review: the ten thousand doors of january by alix harrow

The Ten Thousand Doors of January

by Alix Harrow

Pages: 374

Publisher: Redhook
Publication Date: September 10th, 2019

Cover Comments: 

Pretty cover, but not really indicative of the wonderful story that lies within. The door could be more door-esque for sure.

First Lines: 
"When I was seven, I found a door."

In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.

Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own.

Review

“I hope you will find the cracks in the world and wedge them wider, so the light of other suns shines through; I hope you will keep the world unruly, messy, full of strange magics; I hope you will run through every open Door and tell stories when you return.”

Started off 2021 with a stunner! Ten Thousand Doors of January centers on January Scaller, a girl who stumbles upon a Door to another world and begins a journey. January is a fantastic protagonist - interesting, smart, and courageous, but in a realistic and relatable way. She’s stubborn, and often makes stupid mistakes, but ultimately grows into her own sense of self in a very satisfying way.

The rest of the characters that populate this world are nuanced and fascinating as well, from January’s wealthy caretaker Mr. Locke, to the companion sent by her father, Jane, to her childhood friend and all around cute boy, Samuel. Last but CERTAINLY not least, the bestest boy ever, her dog Sinbad, is a super sweet loyal companion who bites racists. We love to see it.

The writing style is sort of flowery and breaks the third wall often:

“Companions. See the curve of that C like a pair of outstretched arms? It implied the sort of friends who might slay dragons or go on hopeless quests or swear blood oaths at midnight.”

I quite enjoyed this writing style, though it won’t be for everyone. Harrow does a great job at painting the various settings in a gorgeous way, and I could see them all clearly: the large Locke House where January grows up, the salt-spray smell of the first world she crosses over into, and the vast plains of the farm where we meet another traveler were all vibrant.

It was interesting to read a story that is full of so much possibility, set in a time period where women of color like January and Jane are often constricted by society and the men around them. The portions of the book where January is held back by her “role” in society were the most upsetting. The mythology of the Doors revolves around the idea that Doors allow the passage of ideas and change to go from world to world, and certain characters in the novel would rather keep to the status quo (to no one’s surprise, these are old white men). I loved the idea that the inspirations, inventions, and revolutions in various worlds were born of other worlds.

“The will to be polite, to maintain civility and normalcy, is fearfully strong. I wonder sometimes how much evil is permitted to run unchecked simply because it would be rude to interrupt it.”

I loved this book so much. It gave me a lot of hope and wonder; highly recommend.

☆☆☆☆

Goodreads丨 Amazon

February TBR

 

Another month, another unrealistic TBR! These are the books I'm trying to get to this month (covers link to Goodreads):

Leftovers (to finish from previous months)

1) Ashes (Seeds of America #3) by Laurie Halse Anderson

This was on my 2021 reading list for January, and I didn't quite finish, so we march on! It's great so far.

2) Empire of Sin: A Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder, and the Battle for Modern New Orleans by Gary Krist

I have a list of places, people, and subjects I want to learn more about, and this year's focus place in New Orleans! I got this book while I was in NOLA last year, so I thought this was a great place to start.

3) Transcendant Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

I'm pretty close to finishing this one, and it's very moving so far. It got bumped up on my list because it was featured in a book club I follow on Goodreads as January's pick, and I'm so glad it was.

4) White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

This was my anti-racism pick for January, and I expect to finish it in the next few days. I wanted to take my time with it, because there's a lot to unpack and think about. Very useful book for me.

5) Lore by Alexandra Bracken

This one hopped up on the list because it's the pick for a book subscription box I subscribe to. I love Greek mythology, so I'm super excited about it! Only about a chapter in so far.

6) The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu

I've been reading this book since JULY!! I'm not sure exactly what my roadblock has been; it's just not super engrossing so far. I want to finally finish this month though.

7) A Blade so Black (The Nightmare-Verse #1) by L. L. McKinney

My current library read! The return date is soon, so hopefully that will motivate me! Only a few pages into this one so far.

Books from my 2021 list

I make a list every year that has books from a variety of categories: 1) seasonal reads (reflecting the month or season of the year, i.e. winter or January); 2) back list reads (the oldest books on my to-read list on Goodreads); 3) holiday reads (if a holiday occurs in that month, a book related to it, i.e. romance for Valentine's); 4) series that I can finish by reading one more book; 5) books by or about my focus person, place, or subject (this year, it's Jean Paul Sartre and New Orleans); 6) nonfiction book; 7) nonfiction anti-racism book or fiction by a person of color.

1) Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

My seasonal pick for winter, and also one of the oldest books on my TBR.

2) Sweethearts by Sara Zarr

I thought Sweethearts would be cute for a Valentine's Day read. Somehow, I've never read a book by Sara Zarr, so this will be my first!

3) White Oleander by Janet Fitch

This is the oldest book on my TBR, shelved on Goodreads in January of 2010. I hope it's worth the wait!

4) Escape from Disaster (Antartica #2) by Peter Lerangis

Reading this book finishes a duology that I started when I was smol. It's based on the true story of an early voyage to the South Pole.

5) Proteinaholic: How Our Obsession with Meat Is Killing Us and What We Can Do About It by Garth Davis

I've been working on reducing my meat intake for the last few years for several reasons. February is my health-focused month as far as 2021 goals go, so I wanted to beef up (ha ha ha) on the research behind the meat industry and health.

6) Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre

I'm really interested in the people and ideas behind the 20's/30's era in Paris (Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Picasso, Dali, Ernest Hemingway, surrealism, existentialism,  etc.). Sartre is my 2021 focus pick, so I'm reading his works and biographies written about him. This is the first of the year! I also have a copy of No Exit in French, so I might read that as a French language exercise sometime as well.

7) The Color Purple by Alice Walker

I can't believe I haven't read this book yet. It's my book this month written by a person of color, and I'm excited to finally dig in.

---

So yeah, this list is insane and will most likely look very different from what I actually finish, but it's fun to dream! What are you reading this month?

January Roundup

 

I haven't quite accomplished my reading goals this month, but I did get a few books finished, which is pretty good for me nowadays! Here are the books I read in January (covers link to Goodreads):

 1) The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harrow

"I hope you will find the cracks in the world and wedge them wider, so the light of other suns shines through; I hope you will keep the world unruly, messy, full of strange magics; I hope you will run through every open Door and tell stories when you return."

We started with a stunner! Ten Thousand Doors of January was such a beautiful and magical book. It centers on January Scaller, a girl who discovers doors between worlds, and learns more about herself and her family in the process. It also includes lots of underdogs fighting against old, evil rich men which I am always here for. I read this book this month because it had the word 'January' in the title, and I loved the section where January's learns why she is named after such a normally dreary month.

4.5/5

2) Little House (Little House, #1) in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

“She thought to herself, "This is now." She was glad that the cozy house, and Pa and Ma and the firelight and the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago.”

I recently got the book The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Frontier Landscapes that Inspired the Little House Books, so I decided to read the series alongside this book focused on the landscapes, practices, and history behind Wilder's real life. It's been quite a delightful experience, not only to dive back into a childhood favorite, but also to learn more about real frontier life.

5/5

3) The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks

“The only glory to be had was the glory of surviving.”

This story centers on Carrie McGavock, a woman whose home is taken over as a hospital for Confederate soldiers after the battle of Franklin. Carrie is portrayed in this novel as quite grim, fairly selfish, and taken to fits of violence, it seems. I think this characterization does a disservice to the real Carrie McGavock. I could attribute my dislike for this novel to this or many other factors. For one, I've rarely been a huge fan of novels or nonfiction books set during war time. I picked this one up because it's set in Franklin, TN, and as a native Tennessean, I've been through there before. However, the setting wasn't much of a factor, other than being the place where the real-life story behind this novel took place. The romance in this book was super weird and felt forced. And, it's told from a white, Confederate/indifferent perspective, with the only Black voice in the book being somewhat of the "loyal slave" archetype. The novel seemed to be really pushing the futility and meaningless of war, portraying both sides as the same, and I just couldn't sit with that. I can still say I'm happy I finally read this, as it was the oldest book on my to-read shelf on Goodreads, added in 2010!! 

1/5

4) The Burning (Guardians of Ga'Hoole, #6) by Kathryn Lasky

"Set your wings upon the sea wind

Set your eyes upon the stream

Feel the billow of the updraft

And believe in your dream"

Guardians of Ga'Hoole is a series I started many moons ago when I was obsessed with owls and the Warriors series was no longer doing it for me. It's pretty enjoyable, but the ending was abrupt. The confrontation the whole series was building up to happened with little incident. I won't be continuing the series, which I call a big win for myself since I usually have to finish every series I start (it's a sickness). However, the rest of the series follows another arc and a new main character, so I'll allow myself to stop off here. Good series for middle schoolers obsessed with owls.

