The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Amy   
Lynnie

young adult, contemporary fiction


Full of teen drama and well-deserved angst, The Sun is Also a Star is told from several viewpoints and includes details of several characters’ lives. It is the story of two teens who are the subjects of cosmic turns of fate. One of them is going through a major life event—the impending deportation of her family to Jamaica—and the other is questioning his parents’ expectations for his future.

Amy's Review

Okay. Wow. This book deserves all the positive reviews and accolades it has received. What fun! How current.  While I tend to dislike books where there are too many convenient coincidences, the idea of coincidence and predestination is a central character to this story. I loved it! I loved the fact that the story was about immigrants. I loved the characters. I was never bored and kept wanting to hear more. (Yes, I listened to the audiobook and the three narrators were wonderful—“A”s all around for them. The female narrator was the same woman who narrated Nicola Yoon’s other novel, Everything, Everything. I recognized her voice immediately even though her main character had a New York accent in this one.)

Yoon has, so far, titled both of her novels based on a single sentence within her novels. Another of my favorite YA authors, Jandy Nelson, does the same thing. I’m not sure I love that strategy but I don’t hate it. I think they’ve done a good job of it.

The crafting of the story was masterful. The storyline was engaging and gripping. Truly, a fantastic novel. I’m giving it 5 stars—the first novel to which I’ve given 5 stars in 15 months!

Lynnie's Review

I have always enjoyed a book that takes place over 24 hours or less. There's a sense of urgency to the story that you don't get with a novel that takes place over an extended period of time and it's this dynamic pacing that made reading this book such fun. Add to that two main characters who sound real and are entertaining from beginning to end and you have a book that is great fun to read.

Natasha and Daniel are captivating narrators- strangers who meet at just the right (or wrong?) time to have a whirlwind day in NYC while trying to put their varying futures in order and decide who they really are. Coincidence, fate, love, science, uncertainty, and even desperation are guiding forces through this story and while often far-fetched, it still brought a smile to my face.

The Child by Fiona Barton

Amy 

mystery

I really need to stop reading mysteries. They are never satisfying to me. But, I met Fiona Barton at the ALA Midwinter Convention in January and she was a lovely person who actually engaged me in pleasant conversation. So, I decided to give her (autographed) Advanced Reader Copy of the book, The Child, a try. It will be released in a few days.

This is one of those mysteries where you figure out the situation 2/3 of the way through and then get to spend the agonizing remaining pages waiting for the characters to catch up. Barton’s writing is good and I enjoyed all the British-isms. The characters seemed sufficiently drawn but I never felt particularly close with any of them. It is an okay story. Nothing amazing to see here.

Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory

Amy    

fantasy

Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory was a free Advance Reader Copy I picked up at the ALA Midwinter Convention. It's being released this week. I wasn’t sure whether I’d like it, but it came highly recommended. It’s a gritty family drama involving many moving parts which come to a head in the climax at the end.

There are quirky characters--psychics and mobsters and three generations of a family and government agents. The settings and the characters tend to all be less than comforting so it’s kind of an uncomfortable read at times. Yet, I kept wondering how things would turn out for one of the characters, so I kept reading. And it’s definitely not a book that takes itself seriously which I appreciate. At its heart, it’s about family. But, the best part of it was seeing how all the preparations played out in the climax. I really don’t have much more to say about it. 

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

Lynnie
Amy       

fiction, fantasy, young adult

Set in a world where a natural phenomenon created super-powered humans, this book focuses on the regular humans who are ruled by the Epics. The story follows a group called the Reckoners who have vowed to fight the super humans, especially Steelheart who is not only invincible, but cruel as well.

Lynnie's Review

I really enjoyed the opening of this book- the prologue & the first few chapters had my complete attention. And then... it didn't. I thought the characters were one dimensional (except Prof who I was sort of fascinated by, but mostly because he was often in the background which left him a little mysterious), and the plot moved along slowly. The big reveals were rarely actual surprises & the action, like the plot, would plod along... and I just stopped caring.

I think there are some interesting ideas in Brandon Sanderson's book, but I have little interest in reading about any more of these characters so I won't be continuing the series.

Amy's Review

The action in the novel was fun. The villains were evil.  The good guys seemed righteous and likeable. And Brandon Sanderson’s writing always manages to pull the reader along.  He’s a great story teller. But, somehow, this one lost momentum in the middle. The story felt a bit clunky.  Several scenarios weren’t laid out clearly enough to feel remotely believable. Some of the characters were acting odd. There was too much emphasis on David’s inability to use metaphors properly—it was goofy.  Then, the story rallied in the end--action filled and satisfying. Still, I doubt I’ll read the rest of the series.

