I Read: A Psalm of Storms and Silence

A Psalm of Storms and Silence by Roseanne A. Brown

(Book 2 in the series)

Of course, I had to read the continuing story after I enjoyed the first book so much. And while I was in a very different headspace than I was a year ago reading the A Song of Wraiths and Ruin it doesn't mean that this one disappointed me.

I found it difficult to follow some of the twists and descriptions, but that's more to do with me than with the book. Every word seems carefully chosen and adds something to the totality of the story. I liked the conclusion, how it wasn't a fully happy ending but it was satisfying. It brought everything to a cohesive end but left space for further stories at the same time.

I wish Brown a continued story career. She seems destined for it.

#91-2021

I Read: A Beautifully Foolish Endeavour

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavour by Hank Green

(sequel to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing)

What a beautifully foolish way to continue this story. I read the first one late, so I already knew it had a sequel, but this was the perfect completion of the story. I liked the way this was written because it very effectively pointed out how separate the characters became.

Anything else I say would give away parts of the story, and I think it's important in this book that the reader doesn't know what's coming. It just feels important. 

#73-2021

I Read: Chain of Iron

Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare

(2nd in the Last Hours series)

Well, I'm a bit ridiculous and stayed up way too late to finish this. But it's my birthday, so I get to do whatever I want, and napping seems like a really good option for the rest of the day. After I actually get some sleep, I mean. And given how I'd looked forward to this next installment when I got within 100 pages of being finished, I couldn't just put it down. 

Spoilers below. Beware.

I Read: The Boy in the Black Suit

The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds

I finished up my Black History Month reading with this one. It's been sitting on my shelf for a while and is a winner of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards in 2016. It doesn't feel like there's anything specifically "black" about this book - it could be any teen going through a rough period due to circumstances. Culturally the novel is black-American but that doesn't stop it from being relatable to anyone. The feelings are the thing. And so many people go through what Matt does. 

If you're looking for a simple read with some complicated emotions, this is for you. 

#24-2021

I Read: Concrete Rose

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

It took me a long time to read "The Hate U Give" but when I did I was absolutely a fan of Angie Thomas.  So when I came across this new one, which gives us some back story to Starr's existence I was definitely going to read it. 

I love the way that Thomas creates a character out of the words she uses and the way she puts them together. She doesn't just create the characters but the story is its own character. That might not make sense to anyone but me, but I hope it does. 

She's very good at making the reader feel for the people in the story. Even those of us who really don't (can't?) relate to the specifics of the story. I don't have any similar experiences, but it doesn't matter - she guides us through and is very clear in her descriptions. Adding this book, and Angie Thomas to my favourites list immediately. 

#20-2021

I Read: Finding Audrey

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

This was surprisingly poignant, considering it's written by the same author as the Shopaholic series. I wasn't expecting that. I enjoy the casual nature of Kinsella's writing here, even though she's writing about some serious stuff. And I like that it's relatable, even if we haven't all gone through anything similar. 

The character of Audrey is well developed, and I think that very much helps us to understand how and why she's in the situation she's in. And how she can get out of it. Some of the moments could have been stronger had there been a little more focus on them, and though we get a picture of what she went through, I felt a little bit like I would have been more sympathetic with some more detail. But the vague-ness fits perfectly with the character and the story. 

I Read: 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl

13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad

This book was not at all what I was expecting when I picked it up. And that is not at all a bad thing. I didn't check the back for a description; I bought it based on the title. 

For some reason, I expected short stories about different girls. Instead, this is a journey through the life of a "fat girl" and her experiences at different stages of her life. It's not even always through her perspective. I'm not even going into any more detail than that. This book deserves to be read, to give people a perspective they may not have, and to maybe urge people to talk about things they otherwise might not. 

I really enjoyed it. It's thoughtful and thought-provoking.

#85-2020

I Read: Let it Snow!

Let It Snow! by Maureen Johnson, John Green and Lauren Myracle

No secrets here - I enjoy young adult books. One of the authors I especially like is John Green. I hadn't read any Maureen Johnson until this past year, but I've very much enjoyed her online presence for several years already. 

I picked this up solely because John Green was included in it. And I had aspirations of actually reading Maureen Johnson, so I thought a short story might be the way to start. Thankfully I had read a couple of novels before I read this. 

I Read: The Lost Book of the White

The Lost Book of the White by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu

Second in the Eldest Curses series

I have a weird connection to Cassandra Clare novels. They're definitely not written for someone of my age, but I still love them. There's something about the characters that makes mort of them either incredibly endearing or relatably dislikeable. And since I am entirely a reader who is fascinated by character-driven stories, that's perfect for me. 

The stories themselves, are not always the best they could be, but based on the character creation they don't seem completely far-fetched. Like I said, even the characters who I don't end up liking that much or I don't understand, I still enjoy the way they're written. Which is why I buy each book almost as soon as it's out. Sometimes even pre-ordered. I like getting books the day they're released. Occasionally I even manage to get them before the official release date, which is always a treat.

I Read: Fangirl

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Full disclosure, this is a bit hard to write. Fangirl has been on my TBR for a while, and I've been looking forward to read it, having read several of Rowell's other novels previously. I'd finally started it and was about halfway through when some uncomfortable issues were made clear to me about Rowell's novel Eleanor & Park, which I initially enjoyed. It made me rethink finishing Fangirl. But I had so far enjoyed it, so I kept reading. 

