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191 reviews by:
lyricalreads
[ 5🌟 ]
THIS BOOK!!! So many twists and turns that I most definitely was NOT expecting!! A more complete and coherent review will be posted here and on my blog closer to the release date!
DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE comes out on April 2!! Add it to your TBRs!😉😉
THIS BOOK!!! So many twists and turns that I most definitely was NOT expecting!! A more complete and coherent review will be posted here and on my blog closer to the release date!
DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE comes out on April 2!! Add it to your TBRs!😉😉
[ 5🌟 ]
Reading Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds was one of my first experiences with audiobooks. Yet, I don’t think I would want to read Long Way Down any other way. Reynolds himself narrates the audiobook, and in a bonus interview at the end, he said that he wanted to be the narrator in order for the poems he wrote to be the way they were intended to be. Poetry–the flow of the words, the sentences, the line breaks–can be interpreted in many different ways depending on the one reading it.
I’m not a huge poetry person, but after reading Elizabeth Acevedo’s The Poet X, I wanted to read some more. Then, I went on an 11 hour road trip (one way, mind you😬), and I had to find some way to keep myself occupied for an extended period of time. Thank goodness for audiobooks and Long Way Down.
Now back to the book: Long Way Down is such a unique piece of literature in so many ways. Besides its format, Long Way Down only spans 60 seconds, yet Will, the narrator, reflects on the past often. I knew that the book was about gun violence, but I was unaware how Reynolds approached it in Long Way Down. I tried my hardest to stay awake and pay my fullest attention because I didn’t want to miss anything. In fact, if I missed something, I think I would end up quite confused.
Because of its compact format, I definitely want to read Long Way Down again, but this time, with both the audiobook and the physical copy in my hands. I felt I was missing a crucial part of the story by not being able to follow along with the structures of the poems as written by Reynolds. The ending left me wanting more and left me questioning everything I had read, but I also believe it was the perfect spot to close this story.
Reynolds commented on his choice of writing Long Way Down in verse in the interview. With the use of short language known to verse, Reynolds was able to employ the format of the story to mimic the intensity and urgency of Will’s (very short) narrative. In the length of the poems and, thus, the length of the book, Reynolds also contemplated how “life is fragmented.” We don’t always remember the full-picture of an event in our lives; we often see pieces of it especially when it concerns tragedy. Reynolds also notes how time seems to suspend itself during tragedy. He speaks from experience here because he lost a few friends when he was young, but Reynolds particularly remembers one friend who passed when he was 19-years-old.
Part of Reynolds inspiration for Long Way Down came from the time he spent in juvenile detentions talking to the people there. He mentioned in the interview that a fair amount were in juvy because of “gang beefs.” There were rules to be followed, which Reynolds incorporates with the rules Will tries so hard to follow, so many ended up retaliating without even knowing the root of the need for revenge. In fact, Reynolds notes, when spoke to someone in juvy, that person believed that every decision they had made was the right one at the time.
In the interview, Reynolds emphasizes empathy and compassion. He says to be careful about calling people by a stereotype. Reynolds elaborates by noting that one has to consider the tradition, the trauma experienced, the culture, the society one lives in before making a judgement. There is so much there that we do not know and so much we can never know.
It’s very hard to say much about this book without giving too much away. It’s a book that I feel like I will keep coming back to. I will keep thinking about the ending; how the story got to the ending. The narrative hinges on revealing the unexpected slowly over a condensed period of time so going in reading the book with as little knowledge as possible is beneficial. Long Way Down is a book that should not be missed!
Reading Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds was one of my first experiences with audiobooks. Yet, I don’t think I would want to read Long Way Down any other way. Reynolds himself narrates the audiobook, and in a bonus interview at the end, he said that he wanted to be the narrator in order for the poems he wrote to be the way they were intended to be. Poetry–the flow of the words, the sentences, the line breaks–can be interpreted in many different ways depending on the one reading it.
I’m not a huge poetry person, but after reading Elizabeth Acevedo’s The Poet X, I wanted to read some more. Then, I went on an 11 hour road trip (one way, mind you😬), and I had to find some way to keep myself occupied for an extended period of time. Thank goodness for audiobooks and Long Way Down.
Now back to the book: Long Way Down is such a unique piece of literature in so many ways. Besides its format, Long Way Down only spans 60 seconds, yet Will, the narrator, reflects on the past often. I knew that the book was about gun violence, but I was unaware how Reynolds approached it in Long Way Down. I tried my hardest to stay awake and pay my fullest attention because I didn’t want to miss anything. In fact, if I missed something, I think I would end up quite confused.
