Audely Bensen Writes

From everything I saw online, Babel by R.F. Kuang seemed to be The Book of 2022. I was surprised to find it on the new releases shelf at the library, as I imagined there would have been weeks of waiting lists before I managed to get my hands on it.  Kuang did a really great job showing Robin develop with age-appropriate voice that always felt like the same character, and showing how he became the person who made the decisions at the end of the novel. The many micro-aggressions Robin encountered were sometimes painful to read, but they clearly came from a place of truth. I also enjoyed the very snarky voice of the footnotes, although I could rarely spot the in-text half of the asterisk, which then pulled me out of the story as I searched the pages I just read for the loose asterisk (an issue of copy-editing or design, not of writing, in my opinion).  Between the footnotes and the overt impacts of racism and colonialism on the characters of this book, it was clear that this boo...

I picked up The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune on a friend's recommendation. The book follows Linus Baker as he encounters the residents of a residential home for magical children, and considers his role in their lives as a lowly government case worker.  The thing I loved most about this book was the drab depiction of soulless government work. Ten years ago I made a choice not to pursue a path that would have led to a career in casework that I always imagined would be just as the author depicted--dull buildings, thankless hours, and workers who either clung to the belief that they made a difference or checked out completely under the strain of low pay, long hours, and social systems that weren't built to allow anyone involved to thrive.  I enjoyed the love story and the forming of a family, and the magic that comes from accepting other people's imperfections while daring to show your own, and building a life in kindness.