Today in the mail, G and I got this graphic novel, UPROOTED by @ohtruth from one of my dearest friends, @kathfitz. It’s a memoir about a girl from TorToday in the mail, G and I got this graphic novel, UPROOTED by @ohtruth from one of my dearest friends, @kathfitz. It’s a memoir about a girl from Toronto who moves to Hong Kong as a teen in the 90s, and how she overcomes culture shock and learns to adapt to her wildly different surroundings. It’s also about her father’s family fleeing China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The art is wonderful and so recognizable. It’s funny and moving and tender and sweet.
Like Ruth, I moved from Toronto to Hong Kong when I was a teen in the 90s. I had also never lived anywhere but Canada and left behind a group of friends who I loved. Like Ruth, my parents spoke Cantonese to me often and I would speak English back. Like Ruth, I had to overcome a lot of shyness to begin speaking Cantonese in Hong Kong again, with both my extended family and in the streets. Like Ruth, I attended an international high school in Hong Kong, and felt overwhelmed by a lot of the classes at first. Like Ruth, I hung out at Pacific Place with friends on the weekends, and listened to both Western and Cantopop stars. And like Ruth, when we first moved, my brother and I were often left to fend for ourselves, because my parents were working. Like Ruth, I also had family members who fled China during the same war, and remember it with sadness but also some pride. It is an absolutely surreal experience to read a memoir that so closely mirrors your own life experience. At this point, I count living in Hong Kong as a privilege. But at the time, I remember aching so much for my life in Canada and fantasizing about moving in with my best friends.
I don’t have anything really profound to say about this book, other than that it was deeply moving, eerily familiar, and that I felt understood and seen by it - maybe in a way that I never was at that time. I really really hope that other Third Culture Kids will read this and maybe see a little of themselves in it. Deeply grateful to have read this and to Ruth for sharing her experience - and to @mackidsbooks @stmartinspress @raincoastbooks for publishing it....more
Bringing Down the Duke is easily the best historical romance of 2019, and definitely on my top ten list for this year. I'm truly amazed tha4.5 stars.
Bringing Down the Duke is easily the best historical romance of 2019, and definitely on my top ten list for this year. I'm truly amazed that this is a debut, because Evie Dunsmore writes with a uniqueness and confidence that belies her publishing years. It's the ultimate in different-status-in-society, push-pull, can't-help-but-love-you romances. I adored it.
Annabelle Archer is a woman who was shamed by her family and sent away to live with her uncle as a maid to his wife and children. But Annabelle is smart, and she learned a lot about Greek mythology and anthropology from her father, so when Oxford University begins letting women in to study, she manages to get a scholarship from the National Society for Women’s Suffrage and ends up studying there under her father's best friend and professor. The catch? She needs to scrounge up two pounds a month to send back to her uncle so that he can hire a maid to take care of his wife and children in her stead. And she has to help further the suffragist cause. It's the latter that has her bumping into Sebastian Devereux, the Duke of Montgomery and one of the queen's most prominent strategists.
Sebastian is used to people not being able to look him in the eye - his reputation as a brilliant political advisor and ability to persuade people to his side is legendary. So when Miss Annabelle Archer looks him clear in the eye and asks him to support the amendment of the Married Women's Property Act, Montgomery is surprised and intrigued. He's known as a cold-hearted man, and his political affiliations have him against her, but he can't help but find her fascinating, smart, and his equal in every way...except her station. All his life, Sebastian has been working to right the wrongs of his family - to gain back their ancestral castle and seat. A dalliance with Miss Archer would be wrong on every count...
Look, this sounds like your typical historical romance, I know. But the brilliance of the two characters, their unbelievable chemistry, and the fantastic background of the suffragist cause and the political machinations make this a much smarter, bolder romance than I've read in a long time. This is romance for the intellectual. The writing is eloquent and sophisticated. Evie Dunsmore doesn't hold back with the Greek mythology, with the Oxford University setting, with the logic that Sebastian and Annabelle display in their flirting and sparring. The slow-burn Dunsmore creates is so affecting that you really feel both the incredible attraction between Sebastian and Annabelle, and the desperate tragedy of their stations in life holding them back. I confess that I was often near tears when they would come together and break apart because logic had them holding back. It's one of the first romances I've read in a long time where I genuinely couldn't see how the happily-ever-after was going to come about, because Sebastian and Annabelle had such strong wills and goals.
I also loved Dunsmore’s excellent secondary characters - there’s a lot going on in this novel between the suffragists, the political climate, and Sebastian dealing with his younger brother Peregrin. It’s very clear that Dunsmore was setting up a series, but to be able to carve out such passionate but different characters in Catriona Campbell, a lady whose father is an esteemed professor; Hattie Greenfield, the daughter of London’s greatest merchant; and Lady Lucie, the head of the suffragist movement, was a delight to behold. Not only was the friendship A+++ between the ladies, but they each had goals and personalities that really worked against and for each other. There was a rapport between them that rivalled the one between Annabelle and Sebastian.
I absolutely adored Bringing Down the Duke. It was unputdownable, sexy, and so well researched that I have very few qualms. Well, maybe only one - the love scenes were beautifully written, but there were definitely moments where I felt that they bordered on the tasteful side. But maybe that’s just me. Overall, this one really got me, and I’m really, really looking forward to the next book in this series that Evie Dunsmore has up her sleeve....more
For those of you who have heard the hype for this book, it’s ALL TRUE. This is a diverse, Asian, #ownvoices for autism, reverse-Pretty Woman romance. It’s all of that and so much more.
Author Helen Hoang draws you into the world of Stella Lane, an econometrician (think statistics for marketing) who is devoted to her work, wealthy, extremely independent - but isn’t great with socializing or recognizing social cues. As a result, all attempts at a love life have been half-hearted dates and sexual encounters that left her extremely cold. After a coworker makes a nasty comment about how she might need to practice in order to get intimate, Stella decides to take matters into her own hands and hire an escort to help her figure out this whole dating thing.
The escort turns out to be Michael Phan, a half-Swedish, half-Vietnamese man who is desperately in need of money, but also extremely good at the sex thing. Their first date ends up with Stella and Michael both intrigued, and an offer on the table. Michael will give Stella lessons in how to date for an extraordinary amount of money.
It sounds like a ridiculous premise, but Hoang really makes it sing. Stella and Michael both leap off the page with their quirks and interests, and their attraction is absolutely sizzling. I don’t want to tell you too much about each of them because every detail about Stella and Michael is so beautifully unfolded by the other. It’s best to come to this book knowing very little and uncovering the story bit by bit, like the characters. I honestly haven’t read a romance this captivating and unique in a long time - it’s weeks after I finished, and I’m STILL thinking about scenes.
Aside from the leads, this book is just filled with secondary characters who delight and surprise. Michael’s family, particularly his mother, is super close to him, so we get to see them through Michael’s eyes as well as through Stella’s fish-out-of-water eyes. Even though I’m not Vietnamese, the way Michael’s family teases each other feels similar to the way my Chinese family interacts, and it rings very true.
And for those of you who love the steamy, sexy scenes, holy HECK is this one spicy. I haven’t blushed at a romance in a long time (call it conditioning), but this one made my cheeks hot multiple times. I love that the romantic scenes are also respectful and not in any way icky. You know what I mean. Michael is such a great lover, and Stella (and I, and multiple other readers) just swoons for him in a way that makes you want to be in her shoes. And makes you want to re-read again right after finishing.
The Final Word:
I wish I could say more about the perfect details of this book that make it soar, but honestly, I think it would be robbing you of the little pleasures of finding them out. The Kiss Quotient unfurls its story delicately, and deftly, inviting readers to savour each encounter and detail. You will fall for Michael and Stella as they fall for each other. This may be a debut novel, but it is confident in its story and its writing.
Put The Kiss Quotient at the top of your TBR - you aren’t going to want to miss talking about this one with other readers right away. ...more
Review originally posted on Mostly YA Lit: Review: I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman Remarkable and absolutely stunning, I Have Lost My Way is an incReview originally posted on Mostly YA Lit: Review: I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman Remarkable and absolutely stunning, I Have Lost My Way is an incredible book about believing in human connection and good in the world.
