any sort of development for Gilda, and anything vaguely interesting that could be considered development basically happened off the page, unseen to us. despite the slow pace relationships feel sudden, and then they end as soon as they appear once the end of the chapter nears. it was so disappointing because I did want to root for some of the characters, like Toya, but the pacing and narrative meant that there was always a disconnect between the characters and reader than I struggled to ever get over. I really like the concept and what this book was going for so I'm disappointed I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected.
saturnia finished a book

The Gilda Stories
Jewelle Gomez
saturnia commented on greenyuri's update
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The Unworthy
Agustina Bazterrica
saturnia commented on a post
Is it really true that the UK didn't teach history on their own slavery in primary or secondary school? I'm a little shocked because I thought British kids would learn about it early on like they do in the US.
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The nature of society is that we necessarily observe each other through certain prescribed lenses . . . So, someone like me, however much I might insist that I "identify as agender" can never actually be genderless. The best that I can hope for is what I usually get: I must be some kind of gender clown.
Unfortunately this is very real. Gender is a social construct but it's a social construct that we continually view each other in, which means we can't escape from it. 🫤
saturnia commented on jordynreads's update
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I wasn't going to make a post about Imprint but I haven't stopped thinking about it since I've read it because it really annoyed me. I just can't get over how entitled Vallese feels in the essay -- the way Amanda is just viewed as an incubator and her grief is sidelined for the cis man's grief really struck a nerve. With all due respect, I understand that Vallese is grieving. It makes sense! He really wants a kid and Amanda miscarries 3 times which is obviously upsetting, but nobody is entitled to a baby. And to use miscarriage, something that happens only to those with uteruses, while you're a cis man, as the basis of your essay doesn't feel right (to me). I'm struggling to put into words why it's upsetting me but it really does.
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saturnia commented on leshka's review of Lies of My Monster (Monster Trilogy, #2)
i've seen sandcastles more intelligent than this fmc and the mmc is genuinely nauseating p.s. threatening to rape someone and being aggressive to someone who just got SA'd is where i draw the fucking line p.p.s. don't even let me start on the concentration camp quote
saturnia is interested in reading...

This Nonviolent Stuff'll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible
Charles E. Cobb
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saturnia commented on shutupkeeley's update
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Classics Starter Pack Vol I
Champion: Finished 5 Side Quest books.