"Behold the Dreamers" by Imbolo Mbue

FTC disclosure: I received an e-ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I checked out the audiobook from my library through Overdrive. 

Ah, this book. I tore through the audio, supplementing with the e-ARC when I couldn't listen. 

"Behold the Dreamers" is the story of Jende and Neni Jonga, a couple who immigrate to the United States from Cameroon. They came to New York City to pursue the American Dream, like so many immigrants before them. We meet Jende as he is on his way to interview for a job as a private driver to Clark Edwards. Unfortunately, Edwards is an executive at Lehman Brothers, and it is the eve of the company's collapse. As the two families' lives intertwine, the reader can see the ruin hurtling toward them, and the country. 

This is the first novel I have read that is set during the 2008 recession, and it captures that moment well. Even more so, it captures an immigrant experience with sincerity and an impeccable relatability. The Jongas' story is just one of many immigrant narratives, but certain elements are familiar in many such narratives. From their confusion and frustration navigating the broken immigration system, to their constant struggle to find work that will allow them to save while still supporting their family both in the US and in Cameroon, to their re-evaluation of the American Dream and how they can make it work for them - their story highlights the everyday struggles and the overarching system through which immigrants must fight.

The characters are well drawn, and the ways they fit into each other's lives are compelling and drive the story on. The relationship between Neni and Edward's young son, Mighty, is particularly touching. Each character makes their own mistakes. But they feel like honest, real-people mistakes, not mere plot devices. You will almost certainly disagree with some of these characters' choices, but you understand how they have been driven to make them. To top it off, the ending was both not what I expected going into the novel, and entirely satisfying, a difficult & rewarding balance to strike. 

Verdict: Affirmed. There are many well-deserved reasons to praise this debut, but I expect the characters and ending will stick with me above all. 

"Behold the Dreamers" by Imbolo Mbue, published August 23, 2016 by Random House. Audio narration by Prentice Onayemi, published August 23, 2016 by Random House Audio.

"A Very Special Year" by Thomas Montasser

I stumbled upon this tiny novel in a list of books about books, which is a link I will always, always click on, despite seeing many repeats (most of which I loved, of course). I was pleasantly surprised to find a new one on this list - and I apologize now that I didn't save the list! But anyway, this book, newly translated from German, is an adorable, quick read.

Valerie's aunt has disappeared, so she has been summoned to take care of her aunt's bookshop. Valerie thinks business background will help set the shop to rights & put her accounts in order. Yet, while working at the shop, she frequently finds herself lost in a good book. As she meets the shop's patrons and settles in to life as a reader, she tries to puzzle out what her aunt's plans were all along. 

This was another single-sitting read. More importantly, it is beautifully written & will call to the book lover in any reader. There's a tiny mystery tucked into the pages, a mysterious book that seems to appear at opportune moments in readers' lives. Valerie encounters it, and has to puzzle out its meaning as well. This novella is definitely recommended as a gift for other readers in your life. 

Verdict: Affirmed. A quaint and charming book celebrating the joys of reading. It's a lovely read for an afternoon when you're looking for a break.

"A Very Special Year" by Thomas Montasser, translated by Jamie Bulloch, published August 9, 2016 by Oneworld Publications.

GUEST POST: "The Wall of Storms" by Ken Liu

I'm excited to share a special guest post from one of my former law school peers, Tochi Onyebuchi. I had the honor of working with Tochi on the Morningside Muckraker, and he is an incredible writer in his own right. He has had fiction published in Asimov's, Ideomancer, and Panverse Three. He publishes his non-fiction writing at Boy Boxes Bear and tweets @TochiTrueStory.

Here, he reviews Ken Liu's "The Wall of Storms," the second installment in the Dandelion Dynasty. Please note, this review contains SPOILERS for the first book, "The Grace of Kings."

Sequels bear outsized burdens. They’re tasked with enriching a world introduced in their predecessor, deepening it while enlarging it, marking continuity, ensuring they carry the same genetic material while insisting on their own newness, their own uniqueness. Ken Liu’s debut was wuxia War and Peace. How was he going to top that? And what did that even mean?

"The Grace of Kings" ended with functionary-cum-bandit-cum-rebellion leader Kuni Garu betraying his former friend, the Achillean Mata Zyndu. By the novel’s end, Kuni, now Emperor Ragin, was poised to bring about a new era of rule to Dara, defined by fairness and justice. Mapideré’s tyranny was over. The epoch of divisions had ended. Rebellions extinguished, peace was imminent. But the novel’s ending aptly foreshadowed much of what would follow, confirming the suspicions of any reader who suspected that peace was an illusion.

