#then i felt bad for not working on the MG novel when i got home at 11 and thought 'oh the edits dont look like much let me know them out!'

[lordsardine]

.

[la-knight]

BOOKS I (RE)READ IN 2018: FURTHERMORE BY TAHEREH MAFI

"Alice Alexis Queensmeadow, 12, rates three things most important: Mother, who wouldn’t miss her; magic and color, which seem to elude her; and Father, who always loved her. Father disappeared from Ferenwood with only a ruler, almost three years ago. But she will have to travel through the mythical, dangerous land of Furthermore, where down can be up, paper is alive, and left can be both right and very, very wrong. Her only companion is Oliver whose own magic is based in lies and deceit. Alice must first find herself—and hold fast to the magic of love in the face of loss." "Red was ruby, green was fluorescent, yellow was simply incandescent. Color was life. Color was everything. Color, you see, was the universal sign of magic." "Love, it turned out, could both hurt and heal." "Narrow-mindedness will only get you as far as Nowhere, and once you're there, you're lost forever.” "Alice was an odd girl, even for Ferenwood, where the sun occasionally rained and the colors were brighter than usual and magic was as common as a frowning parent." "Making magic is far more interesting than making sense." So I actually read this book a few months ago and then recently reread it via audio so I could remember all the details for this review. I was first introduced to Tahereh Mafi’s work through her book Shatter Me, her debut novel. Ironically, it wasn’t through any of the ways I normally hear about books - Booktube, Goodreads, my best friend, Booklr - but from my husband’s aunt. She runs - or used to run, not sure if she’s still doing it - a book review blog. And she posted a review of Shatter Me and I was like, “What a weird, interesting writing style, lemme check this out.” At this point the entire Shatter Me Trilogy plus novellas had been published and I devoured all of them (still need to review those, too). So when I heard Tahereh Mafi was writing a middle grade book, I got super excited! Especially because this was during a time when I was too stressed out to read any YA, since most of the YA I like involves having to save the world and all the stress that entails. I need to lay out some trigger warnings real quick: the main character, Alice? Her mom is incredibly abusive, both emotionally and physically. It’s treated as not such a big deal in the book, which is honestly the story’s only real flaw, but it’s bad. It took me seven tries and resorting to an audiobook (and even with a fantastic narrator, that short audiobook took me almost a month to get through) because the abuse was so bad. So:

TRIGGER WARNING: THIS BOOK CONTAINS EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL ABUSE OF A CHILD BY THEIR PARENT

Let’s get started, yo! First of all, the setting. OMG. See, I love tthis thing called Victorian fairy tales, which is something you can find in books like Mary Poppins - these super fantastical bits of whimsy that just warm your heart and make you grin because they’re so creative and fun. In the Mary Poppins books, you can jump into chalk drawings and go to a circus amidst the stars and make friends with a woman who sells living candy-cane horses. In Catherynne Valente’s Fairyland series, there are shadow balls and talking phonographs. And in Furthermore, there’s light raining down from the sky in literal drops, sticks of magic you use like money, and forests full of invisible berries. The way the world is put together and described, so full of color and imagination, is awesome and beautiful and I could picture it perfectly. It reminded me in all the best ways of books like The Phantom Tollbooth (one of my favorites). But I wouldn’t want to live there, because Ferenwood is full of colorism and ick. Alice, the female lead, is an albino in a world where color is important and the darker you are, the more magical you’re considered to be. So Alice gets treated like garbage. 

