Michelle
Well-written autobiography about fame, depression, personal demons, and a love of dogs.
The Sky is Everywhere didn't take off for me fully until past the half-way point. When Lennie was specifically dealing with or speaking or writing about her grief over the loss of her sister, the story was great, but I found myself less into the love triangle angle, or at least one participant in the triangle. Lennie was still making her decisions there based on her sorrow, but I found myself not having an interest in seeing her make the particular mistake she did. As soon as the story narrowed down to one love interest and her interactions with her family, I stopped feeling like some pages were a slog. Jandy Nelson is a really terrific writer, the prose almost poetry, and the poetry something sublime. Adored [b:I'll Give You the Sun 20820994 I'll Give You the Sun Jandy Nelson https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496659336s/20820994.jpg 11409817], and I found myself very happy I'd read this by the end. Fave quotes: “...all of a sudden the breath is kicked out of me and I???m shoved onto the cold hard concrete floor of my life now, because I remember I can???t run home after school and tell Bails about a new boy in band. My sister dies over and over again, all day long.”I've felt that, haven't you? The moment when you remember the conversation with this person is over. That you can't hear their comments or advice ... or laughter. “I start to think about all the things I haven???t said since Bailey died, all the words stowed deep in my heart, in our orange bedroom, all the words in the whole world that aren???t said after someone dies because they are too sad, too enraged, too devastated, too guilty, to come out???all of them begin to course inside me like a lunatic river.”I've also been there. Words left unsaid because the only person I want to say them too is gone!
I received a copy of this title from Netgalley. Here are my thoughts.
I should have liked this book based on Louisiana, the bayou, a family curse, and a haunted house. Instead, I really struggled with the writing and was unable to engage. The language was often overwrought, but in other cases felt lifeless, and I was turned off by it early on, which affected everything. While I cared about the characters in abstract and wanted some answers, there were few moments where I enjoyed this journey.
Towards the end, I found some moments and concepts scary or interesting, but it's a long journey there. I liked the concept of the ghosts as truly lost spirits wandering in confusion. I'm always creeped out by that.
I lightly cared about the characters, but not at the level I needed to. They have this deeply traumatic backstory while not being deep characters. I didn't want them harmed, but also felt like I wasn't going to be deeply wounded no matter what. The only characters I truly cared about were ones with their fates well sealed.
It took me months to finish this book. I could have quit 100 times. This was such a miss for me.
But I don't recommend anyone write off A Dark Roux – great title – based solely on my experience. This story contains great elements that might work perfectly for someone who doesn't have a road block of not connecting with the writing. Check out a sample, and if you like the voice and the plot, setting, etc. feel right, I believe you will have a more satisfying experience.
I would not advise reading this if metaphors and symbolism aren't your thing. This story is literary, meaning most of the action is internal, and this doesn't work for everyone. Also, it's a Single, which means it's short, and you have to be down with that. (And this is my first 2017 book, and at 33 pages a little bit of a cheat to get going on my goal of 80 books– I will probably cheat some more periodically.)
Hunger refers to the literal hungry children who populate the story, but it also refers to the couple who move into the cottage. I don't think anyone wants to move – from the city to the country, from the country to the city, from Town A to Town B – without hunger, without seeking to fill an emptiness.
Whether or not Adrian and Paula are fed, either individually or a a couple, is at the heart of the story. Paula was relatable to be in her introversion, in her search for quiet, in her symbiotic relationship with her new home. Adrian's desperation to make their move work, to believe it's working, is exceptionally well written.
My understanding is this author does horror, and based on the atmosphere she creates here, I would love to read more of her work.
Nice, little more literary, erotica anthology. Particularly enjoyed: Sleep Tight by Janine Ashbless, Her Hair is a Net, Woven by Shanna Germain, and Frosted Glass by Aurelia T. Evans
This is a story really and truly written for children. I think adults are used to children's stories also being made with a layer to please them. Nope, the story – while interesting – is not fleshed out or written to operate on a deeper level.
I enjoyed reading it with an eye to the way the story has become part of our cultural heritage, but inherently a compelling read? Not really. :)
But it is a very quick read.
I'm editing this to remove stars and my initial review. I urge people to Google the author's name and the word abuse or abusive.
Very similar to Band Fags, perhaps too similar. Takes place in the suburbs of Detroit in the eighties.
Ah, sweet romance. Unconventionally attractive tomboy heroine who still manages to, stereotypes aside, have an aversion to blood. Chastity, middle name Virginia, has been in love with Trevor since she was ten-years-old, and they even had a brief fling, but he seems to see her as a little sister/one of the guys. The secondary characters, particularly Chastity's large family, are also well-written and with secondary storylines. I particularly like that another storyline paralleled some of what Chas was going through, but ended with a different (but equally valid) decision. I would have liked a slightly longer resolution scene, but enjoyed this book quite a lot.
