Category Archives: Book Review

Review- Adulthood Rites

Posted in Book Review by

Adulthood Rites by Octavia Butler (Xenogenesis book #2)

511WNcxTO8L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_Rating: 4/5 stars

“The Human Contradiction again. The Contradiction, it was more often called among Oankali. Intelligence and hierarchical behavior. It was fascinating, seductive, and lethal. It had brought Humans to their final war”

Earth was nearly destroyed in a war until the Oankali came to save the planet and inhabit it themselves. Slowly, they are unfreezing humans to live and breed among the alien species. Lilith gives birth to the first male human/Oankali construct, whose name is Akin. Before Akin can even learn to walk, he is snatched by human “resisters”–humans that refuse to be treated and bred like animals by the Oankali. He grows up in a strictly human village and stripped of his contact with his Oankali family and friends. There Akin learns that the humans yearn to be able to raise families made up of only human DNA. Akin must choose between staying true to his Oankali genes, or fighting for a life for the human race.

Although this book is a sequel to Dawn, it can almost be read by itself if the reader is given a little background information. Dawn it told in Lilith’s point of view while Adulthood Rites is narrated by Akin.

I don’t want to spoil the first book for anyone, so this review will contain more opinions than plot critique. I wish I had liked this book more. Dawn, in my opinion, is one of the best sci-fi novels I’ve ever read. I was so excited for the sequel to live up to it; but maybe my expectations were set too high. It was interesting to read this book from a child’s point of view, knowing that he is a biased narrator yet believing everything he says. Butler does a great job painting the conflict that Akin feels between his split human and alien DNA.

I find it amusing that this series is categorized as “horror”. I almost didn’t start it because I was scared it would be too disturbing/horrific. “Post apocalyptic” is definitely a better genre, but it is irking to read about humans used as gene material and treated like animals by alien beings who have tentacles growing out of their bodies.

If you’re looking for a good adult sci-fi read, I definitely recommend trying this trilogy out. I look forward to (hopefully) reading the third book this month. I have a habit of putting off the last books of series and end up never finishing them.

Review- Voice of Innocence

Posted in Book Review by

Voice of Innocence by Lindsay Detwiler

24940063

Rating: 5/5 stars

“Life, as I’ve learned, fails to be a concrete, concise package that can easily be wrapped up and contained. Life is full of messy, unpredictable circumstances that test not only our characters, but the people around us as well.”

I was given an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Corbin and Emma meet on the first day of their sophomore year art class. Emma stumbles with her words and is embarrassingly uncreative, while Corbin dreams of attending an art school after graduation. The two are seemingly opposites, but soon find themselves completing each other. Corbin brings out the fun in Emma–he takes her out sledding on snow days and adventures in the woods. Emma helps Corbin heal and overcome the hardships in his life. They are a perfect couple, but their world gets torn apart with Corbin is convicted of murder. Corbin is innocent, but is sentenced to a life behind bars. 28 years later, evidence of the real killer arises and Corbin is set free. Where does that leave him and Emma?

This book tore me apart. I was so excited for Emma and Corbin’s journey through their first love. I enjoyed the innocent passion they felt for each other. Every step in their relationship made me smile. Somehow, at the same time, this book ripped my heart out and crushed it.

It’s so hard to think of a life that could have been, but was unjustly stopped short. No one can say who had it worse– Corbin behind bars or Emma having to give up on the life planned out ahead of her. I was sad for both of them and was in a bad mood for half of my time spent reading this book. I wondered why I was feeling so upset a few days ago, and realized it was because Corbin and Emma were in a fight. Lindsay Detwiler certainly has a way of capturing the reader and pulling them into her world.

This was a quick read, but a great one. It’s full of angst and I loved it!

Review- Persepolis

Posted in Book Review by

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

persepolisRating: 5/5 stars

This illustrated autobiography follows the childhood of Marjane Satrapi, a girl growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. At age 10, she’s already decided that she wants to become the next prophet when she grows up. She has nightly chats with God and diligently researches political theory. Marjane lives in a time when her relatives are put in jail for protesting and friends abruptly move to the USA. Marjane sees political heroes all around her and strives to become one too.

This memoir/graphic novel is fantastic. It’s the first book I’ve read in a while that invoked emotion inside of me. I wanted to cry when it was over. There are many ways to tell the story of the Islamic Revolution, but through the eyes of a child is very unique. Marjane is definitely a bias narrator, but it’s interesting to see what the chaos was like for a 10-14 year old girl during that time.

Marjane finds comfort in religion and political theory, which makes up a good portion of the memoir. The ideas of Marx, Ghandi, and other political leaders are discussed (and some in depth). I found this really educational; It’s amazing that Marjane developed an interest in these studies at such a young age.

Overall, this was a very quick but phenomenal read. I think I have to go back and re-read it, as I didn’t take the time to appreciate the illustrations. I look forward to reading the sequel which, I believe, takes place in Marjane’s adulthood.

