Review: THE ORIGINAL by Brandon Sanderson & Mary Robinette Kowal

 

Rating: 5/5 stars

This audio novella was super cool! I don’t even want to explain the premise because I went into it blind and I think it was better that way, but basically it’s told from the perspective of an AI of sorts who is kind of trying to solve a mystery about herself. That’s very vague and also not totally accurate but I’m sticking with it.

I’ll read anything from Brandon Sanderson, which is why I picked this up. This is a bit different from his usual epic fantasy though; this is a science fiction thriller, more along the lines of Snapshot and his Legion stories. It also reminded me a lot of Scythe in terms of the technology used in the world.

I loved the audiobook experience here. There are tons of sound effects throughout the entire story, like to make it sound like someone is talking on the phone, or buttons are being pressed on a recorder, or even techno music in a dance club. It was fully immersive and at times quite eerie. Absolutely the way I would recommend consuming this story (although I don’t actually know if there even is a printed version of this tale or if it’s audio-only).

I’m really into futuristic technology, and I loved what Sanderson and Kowal brought to the table here. The idea of Themes has me really intrigued and wishing they were real. They basically allow you to change how you see the world to suit your desires. That can get quite dangerous, and those implications are covered here, but I still think the concept is super neat. Plus nanites, of course, are always cool to see in sci-fi stories.

I was a little surprised to hear so much swearing in this novella. Brandon Sanderson is usually fairly clean in his language, so that makes me think that aspect must be from Mary Robinette Kowal. I wonder how they wrote the story, whether taking turns chapter by chapter or doing it all together, I don’t know. I’m interested in reading more from Kowal now though as this is my first book by her and I’d like to read some of her solo works.

I ended up loving The Original. I listened to it all in one sitting, which is also what I would recommend since it’s only a couple of hours long. This was a great experience. 

Review: LIGHTFALL: THE GIRL AND THE GALDURIAN by Tim Probert

 

Rating: 5/5 stars

I LOVED this book! The Girl and the Galdurian was right up my alley.

One day, Bea meets Cad, the last-known Galdurian. They strike up an unlikely friendship and venture out together on a quest across the land to find Bea’s grandfather. But Bea has a magical item that evil beings are after, and they will stop at nothing to acquire it.

The artwork in this graphic novel is GORGEOUS. I loved every single panel. I loved the world of Irpa that Probert has created, and the detail in every scene was amazing. I also loved how the cat is so cute and funny and always doing his own thing in the background.

Bea is a wonderful protagonist. She’s realistic, which can sometimes border on pessimistic, but she has anxiety that can sometimes be debilitating, and I loved seeing how she worked through that at different times in the story. You can even see anxiety around her, drawn with black swirls around her body when she’s feeling that way. I also loved Cad because he was the opposite of Bea: always chipper and excited and looking on the bright side. They both were so great. 

I absolutely recommend this graphic novel. I need the next installment immediately; I can’t wait to read it and continue this beautiful story!

Review: THE SPACE BETWEEN WORLDS by Micaiah Johnson

 

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

I’ve been really excited to read this book since I first heard about it, plus I’ve been wanting to read more science fiction lately. Multiverse space travel where you can’t travel to a world where you’re still alive, plus that gorgeous cover? Sold.

At the beginning of the novel, I was really enjoying it. I liked the descriptions of the technology and the way she explains the different worlds—382 of them to be exact—that the traversers travel to. I liked our protagonist Cara and her backstory, and I liked the differences between Wiley City and Ashtown.

When part two began, however, I started to get confused. Confused about the relationship between Nik Nik and Cara (you’ll see when you read it), and confused about some of the technicalities of traversing. I felt like events were happening that shouldn’t have been allowed to happen within the boundaries of the world that were explained to me earlier, and I felt like Cara was saying stuff that should have gotten her in trouble but didn’t. I was confused why the direction of the story turned away from where it was going and where I thought it was going to focus on the relationship between Cara and Nik Nik that still confuses me now that the book is over.

I kept wanting more than what I got. Even twenty extra pages of description interspersed throughout the narrative would have been beneficial to this story. The book wasn’t long enough for me to feel attached to any of the characters besides Cara, and even she feels rather forgettable. There was a lot of backstory about her on the different worlds and her family and Dell and Nik Nik and his family backstory, but we really didn’t see more than a few sentences about any of that; we needed way more but didn’t get it. I’m still really confused about who’s related to who on which worlds.

I really feel like the story lost its direction. It had a strong start but eventually, it started going downhill and didn’t recover. New in-world terminology kept being brought up that was so infrequently used that I forgot what it meant but was never explained again, and there’s also a ton of other stuff that wasn’t explained well enough the first time that I still don’t know what it means. I felt very disconnected from the whole story, more and more the longer I read it.

This could have been a really neat book, but ultimately it just needed more work. This doesn’t feel like it’s ready for publication yet as I had a ton of issues throughout the entire narrative that could have been fixed with a little editing here or a little more added description there, etc. I’m disappointed with how it all turned out because I expected to love this book. I also think I wanted it to be more science-fictiony than it was and less focused on character relationships. And that ending was . . . lackluster? Yeah, unfortunately I was just glad to be done with it.

The Space Between Worlds has a cool concept, but it suffers from poor execution in my opinion. I feel like the synopsis partially lied so I expected something different than what I actually got, but I also feel like the story was just too underdeveloped. I constantly wanted more—more from the world-building, more from the character development, and more plot structure. There was a large portion in the middle where I felt like too many detours were taken and the entire focus of the book changed to be about the relationship between Cara and Nik Nik, or different events that were happening that I had no idea why they were included because I didn’t feel like they added anything to the story.

