Carole´s Review: In between spaces

Author: Rebecca Burke

Title: In Between Spaces

Genre: Anthology, Nonfiction, Short Stories, Poetry

Format: paperback

Pages: 264

Published: November 1, 2022

Where I got It: My shelf (Given as a gift)

Summary: 

In Between Spaces, Stillhouse Press’s first ever anthology, centers the experiences of thirty-three disabled poets, short-story writers, and essayists as they navigate the physical and emotional complexities of disability, chronic illness, neurodivergence, and mental illness. Compiled by an editorial team of disabled writers, this timely collection of often-overlooked voices celebrates joy, freedom, and the power of agency, while at the same time confronting and challenging the stigmas and barriers, visible and invisible, that too often come to define life with a disability.

Review:

Someone gave this to me as a gift a while back and I'm finally diving in!

This is a collection of 33 pieces of work from people with disabilities. From poems to short stories to essays. These all navigate the physical and emotional complexities of disability, chronic illness, neurodivergence, and mental illness. 

I took my time with this because I wanted to enjoy each and every story. I found myself re-reading some of the passages since they were just so good. 

There was for sure a huge variety of style and messaging. I really enjoyed that! You never knew what story would be told next and in what format. Refreshing!

Not sure if I could really pick a favorite though since they were all good. Maybe the poems? I have a soft-spot for a well written poem! Especially if the format and style is different and unique....count me in!!! There wasn't any I didn't like which is RARE for an anthology. They were all good on some level. 

All-in-all, this will make you think, make you smile, make you want to cry. The poems were especially good, but everything else was good too. I for sure recommend this. 5/5 stars! 

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

Series: The Cosmere (#28), Secret Projects (#1)

Format: 384 pages, Paperback

Published: April 2, 2024 by Tor Books

From: Own

Genre: Fantasy

A fairytale esque book set in the Cosmere.

Tress grows up on a boring little dangerous island. Everything in this world is dangerous and can kill you. She has a best friend, but one day he is taken away. And she says, nope, not on my watch. And she goes to find him!

A pirate adventure. A tale of friendship, danger and going for what you want.

A sweet adventure. Where everything goes well just as in a fairytale.

The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?

Yours, eventually by Nura Maznavi

 

Format: 400 pages, Paperback

Published: February 18, 2025 by Dutton

From: Received from Dutton via Netgalley

Genre. Persuasion re-telling. Fiction. 

I do like my Austen re-tellings, and this one is a Persuasion re-telling. It is set in a Pakistani American community, and it is not even my first Desi re-telling.

Asma is a young Doctor, and years ago her family pressured her to break up with Farooq. He was not from the right family, or rich enough. But he is back in her life and he is rich. So very rich. But that was years ago, and there can not be anything between them anymore, or can there?

I liked how the story went. We have the annoying younger sister who married first. Then the oldest sister who spends money and is all about image. And the clueless dad who does not want to admit they are in need of money.

The marriage mart is big here, and just as it was in the book. 

Asma was nice, and she does want more. But there is a road there to be taken. Some courage to be had, and realisations acquired. And then everyone will live happily ever after.

A mesmerizing debut novel set in a tightly knit Pakistani American community where a young doctor gets an unexpected second chance with the first love she never got over when he becomes one of the most eligible bachelors in town.

The Ibrahim family is facing a crucial moment: Their patriarch just lost his fortune as the result of a Ponzi scheme, and the family is picking up the pieces. At the family’s core is Asma—successful doctor and the long-suffering middle daughter who stepped into the family center after the death of her beloved mother years ago. Despite what the prying aunties think, Asma is living the life she has always wanted, fulfilling her childhood dream of becoming a doctor . . . or so she thinks.

In walks Farooq Waheed, Asma’s college sweetheart whose proposal was cruelly rejected by Asma’s aunt and father. Now, eight years later, Farooq has made his fortune by selling his Silicon Valley startup and is widely considered one of the most eligible bachelors in California. As he enters Asma’s social orbit, she finds herself navigating a tricky landscape—her pushy sisters, gossiping aunties, and her father’s expectations—on her path to reconciling the past and winning Farooq back in the present. If there is still time.

Yours, Eventually is a story about a young woman finding the courage to follow her heart and coming to the realization that living your life according to what other people think is no life at all.

TMST

 

 

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