Audiobook: Chaos Theory

Leave a comment

by Nic Stone
Read by the author and Dion Graham
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is some mild swearing (I don’t remember any f-bombs); teenage drinking; talk of mental health, self-harm, and a parental affair. It’s in the Teen (grades 9+) section of the bookstore.

Ever since Shelbi moved to Georgia, she has one rule: don’t get close to anyone. A former “friend” hurt her badly at her last school, and her mental health can’t handle it. What she doesn’t count on is Andy, who she passes one night, sitting in the back of a cop car, having totaled his car because he was wasted. In fact, he seems to often have too much to drink. As they fall into friendship, and become closer, they both realize that there’s a lot ot unpack. Shelbi with her bipolar diagnosis, Andy with his self-medicating with alcohol (not to mention a distant mother, and the death of a younger sister that he blames himself for).

This has to be one of the cutest books about really tough subjects that I’ve eve read. I loved the dynamic between Andy and Shelbi – Dion Graham was a specatular narrator, and Stone was quite good as well – and the way they both supported and pushed each other. It was a very cute romance, but underneath was all the hard-hitting issues that Stone is known for. She looks very unflinchingly at mental health, grief, substance abuse, and what it takes to make a relationship really work.

In short, it was an excellent book, especially on audio.

Tagging Freedom

Leave a comment

by Rhonda Roumani
First sentence: “Kareem picked up the black spray paint and studied the sandy-colored wall.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is some talk of war and protests where gunfire opens up. There are also instances of microaggressions and blatant racism. It’s in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

Kareem is a 13-year-old in Syria in 2011, right as the protests and the civil war began. He is fired up about the abuses by his government and wants to help do something so he and his friends take to spray painting slogans and art on the buildings around Damascus. This lands him in trouble – with his parents, not the government, fortunately – and they ship him off to live with his aunt and uncle and cousin in America.

Said American cousin, Samira, is having her own problems. She wants to join the Spirit Squad, but the girl who runs it is the same girl that bullied Sam all through 4th and 5th grade. But people change, right? And it’s 7th grade now. But joing the Spirit Squad makes her end up fighting with her best friend, and when her cousin arrives, it makes everything a lot more complicated.

The most striking thing in this book is the huge juxtaposition between Kareem’s Syrian life and the way he cares deeply about his family and friends who are still being affected by the uprising and government retaliation and Samira, who is concerned with, well, #firstworldproblems. If there is anything that brings to light the huge disparity (and nonchalance) that we Americans (even children!) have with the other world, this is it. I thought Roumani handled it well – making Kareem care so deeply, you can’t help as a reader but care about what he cares about. And I liked Samira’s growth arc, and the way she shook off superficial concerns compared to the problems that Kareem and his family have.

And because it has a lot of similarities with the genocide in Gaza right now, it was that much more powerful and relevant. An excellent book.

The Husbands

Leave a comment

by Holly Gramazio
First sentence: “The man is tall and has dark tousled hair, and when she gets back quite late from Elena’s hen do, she finds him waiting on the landing at the top of the stairs.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: April 2, 2024
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There is some swearing, including multiple f-bombs, and off-page sex. It’s in the Fiction section of the bookstore.

When Lauren – who is single, just out of a long-term relationship – arrives home from her best friend’s bachelorette party, she discovers that the universe has gifted her a husband. One that she has no memory of ever marrying (or even meeting). And then, to make things even more interesting, when he goes up into her (their?) attic, a different man comes down. Soon she realizes that her magic attic has gifted her something… interesting: the opportunity to figure out who the “perfect” husband is. But, she soon realizes that it’s not as simple as all that. 

There’s not much else to the plot of this one, but I still found it immensely enjoyable. I’m fascinated by the concept of multiverses, and as Lauren changes through husbands – and consequently, lives – I’m interested in what does and does not change in each iteration. I liked that it was sort of freeing for Lauren; she didn’t have a lot of the constraints around setting up a relationship, having been dropped into the middle of one. I also think there’s the underlying theme of “choose your love and love your choice” going on here. If you’re allowed to change things – because he’s messy, because he has long nose hairs, because he makes coffee badly – would you? Would you settle when you didn’t have to? 

And I thought Gramazio did all this well while keeping Lauren a sympathetic character. it’s her story; we don’t get to know many of the husbands well, and her friends and sister, while always there, are not central to the story. It’s a gimmicky book, sure, but it’s done well, and I quite enjoyed it.

