November Reviews

This month was. A Bit of a Mess, I'm not gonna lie. I had some really good moments and some really bad moments, some of it connected to politics, some of it personal. I participated in (and completed!) NaNoWriMo again (which makes it 8 years of novels!) so that took a lot of time and brain power, so the reviews this month are even more chaotic and disorganized than usual. Thank God no one actually reads these things. What I did read this month though was a good time, so, let's just get to it.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

This isn't the first time I've read this book, but it has been a few years. I was given this book in high school and, honestly, it messed me up pretty bad the first time I read it. Now, the story hits a little bit closer to home, so the second reading definitely did some damage. It was good, though, because this is a book about recognizing pain and learning to let go.

Conor's mom has been battling cancer for a while now, and she's not getting better. That's when the monster comes walking. But this isn't the one from Conor's nightmares; instead, this is the yew tree in Conor's backyard, and it's come to tell him three stories, then Conor himself must tell the monster his own. Because the monster isn't there to eat or destroy him, the monster is there for the truth, and giving that to the tree means Conor must confront the very thing that haunts him every night.

This book is stunning. Everything from the story to the illustrations are absolutely phenomenal, but the combined power of them has moved me to tears on multiple occasions (catch me shut away in an unused classroom at work, crying into my lunch). It explores grief in a way that not a lot of books do, with all its destructive and angry properties. Conor is a good kid, but he's thirteen and has no control over anything that's happening to him or his mother. And that lack of control combined with the guilt Conor carries and the way his classmates treat him is just boiling inside of him.

The stories the monster tells him are complicated and unexpected and teach lessons that aren't quite what Conor thought he needed to hear. They're stories of villains and punishment and how the truth is something that isn't always as objective as we think it is.

I have a lot of trouble talking about this book because it evokes such a strong feeling, and for as much as I'm a writer, I don't really know how to put that feeling into words. But I love this book, even if it destroys me a little bit every time I read it.

Similar to: Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

This graphic novel is absolutely beautiful. I got to read two books back to back full of gorgeous illustrations, but this one uses them in such a spectacular way that I couldn't put it down.

Thirteen-year old Tien and his mother read fairy tales together to help his mother improve her english. But as they read about princesses and magic fish, Tien is still unsure of how to bridge their language gap in the right way to tell his parents he's gay. Striving for connection through multiple generations, The Magic Fish depicts two cultures and languages bound by stories and the love between family members.

Color is used so spectacularly in this book, helping to differentiate between not only fairy tales and reality, but past and present as well. The illustrations are so flowing and intentional and beautiful. I wish I knew more art words so I could be more technical in my praise of that part of the book, but honestly the best you're get from me is "really really really pretty pictures."

The story was very well done too, with very powerful moments where the words and images worked together to make me Feel Big Things. I loved the fluidity between the fairy tales and the moments in real life, whether it was with Tien and his friends or his mother on her visit back to Vietnam. The take on the fairy tales was a little bit different too, making even things that seemed familiar new and unknown.

I'm sorry these aren't very long, all of my words are going toward NaNoWriMo right now, this was just a delight to read, honestly.

Last Bus To Neverland by Sophie Cameron

All the reviews for this month are just going to be chaotic messes because I'm stress reading in between literally writing a novel (10,000 words by day 4 baby) and constantly refreshing the election news. I'm a mess, this country is a mess, and I'm still writing book reviews! AH!

Nothing in Brody's life is going right. HIs parents are stressed about money, his genius older brother is leaving him in the dust, and the girls in his neighborhood are relentless bullies. Brody feels invisible and misunderstood, until Nico comes along. Nico is creative and bold and introduces Brody to a magical place called Everland, where people can enter doors into a magical realm at 11:21pm exactly and find a place that really gets them. But just as things start to feel like they're going Brody's way, the doors to Everland start disappearing, and Brody finds himself having to make a choice: the reality he struggles to face, or the fairy tale that helped him find himself.

Hoo boy, this book touched on a lot of topics: reality versus fantasy, agoraphobia and mental illness, perception of self versus perception of others, and familial relationships and money problems. But it touched on all those things well, giving Brody the space to express his displeasure with his situation while also leaving breadcrumbs of self discovery. His relationship with his older brother Jake had a lot of roadblocks, but I loved where they ended up.