Also I think Alice may be autistic, but I don’t know if she’s deliberately coded autistic or if Tahereh Mafi did it by accident while trying to make Alice eccentric, but she comes across as autistic. I’ve actually begun to pay more attention to that sort of the thing in recent years, being autistic myself, and I see it a lot - authors giving their characters autistic characteristics, often without meaning to. I just touch on it here because Alice is already treated badly for being albino, but she’s also considered a freak because of the way she behaves - like an autistic preteen. And I wonder if Tahereh Mafi did that on purpose as a sort of commentary or not, because while Alice is treated badly by the people of Ferenwood for her behavior, the Narrator (who is an actual character in the story; love when that happens) always sides with Alice in this regard. The storyline is sweet and I love it. Alice tries to compete in the magical testing all the preteens do on their twelfth birthday, and so she dances. And her dancing is magical but it’s not Magical, you know? So she fails the test. Well, turns out a boy who passed the test the year before, Oliver (the brat), needs Alice’s help fulfilling a quest - rescuing Alice’s missing dad. So they go on a quest together, although Alice hates Oliver (and rightly so, he’s rude). They go to a dozen different and cool places, all of which are dangerous and all of which are different. I wish we could’ve spent more time in those places but I understand why we didn’t. The only annoying thing is there’s an origami fox on the cover but it only pops up in one of the worlds for like two pages and then it’s gone and I thought we could spend more time both in that world and with that creature since it ended up on the cover. But alas, not. I understand why - middle grade is often cursed to be short, especially if it’s the author’s first MG novel ever. Once you get big and bad like Rick Riordan you can start tossing out gihugic tomes like Son of Neptune or Blood of Olympus on the regular. Oliver’s reason for needing Alice was one I didn’t see coming, nor was her magical talent - a talent they hint at throughout the book but never explain until near the end, at the perfect moment. I thought it was an interesting commentary on how young girls perceive themselves, that Alice hates this marvelous, amazing talent she has of bringing color into the world from nothing...because she can’t use it to change how she looks. Society has trained her already, by the age of twelve, to discount something incredible about herself because she can’t use it to make herself into what society wants her to be. That’s pretty impressive for a book this short. I loved some of the more deliberate messages in the work - the thing I mentioned about society’s pressures on young girls, and also that it’s okay to tell boys to screw off if they’re mean to you, and to have hope and to look for second chances (Alice thinks she only has one chance to pass the test and believes her life is over when she fails, only to find out she can try again the next year). I love all of that, and the lyrical and whimsical quality of the prose, and the world building is so creative and also makes me a bit hungry (people eat magic in this book, among other things; I wonder what it tastes like). Now...let’s talk about the abuse. That’s my biggest issue with the book. Alice’s mother is a total bitch. And not in a cool, kickass way like the lady in the show Empire. She’s vicious, she’s cruel, and she’s abusive. Alice knows - and the Narrator confirms - that she turned bad when her husband went missing, and apparently the worry for him and the strain of raising four kids on her own is making her hard and sad, but I don’t give a shit. I was hoping Tahereh Mafi would’ve gone all Hansel and Gretel on this lady and when Alice comes home with her dad, the wife’s dead or something. She beats Alice (at one point she beat Alice for chasing a boy out of the place where she was sleeping, even though he kept staring at her in her sleeping clothes, because apparently the boy - Oliver - had the right to break into their barn at 3AM and ogle Alice???), she verbally abuses Alice, she sends her to bed regularly without dinner, is constantly criticizing, won’t hug her or kiss her, and - this one really got me, for some reason - forces her to do illegal things. Those invisible berries I mentioned? Alice can find them and bring back whole baskets because of her magical gift, and so her mom sends her out to pick them all the time. If she brings home enough, her mom smiles. If she doesn’t, her mom yells and calls her names and sometimes beats her. Guess what? Picking those berries is illegal. We don’t find this out until much later in the book, but it is. The thing I didn’t like about the berries is that Oliver, who’s thirteen, is less concerned about Alice’s mother beating her for not picking enough contraband berries and instead focuses on how her ability to find the berries in the first place means Alice has really impressive magic. NOBODY seems to care how much Alice is being abused, not even the Narrator. The Narrator sympathizes with Alice’s hurt feelings and despair over her missing Father, but it’s never objectively stated that her mom is abusing her AND SHE IS. Yeah, her mom is sooo glad to have her back after Alice almost dies on her trip with Oliver, but so what? My roommate’s mom is so abusive that my roommate’s clergy leaders, doctors, and psychological therapist all said my roommate needed to cut ties with said mom, even though my roommate’s mom has also exhibited the same kind of “oh baby I’m so sorry, I love you so much” bullshit. That’s what abusers do. So I hate Alice’s mom. She literally makes her daughter feel like if she doesn’t risk her life numerous times AND bring her father back, there is no chance her mother will ever love her. And if she pulls that stuff off (which she does), then MAYBE her mother will love her. Nuh-uh. Nope. Hate that bitch. Other than that, I really loved this book. The characters felt real (Alice is me, but without my anger), Even the ones I didn’t like were still REAL, and well-drawn. The world building and word choice is fantastic. Basically, if you can get past the evil mom, read this book. World Building: 1 star Realism: 1 star Word Choice: 1 star Plot: 1 star Characterization: 1 star - ¼ star because Oliver Newbanks is an obnoxious little creep - 1 star because the mom is AN ABUSIVE EVIL BITCH - ¼ star because NOBODY DOES ANYTHING ABOUT THAT +½ star because Alice is amazing and has a genius brain and I love her Total score: 4/5 stars Would I Buy It: Yes! I own it and loved it enough I got the sequel for Christmas (in...2017...I've been sitting on this review for months...)! Would I Recommend: yes, but with trigger warnings. Again, highly abusive evil bitch mom who somehow doesn’t die.