It’s my favourite book Gayle Forman has written since Just One Day. And that’s saying something, since Just One Day is my favourite YA book ever, and Gayle my favorite YA author.
There’s no one else out there who understands and believes so deeply in the power and magic of relationships like Gayle. I Have Lost My Way is a book that will resonate and carry you through those really dark days. It will remind you that people can be good and the universe will sometimes bring you exactly what you need.
Based on the synopsis, I didn’t really know what I Have Lost My Way was about. More importantly, I didn't know whether it was going to live up to my enormous expectations for Gayle’s work. This is a woman who has slayed my emotions so impactfully that I consider my life changed because of her work.
I needn’t have worried - and you shouldn’t either.
I Have Lost My Way is vintage Gayle Forman. It combines characters who will make you laugh and cry and cheer, all-the-feels self-discovery, and tightly written passages that will make you get the highlighter out. The Story: I Have Lost My Way centers on three teens who are all lost on one day in New York City. Freya is an internet-famous singer on the cusp of stardom - but she’s lost her voice. Nathaniel is a former high school baseball player with a complex home life who is lost in New York for the first time. And Harun is a gay Muslim teen who just lost his boyfriend and doesn’t know how to tell his family who he really is.
When the three of them meet, it’s a collision that changes the course of each of their lives. For that one day, they take care of each other and explore a city that seems determined to help them find their way again. The Writing: At 258 pages, I Have Lost My Way is Gayle’s shortest and most tightly written novel. Every word seemed deliberate and focused. The format of the novel also helped make it a strong, perfectly weighted read. I Have Lost My Way alternates between third-person to explore what’s happening in the moment, and first-person perspective from each of the three main characters, to explore the past. The form is used perfectly, never seeming like a device, but like the natural extension of how this story should be told.
I Have Lost My Way is also a love letter to New York City, to the random and special encounters you might have wandering through the city. As someone who lived there, I can honestly say that I’ve had that feeling several times on days when you have nothing to do and you’re open to new experiences. There’s always something happening and always something to learn from. If you loved those little moments in Gayle’s Where She Went or Just One Day where Mia and Adam or Allyson and Willem find her special places, you will most likely love this book as well.
There’s a focus on family and familial relationships with the three characters, and how fraught they can be. I Have Lost My Way explores tragedy and loss and heartbreak, some in very painful ways. Gayle is incredible at slowly peeling back the layers of each characters’ past.[image]
She’s also brilliant at contrasting that with the found family you can create and have in just one special or random moment. Freya, Harun and Nathaniel find a way to stay together because they need each other, even though they are virtual strangers. It’s probably the most singularly themed and focused book that Gayle has written. Her belief in the universe righting itself and giving you what you need when you need it the most just shines right through. I smiled, I cried, and I felt all the feels while reading this one. I think you will, too. The Theme Song: I'm in Here by Sia
I'm in here Can anybody see me? Can anybody help? I'm in here, a prisoner of history Can anybody help?
Can't you hear my call? Are you coming to get me now? I've been waiting for You to come rescue me I need you to hold All of the sadness I can not Living inside of me
I'm crying out, I'm breaking down, I am fearing it all, Stuck inside these walls, Tell me there is hope for me Is anybody out there listening?
Like all of Gayle Forman's work, I Have Lost My Way celebrates art - in this case, music. So obviously, I had to choose a theme song for this book. Freya is a singer with a unique tone to her voice and lyrics that touch you. Sia is one of those artists as well. A lot of her songs would have worked for this book, but this is the one that came to mind. The lyrics speak to how lost the characters are and how much they want to be seen for themselves. The Final Word: I Have Lost My Way will definitely be on my 2018 best of list. It's that good. And it's a heartbreaking book in a lot of ways; there are tragedies in all of the three main characters lives that had me gasping in concern. But in true Gayle Forman fashion, it’s also a heart-mending book, embodying her belief in the best of humanity. And don’t we all need a little of that right now?
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I HAVE LOST MY WAY is out in bookstores now in the US and Canada. Will you be reading it? Have you read Gayle Forman's other books, like If I Stay, Where She Went, Just One Day, Just One Year, I Was Here or Leave Me? Are you a fan of all-the-feels reads? What are your faves? Let me know in the comments!...more
Hi guys! I'm back today with Day 2 of #3DaysofLaraJean, in which I celebrate all things pretty, lacey, and sweet about Lara Jean Song Covey, the heroine of Jenny Han's To All the Boys I've Loved Before series.
And, in case you forgot, there's a Canada-wide giveaway for all of you Lara Jean lovers. If you comment on today's post, you'll get a few extra entries!
Today, I'm reviewing the amazing, incredible final book in the series: Always and Forever, Lara Jean. Here we go!
REVIEW: Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han PERFECTION.
To me, Always and Forever, Lara Jean is Jenny Han’s best book. By far. Hands down.
It’s VERY hard for me to say much about the premise without giving anything away, so I’ll refer you to the synopsis. And also say that if you are looking for character growth, this is the book that will give it to you. Lara Jean, Peter, Kitty, Margot, their dad...even Chris and Genevieve...everything has changed for all of them. This book is all about that change and how we accept, make decisions and move on. To tell you more about how they all deal with it is telling too much.
The thing is, you can’t get to a book this good, with this great of an ending, without the foundation of To All the Boys and P.S. I Still Love You. In those books, Lara Jean was changing, but infinitesimally. But in Always and Forever, Lara Jean is forced to change mightily. She has to adapt to the end of high school, the end of possible dreams, and the possibility of something new - for better or for worse.
It takes a very gifted writer to make a relationship that is rock solid as compelling as Lara Jean and Peter’s is. And yet, Jenny Han does it. This time, it’s not Lara Jean or Peter who are pulling things apart, but life itself. And in true Jenny Han form, I was so conflicted about what I wanted for Lara Jean and Peter and her friends. No one does angst like Jenny Han does - the way it starts as a niggling doubt, then creeps up and explodes.
But here’s where Always and Forever differs from the other books. In To All the Boys and P.S. I Still Love You, there were moments when I was SO frustrated with Lara Jean (and Peter, and Gen, and Chris, etc). In Always and Forever, though, I wasn’t frustrated with the characters as much as with the situations. Instead, I felt it every time there they needed to adjust. I felt that longing for something in the future while reflecting on how great the past was. And I remembered just how bittersweet it was when I graduated high school and needed to move forward with my life.
What Always and Forever, Lara Jean does so well is capture that feeling. That desire to go back to being younger, that sense that something great is ending...but that overwhelming but exciting feeling of being on the cusp of something even better. This is not a plot-based book. There are events, but they come naturally out of the themes of ending, change, and making the right decisions for you.
It’s my favorite kind of contemporary. And the fact that it’s with Lara Jean, who is so loveable, so set in her ways, and so starry-eyed - it’s the perfect theme to be exploring with her.
I really can’t say much more. If you’re a fan of the Lara Jean series, this is a book you need to experience yourself. There are so many feels in this one. Every moment feels like one that Jenny Han treasured writing. The amount of care and honesty she puts into this final book makes it such a beautiful ride. I’m so sad to be finished with it, but it's a ride that will definitely live on in my heart. BONUSES:
Baking: OF COURSE. How could it be Lara Jean without baking? And cookies. And cakes. I’m so hungry right now.
[image]Heart-Squeezing Romance: Guys, I have a confession. Before this book, I totally shipped Lara Jean and someone else. If you’ve read book 2, you probably know why. But this book. This book SOLD me on Peter K and Lara Jean like no other. You will swoon like CRAZY in this book.
[image]Road Trip: I won’t tell you where, but there are some adorable road trips in here that really change things for the characters. And you guys know how much I love road trips!
[image]Realistic Family Moments: I was really impressed by Han’s portrayal of what happens when one member of the Covey family moves on, and the rest are forced to adapt. It was honest and difficult, but also rewarding...just as it should have been.
Vintage Fashion: This book features some of my fave Lara Jean outfits ever - I just love her aesthetic! Also, this is the first time in this series that the cover shows a scene from the book! It gives you a hint at just how lovely some of the fashion is. THE FINAL WORD: Always and Forever, Lara Jean was never intended to exist. And that is unbelieveable to me. Because this series needed this ending - and so did Lara Jean. And I think it’s so fitting that the final book in this series is all about endings and change, and moving forward. Because Jenny Han herself is doing that - moving forward from what is probably her best series ever. And I’m so glad that she didn’t hold back or shy away from this theme. Han pushes her characters (and herself) to the limit with Always and Forever. I started this book wanting so much out of it, and I’m so, SO happy to say that it was everything I wanted and more. My heart is so full.
