cyphomandra (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cyphomandra) wrote2020-01-31 01:42 pm
cyphomandra) wrote2020-01-31 01:42 pm
Entry tags:
- 2019 book reviews,
- alyssa cole,
- catherine christian,
- cece bell,
- chessie henry,
- constance white,
- courtney milan,
- elyse springer,
- eva ibbotson,
- jacqueline wilson,
- jiro taniguchi,
- joan aitken,
- joan lingard,
- katherine arden,
- lucy foley,
- natalie whipple,
- nnedi okarofor,
- se harmon,
- william sleator,
- øyvind torseter
Books read, April
I was surprised when SE Harmon's name didn't autopopulate in the tags of the last entry, as I remembered writing it up, and then I found it featured in the first half of a monthly booklog I hadn't finished. Here they all are. Of the new books I liked Venezia best, but all the re-reads this month are books I'm very fond of.
A Company of Swans, Eva Ibbotson (re-read)
The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden
The Hunting Party, Lucy Foley
Blueprint, SE Harmon
The Heartless Troll, Øyvind Torseter, translator Kari Dickson
This Wicked Gift, Proof by Seduction, Trial by Desire (Carhart series), Courtney Milan
Heels over Head, Elyse Springer
My Little Brony, Natalie Whipple/KM Hayes
Diana Takes a Chance, Catherine Christian
We Can Make a Life: a memoir of family, earthquakes and courage, Chessie Henry
El Deafo, Cece Bell
Venezia, Jiro Taniguchi
Into the Dream, William Sleator (re-read)
The Twelfth Day of July, Joan Lingard
Monica Muddles Through
Katy, Jacqueline Wilson
Binti, Nnedi Okarofor
Arabel’s Raven, Joan Aiken
Once Ghosted, Twice Shy, Alyssa Cole.
A Company of Swans, Eva Ibbotson (re-read). Harriet is the over-protected and intelligent daughter of a widowed uptight Classics professor, who is vehemently opposed to women’s education; Harriet’s only escape is ballet, an escape that becomes literal when she runs away to join a ballet company about to tour South America; this trip will bring her into contact with Rom Verney, a wealthy English aristocrat who left England after being shoddily treated by his former fiancee and his older half brother. Comforting and reassuring; goodness is ultimately rewarded.
The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden. Vasya, the daughter of a Russian boyar, is able to see the spirits that inhabit her home and village; her father’s new wife, Anna, the daughter of Ivan II, can see them too, but believes they are evil demons and that Vasya is in league with them. Lots of winter, nice mix of religion and paganism; doesn’t really pull off the ending.
The Hunting Party, Lucy Foley. Group of old friends have their regular meet up, this time on an isolated Scottish hunting estate - only to be cut off by a blizzard, and then one is found dead. The narrative jumps forward and back in time, at least partly to do that thing of concealing the identity of the corpse from the reader for an annoying amount of time; the character relationships are well-drawn but everybody is rather unpleasant. Didn’t rock my world.
The Blueprint, SE Harmon. Kelly Cannon is a cynical out gay academic who is secretly in love with his apparently straight best friend, NFL star Blue (Britton) Montgomery. They hook up, feelings are unmasked (or develop), and - eventually - they both end up on the same page. I am not sure why I keep reading team sports m/m romances when I don’t watch or play any team sports. This was okay - I liked the banter, but the ending’s rushed and Blue himself is not entirely convincing.
The Heartless Troll, Øyvind Torseter, translator Kari Dickson. Graphic novel, seventh son goes searching for his six missing brothers, encounters friends and foes including the troll of the title. I like the art style and the story has - despite the title - a good heart.
