How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
2.5 stars, rounded to 3
It's funny that Lemony Snicket's very praising review is the opener How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
2.5 stars, rounded to 3
It's funny that Lemony Snicket's very praising review is the opener of this book (at least my review copy, and I mean the praise page that often opens a book). Of course Lemony Snicket loved it! How could he not? Something about Rat Rule 79 is so much like his own books. I can't put my finger on it, but it feels like both the writing style, as well as the plot, has a lot of the same feel.
...Aaaand that's precisely why I didn't really vibe with this book. It was fine, and cute, but... There's just so much randomness. A lot of it barely made any sense, sometimes simply didn't. I don't enjoy that much randomness. (Or maybe I'm too adult and boring or something.)
I'm also sad to say that I didn't understand the point of the story or the ending. After finishing, I shrugged, backtracked and... Still didn't get it. What did I just read? I'm not sure what happened. I completely and utterly missed the whole idea :( (view spoiler)[What did happen to her mom? Where did she go and why? Was it because Fred was angry with her? But what did they resolve? Was it all a dream? What..? (hide spoiler)] Those are at least five or six questions after finishing the book, and I'm sure even more of them went unanswered.
But! Safe to say, if you loved Lemony Snicket's style, you will probably adore this book too. There are many people who did - so I'm assuming the rest of the reviews for Rat Rule 79 will be glowing! The book really is cute, the illustrations very unique and cool. The story was good too. And of course, the randomness - uniquely random. And - the author clearly has a lot of love for math, cause the story is sprinkled with a lot of very particular math facts, curiosities and details.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss 4.5 stars, rounded to 5
I haven’t encountered many great books about experiencing and learniHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss 4.5 stars, rounded to 5
I haven’t encountered many great books about experiencing and learning to live with chronic illness, but Life Sciences is definitely one of them. And it’s not a technical book either – I was surprised how something as unromantic and uncomfortable as being chronically ill could be expressed as poetically as it was in this book.
I’ve had my own experiences with the fatigue, alienation and inevitable dismissal by others that comes with being chronically ill or undiagnosed, and what a rocky road it is to make peace with it, to learn to live with it and maybe eventually get better.
From my experience, I can say that not only is this book incredibly on point and relatable, it’s also SO good to read, because you keep saying “yes, YES to this” as you go, and for someone who has been dismissed a lot of times when it comes to your health and how you feel, it’s a liberating experience. Life Sciences by Joy Sorman was definitely unforgettable like that, and it’s also inevitably tied to the experience of being a woman. It’s definitely a book you may want to pick up.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
4.5 stars, rounded to 5
I absolutely loved The Dreamweavers. A quick and satisfying middle-gHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
4.5 stars, rounded to 5
I absolutely loved The Dreamweavers. A quick and satisfying middle-grade fantasy read that is based on Chinese folk tales, great for the child and adult alike. What I particularly enjoyed was that the author entwined her own fantasy with tales told her by her grandparents, as the author was born in China herself. Any fantasy tale that’s steeped in the author’s own culture is usually well worth the read!
How I read this: Free ebook copy received from a publicist
This was easily readable and drew me in quite fast. I think the main way this book is valuabHow I read this: Free ebook copy received from a publicist
This was easily readable and drew me in quite fast. I think the main way this book is valuable is because it highlights the stark difference between the experience of the privileged woman and the poor woman in the fight for women's rights. While well meaning, the privileged Suffragist ladies of the early 1900's are depicted as completely blind to the hardships of the factory woman of the day. The struggles of Helen, the main characters, who is from a poor factory worker background, are contrasted a lot to the ones of the other Suffragists. It's an important theme and one that I think still matters to this day, because to a certain point, feminism still fails to address the problems of the women from less privileged backgrounds. More on that in my blog post: https://avalinahsbooks.space/accident...
While this book is great in the sense that it does list all the chronological events of Suffrage well, and yet, it really lacks in the emotional and plot departments. This is the primary reason why I’ve given it 3 stars. I didn't get drawn into the characters lives. Every time I thought there would be an emotional climax, the story would fast-forward to the next historical event. The characters seemed rather flat, even despite the tragedies they had to go through. So it made for a kind of clinical reading. More on that in the blog post as well.
