Suck Less - Willam Belli (Where there is a Willam there is a way.)

Oh Willam... I love you. I love how your drag is wonderful, honest, shoot from the hip, slightly buzzed from yesterday's high, and coated in sweat but also strategically placed glitter! This book is intended to be a primer for how to be a "better more interesting person who sucks less at different things". Each chapter is titled "suck less at ___" and it made for an extremely amusing audiobook. I decided to go audio with this on purpose - given my love of Willam's drag, his youtube show "Willam's Beatdown" and also his time on Rupaul's Drag Race (which I can't get enough of, but was Willam's 'Nam).

For those on the fence about reading/listening, or for those who are not extremely comfortable with a gay man speaking plainly about anal hygiene, here is the thing, if you do not get the genius shtick that is Willam, you will likely not understand or appreciate this book. Though, it does pose the question, Why the hell are you reading it then? 

Further, as a special treat on the audio version, I loved the inclusion of other favorite queens. I never expected to hear Bianca Del Rio open with the prologue or Courtney Act and Alaska TF5000 round out the appendix. The "Drag-tionary" was hands-down one of my favorite parts of the book. 

What you also come away with, intended or not is a wonderful self-esteem booster, a guidepost for the wayward, the freaks, and the ones who shine a little too brightly. Willam gives hope where it is needed most, humor in sufficient doses and truth even when it hurts. "Seriously Mary, get it together!" 

I found Willam's personal anecdotes witty and fun. I could definitely see myself being friends with this girl! While it may not be for everyone, Willam's "Suck Less" has become an instant favorite of mine and one I am sure I will listen too and enjoy several times over.

How to Hang a Witch

 

Overall, I enjoyed Adriana Mather's "How to Hang a Witch". While the Salem Witch Trials genre of teen lit is fairly saturated; it was an interesting take on the intergenerational pull and trauma of the trials as told through its descendants. **Further fun fact, Adriana Mather is a descendent of Cotton Mather himself.** I have always enjoyed learning about that period in history, and applaude the author for her ability to use the trials as allegory for modern day high school bullying and "witch-hunting".

While touted as paranormal/horror; it was more YA Mean Girls/Twilight-esque. Or "Craft-light" if you will. At no point was I scared to turn the lights off or go to the bathroom by myself.

Personally, I loved the concept of Elijah and while definitely a bit "out of the box" did not find him as a romantic interest offputting.  

 

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It's the Salem Witch Trials meets Mean Girls in a debut novel from one of the descendants of Cotton Mather, where the trials of high school start to feel like a modern day witch hunt for a teen with all the wrong connections to Salem’s past.

Salem, Massachusetts is the site of the infamous witch trials and the new home of Samantha Mather. Recently transplanted from New York City, Sam and her stepmother are not exactly welcomed with open arms. Sam is the descendant of Cotton Mather, one of the men responsible for those trials and almost immediately, she becomes the enemy of a group of girls who call themselves The Descendants. And guess who their ancestors were?

If dealing with that weren't enough, Sam also comes face to face with a real live (well technically dead) ghost. A handsome, angry ghost who wants Sam to stop touching his stuff. But soon Sam discovers she is at the center of a centuries old curse affecting anyone with ties to the trials. Sam must come to terms with the ghost and find a way to work with The Descendants to stop a deadly cycle that has been going on since the first accused witch was hanged. If any town should have learned its lesson, it's Salem. But history may be about to repeat itself.