This Wicked Gift, Proof by Seduction, Trial by Desire, Courtney Milan. Her Carhart series. The first has a great female character who is not matched by the love interest, who blackmails her into bed with him and feels really bad about it. Milan is trying valiantly but it’s a hard sell. Proof is better - Jenny makes a living as Madame Esmeralda, a fortune-teller who tells her clients what they want to hear; Gareth Carhart is the cold, logical cousin of one of her clients, who is determined to prove her a fraud. It’s Milan’s first book and it’s okay, but she gets better. Trial is second-chance - Kate, abandoned by her husband only a few months of marriage, is secretly helping to leave abusive relationships; her husband, Ned, returns to England having (mostly) conquered his demons (depression), and is determined to win his wife’s trust again. Again, admirable ambition, but her execution could be better.
Heels over Head, Elyse Springer. M/M, competitive divers; dedicated closeted Olympic prospect Jeremy gains new openly gay inexperienced prodigy Brandon as a team mate. I liked this - the diving is well-drawn and a great back drop, the story has room to breathe (it covers two years leading up to the Olympics) and I liked both characters. It does duck out before Jeremy’s Olympic event and it didn’t blow me away, but I liked it enough to read a few more of hers (spoiler: sadly, I liked them less).
My Little Brony, Natalie Whipple/KM Hayes (real/pen name, both used). Drew is a high school freshman who is very bad at sports despite his father being the school football coach; he expects to be bullied but Skye, a girl in his class who wears pony ears and loves My Little Pony is the designated target. One night while babysitting his sister Drew watches MLP - and loves it, even starting to draw his own fanart. Interesting take on bullying in that Drew’s struggle is between revealing his own interest and continuing to stay silent, and it’s all nicely done, although the father is a bit cardboard.
Diana Takes a Chance, Catherine Christian. Diana, spoilt and rich, gets a shock when her mother marries again and moves to Australia, leaving Diana temporarily in charge of her two new younger half-siblings. 1930s London/England and Girl Guiding; fun to read while inwardly slightly boggling at the set-up.
We Can Make a Life: a Memoir of Family, Earthquakes and Courage, Chessie Henry. Another excellent memoir, although this is more about the author’s father than her herself; he is a rural GP who travelled widely before marrying, and raised his family in Tokelau before returning to NZ, who was one of the few doctors on site at the burning wreckage of the CTV building in the aftermath of the Christchurch 2011 earthquake, where he had to crawl into unstable rubble to try to treat and extract the wounded and dying, whose own home in Kaikōura was devastated by the 2016 earthquake, and who burned out and quit a year later. Henry sets out to tell why this has happened; there’s critique of the health system as well as exploration of his individual choices. As always, when I read about the Chch earthquake, my ghost self shows up in the pages (my house was six blocks away from the CTV building) and distracts me somewhat.
El Deafo, Cece Bell. Graphic novel memoir (for kids) about the author’s experience with going deaf and getting hearing aids as a child; everyone is a bunny. Cece deals with her resentment and embarrassment over the aids by turning them into a superpower, helped by the fact that her teachers, who wear a transmitting microphone when teaching her, often forget to turn it off when they leave the classroom, so Cece can overhear everything. Mostly about desperately wanting a best friend, and nicely done.
Venezia, Jiro Taniguchi. After his mother’s death a Japanese artist discovers a collection of photos of Venice, where his mother used to live as a child; he travels there to retrace the images. It’s gorgeous to look at, with the same skilled attention given to the tiny observed moments as well as images more familiar to tourists, and the thinness of the plot bothers me less here than in Guardians of the Louvre. Just lovely to read. It is, I discovered, from the Louis Vuitton Travel series, lavishly produced books where different artists give their impressions of cities, some of which look really cool.
Into the Dream, William Sleator (re-read) Possibly the first William Sleator I read, although House of Stairs was the first one that made me track him as an author; I got this through the school bookclub on description and title alone. Two children discover that they are having the same recurring nightmare, featuring a small boy in danger, although each notice details the other doesn’t; trying to track the source of the dream puts them in the way of a shadowy and evil government agency, who are trying to cover up a possible alien incursion. If you need more encouragement there is also a friendly telepathic dog :D Slightly less depressing than some of Sleator’s other works, although as always the ending is not unadulterated bliss.
