Adult Review: Love and Other Consolation Prizes

Love and Other Consolation Prizes
By Jamie Ford

Advance copy provided by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Love and Other Consolation Prizes is the story of Ernest Young, a boy who was brought from China to be auction to "a good home" in the 1909 World's Fair in Seattle. The book opens in the 60s as Ernest over looks the second Seattle World's Fair and reminisces about his life and where he's come since then. He thinks about his wife, who now barely remembers him, and his children, the life he's built and how parts of it were taken from him over the years.

And it is beautiful.

Every word encompasses a world of sight, sound, taste, and scent. Ford's descriptions are to die for and I hung on every word. The characters feel with such incredible clarity that they could have stepped out from the pages and it wouldn't have surprised me.

From what I've read, this book is very much in line with Ford's other offerings, which include the Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, which I have not read. The impression I have of this author is that his work flows from a sensitive place, an inner world which watches leaves fall and the way a slight breeze moves forgotten things across the ground.

Due to time limitations, I was only able to do an overview of this book, but I read the first two chapters, several chapters throughout, and the final two chapters. I had plans to cancel my hold on the book when I had an opportunity to explore it, but the lyrical story, sharp characters, and beautiful writing convinced me to wait and read the entire thing. This is an excellent book and if you enjoy bittersweet nostalgia and love that doesn't always fit the world's narrative, I think you would love this one, too.

Non-fiction Review: The Happiness Hypothesis

The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom
by Jonathan Haidt

Overall Rating: 4/5
Subject Presentation: 4/5
Characters: n/a
Writing: 4/5

The Happiness Hypothesis delves deep into the simple origins of psychology and philosophy to discover the relevant truths in old wisdom. A fascinating study melding science and philosophy, this book gives simple, clear explanations for the concepts presented and is firmly grounded in modern psychological science. An excellent read for mildly jaded cynics (like me) seeking a simple approach to finding some peace in a fast-paced world.

On a more personal note, I read this book for my Psychology of Happiness class a few summers ago and it really changed how I looked at things like "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" and some of the older origins of mindfulness and meditation. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and refused to give my copy up to the bookstore at the end of the summer session.

Children's Review: My Brigadista Year

My Brigadista Year
by Katherine Paterson

Final Rating: 4.5/5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5

Newbery Award-winning author Katherine Paterson presents a historical fiction story from a bright young Cuban girl who volunteers to take part in the Cuban literacy campaign of 1961. Lora leaves her comfortable home in Havana to trek deep into the mountains to teach the compesinos, the farmers living in the countryside, to read and write. She tells the reader about her year as a brigadista, one of those teachers who strived to teach and learn beside their students until Cuba could be declared by the United Nations in 1962 as an illiteracy-free country.

Through Lora's eyes, Paterson finds the voice of a young girl in an entirely different country, who sees race and social standing from a Cuban perspective. Her passion for literacy brings Lora into conflict with her family and her father refuses to allow her to sign up for the program until her grandmother convinces him how important it is.

Included at the end is Lora's epilogue, telling the reader where she went, where those families went, how their lives have changed. Her story is almost a call to action, describing the doctors fighting Ebola in Africa and reminding the reader that she wasn't and never has been a hero, but she still made a difference in those people's. How could she not go?

This book should be in every library. If Katherine Paterson isn't nominated for an award this year, I will eat something one would not normally eat (I don't have any hats). The story is powerful, the characters are memorable, and the message stands loud and proud: we can overcome fear and ignorance to be better people together than we were before. Read it. Read it to your friends. Share it with people on the street. It's worth it.

Fanfiction Review: The Billionaire and the Bellboy

Trump Temptations: The Billionaire and the Bellboy
By Elijah Daniel

Total Rating: that smell somewhere between skunk spray and old coffee grounds
Characters: 2/5
Plot: 3/5
Writing: 2/5
Giggle Factor: 8/5

Okay, guys, time to face facts. If you were fool enough to read this story, as I was by the eager pushing of my teen Pathfinder group you know as well as I do that this is terrible prose at its finest. Are there mistakes? Oh, yes. Is the grammar atrocious? Definitely. Did the main character have as much to define him as a squashed avocado? That'd probably be generous.

Did I laugh? Hell, yes.

In three short chapters, Elijah Daniel manages to send up both the romance genre (and its amateur offspring, the fanfic) and our current president before he was in a position to throw paper towels at Puerto Rican survivors of a natural disaster with all the personal empathy of a constipated moose. It reads like some of the worst earnestly written fanfiction I've ever read and still manages to grasp all the parts of Trump that I would never, ever want to grasp.

I think my favorite line will always be "his oily orange skin glistening in the sunlight as if he were a soggy cheeto." Bravo, Mr. Daniel. Bravo.

Teen Review: A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls
By Patrick Ness
Inspired by an idea by Siobhan Dowd
Illustrated by Jim Kay

Overall Rating: 5/5 
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Illustrations: 5/5

A Monster Calls tells the story of Conor, a teen living with his mother. His mother is in the advanced stages of cancer and continually tired from chemotherapy, leaving Conor mostly on his own.

And then the Monster shows up. Dark and imposing and utterly tree-like (without resembling Groot in text or in illustration), the monster says he came walking to answer Conor's call and would tell him three stories.

I read this in one day. At the desk and in the window at work, then in a wild desperate sprint at home that evening. I cried so hard by the ending. This is a masterfully-told story about a young boy coming to terms with the unthinkable, with survivor's guilt, with all the things that come before the after. Conor's story is heartbreaking and so very, very true to the experiences of anyone who has watched a loved one dying. The very idea of the book is gut-wrenching, terrifying and still holds a fragile, resilient hope at its center. That there will be an after. That we can move on.

