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emilyctrigg
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
The New Girl is about Indo-Chinese runner Lia who has been drafted into a ritzy boarding school for her track skills. She's thrilled to have this opportunity, but it quickly goes sour when she has to put up with a gossip app that loves to pick on her, mean girls, a teacher who has it in for her, and of course plenty of racism and colorism.
The crux of the story here is that Lia discovers something ugly about her teacher and then everything in her life spirals out of control. She's trying to make sure she can stay at the school, while also dealing with guilt regarding her involvement with her teacher's shady dealings.
While the story moved along at a galloping pace and kept me wanting more answers, overall I found the story to be pretty simplistic. I guessed all of the big reveals ahead of time and didn't really find some of them very believable. It was also a bit too insta-love-y for me with Lia and her immediate boyfriend, Daniel.
The writing itself was really pretty-- I definitely want to read more from this author. But I think I would enjoy more literary works from her and not necessarily mystery/thrillers.
Eunice Wong's narration is a breath of fresh air. She adds so much personality to her character interpretations, but also just to the regular prose. She (at least seems to) speak Mandarin and Indonesian very well. This book has a lot of conversations that take place in other languages and Eunice's reading in those languages sounded natural and fluent to my untrained ear.
I would recommend this book to YA thriller readers or to other mystery/thriller readers who want a fun and quick read that may not be super surprising.
Trigger warnings:
-Severe bullying
-Accidental death
-Trauma to the eye
-Apparent death by overdose
-Mention of drugs
-Accidental overdose (drugs put into others' drinks without their knowledge)
-Racism
-Colorism
-Murder
The New Girl is about Indo-Chinese runner Lia who has been drafted into a ritzy boarding school for her track skills. She's thrilled to have this opportunity, but it quickly goes sour when she has to put up with a gossip app that loves to pick on her, mean girls, a teacher who has it in for her, and of course plenty of racism and colorism.
The crux of the story here is that Lia discovers something ugly about her teacher and then everything in her life spirals out of control. She's trying to make sure she can stay at the school, while also dealing with guilt regarding her involvement with her teacher's shady dealings.
While the story moved along at a galloping pace and kept me wanting more answers, overall I found the story to be pretty simplistic. I guessed all of the big reveals ahead of time and didn't really find some of them very believable. It was also a bit too insta-love-y for me with Lia and her immediate boyfriend, Daniel.
The writing itself was really pretty-- I definitely want to read more from this author. But I think I would enjoy more literary works from her and not necessarily mystery/thrillers.
Eunice Wong's narration is a breath of fresh air. She adds so much personality to her character interpretations, but also just to the regular prose. She (at least seems to) speak Mandarin and Indonesian very well. This book has a lot of conversations that take place in other languages and Eunice's reading in those languages sounded natural and fluent to my untrained ear.
I would recommend this book to YA thriller readers or to other mystery/thriller readers who want a fun and quick read that may not be super surprising.
Trigger warnings:
-Severe bullying
-Accidental death
-Trauma to the eye
-Apparent death by overdose
-Mention of drugs
-Accidental overdose (drugs put into others' drinks without their knowledge)
-Racism
-Colorism
-Murder
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
The man who fell from the sky is about financier Alfred Loewenstein who fell out of an airplane and died at the height (pardon the pun) of his wealth and power. No one saw him fall/stumble/jump out of his private plane, but yet he was gone.
William Norris got a tip about this wild character and thus began an obsession into figuring out everything about Loewenstein himself, and specifically about the circumstances of his death.
I enjoyed how the author inserted himself into the story and into his thought process of what could have happened in that plane. The story was gripping and I was guessing throughout the whole book about what on earth could have happened. I'm majorly impressed with William Norris' ability to make me care so much about something that happened 100 years ago.
All that said, I do have 2 gripes:
1. The narrator for this title did a lot of accents-- Cockney, British posh, old lady, French, Belgian, etc. None of them was particularly good? And they were overall very distracting. I wish he would have just read those in his normal voice.
2. Some of the stock exchanges, business buyouts, and commercial espionage plots were spelled out with really intense and excruciating detail. I think each of these little dramas could have been shortened and simplified in order to keep things from getting too in the weeds. (and boring) I understand that some of this was needed in order for us to know who the major players and suspects were.... but I did start to lose some interest when we had been listening to stock talk for 20 minutes.
Overall, I would recommend this to readers who enjoy a good mystery and maybe specifically those who have a special interest in the time period right before the stock crash of 1929.
The man who fell from the sky is about financier Alfred Loewenstein who fell out of an airplane and died at the height (pardon the pun) of his wealth and power. No one saw him fall/stumble/jump out of his private plane, but yet he was gone.
William Norris got a tip about this wild character and thus began an obsession into figuring out everything about Loewenstein himself, and specifically about the circumstances of his death.
I enjoyed how the author inserted himself into the story and into his thought process of what could have happened in that plane. The story was gripping and I was guessing throughout the whole book about what on earth could have happened. I'm majorly impressed with William Norris' ability to make me care so much about something that happened 100 years ago.
All that said, I do have 2 gripes:
1. The narrator for this title did a lot of accents-- Cockney, British posh, old lady, French, Belgian, etc. None of them was particularly good? And they were overall very distracting. I wish he would have just read those in his normal voice.
2. Some of the stock exchanges, business buyouts, and commercial espionage plots were spelled out with really intense and excruciating detail. I think each of these little dramas could have been shortened and simplified in order to keep things from getting too in the weeds. (and boring) I understand that some of this was needed in order for us to know who the major players and suspects were.... but I did start to lose some interest when we had been listening to stock talk for 20 minutes.
Overall, I would recommend this to readers who enjoy a good mystery and maybe specifically those who have a special interest in the time period right before the stock crash of 1929.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this short little story about Clare and Wes as they find themselves in limbo. They have lost their house and are now "nowhere" and then "somewhere." But neither of those places is home.
They continue to have adventures and make the most of the situation, but are still obviously distressed about how their lives look different than their friends' lives.
This title was extremely well-written and made this topic accessible to its audience. I would definitely purchase this title for my future children to talk to them about houseless people and what their experiences may look like. Highly recommend to any of my parent friends who want to get a title about homelessness for their kids.
I loved this short little story about Clare and Wes as they find themselves in limbo. They have lost their house and are now "nowhere" and then "somewhere." But neither of those places is home.
They continue to have adventures and make the most of the situation, but are still obviously distressed about how their lives look different than their friends' lives.
This title was extremely well-written and made this topic accessible to its audience. I would definitely purchase this title for my future children to talk to them about houseless people and what their experiences may look like. Highly recommend to any of my parent friends who want to get a title about homelessness for their kids.
