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2022: Meh, this mystery did not do it for me.
The novel started off very strong, and I was on board with the first half of the plot. But one of the first notes I wrote down was "I hope Theo is an unreliable narrator, because he sucks AND he's a terrible therapist". None of the staff at The Grove were particularly sympathetic towards their patients, and every scene that took place there was painful to read.
This book is FULL of red herrings, which to me just ended up feeling like it was crowding the book up with subplots that never went anywhere. Was the Christian subplot real or another fabrication of Theo's brain? Who is Eva? Why did he make such a big deal about Max or Jean-Felix? And why was Barbie even included? Oh yeah, red herrings up the wazoo here.
It drove me crazy that the entire plot revolved around notes from Alicia's diary, and the diary chapters we read included full dialogue and whole conversations. NO ONE'S DIARY IS LIKE THIS. Also, I'm not confident that it passes the Bechdel test?! Literally unacceptable in a book with a female narrator. Like did Alicia not have any friends who were women? I'm pretty sure that she and Barbie only talk about the stalker (a man).
The novel started off very strong, and I was on board with the first half of the plot. But one of the first notes I wrote down was "I hope Theo is an unreliable narrator, because he sucks AND he's a terrible therapist". None of the staff at The Grove were particularly sympathetic towards their patients, and every scene that took place there was painful to read.
This book is FULL of red herrings, which to me just ended up feeling like it was crowding the book up with subplots that never went anywhere. Was the Christian subplot real or another fabrication of Theo's brain? Who is Eva? Why did he make such a big deal about Max or Jean-Felix? And why was Barbie even included? Oh yeah, red herrings up the wazoo here.
It drove me crazy that the entire plot revolved around notes from Alicia's diary, and the diary chapters we read included full dialogue and whole conversations. NO ONE'S DIARY IS LIKE THIS. Also, I'm not confident that it passes the Bechdel test?! Literally unacceptable in a book with a female narrator. Like did Alicia not have any friends who were women? I'm pretty sure that she and Barbie only talk about the stalker (a man).
2022: half memoir, half history lesson, didn't add up to a full thumbs up for me.
So this book oscillates between a memoir of Collins learning French, and history of language, particularly French and even more specifically learning French as a second language. Some of the finer points on the topic of French were vaguely interesting? But the memoir sections were WAY more engaging, and I wish there had been more anecdotal stories about her new family to ground the book.
This book hit home for me right now, as one of the most standout thoughts about her life in Geneva was, "it seemed sad, though, that the main selling point of the place where we lived was its proximity to places where we’d rather live” which is exactly how I feel about Monterey.
There are a lot of big feelings in this book, which make for some grand sentences like, "no king aspires to be the one who lets his civilization die in a foreign land, just as no parent dreams that his child will grow up to marry someone who doesn’t speak their language.” Okay!
The blurb on the back cover of this book also said that it was funny. It's definitely not funny! And I also don't think I liked Olivier? I thought he was kind of a jerk sometimes, and I have a number of friends who are French, so I don't think it was just the language barrier. I guess I'll say that Collins really didn't seem to enjoy her life in Geneva, and she certainly didn't come across like Olivier was worth living in a country she didn't like.
So this book oscillates between a memoir of Collins learning French, and history of language, particularly French and even more specifically learning French as a second language. Some of the finer points on the topic of French were vaguely interesting? But the memoir sections were WAY more engaging, and I wish there had been more anecdotal stories about her new family to ground the book.
This book hit home for me right now, as one of the most standout thoughts about her life in Geneva was, "it seemed sad, though, that the main selling point of the place where we lived was its proximity to places where we’d rather live” which is exactly how I feel about Monterey.
There are a lot of big feelings in this book, which make for some grand sentences like, "no king aspires to be the one who lets his civilization die in a foreign land, just as no parent dreams that his child will grow up to marry someone who doesn’t speak their language.” Okay!
The blurb on the back cover of this book also said that it was funny. It's definitely not funny! And I also don't think I liked Olivier? I thought he was kind of a jerk sometimes, and I have a number of friends who are French, so I don't think it was just the language barrier. I guess I'll say that Collins really didn't seem to enjoy her life in Geneva, and she certainly didn't come across like Olivier was worth living in a country she didn't like.
