Every Other Weekend, or, The One Where My Sarcastic Sense of Humor is Satiated

Every Other Weekend

by Abigail Johnson

Pages: 512

Publisher: Inkyard Press
Publication Date: January 7th, 2020

Cover Comments: 

I love this cover! The adjoining balconies are perfect and spot-on for the story. This does give me the feeling that the book is just a rom-com, but I'm okay with it.

First Lines: 
"The pigeons blanketing the parking lot took flight into the setting sun when we pulled up to Dad's apartment." 

               Goodreads丨 Amazon

Adam Moynihan’s life used to be awesome. Straight As, close friends and a home life so perfect that it could have been a TV show straight out of the 50s. Then his oldest brother died. Now his fun-loving mom cries constantly, he and his remaining brother can’t talk without fighting, and the father he always admired proved himself a coward by moving out when they needed him most.

Jolene Timber’s life is nothing like the movies she loves—not the happy ones anyway. As an aspiring director, she should know, because she’s been reimagining her life as a film ever since she was a kid. With her divorced parents at each other’s throats and using her as a pawn, no amount of mental reediting will give her the love she’s starving for.

Forced to spend every other weekend in the same apartment building, the boy who thinks forgiveness makes him weak and the girl who thinks love is for fools begin an unlikely friendship. The weekends he dreaded and she endured soon become the best part of their lives. But when one’s life begins to mend while the other’s spirals out of control, they realize that falling in love while surrounded by its demise means nothing is ever guaranteed.

Review

Every Other Weekend is a poignant story at times heartbreaking and at times laugh-out-loud funny. There’s the joy and terror of new love alongside the portrait of two families, broken in very different ways. This is an important story for many reasons - almost too many reasons to fit into one book, which is where my main criticism comes in. But I’ll start with the positives!

The romance featured in the novel was built on slow-building, genuine friendship. I love seeing this and wish it were more common in YA novels. These two really went on a journey throughout the book, ending up with a deep understanding of one another. I enjoyed their dynamic, the “in between” sections where the two text, and the barriers that they had to break down in one another to become close. I also personally love sarcastic, "fake mean" flirting hahaha, so this was right up my alley.

It’s hard to say who had the worse family situation in Every Other Weekend: Jolene has an abusive mother and an absent father, and Adam’s entire family, while sweet, are immersed in grief and anger. The issues just within the two families were quite enough to unpack in one book. However, the story adds on more and more until it’s too much to keep straight, much less delve into in any sort of satisfying detail. Not counting the core family dynamics at play here, this one novel explores:

1. A side character who is in a co-dependent, mentally abusive relationship
2. A main character who emotionally cheats for months
3. A relationship between Jolene’s mom and a new man that just feels sinister
4. A relationship between Jolene’s dad and his girlfriend that has history and emotional drama concerning Jolene
5. A side character related to Adam and his family with some emotional baggage to resolve
6. A sexual assault

Because there was so much going on, it was hard to really get into any of these storylines. Of particular concern to me was the sexual assault storyline. It’s an extremely important topic, but is only introduced close to the end of the book, and is used as a plot point to move the storyline towards a resolution. As such, it made me uncomfortable and felt like a passing nod to a serious issue rather than a deeper exploration. Many of the other extraneous storylines could have been cut too, to make room for more coverage of the main storylines. Other beats dragged out for way too long, like Adam’s extreme anger and attitude towards his dad. 

The resolution of the story was good though - no neat bows on the storyline, but things end in a place that makes sense and that I enjoyed reading. All in all, I liked Every Other Weekend and would recommend it for its sweet and unrushed romance and examination of some really complicated family dynamics. Cut 100 pages and it would have been golden!

☆☆☆

*Thanks to Inkyard Press and the author for the chance to read Every Other Weekend before its publication date.

Glass Sword, or, The One In Which Mare Provokes Me to Violence

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

Pages: 444

Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: February 9th, 2016
Cover Comments: I love these simple and clean covers, and this one is particularly effective with the themes within the book of fragile power.

First Lines: "I flinch. The rag she gives me is clean, but it still smells like blood."

If there’s one thing Mare Barrow knows, it’s that she’s different. Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control. The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind. Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors. But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat. Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever? The electrifying next installment in the Red Queen series escalates the struggle between the growing rebel army and the blood-segregated world they’ve always known—and pits Mare against the darkness that has grown in her soul.

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Review

Oh, Glass Sword. I had such high hopes for this book. I read Red Queen a year or two ago and have fond if slightly fuzzy memories of it. While I still find the world Victoria Aveyard built very interesting, I could. not. stand. the main character, Mare Barrow, in Glass Sword. Herein lies an itemized list of reasons I find Mare unbearable.

1. Can you say high horse?

I can't even count the amount of times that Mare refers to herself as a very important and special person. She goes on and on about the symbol she is to people, the incredible power she wields, and how no one can really understand what she's going through.