[cover2covermom]

Hello bookworms!

Today I am excited to share a few mini reviews for some recent reads.  One of which will be making an appearance on my “top books of 2019” list!  Read on to find out which book it is…

*Books included in this batch of mini book reviews: In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad #1) by Tana French, Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed, Winter of the Witch (Winternight Trilogy #3) by Katherine Arden, & The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air #2) by Holly Black

» In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad #1) by Tana French

Genre: Crime Fiction

In the Woods is a crime fiction book about two detectives investigating the murder of a 12-year-old girl.  The twist?  One of the detectives, Detective Rob Ryan, was involved in mysterious case where two kids went missing in the same small community decades before.

Crime fiction is NOT my go-to genre.  In fact, I almost never read it.  Why?  My major in college was criminal justice, so I am often annoyed how implausible the plot line is, or how the police procedure is handled.  I find myself rolling my eyes through many books because how the author portrays police procedures… Let me clue you in (see what I did there?) the criminal justice system does not work like it does in shows like CSI, Law & Order, Dexter, etc.  Sure, there are some realistic elements, but overall it is not how things play out in real life.  I am happy to report that the criminal procedural elements were very well done in In the Woods.  They felt realistic & believable, which is something I appreciate so much.   The entire investigation was handled very well and the timing was spot on.  Kudos to French!

Despite the fact that the police procedural elements were well done, there was one big far fetched aspect about the plot.  The biggest one for me was *highlight between arrows to read spoiler* ⇒ the fact that Detective Ryan’s boss was unaware about his connection to the cold case.  Police officers go through extensive background checks… the likelihood that his involvement would go unknown throughout his career?  No way. ⇐   Other than this aspect, I thought the plot was very believable.   I could totally see this case happening in real life.   On the flip side, because this case was so believable, I wasn’t shocked about the reveal of who was behind the murder.  I totally guessed who was behind the murder.

In the Woods could have been 100 pages shorter.  For a thriller/crime fiction book, it was a fairly slow book.   When I read within this genre, I want a quick paced page turner, which this book wasn’t.  I feel because this is a series, French wrote a lot of backstory for future books which bogged the story down a bit.

» Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed

Genre: Middle Grade Realistic Fiction

#YARC2019

Set in Pakistan, Amal Unbound is the story about a 12-year-old girl with a passion for learning.  Amal is a lovely main character.  She’s bright, responsible, hard working, kind, brave etc.  I loved her love of reading & books, and her ambition to one day become a teacher.  I also respected her bravery & desire to stand up for what is right.  She’s an excellent role model for young girls.

