★★★✬☆ 3.5 stars This is an interesting book. On one hand, even the author doesn't deny it's for "when you're missing Harry Potter". On the other hand? ★★★✬☆ 3.5 stars This is an interesting book. On one hand, even the author doesn't deny it's for "when you're missing Harry Potter". On the other hand? It is... not really like Harry Potter. It's its own story.
Yes, it's true that it's a magical school, and yes, it's true that Ewan is an orphan, but that's pretty much it. Yeah, I guess there's also the looming threat of a madman that's said to be dead. But honestly, there are loads of fantasy books with similar premises, and Ewan Pendle is much different in many other regards.
So let's sum up the things that were unique that I loved about this book:
1. Ewan has two female friends and honestly, he struggles to keep up with them!
2. Not only that, but there are females very high in the hierarchy, both on the good side as well as the evil side! It was exciting to see so many capable and strong female characters in a book written by a man.
3. Reading this book pleasantly coincided with me actually visiting London as I was reading it - and it's mostly set it London. I loved how the magical world intertwined with the real one, to the point of tube stop names and all that. You want to imagine your world actually having magic in it, pretty much at arm's length!
I know I definitely want to keep following the adventures of Ewan and his friends, and find out what happens and why.
Then again, there were a few things that made me enjoy Ewan Pendle and the White Wraith less than I expected.
1. First of all, it's the fact that the book is... kind of a downer. For a book that middle graders could read, it's surprisingly dark. So much so that sometimes I had to stop reading it because it was seriously affecting my mood.
2. Ewan gets bullied a lot, and for no reason at all - by the teachers too. And people in authority do not defend him. Actually, he gets punished. Imagine it like this: it would be something like if every Harry Potter got in trouble with Snape, Dumbledore would ground him and punish him as well. As a bullied kid myself, I found it hard to take. While this is pretty realistic and believable, I did not want to be reading about this. It gets me down :(
3. It's truly a slow burn. The resolution takes a long time and basically manifests in the last pages! I usually enjoy slow burn, but coupled with the sad tone, it kind of got to me.
Despite that, I truly want to find out what happens next. You could say I got attached to the characters!
I thank Shaun Hume for giving me a copy of this book in exchange to my honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book.
★★★✬☆ 3.5 stars This is an interesting book. On one hand, even the author doesn't deny it's for "when you're missing Harry Potter". On the other hand? It is... not really like Harry Potter. It's its own story.
Yes, it's true that it's a magical school, and yes, it's true that Ewan is an orphan, but that's pretty much it. Yeah, I guess there's also the looming threat of a madman that's said to be dead. But honestly, there are loads of fantasy books with similar premises, and Ewan Pendle is much different in many other regards.
So let's sum up the things that were unique that I loved about this book:
1. Ewan has two female friends and honestly, he struggles to keep up with them!
2. Not only that, but there are females very high in the hierarchy, both on the good side as well as the evil side! It was exciting to see so many capable and strong female characters in a book written by a man.
3. Reading this book pleasantly coincided with me actually visiting London as I was reading it - and it's mostly set it London. I loved how the magical world intertwined with the real one, to the point of tube stop names and all that. You want to imagine your world actually having magic in it, pretty much at arm's length!
I know I definitely want to keep following the adventures of Ewan and his friends, and find out what happens and why.
Then again, there were a few things that made me enjoy Ewan Pendle and the White Wraith less than I expected.
1. First of all, it's the fact that the book is... kind of a downer. For a book that middle graders could read, it's surprisingly dark. So much so that sometimes I had to stop reading it because it was seriously affecting my mood.
2. Ewan gets bullied a lot, and for no reason at all - by the teachers too. And people in authority do not defend him. Actually, he gets punished. Imagine it like this: it would be something like if every Harry Potter got in trouble with Snape, Dumbledore would ground him and punish him as well. As a bullied kid myself, I found it hard to take. While this is pretty realistic and believable, I did not want to be reading about this. It gets me down :(
3. It's truly a slow burn. The resolution takes a long time and basically manifests in the last pages! I usually enjoy slow burn, but coupled with the sad tone, it kind of got to me.
Despite that, I truly want to find out what happens next. You could say I got attached to the characters!
I thank Shaun Hume for giving me a copy of this book in exchange to my honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book.
