August Reviews

August has come with a lot of change. I officially quit my job in anticipation of moving to Denver later this year, and got confirmation that we'll be moving in October. So, I have some time to pack up everything, search for a new job, and do some reading in the meantime.

Until then, I got some reading done this month, so let's jump right in:

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

This book was a rollercoaster, oh my goodness. I went in not quite sure what to expect beyond civil war era zombies, and while this book certainly delivered that, it also brought in a ton of other stuff.

Jane McKeene is in her final year at Miss Preston's School, learning to become an Attendant--girls trained to protect the noble ladies from the undead that walk the earth. The Shamblers rose almost two decades ago, ending the Civil War but giving both sides a more dangerous target, but the tensions from that war are still in place, even as cities and people are lost to the undead. While trying to solve the mystery of a missing family, Jane is captured and sent out West, where her only chance at survival depends on a girl from school she despises and a lawless town filled with trigger happy survivalists. Jane must use everything in her arsenal to get them out alive, or die trying.

Jane McKeene is such a fun narrator. She's blunt and as skilled with her weapon of choice (sickles) as she is nearly intentionally unrefined. She's creative and loud-spoken, set on protecting others, even when it puts her in danger. I really liked her spunk and how she refused to break no matter what the world threw at her. She was the strongest character in this book, followed closely by Katherine (an ace queen!).

The setting was also fascinating. So much was based on history-- reconstruction, schools that captured Native Americans to "re educate them," and the severely flawed science and beliefs of the time--and all of it was set to the backdrop of a historical apocalypse. I was as terrified as I was intrigued by the zombies/Shamblers, and it was so interesting to read a story where the real villain isn't the undead amassing outside the city walls, but the men in charge of the place. Unsurprisingly, corrupt politicians and pastors are the ones doing the most damage, but the dead folks wandering around aren't helping.

There were also smaller things included, like Katherine's ability to pass as white but the emotional toll it took on her, the fear she experienced trying to balance the line of playing the part and not wanting anything to do with the men who wanted her. There was constant outright racism and violence, but watching Jane get to punch several of the perpetrators felt pretty damn good.

Overall, this was a really interesting and action-packed book that I enjoyed!

Similar to: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi and The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey

We Rule The Night by Claire Eliza Bartlett

I read Bartlett's book The Good Girls earlier this year (or maybe it was last year, time is a weird soup) and LOVED it, but I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. It's an entirely different genre, but it still carried some overlapping themes and a very distinct Bartlett voice.

Revna's father was branded a traitor to the Union when he stole living metal to make prosthetic legs for her. Now, Revna has the chance to bring her family back into the good graces of the Union, by using illegal weave magic to fly in the first all girls' pilot unit. The only thing is she has to work with surly Linne.

Linne pretended to be a boy and joined the army at fourteen. But after three years she's been caught, and her only chance at continuing to fight is to fly. Only, the girls she's flying with now are nothing like the soldiers she's used to, and if they don't figure out what war can do, none of them will make it through the month. So she'll do whatever it takes to keep fighting, even if it means flying with Revna.

This story was absolutely fascinating. The world building is both familiar and completely unique, puzzle pieces of it fitting with World War Two era styles while also creating it's own bizarre and beautiful magic. There's living metal and planes that react to their pilots and people that control sparks and the Weave to carry fire and ice and planes through the sky. There's a hierarchy, but magic and the control of it doesn't seem to mean much, except when it comes to the weave.

What really fascinated me though was the relationship between all the girls, but especially Revna and Linne. They were so different, but the loyalty they developed for one another was so, so important and profound. The girls were terrorized and assaulted and insulted by their male counterparts, tricked and screwed over by the male ranking officers, and still managed to do their job with the shitty tools they'd been given. I was constantly frustrated by the propaganda and treatment of the girls, even as they worked twice as hard as the men to prove themselves, to just be given a chance.

This book touches on ableism and a bit of colonialism, looking at Revna's legs and the way she was treated, both with aggressive insults and pitying looks, as well as the way the Union treated people from certain places. She proved herself again and again, just like all the other girls in the troupe, but she still had to work harder just to be taken seriously. Revna had an extra step to climb on a set of prosthetic legs, but she didn't need any help in doing it.

The ending especially felt...not incomplete, because I was proud of Revna and Linne, but it didn't feel like a victory. They did what they needed to do and it still wasn't enough. But they were loyal to one another and had faith in that, even if they had lost faith in everything else.

Overall I really, really liked this book, even if it simultaneously made me very angry. Such is life.

Similar to: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Indivisible by Daniel Aleman

I hadn't heard much about this book until it ended up in my hands, but that just meant I got to read it without any expectations.