However, I still think it's an important read, cause we do take our freedoms for granted, and we do forget that feminism isn't only for privileged folks. This book provokes those thoughts, and they are thoughts worth considering.
However, please keep in mind that this book may be triggering. Triggers are (view spoiler)[loss of child due to factory fire, arrest for peaceful protest and abuse by police and guards, rape, violence in prison and even a death due to the imprisonment. (hide spoiler)] It's not graphic, but it still may trigger or shock you.
How I read this: Free audiobook copy received through Libro.fm
This is a beautiful story of loneliness and friendship, and I also couldn't quite believHow I read this: Free audiobook copy received through Libro.fm
This is a beautiful story of loneliness and friendship, and I also couldn't quite believe how much happened in this book, because it felt decently long - but not too long, and yet, so many things happened. It's a very full, engrossing story.
The story is told through switching perspectives - one in the past when the main character is young, and one now, when he's quite old. There is a lot of character growth, getting through old pain and letting go, making the right decisions and moving on. Ultimately, we learn the main character's whole life story.
However, many parts of it made me sad as I was reading it, because as a young man who just moved from Jamaica to London in the 50s, Hubert has to face A LOT of open racism. It's very, very sad and you are sort of bracing yourself for the fallout of his and his wife's relationship (she's white) and all the other nasty stuff that you suspect will happen to them, and you just don't want them to have to go through it, because they're such lovely people - and even aside from that, NO ONE should have to go through it at all. It's good that the story highlights it. But it will make you sad, so expect it if you're planning to pick this book up. It's a great read, but I had to keep putting it down for a while again and again, because I just felt so sad after reading just a couple of chapters.
And even apart from this, Hubert kind of has a lot of sad things happen to him, just overall. My heart broke for him. There was a lot of inspiring and great stuff in the end too, but this book also makes you feel how fragile and overwhelming life can be. It's a very honest, but also bittersweet story.
I thank the publisher and libro.fm for giving me a free copy of the audiobook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
If you're thinking of getting this for a sensitive child, maybe read more reviews. This is How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
If you're thinking of getting this for a sensitive child, maybe read more reviews. This is not for sensitive girls. I was one and I'm telling you.
It's hard for me to rate this book - because while the aim is very good (to tell girls that they should trust themselves and educate them about the patriarchy and male privilege, and always think about whom the story serves), it's also laid on SO thick that nothing good ever happens in the story. And I mean it literally. It just keeps piling on top, and when you think it can't get worse, it just... Gets worse. It's like 1984, but for children and with more magic. And maybe some Handmaid's Tale in the mix. It's not a book about magic. It's basically a cautionary horror story.
It's so dark that by the time "the happy ending" arrives (literally at 95%), everything feels forced and unnatural. For a long time I thought this was book 1 in a series because even by 70% things just kept getting worse and I felt like the story was only setting up (but the story does wrap up, so it's not like that). By the time the ending arrived, I thought, alright - so you just spent the entire book telling me that the world is horrible, everyone is conspiring against the female population, and now suddenly poof! Everything works out and everyone believes their end of the story? Right.
The book is essentially about how uncomfortable women were accused of hysteria back in the day, and put in asylums, except with magic. That's a very good story to tell. The problem I had was not with the story or end goal - but rather, the way it was told.
I do understand criticism of the patriarchy, and I'm all for it, but this book just doesn't give ANY hope. It's all deeper and deeper gloom. The message to me felt like "you're a girl, so all the bad things will happen to you, and it's totally unfair, and it's not your fault, but literally nothing good can happen to you, and there's nothing you can do about it. Oh, and nobody will listen to you and they absolutely WILL tell you it's your fault." Huh. Inspiring.
I really hope I misread the message, cause the book deeply affected me. It simply depressed me. If I was a child, I would have felt like everyone's my enemy because I'm a girl. Maybe it's just me. I'm an adult, and after just finishing this book, I still feel like nobody's on my side. I'm pretty sure this wasn't the aim of the book.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received from a publicist
I didn't know what to make of this book. It's full of kind of messed up stuff. The characterHow I read this: Free ebook copy received from a publicist
I didn't know what to make of this book. It's full of kind of messed up stuff. The characters even say that "hysteria is real and still happens to people". You know, "girls going crazy for no apparent reason and nobody knows why". Yep, girls specifically. I'm not sure I've ever seen such stuff in a contemporary book written by a woman. Not even written by a man.