The illustrations are intense, beautiful black-and-white pieces that mix pen and ink drawing with block cuts and stamping to produce the wildness of the untamed wilderness in a stark world that no longer cares for it. It evokes emotions of longing, of loneliness, of that feeling of watching a single crow flying overhead on a cloudy day. I could not review this book without gushing about the visuals. They added so much to the story, literally framing the narrative and giving the reader a sense of how important certain scenes were to Conor and the people around him.

I intend to watch the recent film release in the near future in order to post a book-to-film essay on Books by Day, Films by Night. There should also be a video forthcoming (I swear!) talking about what this book did better than the movie and vice versa on my (much neglected) YouTube channel.

Children's Review: Not a Box

Not a Box
Antoinette Portis

Rating: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Illustrations: 5/5

I have forever been in love with this book. Not a Box details the inner lives of millions of imaginative children who can go on adventures with little flash and just the assistance of a box and a garden hose. The story is simple, the writing clean and unadorned. The images are the truth of the story, showing first the main character's physical reality with the box and followed by a red-sketched version of the same image only improved by the character's imagination.

One of the joys of this book for me is that the main character is entirely without gender. This story is designed to appeal to girls or boys or kids who haven't figured it out yet. Being a rabbit, the main character is also without human ethnicity and the simple style of storytelling transports any child into the not-a-box of this character. This is also an excellent choice for read-aloud storytimes, as the limited story and bold strokes of the illustration are very easy for children to grasp and expand on. Highly recommended for anyone who ever went to the moon in a box.

Childrens Review: Chickens to the Rescue

Chickens to the Rescue
John Himmelman

Rating: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5

Chickens to the Rescue is one of my favorite childrens' books of all time. I am eternally disappointed that this book wasn't around when I was a kid. It follows the adventures of the family that live on the Greenstalk farm. As the story progresses, each member of the family has a puzzle they can't figure out and then the next page is always a two-page spread of a wild conglomeration of chickens solving the humans' problems.

Each page is full of life and activity and the chicken pages are the sort of hunt-and-find images that remind me of Steven Kellog's illustrations for Meg Karper's Jimmy's Boa books. There are dozens of things happening on every page and there is such delight in finding the weird things this or that chicken might be doing just on the edge of a page.

The story itself is straightforward and simple as each Greenstalk laments their problem where the chickens can hear them. It really isn't any more complicated than that, with most of the storytelling being supported in the illustrations. Himmelman's chickens are whimsical and wild, mischievous and with their own personalities throughout.

I highly recommend this book and it's sister books, Cows to the Rescue, Pigs to the Rescue, and Duck to the Rescue. Yes, just the one duck. He's a wonder-duck.

Blog Entry: I Live!

So, some of you may have noticed that there were two blog postings recently with no content. They have since been removed and I wanted to explain what's going on around here.

I let my schedule get away from me. I'm way behind in books I wanted to review, videos I wanted to make, and pretty much everything associated with this blog and its associated YouTube channel. I am still here and I am still planning to continue with reviews and vlogs. I'm just horribly behind at the moment.

Stay tuned to this space and the channel for more news.

PS: No, the Trump fanfic did not kill me dead. *significant glare at Avery*

Adult Review: Black Widow: The Finely Woven Thread

Black Widow: The Finely Woven Thread
written by Nathan Edmondson
illustrated by Phil Noto

Overall Rating: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Artwork: 5/5

This graphic novel follows a solo story arc of Black Widow, Marvel's talented black ops assassin. Filled with action and beautiful artwork, it's a solid addition to the Marvel comic universe and a pleasure to read and view.

While I enjoyed the artwork and the story progression, I didn't take away a great deal from the story itself. There were no new revelations about the character or her background, but it was fun to spend the time with Natasha. Not groundbreaking, but still an excellent story arc.

Teen Review: Maddie & Sayara

Promotional copy provided by Netgalley in return for a review.




Maddie & Sayara
Sanjyot P. Dunung
Expected publication date: September 7th, 2017

Rating: 2/5
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 1/5
Writing: 2/5

Maddie and Sayara are two regular 13-year-olds who meet at a spring break vacation in the Bahamas. They become fast friends and slowly, Maddie comes to understand the differences between her own country's laws regarding women and the "kingdom" where Sayara lives. When Sayara's cousin is arrested for daring to drive while female, Maddie makes a whirlwind decision: she is going to the kingdom to talk some sense into that stupid government.

I feel like I say this a lot, but I really wanted to like this story. It seemed like it had real potential for expanding the genre of politically-motivated stories in the tween/teen area. What I found was a painfully frustrating account of a "normal family" which is obviously very much not the normalcy of American middle class that I know, as her mother can afford to not work and hires a nanny for the three children so she can spent weeks on end in the spa and thinly veiled (no pun intended) references to a Middle Eastern country which requires all women to wear a "tent."

I was also appalled at Maddie's characterization. She steals her mother's login and frequent flyer miles to book a plane to a foreign country, so she can "find someone who can fix the driving ban." I have known a lot of naive teens and tweens, but none of them would even think about trying to go to a foreign country alone. None of them would assume that changing nation-wide laws can be done by one individual, especially a girl in a country that marginalizes women to the degree that the kingdom does. Naivety is one thing; reckless self-endangerment is something entirely different.

Also disturbing was the characterization of Maddie's mother: a supposedly middle class mother who neglects her children, spends lavish amounts of money to pamper herself and to make sure someone else raises her kids, and seems to emotionally abuse her daughter through unreasonable demands and silent treatment tactics. She also has intensely old-fashioned views about what women's roles in society should be, without a corresponding religious or social class basis for her opinions. It is stated that "that's how she was brought up to be" but the abusive effects of her behavior with Maddie are never addressed.

