The titular grumpy goat prefers to stew in silence...until he finds beauty and wants to share it with friends. A lovely little story.

A much-loved neighborhood cat finds the perfect owner.

In this slightly bizarre book, Minji acts as the hairdresser for her dog while her mom is at the real salon. The juxtaposed images of a tidy salon and Minji's chaotic dog makeover make for a silly read, but the text underwhelms.

Fewer than a hundred pages remain, and yet...I can’t go on.

This book is so incredibly frustrating. It’s essentially a collective “history” of the events surrounding the emergence of vampires in the world. It begins with a scientist’s discovery of the NOBI virus that creates vampirism and later grows to encompass the worlds of politics, law, and religion as they relate to the growing number of “Gloamings” (vampires). I had high hopes, as I tend to love books that use a speculative framework to examine human cultural practices. But this book did not work for me. Not at all.

Every character perspective (and there are many) sounds the same. Like, the exact same voice. Some of the chapters are written as legal briefs, scientific reports, interviews, etc., but they are otherwise indistinguishable. This means that the characters meld together, becoming unrecognizable as individuals and, consequently, impossible to connect with.

Maybe this lack of distinct characterization would be fine, if the plot was full of thrills, chills, and excitement. But it’s not. There really isn’t a plot. And there are hardly any interactions with the Gloamings themselves- they are spoken of in vague terms. Everyone wants to be one, but beyond the longer lifespan, there seems to be little reason to want that change. The Gloamings are described as narcissistic and unlikeable, constantly killing and maiming. They certainly have no individual personalities on the page. And yet they are so popular! They have a huge following! It doesn’t make any logical sense!

Basically, the chorus of bland characters chase down boring leads and tell boring stories, moving towards...nothing. There is no building tension, no feeling of culmination. I can’t make myself care.

Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy of this novel! Sorry I couldn’t hype it for ya :(

In memoriam of their English teacher, Mr. Robert "Fat Bob" Nowak, three precocious young teens come up with a scheme to make sure everyone actually reads the assigned summer reading book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Their plan entails hiding books and marketing their work as a conspiracy to drum up demand for the missing books.

While Acampora's writing is succinct and compelling, the characters don't really pop much on the page. Lucy, Elena, and Michael blend together a bit as one advanced-reader entity. Acampora touches on the characters' emotional lives—Lucy's mom's cancer, Elena's fear about going to high school, and Michael's crush on Lucy—but the book's overall brevity limits the characterization.

In terms of the plot, I thought the book sabotage mission held a lot of promise. It actually reminded me of a Carl Hiaasen story. But once again, the book is simply too short for the plot to develop at a natural pace. It's all just a little too rushed.

Trust the cover.

Castle “Ghost” Cranshaw has gone up against some pretty steep obstacles in his life, and he stews with righteous anger. While justified, this inner turmoil leads to a series of “altercations” at his school. When he stumbles across a track practice after school and feels the need to prove himself, Ghost ends up on a real team, gaining friends and a wonderful mentor.

Reynolds’ writing evokes so much feeling and is so grounded in reality. This novel is highly readable, moving, and fun. Rarely do I come across a book for young readers with so much heart. Read it.

DNF @ p. 142

I just...

I'm not particularly interested in the characters, and the concept, while interesting, doesn't seem particularly well articulated. In a world where the traditional causes of death have been eliminated, why do the scythes use the metrics of those deaths to decide who dies now? Why bother fixing the world and creating immortality if you're still gonna let people die randomly in parking lots? And why kill violently? I have a lot of questions regarding the logical/planning elements of this story, and unfortunately, I'm having a hard time suspending disbelief. I think that this book just isn't for me.

DNF @ p. 62

Just not hooking me—should the front of WWI feel this quotidian? I'm also annoyed by the overuse of "aura" talk. I'm not enjoying this so I'm going to move on to something else.

2.75ish stars maybe??

Whew, this book triggered some anxiety for me! Or at least exacerbated the anxiety that I was already feeling today! So I'm not sure I can say that I enjoyed it, per se. But I think that objectively, it’s good. Fast-paced, compelling, trendy. A little too trendy, maybe. A bit predictable (I saw one of the main twists coming from MILES away). But the prose is good and the central mystery is interesting enough.