2022: The most amazing perfectly written-for-me premise was partially ruined due to audism and ableism UGH
Okay, so right off the bat, I have to mention that I read the "original" version of this story, and so my criticisms apply to that originally published novel. According to Liese's website, there have been significant changes made to a republished version that (hopefully!!) tackles some of the ableism that frustrated me in this book. I really do look forward to getting my hands on a copy of the new and updated version of the story, but in the meantime, I can only review what I read.
This book started off with one of the most AMAZING premises, seemingly written *specifically* for me that I have ever heard: Willa is a collegiate soccer player, her heart set on making it to the USWNT, who spends her summers working at a bookstore and has a relatively short fuse (sound familiar?) She falls for Ryder, a HUNK from the Pacific Northwest who always smells of pine trees and recently lost most of his hearing due to meningitis. The two of them bond over a group project that forces them to go on hikes *swoon* and part of their chemistry is Willa's complete and total acceptance of Ryder, just as he is (as opposed to a majority of his family members).
There are so many good elements to this story: cute Harry Potter references, like citing "the emotional range of a teaspoon", great consent awareness from Ryder in a number of sexual circumstances, Ryder legitimately would take Willa's last name (and in fact inherited his last name from his mother), the soccer, the bookstore, the shower sex, the flannel, the PNW vibes, the evergreen scent AHHH it just did it for me! AND THEN:
Ryder gets cochlear implant surgery out of nowhere, and here's where it fell apart for me. It's a total pivot from the hearing-loss-acceptance journey of the first half of the book. Now, I'm not an expert on Deaf culture by any means, but even I know that cochlear implants DO NOT work the way they are portrayed in this book (for a better representation, definitely check out the film Sound of Metal, would highly recommend!) Also, it did not read true to me that Ryder's family, especially his *doctor parents*, would not have learned ASL for him. They literally take in a dying woman so she has a place to live out her final days; they are good people! They definitely would have done that for their son! There's this constant refrain of "Ryder is dwindling as a human, his world will not be whole again until he can hear" FALSE FALSE FALSE and a rather problematic scene in which Willa's mom forces him to speak and it's just rather uncomfortable. In short, this novel went from literal perfection to frustratingly ableist over a couple of chapters.
Other nitpicky things of note include how they seemingly skipped from being juniors to graduating without me noticing? Maybe there was a time jump that I missed in the audiobook, but I was confused. Also, so funny to hear the Seattle women's soccer team being called "Reign FC" as opposed to Seattle Reign or OL Reign, and it sets the book so squarely in 2019 for me (that really being the only full season that the Reign operated as Reign FC haha). And Willa definitely wouldn't have just been able to announce to Ryder that she had signed with Reign, she would have been a part of the college draft and there would have been a whole moment, that's not how it works! Lastly, there were certainly a lot of "I read so much and worked in a bookstore, look at my vocabulary!" vibes, but there were no books referenced? That was disappointing.
Okay, so right off the bat, I have to mention that I read the "original" version of this story, and so my criticisms apply to that originally published novel. According to Liese's website, there have been significant changes made to a republished version that (hopefully!!) tackles some of the ableism that frustrated me in this book. I really do look forward to getting my hands on a copy of the new and updated version of the story, but in the meantime, I can only review what I read.
This book started off with one of the most AMAZING premises, seemingly written *specifically* for me that I have ever heard: Willa is a collegiate soccer player, her heart set on making it to the USWNT, who spends her summers working at a bookstore and has a relatively short fuse (sound familiar?) She falls for Ryder, a HUNK from the Pacific Northwest who always smells of pine trees and recently lost most of his hearing due to meningitis. The two of them bond over a group project that forces them to go on hikes *swoon* and part of their chemistry is Willa's complete and total acceptance of Ryder, just as he is (as opposed to a majority of his family members).