The writing also frustrated me. It seems that the author didn't expect that her readers would retain key plot points between chapters, so insisted on repeating--often in exactly the same words--those plot points throughout their relevant chapters. And while I appreciate Maddie's stream-of-consciousness approach to narrating, sometimes it is distracting from the story that is actually happening.

As a whole, I was disappointed by this tween/teen novel. Perhaps there are parents who care more about preaching the evils of overbearing faith institutions than a believable and relatable story. As an informational parable, it works relatively well and the pacing of information does keep you wanting to turn the page to find out what happens next. The information dumping is heavy-handed though, especially when it comes from a tween who doesn't seem particularly bright or able to make logical jumps on her own. The inconsistencies in writing and character development put this book very low on my recommended reads list.

Non-fiction Review: Women Who Work

Women Who Work
Ivanka Trump

Rating: 2/5

I want to preface this review with a note. I dislike Donald Trump. Intensely. But I'm also a professional and this review is as fair and balanced as I can make it. I will not attack, only review the book as it is.

Ivanka Trump aims to provide support and fresh ideas to the business-oriented woman. She covers several subjects including how best to organize one's life to maximize efficiency, recognizing the joy in the little moments rather than striving always for a perfect balance, and the importance of communication. Ivanka's first-person narrative style is engaging and the book itself is excellently readable. Concepts are well organized and presented, developed with Ivanka's personal touches and references back to her website community.

The ultimate failing of this book is that, like so many other books about being successful, it is aimed at a very narrow target audience: women with privilege. It assumes a level of pre-existing success to which the average reader has not had access. Many of her tips and tricks are sound and can be traced back to realistic business practices, but there is very little original material here, not to mention a complete blind spot regarding the working poor, women of color, and professional issues of the middle and lower classes. This book was written for white women who are educated and have been supported throughout their lives to a standard far about the average. This book was written to the self-purchasing women who buy clothing for the name and jewelry from collections. There may be some tips to be found here that might aid those women in their journey, but for most people, there really is very little to recommend.

Adult Review: Manhattan 1609

Manhattan 1609 (Book one in the Manhattan series)
Harald Johnson
Paper omnibus expected release date: Oct-Nov

Final Score: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 4.8/5

This is one of those books where I need to preface it a little. The author is a patron at my library and we struck up a conversation at the desk recently about books and reviews. When I asked if he was writing one, he told me that he'd written three and was putting out a paper omnibus edition of the series sometime in October or November. I offered to read the first one and review it for this blog and my YouTube channel. So, yeah, I have a slightly personal stake in this.

That said, Manhattan 1609 blew me away. From what Harald had said about his subject matter, I had expected an interesting story with lots of history and, because I'm skeptical of the quality of self-published books in general, a mediocre writing style.

This is not your average self-published book.

The story begins with Henry Hudson's trip across the Atlantic, exploring the explorer and his crew as they travel. It shifts then to the perspective of Dancing Fish, a native of the Lanape tribe living on the island of Mannahatta. The introduction of Dancing Fish blew the story wide open for me and I became completely invested in the storyline, his history and his future, and where he might be going. As a teenaged character, he's accessible to younger readers as well as adult readers who may commiserate with his new parents.

Once both sides are introduced, it's time for worlds to collide as Hudson continues to search for the elusive India passage. He comes into contact with the natives and Dancing Fish's tribe, eventually taking the young boy onto his ship as translator, away from everything he's known and the people he cares about to see a wider world off the island.

It's not very often I get to finish a book and immediately write to the author, but that is exactly what I did. I wrote to tell him that I was ecstatic about this book and that I would be recommending the omnibus purchase to my collection manager as soon as I'm back at work. I want everyone to read this and I want to be able to hand people a copy, look at them seriously and say, "You're gonna love it."

The only element of the writing that bothered me and decreased my overall score was a stiltedness early on with the crew of Hudson's expedition. The Hudson chapters before he meets Dancing Fish read like a paraphrasing of someone's journals rather than the development of a unique character. This fades immediately upon his arrival and contact with the local people, but it did make the first few chapters a little sluggish to read.

All in all, though I loved this novella. As soon as there's money in my budget for it, I'm buying the rest of the Kindle editions so I can see where he goes. An excellent historical fiction that gives you all the sense and feel of living in Manhattan back when it was still Mannahatta, still just as full of culture, beauty, artwork, and conflict as it is today.

Childrens Review: Unraveling Rose

Reader copy provided by Edelweiss+ in return for a review.



Unraveling Rose
Brian Wray
Illustrated by Shiloh Penfield

Rating: 4.7/5
Story: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Illustrations: 5/5

Unraveling Rose is the sweet story of a stuffed bunny who likes everything just perfect who develops a loose thread. Eventually, that loose thread drives her to distraction and eventually to picking at it all the time, pulling out her own stuffing. She decides to make a change, restuffs herself and stitches it up, then through time and patience and practice, learns that not everything has to be perfect. The end of the book includes questions and answers about OCD and resources for parents and teachers.

Rose herself is utterly charming, sympathetic and adorable, as is the boy who snuggles her and reads books with her. The illustrations do an excellent job of portraying Rose's increasing distress over her loose thread and the relief afterwards of finally having a direction to go that may help.

I feel very strongly that more children's material needs to exist to address compassionate ways to recognized and approach mental illness. It's a very personal passion, since I lived most of my life with an anxiety disorder that went undiagnosed until my early 30s. Putting this kind of material into the hands of children, parents, and teachers is so important.

