Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton

Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton

Tom Felton first rose to fame as a child actor with parts in The Borrowers and Anna and the King, but those couldn’t prepare him for his role as Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter, which he would win at the age of 12. He would portray the blond villain on screen for the next decade, returning to a normal life between movies. But how normal can your life be when your alter ego is Harry Potter’s school nemesis? 

With great charm and humor, Tom tells stories of his early days in the business, details his life in both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds, what it was like to work with cinematic legends such as Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, and Ralph Fiennes, and shines a light on his enduring friendships with Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe. 

288 pages.

Spare by Prince Harry

......I don't care what anyone says, I love him. I don't care if he's 10+ years older than me, I will protect him. I just want to hug him.
The way he says zebra, oregano, and basil: zeh-bruh, oh-ray-gah-no, and bah-sil....like...
...Head squirrels and hover monkeys.
I see metaphors. I see metaphors everywhere.
Do I want to talk about trauma and PTSD....
Laughs because the American is being American and speaking their mind and hugging people--because we might be anxious, but we hug.

I went into the book with no regard for what the media said, because primary sources > secondary sources; and people are people who have emotions no matter how famous. Some of it echoes the Netflix documentary, but we see more of his childhood and his years in the military.

410 Pages

TS Songs (yes there are songs): Time to Go, Peace, a little bit of Anti-Hero

Julie's January Reads!

Cordelia Carstairs seems to have everything she ever wanted. She’s engaged to marry James Herondale, the boy she has loved since childhood. She has a new life in London with her best friend Lucie Herondale and James’s charming companions, the Merry Thieves. She is about to be reunited with her beloved father. And she bears the sword Cortana, a legendary hero’s blade.

But the truth is far grimmer. James and Cordelia’s marriage is a lie, arranged to save Cordelia’s reputation. James is in love with the mysterious Grace Blackthorn whose brother, Jesse, died years ago in a terrible accident. Cortana burns Cordelia’s hand when she touches it, while her father has grown bitter and angry. And a serial murderer is targeting the Shadowhunters of London, killing under cover of darkness, then vanishing without a trace.

Pages: 591

Terry Jo Duperrault was 11 when her family was murdered at sea aboard a chartered sailboat off the coast of Florida. She jumped overboard just in time to escape. Surviving four days on a cork float in the middle of the ocean, Terry Jo’s rescue pictures graced LIFE Magazine soon after she was found.

This is the first time Terry Jo, now known as Tere Duperrault Fassbender, has been able to fully tell her story. In September 1988 Oprah Winfrey reunited her with the freighter captain who saved her but, even then, she was not healed enough to reveal what it took to survive for four days adrift and alone at sea.

Pages: 208

Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.

Pages: 377

It feels like a fairy tale when Alberta ”Bert” Monte receives a letter addressed to “Countess Alberta Montebianco” at her Hudson Valley, New York, home that claims she’s inherited a noble title, money, and a castle in Italy. While Bert is more than a little skeptical, the mystery of her aristocratic family’s past, and the chance to escape her stressful life for a luxury holiday in Italy, is too good to pass up.

At first, her inheritance seems like a dream come true: a champagne-drenched trip on a private jet to Turin, Italy; lawyers with lists of artwork and jewels bequeathed to Bert; a helicopter ride to an ancestral castle nestled in the Italian Alps below Mont Blanc; a portrait gallery of ancestors Bert never knew existed; and a cellar of expensive vintage wine for Bert to drink.

But her ancestry has a dark side, and Bert soon learns that her family history is particularly complicated. As Bert begins to unravel the Montebianco secrets, she begins to realize her true inheritance lies not in a legacy of ancestral treasures, but in her very genes.

Pages: 349

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

(this is probably going to be a lame review, because I don't have words for it, except that I love that Jennette shared her story, because like.....sharing stories is hecka imporant)
Some of Jennette's story really resonated with me and like..oof.
I don't have words, but like...
I love Jennette. She's cool. I'd be friends with her.
320 Pages

The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness

 The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness

By Joel ben Izzy

Pages: 256

"The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness is that rare, magical book—a book that tells a good story but also shows us how the tales we learned when we were children shed light on our adult lives. Joel ben Izzy had the unusual opportunity to relive those lessons when he lost his voice and reconnected with his old teacher, Lenny, a retired storyteller. Through his meetings with Lenny, Joel rediscovers the wisdom of ancient tales and takes us on a journey into a world of beggars and kings, monks and tigers, lost horses and buried treasures—and in the end tells us the secret of happiness."