There are so many good elements to this story: cute Harry Potter references, like citing "the emotional range of a teaspoon", great consent awareness from Ryder in a number of sexual circumstances, Ryder legitimately would take Willa's last name (and in fact inherited his last name from his mother), the soccer, the bookstore, the shower sex, the flannel, the PNW vibes, the evergreen scent AHHH it just did it for me! AND THEN:
Ryder gets cochlear implant surgery out of nowhere, and here's where it fell apart for me. It's a total pivot from the hearing-loss-acceptance journey of the first half of the book. Now, I'm not an expert on Deaf culture by any means, but even I know that cochlear implants DO NOT work the way they are portrayed in this book (for a better representation, definitely check out the film Sound of Metal, would highly recommend!) Also, it did not read true to me that Ryder's family, especially his *doctor parents*, would not have learned ASL for him. They literally take in a dying woman so she has a place to live out her final days; they are good people! They definitely would have done that for their son! There's this constant refrain of "Ryder is dwindling as a human, his world will not be whole again until he can hear" FALSE FALSE FALSE and a rather problematic scene in which Willa's mom forces him to speak and it's just rather uncomfortable. In short, this novel went from literal perfection to frustratingly ableist over a couple of chapters.
Other nitpicky things of note include how they seemingly skipped from being juniors to graduating without me noticing? Maybe there was a time jump that I missed in the audiobook, but I was confused. Also, so funny to hear the Seattle women's soccer team being called "Reign FC" as opposed to Seattle Reign or OL Reign, and it sets the book so squarely in 2019 for me (that really being the only full season that the Reign operated as Reign FC haha). And Willa definitely wouldn't have just been able to announce to Ryder that she had signed with Reign, she would have been a part of the college draft and there would have been a whole moment, that's not how it works! Lastly, there were certainly a lot of "I read so much and worked in a bookstore, look at my vocabulary!" vibes, but there were no books referenced? That was disappointing.
2022: We should all just listen to Stacey Abrams.
Often when I read a book about life after losing a major election, there's a lot of woulda, coulda, shoulda that I get frustrated with. Even though that might be true, YOU LOST, we must move on and focus on what to do next. Abrams gets exactly that, and this book wastes no time in moving from "here's what I did" to "here's what I'm doing now, and what you should do too".
Here's the deal: Abrams knows her shit. And if we were smart, we would put her in charge and let her run everything (or whatever she wanted to, no pressure!) She provides clear policy changes that would literally improve the lives of millions of people if they were implemented tomorrow. Abrams is concise, direct and to the point, and gives concrete examples and facts to backup her claims. This is a solid read that I really enjoyed (despite how enraged it also made me).
If you're looking for a memoir of Abrams' life, keep looking. Although there is some backstory in the first couple of chapters, we move straight into 2017 and her gubernatorial campaign in 2018. This book was originally published in January 2020, and what a time that was to publish a book! Some of her suggestions (especially about increasing access to voting by mail) happened naturally as a result of the pandemic. Some of them (especially about how crucial the census is) were crushing to read, knowing how 2020 played out.
My one note of criticism is that the afterwords need to be edited. There's an Afterword, an Afterword for the Paperback Edition, and an Author's Note. Each of them uses repeat sentences from the other ones, and the Author's Note contradicts the claims that Abrams didn't know who won the 2020 election. The Afterword for the Paperback Edition also tries to encapsulate her feelings about the insurrection, but it was only published on January 15, 2021, and there's just not enough space to tackle it. I am looking forward to her next book, where I am sure she will go into much further detail!
Often when I read a book about life after losing a major election, there's a lot of woulda, coulda, shoulda that I get frustrated with. Even though that might be true, YOU LOST, we must move on and focus on what to do next. Abrams gets exactly that, and this book wastes no time in moving from "here's what I did" to "here's what I'm doing now, and what you should do too".
Here's the deal: Abrams knows her shit. And if we were smart, we would put her in charge and let her run everything (or whatever she wanted to, no pressure!) She provides clear policy changes that would literally improve the lives of millions of people if they were implemented tomorrow. Abrams is concise, direct and to the point, and gives concrete examples and facts to backup her claims. This is a solid read that I really enjoyed (despite how enraged it also made me).
