Amy 
Lynnie
action/suspense, sci-fi, young adult
Flynn and Jubilee are living on the planet Avon, which has experienced stunted terra-forming, and a war is brewing. Flynn, a member of the natives (whom the soldiers view as the rebels), takes matters into his own hands by kidnapping Jubilee, the toughest soldier on the base, in order to get answers. Adventures ensue.
Amy's Review
Switching it up, this sequel to These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner has a female soldier and a male civilian. My initial impression was that this was not switching it up enough. I hoped that this would not be another survival story—a retelling of the story in the first novel but with different game players. Thankfully, my wish came true and this was NOT a retelling but, rather, its own unique story. Mostly, it’s a story about overcoming barriers and learning to work together toward a common goal. (Okay, so that is also the message of These Broken Stars but at least it’s a different story.)
The story kept a good pace and had some good action. I liked seeing Lilac and Tarver from These Broken Stars make a brief reappearance. I also liked the swampy setting for something different.
I listened to the audiobook. While the main two characters were voiced well, the dream voice was entirely ridiculous. He sounded like the comedian Jim Gaffigan’s high “inner voice” and it got really, really annoying. Not to mention most of the dream sequences did not give us any useful information and I began to grow weary of those sections. The ending sort of redeems these sequences, but really I could have done without them (and that voice!) entirely except for the couple where you learned a bit about Jubilee’s past. The way to “solve the problem” in the facility with the handprint at the end (I can’t say more without giving it away), was way too easy after all the other difficulties the characters faced in the book. With all that technology that was too simple and low-tech.
Despite its flaws, I did enjoy this story enough to continue with the series.
Lynnie's Review
I'm torn about this book because while I sometimes enjoyed it, it's basically the same story as These Broken Stars; a boy & girl from different worlds/environments meet as enemies, try to solve the mystery of their planet (which is basically the same mystery in both books), fall in love & try save the planet, and themselves. The main differences between the two books is that in this novel the soldier is a girl (ooooh, how exotic!) & there's much less adventure but much more talk of how their differences make them incompatible. They are tortured by their differences- tortured I tell you!
There's a brief cameo of Lilac & Tarver from These Broken Stars, but it felt a bit forced and weird. Honestly I don't know if this is 2 1/2 stars or 3... but I do know I won't be recommending it to anyone soon.
Lynnie
memoir, short story collection
I'm
a fan of Watsky's music and was eager to read this book when I learned he'd
written a short story collection. The different essays in How to Ruin Everything are
autobiographical- a look back on his adventures and misadventures.
Watsky
has a gift for words & storytelling that really comes across in
this collection. I often found myself laughing out loud or shaking my
head in disbelief or understanding. Admittedly, some of the stories
didn't hold my attention as much as others, but I feel that way about
most essay collections. My favorite stories in the collection were Tusk, What Year is It?, Crying
& Baseball, and The White Whale.
Don't worry if you're not
already a fan of his, you will be after reading this collection. Can't
wait to see what Watsky does next.
Amy
Lynnie
classic, science fiction, dystopian
Lynnie read 1984 by George Orwell so long ago, before she wrote reviews, that we are only going to include Amy's review of the novel. Goodreads describes it as a "prophetic, nightmarish vision [...] of the world we were becoming" and "the great modern classic of 'negative utopia'".
Amy's Review
Apparently, I’m one of the few adults who had not read this novel. What’s especially interesting is that I graduated from high school in 1984 (!), and had to read another George Orwell novel, Animal Farm, for a social studies class, but was never assigned 1984. I’ve finally read it for my book club.
I almost never love classics. I also never enjoy books that end in a way where there is no hope for any of the characters. If there had been any hope at the end for even one person, I might have liked this book more. So, you guessed it. I didn’t love it. But, I also didn’t hate it. I don’t know if that’s a testament to the novel itself or that I’m, perhaps, finally growing up a little in my reading sensibilities (after rating over 450 novels on Goodreads).
Its grim alternate reality was interesting and thought-provoking. I assume this is the book that coined the usage of the term “Big Brother” as we know it. Written in 1949, I was surprised that such a dismal future was imagined to be possible only 35 years into the future—just two generations. How sad and scary. The setting was an environment where everything is completely controlled by The Party—peoples’ jobs, their marriages, their living conditions, and, especially, their thoughts. No one has freedom to make a choice on their own. And, if the Thought Police decide that you are having incorrect thoughts, you disappear.
I’m not a great lover of history or philosophy unless it’s fed to me within the context of an entertaining book or show. The “textbook” sections (while Winston was reading The Book) dragged on painfully for me. The philosophical/political sections dragged too. And, I was listening to the novel instead of reading it so I was unable to skim ahead through those sections. Thankfully, there was enough of a story outside of those sections to keep me going. Without giving too much away, I still don’t quite understand why they would go to such trouble to attempt to change an individual’s behavior. Perhaps it was simply O’Brien’s pet project and he was afforded the space and time to do what he wished. But that doesn’t seem likely. I suppose everyone with a job needed work to do. Also, why would they observe Winston for seven years before taking any action? That also seems wasteful on their part. They could have saved a lot of money and effort if they simply took care of “the problem” sooner and quicker. I’m sure these questions are discussed ad nauseam in literature and social studies classes everywhere.
So, I’ve read it. I’m not sure whether I’m glad I read it. But, it’s now been added to my accumulated knowledge. (This is a funny inside joke for my high school friends who had Mr. Biggs for a teacher. He’s the one for whom I had to read Animal House.)
Amy 
