All posts tagged book reviews

War Girls

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War Girls cover

I recently read War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi. An advanced reader copy was provided to me by Bookish First and Razorbill in exchange for an honest review (thank you!). Bookish first has a great program for getting physical ARCs. If you join and use referral code 56cf541090ca608b4 then you’ll help me get free books (and start earning free books for yourself too). Anyway, I liked this book, although the beginning was a little difficult for me.

Onyii and Ify are girls living in 2172 in Biafra, which is located in Africa near Nigeria. They are part of a group of girls hiding out from the Nigerians in a country that’s at war. Most of these girls have seen combat before, and Onyii has already lost her arm. When their camp is discovered, their lives are changed forever. Onyii and Ify, who were like sisters at the beginning of the book, spend the next several years apart.

What I Really Liked

War Girls is a compelling story. It’s actually inspired by an actual war that happened in Nigeria in the 1960s, which makes it even more interesting. I liked the characters of Onyii and Ify, and thought what happened to them was pretty tragic. They’re pretty strong characters, which draws me to them. The setting is unique, and it gives us a glimpse into the future which I hope won’t come to pass (although it’s unlikely that even the youngest of us will live to see it). The ending of the book was especially good, and makes me want to read the sequel when it comes out.

What I Liked Less

Familiarity tends to make a book easier to read. This is why I really enjoy books where I have things in common with the characters, whether it’s music, computers, or even snippets of a language I’m learning. Unique settings are cool too, but when things are too unfamiliar, it can be difficult getting into the book. The first couple of chapters of Carve the Mark were difficult for me the first time I read it because their society was so different (although with the vocabulary used).

I don’t know much about the Nigerian civil war. When the characters started throwing around terms like Biafra, Fulani, Igbo, and oyinbo, I get a little lost. I’m actually still not sure about all of these terms. While I’m trying to learn these new terms, there are a lot of characters I need to meet. It was a little overwhelming. Once everything became more familiar to me, the book picked up speed, but there was a little bit of a learning curve to this book.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a book with badass girls in a unique setting (just look at the cover!), then you might want to pick up a copy of War Girls. However, because the setting is truly unique (unless you know a lot about Nigeria and/or it’s history) it may take a while to really get into the book. War Girls will be released on October 15th, but you can pre-order it at Amazon.com now.

The End and Other Beginnings

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The End and Other Beginnings cover

We finally got to October! The month itself isn’t particularly special to me; but it is the month that many of my most-anticipated books get released. The End and Other Beginnings was one of those books that I just had to have. It is a collection of six stories; three of them were published previously. Since these six stories vary, I will be reviewing all six stories separately.

Inertia

I first read “Inertia” in Summer Days and Summer Nights (link is to my review). I still love that story about as much as I did the first time I read it. This story will probably get the most rereads in this anthology. It’s a story about a girl whose former best friend is dying and they realize what they mean to each other.

The Spinners

“The Spinners” is a story about sisters. It’s also a story with aliens in it. I liked it, but not quite as much as “Inertia”.

Hearken

“Hearken” is a story where people naturally have a song, and these people called hearkeners are able to hear these songs. For some reason, hearkeners are revered in society. This is a world where evil people will set off bio-bombs in order to hasten the apocalypse. It had an interesting end.

Vim and Vigor

“Vim and Vigor” was a pretty cool story about friendship. Four friends bonded years ago over a group of female superheroes. Things happened, as some friendships do, and their friendship just isn’t the same. The ending was pretty sweet. If I was to rank the stories in The End and Other Beginnings, this one would be close to the top.

Armored Ones

“Armored Ones” contains two stories from the Carve the Mark universe. One is from Teka’s point of view, the other one is from Akos’s. While I knew there would be stories about Akos and Cyra in this book, I was kind of hoping that there would be stories that took place after The Fates Divide.

The Transformationist

“The Transformationist” is another story that takes place in the Carve the Mark universe, although it primarily takes place on Zold, with new characters. I enjoyed seeing a different part of the universe. The familiar planets and concepts brought me happiness.

While the last two stories take place in the Carve the Mark Universe, you can probably enjoy the story without reading the duology.

