Crosstalk by Connie Willis On Sale October 4, 2016 by Del Rey Rating: ★★★★ Briddey Flannigan knows she's lucky to have a boyfriend like Trent Worth. He sends her flowers, takes her to the hottest restaurants, and texts her first thing every morning. Far from being allergic to commitment, Trent has already said the big ILY, and now he's proposing they have an EED to become even closer. It all has the rumor mill at their workplace churning with barely concealed envy. Who wouldn't want their boyfriend or girlfriend to suggest something so romantic? And after only six weeks of dating, no less.
EED is a futuristic surgical procedure that allows couples to communicate emotions instead of just words and helps them connect on a deeper level. Or at least that's what's supposed to happen. Sometimes the procedure fails because a couple isn't emotionally bonded enough, although Briddey certainly doesn't think that'll be a problem for her and Trent.
What Briddey doesn't anticipate is just how well the EED would help her connect... with someone else. Someone who is definitely not Trent.
Maybe she should have listened to C. B., the oddball lab tech who rarely leaves the basement at Commspan, the telecoms company where they work. C. B. spends days warning her about the dangers of EEDs and surgery in general. He warns her the procedure might come with unintended consequences, but she never imagined connecting to the wrong person could be one of them. And try as she might, she can't get the wrong voice out of her head to let Trent's in. She and Trent have never been further apart. Maybe C. B. was right when he claimed more communication would be bad for her relationship.
If only Briddey knew how much more communication was in store for her. Unintended consequences, indeed. And now it seems C. B. might be the only person who can save her from this mess.
This book came close to being a five star read for me, but one thing held me back. This book is at least 100 pages too long. And all the other problems with it stem from that flaw.Briddey has the most over involved, nosy family and coworkers-- ever. To a certain point, it's ok. Amusing, even. But because the book is so long, this dynamic keeps getting shoehorned into the story, and it loses its luster. If the book had been shorter, reoccurring themes like her pushy, over-the-top Irish brood would have seemed fresher and less gimmicky. A lot of scenes were drawn out and repetitive. There's one part where Briddey and C.B. are trying to get from one part of a library to another part of the same library, and it takes them like 20 pages. It didn't turn me off enough to abandon the book, but I could see how it might with other readers. Then there's the name Briddey. Yes, maybe this is petty, but that's a horrible name, even explained as being "short" for Bridget, and I cringed every time I read it.
The good parts of this book outweighed the negatives. It's a romantic comedy with a sci-fi twist, and I happen to really enjoy romantic comedies when done well. Which this one is. I like the whole "couple who spar together stay together" trope. Mark Darcy and Bridget Jones (who no one ever called Briddey, but I digress). George Knightly and Emma Woodhouse. I liked most of the characters in this book, but I did feel Trent was a bit transparent. When you discover the truth about him you won't be surprised. I loved Maeve, Briddey's niece who spends every waking minute trying to outmaneuver her crazy warden of a mother, but I do think the author made a mistake with her age-- she's supposed to be 9 but acts more like 12. And of course this book has a HEA ending that's expected but satisfying at the same time.
Overall impressions: if you've ever thought sci-fi books should be more like romantic comedies, this is the one for you. This is my first Connie Willis book, but I'm excited to read more from her.
Does anyone remember the "Chinpokemon" episode of South Park? Well, it had a very catchy commerical tune about seeing something and then feeling "I gotta buy it... really want it... gotta have it."
So with that stuck in my head, I decided to make a list of the YA releases coming up in the next few months that I gotta have. Now, this isn't a complete list, because I have a couple of YA ARCs on my Kindle that I'm pretty excited about. These are upcoming titles I won't be able to review before they come out on Amazon. *Sigh* The struggle of the no-name blogger.
1. Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jennie Han (April 7, 2017) I was a bit surprised to see this pre-order come up in my Amazon recommendations list. Jennie Han has always insisted this series was completed with the second book. But I'm not disappointed to see the return of Lara Jean. I am interested in this line from the book blurb: She is head over heels in love with her boyfriend, Peter. I have to admit I'd like to know how that will pan out because, let's face it, Peter's a dick. And if book #3 is anything like #2, John Ambrose Whatever will go the way of Josh, and we'll never hear from him again. To roughly quote Gilmore Girls: "She's 17. I think she's right on schedule for a Peter." Ok, that has more implications than I intended.
Cover impressions: I see they're sticking with a 25-year-old model. They know we know, don't they? But as always, fake Lara Jean's surroundings are vintage and beautiful. Purchase verdict: I don't own the other two books, so I'll be stalking my library's overdrive system for this one. As much as I enjoy this series, it's a little lightweight to be purchase worthy.
