Book reviews for the win
Oct. 9th, 2022 06:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kiriel123Another book review post - it really is a cross genre list this time.
A Spindle Splintered by Alix Harrow 7/10
A take on Sleeping Beauty. The main character, Zinnia, is chronically ill and isn't expected to live past 21. She latched onto the tale of Sleeping Beauty as a child, relating to Briar Rose, trapped sleeping in her tower, As her 21st birthday is likely to be the last one she'll have, her BFF Charm goes all out on a Sleeping Beauty themed party. But when Zinnia pricks her finger on the spinning wheel Charm used as part of the party decorations, she finds herself transported to another world with another Sleeping Beauty. A cute, short YA read, I enjoyed how the author played with the tropes of a classic fairy tale.
Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire 7/10
The latest in the Wayward Children book series. This one focuses on Cora, who did not have a good time in the last book, and is now haunted by the specter of the previous world they went to. She leaves the Eleanor West Home for Wayward Children for the other school that caters to kids coming back from lost doorways - The Whitethorn Institute. While there she starts to uncover a conspiracy that is so much bigger than she could have suspected. I really enjoyed how this book expanded the world building of the series and Cora's journey in it.
The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis 6/10
A YA retelling of
The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy 6/10
A book club pick that I never would have read on my own, but sometimes it's fun to read something different. This was written in 1980 and took place in the 60s and I found the view point into that time most interesting. Will is a senior about to graduate a prestigious military institute when he and his friends get pulled into a conspiracy around a shadow fraternity that has haunted the school for decades. Did not hold back when it came to the hazing freshmen experience and how military academies shape students who attend. I read that the author based a lot of the book on his own experiences and when this came out was blacklisted by almost all military schools.
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner 5/10
Caroline had been planning a romantic getaway with her husband to London but then she discovers that he's been cheating on her, so decides to do the getaway solo while she contemplates her future. She finds an old glass bottle in the river and decides to unravel the mystery of how it ended up there. The book jumps back and forth between present day with Caroline and the past, with the apothecary shop where the bottle came from, which caters to women looking to poison the men in their lives who have hurt them, run by Nella. I did not enjoy this at all, I found it very boring, and Caroline and Nella were both irritating I won't be reading anything else by this author. I did actually manage to finish the book, hence the 5 star rating.
The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz 5/10
Another book club pick. Jacob Finch Bonner published a bestseller when he was young and has been writing nothing but duds since. He's embraced the, those who can't do, teach, mentality and now is a professor of writing for aspiring young authors. One of his students shares the plot of his novel and says it can't fail to become a worldwide phenomenon, but the student dies before it ever gets published. Jacob, not seeing any reason to waste this excellent plot, publishes the book himself, and as predicted returns to the days of bestselling fame. Only someone out there knows his idea is stolen - and is determined to make him pay for it. Also found this very tedious. Jacob is INSUFFERABLE, I could not have disliked him more, and the whole thing was a slog to read.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo 7/10
Set in the 1950s, Lily Hu is in high school and loves math and science and maybe, possible girls as well. She and her fellow student and crush, Kath, bond and together secretly go to a lesbian bar, the Telegraph Club. This was delightful every step of the way. I loved Lily's journey, and her relationship with her family and her community and how that intertwines with her desires and future.
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson 8/10
In a world where technology exists to jump between parallel realities, as long as you're already dead in that reality. Cara has access to the most worlds, her alternative selves almost universally dying young. She works for a company that gathers information on other worlds and uses it to predict the path their own world will take. But when her latest jump is done with bad intel she finds herself caught up in a conspiracy she couldn't have imagined. I loooooved this, I sat down to read it on Saturday morning and didn't stop until I was done on Saturday evening.
A Spindle Splintered by Alix Harrow 7/10
A take on Sleeping Beauty. The main character, Zinnia, is chronically ill and isn't expected to live past 21. She latched onto the tale of Sleeping Beauty as a child, relating to Briar Rose, trapped sleeping in her tower, As her 21st birthday is likely to be the last one she'll have, her BFF Charm goes all out on a Sleeping Beauty themed party. But when Zinnia pricks her finger on the spinning wheel Charm used as part of the party decorations, she finds herself transported to another world with another Sleeping Beauty. A cute, short YA read, I enjoyed how the author played with the tropes of a classic fairy tale.
Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire 7/10
The latest in the Wayward Children book series. This one focuses on Cora, who did not have a good time in the last book, and is now haunted by the specter of the previous world they went to. She leaves the Eleanor West Home for Wayward Children for the other school that caters to kids coming back from lost doorways - The Whitethorn Institute. While there she starts to uncover a conspiracy that is so much bigger than she could have suspected. I really enjoyed how this book expanded the world building of the series and Cora's journey in it.
The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis 6/10
A YA retelling of
The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy 6/10
A book club pick that I never would have read on my own, but sometimes it's fun to read something different. This was written in 1980 and took place in the 60s and I found the view point into that time most interesting. Will is a senior about to graduate a prestigious military institute when he and his friends get pulled into a conspiracy around a shadow fraternity that has haunted the school for decades. Did not hold back when it came to the hazing freshmen experience and how military academies shape students who attend. I read that the author based a lot of the book on his own experiences and when this came out was blacklisted by almost all military schools.
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner 5/10
Caroline had been planning a romantic getaway with her husband to London but then she discovers that he's been cheating on her, so decides to do the getaway solo while she contemplates her future. She finds an old glass bottle in the river and decides to unravel the mystery of how it ended up there. The book jumps back and forth between present day with Caroline and the past, with the apothecary shop where the bottle came from, which caters to women looking to poison the men in their lives who have hurt them, run by Nella. I did not enjoy this at all, I found it very boring, and Caroline and Nella were both irritating I won't be reading anything else by this author. I did actually manage to finish the book, hence the 5 star rating.
The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz 5/10
Another book club pick. Jacob Finch Bonner published a bestseller when he was young and has been writing nothing but duds since. He's embraced the, those who can't do, teach, mentality and now is a professor of writing for aspiring young authors. One of his students shares the plot of his novel and says it can't fail to become a worldwide phenomenon, but the student dies before it ever gets published. Jacob, not seeing any reason to waste this excellent plot, publishes the book himself, and as predicted returns to the days of bestselling fame. Only someone out there knows his idea is stolen - and is determined to make him pay for it. Also found this very tedious. Jacob is INSUFFERABLE, I could not have disliked him more, and the whole thing was a slog to read.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo 7/10
Set in the 1950s, Lily Hu is in high school and loves math and science and maybe, possible girls as well. She and her fellow student and crush, Kath, bond and together secretly go to a lesbian bar, the Telegraph Club. This was delightful every step of the way. I loved Lily's journey, and her relationship with her family and her community and how that intertwines with her desires and future.
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson 8/10
In a world where technology exists to jump between parallel realities, as long as you're already dead in that reality. Cara has access to the most worlds, her alternative selves almost universally dying young. She works for a company that gathers information on other worlds and uses it to predict the path their own world will take. But when her latest jump is done with bad intel she finds herself caught up in a conspiracy she couldn't have imagined. I loooooved this, I sat down to read it on Saturday morning and didn't stop until I was done on Saturday evening.