Real talk: Have you read Always and Forever, Lara Jean yet? If not, did you run out and buy it right away, or are you waiting to savour it? If you have read it, are you as amazed and impressed as I am? And if you haven't, what do you hope for Lara Jean in this last installment?
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In case you missed yesterday's post, Simon & Schuster Canada have offered a prize pack of the following:
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Signed copies of all three Lara Jean books To All the Boys I've Loved Before nail decals A Lara Jean recipe from Jenny Han (!!!) Possibly more swag (they told me to stay tuned!)
If you're in Canada, sign up now! This is a short giveaway, I'll be picking a winner next week.
Stay tuned for tomorrow in #3DaysofLaraJean, when author Jenny Han stops by to talk all things Lara Jean with me! And don't forget to stop by yesterday's post, where I talk all things PS I Still Love You!
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A true family book, Save the Date is both Morgan Matson’s funniest book, and one of her most poignant works. Guys, I laughed out loud at every other page - and in between, I felt all the feels of a girl who is losing her family home and just wants to have one last weekend with her awesome siblings.
Nostalgic before it even starts, Save the Date is the story of three epic days in the lives of the Grant family. Charlie, the protagonist, is the youngest of five siblings, and is in her senior year of high school, trying to decide where to go to college. Before she does, though, she is devastated to learn that her parents are selling their house.
Linnie, Charlie’s sister, has always dreamed of getting married at the Grant house, so they’ve moved the wedding date up to accommodate the move. Meanwhile, Charlie’s mom, Eleanor, is an acclaimed cartoonist and is ending her long-running comic strip, Grant Central Station, the same weekend as the wedding.
Between the wedding planning, rehearsal dinner, family members descending on the house, a retrospective of Eleanor Grant’s work opening at a local museum, and Good Morning America coming to film a segment to commemorate the ending of the comic strip, there’s serious “too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen” feels. Charlie’s hope? That her family coming together to their house one last time will mean reliving their best moments together before it all disappears.
The great thing about the timeline to Save the Date is that those three days show us, in minute detail, the Grant family and what they’re like in moments of greatness and crisis. I fell in love with each and every member of the family, from keep-it-all-together Charlie, to badass eldest brother Danny, to the fun-loving bride and groom Linnie and Rodney, to hilarious brother J.J. Even estranged brother Mike and his complex relationship with the rest of the family had moments of hilarity and honesty that made me care.
And that’s what Morgan is counting on - because diegetic to the story is the fact that America has also fallen in love with the Grants and their antics through Eleanor’s comic strip. As readers, we get the privilege of experiencing that love both through our own discovery of the characters, through the comic strip (which exists in segments in the book), and through the eyes of other non-Grant family members in the book. It’s a fascinating experience, because we get a window into who the Grants really are, who they’ve become because of the comic, and how they are different from their fictional counterparts. There’s a real sense of “if it wasn’t written into the comic, did it really happen to us?” here.
That’s a lot of metareality, but it really works here because so much of Save the Date is about reality versus the ideal. Save the Date is about what happens when everyone is looking for that perfect moment - whether in storytelling, or in creating a wedding day, or in having one last family weekend that will recapture the magic - and how much we might miss if we hold so tightly to that vision of things.
Charlie has spent her entire senior year dreaming of this wedding weekend and how it will mean the perfect time for her to spend with her perfect family. That vision of things leads her to act in ways that...aren’t exactly the most palatable at the beginning of the book. In fact, I could see how some readers would find her unlikeable. But it’s Charlie’s discovery of her own romanticization that makes this book a real journey. And as much as it’s probably pretty obvious to most readers what Charlie’s issues are, you can’t help but root for her a little as she tries to pull it together for the people she loves.
That said, the sad thing about the timeline of three days is that it doesn’t lend itself to new relationships - particularly romantic ones. While Save the Date contains some of Matson’s signature romance - and some really, really adorable moments - it’s really a self-discovery book for Charlie. The romance here is very light - and it’s much more about Charlie than it is about the boys involved (but darn, they are cute!)
And the thing is, what Charlie discovers is that even when her visions come crashing down, reality isn’t all bad. In fact, it’s pretty funny. And that means that this book is easily one of the funniest summer books I’ve read in a long time. I literally laughed out loud every other page in this - from the random inclusion of a beagle (it’s a Morgan Matson book, there had to be a dog!), to the feuding family members who make EVERY wedding a hassle to J.J.’s hilarious snarkiness (he says the word “scoff” instead of actually scoffing), to the comedy of errors that is the wedding itself (there’s a wedding suit switcharoo. And a Journey tribute band. Enough said).
Like the rest of Morgan’s books, what really pulls Save the Date together is heart and character. Yes, this book is hella funny. But it’s also just the perfect blend of nostalgia, comfort, heartbreak, and pluckiness that makes it refreshing and just JOYOUS to read. Morgan really GETS her characters, and their actions always feel right for the character and fully realized.
If I have one quibble about this book, it’s a minor one: and that’s that the comedy of errors hits its reality quotient at a certain point. There was a moment where I was really asking myself whether I could believe that ALL of these crazy things were falling apart at this one wedding - and it was a moment that took me out of the narrative.
But ultimately, Save the Date is classic Morgan Matson. There’s a dog. Delicious food. A family that you can love and respect. Friendships that are real. Laughter. The prettiest romantic moments. And a heroine who is on the cusp of something new who - if she learns to let go and take a chance - will learn and grow so much.
BONUSES: Cameos: As many of you probably know, Morgan Matson's characters and books all exist in the same world - all centered around the fictional town of Stanwich, Connecticut. Save the Date's Grant family ends up meeting and mentioning quite a few of the characters from the past, and it's such a delight to catch up with them, like a friendly wave from another lifetime. Also, if you're a Taylor Swift fan (as Morgan is), you might notice a shout-out to her that made me laugh pretty hard.
No one else in the YA world is writing family dramas like this, and if they are, none of them are achieving the perfect balance of nostalgia, warmth and authenticity Morgan is. The Grant family is that family you totally want to be part of - even if they aren’t perfect and it was such a pleasure getting to inhabit their world for a few days. If you’re a fan of family comedies or sitcoms like Full House (or even Fuller House!), Parenthood, or the family moments in Becky Albertalli’s books, this is definitely one you should pick up. For me, it was an incredibly refreshing, laugh-out-loud read that is great for the summer, but might also be great for anyone on the cusp of a big decision in their lives.
The Hating Game is on my favorites for this year. I read it in one day, one sitting, and I was utterly obsessed 20 percent in. Lucy and Jos4.5 stars.
The Hating Game is on my favorites for this year. I read it in one day, one sitting, and I was utterly obsessed 20 percent in. Lucy and Josh work in an office together, and thanks to a merger, they have to sit across from each other and compete for the same job. As a result, the competition and hatred is at an all-time high. They throw witty, dark insults at each other while both being great at their jobs. Things change when Lucy discovers that maybe the hate is not so hatey after all.
Lucy and Josh's banter is sexy and dark and the games they play...*fans self*. You guys, these two are CHAMPIONS at not showing their true feelings. It's a true battle of minds and wits. At first I wasn't even sure I was on board because they are SO mean. But then things change. Sally Thorne really pushes the slow-burn in this novel, giving us pages of banter, flirting, and incredible mining of two psyches. It's intoxicating.
Yes, Lucy is pretty naive. Yes, Josh is socially awkward. The characters are weirdos, but by the end of the book, they were MY weirdos, you know? I finished this book feeling like my heart had expanded two sizes, and with that incredible, satisfied feeling...that quickly turned into a desperate need for a reread. I had to indulge that whim only a week after finishing.
Yeah, that's right, guys, I read The Hating Game two times in three weeks. AND I bought a hardcover copy.
If I have one qualm, it's that occasionally, I found it hard to tell who was talking. The author has a very strange way of tagging the characters, and sometimes the dialogue was confusing - especially when they are banter-y. That said, the slow-burn is so great in this and the characters so strong, funny, and just REAL, that I basically forgave everything.
