I Am the Messenger: A Rambling Review

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

This was not the right book for me. I didn't particularly like Ed -- he made some very poor choices, and the way he just went right along with the "messages" demonstrated a certain lack of independent thinking. Plus, he tended to "intuit" a lot based on nothing, which seemed pretty ridiculous to me. I also felt like his inner thoughts and realizations were quite dramatic and pretentious, and that he and his friends sometimes talked in a much more poetic, "deep" sort of way than people would in real life.

The ending was a real cop-out, honestly. I kept reading (skimming, really) because the mystery was really what was keeping me from DNF-ing it. And after all that, the reveal was not worth it. Spoilers, highlight to read: If I interpreted it correctly, it was a "meta" sort of concept where the author was inserted into the story and he was the one sending Ed all the messages. Which, what? *shakes head* I did not read that whole book for that kind of an ending, sorry.
I mean, sure, the message about reaching out to others and helping them was good, I can't argue with that. (I can certainly argue with Ed's method about doing that in some instances, however.) But it doesn't make up for the other issues I had with the story.

2 shooting stars.

 

Tarnished City: A Rambling Review

Tarnished City by Vic James

I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the first, which may partly be due to the fact that the first book had the novelty of learning about this world and meeting the characters, but is also because I felt like a large chunk of this one in the middle moved quite slowly and was repetitive. There were lots of conversations talking about plans and schemes and then re-hashing what happened, and so many characters that it was really hard to keep track of who had done what where. (Seriously, a cast of characters list is MUCH NEEDED for this series! Also a map would be nice.) Interspersed between all these dialogue scenes were a few dramatic scenes, but they didn't usually build momentum for the plot; it felt like nothing had really changed from before the dramatic scene, and people just carried on having their secretive conversations where they plotted things.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the beginning and ending sections of the story. Abi and Luke are both still pretty bland characters, but we get to see the story unfold from a number of POVs (in third-person voice) – a technique that I think serves the story well and keeps things interesting. Certain characters don't know about secrets that other characters have, so it's kind of like the reader is "in on it" because we get to see everything -- and yet, because of the oblique nature of the way certain POVs or scenes are written, we really don't know everything. "Good guys," "bad guys," and those in-between (*cough*Silyen*cough*) -- we get glimpses into a variety of perspectives (although Silyen's still remains cloaked in mystery and ambiguity).

Some plot twists I saw coming (spoiler, highlight to read: I guessed partway through that Coira was Crovan's child), others I did not (spoiler: Jenner's betrayal came totally out of left field, although since I never really "shipped" the romance with Abi, I wasn't upset about it. Still, hopefully in the third book we'll get his perspective on that, because right now the reader has no idea why he flipped sides. Is it as simple as the reason he gave to Abi?). There was also some interesting character development (or perhaps just further character revelation?) with Gavar, which was good to see.

And as I commented in one of my updates as I was reading, this dystopian series feels very realistic in how it presents the obstacles to the rebels. The governing class is Skilled and the rebels are not, and their continued failure reflects their poor odds of winning this fight. Time and time again they are beaten by the Jardines and their allies. It's dark, there's no doubt about it -- this book is full of death (so many characters died in this one!), torture (mental and physical), and at times a sense of hopelessness pervading the rebel cause. But they keep on fighting, at times acquiring curious and unexpected allies. While Abi and Luke are, as I've said, quite boring as characters, it's easy to root for them to win against Whittam Jardine and his crew. I also found myself rooting for certain characters to join the "good guys", even when it seemed like it was a fruitless hope (*cough*Silyen*cough*).

I was also struck by echoes of socio-political issues we are facing in our current political climate – for example, references to controlling the narrative through the media and the truth being, not facts, but what people are persuaded to believe... sound familiar? A couple of quotes sum it up nicely:

"Abi had dared imagine that the Equals' version of history could be fought with the truth, but how could you do that when they were making it up as they went along, and shouting it over and over and over through the media? They had everything at their disposal: power, money, connections. They hardly even needed Skill."

