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69
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| B09BC898JX
| 3.48
| 40
| Oct 2021
| Oct 21, 2021
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did not like it
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The Horror genre that I knew to fear as a young reader & the one I grew to read salaciously as an adult has found itself transformed into something th
The Horror genre that I knew to fear as a young reader & the one I grew to read salaciously as an adult has found itself transformed into something that I cannot understand. I do not know who these horror stories are for. I cannot believe that these are actual horror stories. That being said, I understand & appreciate that fear—horror—is subjective. What might entomb me with dread might leave someone else with a ribcage overflowing from laughter. One can look at any visual representation of horror & understand the technicalities that are required to present objectively scary things in a way which will leave the majority with quivers. Literature does not differ from cinema in that respect. Objectively, ghosts are scary. An author can dress up a phantom in whichever way they desire but their efforts need to be obtainable to the reader; one needs to feel no distinction between the transpiring story & their own reality. Part of inducing fear is ensuring that a person feels present in events. If a demonic, faceless, shadow figure is standing at the edge of a young child's bed (such as in this book); we should be reading about the scene as though we were either the child or, an onlooker, stuck in a frozen state unable to provide aid. This story takes the approach of including a neurological disorder, Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (AIWS) & having it be the crux at which the horror strikes. I am always weary of reading books in which a character is experiencing, shall we say, mental unease. I am not someone who is personally or professionally in a position to make remarks on the authentic representation of neurological disorders, therefore my comments should be recognized as coming from someone who read through this book without personal or educational weight to back my impressions & opinions. With that being said, I'm tired of this approach. This book begins with a scene in which Amy, the main character, is sitting alone at home with her cat. In so few pages it becomes apparent that Amy is under a significant amount of mental duress. This is a person who is nine (9) months pregnant & is constantly experiencing things that she cannot link to previous experiences. I appreciate that most human beings have some level of forgetfulness but, the number of times Amy says that something feels familiar but she doesn't understand why became ridiculous. As a person who has not been 9 months pregnant, I'm going out on a limb by saying that this is probably not the ideal time for you to go to your family home wherein you experienced what you claim to be parental negligence, to confront your estranged father about childhood events that you cannot accurately call to mind. The priority should be the well-being of the child you are about to bring into the world, not your desire to seek out the ghosts you believe live in that home. I couldn't find it within myself to engage with this book. I wouldn't say that I actually properly finished it as I grazed over the repeated bouts of information & found myself focusing on the actual conversational dialogue in hopes to see the story advance. Even having done that, the need for substantial editing was obvious. There were so many instances where phrasing made no sense; grammar rules were ignored or not adequately checked. Was there a proofreader for this? As well, structurally many things saw us walking in circles. Amy would say: 'dad' only to not be able to say so the very next sentence, as though for the first time, because it didn't feel right. The characters were in short, directionless. We spin round & around with the same things over & over again. Amy longed for a physical response from her father; her father was non-emotive; we understand enough about this character to gauge his actions, we do not need to go over this again. This is repeated several times throughout the book for different things. On a parting note, I will say that this story would do well in a visual format. Should the story find its way into the hands of someone who could make it into a movie I truly think it would excel. Substantial tweaking would need to be done to the core of the story & Amy's character would need to be developed further so as to make her appear as a well-rounded adult. Regardless, I could appreciate that with the right directorial skills, this would be a hit. All in all, I am disappointed. I asked myself in my introduction who this story is for & I do not have an answer but I know it's not me. Thank you to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial, & D.M. Siciliano for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Mar 08, 2022
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Mar 08, 2022
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Kindle Edition
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131
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| 1250828678
| 9781250828675
| 4.12
| 1,358
| Aug 18, 2021
| Aug 18, 2021
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it was ok
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**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on terminal illness, grief, abuse of power, forced incarceration, & others. Ingrid is an arborist who boasts of a love for mother earth that is so pure, the only thing to come in the way of her quest to protect the trees is a chance encounter with a woman at a liquor store. Perchance if you believe in fate, the alignment of stars, & the universe pinning for your success, you might appreciate the probability of Ingrid’s encounter with Claire, a famous author who is now caretaker to the very last remaining forest on planet earth. With staunch faceless villains & violent actions of neglect, this story tumult’s off course to be a sappy romance purporting the messaging that specific communities of people have believed for all time. At the core of this story is a message worth hearing, worth heeding, & worth respecting. Unfortunately, the bulk of the mass is consumed by an arduous layer of grizzle, seeping its white claws into the moral until it is drowned dead. As this week was mine to select a story, my selection was self-serving & dull; pointedly knocking another read from my book list whilst also providing my reading buddy, « Scott », & myself with another set of words with little emotional value to the sum. Initially, this story endeavours to share the importance of nature & the role that the human species plays in ensuring that it is respected & tended to, alongside our existence. Yet, within this, there is a main character who boasts of so much praise for herself & her ‘just’ cause whilst simultaneously doing none of what any sane person might do when faced with the same circumstances. To begin at the start, the encounter mentioned between Ingrid & Claire is marvellously romantic if you are so inclined, yet is the cataclysm for Ingrid’s downfall. Claire is charged with caring for the last remaining forest on earth. Every tree in this forest is promised to be chopped down in a bid to print stories. I suppose we are to believe that technology is non-existent in this realm as the value of a paperback book exceeds that of an oxygen-producing tree. Though I appreciate the value of a book, I should never place it above the globe on which I live. After all, stories have been shared for many moons in a variety of ways, without needing to destroy other living things in the process. Ingrid begs Claire for a job in the forest given the uselessness of her profession in a world where Borealis has become obsolete. This is a tad less romantic than the long-drawn-out eye contact but, I digress. Throughout all of the years that Ingrid worked at the site & with the knowledge that at the end of a certain number of years all of the trees would be cut down, she never once planted a tree. In lieu of proactive action, Ingrid focused on her marriage to Claire—whom she loved very dearly, evidenced by the repeated times this circumvents the plot. Why, in all the 50+ years that Ingrid was working in the forest did she never seek to ensure that the crop of trees that were there grew in numbers? The arrival of the governing body muddies this story into a satirical take on plausible events. I can appreciate that the government in any sector of the world is not necessarily transparent in their plans. However, the process by which Ingrid attempts to convince us that these folks are the epitome of evil incarnate does nothing but draw her closer to their group. After all, both parties are self-serving; both parties ignore the trees. Perhaps the point of this story was to highlight that in the fights & squabbles, the victim remains the loser. Perhaps we are meant to view Ingrid as someone who wanted to believe herself to be better than she was. I cannot say for certain, I am not the author. I can say that the messaging gets lost within this story, leaving it to have very few redeeming features. This story was published in 2021, by this time there have been ample tales which explore the dystopian world that dramatizes some of our more acute traits. Nothing in this story is unique, save the stories within the trees. Yet, one might visit a variety of communities & understand that they have believed this to be true for millennia. Therefore what does this story bring to the literary world? What interesting take does the author purport to support the goal? Rather than present a dreary & devastating story of loss, intertwined with the drum of the lonely human heart, Shepherd seethes into the written word an abundance of lard; excess unneeded in the treacherous heat of the climatically changing world. If you would like to read this story, please visit this •LINK• ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Oct 21, 2022
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Mar 06, 2022
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ebook
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99
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| 0448095017
| B00005WSA6
| 3.98
| 79,135
| 1930
| 1999
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it was ok
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**spoiler alert** Nancy Drew is 18 years old, drives her own blue convertible, & helps her father in his distinguished law office as something of a gl
**spoiler alert** Nancy Drew is 18 years old, drives her own blue convertible, & helps her father in his distinguished law office as something of a glamorized courier. In all, Nancy is living a life many would fancy; enjoying all the luxuries of a bourgeoisie lifestyle with little of the proletariat humdrum to bog down her carefree existence. However, what has possibly set Nancy apart from many of her kind is her intention. Though she has all the wonders that life has to offer, Nancy cares about the well-being of others, to the point of becoming involved in a genteel game of question & answer that leads her to an old clock—as hinted in the title—that holds the secret documents that promise money to a large number of impoverished, kindly folk. I first read this book when I was very young & most, unfortunately, it impressed nothing on me. I remember understanding that the book I was holding in my hands had changed the lives of many young people & led them to become great readers. Fortunately for myself, I was already a very voracious reader & so felt no love lost for the lack of utter life-changing enjoyment from reading this book. As an adult, my sentiments remain the same as those I felt all those years ago. This is certainly a book with a story & it is certainly a story that takes place in the 1930s United States. However, this was not my kind of story. It was with the hope of being overwhelmed with fondness that I chose to read this book again. This is not to say that I hated the book the first time around but, I had read better. This is also not to knock everything that came of the young detectives’ first case. While reading this story I can definitely appreciate everything that it influenced & how as a young reader, through many generations, the story of Nancy’s chivalrous quest to see right done upon the secondary characters led her to be a person many adored. For that reason, I too feel thankful that someone like Nancy Drew exists in the fictional universe of detective novels for, we are always better off when we have good people in our corner. My primary reason for not truly enjoying this book was due to the way it was written. That is to say, nothing really happens. Nancy is a sweet person & she floats through life wanting to be as good a person as her reputation states that she is—a trait I admire in her character. However, once she learns that the death of a fellow townsman has caused many people to be left without their just desserts, she takes it upon herself to aid them. With this in mind, the author has seen fit to litter the book with flowery descriptions of Nancy’s life, which I found quaint in a funny type of way. Did we need a scene wherein Nancy wanders a dress shop or lunches with yet another wealthy pair? I cannot say. These scenes certainly set the tone for the novel & with her delicate luncheon schedule & time to embark on badminton games with young Judy, Nancy is miraculously able to repair a boat engine, & trick the antagonists into spending asinine amounts of money on a country dance, track down domicile thieves & solve the mystery of the second will, all while keeping her dignity in check. What caused me to find this whole series of events wonderful in an absurd sense was that the author never explains to the reader how Nancy accomplishes these things. Where did Nancy learn to repair a boat engine? I am not naive to think that this is a book that was written with the intent to check all the boxes of logic, however, I think including a few more specific details would have added depth to the main character & thus made her the great mastermind behind the wild goose chases that saw her zooming down a country road after thieves who almost ran over a child in their urgency to depart the premises. There was so much more I wanted to know about Nancy, I really wanted this first book to give me an intimate understanding of who she was & how she fit so seamlessly within this plot. Perhaps it is because this book is quite dated but, I began to lose track of how many people had been promised money from the passing of the singular wealthy man. There were relatives & friends, neighbours & distinguished helpers, who had all been promised huge sums of money for their kindness. Again, I appreciate that this book was written during another period of time yet, I must say that the reasons for which everyone was promised money were a bit odd. Every time someone did right by Josiah, he made sure to promise them money in his final will & testament. By the end of the book, I regarded everyone, even the antagonists, as being in the same boat. Though certainly the Topham’s went out of their way to seclude Josiah, everyone was waiting for their cut of the money for their acts of kindness. What is it, specifically, about Nancy that made her able to solve this mystery? Was it luck or was it the conveniently placed luncheon conversations her father allowed her to be privy to with members of the local legal body? Being as this is a book with very young readers as the target audience, I am not surprised that the author left out some of the more interesting aspects that might have been tedious to read for certain people. Regardless, the freedom of self that Nancy experienced in the 1930s is something I wanted to know about—what lead her father to be so liberal with his daughter’s upbringing? I will certainly read the second book in the series & though I have heard briefly about the change of tone the series undertakes as other authors offer their pen to the name signed on this book, I am sufficiently intrigued to wonder, enough to want to read more. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Jun 26, 2022
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Mar 05, 2022
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Hardcover
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65
| 
| B09842YZ1F
| 3.59
| 235,950
| Mar 01, 2022
| Mar 01, 2022
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did not like it
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Contrary to how it might appear, I do not enjoy rating books so low. I do not enjoy coming across a story that I had been hopeful to savour. Yet, here