"The Wall of Storms" is a bigger, better novel than "The Grace of Kings" and may be the best fantasy novel I’ve read in the past five years. Emperor Ragin’s two wives, his first love Jia and a woman he admires and adores in equal and different measure, consort Risana, work both in concert and at cross-purposes to assist and in some ways influence Kuni Garu in his governance of the Empire of Dara. The battle plays out not just in the administration of empire but also in the question of which of Kuni’s children will succeed him as ruler. Erudite, first-born Timu? His immediate younger sister Théra who struggles to stake her claim in a landscape still dominated by men? Or Phyro, the charismatic, battle-eager second-son? Fara, whose mother, a third woman, died in childbirth, is Kuni’s youngest daughter.

Additionally, a terrifying force from the north threatens what fragile peace Kuni has been able to bring about in an empire still wounded from recent war.

Despite its panorama, "The Grace of Kings" was Kuni’s story. "The Wall of Storms" multiplies its foci. Perhaps the most meaningful addition to the cast comes in the form of Zomi Kidosu, a young woman revealed to be a pupil of Luan Zya’s and who enters the capital at the novel’s opening to take part in the Imperial Examinations that grant posts in the Dara administration, a set-piece that triggered rather apocalyptic flashbacks of the Bar Exam. Zomi’s story is also an early indication of another of this book’s successes.

This novel is driven by women. With Jia, Risana, Théra, Gin Masoti, Zomi, and eventually the general of a ghastly invading force from the north, the preeminence of women in the narrative of the Dandelion Dynasty continues Liu’s project of upending those conventions of epic fantasy formerly taken for granted. It is one of the book’s wonders that the copious world-building and depictions of wartime research, the flashbacks, the theological ruminations, even the philosophical and linguistic analysis of Ano logograms do not prevent the book from being anything but eminently readable.

In "The Grace of Kings," Liu gave us wuxia writ large: an authorial perspective that dived from the tops of trees to examine individual lives, then ascended on thermal drifts to catalog the strategic placement of armies poised for battle. In "The Wall of Storms," Liu’s authorial viewpoint continues to dance.

The result is panorama and heartbreak in equal measure.

"The Wall of Storms" is its parent’s child, but as the stories people of Kuni’s generation tell their children are turned into wisps of myth, the world is being remade yet again, new, unique, its fashioners able to stand and fascinate all on their own.

"The Wall of Storms" by Ken Liu, published October 4, 2016 by Simon & Schuster.

"A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara

It's been a while since I finished this book and I still don't know how to wrap my head around it or put into words my exact feelings about it. Luckily, many many others have tried.

On its face, it's the story of four friends living in New York City. It follows them through life and love as they grow and their relationships change. But centrally, it's the story of Jude St. Francis, a man with a horrific past who has nonetheless grown to find three devoted, loving friends. I will quibble with those, including the author, who describe this as a book of male friendship. That's certainly a theme, but it's a love story at its heart, and an exploration of how to love someone who doesn't know how to accept it. 

Haunting and beautiful and gripping and tragic. There are so many words for this book and they're all still inadequate. Yanagihara has a gift for describing the most traumatic, grotesque, staggeringly painful events in beautiful prose. Even when the events are too much to bear, the beauty of the prose pushes you on to the next page and the next. 

Verdict: Affirmed. I can't recommend this book highly enough, but I also want to warn that the subject matter is heartbreaking and tragic.

"A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara, published March 10, 2015 by Doubleday.

"Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older

Apologies for the break in scheduled programming. Coming off from a month of much-enjoyed, post-bar funemployment & jumping back into working life was quite an adjustment.

Sierra's a pretty normal girl living in Brooklyn, looking forward to summer break with her friends. Sierra can also draw, and then call spirits to embody her drawings and bring them to life. And it turns out this power is pretty important to save her ancestors' life work. Soon she's tracking zombies and other Shadowshapers all over New York City to get to the bottom of her powers, and her family's strong connection to spirits around them.

I don't know why I waited so long to read this book, but at least I have a shorter wait now for the sequel. Sierra is a great heroine, and the magic system built around Caribbean mythology feels fresh and original. The secondary characters are intriguing and believable, and I can't wait to see more of them in the rest of the planned trilogy. Finally, Daniel José Older writes a New York City that feels real, capturing the different neighborhoods well. 

The audiobook is also excellently narrated, and I can't imagine having read the book in another form. Anika Noni Rose embodies Sierra perfectly.  I listened in a single sitting & I can't wait for new installments. 

Verdict: Affirmed. This is a fresh, inspiring new YA trilogy, and anyone who likes the genre should check it out. 

"Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older, published June 30, 2015 by Arthur A. Levine Books. Audio narration by Anika Noni Rose, published November 1, 2015 by Scholastic Audio.