The Twelfth Day of July, Joan Lingard. First in her Kevin & Sadie series, set in 1960s Belfast and about a star-crossed romance between a Protestant girl and and a Catholic boy. This book reads quite young and is mostly about the tensions in the lead up to the 12th of July Ulster Protestant celebration, rather than the romance. I don’t think I ever read this one; my childhood library had the middle/later books. It’s interesting although the period-appropriate sexism does get a bit much at times.
Monica Muddles Through. I wrote this title down but can no longer find a corresponding book, and am pretty sure I meant Constance White’s The Muddles of Monica (I read it at my sister’s and she’s currently overseas and can’t check). What I can find on-line says scapegrace form captain is elected as a joke but begins to take position seriously despite flack from unreformed best friend, which is certainly a trope I like, but I can’t place it.
Katy, Jacqueline Wilson. Modern take on Susan Coolidge’s What Katy Did, with less (obvious) moralising and a more realistic outcome from spinal injury, as well as an infinitely less irritating Cousin Helen. I am rather fond of the originals (at least the first three; Clover and In the High Valley less so) though and are more likely to re-read them than this.
Binti, Nnedi Okarofor. First in the novella series about Binti, the first member of her ethnic group accepted into a prestigious intergalactic university, which she has to run away from home to attend. En route the spaceship is attacked by a violent alien species whom, it tuns out, Binti’s ancestral possessions enable her to establish rapport with. I liked Binti and I liked quite a bit of this (and I do think the cover art for this series is incredible) but it did feel slight and a bit too convenient on the plot stakes. I am meaning to read the others.
Arabel’s Raven, Joan Aiken (re-read). Arabel is a small girl who adopts Mortimer, a grumpy raven (drawn, with exquisite personality, by Quentin Blake), who only says, “Nevermore!”, and chaos ensues. Funny, and deftly plotted.
Once Ghosted, Twice Shy, Alyssa Cole. F/F novella in her Reluctant Royals series, which are kind of a Ruritanian Black Panther mash-up, and which I appreciate for existing while wishing they were better plotted and leant into their set-ups more. In this one, Lkotsi, royal bodyguard, had a dating app-based romance in NYC that ended badly; now she’s back again and meets Faiola on a stalled subway train, and the two try to give it another go. The dual time narrative (their get together x1 alternating with get together x 2) plus dual pov felt to me like an attempt to create tension that was otherwise lacking in the story, but I really like Lkotsi herself.
A Company of Swans, Eva Ibbotson (re-read)
The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden
The Hunting Party, Lucy Foley
Blueprint, SE Harmon
The Heartless Troll, Øyvind Torseter, translator Kari Dickson
This Wicked Gift, Proof by Seduction, Trial by Desire (Carhart series), Courtney Milan
Heels over Head, Elyse Springer
My Little Brony, Natalie Whipple/KM Hayes
Diana Takes a Chance, Catherine Christian
We Can Make a Life: a memoir of family, earthquakes and courage, Chessie Henry
El Deafo, Cece Bell
Venezia, Jiro Taniguchi
Into the Dream, William Sleator (re-read)
The Twelfth Day of July, Joan Lingard
Monica Muddles Through
Katy, Jacqueline Wilson
Binti, Nnedi Okarofor
Arabel’s Raven, Joan Aiken
Once Ghosted, Twice Shy, Alyssa Cole.
A Company of Swans, Eva Ibbotson (re-read). Harriet is the over-protected and intelligent daughter of a widowed uptight Classics professor, who is vehemently opposed to women’s education; Harriet’s only escape is ballet, an escape that becomes literal when she runs away to join a ballet company about to tour South America; this trip will bring her into contact with Rom Verney, a wealthy English aristocrat who left England after being shoddily treated by his former fiancee and his older half brother. Comforting and reassuring; goodness is ultimately rewarded.
