Book Blog #346: Small Country by Gaël Faye

 

Title: Small Country

Author: Gaël Faye

# of Pages: 183 (paperback)

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Africa

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: Burundi, 1992. For ten-year-old Gabriel, life in his comfortable expat neighbourhood of Bujumbura with his French father, Rwandan mother and little sister, Ana, is something close to paradise. These are happy, carefree days spent with his friends sneaking cigarettes and stealing mangoes, swimming in the river and riding bikes in the streets they have turned into their kingdom. But dark clouds are gathering over this small country, and soon their peaceful idyll will shatter when Burundi and neighbouring Rwanda are brutally hit by war and genocide.

Review: This book could have been categorized as horror by the heart-aching descriptions of genocide victims. 

I read the English translation of Small Country (originally published in French) with little to no context on what this book would be about. This is a mistake - as someone with little to no knowledge on the wars in Burundi and Rwanda, ramping up on the conflict that sets the premise of this book is much more difficult. 

Faye contrasts the relatively peaceful childhood of Gaby (a half French half Rwandan boy living in Bujumbura) in the first half of the book with the horrifying tragedy of genocide in the latter half. The former I would give 3 stars - the slice-of-life story of Gaby's peaceful childhood was just not that interesting. I put aside this book many times just because it was difficult for me to be engaged with learning about Gaby's home situation. 

The second part was much better and goes the farthest in enlightening readers on a tragedy that is likely overlooked or unknown to many people. Faye could have actually made this section longer and gone deeper on the conflict to land more of a punch and pull more at the heartstrings by developing more attachment to the characters. At the same time, it is impressive what Faye was able to accomplish in such a small amount of pages. 

Borderline 3/4 stars - I wouldn't recommend seeking out this book but would if there's interest in the topic and an opportunity to read it (especially since it's so short). 

Book Blog #345: Wicked: The Life and TImes of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

 

Title: Wicked: The Life and the Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

Author: Gregory Maguire

# of Pages: 406 (paperback)

Genre: Adult, Fantasy

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil? Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to be the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

Review: As a long-time fan of the musical and with the recent release of the part 1 movie adaptation, this seemed as good a time as any to finally read the original source material.

It's very important to know that the musical/movie is a VERY LOOSE adaptation of this book. I went into this reading with the goal to:

- Compare the book and the musical (identify what's different/missing)

- Appreciate the decisions made by Maguire vs writers/lyricists of Wicked to tell a similar story in their respective medium 

This review assumes spoilers comparing the book to the musical/movie is NOT a spoiler, proceed with caution. 

I already knew the following qualities/popular perspective of the book that I ended up agreeing with upon finishing:

1. The book delves deeper on the politics/racism/classism. 

In the musical/movie, Elphaba is the only one who is exaggeratedly ostracized based on her appearance, despite featuring a diverse cast. It was more realistic in the book that most of Oz struggled with accepting difference between people from different areas, even those from "Winkie" country where the popular Fiyero from the musical is from are looked down upon by other people in Oz (including musical love interest Glinda, who in the book explicitly cites the color of Fiyero's skin as a reason to not have had an affair with him). 

The Wizard and Madame Morrible are more totalitarian in the book than the musical. I actually preferred the musical's interpretation of these characters because they were more nuanced than blatantly power tripping as they are in the book. 

The book describes more of Oz, including Quadling Country which is perceived as being less advanced economically and technologically, thus inferior and is seen throughout the book as a class of people to disregard at best and take advantage of at worst. The political parts of the book were actually heavier than I expected, already indicating that the book is less family friendly than the musical/movie.

2. The book features beastiality. 

Obviously there none of this in the PG movie/musical. But I heard before reading that this book was "weird" and goes into "graphic" detail about sex with animals. With my expectations basically set to "beastiality smut", I actually didn't think it was prevelant enough to require that much of a fuss about it. There's mainly this one scene where theres beastiality rape, and there are some details about how it happens. It's definitely not something kids should be reading, but this is something that most young adults should be able to handle. 

However, there were still differences that surprised me:

1. Elphaba was portrayed to be even more "different" than she is in the musical. 

The musical has the color of her skin be her primary difference with her peers (which is clearer messaging of the racism theme). The book goes farther to make her different by giving her razor sharp teeth as a newborn and even bring into debate her gender at least twice. It's unclear whether these differences are meant to be taken literally or if this is because of unreliable narrators (there's third person POV switching), but giving her sharp teeth made her seem more like a monster rather than a protagonist people could sympathize with. 

2. The main characters (Elphaba, Glinda, Fiyero, Boq, Nessarose) are not as interconnected as they are in the musical. 

This is more realistic than having everyone pair off (or create a love triangle) like they do in the musical, but it introduces a lot more "extra" characters that are not important to the driving plot.  I can appreciate Maguire keeping the tin man's origin story true to The Wizard of Oz book. I actually liked the how these characters are related to the origin stories of the scarecrow and tin man in the musical, and we get a happier ending in the musical compared to the book. 

3. There's a drawn out period where Elphaba is in The Vinkus in the book that is completely cut out from the musical.

I think the musical made the right decision for this one. While this helps justify how Elphaba becomes "The Wicked With of the West" (since Vinkus is in western Oz) in the book, there's not much that actually happen. The little character development that does happen could have been included but with much less pages. 

For a book of this length written in this denser fantasy style (and being a relatively older book, originally published in 1995), I was surprised how gripping and fast the read was, and almost gave it four stars. However, I think if I was not already a fan of the musical, it would have been hard for me to keep track of the characters, the different areas of Oz, etc, and I would have been less engaged without having something to compare the story against. This in addition to having third person POV switching which caused parts of the story to drag made me give the three star rating. 

I don't plan to read the rest of the series and would only recommend reading if you're already interested in the movie/musical AND have expectations that the book will tell a very different story. 