And then several pages later:

"'Stupid girl,' he said. 'Truth isn't what happened, it's what people will believe happened.'"

I have to wonder how heavily the author was influenced by recent political events in the US... the themes seemed too clear at times to be coincidence.

Anyway, pick this series up if you are looking for a dark, thought-provoking dystopian fantasy series, but be prepared for this book in particular to be slow-moving in the middle, heavy in dialogue scenes, and chock full of political manoeuvring.

3.5 stars.

God Is In The Pancakes: A Rambling Review

God Is In The Pancakes by Robin Epstein

This book ended up being more intense than I was expecting. The quandary that Grace faces is one I can imagine being extremely gut-wrenching, with no easy answers. It brought home to me how important it is that in Canada physician-assisted dying is now legal (with strict criteria that must be met).

I really liked the main character Grace; she was a thoughtful, independent teen girl who strove to (usually) do the right thing – and yet she wasn't perfect. Her reflections on everything going on in her life felt very realistic and I could often relate to her mindset, even if I did not always agree with her choices.

Her relationship with Mr. Sands really stood out as unique in a YA novel; often we see peer friendships and romances being explored, but it's rare to see an inter-generational relationship. Having candystriped for a year in high school, this was a personal touch for me. There was one particular gentleman who was my favourite patient – just as Mr. Sands was for Grace – and who was such a lot of fun to spend time with. There is so much about a hospital setting that is depressing, but this story definitely highlighted that building a connection with a patient there can brighten it.

Sidenote, but: the speech-language pathologist in me was wondering why they didn't try some augmentative/alternative communication (AAC) methods with Mr. Sands as his ALS progressed to affecting his speech. There are technologies available nowadays that can operate voice output devices with eye movement only, for instance. Instead it seemed like he just wasn't given any means to communicate anymore!

4 shooting stars. 

 

The Fault in Our Stars: A Rambling Review

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I'm no longer practically the last person on Earth to have not read this book! This is one of those books that I think is objectively quite well-written, but I just didn't emotionally connect with, personally. (No, it did not make me cry.) Hazel was a likeable protagonist who felt human and distinctive, and since she is the narrator we get to know her the best; yet even so, I still didn't feel as close to her as I would have liked.

A lot of this book is composed of conversation and Hazel's musings, so not that much really happens plot-wise (except for a few key events). I knew going into it about the spoiler ending (has anyone managed to escape that spoiler by now?) so that was not a surprise.

I found some of the philosophical observations on life a tad lofty and pretentious at times (which at least the characters are aware of), but I did find a lot of them true to life, acknowledging human reactions that often get swept under the rug or covered up by our society. That was one of the things I liked best about this book, that it was quite blunt about how it cut through the "socially acceptable" layer of human responses to get at how people actually think and feel.

3.5 shooting stars.

My Life Next Door: A Rambling Review

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

This contemporary YA novel has gotten quite a bit of hype and I know a lot of people loved it, but unfortunately I didn't fall head-over-heels for it. I mostly liked the main character Samantha, whose voice was relatable and felt realistic as a teen's. Jase, on the other hand, while sweet and rather mature for a teenage guy, seemed a little too perfect; he never made mistakes and always appeared to know best, and it came off as a bit holier-than-thou at times (especially when all the other teens were making mistakes left, right, and center). I did enjoy the general dynamic of the Garrett family and the contrast to Samantha's, and found it interesting how entrenched she becomes in their life, which is unusual to see in a YA novel.

I felt kind of like this novel was split into 2 different parts: the lighter, bubblier, falling-in-love section that spans the first two-thirds of the story, and then the darker, heavier, angstier section of the last third. It was a little strange to suddenly have the story change direction and tone, and become much more serious. I thought Samantha's conundrum was a difficult one to face, and I liked the fact that the book was posing some moral questions and forcing her to think about what she believed in, but I also felt like it didn't exactly fit with the rest of the story that had come before.

