may flowers

This is crazy. I read so many books and only two of them were for my book club. And it was overall a really, really good selection too! About 8 of the 11 (!!) books I read were four and five stars! Incredible!

May Book Reviews

Call Them By Their True Names (Rebecca Solnit)

7.5/10 The second collection of essays by this author that I've read. I liked that it covered a pretty broad range of subjects. The foreword was really good and I was slightly disappointed that the subsequent essays didn't have as much to do with the title idea that names have the power to change how something is viewed drastically. Another low point for this were the essays about Donald Trump. Her writing style changes a lot when on the subject of Trump and I don't really like it. Maybe because it sounds more emotional and personal but I think I much prefer her style in other essays. My favorite essays were the case studies, I feel like it was a lot easier to get into than some of the more scholarly (?) pieces. In particular I really liked 'Death by Gentrification'. I liked the points she made about events having ripple effects as well as the importance of audience. 'Preaching to the Choir' was especially great because as I was reading I was thinking that she makes some great points but only people who already agree with her would read this - then I read 'Preaching to the Choir' which was such a timely response. Overall a very relevant and well-written collection.

The Lost City of Z (David Grann)

6.5/10 "On the margins were sea monsters and dragons. For ages, cartographers had no means of knowing what existed on most of the earth. And more often than not these gaps were filled in with fantastical kingdoms and beasts, as if the make-believe, no matter how terrifying, were less frightening than the truly unknown." I couldn't help but compare this to "Lost City of the Monkey God" because well...just look at the titles. Plus they're both about a modern journalist chasing an old mystery in the Amazon. I have to say though, I did like this one more. This book interwove both the modern journalist's PoV as well as that of a Victoriahn-era explorer, which made it for a more interesting read. Still, there were some parts that I thought were really slow going and superfluous. It didn't have many tangents as the Preston book though which I appreciated. I also enjoyed at the focus given to the indigenous groups living in the Amazon. An interesting look at exploration in the early 1900s, with a well-written portrayal of one of its most prominent figures.

How Long 'till Black Future Month? (N. K. Jemisin)

9/10 Despite the less than stylistic title, I loved this collection of short stories. It's in fact one of the few short story collections where, even though there still were a couple that were just alright for me, I really enjoyed the good majority of the stories. I previously read the Fifth Season by the same author and while I liked it, it wasn't a full 5/5. In these short stories though, every part that I did enjoy about that book and her writing were on full display. The characters, which I didn't feel as attached to in the Fifth Season, were just interesting and fleshed out enough to have an impact in a shorter story. But in particular, the author's worldbuilding, which I loved in the Fifth Season, is even more enhanced by the format. The way she doesn't waste time explaining her world but instead builds it up naturally as you go along is one of the best I've ever seen. While the limited length forces it to be more simpler, it's much easier to grasp and it's a testament to her skill that there's an intriguing setting and concept in all of the stories. Even if a story slightly fell short in one or two aspects, the incredible way she treats world building in each and every one of them is amazing. The many LGBT+ and PoC perspectives are really just the cherry on top. My favorites are: "The City Born Great", "Red Dirt Witch", "The Effluent Engine", "The Narcomancer", "Too Many Yesterdays, Not Enough Tomorrows" and "Sinners, Saints, Dragons, and Haints, in the City Beneath the Still Waters".

The Prince and the Dressmaker (Jen Wang)

8/10 Not much to say about this one honestly, it's just a great graphic novel for young readers. The art style is fluid and easy to follow. The colors are lovely, the characters are realistic. The theme of gender fluidity and coming of age are well represented without being too heavy or complicated. The only complaint would be that I really wish it was longer, if only just so we could get to see more of the author's beautiful dress designs!

