If you're new around here, Things I've Read Recently is a series of posts I do that are basically mini-reviews of books that I either forgot to review, didn't have enough to say for a full review, or just didn't want to do a full post about for whatever reason.
Ruined by Paula Morris
Published: August 1st, 2009 by... Point? Like that Point? Like Point Horror, from the 80s? Huh. I don't actually know, but that's interesting.
Genre: YA Paranormal
Binding: Hardcover
Page Count: 309 plus acknowledgments.
Part of a series? Apparently yeah, there's a sequel. I was surprised, honestly. I thought it was a standalone.
Got via: I bought it from somewhere, and I feel like I bought it new? No, maybe I won it. It wasn't a review book or anything. That I know. This is probably very unsatisfying for the FTC agent reading this, but honestly I'm kind of blanking where it came from.
Amazon /
Indiebound
Summary (from goodreads): A gripping YA supernatural novel set in New Orleans: Twilight with a ghostly twist.
Rebecca couldn't feel more out of place in New Orleans, where she comes to spend the year while her dad is traveling. She's staying in a creepy old house with her Aunt Claudia, who reads Tarot cards for a living. And at the snooty prep school, a pack of filthy-rich girls treat Rebecca like she's invisible. Only gorgeous, unavailable Anton Grey seems to give Rebecca the time of day, but she wonders if he's got a hidden agenda. Then one night, in Lafayette Cemetery, Rebecca makes a friend. Sweet, mysterious Lisette is eager to talk to Rebecca, and to show her the nooks and crannies of the city.
Thoughts: This is kind of a throw-back. Obviously it's almost a decade old, and that is a long time in the world of YA books, which also leads to this having some dated references, especially talking about TV shows and celebrities and such (which there's a fair amount of). There's not as much reliance on computers and cell phones, although the MC does have a phone. However, it also has a feel like a much older book than what it acually is, and that's interesting. The tone of it reminded me a lot of classic YA horror. For example... Point Horror novels. Especially because it was written in third person present tense, which isn't as common right now.
This definitely had some issues. There's no queer people, no fat people, no disabled people. Lisette is black, and the book does actually talk a lot about racism both historical and current, but the book is written by a white author. I think the author did a lot of research, and tried very hard to be sensitive, but maybe those elements were not the best choice for a white author. And it sometimes gets a bit messy. Lisette's descriptions in particular were a little strange. For about half of the book, every time Lisette was referred to she was either referred to as "the black girl" or "the black ghost". It got
awkward. Sadly, I can't seem to find any reviews from black reviewers that talk about that. If you know any, I'd love to link to them. There is also a use of the g-word that isn't called out as being problematic.
This wasn't as creepy or atmospheric as it could have been, but I did find the setting interesting. And, amusingly, I actually finished this the day before Mardi Gras, which is a big plot element in the book. All in all, I had fun reading this, but it didn't overly wow me. Kind of middle of the road. If you really like books set in New Orleans or really like ghost books and you see it somewhere, it's good, but I probably wouldn't seek it out specially. I do kind of want to check out the sequel, though. I'm curious about it, since this seemed to have a pretty closed plot.
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
Published: August 28th, 2014 by Nancy Paulsen Books
Genre: Middle Grade Non-Fiction/Memoir... in verse.
Binding: Hardcover
Page Count: 320 plus acknowledgements and some really awesome pictures of her family.
Part of a series? I'm not really sure memoirs can have series?
Got via: The library.
Amazon /
Book Depository /
Indiebound
Summary (from goodreads): Jacqueline Woodson, one of today's finest writers, tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse.
Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child’s soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson’s eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become.
Thoughts: So 2014 was around when I was really depressed, right? Because of that, my knowledge of books from around that time is... lacking. My point being - I thought this was fiction! I knew it had won several awards, but I didn't know very much about it, and it surprised me. I got it, started reading without reading the jacket or anything, and I had a moment of confusion at first. Then I went and read the inner flap of the jacket and figured it out.