3/5

5) What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller

"Being alone is not the most awful thing in the world. You visit your museums and cultivate your interests and remind yourself how lucky you are not to be one of those spindly Sudanese children with flies beading their mouths. You make out To Do lists - reorganise linen cupboard, learn two sonnets. You dole out little treats to yourself - slices of ice-cream cake, concerts at Wigmore Hall. And then, every once in a while, you wake up and gaze out of the window at another bloody daybreak, and think, I cannot do this anymore. I cannot pull myself together again and spend the next fifteen hours of wakefulness fending off the fact of my own misery."

I think this book breaks the record for most terrible people in one book. I was trying to think of one character that I like, and I haven't been able to come up with one (except maybe Ben, though he was barely in the novel). The word that comes to mind to sum up this book is uncomfortable. Okay, the word I'm really thinking of is squeamy, which is not an actual word but hopefully you get the gist. Every relationship in this novel made me squeamish. Obviously, Sheba's relationship with her student was unsettling, but so was the narrator Barbara's obsession with Sheba, Sheba's abusive relationship with her surly daughter, and the dismissive nature of her husband towards Sheba. I didn't like much about this novel, but I did find Barbara's depiction of her own loneliness as very striking and honest (see passage above). There are some great, thought-provoking reviews for this book that tell me that this might be a case of 'just not for me'.

1/5

6) The Clue of the Tapping Heels (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #16) by Carolyn Keene

"What!" Mr. Skank cried out."

^ No notable quotes from this book, just the amusing insertion of this character name.

I've been reading through the Nancy Drew series for a while now, and always find it interesting, and often hilarious. Clue of the Tapping Heels has one of the more ridiculous plots, in which tap dancing in Morse code is a feature. In this one, Nancy is, of course, an expert at tap dancing, Morse code, and catching Persian cats. Very enjoyable. The most enjoyable thing is this cover. The cover designer was like, "yes, cats, tap dancing, understood" = malevolent demon cat forcing Nancy to tap dance for all eternity.

3/5

7) The Curated Closet by Anuschka Rees

"Training yourself to become more selective is the single most effective thing you can do to upgrade your wardrobe. Try to think of your closet as an exclusive, members-only club. Only pieces that you love and are truly excited to wear get an invite."

I really enjoyed this book! It gave me a lot of ideas for how to build my wardrobe intentionally, avoiding the trap of trends and fast fashion. The steps are concrete and could work for anyone, with any style. I got this from the library, but I might buy it so I can refer back to it. Very fun read.

4/5

That's it for this month! I'm hoping a better combination of quality over quantity next month, fingers crossed.

my favorite holiday reads

It's time for a well-deserved holiday season! Snuggle up with one of my favorite holiday reads (covers link to Goodreads):

1) A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens. It was first published by Chapman & Hall on 19 December 1843. Carol tells the story of a bitter old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation resulting from a supernatural visit by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Yet to Come. The novella met with instant success and critical acclaim. The book was written and published in early Victorian era Britain, a period when there was strong nostalgia for old Christmas traditions together with the introduction of new customs, such as Christmas trees and greeting cards. Dickens' sources for the tale appear to be many and varied, but are, principally, the humiliating experiences of his childhood, his sympathy for the poor, and various Christmas stories and fairy tales.

It's a classic for a reason! This short and sweet story is great for a quick plot that you'll almost certainly be familiar with, and could double as an easy way to make your reading goal for the year, at just under 100 pages.

2) Let it Snow (anthology)

The weather outside is frightful, but these stories are delightful! When a huge blizzard (that doesn't show signs of stopping) hits, Gracetown is completely snowed in. But even though it's cold outside, things are heating up inside, proving that the holiday season is magical when it comes to love. In three wonderfully (and hilariously!) interconnected tales, YA stars John Green, Lauren Myracle, and Maureen Johnson create a must-have collection that captures all the spirit of the holiday season.

This Christmas anthology features three inter-connected stories by some of the superstars of YA. Netflix even adapted the stories for film last year, so this is a nice pairing: read the book, then watch the movie with a nice mug of hot cocoa for the perfect winter night.

