Review for "Noteworthy" by Riley Redgate

Just pretending to be a guy was changing me. It was letting me access parts of me I'd pushed back, and parts I didn't know I had, and I wanted that version of me. I liked her better. She was new, she was interesting, she felt in charge. My old self was losing traction, and as she fell further behind, I realized I didn't particularly miss her. 



Rating: 4 stars

Cue: a very interesting mix of Mulan, Pitch Perfect, and Ouran High School Host Club. This book was a lot of fun! More importantly, it was a really good balance between the fluff/humor and dealing with the serious topics seriously.

Let's start with the fluff. We've heard the story's premise a thousand times before: A girl, for some reason or another, ends up having to disguise herself as a boy so that she can join some super-secret all-boys no-girls-allowed uber-prestigious club. The thing I like about this rendition is that our main character, Jordan (or Julian, when she's a boy), is humorous and fun as herself. The author made her her own, interesting person, avoiding the typical feeling of "as a girl she was drab and annoying, but as a boy she's so interesting!". Although we see Jordan grow throughout her semester of cross-dressing, we still get the feeling of light-hearted high school misadventures that are necessary for a YA contemporary.

While the premise has been done before, the other thing I really appreciate here is the confrontation of gender roles and the effects Jordan's actions have on the LGBT community. At multiple points in the novel, Jordan has to confront her decisions to mislead her new friends, and the world as a whole. She feels guilt at how she makes light of cross-dressing when it is so important to transgender individuals, she feels shame at faking as a gay guy when her best friend uses her "homosexuality" to find comfort in his own, she feels confusion at the confidence and flippancy she feels as a boy that she couldn't get to as a girl. She confronts the societal roles of teenage girls versus teenage boys a lot.

What did it say that I'd gotten so addicted to my male disguise? If girlhood felt frustrating, and boyhood felt freeing, did that say more about girlhood, boyhood, or me? 

In addition to the positive things Jordan gains in her 3-month performance as a male, Jordan begins to understand the societal pressures put on men that don't exist for women. Sure, overall women have harsher realities (cue the period scene), but when Jordan reports malicious bullying and is told to "man up", she can empathize with the toxic masculinity society forces onto young men.

Jordan's act also helps her come to terms with her own sexuality. She has just emerged from a suffocating heterosexual relationship, and being around guys, and people who accept her as something she isn't, helps her accept herself as the person she is. She opens herself up to experimentation. Even though Jordan spends a lot of time in the book deceiving others, she also spends a lot of the internal monologue developing as a character. She is constantly asking herself, "What does this mean?", "Is this okay?", and "Am I the person I used to be, or if not, do I like the person I'm becoming?". I was very satisfied with Jordan's responses to these questions by the end of the book.

This book had great diversity, but it also doesn't wave it in your face. Our main character is Chinese-American and lower socioeconomic status, and she confronts her own history and circumstances with candor, without using it as a way to make her more interesting. We have a Sikh character who confronts both his religion and sexuality, and a school that doesn't bat an eye over issues of sex and sexuality. I already mentioned how Jordan feels guilt over how her cross-dressing might be disrespectful to members of the LGBT community, like she's using someone else's identity as a convenient shield to hide her own identity behind, and I just really appreciated that recognition and awareness throughout the book.

This is a really good book to read if you love diverse contemporaries, and I think that after the popularity of Pitch Perfect, this would make a great film too.

Review for "What Happened" by Hillary Rodham Clinton

If 2016 taught us anything, it should be that we have an urgent imperative to recapture a sense of humanity.



Rating: 4 stars

In trying my best to rate this for the quality of the book, and not my personal opinion of the author, I think that this book was a moving autobiography that blended politics and personal emotion almost seamlessly. I read this book over two years into Trump’s presidency, and maybe seeing all the havoc he’s wreaking in the White House is what makes me get so sentimental. I did get emotional at some points during this book. Hearing some of the quotes Trump has said, before, during and after the election, and knowing the things he’s done as president and before that, makes me so regretful at the outcome of the election and HOW CLOSE we were to avoiding it.

I thought that Hillary’s political discussions in this book, in terms of her beliefs about policy and politics, were pragmatic and logical. In terms of regarding her political opponents, I thought the narrative was a bit petty at times but I would definitely also be petty if I were in her position. Hillary definitely answers the question “what happened?” throughout this book. I love the way she gives empirical data and statistics to back up her claims about how the election would have turned out in her favor were it not for exterior factors, like the email scandal and FBI director Comey’s role in that, and Russian interference and cyber hacking. I thought that there was a good balance between Hillary showing how she was personally frustrated by the media’s attention on her emails and how the election was rigged, and using fact-based evidence for why what happened happened.

I was amazed at how genuine Hillary came across in this book. Obviously, I've heard the media chanting for the past 10 years about how she's untrustworthy and a liar. I don't think there's a way to believe that after reading this book. Well, listening I should say, since I listened to the audiobook read by Hillary. The way that she gets so worked up over the roles of racism, sexism, and fear in the 2016 election are extremely moving. Both for just the words written and hearing Hillary actually say them on the audiobook, I think it's very obvious how much she legitimately cares for her country and supporting everyone who lives here. She tried so hard to base her campaign on love and inclusion while Trump based his on hate, fear, and intolerance, and somehow it just got swallowed up by her reputation and the media.

