Review for "Wayfarer" by Alexandra Bracken

What was history anyway but the lies of a winning few? Why was it worth protecting, when it forgot the starving child under siege, the slave woman on her deathbed, the man lost at sea? 


 

 Rating:★☆☆☆☆

This book... where do I even begin? How about with the simplest thing... This book is boring. It does not excite the reader. I was not drawn into the characters or the plotline, much like the first book. The book was 532 pages, but I don't even remember most of the plotline because that's how unmemorable it was. For a second there in the middle, I thought I would end up giving this 3 stars because I was intrigued at certain points, but by the halfway point I was just dragging my feet to finish this. So what went wrong?

There are so many characters, and none of them are written well. There are also characters just thrown into the mix, to be abandoned and then returned to at the end of the book. If this was supposed to be a twist, it's honestly just corny. Speaking of corniness... this whole book is a melodramatic cringe. There are too many quotes about destiny and love that just made me want to stick a fork in an electrical socket. Here's a quote from the final battle:

...when the Shadow stabbed at his heart, the bead caught the tip of the blade.

Awww the earring necklace that Etta gave to Nicholas as a token of her undying love saved him from dying, awwww. NOT. First of all, that just makes no sense. A SWORD was stopped by a... BEAD? Come on. And even if it did make sense, that's the cheesiest plot point I've ever heard.

We've covered characters and writing, and this segues me into the last flaw of the book: the plot itself. I mentioned that it's boring, but also it just doesn't make sense. There are so many plot holes with the time travel plot because it isn't well established in the beginning, and it makes the whole thing implausible. The author tries to make predetermined destinies coexist with free will, and by definition these two things cannot coexist. It just does not make sense. I was also confused by parts, I didn't understand what was going on with Li Min, or Rose's Grand Plan. Things were not explained well. It was incredibly frustrating.

There were also just some parts of the plot that made me laugh at how ridiculous and unnecessary they were. For example: the Shadows and the Ancient One. There was already enough going on with the Ironwoods, Lindens, and Hemlocks, why add in some scary spooky Shadow dudes just for the heck of it? If the author really wanted to add another competing group, why not add the Jacarandas, who were consistently mentioned but never actually showed up in the story? The Ancient One is, perhaps, the biggest plot letdown of this novel. I actually snorted at the part where Etta literally THROWS A TORCH at him, and he burns up like tissue paper. Like what??? This dude is the most powerful traveler, and everyone is afraid of him, and he has an army, and he's going to Thanos everyone out of existence, but he gets taken down by little more than a lit match? I think that is the epitome of the lack of logic in this book.

My overall series rating: 1.5 stars. Obviously, I didn't like it. It was kind of a waste of my time, and I do not recommend this time travel story. I do plan on reading The Darkest Minds (also by Alexandra Bracken) in the future, so fingers crossed that I like that one better!

Review for "Blood for Blood" by Ryan Graudin

"You and I are not monsters. If anything, we're miracles."


 

Rating: ★★★★☆

This series packs a serious emotional punch. I really enjoyed my time reading, and I was really invested in the characters. I loved the moral dilemmas the characters faced (especially Felix, like wowwww), and I think the 3rd person POV was used really well to tell the story as all the characters. The first book was really just about Yael, and while she's still the main character in the second book, the author really broadened the story by incorporating more characters.

The story didn't really go in the direction I thought it would. It was shocking at times, but not in a way I'm sure I liked. The first book was more of a quest plotline while this book was more of a political war plotline, and I just think some of the twists were unrealistic/corny. That's my personal opinion, obviously I still really like this series as I give it 4/5 stars.

Overall on the duology, I can't decide which book I liked more (and they both got 4 stars from me, so I guess that makes sense). The first book was stronger in plot, but the second book was stronger in characters. Normally strong characters would win out, but I only say the characters were stronger because there were MORE of them. Yael was still an amazing character in the first book, and seeing her struggles with her past and making hard choices in the first book was really great. I really loved the writing style in this book, with the --ALL CAPS EFFECTS-- and the strikethroughs on people's names when they were dead. It really showed how the deaths weighed on Yael's conscience. She could've (should've) been so completely jaded from her past in the camp, and used that as unrelenting fuel to kill anyone who stood in the way of her mission. Instead, the death she witnessed gave her a kind of PTSD that made her terrified of death, including when she was the one doing the killing. I think that Yael was a complex protagonist, and I enjoyed reading her POV a lot.

I also really liked Luka's development. It's mentioned several times in the book how he went from the National Socialists' poster boy to national rebel. In the first book, we don't get his POV, so we don't know any of his history. Knowing his past was really cool, and it made sense with how he makes his decisions. I'm torn over whether or not I liked the Luka-Yael romance or if it was unnecessary, like the author was just putting it in there because he felt that a YA should have a love story. I really thought it was sweet how Luka's inner monologue was admitting that he was staying and joining the resistance for Yael, but I think their admissions of loving each other in the end of the book were a bit rash and corny. To be fair, they were in the middle of an extremely dangerous mission where they could very likely die so I mean YOLO, but still it felt weird to read. I liked [ Luka's honorable death, like I like that he died for a cause he only just joined because he knew he was making up for time spent being the face of a horrible government (hide spoiler)] but I wasn't a huge fan of how that all went down exactly. I just felt like he deserved something bigger and more dramatic.

Now Felix was interesting. We definitely got more of him (compared to Luka) in the first book because with Yael impersonating Adele it went into their family history a bit. But Felix's moral dilemma in this story was so, so well executed. His motives are almost the exact same as Yael's, but in an opposite context. Yael knows that killing the bad guys in order to prevent more death in the future is worth it, but she still has trouble doing it. Felix knows (thinks) that betraying the resistance will save his family's lives, but he still has so many doubts and regrets about it. His panic is portrayed really well, and I think it makes it hard to hate him, even if he did ruin things and was wrong. I don't love Adele, but Felix, FELIX, was an awesome character.

One last thing about the series as a whole - I can't decide if I loved or hated the skin shifter plotline! And that was like the main part of the story. It was just a bit too science fiction (in a book that felt more historical fiction) for me to completely jump on board. The science to me just does not make sense, and it made things a bit too convenient throughout the story (except of course, Yael ruined that by have 5 large conspicuous wolf tattoos on her arm, but I suppose she had a pretty telling inmate tattoo to begin with). The skin shifting was interesting, but then when SPOILER Miriam came in and was ALSO a skin shifter... it just felt kind of silly. It was fun, but it brought down the novel's level of legitimacy.

Review for "Children of Blood and Bone" by Tomi Adeyemi

We are all children of blood and bone. All instruments of vengeance and virtue. 

 
Rating: ★★★★★

This book was an emotional roller coaster. I hated characters, I loved characters, I loved characters I hated, and hated characters I love. The author really knows how to write character development. There were a lot of tropes in here that have been so poorly executed by many (most) YA fantasy books (enemies-to-lovers, enemies-to-friends, the chosen one, evil overlord, powerful artifact, the quest. Like really guys, there's a lot.) But! I didn't even really notice these plot points as tropes until after I finished the book and was reflecting on it because they fit so well into the story.

Let's talk about the characters:

Zélie:
I was worried about this one in the beginning. When she's in Mama Agba's school learning to fight, and is just so eager and ferocious, I was kinda like hmmmm this is cliche and cringey. However, this initial reaction to Zélie is really a testament to the author's ability to develop the characters throughout the story. Zélie starts out jaded and feisty, but she learns how to also love and still be strong. The author opens the book with the scene of Zélie's mother dying, so that's not a spoiler, but despite the viciousness and brutality of her mother's death, I still didn't really empathize. I thought it was just another trope (dead mother), but as the story progressed we saw how Zélie's history affected her everyday choices and emotions. By the end of the book, I was really emotional over Zélie and everything she went through both as a child and on the journey. I definitely think she was an improved character in this story (if also a little naive). I think I came to connect more with Zélie (and think she's naive) through her relationship with Inan.

Inan:
I was surprised by the first Inan chapter. I thought he was just going to be a nameless, faceless evil pursuer of the main trio, but I actually like what the author did with him. Part of the excitement of the story is not knowing if Inan really has changed or if he's about the betray everything to and for the throne. Part of that mystery is uncovered because we read his perspective, so his inner monologue was pretty telling, but I actually liked that because it kept me from being so anxious while reading. I think Inan and Zélie's relationship was complicated and sweet, and I had mixed feelings about whether or not I liked it throughout my reading journey. By the end of the final scene, I decided that I liked it. If there's one part of Inan's story I could've had more of, it's his relationship with Amari. They had one reconciliation, but the author ends that chapter by saying "But when his hands wrap around my back, all I can think of are how his fingers are resting just above my scars." And then that's the last we really hear about Amari and Inan.