While I acknowledge the lack of material currently circulating, I had some concerns about this title. The author makes direct suggestions of what parents and teachers should do, rather than directing each question to an authority. The author, while very well-informed and certainly well-intentioned, makes it seem easy for a child to make the changes needed to accommodate OCD and anxiety; this is far from the truth. It takes a long time, proper medical and potentially pharmacological interventions and a lot of trial and error. The steps presented can alleviate problems, but will not fix the root of the compulsions and anxiety. Ideally, I would like more emphasis placed on discussing problems and compulsions with a trained professional rather than hinting to parents that they can handle this kind of thing on their own.

Vlog Posting: Joshilyn Jackson Makes Me Cry

Hey, guys! I just wanted to let you know that there's a YouTube-exclusive book review video up right now on my channel. I would love it if you could check it out and give it a thumbs-up or a comment!

Adult Review: Dayworld

Reader copy provided by Netgalley in return for a review.



Dayworld (reissue; originally published in 1985)
Philip Jose Farmer

Rating: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5

In Dayworld, human immortality had been unlocked. With an application of energy, humans can be "stoned," a process which suspends the animation of their cells, rendering them immune to damage or age. To accommodate the skyrocketing population of Earth, the government had instituted a time-sharing arrangement. Each person is un-stoned for one 24-hour period and allowed to live their life normally. At the end of the day, they return to their cylinders to be stoned again and someone else wakes up to take their place for the next day. This essentially allows one house or apartment to have seven different families living in it.

Of course, something like this has to be carefully monitored and organized at all times, which is handled by the government. Not everyone is happy with the government's oppressive hand in their lives and an underground of spies, rebels, and informants has developed. Jeff Caird, the protagonist is one of these, known as immers. He lives every day, juggling seven different personas, seven different lives in an effort to gather information for the immers. But when an immer goes rogue and starts daybreaking, Jeff and all his personas are in danger and it's a stop-and-go roller coaster of a chase.

I love this book. I'm a little embarrassed that I just found out that it isn't a new book (the Netgalley book appears to be a reissue/rebranding of the original), but that does help sort out my reaction. As I was reading Dayworld, I couldn't help but think of some of the original masters of science fiction and dystopian fiction: Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, E. E. Doc Smith. I was swept up in the world, integrated into the story so quickly that it was almost impossible to put it down again. Dayworld is fantastic. I am so glad they're reprinting it so it can catch the imaginations of another generation.

Adult Review: Written in Dead Wax (Vinyl Detective #1)

Written in Dead Wax: the Vinyl Detective book 1.
Andrew Cartmel

Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5

The Vinyl Detective is a British record collector who brags that he can find any record and then gets his chance to prove it. A woman named Nevada shows up in his small town with one of his business cards; turns out she's working for a high-class record collector in Japan. And then the bodies start showing up...

I want to run to the office of my library's collection manager and demand that she order the rest of this series immediately. Andrew Cartmel is a playwright and screenwriter who has done work for Torchwood and the Midsomer Murders, both of which I adore, and he was a script editor for Doctor Who at one point. To say he's already proved himself capable of working a story-line would be an understatement.

The Vinyl Detective benefits from a lilting sense of humor, Cartmel's lightning quick dialog, and a cast of unruly misfits who still manage to get the job done. The characters were engaging and unique, though I was mildly troubled by the trope-ishness of his female characters. Nevada and Ree both redeem themselves by the end of the story and Fanny and Turk require no redeeming. Because they're cats.

The story does have two distinct parts, noted as "Side One" and "Side Two." They almost read like separate but interconnected novellas. This wasn't a problem for me, but it was a little startling since Side Two takes the protagonist from Britain to California in only a few phrases. I also spent a good portion of the last few rising-action chapters yelling at the characters for not seeing such an obvious conclusion. I had figured out the major story, though Cartmel did throw me for a loop in the final resolution of the story. The ending was satisfying, though demanded additional books because I'm not ready to leave this bunch digging in used vinyl crates and taking steam baths with cats.

A side note: I have not mentioned the main character's name because I noticed 2/3rds of the way through the book that he doesn't seem to have one. The whole story is told first-person and no one ever calls him by a legal name. He gets a few nicknames, but that's all. I was embarrassed about this because it took me so long to notice.

To sum up: I recommend this book highly for fans of mystery, technical geekery, Jazz history, and cats.

Teen Review: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer
Rick Riordan

Rating: 4/5

The Sword of Summer begins another of Rick Riordan's multi-book series centered on mythology from different regions. This particular series focuses on Norse and Scandinavian mythology and opens with a smart-aleck first-person narrator named Magnus. As Magnus is introduced to a new world of monsters and gods that lives parallel to the world he knew, Riordan brings out a time-tested formula of snappy narrator, unknown evil, and a whole new set of rules that the reader is learning just as the main character is. The result is a fast-paced, hysterically funny read for teens, mature children, and adults who can't resist a smart-mouthed narrator.

Rick Riordan does follow a formula in writing these mythology reboot series, it really is a fantastic formula. His characters glow, popping off the page both from his dialog and his vivid descriptions. The action happens fast, at the speed of the character's grasp of the situation. And then there's the later commentary from now-Magnus looking back on then-Magnus. Riordan is a master of the cliff-hanger ending, drawing the reader from page to page even between chapters with a constant sense of curiosity.

This series came to my attention after the announcement that Rick Riordan had been awarded the Stonewall Award for the second installment. In that book, he introduces a trans and gender-fluid character, Alex Fierro.