My heart aches for Amal throughout the story.  From Amal’s school not having the same accommodations as the boy’s school, to Amal having to stay home from school to help take care of her sisters, to her having to pay off the family’s debts as an indentured servant.  One thing this novel does is make you appreciate our access to education here in the United States.  We really do take it for granted.  Education is not easily accessible to all children throughout the world, and even less accessible to girls especially.

Amal Unbound is such a wonderful MG novel that addresses some wonderful themes: friendship, family, education, freedom, etc.   This book also tackles some heavier topics like sexism, post partum depression, murder, and indentured servitude.  Saeed did a wonderful job presenting these heavier topics in an appropriate way in a middle grade reading level.

Why did I take a star off?  The ending felt a bit rushed.  The climax of the story was underdeveloped & I wanted more of a emotional conclusion.

» Winter of the Witch (Winternight Trilogy #3) by Katherine Arden

Genre: Fantasy

*No spoilers for The Winter of the Witch, but possible mild spoilers for the other books in the series*

The Winter of the Witch was the best book of the Winternight trilogy!  This book will be making an appearance in my “best books of 2019” list for sure!

Much like The Girl in the Tower, this book was non-stop action from page one.  Arden managed to rip my heart out on page 22… things escalated very quickly in this book.  If I had to describe it in one word, it would be intense.

There are a lot of different plot lines & themes coming to a head in The Winter of the Witch: the “old ways” of Paganism vs. Catholicism, the Bear vs. the Winter King, the relationship between Vasya & the Winter King,  Konstaintin’s evilness, Vasya’s struggle between her loyalty to her family & her own beliefs, a looming war between the Grand Prince Dmitrii & the Tatars… There’s a lot going on here.

The feminist undertones throughout this series are absolutely fabulous!  Vasya is definitely one of the best leading female characters of recent literature.  She’s independent, spirited, brave, strong, fierce, clever, and compassionate.  I really just loved everything about her.

The Winter of the Witch was the perfect conclusion to the Winternight Trilogy.  The Winternight Trilogy really has it all: political intrigue, Russian folklore, magic, action, adventure, a bad ass leading lady…  I cannot recommend this series enough.

» The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air #2) by Holly Black

Genre: YA Fantasy

*No spoilers for The Wicked King, but possible mild spoilers for the other books in the series*

I am sad to say that I found The Wicked King to be disappointing.   While The Cruel Prince wasn’t perfect, I preferred it to this one because the pacing was better.  The first 200 pages of this book were boring… not a whole lot actually happens.  The last 130ish pages were where the action was and lived up to my expectations.

Here is one of my big issues with this series: the hate to love trope.  It is really hard to pull this trope off in an APPROPRIATE way, especially in YA.  Honestly, I find it a bit problematic the way it is portrayed here.  I just can’t help but feel we are telling young girls that toxic relationships are okay.  *Highlight between arrows to see mild spoiler ⇒It is not okay for characters to tell each other they hate one another while hooking up.  Am I the only one that is not okay with this? ⇐  I will say that these problematic issues were not as bad in The Wicked King as they were in The Cruel Prince, but it still bothers me that the toxic romance is what most people enjoy about this series…  There are healthier ways to write sexual tension.

Oh Jude.  Why do you make terrible decisions?!  I felt frustrated with Jude throughout the book for the bad situations she puts herself in.  The side characters got ZERO development in this book.  Madoc, Taryn, Vivi, Oak…  Black could have given us some development in these characters in the first 200 pages where nothing else was happening.

I did like how things were left in the ending of The Wicked King.  It definitely made me want to read the next book in the series to see how everything pans out.  Do I think this is a must-read series?  Not really.

  Have you read any of these books?  If so, what did you think?