Contrary to how it might appear, I do not enjoy rating books so low. I do not enjoy coming across a story that I had been hopeful to savour. Yet, here we are again wherein I have had to stop reading because I was so utterly devoid of emotion towards the entire cast of characters & the plot that I felt no inclination to pursue finishing the book. When Katy's mother, Carol, passes away she is understandably riddled with grief & the reader meets Katy as she attempts to understand how she is meant to go on without her mother. Had Serle stopped there we could have had a wonderful story about the exploration of grief in adults who learn to maneuver the world without their parents. Unfortunately, what we read about instead is Katy claiming that her mother was the love of her life & that she was Carol's as well. Here we find ourselves at my main reason for not finishing the book. When I have to pause in my reading to question why I am so annoyed I pose myself an honest question: am I annoyed at this character because their actions differ from those I would take or, am I annoyed because their decision making process lacks logical sense? In the case of this book it was the latter. Katy maroons endlessly about her love for her mother being the ultimate & only love that mattered, ever. I could not relate to that nor would my own mother want me to be able to. I admit that this is where expressing my feelings becomes a bit tricky. I am not trying to say that sharing a strong love with ones parents is wrong or bizarre. However, I was not raised that way. My own mother would not want for the love of my life to have been her, nor would my grandmother have wanted it to be for her daughter, so on & so forth. I could not understand how a thirty (30) year old adult lacked any sensical abilities to work through life. Katy goes on about not being certain she wants to stay married to Eric because they never had any tangible obstacles to overcome. This is ridiculous. Obstacles, struggles & heartaches are not something you will upon your relationship. Such behaviours left me feeling as though Katy wanted to be able to say that she 'fought' for something in her life whereas we knew she never held enough gumption for that. Plot annoyances aside, I did not appreciate the writing style either. I found myself wondering whether or not an editor had read through the final work. For example, Katy says she is going to get a dress - she puts on the white frill dress. Another example, the waiters all wear white shirts - a man in a white shirt comes forward. These are not inherently bad sentences but they could have been worked to flow with more ease. The approaching waiter could be described as wearing a white shirt, rather than have all the wait staff attire reported to then restate those same details moments later. It left me feeling as though there was a word count. All in all, I did not enjoy this book. I could not relate to Katy; I could not find it in myself to empathize with a person who felt that neither Eric nor her father were allowed to feel sad at Carol's passing because she herself, was her mother's true love so, no one else's emotions mattered. It was difficult to root for someone who was severely out of touch with reality. Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Canada & Rebecca Serle for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Mar 04, 2022
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Mar 05, 2022
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Kindle Edition
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95
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| 1368090397
| 9781368090391
| B09VHD298B
| 3.65
| 3,752
| Oct 04, 2022
| Oct 04, 2022
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did not like it
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**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book & those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters that contain reflections on substance abuse, gore, graphic descriptions of body mutilation, suicide, death of an animal, physical abuse of a minor, parental neglect, dementia, domestic abuse, & others. Haven has been the person in whom all her father’s original dreams grew to fruition, though she never got the opportunity to hear him say as much. Coming back to Malice House after the passing of her famed author-father, Amory Marbury, Haven finds herself at an impasse. Does she believe that the fantom corpse of a despicably grotesque crab is living under the bed or was her father elapsing into paranoid delusion brought on by his deteriorating mental state as a consequence of his Dementia? Is one able to fully grasp the absurdity of the physical form of the demons that plague us or do these beings necessitate a place in reality for us to believe them to be true? I have a very low opinion of this book because I did not enjoy the story. The following review will detail my reasons for not enjoying a story that I thought was going to be something that it was not. I believe, wholeheartedly, that this book requires the enjoyment of a niche reader for, the subject matter succumbs to the Fantasy genre with greater gusto than I was led to believe, or more sore, with greater gusto than I chose to acknowledge as a probability. Objectively, this story would have done well had it been described as a Dark Fantasy—something that resides in the Magical Realism leaflets of literature. Presenting this book as being a clean-cut Horror stripped it of its ability to find its reader. There are, certainly, aspects of the genre that are absurdly morose & decadently incomprehensible. Monsters that come to life due to a bizarre family curse dating back into a lineage, unexplored; wherein a sole member of said family has discovered her powers of striking an image from the page transforming it into reality & in which an entire town acknowledges this superhuman ability as being a real occurrence; falters awkwardly within the Horror genre in which it has been set. The sheer number of times I questioned what the intent was behind this story was enumerable. I continue to question the reasons for which any of what was done in this book took place. Did Haven have to be a secretive idiot who walked into darkened houses in search of what she assumed was a violent predator? No, she did not. Did there need to be a sidekick sister character who brought nothing to the plot due to her lack of desire to pose relevant & insightful questions? No, there did not. Did there need to be repeated scenes of characters slurping their lips raw from hard liquor sprints? No, there did not. In Haven the reader is presented with a character who lacks a great deal of self-awareness & is incredibly inauthentic. There are rarely characters whose attempts at distinguishing themselves from others read as well-structured in a plot that writes them as being the exact character they seek to revoke. Haven is a girl who is not like other girls, she’s not like anyone ever on this planet to date; so quirky & undone in the very best haphazard ways, Haven wanders through life unafraid of anything. She can watch scary movies & not feel fear, she can draw gruesome pictures because she likes ‘dark’ art—unlike anyone else ever in the history of humankind—& she can mosey at her leisure unharmed because a man is behind the scenes protecting her. What truly drives home the point that Shepard is trying to highlight concerning Haven is that she will act & do things that no one in their right mind would do but, she does them because she isn’t in her right mind, according to non-fiction standards. Haven has a special ability, one that was passed down to her through some inconsequential genetic mutation, that allows her family to bring to life the things that they do in art. At face value, this is a very intriguing concept & I highlight, again, that it would fit well into the Fantasy genre. What causes a rift within this logic is that Haven is not a biological descendant of her father’s lineage at all, she is a drawing brought to life. Could one assume that because Haven has a deep disconnect with naturally felt human emotion, her time being drawn by Amory led her to be the character we saw ramble on in the pages of this book? Can one attribute her lack of connection in the human-born world to the reasons for which she made decisions that were both horrifically unsafe as well as being dense? When Haven first meets Kylie she is quick to trust her—she is quick to trust everyone though she boasts of being able to read the room & withholding her seal of approval—why is that? The dialogue that Kylie is given reeks of a lack of depth. This is a secondary character who was attempting to make their way into the primary spot but was not granted enough dimensionality to merit further screen time. Who in their right mind would think that a couple, meagre, hundred dollars would be the selling price for memorabilia from an internationally prized & award-winning author? This is an incredible lowball & the author sees fit to never revisit this. Are we to read into Kylie’s Crypto scheme that she is simply scamming her fellow man for the thrill of pulling the wool over their eyes or because she doesn’t understand the field in which she is attempting to make money? What would lead Haven to trust Kylie? This is a person who is working in a bookstore whose theme is her father’s work yet, her singular brush-off, declaring she’s not a fan, is enough to satiate Haven. Why? Kylie is constantly out of her depth but is portrayed as a decent, diligent, person. She goes so far as to claim that the mutilations caused to Dahlia by her murderer had to have been committed while she was alive because there was blood on her body. That’s factually incorrect. Correlated to the fact that Dahlia’s mutilations took place in quick succession one would need to study bruising & injury on her body to deduce whether or not one or both of her heels were snipped or if the claw reached for her wrists first; did she fall, resulting in her head being decapitated first? Also, given the rapidity of the events, it is not implausible to deduce that the body would bleed—as it does—within the short period in which these actions were taking place. This may appear to be a generally benign argument to make but, I present it to highlight that Kylie, along with many other people in this book, made unsubstantiated claims & no one questioned anything that was said. Another example of this is Rafe giving Haven a useless response when she asks him how he got access to her property when the gate was locked. We later learn that it is possible to jump the fence but Haven never questions this answer. She has just been confirmed that people have casual access to her home, where she knows others have been attempting to enter & disregards this fact because she has a crush on the man with whom she’s talking. I acknowledge a personal difficulty in the actions that are required of Haven to move this plot forward. Generally speaking, I find it inconceivable when a female character decides to pursue dangerous decisions without ever informing at least one other person of their whereabouts. This certainly happens in real life, which is probably why I have such a difficult time reading about it in fiction. When Haven is snipped by Pinchy she refuses to involve any first responders. Instead, she calls Kylie & is calmed by Kylie’s decision not to ask questions about anything. During this scene, Haven bemoans Baker, her ex-partner because he would ask her pertinent questions when or if she called for help. This is perhaps a hot take but, should someone be calling you with an emergency you’re going to want to know where they are & what happened—any details are helpful—so that you are prepared for what you are about to face & subsequently can be as helpful as possible. The unreliability of Haven throughout the entire plot left me eagerly awaiting her demise. To my great humour, we read as she drives to a darkened house in the middle of the night where she assumes Kylie might be kept against her will. There is a distinct monologue that transpires in which Haven declares that she couldn’t possibly call the police & must go into the house alone. This is stupid. I understand that a great number of people have had (shall we say) less than stellar experiences with judicial bodies as a whole but, wandering into a house where you think your friend is being held against their will & may probably be subjected to physical violence, on your own, is beyond moronic. This truly adds nothing to the plot, even though everyone conveniently ignores the existence of forensic science—or basic biology, if you will—the characters in this book always choose the road that is the most taxing. Haven’s reason for not involving the police stems from her experience with them in the past; having been charged with domestic abuse against Baker. As someone who thrives off the horrific, Haven would have known that her motive of violence, though untrue, would have cushioned her in this instance. Given that she was previously regarded as a domestic abuser against a male & that Kylie is someone who had DNA evidence from another person entirely & that Orion would not (save the fingerprints where she checked for a pulse) have her DNA on his body, there is no reason not to reach out for help, in this case. Had Shepard pursued the original presentation of Haven’s character I would have appreciated her gusto. At the beginning of the story, Haven explores her father’s house without any fear. I suppose one might attribute her lack of fear while consuming Horror films to be due to her belief that those things, could not happen to her; though she acknowledges that the films succeed in the reality behind the outlandish. Throughout much of the first part of the book, Haven is strong-willed & smart. She wants to believe in the best of those around her but quickly loses her cool when she decides to hate a group of people because they don’t adore her illustrations. Then we see her invite a strange man, Rafe, into her home because he smells good. I digress. The narrative grows to showcase inconsistencies which might be read as shifts in the characters’ presentation & stature in reality but, they are also faults, nonetheless. For example, the entire novel states that Amory had dementia but while Haven is reading his journals, he writes about being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. Haven is said to be using her laptop to access Kylie’s ‘Find My Phone’ app but, it’s Kylie’s laptop that she is using. Another example is Haven telling the reader (herself) that she doesn’t need money so much as to trust the Ink Drinkers but, she is quick to trust a Crypto scheme which she knows nothing about. I am confident that many readers will adore this book. I know that the story that has been presented will wiggle its way into the minds of those who are easy-going & eager to consume any book that might snuggle into the Horror genre. My personal preference for stories in this genre sees me longing to find the character who was unafraid while roaming the attic at night or who was experiencing lapses in time so suddenly after the passing of their parent. I enjoy when stories have a basis in the non-fictional; this is very much a Fantasy with heavy undertones of Magical Realism that riddles in aspects of specific fear for those who might long to see the monsters that crept through their rooms at night, brought to life by the colourful words of an author. Thank you to NetGalley, Hyperion Avenue, & Megan Shepherd for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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May 20, 2022
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Mar 03, 2022
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Kindle Edition
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64
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| 1640095195
| 9781640095199
| B097B1K1GJ
| 3.70
| 3,519
| Mar 01, 2022
| Mar 01, 2022
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it was amazing
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**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on parental neglect, sexual assault of a minor, substance abuse, mental illness, suicide, & others. It is very rare that one finds oneself reading a book that could be deemed a classic piece of literature. I wonder how often readers of Hemingway, Hugo, Proust, Steinbeck et alt. knew that the books they held in hand would find themselves as highly praised works of classic literature. Without seeking to prevaricate the core of this review I want to highlight that the story that Kauffman has written is most certainly one that will transcend ages & see itself diligently succeeding through the test of time. Down a rural road, nestled in vast farmland, sits the house of the Shaw family. The seven (7) Shaw children lead the chapters in this book by way of transitions that jump through time & categorically significant events until the reader finds themselves utterly devoted to the well-being of each member of the family. This is not a book for the faint of heart. Comparing Kauffman’s writing to that of Steinbeck, specifically, was not done in earnest. The plot situates itself in the heart of a book that requires stints to ease the flow of the burden, in this case; the ways in which trauma & the development of life hurdles itself at each individual person. Every character in this story was flawed; everyone held secrets that ate at their essence. Relationships were strained & afflicted by the malevolence of misunderstandings & words left unsaid. This is a short book, one which you might see yourself reading in a single sitting. I had to actively pace myself because I wanted the weight of what was being said to truly seep into my subconscious. The prose in this book was exquisite, morose, elegant, aerial & profound. There is no way for me to render into words the orphic text. In the opening chapter, we read about Jim, the patriarch, as he holds his youngest son in a race to ensure that his wife has not been found hanging from a tree in their garden. We learn that Marie, the matriarch, is dealing with something which might later become known as Bipolar Disorder. Though I am not in a position to comment on the authentic representation of Bipolar Disorder (Bipolar I Disorder, Bipolar II Disorder & Cyclothymic Disorder), I think it is important to highlight that the author does not necessarily explore the complications that the disorder causes on the person in question. The main protagonists of this story are the children. When we read chapters from the points of view of the parents it is not to reinforce some third-party agenda but to complete our understanding of who these children grow to be as individual people. The inclusion of emotional mania within the story in no way seeks to reinforce any particular subjective understanding of the illness nor was it superficially riddled into the plot as a character arch. Marie is a three-dimensional person, as are all the characters; her illness is not detailed at length because the majority of the story sees the repercussions of the changes she experiences to her mood, energy & overall ability to function through the eyes of a child. I certainly appreciated the narrative that this book sought to present which is that people who live in a ‘bad’ way (i.e. outside the norm of abilities to function) can still be ‘good’ loving people regardless of the outer circumstances in which we meet them. I have put both descriptors (bad/good) in quotation marks because they might leave a great deal up for interpretation. I am not saying that having a neurological or psychological disorder is inherently bad. What I am saying & what the book seeks to address is that the consequences of such a disorder as the one that Marie experiences, leave the children in this story feeling that the events which transpire around them, subsequently all that is out of their control, are ‘bad’. The lack of parental presence from their mother because she is unable to leave her room; the lack of facial muscle strength due to medications seeking to address the root cause of her illness; the confusion felt as a young person who knows only to trust & seek affection from a parental figure but has had to learn that violent outbursts, aggressions & fear are emotions that said person is also teetering through. The ‘good’ person is the one that they remember when Marie finds herself in a space that does not bog her down. To be good is to share love; to decorate Christmas trees; to share cookies & play games; it is writing out a final declaration of love before leaving. It was very difficult to work through this book; the subject matters so close to home. Every single character in this story was so much themselves that I felt at times, as though I were sitting around the table listening to them share stories, rather than being a third-party surveyor who lives outside of their fictional reality. Kauffman has introduced a group of people who are so profoundly well-thought-out, complex, interesting, decisive, intriguing & fully fleshed-out as to make them feel familiar to the reader. I became so invested in each of the characters & felt so very deeply about their experiences that I did not want this book to end. My single qualm is that I flew through this book. I was sad & I felt attached & I was moved; this is a beautiful book. Thank you to NetGalley, Catapult, Counterpoint Press, and Soft Skull Press & Rebecca Kauffman for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Mar 03, 2022