Please note that The Hating Game does have some steamy, graphic love scenes that may burn up your ereader/hand/other parts.
Guys, if you haven't already put this on your wishlist, I implore you to do so. Please read this adorable, frustrating, smart, and character-driven book immediately. And then come back and gush with me....more
Review originally posted on Mostly YA Lit: Review: The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner effervesces with the warmth and dReview originally posted on Mostly YA Lit: Review: The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner effervesces with the warmth and darkness of a small Southern Gothic town. Zentner creates an atmosphere that is both stiflingly oppressive and starkly beautiful - a landscape where both ramshackle homes and restored Victorians can coexist, where there's dignity in both wanting to leave a small town and wanting to stay.
It's the beginning of senior year, and our main characters, Lydia, Travis and Dill are best friends looking to the future. For Lydia, the future looks bright. She's a popular fashion blogger with a massive following and opportunities seeking her in New York City, where she hopes to go to college next year. For Travis, the future looks like more of the same, making an honest living at the lumberyard and as a mechanic, while living most of his internal life lost in Bloodfall, a fantasy book series. For Dill, the future looks bleak, scraping by a living with his mother while trying to live down the legacy of his father, a disgraced, imprisoned local preacher of an extreme ministry who would convince his congregation to handle poisonous snakes to prove their faith in Christianity.
The characters leapt off the page at me. I loved Dill and Travis, but as a former fashion blogger, I saw so much of myself in Lydia. While I was never as successful as she is, so many of her thoughts throughout the novel were mine. Dill's struggles against his very religious parents were more extreme than mine were, but nevertheless, that feeling of trying to figure out myself when everyone believes something else was foreordained for me, is something that resonated. And Travis' online life and desire to live in his imagination is something that any book lover will identify with.
Throughout the early parts of the book, you get the feeling that this trio can survive anything, whether it's crappy dads or bullying. All three, are, of course, outcasts at their school, bullied and made fun of. In some ways, their friendship is built upon the fact that like-needs-like; and there is no one else like them in town. But it goes deeper than that. Through descriptive flashbacks, we see how they became friends and just how much of a choice their friendship was...and how friendship can be life-saving and life-changing when it is built upon genuine care and not just common interest.
And then tragedy strikes. And between grief and loss and pain, things change and move.
I feel like I'm just babbling here, but honestly? There is no way I can put this book into words. It pulsates with feelings, it lives and breathes with fate-vs.-choice movement, bantery dialogue, and stunning description. If I have qualms, it's that the occasional mix of these three sometimes felt jarring and not smooth. There was a touch too much telling in the writing style.
Nevertheless though, this book captivated me. The raw feeling, the real characters and the writing style had me crying and laughing, reading late into the night. This is a debut that will break your heart - and then remake it, but with shards left on the ground for you to stare at wordlessly. Bonuses: [image]Bantery Banter: Although all of the writing is beautiful, Zentner's grasp of real teenage dialogue is some of the best I've ever read. The banter is smart, fast, and funny, and it's the interactions of the three main characters, more than anything else, that made me believe in their friendship.
[image]Parenthood: each teen's parents are featured throughout the novel, and while most are pretty terrible (but in a way that was entirely believable), Lydia's parents are THE BEST. Like, I want to hang out with them, because they are not only great parents but genuinely awesome people. I love seeing parents who are so supportive, but also real and aware of their kids shortcomings.
[image]Slow-Burn Romance: This isn't a book that's focused on romance, but hot damn, Zentner knows how to write one.
Fashion Blogging: Lydia is basically a mix of Tavi Gevinson of Style Rookie and Rookie Mag and Jane Aldridge of Sea of Shoes - she's that popular, cool, and unafraid to cultivate a style and look that is a mix of high and low fashion pieces. I love that someone in YA is exploring this weirdo world that I was a part of for a very short time - and how we edit and create our image online.
[image]Senior Year Choices: I mentioned this in my review, but I love how this book shows that there are options other than university, and while it doesn't explore every option, it honestly portrays other options as possibilities. Book Theme Song:
I don't think Jeff Zentner wrote this book as a companion to his album "A Season Lost", but since he had a pre-order campaign where you received a download of his album, I listened to it while I was reading. It has a similar stark and dark atmosphere to the novel and it just helped me visualize the landscape. I couldn't pick one song off it, so just go listen and enjoy.
The Final Word: I lost my heart to The Serpent King - it's undoubtedly one of the best YA contemporaries I'll read this year. Even though this is Dill, Lydia, and Travis' book, it's really Dill's story. It's his journey that we follow with the most heartbreak and desperation, and it's his story that shows us, in alarming relief, just how hard it can be to break free of your circumstances, and how friendship and forgiveness can save and change a life.
THE SERPENT KING is out in bookstores now. Have you read it? If so, did you lose your heart to it as well? If you haven't read it, what's one thing about it that makes you interested in reading it?
----- First thoughts:
Wow. Wow wow wow. Insanely heartbreaking and heart making. This is a book for anyone who has ever felt trapped in their circumstances with no way out. It is painful and loving and tender and real. If you haven't picked this up, get to it immediately.
By now you’ve probably heard the flails, the gasps, the “OMG NONONONONOs” that come from reading Illuminae - if not from me, then hopefully from the rest of the book community. And if you’re coming here looking for an extremely well-written review, well…
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Reason being that this book is all feels, guys. It starts with a bang, then a character/world building section, and then THE ENTIRE WORLD FALLS APART.
Ok, let me rewind. Illuminae, as you probably know, is told all in found documents, sent by a secretive group called Illuminae to some Executive Director about the bombing of a planet and what happened to the survivors afterwards.
As you can probably tell, this isn’t your normal, linear read. This is a book that requires you to work, to glean information from each document, whether it’s the time or date or just filling in the expletive that a character uses.
For some of you, that’s going to be too much - and I get it. This isn’t a read where you’re relaxed and drinking tea with your cat beside you. This is a read where you’re sitting there, arms tense, tea forgotten, alternately shaking and hugging your cat because WTF JUST HAPPENED. It’s the kind of read you both whip through because you have to know what happens immediately, and then have to flip back to make sure you got all of the details.
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But you know what? It’s SO WORTH IT.
Because between all the documents and the pretty and the weird and the horror (oh man, are there some serious horrors), there’s a really solid story - the story of two teens who broke up because of external circumstances, and now are forced to reevaluate their entire life plans. They banter amazingly, they’re sassy, they’re funny, they’re crazy romantic (well, maybe just one of them), and it’s just...shippy.
And their romance is both the everything and the nothing in the face of the epic space opera going on. A space opera that includes a potentially crazy Artificial Intelligence machines, a virus with some really bad symptoms...and the little band of people who are just trying to save the last bits of their community.
This isn’t a Chosen One book, I promise. But the events of Illuminae do pave the way for some seriously brave, amazing moments where -- I admit it -- I totally cried.
And everything you go through with the characters and while reading? It all pays off. And not just in the gorgeous aesthetic of the book, or the writing, even though those are both amazing. I’m talking about the plot - it twists, dips, and delves so deftly that everything just holds together, but you’ll find yourself constantly surprised, but not in a way that feels cheap or manipulative. Every moment is earned.
What I want to say about the book is this: like a lot of good sci-fi, Illuminae has a few things to say about humanity and how we live our lives, how we love. Even though I was already floored by the plot, the characterization and the format, what really got me was the theme. There’s an argument being made for life and death and something in between, and that’s what had me completely shattered at the end. Bonuses: [image]More Intensity: The best comparison I can make to this book is that it’s like the first episode of the brilliant re-imagined Battlestar Galactica TV series. If you haven’t watched BSG, it’s basically about a bunch of cyborgs who end up overtaking the Earth and a bunch of other planets, forcing most of the human population to flee to a bunch of military spaceships, drifting around space, trying to conserve food, weapons, and power. The first episode, “33” deals with the immediate aftermath of this takeover, when the ships are being attacked every 33 minutes. Illuminae is like that episode, but since it will take you 4-10 hours (or more) to read, it's WAY more intense. You’re on an adenaline kick the entire time, and it doesn’t let up.