Comment below & let me know 🙂

  Today I am sharing a few mini book reviews for some recent #reads. #BookReview #BookBlog #BookBlogger #Reaing #Books Hello bookworms! Today I am excited to share a few mini reviews for some recent reads.  One of which will be making an appearance on my "top books of 2019" list! 

[63824peace]

Thursday, 17th of november 2005

I see a lot of news and gossip articles about the Hills these days. A lot of Information Technology venture corporations occupy the Hills, such as Livedoor, Rakuten, and Cybird.

Younger celebrity entrepreneurs and businessmen began calling this place "the Hills" after they brought all the success to this area. If I remember correctly, though, there was some disagreement a couple of years ago when they completed and opened Roppongi Hills. The faction headed by the Mori Building had pushed the name Roppon-jin.

Roppon-jin isn't particularly cool, but I'm not excited about "the Hills" either.

Anyhow, I don't like the impression of the Hills given by the mass media. They say: "Everyone drives a luxury imported car! They live in high-class apartments! They wear hot, brand-name accessories! They stuff themselves at top notch restaurants!"

The press's excessive competition for more sensational stories resulted in a misconceived stereotype about the Hills. KojiPro's offices sit in the middle of Roppongi Hills. We look like the stereotype too if you go by the gossip's claims.

HIDEOBLOG readers understand that we don't fit the mold of the "celebrity entrepreneurs of the Hills." We're more like Nippon's salary-men. We catch the train during morning rush hour; we love eating from a fast food menu; and we kick back with a drink after a hard day's work.

I don't like the name "Information Technology industries." Whenever people hear the name they think, "Oh, they don't really do anything," or "They never create any new information."

Innovative pioneers flourished during the twentieth century, and I understand that their time has passed in the twenty-first century. Still, I want to create for a living. That's why I deliberately call our industry the "Entertainment Technology industry."

I'm not a Hills celebrity. I'm a workingman at the Hills, along with my HIDEOBLOG. I suppose that my dreams bear similarities with notorious, celebrity aspirations though.

I went to the restaurant Umaya in Nishi Azabu for the first time in a long while. I had the chef's daily special, Shabu-shabu.

I don't like raw eggs very much, but I took one anyway so I could record it in HIDEOBLOG. I've never eaten one of Umaya's free sample raw eggs before. This sort of thing has happened more frequently since I started HIDEOBLOG. Thanks to HIDEOBLOG, I've been able to enjoy foods that I never enjoyed before.

I borrowed Miyuki Nakajima's album Tensei and listened to it. As usual, it rocks!

I like the eighth track, Inochi-no-relay. Its lyrics coincide perfectly with the MGS saga's theme: "What should we pass on to future generations?"

We have finally settled on the location for December's ultimate OOOO Training. I'm glad that we found a place in time. We had initially planned to hold it at Nasu's Training Institute. Wild monkeys and bears roam the area in December though, so they wouldn't let us. There would have been too much snow this time of year anyway.

Toyopy and Colonel had looked for good location, but they couldn't find anything. They made slow progress. I'm really glad that we found our place, even moreso because it's 150,000 square meters large. That's three times the size of an 18-hole golf course.

It sounds awesome. I'm looking forward to training. I'll need to take care and not get lost though, since the site is so large.

Shin-chan and Toyopy just returned with their newly purchased equipment. They went to the ever-helpful Phantom Higashi Kurume Shop. They looked pretty proud of themselves; they had gotten some rare, hard-to-find shirts.

Toyopy's explanation was too technical for me to follow, so I can't describe it here. I'll let Toyopy explain it directly:

1: Multicam Combat Shirt.

I just bought what I could find this time, since the exact size that I ordered hasn't arrived yet. Crye Associates collaborated with the U.S. Army to develop this shirt. It has what we call a Multicam Combat Camouflage Pattern.

