I loved this! In the author's note, he mentioned that before this book he had mainly written literary fiction and I could tell because the characters I loved this! In the author's note, he mentioned that before this book he had mainly written literary fiction and I could tell because the characters in this story were more fleshed out and interesting than any other genre fiction I have read (barring ASOIAF).
All this character development was packaged within a fast-paced and intriguing plot. This book never rested on its laurels, as soon as you feel any sort of comfort there was a new development that changed everything. Cronin unravels the plot with finesse. I have always loved books where not everything is revealed from the offset but everything slots into place by the end.
This book more than earns its epic length and I can't wait to continue with the series....more
I haven't sobbed at a book like I sobbed at this book for years. Hannah is the master of writing about perseverance through struggle and she does it iI haven't sobbed at a book like I sobbed at this book for years. Hannah is the master of writing about perseverance through struggle and she does it in a way where you can't help but be moved. The plot moves at a rapid pace through a whole range of events but it never feels overblown, you are just swept up in the epic struggle of the central characters. I absolutely loved it!...more
I don't read many memoirs and I've never before read a graphic novel so this was definitely out of my comfort zone!
I did take a bit of time to get useI don't read many memoirs and I've never before read a graphic novel so this was definitely out of my comfort zone!
I did take a bit of time to get used to the format. At first I felt like my eyes were darting all over the page and I was missing details, but once I got used to it I was able to really immerse myself in the story and reading became a lot more effortless.
This is a coming of age story focusing equally on personal identity and family relationships. It felt deeply personal and Alison did a great job at inhabiting her thoughts and feelings at various points in her childhood and young adulthood. Even though the timeline was non-linear, I never felt lost.
Of course, a lot of this was due to the illustrations. I was in awe of the perfectly struck balance between simplicity and detail and the way Alison subtly changed her characters to age them or represent a theme (e.g. her father as a greek god). It was all extremely clever and I'm sure if I thumbed through it again I would notice new details.
I will say that some of the themes went a little over my head, Alison is clearly a voracious reader and makes frequent references to literature and I think if I had read more of the books she refers to I would have had a fuller experience of this novel. Interestingly two of the references were to books I have read this month (The Wind in the Willows and The Portrait of a Lady). There is also a lot left unsaid and that lack of closure may be frustrating to some. But hey, real life is rarely neat.
Overall this was a very positive reading experience for me and I'm glad that I expanded my reading horizons....more
When a book on a topic that I'm not that knowledgeable on or interested in can grab me like this, it is something very special. I was truly invested iWhen a book on a topic that I'm not that knowledgeable on or interested in can grab me like this, it is something very special. I was truly invested in these characters even when they were acting in ways that frustrated or upset me, I really wanted everything to turn out well for them. I feel like I went on a journey through the ups and downs of their lives and was celebrating and commiserating with them.
This book gave me a much deeper understanding and appreciation of video games and the ways that playing them can mean different things to different people: a creative outlet, a de-stressor, a way to escape your life and live out another, a way to challenge your preconceptions. All this and more was explored here with aplomb. I will be recommending this book to lots of people in my life....more
I love reading thrillers in the winter months and this was a great start to my reading year. It was well paced and twisty and the type of book that maI love reading thrillers in the winter months and this was a great start to my reading year. It was well paced and twisty and the type of book that makes you constantly second guess what is going on. I listened to the audiobook and the multiple narrators really brought the characters to life, I would happily continue a series with Ella, Keller or Chris! Looking forward to see what Alex Finlay does next. ...more
This classic didn't really live up to what I expected of it. I was hoping for something a bit salacious and daring and maybe at the time it was writteThis classic didn't really live up to what I expected of it. I was hoping for something a bit salacious and daring and maybe at the time it was written this book was that, but reading it now I only felt incredibly sad for Hester and angry at how she was treated. (view spoiler)[I was especially angry at Dimmsdale whose remorse came too late in the story to gain any sympathy from me (hide spoiler)] It seems that most of the interesting aspects of this story happened "off-screen" with pages instead being dedicated to long declarations and circular conversations which brought any momentum to a screeching halt. What a shame. ...more
When I first started reading this, I thought I was going to hate it. The first chapter alone hit on so many YA cliches (why do YA authors always have When I first started reading this, I thought I was going to hate it. The first chapter alone hit on so many YA cliches (why do YA authors always have to describe what everyone is wearing?) and I was tempted to dnf. But because it was a book club book and I had started it far too late, I kept going and actually became somewhat hooked, speeding through it in a few days and staying up late to finish it. It was an easy and engaging read.