The girls are creepy and cultish, they steal, they abuse substances, they abuse each other, and I'm not sure whether it was intended to be "cool" or "creepy". It's unsettling that it's unclear, because this is usually made very clear in books, and if a character is being abusive, self-abusive or using, you know why they're doing it. What these girls do doesn't seem to make sense to me, but not in the sense that they're "unreliable narrators" - rather, in the sense of "I don't know why this is being done for the sake of the story cause I have no clue where this is supposed to go." But that's not even the worst bit for me.
This book should come with a big fat and bold warning of DO NOT ACTUALLY TOUCH MERCURY. IT'S ACTUALLY DANGEROUS (unlike this book says in many instances) and, needless to say maybe, it won't actually send you to the past. I mean, it's obvious - we're all adults here, but are we really? A lot of kids will pick up this book, whether by accident or simply because it will be in the YA section in bookstores and libraries. Which means you've got to take care of what you put in the book.
Seriously, I wasn't okay with how the book was all cavalier like "Mercury is actually not that dangerous, we breathe worse chemicals from car exhaust", basically. What's even more confusing us that it vacillates - the narrator sometimes says "oh yeah, it's totally dangerous to touch mercury" and then in another paragraph the character's inner voice argues that "yeah but no, it's actually fine", and the narrator doesn't challenge it. I'm either dense, or I just don't understand where the author stands on this. Dangerous in the time when people will believe anything about medical matters. You don't just say stuff like this. And okay, the ending does tie things together a bit, but not satisfyingly. It's unclear whether (view spoiler)[only some of the girls made it up, or it was really just hallucinations. Even despite what happens to Adrienne, (hide spoiler)]I don't believe it's enough of a warning that MERCURY IS ACTUALLY DANGEROUS. As a society we're struggling enough right now with health advice from 'Facebook specialists', so I kind of feel very weird about this being in a book.
In the story, the girls touch mercury willy nilly, and even ingest it. One of them keeps it under her bed in an open container. That's dangerous - as little children, in my country we're taught to basically call the police and whatnot if there's a mercury leak. They sort it out because it can create fumes. Like, there's even been a news story of a mercury leak in a public building which was then decommissioned FOR YEARS because it wasn't even safe to enter. And these here girls EAT THE STUFF. Okay???
The book makes it sound like it's no big deal. For a very young and gullible reader that could be dangerous. What if a young teen decides to break an old thermometer just so she can see if you do time travel like the in the book, or not? I get that this is fiction, but why say that it's 'not actually that dangerous', when it IS? I was incredibly uncomfortable with that.
Apart from it, the book was okay - some of it was dark, like say Donna Tartt's Secret History - cliques of people and friendships that go too far. The historical personalities the girls visit were also cool, and the bit with the civil war hospital was definitely very interesting. But it wasn't enough for me to carry the story. There was also no explanation on how the time travel worked (or if it actually was real?), and also - it's not like mercury just appeared in the 21st century. How come nobody in the years of touching it has ever noticed that it apparently makes you travel to the past? The whole premise was just kind of built on air.
So yeah. Can't recommend it.
I thank the publicist and author for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received from a publicist
2.5 stars, rounded to 3 (I believe it will appeal to the target audience of young boys much How I read this: Free ebook copy received from a publicist
2.5 stars, rounded to 3 (I believe it will appeal to the target audience of young boys much more than it did to me!)
My first review was a DNF. I am changing it now, because I was sent an updated version of the book - I unfortunately received a very unfinished pdf the first time round! This time I've read the actual final copy, so here we go.
David's brother is like Dexter from that cartoon about the kid with a laboratory from the 90's - he's a young genius scientist. And sadly, one day he disappears. David believes, it's through a device of his own making - one that allows him to travel anywhere, including other realities. But that doesn't make it easier living with the fact that now his brother's been gone for 5 years. And David keeps having the same horrible dream over and over again...