Mateo Garcia and his younger sister live with their parents in New York City. They're a regular family living a regular life, with hopes and dreams and love. Except, Mateo's parents are undocumented, and despite the fact that they're been living in America for over twenty years, they still fear the very real threat of deportation. It seems like something that only happens to other people; until it happens to them, and Mateo is forced to make a lot of tough decisions to take care of his sister. Facing a lot of unknowns and feeling more alone than he ever has before, Mateo starts to question everything about the life he was living and what it means to be a family.

I practically inhaled this book because I wanted so badly for this story to turn out alright. And while (spoilers) it wasn't the happy ending I was rooting for, it felt real and full of possibility. Sometimes happy endings just aren't plausible, and there's too much reality in this book for it to be a happily ever after. Mateo and his sister struggle with so much at such young ages; Sophie's was only seven and so much of her bubbly personality was dimmed by her parents deportation, and Mateo had to make so many hard decisions that he grew up way too fast.

The secondary characters in this book served a support system, but even all their work wasn't quite enough. Kimmie and Adam were there for Mateo how they could be, but he never quite felt comfortable telling them what happened, and by the time they did know it was almost blown over by everything else happening in Mateo's life. And for the first time in my whole life, I sort of felt like the queer romance story line wasn't necessary. I loved that Mateo was gay and that his identity was accepted by his family, that he got to have moments of wanting a normal life and a boyfriend. And I'm glad that he had a support system in his friends, but the emergence of a romantic storyline felt a little forced, or at least it did to my ace ass. It felt like just one more thing for Mateo to deal with when his world was already falling apart.

Jorge and Amy opened up their home to Mateo and Sophie, but there wasn't much space and a whole lot of tension. That drama, the smaller but still important every day things building up over the pressure of immigration lawyers and court dates, made the whole thing feel like a stress ball powder keg. No wonder Mateo wasn't sleeping, constantly stressed out by an unknown future he had almost no control over.

So much of this book was the feeling of being left behind and helpless, and that's a heavy weight that so many children live with in reality. I won't get preachy here, but I am of the firm belief that reading about something only widens your perspective and brings about a better sense of empathy. This book does that, telling the story of a teenage boy with Broadway dreams, who's parents are stolen from him by a system without empathy. And for as upset as this book made me at times, I really did enjoy it.

Similar to: The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon

All The Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace

This is one of those books that I just saw advertised Everywhere. I think that's part of why I resisted reading it for so long; it's presence already felt oversaturated in my life. So when I finally picked it up, it had been hyped beyond belief, and I think that's what sort of lessened the experience of it for me.

Amora is the princess of the kingdom of Visidia, and on her eighteenth birthday she's to perform a feat of magic that will allow her to claim the title of heir. Except the performance goes wrong, and Amora is forced to flee for her life. With the help of a pirate, her arranged fiance, and a mermaid, Amora must travel the corners of her kingdom to find a way to reclaim her right. But the kingdom isn't what she suspected, and farther she gets from home, the more the things she thought she knew turn out to be lies.

The world building was...complex. I did have trouble following all the different islands and types of magic, which was probably part of why I had a hard time with this book. There's a map up front to help, but I didn't really want to flip there every time I had trouble remembering which island they were headed to.

The magic was very interesting though, and I loved the darker side of it. Amora used blood and bones for her magic, and she wasn't shy about the things it could do. It was nice to see a seemingly "dark magic" wielded by an unapologetic but still good main character. The way Ferrick's magic leaned into it was also pretty cool, even if I was a tad queasy for a particular section of the book.

Amora herself was neat, though I think I had a hard time connecting with her. She was honorable and wanted what was best for her people, but I spent a chunk of time just...skimming her little internal monologues, waiting for the action to pick up again.

The other characters were alright. I think I wanted to like them more than I actually did, but they served their role helping Amora run and then reclaim her crown. I was Very Intrigued by Bastian and his curse and would've loved to see more of Vatea's mermaid magic. There was a mermaid and a pirate in this book, which excited me initially, but I think, again, was a bit overhyped and affected my reading.

There was a minor love triangle, or kind of, that made me more fond of Ferrick than anything else, and Vatea the mermaid is canonically bisexual, so that was neat. I think there was just a lot happening in this book and not all of it vibed with me, but that's on me. Books aren't going to appeal to everyone, but I'll never prevent someone else from reading a book, even if I didn't personally love it.

Similar to: Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

And that's it! It was a decent variety this month, and I'm very much looking forward to what I'll be reading next month.

Keep writing, friends!

Sam

Literary recommendation: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Media recommendation: Halsey's new album If I Can't Have Love I Want Power slaps