The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley ★★★☆☆ Flavia de Luce is an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison. In the summer of 1950, a series of inexplicable events strikes her home, Buckshaw, a decaying English mansion. A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath. For Flavia, both appalled and delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw. To Flavia, the investigation is the stuff of science: full of possibilities, contradictions, and connections. I have read far better murder mysteries than Sweetness. Its rambling, often disjointed writing lends to the childishness of its narrator, eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce, but makes the story hard to follow. The biggest problem I had with Sweetness was Flavia herself. She goes from singing and switching topics constantly to scientific lectures on chemistry. For her to be eleven and know and understand as much about such a complex subject as chemistry, she would have to be a genius, and the murder would’ve been solved much faster. I found it difficult to believe that she had been experimenting in her own chemical lab for years, creating poisons, and understands more about chemistry than my entire ninth grade class combined. Flavia also makes quite a few references to 1950s pop culture and famous chemists, which the reader knows nothing about, and which weren’t needed in the story. It got to the point where I’d see song lyrics and just skip over them. The end of Sweetness was actually rather good, though. As the final pieces of the puzzle clicked into place, the story got much more interesting and captivating. About the last quarter of the book is excellent, but the rest of it left something to be desired.
0 Comments
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin ★★★★☆ Seventeen-year-old Mara cannot remember the accident that took the lives of three of her friends but left her unscathed. After moving from Rhode Island to Florida, finding love, and more deaths, she realizes uncovering something buried in her memory might save her family and her future. I rather liked Mara Dyer. It drew me in right away, and I lost track of time a bit reading it. I can’t really judge Hodkin on how well she portrayed PTSD, but it did add some suspense and intrigue to the novel. That was one thing I really liked, the intrigue. I did not like the romance aspect. It was completely predictable, and while it started off kind of cute, it didn’t stay that way. Later in the book in became the focus, even though there were much bigger things going on. There was definitely chemistry between Mara and her love interest, but at times he seemed really possessive of her, calling her “his girl” before they’d even started dating, followed by “you’re mine”. To Mara’s credit, she doesn’t just take his douchey comments; if she had I probably wouldn’t thrown the book out the window. There were a few little subplots that went nowhere and frustrated me to no end. If they did end up going somewhere, it was chapters later and forgotten about in the meantime; the romance was really the constant. Even Mara’s PTSD seemed to fade into the background, which made no sense at all. Besides the throwaway plots, there were a handful of throwaway characters to match, not to mention the passage of time was a little weird (which may have been to add to Mara, the narrator’s, paranoid, PTSD feelings, but just made me feel discombobulated). So this book wasn’t a favorite, but I’d definitely recommend it to a few of my friends. It kept me interested the whole time and even sent a few chills up my spine; Hodkin did a great job of introducing her more paranormal plot aspects. I was happy with the dark, twisted parts of the plot, which was eerie and paranoid and altogether well-executed. If it hadn’t been so romance-centric, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer would have been an absolutely amazing book. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith ★★★☆☆ Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan’s life. Having missed her flight, she’s stuck at JFK airport and late to her father’s second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley’s never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport’s cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he’s British, and he’s sitting in her row. A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more? I really liked this book, but it didn’t blow me away. It was sweet, charming, and heartwarming, but it’s probably not a book I’ll be gushing about for weeks. Smith’s writing style is perfect for love stories, and Hadley’s story was told extremely well, but Hadley was really the only well-rounded character in the book. I didn’t really get the vibe that Hadley and Oliver were in love, and if the book summary hadn’t told me so, I probably wouldn’t have thought they were. Still, it was a good book. The banter between Hadley and Oliver was entertaining and adorable. This was a really cute story and an easy read that any lover of romance would devour. Survival Songs by Meggie C. Royer ★★★★★ This isn’t the type of book I’d normally review, or even read. I’m not much of a poetry person. But Royer has an amazing talent for words and a unique poetic voice. She handles difficult subject matters with gentleness and honesty, making her work some of the most powerful I’ve read. I’m really glad this book exists. Allegiant by Veronica Roth (Divergent #3) ★★☆☆☆ The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories. But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love. I’ve been looking forward to this book’s release for months. I love the Divergent