Then one day, he wakes up to a weird reality. And the next day, an even weirder one than that. Soon, some sort of time and reality authority shows up... And David's got to run for his own safety. But maybe that will lead to the resolution of the situation with his missing brother?
This story was sort of cute and definitely fun, a lot of adventure in there. But it's also pretty simple and straightforward. That's by no means a bad thing - and I'm sure I would have enjoyed it when I was 8-10. But not later than that, probably. Some middle grade fiction translates well into older ages, even for adults, but this one I'd say is strictly for kids. I think it may especially appeal to boys because of certain story elements (aliens, space cars, guns, explosions, genius boys, I could go on.)
The only thing I found weird was that adults were giving a middle grader guns and grenades. Even in a fantasy setting, that is unsettling for me. Again, probably meant to appeal to boys because of action stories and cartoons, and because it's not a real life setting. But still. There is also a lot of shooting and no asking questions. Wasn't a fan of that either.
There was another thing I didn't quite love about the story as well. David and his brother are geniuses, even as kids. But... I don't really like how it's presented. They "just do it" with any kind of tech, even alien tech that they've never seen, one look for one second - and it's "easy and figured out", and they can even make it better than the top minds of the world. Sure, it sounds fun, but... That's a huge misrepresentation of how "being a scientist / smart" actually works. Smart people don't just magically know stuff. Smart people have to learn a lot of things before they know stuff. It doesn't materialize in their heads, they just learn easier and faster, but it skill requires work and dedication. I don't like it when science smarts is presented as "that person was born that way", like anyone can be born with calculus and quantum mechanics in their head. Even Einstein and Newton had to work for years to figure those theories out. It will give the child heightened expectations and maybe even disappointment when he learns how life actually works. It's also a great disservice to scientists who worked their butts off studying nightly to get to where they are. Smarts are not magic. They don't just happen.
But that's just me, ranting! I graduated with honors in STEM, it wasn't a walk in the park, and I just get triggered by this sort of stuff. However, from a fantasy perspective, it does sound fun. Like Dexter's lab, you know? So I'm leaving it up to you to decide.
I thank the publicist and author for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
Okay, so the characters were probably not very realistic, but hell - this book is AN EXPERIENCE. And I absolutely LOVED IT!! I wish I could read it agOkay, so the characters were probably not very realistic, but hell - this book is AN EXPERIENCE. And I absolutely LOVED IT!! I wish I could read it again as new, it was just so good. (Nothing like Daisy Jones and the Six, like it says in the blurb, but just as good in its own vein.)...more
How I read this: Free ebook copy received from author
I loved this book. It was fun, fast paced and full of action. It even broke my reading slump thatHow I read this: Free ebook copy received from author
I loved this book. It was fun, fast paced and full of action. It even broke my reading slump that I've had for a month or two. And not only that – I absolutely fell for the characters. What's more, this book is perfect for D&D lovers, cause there are just so many related Easter eggs for the reader.
There is something about getting attached to an imaginary universe, and I believe this is happening to me in regards to Arvia and its lore. Hazelhearth Hires Heroes is the third book set in this mythical place, and despite me not typically being overly fond of fantasy stories, I am head over heels for this series, because I just love returning there.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
I have been waiting to read the last book of The Indigo Chronicles series for a while now. How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
I have been waiting to read the last book of The Indigo Chronicles series for a while now. Three years I’ve been following this series, and I can’t say l’ve followed any other one like this – one by one, as the books come out. It’s an experience like no other, and I certainly enjoyed it – incredibly. Children of Shadows was an amazing end to a truly epic series!
The book was a whirlwind. NJ Simmonds is amazing at writing family drama – that’s for sure. The series kept me on my toes, and in some places surprised me with its depth – the patriarchy issue being highlighted, the history of witches, and the complexity of some characters – ones you’d expect to be black or white, but instead, they’re a mixture of both, acting out on both sides, showing one or the other based on their histories. I got greatly attached to some of the characters and truly invested in their stories. These books were quite a ride and I would expect this series to become a best-seller. It will give you a great time!
