I have to give credit where credit is due--namely, Chelsea, Jane, and Madalyn--for convincing me to pick this up. Whew, okay, so--this book.
THIS BOOK!
I have to give credit where credit is due--namely, Chelsea, Jane, and Madalyn--for convincing me to pick this up. Because honestly? I did not think this would be my cup of tea. I was so, so very wrong.
This is a super gay rom-com told from the perspective of the son of the U.S president, who just maybe might be into his former nemesis, the prince of England. I wrote this book off because I thought it sounded too corny, BUT I WAS A FOOL.
In rom-coms, you have to suspend some disbelief. No one in their right mind could believe that someone working in publishing has a multi-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, that you only need to nail one presentation to get a promotion--I could go on and name a million other examples of rom-com unreality.
But in a book about the son of the president and a prince, McQuiston avoids all of this. Because of the starting point, because of the premise of this book, McQuiston gets to avoid the pitfalls of trying to make her main characters' lives seem more glamorous than they are--these characters HAVE glamorous lives, there's no need to convince her reader. It's a smart move, and it serves as some nice wish fulfillment without needing her readers to suspend disbelief.
Then we have the characters themselves. I ADORE THEM ALL. We get a lovely, well-developed central relationship. We get complex side characters that enrich the lives of the MCs while also having their own internal motivations. Characters outside of the main couple aren't just props. I love them all.
I was surprised by just how much I identified with Alex (of presidential son fame), and how much I needed to see a character like him in a book. I can be a bit too frenetic, talk to much, just come off as "a lot" if I don't actively tone things down. I don't think I've ever identified with a character quite so strongly. Also, I LOVE THAT HE TALKS ON THE PHONE. That was such a small thing, but in Alex's relationships I saw a lot of my own.
McQuiston is also FUNNY. It's easy for funny, witty dialogue to feel fake. But it never does here! It feels organic, natural to the characters and their relationships, and damn funny.
Now let's talk about wish fulfillment. McQuiston started this book pre-Tr*mp, but finished it post. The choices she makes--to discuss politics, to look at the state of things with cautious hope--were all so lovely. They don't feel contrived, they don't belittle the real harm done in the US, but ultimately, these writing choices come together in a way that left me feeling legitimately hopeful.
The end of this book felt like a balm--yes, it's escapism, but sometimes we need a little escapism.
Once again, Townsend pulls you into a world of wunder and whimsy, and doesn't let go. We follow Morrigan as sWhat can I say except I LOVE THIS SERIES.
Once again, Townsend pulls you into a world of wunder and whimsy, and doesn't let go. We follow Morrigan as she begins classes as the Wundrous Society, and follow her on a journey about belonging and finding yourself.
Like many of the great classics of children's literature, Townsend plays with the fallibility of adults. What do you do when the people who are supposed to look out for you, to know what to do when faced with challenges, aren't there to help? What do you do when well-meaning adults make choices that ultimately harm you or your friends? What do you do when those with power actively wield that power in harmful ways? Townsend explores these questions with care and nuance.
I love that in a book about inclusivity and belonging, Townsend has clearly taken the time to craft a world that is itself inclusive. We see a diverse range of characters, and that diversity never feels shoehorned in. We also don't get any of that, "Well, I never said Hermione wasn't Black!" retcon nonsense--characters of color are described as such, made plain in the text. All children deserve to feel seen in the stories they consume, and it's lovely to see a book that puts in the effort to include representation.
As a sequel, this is fantastic. The world is expanded, the stakes are raised, and it has a distinctly darker tone than the first book. The well-meaning adults feel more insidious, the villain is more villainous.
Madaline Miller's writing is gorgeous, her knowledge of Greek history and mythology is astounding, and the audiobook performancThis is a new favorite!
Madaline Miller's writing is gorgeous, her knowledge of Greek history and mythology is astounding, and the audiobook performance of this book is phenomenal.
This is a reimagining of the life of Circe, a witch from Greek mythology most famous for her role in the Odyssey. However, given this story's narrator (Circe herself), what we get is a distinctly different story from that told by Odysseus.
Miller not only takes the myth of Circe and injects it with a strong sense of female agency she makes female agency central to the entire story. Unlike so many of the Titans, Olympians, nymphs, and demigods, Circe's gift--her witchcraft--is not some innate ability. She has to work for it. Miller dedicates a fair bit of page time to describing the amount of work Circe puts into her spells. Circe is transformed from a bit part in a man's story to a maker of things--of spells, of children, of her own story. It's glorious....more
It feels blasphemous to write this, but... This book reminded me of reading Harry Potter for the first tiOh my goodness, this was an absolute DELIGHT.