For the personal bits, as I mentioned before I was quite moved. It’s very easy to see politicians as characters like in a book or movie, and forget they live lives like normal people. I loved seeing into Hillary’s life, beliefs, and values as a human being. That being said, I also think she sounded a little bit pompous at times, for example kind of complaining about not having a rags-to-riches story like Bill or Obama, and talking about her positive attributes rather arrogantly.

I admire Hillary as a person, and I recommend this book to people who, after the 2016 election, also found themselves wondering: what happened?

Review for "You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone" by Rachel Lynn Solomon

If I am going to have any peace, I need my family to be whole. I am a sister learning to forgive, to forget. 



Rating: 2 stars

Who's ready for a rant fest???

You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone is about two sisters whose mom has Huntington's disease, a dominantly genetic disorder that has a 50% chance of being passed onto them. After getting tested for the disease, Adina and Tovah find out that one of them is positive and one of them is negative for the disease. The girls have never been particularly close, but now one of them will need the support of the other, and it's supposed to bring them closer than they've ever been. Okay, so that's the given description. Now let's talk about what actually happened.

This book was infuriating. For one thing, I couldn't tell if this was intentional or not, but the protagonists are both insufferable. Adina is clearly much worse than Tovah, but there were lots of moments that I was just shocked at their horribleness, both of them. This is a great book for you if you like main characters who:
- Can't take no for an answer, both relating to sexual advances (Adina) and presumptuousness of their own greatness (Tovah)
- Shame little kids for their genuine interests by telling them they'd make them "ordinary" (Adina)
- Vocalize their envy people of with cancer, because "cancer can be cured" while HD is incurable (Tovah)
- Relish in their friend's misfortunes because it feeds their possessiveness, and then claim that that same friend was "a shitty friend" the whole year (Tovah)
- Use sexual manipulation to feel powerful over others (Adina)
- Make petty, low-blow threats because they don't get their way (God forbid, someone told them NO.) (Adina)
- Wallow in melodrama. Ex.: "A broken instrument for a broken girl." (Adina)
- LITERALLY ARE CREEPY OBSESSIVE STALKERS OF SOMEONE WHO HAS EXPRESSIVELY SHOWN DISINTEREST and then get mad when they find out "he was only screwing me out of pity" (Adina)
- Use someone's empathy/sympathy to get attention and affection (Adina)
- Are completely delusional about romantic endeavors - like expecting someone to cuddle up next to you after you have completely violated the bounds of acceptable human behavior, AND THEN invited yourself to stay over (Adina)
- Do terrible, petty things to their sister because ???????? (Adina)
- Assume that their boyfriend (who is a virgin) "doesn't want me" because he wants to take it slow, and then get pissy and not talk to him for weeks (Tovah)
- Get over all of the aforementioned character flaws and become the perfect character within like, two weeks

Those are a few of the incredibly irritating things you will have to pull yourself through while reading this book. Maybe it was intentional, but it did not work for me at all. If you can't tell, I really hate the romanticization of Adina sexually harassing Arjun. I just kept thinking that if these roles were reversed, people would be so much more mad about this book. It's like sexual harassment doesn't exist when it's a woman making the unwanted advances. My mind was just screaming NOOOOOOO at all of Adina's delusions and pressuring and incessant stupidity.

THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH CONTAINS SPOILERS. Please skip down to the next paragraph if you don't want to learn any spoilers. 
I want to talk a little more about Adina's scheme also. This just didn't make sense to me. She's mad at Tovah, for I guess not inheriting the same death gene that she did. Which honestly, I can understand the resentment there. So Adina decides she wants to get revenge on Tovah by making her life actual hell. As in, destroying her most cherished items, rubbing her failures in her face, bragging about her relationship with their mom who Tovah isn't as close with. This alone is a little too far for getting revenge about something that can't be controlled. But then Adina is justifying it by saying that if Tovah hates her it will be a good thing because she won't be so devastated when Adina dies??? Like, is she doing this whole revenge thing for revenge or for mercy on her sister? It's never clearly explained, but Adina sure does keep at it.
END OF SPOILERS

Another thing I didn't appreciate was the resolution of Adina and Tovah's relationship. It was shoved into one conversation at the end of the book. Overall, the book is 50% the girls dealing with things unrelated to their sisterly relationship (boys, friends, colleges, school, more boys), 45% of them being horrible to each other, 4% talking about HD, and 1% of the girls actually being civil. I thought this book was supposed to be about how HD, and the knowledge that one of them would eventually have it, brought two sisters, who weren't close, together? This is a TRAIN WRECK. The relationship is hardly resolved at all. But don't worry, we get to see them resolve their relationships with their boyfriends, parents, and anyone else in the story. I just wasn't satisfied with the ending. I have sisters, and the way that everything just turned out okay, after they were SO HORRIBLE to each other, did not check out. On that same note, Adina's major character flaws (previously mentioned) are magically resolved as well. Adina realizes how horrible and inappropriate her behavior with Arjun was and suddenly she's a new person who wants to find someone who loves her for her and not for her body and... yeah this ending and Adina in general are just awful awful awful.