[image]I Ship It: You guys, the love I feel for Kady and Ezra...their relationship is exactly the kind of banter-y brilliance that I always wanted in a significant other as a teenager. These kids are hilarious, smart, and truly respectful of each other. I was both swooning and grabbing my hair in frustration because they weren’t actually, you know, together.
[image]Diverse & Feminist:Christina at A Reader of Fictions goes into this more and better than I do, but you won’t ever doubt that a woman or a person of color could do any job in this book - it’s just a given. And some of the woman who rise to the occasion in this book - they are SERIOUSLY KICK-ASS.
Catchphrases: I guarantee you'll be yelling "AM I NOT MERCIFUL?" and "Don't look at me" by the end of this. And maybe a few other things, too. Book Theme Song:
I'm not going to explain this. Just read it and listen. You'll understand.
The Final Word Illuminae is everything people are saying it is. It lives up to the hype. You will laugh, you will cry, you will be breathless and panting as you flip these pages to figure out what comes next. And then you’ll beat yourself over the head for having finished so soon, because the wait for the next book in the series is going to be torturous. Mind-blowing and definitely one of the most unique books you’ll ever read.
ILLUMINAE is out in bookstores now. Have you read it (aka has it blown your mind yet?)? If not, are you planning to pick it up? Do you like conspiracy books or books where you have to work to get the information? ...more
Review originally posted on Mostly YA Lit: Review: When We Collided by Emery Lord When We Collided is Emery Lord's best book. I just have to lay this Review originally posted on Mostly YA Lit: Review: When We Collided by Emery Lord When We Collided is Emery Lord's best book. I just have to lay this out there. It's her tightest, most impassioned, most honest and raw piece of fiction, a book about a girl, Vivi, a seventeen year old who wants to live in the small moments in life and soak in all the beauty and fire of first love, but is hampered by her own mental health issues.
Vivi and her mother move to a small California town for a summer and there, Vivi meets Jonah, a boy who is responsible for more than he has a right to be. Jonah recently lost his father, and he's holding down two jobs while taking care of two younger siblings and working with two older siblings to make sure his mother, who has fallen into depression, is still surviving.
Into this situation comes Vivi, who is full of light, and life, and beauty, who seems immeasurably confident and perfectly flighty. Jonah and Vivi quickly fall for each other, encouraging one another to pursue their dreams - him, cooking; her, art and fashion.
At first, it's hard not to think of Vivi as the perfect embodiment of a manic pixie dream girl - she's free, she's daring, she's quirky, and wow, does she teach Jonah how to let go and love a little. An MPDG exists to push along a brooding male protagonist, and that's what she does.
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...Except that Vivi is not an object, and Vivi refuses to be anyone's form of wish fulfillment. Moreover, Vivi has her own goals, her own wishes, and her own needs, and it turns out that sometimes, she needs more than just the brooding, soulful young man to use as a project, even if she doesn't know it.
If it seems I'm focusing more on Vivi than Jonah...well, I am. Even though Jonah has his own beautifully formed path to take in this book in bringing his family back together again and in being the glue (as well as being sexy and good and adorable *fans self*)...for me, this book was about Vivi. It's about how she looks at things a certain way, how much she cares. And it's about how every day, she walks to a cliff on the oceanside and tosses a little pill into the ocean, starting her on a path to exhilarating feeling.
The thing that Emery gets so right in this book is how viscerally and quickly your mind and heart can overtake you. The off-balance feeling that we start to see in Vivi as the summer progresses clashes and merges with her relationship with Jonah...love and instability become two sides of the same coin, taking Vivi much higher than she could ever expect, and then dropping her in free fall. The difference is whether she lands cushioned, or crashes so devastatingly that she doesn't know how to pick herself up. It's only in the landing where love and depression differ.
It's a testament to Emery's talent that this book never feels too heavy, that it goes into dark and painful places, a first-hand experience of a person dealing with a manic-depressive episode, but I never wanted to put it down. Even though I cried four times while reading it, saw myself in Vivi, saw my husband in Jonah...I would still read it again. And again. Because what Emery has created here is a world of beauty, of light, of love and small moments that remind us that the big moments of pain and hardship? They are just "a few hard weeks in a great, big life."
Some characters in this book have mental health issues, yes, but it's much more about the people we are and what we face. I know that sounds vague, but it's not a book about mental health so much as it's a book about trying new things, being tested, savouring the little things in front of us, and trying to make them better. And how, when the mental health demons get at us, we need the support and understanding and caring of our loved ones to bring ourselves out of it, to move on, and to understand what's good for us. Bonuses: [image]Big Families: Jonah's family consists of him, five brothers and sisters, and his mom. Even though I'm not part of a huge family, I love the dynamics of this one, how much they share in each other's successes and challenges and play off one another - they just seem so REAL. At one point, Vivi narrates, "Here is something I never expected to feel: love at first sight for an entire family." And really, I feel the same way.
[image]Food As Art and Comfort: Holy cow, did Jonah's inventions make me super hungry. Some of you might not know that I'm actually a huge foodie in real life and every single one of the descriptions of food was like, "ZOMG GIVE IT TO ME." Throughout the book, food acts as both Jonah's artistry, and also his way of giving comfort and safety, which I love.
Wabi-sabi: The way Vivi looks at life is so magical and gorgeous that it occasionally feels a bit like a cover for who she really is - the bad and the good. And yet there is something so simple and wonderful in the way she appreciates beauty. In the book, Vivi talks about the concept of wabi-sabi: "Wabi can mean rustic or stark or transient. Sabi is like...faded. Or fad-ing. Old. Together, I guess it's like seeing beauty in simplicity and nature. In fleeting moments and even in decay." Whether it's the beautiful curly hair of her boss, or the pull of the ocean, Vivi dares to look up and appreciate every moment.
[image]Quoteable Moments: It's Emery, so you knew the writing was going to be stunning, right?
"I've prowled the dirtiest back alleys of sadness, okay? And I know what it's like to fight for your life on those mean streets...I'm not scared of the dark places."
"Even the constellations can see us now: we are seventeen and shattered and still dancing. We have messy, throbbing hearts, and we are stronger than anyone could ever know."
"This is going to ruin a few days. It might make some weeks harder. A few hard weeks in a great, big life. You can do that. We can do that."
This is a very, very special song to me, not least because it's the song I walked down the aisle to at my wedding. For those of you who don't know Nick Drake, he's one of the best musicians and guitarists ever, and a beautiful songwriter, who ended his life too quickly. Time Has Told Me is about finding someone who can help you get through it, the good and the bad, and the precious precariousness of that relationship, wbich I think both Vivi and Jonah feel.
Time has told me You're a rare rare find A troubled cure For a troubled mind
And time has told me Not to ask for more Someday our ocean Will find its shore
So I'll leave the ways that are making me be What I really don't want to be Leave the ways that are making me love What I really don't want to love
Your tears they tell me There's really no way Of ending your troubles With things you can say
And time will tell you To stay by my side To keep on trying 'til there's no more to hide
The Final Word I said at the beginning that When We Collided is Emery's best book. It is. It's not my absolute favourite (that honour still goes to Open Road Summer), because unlike in her other two books, it doesn't have as much of a focus on female friendship, which I think I really need from her books. But it is, without a doubt, her strongest, most honest, and most understanding book. It's a book that clearly comes from her heart and moves you to understand a girl and boy who are just struggling to survive each day, and find wonder and comfort in one another.
4-4.5 stars. Review originally posted at Mostly YA Lit
The first thing you need to know about this book is that
it is not really about kissing at al4-4.5 stars. Review originally posted at Mostly YA Lit
The first thing you need to know about this book is that
it is not really about kissing at all
. I think there are maybe three kisses total in the book. And the cover, while adorable, does not belie what's inside.
Basically,
Kissing in America is nothing like what you would expect it to be
.
Sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes it's bad. For me, KiA was SO MUCH BETTER than I expected. It's
a beautifully written, poignant tale of women and where their hearts lie
. In particular, it's about one girl, Eva Roth, who lost her father in a plane crash two years ago. Eva and her father were close, sharing a love of writing and poetry, but Eva hasn't written a thing since he died, choosing to read romance novels by the dozen and focus on school instead. Meanwhile, Eva and her Women's-Studies professor mother have a strained relationship, because her mother seems to have completely put her father out of her mind.
