Jocelyn's Reviews

Allie Brosh has returned! Childhood shenanigans, stories of dogs, anecdotes of life’s weirdness abound, and reveal with aching (and hilarious) vulnerability the health crisis, heartbreak, tragedy, depression, grief, and existential ennui that led to her Internet disappearance in 2013. It also goes into the fortitude to survive some of the worst things the world can throw at you, or that you can throw at yourself. Allie Brosh has survived and is finding her way, with a snicker and pencil-drawn cartoons, and will help you survive, too. — Jocelyn

Ben Macintyre draws from a wealth of declassified reports, memoirs, and interviews to paint a vivid portrait of Ursula Burton, née Kuczynski, daughter of a German Jewish bourgeois family, mother of three, life-long champion of communism, and USSR spy “Sonya.” Sonya’s cause drew her across the world, where her information networks allowed her to facilitate some of the most significant missions of WWII, part of the start of a history that has shaped so much of today’s world. A fascinating read for any historian. — Jocelyn

The Daughters of Ys is a modern reimagining of an ancient Breton legend about a wealthy city sunk into the sea by magic and vice. Jo Rioux’s dreamy palette and illustrations have, like M.T. Anderson’s story, a deceptive simplicity that pulls you deeper into the complex currents of duty and desire, love and loyalty, loss and responsibility, and family and nation, amidst a tale of dark magics and miracles. The depths of this may haunt you...but in the best way. — Jocelyn

This modern-day Latinx rom-com was so fun, smart, and sexy! Jasmine and Ashton both have a lot on the line as stars of Carmen in Charge—a telenovela remake for a mainstream US audience—and aren’t looking for love. The immediate tension (sexual and otherwise) between the two plays out against each other’s ambition (and secrets) in the real-life world of television acting and production. This story is as much about community and family as it is about romance. — Jocelyn 

Nadiya Hussain’s recipes (some seen on her new Netflix show, Nadiya’s Time to Eat) are designed to be quick and easy, and Hussain doesn’t shy away from making use of preprepared ingredients, but her work is always centered on whole, healthy food, packed full of flavor. Whether you were charmed by Hussain on the The Great British Baking Show or are just discovering the British halal baker, pick this up for any busy human dreaming of home-cooked meals (especially for yourself or for a family!). — Jocelyn
 

In Eat a Peach, David Chang (who among other things opened a two-person, hole-in-the-wall ramen restaurant before ramen was anything but freeze-dried in the US) dutifully documents a legendary career that has left him an undeniable culinary legend, and then he uses his memoir to do his best to tear down any remaining images of himself as a luminary, god, or pedasteled hero, writing instead a brutally honest self-portrait of a real man in an unreal life. In clear, sincere, irreverent prose—written with Gabe Ulla—Chang shares the important moments of his journey, centering the book on his lifelong battle with bipolar disorder and self-destructive tendencies. His story is a needed milestone in the modern history of food.  — Jocelyn

Fawcett has crafted an entertaining new fantasy where the action almost never stops, reminiscent of Diana Wynne Jones, Rick Riordan, and Eva Ibbotson. Assassins, a floating island, invisible cats, deadly and snarky sea serpents, self-absorbed otters, and fascinating magic tangle with a relatable protagonist trying to do right by her family and world. I loved the questions of “good and evil” and “right and “wrong” that Noa grapples with and following Noa and her siblings and friends on this adventure! —Jocelyn

On November 30th, 2016, in a beautifully written, tenderly honest post on her award-winning blog Orangette, Molly Wizenberg announced that she and her husband were divorcing. A result of the fact that, since having their child, her sexual orientation had changed. In her new memoir, she shares more about this incredibly personal experience. The Fixed Stars is an unflinchingly vulnerable and frank account of sexuality, relationships, love, and self-discovery, that can only lead to further reflection on what we want and need and are. —Jocelyn

Not many would read about the end of the world for fun during a pandemic. If you smiled at that last sentence, pick up this book. Katie Mack is funny, educated, incredibly smart—and will make you feel the same. Beyond pop-culture references and complex scientific concepts (that she makes absolutely relatable and understandable!) Mack’s passion will hook you in to the last (hilarious) footnote, leaving you excited for what is left to discover (and following @AstroKatie on Twitter) before the end. —Jocelyn 

Jmiaa is 34, a sex worker for almost 15 years, with a 7-year-old daughter, a mother she’s lying to, and a disaster of an ex-husband (she’ll tell you the story). Armed with wine, beer, and a pack of cigarettes, Jmiaa has no pity for herself, nor for anyone else in her working class Moroccanneighborhood. Meryem Alaoui’s debut novel is real and smart, with a touch of hope and the day-time talk show drama that will keep you reading. —Jocelyn