"Snow Like Ashes" by Sara Raasch

Things have been super busy lately, with finishing finals, moving back to DC, and starting a new job. Luckily, I did manage to squeeze in this enchanting YA fantasy during finals.

Meira is an orphan from the conquered kingdom of Winter, on the run with a handful other refugees, including the heir to the Winterian throne, Mather. They're on the hunt for their kingdom's magic pendant to reclaim their kingdom, while hiding from the Spring kingdom's leader. Meira, Mather, and the other characters that pop up are excellent. Major bonus points for a love triangle where both the interests are interesting, and you can actually understand why Meira would be torn between them!

The world-building in this series is fascinating. There are four season kingdoms and four rhythm kingdoms. I'm not totally clear on why the other half is rhythm, but sure. In the past, all the kingdom's leaders got together and decided to put their kingdom's magic into an emblem they that can use to rule and give their power to their subjects. Each kingdom has a different specialty that affects the way they use their magic. I can't wait to read the next book, due out in October, just to see more of these kingdoms.

But I have a big complaint. SPOILERS COMING, skip this paragraph if you're not interested! Highlight to read the text if you don't mind. So, if you follow me on twitter, you'll know that as I was reading I loved the twists that kept coming throughout the novel. One of the things I was most loving about the book was seeing a main character who wasn't the chosen one, but was supporting the heir & strong in her own right, despite her non-special heritage. Meira's receiving visions from the former Winterian queen that help her understand more of the magic of the kingdoms, awesome! Common people can wield magic and she's going to be a normal person bringing it back! Great! Except, turns out she's actually the heir & was switched with Mather to protect her. Yawn. Maybe this is a case of my wanting the novel to be something it wasn't, but this predictable "twist" turned the thrust of the second half of the novel into a big old trope. Don't get me wrong, the world-building and characters will keep me reaching for the second, but I was pretty disappointed at the predictability, since I had really been digging the normal girl at the center.

Finally, the audio narration is fantastic and really added to the book. Kate Rudd is just the right amount of enthusiastic and engaging. Highly recommend the audio on this!

Verdict: Jury's out - if you're a fan of YA fantasy, it's a solid choice. Not a stand out if you're not already a fan, since the ultimate twist is fairly predictable. I'll definitely be listening to the second!

"Snow Like Ashes" by Sara Raasch, published October 14, 2014 by Balzer + Bray. Audio narration by Kate Rudd, published October 14, 2014 by Harper Audio.

"Silver Sparrow" by Tayari Jones

I had heard of the opening line of "Silver Sparrow" long before I knew anything else about the book: "My father, James Witherspoon, is a bigamist." At once it captures everything and nothing about the core of this powerful novel of family, secrets, and trust.

Dana grows up knowing she's the other daughter. In order to keep her father's two lives separate, she must defer to anything Chaurisse wants - Dana can't go to the same school, summer programs, or anywhere she might run into Chaurisse. Meanwhile, Chaurisse has no idea her father has another wife and daughter living in the same city.

The first half of the book is told by Dana as she grows up, navigating the world and figuring out where she can rebel against her father's strict rules of separation and learning as much as she can about her mysterious sister, while resenting all she must give up to keep her father's dual lives. The second half shifts to Chaurisse's point of view. The reader sees Dana pop up, and the dramatic irony and tension is perfect. We know who Dana is and that this can only end poorly, but Chaurisse has no idea. Jones does a remarkable job balancing the two points of view. I thought after reading Dana's section that I would loathe Chaurisse, but her section was every bit as empathetic and earnest and heartbreaking as Dana's. The lives and backgrounds of James and his wives were fascinating and the historical details from Atlanta's history fleshed out the story without feeling the least bit forced.

Verdict: Affirmed, particularly for readers looking for an incredible family drama and/or a solid book club pick. Audio narration was fantastic, for those who listen.

"Silver Sparrow" by Tayari Jones, published May 24, 2011 by Algonquin Books. Audio narration by Rosalyn Coleman Williams and Heather Alicia Simms, published June 8, 2011 by AudioGO.

Spring Reviews at the Morningside Muckraker

New reviews are up in my Booked column in the Morningside Muckraker's Spring issue, out today. And a good thing, too, since finals have slowed my reading to a crawl! This issue I reviewed:

• "Boy, Snow, Bird" by Helen Oyeyemi
• "Dept. of Speculation" by Jenny Offill
• "The Girl on the Train" by Paul Hawkins
• "The Paying Guests" by Sarah Waters
• "God Help the Child" by Toni Morrison
• "The Walls Around Us" by Nova Ren Suma

There's something in there to kick off everyone's summer reading! Check them out here.  While you're there, be sure to read the other contributors' fantastic work as well.