2. The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (November 1, 2016) Not a long wait for this one! I loved Yoon's first novel: Everything, Everything. I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads. This looks to be another YA romance with great characters. The reviews for this so far on Amazon and GR are promising. Cover impressions: I see string art all over Pinterest these days, so this feels very on-trend to me. And of course it's pretty. And makes me want to figure out how to do string art. Purchase verdict: Chances are good I'll buy this in hardback. And I hate hardbacks.
3. The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli (April 11, 2017) Albertalli's debut novel, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, was one of the best books I've read in 2016. This was due in large part to Simon himself, who is one of the best YA characters I've come across. So I have a lot of trust in this author and high hopes for this book. As far as I can tell, this isn't up on Amazon yet, and the following information from the blurb comes from Goodreads: What does a sixteen-year-old girl have to do to kiss a boy? Molly Peskin-Suso wishes she knew. She’s crushed on twenty-six guys…but has kissed exactly none. Ok, so that summary doesn't get me tingly. But if Albertalli retains her sense of humor and heart for this book, I have no doubt it can be Simon worthy. Cover impressions: Ugh. But the cover for Simon was also horrible. Purchase verdict: Yes, gimme. I'll probably pre-order.
4. The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Saenz (March 7, 2017) Saenz's first book, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, is near the top of my to-read pile, and I'm excited by this new release. The blurb on Amazon is short: Sal used to know his place with his adoptive gay father, their loving Mexican American family, and his best friend, Samantha. But it’s senior year, and suddenly Sal is throwing punches, questioning everything, and realizing he no longer knows himself. If Sal’s not who he thought he was, who is he? This humor-infused, warmly humane look at universal questions of belonging is a triumph. So, really, this could go in a hundred different directions. I look forward to the ride. Cover impressions: Yeah, ok, it's nice. But it's very similar to the cover of Aristotle and Dante. What's up with series-like covers for stand alone books now? Purchase verdict: I put in a request for an ARC of this book, but I'm not hopeful. I think I will buy it, but I'll wait until it comes out in paperback.
The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike (translated by Deborah Boliver Boehm On Sale October 11, 2016 by Thomas Dunne Books (originally published in 1986) Rating: ★★★★ A large, modern apartment conveniently located in metro Tokyo. It's surrounded by a graveyard, a crematorium, and a Buddhist temple-- but the price to die for.
Misao and Teppei are married and have a young daughter, but in ways their happiness, and the very legitimacy of their relationship, is marred by a tragedy involving Teppei's first wife. They buy an apartment in a brand-new luxury building, proud to finally have a space that's truly "theirs." Their new home is spacious and affordable, but the graveyard view from the balcony is a bit unsettling. Almost from the start, strange things start to happen inside their new building, and most of it centers around the basement, which is only accessible by an elevator that stops working at the most inopportune times. This book definitely relies on the slow burn to create tension and horror. The pace doesn't really pick up until the end, when it's make or break the Kano family.
I do wonder if some elements of this book get lost in (cultural) translation. What happens to Teppei's first wife is mentioned so frequently, I became convinced it would tie into rest of the plot, but, no, nothing. And just the detail of what happened to her, on it's own, does not add an aura of eeriness or suspense to American audiences. There are suggestions that the freaky happenings inside the apartment building are connected to a city planning project from the 1960's, but I never fully understood why. I can't decide if the subtlety of this book is frustrating or refreshing. 3.5 stars.
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne Published August 9, 2016 by William Morrow Rating: ★★★ "I type my password: IHATEJOSHUA4EV@. My previous passwords have all been variations on how much I hate Joshua. For ever."
Lucy Hutton hates Joshua Templeton with every fiber of her being. In fact, these days, hating him is about all she's doing with her life. Ever since the personable publishing house she works for merged with a heartless, number crunching competitor, Lucy spends countless hours at work. She lost her best friend in the merger, and her super supportive parents live hours away. Now, she and her nemesis are up for the same promotion, and the loser has to resign. Will she lose her job, too?
I liked this book well enough, but I was really expecting it to be more fun (and funny) than it was. The bit about the passwords is the only genuine laugh I had the entire book. It starts off with a misstep, going into the business merger instead of the meat of Lucy's war with Joshua. The two don't seem to antagonize each other all that much. If you're expecting Jim/Dwight levels of office shenanigans, you'll be disappointed.
The characters didn't seem consistent to me. As the story progresses, Lucy starts having "freak outs" that didn't plague her earlier in the book. Joshua gets more socially awkward and closed off. The romance just didn't work for me. I didn't buy the characters together.