How I read this: Free audiobook copy received through Libro.fm
Loved this one. It's literally bits and pieces, just like the title - small memories andHow I read this: Free audiobook copy received through Libro.fm
Loved this one. It's literally bits and pieces, just like the title - small memories and anecdotes which all come together to make a larger and deeper story, and also a story about living with grief. It's truly a love letter to Whoopi's family. My audio copy was read by Whoopi herself, and I feel like that's honestly the best way to experience this story. It definitely added an extra layer of spice to the book. (And I finally DID learn where her name came from!)
I thank the publisher and libro.fm for giving me a free copy of the audiobook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
I enjoyed this book. It's very down to earth, but the challenges the main character faces dHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
I enjoyed this book. It's very down to earth, but the challenges the main character faces don't get wholly magically resolved. Even after the happy ending, she needs to face reality, which was refreshing for me in a book that's about changes, a new lease on life and finding that special person. It had some good themes about change and how hard to can be, and I found some things very relatable. It was a good read.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
This one was much better than the last few ones. It appears that L.M. Montgomery knew better how to write children than adults, and now that there's pThis one was much better than the last few ones. It appears that L.M. Montgomery knew better how to write children than adults, and now that there's plenty of children to spice up the story again, it's so much more interesting to read....more
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
This was a very sweet short book. The author shares personal anecdotes about connecting witHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
This was a very sweet short book. The author shares personal anecdotes about connecting with her deceased husband. If you believe in the supernatural, you will probably love this. Even if you don't, it's still very sweet. Anything can be said to have been imagined or not real, and maybe these stories could as well, but regardless of whether they're real or not - you can see the author's love for her husband in the pages. And it is a lovely, heartening story.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
This book was so unexpected! I thought it would be a story that centers on Cecily being a pHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
This book was so unexpected! I thought it would be a story that centers on Cecily being a performer, but it wasn't like that. Mostly, it's a book about (view spoiler)[being abandoned, adopted, losing a child and giving it away (hide spoiler)]. This theme was repeated several times, kind of a bit much even, but in the end it all comes together and makes sense, you can feel like that's what the author chose specifically for the story to have deeper meaning. And it's such a painful story in so many places, some of the things that happen are a bit shocking. I feel like a lot of this history of the early 20th century hasn't been told a lot, and that's why some of the things that happened completely floored me. I feel like this is an important story to tell for those reasons, so I'm giving it 4 stars. I would have maybe gone with 3 if not for the subject matter, because a lot of the book was setup setup setup, and some things didn't move till I was maybe 60% in. The story is told in alternating timelines, and sometimes one of the timelines is moving at a good pace, but the others seem to be lagging behind as if they're waiting for that one to be done getting to the main point. But aside from that, this was definitely a good book.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
4.5 stars, rounded to 5
TW: (not a spoiler, it's how the book begins, but I'll tag it anywayHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
4.5 stars, rounded to 5
TW: (not a spoiler, it's how the book begins, but I'll tag it anyway) (view spoiler)[this book contains descriptions of assault and rape, as well as the aftermath of such a trauma; there is also self-harm (hide spoiler)]
Do you know there are several types of good book? There's the exciting, thrilling kind, there's the happy or sad kind, there's the wrack-your-head mystery kind of good as well. Just this last month, I read an exciting and happy kind of good book, but it's actually been a while since I've read a slow-and-steady kind of good book, and this is just what this one was. It's a slow burn, but what you're getting is just the steady kind of good, you know you'll turn the page and it's just going to be good and keep giving. The author won't let you down. Such a good reading experience.
The book is about an inheritance trial, about proving who you are and belonging, but it's not just that. It's also a book about healing - and the theme resonates through many storylines. There's the main storyline - a widow raising her children, suddenly left without a partner, who was also their breadwinner. Then there's her mother, dealing with a recent trauma and having to reshape her framework due to that. Both women have to reevaluate their points of view, as well as their direction in life, and grow past what's been holding them down.
It's a wonderful book, I especially loved the (view spoiler)[semi-open ending. (hide spoiler)] It was very satisfying and showed great character growth. I think I'll be checking out this author's other books too.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
Wow, I did not expect this one to hit me so hard. I thought it would be a light read, but iHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
Wow, I did not expect this one to hit me so hard. I thought it would be a light read, but it turned out to be actually so strong and so good. It's a story about a man abandoned by his quite deadbeat father, a man who's suffering from anxiety and generally being unable to thrive in life after certain traumas of the recent past.