Rick Riordan (in his acceptance speech): "I think, to support young LGBTQ readers, the most important thing publishing can do is to publish and promote more stories by LGBTQ authors, authentic experiences by authentic voices. We have to keep pushing for this. The Stonewall committee’s work is a critical part of that effort. I can only accept the Stonewall Award in the sense that I accept a call to action – firstly, to do more myself to read and promote books by LGBTQ authors." 

SHAMEless self-promotion

Hey, guys! I've started a YouTube channel where I intend to do verbal reviews and occasional analysis of books, graphic novels, and films. I'm also planning for some library advocacy and maybe some behind-the-scenes peeks at working in a library. I would appreciate it so much if you'd check it out and give me a follow over there.

I've also opened a Patreon for the channel and this blog, mostly focused on breaking even with equipment upgrades and book rentals. Patrons will have access to a private Discord server as well as patron-only updates, videos, and other goodies. I deeply appreciate anything you might be able to toss my way.

Thanks so much for reading!

Book Spazzing: Dayworld

This is one of my current review copy reads. I was planning on just doing a 10-minute review, skim it and recommend it.

I'm 36% of the way through and I can't put it down. OMG, I'm so excited about this book. It's a throw-back to the paranoia of Philip K. Dick and the forward-looking science of Isaac Asimov. It's balanced in pace and Farmer is the MASTER of cliff-hanger chapters that make you need to turn the page and keep going. I stayed in the tub reading it for TWO HOURS last night because I kept saying, "Well, just to the end of this chapter, then I'll get out." The water was cold and I still kept reading.

I'm not even done with the book and I want to tell everyone I know, "Read this. Don't wait." Except that you have to. It's not released yet. So you have to (unless you have access to Netgalley). I don't rave about books very often, especially if I'm not already familiar with the author (see my forthcoming review of Cold Welcome by Elizabeth Moon) but I am raving about this.

Adult Review: Manhattan Lockdown

Based on an advanced reader copy received through Edelweiss+ in return for an honest review.



Manhattan Lockdown
Paul Batista

Overall Rating: 3/5 
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 1/5
Writing: 2/5

Manhattan Lockdown tells the story of a bombing in New York City, an apparent terror attack on the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It follows a variety of interesting characters as they begin the process of locking down the island of Manhattan.

I'll be honest. I didn't finish. I actually really wanted to; the plot is captivating and the story made me deeply curious about what was going to happen and how it was going to resolve. But the characters were one-dimensional, cardboard cut-outs with very little appeal and the pace of the novel dragged horribly. The first four chapters tell the exact same sequence of events from the perspective of four different people without advancing the story. The first four chapters cover about fifteen minutes of in-story time and without sucking me into the lives of any of those people. I was really disappointed, since I had really been looking forward to reading this. I still look forward to reading it, for the story, but it's just not something I can handle right now.

Teen Review: Mimus

Mimus
Lilli Thal


Overall Rating: 5/5 <- genuine average
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5

Mimus is the story of Florin, the crown prince of a kingdom set in the Middle Ages, though the world is not exactly our own. His father is tricked into agreeing to a peace treaty and Florin in turn is trapped by King Theodo, who decides to apprentice the prince to his court jester, a grumpy, taciturn man named Mimus.

I listened to this book on audio CD several years ago, but it has so captured my heart that I own a paperback copy as well. Lilli Thal's characters are complex and compelling and her world is realistic enough to believe while still whimsical enough to draw you in and makes you want to stay there. This book had excellent compulsion bait: I couldn't put the audio book down. It was one of those books where I sat in my car whenever I'd gotten where I was going to just listen to the reader talking about my favorite people just a little longer.

Highly recommended for readers of all ages, though the main characters are teenagers. Mimus is an older man which gives the story some depth for adults as well, as he is also extremely relateable.

Adult Review: The Fever

The Fever
Written by Megan Abbott



Overall Rating: 2/5
Plot: 2/5
Characters: 1/5
Writing: 2/5

After taking a dip in the local polluted lake, several girls in a school begin showing symptoms of some strange disease, causing uproar and chaos in a small town. This story focuses on the stories of Deenie, a teenaged girl just coming into her sexual maturity; Eli, her older brother and a star player for the hockey team; and their father, Tom, a well-known teacher in the school. Viewpoints jump between these primary characters, with occasional jaunts to explore other viewpoints, all told third-person limited.

I got to the end of this book, placed it in my lap, looked at my husband and said, "I still don't know." I spent the entire book waiting to see if it was any good. Trying desperately to decide if it was worth reading. Was it scary? Was it supposed to be supernatural? In the end, I put it down feeling like I still didn't know if it was good or not. Which, I suppose, means it wasn't.

The writing is actually very beautiful. Lush and ethereal, it gives the setting a very abstract quality that works fairly well in scaring the living snot out of the reader. But the characters are uninteresting, self-absorbed, and uncompelling. The plot takes 70% of the book to even really get rolling, at which point it actually tells you everything that happened in the course of about twenty pages and then it's the end of the story. I found this book very poorly paced and not something I'm likely to recommend.

Also, as an active reader and reviewer of YA material, I found the teen characterization to be very lacking. It feels like teens written through the lens of parents or other adults who don't understand them, as if everything they do is adults looking at each other, shrugging and saying, "Kids, right? Nobody gets them." These inner thoughts are not the inner thoughts of real adolescents but the characterization of adults who have forgotten what it's like to think like a confused teenager. And that is probably the major failing of the book for me.

Non-fiction Review: Happiness Like Water

Happiness Like Water
by Chinelo Okparanta

Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 3/5

This collection of short stories and essays is written by a Nigerian immigrant in scenes from her homeland.

