April Wrap Up

Image by oprisco photography

 

It feels like time has moved both slowly and quickly this April. Looking back now, it seems like it flew by (especially the portion of it that contained my spring break). However, the past few weeks felt interminably long while I was actually experiencing them. I'm in that terrible stretch now that is the last few months of school, and time tends to stand still throughout those weeks. I did manage to get quite a bit done though, for both my work life and personal life, so I was relatively happy.  

As far as my reading goes, I managed to continue my streak of 100 pages a day. I read a total of 3,897 pages and finished ten books. I had a crazy amount of four and five star reads mixed in there too - it was pretty lucky. I picked a lot of winners. Here's everything I finished:

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor (5 stars)

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor (5 stars)

The Hideaway by Pam Smy (5 stars)

Alone by Megan E. Freeman (4 stars)

Cress Watercress by Gregory Maguire (5 stars)

Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston (3 stars)

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh (4 stars)

A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos (5 stars)

The Missing of Clairdelune by Christelle Dabos (4 stars)

The Memory of Babel by Christelle Dabos (5 stars)

My favorite read of the month is really difficult to determine. I think Strange the Dreamer takes the top spot this time around, but I was really torn between that one and Cress Watercress. Those were two very different books, but both were clever and full of heart. 

My least favorite read was Exit, Pursued by a Bear, a young adult contemporary novel about sexual assault. I appreciated its sensitivity towards its difficult subject matter, but several things about the writing irked me.

I didn't end up hauling that many books this month, which is a very good thing because I bought way too many in February and March. I only ended up adding two to my shelves:

An Arrow to the Moon by Emily X.R. Pan (young adult, fantasy, physical book)

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (literary fiction, physical book)

I decided to donate Alone, Exit, Pursued by a Bear, and My Year of Rest and Relaxation, meaning that three books left my shelves.

Next month, I plan to stay the course with all my challenges. I'll read another series, some books from my 22 in 2022 list, and more middle grades fiction. My plans are:

Storm of Echoes by Christelle Dabos

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill

The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S. by David Levithan

I continued to work on my physical reading journal this month, but I didn't do as much with it as I wanted to again. I need to settle into a better routine with it, but I have to figure out the timing. 

I did pretty well with my non-reading activities too. I made a lot of progress on my diamond painting over spring break. I only have six sections left to go on it. I'm really looking forward to finishing it so I can start in on some other projects that I'm more interested in. I should be able to get it done in May.

I also finished a handful of jigsaw puzzles. The first was an image of a whole lot of flamingoes from Blanc Puzzles. This was my first time trying this brand out and I really loved it. I was surprised by the quality, because this was just a cheap buy from Target. The pieces inside came in a resealable bag (which is not common, but should be), and they fit together very nicely. They kind of "clicked" together when I placed them, which was extremely satisfying. This was 500 pieces, so it didn't take too long to finish.

I made another 500 piece puzzle from Blanc as well, this time of a snowy lantern scene. It was similarly satisfying.

I think my favorite puzzle of the month though was Lazy Sundae from Piecework Puzzles. This was 500 pieces too, and everything about it screamed quality. The pieces were thick and heavy and they had a velvety feel. I found myself constantly running my fingers over them - the texture was that good. The only downside was that the image made me crave ice cream big time.

I watched a bunch of movies and TV shows throughout the month too. In the theaters, I saw Everything Everywhere All At Once, which was amazing and probably one of the best movies I've ever seen in my entire life, and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which was unusual but a lot of fun. I finally saw Black Widow on Disney Plus too, and wasn't super-impressed. For series, I binged my way through Inventing Anna on Netflix, which started off really promising and then got stupid at the end. I finished two documentaries as well - Bad Vegan, which was about a con man that messed up the life of a notable restaurant owner and White Hot, which was about the rise and fall of Abercrombie and Fitch. Both were very good.

I did pretty well on my ukulele throughout the month. I learned Chim Chim Cheree from Mary Poppins and You've Got a Friend in Me from Toy Story. I'm still working on Once Upon a Dream and Surface Pressure, and playing around with A Whole New World and Bare Necessities. It was a very Disney kind of month, obviously. I am also starting to learn Baby One More Time by Britney Spears.

Next month is going to be tough. The kids' behaviors at school are really ramping up. Things always deteriorate as summer break approaches, but this year was more difficult than usual to begin with, so it's really bad now. I'm going to have to focus a lot on self care and be very organized to get through it. I just have to keep reminding myself that before long I'll be on my break and have lot of time to read and do whatever else I want. 

The Memory of Babel by Christelle Dabos

 

**This review will contain spoilers for the previous books in this series,  A Winter's Promise and The Missing of Clairdelune.**

For my next read, I continued making my way through The Mirror Visitor Quartet with The Memory of Babel. This is the third book in the series, and I was excited to get started since I really enjoyed the first two. I was the most curious to see how the relationship between Ophelia and Thorn would continue after his last moment declaration of love in the previous book. I settled in with some pretty high expectations, hoping to enjoy another trip into Christelle Dabos' magical, mysterious world.

The plot of the novel picks up about two years after The Missing of Clairdelune. Thorn is still missing after his miraculous escape from prison and Ophelia has been living back on Anima with her family, waiting impatiently for a chance to go find him. Her wish is granted one day when Archibald appears and whisks her away to a compass rose, a sort of magical crossroads enabling her to travel to many distant locations instantaneously. Rather than choosing to go back to the Pole, she decides to head to the ark of Babel, a place she has never been, to follow up on the only clue she has to Thorn's whereabouts. 