Ani is initially very hard to like. She's brittle, mean, a snob, and social climbing. She never becomes completely likable, but who is? We need to stop demanding that. Over the course of the novel, we read about some of how she became this brittle woman. The ways she was hurt, let down, traumatized, betrayed, misunderstood, and abandoned molded much of who she became, and made her story compelling. We're still letting down girls and women in many of the same ways.
When I mentioned in a book group I was reading it, someone pretty much responded “That second half!” The second half is the fulfillment of the slow burn first half, it's true.
After the novel, the author included an essay on what she has in common with Ani. If this is in your copy, please read it! In it, she writes: I know that I made the mistake of thinking that living well is the best revenge. That I figured out, eventually, that the appearance of living well is not the same thing as actually living well.
I think a lot of people make the same mistake, and this is what makes Ani (and the author) so relatable – the way she strive in the wrong ways to heal festering wounds. Ani sometimes drinks a lot of water, and is fixated in food, because she starves and thirsts to get her basic needs met. She thinks if she acquires enough outward success that she can show the people who've harmed her, can show herself, that she is worthy – and even more importantly, that she is safe.
While I really kinda hated the New York engagement modern day stuff, I loved the material with young TiFani, and that made the book worth reading. (That name, though?)
What is my dumb butt going to say that is adequate? Very powerful, and still timely. Heartbreaking. We are still holding girls up to impossible beauty standards, making them feel inherently ugly because of the color of their skin. There's still too much judgement, and not enough love. We're all being nicked and cut by casual and deliberate cruelties. We're still inflicting our pain on others.
I finished this, went to sleep, and woke up almost too sad to get out of bed. My heart is broken for Pecola, for all the Pecolas.
Wonderful resource. Not technically well-written, but from the heart and so helpful. The first had account adopters need. This has helped me a lot with the newest member of my family – an 8 year old puppy mill Sheltie named ‘Gator. So much of what the author writes about with Lucy is what we're seeing with our new guy.
(Originally published at Red Adept Reviews.)
Overall: 5 Stars
Plot/Storyline: 4 3/4 Stars
This is very much a character piece and most of the action is internal. The story concerns a moment in Lana's life when she has to decide who she wants to be - if she wants to cling to her small town, conservative upbringing or if she wants to embrace love and passion in the city, not to mention a little ambiguity.
There are no car crashes and nothing blows up.
Characters: 5 Stars
One character was a bit of a mystery, but I get the impression that was intentional. At the heart of this story is Lana's friendship with Colin. It's one of those relationships that people wouldn't predict. Unfashionable wallflower and gay extrovert. However, the fact of their relationship and its enduring nature hints from the beginning that Lana might not be quite the church mouse that even she's convinced she is and in the story there's a solid reason, several actually, for why she's been afraid to feel or, at least, unclench. I understood and felt for Lana, and I felt as if I too was friends with Colin. And then there's Sin...
Writing Style. 4 3/4 Stars
I was entranced with the language in this story, the lovely use of Lana's relationship with her violin as a metaphor for who she was and who she wanted to be. Early on, she accepted a man's advances – “He took my violin from my submissive hands...” and then shortly after that, “As I lay there, letting him pull of my jeans, I imagined my violin on the carpet, exposed. It rested there, sweetly docile, waiting for someone to lift it, use it, and put it in its place.” The author, simply, had a wonderful, near perfect, way with words. Every once in a while a line felt awkward or not quite right, but I have to say that I was charmed and touched by Lana's story, and moved by the ending.
Solid, not a laugh riot, but entertaining and light. Good selection for when life is bumming you out and other options on the TBR pile are too heavy. (3.5 stars.)
Almost all the stories were done well, but the mix was, well, too grim and depressing for me to give this 5 stars. A few slightly lighter selections would have been great.
From the time I discovered How to Win Friends and Influence People, I've been interested in learning about the power of persuasion. How to ethically make someone agree with you. Whether or not any of the techniques are put into place, this is an interesting book for anyone interested in psychology. It discusses things like why some PSAs have the opposite results than the ones intended – more litterers, more energy use, more natural resources stolen – why post-it notes really get people's attention and cooperation, and why restaurants should ditch their baskets of mints if they want bigger tips for their servers. Fun read and I tortured my husband by sharing many tidbits!
The people who didn't care for this tend to be bothered by the author being successful, or having successful friends – but I knew that going in. Reading is supposed to make you more empathetic, and all the money and famous friends in the world can't shield someone from loss, mourning, and grief.
Joan Didion is called a cool customer early on in the book, and that sums it up – she is calm, measured, and thoughtful in her writing, not at all prone to histrionics, which made me as a reader respond in a similar manner as she explores a very bad year in her life.
Maddy goes to spend the summer at her grandmother's, who lives in the bayou, and in doing so she finds out who she really is, what makes her special, and where she belongs. There's friendship, magic, community, and an oil spill. The oil spill's damage is lessened through magic, if only these things could be handled that way in real life. Still, this story makes clear on a middle grade level all that is at stake when a part of the environment is lost, the lives, jobs, and communities effected.
