January 2020 Wrap-Up

This is super late! But here are the books I read in January. I read 15 books for a grand total of 5,460 pages (364 pages/book). I averaged 176 pages/day this month. Those are the stats I like to hear! Since I'm writing this really late, I might not have all the comments I would if I'd done it on time, so oops.

1. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty

Rating: ★★★★☆
Read my full review HERE.

2. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Rating: ★★★☆☆
I was entertained, but to be honest the characters and plot points are all very one dimensional.
Meg - the materialistic sister
Jo - the tomboy sister
Beth - the kind sister
Amy - the vain sister
And then all the plot points were “oh no here’s a conflict! *5min later* not to worry, conflict has been simply resolved, and everyone learned an important life lesson!” The whole thing just felt like a bunch of episodes of a little kids TV show. Even the death, which should be emotional, is just portrayed as another conflict that the characters get over seemingly as easily as any other day-to-day issue.

3. The Gentleman's Guide to Getting Lucky (Montague Siblings #1.5) by Mackenzi Lee

Rating: ★★★★☆
Cute novella, and as always with this series, hilarious.

4. Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Rating: ★★★★☆
This was good, and kinda creepy, and different than a lot of space sci-fis. Check out my full review HERE.

5. My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

Rating: ★★★★☆
Really crazy read, but the ending is kind of lame for a thriller.

6. The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

Rating: ★★★★☆
I was so invested in these characters. Highly recommend!

7. The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

Rating: ★★★☆☆
The first twist was... quite cliche. I don’t read enough thrillers to know for sure but it just seems like a cheap thing to throw in to make the story more dramatic.
I actually liked the ending/explanation, but I concede that it tied things up a little too perfectly, like it relied on a few plot conveniences to answer every question.
Other than that, the narration was a bit tedious. I understand the necessity to show Rowan’s growing insanity over the situation, but the number of times she said “but what WAS it???” Got sooooo old. I just feel like Rowan was a tedious character to read, and she reminded me a LOT of the narrator from The Woman In Cabin 10 (which I liked better).

8. Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Lots of problems with this one. Check out my full review HERE.

9.  If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

Rating: ★★★★☆
It hit all the emotional points, the only issue I had was how rushed it was in the beginning. The entire book happens in 3 months, and it just seems like Amanda makes friends and finds the perfect boyfriend in a week's time and it's not realistic at all. For how short the book is, the author definitely could have spent more time in the beginning building up to those relationships.

10. The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan

Rating:★★★☆☆
This story is interesting, and the way it’s told is really moving. The problem is that the book is just so disorganized. I guess technically it is told chronologically, but there are so many different families and characters that are switched between that it was hard to orient oneself with which story was being told at any given time.

11. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Rating:★★★☆☆
This was a sloowwww read for me. Also half the time I just didn’t know what was going on.

12. An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

Rating: ★★★★☆
Out of all the elements of this book, I think I appreciated the plot itself the least. Hence, four instead of five stars. However, I liked the characters; I thought Rook was hilariously aloof without being obnoxious about it, and I admired Isobel. One of the main reasons, for me, that this gets such a high rating is because of the extremely rich descriptions. The scenery, the emotion, and the beauty of the story are all told in a way that is so deliciously vivid and eloquent without being too lengthy or cheesy. It's a really hard happy medium to hit and I think the author did a great job with it.

13. Intensity by Dean Koontz

Rating: ★★★★★
This might be one of the most fitting titles I've ever seen on a book. Every moment of reading this was intense. My adrenaline was rushing and I will officially label this novel as Unputdownable. Check out my full thoughts HERE.

14. The Odd Women by George Gissing

Rating: ★★★★☆
Rhoda Nunn is my own personal hero. Also, it's been a while since I hated a character as much as I hated Widdowson, so well done Mr. Gissing.

15. Me by Elton John

Rating: ★★★★★
This book was fabulous and emotional and beautiful. I love memoirs, and even though I don't know much about Elton John's music or career, this book was great.

