July Review

I'm a day late with these reviews, and I wish I could say I did it on purpose, since I finished Along for the Ride in the late nighttime hours last night, but really July was just super busy and I forgot.

So let's jump right in.

The theme for this month was recommendations, things that other people said the loved or didn't, and as such I should give them a shot. So I did. And then wrote about it.

Roommates Wanted By Lisa Jewell

This book was lent to me by a friend. She says it's one of her favorite books, and having read it, I can see the threads tying her and the book together. There's something very intimate about reading someone else's favorite book. It happens all the time, but mostly with strangers, not close friends who hand you their hearts on paper in the hopes that you'll see it too.

And while this particular style and story don't resonate for me the way they do for her, this was a very satisfying and interesting story.

In 1990, Toby is given a house by his father as a wedding present, but within a few weeks his new wife has run off and left Toby with a big empty house and no idea what to do. So Toby puts out and advertisement, for the lonely and the lost to come live in his large house.

Cut to fifteen years later and Toby realizes he's done nothing but accumulate dust and forget to live. Now, with the help of nosy Leah next door, he's going to sell his house and learn how to move on. But first he's got to convince all the people who've moved in that it's time to move on.

Witty and very British, Roommates Wanted is the story of a group of strangers learning how to live. Stuck in their pasts or their ways, all it takes is a bit of outside influence and a nudge to send them hurtling out into the world to find themselves. It's a story of self awareness and recognition, of how life will pass you by if you aren't paying attention.

This was a very polished and honest book, and there was an honest to it that felt intimate. Like sharing a house with a stranger and walking in on them in their underwear. And the ending produced a great feeling of hope and contentment, as though all the pieces on this wayward checkerboard had finally found their place.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

This book was recommend to me by a friend at work, and while I'd already seen the movie, there's something to be said about reading the book regardless.

You know that feeling when you read a book and things in your life feel like they fall into place around it? Like, your very way of thinking/speaking shifts a bit because of that book? This book was like that.

It's epistolary, which is not what I was expecting, but when it's done well it's a style I love, because it varies the section length and gives depth to characters that wouldn't otherwise be explored. I think we as a society should start writing more letters. There's something inherently romantic about it.

Set just after the end of World War 2, TGLAPPPS is an exploration of life After. To begin to live again amidst the rubble and the loss and the uncertainty. Juliet Ashton is a London-based author trying to find her next project when a letter from the island of Guernsey arrives from a man names Dawsey, who's looking for the owner of a book that ended up on the island. From there begins a correspondence between Juliet and almost the entire island, about books and the occupation, but most importantly the literary society that helped many islanders survive the german occupation.

Eventually making her way to the island, Juliet becomes ingrained in the lives of the people there, where she finds her story, a new family, and love in all it's forms.

The language used in this book is beautiful, and each letter has such a distinct voice that once I learned the character names it was easy to distinguish who wrote which letter. It's witty in a very British way, with a sense of humor that's more about little smiles than loud laughter. Juliet flourishes as the book progresses, finding herself on Guernsey as her letters progress.

What brings further intrigue to the novel is that the heart of the book is a woman named Elizabeth, who never actually appears in person, only in stories from other people. You can fall in love with a person without actually meeting them, but only if everyone they know also loves them tremendously, and that is the case with Elizabeth, both for Juliet and the reader.

TGLAPPPS makes life on a little British island seem idyllic, and, if I'm being completely honest, it makes me want to run away from society and live in a little cottage by the ocean, which I think is what truly shows how good this book is.

Creative and funny, with a cast of absolutely fantastic characters, I would highly recommend this book. There's a quote in a letter that Juliet writes that says, "Perhaps there is some secret sort of homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers."

It seems to me that The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is just that.

Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith

I got this book from a publishing company at YALLWest, who had a deal where if you recommended a book to them, they'd recommend one to you and give it to you for free. And since I love free books, it was the perfect set up.

This book intrigued me because it's about a Native American girl dealing with a lot of racism in a small town, all while trying not to repeat her past mistakes of dating a boy who doesn't understand her heritage.

The social justice aspect was compelling, especially as the main character realized her own missteps, how there are more kinds of discrimination than race. The book tackled big and small areas of insensitivity and blatant racism, which was refreshing, since there was an inclusion of language and history from a perspective not often seen.

However, it was excessively heterosexual, though, so I could've done with a lot less of that drama. I was genuinely surprised when the main character, Louise, and her love interest, Joey, together, since their chemistry was hard to read as anything other than barely one-sided. It felt more like Louise was interested in having a boyfriend than getting to know Joey specifically, especially after the other boy debacles.

It got a little preachy and clumsy at times, I think in an attempt to be theatrical and dramatic, but not overwhelmingly so and really only in places where Louise was apologizing to Joey, never in places where the topic was injustice or misrepresentation. Louise was a little boring at times, but I appreciated her stubborn attitude and willingness to work for what she wanted.

Overall, liked it more for the family and anti-racism story than the romance, but still a decent read.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

This book was recommended to me by someone I met at YALLwest. I got it super cheap on thriftbooks.com and kind of fell in love with it. And, I mean, it's Cinderella with robots, what's not to love.