Arriving at Babel, Ophelia immediately discovers that the only way to potentially get closer to Thorn and further investigate the mysteries of God is to become an Aspiring Virtuoso, a position akin to being a research assistant, at their massive library. This position would give her access to important documents and artifacts that she could mine for information. Her skills as a reader help her get accepted into their training program, but the competition for Virtuoso positions is intense and the other students in Ophelia's group find creative and painful ways to sabotage her as she tries to impress her superiors. The work she is expected to do is difficult, and she struggles to balance the demands of her lessons with her secret investigations into the spirits, God, and Thorn. Eventually, she stumbles onto some information that unlocks a key piece of the puzzle connecting the spirits, the arks, and the being known as God, and she is left with the daunting task of figuring out what to do with the knowledge.

I really enjoyed this novel, and I thought that it was a return to form after I struggled a little bit with the pacing in book two. The Memory of Babel is shorter and the narrative was a little more focused and easier for me to follow. It also had a dark academia vibe that I really liked. Looking at the reviews on Goodreads, I can see that lots of readers preferred book two to this one. I think the biggest determining factor in which one you like more would be whether you gravitate more towards political intrigues versus the dark academia trope. Since I prefer the latter, I enjoyed this entry more. 

I continued to be impressed by Dabos' worldbuilding throughout the story. In changing the setting to Babel, there is a whole new world to explore. It's an an interesting blend of new technologies and dystopian elements. The governments of Babel strictly forbids all forms of crime, including innocuous lying, and strictly monitors what people wear and say. They have replaced nearly all of their human workforce with automatons, claiming that men performing menial labor is unjust when a machine could do it. This has caused unrest among the worker class, as there are suddenly very few jobs available for them and they have nothing to do. Expressing dissatisfaction with their government, however, is illegal, so there's a lot of tension continually bubbling under the surface. I found it more interesting than the courtly intrigues of Clairdelune, but that's purely a personal preference. 

I still enjoyed the characters as well. Ophelia and her steadfast determination has found a place in my heart, and Thorn's prickly personality continued to be fun to read about. The relationship development I was waiting for between the pair of them did not disappoint either. In addition, we are introduced to a slew of new characters, including some ancestral spirits, some new friends, and a few new enemies too. I did miss some of the characters from the previous books that did not appear in this one, but as this novel is set in an entirely new place, that made sense. 

One issue throughout the text was the way one character in particular was described. I gather that she was supposed to look like a person of Asian decent, and she was described using some outdated terms repeatedly throughout the story. As these books are translated from French, I'm not sure if this is a cultural thing or a translation issue, but it was very noticeable and very cringeworthy. It was a minor enough character that it wasn't too disruptive, but it was odd to see.

Overall though, I definitely really enjoyed The Memory of Babel and I'm excited to pick up the final book next to see how everything ends up. The plot of these is getting pretty complicated, so I'm sure I won't fully understand it, but I still want to go along for the ride. 

Challenge Tally

Finally in 2022 - Series Edition: 16/28

Total Books Read in 2022: 41

The Missing Of Clairdelune by Christelle Dabos

 

*This review will contain spoilers for the first book in this series, A Winter's Promise.*

After enjoying A Winter's Promise last week, I decided to carry on with The Mirror Visitor Quartet and read The Missing of Clairdelune next. Since the first book ended on a cliffhanger, I was very interested to see how Ophelia and Thorn's story would continue. 

The plot of the novel picks up right where the first story left off, with Ophelia going off to the court in Citaceleste to meet Farouk, the ancestral spirit of the Pole. When Farouk discovers her ability to read objects, he unexpectedly promotes her to Vice-Storyteller, thrusting her into the spotlight and exposing her even more to the evil machinations of the jealous denizens of his court. In exchange for her services, Farouk agrees to place her under his special protection until her marriage to Thorn can be completed. This marriage will transfer some of Ophelia's reading abilities to Thorn, and these powers, combined with his prodigious memory, will hopefully allow him to read Farouk's mysterious book. Farouk, Ophelia, and Thorn all desperately want to learn the secrets of this book (although for different reasons), so it is imperative that everything goes to plan. Ophelia struggles with her new role. She isn't much of a storyteller, and Farouk's protection is spotty at best. No one would dare attack her openly at court, but she is still receiving threatening letters warning her that something bad will happen to her if she does go through with her wedding. 

Eventually, Ophelia is drawn into a new and dangerous plot. Some key figures at court have suddenly gone missing, and Farouk orders her to take the lead on the investigation. The consequences for failing to unravel the mystery are steep, and she must combine her reading abilities with her observations and memories to try and figure everything out. Thorn quickly becomes the only person she can trust, as her quest for the truth brings her into contact with disreputable characters and shady parts of the city. Together, they must work to find the missing people before Farouk's patience runs out and their mission to decipher his book falls apart completely.