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Mar 03, 2022
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Kindle Edition
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63
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| B09LMQSN5M
| 4.04
| 226
| unknown
| Apr 18, 2022
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did not like it
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**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on excessive violence, sexual assault, rape, violent crimes, & others. Update (8 avril 2022): Lloyd has reached out to me regarding the comments I have made & which you will see in the following paragraphs. I am very grateful for friendly, cordial conversations that we can have amongst each other — whether we are in agreement or not — & she has advised me that the representation of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) within the story has been altered so as to be more sensitive & accurate, which I am very much appreciative for. Should you have come across my review please note that the impressions I have of the author are of someone who seeks to do the right thing; someone who is open to discussion, critiques & learning. These are qualities that we would all do well to maintain within ourselves. Thank you to Lloyd for her kind email & for her efforts made towards some of the points listed below. I am first going to highlight an aspect of this story that left me feeling disappointed: the inclusion of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). I am not someone who is personally or professionally in a position to make remarks on the authentic representation of Dissociative Disorders & therefore, my comments should be recognized as coming from someone who read through this book without personal or educational weight to back my impressions & opinions. With all the politically correct vocabulary that I can muster, I must ask: what in the world was the purpose of having Emma, a ghost, self-diagnosed herself with Dissociative Identity Disorder? What was the tangible, essential, profoundly necessitating reason for this to have been included, whatsoever, within a story which dealt with a group of individuals who were all so far out of their depths in every way imaginable? Was there not a single individual along the line of the process to which this book resulted in the hands of a reader who asked: why would the inclusion of DID as being something that Emma ‘chose’ to have happened to her be a positive aspect to include in this story? My reason for being so bewilderingly astounded at the inclusion of Dissociative Identity Disorder in this plot comes down to the way it was presented. Emma is a ghost who wallows in the halls of the apartment complex, previously a paper mill. She is one of many paranormal phenomena which plague the building. The reader becomes aware of several other ghosts, two (2) of which are bound to the confines of particular apartment units due to reasons beyond their understanding. What is revealed to us is that these ghosts never actually haunted the building. Frank & Tommy were in fact personality states adopted by Emma in what she self-proclaims as being dissociative episodes. Again, I am not a seasoned doctor or medical professional who can readily speak on the complexities of DID. However, what I can say is that writing a character as being someone who ‘chose’ to dissociate; who ‘chose’ to adopt alternative personality states; who ‘chose’ to be able to call on these personality states at the drop of a hat, is beyond insensitive & irresponsible. One does not ‘choose’ to adopt a Dissociative Disorder. A quick search through various reputable peer-reviewed works would lead one to understand the basics of this very debilitating & complex disorder. I want to highlight this part within the story because there are people in this world who will read this book & be left feeling a great deal more misunderstood than they did before. It is in no way correct nor appropriate to include DID in the ways that it was within this story. There are ample aspects of this story to critique. I went into this book hoping that I would come across a horror that riddled the paranormal within states of lived reality. Unfortunately, what I came across was the repeated lunacy of every character within the story. Starting with Lili, a psychic medium who has been in the industry for many years yet tosses herself at every wall behind which she hopes houses a ghost. It was incredible to read about a person we are supposed to view as a seasoned professional only for her to step right into the tracks of someone who has no idea what they are doing. Every instance saw Lili astral project into situations that she knew nothing about. Simply hoping that you might encounter the spirit of a person whom you read about does not mean that you will. Being a ‘professional’ you would know that preparation & forethought are essential. This character did not read as being a person capable of making their own independent decisions but rather, as an individual who might succeed by chance alone. Chase, our obvious antagonist whom no one wanted to acknowledge as being the villain until it posed a problem to their ludicrous logic; a cop turned serial killer. We revisit medical diagnostics in this character which provided nothing to the individual save for an ‘edge’ which was never revisited after expression. A quick search of the American Psychiatric Association’s definition explains that Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a disorder which: “[…]people have recurring unwanted thoughts, ideas or sensations (obsessions) that make them feel driven to do something repetitively (compulsions).” That being said, what part of Chase fit that description or any of the following body of the text provided by the Association? Indicating that a character was inclined to double-bolt their doors does not indicate that they are experiencing OCD. This book tosses around mental diagnostics as though these are adequate ways of completing a character chart. Chase was someone who experienced the desire to torture, murder, degrade, etc. Can that be accurately linked to him having OCD or would this be an indicator of the pathological condition known as psychopathy? This book asks the reader to forgive & look past decisions that the author made in an attempt to cushion the jaded edges of the plot. Are we really meant to believe that people living in exuberantly expensive apartments would not want to have surveillance cameras in the hallways? In what world do the wealthy not care to keep their homes safe? I see no logical thought behind that decision-making process. You have literal art dealers living in one of the larger units & I refuse to believe that they would so willfully disregard the safety of their person & that of their possessions. At the end of the day, it didn’t matter if the hallways had surveillance cameras or not, Martin was as useless as wings on a rock. Every single decision that this character made, or failed to make, was stunning. I kept wondering when someone (anyone) was going to make a logical decision that would actually base some of this story within the confines of reality. I chose to proceed in my reading after being bewildered into oblivion on multiple occasions because I really wanted to see where this story went; when would advanced mental stamina prevail? For the love of all that is good in the world; we had to read about a character saying, & I quote: “A cop was the polar opposite of shady.” Was this meant to be read ironically? I’m not here to harp on the profession of any law enforcer but, if the years of prevailing social media have highlighted anything it is in fact that policing bodies can, in fact, be ‘shady’. Why did Martin not request access to the tenant list when Danielle first went missing? Why was his decision not to investigate the limited residents of the building whose premises she never left? I have further questions but, all of them are theoretical. This links back to the requests made upon the reader; we are required to shut our eyes to obvious flaws within the story in the hopes of simply enjoying the ride. I, unfortunately, could not. Had I been someone who could willfully suspend my disbelief then I might have longed to read the next chapter wherein Emma tells us, yet again, how she is reading about apps. Or, I might have been totally fine with the fact that Martin was standing near the base of the paper mill with the knowledge that human remains were found not far along in the river — choosing instead to believe that human teeth could be found within a river bed without the involvement of criminal activity. Please, explain to me what that means. When all is said & done, I am left disheartened. I was looking forward to reading this book. I was very appreciative of the opportunity to review an early copy of the work but, I am truly disappointed in how it approached many a subject matter. There was so much potential for a riveting story to be told. Chase installing plumbing throughout the entirety of the cellar was banal. Danielle not killing Chase, instead choosing to run up the ladder she had never laid eyes on, was frustrating. A cop being able to afford luxury apartments in the city is unbelievable. An Irish ghost with magic powers was the least outer-worldly thing to present itself in this book. Thank you to NetGalley, Land of Oz LLC & Cailyn Lloyd for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Mar 2022
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Mar 01, 2022
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Kindle Edition
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72
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| 153872474X
| 9781538724743
| 153872474X
| 4.31
| 2,873,033
| Dec 07, 2018
| Oct 05, 2021
|
did not like it
|
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on the death of a child, Postpartum Depression, self-induced abortion, self-mutilation of a minor, psychological distress, child endangerment, distorted body image, disordered eating, intentional violence against a minor, & others. Special shoutout to «GirlWithThePinkSkiMask » without whom this read would have been a dreadfully dull experience. In the warm setting of the Vermont countryside where a house resides, in which a family lives, lays the body of Verity Crawford; a woman who thinks so highly of herself & subsequently of authors across the globe that she remained chronically disorganized & untidy throughout her entire literary career. A series of miscommunications with Jeremy, the man with whom she proclaims to be deeply entrenched in love & adoration leads to her near death, following the morbid passings of their twin daughters. Following the dual timelines of Lowen, a benign author who refused to work at any job which would sustain her livelihood, as well as Verity’s journal entries which we are meant to believe are transcripts to an autobiography; the story sequesters itself forlornly into the obvious which is imbecilic behaviours, unbelievable coincidences & tendencies towards horrific child abuse as though it were simply another Tuesday afternoon in the Crawford residence. I would like to make it perfectly clear that should you have made it to this point in my review, the following paragraphs will explicitly detail the scenes in which gore, violence & abuse towards children will be written about. As well, before moving forward I would like to highlight that I am not someone who is personally or professionally in a position to make remarks on the authentic representation of mental illnesses &/or disorders. Therefore, my comments should be recognized as coming from someone who read through this book without personal or educational weight to back my impressions & opinions. With that being said, I acknowledge that the subject matters presented throughout this book are important to write about. Regardless of the works being fiction or non-fiction, there are women across the globe who have experienced & continue to be subjected to the catastrophic battle between their intentions & their mental health. This story presents the reader with the alleged autobiographical entries of Verity while she explicitly states her desire to self-abort her children throughout the entirety of her pregnancy. She writes about throwing herself down flights of stairs, heavily utilizing substances & finally, taking a wire hanger & attempting to abort the babies who are on the cusp of being delivered. This is incredibly tragic. It is in no way easy to work through a story that details the actions of a woman who has given the reader no reasons to empathize with her while she acts in ways that may easily be linked with what is known to the public as Postpartum Depression. Here is where my first qualm with this story arises. The reader is given insight into all of the characters in this book through a dual timeline & dual points of view; that of Lowen & that of Verity. Lowen, as the main narrator of the story, is a total & complete moron in every sense of the word. There are zero redeeming features about this character & it was a mistake to have this story led by her compass, one which falters at every opportunity. Stories that ask the reader to follow a character with little substance to them as they make their way through spooky scenes are ridiculous & flawed to the point of failure. There is no instance in which the reader is given reason to believe that Lowen is a character they can trust, nor are we given reason to believe that Lowen has any functioning membranes that would aid in propelling this plot forward in a meaningful way. The first instance in which we meet Lowen is when she witnesses a person get their head crushed by an oncoming vehicle in the middle of New York. She proceeds to lie to her agent about why she is wearing less than professional clothes, as her top was drenched in blood; why would she do that? What does it bring to the story to have the main character be a liar? Are we meant to believe that this would be the case of an unreliable narrator? I do not think nor did I, for one instance, believe, that Lowen had enough going for her to be dimensional in any way. Chronic lying runs rampant in this story & though I appreciate that this can be a way for the author to riddle tensions into the plot, this was not the case here. Characters hid truths for the simple sake of hiding them. Another example of this is Lowen lying to her agent about being evicted from her home because he doesn’t care on a personal level. It does not matter that he was not to be the boyfriend of your dreams, this is a professional relationship at this point & if you refuse to work any other jobs to pay for your livelihood it is in fact his business to be aware that his client is homeless by their own volition. What is the purpose of pursuing a career as an author if all we hear about from Lowen is how much she hates all the responsibilities that come along with writting a piece of work which one might hope to be published & subsequently bought? Get another job, it is boring & trite to spend the entire 300+ pages complaining about your finances & your work requirements when you do nothing to change the situation. I emphasize the flaws in Lowen’s character as we follow her throughout every chapter of this story & it is painful. As the story progressed through the entries I began to wonder at what stage in this book I was going to feel any level of intrigue towards what was happening. Asking me to believe that the obvious journal entries were what was going to be an autobiography was comedic. Asking me to trust that Lowen, as a writer, would recognize the difference between cruelly drafted notes & an actual book was comedic. Asking me to believe that Verity would not have listed the journal as being an actual practice journal for her books was comedic. There were too many comedic instances in a story that requested the reader to feel serious & perturbed. This leads me to my next qualm. This story has been done before, many times & yet here we are reading it through the lens of women who are presented in shadows of themselves; empty voids of what women are, to please an unknown assailant who views women as sacks of skin void of the complexities which befall every a human being. The repetition of pornographic sexual encounters, written in ways that ooze desperation, juvenility & a lack of plot devices renders this story to be a completely vapid piece of work. How do you seek to present the very real & horrific experiences of women who experience