Its not the most imaginative story and the cliches continue on through to an eye-rolling ending but maybe I needed something a little predictable right now. What the author did well was the inner voice of Felix and the exploration of identity which I found quite mature. This was a nice book for a younger audience or someone big on contemporary romance but I probably won't pick up this author again. ...more
I'm glad I finally got around to reading this classic even though the moralising was infuriating at times. I was expecting an epic plot arc but it wasI'm glad I finally got around to reading this classic even though the moralising was infuriating at times. I was expecting an epic plot arc but it was more like a series of adventures, one per chapter, with time jumps that were a bit unbalanced. Saying this, I enjoyed it overall and I couldn't help but love the Marches...more
This book gave me so many things to think about. Even from my cis background I feel like I have quite a good awareness of trans issues but hearing an This book gave me so many things to think about. Even from my cis background I feel like I have quite a good awareness of trans issues but hearing an own-voices account of the complex emotions involved in multiple transition journeys showed me how much more I still have to learn!
Thought-provoking, compelling and wonderfully written. This was truly an experience....more
I'm finding it so hard to review this book that I adored. Firstly I read it over a long time. It is a long book that required digesting and contemplatI'm finding it so hard to review this book that I adored. Firstly I read it over a long time. It is a long book that required digesting and contemplating and this was aided by the fact that my reservation kept coming to an end at the library so it was taken back twice for long stretches of time. This meant that the book and it's characters have been constant companions for the last few months and coming to the end of it I still wanted more. It was wonderful, unique and incredibly thought provoking. I have never read a book like this where I knew so little about the topic and came out feeling like I understood it at a deep level even though I'm sure it's just scraping the surface.
On the surface this is a fairly straightforward premise, the story of a diverse set of characters who play a role in environmental activism surrounding trees but it was so expansive! Powers took the time to properly introduce each character so that you could really understand their distinct motives and backgrounds. The plot also spans decades of the characters lives which are just a small percentage of the lives of the trees they are trying to save.
My favorite section was the middle section with the activist exploits of the characters. The way they were treated made me so angry and was very timely with the horrific Police Bill currently going through UK parliament trying to stamp out peaceful protest with force. After this section I did feel like the plot slightly lost steam and became more philosophical but this was where some of the best writing was that made me frequently want to go back in more audiobook to play whole sections (probably another reason it took me so long to finish). Patricia's speech in particular was fantastic.
The hype is well justified and I can see this becoming a classic (maybe as a warning!) in years to come....more
This was such a beautiful story. I wasn't sold on the verse style at first but then I switched to audio and this helped a lot. These phrases are meantThis was such a beautiful story. I wasn't sold on the verse style at first but then I switched to audio and this helped a lot. These phrases are meant to be heard especially in the dulcet tones of the narrators, Melania-Luisa Marte voicing one of the girls and Elizabeth Acevedo herself voicing the other.
I also really enjoyed the spatterings of Spanish and Spanglish. It's made me want to get back on Duolingo and maybe to pick up a simple Spanish book to practice. Watch this space!
This book dives deep into the grief and coming of age of two teenage girls separated by country and culture. I was so immersed in this simplistic but touching story and am glad I read it.
This was a quick enjoyable read that was still able to open some important discussions about race, class and microaggressions. All the characters frusThis was a quick enjoyable read that was still able to open some important discussions about race, class and microaggressions. All the characters frustrated me to no end but that was sort of the point. They were all flawed and making poor life choices for what they felt were the right reasons.
A bonus point for the cutest toddler character I have ever encountered in a book. The relationship between Emira and Briar was so wholesome....more
Both of the protagonists of this rich and volatile exploration of relationships were truly great. HorriBehind every great man, there's a great women.
