So sharply written, I don't think I liked one person in this book but I loved the book. So sharply written, I don't think I liked one person in this book but I loved the book. ...more
I don't like wasting my time and this book felt like a waste of time. Shame. I was excited by the premise and the very Asian cast and author but this I don't like wasting my time and this book felt like a waste of time. Shame. I was excited by the premise and the very Asian cast and author but this was not a heist book, this was amateur hour. The characters literally watched Ocean's 11 to teach themselves how to be thieves. I should've just watched Ocean's instead....more
So glad Chanel has their Chanel et Moi programme now because this book will make you look over all your purchases. IDK why people would knock off a $1So glad Chanel has their Chanel et Moi programme now because this book will make you look over all your purchases. IDK why people would knock off a $100 Longchamp bag though... is that even worth it?
I didn't really feel a connection to either Ava or Winnie so wasn't really invested in the story.
It's been a minute since I felt such an acute connection to a book. This is very much Michelle Zauner's story and there were a lot of things I didn't It's been a minute since I felt such an acute connection to a book. This is very much Michelle Zauner's story and there were a lot of things I didn't relate to but the things that did, I felt in my bones and my stomach. Read with a box of tissues and a bowl of miyuk guk. ...more
You know when you go to a new-to-you restaurant and have the best meal ever? You rave about it to all your friends for weeks and weeks, Yelp about it,You know when you go to a new-to-you restaurant and have the best meal ever? You rave about it to all your friends for weeks and weeks, Yelp about it, etc etc, and excitedly go back for round two. And it's awful. And you get food poisoning. And someone steals your debit card.
That pretty much sums up my experience with The Bride Test.
What in Miss Saigon hell--ARE WE STILL DOING THIS??????
I just felt an overwhelming sense of icky-ness reading this book that didn't dissipate, which was SO disappointing after The Kiss Quotient. I was so ready to love this book and move Helen Hoang onto the rarefied "autobuy" list but unfortunately, this fell short on so many levels. Thank God Ali Wong's Always Be My Maybe with its Asian AF cast comes out in a week....more
I read this in February and a month later, I was living it. (Not really, but you know what I mean.) If you need an escape from COVID, this isn't the bI read this in February and a month later, I was living it. (Not really, but you know what I mean.) If you need an escape from COVID, this isn't the book for you. But if you're like me and watched Contagion 3x at the start of quarantine, add this to your reading list along with some Octavia Butler. ...more
It's hard out there for a superhero. An Asian superhero though?? [image]
Meet Aveda Jupiter, née Annie Chang, San Francisco's self appointed protector. It's hard out there for a superhero. An Asian superhero though?? [image]
Meet Aveda Jupiter, née Annie Chang, San Francisco's self appointed protector. After a portal opened up in the city and gave her (very) limited powers of telekinesis, she decided to train herself to become a superhero. She was inspired as a child by watching Michelle Yeoh in The Heroic Trio (1992), a film about three female superheroes in Hong Kong. (The full movie is on YouTube by the way.) (Also Maggie Cheung is in it!)
Sitting next to Annie in the theater, and next to her always, is her best friend and assistant Evie Tanaka. They met in elementary school when the other kids started picking on Evie for bringing spam musubi to school and Annie defiantly ate them all. The spam musubi, not the other kids. Evie and Annie bonded as Evie held Annie's head while she threw up all the spam, and they've had each other's backs every since. Well, it's mostly been Evie behind Annie once Annie decided to become AVEDA JUPITER, SUPERHERO. But mild mannered Evie preferred a behind the scenes role as she's also been taking care of her younger sister after their mother died and father ran off.
The tables get turned when Aveda injures her ankle while superhero-ing, and she sends a glamoured Evie in her place to some events. When demons attack one event, Evie, who isn't trained in fighting like Aveda, ends up using a power that she's repressed since an incident long ago. She shoots fire out of her hand. Evie, as Aveda, finds herself for the first time at the center of attention, from curious bloggers to those pesky, seemingly evolving demons.
Rounding out Team Aveda is Nate, nerdy, scientific, ...muscled, brooding Nate, Lucy the bodyguard/trainer/condom supplier, and Bea, Evie's annoying little sister extraordinaire.
My first feeling about this book is just how NECESSARY it is. This is the scene where Annie and Evie discover The Heroic Trio for the first time, but it could also apply to kids reading this book: [image] From my Litsy
It's why #WeNeedDiverseBooks. Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal, as amazing as she is, can't be the only one holding it down for us colored girls. This is also about friendships, and how they evolve and can get complicated. This book was in the Sci Fi section but it could also be classified as YA/NA. Evie is just recognizing her powers, both literally and figuratively, and all the feelings she's tamped down over the years are bubbling out. Aveda and Evie have both identified themselves in one way for so long (hero and sidekick) that this new situation makes them reexamine their places in the world and each other's lives and what they want out of both.
