Beth
I think this was Joe Hill's debut collection of short stories, and it shows. Some feel unfinished. You can see what he's working toward though, considering the depth and breadth of human experience he writes (Pop Art is an amazing story for instance). I would start with Full Throttle if you're just discovering Hill's stories though.
4.5 - Wonderful writing that sears into the mind. I loved the characters and settings, but found the meekness of the unnamed narrator pushing belief at times. Aaron kept laughing when he noticed my nose in the book while walking around or trying to do some chore. I have qualms with the quote ‘romance', as well as some racism/abelism, but it's a fun novel to turn on its head and examine. The Netflix adaptation falls extremely flat to the novel, so I'll be watching the Hitchcock version soon.
Wow. Read this book. It's not about a fringe-y survivalist family. It's about the family dynamics that converge from mental illness, religion, close-knit groups, and gender power imbalances. It's about how people still love the family members who are toxic to them, and desire a place within their family and community. It's about finding the education that provides a new lens to see your entire life, just by giving it context.
I bought a bunch of audiobooks once, and then discovered that I'm not especially fond of them. I get annoyed with the narrator's voice, or it's too slow, or I fall asleep. It's not the book's fault, at all. This was the last one I convinced myself to listen to (out of guilt for spending money), but no more! One day I'll actually read it, and get more of a kick out of its Halloweeny myths and child-like wonder.
3.5 rounded to 4 for the number of times this book made me laugh. Not pretty laughs, but everything ranging from cackling-hear-me-in-the-next-room to “that was totally relatable and I'm snorting at the suddenness of its truth.” I don't agree with everything Moran has to say about feminism, but she's usually thoughtful about her opinions and frequently provides nuance. The world is complicated and she artfully embraces the idea that we can reject soul-sucking strip clubs while also praising burlesque shows for healthy sexual expression. I'd love to follow her and see what else she has to say.
This was an example of reading the right book at the right time for me. It was funny, and frequently self-deprecating, as well as honest about big life changes, mental health, and growing up strangely. The advice never felt heavy-handed or self indulgent which was really nice after reading two or three other memoirs this year that were. Andddd it almost goes without saying that I admire Felicia a LOT for making female-driven content about gaming. I wish it had existed when I was younger and felt pretty lonely being the only female I knew who played. The Guild and Geek and Sundry were super comforting after I discovered them coming out of 6 months of unemployment filled with depression and playing 8+ hours of Guild Wars a day. My husband would come home and all I had to talk about was my day of mining and how my Guild leader Fang took his kids trick or treating without his wife (who he only referred to as “the dragon”). I have a better relationship with games now that I'm busy (i.e. Avoid MMO's and sell your soul/time to a university), but I still love playing and want to see women represented. I haven't decided if I want to go into the game industry when I finish my CS degree, but I'd be lying if I said GamerGate didn't make me second guess the industry. Felicia does a great job describing her hesitation in dealing with them though, and by the end of the book I felt pretty heart-warmed about life in general.
3.5. I really enjoyed sections of the book, but other areas felt pretty slow. The podcast has more straight humor (and God, the narration is the best), but there were still plenty of moments I laughed out loud while reading the book. I was also really happy with the characterization - two main female characters forming an actual friendship? Why do I have to even say that I'm impressed? :/
This was macabre, lovely, and endearing. I read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children a year or so ago, with really high hopes for a story like this one. I found it really disappointing though, where Every Heart a Doorway is well-written and concise. It also takes familiar fantasy worlds and ties them together in a truly brilliant way. I definitely recommend it to anyone who loves fairy tales (the glittery, sweet kind, as well as the dark).
3.5. There were so many parts of this story that I loved, but there were also a lot of writing problems that made it difficult to read, like repetitive and overemphasized statements. Sunshine's character development was also written in a way that implied this wasn't a standalone book. I looked for the next book after finishing this one, finding an article on the author's blog that seemed angry toward readers asking about a second book. She says that she just doesn't write sequels. In that case, she probably should have been more aware that her book set up a continuing story, and left large story gaps that made it feel as if there HAD to be a second book to go along with it. Otherwise, this was a great twist on vampire lore. Pop culture views on the supernatural often include super abilities, like amazing eye sight, strength, or speed. McKinley went a step further and described the way that humans and the supernatural interact and perceive the world around them completely differently from each other. There was definitely a theme of culture clash, and how various characters struggle in this world as a result. Recommendation - read if you enjoy paranormal world-building and vampire stories in particular. Note on the romance element - it exists, but isn't a huge part of the story. Some parts of it felt forced, and I enjoyed the friendship between the two main characters better.