While I found the stories and characters fascinating, I struggled greatly with the voice. I didn't finish the material, but I hope to go back when I have more cognitive space to give this collection the attention it deserves. I can tell it's important and meaningful, but I just wasn't in the right place to read it this time around.

Watch this space.

Adult Review: Death in D Minor

Review provided in return for ARC from Netgalley.




Death in D Minor 
Alexia Gordon

Overall Rating: 5/5
Plot: pending
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5

Death in D Minor is the second in Alexia Gordon's Gethsemane Brown mysteries and now that I've read a third of the second book, I know that I have to go back and read the first one, Murder in G Major. It's only 99 cents on Kindle so I can't rightly say no, either.

Gethsemane is an American professional musician living in Ireland. From the hints and references in the second book, her first adventure included occult studies, exploration, a heaping helping of sass (from both her and her ghostly companion) and I can't wait to read it. While I'm sure Death in D Minor stands on it's own for those who aren't obsessive about reading timeline books in order ((unlike me)), I'm itching to read about those adventures first hand. I'm already sucked into the story of this book, which centers on Gethsemane's attempts to foil an American hotel hot shot, who intends to buy the music-historically important cottage which she current rents. Add to that background sass-fest (complete with Trump nose-thumbing) Gethsemane's brother-in-law, a museum curator specializing in antique textiles and a potential art forgery/theft ring. I really want to know what happens there, but I feel a visceral, driving need to read the first book first.

So... it's an incomplete review, but still a rave! I didn't finish but only because I am driven to read the series in order. This series is definitely going on my recommended purchases list for our library collection.

Adult Review: Days Until Home

Based on a promotional eBook received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


Days Until Home
By: Mark Gardner, Greg Dragon, David Kristoph
Release Date: 07/04/2017

Overall Rating: 3/5
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Writing: 2/5

Days Until Home is a collaborative novel written by three different authors. It tells the story of the mining ship Kerwood and its crew as they pull a normal mining contract on an asteroid and prepare to go home. A massive explosion cripples the ship and leaves the crew and miners struggling to recover both physically and emotionally from the devastation.

I really wanted to love this book. I was primed for it: hard sci-fi is what I grew up reading. I was excited about the potential of the blurb I read, which is why I requested the ARC from NetGalley in the first place. Unfortunately, this piece remains potential without a backbone. Most of the problems with the book can be traced back to its collaborative nature, unfortunately. I suspect it was way more fun to write than it was to read, speaking from the experience of a collaborative fiction writer (hi, Robin!).

For me, it came down to too many cooks in the kitchen. I found it nearly impossible to identify a main character, which given the multiple red herrings and switchbacks that the authors used, was probably intentional. There were so many named characters who had no depth or background beyond their presence in the crew of the Kerwood that I almost needed a chart to keep track of them and who they were sleeping with, affiliated with, and distrusted by. They all had potential depth, but they weren't important enough to the story to get more than a first name, a hair color, and a death scene.

In my notes as I was reading this, I reached the one-third point still filled with hope and excitement. I could see that the writers had the ability to build suspense and drive the plot forward. The sad part was that all that suspense was quickly resolved and drifted off to follow another aspect of the story. Instead of staying closely tied to a few characters, I read from the point of view of so many that I wasn't even sure who I was supposed to be cheering for.

Additionally, from a diversity in sci-fi perspective, I was very disappointed in the society that was built in this story. One of the protagonists, Viktor, is frequently cited as being Russian, with a thick Balkan accent, but this seems to be only an affectation. His perspective is the same as all the other characters, with nothing in it to make him uniquely Russian. For that matter, why is Earth still using the same country designations this far into the future, when it seems that country lines have been put aside in favor of planetary or settlement affiliations?

While I applaud the inclusion of women in space, especially those who apparently have a lesbian or bisexual orientation, most of the women seem to be either crazy, sexually attractive, or sexually neutral but loyal. Dialog between female characters was woefully under-researched; they talked to each other like heroines from a romance novel, all figurative imagery and earnest fluff. For that matter, one of the red herrings (spoilers) centers on the idea that women can't stand the conditions in space and so they build an illicit shower in one of the holding tanks and sold shower time to the other female crew members.

In conclusion, if this had been written by only one or two of the authors, it might have been a decent hard sci-fi novel. As it stands, I found it a meandering and underdeveloped read.

**EDIT** Shortly after posting this review, one of the authors contacted me and I learned that it was originally written as a serial story at Article 94.This put much of the writing style in context for me. While most of my criticism still stands, the pacing issues make more sense now if it was written chapter-by-chapter instead of as a novel.

Adult Review: The Rememberers

Based on a promotional eBook received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.



The Rememberers by C. Edward Baldwin

Overall Rating: 2/5
Plot: 2/5
Characters: 2/5
Writing: 2/5

After about a quarter of the book, I finally had to put it down. The character were uninspired, the story was taking forever to get anywhere and I really didn't care where it seemed to be going. I feel bad that I didn't finish it, but I really wasn't enjoying it and didn't see the point to torturing myself any further.

I can see this book as being enjoyable for people who enjoyed Dan Brown's Davinci Code, but it really wasn't something I personally enjoyed.

Adult Review: The Best of Adam Sharp

The Best of Adam Sharp
Graeme Simsion

Overall Rating: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Writing: 5/5

The Best of Adam Sharp introduces the character of Adam Sharp, a musician who has a day job in information technology. While Adam is a very talented pianist, he limits himself to noodling around with the piano at his favorite pub. Adam has been content in his life, living with his partner, Clare, and knocking 'em dead in music trivia at the pub quiz challenge. Re-enter Angelina Brown, a TV actress with whom Adam had a brief affair in his twenties. It starts with something simple, a single word email that mushrooms into a wild romp across several countries and many different states of mind.