levels of depression during pregnancy, after children are brought into the home, etc, only to have that topic drowned out by the overly utilized erotica bombarding the chapters in this book? You are doing a gigantic disservice to women. Not a single scene in which graphic sexual activities were being presented was of value to the plot. Never once was something beneficial to the advancement of a character, a series of events, nor the presentation of the world-building as a whole. Lest we look past many of the scenes which were being described in this story & forget that the activities being presented were done non-consensually. If a person is asleep they are non-consenting. I acknowledge that people in the real world may have understandings between themselves & their partners for instances such as this. However, in this book sexual activities were done in the hopes of fixing a situation, of manipulating someone else so that they were not given the chance to speak their piece. It is not cool, quirky, romantic, intriguing or engaging to read about people who perform sexual acts on their sleeping partners. Putting chauvinism aside, the ideologies presented in this book might render many a reader to feel disgusted. Crew, a five (5) year old child is written as slicing a butter knife through his gums because he is being questioned by Lowen about his mother & her physical capabilities. It does not take a professional psychologist to clock that this child is under a severe amount of duress. The mutilation which takes place truly boils this plot to the brim with the necessity for the reader to find some form of solid ground on which to rest. Yet, in the place of logical forward movement, we see Lowen become pregnant with a man she does not know. Then, she finds a letter. Stories in which the reader is gifted a key piece through a letter written by a secondary character rarely work. One often finds that the letters are far too detailed to be simply a piece of correspondence. This story falls into the intentional victimhood of such a practice. When Lowen comes across the letter written by Verity the entire story is revealed to her with citations, recapitulations, full scenes, etc. This is a letter that she wrote to Jeremy to advise him that the journals he found were not real & that she did not, in fact, think about murdering her children, nor did she intentionally leave one of her children in a lake to drown; she did not stick her adult fingers two at a time, down the esophagus of her new-born baby in the hopes of having her choke to death on her own vomit, she did not have a mental illness, she did not have nor experience any of the things that we spent the entire book reading about. Are we to understand that Hoover thought it was appropriate to have a character simply adopt the mentality of someone experiencing a catatonic state of suffering for the purpose of being a better author? Is this supposed to be read as being interesting & forward-thinking? Jeremy, having found the journal entries, which Verity used as practice for her actual writing, thought that his wife did in fact believe, act, & think in all the ways she wrote. Does it not say something innate that your life partner believes you to have been capable of murdering your child? I do not care to believe that the ending to this book was ambiguous. Lowen & Jeremy murdered Verity in cold blood. They pursued a love-bombing relationship void of any human connection because they were horny. There is nothing left in this book at its conclusion which would encourage one to believe that perhaps Verity was mentally ill. Even if she was, the way that this book writes about genuine struggles is absurdly insulting & undermines every single individual who experiences them firsthand. With the popularized case of Gypsy Blanchard & Munchausen Disease by Proxy, one might believe that much of what Verity detailed in her final letter regarding faking her brain damage & physical impairments were or could be believed. Unfortunately, people in a coma are not simply left to doze without medical equipment to monitor their brain waves or vital signals. This is the final point on which I will touch in this review; timelines, believability & consistency were not present throughout this story. At one time, Lowen details herself as being 32, then on her birthday, she is turning 32. In Verity’s pretend journals, she tells Jeremy in the limousine that she is a writer & can therefore lie, to only tell the reader that she became a writer when Jeremy went to work. Et cetera… If there is anything that I choose to take away from this book it is that mental illness, physical illness & the overall general approach to these should be emphasized as important in our societies. I hope to see stories present authentic & valuable presentations of the lives & experiences of people whose decks hold these cards. I hope that we learn to grow collectively so as to render aid to invisible ailments something which might be easily attainable for all. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Mar 24, 2022
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Feb 27, 2022
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ebook
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62
| 
| 1803141883
| 9781803141886
| B09PNCZLXW
| 4.12
| 1,585
| Mar 31, 2022
| Mar 31, 2022
|
did not like it
|
**spoiler alert** I don’t quite know what I was expecting this book to be; a terrifying plot riddled with suspenseful peaks throughout the story, perh
**spoiler alert** I don’t quite know what I was expecting this book to be; a terrifying plot riddled with suspenseful peaks throughout the story, perhaps. Yet, it was apparent that I would not be reading a story that held much of anything I had hoped to find. This was a book that made me laugh, which found me enjoying comedic breaks within the storyline which I am certain were not meant to be regarded as such. This book reminded me a great deal of my reading of "Hell House" (1971) by Richard Matheson, because, in almost every way possible, it was absurd; I could not help but laugh. Therefore, prefacing the body of my review I would like to highlight that this book is not one which you might be drawn to because of its intricate plot. The pages do not hold writing which will grip your attention; no sentence to draw you into a story that will leave you hanging on every word, hoping to find a way to reprieve. This is simply a story about some people who find out that their parents were bizarrely complex individuals who lead lives prior to & throughout their upbringing. This book follows three (3) adult siblings as they bury their father a mere six (6) months after the death of their mother. They are left confused, worried & unsettled by the passing of life around them. While they decide how to approach the coming days that will require them to organize & rid themselves of the belongings that previously held distinct family memories, they find that their father was the famed local serial killer known as Gemini. In the chapters that follow we explore the mental turmoil that they experience when being faced with what to do with the keepsakes that their father safeguarded in his shed; the jewellery, the photographs, the Polaroid camera & the confession letter, all pinning him to the crimes. As the story moves forward we watch as these three siblings discover that they are missing their fourth. The appearance of a brother is timed perfectly with the resurgence of crimes committed in tribute to Gemini’s killing spree which took place in the 90s. It does not take a great deal of mental stamina to clock where this story is going. The author lays out the plot very distinctly for the reader in the opening pages; things are not as they appear. Therefore, should you not be familiar with any criminal psychology, pathology or likewise, simply taking these words at face value will leave you with enough information to know how as the story progresses, you must not take the appearance of a seemingly random other people for the joyous event they attempt to present it as being. If I’m being honest, I allowed my eyes to skim over the majority of this book. I found myself thinking of other things while working my way through. The writing left much to be desired. There was far too much redundancy within the writing for me to take any of what was being written seriously. The first introduction we have to James at the docks is riddled with repeatedly telling the reader that there is no one around,…because people have left, so there is no one around because it’s the end of the day so it is just the killer & the victim, meaning there is now no one else around because it’s the end of the day & the girl is about to close shop, so it’s the perfect time for a crime because there’s no one else around. I felt as though I were being treated as oblivious. I just read a sentence in which you explained that it was the end of the day & people were leaving, I can readily deduce the reasons which would make this the ideal time for a crime, you do not need to tell me that people are scarce at the end of a workday, over & over & over again, I get it. This is one single example of this happening & I reduce this approach in the writing style to the inability to show the reader what is happening; we are told. I never felt as though I were watching things unfold but rather that I was reading something of a script of what a group of people would later present as being a series of events that lead to the conclusion. I believe that editing could lighten the load that the redundancies carry throughout the story. Editing could also allocate proper (i.e. distinguished) voices for each of the characters. Though the cast was granted the freedom to express themselves in their own separate chapters, I really could not distinguish one sibling from another. As I said before, the redundancies were found very heavily in the writing & this was the main way I was able to differentiate one person from another. We read about Cara working as a crime author,…she writes about crimes, she’s been around criminal activity because she works as a crime author, as a crime author she writes about real criminal activity because she is an author for crime novels. Though this was annoying, I don’t know how else I would have known Cara & Molly were different had it not been for the repeated information. I would like to grant every character in this book the benefit of the doubt, maybe they were willfully naive. However, so many things were done & said that bequeathed asking if they had ever seen any modern media representations of criminology at all, ever. One might even wonder if they ever saw any old-time TV series as they too would have helped piece together their mystery in a pinch. It appears, however, that they have not, which makes the fact that Cara writes about true crime immensely bizarre. I’m sure that any episode of "Criminal Minds" (2005) or "Murder, She Wrote" (1984), would lead one to the same conclusions that I found myself at. However, here we read about people who are so bewilderingly ignorant that it was hard to digest. What I will say on a parting note is that this story would play out well in a visual format. Though I can appreciate that this is the type of book that you might enjoy reading; on the beach, during a pit stop on a road trip or, if you need a heavy topic broached lightly. I truly think that the way the story progresses could be edited in such a way as to make it truly flourish in film or television. This story feels familiar & perhaps that comes down to my heightened consumption of crime-related information. I grew up with "CSI" (2000), "Criminal Minds" (2005), & shows of the like, playing reruns every weekend so, the information presented in this book was not revolutionary for me. Had the writing been altered to fit a more mature set of actions & reactions I might not have found the flow so comedic. Therefore, I hope this book finds itself in the right hands because I know that many people will find it to be just the right amount of tension, mystery & thrill. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, & Miranda Smith for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Feb 23, 2022
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Feb 23, 2022
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Kindle Edition
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106
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| B09MZVJ28L
| 4.10
| 1,329
| Apr 03, 2022
| Apr 03, 2022
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it was amazing
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There is seldom in this world that can top my enthusiasm for finishing a deliciously delightful & marvellously well-crafted book. When I find myself e
There is seldom in this world that can top my enthusiasm for finishing a deliciously delightful & marvellously well-crafted book. When I find myself eagerly making my way through a story; satiated by the encumbering pages that lay ahead, I am filled with sentiments of gratitude for the author who put so much of themselves into the story. Such is my experience with this first instalment of what I hope to be a long-running series of mysteries written by Slayton. In 1925, with the Great War behind them, members of an aristocratic house find themselves gathered in numbers to celebrate a new coming of age. All the while, a body lays inert amongst the foliage where members of the party scurry past in the hopes of sustaining their own motives of secrecy. If you are someone who has ever enjoyed an episode of "Midsomer Murders" (1997); who has delighted in the suave nature of an Agatha Christie mystery; who has become enthralled with the classic takes on crime befalling Rex Stout’s defectives; if you have ever found yourself on a blustery day in need of a story that will scratch the corners of your imagination, A Most Efficient Murder is one such story you will delight in reading. There was no one moment that led me to the conclusion that I was enamoured with this story; the book’s opening pages encouraged me to maintain that feeling from start to finish. I suppose what makes a great mystery novel is, not always our inability to guess the twist but, the author’s ability to lead a reader into an environment in which they know something is amiss; nothing is quite as it seems & one must believe that to be true, however plainly things appear to be the opposite. By this I mean, that the author has introduced a cast of characters who are settled, they know themselves & we need little to understand that these are multi-dimensional people whom we have now caught at a disadvantage as there has been a crime committed. Yet, even though we are aware that one of the people we grow fondly to know as a person in this world, might very well be the villain of the story; we seek to find them amongst the pages. Slayton has flawlessly introduced a cast of characters who each host their own distinct perspectives, dialogue, actions & personalities. Every single character was unique to themselves, even the ones who lacked a bit of backbone. As much as I appreciate my ability to clock a twist, I most certainly prefer a story that distracts me from my longing to do so. While reading a mystery, I do not want to have my conscious state entirely focused on solving the riddle; I want to have a story that encourages me to relinquish my hold of self-control & allow myself to be led through the maze of suspense. Regardless of whether I have solved the enigma, I want to have my appetite for secrecy sustained. This is a personal aspect of reading, I very much acknowledge that. This is not to say that, if/when I solve a reveal I am left disappointed, on the contrary; you’ve granted me enough information to allow me to stand toe-to-toe with a character who knows more than I do, I applaud your ability to be subtle & discreet. The setting of this story brought me some level of nostalgia that I cannot quite pin down. The story, for the most part, takes place on a vast estate & yet encouraged me to utilize my full imagination when I was required to build the scene within my mind. This story included elements of everything I adore about classic crime novels; a vast array of eloquently devious characters, elements of classic literature, a crime within a mystery, the necessity to reach beyond the limits of the property to better understand people we know not, a setting that reeks of cozy suspense while horror seeps from the cool rocks of the estate. I am very impressed & enthused to have come across this book. I hope to read many more of these stories in the approaching years. Coming across books that remind us of all the things there are to appreciate in an old-time murder mystery is unparalleled & invaluable. Thank you to NetGalley, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op & Anthony Slayton for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Feb 19, 2022
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Feb 20, 2022
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Kindle Edition
| |||||||||||||||
84
| 
| 0593436717
| 9780593436714
| B09CD81MFZ
| 3.84
| 44,644
| May 03, 2022
| May 03, 2022
|
it was ok
|
