This book's ending saved itself from a one-star with that ending cuz otherwise holy SHIT this was a drag.
Jessica Townsend has done it again! This next book in the Morrigan Crow series is almost as good as the last!
Morrigan has successfully passed the trials and is now a member of the esteemed Wunderous Society and Unit 919. On top of that, she now knows that she's a Wundersmith like Ezra Squall- a person who can make pure energy called Wunder and turn it into something greater.
However, despite her monumental Knack, Morrigan is placed in the School of Mundane Arts rather than the School of Arcane Arts. Even worse, her only class focuses on the history of Wundersmith mistakes- any and everything bad a Wundersmith has done throughout time.
When people begin to go missing around Nevermoor, Morrigan (albeit secretly) takes up the task of finding them- only to uncover the mythical Ghastly Market, but will she be able to save her friends before their Knacks are sold to the highest bidder?
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone meets Alice In Wonderland in Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow, which takes a bit of a darker tone than the previous novel making it so much more enjoyable.
2.5 Stars
i'm not sure what to say. i feel so, so conflicted right now.
so. i thought the opening ten chapters or so were fine. then, until about page ~350 i thought that this was one of the most slow, boring books i'd ever read, and that it would be competing with The Wren In the Holly Library for my least favorite read of the year. then it finally started to pick up and i kind of liked how it ended. all of this to say, i've given this a very tentative 3 stars for now but i may reduce it to 2.5 or 2 when i have more time to think on it i have reduced my rating to 2.5.
i liked Harper and i found that i could relate to her; we both have disabilities and have experienced what it's like to have a mother diagnosed with cancer. Rhen, though, i didn't start liking him til the very end. i found him to be very confusing, like he'd say he cared about this or that but i could find nothing to support that, or otherwise was just bland in general. Grey was fine i guess.
the plot was super interesting, but it was hindered by some very slow pacing and sloppy writing, especially in the middle. the scenes changed so fast sometimes that i couldn't tell where the characters were or what was going on. sometimes, i wasn't even able to tell who's point-of-view i was reading, and i would have to flip back through the pages to check which was super annoying. one of my biggest bookish pet peeves is when an author writes multiple povs but doesn't do much to distinguish between the characters in them.
the romance though was subtle and not in the way i usually like. it was subtle as in i couldn't even tell it existed until like the last 50 pages, so i hope to see some development there in the future. also, i had no idea Grey was supposed to be a part of a love triangle between him, Harper, and Rhen until i read someone's review that pointed it out. for me, it didn't read that way at all. idk, that was just really odd.
anyways. i though this was fine overall. i'll give the next books a try too, even though i haven't heard as great things about them compared to this one. i liked the cliffhanger though, and i think i fugured out who Grey is...
Okay what happened??? Because that was a severe disappointment after the four previous installments. I really enjoyed Everblaze, Neverseen, Lodestar, and (despite some minor issues I had with it) Nightfall. However, compared to those, this book just feels so... subpar?
The first thing I didn't like was Sophie and Fitz's hospitalization taking up about half of the book. That was so boring and I was practically dragging myself through it. I thought for sure when that part was over I would start to enjoy the book but I was wrong, it still felt like a chore to read this up until about the 90% mark. The story was lacking in action-packed scenes I'd expect from this series by now. It also doesn't help that the chapters are longer than usual, or the chapter breaks are more spread out this time around.
I'm worried about reading the rest of the series now, as I've already purchased a copy of Legacy. I'd previously heard somewhere that this series declines in quality sometime around Nightfall and I'm beginning to see this as true. I'm still going to continue on in hopes of Legacy not having as much filler (also because I already bought it like I'm not gonna waste a good three dollars).
The characterization and representation of autism of all time. /s
I'm just going to get right into it- I had so many problems with this book. Way too many problems, problems that shouldn't exist in the first place. Julie Buxbaum has written a very ableist and ignorant portrayal of autism in the form of David Drucker, one of the two main protagonists in What To Say Next. If you have seen my review on Serena Kaylor's ‘Long Story Short', then you know how much I take autistic and neurodivergent portrayals in media seriously as an autistic person. What To Say Next was highly disappointing (and somewhat disturbing), to say the least.
Trigger Warnings Beyond This Point: Discussions of ableism, bullying, discrimination, stalking, racism, reverse racism, mentions of anti-semitism, death, grief, depression. It's going to be very ranty and all-over-the-place. /srs
Some Of The Problems I Had With ‘What To Say Next' As An Autistic Person:
• David tells us in the first chapter that he doesn't believe he is autistic in an ablephobic way... despite portraying multiple of the widest-known stereotypes of autism.
