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#MagicalRealism
blurb
RedRosesPinkSugar

Finished June 20, 2025.

review
Makyah
Mehso-so

I appreciate the authors unique take on showcasing depression, grief, and trauma and the back sliding that people can face when trying to overcome that. Especially as people of color and the weight of having to deal with racial discrimination on top of that. I recognize the points the author is trying to convey but the way it was delivered through this grim fairytale style didn‘t hit for me the way I wanted it too.

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Makyah

This book would be a great tool for students to use in order to practice reading comprehension skills and practice the skill of understanding the author‘s deeper meaning with this story as well as recognizing the authors purpose. This would also be a good diverse read for people to understand the harsh realities of the way black families view/ deal with mental health.

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Makyah
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So far I am interested in the story in regards to mental health among black teens. The whole whimsical aspect that the author is going for to symbolize what Whimsy is going through feels almost dream like. However sometimes I‘m finding myself being a little lost within the story due to the excessive symbolism and it being too abstract.

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mrp27
A Novel Love Story | Ashley Poston
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#weekendreads

Heading off to the beach for some weekend reading.

MemoirsForMe Enjoy! 🏖️ 11h
22 likes1 comment
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AnnCrystal
Bless Me, Ultima | Rudolfo Anaya
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I finished this on the eleventh of June, but wanted to weigh the story...then reality became extra crazy...and remains frightening.

Warning, the following is a long babbling review.

This read was good, yet nothing like I expected.

There's no rhyme or reason to which book I investigate, nor how much I investigate, before reading.

I didn't give this book much research beforehand. I had learned that it had been banned, possibly even burned.

👇🏼

AnnCrystal But I didn't want to read anything too deep and telling about the actual storyline.

That was a mistake.

I had assumed this was a cozy fantasy about a boy and a magical, grandma-like character.

I mean, there's a kid, how bad could the story be?

This story was NOT a cozy. It's complex, and filled with tragedy.

At times, it feels current, from the prospective of a six year old boy...sometimes it feels removed, events being looked back upon.
2d
AnnCrystal I enjoyed the Golden Carp (fiction), and my favorite chapter was when Ultima went to help a family being harassed by unseen forces.

I did not like the notion that Ultima's fate was due to her using magic to “help.“

This felt based on the belief that all magic has a price.

Personally, I believe that whatever energies you send out into the world, is the energies that return to you. So be good, be positive, be helpful. The Threefold Law .

👇🏼

(edited) 2d
AnnCrystal Also, I feel abilities like Ultima's are a gift and a talent.

That Ultima helping was no different than cops protecting victims from perpetrators, lawyers defending clients, medical doctors saving patients, priests saving souls, or good old-fashioned self-defense, etc.

Personally, I do not believe that magic comes with a price when using for good, only when it is twisted into dark magic.

Ultima hadn't been the one to alter fates.

👇🏼
2d
See All 11 Comments
AnnCrystal My other issue...

I am Catholic, as known, my God is a jealous God.

Long ago, I came to believe that one can't cheat on a God. This belief allows me to acknowledge other Creators without fear of offending my own.

My mom also raised me to ask myself how I believe Jesus may weigh anything and everything I encountered in life, to ask myself this before seeking answers from our church. Right or wrong, only God Himself could judge me.

👇🏼
2d
AnnCrystal From my own Catholic prospective:

I understood Antonio's questions and even his building doubts about the Catholic faith he was born with...

It would've been nice to see a bit more resolve with his Catholic understandings, just a little.

I guess that's unfair. Antonio is only six years old...

Faith is built with time and patience.

My only issue is it seemed strange that this book both penalized magic and critiqued the Catholic faith??

👇🏼
(edited) 2d
AnnCrystal Perhaps it's message was suggesting that old Creators are waiting to be rediscovered??

My reflections about the banning and burning of this book...

I always felt that when people take such dramatic actions against books, it is because they are trying to prove something to themselves. Believing if they prove their faith publicly, then maybe it would also prove their faith to God.

Again, this is my personal opinion.

As mentioned, I am Catholic.
2d
AnnCrystal My religion is a gift from my mom (who has even taught Catechism in the past), an inheritance from her parents. While my maternal grandma wavered in the faith she was born into, my maternal grandfather was born and remained a devout Roman Catholic (read the St. Joseph version of the Catholic Bible).

I'm not new to my faith

I've grown comfortable in my faith. I believe the only proof my God needs from me is the Love I feel for Him.

👇🏼
2d
AnnCrystal Even when I believe I have encountered other Creators, (which I believe I have) it is my God I turn to, asking Him to give thanks for me.

I figure, hey, if my God can give justice, then I can believe that He can also pass a message of gratitude.

Therefore, I took no personal offense from this book as a Catholic.

Although, I would like to highlight that Catholics do believe that there is no true washing of sins without genuine remorse.
👇🏼
(edited) 2d
AnnCrystal There is a lot of Spanish dialogue without direct translation.

I only know English, but have picked up a few words over the years.

It didn't feel like it hindered the storyline, at least not for me. I felt it added atmosphere.

I love stories with healers, and this is my first read with a Curandera...I absolutely loved Ultima.

The New Mexico setting was fully detailed.

There are book warnings 📚⚠️👇🏼.
2d
AnnCrystal Child witnessing death, including murders.

Child threatened.

Drowning death of a child.

Bullying.
(edited) 2d
AnnCrystal I believe this makes my longest review ever posted on Litsy, posted on the longest day of the year...this wasn't done on purpose 😂📚💝.

#blessmeultimareviewedbyanncrystal

#bannedbooks
(edited) 2d
22 likes1 stack add11 comments
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JuliaTheBookNerd
The Rules of Magic | Alice Hoffman
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#SummSolstice ☾☼☀︎⋆.ೃ࿔*:・💛🖤

#JuneSpecials ☀️🌸⛱️🦩🍉 🌻🩱🧴🕶️🌊🐚

#BookNerd 🤓📚💙

Eggs Love Hoffman‘s Magic series❤️ 2d
30 likes1 comment
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tatumlanders
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My favorite part of this book was the three perspectives on the death of Faerry and Whimsy‘s siblings. Not only was this a crucial turning point in the narrative, but an important statement in guilt, forgiveness, and atonement. I was left wondering if their parents felt the same guilt Faerry and Whimsy did, and if they were able to finally forgive themselves (or at least remember) when the younger children returned home.

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tatumlanders
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I was very impressed by the writing in this book, and the creativity the author brought to symbolizing the character‘s depression. However, I think it was a little too abstract for me to truly enjoy reading it. After finishing the book, I had to look up multiple summaries and analyses to make sense of it. I also just didn‘t connect with the characters at all, and I think I could have if there was more intentional character development.

Makyah I felt the same way honestly. I am glad I wasn‘t the only one thinking this. I loved the deeper meaning that that author was trying to convey but it was just done up in a way that was too indirect that I had a hard time connecting with the story and the characters. 21h
1 like1 comment
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tatumlanders
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With recommending any book, it‘s important for us to know our students so that we suggest the right book for them. Personally, I don‘t think I would ever recommend this book to a student. This is not because it isn‘t a beautifully written book, but because it addresses topics that can be very triggering for students. For some students, this could be just the book they need to feel understood. For others, it could be just a little too real.