August Review

August has been a strange month. I met some new friends, made a little progress on the job front, and found the time to finally hit the beach (with my books of course).

That being said, it feels like four books in a month isn't much compared to my track record. However, as I have so helpfully reminded myself, two of those books have 450 and 716 pages respectively, so I read plenty this month, even if the majority came from two very long books.

I also had a few false starts, two with books I might go back to but didn't feel right at the moment, and one with a book that turned out to be missing forty pages, something I didn't realize until I was eighty pages in. So.

The point is I read more than it looks like I did and I'm not sure why I feel the need to justify that.

Let's just get started.

Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

I struggled with writing this review, and I think that was because I expected the book to end before it did, so I was emotionally past the ending when it happened. My brain had already accepted things and moved on, so 450 pages was too many for this book.

Despite the long winded novel, I love list stories since it's a double feeling of accomplishment; finish the list and you finish the book. And this book was entirely based around the concept of checking things off a list.

When Emily's best friend Sloane disappears two weeks into their Summer of Many Plans, Emily is left only with a list of things to accomplish and the the growing realization that she's going to have to do some things alone. Luckily, Emily manages to find a few new unlikely friends to help her figure things out.

Emily was an Incredibly relatable character and I loved getting to witness her evolution as the story went on. The other characters were great too, especially Emily's parents and Frank. It was a collision of worlds--music, track, theater, and an unidentifiable Sloane-ness that I've only ever found in manic pixie dream girls. And that's what Sloane started out as, this unattainable Thing. But she didn't stay that way. Emily's journey humanized her so that by the time the book ended and we got to actually meet Sloane, she was a real person, not a fantasy. I appreciated that break down of overused tropes as an approach to remembering not to put friends on a pedestal.

There were also lots of fun twists in the book, and I was never sure of where the story was going, so much so that the unpredictable nature kept me up and reading longer than I should have.

Besides being a bit too long, SYBG was a good read, one that started out as a tropey list for a manic pixie dream girl but turned into a realization of identity and acceptance of self. I'd almost call it a coming of age, and leave you to your own decisions from there.

Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kirsten Cronn-Mills

This book ended faster than I expected, with an admittedly satisfactory conclusion, but not at all what I was expecting. The whole process of reading the novel wasn't what I was expecting, but I guess that's the fun part of reading.

Gabe was a great character, and getting to peek inside his head even for just a short bit was an honor. His concerns and his movements and the way he saw the world felt very real. It was also refreshing to read a book with a transgender main character.

Gabe is just trying to get through high school; recently out to his family (who aren't handling it well) but not at school, Gabe dreams of moving away to work in radio, finding that the best way to express his true self is through his weekly radio show. The show becomes more, and as it does, so does Gabe, and it's when his worlds collide that things start to feel more than a little complicated.

The A side B side comparison to a record was Great for understanding transgender characters and culture, and I recommend anyone who feels they could learn more (and even those who think they already know) to give this book a try.

There were a lot of music references, most of which went over my head, but I liked having an almost playlist to go with the book. It provided a better understanding of the characters Gabe and John too.

Overall, the storytelling was a bit choppy, but realistic for passing time and highlighting significant events, all done in deference to Gabe's unique voice.

The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins by Clint, Griffin, Justin, and Travis McElroy, illustrated by Carey Pietsch

God, I love The Adventure Zone. First and foremost, if you've never heard of the McElroy brothers, go google them right now. You will not be disappointed. Then do yourself a favor and google The Adventure Zone podcast and prepare for your life to become one big dungeons and dragons adventure, led by a ridiculous troupe of characters, clever goofs, and the most I've laughed while knitting in a long time.

Here There Be Gerblins is the graphic novelized version of the first arc of the McElroy's podcast The Adventure Zone. It's part of a greater story, and if you love fantasy, comedy, and murder, or a combination of all three, you're going to want to check out both the audio and visual version.

Follow Taako (Justin), Magnus (Travis), and Merle (Clint) through adventures created by their fearless dungeon master, Griffin. And while the story originated as a podcast (and you should start there), the graphic novel is just as spectacular. Set in a more controlled narrative form, the story and characterization come across as well as it does in the podcast, only it's accompanied by Carey Pietsch's beautiful drawings.

If you want a wizard elf that says things like "Abraca-fuck you," a human fighter with a strong desire for a pet, and a tiny dwarf cleric who witnesses at the worst times and loves Kenny Chesney, you're going to want to get in on the adventure zone. You won't regret it, I promise.

I can't give you much more than that folks. I'd roll for charisma to assist in convincing you, but I think the content is more than able to speak for itself.

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

Locke Lamora is a book I picked up because it was marketed as an older Six of Crows. And for those of you who don't know, I'm a big fan of heist stories and letting characters swear, so an adult version of a cutthroat gang in a fantasy world seemed right up my alley.

Ultimately, though, the book had too much gratuitous violence for my taste. Right away the reader is thrown into a world that is meticulously and beautifully built, but also happens to be founded in creative violence. The nobles watch warrior women fight killer sharks to the death for sport--killer sharks that live in the bay beside their city, regularly fed prisoners and criminals that escape the scheduled noose at noon. The gangsters--garristas--murder with flair, especially Capa Barsavi, who has a man killed by crushing a sack of glass over his head. Lynch doesn't hold back any details either, giving us clear pictures when Locke's cutting off people's fingers or a shark is ripping a man's arm off. It got a little too intense and graphic for my taste, especially in Echos Hole with the casket. If you read the book, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. If you don't, there's no need to put the image in your head.

However, (very) surprisingly, I really did enjoy the novel. Despite the violence and terror, the schemes were clever and the characters sprang from the disaster with the sort of noble, vigorously criminal immortality I admire in heist stories, even though--spoiler alert--hardly anyone makes it out alive.

The running theme in the novel is formatted as revenge, but I think the true theme is family. Locke and the Gentleman Bastards steal and plan and kill, but they also cook and teach each other how to speak new languages. They look out for one another with so much care that when something happens to them the survivors are shattered. Locke Lamora is a story of surviving and vengeance and heist work that rivals Ocean's 11, but it's also about found family and learning that sometimes getting what you want doesn't always fill the gap inside you. Locke is a thief, the Thorn of Camorr through and through, but he's also a man with a bigger heart than he wants to admit, and the skills and integrity to see things through.

Lynch's world building is incredible too, weaving the history of the city in with the history of the boys, building their background and planting bits of foreshadowing that the reader doesn't recognize until the very last second. The schemes planted in the world are genius, even when they don't work.

There is a sequel, although the first book does wrap things up nicely, even if it takes until the very last page to do so. I'm not sure if I can stomach another round of the violence, but perhaps the intrigue over the characters and what mischief they'll find next will convince me to read the next book.

That's it for my August list, folks, so check out what you want from it. I'd love to hear what the rest of y'all are reading as summer comes to a close.

Keep writing, my friends!

Sam

Literary recommendation: Girl at War by Sara Novic

Movie recommendation: Crazy Rich Asians (2018) dir. John M. Chu

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