It isn't officially used by any army, but it's still really popular. It's an all-in-one camouflage pattern designed to work in desert, jungle, and urban environments. The pattern is pretty complex, and it uses a lot of colors. They engineered the pattern specifically for its multifunction use, so you won't find many designs like it among common fatigues.

The sleeves and the collar bear similarities to normal fatigues, but they made the torso from state-of-the-art fibers that quickly absorb and dry sweat. (It has this feature in case we wear body armor over the Multicam Combat Shirt.) The elbows are well-padded too.

2: Oakley Factory Pilot Gloves.

Even Mr. Zakiyama down at the Phantom recommended these. Oakley makes sunglasses and outdoor supplies, and these are a pair of their motorcycle gloves. They're made out of carbon and Kevlar.

These have become really hot among military equipment enthusiasts, ever since everyone saw footage of special-ops units wearing them. Lots of soldiers these days use high-quality outdoor and sports supplies sold directly to the public.

3: Converse Stealth Assault Boots.

Converse developed these assault boots. The company is most famous for their line of basketball shoes.

These boots use a side-zipper. They're perfect for me, really, since I love boots even though I hate to lace them. The ankle and toe segments are quite soft, so they feel more like a pair of sneakers rather than boots.

U.S. East coast military surplus shops frequented by Navy SEALS carry them.

So that's the word from Toyopy.

I liked the Converse Assault Boots too, so I ordered a black pair. I'll wear them with the camouflage pants I got at Estnation.

The writer Mr. Gakuto Mikumo came to my office in the early evening. We ate supper together in Nishi Azabu at the restaurant Sabakuro. Mr. Ryogo Narita (a light novelist and one of Mr. Mikumo's gaming buddies) also joined us. We shared three delightful hours.

About five years ago I read the book M. G. H. Rakuen-no-kyozo. It had won the first Japanese Sci-Fi Rookie of the Year Award.

The story opens with the discovery of a smashed up corpse inside a zero-gravity space station. Why is a crushed corpse in a zero-gravity environment? How was the crime committed? Where is the murderer?

It's a sci-fi mystery thriller set inside a closed space station in the near future. The novel was the perfect marriage of Isaac Asimov's novel The Caves of Steel and James Patrick Hogan's novel Inherit the Stars.

The novel interested me, and I got excited. I became curious about Mr. Mikumo.

That was my first experience reading one of his novels. I read Kaitei-misshitu right away after that, followed by a novel adaptation of The Rumblefish.

I have a habit (well, a selfishness, really) of wanting to meet writers whose work I admire. So I used a connection to set up several interviews and dinner meetings, but plans always fell through because of tough schedules. I invited him to contribute an article for a booklet included with the limited edition of Anubis, and even then I didn't have a chance to meet him personally.

After five years, I finally met Mr. Mikumo in person and had a chance to talk with him. He really is a good person. No one who dreams of outer space is bad.

I felt the alcohol hitting me a bit, so I decided to head over to my little hideout in Nishi Azabu. I met up with Okamura and Kenichiro without heading back to the office.

My hideout's usual bartender speaks the Kansai dialect. I had wanted to listen to his speech and ease my thoughts a bit. Unfortunately, he had to tend bar in an affiliated pub tonight, so I couldn't see him.

Stores opened their doors to Beaujolais Nouveau today.

I heard that only the Japanese become so excited over a release party for wine. I wanted to drink some of the wine before the day ended.

Tomorrow the wine will flow in the Beaujolais Nouveau's home country, France. I should have bought some when I ran across it at noon.

According to the news, Japan has imported the largest amount of wine this year than at any other time in history.

I had missed out on the Beaujolais, so I drank a couple of sidecars to make up for it.

[cover2covermom]

Goodbye July & hello August!

I don’t know about you all, but I am ready for 2020 to be over.  Am I right?

Let’s see what I read & blogged in July…

The last time I gave you all a personal update, I mentioned that we were sending our children back to school in-person….  The lie detector determined that was a lie.