Time Travel (James Gleick)

6.5/10 It was really, really hard to give this one a score. The premise seemed interesting enough - a history of time travel as it exists in physics, philosophy and storytelling. What I didn't expect was for the first two categories to outshine the latter. Maybe it was because those parts were so much harder to get through, but it just felt like there was A LOT of physics and math and philosophy. Like, so much philosophy. And they were fairly academic, to the point where I'm sure only someone with a basic foundation in those would actually enjoy reading through those chapters. I am definitely not one of them. I'm an arts kid. Do not make me look at equations. In contrast I felt the most interesting parts, the parts about pop culture specifically, were too brief. There were some works that were given some more attention but most of them leaned towards the historical rather than the present mainstream. The part I was most looking forward to, the Doctor Who references, was little more than one sentence references and a short recap of one episode with little discussion actually about it. But despite my struggle to get through what felt like 2/3rds of the book, I do feel like it has a lot of merit, especially for those who are more academically inclined. It had a lot of great concepts, like the fact that time travel wasn't even a concept until relatively recently because it was only through industrialization that our societies progressed fast enough to see massive changes within a single generation. It has a lot of great quotes, a lot of good things to think about so I think objectively, it's a good book. But, probably not the best one for me.

Truly Devious (Maureen Johnson)

8/10 A pretty solid YA mystery! It did take me a while to actually get invested in the protagonist and her side of the story, but once I did I really enjoyed it. The book is written in two timelines, one mystery from the 1930s and the second in modern day. The protagonist is kind of the typical YA novel lead, she's "quirky" in that she has "strange" interests in true crime and is obsessed with murder mysteries and wants to be Sherlock Holmes. Like alright, literally no one thinks that's weird but in true YA fashion her parents just want a sporty prom princess and she feels isolated until she gets to her new school full of genius weirdos just like her! So yeah for the good first half of the story I was more interested in the 1930s mystery than whatever was going on with her daily school drama. But once the mystery of the present day actually happened, I was a lot more into it. By the end of it, I was even entertained by her love interest side plot! So yeah, it had a rough start but hooked me in the end. The worst part was that it ended on a cliffhanger which solved pretty much neither mystery so...

The Vanishing Stair (Maureen Johnson)

8/10 ...I pretty much immediately picked up the sequel. You can't just end a mystery without revealing anything! Thanks to the first book eventually successfully getting me in, I was really eager to find some resolutions in this one. And at least there was one...for the 1930s mystery. But unfortunately it ended on ANOTHER cliffhanger and it looks like we won't know all the answers until the final book comes out in 2020. While cliffhangers are good for maintaining interest, it made me give up on any type of thinking I was doing in the first book in trying to figure out the mystery. It's too much of a pain to try and track a solution through three books, one of which isn't even out. Still, the mystery kept me interested throughout this one and there's still a bit of will they or won't they for the love interest that I didn't mind. For both books, the LGBT+ and anxiety representation are also part of the perk. I'll definitely be reading the final book once it comes out.

American Kingpin (Nick Bilton)

6/10 A true crime book about 'Dread Pirate Roberts', creator of a site on the Dark Web selling drugs called the Silk Road. I previously heard about it briefly on an NPR podcast but this book really went into details. Like, almost too many details. It wrote more like a character driven story, with POVs from both DPR side and the police side. Overall, it was a pretty interesting story but the writing felt a bit too cliched. There wasn't any really great standout thriller moments and I really didn't like how the author would end like every other chapter with some dramatic cliffhanger. I think I made a similar complaint once about another book but when your chapters keep ending with stuff like 'little did they know...these days would be their LAST' it just takes the tension out of it. I'm also kind of cautious about how they chose to write from the subject's POV when the subject himself never gave an interview or had any input in writing it. Still, the events themselves were engaging enough to read about, even if the writing wasn't the most inspired.

Everything I Never Told You (Celeste Ng)

7.5/10 I had high expectations for this because I loved 'Little Fires Everywhere' but this one wasn't quite up to par. I did like the themes it was addressing, which were similar to that other book: parental expectations, racial disparities, complicated family life, etc. But this one wasn't quite as grounded, with a nonlinear style of storytelling that, while never confusing, failed to give me the same connection with the characters. It could also be the historical setting, which lent weight to the interracial marriage issues, but obviously didn't have the same gravity to me as issues in the present day. I also felt that the characters were a bit one-note, being defined solely by one aspect that they didn't feel as fleshed out. Despite the short length, a lot of it was really just repeating the same problems over and over. There was also a few major misunderstandings which I understand can be realistic but is still frustrating to read. The old 'you could've just solved this by talking to each other'. Other issues I felt was a bit too easily solved, like the mother realizing her daughter's true motivation just by finding a cookbook? It was all just a bit too removed for me. Still, there were emotional moments and its themes, while a bit heavy-handed, still resonate today.