Book Blog #344: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

 

Title: Crying in H Mart

Author: Michelle Zauner

# of Pages: 341 (ebook)

Genre: Nonfiction, Biography

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humour and heart, she tells of growing up the only Asian-American kid at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother’s particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother’s tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food. As she grew up, moving to the east coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, performing gigs with her fledgling band – and meeting the man who would become her husband – her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother’s diagnosis of terminal pancreatic cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her.

Review: No one told me that singer Michelle Zauner (aka singer under the name Japanese Breakfast) could write! 

Crying in H Mart caught my attention from the title alone - who is this person, and why is she crying in the iconic Korean grocery store? Little did I know that this book is actually a heartfelt memoir about her mother's battle with her cancer AND Zauner's struggles with identity, culture, and relationships. 

I can't exactly criticize the story. Zauner's complicated yet close relationship with her mom is likely relatable to many people, especially Asian Americans growing up with immigrant parents. For those who can't relate, it provides insight into what it's like growing up as a halfie and how closely food ties into her relationships on her Korean side of her family/family friends.

That being said, while I was reading this book BEFORE realizing Zauner is Japanese Breakfast, I didn't think this story was particularly notable despite being pretty well written. It's an unfortunate reality that many people know of a loved one who battled cancer, and Zauner's struggle with identity is not too different from other books I've read relating to growing up Asian American, as a minority. It's because it's NOT a very unique story that there's a large audience of people who's hearts it can easily touch from being so relatable. 

This aside, the only minor complaint I have is how non linearly the story is told. Jumping back and forth between her parents' past as well as her own past maybe the story a lot less gripping for me, and I found myself not feeling the urge to pick up the book again for days. 

If the topic of Crying in H Mart sounds interesting to you, definitely give it a shot. I almost gave this book 4 stars because I have no regrets reading this book, but I didn't cry over it (at most slightly teared up if I thought hard enough about it) and didn't feel invested in the story. It's also cool to hear more background on the person behind Japanese Breakfast even though I don't listen to the artist's music.

Book Blog #343: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

 

Title: A Little Life

Author: Hanya Yanagihara

# of Pages: 914 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQ

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: When four classmates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they're broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their center of gravity. Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he’ll not only be unable to overcome—but that will define his life forever.

Review: Only read this book if you want to be VERY sad. 

I went into this book blind; this cover of the "constipated-looking guy"(I now know he is not constipated) kept coming up in my feed, but that was about all I knew of the book. I didn't know that it would be so long and yet so addictive (in the "there's a horrible car crash but I can't look away" type of addictive). It's definitely not for the faint of heart - there's very graphic descriptions about SO many triggers (e.g. abuse, trauma, suicide).

Let's start with the good parts of A Little Life:

• Yanagihara is clearly a very capable, thought provoking writer. The detailed dreamy descriptions of NY conjure a feeling of nostalgia in the reader that is clearly reflective of the characters feelings of starting their young adult lives in the city. Even though this aspect of her writing doesn't drive the plot forward, I appreciated the quality of the writing and how well it invokes the imagery of the setting. 
• I became very invested in the characters, especially Willem and Andy who are such selfless characters.
• I'm a huge sucker for stories about friendship (the turmoil of friendships being tested, the power of having supportive friends), and this book had SO much of this. 
• The story explores a lot of thought-provoking topics: What does it mean to live a meaningful life? What makes someone your parent, your partner, your friend? What is success, what is trauma, how do they define you?   
• It forces the reader to face the idea of growing old, outliving loved ones, or leaving loved ones behind. I consider an occasional reminder of potential loneliness and the inevitably of death to be a good thing. 
• It's a tear jerker (I was crying on and off through the last 20-30% of the book). 

And now the bad:

• BYOB - this is a 800+ page pity party for Jude, who doesn't seem to accept help despite being surrounded by generous, supportive people. 
• Fun drinking game: take a shot anytime a character apologizes. It felt like a majority of the dialogue was some variant of "I'm so sorry." 
• The third person POV switching was actually not too bad in this book (although it was mildly annoying when Yanagihara only uses pronouns, and the reader has to use process of elimination to figure out which male character's POV it is). However, there are a few random chapters from the FIRST PERSON POV where you also have to deduce who's POV it is - it's so random and unnecessary.
• It's way too long. At around 70% through, I couldn't believe this book wasn't over yet and wanted Yanagihara to cut the fluff and get to finishing the story. With the POV switching, there's a lot of repetition of events that could have been organized more efficiently. 
• The story is truly slice of life - characters that don't hold much importance will be randomly introduced as if the reader should already know who they are. Some character get a long drawn out detailing of their background, and then fade into into the background as they become less important to Jude. 
• The lack of diversity amongst the characters in terms of success made this story less realistic. Yes many of them know each other from college, but for so many people in the arts to succeed at such a major scale is just unbelievable. 
• There's some shaky messaging on trauma. Some may interpret it as "trauma will never be forgotten, and the only true escape is death" which may give people that suicide is the best option.
• It's a tear jerker (imagine crying for hundreds of pages, drink water folks).

Yes, I'd recommend this book BUT be prepared for what you're getting yourself into. I felt the sadness from this book even when I was not directly reading it (it's a HUGE downer if you couldn't already tell), so don't read this during a time when it'll affect your enjoyment of other things going on in life. 

Book Blog #342: Th1rt3en by Steve Cavanagh

 

Title: Th1rt3en

Author: Steve Cavanagh

# of Pages: 323 (hardback)

Genre: Adult, Thriller, Mystery

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: They were Hollywood's hottest power couple. They had the world at their feet. Now one of them is dead and Hollywood star Robert Solomon is charged with the brutal murder of his beautiful wife. This is the celebrity murder trial of the century and the defence want one man on their team: con artist turned lawyer Eddie Flynn. All the evidence points to Robert's guilt, but as the trial begins a series of sinister incidents in the court room start to raise doubts in Eddie's mind. What if there's more than one actor in the courtroom? What if the killer isn't on trial? What if the killer is on the jury?