• David/Buxbaum uses labels such as Asperger's and high-functioning, the former of which is rooted in anti-semitism as the doctor who named Asperger's (after himself) was a Nazi and killed autistic people. The fact that it's not in the DSM anymore is acknowledged, and yet the term is still used. The latter is considered ableist and autistic people have been urging for neurotypicals to stop using functioning labels.
• David is a stalker, and he tries to blame it on his neurodivergency and that he's bad with names. He even comments on Kit and her friends' “larger than average breasts” in his notebook.
And everything listed above is all in the first chapter alone.
David forms an unlikely friendship with a semi-popular girl Kit Lowell (the other main protagonist), who is suffering from grief and depression after her dad's passing, and he agrees to help her investigate the car accident that killed him (which is barely addressed afterward). He is bullied throughout the story, notably by two neurotypical classmates named Justin and Gabriel. They call him slurs and go as far as to steal his notebook and post the contents on a site called “The [...] Guide To Mapleview,” leading to further discrimination by his community. Kit must become his neurotypical knight in shining armor to defend him and his honor multiple times, because apparently autistic people need neurotypicals to stand up for us. (How do you decide to write a book about an autistic main character and wind up using him as a plot point to glorify neurotypicals? Like c'mon.) Buxbaum begins to close out this book with revealing that David's guitar teacher is actually a social skills tutor and that his newfound “popularity” is the perfect excuse for him to start masking his autistic traits. Kit and David go to sensory hell a party, they kiss. Everything falls apart again, everything gets solved, the end.
So what is the end-goal message here? That autistic people can defend themselves physically but not verbally unless we have a neurotypical to do it for us? That the “good ending” for autistic people is to mask our autism? This book left such a sour taste in my mouth, then I look at my friends four and five-star reviews of this book and ask myself, “Did we read the same novel?
I wanted to note two quick things; First, that I was uncomfortable with Buxbaum's usage of the r-slur. As she confirms she is not autistic and is in fact an “ally” in her acknowledgments, the word is not hers to reclaim and use even if she is attempting to use it in a sensitive or educational way (which I am not even sure about). Either way, it is extremely disrespectful.
The second thing I wanted to note is Buxbaum writing Kit's Indian grandparents as “racist towards white people.” There is no such thing as reverse racism, period. However, I'm not Indian so I do not believe I am the person to speak any more on the topic.
So I ask, when will neurotypical authors stop portraying us all as Sheldon Cooper? Buxbaum even says in her author's note that “there is a famous expression that when you meet one person with autism, you meet one person with autism” (a statement that is ableist in itself, but that's a whole other topic). However, despite saying this, she proceeds to write David as the most ignorant neurotypical view of autism- highly intelligent and obsessive, seen as weird/outcasted by peers, and tends to be very blunt with his words. While these are traits some autistic people may have, they are also the most commonly-seen traits by neurotypical individuals and used in their portrayals of autism, effectively turning autistic characters into ‘weirdos', ‘creeps' and thus making these the defining characteristics of autism in society's eyes. While I understand Buxbaum trying to say that every autistic person is different, it would've helped if she had made David more than just a one-dimensional view of autism as a whole.
Then, Buxbaum clearly writes that masked autism is the “good ending” of the story. Autistic people have said it before and will say it again- unmasking our autism is the end goal. Not masking, not unmasking and re-masking, just unmasking when you're in a safe place to do so. Buxbaum, as a neurotypical, clearly wrote David's character development as from an autistic boy to a neurotypical-presenting masked autistic boy. It's such a weird way to end your book after campaigning so much for David to be accepted by his peers for who he is.
Despite how much I enjoyed Buxbaum's former novel, ‘Tell Me Three Things', I will likely not be reading any other works by her. In her acknowledgments, she states that she is “still learning [about the autism spectrum and how to be an ally],” and I can only hope that she can recognize her mistakes and decides to learn and grow from them.
TL;DR: This book is proof of why neurotypicals, or “allies” as Buxbaum calls herself, should not write fictional books about autistic or neurodivergent people without proper research and care. And maybe having an actual autistic person read your book before you send it off to publication.
3.5 Stars
the way i kept going back and forth from “yeah this book is good” to “this is the most boring thing i have ever read” lmao
i read this for three reasons:
1 - this book is set in north carolina. i, too, am set in north carolina. so i bet u can guess how everyone and their mother was badgering me to read this.
2 - i was going to see the movie for my birthday (but ended up seeing thor love and thunder instead).
3 - taylor swift.
and i don't really regret it? just wish it wasn't so predictable (like c'mon, i knew kya killed chase from the very beginning) and wish it wasn't so boring before the arrest/courtroom parts.
