Hi hello, it’s been a while! I’m back, I’m blogging, and I’m better than ever. I’ve had a really prolific few months, which I attribute to my recent alcohol cleanse which has (sadly but also luckily) come to a close. I’ll be blogging about that next week, but for now let’s talk about books! I read 8 books in the month of May, which is pretty good for me even if I did have a few stops and starts. So without further ado, here’s my thoughts on everything I read last month.
1. The Fates Divide by Veronica Roth (sequel to Carve the Mark)
Genre: YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy
One sentence synopsis: The sequel to Carve the Mark, a space adventure about warring nations and the young leaders in the center of it all.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I had my issues with Carve the Mark, but I couldn’t help wondering what became of Roth’s characters. They are lovable, unique, and fascinating, and this story sent them new and even more fulfilling directions. I love the worldbuilding in this series as well as the complicated politics that center idealistic teens. Not to mention that after the controversy surrounding potential racism and ableism in Carve the Mark, Roth really popped off with this one. I won’t say how, I just recommend you read it for yourself.
I do have two gripes with this book. One is that I found myself confused for about half the book until I did a quick google search and found out that...this one character that seemed to be acting strangely was actually TWO characters who’s names were pronounced almost exactly the same by the narrator. Huge face-palm. My other gripe is that I thought this was a series, but it turns out this book is the conclusion to a duology. It felt slightly quick for that reason, as I have a sneaking suspicion Roth had to condense two or more books into this final one, however it felt complete and had a satisfying ending. I recommend this series to anyone who wants a gritty YA SciFi/Fantasy combo.
2. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Genre: Children’s Horror
One sentence synopsis: Coraline is bored in her new house, but she discovers a secret world and a new family that might be too good to be true.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I picked up this audiobook from my library because I love the film and wanted to see if it lived up. I can officially say that the movie is a great adaptation of the book. It captures the aesthetic perfectly. As for the book, I highly recommend the audiobook which is read by Gaiman himself. It’s a short, intriguing read.
3. The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom
Genre: Literary Fiction
One sentence synopsis: Told from the perspective of Music itself, we follow the life of a world-renowned musician named Frankie Presto.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Where to start with this book? This was honestly a masterpiece. We begin at Frankie Presto’s funeral, who was an Elvis-level legendary musician. The narrator tells us about his life, while we also hear stories from the perspective of his friends, other famous musicians. The cool thing about this audiobook was that it was actually narrated by those celebs, including Ingrid Michaelson and Tony Bennett among others. Frankie’s character was compelling and his life’s story was fascinating with the twists and turns it took. There were some strange things that happened, such as his bizarre relationship with his wife, but I could look past that for the beautiful prose and riveting storytelling. This book does have themes about faith like all Albom’s book, but nothing overtly Christian. I’d recommend this book for absolutely anyone, especially if you liked the unique storytelling of something like The Book Thief.
(TW: drug & alcohol abuse)
4. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Genre: YA Paranormal Adventure
One sentence synopsis: After his family is assassinated, a young boy finds refuge in a graveyard, where the ghosts decide to raise him.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
After reading Coraline, I decided to pick up The Graveyard Book since it’s been sitting on my TBR shelf forever. The audiobook was also narrated by Gaiman, though this story takes a much different vibe. We follow Bod, short for Nobody, from the time he’s orphaned to when he becomes a young man as he grows up in a graveyard with ghosts and other paranormal creatures. It was fun, with some heartwarming moments and other laugh-out-loud ones. I highly recommend this one for just about anyone!
5. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
Genre: Contemporary/Humor
One sentence synopsis: The heir to a wealthy Singaporean family takes his girlfriend home to meet his nutty relatives--without warning her.
Okay I’m going to say something contentious--I actually enjoyed the movie better. There was something achieved with the visuals of that film and the switching perspectives that just didn’t go over as well in the book. Though I did enjoy this book as it was hilarious and even more in-depth than the film, there were a few things I didn’t like that took away from my enjoyment. I’m not a fan of footnotes, and I was frequently distracted by the head jumping within chapters. I expected Rachel’s perspective to feature more than it did. There seemed to be a lot of unnecessary perspectives when I really only cared for Rachel, Astrid, and Eleanor. And the final thing...there was a cliffhanger!! Maybe I’m just not used to that sort of thing in contemporary books, but it seemed very open-ended. Though i’m not mad that I apparently need to pick up the sequel now. I recommend this if you like large casts, lots (and I mean LOTS) of worldbuilding, and a rom-com type storyline.
6. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Genre: Literary Fiction
One sentence synopsis: A man tells a story about when he was marooned at sea with only a few zoo animals, including a tiger.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
I almost DNFed this book so many times. I really, truly wanted to like it. I picked this up years ago from a used bookstore and read about halfway before I got distracted. I decided to pick this up again last month, and I started to peter out at the same point, about halfway. This is the point of the novel when Piscine is finally marooned as promised in the middle of the sea with a tiger, as well as a few other zoo animals. What threw me off about this book was that it was a story within a story within a story. Some white journalist is speaking with Old Piscine as he tells him a tale that ‘will make him believe in God.’ He tells him about growing up in India between three faiths, which honestly was the more interesting part of this novel. I think the whole trapped-at-sea sequence is supposed to be very literary and symbolic, but it was really just a big bore. I’d be curious to have some discussions about the themes of this book, so I’m glad I read it. However, it was a bit of a struggle, to be honest.
7. I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
Genre: Memoir
One sentence synopsis: The young activist for girls’ rights in Pakistan tells her story about family, faith, education, and surviving the Taliban.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was by far my favorite read of the month. I’ve always admired Malala Yousafzai since I watched a recording of her speech at the UN after she’d recovered from being shot in the head by the Taliban. This book was a fascinating look at the real political struggles going on halfway across the world from me and how the decision of national leaders affect people’s day to day lives. It’s an empowering and humbling story of resilience, faith, and culture that I’m forever in awe came from a girl who’s a few years younger than I am. Malala is without a doubt a modern day hero. But this book will teach you that she’s a normal girl, too.
(TW: war & terrorism)
8. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
Genre: Sci-Fi novella
One sentence synopsis: A girl from a remote earthen tribe goes to an interstellar university, but on the way she clashes with an alien terrorist group.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
This critically acclaimed novella was an interesting and quick read, but I had to admit I hard time with it at a few points. Binti is a compelling character, and the world that Okorafor managed to create in the span of a few short chapters was amazing. I think my main gripe is that a novella was way too short for this story. Things escalated and resolved too quickly, which took away from Binti’s overall arc. It all came too easily. I truly think this deserved to be a full-length novel. There are other novellas that continue the series, so I will pick them up and see if there’s any improvement there. I recommend this book for anyone who would like a quick african-inspired Sci-Fi.
And that about sums up my thoughts on this month! I was unofficially aiming to participate in #AsianReadathon which I clearly failed. Unfortunately I had to DNF a few books that would have counted toward that challenge which threw me off, but overall I was able to add a bunch of #ownvoices Asian books to my TBR after following other participants’ progress. I hope to continue having such a great reading year! What are your thoughts? Have you read any of these books? Or, do you have any recommendations for Asian-focused narratives to add to my TBR?
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for some changes to my website coming within the next few weeks. And now that it’s June...happy pride! 🏳️🌈
Peace out,
Grace K.