3) Ex-mas by Kate Brian

Seventeen-year-old Lila Beckwith's parents just left for vacation, and Lila's all set to throw the holiday party of the season. But when her Christmas-obsessed little brother, Cooper, discovers that global warming is melting the North Pole, he and his best friend, Tyler, take off on a runaway mission to save Santa.

Lila has to get Cooper safely home before her parents get back on Christmas Eve. But the only person who can help her is Tyler's older brother, Beau, a.k.a. Lila's musician, anti-everything ex-boyfriend.

It'll take more than a Christmas miracle for Lila and Beau to overcome their differences and find their fugitive brothers. But could a journey destined for disaster help these polar opposites fall in love...all over again?

A super cute and fluffy read, this book follows two exes who band together on Christmas Eve to track down their brothers. It involves road trips, hate-to-love relationships, and adorable siblings.

4) Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

"I've left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don't, put the book back on the shelf, please."

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the bestselling authors of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a cosmic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

This is one of the more adorable books I've read, possibly ever. Who wouldn't love to meet someone through a book and ensuing scavenger hunt in New York City?? This is another one that Netflix has snapped up for a movie as well.

5) My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories (anthology)

If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins. Whether you enjoy celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah, Winter Solstice or New Year's there's something here for everyone. So curl up by the fireplace and get cozy. You have twelve reasons this season to stay indoors and fall in love.

Another super cute anthology, and this one is a bit more inclusive, with stories featuring Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, and New Year's. With twelve stories, there are some that I didn't love, but some of the standouts made up for it, like the stories from Rainbow Rowell, Stephanie Perkins, and Laini Taylor.

december tbr

2020 is FINALLY ending, and I'm trying to go out on a high note with this rather ambitious TBR. These are all books I've already started, so fingers crossed that I can make it!!

1) The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu

Born with a gift for music, Nannerl Mozart has just one wish: to be remembered forever. But even as she delights audiences with her masterful playing, she has little hope she'll ever become the acclaimed composer she longs to be. She is a young woman in eighteenth-century Europe, and that means composing is forbidden to her. She will perform only until she reaches a marriageable age—her tyrannical father has made that much clear.
As Nannerl's hope grows dimmer with each passing year, the talents of her beloved younger brother, Wolfgang, only seem to shine brighter. His brilliance begins to eclipse her own, until one day a mysterious stranger from a magical land appears with an irresistible offer. He has the power to make her wish come true—but his help may cost her everything.
In her first work of historical fiction, #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu spins a lush, lyrically told story of music, magic, and the unbreakable bond between a brother and sister.

2) Little Weirds by Jenny Slate

Hello and welcome to my book. Inside you will find:

The smell of honeysuckle Heartbreak A French-kissing rabbit A haunted house Death A vagina singing sad old songs Young geraniums in an ancient castle Birth A dog who appears in dreams as a spiritual guide Divorce Electromagnetic energy fields Emotional horniness The ghost of a sea captain And more

I hope you enjoy these little weirds.

Love,

Jenny Slate

3) Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore

If you could change your story, would you?

Jane has lived a mostly ordinary life, raised by her recently deceased aunt Magnolia, whom she counted on to turn life into an adventure. Without Aunt Magnolia, Jane is directionless. Then an old acquaintance, the glamorous and capricious Kiran Thrash, blows back into Jane’s life and invites her to a gala at the Thrashes’ extravagant island mansion called Tu Reviens. Jane remembers her aunt telling her: “If anyone ever invites you to Tu Reviens, promise me that you’ll go.”

What Jane doesn’t know is that at Tu Reviens her story will change; the house will offer her five choices that could ultimately determine the course of her untethered life. But every choice comes with a price. She might fall in love, she might lose her life, she might come face-to-face with herself. At Tu Reviens, anything is possible.

4) A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

Time is out of joint. The summer of peace and plenty, ten years long, is drawing to a close, and the harsh, chill winter approaches like an angry beast. Two great leaders—Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon—who held sway over and age of enforced peace are dead...victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns, as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms prepare to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war.

As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky—a comet the color of blood and flame—six factions struggle for control of a divided land. Eddard’s son Robb has declared himself King in the North. In the south, Joffrey, the heir apparent, rules in name only, victim of the scheming courtiers who teem over King’s Landing. Robert’s two brothers each seek their own dominion, while a disfavored house turns once more to conquest. And a continent away, an exiled queen, the Mother of Dragons, risks everything to lead her precious brood across a hard hot desert to win back the crown that is rightfully hers.