I had some trouble with the tone initially because it read younger than I was expecting despite the characters being in their 20s. It also brought up some great issues that weren't addressed, like Aveda's Asian parents not approving of her lifestyle choice, but now that I see a sequel (and series!) is in the works, I really hope they're examined in the next installment.
Overall, there's so much potential in the story and characters and writing, that despite being a little uneven at times, I'm ALL IN. It's also really fun. There are karaoke battles to the death! What more could you want?? Heroine Complex is a book we need, but also one that we deserve. We deserve superheroes that LOOK LIKE US, damn it, WRITTEN by people who LOOK LIKE US.
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Whew, this is the first review I've written in like 4 years. What can I say, I was inspired by the DNC. If Hillary Clinton can become the first female presidential nominee of a major party, I can finish a review. Or something. Now I'm going to finish The Heroic Trio. How has everyone been?? ...more
Well, this short story made me cry more in 15 pages than any other book I've read this year -- except for Patrick Ness's gut punches masquerading as bWell, this short story made me cry more in 15 pages than any other book I've read this year -- except for Patrick Ness's gut punches masquerading as books. This story of the Chinese-American son of a mail order bride who learns of his otherness from cruel neighborhood kids and begins to resent the source of his difference, his mother, was heartbreaking, poignant, and familiar. It reminded me of all the times my brother and I would refuse to eat with chopsticks or speak Korean, how we demanded nasty Lunchables instead of kimbap, the DELICIOUS Korean version of sushi that was packed in our lunches. [image]
When Jack demands that his mother speak only English, she says,
“If I say ‘love,’ I feel here.” She pointed to her lips. “If I say ‘ai,’ I feel here.” She put her hand over her heart.
These two lines sum up why so many immigrants cling to their native tongue despite the protestations of their non-immigrant children.
Thanks to Flannery and Leanne for bringing this story to my attention. It's definitely worth the few minutes it'll take to read. Just be sure to have tissues handy....more
"Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves." -Confucius
"Oh, here go hell come." -Calvin Tran
I love revenge stories. Whether it's Edmond "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves." -Confucius
"Oh, here go hell come." -Calvin Tran
I love revenge stories. Whether it's Edmond Dantes in Count of Monte Cristo or Beatrix Kiddo in Kill Bill, there's just something about characters who say, No. Not anymore. Not again.
In Burn for Burn, we meet three characters -- a princess, a basket case, a brain. The chapters alternate between their points of view as we discover how they end up on a collision course of revenge. The book opens on Mary Zane, who is on the ferry to Jar Island, returning home after an extended, self-imposed absence. Mary's story is the most mysterious. Not only does she have secrets, but her secrets have secrets. Lillia Cho is pretty and popular, a girl used to getting what she wants though her wealthy family ensures she doesn't want for much. However, none of that prevents her from getting what she doesn't want. Kat DeBrassio is a townie, a local determined to get off Jar Island after years of rumors reducing her reputation to trash. She's had to deal with tougher problems though, like losing her mother, so these rumors -- and the source of them -- don't get to her. Until they do. Each girl is set off by events to act, to no longer be passive recipients of other people's shit.
From the beginning, as "the mist breaks into lace" and Jar Island is unveiled, it had my attention. This novel is, for lack of a better word, delicious. Revenge is so sweet. ...But there's a reason why Confucius has been around since Before Christ. What happens after the wheels have been set in motion and you discover you didn't have the whole story? Or that your target changed for the better? Or even if the source of your humiliation is as bad as you think, how low do you go? There are so many shifting layers to this story. A huge part of that is due to the well-drawn supporting characters. The line between friend and foe, which seems so sharply drawn at first, becomes blurry as we learn more about the characters, and I found my sympathies ping-ponging from side to side.
Mary, Lillia, and Kat each have their own motivations and are determined to mete out consequences as they see fit. It cracked me up when Kat got stuck in the bureaucracy of it all though.
"As amped as I am about doing this, it's sort of annoying. I mean, basically my whole night is going to be spent doing this crap."
Zombies have shown that there are really only two certain things in life: taxes and bureaucracy. There aren't any zombies in this story, but there is a paranormal element. I hesitate to mention it because the minute people hear that word, it's either an immediate turn on or turn off, and really, it's just one layer of this multi-layered story. Even better, not one of those layers is a love triangle. There is love, but in this book (the first of a planned trilogy), friendships are the most explored relationships. Considering this book was written by two best friends in Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian, I'm not surprised. I've never read a Siobhan Vivian book, though I plan to now, but I read Jenny Han's Summer Series last year. While I liked it, the main character felt a little young. That is not an issue in Burn for Burn. I was rubbing my hands together after the first few chapters.