Eva falls into a romance with Will, a cool guy at school - they have a special night together, and then he suddenly moves away to California. Desperate to see him again, Eva concocts a plan with her best friend, science genius Amy, to get on a reality show that films in L.A. and travel out there by bus.
I read some reviews that commented that Eva felt a bit young with her crush and her ambition to find Will, and I have to respectfully disagree. Eva has been very carefully sheltered by her mother during the formative years of her life, and
her introvertedness fits perfectly with the grief and recovery process that she’s been going through
. The fact that she’s dealing with it essentially alone (as her mother is basically ignoring her own grief) makes it even more realistic to me that Eva would latch onto the idea of happily ever after and perfect moments typical of romance novels.
This is a story about a girl who craves romance, but needs unconditional love. It's a story about taking action and finding more than what you were looking for. It's about navigating complicated relationships and recognizing that people are more than just the stories we create about them in our minds. It's about learning to move on while holding on tight.
If I have criticisms, they are that the book slowed down a bit for me in the middle, and that some of
the fake romance novel excerpts seemed really, well, FAKE to me
. As a reader of romance, I don’t think I’ve ever encountered any mass market paperback romance that had any mention of “ripe love-mounds” or “man-dew”. I know some of the descriptions were written for humor’s sake, but I felt that they were doing a bit of a disservice to the romance genre - which was strange because it went counter to one of the book’s themes of the romance novels & literary writing being able to sit together at the same table.
Still, despite those slight reservations, I read this in two sittings, and honestly, if I had had time, I would have read it in one. It was
completely absorbing, a true contemporary with a fully realized cast
of characters. I loved everyone in this book. I loved how real it felt, and how many mistakes were made, and how the characters just kept on trying and loving and trying again.
Pitch-Perfect Writing: Margo Rabb's writing is alternately quirky, with weird and wonderful laughs, and then completely emotional, full of wisdom and a deep understanding of grief and how people cope.
I Want To Go To There: Road-trip YA books are my crack, but this one is different, because most of it happens on buses. There's a different perspective to the road trip through the bus trip.
Kick-Arse Secondary Characters: I can’t even with these characters. From Janet, Eva’s aunt who teaches EXTREME sexual safety in schools, to Amy, Eva’s best friend who wants desperately to go to MIT, to Irma, Eva’s mom’s boyfriend’s mother, who is a Jew-turned-Buddhist-turned-Christian-rancher’s wife, this cast is so quirky and lovely and real.
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Poetry & Literature: Not only is Eva a writer, but her aunt Lulu is a professor who wrote her thesis on Elizabeth Bishop, so this book is chock full of poetry and lines from literature. In fact, each chapter of Kissing in America begins with a line from a poem that colours the theme of the chapter - which is not in itself an unusual thing, but the pieces that Rabb chooses from are so perfectly aligned that it’s not hard to imagine that she actually built the story around them. It adds so much to the book and makes the hearts of Lit majors (like me) burst a little.
The Final Word:
Margo Rabb has completely bowled me over with her writing and her perfectly meandering story. This is a true writer’s book: for people who love flawed, realistic characters, emotional journeys, and love itself. A subtle gem highly recommended for YA and adult contemporary fans.
The story: Mary Iris Malone, or Mim, is a seventeen year old who's been uprooted from her hometown of AshlandReview originally posted at Mostly YA Lit
The story: Mary Iris Malone, or Mim, is a seventeen year old who's been uprooted from her hometown of Ashland, Ohio and sentenced to move to Jackson, Mississippi along with her new stepmother and father. When she finds out that her mother is sick back in Cleveland, she sets out on a journey to find her.
Honestly, I'm looking at what I wrote there and it doesn't say anything about what this story is really about.
It's about spontaneously letting things happen to you.
About trusting the right and wrong people. About mental health and easy and hard solutions. It's about the bad and good things that happen when you try to fix things alone and apart from the world, and how much it matters to have people around who love you.
Mim at the beginning of the book is a sarcastic, tough, and scared teenager with a lot of resentment for the world and her lot in life. She's hard, she's alone and
she's fraught with desperation and the cockiness of being smarter than most of the people in the room, but not having the experience to have great judgement
. I fell in love with Mim about two seconds after I started reading her story because she is honestly the most real teenager I've read in awhile. Her cockiness makes for some pretty amazing thoughts - clever, sometimes hilarious, always insightful if a little depressing.
Mim is also a storyteller. The novel alternates between chapters in first-person from Mim and letters she's writing to "Isabel", an unknown family member.
(Every great character, Iz, be it on page of screen, is multidimensional. The good guys aren't all good, the bad guys aren't all bad, and any character wholly one of the other shouldn't exist at all. Remember this when I describe the antics that follow, for though I am not a villain, I am not immune to villainy.)
There are quite a few passages like this in the book - passages where Mim sort of pulls back the camera to a wide angle, showing that she understands the tropes of typical storytelling. Mim's voice is always matter-of-fact, like she's telling the truth straight out. But the way she tells her stories and writes her letters shows how much she's using those tropes of storytelling to try to make sense of her own life. This is her interpretation of the story;
only by writing it down can she create sense out of what seems senseless or cruel or horrible about the world around her
.
Mim's stories are complicated by the fact that she has hallucinations. At the beginning of the novel, Mim is being medicated for the hallucinations, and as the book continues, we find out that there are opposing views of whether Mim should be medicated at all. I found this part of the book particularly true to life, and
Mim's sometimes-ambivalence, other-times-resentment towards the drug is so authentic to my own experience taking SSRIs
. That is to say - in some ways, Mim feels better when she doesn't have the hallucinations, but at other times, it seems like she's almost fighting the drug itself, wanting to see more of what she learns in those visions.
Because what she learns in those visions leads her to connect with herself in weird and wonderful ways. One of these ways is Mim's ritual of putting "war paint" on herself using her mother's favourite lipstick. Mim uses this ritual as a way to ground herself in her goal of finding her mother and remind herself of who she is in this world.
She's a warrior who fights for what she believes is right
- but, like I said, what is right to her is obviously not necessarily right to everyone else.
It's in the learning, in the magical balance of all of these elements, and a series of episodes starting on a Greyhound bus and ending up in a truck named Phil that Mim slowly discovers the truths that she needs to know to engage with the world again. And don't get me wrong,
not every adventure she has is a good one - in fact, there's a lot of bad and dangerous out there
that she has to deal with, but I loved how honest David Arnold was about the kinds of things that a girl like Mim might encounter taking a Greyhound across the country. Not everything is pretty and perfect, and there were moments that were downright ugly, but everything serves to teach Mim something about herself.
I read Mosquitoland in two days - I found Mim's voice so distinct and compelling, and my connection with her was so strong that
I was on the edge of tears for two-thirds of the book
(and laughing in the other third). I was with her when she jumped in a giant mud pond. I was with her when she put on her war paint. I was with her as she discovered a world that can sometimes be harsh, seedy and frightening, but can and will bring you light if you let it.
Kick-Arse Secondary Characters: Have I spoken about the secondary characters yet? So funny, so real, so alive. Something about Arnold's descriptions and characterizations completely spoke to me, from the unexpectedly sweet old lady sitting beside Mim on the bus to the horrible Poncho Man to Walt, the friend with Down's Syndrome who is wise in his own ways, to the beautiful and perfect and sometimes-not-so-perfect Beck. I fell for these characters so strongly, I almost cried when they had to go away - even the bad ones.
Wise and Effervescent Writing: There is no doubt that every word in this book was thought about and mulled over - the way the writing was strung together was charmingly insightful, strange yet beautiful. Anyone who loves great writing will appreciate this book, but anyone who gets feels and chills from emotional and unique writing will FREAK OUT like I did over this book. A couple quotes:
"People just can't help themselves when it comes to quotation marks. As if they're completely paralyzed by this particular punctuation. I guess it's really not that big of a deal, but it does seem to be a widespread brand of easily avoidable buffoonery."
"For a few seconds, we lie there, not talking, just taking in the sheer distance and scope of the stars. I think about how quickly things have changed for me. But that's the personality of change, isn't it? When it's slow, it's called growth; when it's fast, it's change."