I also felt like I needed a map of the city and surrounding areas because I still can’t tell the difference between Ashtown and the Rurals and the deep wastes. All I know is there is Wiley City and there is Everything Else.

There was a lot to like here, but there was also a lot that could have been improved. I liked The Space Between Worlds enough that I plan to read future stories by Micaiah Johnson when she releases something new. I liked her writing style in this book, but I feel that with time and practice, she will become a much better author than what she has to offer here, as this very much feels like a debut novel. I want to give her a chance when she has had more time to hone her writing skills.

Review: I WILL JUDGE YOU BY YOUR BOOKSHELF by Grant Snider

 

Rating: 5/5 stars

This is a cute book of poems about the reader’s life and what it’s like to have a book addition, presented in the form of comic strips with entertaining drawings to accompany the text.

I Will Judge You By Your Bookshelf is so very relatable to fellow book lovers like myself. Grant Snider talks about what it’s like to be surrounded by the temptation to buy more books, what it’s like to want to read rather than be social, and what it’s like to own more books than you’ll ever have time to get to. He talks about the highs and lows of reading, the evolution of a reader, the ways to organize your bookshelf, the dilemma with deciding to DNF a book you’re not loving,

I love that the artwork is so very clever, and it accompanies the poems so well. Plus this book is just plain funny. There are tons of puns and plays on words and panels where the words use one definition while the pictures use another definition for a smart and thoughtful outcome.

My favorite comic was "Adventures of the Ampersand." So cute and funny.

I absolutely recommend this short book to any book lovers out there. You will appreciate this collection immensely and relate to it on every page. At least I did.

Review: THE SECRET KEEPER by Kate Morton

 

Rating: 4.75/5 stars

This book was not what I expected, but it was still so amazing. The Secret Keeper is my third Kate Morton book, and it did not fail to surprise me. 

When Laurel was sixteen-years-old, she witnessed her mother stab a stranger to death in her own front yard. Laurel has been haunted by this event her entire life. Now her mother, Dorothy, is about to celebrate her ninetieth and likely final birthday, and Laurel realizes this is the last chance she will have to uncover the truth about that shocking day in 1961. 

This story simultaneously follows Laurel in present-day England (2011) and Dorothy in 1941 London during the war. We learn about Dorothy's life and her friends and lovers during that time, including about the lives two important people in her life, Jimmy and Vivien. The two timelines interweave as Laurel tries to solve the mystery while we learn about Dorothy's life leading up to that day as well. 

The Secret Keeper is a twisty and engaging tale that I could not put down. I love how Kate Morton slowly reveals answers while also posing more questions throughout the entire book. This novel felt more historical than the other two I've read so far (The Forgotten Garden and The Lake House) since it takes place during the middle of World War Two and the characters are constantly facing the consequences of war, such as bombs being dropped in their neighborhood, family members going off to war, friends dying during the Blitz, etc. The other novels were historical but had a very different feel than this one did. I will admit I enjoyed her other books slightly better because of this aspect, but I obviously still loved this one. And HOLY COW THAT TWIST AT THE END!! I thought we had all the answers and the entire mystery was solved and then she throws that at us? I was dead. So good. 

I absolutely recommend The Secret Keeper to any historical mystery fans out there. Morton is exceptionally skilled at creating realistic and compelling atmospheres that make you feel like you are there with the characters. She's descriptive without going overboard. I've loved everything I've read by her so far, and I will continue to read all of the books she releases until the day I die. 

Review: SOLUTIONS AND OTHER PROBLEMS by Allie Brosh

 

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

I absolutely loved Allie Brosh’s first book, Hyperbole and a Half, and I actually enjoyed it more than this one. Like Hyperbole, Solutions and Other Problems is a compilation of humorously relatable comics about Allie’s life. She has changed a lot in the seven years since her first book though: her sister died, her parents got divorced, she got divorced, and she’s battled debilitating depression. That’s a lot of really hard stuff to deal with, and this book reflects that. While a lot of the comics were funny and lighthearted, she also included comics that were sadder and more serious, touching on these events that have happened in her life.

While I liked most of this book, there was still a handful of comics and stories here that felt like filler, and some didn't even make sense to me at all and I don't think they should have been included. I definitely laughed out loud more during the first book than I did with this one, but I still will read anything Allie releases in the future. 

Review: SEANCE TEA PARTY by Reimena Yee

Rating: 3/5 stars

Séance Tea Party is a tender and uplifting magical coming-of-age story with a heavy focus on friendship. 

I saw this book at the bookstore one day and knew immediately I had to read it; the title and cover completely sold me. This story is about Lora when she summons a ghost named Alexa during a séance tea party that she holds. Lora struggles to make friends with the mortals at her school because they just don't get her quirky personality, but Alexa is the perfect friend.

This graphic novel covers about one year in Lora's life in middle school, and it's all about her friendship with Alexa and some other unexpected friendships she makes along the way. There are also some great discussions about growing up and growing old. It's an adorable story and a perfect read for the fall season. 

"Growing up is . . . not knowing and being confused. No adult has any idea what they're doing all the time . . . and that's not a bad thing. You get to make your own choices and see those choices through. You'll lose yourself sometimes and then discover something new. You'll be remaking and developing who you are as you live and love. Do you see it, Lora? This is magic by another name--freedom."