I'm playing my tiny sad violin for ya, Mare.

2. Bloodlust.

Okay, I'm all for a hero with flaws or even a really good villain, but Mare is neither. She kills without mercy and seemingly only regrets any of these deaths when they become another reason for her to feel sorry for herself.

3. Prejudice.

Even though Mare thought she was a regular Redblood for most of her life, she now treats Reds without powers as literal scum beneath her boots. She talks about Kilorn, one of her closest friends and one of the few people who stands by her by the end, like this:

"Who is he to question my orders? He's no one. A fish boy with only good luck and my foolishness to protect him. Not like Shade, a teleporter, a newblood, a great man."

For someone who has been treated as "less than" for her whole life, I'm disappointed that Mare would turn this quickly.

4. Empathy = 0%.

Mare has no sympathy for anyone other than Newbloods (only because they are integral to her mission) and herself. She doesn't care about Silvers who have helped her, the deaths of anyone not close to her, or even the fates of thousands of Red children.

5. Cheese with that whine?

Despite being the most horrible person in the book, Mare doesn't seem to realize what a sacrifice others make just being in her presence, and constantly whines about everyone and everything else. She even seems strangely offended by inanimate objects, calling an office "offensively organized" and a door "offensively red".

Mare has definitely had some bad things happen to her, but no more than her other friends, and certainly not enough to warrant her level of whining.

*itemized rant over*

I found the plot to drag throughout most of the book. The romance between Cal and Mare was so awkward and stilted, and Mare's trust issues make it impossible for her to have a real relationship at this point anyway, so it's painful to see her even try. I got so sick and tired of hearing the line "Anyone can betray anyone." Mare takes this advice to strange conclusions, trusting her gut feelings about complete strangers, but watching her back around lifelong friends.

As a result of the above items, I found myself completely unsympathetic to Mare even when horrible things happened to her, so I'm not sure how I'll rally behind her in the next book. However, I'm really interested to see if Maven is really as heartless as he seems, and I hope King's Cage takes Mare's character in a different direction. If not, this quote from my favorite character might ring true:

"Mare, I am very afraid for you. Things have been done to you, things no person should suffer. You've seen horrible things, done horrible things, and they will change you. I'm so afraid for what you could be, if given the wrong chance."

2/5 glass swords

Throwback Titles (2): Tender Morsels, or, The One with All the Man-Bears and Squeamishness

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). Please join in the fun by adding to the linky below and adding my graphic (or one of yours, as long as it links back here) above to your post!

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Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan

Pages: 436
Publisher: Knopf Books
Publication Date: October 14th, 2008
Cover Comments: This is a beautiful cover, and one of the reasons I was attracted to this novel. It even gives subtle clues about what sadness lies within, in the expression on the girl's face, and the claws digging into her back.
First Lines: "There are plenty would call her a slut for it."

Tender Morsels is a dark and vivid story, set in two worlds and worrying at the border between them. Liga lives modestly in her own personal heaven, a world given to her in exchange for her earthly life. Her two daughters grow up in this soft place, protected from the violence that once harmed their mother. But the real world cannot be denied forever—magicked men and wild bears break down the borders of Liga’s refuge. Now, having known Heaven, how will these three women survive in a world where beauty and brutality lie side by side?

Review

I read reviews on Tender Morsels before I started it, so I thought I was prepared for the nastier elements of this dark fairy tale: rape, bestiality, etc. Even so, I wasn't prepared for those first few chapters of hopeless cruelty. After I got through that part, I was so relieved for Liga and I was able to settle in and enjoy Margo Lanagan's writing. And y'all, it is gorgeous. So beautiful, in fact, that this book can almost get away with not really having much of a plot for 3/4 of the book. Almost.

Tender Morsels is very much a dark, Brothers-Grimm esque fairy tale, with unpleasant topics out the wazoo. That 3/4 part of the book that I mentioned where nothing much happens? Basically the only thing that happens in that section is the main characters of the book making friends and perhaps a little bit more than friends with bears. To be fair, these bears are men in the true world, but Liga and Branza have no way of knowing that. Not being in a society of any sort, Branza, I suppose, would have no idea of the wrongness of it either though. This whole section made me pretty squeamish, so obviously I tried to intellectualize myself out of the discomfort. Here's what I came up with: Liga would not allow a man with any sexual intentions of any sort into her dream world, especially since she created it after traumatic events involving men. But the growing Liga, who has come to feel safe in her world and perhaps wanting more to life now, is curious about the idea of romance - maybe not even consciously. So in come the bears who are men, but not really men. Her world is trying to find a way to grow with her without breaking the no-men rules of young Liga's world. I also think there must be something symbolic about how only men break into Liga's dream world, and only men of no real threat, either being a "littlee-man" or men in the skin of bears. Anyway, wanna-be English major rant over.