I really enjoyed this little memoir. Each chapter started with a short story that was applicable to the chapter of the storytellers life. This book is a reminder to find the happiness in your own story, and that sometimes what seems to be a curse is really a blessing.

Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good: A Memoir of Food and Love from an American Midwest Family by Kathleen Flinn

Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good: A Memoir of Food and Love from an American Midwest Family by Kathleen Flinn

Pages: 288

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Kathleen Flinn started to write a memoir of her childhood and realized she needed to go back to her grandparents to get a true picture of her family. She interweaves the family history with favorite family recipes. Everything from farm jam to the pizza her parents sold in San Francisco. 

She realizes that her love of food and cooking comes from multiple generations of her family and she is thankful for all that they have taught her. Most of her life her family lived in the Midwest and her stories of farm life are a mixture of stories my mom and dad told me and my own experiences growing up. 

For me this memoir was like a familiar friend, sharing their life story, ups and downs, burnt toast and all. 

Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood by Danny Trejo

Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood by Danny Trejo

The by products of an abusive household are the heroin addiction and crime sprees a young Danny Trejo finds himself dealing with. These lead to time in some of the United States’ most notorious prisons, including Folsom and San Quentin. After a gut-wrenching reality check, Danny begins to rebuild himself, finding sobriety and spirituality along the way.

 

His checkered past comes in handy, though. Danny uses it as inspiration for acting roles in everything from The Muppets to Machete, which make him a household name across the globe. His personal life remains far from rosy, however. While Danny speaks at prisons and rehabilitation centers, helping others to know they’re not alone in their struggles, he can’t seem to break through to his children, who have inherited his battles.

  

288 pages

December Hodge Podge

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

This book was SO. AMAZINGLY. AWESOME. I could not put it down! Feminist dystopia, a suffocating religion, vengeful witches in the wood, curses and escapes and dungeons-- Okay, I have to stop. Just go read it, especially if you like the Handmaid's Tale or fantasy horror. 

368 pages

We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix

Dude. The writing. I could feel myself being crushed by the walls of a cave. And such creative settings! Heavy metal bands fit so well into horror, but Hendrix also highlights the horror of materialism and the distractions of the modern world. I need to read more of his books!

336 pages

Read Harder Challenge #22

Chapel of Ease by Alex Bledsoe

The fourth Tufa novel, and still going strong. It's nice that for once we get a non-straight Tufa-human couple. I want to watch a hillbilly fairy musical. They never tell us what's in the box! Gaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

320 pages

The Dollhouse Family by M.R. Carey, Peter Gross

Creepy dolls are one of my favorite horror tropes because I find them genuinely scary. But the dolls here aren't the really creepy part. A demonic dollhouse is overly possessive of its family, chasing them across generations. A fun read, good for a rainy afternoon.

160 pages

Daphne Byrne by Laura Marks, Kelley Jones

The Spiritualist movement of the 19th century has long interested me. Yes, lets manipulate people's grief so we can be parasites on society. This story just throws some actual demons in.

160 pages

The Cold Millions by Jess Walter

It's long, but the payoff was worth it! I really didn't know much about turn of the century labor movements, and this got me interested in looking up and reading more. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn deserves more recognition, and I'm tempted to track down some of her writings. The parallels in this novel to inequalities to today make the setting feel even more real. Very well written historical fiction!

352 pages

Come Back to Me by Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti

Not the best Wonder Woman comic, but enjoyable. Starts off as standard Wonder Woman fun, ends up in some weird dinosaur time travel space stadium mess. Definitely better WW comics out there. 

160 pages

Educated by Tara Westover

This one stuck with me. I still think about it, and I read it weeks ago. An amazing memoir about a girl who never went to school, then entered college and went on to get her PhD. Her childhood memories are disturbing and tragic. The conflicts with her family in the fallout are relateable.  Reminded me of a lot of my dreams, and it has definitely got me thinking. 

352 pages    

Read Harder Challenge #12

Attack on Titan Volumes 4/5 by Hajime Isayama

 

This series. So good. More Titan lore, More epic 3D battles, more chaotic fights. The story is too good, a blend of mystery, thriller, fantasy, and of course, horror. 