A lot of this hit close to home for me, although I can't say my dad has a single interesting bone in his entire body, or any advice to give, as opposed to Will's dad being a misunderstood rockstar. But a lot of what Will has gone through, I've known, and what I loved about this book is being seen - a lot of the trauma and anxieties that come with growing up this way seemed to me to be accurately and sensitively portrayed.
I truly didn't expect this book to move me so much, but by the end I could say I was going to give it 5 stars. It was a great read. Definitely recommended.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
Can I give this one 6 stars out of 5? Or, like, 10? It was so good. I feel like it's one of my best CRH books I've read so far. Although I kind of tenCan I give this one 6 stars out of 5? Or, like, 10? It was so good. I feel like it's one of my best CRH books I've read so far. Although I kind of tend to say that about most of them, after I finish them.
I'm such a silly head though, that I first got this book as a review copy from NetGalley, and then promptly forgot that, saw it on Amazon and bought it. Why? Because I auto-buy anything I see on sale by Catherine Ryan Hyde, because her books are so great. And then I realized I have two copies for some reason. Facepalm. But now that I'm done with it, I'm happy I bought it. This book deserved to be paid for, even if I'm giving it a review too. It's just so good. CRH is like my absolute favorite author of all time.
This book somehow manages to touch on all the sore subjects of the past few years (covid, school shootings, how unsafe the world seems, all of us sort of anticipating the end of times, at least because of the climate if not other reasons). And it just put everything together so nicely. And that's just the background of the story, it's not the main story itself. The main story is about working through trauma and growing up before your time, healing, and many other things. Oh, just read it for yourself - there is nothing I could say thay could do it justice anyway.
There's another thing I love about her books though. That her characters are always the way I'd like to see people. The good brought out in them. Although they go through terrible things, the world CRH draws is not a meaninglessly violent one. There is always good in it, and more importantly, there are always good and responsible people in it. I don't know if the world truly is like that, I hope so, but.. it's good to at least experience it in a book every now and then.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
This book felt like such a chore. Someone here in another review has mentioned that the lanHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
This book felt like such a chore. Someone here in another review has mentioned that the language is really anachronistic, and while that's true, it didn't bother me. However, the two sisters kept switching between chapters, but they sounded like the same person, so later in the book it just got muddy whose chapter I'm reading when their circumstances stopped being so different that I could tell who it is solely by that. It was supposed to be thrilling, but was kind of just messy. I was so bored of the story I abandoned it for a couple of months... Then I decided to finish it on principle, and I have to admit, things did get interesting when it hit around the 80% mark, but I mean if you need to almost finish the book to get engrossed? Then it's probably not working. Shame, cause the book had nice ideas about putting things back in the museums of the countries they were taken out of, but... As for the story itself, didn't really hook me.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
The first half was interesting, but I struggled through the whole second half. Mostly becauHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
The first half was interesting, but I struggled through the whole second half. Mostly because it all devolved into "name that obscure New York art scene rock band of the 80s and 90s" (and if it wasn't a band, it was a play). I didn't know any of them, and chances are you don't either, even if you're the same age, cause they sound kind of a little underground and very local? I suppose it even makes sense, cause this book isn't just about growing up Asian, it's about growing up in New York, because even the name includes "our town". I think I was just not the right reader for this book. But I also think that it's kind of hard to find the right reader, probably. I think only people from Flushing, New York could actually connect with it. But, maybe that's the point! After all, a memoir is a memoir and every author should be able to express the feelings that are the closest to their heart.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
To me it seems there are two kinds of Alice Hoffman books - the ones you can connect with eHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
To me it seems there are two kinds of Alice Hoffman books - the ones you can connect with easily (all the recent Practical Magic sequels, Faithful) and those that seem to have a glass wall between you and the book (Practical Magic itself, also this one). Or maybe it's just me? But this one felt distanced from the reader, muted emotions, I just couldn't connect. So I got stuck and dropped it for a long time.
When I finally came back to finish it, I wasn't very invested. I did like the ending, but the story itself, I don't know. It felt as if it was there for the message, but not for the story or the telling of it. It's although the whole story was a dream, muted and unreachable, and just so distant. It was fine, and the message is certainly good, but I don't know. Just didn't do it for me.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
I read the first book a couple of years ago, when it came out. Bummer for me, the recap on How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
I read the first book a couple of years ago, when it came out. Bummer for me, the recap on what happened in it is like a sentence long and barely covers any of it, and I don't tend to reread books (only select favorites), so I had trouble figuring out the whys and hows of what's going on. I think the author meant the reader to read these books straight one after the other. I was still able to figure it out, but if you can, it's best to read these in sequence.