A Clash of Kings transports us into a magnificent, forgotten land of revelry and revenge, wizardry and wartime. It is a tale in which maidens cavort with madmen, brother plots against brother, and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside.

Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, the price of glory may be measured in blood. And the spoils of victory may just go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when rulers clash, all of the land feels the tremors.

5) War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

War and Peace centers broadly on Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812 and follows three of the best-known characters in literature: Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a count who is fighting for his inheritance and yearning for spiritual fulfillment; Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who leaves behind his family to fight in the war against Napoleon; and Natasha Rostov, the beautiful young daughter of a nobleman, who intrigues both men. As Napoleon’s army invades, Tolstoy vividly follows characters from diverse backgrounds—peasants and nobility, civilians and soldiers—as they struggle with the problems unique to their era, their history, and their culture. And as the novel progresses, these characters transcend their specificity, becoming some of the most moving—and human—figures in world literature.

fable by adrienne young - the one where there really should be pirates but sadly there are none

Fable

by Adrienne Young

Pages: 357

Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2020

Cover Comments: 

This bighead cover is mostly redeemed by the cool ship graphic in Fable's eye.

First Lines: 
"That bastard was leaving me again." 

               Goodreads丨 Amazon

For seventeen-year-old Fable, the daughter of the most powerful trader in the Narrows, the sea is the only home she has ever known. It’s been four years since the night she watched her mother drown during an unforgiving storm. The next day her father abandoned her on a legendary island filled with thieves and little food. To survive she must keep to herself, learn to trust no one, and rely on the unique skills her mother taught her. The only thing that keeps her going is the goal of getting off the island, finding her father, and demanding her rightful place beside him and his crew. To do so Fable enlists the help of a young trader named West to get her off the island and across the Narrows to her father.

But her father’s rivalries and the dangers of his trading enterprise have only multiplied since she last saw him, and Fable soon finds that West isn't who he seems. Together, they will have to survive more than the treacherous storms that haunt the Narrows if they're going to stay alive.

Welcome to a world made dangerous by the sea and by those who wish to profit from it. Where a young girl must find her place and her family while trying to survive in a world built for men. Fable takes you on a spectacular journey filled with romance, intrigue, and adventure.

Review

I’ve now read Sky in the Deep, The Girl the Sea Gave Back, and Fable, and I am disappointed to say that Adrienne Young is very hit or miss for me. Sky in the Deep was great; The Girl the Sea Gave Back was my least favorite Young novel, and Fable hits somewhere in the middle. I was attracted to Fable for the same reasons as many others: a sea-faring adventure is usually fun and the idea of traveling the oceans during the time of quarantine is very enticing. However, sailing is pretty much all that happens in this book until the last quarter. Would a pirate battle have been too much to ask? Fable is a pretty standard YA main character. She’s capable, with a troubled past and a stubborn streak, and she has a special gift that she tries (poorly) not to reveal. She’s basically on her own, with a father who left her alone on an island and a mother who died years before. The other characters are similar trope-y types, especially the brooding and mercurial West. The single coolest part of this story happens pretty far into the book, and involves a map being revealed under mysterious circumstances, and a bit of a treasure hunt. This is where I began to be pulled into the story, only to immediately be thrown off by a relationship taking a turn with no indication that it was going that way (the Fable/West kiss, COMPLETELY out of nowhere). I liked the direction, but the lack of build-up made the moment rather lackluster. Finally, the story ended with a twist, but unfortunately, it was one that I wasn’t particularly interested in. I’ll read the sequel because I am a completionist, but I wasn’t blown away by this first installment. I would recommend Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller for a similar vibe that is better executed. 

☆☆

*Thanks to Wednesday Books and the author for the chance to read Fable before its publication date.

Foul is Fair, or, Just Read Macbeth Instead

Foul is Fair

by Hannah Capin

Pages: 336

Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: February 18th, 2020

Cover Comments: Not a huge fan of this cover. I don't know what they're going for here. The paperback cover on Amazon is much better for me.

First Lines: 
"Sweet sixteen is when the claws come out." 

               Goodreads丨 Amazon

Elle and her friends Mads, Jenny, and Summer rule their glittering LA circle. Untouchable, they have the kind of power other girls only dream of. Every party is theirs and the world is at their feet. Until the night of Elle’s sweet sixteen, when they crash a St. Andrew’s Prep party. The night the golden boys choose Elle as their next target.

