River Mumma is so deeply Torontonian, filled with endless Toronto lore and language, while also blending in Jamaican slang and culture. This is a fun blend of genres - fantasy, adventure, and horror - which I found to be executed well. I also love the trio of main characters and their friendship throughout the quest.

What I didn't love is that I felt like the story lacked purpose - why did these characters go on this journey and how did they grow? There was a journey in the plot, but I would've also liked to see a journey in the characters.

The story of the radium girls isn't one I was familiar with, so I was interested in this graphic novel to learn more. It was a devastating story that highlights the lack of care for women in society. I especially enjoyed the author's coloured pencil illustrations and colour selection.

This was one of the most emotionally devastating romance books I've read recently. We jump right into the crash that happens and the angst of Travis trying to cope in secret with his boyfriend being near death. I think this was both a strength and a weakness in the plot - it hooked me right away, since it was very emotional. However a few times I wondered why I should care about the emotional aspect when we knew literally nothing about either character. It set up the story to have one-dimensional characters centered around their grief, which was unfortunate because there was a lot of potential here!

There are some really nuanced topics hit in this story, particularly with Jacob and his recovery - his internalized biphobia could have been explored more though. I do like that the author had Jacob in therapy because I feel like we don't often see male characters talking about their emotions with a therapist. Another redeeming quality to make up for the lack of depth to the main characters are the side characters who become found family for them (one of my favourite tropes!). Overall, this was a good read in the moment but will be a bit forgettable with the lack of character development.

This was an emotional coming of age story of Gabi, a Mexican-American football player in his first year of college who discovers he's bisexual and tries to figure out how to balance his sexuality with his sport. I laughed out loud at several moments in this book, and the found family cast of characters were wonderful.

Like the last book I read by this author, I find the writing to be a bit cringey which is why this isn't a five star for me. Gabi and Vale have a philosophy class together, and there is a ton of philosophical conversations and quotes which is also really not my thing.

Overall though, I find Jonny Garza Villa to be a promising writer, with very heartfelt stories showcasing queer Latine characters.