If you're looking for a memoir of Abrams' life, keep looking. Although there is some backstory in the first couple of chapters, we move straight into 2017 and her gubernatorial campaign in 2018. This book was originally published in January 2020, and what a time that was to publish a book! Some of her suggestions (especially about increasing access to voting by mail) happened naturally as a result of the pandemic. Some of them (especially about how crucial the census is) were crushing to read, knowing how 2020 played out.
My one note of criticism is that the afterwords need to be edited. There's an Afterword, an Afterword for the Paperback Edition, and an Author's Note. Each of them uses repeat sentences from the other ones, and the Author's Note contradicts the claims that Abrams didn't know who won the 2020 election. The Afterword for the Paperback Edition also tries to encapsulate her feelings about the insurrection, but it was only published on January 15, 2021, and there's just not enough space to tackle it. I am looking forward to her next book, where I am sure she will go into much further detail!
2022: I loved this memoir!
If you're in the mood for gorgeous descriptions, familial drama, European romance, amazing recipes, wonderful food, and LOTS of love, this is the book for you. Locke takes readers on a journey through her life, navigating across multiple continents and islands, traditions and languages. Whew, I did not know that Sicilian culture was still so stuck in the past.
I loved all of the cultural discoveries that happened when an American visited Sicily for the first time, and especially Locke navigating that newness as the only person of color around. I was devastated when Saro's parents didn't show up for their wedding, but the journey of Locke and Croce eventually bonding was so moving. Locke did a great job incorporating the different languages that everyone around her was speaking, including a lot of Italian and Sicilian, without letting only-English-speakers get lost.
I thought that Locke handled the passages on grief so deftly and did not shy away from expressing her pain. However, I feel like a lot of negative reviews that I saw about this book describe it as "too sad", and that she spends too much time wallowing. I'll put in a caveat that this is a sad book. I mean, you learn on page one that Locke's husband has died. But if it makes you feel better, she has since remarried, and she's currently writing and producing a show for Reese Witherspoon based on her life / this book. So things turn out okay!
If you're in the mood for gorgeous descriptions, familial drama, European romance, amazing recipes, wonderful food, and LOTS of love, this is the book for you. Locke takes readers on a journey through her life, navigating across multiple continents and islands, traditions and languages. Whew, I did not know that Sicilian culture was still so stuck in the past.
I loved all of the cultural discoveries that happened when an American visited Sicily for the first time, and especially Locke navigating that newness as the only person of color around. I was devastated when Saro's parents didn't show up for their wedding, but the journey of Locke and Croce eventually bonding was so moving. Locke did a great job incorporating the different languages that everyone around her was speaking, including a lot of Italian and Sicilian, without letting only-English-speakers get lost.
I thought that Locke handled the passages on grief so deftly and did not shy away from expressing her pain. However, I feel like a lot of negative reviews that I saw about this book describe it as "too sad", and that she spends too much time wallowing. I'll put in a caveat that this is a sad book. I mean, you learn on page one that Locke's husband has died. But if it makes you feel better, she has since remarried, and she's currently writing and producing a show for Reese Witherspoon based on her life / this book. So things turn out okay!
2022: Whew, we do NOT have enough in place to protect people living under the poverty line in the United States...
Desmond chronicles the intersecting stories of people living in poverty in Milwaukee, WI. This book takes a specific look at the super high rate of evictions in the city, and treats shelter as the most basic need of a person. But Desmond covers so much more than just housing issues; as anyone who has ever stretched to make funds last until the end of the month knows, everything is connected when you live in poverty.
Anyone who has spent any time learning about Maslow's hierarchy of needs understands how a lack of reliable shelter and income can prevent families from getting on their feet and flourishing. It's devastating to hear about what gets lost in the struggle, for example, hearing about how kids are attending five different schools in two years. There were so many eye opening passages and just incomprehensibly frustrating catch-22 situations.
The best part of the whole book was the Epilogue, in which Desmond explains his methods, debriefs the reader on his involvement in the story, and analyzes the ways in which he sees the system could improve for the millions of Americans living in poverty. Again, I so appreciated that Desmond ended his book with actual, tangible solutions, and methods for the United States to improve the lives of its citizens. Have I seen any of these suggestions implemented in the last 5 years? I don't think so.