I loved this book, honestly. I picked it up on the recommendation of a patron who knows my tastes and she was dead on, as usual. This book also found me in a strange point in my life, so some of the off-kilter nature of Adam's mid-life crisis was familiar to me, even though he is 15 years my senior. The book is peppered with musical references, both to pop music of the 60s and 70s and to obscure musicians and how all of this can weave together to make a sound track of your life. To continue this theme, the publishers also made a Spotify playlist called "Music to Read By" which contains all of the music referenced in the story (that's available on Spotify), in the order it's mentioned in the story. Listening to this playlist while reading the book really added to my experience of immersion in the world and was an inspired touch.

The plot moves slowly in places, but in a way that feels like it's supposed to feel slow, as if the world has shifted perspective and everything is seen in the disjointed flashes of stop-motion or a strobe light in a dark club. Likewise, the characters are not always likable, though I feel like I could sit down with Adam and have a pint easily. Likability aside, they are excellently developed and you can see Adam's progression from his twenties to his late forties, how life and experience shapes him and renders things from the past nostalgic if vague. Simsion's writing carries a voice that I could almost hear, a rhythmic, musical language that made me very attached to Adam by the end of the story.

A warning to those who have read the Rosie books: This is not the Rosie Project. While I haven't read his other work, I have been told by those that have that The Best of Adam Sharp is a widely different experience, harsher in places and with an ending that seems sad to some, but felt logical and satisfying to me. I encourage everyone to read it, but just be aware that it's a very different story that showcases the author's flexibility. In particular, I would recommend this to adults in their late thirties through late forties who may remember the music without needing the playlist. Men and women will take different things away from the story and I feel it would be interesting to both.

Adult Review: Static

Static
Written by K.A. Witt

Overall Rating: 5/5
Plot: 5
Characters: 5
Writing: 4.5

Static is set in a near future alternative universe in which shapeshifters exist. The twist on the theme is that shapeshifters switch between male and female gender-forms rather than between human and non-human forms. In this universe, a shifter named Alex is forced to receive an implant that locks him into his male form. This happens to come as a surprise to his boyfriend, Damon, who has only ever known Alex as a woman. The story follows the emotional upheaval this causes in their lives and relationship as Alex tries to decide what course to follow, medically and legally while Damon struggles with his feelings for female-Alex and what it means to be in love with a whole person, regardless of gender.

I want to write an objective, non-biased review of this book. I really do. But the material is so close to my heart that I just can't.

I love this book. I want everyone I know to read this book. I want to live inside this book. I want to see this book in the catalog of every LGBT-friendly library in America. Preferably multiple copies.

The book progresses excellently between both points of view, telling one chapter from Alex's first-person perspective and the next from Damon's. It includes other shifter characters, static trans characters, static gay folks, static straight folks. It's a world that still doesn't fully accept gay and trans people, but it's even more uncomfortable with shifters. The world isn't perfect and I appreciate the reality of that world, where characters have their own unique struggles in addition to the more mundane struggles we would experience here.

All the characters, even the minor ones, are fleshed out and give a vivid life that makes you want to follow them into their own stories. The plot moves quickly without rushing and I felt a familiar bubble of tension and joy throughout the story as it moved towards its ultimate ending. I've read better, tighter writing, but not much of it and the story overcame any fault I could possibly imagine finding with the writing.

I want to write fanfiction in this world. I love Static and I hope you'll read it and love it, too.

Adult Review: Peripheral People

Based on a promotional eBook received from NetGalley in exchange for a review.



Peripheral People, a Ylendrian Universe novel
Written by Reesa Herberth and Michelle Moore

Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Plot: 4.5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 3/5

This title is the most recent volume in a series of interconnected stand-alone science fiction books. Having this information negated most of my original protests about the plot development, which seemed forced and rushed with assumptions of knowledge about the world which the reader had no access to. Perhaps if I had read the previous books, I wouldn't have had this initial hurdle to overcome, so a simple word of warning: series, not the first book.

Peripheral People is set in a world of science fiction against a hard sci-fi backdrop of Imperial governance over a series of affiliated planets. Mostly, this rule appears to be accepted by the people of the various planets and the citizens of the Empire welcome the IEC agents who are the central focus of this particular book. Most of the characters appear to be human or at the very least humanoid, though details in this area are scant: I was startled to discover late in the book that the captain's race has triple-jointed digits, making him/her far more alien than the ability to switch between genders.

The main plot line centers around a pair of IEC inspectors, Corwin Menivie and Nika Santivan, and their psi-trained Agents, Westley Tavera and Gavin Hale. Corwin has a reputation for loathing psi agents and Westley is by nature and design an effusive and irritating personality. While they don't get along well on their small ship at first, a grudging respect and attraction grows between them against the backdrop of Nika and Gavin getting it on like gangbusters.

While the romance between the couples is part of the story, it is hardly the focus. The team is investigating a murder which West came across by accident in pursuit of an unrelated case. As they investigate this dangerous new murder, obviously psi-gifted and unstable, the team have to negotiate their personal lives in addition to addressing the rapidly multiplying bodies. While this story takes a bit to get off the ground, it quickly becomes the utterly consuming focus of both the team and the reader.

This book was slow to start for me. I struggled with shifting perspectives between characters and occasionally inconsistent modes of address: first names are informal, last names are professional, and sometimes they switch suddenly and I kept forgetting who belonged to which last name. As previously mentioned, there were details of setting and description which I felt were missing and made it hard to place what was going on and how things were supposed to progress. I suspect this is largely due to its placement as the most recent installment in a series and am actually really looking forward to locating and reading the rest of the series.

