- Home
- Chelsea
Chelsea
My Shelf
Gods of jade and shadow : a novel
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
SCIENCE FICTION Moreno-Garcia, Silvia
Diverse Characters, Fiction, Fantasy
"The Mayan God of Death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this dark fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore"--
Station eleven : a novel
by Emily St. John Mandel
FICTION Mandel Emily
Fiction
"An audacious, darkly glittering novel about art, fame, and ambition set in the eerie days of civilization's collapse, from the author of three highly acclaimed previous novels. One snowy night a famous Hollywood actor slumps over and dies onstage during a production of King Lear. Hours later, the world as we know it begins to dissolve. Moving back and forth in time-from the actor's early days as a film star to fifteen years in the future, when a theater troupe known as the Traveling Symphony roams the wasteland of what remains-this suspenseful, elegiac, spellbinding novel charts the strange twists of fate that connect five people: the actor, the man who tried to save him, the actor's first wife, his oldest friend, and a young actress with the Traveling Symphony, caught in the crosshairs of a dangerous self-proclaimed prophet. Sometimes terrifying, sometimes tender, Station Eleven tells a story about the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature of fame, and the beauty of the world as we know it"--
I love how much hope there is in Station Eleven. I found it really refreshing to see such optimism in a post-apocalyptic novel. This is a book about finding meaning in life despite the inevitability of death. -Chelsea
The Familiar
by Leigh Bardugo
SCIENCE FICTION Bardugo Leigh
Fiction, Fantasy
"In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to better the family's social position. What begins as simple amusement for the bored nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England's heretic queen--and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king's favor. Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the lines between magic, science, and fraud are never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive--even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both"--
A beautiful and bittersweet historical fantasy set during the Spanish inquisition that explores the consequences of desire. Bardugo uses diasporic languages, such as Ladino, to form the basis of her magic system, adding both tension and lyriscism to the narrative. The Familiar is good in print, but it really shines as an audiobook, where the magic words can come to life. -Chelsea
Invisible : how young women with serious health issues navigate work, relationships, and the pressure to seem just fine
by Michele Lent Hirsch
305.4 /Hirsch
Nonfiction, Health, Self Help
Lent Hirsch weaves her own harrowing experiences together with stories from other women, perspectives from sociologists on structural inequality, and insights from neuroscientists on misogyny in health research. She shows how health issues and disabilities amplify what women in general already confront: warped beauty standards, workplace sexism, worries about romantic partners, and mistrust of their own bodies. By shining a light on this hidden demographic, Lent Hirsch explores the challenges that all women face.
"Invisible" examines chronic illness through the lens of multiple women, building a full picture through their varied and intersectional experiences. This book does an excellent job of capturing the seismic feeling of becoming chronically ill, the way the people and places around you change to become stranger and more hostile. -Chelsea
The Wee Free Men
by Terry Pratchett
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Pratchett, Terry
Kids, Early Chapter Books, Fantasy
A young witch-to-be named Tiffany teams up with the Wee Free Men, a clan of six-inch-high blue men, to rescue her baby brother and ward off a sinister invasion from Fairyland.
The Tiffany Aching books are a delightful introduction to Pratchett's Discworld, and I wholeheartedly recommend the entire series. -Chelsea
The bear and the nightingale : a novel
by Katherine Arden
SCIENCE FICTION Arden, Katherine
Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
"In a village at the edge of the wilderness of northern Russia, where the winds blow cold and the snow falls many months of the year, a stranger with piercing blue eyes presents a new father with a gift - a precious jewel on a delicate chain, intended for his young daughter. Uncertain of its meaning, Pytor hides the gift away and Vasya grows up a wild, willful girl, to the chagrin of her family. But when mysterious forces threaten the happiness of their village, Vasya discovers that, armed only with the necklace, she may be the only one who can keep the darkness at bay"--
The Winternight Trilogy is fantasy with a heavy historical influence. The detail Arden uses to describe medival Russia really grounds the more fantastic elements of the story, and the world is alive with characters from Russian folklore. Vasya is a very empowering protagonist because she only ever becomes more herself. She refuses to let the world change her, and the series follows her as she carves out a place for herself in spite of the conventions that would cage her. -Chelsea
Gideon the ninth
by Tamsyn Muir
SCIENCE FICTION Muir Tamsyn
Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Muir's Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cutthroat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as arcane revenants. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy.