Amari:
I was kind of with Zélie in the beginning of the novel, meaning that I thought Amari was a foolish, sheltered girl who was trying to be the savior of something she didn't even really understand. Again, the character development floored me. Amari is so strong and fierce, and I wish we had gotten even more of that fierceness. Her motives don't make a ton of sense to me; she decided to hate her father and the whole throne because he killed her friend, even though she'd grown up being told why magic is so horrible. I guess I would've been more empathetic if we'd seen more of Amari and Binta's relationship before everything happened with Binta, but I still think it's hard to believe that in just a couple days Amari goes from timid princess to [SPOILER: killing her father.] We didn't really see the extent of her hatred for Saran or her love for Binta in the exposition, but other than that I thought Amari was great.

Tzain:
[SPOILER: So, I knew that obviously either Tzain or Inan was going to die in the book because we couldn't have Tzain and Amari in love AND Inan and Zélie in love, that's weird and borderline incest. But I really thought it would be Tzain! Mainly because he didn't have a POV like Inan did, but I also thought it would make more of an impact on Zélie in terms of developing more the sequel. That being said, I thought Inan's death was fitting and cruel and honorable, and the more I think about it the more I liked the way that he died.] I started out really liking Tzain. I thought he was the perfect overprotective older brother figure. It started going downhill for me when he was getting so controlling over Zélie about Inan. On one hand, yeah she was being kind of naive, but since the reader knew Inan's thoughts and knew that he had good intentions, it was hard to see Tzain so rigid in his hate for Inan. I really hope they take Tzain's character arc to the next level in the sequel, and I would love to see more other Tzain and Amari's relationship because I thought it was so cute in this book (if sparse).

The plot is not the most original in the world, like there aren't any shocking plot twists, but I think the journey really worked for the story. I was intrigued by every new land and culture the characters were exposed to, and I am really excited to see more parts of Orisha in the next novel. Also - I highly recommend the audiobook; I thought the narration was fantastic!

Review for "The Upside of Unrequited" by Becky Albertalli

This book had some of the most unlikable characters I've ever read, I'm really impressed! Yes, that's sarcasm, because I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to hate the main character or her twin sister, but here we are, writing a 2-star review. I have not (yet) read Simon, so this review is based entirely on the content of the novel (in my opinion) and not on a preexisting bias of any kind.



Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Two main reasons for the two-star rating: the plot and the characters. And, well, those are two pretty important aspects of novels.

Most of the characters were completely unlikable to me, and they weren't supposed to be. I found them all super basic, like not interesting at all, and they were also just horrible people. CASSIE was the WORST. And I imagine that at times we were supposed to be mad at Cassie as Molly was, but generally I think she was supposed to be seen as a quirky cute LGBT character, and it just completely fell flat. Where she was meant to be strong, she came off as abrasive; where she was meant to be transparent, she was bratty; where she was meant to be teenage relatable, she was just an immature little girl trying to act older than she was.

I also was really rubbed the wrong way by Molly. This girl does not know how to act! She's had 27 unrequited crushes (first of all, who counts their crushes? I mean I guess that was supposed to be the cutesy part of the novel's theme but I'm not here for it), and yet she still doesn't know how to not be a jealous you-know-what as soon as she thinks one might like her back. And straight off the bat she was a judgmental you-know-what! Like ya girl's had 27 unrequited crushes but she's ready to come in here making fun of people because they enjoy GOT and LOTR? At least they have some kind of personality...

I guess I'm wondering this: can a person be fundamentally sexually repulsive? I mean, maybe Reid's not cool or muscular enough for sex. And if I like him anyway, what does that say about me? Is it because I'm scared to like someone hotter?

LIKE Y'ALL THAT IS LITERALLY A QUOTE FROM THIS BOOK. I cannot. I canNOT. Molly is also just not nice. I mean, maybe I should start carrying flyers with my list of schools, ranked by preference. Or maybe--maybe--these random adults should reflect on why they give a shit in the first place. Like girl, who hurt you?! You have no reason to be this jaded. Clean up your act, it's not cute. People are just trying to show they care and are interested in your life, and you know that if no one ever asked this kind of stuff you'd be complaining about how you don't get enough attention. I've never been so heated over a fictional character.

I feel like I've made it obvious that Reid was, IMO, the only likable character in the book and I actually did like him a lot and he did not get the appreciation he deserves. Mina was a dumb, forgettable character, and so were the two boys (can't even remember their names now). Molly does get some points because her personal narrative does admit that she knows she's being a terrible human, so at least she's self aware sometimes. I can't get over how much I hated Cassie though, oops.

And the plot was also just super basic. I didn't hate it, but I was never surprised or excited by it. As soon as Molly met Reid, we all knew how this story was going to end. We just had to get through 340 pages to get there. I feel like the author was trying to do a John Green An Abundance of Katherines thing with the whole 27 crushes plot, but the references/backstories of the crushes were just randomly inserted into the story and didn't make a lot of sense in supporting the plot or the character development.

I'd also like to complain a little bit about the writing. There were just some sentences added onto paragraphs where they did not flow at all, and it was honestly distracting. Reid tugs the front end and guides me over to a bench outside the store. Then, he pushes the cart to the side and sits, looking up at me expectantly. I sit down next to him. The writing is just so choppy and basic. It's literally just writing out actions sequentially.

So yeah, this one was not for me. It gets a bonus star because the diversity is so freaking there, and I appreciate that. At times I felt like the plot relied too much on the quirky diverse character traits, like how Cassie goes off about feminism that one time. I mean, sure girl go off, but I was cringing.

Review for "Passenger" by Alexandra Bracken

Opening the door even a crack into this was enough of a temptation for her imagination to rip it open and step inside. What would it be like, she wondered, to go wherever, whenever she wanted to? 



Rating: ★★☆☆☆

If I had read this book when I was younger, I probably would've liked it a lot. But my high standards in YA fantasy have led me to rank this book among basic plot, melodramatic books that are twice as long as they should be. I originally picked this book up because I bought the sequel at Half Price Books (I thought the cover was beautiful and I didn't realize it was a sequel), so I read this one just so I could read that one. Here's hoping the second one is better.

In terms of plot, this is just the most basic time travel plot I can think of. A girl finds out time travel exists, and she does it, and she uses it to find a missing artifact to save her mother who's being held hostage. I just felt like I saw everything coming, like there were no interesting twists. On top of the basicness of the plot, the book moves so incredibly slow. The main quest is finding this missing artifact, and that isn't even introduced until page 189 (39% of the way through the book). There are certain elements I liked, but those are more a factor of time travel stories in general and not anything the author did to make it special (I mean just getting to read about Syria in 1599, New York in 1776, Paris in 1890). And this all goes without even mentioning the plot holes.

This was a 3 star book until all the plot holes made my brain hurt. Obviously, when an author writes a time travel story they have to set the terms of time travel. The author doesn't really address things like the grandfather paradox, but just kind of implies that nothing that extreme as happened in this world of time travel... yet. I'm okay with the vagueness, except for the rules the author does set contradict other parts of the plot. And because it's a YA fantasy, the romance had to be a major point in the plot...

And of course there was that heady floral scent, driving him half mad, making him think of silky night air, and the moon hanging like an opal at midnight... 

The tears collected on her pale lashes, but she did not let them fall. 

What would hurt worse: the regret that she tried or the regret that she didn't? 

Maybe that's why she wanted it so badly--it was impossible, and both of them were too stubborn to let themselves be told what they could and couldn't have. 

I have never read a more melodramatic "love" story. There's no way it's not intentional, but I hate it. The insta-love does not make sense here, but I'm learning that maybe I'm just not an insta-love person. On top of their cringey interactions, the characters act much younger than their stated ages (17-20). This wouldn't be an issue except that they literally have sex and I'm like why are these actual children in the middle of a really vaguely written sex scene. Cringe.

The plot, romance and characters would've been so much more tolerable if they had been going on this journey in a trio instead of just Etta and Nicholas. I wish Sophia had found them out, traveled with them, and eventually realized that Ironwood was bad and turned over to the light side. There were just so many better plot directions this book could've taken in regards to Sophia, and having another female character with Etta and Nicholas would've been really good.

Extra star on my rating for diversity - and for expressly addressing how racial discrimination is different in different points in history.

Review for "The Gilded Wolves" by Roshani Chokshi

I don't want them to look us in the eye. I want them to look away, to blink harshly, as if they've stared at the sun itself. I don't want them standing across from us. I want them kneeling. 



Rating: ★★★☆☆

I feel like sometime in my countless hours on Goodreads and Booktube I heard this described as a Six of Crows 2.o/knockoff (depending on how good you think it is). For me, it's more on the side of knockoff. I think I have distinct positive and negatives for most aspects of the book, that even it out to being a solid three stars.

Concept:
The concept is really interesting. I like how there's a fantastical element, but the setting is 1889 Paris. I also liked how there's the Tower of Babel incorporation. However, I think the concept should have been one or the other. A general comment on the book is that there's just way too much going on at once, so either the World Exposition should have been the main focus, or the Babel Fragments. Having both at the same time just made for a bit of a headache while reading.

Plot:
One thing I think is really important when reading is the entertainment quality. This book was entertaining. Like most standalone/1st in a series fantasy books, the beginning is slow to warm up, but once you get into the thick of it, you are intrigued to know how things turn out. That being said, the plot on a technical level feels disjointed. It's almost as if the author started out with the beginning of the book, then wrote each chapter by itself, constantly trying to bring in new aspects of the Magic, or new artifacts, or new characters. I honestly just couldn't keep it all straight and it was frustrating. There are just too many plot directions and supplements related to the magic system to fully understand and appreciate everything.