Review: Yes, this is the 4th book in the series. No, it's not a problem to read it as a standalone book. 

Cavanagh chosen genre and style is very similar to John Grisham books, so fans of Grisham's should definitely give Cavanagh's Eddie Flynn series a shot. Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of Grisham's, so I was sitting at a 2 star rating for Th1rt3en while reading the beginning 2/3's of the book. 

The prose is pretty simple and therefore very accessible to a broad audience (apparently the average reading level in the US is at a 7th grade level). The protagonist Eddie Flynn is some ex-con artist (a bad boy) who's turned into a defense lawyer who has high moral standards on only saving the innocent from wrongful sentencing (savior). His strong sense of duty toward this greater good might be breaking apart his family, but it's something that's framed as something the reader should sympathize with Flynn for rather than his wife that is upset with his dangerous lifestyle. I'm imagining this is some idealization of a man FOR men - clearly not something I'm the target audience for. Definitely was not a fan of reading about these types of people nor the simplistic writing style. Especially since I read Miracle Creek just before this, I was settling this book on the two star rating because I liked the style so much less that that book (which I also gave 3 stars). 

The premise of having a serial killer on the jury is what drew me into reading this book (and that I heard it's trending on BookTok). I'm used to mystery's being a bit thrilling due to the nature of the genre, but I wasn't expecting it to be as much of a thriller as it was. Yes there are descriptions of the murders and what is done to the bodies (not unexpected), but Cavanagh also incorporated descriptions about the villains' (evil) facial expressions and built suspense when a character is near these villainous characters that made it a bit more of a thriller than others of this genre. 

It was the last third of the book that ultimately made me decide to give this book 3 stars. Every mystery has at least one "reveal", and I was caught completely off guard by this book's reveal. I had to re-read the paragraph a few times to see if I was understanding what happened correctly, it was so unexpected. In retrospective, it made me appreciate how the author laid out the story to deceive the reader, even if I didn't like the style it was written in. Therefore, and extra star was granted. 

I would recommend this book to people who already know they like the style and genre of Grisham's books. For the twist, I don't regret reading this book, but it's definitely not my top choice. I won't be reading any other books in this series. 

Book Blog #341: Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

 

Title: Miracle Creek

Author: Angie Kim

# of Pages: 398 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Mystery

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: In rural Miracle Creek, Virginia, Young and Pak Yoo run an experimental medical treatment device known as the Miracle Submarine. A pressurized oxygen chamber that patients enter for therapeutic “dives,” it's also a repository of hopes and dreams: the dream of a mom that her child can be like other kids; the dream of a young doctor desperate to cure his infertility and save his marriage; the dream of the Yoos themselves, Korean immigrants who have come to the United States so their teenage daughter can have a better life. When the oxygen chamber mysteriously explodes, killing two people, all these dreams shatter with it, and the ensuing murder trial uncovers imaginable secrets and lies.

Review: It's almost cheating to write a mystery because the reader is more than likely going to have a difficult time putting the book down. Even poorly written mysteries have had a history of taking over my day, my weekend because I NEED to figure out who dunnit. 

That being said, Miracle Creek somehow managed to miss this gripping quality. I didn't even mind the third person POV switching too much (the format is popular for the "peeling the onion" types of courthouse mysteries where different perspectives are necessary to build the full picture). There was something about how the character building and the story telling seemed to drag on, and the time skipping between the past and the present was annoying rather than suspenseful. 

What put me off the most was how Kim chose to write hints that the SOMETHING had happened, strongly indicating that some characters knew about some critical events, but stopped short of telling from the reader what actually happened until later in the story, in the name of suspense. It made the mystery aspect feel forced rather than letting letting the narratives from the courthouse and character interactions conjure the air of mystery themselves. 

A part that I did enjoy was how Miracle Creek explores parenthood of kids with likely lifelong conditions through the HBOT patients. This was the first time I've read about HBOT, and I learned a lot more than I expected about how some parents approach their children's typically "incurable" conditions. 

The Yoo family's immigration experience into the US made this book stand out amongst other court house mysteries. Immigrating from the US is explored from all angles within the family (father, mother, and child) and how they all face unique challenges in adjusting to a new culture and how pursuing the American dream inevitably changes the family dynamic. In particular, Young's growth in how she views Pak and his role as a patriarch of the family makes me really appreciate her as a character.

Overall, this book was...okay - there are some good parts, and there's nothing glaringly wrong with the book. But when I finished reading, that's what I felt about the book: it's "just okay."

Book Blog #340: Every Day by David Levithan

Title: Every Day

Author: David Levithan

# of Pages: 329 (ebook)

Genre: YA, Romance, Fantasy

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

Review: I really wanted to like this book, but I slowly got more frustrated with the characters as the plot progressed.

This book is clearly not timeless. First published in 2012, it was fun to see how much the world has changed since then. The heavy use of email and ignorance around gender and sexual identity are some example of this book feeling dated. Most people would know what being transgender refers to unlike one of the characters in the book who claims to not understand what it means to be male but biologically female. 

The fantasy concept used Every Day is actually very cool - the protagonist A switches between 16 year old bodies and has to live their lives for a day. The reader gets to see perspectives from teenagers of different backgrounds which is the aspect of this book I liked the most. There is a lot of handwaving in terms of explaining HOW this body changing works (maybe something explained later in the series?). It would have been better if this first book leaned into explaining the "fantasy" aspect rather than having the reader accept this bizarre situation A finds themselves in. 

The romance aspect is what I disliked about this story. The whole plot is around A falling in love with Rhiannon, who already has a boyfriend. If the reader still thinks The Notebook is one of the greatest romances of all time, then maybe this story is also acceptable. As for me, I find it difficult to "cheer" for A and Rhiannon's relationship while Rhiannon is still in a relationship, regardless on whether Justin is a good boyfriend or not. Even Rhiannon implies that her relationship is complicated (he might be emotionally absent and inconsiderate but this still doesn't justify infidelity on Rhiannon's end). 

