by Kacen Callender First sentence: “The dragonflies live down by the bayou, but there’s no way to know which one’s my brother.” Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there! Content: There is some parental abuse, and kids run away. It’s in the middle grade section of the bookstore.
King’s brother Khalid recently died, and he and his parents are struggling to adjust to the new reality. It doesn’t help that King things his brother has come back as a dragonfly. And that his old good friend, Sandy, has come out as gay. In their small, conservative Louisiana town, and with Sandy’s abusive father as sheriff, that doesn’t bode well. Not for Sandy and not for anyone who wants to be his friend.
King spends the book coming to terms with both his brother’s death and with Sandy’s revelation (and the realization that he might be gay as well). It’s a quiet book, but it’s captivating. Callender is a phenomanal writer, and the feelings and emotions they invoke are incredible. They capture not only grief but friendship and parents struggling to do what they think is best. It’s a journey, one that is not readily summarized in a plot, but that is incredibly moving all the same.
Definitely deserving of the National Book Award it won, and highly recommended.
Oh 2020 was a year, wasn’t it? I read less (15 books less than my year with the least since I’ve been keeping track). I read more adult books, and a LOT more YA. I listened to a lot of Audio books because that’s what I could focus on. Even so, I read some pretty good books this year.
Number of those that were speculative fiction books, not counting graphic novels: 34
Number of those that were by POC: 48 (I was aiming for half, but ended with 41%) Number of those that were audio books: 22 Number of those that were rereads: 15 Abandoned: 2
I knew when I started the month that it was going to be exhausting and that I wouldn’t have time to read. And that turned out to be the case. I went for light and fluffy with a few non-fiction scattered in. I’m just so glad to have the entire month (nay, year) done and over with.
I’ll be honest: I put off reading this for months (I had an advance copy) because I wasn’t sure I’d like it. If I didn’t read it, I couldn’t hate it, right? And then it got popular and I’m always suspicious of books that are bought by people who don’t usually read fantasy. But, really? It’s a book about life and living and I loved it.
by Earl Swift First sentence: “A day after the storm passed, Carol Pruitt Moore climbed into her skiff and set off for the ruins of Canaan.” Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there! Content: There is some swearing. It’s in the history section of the bookstore.
There is an island on the Virginia side of the Chesapeake Bay called Tangier Island. It has a small population, mostly related (at least distantly), and most of them are crab and oyster fishers. (Is fishers the right word here?) They are extremely religious (there are two churches on the island — a Methodist and an offshoot of that Methodist), and their island is being overrun by water.
Swift has visited the island a couple of times, but in 2016-2017 decided to spend a year there with the people of Tangier Island (who call themselves Tangeirmen. Even the women). The thing is: their livelihood and their island are being compromised by climate change, and yet they have a complicated relationship with the people who want to save the bay, the crabs, and the oysters. Their island is disappearing (they say it’s due to “erosion”) at an ever-faster level, and yet they don’t want to relocate (I get that) and are frustrated the government won’t build them a seawall to help shore up the island.
It’s a fascinating book.
It’s less science and more sociology: Swift takes time to help us get to know the people on the island, their thoughts and beliefs, and helps us understand the conflict they have with the conservationists. It’s easy to say the people of Tangier Island are wrong (and they are), but it’s not simple: crabbing and oystering are their livelihood, and they just want to make ends meet. It’s a fascinating dichotmoy.
It’s not a book I would have picked up without a suggestion from a friend in response to the #ReadICT challenge, but I’m glad I did. It’s fascinating.
by Megan Whalen Turner First sentence: “Unlike others who claim to be well-informed, I am an eye-witness to the events I describe, and I write this history so that future scholars will not have to rely, as do so many staring into the past in my day, on secondhand memories passed down over the years, their details worn away by time and retelling.” Suppor your local independent bookstore: buy it there! Others in the series: The Thief, Queen of Attolia, King of Attolia, Conspiracy of Kings, Thick as Thieves Content: It’s long, it’s political, and the characters are mostly adults. It’s in the YA section (grades 6-8) of the bookstore but only because that’s where the others are.
This book is really a book and a half. In the first part, we are introduced to Phares, the grandson of disgraced Baron Erondites (from King of Attolia), who is disfigured and mute, who is sent to live in the palace as the attendant to the King as a joke. Gen, however, sees through this ploy, and keeps Phares on, as he witnesses events that occur in both Conspiracy and Thick as Thieves. In many ways, this first part is to catch us up on what was going on in the palace while those books took place away from Attolia. And while it’s not a bad section, it does lack a plot — aside from the fate of Phares and more insight into Gen’s character — and the pace is slow.
