Retro Review: A Darker Shade of Magic

When I started this blog, I had been posting reviews on Goodreads for about 6 months. In the interest of having all of my book writing in one place, I will post one of these old reviews every Friday. They weren't written with a blog in mind, so please forgive the lack of summary and off-the-cuff tone.

I don't know how to begin, other than to say that this book is so weirdly amazing. It's so creative, so well-written, and so entertaining. I was hooked immediately, partly because I was so excited to have found an adventure fantasy with such innovative world-building. Successful, innovative world-building! So pumped! But also because it felt kind of familiar in a traditional sort of way. I don't know how specifically it compares to the Harry Potter books, but I felt that same sort of whimsy - a sort of "anything is possible with magic (but there are rules)" - tone in the writing.

Quick summary: Kell is a smuggler/magician (smagician?) who can travel between four parallel Londons. When a job goes wrong, Kell must flee for his life and face the consequences of his defiance. Loyal friends and fierce enemies both are made in this magical adventure story.

Four Londons?! Of course I'm in. London is one of my favorite places in the entire world - how could I turn down an opportunity to read about FOUR Londons? And a magical coat? Into it. Evil twins? Always a good time. Epic magic battles between good and evil? Even better.

So, obviously, I gave this book 5 stars. It just felt wrong to give it anything less. But to me, 5 stars doesn't always = perfect. Kell and Lila could've used less predictable character development. The writing could've sounded less ... academic ... in places. It was clear that both the beginning and the end had been fully formed prior to fingers hitting the keyboard, but the middle felt a bit contrived. And speaking of the ending, it didn't give me that BOOM, THE MIC DROPPED, ALSO THE BEAT DROPPED, EVERYTHING DROPPED AND I FEEL SO SATISFIED feeling.

But that's a lot to ask. That's a lot to expect from a book. I can easily overlook all those things considering the fascinating magical concepts and the clever dialogue. I will be so happy to sink my teeth into another adventure in this world.

Seriously, it had me at more than one London.

A Darker Shade of Magic on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: The Exorcist

"What an excellent day for an exorcism..."

4 stars. I'm such a fan of horror - classic horror included - that opening this felt nothing but delightful, like sliding into a warm bath. Yes, reading one of the most terrifying and violent scary stories in history felt completely pleasant and familiar and warm to me, and yes, I've disturbed myself. 

We all know it - the screenplay was adapted directly from the book. When actress Chris MacNeil's daughter Regan falls ill, she turns to the church in desperation. Two priests - young Father Karras and worldly Father Merrin - must conduct an exorcism to save the little girl. It is a classic tale of good versus evil that culminates in a shocking and brutal conclusion.

I just love this story. The characters, the subject matter, the controversy - it's a fascinating study of what we fear, what we question and what we value. The pace and the plot development is entirely unique, and despite some corny dialogue, I was really impressed with the writing.

Yes, we have all the juicy (literally) details, the filthy language and the moments of true horror and evil. Regan's possession is investigated through a medical, a scientific and a religious lens, without lending any answers that are certain (unlike the movie). But there are moments of true and hopeful wisdom that made even this cold heart catch feelings.

“We mourn the blossoms of May because they are to whither; but we know that May is one day to have its revenge upon November, by the revolution of that solemn circle which never stops---which teaches us in our height of hope, ever to be sober, and in our depth of desolation, never to despair.”

I'm happy to confirm that this book deserves the "icon" status. I consume so much horror and it made me want more! It's truly compelling (get it ... compelling ...). The movie is a masterpiece, and the book adds so many new layers. I'm just a really big fan of this. It's a classic. 

DON'T FUCKING PLAY WITH OUIJA BOARDS.

The Exorcist on: Amazon | Goodreads

Retro Review: Evil Librarian

When I started this blog, I had been posting reviews on Goodreads for about 6 months. In the interest of having all of my book writing in one place, I will post one of these old reviews every Friday. They weren't written with a blog in mind, so please forgive the lack of summary and off-the-cuff tone.