It feels blasphemous to write this, but... This book reminded me of reading Harry Potter for the first time. Is it objectively similar to Harry Potter? Not really... It's quite a bit more whimsical and silly than the Harry Potter books. But this book has that same special something, that same magic, as the early HP books.
It also didn't hurt that I read this on audiobook, which was a truly fantastic production.
I want to protect Morrigan, my sweet goth child, from the world. I also ADORED the fact that this is a book that emphasizes being a good person over any special ability.
Can't recommend this enough, and can't wait get my hands on the sequel. ...more
If you're in the mood for some incredible, page-turning nonfiction, then you're welcome. Because this book is IT.
This follows the rise and fall of theIf you're in the mood for some incredible, page-turning nonfiction, then you're welcome. Because this book is IT.
This follows the rise and fall of the tech unicorn Theranos, whose compelling and confusing founder used outright lies, blackmail, and intimidation to silence critics (many of whom were former employees) claiming that her supposedly revolutionary blood testing technology didn't work.
Carreyrou is the Wall Street Journal investigative reporter who broke the story on Theranos's shoddy technology, and the book is stronger because of this. Carreryrou himself enters the story in the final third of the book, which adds another fascinating layer to an already fascinating book.
He manages to explain the science and technology behind blood testing without ever seeming to dumb it down. Perhaps the more impressive feat is the skill with which he untangles the incredibly convoluted knot that was Theranos's business.
OOooooooh my goodness. This book was just phenomenal. A new addition to my favorites shelf!
This book follows several different characters, from the 19OOooooooh my goodness. This book was just phenomenal. A new addition to my favorites shelf!
This book follows several different characters, from the 1980s to the 2020s. It's centered on the Christadora apartment building, where most of the POV characters have lived at some point. The other thematic centerpoint is the HIV/AIDS crisis (and subsequent activism within the LGBTQ+ community) of the '80s and '90s.
This book dives deep on ideas of family--both chosen, and not. Murphy looks at the ways these different families are affected by and react to mental illness, drug addiction, and disease (particularly HIV/AIDS). He looks at cycles of trauma and recovery, and how family can both help and hurt in these situations.
I REALLY appreciated that this book didn't devolve into tragedy porn. Given the content it explores, Christadora could have easily become a nonstop onslaught of the horrible ways the world treats people, particularly marginalized groups like those with HIV/AIDs (especially people of color with HIV/AIDS). The format of the book--the chapters jump across different time periods--we get a break, so to speak, from some of the awfulness. This never belittles or dismisses the trauma the characters experience. Rather, it forces the reader to never forget the complex humanity of these characters.
This time-hopping also helps to imbue the book with a sense of hope. Do all of the characters get better? Do all of the characters overcome their own particular traumas? No. Murphy doesn't play around with grand delusions in this book. But we do see realistic recovery, and realistic relapse. Because the timeline is what it is, we see all of this throughout the entire course of the novel and not as a pretty bow at the end.
I also loved how this format mirrors how our own memories work. Our memories don't exist in a static, sequential order. When dealing with the traumas associated with past memory, it makes sense--and it's a great literary choice--to engage with those memories in a somewhat haphazard fashion.
I absolutely adored this. Can't recommend it enough....more
Are you looking for The Handmaid's Tale with a wider world and none of Margaret Attwood's problematic feminism? WELL HOLD ON TO YOUA new favorite!!!!!
Are you looking for The Handmaid's Tale with a wider world and none of Margaret Attwood's problematic feminism? WELL HOLD ON TO YOUR HATS, BECAUSE I HAVE THE BOOK FOR YOU.
I loved this book. ADORED it. And I'm particularly happy about that because I once met Meg Elison at a book event and she was just lovely. It's always wonderful when a person you liked writes a fucking phenomenal book.
So, what did I like? Beyond a generic EVERYTHING? Let's discuss.
The world: I love that this book feels simultaneously very wide and very intimate. It's a bit of a road novel (our protagonist, the titular unnamed midwife, travels from SF to Utah), but the moments of quiet domesticity counter the vast bleakness of the world. I love that we get glimpses of the world outside of the midwife's point of view--it makes sense that different cultures would react differently to a plague that kills off most people, but especially women and children. Those little snippets make the world seem wider, make the apocalypse seem more realistic.