Characters:
For the most part, the characters are very well done. I'm a little bit in love with Zofia, and I was totally charmed by Enrique. I love how the 3rd-person shifting viewpoint adds to the characters, so we can really see the world as they do. We get a cynical tone with Enrique, a dark tone from Séverin, etc.

As for Séverin himself... If we're still making comparisons to Six of Crows, Séverin is a major disappointment as a stand-in Kaz Brekker. He's not nearly as smart/calculating; whereas Kaz is always two steps ahead, Séverin falls into a major trap in the very beginning of the novel. I'm conflicted about how I feel about this. On one hand, it makes Séverin more human which makes the story more compelling, but at the same time Kaz is just way cooler. It's just like, Séverin talks a big game, but he doesn't really back it up with actions. I would say Séverin is consistently shaped by the plot, whereas Kaz shapes the plot, so I guess it depends on what kind of book you're looking for. For a multi-character book about using individual skillsets to pull off a heist (the plot/structure of both Six of Crows and The Gilded Wolves), I would be looking for a character-driven novel in which case Kaz is a more compelling character. Again, that's just a comparison to a very similar book that I think did some things better than this one.

Another character I didn't love was Laila. I appreciated her emotion, and I think her backstory from India and how she was "made" is really interesting, but she's again too disjointed. She has so many interests and roles in the novel that it feels like they should've just made another female character to take on some of those roles. She's a down-to-Earth baker, she's a flamboyant broadway dancer (I know the novel makes a point about how she's different to the public and in private, but honestly I don't see that much of a difference because she's still the wardrobe/make-up person in her private life), but she also is a classically trained dancer IRL, she can "read" objects, she's [something???] with Tristan, she had sex with Séverin ONE TIME two years ago and will never forget it... There's just way too much going on. You can have character depth without making a character drown in things that are supposed to make them interesting/drive the plot.

Relationships:
I appreciate that romance is not a driving force in this novel. It is definitely meant to be more of an accessory than a main plot point, which I think works well in these kind of fantasy novels. But did we have to ruin that by talking about Laila and Séverin's one steamy night every other chapter? Every time Laila and Séverin, like, SEE each other, they flashback to "his skin against mine" or some other god-awful sex cliche. It got very tiring. And again, I was confused because I thought in the first half of the novel it was implied that Laila and Tristan were together, so that just changed my comprehension of all Laila's romantic encounters. Also I was shipping Enrique and Zofia SO HARD and then Hypnos swoops in like whaddup I'm here to steal your girlllll, like what?! Grrrr. And then Zofia skips the party when she sees them together, and you KNOW that Enrique is really into her and not Hypnos... (Side note: Who names a character of Hypnos's personality/age/standing "Hypnos"? Yes, I know the mythological significance, but it still sucks as a name for him.)

Language:
I wouldn't normally include language in my book reviews, but some of the language here did not sit well with me. First of all, I know we give YA fantasy novels a lot of lenience in using dramatic cliches, but "She tasted impossible. Like candied moonlight." Seriously... that's bad. Also, I feel like the author was not always mindful that this story took place in the 19th century when writing the dialogue. Using phrases like "all the rage"... I don't know, something with the language and dialogue just doesn't fit with the setting.

Overall thoughts:
I like the concepts, I like the entertainment value of the plot, I like most of the characters, I just think that all of it should have been cut in half. Half of the artifacts and magic things, half of the character's divergent personalities, half of the plot points should have just been thrown out. The novel is entertaining at the same time as it is messy and disjointed.

Review for "Winning" by Lara Deloza

Why the hell should I care about Alexandra Miles's opinion of me? I think it has something to do with her freakishly strong magnetism. She's like the sun. You never really stop wanting to feel that warm, buttery light on your face. Even if you've been burned by it. 



Rating: ★★★★☆

There's a good possibility that I'm being overly generous with my rating of this book for two main reasons: 1) My self-proclaimed guilty pleasure is trashy teen high school drama books - I absolutely DIED over reading PLL, and I binged all 8 seasons of Gossip Girl in a month and 2) This is exactly the kind of book I needed to read right now. I picked this book up in a bookstore because the cover was gorgeous and it was in great condition and it was actually $2. I've been in a bit of slump - I've just been reading so much heavy sci-fi and classics and complicated/dark fantasy lately that it has been burning me out. So, my cure? A 300-page teen drama. And it accomplished its mission well enough.

When it comes to betrayal, a little goes a long way. 

This book is like the movie Mean Girls, if it was told from the perspectives of Regina, Gretchen, Janis, and Damian. The funny thing is, one of the narrators even recognizes the extreme similarities and makes connections between the characters in Winning and the characters from the film. Also, if Regina George was more like Blair Waldorf - smart in her scheming, vindictive, cruel, and not concerned with "collateral damage".

I really liked seeing the viewpoint of Alexandra (the Queen Bee/Regina George/Blair Waldorf). Obviously, the way she's written makes her absolutely horrible, and I think this is one unlikable character where it is very obvious that you are not supposed to like her. It helps that there are multiple perspectives from the good guys, it stops us from siding too much with Alexandra when we know it's wrong. I didn't love Sloane's chapters just because I thought they were completely unnecessary. She acts like she's going to bring Alexandra down (ahem, Janis Ian), using her best friend (Gretchen) and by ruining her relationship with Matt (Aaron Samuels). But then she hardly plays a role in orchestrating Alexandra's great fall. I suppose they added her perspective because they wanted the book to be longer or more substantive, but if that's the case they really should have given some chapters to New Girl Erin. I understand why she didn't have any chapters, since it did help make her seem like an outsider, but for a book that is supposedly about a Queen Bee protecting her throne from a preppy New Girl, the New Girl isn't in the novel as much as you'd expect.

Just a small detail I want to point out - no matter how immature and evil Alexandra was, can we talk about Principal Frick? Like how can a principal "have it out" for a student? How is a school administrator allowed to so publicly hate a student? I'm not saying Alexandra didn't deserve to be hated, but Frick was just unprofessional.

Look, the writing isn't fantastic. The plot is clearly not original. The characters are one-dimensional, and the author is a little insensitive to certain societal taboos (having a sober person take advantage of a drunk/roofied person at a party, but it's okay because they weren't the one that roofied her and they end up dating later anyway). Overall, the story is cliche and predictable and not that compelling. But I still liked it. I enjoyed my time reading it, and I wanted to know how everything was going to happen. For me, this book was an escape into a 2000's teen movie. You know it's not real, or even a realistic reflection of high school, but it's still entertaining. So I may reduce my rating after I've had more time for it to sink in, but overall I was entertained and that's the important thing IMO.

Review for "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet" by Becky Chambers

I am absolutely in LOVE. This book. This BOOK.



Rating: ★★★★★

For this review I just couldn't help myself and I had to fangirl over it, so there will be SPOILERS, highlighted in yellow if you'd like to skip over them.

Did I ever think I could ship a human and a reptilian? Did I ever believe I would mourn the death of someone who is not even technically alive because they're an AI? Did I ever think I would care so much about a bunch of space hippies waddling around in space? The answer is no, I did not previously believe I would feel these things but I DO I SO DO.

I am not usually into character-driven novels, especially of the science fiction variety. I like strong characters, but I prefer a fast-paced plot to match. This book essentially has zero plot. Okay, yes, things happen, things get dramatic, there's definitely a climactic moment, but there's not really a plot direction, we just get to read about a bunch of things these wayfarers go through. And it's awesome. I love all these characters so much.

Rosemary
Enter Rosemary Harper, the Wayfarer's newest addition to the crew: the human clerk. One thing I love about this book is how fantastically it does 3rd person omniscient POV. I've read a lot of bad science fiction/fantasy in that category, and this one gives just the perfect amount of information from each character. That being said, I suppose you could say Rosemary is the "protagonist" since the story starts with her being hired onto the ship, but the POV is really shared among the crew. Rosemary is the least interesting character in my opinion. The skeletons in her closet that we find out later in the book are rather cliche in my opinion, but I do think we see a lot of development in her from being the scared new girl on the ship to becoming a BA girl who takes on the ship's captain.

Ashby
I feel like human (Exodan) Captain Ashby is like a turtle - he has a hard shell but is all squishy on the inside. Is that weird? Ashby really comes off as distant in the beginning of the novel, but I love seeing him open up, whether it comes to his relationship with Pei (side note: Pei's species - Aeluon - is really interesting and I hope we get more of them in the next book), his respect for Ohan, or treating and referring to Lovey as a human just like the rest of the crew. I strive to have his style of leadership - a perfect mix between practical intelligence and compassion. Love his pacifism as a captain. Also, shoutout for him being so aware of respecting his diverse crew and chastising people (ahem, Corbin) when they don't do the same.