This book is dense, and it can be difficult to get into, but it is very much worth the effort, and is particularly rewarding to reread. The characters are wonderfully flawed, and the world they inhabit is broken and horrifyingly familiar. Muir's humor will sneak up on you when you're least expecting it. -Chelsea
Stardust
by Neil Gaiman
SCIENCE FICTION Gaiman, Neil
Fiction, Fantasy
Young Tristran Thorn will do anything to win the cold heart of beautiful Victoria—even fetch her the star they watch fall from the night sky. But to do so, he must enter the unexplored lands on the other side of the ancient wall that gives their tiny village its name. Beyond that old stone wall, Tristran learns, lies Faerie—where nothing not even a fallen star, is what he imagined.
A lovely lyrical fantasy that i read again and again. It never fails to transport me to another world for a few hours. -Chelsea
A darker shade of magic
by Victoria Schwab
SCIENCE FICTION Schwab Victoria
Fiction, Fantasy
"From V.E. Schwab, the critically acclaimed author of Vicious, comes a new universe of daring adventure, thrilling power, and parallel Londons, beginning with A Darker Shade of Magic. Kell is one of the last Travelers--magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes--as such, he can choose where he lands. There's Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, ruled by a mad King George. Then there's Red London, where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London, ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne--a place where people fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London...but no one speaks of that now. Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see--a dangerous hobby, and one that has set him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations, first robs him, then saves him from a dangerous enemy, and then forces him to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure. But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive--and that is proving trickier than they hoped. "--
Incredible world building, interesting magic system, excellent characters; the whole series is one of my all time favorites and I look forward to its continuation. -Chelsea
One last stop
by Casey McQuiston
FICTION McQuiston, Casey
Fiction, LGBTQ+
"From the New York Times bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue comes a new romantic comedy that will stop readers in their tracks... "Dreamy, other worldly, smart, swoony, thoughtful, hilarious - all in all, exactly what you'd expect from Casey McQuiston!" - Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of The Proposal and Party for Two Cynical twenty-three-year old August doesn't believe in much. She doesn't believe in psychics, or easily forged friendships, or finding the kind of love they make movies about. And she certainly doesn't believe her ragtag band of new roommates, her night shifts at a 24-hour pancake diner, or her daily subway commute full of electrical outages are going to change that. But then, there's Jane. Beautiful, impossible Jane. All hard edges with a soft smile and swoopy hair and saving August's day when she needed it most. The person August looks forward to seeing on the train every day. The one who makes her forget about the cities she lived in that never seemed to fit, and her fear of what happens when she finally graduates, and even her cold-case obsessed mother who won't quite let her go. And when August realizes her subway crush is impossible in more ways than one-namely, displaced in time from the 1970s-she thinks maybe it's time to start believing. Casey McQuiston's One Last Stop is a sexy, big-hearted romance where the impossible becomes possible as August does everything in her power to save the girl lost in time"--
The characters in this book feel like family, like a big group of friends that lives in the apartment above you causing good-natured chaos. Jane is one of my favorite characters. I love her hard edges and her drive to fight for her community, and I love that with August, she finally gets to have someone fight for her. -Chelsea
The Fifth Season
by N. K. Jemisin
OverDrive Audiobook
Fiction, Fantasy, Diverse Characters
At the end of the world, a woman must hide her secret power and find her kidnapped daughter in this "intricate and extraordinary" Hugo Award winning novel of power, oppression, and revolution. (The New York Times) This is the way the world ends. . .for the last time. It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world's sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester. This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy. Read the first book in the critically acclaimed, three-time Hugo award-winning trilogy by NYT bestselling author N. K. Jemisin.