Once the story takes off, I couldn't put this down. Half-way through the book, it was a wild and bumpy ride, both with the characters' relationships and the unfolding mystery. Overall, this book was slightly predictable, but well worth the read, an excellent addition to an LGBT-friendly sci-fi collection.

Adult Review: Secret Sanction

Secret Sanction
by Brian Haig

Overall Rating: 3/5
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 3/5
Writing: 4/5

Secret Sanction, published in 2001, is the first in Haig's series of military courtroom novels starring Sean Drummond. Told in first person, the story explores Drummond's investigation into a slaughter in Kosovo. During the investigation, more death happens and Drummond is determined to get to the bottom of the story with a strong sense of truth, justice, and American honor.

While I enjoyed Drummond himself, with is snarky, almost Deadpool-esque humor, there were more than a few things about this book that troubled me. The writing is good, smooth and moves the story along very well. It's easy to follow, interesting and entertaining.

But Drummond shows his own disregard for women constantly throughout the book. Women are objects to be looked at and conquered. Sure, they can be spunky and smart, tough and capable, but generally, if she isn't attractive, she's useful. If she's got great legs, she's also super-smart, but he sure as hell doesn't respect her. As a woman, I was very taken aback by the institutional rape culture Drummond feeds into in this book. He approaches a woman he thinks is attractive; she turns him down. He tries again. She turns him down again. He tries again (usually while falling deeper into drunkeness) and she turns him down. Over and over and over again, she turns him down. But she flirts with him and wears sexy clothing, bends low over her drinks and purrs. But she won't have him. And in the end, as the clincher to the whole book (spoiler!) he gets her a job in his unit ultimately because "I don't give up easy."

The misogyny throughout is problematic enough without the additional racist characterizations. One incidental character is actually described as "mulatto-skinned." I read it aloud to my husband, just to get his take and he just stared at me and said, "How did that get published?"

This book and it's author have their audience. But it's going to be a hard sell for anyone in a younger generation or with more socially conscious mindsets. Good series to recommend for fans of Grisham, WEB Griffin, and similar military-minded genres. Steer clear if you're hoping for a strong woman who doesn't wear a plunging neckline or have a face like a hatchet (there is no in between for strong women in Haig, it would seem: gorgeous and flirty or ugly as sin and stubborn).

Adult Review: The Green Kangaroos

Based on a promotional eBook received from NetGalley in exchange for a review.



The Green Kangaroos
Written by Jessica McHugh

Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Plot: 4
Characters: 4
Writing: 3

The Green Kangaroos is set in a speculative near-future in which televisions exist on every corner and broadcast a set material based on where you live. A class system has come more strongly into play in the United States and Baltimore is rife with drugs and degradation. A drug called Atlys has come into the forefront and its use is encouraged by a cultural phenomenon called "potsticking" in which active Atlys users sell bits of their flesh in return for money and drugs to restaurants, which in turn sell them for the consumption of the extremely rich.

Perry Sampson is one of these drug users, fallen from a middle-class family in the wake of his older brother's OD and his parents' perceived neglect. His little sister hopes to rehabilitate him, to regain the relationship with her brother she used to have, but Perry has resisted those attempts for years. When his sister catches wind of a new treatment with advertised 100% success rates, Perry is in for a wild ride beyond even his own reality with not only his own life on the line, but that of his entire family.

I really loved this book, but it was a hard book to read. It was graphically violent, rife with strong language and sexual imagery, and tackled some deeply disturbing cultural taboos. Due to the nature of the book, these elements were necessary and even in keeping with character and world, but it didn't make it any easier to read without wanting to put the book down. It is for these elements that it receives such a low score for me. I would love to recommend it for the story, for the characters, and for the world they live in, but most of my readers would be put off by the graphic and taboo elements. For those that aren't, though, it's a fantastic read with compelling characters (I love Emily in particular) and a twisted ending.

Teen Review: March: Book Two

March: Book Two
by John Robert Lewis and Andrew Aydin, artist Nate Powell

Overall Rating: 5/5
Plot: 5
Characters: 5
Writing: 5

This title is the second in a planned trilogy of nonfiction graphic novels following the life of Congressman John Robert Lewis and his activities during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. The story progresses through flashbacks with Lewis' narrative descriptions and storytelling interspersed with flash-forward sequences centered on President Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony.

I am wildly in love with this series for a variety of reasons. I am personally very much a product of my culture and time period. I grew up in the 80s and 90s in an entirely white area of northern Michigan. My American history was focused mostly on the Civil War and WWII. I have a smattering of information about what happened during the Civil Rights Movement, but mostly, I admit that I have no idea. None at all.

This graphic novel series has helped me realize how little I actually know. I didn't know about the Freedom Riders. I didn't know what they went through, the choices they made, the way political and social decisions shaped the movement. I don't know anything about it and reading this and it's predecessor makes me both ashamed that I know so little and ravenous to learn more. This is part of American history that we should not be ignorant of and I am profoundly grateful that these graphic novels are making that history easily accessible to the public, both young and old.

The artwork is fantastic, the writing is accessible and easily understood. The subject matter is graphic in the violent and bloody sense of the word, but there's a reason for that: this period of history was violent and bloody; people called each other horrible words and they are present in this book. But to remove those aspects from this history would be to make the struggle pretty, take away the gritty reality that was a real life-and-death struggle for black Americans.

I can't wait for the next book. And while I wait, I'm going to do more reading. I feel that I owe the Freedom Riders that much.