They picked the wrong girl.

Sworn to vengeance, Elle transfers to St. Andrew’s. She plots to destroy each boy, one by one. She’ll take their power, their lives, and their control of the prep school’s hierarchy. And she and her coven have the perfect way in: a boy named Mack, whose ambition could turn deadly.

Foul is Fair is a bloody, thrilling revenge fantasy for the girls who have had enough. Golden boys beware: something wicked this way comes.

Review

I really wanted to like this book. A novel about a girl taking revenge against her assaulters, inspired by Macbeth sounds utterly engrossing. And it definitely should have been. The storyline itself is interesting, and if I were to describe the way the novel unfolds from beginning to end to a friend, it would sound incredibly intriguing, thrilling, and interesting. However, reading the book itself was a slog and the well-crafted plot couldn’t make up for the so-so writing and lack of characterization.

I get the writing style that the author was going for here - sparse and startling, without much description or dwelling on the thoughts and emotions of the characters. I’ve seen this style pulled off well before, but it just didn’t work for me for this book. There were phrases and sentences that stuck out to me as being very striking and well-written, but it felt like there was no flow to the writing, just short staccato bursts of dialogue and bare-bones descriptions.

My biggest gripe with Foul is Fair and the one-dimensional characters. Every character in this book could be described with two adjectives, and it would cover their character from beginning to end. Jade/Elle is vengeful and sharp-edged. Mack is sweet but complacent with his friends’ crimes. Jade’s four friends (Mads, Jenny, Summer and Lilia) are completely interchangeable. There is no growth or development, even in the case of one character who theoretically underwent a huge transformation. I could get over the fact that none of these characters would exist in the real world, but at least make them fully-formed in this revenge fantasy setting.

Lastly, there are a couple things I didn't care for in the way the book handles sexual assault/rape. First, the crime is never reported, even though Jade tells her parents. Second, Jade looks down on the therapy that's offered after her assault, deeming it for the weak. Lastly, the phrase "they picked the wrong girl" is a refrain in this book, and it rubs me the wrong way. It gives me the sense that Jade is shaming other victims of sexual assault that didn't murder their assaulters.

All that being said, if you’re just in the mood for a manically plotted revenge fantasy and don’t give a hoot about well-crafted characterization, feel free to enjoy this wild ride. I've also heard good things about the authors' debut book, The Dead Queens Club.

☆

*Thanks to Wednesday Books and the author for the chance to read Foul is Fair before its publication date, and participate in the blog tour.

Foul is Fair Blog Tour & Excerpt

A couple months ago, I was asked to be in the blog tour for Hannah Capin's new book, Foul is Fair (you may know of Capin from her last novel, Dead Queens Club). I was super excited to dig into this novel, a revenge fantasy where Jade, the protagonist, rains down hell on the boys who made her live it; inspired by Macbeth. I'm glad to see the topic of sexual assault being broached more and more in literature, and it's definitely something that needs to be talked about. I'll post my full review on Friday, but check out the excerpt below to see if this might be up your alley!

TW: The primary thematic material of Foul is Fair centers on sexual assault (not depicted), rape culture, and violence. Additionally, the book includes an abusive relationship, a suicide attempt, and a brief scene with transphobic bullying. For a more detailed description of sensitive content, please visit hannahcapin.com/foulisfair.

"Sweet sixteen is when the claws come out.

We’re all flash tonight. Jenny and Summer and Mads and me. Vodka and heels we could never quite walk in before, but tonight we can. Short skirts—the shortest. Glitter and high- light. Matte and shine. Long hair and whitest-white teeth.

I’ve never been blond before but tonight my hair is plati- num. Mads bleached it too fast but I don’t care because tonight’s the only night that matters. And my eyes are jade-green to- night instead of brown, and Summer swears the contacts Jenny bought are going to melt into my eyes and I’ll never see again, but I don’t care about that, either.

Tonight I’m sixteen.

Tonight Jenny and Summer and Mads and me, we’re four sirens, like the ones in those stories. The ones who sing and make men die.

Tonight we’re walking up the driveway to our best party ever. Not the parties like we always go to, with the dull-duller- dullest Hancock Park girls we’ve always known and the dull-duller-dullest wine coolers we always drink and the same bad choice in boys.

Tonight we’re going to a St Andrew’s Prep party. Crashing it, technically.

But nobody turns away girls like us.

