Best Books of 2019

It's the last day of 2019, we made it! The new decade is upon us. WHOA. ...and also kind of eh. Really, you can reflect on the last ten years at any point to recount a decade, but okay cool.

Anyways.

Below is a list of my top ten favorite books from 2019. They're not in any particular order, and they will only be ones that I read/reviewed in 2019. So even if they were published in a different year, but I read it this year, it counts. :D I'm also only numbering them to make sure I stop myself at ten... because I like books. BOOK LIFE!

Rather than recap the entire book summary, I'm going to include the book title, author, location for my book review, and why it made the list.

Pardon any formatting weirdness. Posts with multiple images tend to get cranky for no apparent reason. Kind of like a Word document. Writer struggles, very real.


 1. Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

My book review is HERE.

Why did this book make the list?

For me, there's a lot that still resonates about this story for me. I loved reading about a different culture in what feels like such an authentic voice. I loved reading about their friendship, of the unyielding acceptance of who Darius is, Sohrab's willingness to teach Darius about Iran, and Darius himself who has such an honest way of understanding what he doesn't know. How he understands how other people view the depression that he and his Dad experience, but what it means to them, and how they cope with it. It was such a great blend of culture introduction and also mental health awareness. This is a magnificent tale.




2. Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

My book review is HERE.

Why did this book make the list?

World Building. So much of the world was centered around magic, books (grimoires), libraries, and well, power struggles, politics, friendships, doing what is right, and I guess kind of love? I mean, the book packs a lot into it in such a seamless way that I've probably read this book... half a dozen times? It's become one of my refresher books, a book to read all of or parts of to kind of wash out a bad book experience. I loved Elisabeth as a main character, she was fierce, courageous, and looking to solve problems. Nathaniel was also pretty okay too, he had some great character development aspects, but c'mon, Elisabeth was GREAT. I also really love the tone of this book. I simultaneously do and don't hope there's a sequel. The book ended well, but I would love to read more of the story. BOOK STRUGGLES.


 3. Small Town Hearts by Lillie Vale

My book review is HERE.

Why did this book make the list?

Because I have something to say about a really good beach book. A good beach book is something that is mostly light hearted, with minimal dramatics, has a touch of soul throughout, and leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy, whiles also restoring some faith in humanity. I think this book really knocked it out of the park, and while I did struggle with some of the more unrealistic elements of the book, I loved the overall setting, the characters, and the sense of community. It makes me want to visit Maine, again (I've been to the Bar Harbor area a couple times). I also really appreciated the romance that built between Levi and Babe since they weren't just pursuing a fling, a crush, or a one night stand, they were both looking for something more and found it. The book gave it the time and tenderness that deserves.



 4. Slay by Brittney Morris

My book review is HERE.

Why did this book make the list?

UGH, BE STILL MY HEART, I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH. This is a book that I just want to carry around, huddled to my chest, and blather on about how people should just sit down and read it. Probably the number one book I've recommended to people since I've read it (well, depending on what they're interested in reading of course, but if it's anything I can remotely relate to Slay, oh you better believe I'm going to talk about it). The combination of black culture/history/experiences, paired with video games in a high school setting, makes it a much more digestible read even though it's hard. It's hard to know that white people are... well kind of dumb even when they mean well. This was a real eye opening experience as to what people experience on a daily basis, and I can only imagine to a worse degree. Heart breaking, but a necessary story to read.



 6. Fire & Heist by Sarah Beth Durst

My book review is HERE.

Why did this book make the list?

Partly because I feel like I don't give enough credit or praise when I come across a legitimately GOOD dragon book. A dragon book that takes all the lore of dragons, looks at it in a different manner, and explains it in a way that doesn't assume the reader just knows everything there is to know because you know, it's about dragons and everyone knows about dragons. I mean, I do unabashedly love it for many reasons, but one of the main things that sticks with me, is how it's a coming of age story that unfolds with such grace and kind of humility. Taking a very factual stance on Sky's predicament while also catering to the magical aspects of it, the home world, and just kind of how much dragons have had to overcome to exist with the humans. It was just a very good, and well rounded story. Here's hoping for a book 2!



 7. The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

My book review is HERE.

Why did this book make the list?

Somehow, they had a cast of five narrators telling the story from very unique perspectives while managing to not lose any critical parts of the story. Making sure the reader is included every step of the way, but also leaving an air of mystery about enough elements that it never grows dull by any length of the imagination. It kind of felt like a magical heist book but with better characters, action scenes, and world building than I've ever encountered before. The story did start at kind of a low simmer, but it weaved such an intricate story that I couldn't put the book down for a moment. Also one I've reread a couple times. I also have it sitting prominently on my bookshelf as it makes me smile a lot. I'm really hoping it becomes a series.




8. Song of the Abyss by Makiia Lucier

My book review is HERE.

Why did this book make the list?

I know I'm probably sounding like a broken record at this point, but the world building. It is a second book of sorts, maybe more of a companion novel to another book, but I think you could easily pick up this book without having to have read the first one. That being said, the first one is also a superb book, but I liked this one better since it dealt more with the mechanisms of Cartography and how the Cartographers career works within this world. There was also a greater introduction of more magical elements and creatures that exist within the world. The main character, Reyna, was also a shining example of overcoming barriers to accomplish dreams while possessing a great sense of self, determination, cleverness, and strength. What a knockout of a book.



 9. Small Spaces by Katherine Arden

My book review is HERE.

Why did this book make the list?

I mean, I don't read scary stories usually, but this scary story was compelling enough to make it onto my best books of the year list. I think that says enough in itself. But really the thing that lingers with me most about this book is the imagery. Not the world building per say, but just the small moments of the scare crows reaching under the trees to try to get the kids, or when they're hiding in the house and they have to escape. The way the book was written almost had a mesmerizing lyrical value to it at times, and that was what stuck with me the most. I could still very easily give a book talk on this without having to review the inside flap, it stuck with me much that; almost a year after reading it. I also admire how the book seemed to take something normal and harmless... but turn it creepy. Like shivers down the spine not murder-y creepy. Like scarecrows, corn fields, and school trips to the local farm.




10. The Queen's Rising by Rebecca Ross

My book review is HERE.

Why did this book make the list?

You may have noticed at this point that most of the books I've picked out have amazing world building, strong female characters, and a plot I adore. This is the first book in hopefully a series, but I read the second book and loved it, and I'm looking forward to book three. I also struggle with books set in a more medieval, alternate earth setting due to the internal confusion of what social norms were carried over. However, due to the clear language, presentation, character development, and emotional investment this book garners that I just want to read book 3. I did get a bit spooked when book 2 split into two narrators, but it turned okay, so I'm okay with it, but still retain a healthy amount of skepticism for other books' shenanigans.



Honorable mentions: THE TOLL and THE QUEEN OF NOTHING. They didn't make this list because they're book three in a series and it just feels weird to me to call out a book three. I loved them both dearly, but, if you weren't invested in book 1 and 2, it's kind of too late for book three then.