2 stars. Quick summary: Cynthia's best friend, Annie, has a crush on the hot new librarian. Unfortunately, he's a demon. Time to battle evil, save Annie, save the world, win the boy, and give the best performance of Sweeney Todd ever.

Awesome premise. Poor execution.

I really had some issues with this, for some reason (seriously - am I the only one?).

It's actually kind of unlike me to be so grumpy about a book, usually I can find things to appreciate and I try to keep a healthy perspective. I guess maybe my expectations were a little too high for this one.

Basically, it comes down to two things. The first bothersome aspect, for me, was the romance. The character of Ryan has got to be about the least believable 16-year-old boy I've ever read. No teenage boy acts like he does, at least in my experience. And honestly, I could've done without the romantic subplot completely.

The second annoying aspect, and this is PURELY based on my preferences/interests and not REALLY a direct criticism of the book/author, is the musical theater theme. I love music, I love theater, and I was raised on musical theater, so I really do appreciate the references to some degree. But this book was, in my opinion, supersaturated. I have so much respect for those involved with musical theater in any capacity - it just seemed a little ... overdone? Obvious? I just really wasn't interested.

Here's the thing. I would've loved a book about an evil librarian had it been executed perfectly according to my tastes. But that's not really the author's job, is it? I can't exactly expect an author to read my mind and write a book catered for me and only me. So please don't think my goal is to knock the author. This book just didn't hit the right spot for me.

As far as butt-kicking, demon-killing teenage girls go, I'll stick with Buffy.

Evil Librarian on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: Educated

3 stars. Well, I'm terribly nervous to write this review. It's a captivating read, one I enjoyed for the most part, and I do not doubt Tara Westover's intelligence, resilience and courage. I can, however, see why this book is so controversial, and why the book community is weirdly polarized over its content. (Seriously, why is everyone so quick to take sides??)

Problem #1: This book was marketed poorly. Not poorly, perhaps, but inaccurately. The Westover family is eccentric, isolated and exhibits survivalist tendencies, but I would not define them as survivalists. Not to the extreme nature that the book's marketing seems to imply. Also, that cover. 

Problem #2: It reads too much like a fictional story to be received as an at-face memoir. Westover explores the unreliability of memory, especially in her footnotes and acknowledgements, but for some reason - I think it's in the way she writes dialogue - it came across as though she does in fact have impossibly perfect recollection.

Problem #3: Gaps/inconsistencies. I mean inconsistencies in the presentation; false implications beyond the book's marketing - in the book itself. She plays up the survivalist angle only to drop bombs about their family's use of phones, televisions, computers and email. Perhaps the family evolved, as families do. Perhaps the family used these things as a necessity, as I've seen Quakers do. But the fact that Westover skips over any sense of explanation, the fact that she does not draw a line or connect the dots between "survivalist" to "survivalist tendencies," smells bad.

Her lack of detailed explanation about how she made her way through college, financially, also left me confused. Not ready to make any accusations, I'm not even really criticizing her, I just feel left with a lot of questions. I'm sure it's possible to persevere as she did (or wrote she did), but the gaps make me wonder! 

I just wonder, that's all. Gaping holes don't make a story untrue, and every story has inconsistencies/biases, but that coupled with the way she writes dialogue (as though it's transcribed perfectly and accurately) is just ... questionable.

And the seemingly divine medical interventions... yes, sometimes life truly IS unbelievable. Life is fucking crazy! I just have questions. She was so detailed about some things and so vague about others.

But I truly support Dr. Westover, because it's clear she suffered. She suffered from years of abuse and her depiction of the psychological trauma is harrowing and important. There are lessons to be drawn from her story for families of all shapes and sizes and backgrounds and hometowns. Yes, I have questions, but I never for a second doubt that what happened to her is complicated and wrong. 

That should be my main takeaway, but for some reason all I can focus on is how she taught herself trig. I'm so confused.