Sissix
I liked Sissix from the moment she ran into Rosemary and Corbin, and extended a kind hand to Rosemary. Sissix is the Aandrisk (a sapient species of bipedal reptilian people) pilot of the Wayfarer. This might be due to the fact that I listened to this on audiobook, and the narrator does an excellent job of having different voices for all the characters, and I especially liked Sissix's voice. But still, I love how kind Sissix is at the same time that she struggles to completely understand humans and their traditions. Also, I just need to say that Becky Chambers's world building is fantastic. I am so drawn into all the different species and planets, and I think that learning about Sissix's Aandrisk life and family really highlight this strength in the novel. I was honestly so surprised by the Sissix-Rosemary relationship but also I am SO HERE FOR IT and I ship it so hard.

Kizzy
Kizzy is possibly my favorite character. It's so hard to choose! Kizzy is an extremely exuberant human mechanical tech, and her love of both science and snacks are very relatable to me. She just has so much personality, and she's so enthused, and for a second you're tempted to believe that's all there is to her character. But then! She opens up and breaks down and comes out of crises with so much energy. And she's so selfless! I honestly think she would just throw herself off the Wayfarer and into space for any one of her crewmates, especially Jenks. I love the Kizzy-Jenks friendship, and the "you're my brother" bit killed my already dying heart. All in all, I think Kizzy might be the most layered character, and she's also the most fun to read. Also shoutout to Kizzy for having cool gay parents, I love it.

Jenks
HE'S JUST A SWEET LITTLE BABY WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO HIM BECKY WHYYYYYY. Jenks, the ship's human computer tech, comes off as very simple, but I understand why he's so easy to get along with and why he and Kizzy are best friends. Yes, he cares about his crew and all that jazz, but LOVEY OH GOD. Even more than Rosemary/Sissix (Rossix? Sismary?), I shipped Jenks and Lovey so hard. And like, how? I would never thought myself capable of getting that into a human/AI love story, but the author made it happen. And it was so good. Disclaimer: I'm a big sucker for star-crossed lovers, and this was just so tragically beautiful. I also just really love the bits about Jenks's mom and how her choices, which are relatively normal in our society, were seen as super radical. And the bits about Jenks's height insecurities, I can relate.

Lovey
I knew she was special from the first time she and Rosemary met. She was clearly more capable of sapient emotion that we would assume from an AI. And there's not much I can say without spoilers, but I think it's amazing how Lovey went through so much character development when she's not even technically a person, yet it was still done in a believable way.

Corbin
(I have so many good things to say about this book clearly) Another thing I really loved is that even when you start out disliking a character to the point where you think they cannot be redeemed, they switch it up on you in a way that's still plausible. The Wayfarer's algaeist, Corbin, is mean and nasty and prejudiced and rude and antisocial and just not a fun person. He discriminates against Sissix to her face because of her background multiple times, and it actually creates a major conflict. But Corbin's character development is so good. From the way he is forced to reconcile with Sissix, to the speech he gives before he saves Ohan (against his wishes), you can tell that even though he has a mean-spirited personality, he still does care for the crew.

Ohan
This was one character I did not expect to see so much development from. Ohan, the Wayfarer's sianat pair navigator/s, are reclusive and completely indispensable. They are introduced as a species that doesn't really understand or spend time with the other crewmates, but have processing centers in their brain that allow them to do calculations necessary for navigating that human brains can't even comprehend. Essentially, Ohan's job could never be turned over to AI's because the humans who make the AI's can't even comprehend what Ohan does. Anyway, it turns out that being part of a sianat pair is the result of a disease that is killing Ohan. Ohan's outburst about Ashby talking to the independent sianats really surprised me because I saw them as so stoic. The crew debate fiercely about whether to force the treatment on Ohan so that they can live - as two separate beings, both different from the original Ohan - or to respect his wishes to not go through the treatment. The crew mostly agreed that they should force the treatment on Ohan, and I totally disagree. I've never been in this kind of situation, but considering the treatment would literally split Ohan into two and get rid of the Ohan that they all knew, I don't think his refusal is that radical. I was especially surprised to find Sissix on the other side of the argument, and I was a little put off by how she was like "yeah I know they prefer to go by gender neutral pronouns but I'm going to call them a him instead because I'm angry that he's dying and doesn't want to be saved and I believe he's a he so I no longer respect his pronoun choices or his right to refuse a treatment that would literally wipe his consciousness". If it had to end the way it did, I was glad that it was Corbin who redeemed himself with administering the treatment. Even though I personally thought that they should've left Ohan to his wishes, I liked what they did with Corbin and him. Also, after all of that I still thought Ohan was kind of distant, and then he asks to stay on the ship... MY HEART.

Dr. Chef
He's just a big teddy bear! Dr. Chef, the Grum doctor and chef of the ship, is basically everyone's mom. He makes the meals and gives wise advice to all the Wayfarers. He's not super involved in the plot, like he doesn't get his own spotlight moment like most of the other characters do, but he's still so memorable. The Grum is another species I'm interested in learning more about, especially after Dr. Chef confides in Rosemary about how violence tore his species apart so there's only ~200 left in the universe. There's some aspect of Dr. Chef's personality that brings a different tone to the team as a whole. He just makes me happy. I also liked the narrator's voice for this one.

So, in conclusion. I love this. I'll be recovering forever and picking up the sequel ASAP. That is all, props to you if you made it all the way through this review. P.S. If you didn't read all the way through, I do recommend the audiobook.

Review for "Dragon Pearl" by Yoon Ha Lee

In the holos, fully terraformed worlds were lush and verdant, with trees rustling in the wind and flowers that flourished without having to be coddle in the protected gardens of wealthy people. If the Dragon Pearl had resurfaced, it could make that dream a reality.



Rating: ★★★☆☆

I read this book as a buddy read with the Dragons and Tea Book Club. As such my review with be in the format of journal entries, similar to the review I did for Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge. Thank you to Melanie and Amy for hosting this buddy read! (Warning: SPOILERS ahead!)

Monday, May 13
I'm really intrigued by this world! I want to know more about the magic and customs. It's a really interesting blend of traditional mythology/fantasy/magic, and then science fiction with all the different planets. It's really just the best of both worlds.

Here are some more specific comments:

I am interested in the gender fluid society that is kind of hinted at. At two different points Min talks about gender choices: "Most foxes choose to be female, like Mom and all my aunties, because it is traditional. Manshik had insisted on being male, though, because he wanted to be like Jun, and no one in the family hassled him about it" and "This particular badge also had a small symbol next to the name that let me know they should be addressed neutrally, as neither female nor male." What I love about this is how nonchalant it is. It's not "accepting" per se, because it's not seen as out of the ordinary in the first place. The society in this respect is actually pretty idealized, and I like how it can be seen as "no big deal". I think this is something important for middle grade kids to be reading. On one hand, I want to learn more about this aspect of Min's society, and on the other I want the book to remain lax about it because it should be seen as normal and not something that has to be overexplained. Either way the author continues, I think I will be satisfied with this specific area of the world-building.

Talking characters: I like Min a lot. Since we are early in the book I haven't yet ranked her up in my favorite middle grade female protags, but she could very well get up there. I think she's cunning, and smart, and a bit of a troublemaker. She's always looking for ways to manipulate people to her advantage. Okay, that sounds bad, but really it just made me respect her. I don't understand all the decisions she makes, like not even leaving a note for her family and leaving without warning for a space mission even though she's never even been on ship before, but hey she's thirteen so I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing at that age. The one thing I think is missing from her character is friendship/banter with other characters. As of now, there aren't any other characters that she's on her mission with, so we don't get to see her interactions with people other than security guards and drunken gamblers. I hope we get to see her interact with some characters/friends closer to her age soon and watch this part of her character develop.

I have a couple critiques, but as this is a middle grade book, I am not going to factor these into my final rating of the book as I would a YA/adult fantasy. These are just small pet peeves.
First, while I'm intrigued by fox magic, I think it's a bit too flawless. Min says, "Fox magic was handy that way, if sometimes unpredictable--once you envisioned what you needed, it covered all the details." This just seems a little bit like a plot/world-building convenience, so it annoys me to read how everything just works out perfectly because that's what needs to happen in order for the plot to work out in the end.

While I'm loving the plot so far, the writing is juvenile (yes, I realize this is a middle grade book, refer to the comment above). I don't expect it to be super amazing writing, but when you get telling-not-showing phrases like "The enormity of the task before me was overwhelming", it's bad enough to make even a middle grade reader notice.

Wow that was a really long comment, but I want to be thorough! I think this is going to be a good one, and I'm excited to be reading it with y'all!

Tuesday, May 14
Things just keep getting weirder! Every time I think the author has mixed in so many different elements - space adventures, mythology, magic factions - she adds in another layer of it.

We are quickly introduced to Jang, a ghost (whaaaaat), and just as quickly Min accepts a deal with him so she can stay aboard his ship and try to find out more about her brother.

Overall, I'm kind of confused on how Min expected to find out where Jun was just from being on his former ship, but again I'm not 13 so maybe that's reasonable middle school logic? I am appreciating how Min is showing her young age; I think a common middle grade novel mistake is making characters too mature for their stated age. We definitely see some of Min's immaturity, like "filing away" curse words for future use, and I think it adds more fun to the story.