Happy reading! I hope more wonderful books cross your path and mine this coming year.

Look Both Ways

Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds

Still love Jason Reynolds. This book takes ten kids lives and gave their stories a place to exist, while also showing how they're involved with each other's lives. What kind of impact they have.

An amazon summary, "This story was going to begin like all the best stories. With a school bus falling from the sky. But no one saw it happen. They were all too busy—

Talking about boogers.Stealing pocket change.Skateboarding.Wiping out.Braving up.Executing complicated handshakes.Planning an escape.Making jokes.Lotioning up.Finding comfort.But mostly, too busy walking home.
Jason Reynolds conjures ten tales (one per block) about what happens after the dismissal bell rings, and brilliantly weaves them into one wickedly funny, piercingly poignant look at the detours we face on the walk home, and in life." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

I'm actually going to take a note from the amazon summary and give kind of a generic summary since this is really a group of short, interconnected stories. I would argue that one of the main points of the book is, that you never really know what someone else is going through unless you kind of walk a day in their shoes. I think it also makes great points about you never know how you impact someone else, you never know how your story fits with their story.

I also like how unique each story is, and how sometimes it's not just about one kid (like stealing pocket change). I also think it kind of starts out soft, a kid with a more easily understood story, before it leads to things that are a little harder to understand, things that are a little harder to talk about. I also liked the recurring theme about school buses, it kind of helped tie each story that much closer together.

These were great, great stories.

Happy reading!

Ghost

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

I love books by Jason Reynolds. I've reviewed some other ones, but I didn't know he wrote a series about track. This is book one. Do I need to say anything else? No? Okay cool.

An amazon summary, "Ghost. Lu. Patina. Sunny. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds with personalities that are explosive when they clash. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school track team—a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics if they can get their acts together. They all have a lot to lose, but they also have a lot to prove, not only to each other, but to themselves.

Running. That’s all Ghost (real name Castle Cranshaw) has ever known. But Ghost has been running for the wrong reasons—it all started with running away from his father, who, when Ghost was a very little boy, chased him and his mother through their apartment, then down the street, with a loaded gun, aiming to kill. Since then, Ghost has been the one causing problems—and running away from them—until he meets Coach, an ex-Olympic Medalist who sees something in Ghost: crazy natural talent. If Ghost can stay on track, literally and figuratively, he could be the best sprinter in the city. Can Ghost harness his raw talent for speed, or will his past finally catch up to him?" AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Castle is avoiding his home. He wanders around the neighborhood, visiting familiar landmarks and people, and dreams of becoming a basketball player. He doesn't want to be home without his mother. Castle and his mom watch romantic movies at night, where Castle falls asleep on a pile of blankets in the living room, and his mom sleeps on the couch. They haven't slept in their own bedrooms since Castle's father tried to shoot them one night. They ran down to Mr. Charles' store as fast as they could, and they hid in the storeroom until his father was taken away.

So, while Castle is avoiding home, he happens to witness the practice of a track team called the Defenders. Castle sees one of the kids acting like he's fastest, but Castle knows he can run faster. He crashes their practice and proves himself to be fast. The Coach drafts him for the team on some stipulations, like not having altercations at school, and Castle, aka self nicknamed Ghost, is part of the Defenders.

That's enough summary.

I love how real this book felt. The struggles that Castle prevents which he was experiencing, and the new ones he goes through with all the ups and downs, it felt like Castle was telling me his story. I loved reading about his character growth, learning about the other characters, and also, kind of experiencing his culture. The story had a lot of hard subject matter, but it was made easier to read due to how Castle talked about it.

I'm not going to make this a recommended book though, because I think it could have been a bit longer to capture more of Castle's story. I know there are more books in the series, and we'd probably find out more through those books, but I would have liked to have more of just Castle's story.

This was a shorter book, so I'm not going to talk too much about it since I don't want to ruin anything. The characters were well done, I loved Coach, I loved Patina, and I could see how easy it would be read more books in this series. I'll probably save them for a rainy day though.

Happy reading!

Amber Dusk

Amber Dusk by Lyra Selene

I'm kind of frustrated with this book. I almost gave up on it after the first few chapters of this willfully ignorant Sylvie who is like, I MUST JOIN THE COURT, I WILL FINALLY BELONG as if she was expecting some sort of Disney ending. But I kept reading, so here we are with a book review instead of an unreadable review. I'm just mad at the whiny, "I'm something MORE than everyone else and this ONE place within the kingdom is where I should go to BELONG. Screw all these other people who have taken care of me or who have warned me."

Hmph.

I also got my hands on an advanced reader's copy even though I think book 2 is about to published sometime soon, but undoubtedly there will be some differences between the version I read and the published edition.

An amazon summary, "Sylvie has always known she deserves more. Out in the permanent twilight of the Dusklands, her guardians called her power to create illusions a curse. But Sylvie knows it gives her a place in Coeur d'Or, the palais of the Amber Empress and her highborn legacies.

So Sylvie sets off toward the Amber City, a glittering jewel under a sun that never sets, to take what is hers.
But her hope for a better life is quickly dimmed. The empress invites her in only as part of a wicked wager among her powerful courtiers. Sylvie must assume a new name, Mirage, and begin to navigate secretive social circles and deadly games of intrigue in order to claim her spot. Soon it becomes apparent that nothing is as it appears and no one, including her cruel yet captivating sponsor, Sunder, will answer her questions. As Mirage strives to seize what should be her rightful place, she'll have to consider whether it is worth the price she must pay." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Slyvie has fled the convent of nuns to run across the continent where the moon doesn't shine but the sun always does. On her run across the continent, she's actually traveling with a caravan. The caravan leader's son was like, "heyyyyyyy, come with us because I'm cool, and you seem like you can't fend for yourself and I admire your spirit." And Slyvie was like, "Cool! I'm still going to leave you though once we reach the crazy people." So now we've got too many freaking chapters of them wandering around in this like dessert-ish landscape, I'm not really sure, it doesn't matter because I hated all of those chapters, they felt like they lasted forever.

So they get to court. Who cares. About everything before. Seriously. NO.

Anyways. They get to court. It turns out that Slyvie's powers aren't out of place (oh yeah, she has some kind of like illusion generation ability, plus she has an amulet from who knows where, she's an orphan). The court is full of interesting powers and of course court intrigue. So it turns out the Queen is kind of crazy and is like, "Yeah, you can be part of my court, but this other courtesan is going to train you how to be at court in a short amount of time. Hints of evilllllllllll"

So Slyvie is like, "Whoa second thoughts! ....Alright, I'm over it. Time to learn court and my powers! But some of these people seem evil to you?" Then she kind of wanders around, learns some stuff about court, then actually learns some stuff about court, and I'm done with this summary.