This was another enjoyable entry into the series, and I was happy to get lost in the world Dabos created again. Similar to the first book, I really appreciated the creative world building and the characters. The magical setting of these books is so unusual that it is difficult to describe it to someone that hasn't read them. It blends mythology, and magic together in a very unique way that is definitely worth experiencing. It has some Harry Potter vibes to it, but it's weirder than that. I really enjoyed learning more about the Arks and the different cultures in their society as the story developed. Dabos is certainly very skilled at coming up with interesting details and making her fantasy worlds feel like real, magical places. 

Ophelia and Thorn continued to be engaging and well-developed characters too. Their relationship with each other develops deliciously slowly, with little bits of romance sneaking in here and there. They both grow as individuals throughout the story, and it was nice to learn more about them. I continued to appreciate Ophelia in particular, as she was still a quiet and firm character. Dabos continued to characterize her as both refreshingly normal and extraordinary at the same time. She got stronger and more confident throughout the story, but she still gave off the feeling of being a regular, relatable young woman. I really liked being able to see a little bit of myself in her. Thorn continued to be wonderfully eccentric and moody. He gives off the feeling of the Beast from Beauty and the Beast, and that's one of my favorite tropes, so I have a soft spot for him.

That being said, I did think this novel was a little bit weaker than the first in the series. This is purely due to plot issues, mainly pacing and clarity. As I mentioned before, I think the world building and characters are fantastic, but the plot is a definitely confusing and the pace is slow. This isn't always a bad thing, but in the case of this story, the main plot event of the missing people isn't even introduced until around page 300, and all the exciting mystery solving elements are concentrated into the end. Everything that happens before that is mostly court intrigues. All of those details contribute to the story, of course, but there were times when I felt very bored while reading. I think the action could have been spread out a bit better or maybe the events of the first half of the book could have been more streamlined. The story itself started becoming difficult to follow here too. There are a lot of people and details involved, and while everything makes sense in the moment I was reading it, putting it together in my head was difficult. My husband asked me what the book was about, and my answer was extremely rambling and not very coherent. I wish the story itself was a little more focused and easier to follow.

Even so, The Missing of Clairdelune was still a great read and a good addition to the Mirror Visitor Quartet. This one ends on a cliffhanger again, so I'm heading straight into the next book to see how the story will continue to unfold. I'm guessing it will only get more complicated from here.

Challenge Tally

Finally in 2022 - Series Edition: 13/28

Total Books Read in 2022: 40

A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos

 

I decided to start a new series for my next read. I settled on A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos, the first book in a young adult fantasy series from France. I don't read many young adult works from other countries--not for any particular reason, just because I haven't come into contact with many of them. I heard good reviews for this one on YouTube though, so I wanted to give it a try.

The novel is set in a world where the earth has been rendered uninhabitable in some sort of environmental disaster long ago, and the remaining families live spread across several floating chunks of land called Arks. Each Ark is the home base of a different elite family, each of which have different magical gifts. The plot of the novel follows a young woman named Ophelia, who lives with her family on the Anima Ark. She is a reader, meaning that she can trace the history of an object by touching it. She also has the ability to travel through mirrors, a rare gift among her people. She spends her days working in her family's museum, in which she uses her skills to record the histories of various objects from the ancient world.

At the start of the story, Ophelia's quiet life is upended when the Doyennes, Anima's ruling body, arrange for her to be married to Thorn, a man from a distant Ark. It would bring disgrace to her family to refuse, so she complies, and soon finds herself carried away to Citaceleste. Her new fiancé couldn't be more different from her. She is clumsy, small, and quiet. He is tall, gruff, and abrasive. He barely shows an interest in her, and the home he brings her to is completely alien to her. Citaceleste is full of high society snobbery and endless political intrigue. She is completely out of her depth and struggles to adjust to her new life there. 

As her wedding to Thorn draws closer, Ophelia begins to realize that there is a lot more going on under the surface of things than she initially thought. Her betrothal to Thorn had ulterior motives, and many of the new nobles around her will do anything to prevent their union from taking place. To survive, Ophelia must keep her wits about her and learn how to function surrounded by vipers while staying true to herself.

I thought this novel was pretty special. Dabos' story was incredibly creative, and the world and magic system she created with the Arks was complex and fascinating to read about. This was definitely one of those novels that took me away to a different world, and I was consistently engaged trying to figure out all the little details of how this society functioned. Ophelia starts off the story knowing nothing about the place she is moving to, and as readers, we get to follow along with her as she tries to figure everything out. Dabos reveals information at a good pace, and the high society world of Citaceleste is full of enough danger and intrigue to keep things interesting. It's got everything from illusions to telepathy, to spatial distortions, to invisible claws, and I was basically hooked from page one.

The element of the story I enjoyed the most though were the characters, and especially Ophelia. I've read a lot of young adult fantasies where the protagonists were incredibly tough warrior women. That's great and all, but it's nice to see something different every once in awhile, and Ophelia was definitely that. She was quiet and clumsy, with a mop of wild hair, thick glasses, and absolutely no fashion sense. She's not great at a party and uncomfortable ordering others around. She's the last person you'd pick to succeed at political intrigues. What she does have going for her, however, is her sense of morals, her no-nonsense approach to problem solving, and her resilience. I loved her and could relate to her on many levels. It was nice to have a heroine that felt somewhat like a normal person, despite her magical powers. I liked watching her sort through her problems in her own way throughout the story.