There was a decent amount of diversity with Nico and his friends and the other people in Everland. The book is set in Scotland, so there was a lot o European influence and a mix of cultures from that hemisphere. Some of the language followed Scottish speaking patterns, which was neat and helped my brain make the accent try to work when I read it to myself (in my head, of course, I'm not talking to myself in a scottish accent alone while I read. The world is already wild enough as it is, I don't need to do that as well).

The story put some unique twists on the 'portal to a magical world' trope (? not a trope, arc? Plot? Whatever, it's November 5th and I'm watching Nevada and Georgia do things, it's a weird time, you know what I mean). I like Cameron's taste in magic, in both the book I read last year (Out of the Blue, which I read in October of 2019 I believe) and in this one, and the way they twist reality and magical fantasy to make something that feels both real and fantastical.

I appreciated the growth that Brody went through over the course of this book, and how it didn't promise answers or a straightforward path, but that everyone struggles in their own way and that things have a way of getting better, if only you stick around to see them.

That's all I've got in me for this one, but it was a good time!

Similar to In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan and Out of the Blue by Sophie Cameron

Blanca and Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore

This is the fourth book by McLemore that I've read, and while it wasn't my favorite of theirs, it contained the same beautiful prose and wondrous magic as all the others.

Blanca and Roja are sisters raised with the knowledge that one of them will become a swan. For generations, their family has been cursed to lose one daughter to the swans, while the other must lose her sister. But Blanca and Roja are determined not to let the swans win. But then the magic of the woods gets two local boys, Page and Barclay, involved and the four of them become so intertwined that they just might change the magic that's been haunting them, or it might change them irreparably.

McLemore knows her diversity! Oh man! I am always delighted by the cultural insights and stories she crafts, as well as the diverse gender and sexual orientation of her characters. Blanca and Roja are latinas, and the way the world sees an dinteracts with them is influenced by the color of their skin and hair. Blanca has fairer skin and blonde hair, while Roja has deep, dark red hair and brown skin, and those differences have been trying to pitch them against each other from the beginning, even when they fought so hard to love and help one another. The lengths to which they're both willing to go to help the other is truly a testament to sisterly love.

Page and Barclay's relationship was also very wonderful. They behaved like brothers, despite being from very different families, and I loved reading their interactions. Barclay was losing sight in his left eye after a fight with his cousin, and his daily fight with distance and furniture wasa heartbreaking adaption. Page, I wouldn't put a label on because she and he pronouns were both fine, and boy was fine, but girl was not, and her having the space to explain and explore that was fantastic. I loved her conversation about it with Blanca, who was the first person to give Page the space to say and instead of or.

McLemore has a beautiful way of writing with big tender moments and descriptions that convey so much emotion. Not a single word is wasted in this book, and all of them are used powerful and gorgeously. Reading their stuff is sometimes like taking a big bite of something aromatic and flavorful. Every so often I had to chew w little harder to get it, but it was always, always worth it.

I love stories that focus on familial love just as much or more than romantic love, and I lucked out with this book because I loved all the relationships, even if I wanted to hide from some of the conflicts. The use of fairy tales is always so, so good in McLemore's books, and this one is no exception, drawing from cultural influences and multiple classic fairy tales. Some I was familiar with and others I was not, and in addition to the beautiful setting with the apple orchard and the cranberry bog, I always feel like I learn something about the world that makes it even more magical.

Overall, this was a beautiful story full of magic and love, and I'm looking forward to continuing my journey through all of McLemore's books.

Similar to The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore (I'm sorry I always compare their books to one another, but there really is truly no other author that writes like them) and All The Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram

I loved Darius the Great is Not Okay, but I have to say I kind of loved this one more, which is weird, because usually the original remains the best in almost every form of media. Regardless, it was wonderful to hear from Darius again!

Darius has changed a lot after his summer in Iran. He's taller, has a boyfriend named Landon, plays varsity soccer, and has a job at Rose City Tea. With his relationship with his dad fixed and his best friend Sohrab only a call away, everything should be great, right? Except somethings wrong with his sister Laleh, and something else is going on with Chip, his now sort of friend. When Landon starts to pressure him to move their relationship at a faster pace than Darius is ready for, it suddenly seems like nothing is as perfect as it seemed. Darius might be okay now, but really it seems like he deserves better.