I'm seeing it more and more in chick-lit type books, but the dialogue tagging was at times incorrectly done and confusing. How does this keep getting past editors? Overall impressions: Devoted chick-lit fans will find a lot to like in this book, but other audiences might want to think twice.
The Row by J. R. Johansson On Sale October 11, 2016 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux Rating: ★★★★ Having a father on death row has never been easy for Riley. Just six when her father was convicted of murdering three women, she's spent her life moving from place to place-- never too far from the prison, but hopefully far enough that no one will figure out who she is. But they always do. Neighbors leave threatening notes, kids at school make fun of her, and her mother has been let go of more jobs than she can remember. The one thing Riley has clung to, her life raft through the choppy waters of guilt by association and social isolation, is the fact that her father is an innocent man.
Then one day, his execution imminent, her father confesses to her, and it turns Riley's world inside out.
Her dad takes back his confession almost immediately, but it's too late to restore Riley's faith is him. Either way, he's lied to her, and it makes her wonder what else he's hiding. She's also distrustful of her mother, who has stopped visiting her father each week and is always at work. Riley is determined to discover the truth behind her parents, no matter what she discovers. Eager to help her is her new, and only, friend, Jordan. But he just happens to be the son of the cop who arrested Riley's father, and he believes the right man is already behind bars.
I've always believed my parents-- always.
If that sounds naive, it's in part because Riley comes across as much younger than seventeen. I cringed the million times she calls her father "Daddy." I don't know if this down-aging is a problem with her characterization, or if the author has made a deliberate effort to make it seem as if Riley is suffering arrested development on account of her father's conviction.
The mystery part of this book surpassed my expectations. I was pretty sure I had it figured out, and I was so wrong. I loved the ending. The romance didn't impress me as much. I liked some aspects of Jordan, but he wasn't a very realistic character. Right after meeting Riley, he becomes oddly obsessed with helping her, and, honestly, she's a pill toward him the bulk of the time. I don't know what Jordan is getting out of their relationship. Overall impressions: this is a solid YA mystery novel.
The Movie Version by Emma Wunsch On Sale October 11, 2016 by Amulet Books Rating: ★★ "Terrific? That's not how to describe Toby. He's charming and brilliant and bright and shiny. Toby is the movie star is his own movie! In all our movies!"
Amelia hero-worships her older brother, Toby, and always has. But here's the thing about building idols: when they falter, your world might come crashing down along with them. For Amelia, this moment comes when her brother starts exhibiting signs of a serious mental illness. She finds herself entirely unprepared to deal with the new reality.
In fact, most of this book is about Amelia unable to deal with Toby no longer being her cool big brother any more. That's because Amelia is an incredibly self-centered and immature character. It's obvious there's something wrong with Toby, but instead of being concerned about him, she whines about how she can't show him off properly to her new boyfriend. And that brings me to the romance portion of the book, which is awful. Amelia and Epstein have no chemistry together. She barely likes him, but she "loves" him, and they have sex... because. The sex scenes are incredibly uncomfortable and awkward. And it never seems to stop, because Amelia is constantly reminding us about it.
I didn't feel like this book had much of an ending, because nothing transformative happened. Amelia is still disappointed in Toby over something he can't control, and seems little more at peace with his illness than where she started. The only character who grew on me was Ray, Amelia's best friend, and she was the lone one in the book who put aside her own feelings to help someone else. Unfortunately, Amelia's parents are as self-centered as she is and deal with Toby's illness just about as well.
I'm not against showing drug use in YA books, but pot is pervasive in this book. It reinforces the stereotype that pot smokers are lazy bums disinterested in life, because none of these characters seemed to have any passions or plans for their future. I also grew tired of hearing about how Amelia didn't have her driver's license yet. It's mentioned about a million times throughout the book. Apparently, if you're not at the DMV the second you turn 16, there's something wrong with you.
The synopsis of this book is really misleading. I know mental illness is a popular theme in YA right now, but its one I mostly avoid. And I was disappointed in how this book used such a serious topic as a plot device. Poor Toby.
Another Day in the Death of America: A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives by Gary Younge On Sale October 4, 2016 by Nation Books Rating: ★★★★ November 23, 2013. There's nothing remarkable about the 24 hours that made up that day, no reason the date sticks out in our collective memory. Five years later, there won't be a nationwide memorial scheduled, and we won't glance down at the calendar and gasp: "has it really been that long since...?"No, November 23, 2013 was just a typical, average day in America. And that means 10 children died from gun violence.
Author Gary Younge tells the story of these ten lives tragically cut short, and, in doing so, he tries to paint the picture of an entire nation. Because as much as this is the victims' story, Younge would argue that it's also ours as a whole.