So, I hated that I had to get through the boring part of the book to get to the good part of the book, since the boring part of the book didn't really do enough of what it was probably meant to (show the actual destitute, awful condition of the country). But it didn't really. It was like, "look at this caravan. Yeah people are sad. ...moving on. Did you know we're going to the capital?"

Some of the powers were kind of cool, but the explanation behind powers was so weak. It wasn't really making sense, maybe it'll be explained in book 2. Or they don't care.

I'm just bitter. I liked it. I liked it overall. I'm just so bitter about the first part of the book. So bitter.

The middle of the book was so good, but the ending was like......repeat of the first part, in the sense of like bitter about it, but it was bad for different reasons, REASONS I AM ALSO BITTER ABOUT IT.

So I won't read book 2. Hopefully. In case it lures me in, I'm sorry in advance. Sometimes I can't help it.

....happy reading.

This Was Our Pact

This Was Our Pact by Ryan Andrews

This is a graphic novel, large comic book, thing. Whatever you want to call it. A novel with images.

I just yeah, here's an amazon summary, "It's the night of the annual Autumn Equinox Festival, when the town gathers to float paper lanterns down the river. Legend has it that after drifting out of sight, they'll soar off to the Milky Way and turn into brilliant stars, but could that actually be true? This year, Ben and his classmates are determined to find out where those lanterns really go, and to ensure success in their mission, they've made a pact with two simple rules: No one turns for home. No one looks back.

The plan is to follow the river on their bikes for as long as it takes to learn the truth, but it isn't long before the pact is broken by all except for Ben, and (much to Ben's disappointment) Nathaniel, the one kid who just doesn't seem to fit in.
Together, Nathaniel and Ben will travel farther than anyone has ever gone, down a winding road full of magic, wonder, and unexpected friendship*.
*And a talking bear." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

This is a coming of age story that kind of deals with bullying, but also kind of like how to maintain an enthusiasm or zest for life? I mean... I don't know. Let me summarize.

A group of kids attend their town's lantern festival where they set lanterns with fish painted on them down the river. This year, their determined to follow the lanterns to see where they actually go. They set out as a group, they start winding down the path on their bikes, and the 'nerd' shows up to join them. They don't wait for him to catch up, they keep pushing on... until one by one they start dropping off at different points except for the 'nerd' and Ben.

Then, the world gets all magical and it becomes a weird guessing game of is this real, or is this an allegory? The boys venture beyond the point where their parents warned them not to, and they meet up with a fishbear. There's a very clear way that Ben reacts, and there's a very clear but very different way that Nathaniel reacts (the nerd). The fishbear has a different reason to be out there, and asks for their story, which reveals the town folklore behind the lantern festival.

That's enough summary.

I kind of don't like this book a bit. I wanted it to teach some sort of lesson besides the value of 'real friendship' but like that real friendship is basically Ben being a jerk to Nathaniel the entire story, and then Nathaniel having sympathy for him to a point even after Ben freaks out, and then they're like friends anyways?! So are you trying to teach people that it's cool to pursue a friendship with an abusive person?!? >_> It really left an unsettling taste in my mouth through the story to see Nathaniel constantly looked down upon by Ben. The entire story. Like, legit Ben was going to ditch Nathaniel to a witch of sorts to go home but "found it within himself" to save the nerd. Like, SCREW YOU BEN. You wouldn't have even been on this adventure at all if it weren't for Nathaniel making the best of each scenario and pushing you to follow what you want.

Where is the book about what a HEALTHY friendship looks like? Why couldn't that have been an integral part of the story and then whisk us off through the series of allegories and different beings with different ways of operating/looking at the world with different priorities.

This book could have been so much better if it wanted to show people a better way to be. Screw Ben, screw his lack of compassion and bravery when facing down the criticisms of the other kids. Ben should not be rewarded for being a part of that at all. It makes me mad.

I think this also speaks to a larger theme of society on some levels. Like giving this weird acceptance/making it okay that if at one point you were a piece of crap human being, but now you're reluctantly trying to be less of a piece of crap, you get all the gold stars. No, if you were crap, you understand you were crap, you apologize to the people you hurt, you make it right, and that's how you become less of a piece of crap. IT'S HARD. It's not supposed to be easy; the biggest things worth doing are often the hardest.

People matter, people deserve to be treated well, people deserve care, people deserve compassion, and they shouldn't have to break down other ridiculous barriers to earn it.

So you know what? Thanks Nathaniel for finding it in your heart to forgive Ben enough to continue to go on an adventure with him. But Ben, work to make up for your past transgressions. A promise of never doing it again is not something that can undo past harm since a promise can always be broken. But beware of toxic people who would sooner treat you like dirt to make sure they could fit in with the other people. Don't let yourself become broken Nathaniel.

....end rant. I clearly disliked this book, but you know, the art was pretty gorgeous. The uses of different shades of blue were dynamic and enhanced so much of the story.

.......I could have just used a way much better message.

Happy reading. :|

Dark Shores

Dark Shores by Danielle L. Jensen

I've read (but have not blogged about) Danielle L. Jensen's books: Stolen Songbird, Hidden Huntress, and Warrior Witch which are all part of the Malediction Trilogy. Those books involved trolls, witches, regular humans, and political maneuverings that tied into social and racial issues as well. I remember the books mostly fondly with a few hiccups along the way. So I was pretty good with impulse buying this book when I happened across it.

An amazon summary, and also one of the longest I've seen in a while, "In a world divided by meddlesome gods and treacherous oceans, only the Maarin possess the knowledge to cross the Endless Seas. But they have one mandate: East must never meet West.

A SAILOR WITH A WILL OF IRON
Teriana is the second mate of the Quincense and heir to the Maarin Triumvirate. Her people are born of the seas and the keepers of its secrets, but when her closest friend is forced into an unwanted betrothal, Teriana breaks her people’s mandate so her friend might escape―a choice with devastating consequences.

A SOLDIER WITH A SECRET
Marcus is the commander of the Thirty-Seventh, the notorious legion that has led the Celendor Empire to conquer the entire East. The legion is his family, but even they don’t know the truth he’s been hiding since childhood. It’s a secret he’ll do anything to protect, no matter how much it costs him – and the world.

A DANGEROUS QUEST
When an Empire senator discovers the existence of the Dark Shores, he captures Teriana’s crew and threatens to reveal Marcus’s secret unless they sail in pursuit of conquest, forcing the two into an unlikely―and unwilling―alliance. They unite for the sake of their families, but both must decide how far they are willing to go, and how much they are willing to sacrifice." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Before I get into the summary, I have to say this book was kind of slow and methodical about getting to the "good stuff". However, once it got to the "good stuff" it was nearly impossible to put down. So, I'm probably going to read book 2, but I'm just mad book 1 took so long to get to where it needed to that I almost gave up. It needed like 60 less pages. ...anyways, to the summary.