A is a frustrating character as well. They arguably have more experiences than most 16 year olds yet somehow falls in love with Rhiannon basically on-sight and doesn't prove to have any reason to be so in love with her (at the expense of the people A is inhabiting) other than thinking that they can be a better boyfriend than Justin. 

Honestly considered giving this book 1 star as well just because of how weak the romance was, but I really did like the concept of living a different life everyday. Overall not worth the read and wouldn't recommend this book. 

Book Blog #339: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

 

Title: Yellowface

Author: R.F. Kuang

# of Pages: 329 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Mystery

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena’s a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks. So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I. So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn’t this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That’s what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree. But June can’t get away from Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June’s (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

Review: Yellowface is a fictional book by an Asian author about a white character who is an author that catfishes people into thinking she's an Asian author. 

Told in first person, this book's main character June Hayward is an unreliable narrator and someone who you're meant to hate. While this is definitely intentional, most of my thoughts while reading Yellowface were about how much I strongly dislike June. 

The book was interesting enough as June digs herself further into a hole, but it didn't have the gripping suspense that I would expect from a mystery novel. It also felt like not ENOUGH happened in this book. Despite it not being very long, it felt like the story was dragging a bit and by the end it still felt like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. This is why I decided to rate Yellowface at 3 stars rather than 4 stars.

I also found it amusing that this was a book about an author navigating the publication industry. It's great when authors write about what they know, but this felt like TOO obvious of a choice. That being said, I learned a lot more about an author's experience in getting a book published. 

I would still recommend the book to people who are already interested in it as it's pretty easy to read.

Book blog #338: Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

 

Title: Solutions and Other Problems

Author: Allie Brosh

# of Pages: 513 (hardback)

Genre: Graphic Novel, Adult, Autobiography

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Solutions and Other Problems includes humorous stories from Allie Brosh’s childhood; the adventures of her very bad animals; merciless dissection of her own character flaws; incisive essays on grief, loneliness, and powerlessness; as well as reflections on the absurdity of modern life.

Review: I wanted to like this book, but I just didn't enjoy it.

This is something I picked up on a whim - I haven't read Brosh's first book, Hyperbole and a Half, nor have I heard of these books before. I was picking up a different non-fiction book from the library and saw this on a recently-returned cart, standing out amongst all the boring travel guides. The book blurb was simply "this is a book," which was hilarious enough for me to check it out without further investigation. 

Despite the thickness of the book, it's a very quick read due to it being mostly pictures. I was able to complete it in one sitting, although it felt like much longer than it should have taken had I enjoyed it. Brosh claims that this book, much like life, has no point. This is mostly correct - this book is a stream of consciousness loosely tied to loneliness and death. The lack of focus would be fine if not for two things: I was not entertained and hearing about these random thoughts/experiences felt like a waste of time. 

Reminiscent of Diary of the Wimpy Kid or Dear Dumb Diary, this book might have been more appealing to a younger audience. The lack of focus here (and lack of substantial things HAPPENING on this book at all) is what makes it struggle to be a successful book. I can imagine this being a webtoon or some brainless content to doomscroll through, but not something worth the effort to sit down and "read." 

Book Blog #337: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

 

Title: Iron Flame

Author: Rebecca Yarros

# of Pages: 895 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Fantasy

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College—Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky. Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves. Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits—and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules. But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year. Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.

Review: Much better balance of fantasy elements and romance than in the first book. HOWEVER, there are some gaps in the story that don't get addressed (and reading through the Goodreads Questions for this book shows that some things go unexplained by the end of the book). 

One critical point from the Fourth Wing is that Violet must live for Xaden to live - this is reiterated repeated. However, at one point in this book, that notion seems to be forgotten. There's also a returning character who's actions and presence at Basgiath don't make sense...but I bet (and hope) that Yarros will make something up to justify what's happening in this book. 

Overall the writing is still sloppy, but there's enough world building and attachment to characters to have a successful series going here. Iron Flame could have actually been broken up into two books since the first half and the second half are so different (but the first half dragged on longer than necessary). 

This series is strangely addictive - despite it's flaws, I'll consider reading the third book in the series when it comes out. If you enjoyed first book, you'll likely enjoy the second book. 

Book blog #336: Spare by Prince Harry

 

Title: Spare

Author: Prince Harry

# of Pages / Duration: 16 hours (audiobook)

Genre: Non-fiction, Autobiography

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Synopsis: It was one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow—and horror. As Princess Diana was laid to rest, billions wondered what Prince William and Prince Harry must be thinking and feeling—and how their lives would play out from that point on. For Harry, this is that story at last. Before losing his mother, twelve-year-old Prince Harry was known as the carefree one, the happy-go-lucky Spare to the more serious Heir. Grief changed everything. He struggled at school, struggled with anger, with loneliness—and, because he blamed the press for his mother’s death, he struggled to accept life in the spotlight. At twenty-one, he joined the British Army. The discipline gave him structure, and two combat tours made him a hero at home. But he soon felt more lost than ever, suffering from post-traumatic stress and prone to crippling panic attacks. Above all, he couldn’t find true love. Then he met Meghan. The world was swept away by the couple’s cinematic romance and rejoiced in their fairy-tale wedding. But from the beginning, Harry and Meghan were preyed upon by the press, subjected to waves of abuse, racism, and lies. Watching his wife suffer, their safety and mental health at risk, Harry saw no other way to prevent the tragedy of history repeating itself but to flee his mother country. Over the centuries, leaving the Royal Family was an act few had dared. The last to try, in fact, had been his mother. . . .

Review: Defensive, whiney, entitled. 

Gave this one a listen at 1.25x speed since I knew I wouldn't be able to get through a book about public figure I'm not interested in without their story being forced into my brain. 

