Category: Fiction

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Fiction

Crossroads

Written by Jonathon Franzen, book 60 of 2021

This was my first Jonathon Franzen novel and it did not disappoint. I realize I’m late to the Franzen fan club but I was blown away by the intensity of the character development in this novel, especially considering there were five narrators and many years covered. This book introduces the Hildebrandt family and describes their lives in the early 1970’s. Being the first of a three part series, we can expect to see the Hildebrandts again in other tumultuous American decades in the subsequent novels. 

While the scenarios the family members find themselves in at times are larger than life, their responses are incredibly relatable. You can expect to find yourself both irritated and reluctantly endeared toward the family, not unlike real family life. Early on, I kept finding my expectations subverted in the way only the most adept writers can execute. The structure of the novel creates a truly unique and layered expression of American life in the early 1970’s. I became very invested in the family and I’ll be looking forward to the second and third novels, though after listening to 26 hours of audio, I don’t mind waiting for the next installment. 

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ALC. 

Recommended for: those who enjoy epic family dramas. 

Content Warnings: Violence, Sexual Abuse, Alcohol/Drug Use/Abuse, Mental health, Self Harm 

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Strange Beasts of China

written by Yan Ge, Book 57 of 2021

“The more resilient life is, the more you want to destroy it.” 

Yan Ge, “Strange Beasts of China”

I did not want to stop listening to this book, and I was listening to it on vacation so that means something. The unnamed narrator is a strangely likable loner with a few very dysfunctional relationships, who (literally) stumbles her way through improbable interactions with “beasts” of all kinds. Felt a bit like a stranger, darker version of Harry Potter if it had been set in China with a disoriented adult woman as its center. I’m not going to lie, I’m not sure I totally understood what was going on at times but I enjoyed it all the same. The stories can be quite dark, so I probably would only recommend this for mature readers and listeners.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ALC. 

Recommended for: those looking for something truly unusual. 


Content Warnings: Violence, Suicide, Death, Alcohol/Drug Use/Abuse, Family Separation

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All the Water I’ve Seen Is Running

written by Elias Rodriques, book 50 of 2021

This book stirred up a feeling of general uneasiness in me. I don’t know if it’s because the coastal Florida beaches of its setting are places I’ve vacationed, my own complex feelings about high school, or the novel’s challenging subject matter. The story is centered on the return of Daniel, the main character, to his hometown to visit his high school friends in the aftermath of his first love’s unexpected death. In between accounts of his visits, Rodriques also covers Daniel’s family’s complex interracial history, slavery, racism, and religion.The story itself is layered and compelling but perhaps a little too ambitious and left me wishing it would have had a little less breadth and more depth. 

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ALC. 

Recommended for: those interested in stories that are focused on intersectional identities 

Categories: Fiction, Multiple Narrators, Coming of Age

Content Warnings: Homophobia, Racism, Violence, Death, Alcohol/Drug Use 

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Night Came with Many Stars

Book 48, 2021- Night Came with Many Stars by Simon Van Booy

“I mean the thing that makes family. Not blood but the certainty that you’re never going to be lonesome. That all the joy and all the suffering that we get in life is something that will always be shared.”

Simon Van Booy “Night Came with Many Stars”

This was an unexpected hit for me. I’d read great reviews of Van Booy’s other works but I tend to turn away from family dramas and I wasn’t sure I’d be engaged by this one. One of the most beautiful elements of this book is the recognition of the importance of families of birth and those made by choice and circumstance. I also appreciated that the story covers many of the darker elements of family life in a way that is surprisingly gentle and humanizing. I fell in love with many of the characters over the course of the novel and was sad to have to say goodbye in the final moments of audio. Would highly recommend this novel and especially the audio version. 

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ALC. 

Recommended for: those who love stories told over multiple generations, those who enjoy stories of non-traditional families, and those who like to ponder the human condition. 

Content Warnings: Abuse, Sexual Assault, Abortion, Drugs, Addiction, Death, Violence, Incarceration

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The Love Songs of W.E.B DuBois

written by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, book 46 of 2021

Even in a place of sorrow time passes. Even in a place of joy. Do not assume that either keeps life from continuing. For there are children everywhere. And children are life for they keep their mother’s beauty.

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois – Honoree Fanonne Jeffers

This book is a true undertaking. When I received the advanced listening copy from the publisher I was shocked to see that the listening time was over one whole day of audio. It was worth it. The narrative covers the perspective and history of many of the ancestors of the main character, Ailey Pearl Garfield. The story unfolds in a back and forth pull between the past and present in a way kept the story from losing steam. Oddly, even though I didn’t love any of the characters on their own, I grew quite attached to their combination as an entire family. I would highly recommend this book for its skilled, nuanced, and loving depiction of the bonds of family over time and all manners of adversity.

The narration was also extremely well done and maintained my attention. I loved the Black and Southern dialogue and felt engrossed in the particular people and places.

Recommended for: those interested in the long arc of history, family dramas, historical fiction, or black stories.

Categories: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Social Commentary, Multiple Narrators, Coming of Age


Content Warnings: Violence, Rape, Slavery, Drug Use, Addiction, Death of a Parent, Violence, Displacement

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The World Gives Way

Written by Marissa Levien, Book 45 of 2021

“One thing that is true about humanity there will always be those who push the limits of stability and survival just to say they can. They scale the unscalable mountains. They dive to the impenetrable depths. They love the unlovable person. They will live in the unlivable desert.”