We smile at the door. They let us in. Our teeth flash. Our claws glimmer. Mads laughs so shrill-bright it’s almost a scream. Everyone looks. We all grab hands and laugh together and then everyone, every charmed St Andrew’s Prepper is cheering for us and I know they see it—

for just a second—

—our fangs and our claws.

The first thing I do is cut my hair.

But it isn’t like in the movies, those crying girls with mas- cara streaks and kindergarten safety scissors, pink and dull, looking into toothpaste specks on medicine cabinet mirrors.

I’m not crying. I don’t fucking cry.

I wash my makeup off first. I use the remover I stole from Summer, oily Clinique in a clear bottle with a green cap. Three minutes later I’m fresh-faced, wholesome, girl-next-door, and you’d almost never know my lips are still poison when I look the way a good girl is supposed to look instead of like that little whore with the jade-green eyes.

The contact lenses go straight into the trash.

Then I take the knife, the good long knife from the wed- ding silver my sister hid in the attic so she wouldn’t have to think about the stupid man who never deserved her anyway. The marriage was a joke but the knife is perfectly, wickedly beautiful: silver from handle to blade and so sharp you bleed a little just looking at it. No one had ever touched it until I did, and when I opened the box and lifted the knife off the dark red velvet, I could see one slice of my reflection looking back from the blade, and I smiled.

I pull my hair tight, the long hair that’s been mine since those endless backyard days with Jenny and Summer and Mads. Always black, until Mads bleached it too fast, but splin- tering platinum blond for the St Andrew’s party on my sweet sixteen. Ghost-bright hair from Mads and jade-green eyes from Jenny and contour from Summer, almost magic, sculpt- ing me into a brand-new girl for a brand-new year.

My hair is thick, but I’ve never been one to flinch. I stare myself straight in the eyes and slash once— Hard.

And that’s it. Short hair.

I dye it back to black, darker than before, with the cheap box dye I made Jenny steal from the drugstore. Mads revved her Mustang, crooked across two parking spots at three in the morning, and I said:

Get me a color that knows what the fuck it’s doing.

Jenny ran back out barefoot in her baby-pink baby-doll dress and flung herself into the back seat across Summer’s lap, and Mads was out of the lot and onto the road, singing through six red lights, and everything was still slow and foggy and almost like a dream, but when Jenny threw the box onto my knees I could see it diamond-clear. Hard black Cleopatra bangs on the front and the label, spelled out plain: #010112 REVENGE. So I said it out loud:

REVENGE

And Mads gunned the engine harder and Summer and Jenny shrieked war-cries from the back seat and they grabbed my hand, all three of them, and we clung together so tight I could feel blood under my broken claws.

REVENGE, they said back to me. REVENGE, REVENGE,

REVENGE.

So in the bathroom, an hour later and alone, I dye my hair revenge-black, and I feel dark wings growing out of my back, and I smile into the mirror at the girl with ink-stained fingers and a silver sword.

Then I cut my broken nails to the quick. Then I go to bed.

In the morning I put on my darkest lipstick before it’s even breakfast time, and I go to Nailed It with a coffee so hot it burns my throat. The beautiful old lady with the crooked smile gives me new nails as long as the ones they broke off last night, and stronger.

She looks at the bruises on my neck and the scratches across my face, but she doesn’t say anything.

So I point at my hair, and I say, This color. Know what it’s called?

She shakes her head: No.

I say, REVENGE.

She says, Good girl. Kill him."

Kingdom of Souls, or, The One Where Everyone Dies (Really, Everyone)

Kingdom of Souls

by Rena Barron

Pages: 496

Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: September 3rd, 2019

Cover Comments: This cover is fantastic. I love the font of the title, the clothing the girl is wearing, and her throne-type setting.

First Lines: 
"Be still, Little Priestess." 

               Goodreads丨 Amazon

THERE’S MAGIC IN HER BLOOD.

Explosive fantasy set in a world of magic and legend, where one girl must sacrifice her life, year by year, to gain the power necessary to fight the mother she has never been good enough for.

Perfect for fans of Sarah J Maas, Tomi Adeyemi and Black Panther

THERE’S MAGIC IN HER BLOOD.

Arrah is a young woman from a long line of the most powerful witch doctors in the land. But she fails at magic, fails to call upon the ancestors and can't even cast the simplest curse.

Shame and disappointment dog her.

