Review: ACROSS THE WAY: MEADOWS by Eber & Wein Publishing

 Rating: 3.5/5 stars

This is a poetry collection that probably won’t be read by anyone except the people whose poems are in the book. I read it only because I own a copy, and I own a copy only because one of my poems is printed in this book.

I love poetry on its own, but I hardly ever read whole books of poetry. It’s exhausting to read 300 pages of poems in place of a novel.

This is an amateur poetry collection. As such, there were poems that I didn’t care for, poems that sounded superficial, and there were poems that I quite enjoyed, poems that were full of deep emotion. There were also plenty of poems in dire need of editing, but it is clear the publisher printed the poems “as-is” without correcting even basic spelling and punctuation mistakes.

Even though this book’s title is Meadows, the subjects in this book are unrestrained, covering any number of topics possible. Lots of poems were very personal, some talked about family and relationships, and many had religious elements, while others seemed so abstract that I couldn’t make sense of them.

This collection goes to show that any person can create art through their experiences. It proves that many many people (probably every person out there, honestly) struggle with very personal issues that leave deep imprints on their lives. No one is alone in their sadness or trials, and that’s the most important thing I learned while reading this book.

My favorite part of this collection was the stories from select authors about their poems. I liked reading about the inspiration behind the poems. Here are the poems I liked best from Meadows:
“Everything,” 25
“Life in a Hyphen,” 61
“Evil Spirit,” 73
“Wonder,” 112
“Sad Eyes of the Beautiful Hot Dog Stand Girl,” 130
“Wording,” 243

Review: LILAC GIRLS by Martha Hall Kelly

Rating: 4/5 stars

Lilac Girls is a mostly true account following three women during World War Two.
—Caroline, 37, American, volunteer at the French Consulate in New York City
—Kasia, 17, Polish, prisoner at Ravensbrück concentration camp
—Herta, early 20s, German, doctor at Ravensbrück concentration camp
I feel like this book mostly tells Kasia’s story, but it features perspectives from Caroline and Herta, two people who had profound impacts on Kasia’s life. The stories of these three women intersect to create something heartbreaking but also beautiful. Before reading this book, I didn’t know anything about Ravensbrück, the all-female concentration camp, but now I’ve been provided with an intimate view of what life was like inside.

Something I liked about this book was that the chapters alternated points of view, and each chapter ended in such a way that I had to know what happened next, but the next chapter was usually from a different character’s perspective. Written this way, the narrative propelled the reader through the story and really created an engaging plotline throughout.

I love historical fiction, and it’s been awhile since I’ve read a WWII story, but this one reminded me how brutal that time was. This book is gritty at times and takes the reader right to the heart of the concentration camp life at Ravensbrück and the medical experiments performed there. Many times it was hard to read, but I also couldn’t stop reading because I was so engrossed in it. I cannot express enough how grateful I am to not have lived through that. I know I wouldn’t have survived, and I feel sick just reading about it.

For the first eighty pages or so, I really struggled to keep the characters and the story straight. There are a lot of side characters. There are also a lot of words in German or Polish with no English alternative or definition provided, so I often became confused during those sentences about what had transpired. For example, matka means mother in Polish, but for about half the book, I thought it was Kasia’s mother’s actual name (it was capitalized in the book). These few reasons are why I am giving this book four stars instead of five. I think it is very deserving of five stars, but my rating is based on personal enjoyment, and my struggle in the beginning leads me to give this four stars.

I cannot believe this is Martha Hall Kelly’s first book. The writing was amazing and captivating, the editing extremely thorough. (Being an editor myself, I usually find at least one error or plot hole in every book, but I cannot remember any from this book.) I know she did about ten years of research for this story, which is an astonishing feat unto itself. I can only hope that one day I’ll be as devoted to a topic as she was to telling these women’s stories. Here is a wonderful short video of Kelly talking about how she became interested in the story she tells in Lilac Girls, and it showcases some places that inspired her and pictures of the real people featured in the book.

Everyone needs to read books like this one at some point in their lives: actual accounts of the horrors of war (this book is technically fiction, but it is based on true events and features many real people as its characters). Every time I read a story about the war, specifically what it was like to be a prisoner in a concentration camp, I shiver with utter horror at the thought that humans could treat other humans that way. Absolutely unfathomable to me. I am beyond grateful that I did not have to endure the torture and experimentation that the girls in this book did. It’s very difficult to read about but also very eye-opening how blessed we are today, and it really makes me appreciate the life I have. Even on my hardest days, I would prefer to live them a hundred times over than live one day as a prisoner during the war. The women in this story really suffered through a lot but probably grew exponentially more than I ever will because of those experiences. I highly recommend Lilac Girls, in part because of the imprint it will leave on you when you finish.

Would You Rather: Book Edition

Would you rather . . .