Review for "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

Being a scythe was like being the living dead. In the world, but apart from it. Just a witness to the comings and goings of others.

This book really had an interesting premise. I just don't think the execution was great. It was fine, there were just some logistical issues.



Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Death makes the whole world kin.

Welcome to Earth, several centuries in the future. Congrats! Humankind has cured death. No one here dies, of anything. There is also the Thunderhead, an Internet program which uses algorithms to permanently prevent crime and any kind of worldly suffering. Isn't that handy! In this Utopia, no one has to die, but they do. The only beings that don't follow the law are those which are chosen to become scythes--humans who kill others as their profession.

I wasn't entirely satisfied with this world building, and maybe that's just because I'm a scientist. I know that's not the point of the story, but HOW do they cure people who are literally ripped to shreds? And how does an OS magically cure hunger and war and politics? If you're going to create a crazy Utopian world it should at least make sense.

The next part of the story that didn't make sense: what the heck was the point of scythes? It is clearly stated in the book that population control is not the goal because they only kill 5 million people a year, and there's still plenty of Earth to inhabit before it reaches its limit. So why are there professional killers that kill random people? The answer: because. Because apparently it retains some sort of "humanity". What??? It makes no sense. This issue stuck with me throughout the whole book and kind of ruined it for me. The book states: "We were both driven by a desire to use gleaning as a way of hacking through the thicket to open a better path for humanity." What. First of all, one of the scythe rules is that you can't be biased in any way, so they clearly aren't talking about some twisted form of targeted genocide. But then also crime doesn't happen, so who is "the thicket" that needs clearing??

Another reason gleaning is stupid: how do they space it out evenly. There's only 5 million per year and we have to assume there's upwards of 50 billion people on Earth by this point. They have to relatively close to where the scythes live, so those regions are just screwed? ALSO: the fact that the major peacekeeping program, the Thunderhead, is barred from interfering with any Scythe matters... I just, I can't. It was like anytime something significant was going to happen it was like, "ope sorry, the Thunderhead can't interfere with Scythe matters!" This system is dumb! And they don't point out how it's dumb, they all just accept it! Talking about getting rid of "bad scythes", what is a good scythe? I do not understand.

Another issue: the characters are just not developed in this story at all. I literally just felt nothing out of them. And somehow they fall in love and are willing to die for each other after knowing each other for 3 months and having the most sterile, dry interactions I've ever read. It was all just dryyyyyy.

The plot was fine. Also a little dry in places. Idk man, I really wanted to love this book, but if you're going to build a world, don't do it half-assed. I don't like reading books where I have no idea what/why things are. I really thought I'd devour this whole trilogy, but I don't even think I feel like picking up the next book.

Review for "Aurora Rising" by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

I believe of all the places I have not fit, I fit here a little better.

This book is made for a very specific audience: if you love ragtag teams of misfits who are tasked with saving the universe, this book is for you. There were actually a lot of parallels between this book and other similarly themed stories. You can't miss the similarities between Aurora and Steve Rogers, nor the similarities between the Ra'haam and Ego from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. In general, this book is very reminiscent of the GOTG gang, but the stories and characters are still different enough that the story was fresh and intriguing.



Rating: ★★★★☆

I feel the vastness around me, how small I am, one tiny mote of animated carbon and water among an ocean of infinity.

While some of the plot points may have been recycled, I think the general structure of the story is unique. I rarely read multi-POV YA fantasy/sci-fi books that don't have the love interests as the main girl character with the main boy character. It was refreshing to ship Aurora with Kal, who is super cool, but not the main boy character Tyler, who I thought Aurora would end up with after the intro. Speaking of Kal, I'm a big fan. I'm not always into the big brooding manly-man type (note: Matthias from Six of Crows), but Kal was pretty swoonworthy. I like that his romance with Aurora was a sparse, cautious kind of instalove.