Aside from the lack of proper recapping, this book reads much better than the earlier one! It's not often that you rate the sequel better than the original - but I knew this story had something, and now I'm glad to find out I was right. The characters are also much better written, more defined in my opinion - at least from what I remember of the first book. The book left me with a lot of feelings, mostly wistful and sad (I remember the last one left me angry with the characters! ...more
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
This book was quite hard to get into, and I'm not sure what to make of it. In the end, a plHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
This book was quite hard to get into, and I'm not sure what to make of it. In the end, a plot did exist, even if convoluted, and it did manage to draw me in, but at the same time, the book felt like a chore and I wished I could just find out what happens without slogging through the weird stuff that's in it for days on end.
It's all about grief, loss and anxiety and human relationships, but it's also just, I don't know, pretty pretentious. Like that super modernist play that everyone goes to just because of appearances, but only 3 people actually understand. A lot of the characters suffered from mental health issues as well, but I felt like the matters weren't treated with quite enough sensitivity.
Most of the characters are quite odd, aloof, and very hard to reconcile with images of real people. I couldn't figure out whether the author was trying to use magical realism or was that just what I'd call pretentiousness, because a lot of the characters were having some really odd problems with their lives. Everyone was complicated just for the sake of it, self-centered and so neck deep in their own significance, it got too much. I feel like maybe I could have vibed with this book in my early twenties when life felt like everything was about me and my problems, but now that I'm in my mid-thirties... I don't know. Not all things have to be this complicated.
It worthy to note that the book has A LOT of triggers too. Not sure I'll even list them all, but suicide, abortion/miscarriage, eating disorders - those are the few of the big ones. Family trouble, some addition trouble are less prominently mentioned, but still there. I'm sure I'm forgetting something. The book is not an easy read.
If this wasn't a review copy, I probably would have stopped reading. Hopefully, maybe this book is simply not for me and others will have liked it better. It wasn't badly written - it's just that the amount of weirdness in it is quite high, and it's not coupled with meaning I could find behind it all. If there's meaning, I can usually deal with the weirdness (and in certain cases, appreciate it all the more, even). But this was not the case.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
The Martins was a very quick, very engrossing read. I greatly enjoyed it. It's not your typHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
The Martins was a very quick, very engrossing read. I greatly enjoyed it. It's not your typical novel - the whole idea of it is that it breaks the fourth wall to begin with, and it stays that way. The story is told through an author's point of view - I'm not even sure if the author is fictional or the actual author of the book. But this author decides to get himself out of a creative rut by writing about the first person he will encounter on the street. It sort of works out that way, except with extra strings attached - he not only gets to write about that person, but their whole extended family as well.
The idea here is that the story of anyone at all can be interesting and dramatic, and carry meaning. The author ends up writing about the Martins - a typical French family, as 'Martin' is about the most common and typical surname, almost like Smith in English. But even these 'Smiths' have very real crises in their lives, and do some very wild things, when put on the spot. The author's intrusion into their lives becomes like a breaking point to a lot of them - and they suddenly end up doing 'make it or break it' decisions which change their lives quite a lot.
I ended up loving the Martins as characters. They were very interesting, and I do subscribe to the idea that just about anyone's life could become a movie, if you were to only pick the right time in their lives and remove the boring bits, such as brushing one's teeth or doing office work. Just ask your grandma to tell you about her youth adventures, and you'll know what I mean.
The Martins reads fast, is well written and will definitely deliver an unexpected, but engrossing and interesting plot. A very unique novel, and I know I would love to read more by the same author.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
Somehow you don't expect a story that's so largely about racism - in a book about Asia. Racism is mostly discussed in Western settings, and it's usualSomehow you don't expect a story that's so largely about racism - in a book about Asia. Racism is mostly discussed in Western settings, and it's usually between white and non-white groups. Not so here - it's not solely about it, but Pachinko is largely about how racism damages lives, and it's even scarier that this is racism of Asians against Asians - people who are, from a Westerner's perspective, often lumped together into one ethnicity, as opposed to white people.