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on rape, colourism, substance abuse, child endangerment, parental abuse, & others. Beatriz marries Rodolfo for his social status; she wants the money that was taken away from her after the politically motivated murder of her father; to regain her place amongst the social elite, though she would never state that these are innately the things that she wants. Rather, Beatriz boasts about accepting Rodolfo’s proposal so that both her & her mother can leave the home of her aunt, who housed them after the death of their father & exile from the community. Yet, all the while, Beatriz is ravenous to declare Hacienda San Isidro her home, her possession, her property, & hers alone. To which I am left wondering whom amongst the slew of self-serving characters am I meant to root for? Firstly, I acknowledge that many unseasoned, casual, readers will find many things to love in this book. Throughout my entire reading experience, I knew that I was not someone for whom this book would have been recommended because I have read too many books to meander behind the hand-holding, poor literary approach of the author towards a subject matter that could have blown me away. That is to say that the scene & time period in which Cañas wrote this story is one that is riddled with intrigue & mysticism, two things this story would have benefited from. However, following the lead of such a main character as Beatriz leads one down a road that sees them exiting the interest they held towards any of what was being written. The political situation in Mexico during the time period in which this story was set (1820-) is one that could have been presented with a bit more depth. There is certainly nothing innately wrong with leading the reader to further their knowledge by doing their own personal research but, this does stunt the flow of reading as one must pause to ensure that the political details that are being swept past, are well comprehended & to ensure that their relevancy to the story is accurate. Therefore, I think had Cañas introduced the story with a foreword about the scene that would be set, I feel we would be left with the profound feelings of unease & struggle that we are meant to feel emanating from the pages throughout the story. What reinforces the disconnect between the scenes presented to the reader & the plot at large resides solely in the ineptitudes of the characters. This is a story that has been done many times before & should you be in the market for a decent haunted house I encourage you to start at the source. In my experience, books that are sold as a retelling of a principle that has already been succeeded upon by another author, fall flat by their inabilities to build on their own merit & originality. What renders Beatriz’s story one that is unlike any other you’ve read before? Was it very difficult to gauge who the murderer was after being introduced to Juana & her laughter regarding a mutilated rat? I think not. This is very unfortunate because the author paired beautifully intimate cultural aspects of lore & mysticism within the plot to add distinction to its storyline yet failed to render these serious aspects of the story. The dialogue that follows each character grew to be some of the most cringe-worthy I have read in a while. Asking me to believe that because Beatriz was the ‘daughter of a general’ would render her capable of any of the random things she decided to try & accomplish, is laughable. This is a character who proclaims she has a deep & respectful relationship with her mother yet never once has a conversation with her regarding her plan to marry a rich man to help them better their situation. Why is that? How am I to believe that this character is anything but idiotic when all she has done the entire story is be brain-dead bananas? Beatriz took it upon herself to seek out a wealthy man who had the means to grant her, her every wish. She wanted to not have to do the physical labour & menial jobs that her aunt was imposing upon both herself & her mother because they were social & political pariahs. I found it absurd that I was meant to feel fondness toward Beatriz. She might be a good person, deep in her soul, but her actions do not prove that to be true. She never speaks to her mother about her marriage until she is well-passed accepting Rodolfo’s proposal. She moves to San Isidro without consulting with her mother & plans to bring her mother to the new house, without ever asking if this is what she would want. Beatriz never makes any effort to befriend Juana whom one might rightfully wonder at; why is this woman working the fields of a property that is allegedly her family’s? Everything that Beatriz chooses to do is because she has set herself the goal to do it alone. Is it necessarily bad to want to better one’s life? No. Is it weird to exclude the only family you love in all your plans for social climbing & sleeping with ‘the enemy’? Yes. What I find to be the most noisome aspect of this story is the request for me to look past the banal mental abilities of the main character. Surely, these stories succeed as they do because the women are never in a position to ask questions & they never feel it appropriate to ponder anything. Yet, I cannot in my right mind believe that this is actually true. One can certainly be raised to not speak out of turn & one can most definitely not feel it their place to ask about a dead family member—respectable topics of conversation to be abided—yet, one most certainly wonders about the disjointed events transpiring around them. I understand that Beatriz could not outright ask Paloma what happened to Rodolfo’s first wife but, there needs to come a time when women are not being written as imbeciles simply because they were outwardly treated as such. It’s insulting to read an entire book wherein the main character is a floundering fish out of water because she refused to grasp any straw placed near her hand due to her infallible desire to oust anyone not aligned with her goal of possessing her own home. Is it so farfetched to think that the man who gawked at you because of your skin tone might also be a shallow, mean-intentioned person? Rodolfo proves to have no redeeming characteristics yet we are to look past all this because Beatriz cannot read the room. This is rendered an extremely weird decision because Beatriz wallows about the treatment she received from her aunt regarding her skin pigmentation. Again, here lies an insanely important topic to be properly introduced within the book & yet, it is employed simply to grant distinction between women. How was colourism altering Beatriz’s lived experiences? Her father was a very respected general--from whom she inherited her complexion--yet we read not about what prejudices befell a person who was darker than another. It is not enough to simply insert key phrases about becoming ‘darker with sun exposure’ for the reader to glean the insane mistreatment that people experience due to colourism. As well, what differentiates colourism in Mexico (in this time period) from what we see happening today? The primary reason for which I felt this book would find enjoyment in the hands of causal versus habitual readers is that the details presented in the dialogue border on redundant. Beatriz is constantly telling us that she is the daughter of a general & will therefore vanquish her demons. We circle this thought process endlessly & see her screaming down the staircase evermore. We read about an evil part of Andrés while never seeing this come to fruition & rather watch him fall in love with Beatriz because she never had the gumption to question what she didn’t understand. I think we should be more kind to one another but, to sit with someone who tells you they are a witch & not blink an eye does not lead me to believe you’re an accepting person, it leaves me to believe that you’ve no girth to your personality & haven’t the brains to think of anything to say. Posing a question isn’t a negative thing. It’s ok to ask what it means to be a witch—truly what does it mean in connection to the town & Mexico as a whole? What place is left for Andrés in the rational world of his peers? The town seems to adore him yet, he has to remain hidden due to the general political views of the country but, how many other people are witches too? How did he know that hearing voices was not something else entirely? So much of the intrigue we should have felt vanished when we are led towards the conclusion it appears we had already arrived at chapters before. For example, Beatriz sees that the corpse within the wall has a specific necklace, then she dreams about the demon apparition of the first wife, then we walk to the grave only to have Andrés confirm to us that her body isn't there....we already knew that? Why did we have to read about this thrice, if not more? Had the author presented new information at that time this all would have been validated but again, we circle the same things over & over again. Granting the characters no depth to their beings prevented the story from blossoming into a horrific tale of a body crumpled into a wall; a serial rapist turning a blind eye to the murder of his victims; political outrage & violence; torture, torment & fear. Every single character in this book is a shadow of the people they should & could be. What rendered the relationship between Beatriz & Andrés so special save for the fact that neither of them cared a lick for looking further into the mental state of the other & were seemingly bonded by trauma? What happened to Juana as a child to make her so distant from the social requirements that would be imposed upon her? Why did Rodolfo not care about Beatriz’s father or his involvement in the war? I will applaud Cañas for some of the more gruesome supernatural aspects of the story. My favourite was the body in the hall. The visual descriptions given to the ghost corpse as it slowly raised an actively decomposing arm towards Beatriz, were superb & I wish there had been more of that. However, I realize that for certain readers this might not be what they were looking to read & therefore regain my stance that, this is not a book that is necessary for habitual readers of horror for, there is little that is horrific about this story. I read another review that stated something along the lines of; if all the supernatural occurrences were removed you would have a better story & I am inclined to agree. What did it add for us to read numerous scenes in which Andrés was attempting to summon the ‘dark’ parts of himself to exorcise the house? Save for the few cool descriptions of an angry ghost, there wasn’t much to pique my interest in this plot. I couldn’t care less about the haunting of a woman who loved her rapist husband's violent tendencies that coincided with her murderous desires. I couldn’t find it within me to feel propelled forward through pages at end of a blossoming ‘love’ between characters who were all talk & no show when it came to having a backbone. Why did Beatriz want Andrés to abandon everything he knows for her? She had nothing in the city but her mother. All the friends & acquaintances she grew to know & appreciate were in this town yet, she expected Andrés to simply walk away from the life he had been building to follow her in her quest for....what? I could not get behind Juana appearing at her leisure whilst Beatriz was rampaging through the house ripping wooden beams away. Rodolfo must have known that Juana killed his wife. He willingly did not go into a wing of the house, nor ever check why it was blocked off. He never sought to ask why he was not summoned when his wife died so that he could attempt to be present for her burial. I doubt it. All in all, this isn’t the worst book I’ve ever read & I find myself at a loss to want to continue writing this review because I know & recognize that this is a book that many people will love, for valid reasons. I am happy to know that it will find itself in the hands of its ideal reader. However, I find myself disappointed that so many opportunities were passed over within the plot to render this the tale of a truly mind-numbingly scary haunted house. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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May 06, 2022
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Feb 19, 2022
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ebook
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61
| 
| B092T7Z65M
| 3.54
| 4,095
| Mar 15, 2022
| Mar 15, 2022
|
did not like it
|
Tempest Raj is a twenty-six (26) year-old magician who found herself in a near-death stunt that landed her living at her childhood home with members o
Tempest Raj is a twenty-six (26) year-old magician who found herself in a near-death stunt that landed her living at her childhood home with members of her family who cook, coddle & coo around her & tend to her every need. Tempest is on the brink of what she fears might be rock bottom; having lost whatever good graces her magician’s act had given her. In this first instalment of what one might presume to become a series, Tempest finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery; how can a recently deceased body be found behind an aged wall? Well, most unfortunately for me I did not enjoy this story at all & I will preface this long-winded review by stating simply that this was not meant for people in my age group. I am a couple of years older than Tempest & found her behaviour ranging from absurd to ludicrous. I began to wonder if this character was written as someone who might reflect what younger audiences might think someone in their mid-twenties to be. My reason for questioning the authenticity of Tempest’s character was truly brought about because the writing style employed in this book is very juvenile. The transitions between thoughts, scenes & events circle around a select few catchphrases which would behold the interest of a young audience. This is certainly not a negative thing if the book were targeting young people. Unfortunately, it is being put forth as an ‘adult’ read & for that reason, I found it fell very flat. I would like to highlight that books are not necessarily restricted to us based on our ages. One can find themselves, for example, appreciating "Le Petit Prince" (1943) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry at any age because the writing style is filled with artful transitions & beautiful prose. What differentiates this story from one which might be appreciated throughout the ages is the fact that nothing was very magical. By this, I mean that the writing was not bewildering; it was bland & led us around the same corner, over & over again. We see this in the first chapters when Tempest continuously repeats how important a meeting is for her. We understand that the meeting is important, this does not need to be told more than twice. For this reason, I felt that the storyline might appeal to younger audiences as they might be more willing to forgive redundancy than I. As someone who can, more often than not, clock the twist in the opening chapters of a book, I found this story to not hold much depth in the plot to lead me to want to continue reading until everything was revealed. Being an avid reader of Agatha Christie’s I find myself always paying close attention to wording; even the most mundane phrase is often where the reveal is found. For this reason, I was, again, lead to reflect upon the target audience of this story. The premise of the plot holds a great deal of potential; the book will be beloved by many a young reader, of that I am certain. However, as someone who has lived in the adult world for many years & has spent many a stormy night reading brooding mystery novels, I found this story to not be anything particularly pleasing for me. The actions that the characters took touched the surface of what they could be. Tempest herself has very shallow interactions with people who are described as being very close to her. I suppose this comes down to the writing style; things were told to the reader rather than them being shown. This is not to say that there were not detailed descriptions, there were, often ample. Ultimately, this book was not for me. Should you read this review & wonder if you should read the book I would encourage you to give it a chance. Everything I stated was from a very subjective standpoint. If you’ve not delved into closed-door mysteries, this story might appeal to you. If you are fine with redundant descriptors, the length of this book will not bother you. I will say that I appreciated the touches of combined culture which presented themselves within the cooking practices of the characters. This trait did bring the characters together & forged what one might view as a genuine family experience which was authentic to the story we were reading. I’m sure we will see this story find its way to the ideal target audience as time moves forward & I am glad for every person who reads this story & adores it. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press & Gigi Pandian for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
|
not set
|
Feb 18, 2022
|
Feb 18, 2022
|
Kindle Edition
| |||||||||||||||
60
| 
| B09969JBFG
| 3.56
| 66,064
| May 10, 2022
| May 10, 2022
|
liked it
|