The character of the midwife was just SO BRILLIANT. First of all, I loved that the diary sections truly read like someone is journaling--it's full of fragments, shorthand, swearing, random ALL CAPS (truly relatable, for me). Layer on the fact that Elison chose to use these diary portions sparingly, and you have perfection. I don't know that I would have enjoyed an entire story in that format. Because it's switched up between journaling and traditional narrative prose, it never feels like a gimmick. The diary entries are also a brilliant lesson in empathy. They fee raw, and I DARE you to not connect to them deeply. I also loved the fact that she is unnamed. Elison toes the line perfectly between using the unnamed midwife as a stand-in archetype and crafting a genuine, authentic character. It's brilliant.
I could go on and on forever about how brilliant this book is, but I'm going to end by saying JUST READ IT ALREADY....more
I could go on, and on, and on, and on about this book, but really the most important thing I can say is that this is now an all-time favorite. It is aI could go on, and on, and on, and on about this book, but really the most important thing I can say is that this is now an all-time favorite. It is absolutely brilliant, and I expect to see it not only on "Best Books of the Year" lists, but also "Best Books of the Decade." It's that good.
We follow five different women whose lives interweave in a small coastal town in Oregon. Their world, though very similar to our own, has passed a "Personhood Amendment" recognizing fetuses as full citizens. The most obvious repercussion of this is that abortion is now illegal, but Zumas dives deep into the actual implications of such an amendment. Women and girls who seek abortion are tried with conspiracy to commit murder. In vitro fertilization is also illegal. International relations are affected as women cross borders with the goals of both ending pregnancies and becoming pregnant. Through the lens of the five women we follow, Zumas examines the repercussions what becomes of human nature when you deny women agency over their own bodies. As a backdrop for the rest of the narrative, it's perfectly executed.
Zumas's writing is a bit experimental, and it works so, so well. It took me a while to pick up on exactly what Zumas is doing, but she often omits the subjects of sentences and writes using fragments. In every case I could see, the grammatical subject was also the subject of that particular chapter, which is to say one of the five women. Much of the book is dedicated to the varied ways in which these women don't have control over their own lives, don't have agency, and by removing them as the subjects of sentences, Zumas creates a beautiful syntactical construction that mirrors the themes of the book. Little things like this, small but brilliant writing choices, are scattered throughout the novel.
I started this review by saying I could go on basically forever about how much I love this book. I'll cut myself off, and just say that Red Clocks is gorgeously, boldly written. It's timely. It's powerful. It's one of the best books I've ever read....more
It had everything I could have wanted: a compelling story, wonderful characters, and a sense of bittersweet hope thrThis book is an absolute delight.
It had everything I could have wanted: a compelling story, wonderful characters, and a sense of bittersweet hope throughout.
This book is a celebration of women storytelling, and the ways in which other people (mostly men...) try to stifle these stories and the women who tell them.
The art is gorgeous and visually interesting--I loved just staring at the pages.
I want MORE. So much more. I especially adored the ending of this book... It's everything I could have wanted....more
I had some EXTREMELY high expectations for this book, and it exceeded them.
Celeste Ng has managed to craft a literary page turner. Often when I'm readI had some EXTREMELY high expectations for this book, and it exceeded them.
Celeste Ng has managed to craft a literary page turner. Often when I'm reading literary fiction, I find the reading process much slower. That's not to say I enjoy literary fiction less than other genres, I just generally don't find myself quite as compelled to consume ALL OF IT in one sitting. That was decidedly not the case with Little Fires Everywhere. I simultaneously savored it as a great work of literary fiction, AND I just couldn't put it down.
This is an exploration of suburbia and all of its facades. We follow the Richardson family, and each member feels meticulously crafted. Even Mr. Richardson, who we spend the least amount of time with--has his own backstory, motivations, and internal conflicts. Every single character gets the same treatment. It makes for some incredibly rich storytelling.
I can't recommend this enough--it's a MUST read! ...more
This is an absolutely phenomenal book, and the best memoir I have ever read.
As always, Gay's writing is gorgeous. The chapters are very short, which gThis is an absolutely phenomenal book, and the best memoir I have ever read.