"There are times when talking just pushes out the tears. So I float in silence, watching the final touches of this perfect moonrise, and in a moment of heavenly revelation, it occurs to me that detours are not without purpose. They provide safe passage to a destination, avoiding pitfalls in the process. Floating in this lake with Walt is most certainly a detour. And maybe I'll never know the pitfalls I've avoided, but I can say this with certainty: a sincere soul is damn near impossible to find, and if Walt is my detour, I'll take it."
Mosquitoland is refreshingly funny, insightful and quirky - it reads like an adult fiction book, but with the pacing of a YA book. This is a book that needs to be savoured and read again and again. I can say a thousand things about it, and a thousand more, but honestly, you should just read it because no matter what I say, I will never be able to capture the experience of reading this book - it's absolutely a journey, and one you should take as soon as possible....more
I liked Order of the Phoenix much better the second time around - I think because it's the book where things g4.5 stars. Second read. Spoilers abound!
I liked Order of the Phoenix much better the second time around - I think because it's the book where things get REAL in the Wizarding World. No more hiding behind the fear of Voldemort - he's there. And no more thinking that the Ministry of Magic is just a cute place where people work - there are good and bad people there, and most people are a mix of both. It's the book where Harry realizes that people are not cut and dry, and that they are very fallible.
I'm talking, of course, about the ending, with Sirius' death, with Dumbledore blaming himself because he didn't give Harry the full story of why Voldemort was after him, and with Harry's realization that Kreacher lied to him, and that his own unkindness to Kreacher probably didn't help things. That's not to say that any of them are to blame - it's a combination of things that led to Sirius' death - but it's a hard lesson for anyone to learn that their heroes are not perfect, and it's one that feels earned after a book full of stealthy secrets.
I was chatting with my husband and he felt that OotP was the downfall of the series because nothing really happens in the books that advances the Voldemort issue. I disagree, though - this time around, I actually think it's incredibly realistic that a terrorist like Voldemort would need to take time to amass his followers, working in stealth, building things up so that he can strike at just the right moment. And while it's true that you only get real advancement of the overall mystery at the end of the book, there is a lot of set-up here for the last two books.
There's also a lot more growing up/puberty stuff than before. Ginny's dating. Harry goes out with and makes out with Cho Chang. We start to see a lot more of the kids in the other houses, which makes sense with the way the world is expanding to Harry.
Speaking of Harry, on my first read, I remember thinking that he spends a lot of time as an angry, angsty teenager. And that's definitely true - he blows up at Hermione and Ron way too many times during the book, but I think I had a lot more sympathy for him this time around - if you had been through what he had, wouldn't you be angry that you were a marked man and you were constantly in danger? It's exhausting and completely stressful!
What's interesting is how Harry deals with that anger and what choices he ends up making towards the end of the book and at the beginning of the sixth book - he deals with Sirius' death a lot better than he dealt with Cedric's, and he learns more about acceptance and bravery than he ever did.
I do think that the book could have been a bit shorter - I don't feel we needed that much detail about the OWL classes, Harry seeing the corridor in the Department of Mysteries, etc, but at the same time, at this point in the series, with such a complex world, I love all the little details and extras that JK Rowling gives us. It might be too detailed, but as a total Potterhead, I was into it. And don't tell me that the amount of detail at the end wasn't amazing - the Department of Mysteries was FASCINATING - the brains? The veil? And yes, the epic battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort? Wow.
Suffice to say, I think this is a pretty solid entry into the Potterverse, and I'm already on book six. =p ...more
On my first go at reading the Harry Potter series, I ranked Prisoner of Azkaban as the best book, and boo4.5 stars. Second read. SPOILERS EVERYWHERE.
On my first go at reading the Harry Potter series, I ranked Prisoner of Azkaban as the best book, and book #6, Half-Blood Prince as my favourite. The second time around, I think I liked Goblet of Fire much more than Prisoner of Azkaban, and would argue that it has the strongest structure and delivers the most in terms of making this coming-of-age story into something epic. This book makes the magical world international to Harry, showing how Voldemort really did affect not just England, but the entire world. It's a testament to JK Rowling's skill at plotting that the world never feels entirely overwhelming, and we still see how the little moments matter so much.
I had forgotten (again!) about the big fight that Ron and Harry have over him being the Triwizard Champion, and how it was a long time coming, because Ron has had to put up with being the poorer, less talented, less popular wizard for so long. I had also forgotten about Hermione's teeth being cursed, and then shortened back so she doesn't have buckteeth! I loved how much this book focused on those aspects of growing up and friendship. And of course, I really enjoyed all the hints at Ron and Hermione's burgeoning romance.
If I have a criticism, it's that the Quidditch World Cup scenes at the beginning lasted far too long, as did some of the middle scenes with Harry training. That said, Harry's training for the tournament becomes the practice for his showdown with Voldemort at the end, proving what Dumbledore says at the end of book 5 - that in choosing Harry as his foe and constantly underestimating him - to the point of putting him through the tournament - Voldemort has also equipped Harry with the very tools he needs to defeat Voldemort.
I can't talk about this book without talking about the brilliant ending - the Cup as the Portkey, the way Harry and Cedric take the Cup together, the deaths, the rebirth of Voldemort from Harry himself, the speech, and yes, the beautiful moment of Priori Incantatem. I remember being completely enthralled by the latter scene during my first read. My second read was different only in that I felt ALL THE FEELS this time. The poignancy of Harry meeting his parents again, and of the dead aiding him in making it home...wow. And then, the subsequent discovery of Barty-Crouch-as-Moody...I can't even talk about it without feeling my chest fill with tears.
We already knew that Harry and Voldemort would inevitably meet again, but this book heightens the story into something very real that Harry hasn't really dealt with before: death. Yes, one could argue that Harry has had to experience death all of his life, but he has never actually seen anyone killed before his eyes, and he's never REALLY experienced just how cruel Voldemort can be. No more. In Goblet of Fire, all of the stakes are increased as we see how the world was before and during Voldemort's rise in power, and how the world mirrors it now. It's fascinating to behold, and you really start to see how the lines are drawn and how murky and hard it was to distinguish a follower of Voldemort from a person who is just scared. The brilliant part is how Harry deals with death in the end - how Rowling ends the book with him giving the Triwizard winnings to Fred and George because he "could use some laughs. We could all use some laughs." Despite all he's gone through, he is still on the side of light, and he still values a little laughter over the darkness. ...more
I remember now why Prisoner of Azkaban sold me on the whole series. This is the book when Harry starts to really looSecond read. Spoilers EVERYWHERE.
I remember now why Prisoner of Azkaban sold me on the whole series. This is the book when Harry starts to really look around and realize that the outside wizarding world isn't as good as it seems, that they have problems just as the Muggle world does. Harry and the reader must both accept that the innocent aren't always set free, that what's right isn't always done, and that people who have the best intentions don't always do the right thing. Where the book prevails is that it never gets preachy about doing the right thing, and you always believe Harry's character as authentic, despite him being very innocent and pretty near to perfect.
It's also the book when Harry discovers how much actions have consequences and how history will never stop creeping up on him and affecting his life. I think the fact that this book is absent of Voldemort, yet his presence and destruction still have an affect on Harry, is evidence of that. The actions of James and Lily, Sirius, Lupin, and yes, even Dumbledore at the time, have all led up to Harry being who he is at that moment.
Harry's immediate acceptance of Sirius' innocence and desire to be his proper guardian shows just how desperate Harry is to have a proper father figure in his life, and it's heartbreaking because, as Dumbledore says, Sirius throughout the book has not acted like an innocent man. You can very much see the impact that Azkaban has had on him, and how he's a loose cannon. And yet, Harry's desire for him to become his guardian is so understandable - anything is better than the Dursleys - but reading this as an adult, you kind of realize why Sirius wouldn't be such a great role model for Harry. In a way, he's too much like Harry, he flies off the handle too easily, and he would encourage too many of Harry's impulses.
I'd forgotten just how big a fight Ron and Hermione are in during this book over Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, and Ron's rat Scabbers. You can definitely see shades of how much Hermione and Ron care about each other and how it might turn romantic. Harry, too, has the first stirrings of puberty when he notices Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw Seeker. I loved how this book also gave us a larger glimpse into some of the people who will play a bigger role in Harry's life later. You really see who Cedric Diggory is and his sense of fairness when Harry lost himself because of Dementors during their Quidditch game. I liked how Ginny, while still crushing on Harry, is starting to be revealed as a funny, sarcastic young woman with a lot to say. It's obviously a deliberate choice on Rowling's part to show how Harry is starting to notice more about the people around him as he grows up.