I give this book two stars because I did still keep reading. I was so irritated that I wasn't ever really bored so I guess that's something. I also appreciate the diversity, even if it was a little bit overexplained in the beginning. We don't see a lot of traditional Jewish main characters so it was cool to have two, especially because their approaches to their religion were so different.

Review for "Skyward" by Brandon Sanderson

You get to choose who you are. Legacy, memories of the past, can serve us well. 




Rating: 4 stars

Spensa Nightshade is haunted by her past. Or rather, the past that everyone else knows her to have. Known as the daughter of a coward, Spensa has worked her whole life to redeem her family's name by becoming a fighter pilot for the Defiant Defense Force and helping eradicate the Krell - an alien life force intent on wiping out humanity. Spensa's dream will prove more difficult than she thought, as she deals with discrimination, loss, fear, and the burden of her family's legacy - including the truth of her father's demise.

This is my first Brandon Sanderson book. Brandon Sanderson, in my circle of reading friends, is basically worshipped as a god of science fiction. I started out with a YA because I thought it would be a simple introduction into his writing. I also really want to read the Mistborn series eventually, and this book makes me more excited to do so. The world and the characters that Sanderson builds in Skyward show skill that not a lot of science fiction writers have.

Not cowards. Not backing down. Brave until the end. 

The themes of fear versus cowardice in this book are very well done. It shows a lot of character development in Spensa. Here she starts out bloodthirsty and recklessly brave. She doesn't fear anything, a trait she's adopted to compensate for the cowardice everyone expects her to have due to her father's legacy. When she actually starts flight school, she has to confront how to fear and still be brave, and recognize how fear can sometimes save your life. Because of her past, Spensa has a very warped idea of cowardice and bravery. Even before her father's infamous ending, Spensa is fearless. Ironically, she's absolutely terrified as being seen as a coward, she's afraid of people seeing her afraid. The way that Spensa comes to understand, embrace, and overcome her fear, really show her development as a character from an ignorant little kid who just wants to be a hero, to someone who doesn't see themselves as a hero but must actually become one to save her city.

This is a good segue into the characters of this book. This is an action-packed science fiction space battle book. All things considered, it should be a plot-driven novel. But it really didn't feel that way to me, and I'm a plot-driven reader. The characters really steal the spotlight. That's not to say the plot isn't good or interesting, but the characters are just stunning. Spensa is a very compelling protagonist, and apart from her we see major character development from Jorgen, Kimmalyn, Rig, Cobb, and many others. Not to mention I just love their personalities. Spensa is a very distinct YA female protagonist, and I loved M-Bot and Doomslug (who literally doesn't even say anything original in the entire book). M-Bot is probably my favorite character, and I just thought it was impressive how an AI can have character development in a way that's believable. I identified a lot with Jorgen, and I think that Spensa and Jorgen's relationship development was very original and intriguing.

Honestly, I wasn't 100% on board with this book the entire time I was reading it. I had certain expectations (guesses) for the mystery aspect of the book (the whole question of what really happened with Spensa's father), and because of that I thought it would turn out cliche which hindered my overall reading experience. I think the reason I speculated so much is because the plot does move really slowly so you have a lot of time to create theories as to what really happened as more evidence comes to light. Now after having read the ending, I do find myself intrigued to continue the story in the next book. It is not my favorite science fiction YA ever, so by the time the second book is released this fall I might not care enough to pick it up, but as of now I will plan to continue with the series.

Review for "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

"It's a shame. I feel bad about it."

"Well, of course, I do too," said Henry matter-of-factly. "But of course not bad enough to want to go to jail for it."

Francis snorted and poured himself another shot of whiskey and drank it straight off. "No," he said. "Not that bad." 



Rating: 3 stars

Normally, the quote I include in my review wouldn't be dialogue like that, but I think it really sums up the book pretty well. 6 college students that spend a lot of time together end up in trouble when a wild night ends in a mistake that pushes the boundaries of their moral conscience. Now it comes down to what they will do to keep it a secret. This book really deals with the concepts of guilt, trust, and responsibility--or maybe I should say an absence of all three.

Any action, in the fullness of time, sinks to nothingness. 

It becomes obvious early on that this is meant to be a character-driven novel. You're given 6 main characters who are caught up in the same situation (which moves very slowly but more on that later). The thing is, for such a heavily character-based novel, I didn't find the characters that compelling. I didn't see a lot of personality in them. The most interesting personalities in the book were Julian and Judy, who are supporting and minors characters respectively. I feel like the author relied too much on Francis's sexuality to create his personality, and on the telling-not-showing method of portraying Henry's character. I've heard that this is a book with very unlikable characters. I disagree. Sure, they're rich and spoiled and they did something really awful and illegal without much remorse (see above quote) so that's pretty bad, but I was never super frustrated or annoyed with them like you should be with unlikable characters. In a way, I feel like if they had been really unlikable, I would've liked the book better because the characters would've had more personality.