How I read this: Free ebook copy received from a publicist
ParaNorthern was a treat from the very first pages: ✔️ diverse characters ✔️ witchy MC ✔️ gorgeHow I read this: Free ebook copy received from a publicist
ParaNorthern was a treat from the very first pages: ✔️ diverse characters ✔️ witchy MC ✔️ gorgeous fall colors ✔️ cozy and wholesome friendship ✔️ CHAOS BUNNIES
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
When I read the blurb, I thought this book was MEANT for me. But in the end, I have very miHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
When I read the blurb, I thought this book was MEANT for me. But in the end, I have very mixed feelings about it. About 20% in, I could barely make myself keep reading it, and only really got into it around 40-50% in. That's quite a lot of effort for getting into a book.
I feel like I missed out by not reading the first book, The Book Charmer, because while this seems to technically be a standalone, you're still missing some of the setup for the story (when I requested it, I wasn't aware that it's part of a series.)
What I had the most trouble with, though, was the amount of characters. The book does feel stand-alone in the sense that people who were mentioned in the first book are still described well enough and in detail, and you get given all the information. But then again... There are just SO MANY PEOPLE. New super minor characters keep getting introduced in every other page it seems, to the point where it just became too many for me to keep track of at one point. The idea of building a whole fictional town you can keep writing stories about is brilliant... But it was just a little too much.
For example... "This and this person moved in, met someone, promptly moved out, so Ava now has space. She is thinking of calling a third person now cause maybe he'll want the rental, but he's been commuting to another town which hardly even matters because we'll never ever talk about him and his significant other ever again, but in this paragraph their gay relative and autistic son will be mentioned anyway. So Ava makes a mental note to ask him and moves on to completely unrelated things and never thinks about this ever again." And I'm left wondering, WHY did I need to know all this..? What did this completely unrelated infodumping have to do with the story? Okay, maybe that was laid on a bit thick on my part, but that's what it felt like reading it, and it's not even far from the paragraph that inspired me to write this bit :D
Anyway, it did feel a lot like a Hallmark movie. Small cute town, adorable plots, a million of characters, and nobody has actual work to do so they can be in each other's business starting from the very morning. And actually, I think it would have worked great, if it WAS a movie or mini series. It's much easier to deal with a million of new names when you've got a face and a voice to attach them to.
In the end, the story did work, but... I'm sad, because the premise was just SO perfect, the idea of the town and the bunch of characters very promising... And yet. Such dry detail. Such a crowded story. Such simplistic solutions and characters suddenly snapping 180 degrees in the other direction because that fits the narrative of the story.
The blurb likens A Cup of Silver Linings to Alice Hoffman and Sarah Addison-Allen (at least the one I've read does). Sure, the vibe and aim is the same - but it doesn't scratch the depth of these authors' writing. Their stories always have something deep, dark and profound, magical in them. This story was TRYING to be those things, but I wouldn't really say it succeeded. It's a shame, cause the plot could have been perfect for it.
And yet, I won't discount it completely. I kind of want to read the first book now, because while the story was kind of flat, it's nice to get attached to the characters, and I would like to read more about them.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
I was on page 15 of this book, when I took a long deep breath and covered my eyes, so I couHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
I was on page 15 of this book, when I took a long deep breath and covered my eyes, so I could deal with the emotion better. I grew up as a single mother’s daughter. The novel is just getting started, and no, my dad didn’t die and my mom wasn’t a traditionalist housewife, and yet… Everything is the same. Somehow.
It just gripped my heart, and I nearly started crying. “No matter what she did […] or what she ended up achieving, she and her daughter remained on the other side of everyone else.” THIS. EXACTLY THIS. All my life.
There’s a glass wall that was put in between me and the world DECADES AGO. And it’s a gap I am still unable to close, at age 33, myself now married and with a good career.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received from a publicist
Wow… What a book. Giving the Devil His Due is haunting, morbidly interesting, graphic, imporHow I read this: Free ebook copy received from a publicist
Wow… What a book. Giving the Devil His Due is haunting, morbidly interesting, graphic, important, fascinating. It hooks you like a disaster you can’t look away from – it’s scary, but also you just kind of need to know. I can’t quite describe it, but it’s just my lack of words. Because it left me speechless – and I mean that in the best way possible.