East (Edith Pattou)

7/10 This was one of the books that I loved when I was younger and although I only had the vaguest memory of it I remembered enough to find it by googling 'a prince who's a bear and a girl washes wax'. It's a re-telling of a Norwegian folktale called 'East of the Sun, West of the Moon' which is already super poetic and I love it. Upon re-reading though...it wasn't as quite good as I hoped it was. For one, it's really, really long. For a YA book, it might not be that bad, but I don't feel like its difficulty is really up to YA levels either. It's in a weird place. The plot and its character are relatively simple and a lot of its length seems to be padding. The parts that were added in to flesh out the re-telling didn't really add anything to change it so I wish they could've trimmed it down and just stuck to a straight re-telling. It's weird because the book does span a few long periods of time but most of it was shortened by saying 'it was hard at first but [the heroine] soon got used to it' or something along those lines. The book was in multiple POVs which could've been interesting but two of them, Father & Neddy's. wasn't really all that necessary. They didn't do much beyond the first part. In comparison, the male lead, the White Bear, didn't even get that much page-time. Still, the fun of the original folktale is one of its strengths and it does a good job in translating that to a modern story, even if there's a bit of padding. The characters are likable, if not terribly distinctive. There a lot of potential here and at least it did make such a lasting impression on me.

Becoming (Michelle Obama)

9.5/10 I've always liked the Obamas, but as a non-American, I never really bothered too much to follow along with the politics and news so I was never a 'fan' of them in the same way I'd be a fan of a movie star or singer. But after reading this amazing biography and immediately searching up interview clips of the Obamas afterwards, I can say that's somewhat changed. I loved this book. Despite the fact that I looked at the 900 ebook page count and kind of balked, and despite the large chunk dedicated to her early life, I never felt bored reading it. She writes her story in a way that's so incredibly human and kind that you can't help but be moved. She's so educated and qualified and dignified in so many ways and writes about her husband in the same light that even as a non-American I feel like they were lucky to have them as the First Family. Her relationship with the people in her life, especially her husband, was so sweet and personal - I could've read a hundred more anecdotes. Even the way she writes about political opponents or the disappointment of the 2016 election, she does it in a way that never feels mean but rather emphatic and hopeful. Honestly, what an icon. It was a pleasure to read, and if I had one complaint, it'd be that I wish the parts about her time as First Lady was even longer. "Life was teaching me that progress and change happen slowly. Not in two years, four years, or even a lifetime. We were planting seeds of change, the fruit of which we might never see."

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april showers

A truly average month for reading.

April Book Reviews

The Last Hope (Erin Hunter)

5.5/10 I'll be real, I heard that (spoiler alert) Firestar dies in this one and I wanted to see how it went down. So basically, I loved the first Warriors series, the original one focusing on Firestar & his journey. I read a bit of the second series, but quickly lost interest. I never forgot my cat son though, and when I heard that this book was where his story ended (kind of, I'm sure he gets up to all sorts of antics in StarClan), I really wanted to find out how. So basically, I wasn't super interested in the actual characters from the Power of Three series. I'm kind of weirded out by the fact that StarClan used to be just this higher power that occasionally contacted very special cats to them just being regular cats except they live in another forest. The fact that the climax was a bunch of real cats straight up fighting ghosts...? Weird. But I'm not gonna lie, I did cry when reading Firestar's scene. It's not like the writing was exceptional in anyway but the fact that this character was the FIRST protagonist, that we know him from when he was just a smol kitty, to see him meet a pretty symbolic end made me emotional. It felt kind of rushed, kind of fast, but it is a book for younger children after all. Listen, I just love Firestar a lot okay.

Saga, Vol. 1 (Brian K. Vaughan)

4.5/10 I know, I know everyone loves this series. I know it's critically acclaimed. It's just really not my cup of tea. I didn't like any character in particular, certainly not the main characters. The narrator kind of had me interested but she doesn't even show up as a character in her own right. I'm not a fan of the random sex or the alien design. The Romeo and Juliet storyline didn't really feel wholly engaging to me. I'm sure others would find those exact things interesting, but it's just not my thing. I'm not into it.