This brings me onto the topic of the plot. Like I said, it's a character-driven novel, but I tend to be a plot-driven reader. And honestly, the plot is really intriguing... for the first 2/3 of the book. And then it's just like NOTHING IS HAPPENING. They drag out a certain scene into like 80 pages, but the entirety of it is the characters drinking and doing various drugs and talking about how they're drinking and doing various drugs. I just had a hard time finally getting to the end of the novel. I was like seriously just end already. I think I know why I felt this way about the novel. Someone told me that this book is like How to Get Away with Murder, and I love that show. It's super intriguing and there's a new plot twist added into every single episode. This one... is like if How to Get Away with Murder was actually realistic. Which is good because it gives it a major plausibility factor, but unfortunately it's also much less captivating. If you go into the book thinking about it being similar to the TV show, you will be disappointed with how little seems to be happening. I did definitely see parallels between the book and the show, but I'd read the book before the TV show or you will probably think it's boring. That being said, if you really loved this book you should definitely watch HTGAWM because it is amazing.

So yeah, this book gets 3 stars from me. I like the concept, and I did like some of the characters and their interactions. But the book was too slow and the characters were not quite as compelling as they should have been for a character-driven novel. I read this as a part of the Fox Book Club Big Book Challenge, so thank you Emily for organizing that; I had a good time reading this one!

Review for "Sharp Objects" by Gillian Flynn

Sometimes I think illness sits inside every woman, waiting for the right moment to bloom. 



Rating: 3 stars

The main feeling I got while reading 98% of this book can only be described as icky. That is not necessarily the reason I didn't love it; I believe a book can be creepy, gross, out of line, etc. and still get five stars if the author plays it right. But this one just didn't make me super excited to keep reading.

I think the story was interesting, after you actually start finding things out. After you find out that certain characters are more dangerous than originally portrayed and Camille is really starting to figure out the mystery, it's a pretty riveting concept. BUT it takes a while to get there. Maybe this is just because I'm from Missouri, and while I'm from Kansas City I do still believe I'm fairly knowledgable of Missouri's small towns, but I was just bored reading about Windgap. All the parts where Camille is interviewing people just didn't keep my attention. Maybe it was the characters, which were cut and pasted from stereotypes of Midwestern small town women, or maybe it was the fact that I'm not huge into reporter-based approaches in murder mysteries anyway. Either way, the Windgap adventures didn't hold my interest.

Let's talk about Camille. On one hand, she's an interesting protagonist. She has a sordid and complicated past, some of which she doesn't even know about until the end of the novel, more than 30 years into her life. I liked the sharp objects theme and what that all had to do with her personally. It's one of those gruesome parts of the story that I actually found pretty captivating. Now, on the other hand, a lot of Camille's thoughts and actions were not plausible to me. Maybe she really is just that messed up, but I didn't see how she could do drugs with her 13-year-old sister, or sleep around with potential murder suspects without really confronting those issues. It would be fine if these events held some kind of significance, if they added depth to Camille's character or spurred on the plot, but they really didn't do either of those things. I just found the scene of Camille and Amma doing drugs completely ridiculous. Again, maybe I'm missing something there, but I just didn't like it. Again with the plausibility thing: I've been around Missouri small towns and it's not that easy for girls to be as completely outlandish as Amma and her friends were. Sure, kids smoke pot behind their parents backs and sneak alcohol into old barns and have underage relations. But at 13 years old, doing hard drugs and being so promiscuous? I didn't buy it.

About the twist. So, there are actually two twists, the fake one and then the real one. I think most people, myself included, saw the fake twist coming from a mile away. The real twist did surprise me, just because I didn't expect a second twist. I felt a little bit gypped. I spent the whole book assuming my knowledge of the killer was correct, and originally it was, but then they flipped it on us. I suppose that's what a good thriller is supposed to do. Ironically, we want to find out the twists before they happen but then we complain about the book's predictability when we do just that. But back to the point. I also found the second twist super rushed. I didn't catch everything about how the first twist played into the second one, and it just got a bit muddled for me.

Overall, I think the book is good, just not amazing or super intriguing and twisty. I would sooner recommend Dark Places by Gillian Flynn than this one, because the mystery aspect is more spread out throughout the book which makes the overall product more interesting, and the characters in that one agreed with me more.

Review for "The Godfather" by Mario Puzo

As a boy, he had been truly tenderhearted. That he had become a murderer as a man was simply his destiny.



Rating: 4 stars

I read this book as a part of my America's Best Loved Novels Reading Challenge and thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't think I can say in detail all the things I want to about this book. There are just certain themes, and certain emotions evoked, that I can't put into words in a way that will do it justice. But of course, I'm going to try.

JUSTICE
This is the most obvious topic broached in the novel. There are so many circumstances where the reader is left either feeling that something unjust has been glossed over in an unnervingly insensitive way, or that the characters are completely justified in their vigilante pursuit of people who have wronged them. There are so many "eye for an eye" situations in the novel; not at all surprising considering it's all about the Mafia. But some of the highlights of how unjust the system itself is got to me. Of course, I think murder is deplorable. But when the situation is revealed, and you find out that the person murdered was a pimp who cut up young girls and women for sadistic fun, you definitely find yourself questioning who was really in the wrong there. The book really highlights systematic problems with defining justice, and just problems in general faced by criminal justice systems in the 40's and 50's.