Also, what an awful example some of the adults in this story set. I mean, just terrible. *shakes head*

 

Cress: A Rambling Review

Cress by Marissa Meyer

I wasn't as engaged with the story as I was with Scarlet. The pacing seemed uneven – large slow stretches peppered with short bursts of excitement – and I wasn't the biggest fan of how we kept switching character POVs (there were some storylines I had less interest than others). I think part of it was just that I don't really have the time/energy to read during the week, so I kept just reading a little bit each weekend, then waiting a whole week before reading another chunk...but still, I found it easy to put down, and it wasn't strongly compelling me to pick it up again.

That said, I enjoyed spending time with the characters; I'd say characters and dialogue are Marissa Meyer's strengths. Perhaps because the plot was getting more intense, I think there was less humour in this one than in Scarlet (everyone was too busy trying to stay alive to crack a lot of jokes). I liked that Cress was not a "perfect" sort of character, but I did wish she'd been given a few more attributes to make her a little less one-note; it seemed like she was used for all technology-related needs and not much else (and she turned into a liability in any physical fight, although at least she couldn't be mind-controlled). I really enjoyed finally getting to see Kai and Cinder meet up again, and how that scene played out. I'm also intrigued by the introduction of Winter, and interested to get to know her better in the next book.

The Winner's Crime: A Rambling Review

The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

I polished this one off in just a couple days. It's quite readable and compelling, despite the fact that for most of the book I just wanted to shake some sense into the two main leads and get them to TALK to each other and get everything out into the open. Of course, if they'd done that, the book would have been a whole lot shorter, but I did feel that all the drama between the two of them was kinda trumped-up, due to Kestrel's insistence not to tell Arin the truth, and Arin's (willful?) obtuseness in ignoring what seemed (at least to me, the reader) to be rather blatantly obvious (spoilers, highlight to read: the reason behind Kestrel's engagement to the prince, and also Kestrel's suggestion to poison the horses instead of burning the eastern plains).

This idiotic behaviour not only caused major problems for their relationship/whatever-you-want-to-call-it, but it also impacted the other stuff going on in the plot. Whereas the first book in the series had a fair bit of action, this one involves less action and more intrigue/secrecy. Unfortunately, as sequels are often wont to do, I felt that this book did not have the same kind of internal story arc that the first did. The plot had less direction and momentum, and there was a chunk in the middle that lagged. It felt sort of like the relationship drama was being used to stretch things out from book 1 to book 3. Of course, along the way we met some new characters and some more plot points happened, but a lot of the difficulties encountered probably could have been avoided if Arin and Kestrel had just sat down and had a long talk.

I also found the writing overused metaphors, and as with the first book, could have provided more description of settings and characters to help me visualize them.

Despite these complaints, I quite enjoyed it! Kestrel and Arin both make mistakes and pay for them, and yet you root for them all the same. The transformation in how Arin views Kestrel as the book progresses is striking (spoiler: he becomes very bitter towards her). Kestrel's gradual change in attitude/perspective regarding slavery, war, and military might that began in the first book progresses in book two, in a way that feels quite organic, rather than being rushed. Her relationship with her father is complicated (boy, is it ever!) and is something I hope book three will delve into more.

The Winner's Curse: A Rambling Review

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

I've been on a great reading kick lately! I tried this one about a year ago, and DNFed as I just wasn't getting into it. Finally I picked it up again, still had a little bit of a tough time connecting at the start, but soon enough I was quite absorbed in it. I was reminded of The Seer and the Sword by Victoria Hanley, and to a lesser extent Archangel by Sharon Shinn.

I really like how it was plotted; I won't spoil, but there's an event that occurs around the halfway point that completely turns the tables, and the juxtaposition between the first and second halves is interesting. There's also an unexpected turn of events towards the end, setting things up for book 2 (it requires some suspension of disbelief, but it does complicate matters!).