"The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

This YA book kept popping up in lists of speculative or dystopian books, suggested based on other things I've read and enjoyed. I don't remember what the final article or suggestion was that made me read it, but it fits right into my personal wheelhouse: gripping, fast-paced YA; a new government system that grew out of the present in some way; and clones and the role of genetic engineering in human society.

Matteo Alcaron is a clone in a world where clones have no rights. He is the clone of a drug kingpin so powerful he forged his own country called Opium.  As he grows up, he meets the few other children who also inhabit this world by pure chance. Through the differences between his life and theirs, he learns more about his assigned place in the world and his understanding of his own identity evolves.

Cloning and human genetic engineering makes fascinating fodder for novels exploring the future of human society. How will clones shape how humans see themselves and others? How will societal roles shift with the addition of genetically-engineered or cloned people? What does it mean to be both an individual and a clone? Like many speculative fiction novels, it's hard to discuss in too much detail without taking away the experience of discovery alongside Matteo. Through Matteo's limited view, the reader is slowly introduced to the shape of society, with clarification and new information added as Matt grows up and understands more of what occurs around him. Suffice to say, this novel does not shy away from these issues.

Always the character reader, I was enthralled with the cast of supporting characters - Tam Lin, Maria, Celia, Ton Ton, and Fidelito. Matteo's interactions with these characters subtly shift as he ages and adjusts his own world view in light of new information. His relationships are not static, and that level of realism adds to the book's grit and ability to enthrall. Raul Esparza's audio narration includes different voices for the characters that help distinguish without distracting from the story as a whole.

Verdict: Affirmed for fans of YA or speculative fiction generally. Audio is great, though I think there may have been a few spelling jokes I missed in listening.

"The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer, audio narration by Raul Esparza, published by Simon & Schuster Audio on October 21, 2008. Print originally published by Atheneum Books on September 1, 2002.

"Friendship" by Emily Gould

By the time my hold came through on Overdrive, I couldn't remember what prompted me to request this book in the first place. Yet, I started it Sunday night and finished it the following afternoon, opting for a long walk in place of a Pilates class so I wouldn't have to stop listening.

Bev and Amy are best friends who met while working at a publishing house in New York City. They're the unique kind of friends you form in your mid- to late-twenties when others around you are settling down and starting families, and you're adrift in a big city and need someone else upon whom you can depend. They've seen each other through their post-college years, and now that they're rounding the corner into their thirties, what was once a carefree existence barely making ends meet is becoming somewhat pathetic. As the girls struggle to determine where they go with their dead-end jobs and in their flailing relationships, they navigate this new phase in their friendship as well.

Gould does a great job with the characters - I know Amy's, girls who are used to having things work out but haven't put much thought into where they'd like to end up; and I know Bev's, girls who know what they wanted but once life got in the way weren't sure how to get things back on track. Gould lets the reader peak into these character's inner monologues, not shying away from their foolish decisions and the shortsighted selfishness that leads them to make them.

A few quick notes on the audio: there was a bit of timeline-weirdness with an extended flashback. It went on so long I wasn't sure if we had done a forward time jump and the story was still progressing, rather than providing background. It was weird when listening, but might have played out better in print. Amy Rubinate, whom I don't think I've encountered before as an audio narrator, also did this drawn-out hissing effect at the end of each sentence that was a bit grating on 1.25 (my normal listening speed). At first I thought it was just for certain characters who were supposed to be irritating, but it was done throughout the novel, unfortunately. When I sped up to 1.5 it was still noticeable, though the story grabbed me soon after & I got over it.

I finished the bulk of this audiobook in a straight marathon listen and enjoyed every minute. What I thought would be a light romp left me pondering the nature of growing up as a millennial and how our generation finds and defines our own families within the cities to which we've flocked.

Verdict: Affirmed, for fans of Lena Dunham's "Girls" and Meg Wollitzer's "The Interestings," young women living in big cities, and those who want to think about the roles our friendships play in our lives as we grow older. This short read has left me with topics I'd really like to discuss with others who have read it  - so pick up a copy & let's chat

"Friendship" by Emily Gould, audio narration by Amy Rubinate, published by Tantor Audio on September 23, 2014. Originally published in print by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux on July 1, 2014.