"Rich and Pretty" by Rumaan Alam

This book feels mostly mis-marketed. Its summer release, its light & happy cover, its description of two best friends living enviable lives in New York City all scream light-hearted beach read. It is not light, and not overly happy. There are stakes in this story of childhood BFFs Sarah and Lauren figuring out how their friendship works now that they are adults living separate and rapidly diverging lives. 

It's not an incessantly light, happy book, but it is a true one. Alam describes the ins and outs of deep friendship with ease and intimacy. How you can love someone while you also hate their flaws more than you could with a blood relative or partner. How you can understand someone better than they understand themselves, but still be surprised by their decisions and actions. How you want what is best for your friend, but have to support them even when they don't listen to you. Sarah and Lauren navigate their changing friendship as they grow older, reaching different stages of their lives at different times. They decide what and when to tell their best friend, and what to keep to themselves.

The core friendship is portrayed honestly and truthfully. Though, unfortunately it really is all the book has. There isn't much of a plot, and even time passes strangely. We check in with Sarah and Lauren weekly, then monthly, then after years go by without any real reason for the acceleration of time in the second half other than the absence of a true plot or stakes that would prevent such and acceleration. But neither does a plot exactly call for it. It was nice to check in with the characters at these points in their lives, but I wish they had felt more deliberately chosen or the pacing structured more consistently. 

Alam's writing is solid, with interesting descriptions and turns of phrase. The audio narration is good, though I would have preferred two narrators as the book shifts from Sarah to Lauren. It was sometimes difficult to determine whose thoughts I was privy to at any given moment, particularly because there is no indication of a new chapter beginning that I noticed. Overall, it was worth the listen for the deep character study, despite its structural flaws. 

Verdict: Jury's Out. In a year of strong reads, it's not going to make my top 10, or even 20. But I enjoyed getting to know Sarah and Lauren and think book clubs would find a lot to discussing in their different lives. 

"Rich and Pretty" by Rumaan Alam, published June 7, 2016 by Ecco. Audio narration by Julie McKay, published June 7, 2016 by HarperAudio.

"Re Jane" by Patricia Park

Back in April, I read "Jane Eyre" for the first time, just in time for Charlotte Bronte's 200th birthday. This was even more well-timed than I had originally thought, as publishers have also been putting out some new Jane Eyre-inspired works. See also, "Reader, I Married Him" and "Jane Steele." "Re Jane" is the incarnation I chose to read, and it turned out to be an excellent choice.

Our Jane is half-Korean, half-American, living in Queens with her uncle and his family. She works in his uncle's store and is trying to figure out what to do after her post-college job falls through. Frustrated with her strict home life, she applies to and accepts a job as a nanny for Devon, the adopted Chinese daughter of two professors living in Brooklyn. Ed Farley, Devon's father, catches her attention. Through this job and ensuing developments leading to a trip to visit her extended family in South Korea, Jane discovers who she is, comes into her own, and decides what she wants from her life - much like the original Jane Eyre, though in a much more modern ending.

This book gave me so many conflicted feelings that I had a friend start reading it while I was still halfway through so I'd have someone with whom to discuss these feelings/rant. Devon's mom Beth is treated completely unfairly for much of the book. She is a feminist, women's studies-focused professor, and this is commonly a topic of derision throughout the book. The underlying feminism in "Jane Eyre" was what won me over on that novel, despite plotting and character issues, so to see the issue disparaged in a retelling was extraordinarily frustrating, and even felt downright disrespectful to the spirit of the original at times.

Directly opposite to the original, the characters in this book and their arcs eventually won me over. Jane here is naive, and young, and frustrating at times. Yet, she grows throughout the books, and because of her rough starting point, her growth feels both authentic and hard-earned. Her best friend Nina is strong, and independent, calling Jane on her nonsense. But most importantly, she also has real flaws. Like Rochester, Ed Farley's pretty lame. Devon is a well-drawn child, growing into a young adult with all the accompanying fits and growing pains. Unfortunately, the audiobook narrator here does a real disservice to Nina and Ed, giving them grossly exaggerated (probably made worse by my listening on double speed), stereotypical accents that distract from the story and their character development. So if that's a thing that will bother you, read this one in print.

Ultimately, the ending brought this up from a 2.5 star review to a really solid 4. Without spoiling the ending, I felt that it stayed true to the feminism inherent in "Jane Eyre," adapted to a modern age and new setting.

Verdict: Affirmed. Another great, gossipy summer read with deeper underlying themes. Stick with the characters, even when they're at their most frustrating.

"Re Jane" by Patricia Park, published May 5, 2015 by Pamela Dorman Books. Audio narration by Diana Bang, published May 5, 2015 by Penguin Audio.