I have received a copy of this book through a giveaway hosted by the publisher. This has not affected my rating or review in any way.
i'm allowed to be happy that i finally finished another series i started almost a decade ago + read three books in a day (with this being the third) methinks :)
anyways. oh audrey rose. she is so book-smart when it comes to death and corpses but is not with literally anything else. tho i do have to say i'm a bit proud of her for almost pulling a pip fitz-amobi in as good as dead at the end there. like. go girl give us the ending i wanted but then don't. whatever. thomas cresswell is still a perfect blend of annoying and charming. liza is just annoying. all of the other characters exist. what a perfect ending. <3
also vv excited for the new covers kerri announced on instagram the other day, the sjtr one is gorgeous n i can't wait to see the rest
I have received a copy of this book through a giveaway hosted by the author. This has not affected my rating or review in any way.
Pre-Reading Updates
3/5/2018:in W2S's voice IT'S BLUE!!! IT'S BLUUUEEE!!!!!
Pre-Reading Updates
Right okay so I'm just finding out about this now?? Loki is my second favorite Marvel character so I really hope this doesn't turn out horrible.
I have received a copy of this book through a giveaway hosted by the publisher. This has not affected my rating or review in any way.
I'm not sure if this can be counted as a novella bindup (it's more like a collection of short stories) but I'm going to be using my novella bindup review format.
Katharine of Aragon: TBD
Henry VIII: TBD
Anne Boelyn: TBD
Jane Seymour: TBD
Anna of Cleves: TBD
Catherine Howard: TBD
Kateryn Parr: TBD
Overall: TBD
When I found out that Tella was the main point-of-view character for Legendary, I was pleased as I disliked her sister Scarlett; I found her very naive and somewhat airheaded. I thought that reading from her younger sister's point-of-view, who had been clever and desperate enough to come up with the Caraval game's plot in the former book, would be a much more enjoyable experience.
However I was unfortunately wrong, as Tella proved to be an annoying, bossy, overly expectant main character, and sometimes just as airheaded as Scarlett. A very disappointing turn of events, however the plot and love interest(s) kept me hooked to the end.
Pre-Reading Updates
25/4/2018: COVER REVEAL ON MONDAY FJGHDKSL
26/9/2017: I'M SCREAMING OHMYGOD I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS
stayed up til 10 AM (aka ten til 11 AM) reading this lmao. i literally don't know what i'm supposed to do now. go to bed?? nahhh not after that. fuck lmao i screwed over my sleep schedule for this and if it was below a five star i'd be rioting. worth it ig.
[Listened to the audiobook narrated by Lola Tung.]
2.5 Stars
all of these children need therapy good god.
lowkey i think belly reminds me of that lovesick bitch panini and conrad is just chowder screaming “I'M NOT YOUR BOYFRIEND” over and over and over and over and
u get my point.
been binge-watching chowder recently and it's a bit concerning that the only way i've been able to comprehend these books are in chowder references.
forced proximity enemies to lovers gaming nerds ohhhh miss hazelwood is feeding usss <3
Merged review:
forced proximity enemies to lovers gaming nerds ohhhh miss hazelwood is feeding usss <3
Merged review:
forced proximity enemies to lovers gaming nerds ohhhh miss hazelwood is feeding usss <3
I have received a copy of this book from the publisher. This has not affected my rating in any way.
so penguin just randomly sent me a hardback copy of this?? like i wasn't notified beforehand or anything... thanks, penguin!
[Listened to the audiobook narrated by Lola Tung.]
a co-worker of mine recommended this to me, both the show and the books, as very mindless entertainment with little to no plot to play in the background. and i have to admit, she was right— this book has no plot at all.
honestly i hated Belly (stupid ass name), Conrad, Jeremiah, and Taylor, i found them all to be unbearable. Steven was just kind of there, but you might as well throw him into the unbearable category by association too. the only characters i liked were Cam and Susannah, and i'm still mad at how Belly ended up just using Cam in the end.
i only wish i had a bit of warning for Susannah's cancer storyline, as my mother was recently diagnosed with cancer and i found it a bit triggering. i almost coundn't finish this book because of it. the way Susannah was described as frail, her arms bone-thin, wearing loose dresses to cover it up was too real and almost made me cry haha. though the moment between her and Belly as they made muffins was beautiful and reminded me of my experiences with my own mom, probably the only scene in the book that i actually liked. also, they call their grandmother the same uncommon name i call my grandmother (“granna”), which is triggering in a whole other way lmao.
aside from all of that i enjoyed Jenny Han's gorgeously descriptive writing and Lola Tung's audiobook narration, and i think that might be what saved this book from a worse rating.