Dana
Actual rating: 3.5 stars, rounded up
I wasn't entirely sure what this was about but still picked it up anyway because two of my favorite bookish people absolutely loved it (yes, they basically suckered me into this). It ended up being a pretty addictive read — I mean, it's definitely BIZARRE but I ... liked it?
- Che is adorable. He's a wonderfully normal teenager with acne problems (I mean, when do we ever see that in YA?), and I loved him all the more for it. He really struggles with his identity, in connection to his sister (who's an undiagnosed psychopath), and I loved how he had all these complex emotions and thoughts about what being human actually means.
- The “psychopath” thriller aspect was handled really well! I literally flew through the pages because I wanted to know what Rosa was going to do next. Plus, they actually discussed the diagnosis in detail, which delighted me to no end. Since I love characters who are smart and wickedly evil to boot, I liked how it explored Rosa's lack of motivations and the different ways in which she sees and interprets the world!
- Che has such interesting dynamics with Sojourner, his Christian girlfriend. Sojourner was fantastic; her religious beliefs were totally on point, and I loved how she never forced Che into anything! Also, she's African-American and she has two moms, which was just plain awesome. Totally not cool with the way she broke up with Che in the end though.
- AND THE PLOT TWIST AT THE END?? The whole conclusion was fantastic and awesome and completely blew me away. I totally didn't see it coming. BUT it was great, freakishly disturbing and absolutely brilliant. I loved it.
Radio Silence is super-duper cute. Reading this book felt like one long, extended cuddle session with the cutest little puppies ever. Which, by the way, would have been absolutely fantastic IRL if I didn't live with two asthmatic children (AKA my sisters) cries
- The beginning was a little hard to get into. I remember thinking the main character sounded horribly pretentious, but I did warm up to her as the story progressed! She really comes into her own & shatters the whole nerd-girl-“I only care about getting in Columbia” attitude by the end of the book.
- Gaaaah, can I just fangirl about how much I loved the whole Universe City concept? I thought seeing Frances and Aled collaborate in videos was super cool + it actually addressed “fandom” culture & it's effects on their work! (Also, all the social media and pop-culture references were handled in an A++ way. Props to you, Alice Oseman.)
- Frances' and Aled's friendship. Undeniably the best part of the whole book <3 just give them all the love, guys.
- It's refreshingly diverse! Frances is both mixed race AND bisexual, Aled is a demisexual and his best friend (and boyfriend), Daniel, is gay. There's a lot of healthy discussion about gender identity, coming to terms with who you are and how your actions affect your relationships with others, and I found that aspect super interesting!
- Things I thought were cliché: Aled's mom. While I disliked her, I definitely thought that she came off as a bit one-dimensional. She often struck me as one of the evil, cackling villainesses typically featured in Disney movies, which did not help me sympathize with Aled, because I found the whole thing laughable, if not utterly ridiculous.
This was such a beautiful book.
The prose was wonderfully lyrical & going over the passages + reading them aloud was such fun, especially since the writing was brilliant, strange and filled with so much raw emotion —
“I've drawn her unpicked, ribs splayed stretched like a xylophone with the dead birds playing tunes on her bones.”
I honestly didn't get a lot of the poems which were written in Crow's point-of-view
I LOVED THIS BOOK. SO FREAKIN' MUCH. The Grace of Kings is, without a doubt, one of the most well-crafted books that I've ever read.
First of all, I really liked the mood and tone of the book! Reading it felt like watching an old wuxia historical drama. I could actually see the influence of ancient Chinese practices and historical values reflected in the beliefs and actions of the characters. This helped me appreciate the reading experience so much more; I loved how I was able to draw parallels between the events in the book and what I was taught in class. I also liked how it was slow-paced (very much an epic fantasy) but still managed to pack in all these fun & interesting twists!
Another thing I loved was the juxtaposition of Kuni Garu and Mata Zyndu. The author characterized them really well. Kevin Liu managed to strike the perfect balance between them being friends and them being rivals, which really intrigued me. The book also discussed the ways in which war and power affect / change our relationships with people in a very meaningful way. A lot of the interactions between Kuni and Mata (both past and future) were defined by choices they made in order to 1) survive, because that was the only thing they could do in the war, which then morphed into 2) what was the best way for them to pursue their own personal agenda, establish the mandate of power and ensure peace (or what they thought would bring peace). This really meshed well with the overall theme and I loved how they were both such morally grey characters. Even though Kuni is set-up to be the “better” half of this “duo”, you definitely end up sympathizing with Mata and his values by the end of the book!
However, I did feel as if the women could've been fleshed out more. While I loved the overarching use of women in the story (as fighter pilots, auxiliaries & power players), I felt as of there was something lacking in the individual characterization of the main female characters! While they were all fantastic and kick-ass (in theory), their appearances were few and far between + most of their scenes were based on their interactions with the male characters.
*AND ONE LAST NOTE ON THE ENDING: It was PERFECTION. I love how the author set everything up perfectly for a very politically charged & very interesting second book. It was brilliant and chilling and I can't wait to see how the author's going to develop the characters and the foundation of the world that he's built.
