Doreen Sheridan

Professional book critic, amateur cellist, full-time polymath. Occasional game designer, perpetual game enthusiast. Mom of 3. Arsenal till I die. I like a good story. My other mystery reviews can be found here: https://www.criminalelement.com/author/dvaleris/

Most commented posts

  1. Deathless (Leningrad Diptych #1) by Catherynne M. Valente — 12 comments
  2. A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan #1) by Arkady Martine — 10 comments
  3. Sweet Tea by Piper Huguley — 7 comments
  4. I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley — 6 comments
  5. Busting Vegas by Ben Mezrich — 5 comments

Author's posts

UFO Mushroom Invasion by Shirakawa Marina

translated and edited by historian Ryan Holmberg as part of Smudge, “a line of vintage horror, occult, and dark fantasy manga”. Honestly, this was rad and creepy all at once. The original manga was published in 1976, and has been translated and repackaged here for English-speaking audiences, with illuminating essays and notes to boot. Shirakawa …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/09/30/ufo-mushroom-invasion-by-shirakawa-marina/

Heebie Jeebies by Matthew Erman & Shelby Criswell

There isn’t anything super innovative about the plot of this terrific middle grade graphic novel, but the storytelling choices that the creative team have made give it a truly profound 21st century edge. Blue literally lives on the wrong side of the tracks. Their mom works multiple crappy jobs to make ends meet and they’re …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/09/27/heebie-jeebies-by-matthew-erman-shelby-criswell/

The Very Patient Gus Davis by Laurie Trumble Davis & Marjorie van Heerden

Who doesn’t love a French bulldog? With their compact size, sweet faces and affectionate natures, Frenchies are some of the cutest pups around! Our hero Gus Davis is an adorable Frenchie whose best friend is his owner Bean. When she comes home from the store one day, Gus immediately sniffs out that she has cookies …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/09/25/the-very-patient-gus-davis-by-laurie-trumble-davis-marjorie-van-heerden/

Cormac McCarthy’s The Road by Manu Larcenet

When the lovely publicist at Abrams Comics pitched this graphic novel adaptation to me, I made him laugh by replying, “I’ll be honest: I desperately hated The Road but am wildly curious to see what Manu Larcenet brings to the story. He can’t make it worse!” You can read my original review of the source …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/09/24/cormac-mccarthys-the-road-by-manu-larcenet/

Rise Of The Spider by Michael P Spradlin

This first book in The Web Of The Spider series for middle grade readers could not come at a more relevant time! Young Rolf von Heusen is eleven years old in the spring of 1929. His main interests are football and palling around with his friends Ansel and Joshua. He thinks that his hometown of …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/09/23/rise-of-the-spider-by-michael-p-spradlin/

Tantalizing Tales — September 2024 — Part Two

Had a mini panic attack when I thought we were in October already: reading all the spooky stories currently rolling out will definitely do that to a reviewer! But here we are considering the middle to late part of September and all the intriguing books that I haven’t quite had the time to get to …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/09/20/tantalizing-tales-september-2024-part-two/

I, Too, Am Here by Morgan Christie & Marley Berot

Time to take a break from spooky season reads to cherish a book that will mean so much to any immigrant or person of color. Inspired by Langston Hughes’ iconic poem I, Too, this children’s picture book follows a young girl who tries to figure out racism and xenophobia as it’s directed at her family. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/09/19/i-too-am-here-by-morgan-christie-marley-berot/

The Strange Tales Of Oscar Zahn: Volume 1 by Trí Vương

Me while reading this book: Why am I crying?! Me reading the artist’s bio at the end: Oh, because this is one of the creators behind Everyday Hero Machine Boy, which was another extraordinary graphic novel that I also did not expect to make me cry. If you’ve read my last two reviews, you’ll know …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/09/18/the-strange-tales-of-oscar-zahn-volume-1-by-tri-vuong/

Goth Parenting by Casey Gilly & Robin Robinson

subtitled The Dark Joys of Raising Baby Bats. Readers, everything is making me emotional recently. Whether it was yesterday’s Camp Twisted Pine stabbing me in the heart again with a pain first inflicted almost a year prior, to today’s wonderful Goth Parenting reinforcing to this tired (and temporarily single) mom that I’m doing okay if …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/09/17/goth-parenting-by-casey-gilly-robin-robinson/

Camp Twisted Pine by Ciera Burch

Oh wow, getting into this hit hard. Like Ciera Burch, I never went to sleepaway camp, and wound up writing a book/game on the subject. I designed that roleplaying game on my former best friend, the same way choreographers create dances on certain performers. Unfortunately for me, that person I relied on and trusted more …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/09/16/camp-twisted-pine-by-ciera-burch/