But I look forward to seeing what she does next. I look forward to watching her story, and her education, unfold.

Educated on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: The Silent Patient

4 stars.

Hello. I am one cocktail in. I read this in one sitting on the beach today. This review is going to be LIT. 

Ugh, it's all about the twist, isn't it?

I predicted it about 5 pages prior to the big reveal (after not predicting Mystic River, I'm REALLY off my game!) and here's the thing: I liked it. It clicked for me. In a good way. I feel like we complain a lot about twists - we act like predictability is like, a giant error and somehow ruins a book? No. I'm not someone who is bothered by spoilers because watching two puzzle pieces fit together is satisfying for me regardless of my level of surprise/shock.

Anyway.

The Silent Patient is about a psychotherapist, Dr. Theo Faber (I loooove the name Theo), who becomes obsessed with helping/fixing/curing a mysterious patient named Alicia Berenson. Alicia, a formerly successful painter, was institutionalized after being charged with the murder of her husband, immediately after which she stopped talking. Dr. Theo launches a pseudo-investigation to determine what really happened the night she shot her husband in the head five times. Throughout the book we learn concurrently more about her and the good doctor himself before the rug is ripped from under us per usual.

The writing here is really solid. I recently realized that I prefer and love short, concise chapters, and these are delightfully dainty. It's a pageturner, and really compelling, so you won't be able to put it down. It reminded me a tad of The Woman in the Window, which I enjoyed, or maybe The Girl on the Train? At least in terms of some ambiguous vibes coming from our narrator. The point is - if you are a fan of those types of books, you will enjoy this. If you are not, you won't. 

There's a lot of hype around this book, and it reminds me of the hype around many other releases similar to this. Because it's similar to those. I wouldn't say there's necessarily anything super special about it, but it's not bad. Good writing, good plotting, good twist. There's some really weird narrow-minded stuff about therapy, and some very unrealistic medical stuff, but it is what it is. I'll take that popcorn please.

Beach read win!!

The Silent Patient on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: Mystic River

Wow. This was awesome. 4 stars but not without 5 star moments. The character development in this is unlike anything I've ever read - you truly enter into people's minds. I'm really, really, really impressed.

The plot is a bit complicated, so let's see if I can summarize: three boys are playing in the street. One of them is abducted and escapes after four days. Each of these boys - Jimmy, Sean, and Dave - carry the experience, the questions, and the trauma of this event for the rest of their lives.

Twenty-five years later, Jimmy's daughter Katie is murdered. Sean, now a homicide detective, is assigned to the case. And Dave, the boy who was taken and later found, becomes a suspect. The three old friends circle each other, and circle their pasts, trying to survive in a world that has marked them.

The construction is masterful, but like I said, the shining aspect of this novel is the character development. One of Lehane's most prevalent themes - the human curse of feeling distinct and special in a world that doesn't care - underscores the fact that every headspace we inhabit here is unique. Lehane's transitions from voice to voice are smooth like butter.

And it's also because of this, his ability to write voices that are loud and distinct, that we get characters that are flawed. I wouldn't say there's anyone to root for here, except maybe concepts; you root for justice, the truth, hope. But each person is interesting and multifaceted and damaged and imperfect, and written that way without apology.

It's a devastating story and I could chew on Lehane's explorations of grief and fear and masculinity for days. It's long and I wanted it to be longer. It's definitely a good mystery (and I did NOT predict the twist! I'm off my game!) but I found the really good stuff in the questions, not the answers. It's like I came away from this with confirmation of something that has been slowly dawning on me as an adult: everything is fucking complicated. 

Spectacular writing. Spectacular book.

Mystic River on: Amazon | Goodreads

Retro Review: Station Eleven

When I started this blog, I had been posting reviews on Goodreads for about 6 months. In the interest of having all of my book writing in one place, I will post one of these old reviews every Friday. They weren't written with a blog in mind, so please forgive the lack of summary and off-the-cuff tone.