There are two sides of the world; the east and west. They're divided by the endless seas, but they can reach other; the sea-faring people, the Maarin know the way. BUT, the west doesn't believe there's anything beyond the endless sea, and the east doesn't believe there's anything beyond the endless sea. Teriana is daughter to the captain of the Quincense, and she has a best friend on shore in the West, Lydia. Lydia is destined to be married to a cruel man (Cassius) to secure her future and his seat on the senate, but Teriana cannot stand for this... so Teriana does the forbidden. She teaches Lydia how to summon the sea serpent that is from the east, guardian of their ship, and a few other things. Seemingly as soon as Teriana gets back to the ship, Lydia has summoned the sea serpent, and Teriana is in deep trouble with the captain of the Quincense. She broke the cardinal rule: West must not meet East.

On the flip side, Marcus is a commandeer of a legion. His men follow all his orders to a tee, and they were recruited when they were twelve to serve in the legion, give up all their family ties, and to serve the empire. Very, Roman of them. Anywho, Lydia's finance (Cassius), black mails Marcus to make sure his legion votes him into the senate. Then, Cassius has heard whispers of the East, captures the crew of the Quincense, and before Marcus, tortures Teriana. Marcus strikes a deal instead, and sends Teriana and her crew, plus himself and his legion, on a voyage to the east. They'll secure passage in return for the safety of the Maarin people as well as Teriana's mother (who has been captured). Oh, and Cassius also black mailed Marcus into killing Lydia. So there's that too.

That's enough summary.

I liked, and did not like this book. In the beginning, we have the well established culture of the West. The legions who conquer different people, different lands, all in the quest to build a bigger empire of sorts for the senate? Basically, colonize the world, because that always works out. The dynamics between Marcus and Cassius were very interesting to read about, but I felt like even though Teriana had the most interesting and unfamiliar subject matter, she felt the most flat. She was reduced to CARE FOR FRIEND (Lydia) and then CARE FOR MOTHER, and then CARE FOR CREW, and then CARE FOR PEOPLE. So Teriana is kind of always focused on just sacrificing herself and the east to save people she cares about. Which is kind of a really crap thing to pigeon hole a strong independent female character into being.

...but then Marcus kind of gets pigeon holed into being a commander who went into the army to save his brother, then he operates to save everyone to the best of his ability in each campaign, so suddenly he's just saving everyone too, but with more ruthless efficiency. But like, BOTH main characters are running around trying to just SAVE people. Then they're like ....MAYBE LOVE WILL SAVE US? so that happens too.

It felt kind of like a hopeless story just from a sense of motivations, but also in terms of character growth and development. So... why did I keep reading it?

The world building and functioning around Marcus and Teriana were fascinating. Everything about the East, the rules, magic, and gods that govern them are fascinating. How some people are god blessed, how there's sea serpents, how there's hints of magic in the west, but only in the sense of kind of like ley lines being able to transport them to different areas of the world. Not much else though. In the East, it's like everywhere. So part of Teriana's gambit is that the East will just be powerful enough to thwart the West. Which is just dumb. All of it is dumb.

But, seeing how the army functioned, seeing how Teriana's crew functioned, was kind of the most humanizing aspects of the story. It was all so... different. There was something that kept me reading, probably curiosity of where the story was even going to go, but also maybe the tenacity of the characters will to save people... but I'm also kind of curious to read book 2.

Like I said at the beginning of this review, the build up was so painstaking slow. Like please stop beating me over the head with those details. ...but once they go to the "good stuff" it all kind of fell into place, lined up, and I couldn't put it down. So I want to read book 2, but only if it doesn't fall into the exact same trap that book 1 lured me into. If it's terribly slow again, if I have to read just pages of people's emotions, inner turmoil, and like "WHAT DOES MY LOVE INTEREST THINK ABOUT THIS? HOW DOES THIS AFFECT THE PEOPLE I'M TRYING TO SAVE?" like I'm out.

Happy reading!

The Toll

The Toll by Neal Shusterman

This is the third and final book in the Arc of the Scythe series. I reviewed book 1, SCYTHE, and book 2, THUNDERHEAD. If you don't want anything spoiled about the previous books, I would highly recommend not reading this review.

Sidenote, I read this book back to back three times since it was initially released, which, at 640 pages, may seem like a lot, but I wanted to make sure I got every detail since so much happens and it's so good and so beautiful. Spoiler alert: I actually love how it ended (or the big reveal if you will). SO GOOD.

Since this is the final book of the series, I'm going to change it up a little and rather than summarizing until roughly the 30% mark of a book, I'm going to stop when it feels correct. (Whoa, so rebellious, I know.)

Alright, here's an amazon summary, "Citra and Rowan have disappeared. Endura is gone. It seems like nothing stands between Scythe Goddard and absolute dominion over the world scythedom. With the silence of the Thunderhead and the reverberations of the Great Resonance still shaking the earth to its core, the question remains: Is there anyone left who can stop him?

The answer lies in the Tone, the Toll, and the Thunder." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

At the end of Thunderhead, Endura sank with Citra and Rowan locked in the vault with all of the scythe jewels; the Thunderhead had essentially just cried out, marked everyone as unsavory except for one particular human (Grayson); Scythe Goddard was up to his scheming of taking over the scythedom, and then probably the world. Scythe Faraday is off trying to find the land of Nod....

Let's start with Scythe Faraday. Scythe Faraday has adventured to the land of Nod with his trusty companion (whose name escapes me but she was essentially the archivist who read all of the Scythe journals at the library and kind of thrust herself into the confidence of Scythe Faraday last book and now they're on an adventure to the land of Nod). They manage to land...with enough difficulties that their aircraft is taken out, leaving them stranded on this island where the Thunderhead's technology cannot reach. After exploring the island, it seems that there is a set of doors which requires two scythe rings to unlock. ...but they only have one. Over time, the Thunderhead manages to send a fleet of nimbus agents to the island, but many perish in the attempt to land due to the island's self defense system which also took out Scythe Faraday's plane. With more people on the island, they're able to devise a better way to survive, and a way to contact the Thunderhead. The Thunderhead sets about delivering orders to seemingly random people to build on the land of Nod, but what does the Thunderhead have in mind? How are they going to get another scythe on the island? Scythe Faraday ends up retreating to a different, smaller island and bides his time in simplistic peace as the Thunderhead continues to build in it's silence.

Grayson is with the Tonists. He has become a figurehead to the group as The Toll and guides the tonists with the voice of the Thunderhead in his ear. Grayson is trying to steer all sects of the tonists onto a better path, well at least a less destructive path in most cases. Goddard wants to be rid of the tonists though, so when an assassin is sent to kill Grayson, things get even more interesting. Grayson fakes his death. recruits his would-be assassin as well as a small team from the tonists, and sets off to curtail some of the more violent tonists.

Goddard has steered the scythedom into something more blood thirsty and power seeking. He was already on that road, but now he has started to issue different decrees, and changing how the scythedom has operated since inception. The grand slayer scythes are gone, he's trying to wrangle the different dominions under his control, and amidst the havoc of the Thunderhead marking everyone as unsavory, well, he's being pretty successful.