The idea of the book in general is not something I see as often. I know I read more memoirs and biographies that were aimed at middle grade audiences as a kid (I don't think
Jean Little's biography was specifically aimed at children, but I know I read it as a kid which means my elementary school had to have, as that was my main source of books), but it seems like not as much of a thing anymore, and I hope it becomes more of one in the future. A lot of kids are more drawn to non-fiction than fiction, on all parts of the reading spectrum. It can be challenging for more advanced readers, or for more selective readers, things that can be broken into smaller pieces are less imposing. (One of my personal favourite to recommend are the DK Eyewitness Books from Penguin Random House which has a book on almost everything. Great format.)
Wow I'm rambling. Sorry, I'm sick.
Anyways, this is great. Woodson's voice is great, and a memoir in verse is something I haven't read before, and really enjoyed. She was born the same year as my mother's oldest sister, actually, and is only two years older than my own mother. So for a lot of kids who would be reading this, their grandparents could be the same age. It's like my generation reading about pioneers or something. (Joke. Joke, I promise.)
I also think that if you were doing a classroom unit, or a book display at the library or something, this would be great to pair with One Crazy Summer. Real historical events that happened, and Woodson makes note of, are explored fictionally in One Crazy Summer, and even in the sequels, and that would be super interesting to compare with a class or book club. (I know I reference that book way too much, but they'd fit together so well!)
Anyways, I'm getting super off topic and not nearly doing this book justice, but it's super unique, very interesting, and I'd be very interested in reading more by the author. Highly recommended.
Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
Published: February 25th, 2016 by HarperCollins Children's Books
Genre: Contemporary YA
Binding: Hardcover
Page Count: 474 plus acknowledgements and an excerpt.
Part of a series? Nope.
Got via: The library.
Amazon /
Book Depository /
Indiebound
Summary (from goodreads): Frances Janvier spends most of her time studying. When she’s not studying, she’s up in her room making fan art for her favorite podcast, Universe City.
Everyone knows Aled Last as that quiet boy who gets straight As. But no one knows he’s the creator of Universe City, who goes by the name Radio Silence.
When Frances gets a message from Radio Silence asking if she’ll collaborate with him, everything changes. Frances and Aled spend an entire summer working together and becoming best friends. They get each other when no one else does.
But when Aled’s identity as Radio Silence is revealed, Frances fears that the future of Universe City—and their friendship—is at risk. Aled helped her find her voice. Without him, will she have the courage to show the world who she really is? Or will she be met with radio silence?
Thoughts: Oh dear. I mostly read this because it was a book with an ace character available from my library. The thing is, I kind of hated it. The best thing I can say is that the ace rep is... okayish. I actually think the scene where Aled comes out to his love interest is actually fairly well worded. The scene does balance "the definition of asexuality is doesn't feel sexual attraction" and "some people also identify as it because they don't have an interest in having sex but that's not the definition". That is one of the better definitions I've seen in a mainstream book.
However, I thought the framing of demisexuality as "partly asexual" was problematic. The consensus from my informal poll on twitter is that people have never actually seen that phrasing before, and they found it an oversimplification at best and at worst inaccurate and dismissive.
You can read said thread here. It was a very interesting discussion, and I highly recommend checking it out.
I had problems, however, with the framing of that scene. One, this is a scene that our main character is essentially eavesdropping on. I mean, a tiny dorm room you're sharing with 3 other people probably isn't the best place to have a private conversation... but as an author, you have the power to not write that. So as it is, you have a scene where someone is outed because another person is eavesdropping. Two, this scene doesn't happen until the end of the book. There's maybe twenty pages left in the
five hundred page book when it occurs.
Third, I knew who the character was going in, and I'm glad, because things that I saw in my reading wouldn't have red flagged quite as much if I hadn't. The depiction of the character is not horrible, but it's not great either, in my opinion. Aled really skirts on the edge of some asexual stereotypes throughout the novel, and like a fair amount of his plot arc is drama about his sexuality and how he won't come out. Can't he just be ace without it being about someone else's feelings?
Okay, those are my thoughts on the ace rep. Oh, and it ignores the idea of aromanticism, isn't really that aro friendly, and uses the phrase "just friends" so, extra points off for that. The only thing it gets points for from me on that front is that Aled and Frances never hook up, and the book points out that it's not gonna happen.