As for the other characters, I liked Tyler and Aurora more than I usually like main characters in fantasy/sci-fi series. I thought their reactions made a lot of sense for their characters' backstories. I really loved Scarlett and Finian, and I wish we have gotten more of them, and of their undeniably blooming romance. I don't think Zila was a necessary asset, but it was still kinda cool to see her little socially awkward tidbits. It's almost like reading as an outsider to the group. Cat was half annoying and half cool, in all honesty SPOILER I didn't think she was the right choice to die, I think it wasn't the most effective death and that they spent too much time of her dying professing her love for Tyler when they didn't touch much on it in the rest of the novel. It might've been better if she and Tyler had eventually gotten together, but as it was it just felt unfinished. Which, in all fairness, may have been intentional; it just wasn't satisfying to me. END SPOILER I do have to note that the constant POV-switching was hard to keep up with at times. If the characters had had more distinctive voices I might not have been looking back at the chapter heading every time to see who was talking. Tyler, Scar, and Cat were really similar and only by context (like their positions) would you be able to pick them out. Still, I liked that the story was in so many viewpoints because it showed how ALL of the squad was caught up in this new war, not just Aurora, even though she is the "main" character.

Overall, this is a solid new YA sci-fi series. I thought the world building was set at an appropriate pace, and I love the detail in the wars and worlds and species. I will definitely be picking up the sequel in May (if I can remember the events of this book by then).

Review for "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" by Caitlin Doughty

We are all just future corpses.

I am really torn between three and four stars on this one. I think for now I will round it up and after I've had more time to think on it I might change it. As morbid as the premise of this book is, I really enjoyed reading it. The author tells her experiences and opinions about the death industry in a very entertaining way. And more importantly, she explains all the reasons that talking about death shouldn't be considered morbid. Mortuary science is not for everyone, but I think that being able to understand death and take care of a passed loved one is not too much to ask.



Rating: ★★★★☆

Honestly, this is just a unique nonfiction book because it handles a topic that most people are uncomfortable with (I love books like that, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers was a 5-star read for me). Caitlin uses her own experiences, as well as other field experts and literature to evaluate the state of America's relationship with death. Some of the information was really surprising to me. For example, the fact that so many professionals (police officers, funeral directors, etc.) will lie about things (corpses must be removed from homes in a certain amount of time, corpses are required to be embalmed, etc.) just because the alternatives make them uncomfortable is unbelievable. Another thing that was surprising was that the homeless and unclaimed dead in LA are used, without their consent, for mortuary school labs. That just blew my mind. Ultimately, I'm all for using the dead for good purposes like organ donation/scientific research/education, and I recognize that the arguments about dignity in death are flimsy, but this just seems like overstepping. *sigh* Another example of how America hates poor people.

Decomposition was just another reality of death, a necessary visual (and aromatic) reminder that our bodies are fallible, mere blips on the radar of the vast universe.

Going into this book, I thought it would be solely about working at a crematorium - the day-to-day tasks and stories plus some of the science. This book is actually told almost as an autobiography. Caitlin talks about her life at different stages in her career and about how working in the funeral industry molded her own opinions on death. She makes some excellent points about why green burials are more appropriate than other options, and why embalming to make a corpse more "natural" is morbidly unnatural. She talks a lot about how stigmatized death is, and how our society needs to learn to accept death as a part of life. As the Ancient One said, "Death is what gives life meaning." It honestly has made me think twice about what my own wishes would be. In a word, this book is deep. Fortunately, Caitlin's writing style is still light-hearted enough to balance out those heavy topics.