The only thing all ten young people profiled in this book have in common apart from the date and manner of their deaths was their gender. All ten victims were male. Their ages spanned from just nine to nineteen. They lived in rural Michigan, suburban Ohio, and inner-city Chicago. Seven of them were African-American. They were high school graduates with good jobs and gangbangers with criminal records. Some were shot deliberately, some by accident. None of them should have died that day.
Younge does an excellent job of telling their stories, even in the two instances where the family refused to speak with him. He's honest and frank about the lives he memorializes. One of the victims was released from jail just days before his death and was rumored to have killed people. Apart from the two pre-teen victims, all had factors that make them "unsympathetic" in the eyes of the national media: a combination of trouble at home, trouble with the law, gang connections, and experimentation with drugs. But, as the author would argue, no one deserves to die of gun violence, no matter who they are.
This book examines varied aspects of America's so-called gun culture. Raised in England, the author is unapologetic in his support of political gun control. He investigates issues like smart guns and why this technology is currently DOA, whether teaching gun safety to children leads to less accidents, and how joining a gang in some communities is as optional as voting for Kim Jong Un is for North Koreans. But the issue Younge touches on more than any other is the misguided idea of the "worthy victim." And, yet, I don't think it's random that the first chapter in the book is about the youngest boy to die that day: a fun-loving nine-year-old who gets stuck in the cross hairs of a domestic violence dispute.
If you're a card carrying member of the NRA, this is probably not the book for you. As an American who generally supports the 2nd Amendment, but is open to restrictions like child locks and background checks, I found the author's approach measured and even-handed. I disagreed with some of his assertions on the role of economic class, and I raised an eyebrow at a father who didn't know the number of children he had, nor their birthdays, being praised as "devoted."
It's not hard for me to recommend this book. 4.5 stars.
The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis On Sale September 20, 2016 by Katherine Tegan Books Rating: ★★★★★ I'm not entirely sure I have the words for this one, but I'll go ahead and try. This book is dark and violent and awesome... and I think I'll be processing what the holy heck I just read for a while to come. If you read this book, prepare to clear out some head space for the story to come and live in.
In the small, insular Ohio town where she grows up, Alex Craft is the girl with the dead sister. Not much more. She doesn't interact with her classmates, and they make no move to include her. That's until she catches the eyes of Jack Fisher-- the all-American boy who plays on every sports team, gets good grades and has no shortage of girls vying for a place in his bed. Once he notices Alex, really notices her, he can't get her out of his mind. Peekay also notices Alex but with very different motivation. Peekay is pigeonholed to the role of preacher's kid and is looking for a friend who sees her in a different light. Alex struggles with social interaction, but the two are able to cobble together a growing friendship as they volunteer at the local animal shelter.
And, oh, yeah, Alex Craft is also kind of a cold-blooded murderer:
"This is how I kill someone. And I don't feel bad about it."
"I am a wolf that my sister kept in a cage, until her hand was removed."
Alex Craft is the character I thought Jane Steele would be when I read the blurb for Jane Steele. She's a mixture of righteousness and cruelty. It's easy to fear her and admire her. You hope she'll be able to run off with Jack and start a happy little family while also thinking she really needs to be in jail.
And I did not see that ending coming.
For better or worse, it's impossible to deny this book has an effect. It's one of the most memorable books I've read all year. I will say that for a YA book, I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be with my teen reading this. I'll have to get back to you on that.
Only Daughter by Anna Snoekstra On Sale September 20, 2016 by Mira Rating: ★★★ She's been caught shoplifting food. She's hungry, homeless, dirty, and on the run. But she has a way out. She happens to look identical to a teen girl who went missing a decade earlier, Rebecca Winter. She assumes Rebecca's identity, using it as a get-out-of-jail-free card. Little does she know her new life as Bec Winter is its own kind of prison. Before she knows it, she's wrapped up in the mystery of her alter ego's disappearance, and it looks like the killer might be after her.
This story is told from the perspective of both the real and the impostor Bec (readers never learn her name). I didn't connect with either girl. The narrator, fake Bec, is a flat, uninspiring character who lacks human emotions. I give this book 5 stars for concept, but the execution is choppy, as is the writing. Loose ends were left hanging. The twists and turns were kind of ho-hum for me-- and I closed the book feeling a bit bored. This isn't a bad debut novel, but it didn't quite live up to its potential.
Mischling by Affinity Konar Published September 6, 2016 by Lee Boudreaux Books Rating: ★★★ "Stasha would take the funny, the future, the bad. I would take the sad, the past, the good."
