Book blog – Page 14 – takes two to book review

Review: Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd

July 14, 2019 Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Alexis:

Grim Lovelies is my kind of fantasy: weird, dark, twisted, and magical, complete with (sort of) shapeshifting animals and a gothic feel.

Anouk is a beastie: an animal who was turned into a human by a witch. She and her fellow beasties are slaves for a powerful witch named Mada Vittora. But when Mada Vittora is murdered, Anouk and the other beasties must find a way to stay human before Vittora’s spell wears off.

I really enjoyed this book! It reminds me of a Frances Hardinge novel mixed with The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi. Shepherd’s writing flows well, and her dialogue shines on the page.

As with most books that I read, I loved the first half and liked the second half. I was worried that witches, spells, and goblins would feel too recycled, but I found the first half very original.

I liked the cast of characters, though I had a hard time visualizing some of them. Unless I missed it, Shepherd didn’t even write a full description of Beau until the end. My favorite character was Cricket, as she had the most stand-out personality.

I’m giving this book 5 stars because I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought it was done well, but like all books, it isn’t perfect. I really enjoyed Anouk’s character arc, and I loved her dynamic with the other characters. Shepherd also did a good job with worldbuilding and explaining the magic system.

I enjoyed how Shepherd weaved the Pretty world and technology with the magical world, and I liked the overarching theme of what it means to be human.

My only real critique is the way Shepherd handled the gay characters; their gender identity felt thrown in there just for the sake of it. I hope she handles the characters with more care in the sequel.

I also liked the ending, though I’m not sure I’ll like the sequel based on the description. I hope it proves me wrong!

VERDICT: 5 stars

Review: Clock Dance by Anne Tyler

July 12, 2019July 12, 2019 Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Alexis:

Clock Dance delves into the life of Willa, exploring her life over several different stages. The beginning of the book focuses on Willa at age 11, 21, and 41. The latter, longer half of the book focuses on her at age 61, when she suddenly decides to fly across the country to take care of a woman’s daughter.

What I liked: I really enjoyed the first three sections of the book. I think Tyler did a phenomenal job describing her life and her thoughts at her different life stages. I especially enjoyed learning about Willa’s family at age 11; it was poignant and explored her family’s dynamics.

The image of a saguaro cactus pops up several times in the story, hence the front cover. I enjoyed the recurring imagery and I thought it served the book well. I also adored the descriptions of Airplane the dog!

What I disliked: I wasn’t a huge fan of Willa’s storyline at age 61. Unlike the first three sections, Tylers’ writing was rambling. Other than Willa, I never felt a great connection to any of the other characters, and even though Tyler’s dialogue was on point, the characters felt too flat.

Derek and Peter were also super douchey. And Willa was such a passive character. The last section was supposed to be when Willa stands up for herself, and makes a life-altering decision. But I never really felt that. I appreciated that this is a book that focuses on the life of the always complacent woman, but I wanted the life-altering decision to be bigger.

I ended up skimming the ending because I couldn’t stand reading another description of Denise hobbling on her crutches, or Willa cooking something, or Cheryl watching TV. Also, a nine-year-old named Cheryl? Maybe I’m just being picky, but overall, the fourth section didn’t do it for me.

VERDICT:

First 3 sections: 5 stars

Last section: 1 star

Total: 3 stars

Review: The Editor by Steven Rowley

July 8, 2019July 8, 2019 Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Alexis:

What I liked: I like Rowley’s writing style. I remember liking it a lot in his other book, Lily and the Octopus. His dialogue is always on-point and funny, and I enjoy his imagery.

I also really liked James as a character. I found him funny, and I enjoyed reading about his relationship with Daniel. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book set in the 1990’s, and I enjoyed the political climate and the history of the book.

What I disliked:

I really couldn’t get into this until about halfway through. James’ story was a little too boring at first, and I found myself skimming a lot of the details. I wanted to have more of James’ backstory earlier on in the story.

My biggest issue with the book was with Jackie Kennedy as a character. I could tell that Rowley was being careful with how he wrote her, and because of this, she never felt fully fleshed out as a character. I’m not a huge fan of historical people being one of the main characters in books, and I don’t think she served a good enough purpose. In my opinion, the editor would’ve made more of an impact in the story if Rowley had made up a famous editor and created a backstory for her.

There was also an event towards the end of the book which I felt like didn’t fit into James’ character, and was a little too on the nose.

Overall, I liked James and Daniel, and as a writer myself, I enjoyed reading about James writing his novel. But the slow plot and Jackie’s character dragged this down a star.

VERDICT: 3 stars

An Independence Day Read: The Hopefuls by Jennifer Close

July 4, 2019 Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Anna: Happy Independence Day! Here’s a recent read, The Hopefuls by Jennifer Close. A young couple, Matt and Beth, move to DC so that Matt can pursue his dream to work in politics. This book is at its core about the complexity of hope and good and greed and corruption in American government. It’s also about how friendships change over time. I found The Hopefuls character-driven and an interesting insight into a world I don’t know much about, even though I live in the Metro DC area.

VERDICT: 4 books

I’ve spent the day off binging the new Stranger Things, I went to a brewery, and we’re going to watch fireworks tonight if it’s not rained out. I hope you’re enjoying your fourth!

Anna’s Currently Reading: A Snowy Thriller in June

June 25, 2019June 25, 2019 Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Anna: I know summer just officially started, but I’m channeling some winter vibes with my current read! This book was getting much hype earlier in the year on Bookstagram, and I just got my library hold in. I’m not usually a huge fan of thrillers, but so far this is so fast paced and addicting that I already know I’m going to fly through it. I easily read around 100 pages when I cracked it open last night.