Citra and Rowan are found after Endura sank by a salvage captain named Jericho. The vault is brought up originally for the scythe diamonds but their bodies are found, retrieved/sent to the amazon dominion for rejuvenation. When they wake up, they find that much has changed about the world during their deadish years... three years to be precise. Citra is challenged to dig through the back brain of the Thunderhead for different happenings around odd data. The more Citra uncovers, the more it is revealed how older scythes have not behaved for the benefit of humanity, but more for the benefit of keeping the scythedom in power. Citra starts releasing videos to the public to confirm she is still alive and to reveal what she has uncovered in the back brain. Rowan is kidnapped by Goddard's people with a grand spectacle to be made of his slaying.

Dun dun dunnnnnnn

That's enough summary.

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH. There was a great balance of history, the new character of Jericho, the meeting of different characters we've followed for so long, before the final reveal of what's really going on in the land of Nod, and even more story about Goddard of all freaking people.

But it was so so good. This is why I immediately read it three times back to back. I hope there are no more books in this series as it comes to such a good conclusion and it should stay that way. Bravo Neal Shusterman, bravo.

Happy reading!

Anya and the Dragon

Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

I pick up every book that has any indication if a dragon is involved. Then I read the summary and figure out if it's something I actually want to read or not. I was a bit on the fence about this one, but I ended up loving it despite some oddities.

An amazon summary, "Anya and the Dragon is the story of fantasy and mayhem in tenth century Eastern Europe, where headstrong eleven-year-old Anya is a daughter of the only Jewish family in her village. When her family’s livelihood is threatened by a bigoted magistrate, Anya is lured in by a friendly family of fools, who promise her money in exchange for helping them capture the last dragon in Kievan Rus. This seems easy enough, until she finds out that the scary old dragon isn't as old—or as scary—as everyone thought. Now Anya is faced with a choice: save the dragon, or save her family." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Anya has grown up on the outskirts of a small village where her family has used magic. Magic is technically outlawed/forbidden, but without anyone around to really monitor that law, it's kind of fair game to use magic. There's also something a little special about the village, it seems that they have more elements of magic than other villages. More magical creatures and more people who are in tune with using magic. Anya's family all seems to have their own attunements to magic, except for Anya who is still trying to figure it out.

Her father was shipped out to help with the war effort, and her mother has been threatened to pay taxes they shouldn't have to or risk losing their home. Anya is trying different ways to earn more coin to help her mother when a strange family who uses chaos magic comes to town. They're a family of fools and they've been sent to find the dragon. However, a marauder of sorts has also come to town, seeking the dragon. He's as rough as they come and threatens the priest until Anya and the fools step in to help. The fools enlist Anya's help in finding the dragon, and the more Anya learns about the dragon, she isn't sure it should be found afterall. After she catches a few glimpses of it, she finds it in her barn and learns it can speak, and starts to really understand the dragon more. Does she help the fools and her family, or does she help the dragon?

That's enough summary.

So first off, the time period and setting of this story was hard for me to figure out. The book summary indicates it's in tenth century eastern Europe, where her grandmother fled persecution and settled down with her grandfather on the outskirts of a small village. I honestly don't know enough about history, let alone European history to have any gauge if this is a likely scenario for the time period. However, I found it interesting that there also seemed to be a blend of cultures. Anya's family is Jewish, with some distinctly Jewish traditions, but they also were able to use magic, which isn't inherently Jewish, it's just something people may be able to do. As stories about a dragon unfold, there was a blurring of lines between Jewish culture and the history of magic and magical creatures. There were also times that it was hard to discern if Anya, being a young narrator, just didn't know any better? A few times she actively wondered about other people's families with a curiosity of like, "Wait, don't they also have this?" and half the time those things were unclear if that was a Jewish tradition or a magic tradition. ...and I kind of liked the ambiguity? Like blurring lines between cultures and the normal, as well, culture is normal. It's normal for people to have a historic background and traditions steeped within their daily life that come from that historic background. But it also kind of points to all of us being a part of history, and all of us having a place within the "normal". Yep, big thoughts.

Anyways. Anya as a character was pretty interesting. Something else that was a little jarring about this time period, is that they seemed to operate in the mindset of viewing people by their abilities rather than by their gender. So Anya was treated as equally as the boys. It was kind of refreshing, but also kind of weird, because I expected more gender boundaries. Perhaps gender boundaries are reserved for the rich who can afford for people not to be able to do everything. Overall, it was a refreshing aspect of the book.

Then there's the dragon. I thought the dragon's backstory, abilities, and even personality could have used some fine tuning. It came across as a very knowledgeable golden retriever who was just over eager to explore the world despite all the warnings it's care takers had given. It wasn't a typical dragon which was in of itself.

There was also magic throughout the book, like the family house spirit, or the grandmother making potions. It was woven in as such an every day aspect of life that it kind of didn't feel special, but expected. So that was a different and interesting take on it as well.

Overall, there will be a book two. I would like to read book two as I did like book one quite a bit.

Happy reading!

The Queen of Nothing

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

This is the third book in a trilogy; I reviewed the first one, THE CRUEL PRINCE, and the second book, THE WICKED KING. If you don't want anything ruined for the first two books, I recommend not reading this review.

This book also has an intimate moment of the sexy times variety, some more murder, and some questionable relationship depictions. So like, that's just a heads up. If you've read the first two books, you're kind of aware of the darker tones of the story, but somehow, this book has kicked it up another notch. So, just brace yourselves. BUT IF YOU'VE ALSO READ THE FIRST TWO BOOKS, OH DUDES, GET SO EXCITED FOR BOOK 3!

An amazon summary, "He will be the destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne

Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold onto. Jude learned this lesson when she released her control over the wicked king, Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power.
Now as the exiled mortal Queen of Faerie, Jude is powerless and left reeling from Cardan's betrayal. She bides her time determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her deceptive twin sister, Taryn, whose mortal life is in peril.
Jude must risk venturing back into the treacherous Faerie Court, and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan, if she wishes to save her sister. But Elfhame is not as she left it. War is brewing. As Jude slips deep within enemy lines she becomes ensnared in the conflict's bloody politics.
And, when a dormant yet powerful curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land, forcing her to choose between her ambition and her humanity..." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Jude is stuck in the mortal realm. She only thinks of how she was betrayed by Cardan, how she's banished to the mortal realm, and how she wants to go back but cannot think of how. She has started to work odd jobs for the faerie that are in the mortal realm to help pay for the apartment/food. Taryn, her betraying twin sister, has come back to confess that she may have done something to her husband, she's pregnant, and now she needs Jude to go to the faerie realm to lie for her since she cannot be compelled to tell the truth. A plea for help from her sister, and she's back into the midst of the political toilings of the faerie realm.