Their positions in society makes Kestrel and Arin's relationship one of push-and-pull, unpredictable and messy, and certainly one of the highlights of the book. I liked that Kestrel was at best average, perhaps even mediocre, at fighting (rather than being one of those 'kick-butt' female characters we so frequently see in YA fantasy who are somehow naturally fantastic at combat), but excelled at strategizing. She and Arin were well-matched in that respect. It was also interesting to have as a protagonist someone who owned slaves, and who, despite treating them fairly well, was not desperately fighting to change the status quo. I was not convinced, at least for most of the book, that Kestrel was particularly bothered by the fact that the Valorians enslaved the Herrani. As the general's daughter she seems to have been raised to accept that this is the way things are; that you must be stronger than your opposition so that you are the victor rather than the dominated. I think there is a shift in Kestrel's viewpoint towards the end of the book, but it certainly takes a while to happen.

Arin was more of a mystery to me. I didn't really feel like the reader was let into his head as much as with Kestrel. There's still a fair bit of backstory there that I think could be explored (and perhaps will be in later books?)

One quibble I had generally is that I could have used some more description, particularly of the characters. I had the hardest time picturing what Arin looked like! A map also would have been a huge help. Any discussion of military strategy makes so much more sense to me when there is a map to refer to.

Final verdict: 4 shooting stars.

Station Eleven: A Rambling Review (Adult)

Why yes, here I am, sporadically posting another blog post after about 2 months of silence! *waves*

This isn't in one of my regular review formats — it's just my thoughts that I wrote up on Goodreads,  more of a reaction than a formal review. (I don't really feel like re-writing it to fit a certain format, lol.)

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Okay, so that just sort of...ended. I feel like I missed the point of this book. Or, was there a point? It seemed to be trying to be "deep" but in the end didn't come to any important conclusions. There also really wasn't much of a storyline, beyond the one involving the creepy cult. Everyone not involved in that storyline just sorta wandered around contemplating life before and after the apocalypse.

I will say, this is undoubtedly one of the most realistic depictions of a post-apocalyptic world I've read. It's bleak and lawless and yet still contains remnants of social rules. I wish we'd seen more of the actual 'end of the world' itself so that we knew how we got to the world as it is post-apocalypse. (You do still have to suspend your disbelief somewhat for how things unfold, as is usually the case with apocalyptic fiction.) I really enjoyed the intense feeling at the beginning of the novel as the flu breaks out and everything spirals out of control, but it was so short! And then most of the rest of it was people walking here and there trying to stay alive in the post-apocalyptic world, or flashbacks to their lives pre-apocalypse.

And sadly, I never cared all that much about any particular character, I think in part because it kept jumping to another character every one or two chapters. We're introduced to Jeevan initially, and I actually liked what we saw of him (I could relate to his anxiety issues) but then we switch to Kirsten and the Traveling Symphony 20 years later, and we don't get to see Jeevan again for the longest time! I also connected with Miranda, and found her an interesting character (at least when she was younger, in the flashbacks), and yet we don't spend much time with her either (despite the fact that she is, after all, the author of the Station Eleven graphic novels that the book is titled after). Kirsten probably gets the most page time, and unfortunately I never particularly connected with or related to her; I didn't think she had a very distinctive personality.

The author did do well with linking all of the characters' stories together, even in small ways (such as one character ending up with an item that another character had had at one point). I always appreciate when authors make use of details like that. Another point in the book's favour was that the quality of the writing was undeniably solid.

Overall, though, I'm just not too sure what I'm supposed to take away from this book. Life without modern technology, thrown into anarchy, living off the land, would basically suck? The ending leaves some room for hope, so I guess that's something. Still, it left me very unsatisfied. I spent the whole book waiting for *something* to happen; apart from a little suspense and action with the whole cult/prophet storyline, it didn't happen. I realize this is intended as one of those quieter, thought-provoking post-apocalyptic books, rather than action-packed, but still.