I would rather him plainly tell his story from his perspective. Instead, Prince Harry tells his story through clickbait headlines and tries to argue against them. As someone who only knows a bit about the Royal Family from pop culture (and takes tabloid headlines with a grain of salt), most of the articles he mentions I've never even heard of (or if I have, it's from one of the many interview he and Meg have done). 

Normal people don’t worry about how history will remember them - they worry about whether they’ll be remembered at all. Prince Harry is still thinking like a royal, and it shows in this book. Instead of worrying about his own life, Prince Harry cares a lot about how he's perceived and will be perceived in history. 

Unlike Jennette McCurdy's stunning book last year (another celebrity who's life I don't pay much attention to), Prince Harry's life is pretty boring. The part that touched me the most was when he talks about losing his mother and being in denial - it felt like he was speaking from the heart and sharing HIS experience rather than sharing how he was influenced by others (paparazzi or otherwise). The rest of the book goes over mostly his experience in the military which is incredibly dry. It also open up more opportunities to complain how his life was negatively affected. This includes a section about how his penis got frostbite - while amusing it doesn't tell me much about Prince Harry other than he had a bad experience and wants the reader to feel sorry for him. 

Even if you're a Royal family drama fan, I do not recommend this book. Just watch their interviews to get the highlights if you're curious. 

Book Blog #335: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

 

Title: Fourth Wing

Author: Rebecca Yarros

# of Pages: 498 (hardback)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Fantasy

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders. But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them. With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant. She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise. Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Review: This one lands somewhere between 2 and 3 stars.

The story is told in first person from Violet's POV, but there is a single first person POV switch that is completely unnecessary. 2 stars.

This book is the 2023 Romantasy winner, where Romantasy is a genre where the romance and fantasy are equally important. The romance seemed to be more of a focus as the fantasy world build was quite mediocre. I'm used to fantasy and sci-fi to have gaps - some "traditions" in the world the author builds sometimes don't quite make sense. There were too many instances of this in the Basigiath War College world. 2 stars.

Take a shot anytime a character raises an eyebrow. 2 stars. 

Violet's character development is sloppy. Is the reader suppose to imagine she's a frail book worm? Or is she a strong, sassy woman who is somehow skilled with a knife? Yarros tries to lean into the stereotypes while also writing Violet's character in whatever way best fits the scene, even if it's inconsistent with the character's growth. 2 stars.

The romance is written like a chick-lit. The love triangle was predictable, and there's a considerable focus on how horny the characters are. Some of the lines the characters say are so cringe that I was laughing out loud to soothe the pain. 2 stars.

But I can still be a sucker for a poorly written chick lit. 3 stars. 

I was actually pretty interested in what was going to happen next. Even though the reader can predict the romantic outcomes, Yarros does a good job at keeping the reader on their toes on when the romantic outcomes will finally happen. Easy romance isn't good romance, so Yarros employs plenty of challenges (even if they're problems seem a bit forces) to keep things interesting. 3 stars. 

Despite being on the longer side, it's a pretty quick read (took me <1 week with mini reading session most days). When I wasn't reading it, I found myself excited to go home and pick it up again. 4 stars. 

I wouldn't recommend this book in a hurry, and there's a lot of room for improvement. That being said, I might still read the second book in the series (this one ends on a cliff hanger, as many books of a planned series do). 

Book Blog #334: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

 

Title: Americanah

Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

# of Pages: 477 (hardcover)

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be black for the first time. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, they reunite in a newly democratic Nigeria, and reignite their passion—for each other and for their homeland.

Review: It felt good to read Americanah after 5 long years of it sitting on my to-read shelf. I remember when this was recommended to me - I was on the bus, the person showed me the non-informative cover, and told me it was a really good read. After hearing a verbal synopsis (which I didn't fully absorb), I got the sense it must be nonfiction, added it mindlessly to my shelf and didn't bother to look at it further (until now).

Admittedly thankfully, it is not nonfiction. Beginning third of the book is worthy of 4 stars - I really enjoyed hearing about a Nigerian immigrating to the US and how the introduction to race differs from someone beginning to experience it in adulthood vs African Americans who grew up experiencing racism all their lives. 

I actually didn't mind the time skipping either (skipping between the "present" and the retelling of Ifemelu's life leading up to her going to and living in the US). What I didn't like is the third person POV switching between Ifemelu and Obinze. Obinze's perspective is unnecessary and could have been told through Ifemelu hearing about it instead. 

I started to dislike the story a bit more once it became more preachy (likely on purpose, to address racism in America). It began to feel less like a story about Ifemelu and more educational - I would have preferred Adichie to be less blatant with the messaging.

By the end of the book I was exasperated. While I understand that making Ifemelu and Obinze flawed in their passion for each other makes the characters more realistic to life, it made it difficult as a reader to cheer for these characters. The story lost some of it's direction - is it a story about African pride (or lack thereof) and race, or is it a hopeless romance? 

I am on the fence on whether I would recommend this book. Although the writing style is better than the previous book I read (Saving Noah),  I definitely enjoyed and was less gripped to the story in Americanah. 

Book Blog #333: Saving Noah by Lucinda Berry

 

Title: Saving Noah

Author: Lucinda Berry

# of Pages: 221 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Mystery

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: Meet Noah—an A-honor roll student, award-winning swimmer, and small-town star destined for greatness. There weren’t any signs that something was wrong until the day he confesses to molesting little girls during swim team practice. He’s sentenced to eighteen months in a juvenile sexual rehabilitation center. His mother, Adrianne, refuses to turn her back on him despite his horrific crimes, but her husband won’t allow Noah back into their home. In a series of shocking and shattering revelations, Adrianne is forced to make the hardest decision of her life. Just how far will she go to protect her son?

Review: Four stars for feelings, three stars for everything else. 

Anyone who categorizes this as a true horror + thriller as the top Goodreads genres indicate must consider true crime documentaries to be in those categories as well. This book starts AFTER the sexual assault has occurred, so at most it would be consider a mystery for its page-turning qualities on what will happen next to Noah.