I've found out in recent weeks about Mami Wata, and she appears in this story. Turns out, not all mermaids look like Ariel, and they never did.
I think one of the most important messages we can impart on children is to not worry about the people who find them odd, but to know there is a place for them in the world, they just need to find it.
Terrific book with compelling photos and stories. If I had any criticism, I occasionally had difficulty telling which photo and piece of text went together.
But this is my 80th book read for the year, which meets my 2017 Goodreads goal!
(Originally published at Red Adept Reviews)
Overall: 4 stars
Plot/Storyline: 3 stars
Almost all the reviews I've read have been pretty negative, and so I had no idea how I would feel about the story. Some of this seems to have to do with the reviewers possibly being fans of the author, or at least knowing his name, but not particularly fans of short stories. Some of these reviewers dinged the story for not making it clear “why” the events happened, the motives of the character that set the plot on motion; I didn't think it was necessary or even expected in a story of this size. (These details can be up to the reader to supply. I don't think there are a shortage of people with motive.) What I do agree with is that, after a certain point, about mid-way, most people will know exactly how the story will end. From that moment on, the reader can only enjoy the other charms of the story, and continue on it order to confirm what he or she already knows.
No Time Left had the feel of an old Twilight Zone episode. Perhaps this is another reason why I didn't need to know the exact why - because this tradition has always played on the reader's sense that there are forces at work, agents who usually dole out some form of poetic justice - with a twist. (Sometimes the tradition is about feeding on our worst paranoid fears, but that's another topic.) I felt like Frank Becker could have walked past Rod Serling at any moment. Of course, this leads me back to how old Twilight Zone episodes also have resolutions that are obvious from a mile away.
Still, the story was pleasing to me. I think potential readers are more apt to enjoy this if they are fans of short stories. If the appeal is the author based on his longer works then there is a chance that they might be at least slightly disappointed. This is a simple story with few events and only one twist.
Characters: 4 1/2 stars
The only character who matters here is Frank Becker. Again, some might mind that we never find out more about his newest client, but I find it to be a non-issue. Baldacci presents a very interesting character study and, in few words, hints at why Becker is the way he is - not the nicest or most popular guy.
I do have to take something off since the first portion of the story is about Becker leaving nothing to chance and being brilliant, but he failed to ask questions at a key moment, failed - after we're told about his patience - to take a few minutes to make sense of things. Baldacci wanted us to see this guy as brilliant, but allowed him to miss important details. He sacrificed character for plot. This is a valid choice, but it's not one that he can make without it dinging characterization.
Writing Style: 5 stars
I found the writing to be interesting and crisp. I can see why the author is popular. I felt Mr. Baldacci told this story the best that he could, given the above issue of predictability and needed moment of character inconsistency. Within the structure and limitations of a short story, the author got across a good amount of information, both through direct exposition and implication.
(Originally published at Red Adept Reviews.)Overall: 3 1/2 StarsPlot/Storyline: 3 1/2 StarsPig Man was genuinely scary at times, particularly the final scene. Some of this might be residual childhood trauma over Jodie the Pig in Amityville Horror. Of course, I read Amityville Horror probably ten times, so what does that say about me? I think though that the author also managed to portray how scary it is to be an adult at home with a young child when the house settles, let alone when there's a real threat.However, upon finishing Pig Man, readers will realize that there is a bit of a narrative cheat at work, an improbability in the storytelling. My guess is this was deliberate in order to jar the reader. It was an interesting gamble and, while I think it added to my surprise, I finished the story feeling a bit tricked.Characters: 3 1/2 StarsPig Man is told from the point of view of a mother who is home with alone with her young daughter, unless you count the dog, while her husband is away on business. Although this was a short story, and there wasn't much time to flesh out the character, I felt like I had an understanding of this woman. She seemed to be chilled by her daughter's stories about Pig Man before most people would be, but I don't think it's a spoiler to say she wasn't wrong.Writing Style: 3 1/2 StarsThe first part of the story often felt like it could have been tighter and used to ratchet up the fear more. There was a sense that everything leading up to the last scene was not the best version of the story that the author was capable of, because, as mentioned, the ending was beyond scary and a notch above the rest.What I liked a lot was the author's sly sense of humor. I heard myself laugh out of surprise twice at lines I didn't see coming and which struck me as very amusing. I loved those moments and love them in particular when used in horror to momentarily defuse tension before everything goes to heck.None of the characters in the story are named. I can see where that could work, but I kept thinking of Jim Dear and Darling from Lady and The Tramp.Editing : 3 1/2 StarsAside from the sense that there should have been more commas as a stylistic preference, there were also a few commas inarguably just missing. Formatting was a bit wonky, with a tendency for whole paragraphs at a time to right justify. There was one hodge-podge sentence – that's what I call it when an author rethinks wording, but accidentally leaves traces of the original sentence.Comment Comment Permalink