**spoiler alert** I teeter between concluding that this book sought to reinforce that either good people can make bad decisions or, that every person
**spoiler alert** I teeter between concluding that this book sought to reinforce that either good people can make bad decisions or, that every person in this story was a bad person disguised by the guilt that kept them in line throughout long periods of time. This book is written in three (3) parts, each of which is separated by the advancement of time; the plot moves forward towards the culminating event which is the anticipated wedding between Ruby & Gabe. On the bride’s side, we have Eli (father), Annette (mother), Sarah (step-mother), two half-brothers whose names I cannot recall, Veronica/Ronnie (grandmother), Lee (grandfather), Ari (paternal uncle), Sam (maternal uncle), Connor (cousin). On the groom’s side, we have Rosa (mother), & Amanda (aunt). As well, there are an array of tertiary characters such as Connor’s paternal grandfather, father & mother, some past love interests for Sam, Owen, some past love interests for Ronnie, etc. There were a lot of people in this story. I highlight the number of characters who made appearances in this book not because I found the number obnoxious but rather, for opposing reasons. I really enjoyed the number of people who came through the pages & brought to the story some form of authenticity. Weiner truly did her utmost to ensure that every character that we knew by name was more than the physical description they were given. These were people who, though for some, we saw only through the eyes of another & in very small doses, were granted enough substance for us to believe that they were living a full life. This is something I want to praise very highly because it was the main reason I kept reading for as long as I did. This book is centred around a handful of people & Weiner writes a chapter for each of them. They have their first-person point of view expressed from a personal standpoint & by so doing we are able to fully grasp their feelings & reactions in a genuine way. I will admit that this method of approaching character dialogue did render the chapters very, very, long. As someone who seeks to finish a chapter before putting down a book, this was a bit of a negative aspect as there were so many pages per chapter that the reading segments really dragged on. This leads me to my next point. The redundancy in events was excruciating. Due to there being an obscene number of active characters in this story, I will keep my critique centred around a few specific people. Eli, for example, continues to ramble about the possibility of Gabe being his biological child in every chapter he narrates. This is a man in his 50s yet we have to read about him questioning the biological connection between him & this other person for the entire story. I highlight his age here because having had, what we can assume as being, a great deal of life experience, one would think that Eli would simply do the math & deduce that Gabe was not his child. Given the fact that we know Gabe grew up with an impoverished single parent who relied very heavily on the support of her family to raise her child, it’s not far-fetched to assume that Gabe would have told Ruby had he been a premature baby. This aspect would have increased the difficulties that he & his mother encountered while she was trying to provide basic needs for her child. As this was never brought up, ever, & because Gabe is a solid four (4) months younger than Ruby—why do we have to continuously read about a situation which is pointless to dwell on? Also, if Eli was worried that Ruby was having incestuous relations with a person that could possibly be her biological brother, would it not be more important to tell her rather than focus on the ego wound that would ensue from saying that Eli slept with someone else during his relationship with Annette? I admit that I wanted to like Sarah’s character from the very start. She seemed to be well-rounded & held a hopeful view of life. How very unfortunate for me when very early in the book her true colours began to shine through to an extent that made me confused. First of all, Sarah has been married to Eli for 15 years & he uncharacteristically is going through a difficult time emotionally. How do we know this? Because Sarah repeatedly tells the reader that Eli is not as attentive to her & her needs as he was throughout the bulk of their relationship. Are you telling me that the basis to which you calculate the well-being of your life partner is by their ability to be there, uncompromisingly, for you & not,… say, their general overall behaviour towards themselves, their hobbies, their employment, etc? Why is him not being able to emotionally hold the bag for you the reason you’re going to ask him to sleep in another room? Is Sarah so incompetent as a person that she cannot be patient & kind towards the man that she describes as being the ideal partner? I suppose one might regard this situation as a breadcrumb amongst the loaf. One might say that Sarah is using this marker as an outward example so that the reader might better understand why she’s so frustrated & why she subsequently jumps at the occasion to have sex with a person she knew when she was 18. I think that’s a load of bull. You do not just abandon the person you claim to love because they’re having a rough time, for the first & only time in over 15 years. Let me highlight that this emotional time was taking place during a pandemic so, one might be in the right to assume that many people were going through difficult times. The fact that Sarah cannot comprehend that Eli is an emotionally complex person, such as herself, & might be struggling to express his emotions, is frustrating, to say the least. I really lost full interest in her character when she throws her marriage out the window when Eli does not come out & tell her what is bothering him the first time she asks. We never see her attempt legitimate conversations with him. We read about her wanting to have sex with her husband but never sitting with him while he’s outwardly displaying sentiments of distress. For whatever array of flaws Eli does have, he is a family man & obviously wants to be in the family he has. He deliberately denounces having an affair & yet Sarah cannot comprehend that someone she loves might be sad so, she goes out & decides to do whatever she wants, to serve her own self-interest, rather than put forth any level of effort to be present in the life of someone she’s invested 15+ years with. Wild. I want to give Sarah the benefit of the doubt when it comes to Owen. As someone who has never been in love, I will admit that I cannot possibly speak of her total & all-encompassing infatuation with a person she knew for over 15 years ago, for a couple of months. Yet, I find myself confused about the entire ordeal. How little must you have to go on to spend your entire adult life thinking about someone you knew for all of 5 minutes, eons ago? Again, maybe I’m just not getting it so perhaps many other readers will come to this point in the story & state that it was wonderfully well done & that love never leaves the heart. I appreciated the way Weiner approached the topic of children; adopted, biological & surrogate (in any way). I appreciated reading a story in which the main focus, throughout all the mass hysteria, was to ensure that every child had a fighting chance to be the person they were & not be bogged down by the issues that the adults were encountering. This is a very important piece of the plot & a very valuable part of the story. Though I admit that Connor’s storyline was dramatic & incredibly sad, the fact of the matter remains; we saw a person (Sam) sit with himself & seek to provide this child (Connor) with a healthy life in every way possible. It’s important that these dramatic storylines not neglect the fact that children carry the burden of adult problems more frequently than one might like to admit. Seeing adult people try & settle their issues while granting their children the freedom of ignorance, the sentiment of safety & the environment to be a kid, was wonderful & I applaud Weiner for reinforcing that point. When all is said & done this is a highly dramatic plot. If you do not want to read about a handful of people being unfaithful to their partners, exploring their sexuality, having children, experiencing death, working through familial relationships, talking about personal issues, etc; I would advise you to steer clear. This is a story that packs a heavy punch. There is a lot going on & people don’t always (or nearly ever) act in logical ways. Everything is overblown, people don’t seek to express themselves & things get lost in the sauce, which I admit is one thing I truly dislike about stories (point finale). However, Weiner is a good author. Every character had a distinct voice, the scenes were clearly set & the imagery was detailed & all-encompassing. It was evident that this author put effort into ensuring that, however, flawed her characters were, they were real people in this story & we got a true glimpse into their lived realities. Sure, many of the things that happened in this book were ridiculous. Sarah decided on a limb to have an affair with someone she hadn’t seen for 15+ years because her husband was closed-off; Sam had sexual relations with Gabe on the night when Ruby left him a break-up note, & Rosa ignored Eli because she couldn’t be an adult; Eli lying to Annette so he could have a biological child; Annette blaming Eli for birthing a child that she knew she wouldn’t be able to emotionally care for, etc. But, I guess if you can look past some of the more extraordinarily wild things that happen, you might enjoy this book. As for myself, there were too much of too many random & ignorant things happening for me to forge a connection with any particular character which might leave me feeling fond of the story itself. I really truly enjoyed the way the book was written & for that, I allocate its own star because it was very enjoyable up until about the middle point of Part 2. Regardless of that, this was a weird & interesting, bizarre & enthralling story that would indeed be a good summer read. Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, & Jennifer Weiner for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Feb 17, 2022
|
Feb 17, 2022
|
Kindle Edition
| |||||||||||||||
112
| 
| 1542032172
| 9781542032179
| B091PRCTN6
| 3.78
| 4,317
| Jan 01, 2022
| Jan 01, 2022
|
it was amazing
|
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book & those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters that contain reflections on parental neglect, parental abandonment, substance abuse, physical abuse, domestic violence, infant mortality, pseudocyesis, & others. When Plato first introduced the philosophical concept known as "The Dualism of Man" I wonder if he fathomed a realm of reality in which his questioning regarding the everlasting span of one’s immaterial spirit, might lead to the lives we have lost, in between the one we lead, to find each other in the pages of a book. I wonder too, if he knew to understand or include the possibility of grief & physical losses experienced in the material, physical form, in his philosophizing. This book is breathtakingly fascinating. We are introduced to two (2) romantic couples & their struggles with their state of consciousness compared to their perceptions of the world around them. Amanda & Derrick are married, they have a house which they bought under the notion that it would be filled with the children they would share, they work in high-achieving fields & they appear totally & completely incompatible. In this couple we see two people who never communicate; every conversation they share is hollow & I found it genuinely frustrating to make my way through their chapters because I didn’t like Amanda. I struggle through literature that puts a liar in the forefront of the plot because I find it difficult to pace myself through a premise that is led by the inability or the voluntary choice of said character to evade the truth. We are, from the jump, meant to feel some level of sympathy towards Amanda. She is dealing with the diagnosis of Pseudocyesis, also known as Phantom Pregnancy & holds her ‘inability’ to conceive a child with her husband as being her own fault. However, we are then led through mazes of Amanda’s willful decisions to lie to Derrick, to withhold feelings & thought processes from her husband who is, for all intents & purposes, pursuing the same goal of biological childbirth, alongside her. I acknowledge that the purpose of frustration felt towards Amanda’s character was most probably intended. Amanda is not one-dimensional. None of the characters in this book, primary or otherwise, are; every character explored throughout this story held a deeply established dimensionality to them. It was easy to feel that the story being told was true. I must admit that being able to create such well-rounded, profound beings in this fictional world was a great feat. We read about so many different characters, perspectives & inputs that it would be easy to confuse some of their voices. However, this never happens, not once. Washington is able to bring all of the characters to life. He gives them voices & personalities that fit within the realm in which they exist as well as within the domain in which I do; the reality in which I sit & read a story about a person who experiences things that I have not & in which I seek to respect the differences in our beings, however frustrating that might be. We also have Patrick & Marissa; academics who dip their toes in the world of those simply seeking to smell the roses & not reinvent mathematics. This couple is profoundly connected by trauma & the innate ability of those who live through life-altering circumstances as young people, to find themselves in the company of similar folks without ever really speaking their truth into reality. As much as it pained me to read the perspectives that were granted by these two, I appreciated it the most. I shan’t go into details as to why I found their insights comforting; as one who reads a familiar scene plays out far from reach. However, I will say that the relationships that Marissa & Patrick held with each other & those around them, felt incredibly authentic to me. Having these two highly intellectual people, reveal through dissociated, third-party dialogue, the events which transpired felt refreshing. I was glad to read about people seeking to achieve good things not because of what happened to them but simply because they could/wanted to. It never felt as though Washington was seeking to reinforce the age-old adage that is often told, stating that trauma made you who you are—these characters were who they were because that is who they are. I was glad to not read about trauma being credited for the absurd level of success these individuals achieved. I think what I appreciated the most out of any of the aspects of this story was what it asked of me. I recognized aspects of myself & people around me in the actions of certain characters & within their rationalizations. The experience of grief, most specifically the loss of love, is an incredibly complex emotion, event & experience. Washington meticulously crafted individual people who found themselves coupled; romantically, with familial relations, & within friendships, & he determined to ensure that the loss that was described throughout this book might touch every single reader. One might not have experienced the loss of a child carried within one’s own body, but one has certainly lost someone who was loved. One might not have lost a family pet that granted that person the security of unconditional love but, one most certainly has felt insecure in their place within the emotional world. I would encourage many & all people to read this book if they can. I acknowledge that the trigger warnings I listed above might prevent some people from advancing with their reading experience & that is okay. However, I applaud this book for bringing into focus the multitude of ways in which we experience loss in our lives. I cannot help but feel for Marissa. Her quest to seek the comfort of the consciousness of someone she has known, lost in a reality that she no longer inhabits, is both overwhelming & debilitating. How can one be expected to go on when one has lost so much? What is left when we subtract from the sum total of all our parts? I will certainly find myself reading this book again. The themes posed within the plot highlight very important philosophical questions & I do not think that reading it one time will satiate my need to explore the answers that I gathered from this first consumption. As well, I cannot say that how this book was written intended for the book to be read but once. Reading about a woman who is struggling with phantom pregnancy requires a read of its own, as does reading about a husband who drugs his pregnant wife & a man who humours his brother in all things serious, & so does the woman who loses her mind to rationality in a void of grief. Every aspect of this story deserves its lens, & its own time to blossom within the story; this is a book I will keenly revisit throughout my life. I find myself humbled after reading this book. It is one thing to see yourself reflected in the words of a stranger but, it is another to wonder what the people who find their reflection, one that differs from your own might feel, too. This was a sad story & I’m glad to have read it. Thank you to NetGalley, Little A Books, & C.J. Washington for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Feb 06, 2022
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Feb 06, 2022
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Kindle Edition
| |||||||||||||
59
| 
| B005E8AS28
| 3.85
| 37,727
| Jul 1992
| Aug 2011
|
really liked it
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I was too terrified to try & read any of the Goosebumps books when I was young. I spent my entire life loving Scholastic Book Fairs, libraries & book
I was too terrified to try & read any of the Goosebumps books when I was young. I spent my entire life loving Scholastic Book Fairs, libraries & book stores but, could only ever look at the covers of these books; never daring to attempt to read any of the spooky stories hidden inside. It’s almost funny, how comforting this story was for me. Picking up a book that was around so popularly in my youth; the reputation it holds, the cheesy-spooky adventures that the characters go through — I had to love it. Amanda is 12 years old & alongside her 11-year-old brother, Josh, & their two parents, they pack all their belongings into moving trucks & drive four (4) hours away to start their lives in an old abandoned home left to them by a mysterious great-uncle of the patriarch, whom no one can call to mind. During their short stay at the house, huddled behind tall ominous trees, kept safely within the shadows of the deserted neighbourhood streets of Dark Falls; the children encounter the ghosts of other children creeping through their bedrooms at all hours of the day & night. This story made me laugh at times due to the crux at which the entire premise rests; the absurd level of annoyance that the parents hold towards their children. At every turn, mother & father take turns expressing how tired they are of the boisterous energy that their kids emit; longing for them to go play around the neighbourhood, walk the dog, be silent & often times asking them to be complacent. I’m not here to critique this fictional family; without their 90’s view of parenting, we wouldn’t have had the wonderful scene of Amanda & Josh running through a cemetery in the middle of the night, fighting off Zombies with sunlight. However, I cannot help but think of all the stories, modern & antiquated, that have been influenced by the parenting style we see in this book. The reason this story is as brilliant as it is, cannot be pinpointed to a singular aspect. Though, I am certain that everyone might find one thing more enjoyable than others. Stine knows his audience & he knows how to lead the reader through chapters which reside on a twist, well,…they aren’t all twists but, you have to keep reading to find that out & that is what I enjoyed the most. At the end of every chapter Amanda is faced with a situation which is scary; a hand on her shoulder, footsteps creeping closer, flowing curtains in an otherwise still room. It’s wonderful. I would have been spooked out of my socks reading this as a kid. There are so many positive things to say about this book. If you are looking for a creepy story that hits all the markers of a cheesy-over-the-top zombie story, look no further. This isn’t the type of book you read for the logical premise; we are, after all, reading about two children being physically able to push a fully-grown tree over an amphitheatre. But, if you can read this short book while keeping in mind who the target audience is, you might thoroughly enjoy it. It’s the perfect book to work through on a gloomy autumn day. I look forward to making my way through more of the series whose covers gave me the creeps as a kid. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Feb 05, 2022
