Book Review: Bravely by Maggie Stiefvater

 

Book Review: Bravely by Maggie Stiefvater

I really loved the animated film Brave and when I heard on social media Maggie Stiefvater was given the opportunity to write the sequel to Merida's story, I was elated. And then I felt truly blessed when I was able to secure an ARC from NetGalley. 

My enthusiasm was well-met with Bravely, a story about growth and change, something people always seem to have a problem accepting or realizing the necessity of. 

Steeped in Celtic mythology, beautifully and poignantly written, Stiefvater fills out the dimensions of all characters within Merida's world, creating empathy and understanding where animosity would threaten to take over. The magical elements of the story make sense in the way that the mysterious does, and the ending steers clear of cliche and is entirely, complexly, and unexpectedly satisfying. 

I have already spread the word about this new story to my students, who I think will love it as much as I do, and plan on using it as a book club feature book perhaps as early as next semester. 

Book Review: A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari

 

A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons

by Kate Khavari

I read this as an ARC from NetGalley.

Saffron Everleigh, who has a name I absolutely LOVE, is a botanist at University College in London in 1923. At a party hosted by wealthy philanthropists for the college, the wife of one of the professors falls comatose after drinking apparently tainted champagne. When Saffron's beloved mentor Dr. Maxwell is arrested under suspicion of attempted murder, Saffron plunges headlong into an adventurous quest to find the would-be-murderer and clear her mentor's name.

I am a sucker for both beautiful book covers and stories set in England, and this book drew me in for both those reasons. Saffron's story coupled with the remnants of war tainting family and friends' lives and her own dauntless spirit in pushing boundaries in a male-dominated world that blocks off women of intelligence and ability all combine to create an interesting and fun read. Khavari has a wonderful sense of humor, even in moments that would otherwise be heavy, and yet this doesn't negatively impact the tension build-up. 

I especially enjoyed the scientific jargon and references, which all serve to showcase Saffron's ability despite the lecherous and dismissive men abounding at the college. And her lapses of logic, though a bit off-putting for a scientist, seem to highlight her youth, inexperience, and enthusiasm and willingness to learn from her mistakes.

I really enjoyed reading this novel and am curious if sequels are planned as it seems it might have been set up for them. I can see a place in YA readers' bookshelves for more Saffron Everleigh escapades, especially as she will be studying phytotoxicology.

Book Review: Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood

Within These Wicked Walls

by Lauren Blackwood

I received an ARC of Within These Wicked Walls from NetGalley .

Andromeda is an interesting and flawed character, with a mysterious past and complicated relationships with the men in her life. From her adopted father who purportedly bought her from her parents to apprentice her as a debtera, to her employer Magnus Rochester who hires her to cleanse his home of the Evil Eye, to her biological father who (along with her mother) attempted to sell her into child prostitution, Andromeda has plenty of reasons not to trust men. She is a talented and skilled exorcist, but because of a falling out with her trainer, finds herself unlicensed and without a patron. So when an opportunity to cleanse a wealthy chocolate baron’s home arises, Andromeda commits to the job, despite the fact that so many previous debtera have failed.

This is a love story, but it also isn’t. This is really a story about redemption, about the triumph of the human spirit in the midst of spiritual warfare, about finding purpose and capitalizing on talent. There is a lot of gore when the Evil Eye battles with Andromeda and the other tenants, but the storytelling in this particular area is original and well done.

Though this book is being marketed as an updated Jane Eyre, ​I didn't see so much of this reference in the story. I enjoyed the foray into Ethiopian culture, especially the idea of exorcists (debtera). In fact, I wish the story had more about the Ethiopian culture and practices at the core of the book because the little bits of it in the story left me wanting more. Developing this part of the story would help readers see this as a story that is Ethiopian in flavor where it sometimes feels like a story that could have happened anywhere. In fact, this is really the only detracting point I can find.

I really enjoyed the Within These Wicked Walls and recommend it for fans of books like Mexican Gothic.

Book Review: The Daisy Children by Sophia Grant

 

The Daisy Children by Sophia Grant

Haunted. This is how I feel after reading The Daisy Children, a book about a family suffering for generations under the weight of unthinkable tragedy that wiped out almost an entire generation after the natural gas explosion in 1937, in London, Texas, at a school as the school day was ending. 

The ghosts of the children whose lives were obliterated without warning in a vicious disaster, whose families likely never recovered from their loss, whose potential never had a chance to blossom haunt the background of the story, impelling those still among the living to move forward despite their loss, to live and love again, and to find solace in a cruel world.

The specters of bitter and angry women unable to share their grief, thus relieving them of its burden and allowing them to move on in the mourning process to live a life full of all the blessings it can bestow to counterbalance the catastrophes it also deals out inhabit the pages of their story, begging to be exorcised.

The shadows of men struggling to be the pillars of strength they were expected to be while crumbling as surely as the walls of the destroyed schoolhouse crumbled under the weight of impossible expectations, finding little solace in their shared pain materialize as reminders of the full spectrum of the human condition.