388 pages (194+194)

In Mad Love and War by Joy Harjo

This is one of her earlier collections, and I had a bit of trouble getting into it. Certainly quality, it makes you slow down and savor each line. Sometimes you have to reread the stanzas again and again for them to sink in.

79 pages

No One is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thunberg

A collection of her speeches, so definitely a bit repetitive. The message is clear though, and I hope we are not too late to act. We only have a few years left, but we seem to be making the problem worse, not better. Tragedy of the Commons combined with Toxic Individualism just leads to ecological destruction. And really, it's not a money problem. It's an accountability problem.

80 pages

Read Harder Challenge #15

Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

I love how Brosh is so funny even when talking about horrible things. I was getting weird looks from Matt because I was just sitting on the couch laughing my head off. That poor grocery clerk. That creepy neighbor kid needs some friends. I too identify with the balloon. Definitely check out her comics if you haven't. They will brighten your day!

528 pages

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

I have heard so much hype around this book, and I finally got around to it. Very much a thriller where you have to slowly piece the puzzle together. Still didn't expect that ending, love the added psychological dimensions. I was racing through this one.

336 pages

The Jedi Mind by Amy Ratcliffe

Little tidbits of wisdom, tied into the different characters of the Star Wars universe. The illustrations are just too cute!

80 pages

Steve Trevor DC Comics

This was a really cool collection of Wonder Woman comics featuring Steve Trevor. It includes the very first issues, the strange "New" look where she loses her powers from the 60's, and the great Perez issues from the 90's, as well as a handful of recent ones. Fun to see how her character has evolved over the years.

232 pages

The Factory Witches of Lowell by C.S. Malerich

This was a very fun historical fantasy novella, wherein a mill girl strike is aided by just a bit of magic. I thought it was an amazing setting, and I loved the sapphic side-romance. I was so enthralled I read this in one sitting. I never knew about brown lung and the stuffy fibrous airways which lead to untimely death for many women. Using the breath and blood you've poured into your looms to stop all work? Talk about seizing the means of production! I only wish this book was a bit longer to flesh out all the characters. 

128 pages

The Cowboy Meets His Match by Jessica Clare

I have never read a cowboy romance. I don't feel like I was missing much. I know a lot of readers love them, but they are just not for me.

301 pages

Read Harder Challenge #14

Basketful of Heads by Joe Hill, Leomacs

This comic is so good. Norse mythology, zombie heads, corrupt small town government, and a brave female protagonist totally dominating. The drawings are emotive, the colors dark yet colorful. A must read horror comic! 

184 pages

I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf by Grant Snider

I'm a librarian. I can't resist book humor! Snider's comics are always clever.

128 pages

The Year of Magical Thinking

 The Year of Magical Thinking 

by Joan Didion

Pages: 227

5 out of 5 stars

Following the sudden death of her husband, writer Joan Didion wasn't exactly sure how to grieve. Her daughter was also seriously ill and this kept her busy caring for her. Several times that first year, she thought she was losing her mind. Thankfully, she was brave and after that year, sat down and wrote about it. She shares her thoughts, her memories and how disjointed reality seemed. How the smallest thing would bring back memories of her husband and she'd be weeping in public. For anyone who has lost a spouse, a parent or perhaps a child I think this book could be helpful in knowing you are not alone. The out of time and place feelings you are having doesn't mean you are going crazy. Your world really has turned upside down. I wish I had read this book before my father-in-law passed away. I recognized some of the behaviors Didion described in how my mother-in-law acted the first couple of years after Dad died. I'd like to think I would have been better able to reach her and offer support if I had read this first. 

Last Minute Additions

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green

I loved his first book, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing,  in which metal alien statues-affectionately named Carl-land all over the planet and people go nuts. This sequel is even better! Carl is back, and saves a primary character through alien prosthetics, leaving her with an android-like appearance. The group of friends then have to face off against a hyper-realistic virtual reality gaming company with much more nefarious intentions.I think what I like most about these books is that the author is not afraid to comment on tough current issues-income inequality, social media conspiracies, information privacy, the list goes on and on. This was a very fun science fiction duology!