I can't get too sucked into the space mission part of the story. The mythology/magic side is much more intriguing to me. The way that space travel is described ("we swerved past a moon")... I just don't buy it.

Also - and I'd love some other opinions on this - I kind of feel like Min is reinforcing the anti-Fox stereotypes? Like at first it was harmless magic she was using: a little bit of shape shifting, making herself look older, etc. But now... she's actually using it to improve others' opinions of her. I know she thinks she has no other choice, since she's desperate to find her brother and if she's found out to not be Jang she'll be arrested, but if every Fox acted like her I would distrust them too. In the beginning when the fox prejudice is introduced, it was introduced as "everyone thinks foxes only use their powers to manipulate/fool people but that's not true", but now she's actively being untrustworthy and using her Fox powers to do so. "'Just curious,' I said, shrugging and throwing a little Charm Sujin's way to make them believe me." Like what?! It just makes Min seem hypocritical and like she doesn't have a sense of integrity, since she chastised everyone for thinking foxes are untrustworthy, and then uses her powers to show that she is untrustworthy. I hope this is resolved by the end of the story.

So, I don't know where I am with this book currently. I like the world, the mix of genres, and the magic system. But the characters (Min, mainly) are starting to bug me.

Wednesday, May 15 
The plot is finally thickening! I'm really having fun with the story. The pace is picking up, and I feel like more things are happening than in the last couple chapters. I get more of the "ooh, what happens next!" feeling.

So, I'm liking the general plot, but I think that's all the positive I really have to say? This book just doesn't stand out to me. There isn't a "wow" factor.

A small voice in my head suggested that I stop relying on my magic to solve problems for me, because at some point all of this was going to catch up to me in a bad way. 

Girl this is what I have been saying!! I wish Min could be shown using her own characteristics - the wit, strength, and charm (nonmagical) that we know she has. Stop all the magic use!!

The repitition: yes, we know Min is trying to find her brother. Yes, we know Min hates chores and had to do a lot of them at home. No need to tell us every other page.

Also, does anyone know what time period this takes place in? I thought it would be future because of all the space stuff, but then they were talking about the 1480's.

I'm having technical issues about the way fox magic works. I won't get into all the details here, but there are just some contradictions about how Charm works. Example: the fingerprints bit?

The expression in his eyes wasn't sympathy, exactly - I doubted that a tiger felt sympathy often, if ever... 

Wow if we want to talk about hypocritical! ^^^ Min you can't be upset about everyone stereotyping Foxes and then do the same thing to another magical faction! This made me so mad. Min's character is definitely getting worse for me. I'm really hoping the author did this on purpose and that Min learns some kind of lesson about judging people too quickly based on their race.

That's all for me, despite my minor complaints I am excited to keep reading!

Thursday, May 16
I really do feel much more appeased by these last few chapters - things are happening! I'm having fun reading through Min's adventures. I was really happy to see Sujin and Haneul rally behind Min, and we are getting so close to finding Jun!

I don't have any specific comments about this section. It's fast-paced, and most of my earlier comments still stand at this point.

We are far enough through that I feel like I can make some overall comments about the book. The biggest thing I've noticed is how few mini-adventures there are. Mini-adventures are an essential part of a good middle grade fantasy book. A major selling point about middle grade books is that there's always one main mission (ex.: finding and returning Zeus's lightning bolt) and then a bunch of fun little adventures along the way (ex.: confronting Medusa, fighting monsters on the St. Louis arch, meeting Aphrodite and Ares and dealing with their shenanigans) and those just don't exist in this story. There's one main plot, finding Jun, and that's pretty much it. It's just a very slow crawl towards that one goal. There's a little bit of space cadet stuff, like that one attack on the battle cruiser, but overall the book is really lacking in side stories and adventures.

I was feeling a 2 or 3 star for this book based on the last section and I think I'm at a solid 3-star at this point. I really hope the end is twisty and exciting!

Friday, May 17
Jun's a ghost :o I didn't think about this as a possibility until a few pages before it was revealed, and then when it happened I was like "I knew it all along!" Haha. That twist definitely brought more depth to Min's character which she needed.

As the ghosts tried to assault me with images of pox-ridden humans and corpses piled high, Jun created a spiritual shield around me, countering with memories of our life together on Jinju, from watching for falling stars late at night to playing tag around the house. 

I love the sibling love here! More middle grade fantasy needs sibling love and teamwork. It is just so pure, and although it's kind of a plot convenience, I really love that Jun and Min get to stay together and have all the adventures they planned even though Jun is literally dead. While before this section I would've said this is really good as a standalone and shouldn't have a sequel, I'd now be interested in a sequel because Jun as a ghost adds a new dimension to the cast of characters. And a sequel was kind of set up with Min and Jun receiving a joint job offer sooooo we'll see?

I like what they did at the very end, with Min and Jun deciding to travel the Thousand Worlds together, but overall the confrontation on the Fourth World did not satisfy me. I don't know if things just didn't click for me, or if it was really just kind of boring and predictable, but I wasn't a huge fan of the plot from 29-35 (with the exception of Jun being a ghost).

But, FINALLY we get to see Min transform into an animal! This whole time I've been wondering why her go-to is only ever other humans or inanimate objects. Like, some of the situations she was in, it would have been very helpful to just become a fly and buzz outta there, but she never did. Instead she'd turn into some end table or the captain of the whole freakin' ship. I got the idea that maybe there was a rule against turning into other living species, but apparently not. I liked hawk-Min, and I wish she had been transformed into lots of different animals based on her different predicaments throughout the novel!

I never could get into the friendships here. I think they were just written poorly. With all the lies and betrayals, it never really felt like Min should be friends with Haneul and Sujin (or vice-versa). Just comparing to other well-written middle grade fantasy, I think this book was severely lacking in the area of friendships.

I scowled. Haneul might be all right, but I didn't trust Sujin anymore. 

On today's episode of Min Is A Hypocrite~
She spends all this time fooling Sujin and Haneul, and then they pretty much forgive her right away, and then AS SOON as Min hears something that sorta maybe kinda sounds like Sujin being untrustworthy, she's done with him and doesn't trust him anymore. There were a lot of twists with who betrays whom and who trusts whom, and honestly it was just a lot to keep track of. But, for this one, I think Min should've just taken it as what she deserved and moved on.

Now that we're at the very end, I'm going to follow up on a comment I mentioned after yesterday's readings. I mentioned the lack of "mini-adventures" along the way of Min's quest, and I realized that it's not that they don't exist at all, it's just that they are cut off before they even become memorable. We had Nari's parlor, the deal with Byung-Ho, sneaking into Hwan's office, and everything is just cut short before we can appreciate the atmosphere, get a real developed plot point, or really get to know the related characters. For example, I so wish we got more of Byung-Ho! I thought his little interaction with Jang/Min after he woke up in the infirmary was sweet, but I was expecting more later on.

Plot conveniences: Ugh, why! First of all, Jang just flies off to go haunt some random mercenaries that aren't even the people that killed him, because now that everyone knows Min's true identity, he's not necessary for the plot any more. Then, he just comes back at the exact right moment to help Min out of a sticky situation! I really thought that it was Jun transformed with fox magic into Jang or something. But no, it really was just a plot convenience.

That's all for me! This book comes in at 3 stars on my shelves. Probably a little lower than a full three stars, but percentage stars are too complicated for me. The book was fine, but I wasn't wowed or impressed with either characters or plots. There were also several small details that bothered me which in an adult or YA novel would've made this 2 stars, but since it's middle grade I don't focus on those factors as much in my final rating. The book definitely gets brownie points for its recognition of non-binary characters, and the fact that it deals with racial prejudice, important topics for middle grade kids to read about.

I don't know if I'd recommend to people unless they really loved middle grade mythology retellings (that seems like an oddly specific genre, but there's definitely an audience for it).

Reseña de "El Libro de Los Americanos Desconocidos" por Cristina Henríquez

Somos los americanos desconocidos, los que nadie quiere conocer porque les han dicho que deben temernos y porque tal vez, si se tomaron la molestia de conocernos, se darían cuenta de que no somos tan malos, tal vez incluso de que somos muy parecidos a ellos. ¿Y a quién odiarían entonces? 



Rating: ★★★★☆

Voy a intentar a hacer mi reseña en español porque lo he leído en español así que parece adecuado. Después de pensar en este libro durante unos días he subido mi rating de 3 estrellas a 4. No leí el libro continuamente así que no comprendí las emociones y la historia hasta después. Esta historia es triste, y entonces inspiradora, y entonces conmovedora, y entonces triste otra vez.

"Debes creer que tienes derecho a ser feliz."

La historia se contaba principalmente por Alma y Mayor. Alma Rivera y su marido, Arturo, decide a mudarse a los estados unidos para que mejore la vida de su hija, Maribel, que tenía un accidente recientemente y ahora tiene problemas mentales. Mayor es un adolescente, abusado por chicos en la escuela y por su padre en casa, y no puede evitar enamorarse con Maribel. También, el libro incluye muchos perspectivas de otras miembros de la comunidad hispanohablante en el edificio de apartamentos de los Rivera.