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Feb 04, 2022
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Kindle Edition
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58
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| B0982ZKTK5
| 3.62
| 37,415
| Feb 15, 2022
| Feb 15, 2022
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did not like it
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**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book & those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters that contain reflections on eating disorders, distorted body image, excessive exercising, familial neglect, & others. I cannot think of where to begin in describing the disappointment I feel toward this book. I requested access to reading an advanced copy because I am a sucker for stories that take place in the world of publishing. I adore all things books. I also have a particular tickle of appreciation for stories that involve someone else sharing a tale of their own; a book within a book, the publishing hopes & dreams of a dreary romantic mind. I have also always acknowledged that the Romance genre & all its facets are not ones that I find very enjoyable. I do want to love romance novels but find them to be all of the same & I don't enjoy reading about people who could have simply been honest & avoided complications that need not have transpired. Therefore, when I came across a story about Savannah Cade, a girl in her late twenties who works in a publishing house in Nashville, TN, I wanted to read about her quest & ambition to write the story she had to tell. It is not lost on me that this book would benefit from a substantial amount of editing, similar to the edits that are recommended to Savannah in the fictional world. Grammatically speaking, the book overuses the emphasized hyphenated word in sequences that one might find to highlight sarcasm or the accentuation of a description. Ferguson includes these so often throughout the story I began to wonder if it was due to an inability to describe something or rather, even if we were meant to be interpreting Savannah’s character as quirky, complicated, & eccentric. Regardless, this prevented the novel from flowing enjoyably. I began to dread having to read a long-winded-hyphenated word sequence whenever Savannah introduced a circumstance, such as eye contact between characters. I appreciate that this could be seen as quaint once or twice, but the number of times it is employed took away from its purpose. As well, the writing could have benefited from a second look. There was something about the way that the story progressed that stalled. This is particularly unfortunate given my enjoyment of the beginning of the story. Had we seen an editor do a thorough job of reviewing the approach, I might have accepted the absurdity of the ending. However, I then ask myself what would an editor have done if not required the story to be changed? Savannah is a person who constantly speaks about the romance genre as though she has read every single book in existence only to make baseless claims about the characters found within these stories. She wants to write a slow-burning romance, not one in which her characters encounter instant love. She wants the 'normal' girl to be granted a chance at love; she wants to give the 'less than desirable' person a chance at seeing themselves represented in a story. But then, she does the complete opposite of that & it's mind-numbing. To read about Savannah wanting to write a story for the underdog while Ferguson writes a character who is very much not an underdog is bizarre. For example, we read about her having to 'squeeze' into a size-2 dress that her sister, Olivia, gives her to wear during a fund-raising event. Perhaps this is a hot take but, the fact that you can wear a size-2 piece of clothing & move around relatively freely (not ignoring the fact that many an article of clothing might appear constraining for a person of any size), is not representing the character as being mid- or plus-sized. Savannah is the same person she is trying to escape. Was this meant to be presented ironically? Were we meant to read about her having a sister who borders on disordered eating & excessive exercising & looks at Savannah as a regular girl because she eats donuts? Just because one character is severely troubled & should be given the support they require to not feel the need to obsessively perform all tasks at the same time at a level that exceeds what is normal & healthy, does not mean that the other character is a victim who should be pitied because woe is her for not being allowed to eat donuts around her sister who very clearly requires some form of familial support. The character of Olivia is excruciatingly shallow. This character is skinny, she is fitness oriented, she has a fiancé, she has her apartment, she is pursuing a double major, she pursues many extracurricular activities, etc. She is the same character we see in all Romance genre novels & it is horrifically boring to find her again in this one. I feel a certain level of sadness for Olivia, as one person might feel towards another because she has no self-esteem. Ferris was with Savannah for eight (8) years & Olivia jumps at the chance to become engaged to this loser because they have a five (5) minute conversation while Savannah is out of the room. Where is this alleged family support that we read about so often? If the Cade family had given a lick about any of the members of their family, neither of the daughters would have turned out as morosely troubled as they did. Olivia has so much going for her. She participates & organizes social fundraising events, she wants to do good things for her community & yet she accepts love from a person who is an absolute twit. Why is that? Because her family is shallow & neglectful & never gave her the time of day; they never ensured that she was properly loved. This poor girl is crying to her sister about what she did wrong to lose such a terrible fiancé, only for her sister to harp on about the things wrong with Olivia rather than state that Ferris is a giant loser of a man. That's sad. It mattered nine (9) months ago for Savannah to tell Olivia that she didn't appreciate her sister dating her ex-boyfriend, it's worth zilch for her to stand over her sister & tell her of all the wrong she has done to lose out on that man now. Savannah is so horrendously flat as a character that I could not stand her by the end of the story. In her quest to write about the 'normal' girl, perhaps we could have also seen a 'normal' girl who is assertive without being aggressive; someone who can speak their mind & not need to hesitate before saying something. I am so beyond done with reading about girls who have no backbone; it's inadequate, faulty & lacking. Not every girl in the world requires 20 seconds before speaking, not everyone needs to ponder before saying what they need. Can we not read about a strong-willed person who isn't a loser & who does have a healthy level of self-confidence? Is this too much to ask for? I want to highlight that at its core, what Savannah seeks to achieve makes theoretical sense; I am asking the same to be done in real life. I wager to say that no, it's not too much to ask that the character not say that they think the Phantom, of "The Phantom of the Opera" (1909) by Gaston Leroux was misunderstood because they would have read the book & they would have known that this character was a Psychopath & not the romanticized version we see in other mediums. I will remain in waiting. The concept of the premise wherein Will leaves editing notes for Savannah was promising. Perhaps if you are someone who has not read many books or someone who easily accepts things at face value you might not have known that Will was the 'mystery editor'. Knowing that he read a full page of the manuscript & was also a person who spent their formative years in the building, one might easily deduce that he was the editor in question. The fact that Savannah spends every waking hour never putting those pieces together was exhausting. Therein lies my main issue with characters in romance novels; no one ever says what they mean. If Savannah spent all this time thinking that she was having encounters with Sam & that he was her editor, why not just say so? Why did we spend weeks after the fact reading about her moping around thinking that they couldn't be friends? You're an adult person, please just speak plainly. As well, why would Savannah assume that the mystery editor was a man? We are told that Savannah believes that men are more up-front & short with their words, based solely on her own experiences in her workplace. That's a pretty blatant generalization to make of a stranger you do not know. The simple inclusion of the editor stating that their 'ex-girlfriend' wouldn't have appreciated a certain pick-up line, doesn't lead me to assume that this was a male, it literally could have been anyone. What would lead Will to confide totally & unfoundedly in Savannah? They never experienced a moment in which Will was shown that this was someone he could trust. The publishing house was in dire straights & he came from another city to help save the business. Yet, at the first chance he is given, he assumes that everything Savannah says is the truth & wants to have her as his confidant. We don't know this person at all & then have to read about how easily Savannah fell in love with him. They experience almost no interactions within the story & then by the end, he gives her a three-book deal,…why? We just read an entire novel about how pitiful her original manuscript was because she has no basis for writing a Romance novel; she has no idea how to create a plot, write characters of substance, or even lay out an original story. Yet, this man gives her a book deal? That's ridiculous. Overall, I was severely disappointed by this book. I was so excited to read it; I thought I had found the perfect story to encourage me to believe that the genre could be more than tropes, riddled with dumb lies & abstinence from the truth. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Before closing off I want to highlight a couple of lovely pieces of this book that made me laugh; firstly, the intense necking scene between Savannah & Will. Who in this boisterously bouncing ball world is making out with their boss in the middle of a packed conference room? In what realm of reality was this meant to be romantic or even attractive? Why would they tongue for three (3) minutes in front of all those people? Secondly, if Savannah hates physical intimacy as she claims, she should not be writing books for a genre that requires the stories to include some hefty level of physical intimacy. She has to know that cooking eggs takes all of five (5) minutes & so people need to work their way up to the level of comfortable silence, companionship, etc, which she seeks to have. There needed to be a better build-up to her sloshing saliva with Will in the conference room from the scene of her saying that kissing was a royal waste of time. Where it stands, the two feel deranged. There needs to be some contextual editing done in this book as well. Both the intern & Savannah's mom share the same name (Moira). There is a scene in which Savannah is running through the building unable to check her watch for the time yet she has her cell phone's flashlight leading her way,…I could go on. I remain hopeful that I will find a romance that suits my fancy; one which is genuine & hosts an array of characters who are hopeful, sincere versions of real-life people. Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson-Fiction, & Melissa Ferguson for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Feb 03, 2022
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Feb 03, 2022
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Kindle Edition
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57
| 
| 1982171952
| 9781982171957
| B0984KRNCN
| 3.73
| 2,205
| Feb 15, 2022
| Feb 15, 2022
|
it was amazing
|
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on child endangerment, sexual acts (performed by minors), parental neglect, crimes motivated by bigotry, & others. Owen has spent the entirety of his conscious life hidden; burrowed away from the world because his mother is convinced that it has nothing but terror to offer her son, the boy known as a Terror due to the very real bird that has grown within the layers of his ribcage. Owen is sensitive to those around him as much as he is to his own emotional turmoil, due to sharing a physical body with an entity all their own; he has manoeuvred through life, a place in which people can be two-in-one while being wholly singular. How swiftly the weighted word anchors itself to our hearts. How delirious the memory of a decadent story can render us to become. How bewilderingly breathtaking it is to read a story about a boy with a bird in his chest who reminds us that the heart can be as full of good memories as the mind. Lund has exquisitely crafted a story so sickly sweet that I truly & very overwhelmingly adored every aspect of it. I must first begin this review with praise for the author as the prose that was employed throughout this book was wonderful. Reading this book was like walking through life with blue-coloured glasses; everything carried a weight of morose sorrow with a hint of hope that wafted through the vast shades of blue. I was instantly hooked on Lund’s writing style, as I very much enjoy writing that seeks to craft a scene; showing, leading a reader down to a murky lake only to allow them to place themselves in the scene before beginning to exude the series of events that transpire in such a place. I acknowledge that this style will not be everyone’s cup of tea, if you prefer writing that is more so to the point, which does not seek to include repetitive phrasing with the purpose of adding minute details to an otherwise clearly painted picture, you might not enjoy this book. Therefore, please keep in mind that the writing style follows the mental dialogue of a person who has been nully exposed to the ‘real world’, their thoughts are often stunted by simple scenarios that the author takes pains to express. I found that the writing style employed throughout the book ensured that character voices & points of view were excruciatingly clear. There was no fear of mistaking Gail (the bird) for Owen (the boy); each character was their own person as much as you or I. This is something that is important to remark upon as both the bird & the boy inhabit the same body; they share feelings so closely as to make it practically impossible to hide something from the other. We read many scenes in which Gail knows what Owen is feeling, sentimentally, without ever having to hear him say it. Therefore, the ability to render two such characters into lively, fully individual beings was wonderful & I fully applaud Lund for that. As someone who has a difficult time suspending my disbelief, I will not lie to you & say that this story flowed without my need to do so. There are parts wherein one might question how or why something would have been done this way; it might be as frustrating as to want to make you abandon the story. However, should you be able to regard the book for what it is, a story about more than a bird in a ribcage, you might forgive the scenes that do not accomplish what you wish them to. The reason I highlight this, in particular, is because this is the type of book we might see lining the curriculums of schools in the years to come. Some day we might hear a teacher ask someone the importance of white cloaks & large stethoscopes rather than requiring us to focus on identification cards. This story poses us all the same question; what does the bird represent? It’s lovely to read a story about a boy who hosts a bird & they live through social qualms until they are loved & they love in return. However, there are too many scenes in this story for anyone of critical thinking to overlook. One must acknowledge the elephant in the room. This book allows every reader to pose many vast & profound questions about what it is they carry inside themselves. This is one of the many reasons why I adored Owen as a character. When we are first introduced to Owen it is through the setting of the scene; the boy born during the flood. We read about his mother’s decision to run away from the hospital workers after having been told that her son had a heart condition & he needed to be closely monitored. We are there when Gail appears in his chest & we are there when he roams free for one final day before his mother keeps him cooped up forever. It’s incredibly sad to read about a character like Owen. I could not help but feel incredibly morose while reading about his life because he was truly held back due to the inability of his parents to understand the complexities of the person they brought into this world. Yes, I am lumping his father into this statement even though the man didn’t even know he had a child but, the absence was a contributing factor to the life we read about. I felt so much empathy toward Owen that I began to feel hate toward his mother. Here walks a person who brought a child into the world only to subjugate them to their own adult delusions. Should we regard the story for what it is at face value, we have a person who locked their child in the house because they didn’t want them to be harmed by a group of people that we didn’t know for certain were roaming the earth in search of someone like Owen. On the other hand, if we take a step back & regard the situation for what it might represent, it is absolutely horrendous. Owen was neglected on such a level as to alter him almost irrevocably. We watch him long for comfort & joy while knowing that at a moment’s notice, his mother might call him to remind him that, that is not what he deserves to feel in this life. I understand that Owen’s mother wanted to keep her child safe, & I understand that she was afraid of losing the person that she loved. However, I find it very difficult to forgive parents who impose adult problems/issues onto their children. If you have an issue with the way the world functions, that’s on you. Your child should not grow up riddled with anxiety about the thought of the boogeyman looming around every corner. There is the possibility to be cautious without being paranoid. As we see Owen grow we read about him discovering his body, his pleasures, & desires & all of this encompasses sexual desires too. I personally found the way in which his sexual discovery was written to be as tasteful as it can be. We are, after all, reading about a person discovering what physical pleasures might arise from masturbation & most people who have gone through puberty might attest that learning to understand your body is not a smooth nor artsy process. Lund was able to write about something that is possibly taboo for many people & not so much for others, in a way as to remove us from the act itself & encourage us rather than focus on the mental hoops Owen has had to jump through to arrive at accepting pleasure for himself. Having lived every waking moment up until that point in constant fear & anxiety about bad things that would befall him, it was good to read about him learning to believe that he could feel good within himself. I think that as the story unfolds every person might find an aspect of the plot to appreciate. The characters are so incredibly well-thought-out & they wander through prose that is delicious in its descriptors. I am already looking forward to the time wherein I am able to read this story again. Though it is nearly impossible to capture the sentiment of the first time reading a book that one loves, Owen felt overwhelmingly familiar to me, parts of myself in an otherwise total stranger. Therefore, I will anticipate the moment when we can meet on these pages again. Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, & Emme Lund for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Jan 30, 2022