I loved all the different complex relationships in this book. Darius' grandma and oma on his dad's side make an appearance this book, and watching Darius try to forge a relationship with them was both awkward and heart warming. At the same time he was exploring having friends on the soccer team and a boyfriend, and all these things opened Darius up to new experienced both great and not.

I love the way Darius is written. He has particular phrases that he uses that are both nerdy and accurate, and manage to describe exactly how he’s feeling without trying to stumble through new descriptions.

The pacing and number of issues Darius was dealing with felt balanced, which is a weird thing to say I feel like, but the problems in the book felt like things people deal with and can easily become overwhelming in a realistic way, but the characters approached them as best they could and it made them stronger as a family.

I will admit that I wasn't super sold on Landon for most of the book. He had a great introduction and clearly some great qualities, but the way he was pressuring Darius really turned me against him right away. Do I was definitely (spoiler alert) rooting for Chip to get his shit together. But all Chip and Darius' issues were valid too, and I appreciated them making the decision to build their trust as friends again before trying for anything else.

Overall this was a great follow up to a great book!

Similar to Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram (obviously) and Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan

Date Me, Bryson Keller by Kevin Van Whye

This book was straight (LOL) up a good time. I need more queer romcom-esque books in my life, and this one just kinda hit the spot.

Everyone are Fairvale Academy knows about Bryson Keller's dare, where he has to date whoever asks him out on Monday for the whole week. Except, the rules never specified it had to be a girl, so when Kai Sheridan frustratedly asks him out, Bryson Keller says yes. Kai has no idea what he's gotten himself into; he's still very much in the closet, and dating Bryson Keller, even as a week-long fake relationship, feels like it might be too much to handle. But it's just for a week, and Bryson agrees to keep it a secret. Only, a few days in, and it's starting to not feel so fake, and Kai may be the exception to Bryson's belief that relationships don't last.

The premise of this sounded silly and fun and wonderful, and while the book does touch on some serious topics for sure, it still maintained a lighter air throughout the course of the story. Kai is a mixed race child in a religious household, so there are several factors that contribute to his nervousness in coming out of the closet. His family is clearly very loving (especially his younger sister), but that doesn't really mean much in the face of potential intolerance, especially since there's such a heavy religious background. His mom met his dad on a mission trip in South Africa and regularly attend church, so I don't blame Kai At All for being terrified to come out.

Kai's friends Priya and Donny were delightful, but they definitely took a backseat to this love story, and normally I'd maybe want more friend interaction, but in this instance I liked that the focus was primarily on Kai and Bryson. It made them falling for each other over the course of a single week feel more believable, since they spent so much time together and had so many just them moments and conversations. I really did just have a good time reading about Kai and Bryson getting breakfast and practicing their assignments and all that. Maybe I'm super starved for human interaction and going places because of the pandemic, or maybe the book was a fun time. I'm going to go with both.

This book touched on a lot of concerns with coming out, the microaggressions vs outright violence and bullying, the utter betrayal that can come from being outed by someone else. I was so, so angry at Shannon for what she did to Kai, and at Dustin for what he did to both Kai and Bryson. There's a belief that if someone is our friend through hard times that they'll support you in other ways, and when that isn't the case it just hurts even more. Kai has several moments where his internal monologue is about how things aren't great yet, and being a closeted teen is still hard, especially when there's potential backlash at home.

Overall, I just had fun with this book. It was a quick, sweet story with some meta acknowledgement throughout and a happy ending, which is really all I can ask for in a book. Although, I did really want to know what happened with the script writing contest! Did Kai win? He got other good news during the book, but this felt like such an important thing to him that I wanted to know how it ended up. Everything else wrapped up nicely, even if not perfect. Life isn't perfect, but Kai and Bryson found something with each other that felt like love, and it was a delight to read.

Similar to Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall and The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper

I will admit, I did think I would finish the book I'm reading right now before the end of the month, but I overestimated by combo reading and writing ability and will have to include it with next month's reviews. BUT, I did finish NaNoWriMo on day 26 and read six books this month while also dealing with all of the Real Life Shit that comes with living in America during a pandemic. So, you know, I'm pretty happy with how this very small aspect of my life turned out.

Next month is the last set of reviews for 2020. Thank God.

Keep writing, friends!

Sam

Literary Recommendation: The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Media Recommendation: Dash and Lily (2020) on Netflix was a real good time, although I will admit I haven't read the book