Audiobook: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

Leave a comment

by Heather Fawcett
Read by Ell Potter & Michael Dodds
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There are some intense moments, and it’s a bit slow at times. It’s in the Science Fiction/ Fantasy section of the bookstore.

Emily Wilde has been working on her Encyclopedia of Faeries, documenting as many as she can, for years. And she’s finally gotten funding to go do a field study of the Hidden Ones in Hrafnsvik. She arrives just as winter’s beginning, and because she’s not a terribly personable person, she gets off on the wrong foot. Enter Wendell Bambleby, her colleague from Cambridge, who has followed her to Hrafnsvik. Together – unwillingly at first, on Emily’s part – they win over the villagers, gather stories of the faeries, and quite possibly fall in love.

This one was utterly delightful, particularly on audio. I think I would have liked it in print, but on audio, the story just popped. Both of the narrators were excellent, capturing Emily’s and Wendell’s personalities, as well as those of the villagers around them. (Side note: the jacket blurb for this book calls Emily “curmudgeonly”, but she’s not. It’s never explicitly stated, but the character is most likely on the autism spectrum.) Although the plot is super loose – at one point, Emily wakes up a faerie king and gets trapped in the frozen faerie lands – it’s still a delightful read.

The Rule Book

Leave a comment

by Sarah Adams
First sentence: “Sometimes life is like a box of chocolates, and sometimes life is like a box of chocolates left out in the sun all day.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Release date: April 2, 2024
Content: There is swearing, including multiple f-bombs, some on-screen sex, and instances of harassment in the workplace.

Nora Mackenzie loves sports and knows she can be a fantastic sports agent. The thing that’s been holding her back though, is that sports – and sports agencies – are Old Boys Clubs and it’s been hard for her to catch a break. She has found Nicole who has given her a break, and been impressed with her. So much, so that she’s given Nora a plum assignment: being the agent for star football player Derek Pender, who’s recovering from an ankle injury. The problem? Derek is her college boyfriend, who she broke up with quite heartlessly, eight years ago.

Thus starts a contentious relationship – especially since they’re trying to be professional even though they have feelings for each other – until they drunkenly get hitched in Vegas one weekend. Then, it morphs into a fake marriage to save their careers and reputations – until Derek and Nora give in to the chemistry between them.

Read this one for the characters. Seriously. Nora is an absolute delight, and the way she and Derek play off each other is just delightful. Outside of the characters, though, I think this book just tries to do too much. It’s a lot #wokefeminism, and it’s a lot of there needs to be more females in sports. There are some of dad issues (which Funny People does better) and some of the importance of friendships. But at its center are the characters and relationship between Derek and Nora and that’s absolutely worth reading this book for.

Lunar New Year Love Story

Leave a comment

by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is romance, talk of teenage pregnancy, and a kind of spooky ghost. It’s in the Graphic Novel section of the bookstore.

Valentina Tran’s favorite holiday was always Valentine’s Day. She loved making personalized cards for her classmates and her father, and one of her best friends is a projection of Saint Valentine – Cupid. Then, her freshman year of high school, things fall apart: her classmates don’t appreciate the valentines; one even goes so far as to tear it up and throw it away. And the worst news: her mother isn’t dead, like her father always told her, but had just left them when Val was a baby.

Then she meets Les and his cousin Jae, who are lion dancers. They convince her to join up, and she starts a relationship with Les, but it’s not everything she wants it to be. She’s torn: her father’s been nursing a broken heart her whole life and doesn’t believe in love; her best friend doesn’t want to commit to any relationship; Les is unwilling to call her his girlfriend. Is there anyone who actually believes in love?

I loved this graphic novel. It deals with cultural identity – kids trying to stay connected to their heritage and the disconnect that is often between generations. It deals with grief and loss, not just because of abandonment and heartbreak, but also from death. And it deals with the hope of love. I adored its humor and tenderness, and Pham’s illustrations are just delightful.

It’s practically perfect and a delight to read.

Monthly Round-up: January 2024

Leave a comment

I was back to my normal reading levels this month. I’ve also decided to try and read a Middle Grade book a week if only to work ahead on next year’s Cybils reading. We’ll see how long that lasts. My favorite this month:

Funny Story

It’s kind of a given that if there is a Emily Heny book read, it will be the favoriet that month. And for the rest:

Middle Grade (not quite one a week…)

The Misfits: A Royal Conundrum (audiobook)
The Apartment House on Poppy Hill

Non-Fiction

The Six (audiobook)
Leslie F**king Jones (audiobook)

Adult Fiction:

Hogfather
Witch King

Graphic Novel:

Heartstopper, volume 5

YA:

Blood Justice
Canto Contigo

What was your favorite this month?