LOYALTY
There is probably no organization on Earth that relies as heavily on loyalty and trust as the Families comprising the Mafia. This is supplemented by the fact that when that loyalty and trust are broken, your neck promptly is as well. This book really shows the differences between allegiance and friendship. The book also deals with trust--who can trust who both in business and pleasure.

DESTINY
This term is constantly mentioned throughout the book, and it's layered interestingly with the concepts of American freedom and autonomy. There are conflicting arguments - is a man's future bound by his destiny, or does he have a choice in what he becomes? The most obvious case of this question is with Michael Corleone. He chooses one path for himself, a path that strays from that of the rest of his family (even going so far as to make himself a self-proclaimed outsider), and yet somehow he is the one that inherits the family business. It's not a particularly encouraging theme, but I loved reading about the characters' struggle to define themselves while submitting to their "destiny" at the same time.

RELIGION
This topic is not touched on a lot until the end of the book, where it is revealed that the main Don's wife is so religious because she is praying for her husband's soul, and the new Don's wife follows suit. While this isn't featured a ton throughout the book, I wanted to point it out in my review because I think it's a brilliant way to wrap up the justice theme. These women know that their husbands do awful, illegal things, yet they also know that they are in some capacity deserved by the victims. The question raised is whether or not God will view these transgressions in the same light. (I mean, probably not, but they can still pray.)

There comes a time when the most humble of men, if he keeps his eyes open, can take his revenge on the most powerful. 

Some things that really sold the book for me:
The novel is formatted and the story is told is such a way that you can't get bored. You cannot become uninterested in the story. Basically, there is not a main character in the story. Everyone is connected in some way to Don Corleone and his Family, but that's not to say that Don Corleone is really even the main focus of the novel. The chapters rotate between different characters and their storylines and it's brilliant. There are things foreshadowed in a very intriguing way. For example, Character A is told by Character B about Character C's death at the end of a chapter, and then the next chapter switches the spotlight to Character C and how his death came to pass. I loved the storytelling of this book; it was just really fantastic.

One problem with the book is that because of the previously mentioned alternating storylines, it is sometimes difficult to tell when everything is happening. Like is the current chapter set at the same time as the beginning of the last chapter or the end of the last chapter? It is just a bit difficult to keep track of the timeline because of all the perspectives and different events transpiring in a close but not always simultaneous time frame. Also, I did feel like the book dragged out a little more than it needed to. There were some parts/chapters that I just found unnecessary; they didn't add to the story and their follow-up in the resolution was concise and unmoving. The book could've been 400 pages (instead of 450) and it would have been just as good and less tedious. (For the record, I was only feeling this drag at the end of my reading - last 70 pages or so. You don't even notice how much you've read for the bulk of the book.)

Overall, I highly recommend this one, especially if you've never read a book about organized crime. This was a first for me, and I think that it is an excellent choice if you've ever been interested by the Mafia. I know the movie is like the second most popular movie of all time, so it's going immediately onto my TBW (to be watched) list!

Review for "Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge" by Paul Krueger

"You're sober, which is synonymous with useless, so if you want to help, come back with something in your system."



Rating: 1 star

This book review is going to be a little bit unconventional because I buddy-read this with a Goodreads group, the Dragons and Tea book club. As such, my thoughts are split into diary entries of my thoughts for the sections we read each day, instead of being just my overall thoughts on the book. (I will filter out any spoilers.) I kind of like this format of book review though because I can reflect on how my opinion of the book changed the more I read of it! Also, I want to thank Melanie and Amy for inviting me to do this buddy read with them!

March 4th: Chapters 1-2
I’m enjoying this one! I love the concept - it’s so simple: alcohol gives people super powers, and also there are monsters (called tremens) that stalk the streets of Chicago. I got some Maze Runner vibes when I first read about the tremens, but I’m so much more interested in this story. I appreciate how this book just jumped into the plot instead of trying to be cryptic and make the reader wonder WTF is going on before actually explaining anything. Even though it’s a third person POV, the reader knows as much as the protagonist so it is much less confusing than other science fiction books.

March 5th: Chapters 3-6
I definitely am not liking the direction this book is taking. I really liked the supernatural aspects introduced in the beginning, but I’m finding, like many others here, that the characters are ruining it. Why is everyone acting like they’re in middle school? Bailey doesn’t think of Zane romantically at all until... she finds out he has a girlfriend. And then she’s all over him, even making unwanted advances. It’s very, very cringe-worthy. And the thing is, I think the intent is that the audience is on Bailey’s “side”, like we should want her to be with Zane. But I like Mona (Zane’s girlfriend), actually. And I wish Bailey could be an adult and have a professional/friendly relationship with Zane. Dear author: just because there is a girl and a guy in a story doesn’t mean they have to be romantically involved, especially if it includes cheating!