And yet, the novel is entirely hopeful. There is healing. There is forgiveness. There is redemption. It's all possible, though not always easily accessible. 

Full of memorable, likeable characters, The Daisy Children is a book that will remain with me, as all good spirits do.

Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

I really enjoyed so many things about this book, beginning with the pacing of this book, a slow meandering through the disastrous consequences befalling Feyre for killing a faerie. Feyre is a compelling character. She drew me in with her haunting voice already replete with despair from the beginning. But she is a survivor, and survive she does. And the supporting cast of characters, Tamlin, Lucien, Rhysand, are deliciously complex with a villain worthy of the title. This story reminds me so much of the Beauty and the Beast tale, which I'm a sucker for.

However, I am less thrilled with the graphic and explicit sex scenes, few though they are. I know, I know: many find them titillating. I find them tedious and unnecessary. I'm of the opinion that less is more: I'd rather leave such intimacies to the participants than to be a voyeur. And disappointingly, this seems to be a trend in the YA genre, one that I'm not a fan of to be honest. I realize that "adult" is explicit in the YA moniker, but I'm finding I can recommend fewer and fewer books to my teen students (who are NOT adults yet) despite them being drawn to the topics and writers who produce these books. Admittedly, I'm old-school and lean toward the modest. Is there no place for we who favor modesty anymore?

I am hooked, though. I will and look forward to reading the next two books in the series.

Book Review: City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

Book Review: City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

I won this book as an ARC in a Goodreads giveaway, and this is my honest review.

I had heard a lot about this book before I won it on Goodreads, so I was looking forward to reading it. A few of my bookish friends touted it as a profound book for 2021 readers.

Vivian Morris, after getting kicked out of Vassar College, flees her family's judgment and condescension by moving to live with her aunt in New York City, where she becomes part of a middling theater group as the seamstress and costumer. She discovers herself as a voracious sexual being--shocking even in 1940s New York City. She also discovers that her pursuit of sexual conquests has damning personal and professional consequences when she allows her promiscuity to lead her to make bad judgments that irreparably damage the life she has built for herself in her theater community.

But the story is deeper than Vivian's promiscuity.

And, though I was tempted to not finish the book at several points (mostly the extremely vivid descriptions of Vivian's sexual encounters--just not my flavor), I heard my friends' rave reviews in the back of my head, propelling me to continue reading. I'm glad I listened to those voices.

Vivian's story of unapologetically unconventional and alternative lifestyle choices ultimately creates an incredibly endearing story of friendships and missteps, forgiveness and new beginnings, authenticity and hiding. Vivian's sense of agency at a time that discouraged women from exercising such agency is empowering and despite my disapproval of Vivian's choices, she doesn't need or seek my approval. Nor does my disapproval cloud my ability to genuinely like her. She's spunky, full of life and love, and forges lasting and meaningful relationships with the other characters. Vivian is someone I would like to know.

The prose is compelling, beautiful, poetic, and the historical background creates an immersive story showing a different type of life experience for those making sense of life in the 1940s.

I initially rated City of Girls 3/5 stars, but after I marinated in its afterglow, it deserves 4/5 stars.

Book Rewview: Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

Book Review: Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

I received an ARC of this book, and this is my honest review.


I was excited about the opportunity to read Catherine House. There seemed to be a lot of hype surrounding this debut novel by Elisabeth Thomas, and I love a Gothic story.

Catherine House details the college career of Ines, a troubled teen accepted into the elite and renowned Catherine House for an accelerated three-year degree path, strictly isolated from the rest of the world but also completely free of charge. Ines and her cohort of friends indulge in school-sanctioned parties replete with frat-style binge drinking and indiscriminate sexual liaisons while negotiating ultra-challenging academic work and aspiring to the New Materials concentration, a coveted discipline studying plasm, the nebulous substance interconnecting all things. All of this is fascinating given the overall theme of isolation.

There are elements of Catherine House that I really enjoyed: the characters are interesting, flawed and broken. The house itself becomes a character, which is a device I have a particular affinity for. I was genuinely surprised by the ending. And, the novel reminds me a lot of Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, a novel that has haunted me since I read it about 11 years ago.

However, on balance the book fell flat for me. Ines's mysterious past has a lot of holes. I felt I needed more of them filled so that I could understand her more fully. I simply could not relate to her incredibly sad antipathy and, because of that, I wasn't sure how much I cared about her. And, I really wanted to care for her because it seemed that so few people in her life did.

The mom part of me was angry at the lack of rules and boundaries for the students' social lives, and while I appreciated part of Catherine House's ethos is the mind-freeing nature of not having imposed rules and boundaries, the resultant free-for-all of behavior was concerning to me. Real colleges and universities have rules and boundaries for interpersonal behavior and resources for handling the ups and downs. Further, the cultish school culture is very concerning in large part because there appears to be very little outsider concern about the students at Catherine House.

I can definitely see the draw the book might have for other readers; it just didn't wow me. I appreciate the underlying themes: isolation, withdrawal, brokenness, scientific advancement (at what cost) are important and relevant discussions. But, I needed more.

Overall, I rate Catherine House 3/5 stars.