452 pages

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

Binti is the first of her people to attend Oomza University, even though it means she will be ostracized by her community. However, trying to maintain her traditions in a high-tech society also does not help her fit in with her peers. Then the Meduse attack.. I was amazed at how much world building Okorafor was able to put into 90 pages. This was a really good novella, and I will probably pick up the others in the short series.

90 pages

Read Harder Task #17


Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi

A loose retelling of Snow White set in a Massachusetts small town during the 1950's/60's. Boy escapes her abusive father, eventually falling in love with a carpenter. Their daughter, Bird, is dark skinned, and exposes them as African Americans passing for white. Honestly, I thought the plot dragged a bit, but that final plot twist at the end makes the story worth it.

308 pages

Read Harder Task #2



Fashion Jewelry: A beginner's guide to jewelry making by Courtney Legenhausen

I've been dabbling with some jewelry making for a while, and I thought I'd finally pick up a book to learn the actual techniques, instead of my current stumbling along with Pinterest and Youtube videos. Apparently I was opening jump rings wrong. I also know the correct way to finish a piece. And crimp beads are lifesavers. With lots of step by step pictures, I thought it was useful for a beginner.

175 pages




Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland

I wish they would have told me this was based on a true story up front, because I thought the premise was ridiculous-if this was fiction, why would someone write such a dismal novel? Florence, while training to prepare for her English Channel swim, accidentally drowns. Her family decides not to tell her sister, because they are afraid she will get upset and miscarry as she did before. So, we get six months of family members frantically trying to keep a secret. Meanwhile, there's a weird subplot about Florida real estate? I was not impressed.

309 pages




The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Xiomara feels unheard by her family, her church, and to some extent, her friends. Secretly dating Aman, and forced into confirmation classes by her mother, she channels her frustrations into her notebook. She finally finds her voice through an invitation to join her school's poetry slam club-allowing her to blossom. The audiobook of this is sooo good, and hearing the poetry spoken by the actual author is quite effective.

361 pages

Read Harder Task #8


The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue

This intense story follows the lives of three women in an Irish quarantined maternity ward over three days during the flu of 1918. The story is brutal, refusing to shy away from the reality of medical interventions, nauseating symptoms, and the brutality of poverty and the Irish orphanage system of the time. This book was very detailed, emotional and shocking. Definitely not for everyone, but I enjoyed it.

295 pages




Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh 

When Henry Silver arrives as a new resident of Greenhollow, his interest in folklore leads him to investigate the Wild Man of the wood. Dryads, old curses, a mysterious past, teen abductions, and a gentle romance compose this creative fantasy retelling of the Green Man myth. I thought it was a great debut, and I plan to look out for Tesh's next book.

109 pages




The Tea Dragon Festival by Katie O'Neill

A companion novel to The Tea Dragon Society, this graphic novel provides some backstory for two society members of the first book. They return to Silverleaf village, where everyone lives alongside tea dragons. we meet a young dragon who has just awoken from an unintended 80 year nap. Once again the artwork is beautiful, the characters are diverse, and the tea dragons are adorable. I never thought I would see sign language in a graphic novel-it was very well done!

131 pages



Too Much and Never Enough by Mary L. Trump

I've been trying to stay away from reading political stuff right now (easier said than done), but the premise for this family narrative and memoir was too tempting. Mary's personal experiences, familial knowledge and clinical Ph.D psychologist's expertise give us a unique character study that certainly explains... a lot. Toxic families create toxic people. A very interesting read.

225 pages





The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

The reviews for this book were so positive, but I thought it was so bad. I get it, it's a memoir about grief, but using obscure references to celebrities and writers just left me lost and confused. Way too much name dropping, and not really much emotion, considering her situation. If I wasn't listening to the audiobook, I probably would not have finished this one.

227 pages




You Brought Me the Ocean by Alex Sanchez, Julie Maroh (ill.)

A coming of age story about friends drifting apart, college applications, and discovering your truth. Of course, the main character lives in a desert and has magical powers that react to water-you know, just to make it interesting. I don't think I've ever seen a comic focused entirely on Aqualad. I love how DC has been embracing such diverse characters lately. This was fun!

186 pages



And now I am FINALLY caught up so I don't have to do these crazy long posts.

Dear Girls by Ali Wong

Ali Wong's heartfelt and hilarious letters to her daughters (the two she put to work while they were still in utero), covering everything they need to know in life, like the unpleasant details of dating, how to be a working mom in a male-dominated profession, and how she trapped their dad.