Thorn was similarly interesting, albeit in a more moody, mysterious kind of way. He's more like a storm cloud than a person, but I still enjoyed him for his competence and intelligence. There's obviously a lot more to him than we learn in this book. The very beginnings of a slow-burn romance start in this story too, and I'm looking forwards to seeing how that develops as the books continue. The other characters were interesting as well. Dabos did a nice job making everyone unique and memorable, and the variety amongst them helped to make the setting of the novel feel more real.    

So clearly, I really enjoyed A Winter's Promise and I think it's a very promising start to the series. These books are a quartet, and I already have them all, so I'm going to start book two next. The ending of this one is a true cliffhanger, so I basically have to. I'm excited to see what comes next for Ophelia and Thorn. 

Challenge Tally

Finally in 2022 - Series Edition: 12/28

Total Books Read in 2022: 39

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

 

I can't remember where I first saw positive reviews for Ottessa Moshfegh's My Year of Rest and Relaxation, but I know there were a lot of them when this book came out. It's adult contemporary fiction, which isn't one of my preferred genres, but the buzz for it was intriguing and the story sounded interesting. I decided to give it a try, but never got around to it. It ended up just sitting on my shelf for ages, so I made it part of my 22 in 2022 Challenge and finally picked it up last week.

The plot of the novel is pretty quirky, so it's tough to do it justice with a quick summary. It follows a young woman living alone in a fancy New York City apartment. She lives off of an inheritance she received when her parents passed away and is blessed with a natural beauty that has others comparing her to celebrities all the time. Nothing is overtly wrong with her life--she essentially has it all without ever having had to work for any of it-- but still, she feels depressed and isn't finding any joy in anything. She decides to take a year off from engaging with the world in the hopes that when she emerges into society, she feels refreshed and reborn. 

She is determined to sleep through as much of her year as possible, so she finds a psychiatrist who is willing to write prescription after prescription for heavy duty sleep aids without asking many questions. Armed with endless pills, she settles into a routine of long stretches of sleeping punctuated by short bursts of blearily grabbing a bite to eat and watching movies on her couch. Throughout her year, she is sometimes visited by Reva, a friend from college that won't give up on their toxic relationship. She is mostly alone though, and spends her waking time reminiscing about the different people and situations in her life that have pushed her to this state. Eventually, her medications begin losing effectiveness and causing some weird side effects, and she has to go to even greater lengths to finish out her year of rest.

This was a very strange read, but I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. That's really saying something for me, because the protagonist is self-obsessed, mean, and mostly unlikeable, a lot of details in the text are just gross, and barely anything happens in the plot. The writing, however, was darkly comedic and interesting enough to keep me entertained in spite of all that. Plus, the whole idea of just deciding to withdraw from everything for a year and escape into sleep is more aspirational for me than I would like to admit. Despite being quite different to the main character, I could still relate to the idea of being disillusioned with life even though nothing is wrong and dealing with that dissatisfaction through sleep. Deliberately trying to sleep through a whole year is a weird idea and would probably kill you if you attempted to do it the same way this character does, but it was intriguing to watch her try. I moved through the novel quickly, always engaged and always eager to see what would happen next.

Looking at the reviews on Goodreads, I can see that opinions on this novel are definitely mixed. Some people can relate to it and like the snarky writing style. Others find it completely insufferable and boring. I think a good test to determine if you would like it or not would be to consider whether you like the HBO series Girls. If you hated that, you will almost certainly hate this too. If you liked it or didn't mind it, this might be a good choice for you. The protagonist is the same kind of annoying that those characters are. This kind of self-centered young woman character type is intentional on the part of Moshfegh, of course, but it is the kind of character that makes some people very angry, so I think that's where the divide comes from. I personally think it is unique enough and well-written enough to be worth the read. 

So ultimately, I enjoyed My Year of Rest and Relaxation. It was certainly one of the strangest stories I've read in a while, and it was nice to venture outside of my usual genres and try something new. I would be interested in checking out more of Ottessa Moshfegh's work in the future, as I think she has a creative mind and a darkly appealing style. This was a weird ride, but a worthwhile one!

Challenge Tally

22 in 2022: 9/22

Total Books Read in 2022: 38

Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston

 

**TW: Sexual assault**

I bought E.K. Johnston's Exit, Pursued by a Bear so long ago that I do not remotely remember the circumstances under which I acquired it. What I do know is that it has been sitting on my shelf for years, so I decided to put it in my 22 in 2022 Challenge. I finally got around to picking it up last week.

Exit, Pursued by a Bear is a young adult contemporary fiction novel following high school senior Hermione Winters. As the novel begins, she is on her way to cheer camp with the rest of her cheerleading team. She's feeling a mixture of excitement and sadness over it, because she will be graduating this year, so this will be her last camp experience. Cheerleading is a big deal at her small town high school, and her team is very competitive at cheer competitions. Cheer is her whole life, and she can't wait to spend the next few weeks bonding with her team and working on their skills.

Her plans go awry, however, when someone drugs her at a a camp dance and sexually assaults her. When she wakes up the next morning, she is in a hospital with no memory of what happened to her. She goes through the process of being examined by doctors and speaking with police officers, but the DNA they manage to pull from her body is unusable. Without her memory of what happened, the investigation can't go anywhere. She has to return to school without any closure and try to process what happened to her. Throughout the course of the story, Hermione works on healing from this horrific event and moving on with her life.  She has to deal with awkward conversations with her parents, rumors spreading at her school, and the flashes of dread she feels around men. Throughout it all, she is certain about one thing--she does not want her rape to define her. With her own determination, and the support of her friends and family, she starts making her way back towards normalcy.  