March 6th: Chapters 7-10
I think these chapters more than anything show how dumb it was for Bailey to completely give up Divinyl for the bartending thing. They barely explained what tremens were and the whole drinking superpowers thing, and she was like “yeah I’m totally down, forget my actually degree and ya know getting a career.”
The concept of the action scene was interesting but the execution was just not exciting. I was bored and I knew that it should’ve been cool.
And the part where Zane is all upset about the LIIT (Long Island Iced Tea) and then it gets tense should’ve had some emotional punch and it just didn’t. It was forced and artificial and gross.
I don’t have many good things to say about this book at this point. It’s sitting at about a 1.5-2 stars for me right now.

Also, the training tactics make absolutely no sense. I think it’d be interesting if we actually saw Bailey being trained with the different skills before being thrown into the ring. It’s just cheesy/unrealistic the way it is.

March 7th: Chapters 11-15
The author has definitely taken the “Bailey is a goody two shoes” thing too far. It’s not fun anymore. Making flash cards for an interview? Come on.

I’m just very confused about a lot of things. I’m confused on what the central conflict is. The LIIT (Long Island Iced Tea) attracts the tremens (the monsters) and Garrett is trying to make the LIIT for power I guess? So they have to stop him so that the city isn’t overrun by tremens? Nothing is clearly laid out, and I’m tired of not really “getting” the plot.

The emotions are too forced. There’s a lot of telling and not enough showing.

March 8th: Chapters 16-20 (end)
There are lots of continuity errors. For example: “Bailey felt the hold on her release as Garrett walked away.” But they never state before that that Garrett grabbed ahold of Bailey. Is it supposed to be implied or is it just lazy writing? Speaking of, the CLICHES oh dear. “Walk away Bailey. It’s what you do best.” Oh noooooo.

I’m still confused??? About a lot of things in the plot, and consistently. Garrett “would be a benevolent overlord” but I thought Garrett was the problem? And at the final confrontation I’m confused about who is on whose side and who betrayed whom, etc.

The final battle scene was both brief and underwhelming considering how much potential there is when working with telepathic, super strength, and water bending superpowers.

Some stuff is still not resolved by the end of the book. For one thing - Mona and Zane? I don’t want to say too much here for fear of spoilers, but… the Mona and Zane relationship was just a mistake on the author’s part. A bad decision. Another thing is the Blackout. We are given a very vague explanation of this in the beginning, and I was really curious. But by the end of the book it is still being referred to but is never explained why/how it happened.

A grown-up who says they know what they're doing is a grown-up who's lying.

Overall thoughts:
This is a book I would very much like to rewrite, or have rewritten. The concept was so good, and the execution was so poor! The characters and their interactions were either unrealistic or forced, and I never knew what the heck was going on in the plot! There were plot holes, plot conveniences, and continuity errors in almost every chapter. I really can’t think of a reason to give this book more than one star. Maybe, maybe, I should bump up my rating a little because of the fact that the concept was good… but I feel like my excitement for the book, incited by learning the concept, just made me more disappointed with the outcome.
Despite my thoughts on the book itself, I enjoyed discussing with with the Dragons and Tea Book Club! I will look forward to next month’s buddy read; fingers crossed that it agrees with me more!

Review for "The President is Missing" by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

Rating: 3 stars

This was definitely not my preferred genre - I don't normally read thrillers, and this is literally the first political thriller I've ever read. I was pleasantly surprised by how engaging the story was. I expected to feel a little bit lost, and more than a little bit bored, but I followed everything that was happening and I found the plot intriguing. I think there was a logical flow of events, and I really appreciated the first person POV so that you could get inside the mind and decision-making process of President Duncan. Speaking of President Duncan, I think that even though we could hear his thoughts, the authors still did a very good job of keeping him politically neutral. After finishing the book, I wouldn't be able to tell you for certain if Duncan was republican/democrat. Maybe he was extremely moderate, I don't know. In any case, I really appreciate the neutrality and the avoidance of polarization.

You must be wondering, after my previous statements, why only 3 stars then? I do of course have several criticisms of this book, and considering their number and magnitude, it's pretty impressive that the intrigue of the plot was able to bring the rating up to 3 stars. I listened to this book on audiobook (and every time I read audiobooks, I can't/don't go to the effort of bookmarking/annotating), so I don't have specific examples of everything I am going to be discussing, but I can point out some general grievances.

1. The audiobook
This audiobook... was not good. There were 4-5 different narrators for different POVs. The main character (President Duncan), voiced by the narrator that read the grand majority of the book, was not bad, but it was definitely difficult to understand what he was saying at times. His voice was very low and gruff, so some words did not come out clearly, especially when he would get quieter at the end of sentences, usually at the end of chapters. There were two other consistent narrators that didn't take up near as many chapters, but they were horrible. Truly. They were completely monotone, and the female one actually sounded like a robot, like Siri. The man was also very monotone and robotic. On top of this, the female character had a music theme in her backstory, so they would play classical music on top of her narration, and sometimes I couldn't hear a thing she said! In short, just read the physical copy of the book because you won't gain anything from the audiobook.