When strange premonitions befall her family and children in the kingdom begin to disappear, Arrah undergoes the dangerous and scorned process of selling years of her life for magic. This borrowed power reveals a nightmarish betrayal and a danger beyond what she could have imagined. Now Arrah must find a way to master magic, or at least buy it, in order to save herself and everything she holds dear.

An explosive fantasy set in a world of magic and legend with a twist you will never see coming.

Review

I was really excited to read this one, thinking the setting and world-building seemed fresh and interesting. And it was. I loved the mythology behind all the events happening in the novel, and the way the plot twists and turns. However, I feel like there was way too much crammed into this one book. There was one "big bad" that seemed to rise and fall much too quickly. Despite the packed nature of the book, the first part dragged on, while the second half seemed too hurried. The set-up for the next book is definitely intriguing, but I think if there had been some more breathing room to develop the characters and delve into the world-building in this one, I'd be more interested in continuing the series.

It was also quite a bummer of a book. The protagonist, Arrah, basically keeps sacrificing more and more and getting knocked down at every turn. The girl just can't win, and there's a ton of loss of major characters in the book. I don't mind a little darkness, but there's gotta be some light too.

I did enjoy the world and characters in Kingdom of Souls, and hope the next installment is a bit more evenly paced.

☆☆☆

*Thanks to HarperTeen and the author for the chance to read Kingdom of Souls before its publication date.

Throwback Titles (6): A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah

Throwback Titles are books that I've been meaning to read for a very, very long time, but have just now gotten around to it. In other words, it's that book you picked up in middle school that may have been a little bit above your reading level, and also happened to have 14 sequels. And what do you, a rational adult do now that you've realized that you stopped a mere five books from finishing the series? Continue, of course.

That's most of my stories, but I consider a throwback title to be any book 5 or more years old. Let's clear these babies out of to-be-reads and remind people of their favorite 2005 novel! I'll be posting a throwback title every Thursday (naturally). If you'd like to join in, please link to your post in the comments and use my graphic (above) in your own post.

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A Long Way Gone

by Ishmael Beah

Pages: 229

Publisher: Sarah Crichton Books
Publication Date: February 13th, 2007

Cover Comments: I didn't look at this cover in detail since I was listening to the audiobook, but now that I do, it's striking. The small size and stature of the boy juxtaposed with the weight of his gun and bayonet is sad and frightening.

First Lines: 
"My high school friends have begun to suspect I haven't told them the full story of my life." 

The devastating story of war through the eyes of a child soldier. Beah tells how, at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and became a soldier.

This is how wars are fought now: by children, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s. Children have become soldiers of choice. In the more than fifty conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child soldiers. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them.

What is war like through the eyes of a child soldier? How does one become a killer? How does one stop? Child soldiers have been profiled by journalists, and novelists have struggled to imagine their lives. But until now, there has not been a first-person account from someone who came through this hell and survived.

In A Long Way Gone, Beah, now twenty-five years old, tells a riveting story: how at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts.

This is a rare and mesmerizing account, told with real literary force and heartbreaking honesty.

Review

This was a hard read, as can be expected (or listen, since I got the audiobook version). Beah's memoir covers his childhood, starting when war broke out in his area and he had to go on the run to avoid being killed or forced into being a child soldier. As the reader already knows from the subtitle of the book, running did not work, and Beah is ultimately forced into the army and brainwashed into viewing the rebels the army is fighting as the enemy, and the ultimate reason for the upheaval of his life.

The writing is sparse, but with striking details that jump out at you every once in a while. Much of the book describes Beah and his various companions' travels before their conscription into the army, where they went for long stretches of time without regular food or water and were regarded with suspicion by almost every village they passed through, the villagers fearing that they were boy soldiers themselves. This portion dragged on a bit, but was necessary for understanding how the army was almost a welcome respite after Beah's struggles. In the village housing the army that the boys are taken to, they find peace for the first time in a long time. Until it's time to go to battle. Beah and his fellow soldiers fight for revenge for their ravaged villages and families, but none of them truly know what they're fighting for, ultimately. They're led around, following orders but kept in the dark as to the reasons why.

Beah's story is haunting in its horrible truths and the distant familiarity of it. I know that in far-off countries, terrible wars are being fought, and boy soldiers are still very much a reality. A Long Way Gone brings that reality to life, right in your face in a way you can't turn away from. It's not a pleasant book, but is an important one.

☆☆☆☆

4/5