As the deadline loomed over my head, we decided to select the online schooling option for our children for the first semester of school this year.  We decided that the in-person schooling option was just going to be too unpredictable, thus decided on online schooling for consistency.  Since I work in a library, I am not able to work from home.  I needed my children to have a set schedule, so that I could adjust my work schedule around their schedule.

This decision was one of the hardest decisions I’ve made.  I think every parent needs to make the decision that is best for them & their own family situation.

» The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin

The City We Became is an urban fantasy that felt like an ode to New York City.  While this was definitely a unique concept, this story did not grip me in the same way Jemisin’s Broken Earth series did.

» Call Down the Hawk (Dreamer Trilogy #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

LOVED this spin off of The Raven Cycle.  I love Ronan so much!  I listened to the audiobook (like I did with The Raven Cycle) because Will Patton’s voice suits Stiefvater’s atmospheric writing perfectly.

» Winkby Rob Harrell

Wink is a MG novel inspired by the author’s own battle with cancer.  I would recommend this one to fans of Wonder by R.J. Palacio.

» Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

A book about police brutality geared for the middle grade audience.  I would recommend this book to parents looking to open a dialogue about racism & police brutality with their middle grade aged kids.

» The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman

Set in India, The Bridge Home is an heartbreaking tale of two sisters who ran away from an abusive home.  This book punched me in the feels.

» Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

This was a steamy & highly entertaining new adult M/M romance.  I’d recommend this book to fans of The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue.

» Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

While I wasn’t feeling this book at first, I really appreciated it by the end.  I enjoyed watching Queenie’s growth over the course of this book.  I’d recommend this books to fans of Normal People by Sally Rooney as they have similar tones.

» The Girl Who Drank the Moonby Kelly Barnhill

*4.5 Stars*

This was a reread for me.  I enjoyed this just as much as the first time I read it.  My criticism still stands that the climax of the story is rushed.

» My Lady Jane (The Lady Janies #1) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, & Jodi Meadows

My Lady Jane is a historical retelling with a fantastical flare.  I found this book to be highly entertaining.

» Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld

This was just an okay read for me.  I loved that this was a re-imagining of Hilary Clinton’s life, and I enjoyed watching her climb the political ladder.  Unfortunately, it was slow paced, boring at parts, and was just WAY too long.

» Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestorby Layla F. Saad

The second book off my anti-racist TBR.  This book is excellent for self reflection since it is set up as a 28 day challenge with reflection questions at the end of each chapter.

» The Last Council (Amulet #4) by Kazu Kibuishi

 Another wonderful installment to the Amulet series.

» Blended by Sharon M. Draper

This was a wonderful MG contemporary that dives into the complexities of blended families & racial issues.

Goodreads Challenge Update: 84 books in 2020

Saturday 7/10

June 2020 Reading & Blogging Wrap-Up + Book Haul

Monday 7/13

Teen Librarian Archives: May & June 2020 *Being a Librarian During COVID-19*

Wednesday 7/15

Mini Book Reviews: July 2020 – Part 1

Tuesday 7/21

Mini Book Reviews: July 2020 – Part 2

Wednesday 7/22

Favorite Books of 2020 (January – June)

Tuesday 7/28

Mini Book Reviews: July 2020 – Part 3

NetGalley ARC eBooks:

» The Burning God (The Poppy War #3) by R.F. Kuang

Genre: Adult Fantasy

Release Date: November 19, 2020

The exciting end to The Poppy War trilogy, R. F. Kuang’s acclaimed, award-winning epic fantasy that combines the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating, enthralling effect.

After saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead. 

Despite her losses, Rin hasn’t given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much—the people of the southern provinces and especially Tikany, the village that is her home. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges—and unexpected opportunities. While her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realizes that the real power in Nikan lies with the millions of common people who thirst for vengeance and revere her as a goddess of salvation. 