2. The political agenda
I mentioned previously that President Duncan was a very politically neutral president protagonist, and while this is true, it doesn't mean that there weren't clear political messages forced onto the reader. This is ESPECIALLY obvious in the last chapter when Duncan gives his speech to the public, where he just throws in literally every political topic out there that have nothing to do with the terrorist attack: immigration, racism, education, so many others. Honestly, the book felt like Bill Clinton was trying to redo his presidency in a fictional situation, to do everything better and have approval ratings and success that he didn't have a ton of during his time in office IRL. I'm just saying, I think it's pretty clear this book was written by a politician. A lot of President Duncan's internal monologuing didn't add to the story, but it was merely an outlet for the authors to get their political opinions out in the open. I also think there are clear connections to Bill Clinton's life in general, and it's a little bit cringe-worthy to read them, like I'm intruding on his personal affairs (no pun intended). President Duncan is very adamant about avoiding scandal, something Bill Clinton was unable to do in his presidency, plus the authors completely cut out President Duncan's wife in the story which I find curious... Also, President Duncan talks a lot about his love for his daughter, which is all good and fine, but every time I read about it I just pictured Chelsea, and it made me a little bit uncomfortable.

3. Thrill factor
As I mentioned, this was my first political thriller and it did exceed my expectations in terms of its fast pace and intriguing plot. However, I thought the plot twist was just a bit too predictable; I had it picked out less than halfway through the book. Also, I think the title of the book is misleading. I expected the book to actually be about how the president is missing, but it was really more about a cyberterrorist attack on the United States, plus espionage and political scandal and all that good stuff. I didn't think this plot was bad by any means, I just don't think the title was right for it.

Overall, I recommend this book for people who like fast-paced political thrillers (Tom Clancy, James Patterson obviously, etc.), but if you're more into the creepy Gillian Flynn/Paula Hawkins type of thriller, this probably is not for you. If you do decide you want to read this book, remember: the physical book is so pretty, just read that instead of listening to the audiobook!

BUZZWORDATHON - March 2019

I really love the concept of Buzzwordathons - you pick books that contain one common word in the title, and spend one week reading those books that contain the buzzword. Usually, I don't participate because I have a very organized TBR (as in, I plan out an entire year TBR), and I don't have enough books on my TBR that contain the specific word. I really try to read books only on my TBR because it is so long. However, this month's Buzzwordathon, which will be taking place March 18-24, is actually a category of Buzzwords which makes it much more doable.

This month's Buzzwordathon features question words: who, what, where, when, why and how. This challenge was not my idea; I'm participating with Books and Lala (check out her channel on YouTube, she's awesome!). Feel free to choose your own books for this challenge and participate as well.

Here are my choices for March's Buzzwordathon:

#1: WHY
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

This book is a classic that I haven't read, and I know that Maya Angelou is an absolute icon. It's also among traditionally banned books, and I think banned books are truly a blessing from God. This challenge was a perfect excuse to finally pick this one up.

#2: HOW
How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

Okay, so. I just saw How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World in theaters, and I'm still inwardly sobbing over it. (Technically, since I'm in Spain, I saw Cómo Entrenar a Tu Dragón: El Mundo Oculto.) And I often think about the question "What is your favorite book adaptation?". I constantly answer this question with How to Train Your Dragon, but I feel like I need to read the book in order to say this fairly. Yes, I'm aware that the book is very different than the movie, but I still want to read it to see the origin of this story. Either way, HTTYD will still be my favorite animated film.

#3: WHEN
You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone by Rachel Lynn Solomon

This one I just read the blurb of and really liked the concept. Basically, these two sisters' mom has Huntington's disease, a very nasty dominant genetic trait. The sisters, who have never been very close, decide to get tested for the Huntington's gene, and they find out that one of them has it while the other one doesn't. I have two sisters, I'm very interested in genetics, and for some reason I'm drawn to contemporary novels about terminal illness. Excited for this one!!

#4: WHERE
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

This book is part of my America's Best Loved Novels Reading Challenge. I'm pretty sure I read it when I was a small child, but I don't remember anything about it.

#5: WHO
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks

I don't really know anything about this book, but somehow it ended up on my TBR and it was the only book there that fit the "Who" criteria. So here we are.

#6: WHAT
What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton

I don't know if I'll be able to finish this book within the week allotted for this readathon since it is quite lengthy (>500 pages). However, I have been wanting to read this book for quite some time. Also, I'm currently reading The President is Missing by Bill Clinton, so I guess I'll just make this the month of the Clintons. 💁

Review for "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" by Gail Honeyman

"It's both good and bad, how humans can learn to tolerate pretty much anything, if they have to."



Rating: 4 stars

Well. This little book took a piece of my soul, but no matter, as a habitual reader I am accustomed, nay, anticipative, of novels that rip my heart out and mend/swell it all within the same 327 pages. I thought it might be appropriate to organize my book review in order of the book's sections: good, bad, and better.

THE GOOD
I was really floored upon the introduction of Eleanor's character. In short, I was charmed. She really is the quirkiest human ever. And I think it's telling that she thinks everyone else is the problem. Obviously, this isn't true in all aspects because she does a lot of self-blaming in reflection on her traumatic past, etc., but what I mean is that Eleanor is extremely socially awkward. She never learned how to socialize or just be around and talk to humans in an everyday context. Yet, she believes that most of the people she is around lack social skills and are inarticulate. Given her history, she has had to define social manners on her own terms, and everyone around her can see how misplaced her understanding is besides her. Eleanor is not a perfect character. She has very clear flaws, a lot of baggage, and is overall not a happy person. This makes her a fantastic narrator. Her way of telling her story, her point of view, was unlike anything I've ever read before. She's so blunt and intelligent, and she takes everything literally; she's like a mix between Amelia Bedelia, Alice (from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) and Sheldon Cooper.