Now, my thoughts on the rest of the book - I really didn't like it. It is slow, it is boring, nothing freaking happens for like three pages, I didn't believe a lot of the stuff that did happen, and in a five hundred book, the author left plot threads dangling on a pretty important thing! There's a buttload of ableism, and I can't even comment on, like, fat representation because I was bored silly reading it and I didn't care enough to try and notice. I didn't like the voice. Frances has kind of a savior complex and I'm pretty sure depression can't be fixed by your hair being dyed. (
Which I also ranted about on twitter.) I found the plot dull and nothing happened. I thought a couple hundred pages could have been cut off. I thought there were way too many references trying to make them sound "cool" when a lot of the stuff referenced is pretty mainstream.
AND IT'S NOT THAT INTERESTING TO READ ABOUT A FAKE YOUTUBE PODCAST AND WHY IS THIS PODCAST EVEN ON YOUTUBE THEY COULD HAVE GONE TO PODCON THAT IS A THING THAT EXISTS.
*deeply inhales*
I just. It's not even that I was offended (until I was side-eyeing the end) because at least that would have interesting. I was just so bored. It's the dullest book ever. Everyone else seems to like it, so maybe it's just me, but there you are. I didn't like it, I wouldn't recommend it for demisexual rep without caution because I'd feel irresponsible, and this might be my least favourite book that isn't massively offensive through its entirety. Seriously, super subjective review here, but sometimes that happens.
Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore
Published: October 3rd, 2017 by Feiwel and Friends
Genre: YA Magical Realism
Binding: Hardcover
Page Count: 335
Part of a series? Nope
Got via: The library
Amazon /
Book Depository /
Indiebound
Summary (from goodreads): For nearly a century, the Nomeolvides women have tended the grounds of La Pradera, the lush estate gardens that enchant guests from around the world. They’ve also hidden a tragic legacy: if they fall in love too deeply, their lovers vanish. But then, after generations of vanishings, a strange boy appears in the gardens.
The boy is a mystery to Estrella, the Nomeolvides girl who finds him, and to her family, but he’s even more a mystery to himself; he knows nothing more about who he is or where he came from than his first name. As Estrella tries to help Fel piece together his unknown past, La Pradera leads them to secrets as dangerous as they are magical in this stunning exploration of love, loss, and family.
Thoughts: Okay, full disclosure, Luci asked me to read this because they wanted to read it and they hadn't really heard anything about the trans rep in it. To sum up what I said to them, I found it underwhelming, and questioned if you'd read the character as genderqueer if you didn't know that fact outside of the book. I think people who identify as demigirls or genderqueer girls (as I believe the character would if that vocabulary was available to them - I doubt it would be in the setting) could absolutely see themselves reflected in the character, but I would be hesitant to recommend it for that type of representation without full disclosure about it.
But feel free to ignore me because, you know, not a genderqueer girl.
I also question how this curse would work if you were aromantic or sex-repulsed. Seems like there's not room for that in this story.
Otherwise my only real complain here is that I found it a a little slow at the beginning. I also found it
really weird at the beginning, lol, but that was fine. Comment, not complaint on that one, but I also could see how some people might be thrown by that, too. It's told in third person alternating POVs which as I constantly point out is a little more unusual in today's YA. I do think it works well for this, as it lends to the sort of fairy tale feel it has, but it does take a while to get into.
I imagine both the bi rep and the Latinx rep is wonderful, as both seemed great even to me as an outsider, and I will try to find some reviews... Wow, this twitter search is bringing up a lot of makeup. Okay here is
one and
two reviews from bisexual reviewers, and
one from a Latinx reviewers because my searches are making me feel super creepy. But also both of those aspects are ownvoices, if that sways you.
All in all, this is kind of average for me, but I think other people would like it a lot better. I'm just a picky brat. When I put this on goodreads, I'll probably round it up to a four because it's a
good book, it's just not a great book
for me.
Anyways, that was an interesting grouping! What have you guys been reading?
Peace and cookes,
Laina
All Day: A Year of Love and Survival Teaching Incarcerated Kids at Rikers Island, New York's Most Notorious Jail by Liza Jessie Peterson