I thought this novel was okay. Good, but not great. On the positive side, I thought that Johnston handled the difficult subject matter with respect and sensitivity. She didn't shy too much away from describing the ugliness of what happened to Hermione, but she kept things appropriate for a young adult audience. Her writing was also easy to read and flowed nicely. The story was consistently interesting and I never found myself being bored or disengaged. Sexual assault happens to teenagers all too often, and I think it is important to read stories like this, to show the struggles survivors go through and shed light on this social issue. The book was very readable and there was nothing glaringly wrong with it.

What I did struggle with though, was the feeling that something was consistently off about the whole thing. Hermione's character, for example, was a little too perfect and well-adjusted. She is never thinking the wrong thing, never too upset, never too mad or scared or...anything really. She's so leve-headed that she lacked a personality entirely. Throughout the novel, she talks about feeling disconnected from the assault because she doesn't remember it--almost like it happened to someone else. I don't doubt that this is true for some survivors, but I think this affected the emotional impact of the story, because she was so calm and logical about everything all the time. She's a teenager that was violently raped and abandoned in a lake at her summer camp. Her demeanor just felt so...unaffected, like maybe Johnston was afraid to upset her readers too much by making Hermione sad or scared about it. This is a tricky element to comment on, however, because of course, there is no one correct way to feel about being raped. What I can say though, is that if this was the genuine response Hermione would feel in this situation, Johnston's writing did not carry it off believably.     

In addition to this, everything that happens to her afterward felt too perfect as well. Her friends unfailingly support her, the police and her parents always say the right things, the rumors that start up at her school blow over almost immediately, and the ending of the novel is unrealistically convenient for her. It's the best possible version of the aftermath of a rape. I guess that does happen sometimes, but again, it all felt too neat and tidy. Her therapist, in particular, deserves special mention as being unbelievably perfect. He has an amazing sense of humor, makes house calls, is available 24/7, and even tutors Hermione in calculus during their sessions. Hermione later comments that he has taken her on as a patient purely because is about to retire and didn't want a younger therapist to step in and try to "use her case to make their career" by writing papers and such about her. Maybe this is just my cynicism showing, but I don't believe Hermione's case is all that special or different (sadly), so I thought this reasoning was ridiculous. It was weird. 

There were a few other small things that irked me too. One of the running plot elements during the novel was the idea that every year, one student at Hermione's school dies from a drunk driving accident and one other student ends up pregnant. They keep returning to this idea at various points throughout the plot and it felt weird, forced, and completely unrealistic. Another issue was the numerous lines from Star Wars peppered throughout the text. I love Star Wars, but there was absolutely no indication that Hermione did, so seeing the lines come out of her mouth randomly was weird. It wasn't a situation where the lines were meant to be Easter eggs for the reader either--some of the lines had specific words like "Wookie" in them, so it was intentional on the part of the characters. There was just no characterization present to support them loving the franchise so much that it has invaded their daily language, so it didn't feel genuine.

So ultimately, I thought this novel was okay. It was engaging, handled a difficult topic with respect, and shed light on an issue that we clearly need to think about more. What frustrated me the most with it was how much better it could have been. There were so many little elements that felt strange--the odd dialogue choices, the forced plot elements, and the too-perfect nature of Hermione and those around her--and all of these things combined together pulled the overall reading experience down. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either.

Challenge Tally

22 in 2022: 8/22

Total Books Read in 2022: 37

Cress Watercress by Gregory Maguire

 

When I saw that Gregory Maguire had a new novel coming out last month, I already knew I was going to get it, whatever it was. The fact that it was an illustrated middle grades novel about a rabbit made it that much better. I've been a fan of Maguire's work since I read Wicked in college, and I've read most things he's come out with since then. I don't always love all of it, but I'm definitely a fan of his. I was excited to see what this story would be like, so I picked it up pretty soon after it was delivered.

The plot follows a young rabbit named Cress. She lives in a forest with her mother and baby brother Kip. As the novel begins, Cress and her family are moving to a new home. Her father has recently disappeared and is presumed to have been killed by a predator of some sort, and her mother wants to move to a place that has more neighbors, for their protection. Cress is very sad to leave her comfortable warren, and becomes even sadder when she arrives at the Broken Arms, an old tree in which her mother has rented an apartment. 

Their apartment is tiny and musty, and her new neighbors are a colorful group of characters that begin annoying her almost immediately. Their landlord, an owl named Mr. Titus Pillowby Owl, is standoffish and unfriendly. Their super, a mouse named Manfred Crabgrass, is usually grouchy. Their fellow tennants, a family of squirrels named the Oakleafs, are loud and too chatty, especially their three small sons. There are dangers to be aware of too - a fox named Renard, a bear named Tunk, and a snake named The Final Drainpipe are all sneaking about looking for their next meal. Cress tries to settle in, but can't help being a little prickly. She is still secretly hoping her father will reappear and take them all back home, but as more time passes, that seems less and less likely. Throughout the course of the story, Cress must come to terms with her loss and start building a new life in which she can be herself, embrace her talents, and find peace with her family and friends.

