Owing to a coincidental run-in with her old tutor Kiran and a confusing promise made to her late, beloved Aunt Magnolia, Jane ends up as a guest on the private island of Tu Reviens, where nothing is as it seems. The members of the wealthy Thrash family rarely behaves normally, the guests for their annual gala seem to be keeping secrets, and the servants are even weirder. After several puzzling days trying to sort out the strange phenomena haunting the mansion, Jane has to make a choice: which mystery will she focus on? The following five chapters delve into the results of each choice in the style of a choose your own adventure.

Cashore brings so many elements to this (these) story (stories), an incredibly ambitious undertaking, but she is largely successful. Each choice spins a unique narrative that ties up some, but not all, of the book's threads. Taken together, the stories form a mostly cohesive novel. I did have some confusion about the world the story was set in-

Spoiler

is it our world? our dimension? It seems fundamentally different in some way, and the details are off, but are they off in the same way across every choice? In other words, is the only difference Jane's choice?

I love the way that Cashore can place characters in an unusual world and let them behave naturally. Although the story may be strange, the characters almost always act believably. Plus, representation!! The cast of characters is racially diverse and diverse in terms of sexuality! Unlike most YA, the characters live in an adult world, where people have jobs and educated backgrounds. How refreshing!

Overall, this is a compelling, original story, and I really enjoyed it.

3.5 stars

Really scary but also so sweet (because of course it is) and satisfying.

Wow!! What an interesting, loopy take on the craft of story creation.

Deeply disturbing look at what humanity does when power becomes imbalanced in a new way. I'd put this on par with Animal Farm as a thorough, comprehensive social satire that flips the existing system. It's just...wow. I want everyone to read it and then hmu so we can chat.

of COURSE I loved this book. No other outcome was possible. Gabrielle Zevin made me care SO much about everyone on Alice Island, and she did it QUICKLY. I read this book basically straight through. I laughed out loud. I got that warm heart thrumming stop-breathing thing when something is really cute. I smiled A LOT.

How did I manage not to read this for so long? It's perfect for me.

Breathtakingly written, intricately woven, beautifully executed. A little bit slow at times, but burns viscerally throughout.

Cat Valente can write absolutely anything and I'll eat it up. This delicious Snow White retelling blends the fantasy and western genres, bringing in examinations of race, femininity, and power to create a fresh take on a classic. Incredible.

The lives of two half-sisters, born in early colonial Ghana close to the same time but never meeting, take disparate turns: one stays in Africa, raised into a position of relative power; and one travels across the sea on a slave ship, contributing to the foundations of the black experience in America. These are the stories of those sisters and their descendants, told in turn all the way up to the present.

Gyasi's elegant storytelling grounded me in the life of each successive character, and I consistently felt eager to trace each individual's life course through generations. I found myself contextualizing each story using its parent narrative, following the bloodline while keeping its history in mind. This is such a beautiful, important, enlightening book, one which celebrates history (especially that of the marginalized).

4.5 stars

Private investigator Jackson Brodie investigates three cold cases, unearthing connections between them, as he simultaneously struggles with his own traumatic history. Atkinson tells the story from multiple perspectives: one person from each case, plus the narrator. The format works incredibly well, as it allows you to get attached to each character while also advancing the plot in an exciting way. I thought that the writing was pretty strong, although the true prevailing qualities of this novel are its format and characterization.

DNF @ p.85

I don't think there's anything wrong with this book, but it's just not clicking for me. I don't feel connected to the main character, Joe, and although I find the legal side of the story interesting, it's not really helping to pull me in.

Maybe later.