Felicity (Mary Oliver)

6.5/10 A collection of poetry. Not much to say here really, I've never been a fan of the newer style of poetry coming out from young adults - you know the ones, meaningful sentences without capitalization broken up by paragraph breaks. Not to say they don't have merit or they can't connect with a reader, but just that I'm probably not the intended audience. For this collection, I felt like there was a rhythm and feel to the poems that I enjoyed. They seemed to bear some similarity to an older style of poetry that I prefer. I also liked that the topics ranged from the natural world to life to love. However that being said, there wasn't one poem that I really felt moved by or one that I felt like I wanted to write down and remember. Poetry is arguably one of the more subjective genres, so I don't feel like it's anything against the book itself.

Sleep No More: Six Murderous Tales (P.D. James)

8/10 The last short story collection I read by P. D. James was 'The Mistletoe Murders' which I enjoyed. I thought it was a solid read, even if nothing particularly stood out to me. In this one, she replicates the classic Golden Age style of murder mystery that I love so much with the same dependable quality. I did enjoy this one more than 'The Mistletoe Murders' however, because of the overall theme, which focused on the point of view of the guilty. While generally 'the narrator did it' or 'reverse whodunit' show up from time to time, to have the entire collection of stories be focused around that was really interesting to me. My favorite was probably 'The Girl Who Loved Graveyards' followed by 'A Very Desirable Residence' and 'The Yo-Yo'.

The Giver: Graphic Novel (P. Craig Russell)

8/10 I picked up the book because I vaguely remember reading 'The Giver' in class when I was young but the only thing I remember about it is that it was good. I had wanted to revisit the book so when the graphic novel adaptation came out, I thought it would be a good chance. Because I don't really have any solid memory of the original book, I'm just treating this on its own rather than judging it based on how good of an adaptation it is. And I do like the story! It felt short but sweet. I loved the ambiguous ending, even if the plot itself was little predictable. I also really liked how they were able to convey the visuals of Jonas' ability to 'see beyond' in color. Not sure how it holds up next to the book itself, but at least it was a graphic novel I enjoyed reading.

My Sister, the Serial Killer (Oyinkan Braithwaite)

6.5/10 The book is about a woman who gets a call from her sister to help her clean up a murder, and it's not the first one she's gotten. A really cool idea but unfortunately didn't live up to my expectations. I was expecting it either to be a full on tense, thriller mystery or a black comedy, satirical type of story. My impression of it was instead that it was serious, but the disjointed style of writing failed to give it any gravity. While it never felt confusing, it did feel hazy which lost some of the tension. Still, the characters were really interesting, especially the protagonist, if not altogether likeable. I had mixed feelings about the ending, but it was one that suited the story. Overall, not bad but with how intriguing the initial concept was, I was left a little disappointed.

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march madness

A month with its highs and lows but overall not a bad month for reading.

March Book Reviews

Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)

6.5/10 Let me start this review off by saying that I don't like thrillers, and I especially don't like domestic thrillers. Unfortunately, Gone Girl didn't really make me change my mind. It's not a bad score compared to what I've given to other thrillers I've read, but it's not a book that I especially liked. I didn't feel very invested in either of the characters. They weren't realistic enough for me to feel empathy or closeness and I found myself not really caring what happens to either one of them. Part of it might be that I already knew the big twist, that Amy is the one framing Nick, but at the same time if I hadn't knew that twist was coming, I wouldn't have read this book either. I'll probably check out the movie, but at the very least, for the book alone I give it a: meh.

Wenjack (Joseph Boyden)

7/10 A short novella heavily centered in Indigenous culture and history. I think this is what I expected Split Tooth to be honestly. It has a story that focused on a watershed event in Indigenous history, the death of Chanie Wenjack. It features spiritual elements taken from Indigenous culture, as chapters told from the POV of animals watching over the boy's journey. But more importantly, it was told in a way that was easy to read and follow along with. I understood what was happening, and for a short story, it did a good job of setting the scene and drawing you in. Short, simple, but full of possible discussions.