series and recommend it to everyone. But I feel like even two stars is generous for Allegiant. I was really disappointed with it; Roth’s world-building just completely fell apart, the believability of Tris’ world suffered, and the ending just sucked. SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT The main part of the plot seemed really disconnected from the first two books, for starters. The Bureau for Genetic Welfare and the whole idea of “damaged” genes was really hard for me to believe. The science behind it is pretty shaky, and it was a totally different direction from where the books were going at the end of Insurgent. It’s like Roth panicked and changed her mind at the last second, then scrambled to make it connect. There were also a lot of plot points that seemed thrown in or unnecessary, like Uriah’s death. Just to injure him in the attack would have been enough, and his death was glanced over. In the past two books, when a character’s death was barely noted, it was always because they were in the middle of a battle and there was no time to grieve, but there was no such excuse for Uriah. Not to mention the ending. There was absolutely no reason for Roth to kill Tris. Her death was unnecessary and I hated the way Roth handled it, almost glancing over it until Tobias is told. I could rant on for hours about this, but I won’t. I’ll just say that I think killing Tris was the worst decision Roth could have made. Overall I almost hated Allegiant. If Roth had ended it better, without killing Tris and then tying things in a pretty bow, it might have been okay. It still would have been a strange turn for the series, but the ending just ruined it, and nearly ruins the whole series for me. My advice is not to read it and pretend Tris’ story stopped at Insurgent. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (Ender’s Saga #1) ★★★★☆ Once again, the earth is under attack. An alien species is poised for a final assault. The survival of humanity depends on a military genius who can defeat the aliens. But who? Ender Wiggin. Brilliant. Ruthless. Cunning. A tactical and strategic master. And a child. Recruited for military training by the world government, Ender’s childhood ends the moment he enters his new home: Battle School. Among the elite recruits Ender proves himself to be a genius among geniuses. He excels in simulated war games. But is the pressure and loneliness taking its toll on Ender? Simulations are one thing. How will Ender perform in real combat conditions? After all, Battle School is just a game. Isn’t it? This book came to me highly recommended, and it was pretty good. The plot kept me interested throughout, even though it did get a little slow at times. Card’s knowledge of strategy and tactics in battle was extensive and made the book a lot better - I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves scifi, war, or psychological books. Watching Ender react to the way the teachers were manipulating him was probably the most interesting part of the book, and it made his character really well developed. Some of the other characters were underdeveloped and more like props than people, though. It was also really hard to believe that kids as young as six could be doing the things Card had them do. Maybe not impossible, but really improbable, especially to have that many kids with that much ability. At times, Card’s worldbuilding was a little bit shaky, and not just with the kids. We never find out what the Warsaw Pact is, even though it’s incredibly important to the story; same with the League and Hegemon (although it’s obvious they have to do with government.) We also don’t find out what buggers actually are until halfway through the book, and know little about life during Ender’s time period beyond the bugger wars and Battle School. That’s not to say I didn’t like Ender’s Game. I enjoyed it a lot,and got really into it, there were just a few things that stuck out to me as not right. Overall, Card’s book was an intricate story with killer plot twists and an intriguing world. It would be a great book for discussion groups. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell ★★★★★ Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan … But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere. Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to. Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words … And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone. For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind? As a bibliophile and huge fangirl myself, this book means a lot to me. Rowell’s capacity for creating characters that live and breathe never ceases to amaze me. I relate to Cath like crazy, and I’m sure that dozens of other fangirls will, too. I was a little worried that Rowell’s depiction of fans - and fanfic writers - would veer too close to the offensive, ill-informed opinions that a lot of people have of it, but it didn’t. She managed to convey Cath’s love for the Simon Snow series and fic without insulting fangirls, and while still having her non-fan characters think it’s weird. Because let’s face it: people think it’s weird. I’m just impossibly happy Rowell doesn’t. The subplots in this book are fantastic. Every single character has a story of their own, but they don’t blot out Cath’s, and it’s awesome. To be honest, this book is a lot less exciting plot-wise than most of the things I read. No apocalypse, no villain, just plain realistic fiction - and Rowell pulls it off beautifully. I’m totally in love with the way she melds Simon’s story (both “canon” and fic) into Cath’s with subtle, well-written parallels. It’s a beautiful thing. If you’re looking for a book with the right balance of romance and plot, this is the book for you. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments #2) ★★★★☆ Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what’s normal when you’re a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? But the Shadowhunting world isn’t ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary’s only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father. When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father? I love this series. Clare’s books are so jam-packed with amazing characters. I love Valentine’s character - I mean, I hate him, and would happily hit him over the head with a two by four, but he’s incredibly well written and devious. Clare did a great job portraying the relationship between Valentine and Jace, and between Jace and the Lightwoods. I’m not such a big fan of the relationship between Clary and Simon - bouncing back and forth from boyfriend/girlfriend to just friends. It’s already obvious that Clary and Simon care about each other a lot, and I don’t like the idea of them being on-again off-again. Props to Clare for making me so conflicted about Jace and Clary though. I can’t wait to read the third book in the series. I didn’t like this book as much as I liked City of Bones, but it still managed to totally stomp on my heart, which seems to be Clare’s real talent. The Luxe by Anna Godbersen ★★★★☆ Pretty girls in pretty dresses, partying until dawn. Irresistible boys with mischievous smiles and dangerous intentions. White lies, dark secrets, and scandalous hookups. This is Manhattan, 1899. Beautiful sisters Elizabeth and Diana Holland rule Manhattan’s social scene. Or so it appears. When the girls discover their status among New York City’s elite is far from secure, suddenly everyone—from the backstabbing socialite Penelope Hayes, to the debonair bachelor Henry Schoonmaker, to the spiteful maid Lina Broud—threatens Elizabeth’s and Diana’s golden future. With the fate of the Hollands resting on her shoulders, Elizabeth must choose between family duty and true love. The Luxe is a lush, romantic story rife with scandal and betrayal. The pages are filled with vivid details, from the mansions to the gowns. I loved that it brought the era to life accurately and interestingly, but it sometimes seemed too much. In scenes like Penelope’s party, it fit with the over-the-top atmosphere of the party. Other times, it was more dead weight. The love triangles in The Luxe are knotted up and confusing - more like love octagons, actually. This is where the main conflict of the book is, so it was important that they exist, but it seemed like almost every character in the book was involved in one. Even so, The Luxe was a beautifully detailed and well-written story. Lovers of romance, scandal, and the Victorian age will be delighted. Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright ★☆☆☆☆ Valerie’s sister was beautiful, kind, and sweet. Now she is dead. Henry, the handsome son of the blacksmith, tries to console Valerie, but her wild heart beats fast for another: the outcast woodcutter, Peter, who offers Valerie another life far from home. After her sister’s violent death, Valerie’s world begins to spiral out of control. For generations, the Wolf has been kept at bay with a monthly sacrifice. But now no one is safe. When an expert Wolf hunter arrives, the villagers learn that the creature lives among them—it could be anyone in town. It soon becomes clear that Valerie is the only one who can hear the voice of the creature. The Wolf says she must surrender herself before the blood moon wanes…or everyone she loves will die. When I started Red Riding Hood, I expected a Gothic tale of betrayal, suspense, and werewolves. But that’s not quite what it was. Valerie’s story was told choppily, allowing for very little insight into the characters. What was revealed about the villagers was told matter-of-factly, told not shown. The story itself seemed fairly suspenseful and interesting independent of its writing, but there were plenty of little thorns it poked into my side. There are dozens of dead-ends, from Grandmother’s behavior to Peter’s, the two main suspects. Valerie seems to suspect everyone of being the Wolf at one point or another, and usually with little proof and no further investigation. The love triangle irked me, as well. It wasn’t done very well, and Valerie decides on one boy, Henry or Peter, and then ten pages later knows it’s the other who she loves and should be with, only to change her mind in the next chapter. The villagers flip-flop the same way, going from ready to murder Valerie for being a witch to uniting to protect her. Spoilers ahead! Red Riding Hood is also full of numerous plot holes. Father Solomon says that the curse is hereditary, and gets stronger with every generation. He admits that his own wife was a werewolf, and he has two daughters. He shows no remorse in killing the creatures or the humans that have been infected, but allows his daughters to live. Which means that either the curse isn’t hereditary, and the girls are human, or Solomon has gone soft and allows them to turn into werewolves and kill during every full moon. The same problem presents itself with Valerie’s grandmother, who is possibly the wolf, which would make one of Valerie’s parents and Valerie herself a werewolf. |
Once Upon a Time...As a longtime lover of stories and a believer in the power and magic of books, I've spent my life seeking out the best reads. This blog is dedicated to reviewing the books I read - good, bad, or magnificent - to help other readers find their next favorite books. Currently ReadingKing Zeno
Archives
May 2018
|