Bonus points: Non-stereotypical minority main character! Lower-middle class characters. Rally girls, which reminded me of Friday Night Lights. That gorgeous cover, which depicts the characters pretty accurately.
I was surprised by how much I liked Burn for Burn. It hit the right notes of friendship, revenge, and anticipation, and I just sunk my teeth into it. The writing between Han and Vivian is seamless. I imagine it was perfected over years of sending texts and emails back and forth as only BFFs can. As I said immediately after I finished the book, I hope Han and Vivian gave each other one of these because they deserve it: [image]
I'm going to be a bit of a figure skating judge on my rating because you can't give the first performance a perfect score, especially when you know the second one can be even better. Overall, this was a very exciting start to a trilogy and Book 2 is going on my "frenzied anticipation" list.
Rating: 4/5 stars.
I received this copy from the publisher. No other compensation was received. Just as an aside, when my grandmother tasted the Thanksgiving turkey I had spent hours slaving over, she said, "It's not as good as last year's (catered) turkey." When I looked over at my mother, she said, "Well, she's right. And you gained some weight, didn't you?" Being honest is embedded, for better or for worse, in my genetic code.
I just got my paperback copy of Angelfall today, so I thought I'd revisit this book and write a proper review -- one that doesn't involve a Korean graI just got my paperback copy of Angelfall today, so I thought I'd revisit this book and write a proper review -- one that doesn't involve a Korean grandma, a cell phone, and a 911 operator.**
I've made some successful forays into fantasy recently (Finnikin of the Rock, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Seraphina), but as a genre, two elements repel me: tedious world-building and nonsensical names. The latter reason is why, despite some glowing reviews, I can't even consider a Rachel Vincent novel. Angelfall, a self-published dystopian fantasy about a 17-year-old girl named Penryn, looked like a potential disaster. However, it was only a $0.99 potential disaster, so I decided to risk it and buy it for my Kindle.
I'm so glad I did.
Angelfall throws you into San Francisco 6 weeks after angels descended and attacked. All we know is that the angel Gabriel was gunned down, unleashing an angel apocalypse all over the world. Penryn, named after an exit off Interstate 80 by her mentally unstable mom, is trying to survive in this new world order, with angels up top and humans trying to fill whatever space they can underneath, no matter the cost to themselves. It's human nature in its basest form -- survival of the fittest, kill or be killed. Penryn can fend for herself. Her paranoid schizophrenic mother made sure of this, enrolling her daughter in self-defense classes from an early age. However, Penryn isn't just fending for herself. She's caring for her handicapped younger sister, Paige. Except Paige gets taken by an angel while Penryn is defending another angel from certain death. Now Penryn must trust this injured angel, Raffe, to take her to the guarded angel aerie to find her sister.
And that's just the beginning.
Going back to my two fantasy dealbreakers, there is no tedious world-building -- some would say that there isn't enough world-building, or world-explaining, but that works for me. I'd prefer to know less, at least initially. Secondly, Penryn's name fits her completely. This isn't a cool name; this is a name chosen because it was there. Like her child.
Angels were another potential stumbling block because I consider myself devoutly agnostic. I don't mind religion if it's intrinsic to the story and the characters, like in Sorta Like a Rock Star. I just don't like being preached to.
[image] Oh, is this unrelated? SO ARE MY REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS TO THE REPUBLICAN AGENDA.
Imagine my delight in finding out Raffe, the angel, was agnostic! And that wasn't even the turning point for me because I was already invested in the story. I loved the dynamic between our two feisty leads, Penryn and Raffe. I really loved what happened when Penryn pulled out her Ally McBeal "I am a trained kickboxer" card and punched a man twice her size, fully expecting all the people around her to swoop in and stop the fight before any harm came to her. Not in this new reality. This is the kind of detail I love. It shows how societal norms have changed, that a man fighting a woman who challenges him isn't the end all because they've seen the end all.
This is a novel that I thoroughly enjoyed -- so much so that after finishing it on Christmas, I gifted it to 5 friends that night. (And still only spent $5!) This is a quality story with quality characters written by a very qualified author. I highly recommend it.
**My original review posted on Dec. 25, 2011. Saved per Shirley Marr's request.
Review to come. Too much wine tonight. And Bailey's. And, okay, a little Johnnie Walker Blue earlier. What can I say, Christmas started with Grandma accidentally dialing 911 and yelling in Korean before hanging up. It's been a long day.