Broad Strokes: 15 Women Who Made Art and Made History (in That Order) (Bridget Quinn)

9.5/10 When I picked up this book I thought it was another one of those feminist compilation books about women overlooked or forgotten in history. You know the ones, with a Wikipedia entry page and an inspiring quote. They aren't bad, but they don't leave too much of an impression. Instead I found myself constantly emotional while reading through it. Part of it comes from its focus on art history specifically rather than just general 'feminist' icons in history. But the larger credit goes entirely to its author, who loves her subjects and whose love bleeds through on every page. It really works especially since art is so subjective that I might not feel anything about a piece of art but when the author puts herself into her descriptions, and is upfront about it, you can't help but feel moved too. The entries are just short enough not to be boring, and long enough for each subject to come to life in a way that humanizes them, as if the author imagined telling a story about a friend she knows. But what would a feminist piece be without an inspiring quote? And this is mine for this book, talking about the controversy surrounding the 'disappearance of Ana Mendieta': "Where was [she]? She was everywhere, if you knew what to look for." And so is art, so are women making it, and making history: they are everywhere, if you know what to look for. They are all around us.

I've Been Meaning to Tell You: A Letter to My Daughter (David Chariandy)

6/10 This book is...not bad. But honestly, it made almost no impression on me. I remember when I read it that I thought it had some good points here and there, but I struggle to recall any specific passage or quote that really got to me. I'm writing this review a few days after I finished the book, and let me tell you, I just don't remember anything other than a vague feeling of 'it's not terrible'. It's not just because it's short but it definitely didn't help that it was. There was some anecdotal parts, but none that stood out vividly in tone or content. It's fine. It's not bad. Maybe it's more relevant to someone who's a father, or someone who's experienced something more similar, but for me, it was a Tuesday.

The Westing Game (Ellen Raskin)

9/10 This was actually a re-read for me. I remember reading this during elementary or middle school and really loving it, but I'm always hesitant to add old books to my "Read" list now because I'm aware that opinions change as we grow up (and leave the target audience age). But I'm glad to say that nothing has changed, and I still really liked this book. The characters are so interesting, and despite having 16 major characters in a short junior level book, all of them have distinct and really memorable personalities. I especially loved the main character, Turtle, who's spunky and smart but also insecure and awkward - a great portrayal of a 13 year old girl. Which is what made the ending and epilogue so lovely to read, to see her naturally coming into her own. The ending is probably my favorite part, for the great resolution to a brainy mystery, and the heartwarming way each of the major characters' story went. All in all, a great book that's perfect for younger children and still enjoyable for older ones.

Magpie Murders (Anthony Horowitz)

6.5/10 This one had a pretty interesting 'book within a book' kind of concept which I always love. Unfortunately I only liked one of those 'books'. Half of it is a Agatha Christie-style, 1920s, classic English village mystery featuring a fictional detective called Atticus Pund. The other half deals with the editor of that mystery, trying to figure out the real life mystery of how its author died. The Atticus Pund mystery I really enjoyed, I felt like the writing style was totally spot on. While it wasn't mind blowing or anything (it's no Orient Express) but I felt like I was enjoying a familiar Golden Age mystery. The modern mystery is what I had most of my issues with. The lead character wasn't very compelling, and her progress towards solving the mystery was so slow and boring to read through. The worst though was the climax of said mystery, when she confronts the culprit. Not only was the motive completely dumb, but what she did while confronting them was even more dumb. I just didn't care for the modern parts, which was regrettably half the book. But I will give it points for having half a solid mystery in it as well as a pretty interesting concept.

Throne of Glass (Sarah J. Maas)

7/10 Alright, time to see what all the fuss is about. I've been hearing about this series of books for ages, and I'm pretty sure it had a fair hand in kickstarting the current YA trend of royal intrigue with a dash of fantasy. And at the end of it...I mean, it's alright. It's a pretty standard YA honestly. It had all the typical tropes played to a T. The protagonist is a strong female character with hints to a mysterious origin that she's unaware of. There are two primary love interests, one is a flirty, charming one and the other is a serious, hidden heart of gold kind. She gets chosen by a supernatural force to stop a mysterious threat. There's a scene where she dresses up really fancy. Like literally, it could not get more standard YA than that. Still, I got what I expected, which isn't a bad thing. None of the characters stood out to me, but I liked them well enough. The love triangle wasn't unbearable. The mystery wasn't super engrossing but it didn't feel like it dragged on either. It's a good book for people who like these books. What can I say?