This story was phenomenal. I was in love from page one. The characters were cute and lovable and the story was a nice blend of action and quiet moments. Maguire maintained a wonderful fairytale-like tone throughout the text that made everything feel like a grand adventure, but he mixed that in with his signature quirky style and slightly sharp humor. The blending of the two styles was a joy to read and often had me snickering. The illustrations throughout the story were stunning as well. They seemed to be imbued with brightness and really gave the me the feeling of sitting in a forest dappled with sunlight. The character illustrations were incredibly charming too - this is certainly a novel meant to be read aloud with a child peeking over your shoulder. 

The themes presented here were surprisingly complex for a book about talking animals. The main issue in the novel is Cress and her family processing the loss of their father and finding a way to move on with their lives. Maguire doesn't shy away from showing their anger and their sadness as they grieve this loss, but he keeps the focus on their growth and hope as the story moves on. Cress also grapples with self confidence, building healthy friendships, empathy for others, and thinking creatively throughout the plot, and she learns this lesson in a way that does not feel patronizing to readers. It just feels lovely--like all of this is possible for us too if we open our hearts to it. 

I loved pretty much everything about Cress Watercress. It felt like a classic children's novel with just a tiny bit of an edge, and I was completely charmed by it from page one. This is a wonderful novel for younger readers, especially if read aloud with a parent. It's definitely another Gregory Maguire favorite for me too, and it definitely cements the idea in my mind that I need to keep following his work for both kids and adults.     

Challenge Tally

Middle Grade Mission: 15/24

Total Books Read in 2022: 36

Alone by Megan E. Freeman

 

I found Megan Freeman's Alone through a recommendation from Amazon. I was intrigued by the pretty cover design, and when I saw that it was a middle grades survival story written in verse, I decided to give it a try. I've written before about my love for adventure novels, and Hatchet in particular, so I was hoping that this would have similar vibes. 

The plot of the novel follows a twelve-year-old girl named Maddie who wakes up one morning to find herself completely alone in her small hometown. The entire state has seemingly been evacuated for reasons Maddie doesn't really understand, and she's missed the transports out with the rest of her family. at first, she hunkers down in her house and waits for someone to return for her, but as the weeks drag on, she realizes that no one is coming back anytime soon and she needs to take care of herself. With only the neighbors' dog for company, she begins venturing out to gather supplies for her survival. She faces challenges like living without electricity, procuring food and water, staying warm in the winter, fending off wild animals, and dealing with injuries. She captures her feelings about everything in a journal in verse form, and as her entries go on, she becomes stronger and more self-sufficient. Alone is a story about survival, self-confidence, and growing up in extraordinary circumstances.

This novel was very good, and I really enjoyed reading about Maddie's journey. Watching her travel around her empty streets collecting food from houses and books from the library had a genuinely unsettling feeling, and the use of verse rather than prose contributed to the isolated tone of the story. There were fewer words to read, which matched Maddie's loneliness well. The pages looked empty just like the town was empty. The strategy worked well.

The characterization was great too. Maddie shows clear growth throughout the story, moving from being scared and sad to capable and strong. Her circumstances push her to do things she never thought she would have to do, and watching her use the limited resources available to her to learn was very satisfying. The plot spans a few years too, so there was plenty of time there for her arc to feel reasonable. This is the kind of story that would inspire kids and encourage them to think about what they would do if they ended up alone somehow, and anything that encourages that kind of engagement with the text is great for young readers. Even I was doing this as I was reading, so the motivation factor isn't just limited to kids here.

The one aspect of the text that I thought needed some improvement was the halfway-dystopian setup for Maddie being left alone. Freeman drops vague bits of information about the evacuation being ordered due to a suspected attack from a foreign nation, and then kind of turns that on its head in the novel's final pages to be due to something else nefarious. I almost wish she had just left the specifics completely out of the story, because the bits that were there were very flimsy and took away from the believability of the book. We already know from events like Hurricane Katrina that there are always lots of people that do not comply with evacuation orders for various reasons. There is literally no way that Maddie would find herself completely alone if such an order were passed. If the reasons for everyone leaving were left unknown, it would have made everything more unsettling, which wouldn't have been bad. It's more believable that a twelve-year-old would not be following current events and find herself left completely in the dark about what happened than it is to suppose the threat of an attack would cause every single person to leave a state. As this wasn't a big part of the story though, it didn't impact my enjoyment of the book too much.   

So overall, I thought Alone was a fantastic read and I like almost everything about it. This is a great story for younger readers as it is quick to read and genuinely interesting. Maddie's struggle to survive is very engaging and her growth across the text is satisfying to watch. This is a novel that I will definitely be recommending my to students. 

Challenge Tally

Middle Grade Mission: 14/24

Total Books Read in 2022: 35

The Hideaway by Pam Smy

 

I first came across The Hideaway by Pam Smy during a shopping trip in the middles grades section of Barnes and Noble. I was instantly drawn to it because the edges of the pages were sprayed black, giving it a very distinctive dark and moody look. When I picked it up, the cover design and the beautiful illustrations on the inside cemented my interest. I already had an embarrassing amount of books in my arms that day, so I didn't buy it right away, but I did pick it up on Amazon a few weeks later. I remained very curious about it, despite having several other books on my shelf that I was thinking about reading first. I figured that must mean something, so I decided to give it a try this month.