If you’re looking for a pace-y book that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat, check this one out!

Review: My Sister the Serial killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

June 20, 2019 Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Anna: My Sister the Serial Killer is as addictive as everyone promised it would be. Both the book and chapters are incredibly brief, but Braithwaite still manages to pack a huge punch. I had fun with this picture, because the contrast between sweet appearances and deadly intentions is an important player in this book.

The book examines the lengths that sisters and family would go to protect each other. Set in modern day Nigeria, it opens as Korede gets a call from her sister, Ayoola, who says she’s accidentally killed her boyfriend and asks Korede to help her clean up. We learn that this happened before, not only once, but two times. The book goes on to examine the relationship between mental health and social media, the long-term effects of physical and mental abuse, and women’s roles in a patriarchal society. I also loved the twist at the end!

Check out the book for yourself! I highly recommend it:

VERDICT: 4 stars

DNF: Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi

April 23, 2019 Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Alexis: Happy World Book Day, everyone! Unfortunately, I think I jinxed myself, because I had to DNF Gingerbread.

The first couple of pages were wonderful. I loved the descriptions of the gingerbread, and Oyeyemi’s imagery and writing is fresh and lyrical.

Unfortunately, even though I love magical realism, Gingerbread is just too abstract. This book doesn’t have a clear plot, which I know is on purpose, but it’s just too atmospheric and all over the place for me. I wasn’t super invested in the characters, and talking dolls never fail to creep me out, even if they’re not supposed to be creepy! The real story begins around page 50, but by 10 pages into it, I didn’t have the energy to continue reading.

I hesitate to give this book too bad of a rating, though. Oyeyemi is clearly a talented writer, and this is a niche book that I can see certain people loving.

VERDICT:

Plot and style: 1 star

Characters: 2 stars

Writing and voice: 5 stars

Currently Reading: Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi

April 22, 2019April 22, 2019 Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Alexis: Happy Earth Day, everyone! But good luck avoiding all the pollen.

I’m currently reading Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi (while Indy searches for bunnies) and thinking about summer. I can’t wait to go to the beach!

Review: Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott

April 20, 2019April 20, 2019 Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Alexis: Read 4/18/19

I was hesitant to read this. I put it on hold at the library so I would have time to think about it for a while, and a month later, I got an email that I could pick it up. And I decided, you know what? Why not!

For those of you who don’t know, last year, my lung spontaneously partially collapsed twice, a couple months apart. After the second one, I had surgery to adhere my lung to my chest wall so that it won’t ever happen again. But because of this, Five Feet Apart was super relatable for me. I found myself knowing how horrible it is not to be able to breathe, to literally feel your lung keep you from taking a deep breath as it fills your body with pain.

That being said, I do not have cystic fibrosis, and I can’t begin to know what it feels like to have a terminal illness. But this book brought back a lot of memories and feelings, and I identified with parts of Stella and Will’s ordeal.

Now, onto the review. I don’t have much to stay about the book other than well done. This is definitely this generation’s The Fault In Our Stars. The story is told from two different perspectives: Stella’s and Will’s. I love alternating POV’s and I found it worked really well for the story. And while I wasn’t a huge fan of Stella or Will’s characters at the beginning, I really enjoyed their journeys and their full character arcs by the end.

The writing style is very conversational. I enjoyed how the authors had the characters use so much modern technology because it felt very true to people/teenagers in real life. I will say that yes, parts of this book are cheesy, and yes, I guessed the ending halfway through. But Stella and Will’s relationship moves at an appropriate pace. I liked all of the characters’ backstories and motivations.

All in all, I think this is a solid YA read that achieves awareness of cystic fibrosis while telling a good story. I’m excited to watch the movie!

VERDICT: 4 ½ stars

Review: Lab Girl by Hope Jaren

April 19, 2019April 19, 2019 Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Anna: Welcome to my April memoir review! This month my memoir of choice was Lab Girl by Hope Jahren. I thought this called for feet and green tea.

I’m really enjoying the challenge I’ve seemed to have given myself in 2019 of reading a memoir a month! I’m finding memoirs particularly enjoyable to listen to on audiobook, because I can easily listen to them at work. I listened to Lab Girl this way!

I found Hope’s life fascinating. Her love of science is so beautifully described—she thinks and writes so differently than I’m used too. There are breathtaking descriptions of trees and plants, which I found peaceful (although sometimes they made me a little sleepy!) I also liked how Jahren framed the narrative events of her life around chapters of release plant studies. My reading taste however, craves narrative, and I think what I enjoyed most were the scenes of Hope and Bill’s quirky friendship and the descriptions of her Scandinavian family.

Something that bothered me was Jahren’s use of dialogue tags that weren’t “said.” “Said” is, in my opinion, the only necessary dialogue tag 90 percent of the time, and I find other tags endlessly distracting, and this was especially the case in this book. All the “replies” “answered” “sighed” etc. in this really stuck out to me! This is quite the pet peeve, I know, but this is something I couldn’t avoid noticing on audio.

As a person who studied English and works in book publishing, the value of scientific research is something I take for granted. I read memoirs about writers all the time, something I never really realized until this book. Lab Girl reminded me of the importance of science in our world. Something Jahren repeatedly talks about is the fact that scientists don’t receive enough funding to carry out expensive and necessary research. This is something I knew but honestly never think about. Lab Girl helped me realize the importance of scientific funding and has even made me look at trees differently.

VERDICT: 3.5/5 trees