It's hard to not compare Noah's (fictional) situation with the real-life, high profile Brock Turner case that happened a couple of years prior to the publication of this book. Both Noah and Brock were popular, high achieving athletes before committing their respective sex crimes. With the unwavering love a mother has for her child,  Adrianne lives in the delusion that her son deserves better because of how much of a "good boy" he's been in the rest of his life, making her a very unreliable narrator for this story. 

Of course, Adrianne delusion immediately repulsed me - these were VERY similar arguments that result in Brock Turner getting a sentence lighter than the crime committed. I couldn't believe this story was going to be told from such an unpopular perspective, yet this lesser-told POV is the aspect of the book that made it so gripping.

Not that her POV is without faults - Adrianne is TELLING the reader the story rather than letting the reader experience it alongside her. This means a lot of time skipping (less bothersome) AND another POV weaved in every few chapters (first person POV switching, more bothersome). 

I'm conflicted over the book's message. Pedophilia is not "fixable", so Noah's resolution for this sends a controversial message to other pedophiles who have truly good intentions. This story also raises a lot of questions about pedophilia that don't get answer in this book, e.g. what are the possible cause of Noah's pedophilia (environment, genetics, etc.), that would have been important and helpful to the reader when presenting a very challenging, pedophilic-sympathetic argument. 

There's also a lot of focus on how being a sex offender has ruined Noah's life, but very little focus on what happened to the victims of being molested and how they were affected. This makes it MUCH easier for the reader to feel sorry for Noah when he receives backlash from society. 

Without presenting the (more popular) other side of the story of the impact on the victims, it is more difficult for readers to holistically determine for themselves how warranted society's disgust toward pedophiles is. While some people may agree that the "punishments" Noah's peers inflict upon him are too extreme, Adrianne's extremely biased perspective on Noah deserving a second chance at a normal life is a hard pill to swallow when readers know that victims can carry this trauma with them for the rest of their life to no fault of their own. 

That being said, Adrianne's (delusional) love for her son is admirable and is a love that many would hope to have when experiencing (hopefully lesser) faults of our own from our mothers. Their story and relationship is heartbreaking genuinely had me in tears at the end. This aspect of the book is what earned the fourth star in my rating rather than the surprise twist at the end of the book that fell flat for me. 

This was a very fast read, and not just because it's a short book. I had problems putting this book down because I wanted to know what was going to happen to Noah. I couldn't shake the feeling that the shoe was going to drop and had to keep reading. Even though I was disappointed by the twisting and resolution and wasn't a big fan of the simplistic writing style (Berry could have added more nuance to her characters), I would still recommend this book if you can handle an unpopular perspective on a difficult topic.

Book Blog #332: Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez

 

Title: Part of Your World

Author: Abby Jimenez

# of Pages: 373 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Chick-lit

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: After a wild bet, gourmet grilled-cheese sandwich, and cuddle with a baby goat, Alexis Montgomery has had her world turned upside down. The cause: Daniel Grant, a ridiculously hot carpenter who’s ten years younger than her and as casual as they come—the complete opposite of sophisticated city-girl Alexis. And yet their chemistry is undeniable. While her ultra-wealthy parents want her to carry on the family legacy of world-renowned surgeons, Alexis doesn’t need glory or fame. She’s fine with being a “mere” ER doctor. And every minute she spends with Daniel and the tight-knit town where he lives, she’s discovering just what’s really important. Yet letting their relationship become anything more than a short-term fling would mean turning her back on her family and giving up the opportunity to help thousands of people. Bringing Daniel into her world is impossible, and yet she can’t just give up the joy she’s found with him either. With so many differences between them, how can Alexis possibly choose between her world and his?

Review: This is 3 stars with my standards preset to chick-lit standards before reading; otherwise this would be 2 stars. For a chick-lit, Part of Your World was a step or two above Bet Me by Jennifer Cruise (but getting into the same territory with the baby goat mentions as the latter did with chicken marsala - not all women are THAT obsessed with baby goats!). 

The immediate turn off was the first person POV switching between Alexis and Daniel. And, yes, Jimenez wrote it so their POVs overlapped on events, meaning the reader gets to hear about the same thing twice sometimes! Because there's nothing I love more than reading a mediocre plot twice in one sitting! 

Alexis is the protagonist - a rich girl from family of doctors. To her credit, Alexis only annoyed me in the latter half of the book when starts telling people what's best for them (and of course she ends up being "right"). She also conveniently decides to withhold information purely to make the plot more complicated when communicating in a less suspiciously dodge-y manner would have been more realistic. 

Apparently the key to being the lead male in a chick-lit is to be a poor boy who is REALLY good at wood working (I'm looking at you, Happy Place by Emily Henry). In this book, that's Daniel, a naive, lovestruck "boy" (28, young for this chick-lit) from a town so small it's categorized as a village. And unfortunately, he's also a huge simp. Frustratingly, he seems to have no backbone (way too much of a nice guy) to the point where the reader can't even feel sorry for him. Sure, Alexis, tell him nothing! He'll keep coming back for more regardless, but the reader's will hate both of you for it. 

One of the key conflicts is Alexis and Daniel struggling with being born into different classes of the "caste system" (author's choice of words).While people from different backgrounds may struggle to reconcile the differences in their lifestyle, the way this conflict was addressed in this book didn't resonate with me and came off superficial. The rich vs poor issue might be something that would be more believable in historical fiction, but in modern times, Alexis's inherent prejudice and Daniel's insecurity were frustratingly conservative perspectives on the situation. 

Some good things: Part of Your World is a pretty quick read. Despite being very predictable, I was still interested enough in the book to not put it down, even if I was cringing at some parts. 

I had lower expectations because I heard of this book through a negative recommendation; despite its popularity, it was apparently so boring that it was not finish-able. This made it pretty easy for this book to actually exceeded my expectations! That being said, I wouldn't recommend it in a hurry - if you're generally a chick-lit fan maybe, ......otherwise this one is skippable. 