At 256 pages, The End and Other Beginnings was a quick read. I really liked it, and I’m sure I’ll be reading these stories again in the future. Three of these stories were previously published, so if you already have the original anthologies, you might be less inclined to get this book. If you haven’t read the Carve the Mark duology, you might still enjoy the last two stories, but you’ll appreciate them more if you’re familiar with that universe. At $15 for a hardback, it might not be worth the money if you already have her stories in previous anthologies and haven’t read Carve the Mark, but since I don’t have her previous anthologies and did read her duology, it was worth it to me.

Rebel: The Legend Finale

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Rebel cover

At 10 PM my time, the stunning conclusion to Marie Lu’s Legend tetralogy, Rebel, came out. I stayed up all night to read it, and I wasn’t disappointed.

This review contains spoilers for the rest of the series.

When we last left Day and June, it was July 11, 2142. It had been ten years since Daniel (going by Day at the time) had nearly died and woke up with amnesia. After ten years living in Ross City, Antarctica, Eden was interviewing for an internship back in the Republic. At a train station, Daniel “met” June for the second time.

Rebel starts a month later. Daniel and June hadn’t talked much since that night, but June and the elector were going to visit Ross City. Despite their years apart and the amnesia thing, deep down, Daniel never stopped loving June. But are they too different now?

Eden

Rebel begins with Eden. I just want to give him a hug. He’s been living in his brother’s shadow his whole life. He’s hella smart, and shares the Wing boys’ compassion for the little guy. Even though Antarctica’s gamified level system is supposed to create a meritocracy, the way it’s implemented is unfair. Eden is bothered by this and is drawn to the dark side. Is he going down the path to self-destruction? Can his brother save him, or will their relationship be irreparably harmed? There’s some really great brother moments in this story.

Worldbuilding

I loved the worldbuilding in Rebel and how this book ties into the other books in the Luniverse. The Antarctican level system was obviously built on programming developed by Hideo Tanaka for the Warcross game. The book subtly mentions this game that once took the world by storm. The characters return to Los Angeles, which beautifully illustrates what the world might be like if it was recovering from a backwards dictatorship.

Daniel + June

If you read Champion (which you probably should before reading Rebel) then you’ve probably wondered whether Day and June really get back together.

So what happens? Daniel has never forgotten about her. There are some really cute moments in this book. Daniel, who has probably never had an awkward moment with a girl in his life, doesn’t know how to react around his former love. It’s absolutely adorable. They still have feelings for each other, but has too much changed? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

Conclusion

If you didn’t pre-order this book (and have already read the other three books in this series) then run to your nearest bookseller and buy it. I’m definitely going to read this book again sometime after my hardcover edition has arrived. Rebel has the satisfying finale that we’ve all been waiting for. I loved it.  How much did I love it?  It’s a contender for my favorite book this year.  I stayed up past 7 AM to read it.  To quote page 376, after reading this book, “the final puzzle piece of my heart has fallen into place.”

Allegedly – Not What I Expected

By Brookelorren on 4 Comments
Allegedly Cover

Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson was not quite what I expected. It was a twisty ride with high stakes, moral ambiguity and a (perhaps) unreliable narrator. I recently read it and thought it was great.

Mary is sixteen years old, but she’s already a criminal in the eyes of the justice system. At age 9, she killed a baby. Allegedly. If the baby hadn’t been white, and she hadn’t been black, her story probably would have turned out differently.

We don’t find out the entirety of what happened until the very end, but we are slowly given details about the night baby Alyssa died as the story unfolds. Mary is neither the demon that the press makes her out to be, nor is she the perfect saint she thinks she is. And her upbringing, prior to baby Alyssa’s death, was certainly lacking, to say the least.

Allegedly is a great story and Mary makes an interesting narrator. In addition to being an engaging story, it raises questions about the criminal justice system in general. How do the courts treat people of color compared to white people? What about when people age out of the foster care system? What about the way teens in group homes are treated? The story has several levels of depth.

The ending… well. I wasn’t expecting that. I can’t really say much about it without giving away spoilers, but it certainly made me think.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book. It’s not a feel-good beach read or a happily ever after, but if you’re in the mood for something a little dark, then perhaps you’ll want to check out this book. The main character is both sympathetic and a little disturbed at the same time, the supporting characters are mostly disturbed, but it’s a book you won’t want to put down.