Backed by the masses and her Southern Army, Rin will use every weapon to defeat the Dragon Republic, the colonizing Hesperians, and all who threaten the shamanic arts and their practitioners. As her power and influence grows, though, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix’s intoxicating voice urging her to burn the world and everything in it? 

This is one of my most anticipated books of 2020, so I am beyond thrilled that I was approved for this ARC!!

Physical Books:

» On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least make it out of her neighborhood one day. As the daughter of an underground rap legend who died before he hit big, Bri’s got big shoes to fill. But now that her mom has unexpectedly lost her job, food banks and shutoff notices are as much a part of Bri’s life as beats and rhymes. With bills piling up and homelessness staring her family down, Bri no longer just wants to make it—she has to make it.

On the Come Up is Angie Thomas’s homage to hip-hop, the art that sparked her passion for storytelling and continues to inspire her to this day. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; of the struggle to become who you are and not who everyone expects you to be; and of the desperate realities of poor and working-class black families.

» Butterfly Yellow by Thanhha Lai

In the final days of the Việt Nam War, Hằng takes her little brother, Linh, to the airport, determined to find a way to safety in America. In a split second, Linh is ripped from her arms—and Hằng is left behind in the war-torn country.

Six years later, Hằng has made the brutal journey from Việt Nam and is now in Texas as a refugee. She doesn’t know how she will find the little brother who was taken from her until she meets LeeRoy, a city boy with big rodeo dreams, who decides to help her.

Hằng is overjoyed when she reunites with Linh. But when she realizes he doesn’t remember her, their family, or Việt Nam, her heart is crushed. Though the distance between them feels greater than ever, Hằng has come so far that she will do anything to bridge the gap.

» A Kind of Paradise by Amy Rebecca Tan

Amy Rebecca Tan’s debut novel is a heartwarming middle grade coming-of-age story about the power of community, the power of the library, and the power of forgiveness.

Jamie Bunn made a mistake at the end of the school year. A big one. And every kid in her middle school knows all about it. Now she has to spend her summer vacation volunteering at the local library—as punishment. It may be boring, but at least she’ll be able to hide from mean girl Trina, who’s always had it out for her, and beautiful Trey, the boy at the root of her big mistake.

Or so she thinks.

Not only does her job bring her face-to-face with both her mortal enemy and her ultimate crush, Jamie also encounters a territorial patron, an elderly movie fanatic, a super-tall painter who loves to bake, and a homeless dog. Over the course of the summer, as Jamie gets to know the library and the people in it, she finds—and gives—help where she least expects it.

And she just might find herself along the way.

» The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds

Just when seventeen-year-old Matt thinks he can’t handle one more piece of terrible news, he meets a girl who’s dealt with a lot more—and who just might be able to clue him in on how to rise up when life keeps knocking him down—in this wry, gritty novel from the author of When I Was the Greatest.

Matt wears a black suit every day. No, not because his mom died—although she did, and it sucks. But he wears the suit for his gig at the local funeral home, which pays way better than the Cluck Bucket, and he needs the income since his dad can’t handle the bills (or anything, really) on his own. So while Dad’s snagging bottles of whiskey, Matt’s snagging fifteen bucks an hour. Not bad. But everything else? Not good. Then Matt meets Lovey. She’s got a crazy name, and she’s been through more crazy than he can imagine. Yet Lovey never cries. She’s tough. Really tough. Tough in the way Matt wishes he could be. Which is maybe why he’s drawn to her, and definitely why he can’t seem to shake her. Because there’s nothing more hopeful than finding a person who understands your loneliness—and who can maybe even help take it away.

  Which books did you read this month?

Have you read any of the books I read or hauled this month?  If so, what did you think?

Did you buy any books?  If so, which ones?

Comment below & let me know 🙂

July 2020 Reading & Blogging Wrap Up + Book Haul #BookBlogger #Bookworm #Bibliophile #WrapUp #BookTalk Goodbye July & hello August! I don't know about you all, but I am ready for 2020 to be over.