You know, I used to think I didn't like sci-fi. Then I read this. I wasn't expecting much since I got it at Dollar Tree for a dollar, but I was wrong. Shock Pao's a bitter trans man who keeps getting fucked over by everyone, Amiga Tanaka kills people for some big shot that she eventually turns against, and Petrie or whatever his name was is kind of just there. I haven't read Escapology in a while. Anyways, Shock ends up stealing a dubiously live computer chip and putting it in his head which messes with everything, the world turns into a golden aquarium, Shock's pet shark dies, and it's really really edgy and dramatic, which was what enthralled me at the ripe old age of 10-11 (which was probably bad. *slaps the cover* this thing can fit so many swears and sexual references and generally mature subject matter), but now what enthralls me is the sheer worldbuilding. Slip. The Gung. Land ships. Hubs. Cleaners. I was vibrating in place the first time I read this. I've read it over ten times, I think. It's a fucking masterpiece of a book.

The sequel to Escapology. It's common opinion that sequels usually suck. They're wrong. You know, that's probably a movie thing, never mind. Virology has all the punch and edge and stakes of the first book. Remember that whole golden aquarium thing? Yeah, all of them get kidnapped. I think it was an evil pair of twins? Also, there's a virus ravaging people with literal malware in them, hence the name. I don't actually remember how this one ends, but let me tell you about a few scenes: Some guy loses his finger to his abusive grandmother, Amiga shows up at a club she used to go to, the gang goes to Paris... that's about all I remember. I'll update this when I re-read it.

This one's a bit of an outlier. I found it at the Barnes and Noble at my brother's college campus, and didn't actually buy it. Instead, every time I went there, I would find a copy and recall the page I was on and read it that way. The story revolves around Mika Suzuki and the daughter she gave up for adoption sixteen years ago, Penny. It's about family and love and acceptance and Japanese culture. You know, why am I so drawn to books about East Asia? The -ology duology is set in something Korea-adjacent, and this one is about making it as a Japanese immigrant. Well, all of this is besides the point. I relate to this book. A lot. Penny is eager to learn about her Japanese roots, like how I would be willing to learn about my Indonesian roots, my Muslim heritage, if my family would fucking tell me. My mom didn't want to tell me what a fucking hijab was. ANYWAY, anyway, when Mika rented a gallery out and lying about her life so Penny wouldn't be ashamed of her, that was so real. I've lied about things just to be seen as an equal too. And might I point out that Penny was conceived by rape? I've been dealing with consistent sexual harassment since I was, I don't know, five or six, and that part kind of scared me. What if that will be my fate? Anyways, I finished reading on December 20, 2022, when I kind of hated myself. This book made me understand that I needed to get a fucking grip, and maybe muster up the courage to throw a punch the next time my brother's dad laughs at me for doing something as simple as looking out of a window.

Usually I don't like books set before the 2000s. But I like girls being in gangs and beating the shit out of predators more. Yeah that happens. There's Maddy and Legs, Goldie and Rita and Lana, and they're fierce as fuck!!! Until Legs goes to prison and everyone kidnaps some guy later. And the repitition on the prose. I am such a fucking sucker for repitition. One thing I remember is that everyone but Legs is kind of racist, which bugs me as someone whose skin is probably darker than all these girls' hair combined, but hey, it's set in the 1950s and I'm taking what I can get. Overall, I think this is what radicalized me. I'm kidding. Not really.

Something something convention something something women in gaming and content creation. I liked it, personally!

I don't remember much about this one. Except the vibes. It was good. I promise.

This one is also set before the 2000s, but what drew me in was the bitterness and the repitition, it's always the repitition, and I'm not lying. I like this one more for nostalgia's sake than anything, as the main character, Doug, ends up falling for the girl, Lil, because of course he does, no boy and girl can be within a mile of each other without making out, how could I forget. But there's other things too, thank fuck, like Doug's fucked up family, and his growing love for drawing birds, how everyone thinks he's a lowlife and he's internalized that... I'm actually only halfway through this thing on my current read-through, but damn. Damn.

Silly book about demons and theater and lesbians. It's like if a movie was a book. 10/10