Marissa Levien,
“The World Gives Way“

Without giving anything away, “The World Gives Way” describes the intersection of the lives of two strangers at the end of the world. Overall I really enjoyed this book. The characters’ plight forced me to think about what truly matters and consider the implications of the destruction of the vulnerable environment that we all live in. One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the cinematic descriptions. I could clearly visualize this as a film or tv series. I know it’s a trope that “The book was better” when talking about adaptations but in this case, I would likely disagree. As a person who primarily reads for character depth, I was disappointed in the predictability and lack of nuance the characters displayed but was compelled to the end by the engaging plot.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ALC. 

Recommended for: Folks who favor stories of world building, science fiction fans. 

Content Warnings: Apocalypse, Slavery, Fatalism, Drugs, Addiction, Death of a Parent, Violence, Displacement

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The Chosen and the Beautiful

written by Nghi Vo, book 43 of 2021

For him, the world was always ending. For him it was always a wreck and a ruin and he had no idea why the rest of us weren’t screaming.

Nghi Vo- The Chosen and the Beautiful

I wanted to love this story but instead I think I “fell in like” with it. There are some really great parts to it: Jordan Baker as an immigrant “oddity” among the glamour of 1920’s New York, the social commentary around immigration and sexual politics, the fact that the main character’s magical talent is presented as the least interesting thing about her. But I felt like it teased a lot of potentials that weren’t fulfilled and dragged a bit in the middle. Nghi Vo is incredibly talented and I almost wish this wasn’t a retelling of The Great Gatsby at all and instead an entirely original story so that she could have dove more into the Jordan Baker’s past and future. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for future works from Vo and I’m looking forward to something fully original.

I felt like this was a solid 3 star listen up until the ending (which I really loved and won’t spoil!) so I’d say it’s at least a 3.5.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

Recommended for: anyone who looking for more queer love stories, 1920’s enthusiasts, or fun twists on classic works.

Content Warnings: Racism, Infidelity, Xenophobia, Deportation, Sexism, Homophobia, Abortion, Death, Self Harm.

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Love and Fury

written by Samantha Silva, Book 37 of 2021

“You say that I am hard on all women. But no harder than I am on myself. I want a serious and thoughtful examination of authentic human emotion and experience, not false sensibility that imprisons us, but a genuine one that empowers us. Not only for me, but you for you too“.

Mary Wollstonecraft
Samantha Silva, “Love and Fury”

This book is not for the faint of heart. The content warnings include child abuse, animal cruelty, drug overdose, suicide, rape and more. Despite all this, the story’s overall message is that of hope. I knew little of Mary Wollstonecraft before this book, but now I’ll certainly seek out more of her writing. Her story, told skillfully through Silva, is one that I’ll carry with me. Mary Wollstonecraft was a women well before her time and her story as told in “Love and Fury” is a compelling look at the strength humans have even when broken and flawed.

The narration is wonderful- besides the terrible American accent, which I will forgive since the rest was outstanding- and I was emotionally engaged throughout.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this early copy of audiobook. It was truly wonderful.

Recommended for: anyone who wants to rethink history.

Content warnings: child abuse, animal cruelty, drug overdose, suicide, rape (basically don’t read this if you’re in a vulnerable mindset).

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Ariadne

written by Jennifer Saint, Book 33, 2021

Clever and passionate women who scrubbed floors and tended fires, and wove cloth, and pounded soiled linen on the banks of the rivers while men played dice in the squares and talked at length of philosophy drinking wine in the afternoon sun and arranging the world to suit themselves. These women took to the wide blue sea in their rickety vessels searching for something better which they had heard they would find with us.

Jennifer Saint, Ariadne

I could not put this book down. What little I knew of Ariadne, I learned from a middle school mythology unit and the novel Circe by Madeline Miller. I knew next to nothing of Circe’s sister Phaedra. From a quick google search, it seems like Jennifer Saint stayed fairly true to the understood paths. If you’re like me and you enjoy a retelling from a women’s perspective, you’ll love this. As much as I love when authors subvert the original story more, Saint’s version of the myths still felt complex and novel. The narration was also excellent and compelling.

Recommendations: Would highly recommend to any mythology fan, and especially those who enjoyed Circe and Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

Content Warnings: Death, animal cruelty, abandonment, substance abuse, infanticide, bestiality

Thank you the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the audiobook.

Categories
Fiction

Milk Blood Heat

written by Dantiel W. Moniz, Book 10 of 2021

“She was of that special age where she knew both nothing and everything, and no matter where or at whom she looked, she saw her own reflection glimmering back like a skim of oil. She could be anyone, still.”

Dantiel W. Moniz, Milk Blood Heat

Don’t let the sunny cover fool you, this short story collection is not for the faint of heart. The only consistent factor in each of these stories was violence, and it’s enacted in all sorts of different ways. Most of the stories center on women and girls and their own particular horrors. There’s a lot to dissect here and I’m sure this collection will provide an extensive opportunity for examination for those who choose to dive deeper. Moniz is an undeniably talented writer and surely one to watch.

If anything, I think my only complaint about this is that I began to feel a little desensitized and apathetic after reading these stories in succession. Nonetheless, the stories were all compelling and engaging (in their own sad and anxiety inducing way). 

I’m rating this book 3 stars instead of 4 only because I listened to it as an audiobook and the narration fell a bit flat for me (potentially contributing to the apathy described above). 

Recommended for: Lovers of dark and twisty things 

Actions I will take in response to this book:

  • Try to be more empathetic to strangers. This book highlighted all the ways people are scarred and damaged. 

Content Warnings: There’s a little of everything in here so if you’re triggered by violence, death, drugs, cancer, or really anything.. this might not be the right pick for you.