The second part is where the book picks up and everything really begins. Costis (who left with Kamet at the end of Thick as Thieves) comes racing back to the palace with one message: the Medes have invaded over land. It is, in fact, war. And the rest of the book is Gen, Irene, Helen, and Sophos figuring out how to unify their three countries and head to war. Gen is Gen, and there are political maneuverings, and it’s a sweeping book as the countries try to fend off the invaders.
The book — the whole series really — is exploring the ideas of a small nation/state verses a larger one, and the ways politics play into it. It’s perfect for people who are interested in historical fiction, even if the “histories” in these books are not real. But, really: it’s the characters who are the most important part of these books. The way the are loyal to each other, the ways in which they betray and frustrate each other. It’s delightful winding our way through the world and even if her narrative is slow, it’s never uninteresting.
It’s not my favorite of the series, and I think it’s a good ending. She wrapped up most of the threads (to be honest: I was expecting something with the volcano, which never happened) that were hanging around throughout the series. I will miss having new stories in this world, but I am glad for the stories we do have.
I recently reread the series in anticipation of reading the new book (I figured I’d need a refresher). And then I thought I’d update my thoughts on each book. Plus: pretty covers!
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner First sentence: “I didn’t know how long I had been in the king’s prison.” Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there! Original review (also reread review) Content: There is some intense moments, and it gets a bit slow for impatient readers (I haven’t been able to convince any of my kids other than M to read these). It’s in the YA section (grades 6-8) of the bookstore.
Quick thoughts: Ah, Gen. Seriously. I adore this one. And it works as a stand alone. Even if you don’t read the rest of the series. Read. This. One.
The Queen of Attolia By Megan Whalen Turner First sentence: “He was asleep, but woke at the sound of the key turning in the lock.” Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there! Original review Content: There is some graphic(ish) violence and trauma. It’s in the YA section (Grades 6-8) of the bookstore.
Quick thoughts: I think I liked this better this time around. I didn’t remember hardly anything about it, and the trauma happened much earlier than I thought it did. I don’t know if I buy the love story part, but it’s not gushy. It’s very plain, an aside to the actual story — how Eddis can end the war(s) she didn’t mean to start, and how the countries of Attolia and Eddis (and Sounis) can keep the Medes off their shore. It’s a political book, but one in which people are underestimated and use that to their advantage. That said, I found myself unable to put it down.
The King of Attolia First sentence: “The queen waited.” Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there Original review Content: There is some violence, and it’s long. It’s in the YA section (grades 6-8) of the bookstore.
The thing that struck me this time around is that Turner tried to make the reader believe — as the Attolians did — that Gen was a fop and a waste as a king. It really is about Gen coming to accept his role as king — a throwaway line the Eddis ambassador says to the queen: “He didn’t marry you so he could become king. He became king so he could marry you.” While this is Gen’s story, it’s also Costis’s — how his derision of the king (the book opens with Costis punching Gen in the face) turns into loyalty, respect, and love. Turner masterfully gives us just enough information for us to guess at what is going on, without it seeming obvious. It really is a delight rereading these.
A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner First sentence: ““The king of Attolia was passing through his city, on his way to the port to greet ambassadors newly arrived from distant parts of the world.” Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there! Original review Content: Like the others, it’s very dense and political. It’s in the YA section (grades 6-8) of the bookstore.
I knew this was more Sophos’ story than Gen’s, but I had forgotten how much. The thing is: the plot blurb on the back isn’t correct. It’s 1/3 Sophos’ telling the Queen of Eddis the story of his year after being kidnapped (which happened during the King of Attolia, if I remember right; there’s a brief mention of it in passing), a little more than 1/3 of Sophos being re-acclimated to royal life and the compromise swearing loyalty to Gen as Attolis. And then the last bit is Sophos becoming king in his own right. It’s political and twisty, with lots of machinations and back-handed dealing. And it’s brilliant. Really. I love the subtle details: how the book switched from first person to third person and back. And the small things, like the way Turner uses names. And, at the center of it all, sits Gen, who is wonderful and infuriating, and definitely worth swearing fealty to. I liked this one the first go-around, and I still think the first half of this series is stronger, but I found myself enjoying this one all the more for having read the others in quick succession.
Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner First sentence: “It was midday and the passageway quiet and cool.” Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there! Original review Content: The main character is an adult, and there is some violence. It’s in the YA section of the bookstore.
This one is the outlier of the series. Gen is really not there for most of it, with the main character being the slave of a former Mede ambassador (back in The Queen of Attolia). He was a minor character there, so it might seem, at first, a bit weird to have a book entirely from his perspective. But. He’s a fascinating character and over the course of the book his relationship with “the Attolian” (from The King of Attolia) grows. It’s an interesting narrative all the way through, but it’s the end that really makes this one worth it.
