FF Friday

More from my Bookcrossing haul:


Sing You Home - Jodi Picoult

Another of Picoult's 'ethical dilemma' novels, this one featuring a custody battle over some frozen embryos - with the debate being over whether they should be implanted in the uterus of the ex-wife's new partner, or that of the ex-husband's sister-in-law.

The first half of the book seemed a bit of a colour-by-numbers coming out story, with all the stock points about 'not like kissing a man' etc turning up right on cue. (Maybe I read too much fanfic.) However, it picked up considerably when it got to the courtroom drama part of the book, which I think is where Picoult's strengths lie, and it has a satisfying ending.

I was uncomfortable with the use of the old 'but shellfish!!!' rebuttal of Leviticus, which skirts a bit close to the antisemitism line for me, and I have to confess that I skimmed over some of the debates altogether, having heard them all before. I was less than impressed by the egregious bisexual erasure (not one mention of the word in the entire book, despite the main character having significant relationships on page with a man and then a woman).


Power & Magic: The Queer Witch Comics Anthology - ed. Joamette Gil

Does what it says on the tin, really: a delightful and varied collection of comics featuring queer witches, with a lovely diverse range of settings, styles, characters, and creators. I'm not a great comics reader so am probably missing some of the subtleties, but it made for a very enjoyable afternoon's reading.


These Witches Don't Burn - Isabel Sterling

A young adult novel set in modern-day Salem, Massachusetts. The narrator is a seventeen year old witch; so are her parents; so is her ex-girlfriend; and someone's out to get her.

It went darker than I was expecting (possibly the animal sacrifice in the first chapter should have given me a clue): this is a world where the worst can and does happen, and there's only so much you can do about it. Actually, it reminded me a lot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer - this time without the bisexual erasure. In fact, there was quite a range of sexual and gender diversity.

It's clearly setting itself up to be the first in a series, and I'm not sure that it needs to be: I don't feel any particular urge to find out what happens next, and I'd have preferred to have the last loose end tied up to make a satisfying standalone.


I think I need a break from first person present tense now, though, after the Picoult and the Sterling.