Canto Contigo

Leave a comment

by Jonny Garza Villa
First sentence: “I want to grab this guitar by the neck and smash it on the floor.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: April 9, 2024
Review copy sent by the publisher.
Content: There is a lot of swearing, in both English and Spanish, and a number of f-bombs. There is also fade-to-black sex and some teenage drinking. It will be in the Teen (grades 9+) of the bookstore.

Rafie was raised to be a Mariachi singer. His father was one, and his beloved grandfather was one. He’s been the star of the North Amistad High School’s award-winning Mariachi band for three years. And then his life fell apart: his abuelo died and his parents uprooted and moved to San Antonio. Rafie is upset and devastated, especially when the school he’s being sent to is the perpetual Number two to his Number one. He’s grieving, he’s alone, and then the absolute kicker: he’s no longer the lead singer of a Mariachi band.

This is the story of how Rafie finds his way, finds love, and learns to trust other people.

I really liked this one. I love the way Villa is writing about LGBTQ people inside of Mexican culture and challenging the hyper-masculinity of it. The perpetual Number two – Todos Colores – is a very gay Mariachi band: they have trans men and women and proudly gay people in the band, and they embrace it. They are pushing against the cultural stereotypes that Mariachi’s a man’s world. I also appreciated following Rafie’s grieving process. There was a bit of magical realism which was done incredibly well. I also appreciated that the conflict was all internal: Rafie’s parents were incredibly supportive and loving.

Villa is definitely quickly becoming one of those authors whose books I will read, no matter what.

The Apartment House on Poppy Hill

Leave a comment

by Nina La Cour
illustrated by Sonia Albert
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
First sentence: “1106 Wildflower Place was what many considered to be a perfect building, plunked right in the middle of Poppy Hill, a not entirely perfect hill but a good one all the same.”
Content: There are three sections of short chapters. It’s in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore, but I’m considering suggesting it move down to the Beginning Chapter (grades 1-2) section instead. I think it fits better there.

Ella has lived at the apartments at Poppy Hill her whole life, and she knows almost everything about her neighbors and the building. So, when newcomers Leo and Cleo move in, Ella is there to show them the ropes. The only thing she doesn’t know: much of anything about the Robinsons, the older couple who live in the topmost apartment.

Much like most beginning chapter books, this one is light on plot but leans heavily into charm and character. You meet all the neighbors through our very competent main character, Ella, and there is a very charming assortment of quirky neighbors. Eventually, in the third section, you meet the Robinsons, who are equally charming and delightful.

That’s all there is, which is fine when you’re 7. In fact, I think many seven-year-olds will really like this one.

Audiobook: Leslie F**king Jones

Leave a comment

by Leslie Jones
Read by the author
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: This is sweary. SO very sweary. Like, I don’t know how many sentences didn’t have the f-bomb. (Plus 10 uses of the n-word, but that’s her prerogative.) It’s in the humor section of the bookstore.

I tell so many people that the best way to read a celebrity memoir is to listen to it on audio. I’ve even gone as far as to say that I actively won’t read a memoir if the author doesn’t read it. (Case in point: I have yet to read Elton John’s memoir, even though I have a copy of it on my shelf downstairs. He doesn’t read the audiobook.) I don’t know why I put Leslie Jones’s memoir on hold at the library (it was a good two months between when I put the hold and when it came in; I no longer remember it), but I have to admit I was curious about the book.

Friends: this audiobook is NOT the book. Well, it’s loosely the book. But you will get an entirely different experience listening to it than reading it. See, Jones says “Chapter X” and then just takes off. Like pretty literally. It’s a 16-hour audiobook for a less-than-300-page book. This is not a criticism. Once I realized that she was riffing on the book, taking the chapters and just going with the flow, telling you her story, I got into the groove of the insanity and enjoyed myself. (At a certain point, when she said “Hey, I like what I wrote here, let me read it” I pretty much figured that if I wasn’t willing to change my expectations about this book, I needed to get off the train. Reader: I stayed on the whole way.)

She’s had a hard life, but she is one of the most positive people I’ve read about. She laughs at herself, her past mistakes, she has Thoughts about pretty much everything, she doesn’t take any crap from anyone, and she knows her worth. It’s pretty amazing. I appreciated her vulnerability, her laugh, her story. So, yeah: not at all what I expected from an audiobook, but definitely worth my time to finish it.