Actual rating: 2.5 stars, rounded down.
I had a lot of mixed feelings about this book; some aspects of it were absolutely amazing, but it just frustrated me to no end. (Let's talk about the good bits first though, shall we?)
- It's bitingly honest and true to the teenage experience. The author doesn't spare us any of the nitty-gritty details, which I found absolutely refreshing. I've never read a book that dealt with teenage sex so openly, and still managed to portray the situation in a semi-realistic way.
- I love how it featured a lesbian (f/f) romance in such a positive light! It was so cute and heartwarming and all kinds of wonderful sighs dreamily (Emma and Savannah for the win!)
- BUT it was so slow. I found the plot awfully predictable because it only ever talked about their romantic entanglements! We're never given any context as to the emotional aftermath of their actions (concerning the sex pact), which was also quite disappointing.
- Also, I really wanted to see more of the friendship aspect of things! I found certain things problematic, like the way Zoe reacted to Layla's decisions, and I would have loved it if the book gave more thought to developing the group dynamics between the four main characters.
Actual rating: 4.5 stars, rounded up
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender is absolutely flippin' fantastic. Basically, all you need to know is this book is a magnificent piece of genius. It's amazing and gorgeously written and just so, so good.- A few things you have to understand: this book operates on the notion that the only way the reader will be able to understand Ava's sorrows, is by living vicariously through her family history. Yes, the plot is slow-moving, but it's also richly-layered. I was really be able to see the connection between Ava, her mother and her grandmother's stories — especially the common themes reflected in their lives, and how the past actions of one eventually shaped the course of the present. - I loved how the author used contrasting third-person and first-person point-of-views by placing an “older Ava” as the narrator of the story. Unfortunately, I think this also played into the reason why Ava's part of the story (told in 1st person) was the part I disliked the most. I'm not sure of it's just me, but I always find that pieces wrirten in 3rd-person manage to capture a more ... effective sense of surrealism? - The author writes so beautifully — there was a very elegant touch to her prose and it often felt like I was reading something straight out of a fairy tale. Her descriptions of food are very vivid and manages to both ground and uplift the story and its magical realism aspects. She also talks about grief and loss in a very painful, real way, and tackles themes like familial, romantic and platonic love and how they eventually shape the general course of our lives. - Plus, the book is highly saturated with magical realism, which is usually something that deters me from enjoying a book but, in this case, it worked very well. It never felt contrived or unnecessary, instead the whole book seemed to flow together seamlessly, every little piece contributing to the general overarching reach of the plot.I can't wait to revisit this once I get my hands on the actual physical copy! 5/5 would recommend to anyone :D
Every Heart A Doorway is wonderfully weird and twisty, and I loved every minute of it.
- The concept is absolutely fantastic — there was some vague mention of different worlds and their classifications (such as High Logic and High Nonsense), which was super interesting! I wish the author fleshed these worlds out a bit more though.
- It talks about mental illness very intelligently. Eleanor's school provides a strong foundation of support for these kids by allowing them to realize that they are not alone, that there are people who understand what they're going through. Which was a quite pleasant & thoroughly wholesome approach towards PTSD, all things being considered.
- It also addressed sexual discrimination and stereotyping (++gender identity) in a way that I really identified with, particularly as someone who grew up around my many, many guy cousins in a deeply patriarchal culture & struggled with my family image because of it.
- I thought the murder plot was a bit too muchwince I really wanted more world-building, more of the healing and coming-to-terms aspect of the book, so while the thriller aspect was compelling, I didn't particularly appreciate the turns that the story took.
I don't think I've ever felt this disappointed in a book before. I had heard amazing things about it and eventually got roped in by that fabulous premise. I was actually expecting a very cool (and semi-philosophical) sci-fi adventure story with a bit of a Hunger Games flair to it. However, this book just takes a completely wonderful concept like reincarnation and somehow manages to ... cheapen it. I was shocked and disappointed by the lack of originality in both writing, plot and character viewpoint.
Ultimately, I decided to DNF the book rather than continue reading it, only to give it a negative review in the end.
what this is: a sapphic girls murder mystery with really good writing—writing that'll keep you on the edge of your seat, desperate for more
that being said, i couldn't completely get into it bc some parts were kinda cliché,,, and i realized i'm not very into /mean/ characters who have no vested interest in trying to be better
ehhhh i heard the author's v problematic (asian women are women of color; stop being a jerk ffs) & this book was waayyy too slow-paced for me
have at it tho, if you like zombies & alternate history reimaginings
reading this as someone who is actually Filipino-Chinese was lowkey an out-of-body experience AAAAA so weird to see your own culture in exposition !! especially when it feels a bit inauthentic & surface-level oop
dad & daughter are so cute tho <3
o k a y
this book was weird
kind of interesting, but some narrative choices were really :/
also, there was barely any gay content,,, except for that one really fucked up scene ,,, so yeah
objectively, i know this is a good book,,,
subjectively, i had to read this for school & so, i'm basically conditioned to hate it already ¯_(ツ)_/¯