The first time Jude sees Cardan, it's a very emotional moment, but Cardan immediately sees through her and ends the charade in a truly Cardan way. As their just able to talk, Jude is spirited away from Cardan by her faerie father (Madoc) to be in his war camps that are gearing up take the throne.

Much has transpired in the faerie realm since Jude was banished.

Dun dun dunnnnnn

I loved this book. I loved this series finale, and I literally read it the same day that it arrived in the mail. Which happened to be release day. ....no shame in my book game.

There was such good characterization of Jude as she fought through more situations, and it was curious to see her really consider herself. She always had a goal in mind, but now her reality has become more than her goal, and the reconciliation of her mindset with her current situation. Jude also has a lot of open questions in regards to her situation with Cardan. Does he love her? Does she love him? Can they even consider love in their situation?

The magic also continued to be interesting, especially when something happened that indicated Jude was indeed a ruler of the land. I also liked how much more we saw of her half faerie sister's relationship with her ex-girlfriend and how that kind of evolves through the mystery of being aware of the faerie realm.

There's a lot that happens over the course of these books, and as much as it kind of wraps up, I really wouldn't mind seeing more in this world. Really, if there was another character that had a series within this world, I would also read it. But really, almost anything by Holly Black, I would read. SHAMELESS FAN GIRL.

Anyways, so this was a great completion to the trilogy.

...or you know, if there's a sequel series, I would really love to read that too.

Happy reading!

Stepsister

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

This book was published on May 14, 2019. However, I managed to get my hands on an advanced reader's copy and undoubtedly there will be some differences between the version I read, and the published edition.

You might see this cover/title and be like, UGH, ANOTHER CINDERELLA STORY, and you wouldn't inherently be wrong, it's just the story isn't really about Cinderella, it's about her stepsisters, well more like one particular stepsister, Isabelle. And even then, it's kind of about fate, chance, and the heart. ...actually, it really is, and not in the symbolic way.

An amazon summary, "Don't just fracture the fairy tale. Shatter it.

Isabelle should be blissfully happy - she's about to win the handsome prince. Except Isabelle isn't the beautiful girl who lost the glass slipper and captured the prince's heart. She's the ugly stepsister who's cut off her toes to fit into Cinderella's shoe . . . which is now filling with her blood.
When the prince discovers Isabelle's deception, she's turned away in shame. It's no more than she deserves: she's a plain girl in a world that values beauty; a bold girl in a world that wants her to be pliant.
Isabelle has tried to fit in. She cut away pieces of herself in order to become pretty. Sweet. More like Cinderella. But that only made her mean, jealous, and hollow. Now she has a chance to alter her destiny and prove what ugly stepsisters have always known: it takes more than heartache to break a girl." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

After her sister Tavi slices off part of her heel to fit her foot into the glass slipper, Isabelle cuts off her toes to also try to fit her foot into the glass slipper. Unfortunately, before either of them are successfully taken away in the carriage, a dove cries out their deceit and it's revealed their foots are bleeding from being maimed. Their fair stepsister Ella manages to escape from their Maman and reveal that she is the one who the glass slipper belongs too. But, a member of the prince's party manages to break the glass slipper after taking it off of Isabelle's foot. Luckily, Ella has the other glass slipper and proves the shoe fits. While Ella is whisked off to the palace, both Tavi and Isabelle become known as the ugly stepsisters for how they've treated Ella and for their deceit in trying to win the prince.

But, that's not the full story. Tavi and Isabelle were just trying to listen to their Maman, who was determined to see them well married off so they wouldn't have to live with worry in their lives. Now, Isabelle is determined to run the household without servants (who left since they could no longer afford to pay them), and tries to take care of her Maman and corral her sister Tavi from spending all of her days reading books and doing math. Whenever they venture into town for supplies, they find themselves jeered or taunted at by the townspeople, usually even bullied. There's also a war going on that have claimed many lives; they see the wounded carted through town occasionally. There's a growing fear that the war is getting closer to their town, which generally makes people unruly and more unrestful.

However, there's another side to this story about Chance and Fate. Chance ventures into the home of the three Fates and manages to steal Isabelle's map. He's determined to give her a chance at forging a different life. One of the fates is bent on stopping him and making sure Isabelle's original fate comes to pass. But, Isabelle finds the fairy queen who offers her a deal; if Isabelle can discover the missing parts of her heart, she will grant her a wish. Initially, Isabelle wishes to be beautiful, as being beautiful is how she perceives Ella won the prince and made such a grand way in life. But not all hearts are the same.

That's enough summary.

So, I do like a good fairy tale retelling. This one definitely started with how the Grimm fairy tale kind of goes, but decidedly veered off into another direction. I really loved how Fate, Chance, and the Fairy Queen were also prevalent characters throughout the story. The dynamics between the two sisters and their stepsister were interesting and I also really loved how Isabelle handled herself.

But ultimately, I read this as a feminist novel. Let me explain.

The story is set in a world where there are rigid expectations of women; be beautiful, bear children, manage the household, and know your place. Isabelle and Tavi are none of these things nor want any of these things (but you know beauty is always in the eye of the beholder so maybe they are beautiful). Isabelle grew up reading about generals, war strategies, climbing trees, riding horses, practicing her swordplay, and in general, doing everything she wanted to with her best friend. Tavi grew up with her nose in a book, doing scientific experiments, and reading the history behind the different sciences and how they came to be. Neither stepsister dreamed of the life their maman did for them, they wanted to forge their own path. So, despite their circumstances, you see these stepsisters go through one set back after another, but it slowly starts to pull back the layers of doing what is expected of them to doing what they want to do; to encourage them to forge their own path once more.

I kind of loved it. It was also good to see the interludes from Chance, Fate, and the Fairy Queen especially as those characters interacted or meddled with Isabelle's life. They weren't strictly behind the scenes plotting, they were outright trying to move players into place to either help or hinder Isabelle depending on how you look at it.

It was kind of marvelous... but I will say that the last bit of story, as everything kind of comes to end, it felt really rushed. It felt like, well, this is it, and kind of pushed through to the epilogue rather than linger in the conclusion. It was kind of disappointing and obnoxious, but not enough that it soured the experience for me. I just wish a little more time had been spent with Isabelle in her final scenes (no spoilers!).

Also, I really adored the side character of Hugo. He was not a character I expected, what he said was not what I expected, and I just kind of adored his presence.

Happy reading!

Supernova

Supernova by Marissa Meyer

This is the third book in a trilogy; I reviewed the first book, RENEGADES, and the second book, ARCHENEMIES. If you don't want anything spoiled for books one and two, exit stage left right meow. It's about to get REAL.

An amazon summary, "All's fair in love and anarchy...

Supernova, the epic conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer's thrilling Renegades Trilogy finds Nova and Adrian struggling to keep their secret identities concealed while the battle rages on between their alter egos, their allies, and their greatest fears come to life. Secrets, lies, and betrayals are revealed as anarchy once again threatens to reclaim Gatlon City." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

I just.... ARGH. I ARGH OKAY. A lot of things happened at the end of book two, and book three is reeling from it in the beginning. Also, I am TERRIBLE at remembering people's names, so like.... I'm just going to use powers, except for Nova because her name is so cool. Maybe Adrian too, that would make sense because they are the narrators.