And, can we just talk about how perfectly Rowling navigates the time travel in this? That was always my favourite part of the book the first time, and I enjoyed it so much again on the second read. ...more
4.5 stars. Review originally posted at Mostly YA Lit
Every Last Word begins with an anxiety attack - Samantha McCallister’s. Sam has been diagnosed wit4.5 stars. Review originally posted at Mostly YA Lit
Every Last Word begins with an anxiety attack - Samantha McCallister’s. Sam has been diagnosed with Purely Obsessional OCD, meaning that she often gets into thought cycles that spiral and spiral and she can’t get out of it. At the beginning of the book, we find out that she’s on medication and has had weekly therapy sessions with a psychiatrist for years, but her best friends, the Eights - the most popular girls in school - don’t know about her mental illness, and she’s determined to keep it that way.
Everything changes when Sam meets Caroline, a nearby locker mate who seems to really get Sam and helps her open up. Caroline introduces Sam to a secret poetry group, and slowly, Sam begins to find the words to quiet her mind more.
The story perfectly balanced Samantha’s OCD with her poetry, her friendships with the poets, her budding romance, and her cycle of bad friendship. I read some reviews that said that there was too much going on. Not for me - this book felt so truthful to the number of things I had to balance as a teenager (school and extra-curriculars and good and bad friendships and unrequited crushes and outside interests…). There was never a moment when I just wanted to know more about another part of Samantha’s life because I was so invested in the entire thing.
The depiction of toxic friendships. This was a big one that elevated this book from good to great for me. Samantha has the feeling that she’s trapped in this friendship with her popular, manipulative best friends - but she can’t leave them because, as she says, “I don’t have anyplace else to go.” That line really spoke to me, and the rest of the book encapsulated so well my own toxic friendships and just how hard it was - and is - to let go of them.
Finally, the depiction of Samantha’s struggle with her own mind in ELW was BRILLIANTLY done, and, as I mentioned, seamlessly woven into the narrative. Samantha’s OCD is just a part of her , and what’s great is that it doesn’t feel weird at all being in her brain. I was just as frustrated and fascinated as she was by her obsession with threes, her occasional spirals into research, her compulsion to do things just so. It’s her normal, and it made her special.
Heart-Squeezing Romance: I swooned so damn hard for Samantha and her love interest (no, I’m not going to tell you who it is, but you’ll guess). We’re talking EXTREME swoons, reading back romantic passages, wanting to hug and kiss my own husband because OMG SO MUCH ADORABLE FIRST LOVE.
Very Real High School Poetry: As a Lit major, I found the words of the Poet’s Corner writers a bit simplistic, but also VERY TRUE to the type of poetry I was writing and reading when I was in high school and editing my HS literary magazine. Also, who doesn't want to be in a secret poetry group?! Why didn't I have one of these?
Emotional Writing: Tamara Ireland Stone has an incredible ability to make her characters voices deeply personal and deeply compelling. Her writing gets to the heart of the character, and with Sam, I was immediately captivated.
The Final Word:
Guys, indulge my soapbox for a moment: I hate the term #sicklit or just the idea of Important Books. To me, a book is important if it speaks to you, and it’s truthful about what characters are experiencing, whether it’s about faeries or vampires or paranormal warthogs or a girl struggling with her identity.
Every Last Word is a great book. Don’t judge it by the fact that the main character has OCD. Or that it’s supposed to be important or talk about some issue.
This is, at its heart, a YA book about a girl who is lonely and struggling to figure out who she is. A girl who is, like many of us, trying to be the best version of herself, and make positive changes in her life. Read it, love it, swoon with Sam, and believe in the power of words and friends to make your life better. ...more
I don't think I can properly review this book without just throwing flails and gifs and barbaric yawps into tReview originally posted at Mostly YA Lit
I don't think I can properly review this book without just throwing flails and gifs and barbaric yawps into the air. It's that lovely, that exquisite that any review I write will just pale in comparison to the writing in the book. That said...I want you to read this book, so I have to try.
P.S. I borrowed all the quote gifs from Penguin Teen, because who doesn't want to see more of that gorgeous cover?!
I'll Give You The Sun is probably the most literary and imaginative YA novels I've ever read.
Everything works - the writing is expressive and nuanced, with unique imagery. You can really tell that Jandy Nelson thought and thought, and thought again about every word in the novel. Every metaphor, every description fits in with the themes of breaking and remaking, family and relationships, art and inspiration. It's an incredibly tight novel, and it's one that could easily have been placed in the literary fiction section of a bookstore.
The themes of I'll Give You The Sun are explored exquisitely - and the plot follows in a very sophisticated manner. This is a definitely a form-follows-function book - but it's done so damn brilliantly that you'll be in awe. The premise/form of the book is that Noah and Jude, fraternal twins, each have their own side of the story, Noah at age 13 and Jude at age 16. As a reader, we see both sides and how mistakes and choices change and shape each of them. The brilliance comes through how each reveal is made - to the reader and to the characters. And what makes the book even more complex is how each of those reveals follows the themes of breaking and remaking, of splitting apart and coming together that shape the characters and the novel.
The characters and relationships between them are full and clearly realized. I already mentioned the premise of the book, but let me just say that Noah and Jude are probably the most flawed and complex teen characters I've read EVER. I honestly can't think of more broken, fragile and alive characters that exist in YA fiction. We get every crazed, messed-up thought in their heads, all of their stupid actions, all of their esoteric behaviors...and it's just gorgeous to behold.
I'll Give You The Sun has one of the most realistic - and sexy - LGBTQ relationships I've ever read.
This sounds weird to say, but in most YA I've read, I've never had to fan myself at a gay relationship - maybe that says more about what I read than what I don't read. This book, however, had what I imagine to be a very realistic gay relationship in its teens, and it's tumultuous and hard and beautifully steamy at a few moments.
The portrayal of art and the way it touches people will leave you inspired.
I am probably the worst artist in the world (I can't even draw a straight line), but I was amazed and gratified by how art shapes the characters, how it changes and hurts them, and how it strengthens them. Art is almost like a secondary character in this book, and the way that Noah and Jude create and destroy is not just a metaphor for what they do but it almost turns into a way of living for them.
The romances are soul-crushing and soul-illuminating.
Here's the thing: when Noah and Jude meet their respective partners, it's pretty much instantaneous intrigue. It's not quite total insta-love, but it's close. You guys know how I feel about insta-love (and one of them is a bad boy!)...but somehow, Jandy Nelson's writing can break all my rules and make me believe. I'm just going to give you one unbelievable passage, and you tell me you're not intrigued and kind of in love:
I know he's taking a hundred pictures, but I don't care anymore. A hot series of shivers is running through me as he continues clicking and saying: Yes, thank you, this is totally bloody it, perfect, yes, yes, sodding hell, God, look at you. It's like we're kissing, way more than kissing. I can't imagine what my face must look like. "You're her," he says finally, putting the cover over the lens. "I'm sure of it." "Who?" I ask. But he doesn't answer, just walks down the aisle toward me, a lazy, lanky walk that makes me think of summer. He's completely unwound now, went from high gear to no gear the moment he covered the lens. As he approaches, I see that he has one green eye and one brown eye, like he's two people in one, two very intense people in one.
Jandy Nelson perfectly understands how closely entwined joy and sadness are. Guys, Jandy Nelson KNOWS. She understands why exquisite happiness is sometimes achieved only through understanding loss. She understands how grief can engulf and change and break a family, and how art can save and remake us. I don't know how else to explain the mingled feelings of happiness, bittersweet joy, and infinite sadness that engulfed me while reading except to say that Jandy Nelson is the YA Walt Whitman.
The Final Word:
I could go on and on about I'll Give You The Sun, but honestly, it won't hold a candle to the book itself. If you like literary novels, if you want all the feels, this book needs to be on top of your TBR list. Read it now. Bask in the beauty. And then give it to a friend, because a book this good demands to be shared. ...more