En primer lugar, creo que fue muy divertido a ver las perspectivas y historias de todas las personas en el apartamento. Primero, vemos estas personas como las ve Alma, una vecina nueva, y entonces vemos estas personas como las ve Mayor, un chico que ha conocido estas personas la mayoría (jaja) de su vida. Y entonces, conseguimos las perspectivas de las personas las mismas. Me ha gustado mucho esto.

Los sentidos y emociones de Alma fueron muy auténticos y era fácil a identificar con sus problemas. Obviamente, ella tiene problemas que no puedo entender completamente, pero todavía creo que esta personaje se escribió muy bien. Fui menos interesado/impresionado con las partes de Mayor. El libro se describe como una "historia de amor", presumiblemente entre de Mayor y Maribel. Pero no vi este amor tanto que la autora probablemente quería que viéramos. No sentí la conexión a Mayor como la sentí a Alma, y como él es un narrador principal, esto fue el problema principal que tuve con el libro.

Además, ojalá que hubiéramos recibido mas información sobre cómo es la condición de Maribel ahora. Parece que después de la accidente tenía muchos problemas cognitivos, pero cuando está en los estados unidos parece que está mejorando. Como alguien en el campo medical, yo estaba curiosa sobre la condición médica.

A pesar de mis críticas, el fin del libro absolutamente hizo este libro 4 estrellas. Es muy triste y desgarrador, pero a la vez es precioso y una buena manera a poner punto final al libro.

Review for "The Cerulean" by Amy Ewing

"You are alive," Sera said. "You are here. You have free will. There is nothing that is keeping you from choosing to be the right kind of person."



Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sera Lighthaven comes from the City Above the Sky, inhabited by a non-human species known as the Cerulean. In order to save her city, Sera sacrifices herself by falling to the planet below and spilling her blood. But, it doesn't quite work out. Instead of dying, Sera survives the fall and must navigate this new world with the help of two humans, trying to make her way back to the City Above the Sky.

She wanted to feel like herself, to remember who she was. She was Sera Lighthaven and she was not meant to be chained. 

This was a really fun read! I want to start out by saying that I think people are judging this book way too harshly. Upon reading some reviews and seeing the ratings before reading the book, I really expected to dislike this book based on what people were saying. But I think people are wrong about this one.

First, I'll address why I think people got this book wrong and then I'll go into my actual thoughts on the book as a whole. So, the race of people that Sera comes from, the Cerulean, are a polyamorous Sapphic society. Each girl is born to a throuple (a group of three women who are all married to each other) through parthenogenesis, a gift given by the Mother Sun, the goddess the Cerulean worship. However, it is essential that we note that while this society is all women, the Cerulean still know and understand that men exist. Sera has never seen a man before, but she understands the concepts of genders and the fact that in other species of people, men do exist. She comes off as asexual because she's not attracted to women. I don't see why her living in an all-female society means that her loving men is off-limits. This is literally like the main complaint that people are bringing up about this book, that it makes no sense for Sera to be straight because she's from an all-female world. But she still knows that genders and men are a thing, and I think it makes absolute sense for the reason she's not attracted to women to be because she's straight.

The second thing, going along with that, that annoys me about people's reviews is that the Sera-being-straight part of the book is maybe 2%, and the discussing sexuality part of the book overall, with any characters, is probably 5%. Romance and sex is so so so little of the book. There aren't even any sex scenes or pairings, just potential pairings for future books, and Sera isn't even in one of the potential pairings. She finds out she's attracted to men because of one random guy, and then they drop the romantic/sexual thing with her. The only romance that is slightly there happens between Agnes and another minor character, and it's really just hinting at attraction and a possible future relationship. And honestly, I ship it. The main plot of the book is about escaping captivity, forming friendships, finding a way back to the City, and the mystery going on in the City itself.

So yes, I'm a little annoyed that everyone is hating all over this book because of Sera's sexuality because a) it can make sense because of her comprehensive education and b) it's barely a part of the plot. I will point out that the book never gets close to reverse homophobia/heterophobia, and I appreciate that most reviewers also pointed this out in their rants.

Now onto my actual opinions on the book. I liked the plot, although at first it was a bit slow. I understand why all the backstory and events in the first Kaolin part are necessary, but I was bored during them. I much more enjoyed the parts that happened in the City Above the Sky, and I started to get especially intrigued when Kandra and Leela started to realize something wonky was going on with the High Priestess. I really hope the author continues with this series because there are so many questions I need answered about the events from the City Above the Sky, not to mention how the Kaolin storyline left off without a real ending (presumably because there were plans for a second book). Because honestly, man, that cliffhanger in the last Leela chapter!! Wow!

As for the characters, I didn't love or hate them. I really loved how Sera contrasted so deeply from the humans because she is literally a different species. I thought it was a lot of fun to see her interact with the humans, like with the blood bonding. I also really liked Sera's interactions with the other creatures in captivity, like Boris/Tree and Errol. I was, like many other readers, annoyed by Agnes's use of the phrase "no I'm not like other girls", but I didn't actually hate her as a character. I liked that we got to see her as a queer girl in a heteronormative society, and again it just hightlighted the differences between the humans and the Cerulean. I appreciated how Leo's redemption arc was carried out, and I look forward to see it continuing in the next book.

World building: interesting concept but not the best execution. I liked that there was like an earth, but it clearly wasn't earth as we know it because the geography is completely different and it's conducive to magical life. I just wanted to know more about how this world functioned and came about. I'm confused because the characters mention a lot of things that specific references to earth life, like driving and the use of the calendar year (they mention September in chapter 29). So I'm wondering if maybe this planet is the remnants of an earth after some cataclysmic geographical shifting, and the characters in the book would have ancestors from earth as we know it. Maybe I'm stretching it, I just want to know why there are so many earth-like activities and terms but it seems to take place on a different planet.

Another small detail: I did cringe a bit at the names of some of the mystical elements. Mainly, "the Great Sadness" and "Seek Me If You Dare." The names seemed like afterthoughts and they just weren't very creative, like the author just thought, "hmm what would be another way to say the Great Depression and Hide and Seek?". Still, I thought a lot of things about these aspects (i.e. the Great Sadness) were intriguing, even if the names themselves were not.

I thought the third person POV worked much better in this book than I've seen in recent YA fantasy series. I felt like I got enough of everyone's different perspectives, but the chapters still remained mostly focused on whichever character it was supposed to, as it was a shifting spotlight third person perspective. At first I didn't think we needed a Leo POV, like it would've been fine with just Sera, Agnes, and Leela, but towards the end I understood why Leo was included and I started to like him more. Still, I could have done with only female perspectives. I think it would have been fitting, but still I understand why, with the topics in this book, a male perspective could've been beneficial from a storytelling viewpoint.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I didn't want to put it down and I am now anxiously awaiting the second book. I hope the second book will bring character development, relationship development, self-discovery, and more enlightenment on the world, both with the City Above the Sky and the planet below.

Review for "Sunny" by Jason Reynolds

Do you know what it feels like to feel like a murderer? I do. Do you know what it's like for something to be wrong with you. To be born incorrect. To be born a hurricane. I do. 



Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

WHAT A LINE. I AM SHOOK. This book is packed with the emotion of a 12-year-old boy who's a little bit lost, a little bit sad, and a little bit scared.

I'm so scared. And scared don't sound like eek. Or gasp. Scared sounds like glass. Shattering. Scared sounds like glass shattering. 

No, these aren't ground-breaking, profound, quotes that someone's going to paste on their foyer wall over the front door. These are the real thoughts and feelings of a middle schooler. I think we can all agree that middle school is/was a dumpster fire, and every kid has something going on, but for Sunny, he just wants a mom that's alive and a dad that cares that he is.

Because this book is written in a diary format, we get to see all the thoughts that a normal narrative wouldn't be able to show us. We also get to see the raw emotion Sunny feels in real time. There are charts, drawings, and strikethroughs to show how Sunny is feeling and growing and reacting to his situation. Jason Reynolds just nails the inner workings of a (grieving) middle schooler's mind.

Yeah, Sunny is scared and lonely, but he's also weird. Without a doubt, the most compelling part of Sunny as a character is his weirdness. I am 100% on board with the trend of making kids (elementary-high school age) as immature and quirky as their young age dictates. Yes, it's cringey. Yes, it's annoying at times. But this is real life. I, personally, am tired of the perfect, idealized middle grade aged main character. The middle school kid who is the chosen one, the perfect kid, and who never has any baggage. I stand behind the kids who have pieces of their lives missing, like Sunny who literally puts puzzle pieces of his mom together, and who are weird and beautiful because of it.

She wanted to dance, even though she could barely move because of her belly. Aurelia said my mother wanted me to know what happiness felt like, no matter what, from the inside out. 

Stay happy, Sunny. And stay weird.

Review for "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere, or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving. A way to reach continuously toward a better self.



Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Michelle Obama is absolutely one of my idols. I think it’s so important to have someone like her in a position of power like FLOTUS. She has so many positive characteristics and ideals to share with young people. Her outreach with children’s health and safety is really impressive, and her obvious respect and empathy for people is admirable.