As always, Gay's writing is gorgeous. The chapters are very short, which gave the book a stream of consciousness feel that I really enjoyed.
As for content, in this book Gay examines how she used food and eating to deal with trauma, and her experiences as a fat woman living in and navigating today's society.
It's an incredibly vulnerable story. Gay discusses sexual assault, depression, fat shaming, among other issues. I'm floored by just how honest she is over the course of this book. I can only imagine how emotionally exhausting (and hopefully, freeing) it was to write. As a reading, you can sense this. You can sense that this is truth. Her truth, and truths about our world.
This is an important, impactful read. It's essential reading. ...more
THIS IS A NEW FAVORITE!!! I absolutely LOVED this work of historical nonfiction.
Tucker's writing is absolutely phenomenal. She truly paints a picture THIS IS A NEW FAVORITE!!! I absolutely LOVED this work of historical nonfiction.
Tucker's writing is absolutely phenomenal. She truly paints a picture of 17th century France, and at times it feels like you're reading a novel rather than historical nonfiction. It's a page turner, but Tucker is also meticulous in her research. Given the nature of this book--everyone is getting murdered, poisoners everywhere, possible cannibalism and child sacrifice--it's easy to see how the author might fall into the trap of playing up the sensationalism for the sake of a wilder story. Tucker resists the urge, and the book is all the stronger because of that.
In addition to its salacious elements, this book is a fascinating portrait of a man trying his best to force order upon a decidedly disorderly city. The contrast between La Reynie's storyline and that of the murderers trying to take control of their own worlds through violent means presents a fantastic contrast.
This is now among my favorite books of all time, and might be my favorite work of historical nonfiction. Definitely worth picking up!...more
Obviously, Valente's writing deserves all kinds of praise. It's lush. You just swim though her prose. I can understand her use of language being a bit too much for some people, but I ate it up like a rich meal paired with the perfect wine, topped off with a melt-in-your mouth dessert that leaves you uncomfortably full in the very best way.
This truly does not feel like other novels. It's epistolary, and that's what elevates this book so much. Because of the format, you're not just watching the characters try to solve a mystery. You YOURSELF are piecing together this book, trying to solve for what exactly the mystery IS. Because of the format, you don't meet all the players and certain documents may seem out of place or utterly confusing. What is going on? You're forced to go on a similar journey as the characters. They are trying to figure out this mystery while you are trying to figure out the mystery of this book. It's meta, and it's amazing.
I do think a passing understanding of film theory makes this book even better. Valente clearly knows her stuff when it comes to film (her father's first love was film-making), and it shows. Knowing a bit about gaze, perspective, and the role of the audience in film is integral to picking up some of this book's moments of sheer brilliance. The best films play with their audiences. By this, I don't mean they play tricks on their audiences (though that's fun, too!), but rather that great films are aware that they are being watched--voyeurs in plush seats in a darkened room. This book manages to do the same. The reader is the voyeur, but much like the characters in this book, readers are forced to "step into the light." The format of the book requires a kind of active reading. Because you have to pieces this book together, Valente doesn't allow her readers to be passive voyeurs peering into this world, into this story. It's sheer brilliance.
This book is definitely not for everyone. The dialogue is nowhere near the way people speak in real life. Place is given just as much page time as character and plot. The narrative structure is (intentionally!) fairly nonsensical. And I loved every minute of it....more
I absolutely ADORED this book. I had read an enjoyed Tigana, another book of Kay's, but Children of Earth and Sky completely blew that out of the water.
First off, Kay is a master storyteller. There are author's who write fun books and engaging books and intellectual books, but master storyteller's are a whole different ball game. Kay's writing itself is gorgeous, and the characters and plot he crafted are equally amazing. Kay describes his writing as "history with a quarter turn to the fantastic," which gives you a taste of both the subject of the book and Kay's superb ability to write even the most basic of sentences.
I will say, I can see how this book would feel too dense to other readers. Not the case for me--I loved every minute of it.
One aspect of this book that earned Kay some major kudos from me was his treatment of female characters. This is a book largely inspired by Renaissance Europe and the Ottoman Empire, which is a male dominated setting, to say the least. And still he has amazing female characters who are beautifully developed and have their own agency! Kay's book is a testament to the fact that setting a book in an aggressively patriarchal society is NO EXCUSE for lackluster lady characters. The women we read about in this book are complex, have their own desires, often feel constrained by the society in which they live, but push back against it anyway. I AM SO HERE FOR IT....more
This is an absolutely incredible collection of short fiction. I don't have that much to say, except DAMN Arimah can write.