Identical twins Pearl and Stasha arrived at Auschwitz as two halves of one whole. Pearl, the eldest, was sweet and musical, Stasha fearless and imaginative. Fresh off the transport train, the pair catch the eye of the notorious "doctor" Josef Mengele, who favors twins as subjects for his gruesome medical and genetic experiments. At Auschwitz, being a double can be a good thing. It can keep you alive for another day. But it's not only death that can separate twins forever in Mengele's Zoo. The so-called Angel of Death had the ability to take two girls who are one and cleave them apart for good. It's something the girls fear almost as much as the gas chamber.
Half of this book is set in Auschwitz, and half in the chaotic aftermath of the camp's liberation. It's written largely in thick, overworked prose that obscures moments of tension and genuine emotion. I never got a sense of any of the characters and found all but Stasha remarkably flat. Lyrical prose somehow hides the horrors of Auschwitz. This book tells the story of the torture of children by one of the most sadistic psychopaths in history, but manages to do so in a distant, dispassionate fashion. I haven't read a Holocaust book that's provoked less of an emotional reaction from me. I was disappointed in the ending, and details throughout seemed a bit historically... bendable. But mostly this book just failed to capture my attention.
Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrick Backman Published May 3, 2016 by Atria Rating: ★★★★ You see, Britt-Marie does not judge people. No, certainly not. That would be uncivilized.
"Britt-Marie would obviously never consider the woman to be "fat," because Britt-Marie is absolutely not the kind of person who pigeonholes people like that, but it does strike her how wonderful it must be for the woman to go through life so untroubled by her cholesterol levels."
Again, you see, it's just a matter of their being a wrong way to do things and a correct way. A clean, hygienic way. Unfortunately, and quite baffling to Britt-Marie, no one seems to care for, appreciate, or even notice the correct and clean and hygienic way of doing things. For years, Britt-Marie had dinner ready at six o'clock, as any person not raised by wolves would, and her husband Kent never said a word in thanks. He never commented on her carefully crafted hairstyle or paid attention to her superior use of baking soda. Never complimented her cooking without having to be asked first.
"Britt-Marie doesn't know when their marriage slipped out of her hands. When it became worn and scratched up no matter how many coasters were used."
Britt-Marie spent so much her life worrying about what other people thought of her, of how scandalous it would be to have someone see an unmade bed or muddy shoes tracking on the floor, only to realize at age 63 that no one's thought about her much at all. And Kent's been having an affair. For the first time in decades, she's on her own and looking for work.
Borg is the type of town the world forgot. It sits along the side of a highway, gutted and turned into ghost town by the financial crisis (a reasoning Britt-Marie doesn't trust because, after all, Kent said the financial crisis was over, and Kent was an entrepreneur). Britt-Marie is sent there to work a temporary position at the recreation center. Soon she finds herself the coach of a rag tag team of soccer youths, despite having no interest in the sport whatsoever. For the first time in her life, Britt-Marie needs to figure out just who Britt-Marie is when she's not living for someone else.
I'm a fan of Fredrik Backman's particular brand of emotional manipulation, and I very much enjoyed this book. It definitely has similarities to A Man Called Ove although it's not as well-done. I think Ove fans will be very much at home with Britt-Marie.
Karolina's Twins by Ronald H. Balson On Sale September 6, 2016 Published by St. Martin's Press Rating: ★★★ In 1943 in the Chrzanow, Poland ghetto, Karolina, a young Jewish woman, gives birth to twins with help of her best friend, Lena. Before being transferred to a slave labor camp, Karolina makes one, desperate last ditch attempt to save her babies. Seventy years later, Lena is a Holocaust survivor and living in Chicago. She decides it's time to keep her promise to Karolina to find the twins and enlists a lawyer/PI team to help her.
The structure of this book was maddening. It can best be summed up as: "hey, did I ever tell you my life's story?" As such, the book is almost entirely in dialogue. But the dialogue isn't very good. At times, it feels more like characters reciting pages out of a history textbook than genuine conversation. The writing in this book is flat, uninspiring, and at times reminded me of a cable tv cop show.
"Well, Arthur, I don't know too much about head-spinning, but I think you're going to find out that Ms. Lockhart's really good at ass-kickin'."
I do think there has to be a certain amount of leeway given to historical fiction in terms of accuracy and I get the sense that this author did his research. But some parts of this book are so preposterous. The story of what happens to the twins? No, nope, sorry, no way. A judge throwing a pregnant woman into jail for refusing to break privilege? Please. The parts of the story that resonated with me did so because of the history. By contrast, the parts that were the author's creation left me cold. Basically, I find WW2 interesting enough to give this book 3-stars.
