Jason
UPDATE:
1.25 stars. For the full podcast discussion and review, listen to the episode here.
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Read for the next episode of the Shit We've Read: After Dark podcast. Rating and link to episode to come later.
Five years ago, I stumbled upon a Kickstarter campaign from a small studio in México looking to create a video game. Although I'm not much of a gamer, I instantly backed the campaign for two reasons; as a Mexican-American, I wanted to see this Mexican team succeed, but perhaps even more personally, as far as my dad's side of the family can gather, our native ancestors are the Tarahumara people. So I was very excited about the prospect of seeing a game about “my” people, even if in all fairness I may not actually play it. Unfortunately, that Kickstarter campaign wasn't successful. Such a bummer.
Fast forward a few years and again, I stumble upon a small independent game called Mulaka, released on the Nintendo Switch. “Wait, wasn't that the name of that one game I backed on Kickstarter?” It was! Despite that initial failure, the small team in México was able to make their game after all! This book tells the amazing story of how.
Making Mulaka is the fun, honest, and inspiring story not only about the resiliency of Lienzo, the developers behind Mulaka, but also about the resiliency of the Tarahumara people who inspired the game. An incredible tale of staying true to your vision, never giving up, and chasing your dreams no matter how far you'll have to go.
Fun fact: while reading this book, I found out one of the game developers and I share a family name. As he and my dad's family are from the same part of México, I like to believe there's a greater than small chance we might be distant cousins :)
UPDATE:
Listen to the full discussion and my review on the Shit We've Read podcast here.
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Read for the next episode of the Shit We've Read podcast. Full review to come after the episode goes live.
All I wanted from this book was to have a good time reading a magical mystery set in a late-Victorian era-inspired world and that is exactly what I got.
This is a tricky one to accurately rate. I loved it and easily rate it at least 4 stars, but I'm going to have to sit with my thoughts for a bit before deciding if that's where it should stay.
UPDATED REVIEW:
Let me start off by saying I am a sucker for dark academia, books about books, and gothic settings, so this book would have had to try hard to disappoint. I'm glad to say that wasn't the case. The decaying almost-haunted house atop a cliff setting was visceral, the enemies-to-lovers romance was incredibly satisfying, and the themes of institutional sexism in academia, the relationship between author and reader, and space for old-world beliefs in a modern world all worked wonderfully.
That said, I still can't help but feel like something was missing. Almost like a new partner tried cooking your favorite childhood dish and although the meal was absolutely delicious and filling in its own right, you can still tell an ingredient was missing‚ even if you can't tell which.
Perhaps that was the intention. This book is about questioning reality—not knowing who or what to believe—and perhaps that applies not just to the story, but to the author's actual writing as well. The story moves along quickly, almost conveniently, setting up only what needs to happen. As I was reading, I felt like key details were being omitted or perhaps happening just offscreen. I knew there was more—a larger world, a larger story—but I wasn't privy to it. At least not yet. Just like Effy, I had to question whether to believe what I was being told or believe what I knew I was seeing. I'm still questioning it. So, I guess in that regard, the book was successful.
Haunting and beautifully written, this book is something special.
Thanks to HarperCollins/HarperTeen and NetGalley for allowing me to read this digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.
UPDATE:
Upon a re-read, I'm still giving it 4.5 stars
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Listen to a full discussion and review on the Shit We've Read podcast here.
3.5 stars
The premise and resolution are almost enough to make this a solid 4 star book, but unfortunately I found the mother and daughter main characters to be frustrating and slightly annoying.
UPDATE:
3.25 stars
Listen to the full discussion and my review on the Shit We've Read podcast here.
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Read for the next episode of the Shit We've Read podcast. Full review to come after the episode goes live.
While not anything revolutionary, this short story was intriguing enough and a good introduction to what could easy be an entertaining full novel or series.