Giving the Devil His Due is a very special anthology – and not only because it’s meant for charity and ending violence against women. It’s a collection of stories where the victims are given power against their aggressors, and it shows how violence begets violence – how easily the victim can also become an aggressor. It truly shows the dark side of humanity, but it also sheds light on how complicated acts of cruelty and their effects can be. As you read, it makes you wonder at how thin the line between what’s right and what’s wrong is. This book was brilliant, but it should certainly come with a disclaimer that you will keep thinking about it long after you’re done reading. (Please know it comes with triggers as well. Triggers are listed in the full review.)
How I read this: Free audiobook copy received through Libro.fm
And, Taylor Jenkins Reid does it again – Malibu Rising is an unbelievable, steady burn nHow I read this: Free audiobook copy received through Libro.fm
And, Taylor Jenkins Reid does it again – Malibu Rising is an unbelievable, steady burn novel that doesn't let you down a for a single moment. Strong characters, unique destinies and a sufficiently tangled, yet chill plot that will leave you hoping she'll produce one more of these gems sometime soon.
Despite the hype, Malibu Rising did not disappoint at all – it's somehow strangely, both a very similar book to Daisy Jones & the Six, and at the same time, completely different. It's got a similar tone and vibe, and it will make you feel just as attached to the characters as that one did. Also, while there is an abundance of characters, you still get to know them and their struggles just as well as you did in Daisy Jones & the Six. And yet, Malibu Rising is also so very different from Daisy Jones & the Six. It's about families, but also sort of... From the other side of the view.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received from author
4.5 stars
This was a very refreshing book to read. I have been stuck in a loop of 'meh' books for How I read this: Free ebook copy received from author
4.5 stars
This was a very refreshing book to read. I have been stuck in a loop of 'meh' books for a while, slogging through them and thinking I'll probably never like one ever again. But when I started this one, it engaged me immediately and I finished it in two days. The ideas were fresh and interesting, and the voice was unique as well.
It's hard to tell you what the story is about. At the start, you'll think it's about a dystopian society order, and in a way, maybe it is - but that's not really the main point the book is driving, I think. (view spoiler)[ So what starts of as a society critique, ends up being about meaning of life and understanding yourself. I don't think I've ever read a book which so purposely misleads the reader, and I mean it in a good way. You think you're reading about one thing, so you form your opinions, and then the real stuff comes out of left field. It's like a whole dance for the reader, and it totally got me. I never figured that's how things would end, or that that's where it was going. (hide spoiler)]I don't think this is a particularly big spoiler (or even a spoiler at all), but I think this book is best started without knowing much of anything about it, so I've just spoiler tagged it regardless.
From a scifi world set up, some of the things didn't make sense, but I've decided to let them go for this review, because the book had deeper meaning than just the setup of the dystopian society. That was not the point. Ultimately, I think there are so many things that can be taken away from reading this story that I should probably read it again sometime. It's a short book, and it addresses meaning of life, depression, understanding yourself, finding yourself, family and society dynamics and so much more. More than that, it's just original, and honestly - also kind of weird. I'm sure you'll enjoy this story too.
I thank the author for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
There is a lot of positive stuff about this one, but it didn't quite balance it out for me.How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
There is a lot of positive stuff about this one, but it didn't quite balance it out for me. I'll get the negative stuff out of the way and then mention what I did think was awesome.
I wasn't sure what to think of this book - I couldn't figure out for a long time whether we're supposed to hate this new stepmother character, or not. Because some of the times, she'd do something terrible or threatening, and you'd think she's a manipulator and a danger to Josie, the main character. Other times, she would do something positive or show understanding, and it was unclear whether she was going to come out positive after all. Is this a bad woman who Josie will have to beat? Or is it just a different point of view that Josie will have to overcome and eventually they will click and there will be learning? This wasn't clear way past even the midpoint, and it was driving me nuts. I do understand that in life things aren't quite black and white like that, but the reader, especially a middle grade reader, is usually being guided towards what they're supposed to feel. I couldn't pick that up here - it felt like the book isn't quite making up its own mind.