The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden. Vasya, the daughter of a Russian boyar, is able to see the spirits that inhabit her home and village; her father’s new wife, Anna, the daughter of Ivan II, can see them too, but believes they are evil demons and that Vasya is in league with them. Lots of winter, nice mix of religion and paganism; doesn’t really pull off the ending.
The Hunting Party, Lucy Foley. Group of old friends have their regular meet up, this time on an isolated Scottish hunting estate - only to be cut off by a blizzard, and then one is found dead. The narrative jumps forward and back in time, at least partly to do that thing of concealing the identity of the corpse from the reader for an annoying amount of time; the character relationships are well-drawn but everybody is rather unpleasant. Didn’t rock my world.
The Blueprint, SE Harmon. Kelly Cannon is a cynical out gay academic who is secretly in love with his apparently straight best friend, NFL star Blue (Britton) Montgomery. They hook up, feelings are unmasked (or develop), and - eventually - they both end up on the same page. I am not sure why I keep reading team sports m/m romances when I don’t watch or play any team sports. This was okay - I liked the banter, but the ending’s rushed and Blue himself is not entirely convincing.
The Heartless Troll, Øyvind Torseter, translator Kari Dickson. Graphic novel, seventh son goes searching for his six missing brothers, encounters friends and foes including the troll of the title. I like the art style and the story has - despite the title - a good heart.
This Wicked Gift, Proof by Seduction, Trial by Desire, Courtney Milan. Her Carhart series. The first has a great female character who is not matched by the love interest, who blackmails her into bed with him and feels really bad about it. Milan is trying valiantly but it’s a hard sell. Proof is better - Jenny makes a living as Madame Esmeralda, a fortune-teller who tells her clients what they want to hear; Gareth Carhart is the cold, logical cousin of one of her clients, who is determined to prove her a fraud. It’s Milan’s first book and it’s okay, but she gets better. Trial is second-chance - Kate, abandoned by her husband only a few months of marriage, is secretly helping to leave abusive relationships; her husband, Ned, returns to England having (mostly) conquered his demons (depression), and is determined to win his wife’s trust again. Again, admirable ambition, but her execution could be better.
Heels over Head, Elyse Springer. M/M, competitive divers; dedicated closeted Olympic prospect Jeremy gains new openly gay inexperienced prodigy Brandon as a team mate. I liked this - the diving is well-drawn and a great back drop, the story has room to breathe (it covers two years leading up to the Olympics) and I liked both characters. It does duck out before Jeremy’s Olympic event and it didn’t blow me away, but I liked it enough to read a few more of hers (spoiler: sadly, I liked them less).
My Little Brony, Natalie Whipple/KM Hayes (real/pen name, both used). Drew is a high school freshman who is very bad at sports despite his father being the school football coach; he expects to be bullied but Skye, a girl in his class who wears pony ears and loves My Little Pony is the designated target. One night while babysitting his sister Drew watches MLP - and loves it, even starting to draw his own fanart. Interesting take on bullying in that Drew’s struggle is between revealing his own interest and continuing to stay silent, and it’s all nicely done, although the father is a bit cardboard.
Diana Takes a Chance, Catherine Christian. Diana, spoilt and rich, gets a shock when her mother marries again and moves to Australia, leaving Diana temporarily in charge of her two new younger half-siblings. 1930s London/England and Girl Guiding; fun to read while inwardly slightly boggling at the set-up.
We Can Make a Life: a Memoir of Family, Earthquakes and Courage, Chessie Henry. Another excellent memoir, although this is more about the author’s father than her herself; he is a rural GP who travelled widely before marrying, and raised his family in Tokelau before returning to NZ, who was one of the few doctors on site at the burning wreckage of the CTV building in the aftermath of the Christchurch 2011 earthquake, where he had to crawl into unstable rubble to try to treat and extract the wounded and dying, whose own home in Kaikōura was devastated by the 2016 earthquake, and who burned out and quit a year later. Henry sets out to tell why this has happened; there’s critique of the health system as well as exploration of his individual choices. As always, when I read about the Chch earthquake, my ghost self shows up in the pages (my house was six blocks away from the CTV building) and distracts me somewhat.