In Pachinko though, we see how horribly the Japanese treat Koreans during WWII and in the decades after, and we understand how horrible and damaging racism and nationalism can be. I've always known that the Koreans and the Japanese have had a difficult history, and as I've loved both these cultures and studied their languages, I've met people on both sides who explained these things to me in their own way. And yet, knowing all this, it's still just as shocking to read about it, because it seems impossible that such things happened. It was also poignant for me, because my own country has had a similar history with another one, and I could relate to a lot of the things being said in this book. No matter what nationality or geography, people will act a certain way in these situations. Regrettably, as damaging as the labeling is, it's also incredibly human to act that way. This dark side of human nature is something I end up thinking about a lot.
Perhaps the most shocking facet of it all for me, and one that is rarely explored in Western literature, was that even if you're rich - racism against you is still racism, and it doesn't lose its power. Being rich is not armor against it. People judging you and labeling you is still stronger than money and the power it gives you. You know how we tend to think money can solve anything at all? Well, apparently not.
There is also a facet to this story where it's about belonging - kind of intersects with being mixed race/ethnicity, although most of the characters in this book are not. But what I mean is, most of these people, while being Korean, are not thought to belong in Korea anymore, neither by their compatriots, nor by themselves (not even starting with the fact that the country they left technically no longer exists and is now two separate countries which are at odds.) And yet, they do not belong in Japan either, they're loathed there as a minority. Were they to move away to the US or Europe, they would be nothing more than outsiders as well. Weirder than that, most of them can't even travel because they'd be stuck in limbo - like in that movie where Tom Hanks gets stuck in that airport - because Japan won't issue them a passport, and some of them have never been to Korea, because they were born in Japan. Were they to go visit, there would be no home to come back to. This situation is brutal and unimaginable. Having a foreigner husband myself, I have gone through some migration department trouble (the word itself often gives me panic attacks), so reading what these people have had to go through made me feel strangely... Understood. But at the same time, it made me immesurably sad, because I thought my troubles were so big they didn't let me sleep. As if appears, they were not troubles - not by a long shot. Thinking that while this story might be fictional, there were thousands if not millions of people who had this or worse happen to them, makes me sad. And even though this might not be the case in Japan right now (actually, I have no idea whether it still is or not), but it was at one point, and it was so for many decades. Perhaps it is so for other people in other countries as well, especially if they're refugees.
But Pachinko is not only about that. It's also a sprawling history of a family - one that has not had it easy. Histories of war, famine, illness - they're never easy to digest. But even more so, now that I'm reading it in early 2022, only a couple hundred kilometers away from an armed conflict that has shaken the world and that I know will be discussed even after I'm gone from this world, probably. Even only just a year ago, I think Pachinko would have read slightly differently for me. Now, everything is sharper, comes into focus more and prompts completely different ideas in my head.
This is a largely character driven story, and it doesn't attach itself to one character - more like it follows the family, sometimes a few characters at the time, and makes you wonder about how wild, unimaginable and unexpected life can truly be. I ended up being attached to most of them, and they're all so wonderfully distinct and unique. And while you know it's just a book, you also realize you're suddenly remembering all those stories your great grandmother told you that were just like this, but also happened to someone living, not fictional. This book read like life - no embellishments, sometimes even harsher than life seems to be, but... Then you think about it and wonder, maybe you've had it easier than you thought. And you shudder, not knowing what the future might bring, especially in today's context.
Pachinko was unbelievable, and white it's a very long book, I read more than a half of it in one sitting on a Saturday afternoon. I couldn't pry myself away - it's been a while since I've been sucked into a story like this. It's not an easy read, but it's certainly very worthwhile. And now I find myself wondering about the author's choice for the title of this book. Is it Pachinko because the families worked in Pachinko business? Or is it Pachinko because human lives are like those balls, dropped on the pins, where they fall wherever chances takes them, randomly, but with very different consequences for the rest of their lives?...more
How I read this: Free ebook copy received from the author on Netgalley
Omg, what a great book! Haven't read anything this good in a while. Been stuck iHow I read this: Free ebook copy received from the author on Netgalley
Omg, what a great book! Haven't read anything this good in a while. Been stuck in a complete rut where I start a book, and it's just not interesting enough to keep reading, although it should be. But not this one! Read it up fast. It's both serious and playful enough to be a great story, and it keeps the drama going, cause it's about a reality show, kind of.
I've read Bethany Mangle's stuff before and I can't wait to read some more if it comes out, cause it's all been great. I've also read Prepped and LOVED it.
I thank the author and publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
Evelina | AvalinahsBooks
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