Things I've Read Recently (77)

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.

One True Way by Shannon Hitchcock

Published: February 27th, 2018 by Scholasic
Genre: Historical MG
Binding: Hardcover
Page Count: 205 plus author's note and acknowledgements and such.
Part of a series? No.
Got via: The library
Amazon / Book Depository / Indiebound

Summary (from goodreads): Welcome to Daniel Boone Middle School in the 1970s, where teachers and coaches must hide who they are, and girls who like girls are forced to question their own choices. Presented in the voice of a premier storyteller, One True Way sheds exquisite light on what it means to be different, while at the same time being wholly true to oneself.

Through the lives and influences of two girls, readers come to see that love is love is love. Set against the backdrop of history and politics that surrounded gay rights in the 1970s South, this novel is a thoughtful, eye-opening, look at tolerance, acceptance, and change, and will widen the hearts of all readers.

Thoughts: Yeah, I didn't like this one so much. I think my biggest problem is that this is not written by a queer person. The author's best friend going up was gay, but that does not make this her story to tell. She never went through these experiences, and she doesn't know what it felt like. It's kind of like me deciding I'm going to write about the civil rights movements in the 70s. It kind of doesn't matter if my best friend went through it, or how much research I did, or if I got people to read it, it's still not my story to tell.

And that isn't just about my feelings after reading it. It's reflected in the book and the writing, too. There feels like there's no emotional impact. Everything is kind of glossed over and fixed way too easily. It's like the book is just going through the motions and doesn't think about how the characters would really feel or react. It feels shallow and rushed.

The voice especially is very immature. These kids are supposed to be in seventh grade/around twelve and thirteen, and they kinda talk more like they're fifteen, but it feels more like they're more around fourth grade age. They read very young, and the voice of the book constrasts so much with the content. It talks about very serious things, like assault and the possibility of queer teachers being fired for their relationship/sexuality, but the voice is so simply and sounds so young that I don't think the audience that this is really for would be very interested in it. It's very juvenile.

Also the constant references to 70s pop culture are just clunky. There were so many and it was just unnatural. All in all, while I didn't find this one overwhelmingly offensive or anything, I don't recommend it either.

The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

Published: Originally published in March 2015, my edition was released by Amulet Books in 2016.
Genre: Historical YA with fantasy elements
Binding: Hardcover
Page Count: 377 plus acknowledgements
Part of a series? Nope.
Got via: The library
Amazon / Book Depository / Indiebound

Summary (from goodreads): Faith Sunderly leads a double life. To most people, she is modest and well mannered—a proper young lady who knows her place. But inside, Faith is burning with questions and curiosity. She keeps sharp watch of her surroundings and, therefore, knows secrets no one suspects her of knowing—like the real reason her family fled Kent to the close-knit island of Vane. And that her father’s death was no accident.

In pursuit of revenge and justice for the father she idolizes, Faith hunts through his possessions, where she discovers a strange tree. A tree that only bears fruit when she whispers a lie to it. The fruit, in turn, delivers a hidden truth. The tree might hold the key to her father’s murder. Or, it might lure the murderer directly to Faith herself, for lies—like fires, wild and crackling—quickly take on a life of their own.

Thoughts: I stopped reading this for nine days in the middle, and I wasn't interested enough for nine days to pick it up. I think that kinda says a lot about my feelings towards this. It's just kind of very average. It does have a neat, kinda creepy premise, but so many of the elements have been done before.

Look, yes, it was hard to be a girl or a woman in... I don't remember when this was set. Mid-1800s. I'm not gonna deny that. It was, however, probably a lot harder if you weren't a rich white girl. This book has no people of colour, no queer people, and, really, besides the poor servants, the only type of diversity is one of the villains.

It's just kind of a meh from me. Points for not pushing a romance, though.

Dead Girls Society by Michelle Krys

Published: November 8th, 2016 by Delacourte
Genre: YA Thriller/Mystery
Binding: Hardcover
Page Count: 287 pages
Part of a series? There's a tease at the end, but I doubt it.
Got via: The library.
Amazon / Book Depository / Indiebound

Summary (from goodreads): Hope is sick of everyone treating her like she’s breakable. Sure, she has cystic fibrosis (basically really bad lungs), but she’s tired of being babied by her mom and her overprotective best friend, Ethan, not to mention worrying about paying for her expensive medication and how she’s going to afford college. And she’s bored with life in her run-down New Orleans suburb.

When an invitation arrives from a mysterious group that calls itself the Society, Hope jumps at the chance for some excitement. This could be her ticket out. All she has to do is complete a few dares and she might win some real money.