Jukebox Joyride

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Jukebox Joyride cover

Over the summer, my boy and I listened to Jukebox Joyride while riding in the car together. He’s 12, and not all of the audiobooks I get are really appropriate for that age. Audible gives it’s members two free Audible Originals every month, and this was one of the choices.

Jukebox Joyride is an adorable trek through music history. George and his sister Jules live with their mom and love music. They used to live with their uncle too, but he disappeared a while back. Uncle Bob used to be an ethnomusicologist before he vanished.

It turns out, their Uncle Bob left them a magical music box that allows them to travel through time. The two kids travel to various time periods and get to experience music throughout history. They get to listen to early Jazz in New Orleans, meet Mozart as a child, and get to listen to music at an old medicine show. It’s a lot of fun.

Not everything is happy though. They are in danger, and so is their Uncle Bob. Will they be able to save their uncle, as well as music history? You’ll have to listen to this adorable story to find out.

Jukebox Joyride is a great middle grade book to listen to with your kids. Not only is it a lot of fun, but it’s also educational. They’ll get to listen to different styles of music in history and learn about different historical eras. They’ll get to learn more about Mozart (even Nannerl, who is the main character in Marie Lu’s Kingdom of Back, shows up in that part of the story). Even though it’s educational, there’s a lot of excitement, so it doesn’t make learning a chore.

I highly recommend Jukebox Joyride for middle grade readers, especially if you have long car rides with them. Or if you like middle grade books and have times when you listen to audiobooks. It’s no longer the free Audible selection, but the price is reasonable. Don’t waste your Audible credit on this one; it’s about $5, and unless you have a really cheap way to get them, it’s cheaper to buy it than use a credit.

Shadow Frost

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Shadow Frost cover

I recently finished reading Shadow Frost by Coco Ma. Thank you Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for providing me with an Advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. It was really good… for a book that was written when the author was fifteen years old. While I enjoyed it overall, it wasn’t on the same level as a lot of my favorite books are.

The concept of this book is great. Asterin is a princess with a bit of fiestiness to her. When it’s discovered that a demon is running rampant through the kingdom, she volunteers to go, along with her best friend and four other guards. While out there, they discover that someone is trying to kill them. Asterin is a fairly powerful magic user and excellent swordswoman.

The biggest problem I had with this book was believability. Yes, I realize this is a fantasy book, so obviously you have to suspend reality on a bunch of things, but there are still universal elements we share in the human condition.

When Asterin’s mother, the queen, provides her with guards from another country, Asterin doesn’t seem to be suspicious. At all. I certainly would be. I did a foreign exchange with the Australian Navy once, but I certainly wasn’t guarding the Prime Minister’s daughter. Who lets new guards from a far-away country guard the princess? Furthermore, one of the guards decided to call the princess “brat” almost from the beginning. I think it’s meant to be witty banter, but could you imagine a foreign guard coming to protect Prince William when he was 17 or so and having the guard call him “brat” to his face? I can’t.

The love relationships didn’t seem believable either. The characters seemed to be sending mixed signals to each other. Is there a love triangle developing? Are they jealous of each other? Does she like him? Wait, what, he likes him? The characters that were supposed to be into each other didn’t seem to have a lot of chemistry between each other at the start. I couldn’t believe the depth of love that the characters were supposed to have for each other so quickly either. I’m not an opponent of instalove or insta-infatuation, but I just didn’t feel it here.

In Shadow Frost, a group of adventurers travel to attack the bad guy. It reminded me a bit of the Dragonlance books in that respect (which I loved). The plot had a bit of mystery to it, although I felt the author revealed some things a bit too early. The book had some plot twists, and I wasn’t sure who was who until we were almost at the end.

Overall, Shadow Frost was a solid debut for a teenage author. I didn’t dislike the book, but I’m not going to include it among my favorites either. I’m not sure if I will continue reading this series (so many books, so little time), but I would consider reading more books by Coco Ma in the future.

There’s Something About Sweetie

By Brookelorren on 2 Comments
There's Something About Sweetie

There’s Something About Sweetie was the second book I’ve read from Sandhya Menon, although I have the Of Curses and Kisses ARC (thanks Sandhya!), so I’ll probably read that one next. I checked this one out of my local library and listened to it via audiobook.