Lastly, I'm forever laughing when someone suggests that I should only be spending 30% of my income on housing HAHAHA what a world that would be. Also, it was really hard to listen to some of the prices of two bedroom apartments in 2008, and think about what I am currently spending on rent. I need to move.
Desmond chronicles the intersecting stories of people living in poverty in Milwaukee, WI. This book takes a specific look at the super high rate of evictions in the city, and treats shelter as the most basic need of a person. But Desmond covers so much more than just housing issues; as anyone who has ever stretched to make funds last until the end of the month knows, everything is connected when you live in poverty.
Anyone who has spent any time learning about Maslow's hierarchy of needs understands how a lack of reliable shelter and income can prevent families from getting on their feet and flourishing. It's devastating to hear about what gets lost in the struggle, for example, hearing about how kids are attending five different schools in two years. There were so many eye opening passages and just incomprehensibly frustrating catch-22 situations.
The best part of the whole book was the Epilogue, in which Desmond explains his methods, debriefs the reader on his involvement in the story, and analyzes the ways in which he sees the system could improve for the millions of Americans living in poverty. Again, I so appreciated that Desmond ended his book with actual, tangible solutions, and methods for the United States to improve the lives of its citizens. Have I seen any of these suggestions implemented in the last 5 years? I don't think so.
Lastly, I'm forever laughing when someone suggests that I should only be spending 30% of my income on housing HAHAHA what a world that would be. Also, it was really hard to listen to some of the prices of two bedroom apartments in 2008, and think about what I am currently spending on rent. I need to move.
2022: Top notch, 10/10, no notes
Obviously, as it won the Pulitzer, the people know that this is a good play. But this was my first time reading it, and it's a GREAT play. It's also the first play that Edson wrote. Can you imagine winning the Pulitzer on your first play?!! Incredible. The story gets better when you find out that Wit is Edson's first AND ONLY play, and that she currently teaches sixth-grade social studies in Atlanta.
Bravo, Margaret! Thank you for your contribution.
Obviously, as it won the Pulitzer, the people know that this is a good play. But this was my first time reading it, and it's a GREAT play. It's also the first play that Edson wrote. Can you imagine winning the Pulitzer on your first play?!! Incredible. The story gets better when you find out that Wit is Edson's first AND ONLY play, and that she currently teaches sixth-grade social studies in Atlanta.
Bravo, Margaret! Thank you for your contribution.
2022: A love letter to New York City!
For a fantasy novel, this was extremely grounded. Literally - it's just *such* a New York book. If you love NYC, you will have a much better starting place going in to this. I think it would be a difficult read for anyone who wasn't familiar with the City. Like, if you don't know what the BQE or Lex is, Jemisin does not waste time in defining them for you. It was a joy to revisit a city that I love, but I do think that this would have been more annoying if I had never lived there.
My biggest knock was the pacing of the book. It started off really fun and fast, but the next 150 pages were just experiencing the same event from five different perspectives. 200 pages in and nothing new had happened - it dragged! It picked up a little going into the end, but not enough to warrant a full five stars.
I absolutely love the way Jemisin treated Staten Island (brutal but very true!) and Jersey City (also true lolol). This story made me miss NYC very much. An excellent introduction for my first NK Jemisin book!
For a fantasy novel, this was extremely grounded. Literally - it's just *such* a New York book. If you love NYC, you will have a much better starting place going in to this. I think it would be a difficult read for anyone who wasn't familiar with the City. Like, if you don't know what the BQE or Lex is, Jemisin does not waste time in defining them for you. It was a joy to revisit a city that I love, but I do think that this would have been more annoying if I had never lived there.
My biggest knock was the pacing of the book. It started off really fun and fast, but the next 150 pages were just experiencing the same event from five different perspectives. 200 pages in and nothing new had happened - it dragged! It picked up a little going into the end, but not enough to warrant a full five stars.
I absolutely love the way Jemisin treated Staten Island (brutal but very true!) and Jersey City (also true lolol). This story made me miss NYC very much. An excellent introduction for my first NK Jemisin book!