I felt like this book was a 3.5 when I finished it, but now it's a 4 after thinking about it for the last week. I related to too many awkward, disgusting, or hilariously dark things in this book, and I'm SO glad. At times it made me appreciate parts of my life in new ways... And at other times it made me snort-suffocate while my husband glared at me for laughing so much.
This book had the worst male anti-hero of anything I can remember reading. The world building was fun and it had an interesting paranormal concept, but it was really hard to get past all the cave manish dialogue known as Jackson. And like so many YA books, there's plenty of forced (fake) tension created by miscommunication or lack of communication between characters. Evie is constantly guessing at the meaning of Jackson's actions but never directly asks about them, or clarifies her own actions that piss him off. Jackson's redeemable moments also don't make up for being abusively controlling and possessive, even for a rogue character. That being said... I HOPE and think it was the author's intention. “When he helps, he hurts.” The ending was surprisingly stronger than I expected in the romance area, and didn't fall completely into the YA trap I thought it was headed toward. I'd love to know whether Evie becomes stronger emotionally before I continue the series though.
No spoilers. I knew how this finale would end long before starting this book. Sookie's life really ends up the way it should have, but the series doesn't. I felt disappointed after reading twelve prior books, and the whole thing going out with a fizzle, not a bang. Not that the ever present threat to Sookie's life isn't there - of course it is - but there was no genuine resolution to the most important romantic relationships that readers have been so long invested in. I still really enjoyed the murder plot and the coming together of the pro-Sookie team (Amelia, Cataliades, Diana, Tara etc.). I just wished that the final relationship/life decisions had come together with a lot more force and drama. I think it's clear that True Blood won't have the same ending since they've become two completely different stories, and at least we got an exciting final episode of season 6 that promises a new storyline for next season. It's super rare to say I'm happier with the tv version of a story.
Sharp Objects is a truly dark mystery/thriller which I think is rare. A lot of books discuss things that are dark (how can murdering children not be?), but this book is actually, genuinely, dark. It doesn't spare any sensitivities and doesn't shy away from anything graphic. Flynn really captures some of the most unpleasant features of small towns, sex, and mental illness. I'll have to take a break before reading Flynn's more recent novels to let the eerieness wear off though. Honestly, isn't that how you should react? This is not your Kay Hooper or Kathy Reichs author.
I'm obsessed with this book. Therefore, it gets five stars because anything less just feels wrong. I know, I know, I know, that the dystopian backstory of society dividing into five factions is a little hard to believe, BUT I'm very good at just going with it. I like the “what if” society was like “this” quandary and I think you have to be in that mindset to enjoy the book. If you're a die hard critic that tears apart the minutiae of detail in an action movie (“well that's not realistic, reversing the polarity is impossible”) then this book probably isn't for you. Moving on. I won't go into much detail since my book club is reading this at the moment and I don't want to spoil anything, but I love these characters and I kind of wish my life was a little bit more dauntless. The book covers a lot of problems that teenagers face - wanting a life different than your parents or just being different than your family/society expects, abuse and fear, first love, fears of failing, etc. I thought the romance was much better than other YA books I've read. The first Hunger Games had me rolling my eyes A LOT over the Peeta/Katniss story, and Twilight is just plain unhealthy. There were times I wanted to shake Tris by the shoulders and yell “WHY can't you see what he's doing!” She has a few moments that are obviously slow on the uptake, but I appreciate that she's just a tough female heroine who doesn't want the guy to see her as weak. Oh, and when she thinks he's going macho asshole she doesn't swoon. She gets mad. YAY! Anyway, I found a lot of things to love in this book and I can only guess that quite a few people will be running to the tattoo parlor if the series explodes with the movie release in March. Now I'm off to buy Insurgent!