Another big trigger for me is irresponsible or bad dads. Unfortunately, this book had one. Absolutely not the book's fault and that's probably the whole point, but that's also why I didn't quite click with the story. While most of the time the dad is being manipulated by a woman, he is still... just not a very good dad. This made the story pretty hard for me to read. I guess I didn't expect the dad to not be on the side of the child, and it greatly upset me. But I realize this is all me - that's a valid plot and it's not the book's fault that it particularly triggers me because I had an absent father.
On the positive note, I have to mention that the book is plenty culturally genuine - I can't check the veracity of how accurate it is, because I am a person born and living in Europe, so I've never known much about the Caribbean. But the language in the book and some of the cultural details mentioned were interesting and really painted a picture for me. That's always great, and we should have more books like that.
Another thing that was great was that Josie really wanted to play cricket, and she was really good - but she was constantly being put down as a girl player, and not allowed to play with boys. A big part of the story was overcoming that and that's a good storyline for sure.
Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to carry the story for me. I would have preferred a clearer plot - if it's 50% in and you're still wondering whether the villain is the villain, I would say the story is being needlessly ambiguous.
It did get obvious later on, but I have to say, it kind of got terrifying after that. (view spoiler)[ An 11 year old who fears for the life of her dad, disappearing pets and drowning teachers - (hide spoiler)]it was all a bit too scary and dark for a middle grade for me. Not to even mention that the ending read like a horror scene for me. I don't know if I would have wanted to read that as a kid. But maybe that's just me! I am a sensitive adult as well as I was a kid, so please consider other people's reviews too (especially if they're Carribean reviewers!)
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
In this book, two women, one 17 and one 83, meet in the hospital as they're headed towards How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
In this book, two women, one 17 and one 83, meet in the hospital as they're headed towards the sunset of their lives, only one of them is going there much too early. It's a book about friendship, but not just that. It's so much more - it's also about finding yourself, understanding love, accepting things and just... Life. Living it out. However much you've got left.
If you thought this book was going to be weepy cause the main character is dying and that's the premise, well - you're wrong. As we meet Leni, we instantly realize she's got a good backbone and plenty of fire in her. And a good sense of humor! The first pages often made me smile.
The funny thing is, I never thought a book about dying people could be so... Comfortable. And so... Alive? One of the characters describes Leni as "so alive", so she can't possibly be dying - and when I read this and thought about it, I realized that, indeed, that's a great description of the character - I couldn't sum her up better. From the very first pages of the book, Leni just comes off the page.
And yet... The book is also sneakily sad. It's not outright sad, and yet... You realize that prolonging the life of a terminally ill patient is both a saving grace, as well as kind of cruel, really. But there is just no good solution. Leni doesn't want to die - and yet, the hospital is a prison for her. Bed rest is a punishment. Her days are all the same, and things she loves are taken from her one by one, as her world shrinks. It's truthfully very sad to watch, but you realize that you're not sure what is ethically more correct - to let a person suffer the drudgery longer? Or to let them live life fully, but with their time shortened..? Much to think about.
Aside from all this, The One Hundred Years of Leni and Margot is also a book about loss, complicated love and figuring yourself out. A love that's hard to pursue. And it's queer! I will not elaborate, cause it's kind of a spoiler if I do, but I did want to just mention it at least, so you knew it was there.
So now, the name of the book. Bet you're wondering why it's called that, especially because we know that both the characters are dying and probably won't get to live to 100. Well, let me spoiler tag this, but (view spoiler)[between the two of them, they're a hundred years old. (hide spoiler)] How cool is that? And it's even better than that - because (view spoiler)[ Leni and Margot make an artistic monument to their 100 years - a drawing for each year of their lives. Something to remember and relive the years through. And that's how we learn their stories as well. (hide spoiler)]
In reality, although the book is continuous, it's made up of snippets of now and of the past from both women's lives. So ever so slowly, we learn about who Leni and Margot were, before they became patients with terminal conditions. We learn to love them, we wonder about their quite complicated and not at all easy lives. And then it's time to say goodbye. This is why the book really leaves a mark on you.
By the time it's time to say goodbye, you can feel your heart breaking for the characters. The goodbyes are so gentle, so quiet. It affects you deeply. It makes you stop and think. And you know you'll remember the story for quite a while.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
Evelina | AvalinahsBooks
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