Both of the protagonists of this rich and volatile exploration of relationships were truly great. Horrible, self-centred, repulsive, mean, but great.
I must admit that it took me a while to get into this. The prose was fantastic from the start, Groff is just a master at putting the right words together to make the everyday sound romantic and epic. However, the jumping around in time and the unreliable narration made this book difficult to follow.
But when I got into the swing of it, and especially in Mathilde's half of the novel, it became all-consuming and I kept finding myself drawn to pick it up and read just that bit more. I can't say that I enjoyed the whole experience but it was definitely addictive!...more
I still find this series well written and like its slice of life style. But woah its a downer. Oh and descriptions of intravenous drug use make me queI still find this series well written and like its slice of life style. But woah its a downer. Oh and descriptions of intravenous drug use make me queasy. A quick read though so I will persevere with this series. ...more
5 stars for this book. 5 stars for this series just wow!
It's taken me a few months to get to the conclusion of The Passage Trilogy after devouring the5 stars for this book. 5 stars for this series just wow!
It's taken me a few months to get to the conclusion of The Passage Trilogy after devouring the first two books last year. It is clearly still a very popular book as I had to wait around 3 months to get it from the library. It was completely worth the wait.
This was the perfect ending to the series. I loved that a whole section was dedicated to Fanning's backstory which gave a human face to the source of this terrible apocalypse. There were the characters I loved from the previous books as well as new characters from the next generation and all of their stories concluded perfectly (more on that later). A number of exciting action scenes and a constant build of tension culminating in a finale that I couldn't put down. I must also mention the Epilogue as I thought it was a really clever way to do an Epilogue for such an epic series and it really tied together a lot of the structure that we were given glimpses of throughout the series and particularly in The Twelve and gave me some nice aha moments.
Now to my review of this series as a whole. This was truly an epic. Spanning a millennium with 100s of characters and locations around the globe. I know the comparison gets thrown around a lot but I really see this as the A Song of Ice and Fire of post-apocalyptic fiction. A huge accolade in my book and one that I don't give lightly. Like George RR Martin, Cronin is not afraid to kill off major characters, introduce a plethora of new characters and make major jumps in time and location switching up the narrative at the drop of a hat. I can see how this type of plotting can be infuriating for some but its like crack for me! Literary crack!
This series has it all, action, gruesome horror, philosophy, romance but the attribute that really makes it stand out to me is the character development. Cronin has the ability to take minor characters and really allow them space to be fleshed out and for you to understand their motivations. As for the main characters, none of them ended up where I would have expected them to from where they started in The Passage. Cronin takes sci-fi character archetypes: the leader, the soldier, the tough girl, the healer, the clever one, etc and allows them space to grow and develop so by the end of the book they have changed so much and no longer represent these stereotypes. This is completely realistic considering that, during the course of this series, they have aged 30 years and been through some pretty harrowing experiences. Granted I am not hugely versed in speculative fiction, but of the books in these genres that I have read, only this series and ASOIAF gave me this type of deep character development.
I am going to be recommending this series to everyone I meet and it will hold a place amongst my favourite series. ...more
Well its finally over and I'm pleased to say that this book did not make me a Tory!
It is hard to rate because there were moments of great storytellingWell its finally over and I'm pleased to say that this book did not make me a Tory!
It is hard to rate because there were moments of great storytelling and suspense but these were interespersed with a lot of naval gazing and repetition padding it out. Add to that the confusing names that were hard to remember: Ragnar Danneskjöld, Wesley Mouch, Bertrum Scudder, Cuffey Meigs (I had to look these up because nobody has a normal name in this book) and I found my mind wondering and myself losing track of the plot on multiple occasions.
I am an open minded person and I believe if there is a philosophy that a lot of people share, even if its different from my own, it is interesting to learn their point of view. However, I could never espouse to the worldview of this book and I don't believe it was put forward particularly well.
I feel a sense of achievement tackling this but really I am glad it is over....more
I haven't read anything from Sebastian Barry since The Secret Scripture which I read many years ago and loved. It was really nice to revisit his writiI haven't read anything from Sebastian Barry since The Secret Scripture which I read many years ago and loved. It was really nice to revisit his writing during the Irish Readathon.