I also love the relationships in this book. Both the good and the bad. The author really made the bad relationships believable and hard-hitting. It's painful to read at times, especially because most characters with Eleanor's past would dance around questions that had such horrible answers. Eleanor's factual way of explaining her past relationships, and people's responses to this blunt explanation, really shows Eleanor's acceptance of unfair and abusive treatment. She just doesn't know any better, and it's heartbreaking and almost inconceivable, yet we know that things like this do happen. The positive relationships are just wonderful though. I really liked how Eleanor's personality and life shifted and how you could see that in her relationship with Raymond, both outwardly and through her thoughts.

"People don't like these facts, but I can't help that. If someone asks you how you are, you are meant to say FINE. You are not meant to say that you cried yourself to sleep last night because you hadn't spoken to another person for two consecutive days. FINE is what you say."

THE BAD
I really don't want to trash this book in any capacity because it was a charming little read. But I must mention some annoying tidbits that I'm still thinking about after I've finished the book.

I mentioned how I liked Eleanor's quirkiness, and this is true, but I definitely think it was overdone at times. There are just some things that you know about if you live in the 21st century, have a job, watch TV, read books, do crossword puzzles, etc. And yet somehow Eleanor was completely floored by them. I just find it hard to believe that in her thirty years of existence (while she lacks socialization, Eleanor reads/watches enough TV to understand some really big things), Eleanor is completely ignorant of pop culture staples like Spongebob Squarepants, heavy metal music, and Starbucks. Sometimes it seemed like the author was trying to make her seem like an actual alien that was still learning about life on Earth. I'll concede that maybe this is the point: that Eleanor didn't pay attention to things that didn't interest/concern her, but it was just a bit far-fetched. Part of the joy of reading from the POV of a really interesting, outlandish character is that you become them and can understand a viewpoint and lifestyle very different from your own, and I got this at some points while at others it just wasn't plausible.

My second issue with this book is also a plausibility issue. After Eleanor gets a completely makeover (gets a haircut/highlights, starts wearing makeup, buys a bunch of new clothes, etc.) her coworkers suddenly stop acting like middle school children and treat her like an actual human. I didn't find her coworkers' behaviors believable in the first place: the whispers behind her back, the Mean Girls-esque taunting, especially when Eleanor was just in the background and not bothering anyone, not to mention that they are ADULTS. It was so ridiculous. Maybe this is accurate, I don't know, I've never worked in an office before, but I just didn't buy it. And to make it worse: as soon as Eleanor gets the aforementioned makeover, everyone is COMPLETELY over it. They are reaching out to her, being nice, complimenting her, just being real life human beings and not children. Not only do I find this implausible (usually women feel more threatened/aggressive when another woman suddenly becomes attractive, sorry but it's true), I also thought it was a horrible message for the book to carry. If Eleanor's coworkers had started being nice to her because of something concrete, like her personality/work ethic, or like how they all sent cards/gifts after the events of "Bad Days", then it would've been okay. But it's basically saying: people in the workplace will treat you like garbage unless you look like a supermodel. Even Eleanor was shocked at this sudden 180: "Was this how it worked, then, successful social integration? Was it really that simple? Wear some lipstick, go to hairdressers and alternate the clothes you wear?" I just really wish that either A) in the first place, Eleanor's coworkers had ignored her, rather than constantly belittling her, and then they started to respect and appreciate her in the end, or B) her coworkers were jerks for the entirety of the book, and in the end Eleanor learned how to be okay with that and appreciate the people who do care for her. Almost everything about the coworker situation just did not agree with me (although I did think the part at the beginning of chapter 32 and the part at end of chapter 39 were pretty cute).

I know that makes it seem like I didn't like the book, but honestly these scenes I mentioned cover less than probably 5% of the novel and the other 95% is so good, so don't let it scare you off, I'm just trying to give my honest opinion! The book is very good, but these are the reasons I gave it four stars instead of five. Rant over.

"Noticing details, that was good. Tiny slivers of life--they all added up and helped you to feel that you too could be a fragment, a little piece of humanity who usefully filled a space, however miniscule."

THE BETTER
This book is not always a happy book. But it is a book that I always felt something while reading. Chapter 17 left me sad, Chapter 3 left me a little freaked out, and Chapter 32 made me feel so GOOD inside and it was wonderful and beautiful. I suppose, in a lot of ways, I feel like I identify with Eleanor. Not in any of her past traumas or anything like that, but I could just really appreciate her outlook on life, and I enjoyed seeing her navigate loss and love and friendship. I was very satisfied with this book. It elicits a lot of emotion, deals with some heavy topics, but it's also cute and sweet and funny. I definitely recommend this book, especially if you're looking for a quirky contemporary that deals with loss, mental illness, and/or friendship.