The Fifth Season is a braided coming of age story, a wonderful character study that is beautifully narrated by Robin Miles. This series does not flinch away from difficult topics, and explores the effects of racism, colonialism, and other oppressive power structures in stark detail. -Chelsea
Light from uncommon stars
by Ryka Aoki
SCIENCE FICTION Aoki Ryka
Fiction, Science Fiction
"Good Omens meets The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet in Ryka Aoki's Light From Uncommon Stars, a defiantly joyful adventure set in California's San Gabriel Valley, with cursed violins, Faustian bargains, and queer alien courtship over fresh-made donuts. Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six. When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka's ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She's found her final candidate. But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn't have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan's kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul's worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline. As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found"--
At turns lyrical and ridiculous, this book made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me laugh while crying. The characters are wonderfully imperfect, and it is a delight to see how they fit their broken edges together. Best enjoyed with doughnuts. -Chelsea
In an absent dream
by Seanan McGuire
SCIENCE FICTION Mcguire Seanan
Fiction, Fantasy
"Every Heart a Doorway racked up comparisons to C. S. Lewis and Lewis Carroll, and the Wayward Children series has delighted and mesmerized readers. This fourth entry tells the origin story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should. When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise. Alas, everything costs at the goblin market, and when her time there is drawing to a close, she makes the kind of bargain that never plays out well. For anyone . . ."--
I see myself in Lundy. I love her attention to detail and the way she uses her cleverness to find loopholes and make the rules work to her advantage. I enjoy all of the Wayward Children books, but there's something special about In an Absent Dream. It contains the sort of heartbreak that cuts to the core of me. -Chelsea
Good omens : the nice and accurate prophecies of Agnes Nutter, witch
by Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett
SCIENCE FICTION Gaiman, Neil
Fiction, Fantasy
According to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter - the world's only totally reliable guide to the future - the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just after tea... People have been predicting the end of the world almost from its very beginning, so it’s only natural to be sceptical when a new date is set for Judgement Day. This time though, the armies of Good and Evil really do appear to be massing. The four Bikers of the Apocalypse are hitting the road. But both the angels and demons – well, one fast-living demon and a somewhat fussy angel – would quite like the Rapture not to happen. And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist…
This book never fails to make me laugh, and it is unflinchingly in love with humanity. A good jumping off point for both Pratchett and Gaiman. To the world! -Chelsea
The books of Earthsea : the complete illustrated edition
by Ursula K. Le Guin
SCIENCE FICTION Leguin Ursula
Fiction, Fantasy
"Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the timeless and beloved A Wizard of Earthsea --"...reads like the retelling of a tale first told centuries ago," (David Mitchell)--comes this complete omnibus edition of the entire Earthsea chronicles, including over fifty illustrations illuminating Le Guin's vision of her classic saga. Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea novels are some of the most acclaimed and awarded works in literature--they have received prestigious accolades such as the National Book Award, a Newbery Honor, the Nebula Award, and many more honors, commemorating their enduring place in the hearts and minds of readers and the literary world alike. Now for the first time ever, they're all together in one volume--including the early short stories, Le Guin's "Earthsea Revisioned" Oxford lecture, and a new Earthsea story, never before printed. With a new introduction by Le Guin herself, this essential edition will also include fifty illustrations by renowned artist Charles Vess, specially commissioned and selected by Le Guin, to bring her refined vision of Earthsea and its people to life in a totally new way. [Stories include: "A Wizard of Earthsea", "The Tombs of Atuan", "The Farthest Shore", "Tehanu", "Tales From Earthsea", "The Other Wind", "The Rule of Names", "The Word of Unbinding", "The Daughter of Odren", and "Earthsea Revisioned: A Lecture at Oxford University".] With stories as perennial and universally beloved as The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of The Rings--but also unlike anything but themselves--this edition is perfect for those new to the world of Earthsea, as well as those who are well-acquainted with its enchanting magic: to know Earthsea is to love it"--
The Earthsea books are about becoming, but not in a hyperempowered-YA-protagonist way. They are about growing up and maturing and finding your place in the world and learning the truth of yourself, but they are also about accepting responsibility and guilt and all of the messy awful things that come with being human. -Chelsea
The starless sea
by Erin Morgenstern
SCIENCE FICTION Morgenstern, Erin
Fiction, Fantasy
"Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a rare book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues -- a bee, a key, and a sword -- that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to a subterranean library, hidden far below the surface of the earth. What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians--it is a place of lost cities and seas of honey, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also those who are intent on its destruction. Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a beautiful barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly-soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose -- in both the rare book and in his own life"--
Starless Sea is evokes a very particular feeling. Reading it feels warm and golden and viscous, melancholic. This is a book of missed opportunities and decaying splendor. It is a dream that you cannot quite remember upon waking. -Chelsea
About Me
Chelsea has been a Library Aide since 2023. She has a BA in International studies with a focus in Human Rights from the University of Iowa, and plans to pursue a Masters of Library Science as well as a JD. Chelsea has two cats named Felicity and Anathema and they are her constant reading buddies.
Chelsea is a voracious reader of fantasy and science fiction, and she has recently developed an interest in horror fiction. For non-fiction, Chelsea is most interested in reading books that are personally relevant, with a particular interest in books focused on chronic illness, queer history, and refugee policy
Came for the fantasy adventure, tripped and broke my heart on the romance. -Chelsea