Pages: 224

Grass by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim

This is a graphic memoir of Granny Lee Ok-sun, who as a young girl was abducted and forced to serve as a Korean "comfort woman" for the Japanese army during World War II. Accompanied by Gendry-Kim's black ink drawings, it makes for a dark, yet expressive story,depicting the heavy costs of war and poverty. I would highly recommend this for graphic novel fans. It's heart breaking, but it's soooo good.

Oh my goodness. This graphic novel. The feels...

480 pages

Read Harder Task #4

Unfollow: a memoir of loving and leaving the Westboro Baptist church by Megan Phelps-Roper

Many of us have seen the newspaper photos and read the articles about Westboro Baptist church, which began picketing to protest LGBTQ people being accepted by society, and moved on to protesting at military  funerals, carrying hate filled signs. The author of this memoir grew up in  the church, starting her picketing 'career' at age 5. She became the chief social media face of the church. But a funny thing happened along the way; arguing online with people who challenged her ideas eventually caused her to begin questioning the theology she had been taught. She eventually left the church, thus being exiled from all contact with her family. This excerpt from the book says it all:

Doubt was nothing more than epistemological humility: a deep and practical awareness that outside our sphere of knowledge there existed information and experiences that might show our position to be in error. Doubt causes us  to hold a strong position a bit more loosely, such that an acknowledgment of ignorance or error doesn’t crush our sense of self or leave us totally unmoored if our position proves untenable.

Certainty is the opposite: it hampers inquiry and hampers growth. It teaches us to ignore evidence that  contradicts our ideas, and encourages us to defend our position at all costs, even as it reveals itself as indefensible. Certainty sees compromise as weak, hypocritical, evil, suppressing empath and allowing us to justify inflicting horrible pain on others. Doubt wasn’t the sin, I came to believe. It was the arrogance of certainty that poisoned Westboro at its foundations.

In today's fractured world, we would all do well to listen to her words and experience.

293 pages

ALL THE THINGS #3: Set of 1 books

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is still glorious. I'm just rereading in preparation for book two, which I'm really excited about. Since it's such a unique world and magic system, I wanted to make sure I remembered everything before moving forward.

The audiobook narration is fantastic and spot on. There's so much texture and variety in Bahni Turpin's voice, and she brings a lot of drama and emotion to the storytelling. I just love it.

PREVIOUS REVIEW:
This story slayed me in all the ways. It’s so compelling that I want to clutch it close, in case it would try to slip away from me. I just finished the novel, and I almost want to go back and start it all over again, right now, as I’m not ready to let go of this world.

I was so captivated by this YA West-African inspired fantasy novel that I couldn’t stop reading once I started, and this is not a small book. Despite that, I still read it straight through, and wow. I just have so many wild feels that I’m not even sure I know how to write this review, but I want to write it now, while the magic and heartache is still fresh in my mind.

Things I loved and/or cried over:

--The characters and all of their uniqueness and intricacies

--The storyline and fast-paced plot, despite the length of the novel

--The captivating world and fascinating setting

--The magic system is A+, and I can’t wait to learn more about it in future novels

--The cover of the book, which is just stunning. I’m honestly obsessed with it, and I don’t know how much of the time that I spent just looking at the cover while I was listening to the book.

---The audiobook narrator: Bahni Turpin, who brings such life to the words

--The author’s note at the end of the book, which made me cry twice in just a matter of minutes

-- The title and its meaning to the story. I could reread/replay that segment right at the end over and over and over again, because it’s so perfect and gorgeous

--The ending, which really delivers, in all kinds of emotional ways

--They way 4 POVs are handled so well, and with so much unique voice that I always knew whose part of the story I was on, even when we switched between characters

--The characters names, which felt so perfect for them

--The ferocious feline beasts that I sometimes want to snuggle

--The fact that this is a debut novel, and it’s so incredible (no offense to other authors, who have also had some amazing debuts, but wow!)

--The fact that this lived up to absolutely all of the hype and it’s so easy to adore this book

--And obviously the diversity. I’m feeling pretty cheated that this is the first Nigerian inspired fantasy novel I’ve ever read, and I hope I see many more in the future. In case it’s my fault that I’ve never read one before, I’m going to go out and research this topic as soon as I finish this review, to see if there are any others that I’ve missed.