I'm going to say very clearly right here that I don't choose every book I read based on what it can teach me about the world. Sometimes I just want a book that's going to give me warm fuzzies, or that I can read as if I'm binge-watching a ridiculous TV show. Sometimes it's just pure entertainment and I don't have big expectations. To me, that's what Rainbow Rowell writes. Her stories have potentially real-world situations in them, but I don't read them thinking I need to learn something. I'm just reading, and I don't have to put a lot of thought into it. So on that score, Fangirl is a winner.

I Read: Love, Stargirl

Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

I didn't love this as much as StarGirl. I don't know why, but I think it's because by having StarGirl as the narrator, she loses some of her mystery. She's still quirky and unique and learning to find herself and how she fits in the world, but when you can see how her mind works, and why she chooses the things she does, it takes some of the interest away from her character. 

This is written like a journal, or more specifically a really long, expanding letter to former boyfriend Leo. StarGirl says in the beginning that she'll never send it, so it's really functioning much more like a journal than a letter, but she is definitely writing it to someone. 

I Read: Stargirl

Stargirl by Jerry Spinellio

This book joined my TBR by way of a Facebook post series. I was nominated and then in turn nominated folks to post 7 favourite books over 7 days. One of my nominees is also a book lover and decided to go for 3 (or was it 4?) different sets of books, based on genre. Amazing dedication.

Anyway, this one was on his list. I'd honestly never even heard of it, but for some reason immediately decided I needed to pick it up. And I am absolutely not sorry for that. 

I Read: A Song of Wraiths and Ruins

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown

I picked this up based solely on the recommendations of some random other book readers on Twitter. I'm not kidding. It hadn't even come out yet, and people were in love with this book, and the author seemed like a super-fun person, so I ordered it. 

It took me a while to read, through no fault of the story or the writing, but because the political climate of the world has been insane, and I haven't had any attention span to read at all. Real-world burn-out, I guess. 

But, I am very glad that I read this. It's something I may not have picked up without those random recommendations, even though it's a similar genre style to what I've been reading for the last couple of years. 

I Read: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and six more

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and six more by Roald Dahl

I remember Roald Dahl from when I was in school. And of course, he's the genius behind Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I've always been amused by the way his mind works. 

My mom found this book as a set of three book recommendations from Trevor Noah on Goodreads. We both respect and admire Trevor Noah and so we decided to pick up the books. This one was the most surprising of the recommendations so of course, I read it first. I kind of always assumed that Dahl was a white, North American flavour, rather than being globally known. I still don't know any different - Trevor could have found the book once he was already in the US. But I still found it an interesting choice. 

I Read: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

(Prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy)

This is the "long-awaited" follow-up to The Hunger Games trilogy.  I put that in quotes, because I wasn't particularly waiting for it. Sure, I pre-ordered it, but I didn't really feel like I needed it before I knew it existed. There wasn't anything missing in the original story for me. I didn't need any backstory in particular to feel the story was complete. I only needed it in the sense that I'm a completist, so I had to have it to complete the set.

But I understand the concept of following up on that kind of success with something that might bring that back. And Collins is a good writer. It's a well-written book. I enjoyed it. It took me longer than it should to read but that was more a function of what was going on in the world and finding time to read it, than not wanting to read it. 

I Read: On The Come Up

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Angie Thomas really seems to have a knack for creating characters. Ones that make you feel something, even in situations you relate to.

This was Thomas' second novel, and while not as acclaimed as The Hate U Give, is still poignant and dramatic. It's not a sequel, but it is set in the same community, and there are references to events of The Hate U Give in On the Come Up. (There's also a reference to On the Come Up's lead character in The Hate U Give if you were able to remember it. - The advantage of reading them consecutively.)

I Read: The Hate U Give

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

I don't even know where to start with this one. I can not say enough about it. I know it's acclaimed, and it's been talked about for several years already - long enough that there's already been a follow-up released, which is next on my TBR list.

This was amazing. Heartbreaking and lovely and powerful and scary. And wonderful. It's no wonder it was acclaimed. I haven't yet seen the movie, but I'm afraid to because the book left me with so much.

I Read: The Last Little Blue Envelope

The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson

(sequel to 13 Little Blue Envelopes)

Okay, so the sequel didn't disappoint. I enjoyed this as well, and read it very quickly. Like I said in talking about the first book, I didn't have any expectations so this was a very pleasant surprise. It's a very cute story, and I was very happy to revisit it with the sequel. 

I very much wanted something to end. Properly. And while there is still room that this could continue, it's only in the way that life continues. There's not really a big expansive story to continue with. 

I Read: 13 Little Blue Envelopes

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

I've had this sitting on my TBR (to-be-read) shelf for several years. I follow the author on Twitter, and thought that I should probably read something she'd written, but I just never got around to it.

Finally, I picked it up and read it in about 36 hours. It's remarkably cute, and not really what I expected at all. But her character is actually very realistic in my view, and goes on a crazy adventure at the behest of her aunt. Her favourite aunt.  And really, her favourite person.

I Read: Always and Forever, Lara Jean

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han
(Third in the To All the Boys trilogy)

A trilogy that ends with a fairy tale ending. Or as close as a realistic ending can come. I did really enjoy this series, the characters and the turmoil that they mostly created for themselves.

I found myself looking back to a time that was easier, and harder, and mostly I don't enjoy looking back on so very much. But I related to Lara Jean in a lot of ways, and I think that's why I disliked a lot of the things that she did. She's a realistically flawed character. I could see myself and friends in so many of the situations.