The only cons of this book is that there wasn't enough original content to warrant the writing of an entire book. The book is already short (<280 pages), and I think that it would have been 200 or less if it had been edited correctly. Many chapters start out with a long tangent that is only very vaguely related to the chapter topic. The book spends several pages giving the summaries of two different versions of The Little Mermaid, only to relate that to the fact that children should be exposed to death at a younger age. I think these fillers were used because there wasn't enough content to work with. However, Caitlin only references her YouTube channel, blog, and organization (The Order of the Good Death), and I feel like there would have been plenty of content there to use. For example, a whole chapter dedicated to popular questions she's answered on Ask A Mortician would have been cool.

So that's the verdict: it was enjoyable with only minor structural issues. If you liked this book you should definitely check out Stiff and vice versa!

Review for "One of Us Is Next" by Karen M. McManus

Bayview High is ruthless. One incident is all it takes to define you for the rest of your life.

That... ENDING!! OMG. I don't even know what to do. I didn't think anything could be more shocking than Simon's story from the first book, but wow. I am floored. I did not see it coming at all, and trust me, I was speculating this whole book.



Rating: ★★★★☆

I should preface this review by saying that I gave One of Us Is Lying 3 stars. I thought it was kinda basic, but in retrospect I think I was too harsh with it. I won't change my rating now, I would need to reread it to do that in good faith, but I do believe that if I read the actual book (not listen to the audiobook as I did the first time) I would give it a higher rating.

This book, however, did not disappoint. This series is entirely up my alley of the Pretty Little Liars / Gossip Girl brand of high school drama supplemented by secretive gossip blogs. Seriously, if you want to read this series, DO NOT LISTEN TO THE AUDIOBOOK. If at all possible, read the book in its natural form. The audiobook isn't bad, per se, but the book IMO is much more impactful when you read it via eyeballs.

The justice system works very differently when you're white, male, rich, and good-looking.

PREACH.

Okay, so having admitted my caveat with the first book, I should mention that there might also just be things about this book that I liked more than the first one. First of all, I think I like these characters more. Bronwyn and the other three of the Bayview 4 grew on me, but I wasn't upset that this book focused on a different group. I particularly liked Knox, I thought he was hilarious and sweet, even if he was petty at some points (because honestly, who isn't?). I really liked his style of narration, and I also appreciated Maeve's POV. Maeve actually reminded me a lot of a girl I know IRL, so it was fun reading her. Phoebe was my least favorite narrator, but she too grew on me throughout the book to the point where I was totally shipping her with her LI at the end of the novel.

Let's talk plot. As with all other teen dramas, this book has a healthy (unhealthy?) amount of cheese. But, I loved it. I was living for those cheesy, unrealistic movie moments. Just because it wouldn't happen in my life doesn't mean I don't appreciate it in their lives!! Also, as for the mystery portion of the story, I am still stunned. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, they throw a curveball in there in the last three pages!! The utter audacity. It was wonderful. Beyond that (the ending specifically), I was just really invested in this story. I wasn't bored, I didn't find it basic, and all in all I devoured it.

Brief things I didn't love: the author, in this book and others, has the tendency to overdescribe teenage boys' hotness. Not like with one, grossly descriptive paragraph, but like every time said guy comes into a scene the internal monologue is like "he's just so hot I can't even" or "I almost forgot how hot he was" or "his T shirt fit his arms ridiculously well". Like, we get it, he's hot, moving on. I know this is not right for me to think, but it gets me thinking "does she only like him because he's hot?" I just feel like much more time is spent talking about these boys' physical attributes instead of the fact that they are sweet and funny, which they are, given their actions (Luis, I'm looking at you).

Other than that, some of the plot was a little convenient. Like SPOILER: the fact that the handwriting font was the same for the death threats Eli was getting and for the note Phoebe got. It just seems too obvious, and like they could've figured out the notes were from the same source with some less obvious clue. END SPOILER This rarely distracted from my enjoyment though, and overall I was quite pleased with this read.