I think her speculative fiction stories were generally stronger, but really what I'm talking about is the difference between great short stories and groundbreaking ones.
This was an absolutely gorgeous and haunting memoir. Didion's description of the grief she experienced after her husband's death is raw, unflinchinglyThis was an absolutely gorgeous and haunting memoir. Didion's description of the grief she experienced after her husband's death is raw, unflinchingly honest, vulnerable, and beautiful.
I particularly enjoyed the way she employed the repetition of sentences. Those rhetorical loops put the reader in her mindset during the titular year in her life in which she cannot help but go back and reexamine again and again and again both the life and death of her husband. It was a really artful piece of writing.
This is now on the favorites shelf, cannot recommend it enough....more
This was absolutely phenomenal. I think this surpassed Every Heart a Doorway, which is hard to do considering just how much I love that book.
This is a cautionary fairy tale about the dangers of prescribed gender roles. In Jack and Jill, female twins, we see just how harmful it is when parents prohibit their children from certain activities just because of appearances. In particular I liked how McGuire tackled both masculine and feminine stereotypes--I feel like often books tackle one or the other. We see Jack and Jill's parents buy into these stereotypes, and through their children hold them in competition with one another. But the narrative highlights both how arbitrary this is, and how harmful. We see not only how these two girls flounder in the real world, but also how it has lasting effects on their ability to navigate life, how it has affects on other people as well. All the while the moral of this story never feels heavy handed, and it is always looked at with nuance.
On top of such a great premise, we also just get damn good writing. McGuire has such control over her narrative voice--it's consistent throughout, which is to say it's consistently amazing. I loved that we start this book in the "real world," and yet the narration remains similar to a fairy tale. This feels a bit out of place at first, but you come to realize that McGuire is using her narrator as another great literary tool--the narrative voice doesn't feel at home in suburbia, mirroring how Jack and Jill don't feel at home there. Nothing quite fits, until the girls reach the Moors.
And the Moors! The setting was pitch perfect. At first I was more than a little skeptical that McGuire would convince me that a land full of monsters, cast in eternal twilight, could really be the true, beloved home of our two main characters. Well, McGuire pulled it off.
I absolutely LOVED this. I can't wait for more of McGuire's writing (I've got a few of her books in the mail on their way!) and more of the Wayward Children series....more
I think all things considered this is a better book than The Golden Compass. A lot of concepts (and characters) introduced in the first volume are fleI think all things considered this is a better book than The Golden Compass. A lot of concepts (and characters) introduced in the first volume are fleshed out in more detail in this book. Once again, Pullman's worlds are as rich as his writing, making for such an engrossing read.
This book brings back many familiar faces, plus a few new ones. The most important of these is Will Parry, who I love just as much as Lyra.
As Pullman's universes expand, he maintains control of them all. I will say, they generally have a very Eurocentric feel, but that's a minor complaint.
While the main "behind the scenes" antagonist of The Golden Compass is the Magisterium (that is to say, structured religious organizations), its in this book that that boogeyman begins to shift towards religion itself. Out of the three books in this series, I think The Subtle Knife is the strongest in part because it deals with religious allegory the best--the first is a bit too vague, the third is at times annoyingly explicit in its attempt to recast and re-frame Genesis. ...more
What a way to start off the new year, with a new favorite. I ADORED this book. It's whimsical and lovely and strange and wonderful and I never wanted What a way to start off the new year, with a new favorite. I ADORED this book. It's whimsical and lovely and strange and wonderful and I never wanted it to end.
The plot meanders just like the titular moving castle, but I LOVED it for that. You're not reading for plot, you're reading for the characters. There's just enough plot to keep things from ever being boring, but not so much that it overshadows the wonderful characters that inhabit this world.
Jones writing is wonderful. This is the kind of book that is beautifully written, but also never takes itself too seriously. Jones isn't afraid to make things silly at times, and it pays off.
I could go on and on about the characters in this book. To put is succinctly, I loved them. I didn't want to say goodbye to them (I'm aware there are sequels, but I've heard they are nowhere near as good as book 1, so for now I won't be picking them up). Each character is distinct and messy in their own ways. Everyone has insecurities and flaws that make them so, so compelling. I will love them all forever. ...more
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