Saturday, September 24, 2016

"Homegoing" by Yaa Gyasi

Rating: 5/5 stars

"When someone does wrong, whether it is you or me, whether it is mother or father, whether it is the Gold Coast man or the white man, it is like a fisherman casting a net into the water. He keeps only the one or two fish that he needs to feed himself and puts the rest in the water, thinking their lives will go back to normal. No one forgets that they were once captive, even if they are now free. But...you have to let yourself be free."

Wow. That quote gives me chills. Books like Homegoing are why I read. Gyasi explores deep and painful truths of life and mankind while providing beautifully written passages and the hope of redemption. This story drug me through the gamut of emotions: I was on the verge of tears in one chapter, rejoicing in the next, and ready to throw the book across the room in frustration after that. How can people be capable of such evil? I kept thinking. But also, in the midst of the darkest parts of the characters' lives, someone would choose the harder road, the road of redemption, and I would be asking the opposite: How can man still be capable of good? Of love? And the glowing ember of hope is rekindled.

This book is hard to read in parts of it. Not because the reading level is too advanced, but because the situations Gyasi writes about are hard to read and accept as true. Throughout the history of mankind, people have done despicable things to other people. Much of this is a racial issue, but it also transcends the matter of skin pigment. I realized while reading this that there is so much about other cultures and people groups that I've never learned or even heard about. And this concerns me. As one character states,

"We believe the one who has the power. He is the one who gets to write the story. So when you study history, you must always ask yourself, Whose story am I missing? Whose voice was suppressed so that this voice would come forth? Once you have figured that out, you must find that story too."

The thought that came to mind after I finished the last page, is that I would love to meet Yaa Gyasi and say "thank you." Thank you for doing the research to make this novel resonate, thank you for not sugar-coating the hard topics, thank you for making me ultimately believe in humanity and the hope of redemption at the end, even if it takes generations and journeys across oceans to finally get there.

Thank you, Yaa Gyasi. (Now I'm going to attempt to find a novel at least half the caliber of this one to read.)

Saturday, September 17, 2016

"Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon


Rating: 3/5 stars

"Love is worth everything. Everything."

I finished this book, front to back, in one sitting, so I feel like that has to say something in its favor. It's an easy read, and the writing flows well.

I had a hard time sympathizing with the main character, as I know nothing about the scientific/medical facts of her condition. (It sounded sorta made up.) I think if the author had included more on that, I would have felt more for Madeline or been more sympathetic. It didn't seem believable. As it was, I was annoyed that, if her condition truly was fatal, she kept doing things that would compromise her health. Further, I was frustrated with Carla that she would let Madeline make certain choices (although the major plot twist explains some of that).

And, small spoiler ahead so skip to next paragraph if you don't want to know, why do YA authors insist on their characters having sex? WHY?! It's rather frustrating, because it's the "easy" way to imply character intimacy without all the dialogue and back story. I'll get off my soap box, but I've a major pet peeve about it. Sex should not be portrayed in teen novel's as the pinnacle of a relationship.

The story is fairly predictable: girl meets boy next door, girl falls in love with boy next door, girl keeps relationship a secret from her parents, girl makes unwise decisions that will make mother upset...etc. Up to the major plot twist at the end. I didn't see that coming...but it redeemed the book for me, kinda an "a-ha" moment. It made me feel for the characters, because then I could say "yes, I understand why this happened." "Love. Love makes people crazy. Loss of love makes people crazy."

I liked Olly, and I particularly enjoyed the suicidal Bundt cake (you'll have to read it to understand). I smiled and chuckled over that part.

Perhaps my favorite quote is this: "Everything's a risk. Not doing anything is a risk. It's up to you." I love Carla's insight here. Live your life, risk love, life is more than simply living.


Thursday, September 15, 2016

"The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender" by Leslye Walton



Rating: 4/5 stars  

"Love makes us such fools."

(I made this image larger than the others so you could truly appreciate the beauty of the front cover. Is it not impeccably gorgeous?)