Review- The Glittering World

Posted in Book Review by

The Glittering World by Robert Levy

22609606Rating: 3.5/5 stars

A group of 4 friends- Blue (Michael), Gabe, Elisa, and Jason- venture out to Canada to visit the home of Blue’s deceased grandma in hopes of selling it. They arrive at “The Cove”, a place with magical vibes that almost make you feel high 24/7. While checking on his grandmother’s house, Blue finds newspaper clippings about a boy named Michael who disappeared with a friend into the cove when he was 6, and emerged from the woods 2 weeks later with no recollection of what had happened. As the four try to sort out Blue’s past, Blue and Elisa go missing without a trace. History seems to be repeating itself and it looks like no one will be leaving the cove anytime soon.

This book was alright. I understand what Robert Levy was trying to do but the execution was a little off. A found myself confused a couple times and had to go back and re-read a few pages. Even after that, I still have major plot questions. This certainly was a very interesting book; Good paranormal adult novels are hard to come by. I think that Levy aimed to have this novel resemble a Neil Gaiman fantasy, but it fell a little short.

That being said, I did like the layout of the book. It’s divided into four sections- each of the four protagonists gets a turn to narrate what’s going on from their points of view. This gave it an interesting twist and was a lot more fun to read than a 3rd person omniscient book.

The Glittering World was a quick, but interesting read. I think it is a great debut novel with a good writing style and I will definitely read another Robert Levy book in the future.

Review- Awoken

Posted in Book Review by

Awoken by Sarah Noffke

23505867Rating: 5/5 stars

I was given a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Roya, when you stop viewing your life as something done to you and rather a reality of your choosing then you will find peace.”

Roya Stark is the outcast of her family and is constantly reminded of her differences by her emotionally abusive older brother. Not only does her light hair stand out from her entirely brunette family, she has the power to dream travel across space and time. Her life is changed when she’s called to compete for a group called the Lucidites, specialized dream travelers from around the world. The Lucidites are teaming up against an evil force who has been putting innocent people into an hallucinogen state. If the Lucidites fail to take down this man, everyone will soon be in danger of dreaming without ever waking up.

This is one of the best young adult books I’ve read in a while. The beginning was a bit confusing because Sarah Noffke throws the reader into a new, fantastical world without really giving any backstory or explanation. This actually worked to her advantage because Roya is also extremely confused in the beginning of the book, so it adds to the dazed and bewildered effect.

Often, I find that YA fantasy books are all a bit similar plot-wise, but this book had a lot of unique traits. I was caught off guard so many times, especially after the novel started picking up in the second half. Also, Sarah Noffke did a great job making Roya a relatable character; she felt very real to me from the very beginning. I could actually imagine a girl Roya’s age saying, reading, and wearing the same things as her. This aspect made the novel surreal and probably why I loved it so much.

Overall, this was a really gripping book with a bit of humor (Roya is very sarcastic). I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good, thrilling YA read.

Review- The Sense of Style

Posted in Book Review by

The Sense of Style by Steven Pinker

senseofstyle_stevenpinkerRating: 4/5 stars

Note: I feel like as a writing guide, this is a 5-star book, but as a ‘general’ book it’s only worthy of 4 stars.

I was given this book by my dad who said “all readers and writers should read this at some point in their careers”. I expected to be thoroughly bored with The Sense of Style, but found myself pleasantly interested.

Steven Pinker is a cognitive scientist who writes books on how to write, and does it  well. This guide is extremely well-organized, which makes it easy to find exactly what topics you’re looking for. He starts by explaining and breaking down sentence structure in a way that makes sense and is a bit different than the way I was taught in high school. Pinker uses examples from texts to outline the good and bad ways to use language and grammar. I like how he shows the reader how to write rather than tells them. He also includes a chart of words that used to have only one meaning but now have more common usages. For example, “presently” technically means “soon”, but it now used to mean “now”. Pinker discusses these differences and accepts both definitions.

Pinker clearly distinguishes himself from people who don’t understand that the english language is constantly evolving. He disregards a few ‘old’ english rules and replaces them with his own rules. I think that Pinker has a very modern way of writing that’s important for an ever-changing lexicon. I definitely learned a lot from this guide and would recommend it to people pursuing writing as a career.

Review- Landline

Posted in Book Review by

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

41iHvwDY7GL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_Rating: 3/5 stars

“Neal didn’t take Georgie’s breath away. Maybe the opposite. But that was okay–that was really good, actually, to be near someone who filled your lungs with air.”

 Georgie McCool is a comedy television writer with a marriage she knows is falling apart. Her husband, Neal, never says that he’s unhappy but certainly never acts like the college junior he was when Georgie first met him. She misses those days before everything went downhill, before her job took off and she spent more and more time at the office. Georgie finds herself with a magic phone, the yellow landline phone in her old room, that can talk to the old Neal from when they first started dating. Georgie has to figure out if this is her chance to fix things with Neal or end the relationship before they even get married.

Like the last Rainbow Rowell book that I reviews (Attachments), this book was just okay. The plot was fairly interesting, but the writing wasn’t anything spectacular. I usually tab quotes that I liked and stood out to me while I read, but I left Landline without any sticky tabs. In fact, I got the quotation at the beginning of this review by Googling “Landline quotes”. It seems like almost everyone excepts for me absolutely adores Rainbow Rowell. I don’t really see the hype.