2022: Meh
I should have listened to Roxane Gay - her review mentioned that there wasn't enough plot in this book to keep her engaged, and I agree completely. I always crave more of a narrative, even in non-fiction, and this book just didn't do it for me. It wasn't *bad*, but I didn't really like it.
There was also a lot more elements of war in here than I was prepared for? Which I guess I really should not have been surprised by, considering the timeline and the characters being from Vietnam. But it's not really what I wanted to be reading as Russia is currently invading Ukraine.
I guess I should put in the caveat that I listened to this book, and I probably would have been more engaged if I had read a physical copy. But I just wasn't feeling it. The vibe was just extremely sad. And don't get me wrong, I love a good sad book! But this was a bad sad book....
I should have listened to Roxane Gay - her review mentioned that there wasn't enough plot in this book to keep her engaged, and I agree completely. I always crave more of a narrative, even in non-fiction, and this book just didn't do it for me. It wasn't *bad*, but I didn't really like it.
There was also a lot more elements of war in here than I was prepared for? Which I guess I really should not have been surprised by, considering the timeline and the characters being from Vietnam. But it's not really what I wanted to be reading as Russia is currently invading Ukraine.
I guess I should put in the caveat that I listened to this book, and I probably would have been more engaged if I had read a physical copy. But I just wasn't feeling it. The vibe was just extremely sad. And don't get me wrong, I love a good sad book! But this was a bad sad book....
2022: Wheeeeeeewwww this was one of the strongest cases against organized religion that I've ever read.
Here's the deal - this book is graphic (WAY more than I was expecting it to be), it was gutwrenching, it was horrible, and it was sad. So steer clear if you don't want to be in that mindset for a couple of days. There's rape, child brides, kidnapping, murder, and the lowest forms of human behavior on display. It was not a fun read, but Krakauer again shows off his incredible journalistic skills.
The Book of Mormon might have gotten their representation of modern Uganda extremely wrong, but they certainly got their Mormon history correct. I had a pretty decent grasp of all of the characters introduced simply from having memorized that show, and being a young teen when Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped.
The court scenes at the end of the book were just heartbreaking. It was so difficult to read about the atrocities that these men committed, and the juries were wrestling with "well, an imaginary guy in the sky said it was okay, so I don't know if we can really execute him...." I do firmly believe that people can adhere to whatever religion they want and should not be persecuted for expressing their religious beliefs. However, I have to draw the line at LITERALLY MURDERING PEOPLE BECAUSE GOD TOLD ME TO.
Shoutout to poor Brenda, who was proof that education is super important and makes you better equipped to deal with this world. I am so so so sorry this all happened to you, just because you were trying to make your family better. This book is only getting 4 instead of 5 stars because I really didn't enjoy reading it at all. Keep your eyes open for the new series with Andrew Garfield coming this year, but be prepared, because it's going to be an extremely sad doozy!
Here's the deal - this book is graphic (WAY more than I was expecting it to be), it was gutwrenching, it was horrible, and it was sad. So steer clear if you don't want to be in that mindset for a couple of days. There's rape, child brides, kidnapping, murder, and the lowest forms of human behavior on display. It was not a fun read, but Krakauer again shows off his incredible journalistic skills.
The Book of Mormon might have gotten their representation of modern Uganda extremely wrong, but they certainly got their Mormon history correct. I had a pretty decent grasp of all of the characters introduced simply from having memorized that show, and being a young teen when Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped.
The court scenes at the end of the book were just heartbreaking. It was so difficult to read about the atrocities that these men committed, and the juries were wrestling with "well, an imaginary guy in the sky said it was okay, so I don't know if we can really execute him...." I do firmly believe that people can adhere to whatever religion they want and should not be persecuted for expressing their religious beliefs. However, I have to draw the line at LITERALLY MURDERING PEOPLE BECAUSE GOD TOLD ME TO.
Shoutout to poor Brenda, who was proof that education is super important and makes you better equipped to deal with this world. I am so so so sorry this all happened to you, just because you were trying to make your family better. This book is only getting 4 instead of 5 stars because I really didn't enjoy reading it at all. Keep your eyes open for the new series with Andrew Garfield coming this year, but be prepared, because it's going to be an extremely sad doozy!