Sweetie is an Indian American who sings for fun and runs like the wind. Oh, and she’s also fat. She reminds me a lot about Mirna Valerio — AKA the Mirvinator — a well-known overweight distance runner. Sweetie is okay with her weight, but her mother certainly is not.

Ashish Patel, Rishi’s brother from When Dimple Met Rishi (link is to review) is in a slump. He’s always been a ladies’ man, but after the first girl he really cared about left him, his confidence is gone. He can’t even play basketball the way he used to. In a fit of desperation… he asks his parents to set him up with someone. It worked for his brother, right?

His parents try to set her up with Sweetie, but Sweetie’s mother won’t have it. She thinks that Sweetie is too fat, and people will laugh at her if she dates an athletic boy. So they start seeing each other behind their parents’ backs. You’ll have to read the book to find out what happens.

My Thoughts

I really liked There’s Something About Sweetie. It’s lighthearted, funny, and the characters are likeable. At the same time, this book does have a serious message. People are more than their weight. Health and weight are a complicated issue, and just because a person struggles with their weight doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve a person to love, to wear nice clothes, or to enjoy a meal at a restaurant.

The characters were great too. Sweetie and Ashish don’t go to the same school and have different sets of friends. Not only do we get to know Sweetie and Ashish, we get to know their friends. Ms. Menon does a great job in giving both of them supportive friends that have their own interests and problems.

The book does a great job in instilling teenage insecurities into the characters. I love how it tells the story from both Sweetie and Ashish’s points of view. The book also is infused with Indian culture.

Conclusion

I recommend There’s Something About Sweetie, but you should probably read When Dimple Met Rishi first. Both stories are in the same universe, and Dimple happens first. You can read one without the other, but reading them in order brings more depth to the world the characters inhabit. And you’ll definitely want to read both of these before 10 Things I Hate About Pinky comes out (June 2, 2020).  There are a lot of great books coming out by this author and you should read them!

Who Put This Song On?

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Who Put this Song On cover

Who Put this Song On? is a memoir-type book about a girl who lives with depression at the time Barack Obama was elected president. I have to thank Netgalley and Delacorte Press for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy. While overall, I enjoyed this book, there were a few things that I found a little distracting.

The themes in this book had a lot of promise. Depression rep? I have a family member dealing with depression. Music? Hey, the girl on the cover is listening to music! There’s a lot to be excited about with this book.

What I Liked

Who Put This Song On? was well-written. I liked the main character, Morgan, who has been having difficulty with depression. Everybody experiences depression in different ways (my family member’s experience is different than Morgan’s) but Morgan’s experience seems realistic. I would expect that, considering that the author went through it herself.

I like how Morgan’s friends stick by her as she goes through this difficult semester. They seem to have a typical teenage friendship, hanging out in school, talking about their experiences with boys, and passing around a notebook where they all write down their thoughts. Morgan experiences setbacks in life, but that happens.

The community where Morgan lives seems to be full of ignorant people. While they probably aren’t actually as stupid as the author portrays them, since we are seeing them through her eyes, her perspective of them seems realistic. The world she lives in is well-described and thought out.

The book goes a little into racism and the lack of knowledge that a lot of people (of all races) that a lot of people have about the Civil Rights movement and about groups like the Black Panthers. Who Put This Song On? does a good job about making race a part of Morgan’s experience without making the book an issue book. Not that there would have been a problem if it had been an issue book, but that would have detracted from Morgan’s main struggle, which was depression.

What I Didn’t Like

While overall I liked Who Put This Song On?, there were a couple things that I didn’t like. The story doesn’t seem to have an overarching plot. Morgan does one thing, then she does another thing, then she does another thing. The story didn’t seem to have a climax or inciting incident or anything that most stories have. I think I would have liked it better if it didn’t seem like Morgan was always waiting for her life to begin.

The other thing that I didn’t like was the anachronisms in the story. It takes place in the fall of 2008 when Barack Obama gets elected. The high school students make mix CDs and reference a specific Saved By the Bell episode. Who was making mix CDs in 2008? ITunes came out in 2001, and from what I remember, nearly everybody was listening to their music via MP3s at this time. Saved By the Bell ended in 1993; assuming the characters were 17, they would have been two years old when that show ended. There was nothing, other than this reference, to indicate that they were ’90s television aficionados.