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Jan 30, 2022
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Kindle Edition
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56
| 
| 1951709721
| 9781951709723
| 1951709721
| 3.78
| 160
| unknown
| Mar 15, 2022
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it was ok
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**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on abuse, child endangerment, violence, parental neglect, sexual abuse, psychological distress, racially motivated crime, & others. Lucy is on the cusp of her fifteenth (15) birthday & has just been violently raped by a person she grew up calling ‘uncle’; a friend & co-worker of her father’s, a member of the local police force & a man who, we come to find out, is one of many men to benefit from the ring of horrendous abuse inflicted on the underprivileged youth in the town. I want to make something excruciatingly clear off the cuff; violence against children is terrifying, horrendous & monstrous. None of what I will be saying in my review seeks to state the opposite. However, if you are embarking on this read as a seasoned thriller or horror genre reader you might find that this book is a case wherein horrible things are told to the reader without adequate situational build-up. By that I mean that everyone on earth knows that child abuse is horrific, we do not need detailed scenes to play out for us to understand that. What a book should seek to do is render the reader part of the environment in which horrible things take place, specifically when dealing with the Thriller or Horror genre. It is not enough to list scary things, one needs to make the reader aware of the psychological & physical distress that the character is experiencing. That being said, this book was terribly difficult for me to read. I do not seek out stories that list horrific acts against children because I find it brutal to work my way through fictional works that deal with the monstrous reality that very real children deal with, every day. I do acknowledge that stories that involve actual facts within the fictional plot are in fact important, however, I found this story particularly difficult to work through as there is little girth to the plot itself without the repeated listing of acts of abuse. Due to this fact, the story felt interminably long. Though I appreciate that this book is not one that sees the characters in high-speed chases along strips of the highway; there wasn’t any specific turn of events that encouraged me to want to read on. Nothing transpires throughout which might not already have been posed as a probability earlier on. When asked to believe that no one in an entire town would suspect the Catholic church of having some form of involvement in the abuse of children I was a bit shocked. I would like to highlight that I am in no way shaming anyone who partakes in religions or this one in particular. However, most people in North America have heard at least one story in which the Catholic church was privy to situations of child abuse (I shall put this as politically correct as I can without seeking to offend). The next point I want to raise is that of character depth & authenticity. This book has two groups of characters, the young (aged between 14–17) & the adults (ages unknown but presumed to be around 35–50). I found it difficult to distinguish between both Buck & Lucy in terms of distinct voices during their point of view. I found the development of Lucy’s character a bit bizarre. Lucy knows that she cannot identify all her assailants, she knows that many men are involved in her abuse, & she knows that some of the men that she can identify are in the police force yet, as the story progresses she goes out of her way to put herself & everyone involved, in horrible danger. I could not help but feel utterly annoyed with her character by the end of the story. You are a child & though your lived experiences have involved you in the perils of horrible adult people in your life, you are not equipped to manoeuvre your way through the adult circles that keep these predators safe. To have Buck repeatedly ask her not to step out of line, only for her to do so, bringing no advancement to the story, was ghastly. Why did she constantly have to put everyone in danger? What good did her actions ever bring? Was she suddenly filled with bravery because she felt that no harm could befall her due to Buck? Where was the development of her character to be the person who carried around a gun & wanted to shoot a police officer in the middle of the station? We go from reading about her suicidal ideations to her desire for murder in such a short period of time that I would have hoped for more details to be given to her transition; perhaps more details as she went from feeling helpless to hopeful. I also found Lucy to be a difficult character to appreciate because of the way she treats everyone around her. These secondary characters are the epitome of tropes. Booker, the Black character, has a history of violence, his parents are divorced, he doesn’t see his dad, he speaks in broken slang even though we are told he is ‘traditionally’ smart. Not to say that African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) is not ‘real’ communicating, more so that his character feels trapped between speaking in AAVE & then, not, for the sole purpose of tormenting Ryan. Speaking of which, Ryan, the East Asian character, is described as overtly ‘nerdy’, very scholastically inclined & also a character that has Asperger’s. After researching a bit more about this condition I came across an article that stated that Asperger’s was no longer included in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as of 2013 upon its fifth publication. I can assume (with uncertainty) that this term was kept in this book as many of the terms used by the characters are beyond dated & often employed to shame & torment another. This means that the utilization of racial slurs was very high within this text as well as terminology which socially has become encouraged to fall into disuse. I appreciate that the characters in this book are struggling to find their way in a world that has very clearly told them that it doesn’t care about their well-being but, I don’t know that we needed to read about the utilization of the R-word when Ryan was in a scene as a way to reinforce the abuse he was subjected to because his friends assumed his mental diagnostic. As well, there is a scene in this book wherein Lucy says that Ryan was ‘putting on an act’ & I don’t understand what that means because,..why would he do that? Also, later in the book Ryan maintains his behavioural tendencies even though Lucy stated them to be untrue. Is this person on the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or are they not? I also wanted to learn more about characters who had lives that were hinted at but never fully explored. Why was Kitty so adept at brandishing weapons, without hesitation? Why did they move to the United States? Why was Ryan so good at hacking (military-grade websites mind you)? What happened to Buck that made him have an m.249 Machine Gun? What happened with Seraphim? How did he meet Naomi? Was this person a hit-man in his past life or was he a vigilante? Why was Lee (Lucy’s dad) so oblivious to everything? This man was in active combat with everyone involved in the child abuse ring, you’re telling me he had no clue that all his ‘buddies’ were predators? Who is this story for? Which audience would most benefit from reading such a story? A story in which the sole reason behind the protagonist’s success is pure & utter luck. I mean, Lee had a snipper shot to the Chaplain but left it to go talk to him face-to-face? You’re telling me the person who had anger issues to boot, simply put away his gun to wander down a hill to speak with the person leading the physical abuse line-up against his daughter? I will give credit where it is due however & state that I enjoyed the writing style. Johnson was able to employ a distance within the dialogue of his characters; a rift between who they were & who their trauma altered them to become. We were clearly able to see their struggle to maintain composure throughout the book which leads me to say that, I would read other books from the author in the future. When all is said & done, I know that many people might appreciate this story for what it was at face value. Unfortunately, this was not a book that I found myself eager to read after the first couple of chapters made it apparent what we would be reading about. I am not the target audience by any means & therefore found it difficult to appreciate the race through the woods, the car crashes, the canoe & Buck & Lucy too. Thank you to NetGalley, Polis Books, Agora Books, & Wayne Johnson for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Jan 26, 2022
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Jan 26, 2022
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Paperback
| |||||||||||||
55
| 
| 0744049881
| 9780744049886
| 0744049881
| 3.95
| 128
| unknown
| Mar 15, 2022
|
it was amazing
|
To have the ability to look around the world we know, the one familiar to us as adults, & pick out every beautiful thing we see as a gift for those wh
To have the ability to look around the world we know, the one familiar to us as adults, & pick out every beautiful thing we see as a gift for those who view the world differently than we do, I think is a fantastic ability & one we should seek to cultivate in all forms. In this book, we read through several stanzas wherein the author expresses seeing the person they love in places, things & thoughts that surround them, near & far. This would be the ideal bedtime story; something to allow & encourage a child's mind to wander to the vast expanses of their imagination with the reminder that in all great things, there can be familiar love & light. The illustrations in this book are beautiful & truly encapsulating. I think what I appreciated about them most of all was that they depict imagery as we might see in the mind's eye; not necessarily strict & crisp but, warm & with broad strokes, as though we are drawing forth an image from our recollection. I suppose we might even view these illustrations as done to demonstrate how grand & immense the world must seem to children. Everything is giant & vast but, the narrator seems to find their way through the wide world so that in everything big, tall & even sometimes small, the reader might remember that this is our world together & not apart. I truly loved reading through this book. I am a sucker for delicate poems. Placed alongside illustrations that encourage discourse & exploration, I found this book to be an absolute delight & I am certain that it can easily find its way into being a staple in the homes & schools of many. Thank you to NetGalley, DK Publishing, & Rachel Emily for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
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not set
|
Jan 25, 2022
|
Jan 25, 2022
|
Hardcover
| |||||||||||||
54
| 
| 0983290474
| 9780983290476
| 0983290474
| 3.96
| 301
| Sep 01, 1998
| Sep 01, 2013
|
did not like it
|
When reading a book, whether it be for children or adults, I think it is important to understand that questioning the authenticity of stories is good.
When reading a book, whether it be for children or adults, I think it is important to understand that questioning the authenticity of stories is good. This is a case wherein the genuine sentiment & sincerity of the work does not carry out within the book as neither Field nor Blanc is Inuit & though their source material (Danish expedition notes) might have come from a person who worked alongside the Inuit in 1921, to transcribe some of their oral traditions, I very much doubt this to be the case. This is certainly not the first book in the history of the world which has an author at the stern, steering the plot through a culture which is not their own. I suspect it is safe to predict, it shall not be the last. The illustrations by Mike Blanc are beautiful, that is not up for debate. However, they are from the perspective of an outsider of the culture, of the reality of the Inuit, therefore they do not hold weight in terms of accurately representing what the first-person point of view would be as an Inuit describing the power of 'magic words'. As an artist, I am certain that Blanc has grown his portfolio from his keen observations & developed his skills to represent a number of perspectives. Having scrolled through his website, I can confidently assume that to be the case. I do not wish to take away from his skills as an artist as I did very much enjoy the effort he put forth in the illustrations. This did not feel like a piece of literature which could or should be credited to a 'translator', in this case, Field, the author. There are so few lines within this book that it leads to the question; who is this for? A child would most certainly fixate on the illustrations to render some sense to the 'story'. Though, I doubt very much that cherry-picking pieces of a traditional tale can count as a full story. Regardless, the words utilized within this piece do not shed much light on the girth of the belief. We are simply 'translated' that words carry importance & value. Perhaps this is a good thing to know, generally. However, that leads to the question; why not just write a story from your own cultural point of view about the importance & value of meaning what you say & being thoughtful in your speech? When reading this piece I wondered what the purpose was. As an adult, I understand that the sharing of stories, traditions & practices helps us grow as individuals to well-rounded people in the world. Should this story have sought to achieve that it would have been to its benefit to working with Inuit authors, illustrators & Elders. They should have been at the forefront. For that reason, their absence is acutely felt in this story & I am left feeling a great pang of longing for where their absence resides. Thank you to NetGalley, Vanita Books, & Edward Field for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Jan 11, 2022
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Jan 11, 2022
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Paperback
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|
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|
|
|
|
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my rating |
|
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
69
|
| 3.48
|
did not like it
|
Mar 08, 2022
|
Mar 08, 2022
|
|||||
131
|
| 4.12
|
it was ok
|
Oct 21, 2022
|
Mar 06, 2022
|
|||||
99
|
| 3.98
|
it was ok
|
Jun 26, 2022
|
Mar 05, 2022
|
|||||
65
|
| 3.59
|
did not like it
|
Mar 04, 2022
|
Mar 05, 2022
|
|||||
95
|
| 3.65
|
did not like it
|
May 20, 2022
|
Mar 03, 2022
|
|||||
64
|
| 3.70
|
it was amazing
|
Mar 03, 2022
|
Mar 03, 2022
|
|||||
63
|
| 4.04
|
did not like it
|
Mar 2022
|
Mar 01, 2022
|
|||||
72
|
| 4.31
|
did not like it
|
Mar 24, 2022
|
Feb 27, 2022
|
|||||
62
|
| 4.12
|
did not like it
|
Feb 23, 2022
|
Feb 23, 2022
|
|||||
106
|
| 4.10
|
it was amazing
|
Feb 19, 2022
|
Feb 20, 2022
|
|||||
84
|
| 3.84
|
it was ok
|
May 06, 2022
|
Feb 19, 2022
|
|||||
61
|
| 3.54
|
did not like it
|
Feb 18, 2022
|
Feb 18, 2022
|
|||||
60
|
| 3.56
|
liked it
|
Feb 17, 2022
|
Feb 17, 2022
|
|||||
112
|
| 3.78
|
it was amazing
|
Feb 06, 2022
|
Feb 06, 2022
|
|||||
59
|
| 3.85
|
really liked it
|
Feb 05, 2022
|
Feb 04, 2022
|
|||||
58
|
| 3.62
|
did not like it
|
Feb 03, 2022
|
Feb 03, 2022
|
|||||
57
|
| 3.73
|
it was amazing
|
Jan 30, 2022
|
Jan 30, 2022
|
|||||
56
|
| 3.78
|
it was ok
|
Jan 26, 2022
|
Jan 26, 2022
|
|||||
55
|
| 3.95
|
it was amazing
|
Jan 25, 2022
|
Jan 25, 2022
|
|||||
54
|
| 3.96
|
did not like it
|
Jan 11, 2022
|
Jan 11, 2022
|
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