After the battle at renegade headquarters, some of the heroes have lost their powers. The bandit (kid who steals everyone else's powers) is in the hospital, and all of the Renegades are pretty upset that such a massive fight happened in their headquarters while they were at the gala. The search is on for Insomnia.... but they've pretty much figured out that's Nova. So Nova is escaping from the Renegades, since moth superpower reformed and ratted her out for sure, the chemical uncle blows up their apartment. Adrian manages to get to their apartment just before it blows, and Adrian and Nova managed not to get killed... but Nova gets cuffed. So basically.... Nova was convicted of being Insomnia. She's thrown into jail, where her uncle, ace anarachy, is being held.

Adrian is just a hot mess. His brother is in the hospital, his dads don't know he's the sentinel, and the whole world just did a 720 when it was revealed that Nova was Insomnia. He's kind of at a loss, but he's also still trying to think of new tattoos that will make him better, that will shield him from pain.

On top of all that, there's still unrest amongst the Renegade ranks over Agent N. Those who have lost their powers are raising some pretty valid points against the use of Agent N that's making a few heroes question how the Council is leading them.

Nova's in jail, trying to figure out how to break herself and her uncle out, Adrian is at a loss, and the world seems bound to make the two come together again.

DUN DUN DUNNNNN

That's enough summary.

I loved/hated this as a book 3, but mostly loved it. How everything tied up at the end left most of my burning questions from last book answered... even if it was in kind of a mediocre way. Like the reveal of what Nova's bracelet actually does is a little.... too much of a magic, make all the things better kind of moment. Especially since kind of an impractical yet precise series of events had to kind of magically fall together in a way that I highly doubt Nova's father could have anticipated in any capacity. ....anyways.

I do love some of the life lessons that kind of cropped up here and there throughout the story, and I also loved how some characters showed their true strength, not just relied on their power. There was also some deaths, general mayhem, and well, anarchy. (Ehhhhh, see what I did there? Ehhhh?)

But as a series recap, I would say the books are worth reading, but I have a sneaking suspicion there's going to be a spin-off sequel series. Especially since there's an epilogue to kind of wrap up the story with a bow on it.

I also loved the questioning and back and forth of what it means to be a hero, a villain, or just a civilian. How some people with powers literally just want to live their lives, and how some villains are treated as the worst even though their crimes were slight.

I would say that sometimes the battle scenes got a bit murky on the details, but they were okay overall.

...so what did I kind of hate about this book? Why the "romance" of course! Even other people being in love, it felt extra and kind of slapped in there. It didn't do anything to explore relationships or add anything different to the table. I also thought it was kind of dumb how there seemed to be an emphasis on Adrian having two days, like this hell bound determination to normalize LGBTQIA+ relationships, but they seemed to shy away from having any meaningful conversations about relationships. ....and many of the problems would have been solved between Adrian and Nova if they just communicated. The whole relationship element just really.... threw a wrench in it for me since there were scenes where it seemed like the focus was the romance rather than the actual problem.

I don't know. It was still a fun and different kind of read overall.

Happy reading!

The Tiger at Midnight

The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala

Blogger struggle - for some reason I had to fight the formatting on this blog post a lot, so if something appears weird, it's because gremlins attacked this post and refused to leave my zeroes and ones alone.

Anywho.

Funny story behind this book for me; I ended up picking up a copy of this book from a famous book store in Denver, Colorado. I had been out that way for a training conference. I also didn't know if I had enough to read on the way back... so I bought like four books. This was one of them. Welcome to the impulse buy read! Whee!

An amazon summary, "Esha lost everything in the royal coup—and as the legendary rebel known as the Viper, she’s made the guilty pay. Now she’s been tasked with her most important mission to date: taking down the ruthless General Hotha.

Kunal has been a soldier since childhood. His uncle, the general, has ensured that Kunal never strays from the path—even as a part of Kunal longs to join the outside world, which has only been growing more volatile.

When Esha and Kunal’s paths cross one fated night, an impossible chain of events unfolds. Both the Viper and the soldier think they’re calling the shots, but they’re not the only players moving the pieces.

As the bonds that hold their land in order break down and the sins of the past meet the promise of a new future, both the soldier and the rebel must decide where their loyalties lie: with the lives they’ve killed to hold on to or with the love that’s made them dream of something more." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Esha is the Viper. She's a legendary assassin who, allegedly works alone, but in secret works for the rebel group known as the Blades. One night, she goes to the fort to assassinate the General, but discovers he's already dead and she's been framed. She steals the fake whip and leaves her own before she hears the general's last words and escapes into the night.

Meanwhile, Kunal is the nephew of the general. After his mother died, his uncle raised him in the fort and relentlessly trained him to be soldier to suppress or redirect his rage until it was gone.

Esha is desperate to get home to the rebels, but the Fort (over which the general presided) sends out four soldiers after her (Kunal being one of them). Kunal figures out pretty quickly that Esha is the viper, and the book quickly becomes a game of cat and mouse while they slowly learn more and more about each other.

That's enough summary.

So, for the book taking place in the heart of a worn torn area where there is drought and a number of other bad things, they sure spend an awful lot of time dwelling on the relationship between the two main characters. Because, apparently you can't have a YA book without people falling in love. *sarcastic eye roll*

Sass aside, I will say the world building was different. I feel like I got a glimpse of a culture, but not the entire picture. I felt like I got a glimpse of the region, the nature, and kind of the people who dwelled there. There was some cultural elements that seemed very well explained, and other elements that were just kind of glossed over.

But like whatever to all that BECAUSE IT TOOK LIKE FOUR MILLION BOOK YEARS TO FINISH THIS BOOK. I literally rage slept on this book every night until I finally finished it because I had to know how it ended. There were quite a few times where I was ready to just give up. So, the book is very slow. The book concentrates heavily on the two main characters confused feelings for each other, but not in a way that helps you explore or understand their feelings, just in a way that shuts you out of their past life until they're ready to have childhood flashbacks of trauma.

Overall, I didn't like the book. I really wanted to, to the point where I finished it, but I still couldn't like it. I think it's the first part of a trilogy, but like, ehhhhhh.

Happy reading!

Angel Mage

Angel Mage by Garth Nix

Fellow book readers. I love books by Garth Nix, LOVE THEM. ...I could rattle off a bunch of them, but that doesn't matter.

...because I couldn't finish reading this book. I got to page 94 out of 534 but I couldn't read anymore. This book did not vibe with me. I'm putting it back into my to read pile to see if I can read it later in life.