This is a good, light book for someone who doesn’t have a lot of time to read. It was easy to skim some chapters, as a lot of the dialogue wasn’t crucial to the main plot. I did think that the flashbacks to Georgie and Neal first meeting and dating in college were cute, but the novel as a whole was a little bland. I think my problem with Rowell’s writing style is that it’s very young adult-like. I know she has written best-selling young adult novels and I think she has a hard time crossing over to the adult genre. Maybe if I read one of her YA novels I will appreciate her writing more.

Review- The Girl in 6E

Posted in Book Review by

The Girl in 6E by A.R. Torre

20640318

Rating: 5/5 stars

“I like the sound of screams- real screams, not the pathetic excuse that most movies try to pass off as the sound of terror“

Deanna Madden lives most of her life as JessReilly19, a seductive college freshman who spends hours on hours having internet sex with men and women from around the world. When she isn’t earning insane amounts of cash via the pay-by-minute feature on her private website, Deanna locks herself up in a two-bedroom apartment and tries to push away her homicidal fantasies. Deanna has a daily routine that only has one rule:Don’t Kill Anyone. This rule is fairly easy to keep so long as she stays locked up and alone, but Deanna finds herself in a situation that requires her to be around people, people she could potentially kill.

This book was fantastic. I know that so many thrillers are compared to Gone Girl these days, but this book really took me on a ride similar to the ones Gillian Flynn writes. I found myself flying through the pages towards the last third of the novel. I was stuck between “get to the ending ASAP” and “try to savor every page of this incredible novel”. The first thought took over my brain and I, consequently, probably missed some really cool plot details.

I really like the light that this book shone on people, specifically women, working in the sex industry. Deanna is a full-time internet sex cammer and is in control of all of her sessions. If a man is getting too creepy or aggressive, she has the power to disconnect and block them from further contact. She is an empowered woman who finds no shame in the way she lives her life. She is content with her lifestyle, not miserable as some people would presume. I thought this was an extremely positive quality of the novel.

The Girl in 6E had been sitting on my bookshelf for a few months before I picked it up this week. I think I was mentally preparing myself for a heavy thriller. This was such an exciting read and I’m glad I got to it this month. I’m looking forward to the sequel.

Review- Tiger Tail Soup

Posted in Book Review by

Tiger Tail Soup by Nicki Chen

51AVOPZ5vRL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

“All my heroes has horses and armor, a double-bladed sword or an eighteen-foot spear. They had their blood brothers to save the day. And I? My spindly arms fell to my sides. I should have been a man.”

I received an e-book copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

An Lee is pregnant with her second child when the Japanese begin bombing her town in China. Her husband is off fighting in a war that seemingly never ends, leaving her in care of her mother, step-mother, and children. Through the food shortages and enforced curfews, she finds herself joining an anti-Japanese group–something her husband would never approve of. An Lee sees death, war, and hatred all around her, but must keep it together for the sake of her family and husband, if he ever returns.

I really wish I could say that this book was fantastic because the ideas behind it were well-thought out and intracate. Unfortunately, Tiger Tail Soup read more like a series of events than like a book with an actual plot. Once I reached the halfway point, I realized that there still was no major climax or central issue/conflict. This was definitely an interesting read…but I didn’t really get the point of the novel.

That being said, I also felt like the author was telling me things instead of showing me. I don’t feel like I got to know An Lee very well, because her actions were merely described to me. For example, Nicki Chen writes about how much An Lee misses her husband throughout the entire book, but I never got any more proof of that other than the author’s word. I wish this, what I imagine to be, intense longing and grief over a missing husband had been shown instead of told to me.

I still enjoyed reading Tiger Tail Soup and learning more about what the war was like for people living in China circa 1940. Nicki Chen definitely played with my emotions with the novel. I found myself both grieving and celebrating along with An Lee.

Review- Trigger Warning

Posted in Book Review by

Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman

225228084/5 stars

This is a collection of Gaiman’s recent short stories, which he calls “short fictions and disturbances”. This epithet matches well with the content of some of these stories. Trigger Warning contains over 20 short pieces of writing, ranging from poems to short fairy tales.

There are simply too many pieces to write a synopsis of each one. In addition, the stories are not related in any way (character wise or even genre wise). Each of these stories is it’s own world, a unique way of putting together a collection of fictions. Before this, I had never read a book of short stories that didn’t have anything in common. That being said, most of the stories were a bit disturbing. I would even categorize a few of them as “horror”; but most of them fall into the category of “fantasy” or “science fiction”.  For Doctor Who fans– Gaiman even includes a short story about the Doctor with a bow tie and Amy Pond.

Neil Gaiman certainly has a way of imagining other worlds and dimensions filled with made-up creatures and complex characters. Admittedly, I did get bored with a few of his stories, but most of them kept my attention and were easy to follow. I’m very proud to be the owner of a signed first edition of this book. I went to my local bookstore on it’s release date last month and was one of the first to get a copy!