Book Blog #331: Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

 

Title: Daisy Jones & The Six

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid

# of Pages: 369 (ebook)

Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary

Rating:★★★★☆

Synopsis: Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go-Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it's the rock and roll she loves most. By the time she's twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things. Another band getting noticed is The Six, led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she's pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road. Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.

Review: Since I was reading this not that long after reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, I can't help but compare. I definitely liked this one a bit less, but it was still a fun read. Coincidentally I recently have seen the play Stereophonic, which is eerily similar to this book likely because both are inspired by the real rock n roll drama from Fleetwood Mac.   

This book is marked as both historical fiction AND contemporary because the story is told documentary-style. The "author"/interviewer is having this conversations in present time, but the characters are retelling a story in the 70s, focusing on height of rock n roll. 

I found myself reading this book in any spare moment I could possibly get. However, closer to the end, I began to feel annoyed with most of the characters (everyone has their own drama, everyone has qualities that kind of suck). What I did enjoy is how despite all the first person POV switching, most of the characters had a distinct voice, and I could envision this book like a documentary playing out in my head. The ending and the surprise twist actually made the documentary style less realistic for me, which is why this book can only get at most 4 stars from me. 

I would still recommend this book. 

Book Blog #330: Happy Place by Emily Henry

 

Title: Happy Place

Author: Emily Henry

# of Pages: 388 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Chick-lit, Romance

Rating:★★★★☆

Synopsis: Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t. They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends. Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most. Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?

Review: If chick-lit is rated within its own category, this is definitely one of the better ones. If I rated this as a regular book (if I didn't realize it was a chick-lit, I'd give it three stars).  

 The good: 

- I was cheering for things to work out between Harriet and Wyn, so the characters were at least somewhat likable. 

- The time skipping works. Chapters of Harriet’s past are interlaced with the chapters of “real life” (present day) of Harriet at the cottage. It was pretty easy to figure out which chapters were present day or not, and slowly discovering the past events that led Harriet to be in the situation she finds herself in keeps the reader coming back for more. 

- The book doesn’t just focus on Harriet’s romantic relationship with Wyn. I appreciated that the author Henry threw in some components of friendship and family in there. 

 The bad: 

- Too much monologuing. A lot of chick lit authors fall into the trap of having their characters spell out their history, their feelings, what makes their characters unique, etc despite that being uncharacteristic for a slice of life story. 

- There’s some pretty lame lines (that actually made me laugh out loud? So maybe it’s a good thing). This is mostly from Wyn talking about how he’s hard often when in convo with Harriet. 

- Since chick lit is a usually a depiction of a woman’s fantasy (hard emphasis on fantasy, in terms of it being unrealistic), the messages of following your heart and doing what makes you happy didn’t resonate with me. Characters “learning” these lessons and turning a leaf so quickly and willingly with minimal struggle made me truly believe this is an overly optimistic novel trying too hard to be inspiration. 

Nonetheless, it’s a quick and enjoyable read (the ending soured my impression of it, but I enjoyed the earlier parts of the story). I would recommend it for those interested in chick-lit.

Book Blog #329: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

 

Title: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid

# of Pages: 385 (hardback)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career. Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is one of the most enthralling books I've read in a long time. 

This book has been on my radar for a while, but I never got around to reading it. Based on the title, I thought it was going to be a brainless romance that wasn't an urgent read. However, when I found this book on the "recently returned" cart at my local library, it felt like fate telling me to finally give it a try. 

Now I can't believe I waited so long to read it - it's really at the brink of being of a five star read. Emotionally, it's actually already there. I was fully invested in Evelyn Hugo - despite her ups and downs in her career and some morally questionable decisions, I couldn't help but cheer for her, hope that the next part of her story would take a turn for the best. 

As an actress back in the 50s, it is unsurprising that Evelyn's sex appeal and femininity are a large part of the success in her career and, unfortunately, is likely (in part) similar to many modern day Hollywood hopefuls' and stars' story. However, the reader can't help but admire how Reid wrote Evelyn Hugo to use these aspects to her advantage in navigating a man's world while still highlighting the struggles Evelyn endures from having to sacrifice parts of herself to protect those she loves. 

Evelyn Hugo's character is such a complex character because she encapsulates what many repressed group experienced in the 50s - 80s. From concealment of identifying as a part of the LGBTQ+ community, to women getting backlash from the public for the same "promiscuity" men get away with, to denying her Cuban roots to fit in more with the American image, the challenges Evelyn faces are only exacerbated due to her being a celebrity. Although this book covers a time period that seems still too recent to comfortably call "historical fiction," the tabloid's reaction to Evelyn Hugo's life actually serves as a powerful reflection on how much the United States has progressed in allowing people to proudly and publicly embrace who they are. 

So, why did I not give this book 5 stars? No, it's not because of the writing style employed in this book. One could argue that there is POV switching - the story is told from Monique's first person POV, but when Evelyn tells her life story to Monique, it's told in first person from Evelyn's POV (of course). This didn't bother me - Evelyn's POV is the predominate one in the book, and she's the one I wanted to hear from the most. Monique's sections were usually very short chapters that were actually nice breaks in the "present day" (2017). There are even letters and newspaper/tabloid clippings used to tell the Evelyn's story - while the execution might be cheesy/lazy in other books, it surprisingly worked in this one. 

The reason why I didn't bump this book to a perfect star rating is because of two factors:
1. Monique's character development fell flat for me. There are suppose to be parallels with Evelyn's life story and Monique's modern day (less dramatic, more relatable to the reader) life problems. However, Monique's section of the book is so small and insignificant that when she takes action inspired by what she's hearing from Evelyn, it feels more like a stroke of luck of a fluke when she succeeds rather than her truly growing as a person. 