El Deafo, Cece Bell. Graphic novel memoir (for kids) about the author’s experience with going deaf and getting hearing aids as a child; everyone is a bunny. Cece deals with her resentment and embarrassment over the aids by turning them into a superpower, helped by the fact that her teachers, who wear a transmitting microphone when teaching her, often forget to turn it off when they leave the classroom, so Cece can overhear everything. Mostly about desperately wanting a best friend, and nicely done.
Venezia, Jiro Taniguchi. After his mother’s death a Japanese artist discovers a collection of photos of Venice, where his mother used to live as a child; he travels there to retrace the images. It’s gorgeous to look at, with the same skilled attention given to the tiny observed moments as well as images more familiar to tourists, and the thinness of the plot bothers me less here than in Guardians of the Louvre. Just lovely to read. It is, I discovered, from the Louis Vuitton Travel series, lavishly produced books where different artists give their impressions of cities, some of which look really cool.
Into the Dream, William Sleator (re-read) Possibly the first William Sleator I read, although House of Stairs was the first one that made me track him as an author; I got this through the school bookclub on description and title alone. Two children discover that they are having the same recurring nightmare, featuring a small boy in danger, although each notice details the other doesn’t; trying to track the source of the dream puts them in the way of a shadowy and evil government agency, who are trying to cover up a possible alien incursion. If you need more encouragement there is also a friendly telepathic dog :D Slightly less depressing than some of Sleator’s other works, although as always the ending is not unadulterated bliss.
The Twelfth Day of July, Joan Lingard. First in her Kevin & Sadie series, set in 1960s Belfast and about a star-crossed romance between a Protestant girl and and a Catholic boy. This book reads quite young and is mostly about the tensions in the lead up to the 12th of July Ulster Protestant celebration, rather than the romance. I don’t think I ever read this one; my childhood library had the middle/later books. It’s interesting although the period-appropriate sexism does get a bit much at times.
Monica Muddles Through. I wrote this title down but can no longer find a corresponding book, and am pretty sure I meant Constance White’s The Muddles of Monica (I read it at my sister’s and she’s currently overseas and can’t check). What I can find on-line says scapegrace form captain is elected as a joke but begins to take position seriously despite flack from unreformed best friend, which is certainly a trope I like, but I can’t place it.
Katy, Jacqueline Wilson. Modern take on Susan Coolidge’s What Katy Did, with less (obvious) moralising and a more realistic outcome from spinal injury, as well as an infinitely less irritating Cousin Helen. I am rather fond of the originals (at least the first three; Clover and In the High Valley less so) though and are more likely to re-read them than this.
Binti, Nnedi Okarofor. First in the novella series about Binti, the first member of her ethnic group accepted into a prestigious intergalactic university, which she has to run away from home to attend. En route the spaceship is attacked by a violent alien species whom, it tuns out, Binti’s ancestral possessions enable her to establish rapport with. I liked Binti and I liked quite a bit of this (and I do think the cover art for this series is incredible) but it did feel slight and a bit too convenient on the plot stakes. I am meaning to read the others.
Arabel’s Raven, Joan Aiken (re-read). Arabel is a small girl who adopts Mortimer, a grumpy raven (drawn, with exquisite personality, by Quentin Blake), who only says, “Nevermore!”, and chaos ensues. Funny, and deftly plotted.
Once Ghosted, Twice Shy, Alyssa Cole. F/F novella in her Reluctant Royals series, which are kind of a Ruritanian Black Panther mash-up, and which I appreciate for existing while wishing they were better plotted and leant into their set-ups more. In this one, Lkotsi, royal bodyguard, had a dating app-based romance in NYC that ended badly; now she’s back again and meets Faiola on a stalled subway train, and the two try to give it another go. The dual time narrative (their get together x1 alternating with get together x 2) plus dual pov felt to me like an attempt to create tension that was otherwise lacking in the story, but I really like Lkotsi herself.