I just finished this book, and I have that bookish hangover, that feeling of wanting more and yearning to know what happens to the characters in the rest of their lives that isn't documented in the book, of not wanting the story to end because then it means you can't inhabit the world of the characters anymore. And I didn't expect a bookish hangover with this one; I almost didn't pick it up at the library. But I had seen it pop up on review sites and decided to give it a shot. And I'm so glad I did!

This book is indeed full of strangeness and sorrow, with a sprinkling of magical realism reminiscent of Latin American literature. I recently read a Neil Gaiman book that was a modern-day fantasy, but it was borderline creepy. It had this dark aura to it. This book, though tragic in parts, was hopeful and lovely. At certain parts, I had to re-read it to make sure I understood what just happened; it just seemed far-fetched. But then I excepted it, and it became much more magical. The characters were well-developed, the writing was perfectly poetic, the story was paced just right (you could really savor it), and the details were spot-on. In fact, the details in this book make it feel possible, and it reads like historical fiction for parts of it as you follow the Lavender family from France to America through the generations. 

This book explores love, relationships, and the human heart through each character. I ached for the characters, cheered them on, sobbed for them, and shed a happy tear (all figuratively). And they felt so very real, so very relatable even with their inhuman heightened awareness of the senses or having wings. They were all so unique, so memorable. I could give many great quotes, but I'll restrict myself to a few notable ones: 

"Neither...stopped to ponder the miracle love might bring into their lives. Conner, because he didn't know such things existed, and Emilienne because she did."

"Happiness had a pungent scent, like the sourest lime or lemon. Broken hearts smelled surprisingly sweet. Sadness filled the air with a salty, sea-like redolence."

"Emilienne welcomed him in because, upon opening the door, she heard a birdsong rising from the east, announcing good love's arrival."

"She wrapped her heart in its burial shroud once again."

"Those born under Pacific Northwest skies are like daffodils: they can achieve beauty only after a long, cold sulk in the rain."

"It was as if Henry carried the world, misshapen and imperfect, in his lovely wide pupils."






Saturday, September 10, 2016

"The Ocean at The End of The Lane" by Neil Gaiman


Rating: 3/5 stars

"Oh, monster's are scared," said Lettie. "That's why they're monsters."

This book was very strange, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It reminded me of a darker, more disturbing version of A Wrinkle in Time (one of my favorite books). Gaiman is extraordinarily creative; numerous times I wondered how he came up with things in this story. What kind of mind must one have to write like this?

I think the best way to describe this book would be as a dream-like, but bordering on nightmarish. Nothing is as it seems, and things don't follow the rules of this world. The nanny is evil, cats grow in fields, birds of prey seek to devour you, and the pond is really a deep ocean. It doesn't make sense, but, it doesn't have to. And trying to force it to make sense destroys the magic and the symbolism.

Some underlying themes that stood out to me: childhood is beautiful and should be cherished, good triumphs over evil, love is the ultimate healing and preserving force in the universe, adulthood is a state of mind more than anything else, just because you can't see something or explain it doesn't mean it's not true, and life is part of a larger picture, an over-arching story that we can't fathom.

I loved his way of describing childhood versus adulthood:

"Adults follow paths. Children explore. Adults are content  to walk the same way, hundreds of times, or thousands; perhaps it never occurs to adults to step off the paths, to creep beneath rhododendrons, to find the spaces between fences."

"Grown-ups don't look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside they're big and thoughtless and they always know what they're doing. Inside they look just like they always have. Like they did when they were your age. The truth is, there aren't any grown-ups. Not one in the whole wide world."

"She really was pretty, for a grown-up, but when you are seven, beauty is an abstraction, not an imperative."

I really enjoyed Gaiman's use of imagery and way of describing deep concepts in simple, beautiful language:

"Memories were waiting on the edge of things, beckoning to me."

"I liked myths. They weren't adult stories and they weren't children's stories. They were better than that. They just were."

For a small book, this novel had some big ideas woven together in creative ways. If you like some deeper, darker themes with your fairy tales sprinkled with a bit of the absurd, this book is for you. 