Because of its compact format, I definitely want to read Long Way Down again, but this time, with both the audiobook and the physical copy in my hands. I felt I was missing a crucial part of the story by not being able to follow along with the structures of the poems as written by Reynolds. The ending left me wanting more and left me questioning everything I had read, but I also believe it was the perfect spot to close this story.
Reynolds commented on his choice of writing Long Way Down in verse in the interview. With the use of short language known to verse, Reynolds was able to employ the format of the story to mimic the intensity and urgency of Will’s (very short) narrative. In the length of the poems and, thus, the length of the book, Reynolds also contemplated how “life is fragmented.” We don’t always remember the full-picture of an event in our lives; we often see pieces of it especially when it concerns tragedy. Reynolds also notes how time seems to suspend itself during tragedy. He speaks from experience here because he lost a few friends when he was young, but Reynolds particularly remembers one friend who passed when he was 19-years-old.
Part of Reynolds inspiration for Long Way Down came from the time he spent in juvenile detentions talking to the people there. He mentioned in the interview that a fair amount were in juvy because of “gang beefs.” There were rules to be followed, which Reynolds incorporates with the rules Will tries so hard to follow, so many ended up retaliating without even knowing the root of the need for revenge. In fact, Reynolds notes, when spoke to someone in juvy, that person believed that every decision they had made was the right one at the time.
In the interview, Reynolds emphasizes empathy and compassion. He says to be careful about calling people by a stereotype. Reynolds elaborates by noting that one has to consider the tradition, the trauma experienced, the culture, the society one lives in before making a judgement. There is so much there that we do not know and so much we can never know.
It’s very hard to say much about this book without giving too much away. It’s a book that I feel like I will keep coming back to. I will keep thinking about the ending; how the story got to the ending. The narrative hinges on revealing the unexpected slowly over a condensed period of time so going in reading the book with as little knowledge as possible is beneficial. Long Way Down is a book that should not be missed!
[ 4/5 🌟 ]
*Note: I received an e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings: Islamophobia, controlling parents, death of a parent
When I saw that I was approved to review Ayesha At Last, I was so excited! Anything remotely related to Jane Austen/Pride & Prejudice, I am there! And to say the least, Ayesha At Last was a delight to read! The novel follows Ayesha Shamsi, Khalid Mirza, their families, and a piece of the Muslim community in Toronto. Besides the romance, Ayesha At Last considers the range that exists in how people practice Islam and also how they view their religion.
Ayesha At Last is not a play-by-play following of Pride & Prejudice but Muslim; I saw many of the essential elements of the original Pride & Prejudice, but the story is totally new. It does not rely too heavily on plot of P&P. Luckily, I did not come in with the expectation that Ayesha At Last would follow P&P too closely. The famous first line from Pride & Prejudice appears as a rendition, and a fair amount of Shakespeare quotes appears as well as Ayesha’s grandfather quotes the Bard a lot!
While I love YA and the stories that come out of it, it is nice to see adult characters weaving around romance and their work lives. Ayesha At Last is an adult romance, so the characters are older–Ayesha is 27-years-old and struggling to find her rhythm within the school she just started teaching at. There are younger characters, of course, such as Ayesha’s 20-year-old cousin, Hafsa, who has been given everything she has ever asked for in life; thus, she’s a bit naive and thinks that the process of arranged marriage and weddings is just a bunch of fun and games.
The main difference between Khalid and Ayesha was their view on arranged marriage: Ayesha was kind of over it, while Khalid was fine having his mother choose his bride for him. He liked the tradition aspect of it and the familial stability the marriage would hopefully bring.
Another thing about Khalid that is known early on is that he is very honest about his faith and how observes as a Muslim man; he also is not willing to compromise over his religion. One thing that I really got (as in I have experienced this but not because of my religion) was when Khalid’s new boss asked him “where are you from?” He replied Toronto, but then she asked “but where are you really from.” In short, Khalid’s boss is extremely Islamophobic, and throughout the book, he has to constantly deal with her.
Naturally, I cannot speak extensively on the Muslim rep, etc. but I really enjoyed seeing a different kind of (loose) P&P retelling. It felt like it was written from the heart as if the author was probably drawing from her own experiences. I liked being able to see some of the inner politics of a South Asian family (although Ayesha and Khalid’s families are by no means the only types of South Asian families out there) and of the mosque that both of the main characters belong to. I’m also glad that I was able to see rishtas for the first time in a story and the complexities of arranging a marriage.