2. I'm unlikely to want to re-read this book again. This isn't necessarily something I always factor into my rating, but for this book I likely will not enjoy future re-reads of this book nearly as much as I enjoyed reading it for the first time. A lot of the appeal comes from peeling the onion on Evelyn Hugo's life and while Reid makes some of the outcomes obvious (and one of the big plot twists is fairly predictable), the air of mystery is still what made me unable to put this book down. A second reading would not have that same experience and would more solidly place this book at a 4 star rating. 

Despite this, I HIGHLY recommend this book. It's a great read, and it's easy and quick to finish in a day or less. 

Book Blog #328: The Heavan and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

 

Title: The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

Author: James McBride

# of Pages: 389 (hardback)

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Mystery

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighbourhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows.

Review: This is somewhere between 2 and 3 stars. 

This book wasn't BAD per se. My problems with the writing style can be mostly chalked up to McBride making "artistic choices" that I don't enjoy. 

First, the most obvious: third person POV switching. This one is employed A LOT - every chapter. Third person story telling is already somewhat prone to some POV switching, but this one tries to cover everyone involved AND can time skip (either a bit before or a bit after the previous chapter's events). I got the classic "I wish I could hear more about the OTHER characters" feeling with some of the characters (such as Doc, Gus, etc.). 

Now, I would say that the third person POV switching did make the ending ~100 pages more gripping, and the ending is by far the best part of the book. However, this is more because the book becomes less-slice of life and more mystery, and there's actually PLOT PROGRESSION. 

Which leads me to my second major problem with this book - the author is a big rambler. There's a lot of TELLING rather than SHOWING the characters' background. McBride repeats some "important" details as if forgetting that it was already mentioned 50 billion times already. I wanted to scream "I KNOW already! Let's get a move on the rest of the story!" It wasn't even clear what this book would be about in the first 100 pages because McBride was introducing so many people - even at the end it's clear that McBride doesn't have a single protagonist for this book (is it Moshe, who is the focus at the beginning but less so by the end? Nope, likely no one person is the protagonist). 

Not having a clear protagonist DID mean that I ended up caring about a lot of characters (thus why I considered giving it 3 stars), but not everyone's story is nicely tided up in a bow by the epilogue, unfortunately. Unlike other mysteries where there ending is satisfying, this one left me feeling like there was still more story that could have been told, but McBride decided it was time to focus and end it at 389 pages.

I probably will not read another McBride book again. 

Book Blog #327: Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang

 

Title: Land of Milk and Honey 

Author: C Pam Zhang

# of Pages: 240 (hardback)

Genre: Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: A smog has spread. Food crops are rapidly disappearing. A chef escapes her dying career in a dreary city to take a job at a decadent mountaintop colony seemingly free of the world’s troubles. There, the sky is clear again. Rare ingredients abound. Her enigmatic employer and his visionary daughter have built a lush new life for the global elite, one that reawakens the chef to the pleasures of taste, touch, and her own body. In this atmosphere of hidden wonders and cool, seductive violence, the chef’s boundaries undergo a thrilling erosion. Soon she is pushed to the center of a startling attempt to reshape the world far beyond the plate.

Review: What a whirlwind. This could be anywhere from a 2 star to a 4 star.

I thought this would be a quick read, but the "abstract"/"artsy" writing style really slowed me down. I had to carefully read each passage to make sure I didn't miss anything amongst the rambling comparisons with food (be prepared for sex and food references to be intertwined - was not expecting to read about cooking and lesbian sex at the same time). 

I liked how the book tackles the topic of what dystopia our world would be in with climate change + pollution. I could really feel the desperation and despair, and the ending was much more readable and not too predictable. This made me consider even giving it 4 stars. However, Zhang also addresses topics such as rich vs poor, family, and identity which cluttered the story - I would have preferred Zhang to dive into one or two of these "deep" topics rather than try to address them all.

The progression of the plot slowed a lot in the middle - this already short book could probably be even shorter.

I don't think this book is worth the read. 

Book Blog #326: American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

 

Title: American Born Chinese

Author: Gene Luen Yang

# of Pages: 233 (paperback)

Genre: YA, Graphic Novel

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: All Jin Wang wants is to fit in. When his family moves to a new neighborhood, he suddenly finds that he's the only Chinese American student at his school. Jocks and bullies pick on him constantly, and he has hardly any friends. Then, to make matters worse, he falls in love with an all-American girl... Born to rule over all the monkeys in the world, the story of the Monkey King is one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables. Adored by his subjects, master of the arts of kung-fu, he is the most powerful monkey on earth. But the Monkey King doesn't want to be a monkey. He wants to be hailed as a god... Chin-Kee is the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, and he's ruining his cousin Danny's life. Danny's a popular kid at school, but every year Chin-Kee comes to visit, and every year Danny has to transfer to a new school to escape the shame. This year, though, things quickly go from bad to worse...

Review: I started this book for the easy read (since it's a graphic novel), and I can't say there would be anything that would have prepared what was in store. This is not your cut and dry story of the Chinese American experience - Yang expertly uses three stories running in parallel to depict what it's like to not fit in and trying to be someone else for the sake of fitting in. 

I have actually seen images from this book a long time ago (specifically of Chin-Kee). I didn't make that they were from this book (which was recently made into a Disney+ series) until I started reading. This only added to my intrigue on where this book was going to go - why was a Chinese American author creating a strongly negatively stereotyped character?

Usually I don't like POV switching, and this book switches between the three stories from Jin's, Danny's, and Chin-Kee's POV. That being said, American Born Chinese is a great example of POV switching that is actually necessary for the story rather than used as a crutch for amateur writers. 

For a book aimed at younger audiences and the style/colors of the art leaning childish, it was surprising how crude parts of it were (think fart humor and of course the extreme depiction of Chin-Kee went from racist to him being a flat out terrible human being). I didn't mind it, and the immature humor did a good job to lighten the tone of the story.

It's a pretty quick entertaining read, so I would recommend it!