5 stars. Whenever I think about this book, it gives me this ... warm, chocolatey feeling. It's rich and deep and full of little insights that compliment the sweeping themes. Highly recommend. It depicts the life and death of a famous Hollywood actor and how those who knew him - who connected with him in some way - survive (not just survive, live) after a virus kills most of humanity.

It's certainly not a traditional apocalypse novel, but how exactly is an apocalypse supposed to go?

Among the many lessons in this book, I think my favorite is this: we are ultimately in charge of our own actions and choices, but it's okay to make mistakes, because wonderful, brilliant, artistic things exist in the world, like Shakespeare and comic books and concertos.

Yes, this book is definitely a testament to the fine arts. It claims that even in a world in which humans must prioritize survival over everything else, they will still create and appreciate creativity.

It's full of extremes: the extreme darkness and extreme insanity one would expect in the midst of an apocalypse, but there is also extreme love. I had no idea where it was headed - tragedy? Romance? Tragic romance? But (just like many of Shakespeare's plays, for example), it transcended genre and offered many deep insights without leaning on cliches.

Definitely one of my favorite reads last year.

Station Eleven on: Amazon | Goodreads

Retro Review: Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1)

When I started this blog, I had been posting reviews on Goodreads for about 6 months. In the interest of having all of my book writing in one place, I will post one of these old reviews every Friday. They weren't written with a blog in mind, so please forgive the lack of summary and off-the-cuff tone.

4 stars. Off-the-cuff and unfiltered review for this, FYI: Cute. Clever. Visually stunning. Too much snark, a little too much romance, and too long - reading this felt really tedious at times. Also, unexpectedly and unnecessarily BRUTAL. Like, super deep and super savage and wow there is so much to unpack about the universe and technology and scary situations in space. Also, why can’t anybody I know write a realistic, believable teenage boy? Just curious. But it was entertaining and unique and I really, really love epistolary novels.

Let’s go deeper. Favorite character? AIDAN, by far. I wonder what that says about the living, breathing characters. I guess I would put forth that humor doesn’t necessarily give a character soul, you know? I really enjoyed the gender dynamics, and Kady is a badass heroine, but I just didn’t feel - hmm. Genuinely invested, if that makes sense. There’s also a really strange juxtaposition of hard-hitting science fiction stuff and insanely superficial melodrama. Maybe it’s a personal thing, but I just can’t go from the most intense moral quandary in the history of the universe straight to romantic miracles.

I don’t want to get carried away. I really admire the care with which this book was put together. It’s beautiful, absolutely gorgeous. It’s creative and action-packed and I will likely continue to read this story. It was an enjoyable reading experience overall and I can’t bring myself to give something that obviously took so much effort less than 4 stars. Despite my quibbles, that feels like the right rating.

Illuminae on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike #1)

Hmmmmm.

2 stars. Cormoran Strike, one-legged private detective and scruffy bachelor, has just landed a new assistant - and a new case. Lula Landry, supermodel and paparazzi darling, died after apparently jumping off her balcony. Only her brother doesn't believe she jumped, as he's willing to pay double. 

Look, this is just okay, alright? The writing is pretty amateur, though it definitely contains that zippy, readable quality that hooks you in well enough. It's very British, and contains a lot of unnecessary words; a lot of excessive imagery and similes and metaphors. 

And the plot - ridiculous. He grabs her by the breast?! By the breast??? The part with the flowers leaving drops of water big enough for a security doorman to slip on them? The painfully obvious killer who sits there listening while Strike talks - and talks - and talks about his crime? Comparing body hair to coconut matting?!

The dialogue, too, don't even get me started. It's just unrealistic. The flow of conversation felt ... droll. And the characters. Every character was a cartoon. Galbraith seems obsessed with physical flaws. Don't get me wrong, highlighting a character's appearance can be interesting when well-done; this just felt mean. Like he was mocking, or bullying, people with acne or bad teeth or different accents. 