The plot of the novel follows a young boy named Billy that lives in England with his mother, Grace, and his stepfather, Jeff. Jeff physically abuses Grace regularly, and as the novel begins, Billy has had enough. He runs away to a small hideaway he discovered in a cemetery during a school trip last year. The small concrete shelter is dirty and cold, but it is the perfect place for Billy to get away from the violence and sadness at home. He settles in with the meager supplies he packed and enjoys the solitude. 

Before long, he runs into the cemetery caretaker, a kindly old man that agrees to let Billy stay there for a while in exchange for helping him maintain the headstones. Billy quickly agrees to this plan and falls into a new routine of working during the day and spending time thinking about what to do next at night. The old man has made it clear that he can only stay for a few days, so he has to figure out whether he will return home or find a new place to hide out. He loves his mother and misses her desperately, but he can't make himself go back to watch her be beaten and screamed at over and over anymore.

The story alternates between Billy's time in the cemetery and the people back at home who are trying to find him. The narration shifts between his mother, a police officer, one of his friends from school, and some kindly neighbors as they come together to try and locate him and help his mother separate herself from her abusive husband. Jeff has been very successful in isolating Grace from friends and family, so she is reluctant to reach out to others at first, but Billy's drastic act of leaving home and the kindness of several members of the community help her finally take steps towards protecting herself. She can only hope her efforts aren't coming too late to salvage her relationship with her son.

This book was absolutely beautiful. Billy's story was sad and serious, but it was presented in a way that was appropriate for younger readers. Pam Smy didn't shy away from telling the ugly truth of what living with domestic abuse is like, but her focus stayed on the actions people take to get out of these situations and the hope that always exists for a better life afterwards. Her writing style was simple and easy to read, like an old-school storybook. There's a little twist of the supernatural in the story that added to this feeling as well. Billy was a very likable character and it was easy to sympathize with him and root for him to find some peace. Due to the shifting narration of the story, it was also easy to sympathize with Grace. By including her point of view, Smy was able to show readers her backstory and explain how things went wrong over time for her, culminating in Jeff and the nightmare of living with him. She did a nice job of showing how abusers slowly exert more and more control over their victims and make them feel like there is no escape. 

Another important aspect of the multiple-perspectives strategy was showing readers the effect friends and neighbors have on people living with abuse. Some of Billy's neighbors knew that Jeff was violent and fought regularly with Grace, but they hesitated to say anything out of a fear of being wrong about the situation or somehow making things worse. It's easier to chalk things up to being "private family business" and not saying anything than it is to speak up. In this story, things only improve for Billy and his mother when these people actively start helping, which I thought was an important message to include.  

The first thing that attracted me to the book, its artistic elements, continued to consistently impress me throughout my reading as well. The pages were thick and had a lovely weight to them, the black edges matched the sadness of the story, and the large amount of illustrations throughout were the perfect accompaniment to the plot. It was a pleasure visually to make my way through the book. This is definitely one that should be read using a physical copy. A Kindle won't cut it here - it's worth having it in your hands.  

For being a book I randomly came across in a shop, The Hideaway was a surprisingly good reading experience. The difficult story, the simple writing, and the beautiful illustrations combined together to create something emotional, touching, and, ultimately, hopeful. This was a serious read, but a great one too, centered around love, family, and overcoming extremely difficult challenges. This has become a new favorite for me and I hope to explore more of Pam Smy's work in the future.   

Challenge Tally

Middle Grade Mission: 13/24

Total Books Read in 2022: 34

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

 

**This review will contain spoilers for the first book in this series, Strange the Dreamer**

After reading and loving Strange the Dreamer, I was excited to pick up its sequel next, Muse of Nightmares. These books are a duology, so this novel is the conclusion to the series (as of now, at least). I went into my reading hoping to have all the mysteries from the previous book explained and interested to see how Lazlo and Sarai's story would end.

The plot of the novel begins with two new characters named Kora and Nova. These young girls live in a frozen island harvesting walrus-like creatures with their indifferent and abusive parents. They love each other deeply and both dream of finding a way to escape their cold, harsh lives. Their wish is seemingly granted when a group of Mesarthim arrive in a futuristic flying ship to test the population for special abilities. Kora and Nova are tested first, but things quickly deteriorate when the leader of the Mesarthim, a young and ambitious man named Skathis, uses his cruelty to turn everything on its head.

From there, the story returns to the characters from the previous novel, right at the point where the story concluded. Lazlo has discovered that he is the son of Skathis, and has inherited his powerful ability to control the Mesarthim metal. Sarai has died and is being kept tethered to the world through Minya's power to control ghosts. The city of Weep is in chaos, due to the destruction of one of the floating palace's anchors, and the discovery that a small group of Mesarthim have been living in that ship in secret has caused fear and panic to spread among the people. Minya is ready to use her ghost army to exact vengeance on as many citizens as possible, and everyone else is desperate to prevent that. Something needs to happen to prevent this violence from erupting, but the path forward isn't clear.

It falls to Lazlo and Sarai to try and come up with a plan to save as many lives as possible and allow themselves to remain together. It's difficult though, because Minya is determined to get her revenge and won't be dissuaded. The emotional trauma she experienced as a child is driving her actions, making her impossible to reason with. Even worse, if she were to die in the chaos she plans to unleash, her grip on Sarai's ghost would disappear, meaning that Lazlo would lose her forever. It is imperative to prevent her from going to battle, and Sarai and Lazlo have to focus their efforts on convincing her to give up on her plan rather than forcing her to do it.