An amazon summary, "More than a century has passed since Liliath crept into the empty sarcophagus of Saint Marguerite, fleeing the Fall of Ystara. But she emerges from her magical sleep still beautiful, looking no more than nineteen, and once again renews her single-minded quest to be united with her lover, Palleniel, the archangel of Ystara.

It's a seemingly impossible quest, but Liliath is one of the greatest practitioners of angelic magic to have ever lived, summoning angels and forcing them to do her bidding. Four young people hold her interest: Simeon, a studious doctor-in-training; Henri, a dedicated fortune hunter; Agnez, a glory-seeking musketeer; and Dorotea, icon-maker and scholar of angelic magic.

The four feel a strange kinship from the moment they meet but do not suspect their importance. And none of them know just how Liliath plans to use them, as mere pawns in her plan, no matter the cost to everyone else . . .

Fans of Cassandra Clare, Holly Black, and Leigh Bardugo will fall in love with Angel Mage, a feminist fantasy that takes place in an alternate European world ruled by fearsome magic and deadly passions." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Now seriously, after reading that summary you're probably like, how could you not read this book?

Let me explain.

The book started a bit slow but fast? There's a lot of build up into how the mechanics of the Angels work. They can be summoned through icons, they can basically perform miracles within their power, and there are those who have a certain blood type that turns them into monsters if they are exposed to angel magic. Anyone who uses lots of angel magic ages a lot faster than those around them and can die from overuse of the magic.

There's this lady. This lady is supposed to be one of the greatest mages of angel magic ever, but she's slept for 200 years or so, and has awoken to try to fulfill some sort of thing (I didn't get far enough to know what the thing was).

Some characters are slowly introduced, but I gave up. I gave up. I even literally gave up in the midst of another action type scene starting to unfold. I just got a little hackles up about not enough things making sense, not being grounded well enough in the world to continue the story. I also didn't understand what Earth I was on; alternate earth, past earth, future earth??? IDK.

Again, I freaking love Garth Nix novels and so I was extra sad when I couldn't finish this.

Happy reading. :/

Slay

Slay by Brittney Morris

I LOVE THIS BOOK. I know that's a big lead in, but hear me out.

I did read the advance reader's copy of this book even though it was published on September 24, 2019. Undoubtedly there will be some differences between the version I read and the published edition.

I need to say that this book tackles a lot of hard conversations about race, racism, and it does specifically speak of black culture. If that doesn't appeal to you for any reason, perhaps it's best not to read this book.

An amazon summary, "By day, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is an honors student, a math tutor, and one of the only Black kids at Jefferson Academy. But at home, she joins hundreds of thousands of Black gamers who duel worldwide as Nubian personas in the secret multiplayer online role-playing card game, SLAY. No one knows Kiera is the game developer, not her friends, her family, not even her boyfriend, Malcolm, who believes video games are partially responsible for the “downfall of the Black man.”

But when a teen in Kansas City is murdered over a dispute in the SLAY world, news of the game reaches mainstream media, and SLAY is labeled a racist, exclusionist, violent hub for thugs and criminals. Even worse, an anonymous troll infiltrates the game, threatening to sue Kiera for “anti-white discrimination.”
Driven to save the only world in which she can be herself, Kiera must preserve her secret identity and harness what it means to be unapologetically Black in a world intimidated by Blackness. But can she protect her game without losing herself in the process?" AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

To be clear, I think it's beneficial for me to say that I am a white person. There were many things in this book that I've never heard of before and this read has been a very enlightening experience for me. However, as a white person, I think there are many nuances and aspects that I lack personal experience with black culture that my appreciation and even understanding of the book can only go so far. I'm going to do my best to discuss the subject matter, but I'm a human without personal experience in this realm, so I apologize if I stumble through some things, or if my revelations seem lacking in any manner.

Anyways.

Kiera is a bonafide badass. By day, she's an honors student, math tutor, and has a boyfriend who she's pretty serious about. After hours though, Kiera is the creator of Slay. A game designed to celebrate and create a space to be prideful about many different aspects of black culture from all over the world. She's created a way for players to customize their avatars in ways that other games simply can't or won't. The game is also designed for black players to be able to share a passcode with other black people, to preserve the integrity and space of the game. Plus, it's fun! Like most games, the online massive multiplayer has many different aspects to play, explore, and especially duel.

So, during the day, Kiera is also one of the only black kids at her school. As such, her friends try to use her as the sounding board for all manners to deal with racism or being politically correct. But at home, Kiera is able to simply be in the most freeing of ways. She also has help creating and maintaining Slay from one other mod, so when one player gets killed over their Slay account, Kiera is at a loss for what to do. Especially when the world seems to suddenly be out for her non-virtual blood. However, Kiera and the other mod have been very diligent in hiding their true identities so the media is an uproar trying to figure out who they are.

That's enough summary.

There's a lot to unpack about this book, so I want to start with one of the aspects I was more at odds with; Kiera hid her playing video games from her parents and sister. Period. Like, that she even has virtual reality equipment, that she even locks her door, locks her VR equipment in her desk, and makes sure she knows what everyone else in the house is doing before she plays. I'm wondering if I missed something within the book, but I don't understand why she hid all of it so well for so many years. Like.... what's wrong with playing video games?

Secondly, her relationship with her boyfriend Malcolm. Personally, I think the relationship was kind of a good depiction of how a relationship can be toxic at an early age in life. I really liked how the writing didn't shy away from his behavior, ideas, and also didn't hide how Kiera reacted to him in all senses. It felt very real (for lack of better wording) and I also had a real sense of Kiera through every scene with her boyfriend or when she was thinking about him.

Thirdly, what the hell is up with white people. I kind of adored to hate Kiera's white friends who seemed to be stumbling puppy dogs for personalities. They REALLY want to do the good thing, they're just not sure how to do the good thing, so they ask Kiera how to do the thing as if she's the resident expert.... Then they also clarify their lack of knowledge about doing the good thing and they want to do the good thing to be respectful. They were pretty clumsy as people, but it also felt like people I've encountered in my life.

Fourth....ly? SLAY THE VIDEO GAME SOUNDS AMAZING. SO. A-MAZ-ING. I wish it was real, and I wish people got to play it.

Fifth.....LY. I also really appreciated the relationship Kiera had with her sister, and well just Kiera herself. She got herself into a situation, and she was so relatable and honest about everything that was going on in a play by play situation that I found myself cheering for her throughout the whole book.

Finally (ha), there was a ton of references throughout the book that I had to google because I've never heard of them before (like the brown paper bag test). So, specifically for me, this was a really eye opening experience that gives me a better understanding on some level of my own privileges. One of my friends recently shared a post about how privilege isn't just about the things you were given. It's about the things you were never subjected to. I don't need to go on a big explanation of my own privileges, but I think this book really helped me better understand the kind of privilege I experience on a daily basis. I don't know.

I just really loved this book. Great plot, great characters, great progression of story/pacing, lots of great points about black culture, and I kind of really hope there's a sequel because I want to know how Kiera keeps slaying.

Happy reading!