This was a book that came out around the time I graduated high school, so it wasn't super on my radar of books to read, but I knew it existed. It took someone else telling me to read more than five years later for it to actually get a copy in my hand.

However, right after I finished the book, I rolled over and immediately ordered the next three in the series. So you could say I enjoyed the book.

Meyer has a lot of super interesting world building, especially in this sort of steampunk futuristic setting. The robots, the cyborg aspects of Cinder, the main character is all very interesting. And the interplanetary politics and threats of war were also interesting, adding another layer to the world.

I love retellings, and it was really cool to see how the author made it their own while also keeping some staple ideas from the original. And Meyer did a fantastic job keeping recognizable pieces in the story while also crafting something unique and fantastical.

Cinder is full of clever characters and concepts, and the romance didn't feel forced and the build up was great. You all know how harshly I judge romance, so this is a big deal.

I did kind of guessed the big twist, but the plot overall was something that didn't feel predictable, especially since it is technically a retelling.

I sometimes get nervous reading YA stuff from when I was in high school, since it wasn't always very progressive and a lot of times fell into some nasty consent traps when it comes to love interests. There was one instance of ya "boy won't say no" trap in Cinder, which we seem to thankfully be growing out of, but it was handled pretty well.

Overall, I'm excited to see where the story takes us.

The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin

This book was kind of recommended to me by my boss in a staff meeting, who said it was for people who read middle grade and liked conspiracy theories. As I fall into both of those categories, I ordered the book the next day.

What he didn't say was this book is about processing grief in a world that isn't great about dealing with children's pain.

Suzy started seventh grade four days after her best friend's funeral and stops talking not long after. Tired of small questions and dissatisfied with the reasoning for her best friend's death--drowning--Suzy becomes obsessed with finding enough evidence to determine the cause of Franny's death was actually a jellyfish sting.

Filled with fantastic observations about the natural world and the nature of humankind, TTAJ takes us deep into the scientific mind of a girl who doesn't know how to say goodbye, so she stops saying anything at all.

Beautifully written with facts woven intricately into the story, Benjamin clearly did a lot of research for this book and it shows. Suzy comes across as well researched, even as she feeds into her own desperate fantasy, and I genuinely feel like I learned something about grief and jellyfish.

It's an interesting set up, as some chapters are written in second person poing of view past tense, like a letter from Suzy to Franny. The books is filled with memories, with pieces of their friendship and the days leading up to their falling out sprinkled throughout. The books is also kinda set up like the scientific method, with a section for hypothesis and data and each step along the way. Those sections help drive the narrative, creating structure for something that is usually so chaotic.

Suzy's paragraphs about her decision to stop talking really struck me, and with a few exceptions, a lot of her reasoning (or at least her understanding of her reasons) was solid throughout the book. Conspiracy theory or not, this was her way of coping and I respect that.

A different kind of coming of age, one that makes powerful statements about grief and understanding. I highly recommend for people who read middle grade and like conspiracy theories, or for people who just want to read a book.

The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited by The McElroy Family

To truly appreciate this book, you have to listen to the podcast first, which was recommended to me forever ago by some friends. I know for a fact I've waxed poetic about the McElroys and The Adventure Zone before, because I reviewed the first graphic novel adaptation last year.

Sequels are always hard to review, because unless they focus on different characters it's difficult to not spoil anything.

So all I'm going to say is the graphic novel does a really good job of translating the podcast into written/drawn form. There are small changes, but things that overall make sense to the series plot line. Plus, the drawings are phenomenal and Carey Piersch is a Gift.

Go read this book and listen to the podcast. I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment.

Along for the Ride by Sarah Desson

This book in particular wasn't really recommended to me so much as the author was. And this happened at, you guessed it, YALLWest. I've read Desson before only once and really liked the story, so I when this one showed up at a used book store, I figured why not.

This one was not as good as the other Desson book, but I still enjoyed it overall.

The main character was very judgmental, but she grew as the book progressed, which is the goal. Auden was raised to be a little adult almost from the moment she was born, constantly studying and looking toward the future with a pragmatic eye, ignoring the ridiculous frivolity of teenagehood.

But that's before she spends the summer at her dad and step-mom's beach house, and learns that sometimes when you spend so much time looking ahead, you forget to enjoy what's currently around you. Spending her restless insomniac nights with a local boy recovering from a huge loss, Auden makes friends with actual connections and tries things she didn't think she'd ever do again, like learn to ride a bike.

Along for the Ride felt like a character study at points, and there are certain lines, certain realizations Auden has about her parents and their coping mechanisms that sent me reeling. Desson is clearly a talented writer and the book was well done, I think it just wasn't as good as her other book I read. And that's okay!

The story was long, but worth it to witness Auden's transformation, even if her dad pissed me off pretty much every time he showed up on the page.

I'll definitely read another Desson book in the future, so I guess this author more than this book would be considered my recommendation.

That's all I've got for you folks. Any recommendations I should look for in the future?

Keep writing!

Sam

Literary Recommendation: First and Then by Emma Mills

Movie Recommendation: not a movie, but I've been watching a lot of the youtube show/podcast Critical Role, and recommend that to anyone who likes Dungeons and Dragons.

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