I have never really thought about the Irish that immigrated to rural America in the 19th century as I mainly think about them as servants and police in New York and the other big cities. Therefore it was very interesting and heartbreaking to hear the story of of Thomas McNulty giving so much of themself for conflicts that they really had no skin in following the orders of constantly shifting authority figures in a fastly developing nation. It was wonderful how Irish this story felt despite its American setting and due in part to the fantastic audiobook narration of Aidan Kelly. Thomas had a wonderful narrative voice which lyrical in its simplicity. The combination of narration and language was a joy to the ear.
I also loved the exploration of sexuality and gender expression and was glad that this aspect of Thomas' life was not a major hardship too them despite the setting (I am using they/them pronouns as I certainly viewed Thomas as being on the non-binary spectrum).
However, I can't really rate it 4 stars as I found the plot to jump through time a bit too quickly and I was sometimes a bit lost as to where the characters were and what was happening. It is a 3.5 star read and a great addition to my Irish Readathon reading list....more
This didn't really live up to its interesting premise. The writing style was tedious with so many long lists and repetitive correspondences. Most of tThis didn't really live up to its interesting premise. The writing style was tedious with so many long lists and repetitive correspondences. Most of the exciting moments happened 'off-page' and the conclusion was disappointing.
I'd like to read another book about reparations for slavery as the topic is interesting, this just wasn't the best way to put it across. ...more
Wow. What a powerful story of people stuck in a cycle of poverty, drugs, and crime. The fact that these were the stories of real people made them all Wow. What a powerful story of people stuck in a cycle of poverty, drugs, and crime. The fact that these were the stories of real people made them all the more affecting and I was rooting for them all even when they did some terrible things and even knowing that this is not fiction, these people's lives are not at the whim of the author, they are the whim of the many forces of life.
I don't read a lot of non-fiction but this book was engaging in the way that fiction is. The authors picked the moments in a year in the lives of these people that would construct a real narrative and character arc like those of fictional characters. It was truly masterful to the extent that I had to read the author note about 25% in to ensure that all these events really occurred.
I won't be forgetting this book in a hurry. ...more
This book annoyed me for many reasons. The plot was not believable and, in my opinion, promoted unhealthy relationships and actions. The characters weThis book annoyed me for many reasons. The plot was not believable and, in my opinion, promoted unhealthy relationships and actions. The characters were not likeable. I am fine with unlikeable characters. I actually enjoy when a character is just truly nasty. But the characters in this book seemed like they were getting a pass for their terrible actions and that I do not enjoy. I can't rant much more without going into spoilers so if you want to know the (very spoilery) awful things that the characters do you can read them below.
(view spoiler)[ Gabe - Hits on a married woman who is the mother of a kidnapping victim he has been tasked to find. Seems like he mainly wants to find this girl to get into her mother's good books. Harasses a potential witness at the witness's workplace for no reason other than that he doesn't like the look of him and 'it's usually the boyfriend' - Great detective work there! Undermines the professional advice of a psychiatrist to attempt to bring out a traumatic memory from a kidnapping victim despite not having the expertise to deal with such a memory should it arise.
Colin - Kidnaps a girl for money. Is abusive towards her for months (manhandling her, tying her to pipes, threatening her with a gun), threatens to kill an animal to blackmail her, considers killing an innocent bystander who could possibly blow his cover. But this is all forgiven because he looks after his disabled mother and buys the girl a Christmas tree! *rolls eyes*
Mia - Attempts to extort money from her father to punish him for extortion (yes, really!). Arranges her own kidnapping for said extortion and to make her father notice her not caring about the effect that this would have on others in her life such as her mother, sister, friends and students at her school. Doesn't let her kidnapper know of this plan and allows him to think they are both in real danger.
These are supposed to be the good guys! Eve is the only likeable character in the story which makes it all the more frustrating that her daughter put her through so much pain. (hide spoiler)]
This book was trying to be Gone Girl but failed in making its characters awful in an interesting way rather than just awful in an awful way. It only gains a second star for the structure. It's chapters alternate between POVs and from before and after Mia is found. This was novel and a good way to build tension. If only the story it was telling warranted this style. ...more
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