Saturday, September 3, 2016

"The Dream Protocol: Book 1 – Descent" by Adara Quick

Rating: 3/5 stars

This is an excellent first novel. The ideas and concepts, although reminiscent of The Giver and the movie Surrogates, were intriguing and the main driving force of the plot. (I'm a sucker for dystopian/sci-fi movies and books.) I also applaud Quick's world-building: the scenes and settings were well-described and easy to picture. The opening scene is stellar! I'm looking forward to reading the next installment in the series, since this one ended on a major cliff hanger.

I want to delve deeper into things that worked for me as a reader, and things that I feel needed a little more polishing to really shine.

Things that worked: I liked the integration of the Irish culture and legends, the sense of folklore and magic behind the sci-fi/dystopian setting. I also loved the Irish names. They're all so beautiful! (Sometimes, though, the Irish accent or phrases seemed a little out of place in the dialogue, especially since the setting is futuristic.) I also enjoyed the symbols integrated in the story, such as the 5-circle dream-maker's symbol and the spider (stitched on official's clothes but also the machine). I like the idea of people using dreams as escapism and entertainment. It's so reflective of today's culture and our addiction to technology and social media.

Things that need a little polishing: For me, I feel like the dialogue doesn't flow naturally. The lines are somewhat cheesy or cliche, especially the lines between the two main characters Deidre and Flynn. The writing style is somewhat distracting in that the word choice is sometimes "off" and makes me have to do a double-take and re-read a sentence. I'm not sure how to describe this, except that writing should flow and not bring attention to itself. It needs to be fairly lyrical and not have repetition, etc. The writing style also was a little too step-by-step, with too much chronological description of what the characters were doing or what was going on in the scene. There are also a few small inconsistencies like characters knowing each others' names when they've never met, and I wondered how the dream weavers knew how to create realistic dreams unless they had experienced the "topside" or real world themselves.

Additionally, some of the interactions between characters were cliche or just didn't seem to make since. Deidre seems excessively sassy to her parents, especially her father. I wanted more back story on why they didn't see eye to eye. There's so many stories of teens with angst against adults, and I feel that they need a reason for this angst for it not to seem like an over-done thing. The first meeting of Deidre and Flynn confused me also. Deidre diverts the unwanted attention on Flynn in the scene by randomly grabbing Flynn's hand, announcing he's her boyfriend, and running off from the adult figures with him. I was puzzled.

Overall, the ideas and questions this story raises are interesting, and the concepts behind the story are enough to make me want to read the upcoming books.

Thursday, September 1, 2016

"Cinder" by Marissa Meyer

Rating: 3/5 stars

I think I expected more from this book because there's a lot of "hype" surrounding it. I did enjoy the creative re-telling of Cinderella in a futuristic, sci-fi setting. That was worth more than 3 stars.

But I wasn't impressed with the execution. The writing style, character development, and dialogue were all just okay. I wanted Meyer to make me care more about Cinder, too. Yes, she was the main character and underdog, but what else about her made me want to cheer her on? She was almost constantly snarky with an unnecessary attitude. So much sarcasm! Sure, teenagers have attitudes, but what happened to the story of a kind, caring girl who fell in love with the prince against all odds? I didn't really like this Cinderella very much, and I didn't have enough background on her story or her step-family's story to like or dislike either very strongly.

On to the writing...The plot was predictable, and I'm not talking about the basic Cinderella story line. But I'm going to leave out the examples for the sake of spoilers, though.

What else? Well, this story needs more world building. I want to see, hear, even smell the city of New Beijing. A sci-fi world needs strong descriptions to transport the reader, to have their imagination reconstruct the author's vision, and this book needed more of it. In addition to not having enough physical descriptors, I wanted more background historically on the culture/society. Why would someone not want to love someone who's a cyborg? Why are they treated like untouchables?

I probably would get more of the sense of world building and have some of these questions answered if I continued reading more of the Lunar Chronicles, but ultimately, though it was a fun read, I wasn't impressed with Cinder.