But the Society isn’t all it seems . . . and soon Hope finds that playing the game isn’t a choice—it’s a requirement.

Thoughts: I was so, so excited about this and honestly I was kind of disappointed. It didn't wow me the way I hoped it would. When I first saw the cover and read the description, it reminded me a lot of The Invitation by Diane Hoh, which I adored as a kid and still have my copy of. I did like the voice of this, and I think the premise is great. It just doesn't really carry through, honestly.

Now, this isn't something I'm not going to declare myself an expert on, but I follow a Youtuber with cystic fibrosis, and there were a lot of things where I was reading where I was like, "But that's not right." And obviously every person's illness is going to be different, but there were things said about CF that were honestly just not true. And some of that is that Hope's mother is incredibly overprotective, but the book never says that those things aren't true, and like. Hope has access to the internet. She can look up whether it's true or not that she's going to die, like, next year.

I just kind of really didn't like that at one point her mother says she's never going to get married or have kids because she's dying, and the book doesn't dispute that. The youtuber I'm gonna link is married. Her twin sister, who also has CF, is also married, and has a son. Actually, she just posted a video that talked a bit about growing up with CF where she talks about playing soccer, so it's just so strange to hear Hope's mother limiting her exercise (which honestly could be detrimental to her health, even).

The book also acted like coughing was kind of unusual? Like Hope seriously doesn't cough enough, and I get that you probably don't want to write it every single time, but people with CF kinda cough a lot, not just when it would be embarassing or when it's convenient to the plot. Sorry, I'm rambling really badly, but it's just kind of weird.

I did in fact find a review from a reviewer with CF, so ignore me rambling here and go read that instead.

Stuff I am qualified to talk about: The book has an aromisic line that I didn't write down and I had to return the book so I can't quote it or anything, and it kind of whams you with a Bury Your Gays trope out of nowhere. Very not a fan of that. This one lands at like a two and a half at best for me.

P.S. I Miss You by Jen Petro-Roy

Published: March 6th, 2018 by Feiwel and Friends
Genre: Contemporary MG
Binding: Hardcover
Page Count: 310 plus acknowledgements
Part of a series? No.
Got via: The library.
Amazon / Book Depository / Indiebound

Summary (from goodreads): Eleven-year-old Evie is heartbroken when her strict Catholic parents send her pregnant sister away to stay with a distant great-aunt. All Evie wants is for her older sister to come back. But when her parents forbid her to even speak to Cilla, she starts sending letters. Evie writes letters about her family, torn apart and hurting. She writes about her life, empty without Cilla. And she writes about the new girl in school, June, who becomes her friend, and then maybe more than a friend.

As she becomes better friends with June, Evie begins to question her sexual orientation. She can only imagine what might happen if her parents found out who she really is. She could really use some advice from Cilla. But Cilla isn't writing back.

Thoughts: Ugh, I'm still feeling all after-crying from this. This is so good, okay, so good. You know, this actually has some similarities to One True Way, only I liked it way better. They both deal with protagonists growing up in religious families who are questioning both their faith and their sexuality. However, I think this handled those aspects better. I'm not sure if it's because the book is over a hundred pages longer, or because the author does have experience with growing up in this type of church and questioning her faith, but it just worked a lot better for me.

While I thought the girls, and the kid characters in general, in One True Way acted way older than they really were, these ones seemed totally and completely their ages. They seem young, but beginning to grow into those awkward tween and early teen years where things are changing, but also they kind of just want to go and swing on the swings at the playground still. I also really appreciated that they decided that even though they were dating, they weren't really ready to kiss more or anything, because they are very young. I think it rings true to the age.

I am going to say - if the reader you're recommending this to is a little more sensitive, give this a pre-read before giving it to them. It does deal with some heavy subjects, and I think a reader who's never encountered the idea that your parents could think your very being is a "sin" for who you like could find that really hard to deal with on their own. This isn't something bad about the book at all, don't get me wrong. I think this is true of many things in MG books, including cancer or divorce, and that's fine. Just know it going in.

Also I hate Evie and Cilla's parents and I will never forgive them for anything.

Oh, and I'll mention a funny moment too - Evie is doing a school project on Italy and she mentions that Cilla did that a few years ago but on Germany, and she didn't like having to eat the "disgusting sauerkraut" and I couldn't help laughing at the idea that somewhere, Luci was suddenly offended and didn't know why.

Alright, that was an interesting group of books! What have you all been reading?

Peace and cookies,
Laina