It's also clear that Galbraith injected his own agenda, not very subtly, into the story. We all know how he feels about the media, there's no need to bump us over the head with it. There's a way to gracefully incorporate a political agenda but this just felt lazy. 

The truth is, though, I couldn't put this down. Like a mediocre but addicting episode of a BBC mystery from the 80s. I sort of skimmed through the end, because of all the damn talking, but the whole thing was engaging enough. I will be reading more, dammit, and I hope Robin gets to be more than a sexy supporting character. And I hope we get to see people doing stuff, instead of just sitting around talking about doing stuff. 

Bottom line: try harder, Galbraith. I know your achievements are unparalleled, but I'm allowed to call you imperfect. 

The Cuckoo’s Calling on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

5 stars. I can't get enough. I watched the documentary, I consumed the articles, I listened to the podcast - and now I've read the book. I couldn't put it down. This is by far the most comprehensive, thorough, insanely compelling account of what went down at Theranos and I'm tempted to start over and read it again. I squinted, I gasped, I chuckled, and I could not poker face away my expression of disbelief while reading on the train. I was not prepared for the frankly UNBELIEVABLE stranger than fiction details here. 

THIS IS AN ASTOUNDING STORY. THIS IS A MUST-READ. 

Who IS Elizabeth Holmes? Through John Carreyrou's impressive piece of investigative writing, we can indulge our fascination with her mystery. Using dry, practical writing to channel the voices of those involved, he pieces together anecdotes from her upbringing, her years at Stanford, her early days as a notably female entrepreneur and CEO, her stubborn rise to the top and her dramatic fall to the ground. He chips away at her quirky appearance - physical and otherwise - in an attempt to reconcile the trailblazer with the crime. 

And it's stunning. And it's, awesomely, not just about her.

Here we get a detailed account of Theranos' early days: its attractive mission, the early concerns and the relentless ambition. We meet the Board and the lab techs and the investors and the partners and we learn the ins and outs of lab testing technology. We learn what's possible and what's not possible and we watch open-mouthed as ignorance, denial and fear usurp rational thinking. We get to know the heroes in this story and the man who put pen to paper to make things right.

It's really a story about us. A very human story about ambition, greed, fame, fear, and FOMO. We should absolutely look at this story as a lesson, or as a collection of lessons: fill your Board with EXPERTS. Do your research. Admit your mistakes. Don't manage with intimidation - a "culture of fear" will absolutely backfire. Check your fucking ego. DON'T ENDANGER LIVES. And also oh my fucking god DON'T LIE. But as a whole it's also a heartening reminder, at least in my opinion, that journalism still works, in a sense, for the people.

I hope this comes across as fair, but it's encouraging to know that somewhere out there, ethics still matter. Even in a country that elected a sexual predator to its highest office ... rich, selfish people can still face consequences for their actions. Justice exists somewhere thanks to the lab techs and the interns and the legal underdogs. Recognizing that this story is layered and complicated, and that the case is ongoing, of course, I'll admit that seeing Theranos go down was sickeningly satisfying. Elizabeth, Sunny: you will be remembered as fraudulent fools. 

I want to go into the writing, too: it often crossed my mind, while reading, that pulling this together into an accessible narrative must've felt insurmountable at times. John Carreyrou deftly weaves together thousands of tangled, concurrent threads - including a lot of technical, scientific, medical and legal jargon plus some stuff about mechanical engineering - into a powerful pageturner. He never comes across as anything but dedicated to the truth and, maybe in some places, incredulous along with the rest of us.

I will obsessively follow this frightening story until it concludes. It's just interesting. And in the meantime, in-between the frantic Googling, I will re-read this book. I will highlight excessively and send passages to friends and family. Hats off to you, Carreyrou, for taking an incredible story and writing it well. Bad Blood is my favorite read of 2019, so far.

Bad Blood on: Amazon | Goodreads