Review for "Leah On The Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli

Rating: ★★★☆☆

So, what I’ve noticed about Becky Albertalli’s writing: she is great at writing from the perspective of cute, nerdy, adorable gay boys (Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda and What If It’s Us). BUT not great at writing from the teenage female perspective. They are just so bitchy (this book and The Upside of Unrequited). This book is 3 stars for me; I enjoyed it and I liked almost all of the characters except Leah herself. I got this same vibe from her while reading Simon and honestly I wish the spin-off would’ve been about someone else. Also, a lot of the problems I had with Leah i also found to be problematic in Molly and Cassie from The Upside Of Unrequited, hence my theory on the author’s strengths and weaknesses. So what was so wrong with Leah? 3 main things:

1. She’s just mean. Like all the horrible things she thinks about Wells - in her internal monologue, to her mother’s face, to Wells’s face. It was so horrible reading some of the things she said to her own mother. And for what? Because she didn’t like the fact her mom was dating someone? She was single for 7 years and had to raise you, Leah, she deserves happiness finally!!
2. She complains about everyone and their petty problems while she is completely absorbed in her own petty problems. Simon comes to her with a real concern about moving away from his boyfriend and wants real advice, and she’s just kinda like bro it isn’t a big deal chill out. But then her own problems, aka having a crush on someone, are like the end of the world.
3. She is terrible at being inclusive. She totally turns on her friend for saying something racist, and won’t back down even when the person it was said against forgives her. But THEN when that same victim comes out as LGBT she’s like “what? That sexuality doesn’t exist you’re WRONG” and the other person is just like but this is how I feel and leahs like NO and so the other person is like okay and runs off crying and then just turns around and forgives her like the next day. I just, I can’t even.

So this book was not horrible, honestly it gets 3 stars instead of 2 because I like the side stories from the other characters so much - mainly Simon and Nora (I wish we got more of Nora - honestly I kind of shipped her with Leah but RIP ship). Definitely not as good as Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda but definitely better than The Upside Of Unrequited.

Review for "We Used to Be Friends" by Amy Spalding

I've never been happier to feel so little like the girl I was last year.



Rating: ★★★★☆

I am surprised how emotional I got at this book! At first, it sounded like it was going to be sort of basic, but that's honestly part of its charm. Hear me out! So many YA contemporary novels try to jazz up the writing, to make the teenage narrators some philosophical, wizened people who are so enlightened about love and life. This book is just about two girls who have to deal with life as it throws some of the hardest situations at them. I related so much to some of the things the girls went through, not only with their own families but also as their friendship ended.

The way the book was written - half in chronological order and half backwards - was so interesting and new and as frustrated as I was with it at certain points I really do think it added to the story. Sure, sometimes I just wanted to know what happened next instead of being thrown into a different timeline, but having it start at both the beginning and the ending showed the minute details of why James and Kat's friendship wasn't ideal from the very start. It was also good because it constantly keeps you wondering, now how did that come about? And hypothesizing as you go. Overall I felt like it reeled me into the story and the characters more than if the story had been just chronological.

I don't know if it was the timelines or just having alternating viewpoints throughout, but this story did an extremely good job of making the reader empathize with the narrator. Every time James was narrating, I thought Kat was a jerk and James was the victim. But then every time Kat was the narrator, I was thinking about how Kat was right and James was a cold-hearted you-know-what! Maybe it just so happened that they both narrated on the months that they weren’t the jerk in the friendship (because the alternating viewpoints narrate on different months of their senior year), but overall I just felt a lot of emotion for these characters. Since their friendship ended the way it did, I feel like I should have thought one of the them was a horrible person by the end, but I really just felt like they were incompatible and it's no one's fault (although undoubtedly James was more of a jerk by the end of the novel). I thought Kat's internal monologue about how she didn't hate James even after their fight and how it just made her want to be a better person really showed her development through the novel, and I wish we had gotten more compassion/understanding out of James at the end because it kind of just ends on her part by showing her blow up at Kat and leave for college.

Overall, a very solid, realistic friend breakup book that is definitely more moving that any relationship breakup could be!!