As far as I’m concerned, this book is perfection. It’s what YA fantasy novels should be. Honestly, in my opinion, it’s what all fantasy novels should be, regardless of category. And there better be more of this world heading my way in the near future. Preferably lots more.

Book 114 read in 2018

Pages: 525

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Orange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoy the show, so I figured it was finally time to read the book and see how the two compare. I thought it was interesting and well-written, and the book actually made prison seem less scary than I expected.

It was interesting comparing this to the show, which obviously moves in a different direction and carries on for far longer. It also gave me a lot to think about, in terms of how ineffective the penal system can be.

Overall, and I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I actually prefer the show over the book. Yes. Blashphemy. I did just speak words that almost no librarian will ever utter, but it's true. The show shares information from a lot of different perspectives, which just gives it more depth and grit than you get from only Piper's POV.

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Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring
 Home the Lost Children of Nepal

by Conor Grennan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was so caught up in this that I stayed up until 2 AM on a work night to read is straight through.

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The Hating Game

by Sally Thorne

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book tackles a lot of common romance tropes in the most enjoyable fashion, including office place romance and enemies to lovers. It’s funny and quirky, which makes it stand out in the deep sea of romance.

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Dark Eden by Chris Beckett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a great premise! This is such an interesting and other-worldly sci-fi novel, with a strong dystopian feel about it. This story just sucked me right in, but I won't try to explain the plot, as to avoid spoilers. I think this is one of those books that reads best when you go in knowing almost nothing and just get to be surprised as the story evolves.

I'm so happy that it was suggested in an Audicted podcast, which is why I picked it up in the first place. The audiobook is fantastic, with 8 different narrators, representing different POVs, though a majority of the narration is handled by two main POVs, and the others just make occasional appearances.

I am definitely moving on to book 2.

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Mother of Eden
by Chris Beckett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Such a fascinating world, with so much to say about humanity, society, power, politics, etc. But it never says anything in an in-your-face sort of way. It just presents the world and people and lets you draw your own, educated conclusions, based on how things occur.

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Rage by Cora Carmack

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I still really love this series, the world, and the characters, but this story didn't flow quite as well as book one did. It was just a little bit more all over the place. I still enjoyed it all, but because the pacing and flow seemed off, I don't love it as much as I loved book one. However, I am ready to get my hands on book 3 to see how this all works out.

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The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was an intense read. I wanted to love this. The premise is solid. The format is interesting. The content is important. There’s lots of diversity, and it has a unique perspective. I see how this should be an excellent story. All signs pointed towards this book being a perfect read for me.

Unfortunately, I still struggled to connect with this story. It is relatively well-written, though the side characters are underdeveloped, and their motivations and intentions were rarely clear to me. The pacing also felt off to me, and I wasn’t that into the subplots. Honestly, I kind of just wanted to cut away some of the excess and focus more on the heart of the story, which was valuable and intriguing.

I think the supposed powers were a confusing distraction for me, as I thought they were all due to the inner-workings of Matt’s mind, as he struggled with his mental illness, which was upsetting but also fascinating. Then, some things occurred that suggested that it may not be all in his mind, which had me questioning if this is supposed to be magical realism, instead of contemporary, and that unsettled me. I think I spent so much time feeling awkward and uncertain about this that it left me holding the story at arms length, instead of fully embracing it.

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On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Well, this was glorious. Angie Thomas has this was of making me think over things that I thought I already knew and understood, but then once I rethink them a bit and see all the different points of view, it's like I understand those things in all new sorts of ways. I kind of love that. It feels like that shift from knowing to really understanding.

I think her books make a lot of complex topics clearer, even though, they also sometimes make me a bit discouraged about humanity and the slow rate at which change occurs. It would be nice if we could just all agree to do better right now.

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One Word Kill

by Mark Lawrence

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This did not work for me.

The premise was interesting, but the execution left a lot to be desired.

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Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I confess that, at first, I was not sure if I was going to like anyone in this story, as circumstances are rather rough at the beginning. However, I quickly came around on almost everyone, and I really enjoyed this one. There's a lot of change and growth, which all feels very realistic and honest. The romance elements are so sweet and hopeful.

The writing and storytelling are both fantastic, and the pacing seems to be spot on. Overall, this is a really solid YA Contemporary romance with a good amount of diversity that doesn't come only from the LGBT characters.