Two "Good" Books That Didn't Work for Me

I discussed on Tuesday how sometimes, a book just won't work for me. I have learned to allow myself to put the book down & pick it up in another format or at a better time. Recently, I've encountered this feeling with two books: "The Buried Giant" by Kazuo Ishiguro and "Fourth of July Creek" by Smith Henderson.

If you follow me on Instagram (back when I could still open it on my phone...) you may have seen this beautiful cover make an appearance, For "Fourth of July Creek," I originally tried it in print, and just could not get into it. I returned it to the library and put myself on the holds list for the audio. I finished listening to it a few days ago. While it still wasn't my cup of tea, the audio was definitely the version I needed while running around to wrap up my semester. It's a dark book, about a social worker whose work hits a bit too close to his own life and whose cases take dark, surprising, disturbing turns. Maybe a bit too dark for when the weather is finally starting to warm up and I just want to be outside thinking happy thoughts. I'm glad I returned to it, as I appreciate the story Henderson told and the way he balanced the main character's work and his personal life. Though I might have enjoyed it more if I had given it a bit more time and returned to it in the winter, when I'm more in the mood for darker reads.

I mentioned "The Buried Giant" in my pre-spring break post, but in contrast to "Fourth of July Creek," I could not get through it and haven't returned to it. I initially went into this Ishiguro's foray into fantasy blind to the plot, knowing only that Ursula K. LeGuin had criticized his approach, and he had defended it. As I got deeper in though, I started reading reviews to try to figure out what Ishiguro was up to so that I could gain an appreciation for what he was doing. While the reviews discussing his themes of memory and history gave me an insight into the book, it just wasn't hitting the right notes. Axl and Beatrice are an elderly married couple who embark on a journey to visit their son - it's an endearing premise. At least they started out that way. Maybe if Axl hadn't bookended every sentence he spoke to Beatrice with the term of endearment "princess," I would've made it a bit further. That was the last straw that pushed me to put down the book. It's entirely possible I didn't make it far enough to start caring about the characters enough; I stopped on page 87. I plan to return to this book eventually - I respect Ishiguro too much not to - but it'll have to be at a time where I'm ready to let the book wash over me, rather than when I'm looking for something to grip me and pull me in.

"Fourth of July Creek" by Smith Henderson, audio narration by MacLeod Andrews and Jenna Lamia, published by Harper Audio on Mary 27, 2014. "The Buried Giant" by Kazuo Ishiguro, published by Knopt on March 3, 2015.

Reading Life: Two Important Lessons

I didn't learn to put a book down until I was in college. An aggressive reader as far back as I can remember, I've always carried a book with me, read quickly, and consumed large quantities of books each year. When I was in college, I learned two important things: it's OK to read more than one book at a time, and it's OK to stop reading a book if you're not into it. Neither of these are particularly new concepts to those in the book blogging world, but I figured I'd share how I came to these realizations myself.

I needed to learn the first lesson to learn the second. In college, when I was reading a book or more each week for my English classes, on top of reading for other classes and keeping a novel going for fun, I realized I was reading multiple books at a time and it was just fine. Post-college, I realized different formats work better for me for different types of books: I've had trouble getting into non-fiction in print, but in e-book or audio I sail through it; I prefer literary books with long prose in print so I can savor the words on the page. As I expanded my formats, I settled comfortably into reading 4-5 books at a time: one in print, one in audio, one in e-book, and usually an extra in one format or another for a book club or that was due back at the library.

With this new-found flexibility, I realized how helpful it was to be able to switch books when something wasn't working. I could put a book down and return to it later when I was in the mood. I actually read books faster this way, since I wasn't slogging through a weighty literary tome when I really felt like a romance novel. Yet, there were some books I started and just never got back to. When I finally let them go, either returning them to my shelf or back to the library only half-read, I felt like I knew enough to discuss them (because they were usually new releases I got off the holds list before I was ready, or stalwarts of a genre of which I'm a fan) and make a decision about when I felt best about returning to them.

It's a strategy that's been working well for me. Perhaps most importantly, it's kept me actively reading throughout law school because I have the flexibility to read in a variety of formats, and give myself the opportunity to read whatever book sparks my interest at any moment. At the end of the day, as long as I'm still reading, I'm happy.