 In "Freshwater," the main character must reckon with the fact that she is both human and inhuman. Photo credit: Patrick Perkins on Unsplash. By Anya Shukla I started an internship this week, and now I’m super tired and have absolutely no will to do anything. So my reading comprehension has taken a bit of a tumble. Apologies if this review feels shorter and/or less… coherent than my previous pieces. Honestly, not sure how I can ever work a 9-5 job (and also have hobbies) if this feels like such a struggle right now. How does adulting work??
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 "Time Is a Mother" explores Ocean Vuong's relationship with his mother, who passed away of breast cancer in 2019. Photo credit: Aron Visuals on Unsplash. By Anya Shukla I love Ocean Vuong; I love Ocean Vuong; I love Ocean Vuong so much! I first came across his work after impulse-buying "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous," which is now one of my favorite books on this entire planet. His writing makes me feel every emotion in existence all at once. I’ve read many books this year that feel aggressive in their grief. After reading these novels, heavy feelings just sit in my chest; I’m forced to carry the author’s emotional burden. Even though Vuong’s poetry deals with intense, difficult topics, the work doesn’t have an unhealthy physical impact. I’ll definitely cry, but it’s cathartic: I always feel better afterward.
 Who gets to climb the social ladder in America? Photo by Jilbert Ebrahimi on Unsplash. By Anya Shukla This book has been on my to-read list for quite some time. I started it in January, and then my hold expired, which means that there was a six-month gap between my reading of the first and second halves of “Caste.” Please take my review with a grain of salt. This book also criticizes India. As a daughter of Indian immigrants, I'll admit that I am automatically predisposed to hate anything that attacks my homeland—even if the critique is accurate. I think it’s because I’ve spent most of my life reading Western authors who bash Indian culture and people. So when someone tries to hurt my country, I get super defensive.
By Anya Shukla Specializing in intricate line work, gorgeous oil-on-canvas pieces, and eye-catching murals, Esmeralda Vasquez is a multidisciplinary artist who often incorporates symbolism and minimalism into her work. Vasquez grew up in Yakima, Washington, and now lives in Seattle, where she has recently begun breaking into the art scene: she had her first art show in February and works as a teaching artist for Urban ArtWorks, a local nonprofit that helps youth create public art.
 Machado likens her relationship to a dream house that soon turns into a nightmare. Photo credit: Krzysztof Kowalik on Unsplash. By Anya Shukla This book is stunning. Machado has a way of crafting similes and pulling disparate words together in such unique, poetic, gorgeous ways. I fangirled over basically every other sentence. Review: In “In the Dream House,” Carmen Maria Machado chronicles her relationship with an emotionally abusive woman—how their interactions devolved from something beautiful to an ugly and devastating situation. Along with providing personal anecdotes, she discusses the broader history of abusive relationships within the queer community, primarily attacking the myth that women cannot be perpetrators.
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