The action of the story flips between Kora and Nova's story in the past and Lazlo and Sarai's story in the present. Eventually, the two parts come together, setting the stage for an epic confrontation that must be solved through empathy and understanding in the face of incredible rage and violence.

Much like the first book in this series, I really enjoyed this one. Taylor's writing style continued to be lyrical and beautiful, and the story was consistently engaging. All of the questions I had about the characters were answered, and information was released at a pace that kept the experience suspenseful. The lore of this universe is deep and complex, and Taylor did a nice job developing it. This is definitely a novel that you can escape into and enjoy getting lost in. Sequels often fall flat, either because they don't have interesting solutions for the problems posed in earlier books, or they feel repetitive or aimless. That wasn't an issue here. Muse of Nightmares was different from Strange the Dreamer; there was less mystery and more high fantasy details to keep track of. It was definitely more plot-heavy. It was still a satisfying conclusion to the story though, and a very entertaining read.   

The character development continued to be strong here too, with Nova and Kora's story feeling genuinely emotional and complex. Lazlo and Sarai develop a more mature and thoughtful approach to life as well, and the more minor characters each get a chance to grow too. Thyron Nero, in particular, undergoes a big change in his personality that was a pleasure to watch unfold. I enjoyed him more and more as the novel went on. 

As in the first book, Taylor chooses to focus on empathy and kindness over violence in her plotlines. I really liked this focus and thought it delivered a beautiful message to readers about giving people a chance and giving yourself time to heal after trauma. The story forces the characters to choose understanding over fighting, which is unique for a novel in which several characters have powerful magical abilities. I thought this was a more thoughtful approach than I usually see in this genre and I appreciated it.

So obviously, Muse of Nightmares, and this duology of books in general, were excellent reads. Much like Strange the Dreamer, this was another book that absolutely lived up to the hype. It had a creative story, interesting characters, and an excellent overall message. The ending of the story leaves the door open for future books set in this universe, and I definitely wouldn't mind if Taylor decided to write another. I'm glad I finally got around to reading these.

Challenge Tally

Finally in 2022 - Series Edition: 11/28

Total Books Read in 2022: 33

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

 

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor is one of those books that the internet raves about. Naturally, I've been wanting to check it out for a while now to see if it lives up to the hype. I made it a part of my Finally 2020 Challenge, since it's been sitting on my shelf for a long time now. After my recent experience with the Mistborn trilogy, I was a little bit wary of jumping straight into another over-hyped series. This one, however, is only a duology. I figured that if I didn't end up liking it, I only had two books to make it through. So, I got started hoping for the best.

This is a young adult fantasy novel and the plot flips back and forth between two protagonists. The first is Lazlo Strange. Lazlo is an orphan that has been raised by monks. He has a great imagination and loves reading old stories and folktales. His greatest interest lies in the lost city of Weep, a place that used to be an advanced, beautiful city in the middle of the vast desert that borders their kingdom. No one has seen or heard from anyone there in over 200 years though, and no one knows what happened to them. Most people now consider Weep to be a myth. Lazlo, however, is certain that it was real and his greatest dream is to find the city and figure out what happened to it. When he is unexpectedly drafted into an expedition to do just that, he finally gets his chance.

The other protagonist is Sarai, a teenage girl connected to the fall of Weep. To say more would be to spoil the lovely mysteries of this book, so I'm going to keep my summary vague. She eventually connects with Lazlo and the pair embark on a plan to try and bring peace back to the troubled city. 

I loved this book, and I think that the less readers know going into it, the better. The writing is very dreamy and flowery. It's packed full of beautiful images, much like The Night Circus or The Starless Sea, and the plot is very creative. Taylor reveals information at a slow pace, which really kept me engaged with the story. I was always thinking ahead and trying to fit all the pieces she was giving me together. The world she creates is very rich and complex. It's diverse as well, with different skin colors and sexualities represented. There was a good mix of male and female characters between the main and supporting cast too. I definitely felt like I was transported somewhere else while reading--like Weep and its surrounding cities were real, fantastical places. 

The characters were well developed too. I took an instant liking to Lazlo. He's an honorable, bookish, curious person who longs for adventure--the kind of character it is very easy to root for. Sarai was also very interesting. Her part in the story is complicated. She falls into a difficult place between good and evil, and watching her develop over the course of the story was very engaging. The minor characters were similarly well done, especially Thyron Nero, who I took an immediate dislike to (in a good way though). He was one of the most effectively written jerks that I've read in a long time. 

The themes running throughout the book were excellent as well. The characters struggle with some morally gray situations, and I liked how Taylor explored the ideas of self-doubt, guilt, and empathy across the various story threads. There was plenty of action in the story, but the real changes came from people working together and trying to heal from traumas and do what's right. I consistently felt like this was a bit more mature take on a fantasy story, and I liked that. 

So Strange the Dreamer ended up being one of the rare young adult fantasies that actually lives up to all the hype. I'm very glad I gave this one a shot. It ends on a pretty big cliffhanger, so I'm excited to pick up the sequel next and see where the story goes.

Challenge Tally

Finally in 2022 - Series Edition: 10/28

Total Books Read in 2022: 32