While Who Put this Song On? does mention a lot of songs, music didn’t have as much of a role in the book as I thought it would.

Conclusion

Who Put This Song On? was an entertaining book, but I did have a few issues with it (most of them were minor though). It’s a book that deals with the important topics of depression and racism through characters that are realistic and relatable. It’s not going to make the list of my favorite books of the year, however, it’s a book that might be really helpful to some people. If not, it does provide entertainment.

Ash Princess

By Brookelorren on 2 Comments
Ash Princess cover

Ash Princess, by Laura Sebastian, is a story about a former princess (Theodosia) whose country was overtaken by another when she was much younger. Although the new kingdom has taken her in, she has become the subject of beatings and the butt of their jokes. Overall, I enjoyed it, although it didn’t have quite the addictive properties that some other books I’ve read this year had.

The book has a great character arc. Theodosia starts out as this mousy character that meekly takes beatings. Later, she becomes a heroine that is willing to take risks to help her people, which are slowly being exterminated by the ruling powers.

I really like how Theodosia grows to care for her people and has a conscience. The book has something to say about the world we live in today too:

I suppose it’s easy to be at home in a world where you are on top. It’s easy not to notice those whose backs you stand on to stay there.

p. 26

My comment after reading that quote was “Ouch.” I couldn’t help but think about people in other parts of the world making iPhones and cheap clothing at slave wages when I read that.

Ash Princess has some pretty good suspense to it. The main villain is pretty evil, but he’s not the only person Theodosia has to worry about. There are a lot of bad people in the ruling kingdom.

There’s a little bit of romance in this book and the possibility of a love triangle in the next book. I haven’t read any spoilers for Lady Smoke (the sequel), so I don’t know how that goes. I think the love interests have the opportunity for good character arcs as well. More romance would have been nice in this book; maybe the sequel will have it.

Overall, I enjoyed Ash Princess. It wasn’t quite as addicting as The Cruel Prince or some of the other books that will make my top 10 books of the year, but I recommend it nevertheless. I do plan on reading Lady Smoke at some point; I just don’t know when.

The Underground Railroad

By Brookelorren on 5 Comments
The Underground Railroad cover

I recently finished reading The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. It was a book that looked good to me for quite a while, and when I noticed it was available on audiobook at the library, I had to check it out. For the most part, I thought it was an enjoyable book; however, there were a few things about the book that detracted from the book (for me).

Cora is a young lady that grew up as a slave. When the plantation she lives on changes hands, she agrees to run away with Caesar, another slave. Along the way, they meet hazards, including slave catchers and even the people that are trying to help them.

What I Liked

The Underground Railroad uses a clever metaphor: the Underground Railroad in this story is an actual railroad. Literal trains take our protagonists to their new locations. It was a clever way to fictionalize the story.

I liked the characters, the tension, and the plot to this story. Cora and Caesar are being chased by a slave catcher, Ridgeway, who is irrationally fixated on them. The book also does a good job at portraying the horrors of slavery, as well as the awful things done to black people throughout history.

What I Didn’t Like

Although I liked the story overall, The Underground Railroad played very loose with history. If there was a time when North Carolina decided to kick all the black people out of the state, I have yet to hear about it. Did South Carolina set up clinics to take care of black people and provide them with free medical care? I don’t think so. While I was fine with the railroad analogy, I find it unbelievable that an ex-slave would have even considered staying in the slaveholding South.

Additionally, there were scenes that were unnecessary and/or confusing. When Cora changed her name, I originally thought it was a new character. There was a chapter about a gravedigger and I have no clue why it was put there. I felt the last chapter about Caesar was unnecessary. Maybe because the story was a little over 300 pages and the author thought the story would be too short without them? I would have rather had more scenes that were central to the story.

Overall

Despite the fact that my section on what I didn’t like was longer than my section on what I did like, I was entertained by the story and gave it four stars on Goodreads. I liked Cora and rooted for her freedom. The Underground Railroad could have been better, in my opinion, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth reading. I recommend it, as long as you’re not looking for a historical book that actually follows historical facts.