1. Read only series or only standalones?
read only standalones

2. Buy all your books at a bookstore or online?
buy all my books at a bookstore

3. All books become movies or tv shows?
all books become tv shows

4. Reread your least favourite book yearly or never be able to read your favourite book again?
never be able to read my favourite book again

5. Be a professional book reviewer or a professional author?
both, but if I had to choose, a professional book reviewer

6. Read only your 20 favourite books or only never-before-read books for the rest of your life?
read only never-before-read books

7. Be a librarian or a bookseller?
be a librarian

8. Read only your favourite genre or every genre but your favourite genre?
read only my favourite genre

9. Ready only physical books or only ebooks or only audiobooks?
read only physical books

10. Receive an unlimited number of free books for life or live inside your favourite book?
receive an unlimited number of free books for life

11. Own only as many books as you can physically carry or own enough books to cover every wall in your house?
own only as many books as I can physically carry

12. Read only the most popular books or read only books that no one you know has read so you can't discuss them?
read only books no one I know has read 

13. Read the last chapter before starting any new book or never read the last chapter of a book?
read the last chapter before starting any new book

14. Read only one book a year and remember everything or read a hundred books a year but remember nothing?
read a hundred books a year but remember nothing

15. Read a book with a cliffhanger ending or read a book with a heartbreaking ending?
read a book with a cliffhanger ending

16. Have a book's ending spoiled or never know how it ends?
have the ending spoiled

17. Read a book that's missing the middle chapter or read a book that's missing the first and last chapters?
read a book that's missing the middle chapter

18. Love a book everyone hates or hate a book everyone loves?
hate a book everyone loves

19. Have your favourite book made into a bad movie or never made into a movie?
have my favourite book made into a bad movie

20. Have to wait five years for the final book in your favourite series or read it now but have to read major spoilers beforehand?
read it now but have to read major spoilers beforehand

Review: BITTERBLUE by Kristin Cashore

Rating: 5/5 stars

Read my updated 2021 reread review here. 

Bitterblue is the best book in this series by far. After we left Princess Bitterblue in Graceling, I was curious to see how her future would turn out now that Leck isn't at the helm of her life. I'm glad she got her own story, and I can't believe I almost didn't read this book because I didn't love the last two. This book is worlds better than the other two, and Cashore's writing has significantly improved since book one. Although Bitterblue follows characters introduced in Graceling and features cameos from characters in Fire, I do think it could be read as a standalone, or as a sequel to Graceling, omitting Fire. I will say having the knowledge from Fire definitely added to my reading experience of this book, but it is not pertinent to read that book prior to Bitterblue.

I loved the characters in this story. Bitterblue is lovely (I actually like her more than Katsa), and it was so nice to see how she's matured since her childhood in Graceling. Moreso, I loved the evolution and progression of her character and strengths from the beginning of this book to the end. Cashore has a talent for writing really strong female leads that have great arcs of character development throughout the story, being tested in many ways but always emerging triumphant and stronger in the end. Of all the characters in this book, I think I liked Sapphire the most (and his name is pure gold). He was unpleasant at times, but I continued rooting for him and I loved when he showed up in scenes. He, too, goes through some nice moral changes as the story progresses.

My very favourite scene in this whole book is when Bitterblue walks into the courthouse while Saf is on trial. I listened to that part of the book on audio, and I was laughing so much at how ironically funny it was. Simply charming.

One thing I wish we were given more details about was the romance. Bitterblue and Sapphire had a kind of relationship that could have been more intimate than we saw it, but we don't know what happened to them after the story ended. Bitterblue also seemed fond of Giddon, but their relationship was always only platonic. I could see it turning into something more in the future, but we readers won't know what happens with Bitterblue's possible suitors because the story was left open-ended with this matter.

In Bitterblue, the use of ciphers and codes and secret messages is paramount to the story. I've always been interested in that kind of thing but never had an aptitude for it, so I enjoy reading about it in books from time to time, watching the characters figure out the puzzles piece by piece. Each new message that Bitterblue deciphers or each code that she had to break had me completely enthralled with how detailed they were, how complex they were to solve. And their prevalence goes to show that Bitterblue really couldn't trust anyone. Truly, I had no idea who was on her side and who was putting on a facade. People were changing their allegiances in the middle of the book, discovered to be an enemy but then ended up being an ally, and vice versa. That is one thing Cashore did really well in this book: she had me completely unable to trust any of the characters. Even the main characters that were most present in the story were under scrutiny from Bitterblue, and I can't imagine that strain on her as an emerging queen. Luckily, all answers were elucidated by the end of the book.

I did think it was weird, for how focused on characterization Cashore is in her writing, that we never got to meet the spies. Bitterblue mentions her spies quite a bit, and at first I thought that was a pretense for her guards, that her "spies" were actually herself and Saf and Teddy. But then I realized she actually does have spies, but we never got to meet them or know their names. I found that a bit strange with how much this book revolves around secrets and the acquisition of information.

I like that this book heavily relied on politics, but they didn't control the story like they did in Fire. In Fire, the politics were the story, and the plot became very dry and boring. But in Bitterblue, the politics enhanced the story, and that was so much more enjoyable to me. I think politics are crucial to any good fantasy that takes place in a medieval setting with castles and rulers, but I find that they can make or break my interest in the story.

Overall, Bitterblue was an excellent conclusion to an otherwise ordinary trilogy. Cashore's writing has developed greatly since her debut novel, and I believe she will continue to grow even stronger in that skill as time goes on. She writes great characters and interesting political plotlines with shocking revelations throughout. This story was long, but it didn't feel that long because every bit of it was entertaining. One neat thing about this book in particular is the considerable amount of bonus content at the end, which really enhances the reading experience. We have beautiful drawings of the three bridges in Bitterblue City, detailed maps of different parts of the castle and the land, a character list with helpful descriptions, and Cashore's writing process for Bitterblue, which was actually very eye-opening. She wrote two complete first drafts of the story over the course of many years to get all the details of the plot where she wanted them to be. While that would have been a grueling rewriting process, I know that Bitterblue was only better for it in the end.