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summer homework

Ah yes the Sunday of summer, it's only fitting that I only somehow read the last three books in like a week.

August Book Reviews

The Dead Husband Project (Sarah Meehan Sirk)

5.5/10 Another series of short stories, although I liked this one more than The Dark and Other Love Stories. The titular short story was probably my favorite and the one that made the most impression on me. I really liked how the whole thing played out. For the other stories, the ambiguity of many of them were interesting. Some were just vague enough to be intriguing but others just pushed it to confusing. I'd say my other favorites would be 'Ozk', 'Inters ection' and 'Moonman'. Overall, I feel that while I did like reading it, especially because of the easiness of consuming short pieces, I don't really feel like you would miss out on anything major if you didn't read this.

Coraline (Neil Gaiman)

7.5/10 I really loved the Laika movie based off this book and happened to pick this one up and I'm glad to say I wasn't disappointed! I love the classic fairy tale vibe of the story, less Disney princess and more Hansel and Gretel. Think deep dark woods and cautionary tales. I really loved Coraline's character and I actually really loved the cat too (to no one's surprise). It's a short novella, but it's perfect for kids. I also liked it because it made me appreciate the movie a lot more too. The stylistic choices were super on point, and I even liked some of the changes they added in. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for just a bit of dark fantasy.

Soundless (Richelle Mead)

5/10 It was average at best. I've seen fanfiction that are about this quality, with no disrespect to fanfiction at all. The setting is at least somewhat different and the premise sounded great but the story took far too long into getting into the real action. The idea that everyone in this isolated village is deaf and one day this girl suddenly hears sound for the first time is intriguing but the explanation as to why was a weird mix of science and fantasy that seemed at odds at each other. The resolution of the story seemed a bit deus ex machina and many actual problems weren't completely resolved or seemed rushed through. I might as well have read fanfiction, at least they'd have characters I'm already invested in.

A Tale for the Time Being (Ruth Ozeki)

9/10 "If you do decide to read on, then guess what? You're my kind of time being and together we'll make magic!" It was a story that slowly eased you in but once inside, it seems almost impossible to put down. Interweaving two POVs yet the switch is seamless. The length and style is just engaging enough that you pick up the two threads without a stutter. I absolutely loved the way they talked about themes of philosophy, death and time without seeming overly pretentious or forced.  I cared about both timelines — both Ruth's drifting, isolated existence and Nao's battered, crowded fate. There was just enough mystery and a hint of the supernatural that made it intriguing without losing the sense of realism to either of their stories. The little details about both of their lives grounded them but the larger story lifted them into something bigger. A tale for not only the time being, but the time to come as well.

The Mars Room (Rachel Kushner)

2.5/10 A story centered around lives in California prisons, this failed to meet expectations. While it certainly seems that the author did her research while writing this piece, I felt like that research would've been better served by a different kind of writing style, or even a nonfiction book instead. The themes and topics it concerns is undoubtedly important: the state of incarceration in the United States, morality and the justice system, transphobia and gender issues in prison. Yet this book fails to deliver the due gravitas to any of them, due to its nonlinear timeline, shifting perspectives, multiple POVs, and stream of consciousness style of writing. None of the characters failed to capture my attention, and the fictional element made it seem like the darker themes were gritty for the sake of being gritty rather than a reflection on some of the realities of imprisonment. It was hard to get through not because it was depressing, but because it was boring. It had potential, but ultimately went nowhere.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Mark Haddon)

6.5/10 I can see why this book would be assigned reading. The writing style, done in the point of view of its autistic protagonist, didn't feel forced or theatrical at all. Every thought and action felt natural and logical when seen in the protagonist perspective, a feat that should be appreciated. I also enjoyed the dynamics of the family, managing to portray the complex factors involved in a family whose child is autistic. More importantly, it kept both parents as flawed, human characters. There was no clear choice, at least from our understanding, which parent is better and that in turn made the characters seem more real. However, while it is a good book and I can see the value of it, I wouldn't say I loved reading it. The ending felt a little rushed but overall it's just not my type of book. Still, I'm glad I did read it.

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