Review: The Overseer Class by Steven W. Thrasher

The Overseer Class by Steven W. Thrasher is a sharp and unsettling examination of how modern systems of power operate through networks of surveillance, bureaucracy, and institutional control rather than just obvious political or economic elites. Although an extremely heavy topic is explored The Overseer Class was powerful, informative and insightful. Thrasher challenges readers to rethink power as something embedded within systems and cultural norms that quietly sustain inequality and is designed less to comfort than to provoke deeper reflection about the structures shaping everyday life. The is an important read and should be added to a college reading list as a start. 

Thank you to #NetGalley, the author Steven W. Thrasher and Amistad for a digital copy (eBook) of #TheOverseerClass in exchange for my honest opinion. #TheOverseerClass will be published on May 19, 2026. 

Review: Doubles by Nora Gold

There are novels that tell a story, and then there are novels that quietly unsettle you—Doubles by Nora Gold although a novella is firmly in the latter category. This novella packs a punch and lingers long after you’ve finished it. It centers around a young math-obsessed girl stuck in an institution. It is creative, dark, disturbing and clever.  

One can appreciate how this novella resists a clean resolution. If you’re looking for a tidy ending, this isn’t that. But if you’re willing to sit with ambiguity—and perhaps even discomfort—there’s something deeply satisfying in how the story unfolds. It trusts the reader to draw their conclusions.

If I had to place Doubles within a reading mood, I’d call it a quiet psychological study with literary edges—perfect for when you want something thoughtful, slightly unsettling, looking in on someone else's life and experiences that is intellectually engaging without being overwhelming.

Thank you to #NetGalley, the author Nora Gold and Literary Press Group of Canada|Guernica Editions for a digital copy (eBook) of #Doubles in exchange for my honest opinion. #Doubles will be published on May 1, 2026. 

REVIEW: Search for a Mysterious Mushroom Amy Seto Forrester and Andy Chou Musser

 

Search for a Mysterious Mushroom is a lively and imaginative pick-your-path adventure that turns reading and learning into a fun quest. Designed for young readers, the book invites kids to choose their research team, gear, and expedition as they hunt for the elusive Amparoina spinosissima mushroom. Along the way, each choice leads to new habitats and discoveries, that blend real science - an introduction to mycology - with an engaging cast and a fun narrative.

This book would be perfect for an end of the week class or science club activity, with props of course. Even a weekend adventure club or a sleep over etc. The artwork is simple and conveys exactly what the authors want.

The bright comic book/graphic novel style approach makes the information feel interactive, and even if one route doesn’t find the mushroom, readers will still learn a lot. the publisher describes this book as perfect for young adventurers who are into STEM, nature and will enjoy hands-on storytelling.

Thank you to #NetGalley, the authors Amy Seto Forrester and Andy Chou Musser and Chronicle Books for a digital copy (ebook) of #SearchforaMysteriousMushroom  in exchange for my honest opinion. Search for a Mysterious Mushroom will be published on May 5, 2026. 

REVIEW: Zicky-Wrath of the Rat King by Darin S. Cape

 

Zicky: Wrath of the Rat King is a fast-paced fantasy adventure with a dark, fairy-tale feel. Zicky is not heroic in the grand sense but he is in his world. A rich, imaginative world. He is small not only against the scale of the foes he faces but also in size and age. This gives the story its tension. It is clear and engaging, making the action scenes engaging while allowing readers to connect emotionally with Zicky, his family and his fantasy world. the characters. The Rat King is a dominant villain—both creepy and powerful—which raises the stakes throughout the story. Overall, Zicky: Wrath of the Rat King  is an enjoyable graphic novel, especially for those who like an underdog and adventures with a little  touch of darkness.

Thank you to #NetGalley, the author Darin S. Cape and SHP Comics for a digital copy (ebook) of #ZickyWrathoftheRatKing  in exchange for my honest opinion. Zicky Wrath of the Rat King will be published on April 16, 2026.

I AM A GREEN READER

 I took the Read Your Color quiz and I am a green reader (scored 45%)

Based on the concept or theory developed by Steven Reese that explores how readers, think, feel, process thoughts, enjoy or dislike books. "Our quiz is designed to get beneath the surface of your reading preferences — not by asking about favorite genres, but by exploring how you think, feel, and approach stories. We’ve blended insights from reader psychology, narrative theory, and thousands of book reviews and patterns to create a system that helps you find books you’ll actually finish — and love." Courtesy of https://www.readyourcolor.com/how-it-works-
Reese started posting last April and has shared books recommendations based on these six color categories. I went through his posts (the ones not behind a pay wall) to pull out the recommended GREEN books - see the titles listed below. The results were interesting as majority of them are nonfiction. On an annual basis I would say about 25% of my reading is nonfiction titles. Out of this 45 titles recommended for green readers, only a handful are fiction. I will see how well I engage with this list throughout the year. 

I OWN three of these titles, have three on my TBR and have only READ one. Am I really a Green Reader?

The Green List

1. The Gulag Archipelago (abridged) by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1973)

2. Neptune’s Fortune by Julian Sancton

3. Among the Bros: A Fraternity Crime Story by Max Marshall

4. Attensity! by The Friends of Attention

5. Why We Drink Too Much by Dr. Charles Knowles

6. A Flower Traveled in My Blood, by Haley Cohen Gilliland

7. The Sea Captain’s Wife: A True Story of Mutiny, Love, and Adventure at
    the Bottom of the World by Tilar J. Mazzeo

8. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand) OWN

9. True History of the Kelly Gang (Peter Carey)¹

10. Redeployment by Phil Klay

11. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann OWN

12. This Is Your Mind on Plants by Michael Polla

13. Judgment at Tokyo by Gary J. Bass

14. Capitalism: A Global History by Sven Beckert

15. Bottle of Lies:The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom by Katherine Eban

16. The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet

17. King of Kings by Scott Anderson

18. The Great Contradiction by Joseph J. Ellis

19. 1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin

20. How Infrastructure Works (Deb Chachra)

21. The Patriarch — David Nasaw

22. Cloudsplitter (Russell Banks)

23. The Age of Diagnosis by Suzanne O’Sullivan

24. The Known Citizen: A History of Privacy in Modern America by Sarah Igo

25. On Immunity: An Inoculation by Eula Biss

26. This Republic of Suffering by Drew Gilpin Faust

27. The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean

28. War Trash by Ha Jin

29. When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamín Labatut

30. The Face of Battle by John Keegan

31. American Pastoral by Philip Roth (1997)

32. The Cold Millions by Jess Walter OWN

33. The British Are Coming by Rick Atkinson

34. On Consolation by Michael Ignatieff

35. The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel – Douglas Brunt

36. Cue the Sun! – Emily Nussbaum READ

37. Work – James Suzman

38. Abundance – Ezra Klein

39. Some People Need Killing – Patricia Evangelista TBR

40. The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson TBR

41. The Tiger by John Vaillant

42. The Sirens Call by Chris Hayes

43. Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams

44. The Prosecutor by Jack Fairweather

45. Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green TBR