I really enjoyed the last part of the book, in which everyone makes their entry into the true world (I don't feel that that's a spoiler since it's in the synopsis). I love love love the character introduced around this time. As Urdda describes her:

"She had a different kind of boldness, a strength that did not defy that of men so much as ignore it, or take its place without question beside it - Urdda wanted some of that boldness."

Lanagan's writing really shines through this character. Liga and her daughters adjusting to the true world after their dream world reminded me of Room, in which the young boy has to adjust after being trapped in a small, never-changing room. Branza especially can't fathom the cruelty that exists in this true world, although she does have a bit of a bite to her, as we find out. I love this gem of a paragraph below about adjusting to the world:

"Now you are in the true world, and a great deal more is required of you. Here you must befriend real wolves, and lure real birds down from the sky. Here you must endure real people around you, and we are not uniformly kind; we are damaged and impulsive, each in our own way. It is harder. It is not safe. But it is what you were born to."

Verdict: First off, I certainly would not recommend Tender Morsels to anyone under the age of 17, possibly 18, or with anyone who might be triggered by rape scenes. Those scenes are not all that graphic, but they do paint a very clear picture emotionally, which is even harder sometimes. If you are one who devours pretty prose and doesn't mind a meandering plot or themes of bestiality, I'd give this a shot. I give it 3 stars for the writing and the achingly lovely ending.

3/5

Frostblood by Elly Blake, or, The One with Cold, Hot Men

Frostblood by Elly Blake
Pages: 376
Publisher: Little, Brown
Publication Date: January 10th, 2017
Cover Comments: I love love love this cover. It perfectly reflects the story within, it's got great font, and the shiny ice-like iridescence is beautiful.
First Lines: "I offered my hand to the fire."

The frost king will burn.

Seventeen-year-old Ruby is a Fireblood who has concealed her powers of heat and flame from the cruel Frostblood ruling class her entire life. But when her mother is killed trying to protect her, and rebel Frostbloods demand her help to overthrow their bloodthirsty king, she agrees to come out of hiding, desperate to have her revenge.

Despite her unpredictable abilities, Ruby trains with the rebels and the infuriating—yet irresistible—Arcus, who seems to think of her as nothing more than a weapon. But before they can take action, Ruby is captured and forced to compete in the king’s tournaments that pit Fireblood prisoners against Frostblood champions. Now she has only one chance to destroy the maniacal ruler who has taken everything from her—and from the icy young man she has come to love.

 Review

"Face them all like a warrior, whether you are one or not."

I really don't know where I land on Frostblood. This was a novel with a really promising beginning, a lackluster middle section, and a fascinating and exciting end. The romantic relationship in the novel has a lot of great potential that sort of went unfulfilled, but the worldbuilding and mythology were entrancing, and there were some wonderful side characters. Let us begin a list, because I <3 lists.

1. Pacing. 

Pacing has been all off in all the novels I've read recently. I don't know if I'm being too picky, or my interest is harder to hold than it used to be, but disclaimer: this has been a problem with me as of late, so Frostblood might not bother you in that way as it did me. When I began this book, I was enthralled. The beginning set up a great journey for Ruby (haha, ruby like red like fire -_-), and I was looking forward to some cool training scenes, tension building between Ruby and the hot (but cold) Frostblood Arcus, and general Yoda type philosophies from the brothers at the abbey Ruby takes shelter in. Instead, I got a lot of whining from Ruby about not being able to control her powers, awkward and cold scenes between Ruby and Arcus, and, well actually I did get some nice Yoda stuff from Brother Thistle and co., so that was nice. After the slow middle though, a scenery change made the book pick up speed x100 for me, and I was enthralled from then until the end.

2. Instalove. 

As I hinted at above, I wasn't terribly impressed by the romance in Frostblood. It had the great love/hate dynamic going on in the beginning, but there was never really anything that changed that dynamic. It was like Beauty falling in love with the Beast without the middle part, the "Something There" number. Ruby hated Arcus and then all of a sudden decides she likes him, despite nothing having changed whatsoever to deepen their relationship. There was something there that wasn't there before, but we the reader get left out of whatever that something is. I was actually more into another, darker, romance that occurred near the end than with Arcus and Ruby, surprisingly.

3. Monks. 

I'm not sure what it is about abbeys and convents and the like, but I love this setting! Maybe it was all the Redwall I read when I was younger. It's so serene and full of kindness and wisdom (certain characters excepting), and I feel like they make really good bread and cheese and maybe burst into song and dance sometimes.

4. Good or Evil?

Another reason that I love the end and will probably read the rest of the series, is that there was a great plot shift where you don't really know who the villain is, and who the hero is. It's a very complex, philosophical type of thing, and not black and white at all. I loved that, and it's set up intriguing possibilities for the rest of the series.

Verdict: I enjoyed Frostblood for the most part, especially the very beginning and end. The middle was a bit slow for me, and I'm not a huge fan of the romance, but the monks and fire made up for it in the end.

4/5