As for the plot, I really loved the first half of this novel; it was the second half when I became a little more uncertain. I noticed that some of the plot suddenly seemed a bit forced/points were unexpected but not in a good way (some of the plot felt out of the blue like when Tarek really comes into the picture). Since Ayesha At Last is somewhat a modern retelling of Pride & Prejudice, there were certain things I was anticipating happening, but the execution did not seem particularly strong. On another note, Ayesha’s Nani deserves all the awe and respect. I truly admire that woman and her strength.
If the title seems familiar, that’s because Ayesha At Last had been previously published in Canada by HarperCollins in 2018. But June 4 marks the story’s official publication in the United States by Berkley Books!
Ayesha At Last is a book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading! It’s an honest story where the characters are firm in their beliefs, and there is the fun and lighthearted side of romantic possibility. And, if you read closely, the colors of the cover have an additional meaning👀.
*Note: I received an e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings: Islamophobia, controlling parents, death of a parent
When I saw that I was approved to review Ayesha At Last, I was so excited! Anything remotely related to Jane Austen/Pride & Prejudice, I am there! And to say the least, Ayesha At Last was a delight to read! The novel follows Ayesha Shamsi, Khalid Mirza, their families, and a piece of the Muslim community in Toronto. Besides the romance, Ayesha At Last considers the range that exists in how people practice Islam and also how they view their religion.
Ayesha At Last is not a play-by-play following of Pride & Prejudice but Muslim; I saw many of the essential elements of the original Pride & Prejudice, but the story is totally new. It does not rely too heavily on plot of P&P. Luckily, I did not come in with the expectation that Ayesha At Last would follow P&P too closely. The famous first line from Pride & Prejudice appears as a rendition, and a fair amount of Shakespeare quotes appears as well as Ayesha’s grandfather quotes the Bard a lot!
While I love YA and the stories that come out of it, it is nice to see adult characters weaving around romance and their work lives. Ayesha At Last is an adult romance, so the characters are older–Ayesha is 27-years-old and struggling to find her rhythm within the school she just started teaching at. There are younger characters, of course, such as Ayesha’s 20-year-old cousin, Hafsa, who has been given everything she has ever asked for in life; thus, she’s a bit naive and thinks that the process of arranged marriage and weddings is just a bunch of fun and games.
The main difference between Khalid and Ayesha was their view on arranged marriage: Ayesha was kind of over it, while Khalid was fine having his mother choose his bride for him. He liked the tradition aspect of it and the familial stability the marriage would hopefully bring.
Another thing about Khalid that is known early on is that he is very honest about his faith and how observes as a Muslim man; he also is not willing to compromise over his religion. One thing that I really got (as in I have experienced this but not because of my religion) was when Khalid’s new boss asked him “where are you from?” He replied Toronto, but then she asked “but where are you really from.” In short, Khalid’s boss is extremely Islamophobic, and throughout the book, he has to constantly deal with her.
Naturally, I cannot speak extensively on the Muslim rep, etc. but I really enjoyed seeing a different kind of (loose) P&P retelling. It felt like it was written from the heart as if the author was probably drawing from her own experiences. I liked being able to see some of the inner politics of a South Asian family (although Ayesha and Khalid’s families are by no means the only types of South Asian families out there) and of the mosque that both of the main characters belong to. I’m also glad that I was able to see rishtas for the first time in a story and the complexities of arranging a marriage.
As for the plot, I really loved the first half of this novel; it was the second half when I became a little more uncertain. I noticed that some of the plot suddenly seemed a bit forced/points were unexpected but not in a good way (some of the plot felt out of the blue like when Tarek really comes into the picture). Since Ayesha At Last is somewhat a modern retelling of Pride & Prejudice, there were certain things I was anticipating happening, but the execution did not seem particularly strong. On another note, Ayesha’s Nani deserves all the awe and respect. I truly admire that woman and her strength.
If the title seems familiar, that’s because Ayesha At Last had been previously published in Canada by HarperCollins in 2018. But June 4 marks the story’s official publication in the United States by Berkley Books!
Ayesha At Last is a book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading! It’s an honest story where the characters are firm in their beliefs, and there is the fun and lighthearted side of romantic possibility. And, if you read closely, the colors of the cover have an additional meaning👀.