All this to say, if you haven’t given this series a try, you really should!
by V. E. Schwab First sentence: “A girl is running for her life.” Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there! Content: There is a handful of swear words, including the f-bomb, some drug use, and some tasteful on-screen sex. It’s in the science fiction/fantasy section of the bookstore.
Where do I even start with this one? I put off reading it for months and months (I had an early copy) because I was afraid. Mostly because I enjoyed Schwab’s other stuff and I didn’t want this to be awful. And then I put it off because so many people came into the store asking for it, and not the usual science fiction/fantasy-type readers either. Maybe it was one of those books that was too Literary for me and I wouldn’t like it. But this past weekend, after a long week of work, it seemed just the right thing.
And it was.
It’s nominally the story of Addie LaRue, a woman who, on the eve of her wedding in 1791, makes a deal with the darkness: she wants to live a free life. The darkness, in return, takes away her ability to be seen, to be remembered. It’s her story as she flits through the ages, living, trying to figure out her curse, locked in a battle of wills with a fickle god. But it’s also a book about Humanity and Art and the little things that make life worth living. (Hint: it’s being loved, yes, but it’s More Than That, too).
And it was beautiful.
I loved Addie and her story, and Henry — the one person in Addie’s 300 years that actually remembered her, and the twists and turns. It’s a gorgeous book, full of life and heartbreak, and it’s a good thing people are buying it on their own, because I would be a wreck trying to handsell it.
Which is to say, if you haven’t read it yet, you probably should.
As I sit here, on this cold and somewhat snowy (for Kansas, anyway) December morning, and look at my TBR pile, thinking about the work that is ahead of me for the next 12 days (*sigh* the Christmas season as a retail worker *sigh*), I realize I will not get through all of these. I really ought to get through one of them, if I am going to finish the #ReadICT challenge (I put off “Climate Fiction or Natural Disaster” because, well, 2020). But the rest? I may just have to sit and look at them. Which also means, it may be quiet here on the blog leading up to Christmas. If I do read, I’ll post. But no promises. (I’m just drained at the end of the day.)
by Ijeoma Oluo First sentence: “As a black woman, race has always been a prominent part of my life.” Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there! Content: There is swearing, including multiple uses of the f-word, and the use of the n-word. It is in the Sociology section of the bookstore.
This has been on my radar for a while, at least since this summer when we had piles of it in the store. But, I didn’t pick it up until our discussion at one of my book groups led us to asking: “But HOW do we talk to other people about race?” We know, as white people, we need to be addressing racism. But how?
This book mostly answers this question. What it does more is go into depth about WHY it’s important to be talking about race, and what it is you’re talking about when you’re talking about race. But it does go into a bit of how. The answer? Just do it. You will do it wrong. But, if you listen to POC with an open heart and take their lead, then maybe we will make progress.
Because the thing Oluo stresses most is that we have to talk about race. We can’t just say “it doesn’t affect me so I don’t need to talk about it.” If you live in the world (not just the US), race and racism and White Supremacy affects you. Maybe not as much as it affects your Black or brown neighbor, but it does. I was grateful to hear her stories — I think that listening to the stories of Black and brown people is one of the things that moved me the most with all the reading I have done — and I am grateful for her advice for tackling talking about race.
by Marissa Meyer Read by: Rebecca Soler Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there! Or listen at Libro.fm Content: There is some kissing, and some mild swearing. It’s in the YA section of the bookstore (though it’s LONG and may turn off some of the less enthusiastic readers).
Prue Daniels is one of those students who is always on top of things. Punctual, efficient, responsible. Her lab partner, Quint Erickson, is not. Which absolutely infuriates Prue. And so, when they get a C on their end-of-the-year biology project, Prue is LIVID. She wants a redo. But, Quint is not letting her get one. Except, through a series of weird coincidences (including a sudden mystical ability of Prue’s to give instant karma — both good and bad) Prue ends up volunteering at the Sea Animal Rescue Center that Quint’s mom runs. Which gives her ample opportunity to convince Quint to redo their project.
But what starts out as a simple thing to get a better grade slowly turns into a passion of Prue’s. And maybe, just maybe, Quint isn’t that bad either.
Oh this was cute! At first, Prue was a bit insufferable, but she grew on me over time, and I really enjoyed her dynamic with Quint. I also enjoyed that this was about MORE than a romance (which I didn’t mind; it was cute). Meyer went heavy on the environmentalism and the animals are wonderful, and I didn’t mind that at all. It added a layer to the story and made it more interesting than it would have been otherwise.
And the narrator? She was amazing. I might have liked this well enough reading it, but I LOVED it listening to Soler read it. She absolutely made this book for me. She made it absolutely delightful.
The Book Nut 