It was a little hard to concentrate this week. There’s always dishes to do, cats to take care of, floors to clean, and so on. The cats are mad that they don’t get as much alone time anymore and more people at home means more dishes and dust. But, on Sunday I made charro beans and that made everything a little easier.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman – 4/21/20
3 stars
I am a pretty big fan of Neil Gaiman so I was looking forward to this POPSUGAR challenge pick. The premise of the book is that all gods are real and anyone who immigrated to America believing in a god brought a version of that god with them. It was a really interesting idea but somewhere in the middle of the book I lost a lot of my interest in the actual plot (which deals with a war between the old gods and the new gods of technology, fame, etc.). I’m still glad I read it and might watch the show to see if it keeps my interest and attention better.
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds – 4/21/20
4 stars
This is a really short book written in verse that takes place all in one day. After Will’s brother Shawn is shot and killed, Will knows that in order to follow the rules, he has to get revenge. In the elevator on the way there, he meets several people who have died from being shot. This was a really poignant reflection on generational violence and gun violence in general. It’s a book to reflect on and I think it would be a great introduction to free verse and it’s applications for strong, emotional storytelling. If I were, say, a high school English teacher, this would definitely be something I would assign.
Pivot Point by Kasie West – 4/22/20
4 stars
This book is about a teenager named Addison who lives in a secret community where everyone has a type of mental superpower. Her’s is that when she’s faced with a decision, she can see how the possible futures will play out. When her parents announce they’re getting a divorce and her father is moving out of the community and into the normal world, Addie must choose who to live with. In alternating chapters, we see Addie’s life inside the community with her mom and outside it with her dad. Now, you know I don’t mind a little YA cheese; it’s actually something I adore about the genre. I just seriously couldn’t get past the football star boyfriend saying “Hey, girlfriend!” to his literal girlfriend. “Hey, girlfriend!” is something you say to your girl friends. I know you’re thinking, “Why are you so hung up on this little detail?” and I get it, but it took me out. It made me feel like a modern teenager was not the base model for these kids even though it was published in 2013, when I was still in high school. That’s just one of my YA pet peeves, since I think it’s super important for YA to be for teens first. All that aside, I will probably read the second book.
The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson – 4/22/20
4 stars
This is a middle grade book and I think those are really hard to do well, since the middle school years are really… volatile. With that being said, I think this was an excellent MG book. It’s a mystery novel in which a preteen boy named Matthew tries to figure out how a toddler disappeared from his street. Matthew, who is dealing with OCD, stays in his room and watches the street through his window, so he is in a perfect position to observe everyone. I really enjoyed this book for a number of reasons, but mainly how cool it was about his psychiatric disability. He has a friend who sticks with him and encourages him, even if she doesn’t 100% understand why he does the things he does. It shows how his parents struggle without making it seem like their difficulties are worse than his in the situation. It also ends not with him being “cured” but his promise to work to get better and his parents promise to help how they can. Oh, also, the toddler is safe. 😉 Highly recommend for MG readers.
Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood – 4/22/20
4 stars
I’m not super into reading memoirs, but about two years ago i came across an article that was called something like “Memoirs For People Who Don’t Usually Read Them” and I thought Hey that’s me! So I put this on my to-read list and promptly forgot about it until now. I have many regrets. This book was amazing. The prose is so poetic (which makes sense because Lockwood is a poet) and it is effortlessly funny. I was literally laughing out loud brushing my teeth. I saw reflections of my own family in her’s, and it made me feel better about how eccentric my family feels. I recommended it to my mom already and I’m tacking it onto the ever growing list of books I’m desperately trying to get my boyfriend to read.
Red Rising by Pierce Brown – 4/24/20
4 stars
This book is about Darrow, a member of the lowest caste of the color coded society of the future, and his infiltration of the highest caste in order to start a revolution. This is a series, though, so the majority of this book takes place in a Battle Royale style competition. There is a lot of planning, strategizing, betrayal, and tactical sneakiness. It’s all stuff I’ve seen before in BR and its clones. It was well executed though and the world the competition is set in is unique and interesting. I haven’t decided if I’ll read the rest of the series yet, but I’m not opposed.
Beta by Rachel Cohn – 4/25/20
3 stars
CW for rape and violence. Teen dystopian romances had a moment for a bit and this is one of them. The plot revolves around Elysia, an experimental teen clone of a dead girl. She is supposed to have no soul, no feelings, and no wants. She, and all the other clones on the resort island where she resides, live to serve the rich humans of the island. She soon realizes she has emotions and falls in love with another clone. True to form, they decide they have to escape and destroy the system that keeps them enslaved. Elysia unironically refers to the boys she’s attracted to as the “surfer god” and “Prince Chocolate” or something, which was sort of disgusting. All that being said, the book ended on a cliffhanger, so I might just have to read the next one and see it through to the end.
Be sure to check my 2019-in-2020 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge and 2020 Books posts for updates on how I’m doing on those fronts! Feel free to subscribe below to get email notifications for new posts!
Blind Bookworm 