As for this memoir specifically, this is so full of candor and humility that it was hard for me not to get worked up about how good the Obama family was (is) and what our nation is facing now. Michelle narrates her life by speaking her truth and she encourages other people to do the same. She covers her childhood, her early career, her relationship with Obama and her family, and how these aspects of her life were altered when Barack Obama ran for and won the US presidency. She tells us the absolute truth of her feelings, even if they’re not completely flattering to her and/or her husband. She does a really excellent job at defending her actions without coming off as too defensive/accusatory.

Many of us go through life with our stories hidden, feeling ashamed or afraid when our whole truth doesn’t live up to some established ideal. We grow up with messages that tell us that’s there only one way to be American. That if our skin is dark, or our hips are wide, or if we don’t experience love a particular way, if we speak another language or come from another country, then we don’t belong. That is, until someone dares to start telling that story differently.

As a powerful, admirable black woman who defeated the odds and rose up to one of the highest positions you can hold in this country, I think Michelle’s story is really important for POC and young women to read. There is hope that change is coming, and Michelle is living proof of that.

Review for "A Curse So Dark and Lonely" by Brigid Kemmerer

This was never a curse to be broken. This is a death sentence. 



Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Although I'm not so charmed by the original story, I do have a weird preference toward Beauty and the Beast retellings. This one takes place in Emberfall, a fantastical land that exists parallel to the world as we know it. In a twist of fate, Harper finds herself taken captive by a prince who is trying desperately to break the curse bestowed on him by an evil enchantress - either for himself or to save his kingdom.

I enjoyed reading this book a lot. I liked Harper as a female lead. I thought she was interesting, and she had values that weren't just forgotten about because of her attraction to a man. I also liked that BEGIN SPOILER she didn't end up falling in love with him. Too often I think these stories make the romance too strong too fast, and this slow buildup gives the series an opportunity to grow that romance slowly END SPOILER. I appreciated the dual perspectives, and I really liked how we got some of the monster's perspective. I am a big MCU fan, so I couldn't help comparing Harper, Rhen, and the Monster to Black Widow, Bruce Banner and the Hulk. I also got some Asgardian vibes in the beginning, with Rhen as Thor, Grey as Loki, and Lilith as Hela. But again, I'm just a huge fan of the MCU, so I am constantly looking for connections like these.

I think it's interesting that this is one Beauty and the Beast retelling where the romance isn't the main plot point. Most of the story revolves around the coming war, saving the kingdom, and fooling enemies of the throne using espionage and deceit. I struggle between whether to say this is a loose retelling or not. The curse and enchantress part of the storyline is very strong and drives most of the plot. But the banter/romance between Rhen and Harper is not near pronounced enough for this to be a true Beauty and the Beast retelling.

The critiques I have for this book are small but many. There are just a lot of little specific details that were incongruous or frustrating to me. For example, the whole thing with Harper wanting to meet with Lilith. Rhen and Grey literally both tell her multiple times, "hey that's a really bad idea and she's horrible and she won't cooperate with you and it'll end badly." But Harper ignores them and meets with Lilith anyway, and then she has the audacity to say, "I had no idea she would be like this." Like they hadn't just told her! I liked Harper as a character for the most part, and I hate it when there's just one thing a character does that makes you lose faith in their competence. The second detail that didn't sit well with me is how Rhen, Harper and Grey all swear that Rhen really does care about Emberfall when all evidence points to the contrary. Pretty much the whole time he doesn't extend any help to the people, claiming that there's no use and it won't help, so he just sits up in his super nice castle trying to get women to fall in love with him. He has no faith in his abilities to fend off the attacking armies, and with good reason, since he hasn't even tried to do anything for the defense of Emberfall in the past century. The last thing that was contradictory was how Grey, Rhen, and Harper all claim that Rhen is constantly 20 moves ahead of his opponents in anything he does, but then we don't really see that. He's maybe one move ahead sometimes. I can't help just think of Kaz Brekker from Six of Crows. There's a character who is always 20 steps ahead, and that's what I was expecting when Rhen was described that way and then it was just a let-down.

4 stars for an interesting, new take on Beauty and the Beast. It left off on a bit of a cliffhanger, but I can't say that by the time the second book is released I will still be invested enough in the story to read it.

Review for "The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy" by Mackenzi Lee

I am a wildflower and will stand against the gales. Rare and uncultivated, difficult to find, impossible to forget. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Let me just rest for a second, and try to find my breath before I explain the reasons this is such a great book.

Felicity Montague wants nothing more to be trained as a doctor. Like literally, that's it. And it's denied her because of her sex. In her desperation to know about the world, Felicity makes a risky bargain with a pirate and heads off on a quest to obtain the one thing she's told she can't have: a place in a world among men.

"You're trying to play a game designed by men. You'll never win, because the deck is stacked and marked, and also you've been blindfolded and set on fire. You can work hard and believe in yourself and be the smartest person in the room and you'll still get beat by the boys who haven't two cents to rub together." 

The Patriarchy
So, this is interesting because most of the books I read that I would consider to have feminist messages are modern, so I understand more or less the view and expectations of women. This is a feminist novel that takes place in the 18th century, so there had to be a balance between the historical accuracy of what the societal role of a woman was and the conventional view of that role versus making Felicity a BA feminist. I think this was achieved. Mackenzi Lee even mentions in the Author's Note that many people have the assumption that just because women were repressed in the 1700's that means they also accepted their societal role without question. This is not the case, and I like the exploration of rebellious women in this novel. The patriarchal scenes were absolutely infuriating, but that contextualization was really important to understand how brave and important Felicity's defiance really is.

In the company of women like this--sharp-edged as raw diamonds but with soft hands and hearts, not strong in spite of anything but powerful because of everything--I feel invincible. 

Girls Supporting Girls
This is absolutely one of my favorite aspects of the way feminism is presented in this book. You've got three female characters, who express their strength and individuality in completely different ways, and support each other despite those differences. Felicity's our middle ground: a girl who dresses plainly and is super ambitious and wants to join a career field made up entirely of men, and persists despite setbacks. She has a sense of self-righteousness throughout the novel, the kind of "I'm different than other girls" mindset that is set right by the end. Then you have Sim, who is smart and intimidating and quiet, who Felicity originally judges as dangerous because of her lack of femininity. And finally, sweet, wonderful Johanna, who Felicity believes cannot possibly be a proponent for women's independence because she loves femininity. One of the most memorable parts of the book is when Johanna and Felicity sit and talk about where their friendship went wrong, and Johanna calls Felicity out for thinking she's frilly and silly just because she enjoys wearing dresses. Felicity has to face her own egotism and realize that her brand of feminism is not the only valid one out there. And by the end of the book, they're all supportive and friends and it's just something really beautiful, if a bit idealistic.

You deserve to be here. You deserve to exist. You deserve to take up space in this world of men. 

Felicity's Self-Worth
I think this is an important book for girls to read because of Felicity's character development. From the beginning of the novel she's strong-willed and persistent, but she really gets to know herself throughout the book and comes to understand what she wants in life. She's not unrealistically tenacious; she still doubts herself throughout the book because of the patriarchal society she's been raised in. But by the end, she decides that if she can't win the game, she'll change the rules. If she can't fit into the doctor mold that's required in conventional hospitals and universities, she'll have to branch out. She steps outside her comfort-zone at the same time as she finally gets to do the one thing she's most comfortable and happy doing: discovering the world.

I don't give this book the full five stars because it just didn't hold my attention like the first one did. I think it's because the story is not completely original. It's essentially the same plot as the first book, but replace some character names, the names of the cities they stop in, and the supernatural aspect. I just felt the plot was too similar to Book 1, so I wasn't as impressed the second time around. One other thing I want to mention is that some of the writing is confusing at times. I love the quotes in the book (obviously, because I include like 5 in one review), so I can see how much emotion the author writes with. But sometimes it just goes a bit too far, and comprehensibility is lost in an attempt to be artistic.

This is such a good feminist book for people to read, not in spite of the fact that it's set in the 18th century but because of it. In the first book, we got the perspective of being LGBT in that setting, and now it's the perspective of being an ambitious woman in the same time period. The characters are brilliant, and there are so many beautiful precious moments in this book. It makes me not want to forget the opportunities I'm afforded as a woman in the 21st century (acknowledging that breaking down barriers that never should have existed in the first place shouldn't have to be an accomplishment). THANK YOU MACKENZI LEE for this book.

Everyone has heard stories of woman like us, and now we will make more of them.

Review for "Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden

We don't become geisha because we want our lives to be happy; we become geisha because we have no choice. 




Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Chiyo's life, told in retrospect, is incomprehensible to almost all 21st century girls. Chiyo, who later becomes known as Sayuri, was kidnapped, sold into slavery, orphaned, abandoned by her one remaining family member, and abused, all before the age of 12. Chiyo's life depends on survival, and in the okiyas of 1940's Japan, survival depends on becoming a successful geisha.

This book is an important read to get a perspective on a) the role and activities of geisha, and b) Japan in the 1930-40's. These are two topics I was not familiar with before reading this book, and I really appreciate getting to learn about Japanese history and customs through this story. Yes, I realize it's fictional, but it was so extensively researched that I don't think I can discount its accuracy out-of-hand.

A note on the aforementioned accuracy: I've heard the allegations against Arthur Golden, about how he released the name of the geisha who he interviewed for the book even though he agreed to protect her privacy. I don't know if that was ever confirmed, but honestly it's really not my business. I'm rating and reviewing this book for the quality of the work, not for some legal controversies that may or may not be twisted up in it.

I suppose it has something to do with the way the story is being told by future Sayuri in retrospect, but I didn't get as much emotion out of the characters as I would have expected, given the horrors they went through. The events are told very matter-of-factly, and the emotions are more told than shown. I attribute this to 1. the retrospective POV (Sayuri even admits that it's easier to talk about pain after one is no longer suffering, in the end of the novel), 2. the fact that Chiyo had abuse, machismo, and inferiority engrained into her head from a young age, so she may have been less affected by it than if she had had a normal childhood, and 3. the narrator.

I listened to this book on audio, and I didn't love the narration. The voices were fine in terms of dialogue, but the Chiyo perspective was monotone and gave Chiyo a sense of indifference. I think the book would have had more of an emotional effect on me if I had read it instead of listening to the audiobook.

This book was way too long. There were so many stories and events in the book that made me think, "Wait, hasn't this happened already?" I found my mind wandering off because the plot dragged at certain parts or rushed through other parts way too quickly.

I still enjoyed reading this book though, because it isn't just a window in Chiyo/Sayuri's life as a geisha, but into Chiyo/Sayuri's life as a whole. We get to hear her entire perspective on life, from before she was a geisha to her time during it and afterward. I like that it was set during both the Great Depression and WWII, I think that really allowed for some important contextualization. And I liked how culture shock was included in the book, both for Sayuri about American men (soldiers) and for Americans about traditional Japanese customs.

I read this book as a part of America's Best Loved Novels Reading Challenge, and if you're interesting in great American novels I recommend you read it too!

Review for "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas

We let people say stuff, and they say it so much that is becomes okay to them and normal for us. What's the point of having a voice if you're gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn't be? 



Rating: 4 stars

This such an important, powerful book. It discusses one of the most politically charged topics that we face today, and it really simplifies the issue by calling it what it is: people shouldn't kill people, and when someone does kill someone, the FIRST someone should be responsible for the killing, not the second person responsible for dying. The reason I liked this book was because of the characters. I think they each provide an interesting perspective on the issues of class and race.

Starr
Oh Starr, my star. You are so amazing. Starr is caught up between two sides of herself. First, there's Williamson Starr, the Starr she pretends to be at her private school surrounded by white people who refer to the area she lives as the "ghetto". She find it easier to hide behind a fake version of herself than to really show who she is and be judged for it. Then, there's the true Starr, who is proud of her family and her community, and isn't afraid to use slang or curse someone out. Starr struggles with her identity, and it becomes a burden for her when she decides whether or not to speak out against the injustice of Khalil's murder. I love the anger that Starr feels in the book, at the situation itself and the injustice following it. Her feelings represent what so many oppressed people feel every day after yet another unarmed black person is shot. People need to read this book, just so they can understand and share that anger.

He's been a cop for as long as Khalil was alive, and I wonder if in some sick twist of fate Khalil was only born for this man to kill. 

Khalil
Khalil is representative of the problems that face black communities everywhere, and I'm not just talking about the fact that he was shot just for being black. Khalil makes a decision to risk his freedom in order to give his grandmother and younger brother shelter, food, heat, electricity, etc. As he puts it, "I got tired of choosing between lights and food." And in their community, no one could've or would've helped him out of his situation, so he took it upon himself. No matter what his reasons or intentions were, the media singles Khalil out for the fact that he was a drug dealer as a way to invalidate his life and give the police officer who shot him an excuse for taking his life. People who live outside "the ghetto" want to blame Khalil for doing what he had to do, but none of them wanted to extend a hand and help him out before he got to that point, and they certainly don't want to understand his intentions now.

Chris
I think I identify most with Chris in this story. He cares so much about Starr, but since he's not part of a minority, he can't understand the issues she has to deal with. He wants Starr to let him in, but she's not ready to do that and he can't wrap his head around it. Chris's intentions are good. But he literally cannot comprehend what Starr is going through. The great thing about Chris is that he was willing to try. He doesn't jump to defend white people just because he's white, and he eventually becomes someone Starr can trust with her feelings about what happened with Khalil and the aftermath.

There's Them and then there's Us. Sometimes They look like Us and don't realize They are Us. 

Hailey
Ooooooooooooooooh girl. I'm about to go off. Hailey encompasses everything that is wrong with upper/upper-middle class white people everywhere. She comes in with that "the cop's life matters too" as if there was ever a threat on the cop's life. She tells Starr and Maya to "get over" her racist jokes. She apologizes to Starr, stating that she was sorry Starr reacted the way she did when Hailey was completely out-of-line. And the thing is, I live in Missouri. I know a thousand Haileys. I bout wanna smack every one of them. Of course I don't need to rant now, if you read this book you'll get the gist of what I'd say. But I think Hailey was an important addition in this book, to show why it's so important to keep fighting. Yeah, there are systematic issues in police forces and the justice system, but they would be much easier to change if it weren't for the general White mindset that Hailey and so many other people have.

There are so many other characters I want to give shoutouts to. Starr's parents are both amazing. They struggle between protecting their family and supporting their community. Seven was great, and I think he represents another grim truth of low-income families, the responsibility older siblings feel to protect their younger siblings from parents under the influence of drugs and gangs. Kenya helped show the shame that Starr feels about where she comes from. The characters of this book just made it so real, so personable, and so moving.

They can easily grab their guns and leave us like Khalil. All the blood in our bodies pooling on the street for everybody to see. Our mouths wide open. Our eyes staring at the sky, searching for God. 

The best part about this book is that it is real. Starr isn't automatically become the leader of the movement just because she's the witness and the protagonist. She's afraid of the police every single time they cross paths after Khalil's death, which is how so many black people have to spend their lives: afraid the cops with literally kill them just for the color of their skin and their assumptions based on it. The decision of the case is the exact same as it is in 99% of real cases: no justice served.  There are good police officers and bad police officers, good white people and bad white people, good black people and bad black people. The topics of how race and class have shaped these people is obvious, but told through Starr's eyes, and it makes for a really stunning story.

Review for "The Wicked King" by Holly Black

If you're the sickness, I suppose you can't also be the cure. 



Rating: 3 stars

Jude Duarte has fought her way to power, and power over the throne of Faerie no less. Now she has to... do a bunch of stuff that I don't really remember. And that just about sums up my reading experience with this one. I can't even force myself to put much effort into writing this review, so it will be short and (probably not) sweet.

I found this book unmemorable. None of the plot really grabbed my attention, and I didn't feel ANY character development in Jude, or in fact any of the characters. I wasn't ever really bored while reading, but I just didn't really get the point of the book. The end of The Cruel Prince was so shocking that this book really should've just coasted off of that momentum, but I felt very "eh" about the final product.

Probably the grievance I feel most strongly about is the world building. I mentioned this in my review of the first book, about how I didn't understand the coexistence of Faerie and the mortal realm. My problems with the world building have since evolved. I just, to be frank, don't like the world. I don't find it whimsical or fantastical or intriguing. Even just the map of the world I find boring, and I feel like its style doesn't match the tone of the story. Also, I just need to say how much I hate the Royal Palace. The idea that it is built into a giant hill does not make any sense to me, and the drawing of it on the map is absolutely ridiculous.

There a few more things in this book I disliked. First, the introduction of characters that should've had more impact than they did. The author introduced characters in a way that made it seem like they'd be super important and interesting, and then it fell completely flat. The main example: Cardan's mother. I was so let down by the story surrounding this character and where she ended up in the end. It just felt like the author wanted a bombshell in the middle of the book, and then didn't want to deal with actually following through with it. Another example is Nicasia. Everyone kind of makes a big deal over Orlagh wanting Nicasia to marry Cardan, but then Nicasia is barely in the novel at all.

One very nit-picky thing I have to say is that I was annoyed by the constant restating previous quotes in italics. A character would say something with interesting implications/foreshadowing, and then later in Jude's internal monologue the statement is said again, verbatim and italicized. It just drove me crazy.

I liked some of the Cardan-Jude banter. I think if any character showed character development in the book, it was Cardan, although I'm not entirely sure if that's true given the twist at the end. I liked that the author set up some side-stories to revisit in future books, like the one about the Roach and the Bomb. I liked the scheming, and the out-maneuvering and some of the politics involved with that.

The book wasn't terrible. There were still some things I liked about it, but there are more aspects of the book that were worsened from Book 1 to Book 2 than aspects that were improved. I didn't dislike it, but I can't think of a single reason I would want to reread it, which really makes me not want to reread The Cruel Prince, which was much better. This sequel was fine, but not near as compelling as the first one.

As for continuing the series... if I even remember that this book exists in 10 months (when book 3 comes out), I might pick it up.