The Secret Life of Violet Grant (Schuyler Sisters #1) by Beatriz Williams

Amy       
Lynnie  



historical fiction, romance



After a mysterious, old suitcase arrives in the mail, Vivian Schuyler decides to learn the story of her great aunt Violet, the suitcase's owner, in order to write a magazine article about the mystery surrounding her life.

Amy's Review

The Secret Life of Violet Grant by Beatriz Williams is one of those fun stories in which you have to allow yourself to let a few questionable conveniences go without question or risk your enjoyment of the otherwise engaging story. So, I chose to do that and I enjoyed it despite the bratty behavior of the main character at the beginning. I mean, she is a brat. But she does have a heart and a brain and is only displayed at her worst at the beginning. After that, the reader becomes more at ease with her personality.

I enjoyed both storylines equally which is always a good sign. One storyline is that of Violet during the early 1910s. The other storyline is Vivian’s from the 1960s.

This is an easy read, perfect for the beach. I listened to the audio book and thought the narrator, Kathleen McInerney, did an excellent job with the voice acting and accents. I give her an A.

Lynnie's Review

What a fun story, if you're going on vacation & need something to read buy this book right now!

The Secret Life of Violet Grant focuses on two women, Violet in 1914 on the cusp of World War I and Vivian in 1964. While the stories are altogether separate, they weave together. While Vivian is a woman of the 60s, the snappy banter and story line continually made me think about The Thin Man movies and its mix of comedy and mystery.

I was entirely enchanted by this book--the story, the characters, and the settings. I definitely recommend it.  

The Bourbon Kings (The Bourbon Kings #1) by J. R. Ward

Amy 

romance

JR Ward is the author of one of my guilty pleasures series, The Black Dagger Brotherhood, which is about metropolitan warrior vampires. Seriously. Don’t judge. Anyway, I decided to give a different series of hers a try. The Bourbon Kings was definitely written by the same author--same idea without the fantasy aspect. But, I didn’t really love it. I mean, it was alright and had its moments but the big problem is that it’s pretty much a soap opera of the spoiled, uber-rich. If you like that stuff, you’d probably enjoy it more than I did. But, I just can’t feel sorry for any of these grown children who were raised with the silver spoon and, mostly, did nothing for themselves or with all their advantages besides spend money and avoid healthy relationships.

In typical Ward form, she gave us several characters, each with their own storyline, but only semi-resolved one of those storylines. This is a pittance, even by her standards. She always leaves threads hanging so that you will read the next book in the series. But, I’m not inclined to play that game on this series. I don’t like the characters or the setting enough. I also do not like the choices any of the characters made. It’s like they all are destined to continue ruining their own lives. It’s not fun to read that sort of torture.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator, Alexander Cendese, is an American Canadian actor living in NY and Toronto. His attempt at a Kentucky accent was not great although his voice acting and characterization was good. Since I had to suffer through the accent through the whole thing, I have to knock the grade down to a B+.

Dumplin' by Julie Murphy

Lynnie

contemporary fiction, young adult

Julie Murphy's Dumplin' got a lot of great publicity when it was released and it's been on my to-read list for a while. I'm always eager to read a story about body-positivity, especially when it's geared toward young people.

It's a cute book, but it certainly has it's issues. Dumplin' (whose real name is Willowdean- one of my favorite fictional names in a while!) is a self-described fat girl. Unfortunately though, she's miserable and self-conscious about it, which is understandable but exhausting to read over and over and over (& frankly, contradicts that whole "body-positivity" I mentioned about). That said, there is a wonderful thread throughout this novel about friendship and acceptance that I really enjoyed. Willow develops a friendship of convenience with some other girls who also see themselves as misfits in one way or another and eventually it blossoms into a real friendship, which is just fantastic as it unfolds. I wish there had been more focus on this group because that's when the book was at its most enjoyable. The story itself is 100% predictable, but it would be a good book for a day at the beach when you need some easy reading.

In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad #1) by Tana French

Amy 

mystery

Partners Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox are on the case to solve the mystery of a local 12-year-old murdered and left in an archeological site.  Interestingly, Rob was secretly involved in a child disappearance in those same woods when he was young.

The mystery and crime genres are not my favorite. However, since we’ll be reading the sequel to this novel in my book club, I decided to read In the Woods by Tana French. I actually enjoyed it for the most part….at least until the male protagonist became a real jerk. I can’t really say much in this review without giving it away. But, once the camaraderie of the two partners changed, the book became substantially less interesting. Plus, one of the mysteries had no resolution which was disappointing. I’m both glad and sad that I solved the case. I’m glad because that meant the writer did not withhold information that was necessary to solve the mystery until the very end (which is a big annoyance to me with most mysteries). But, it made me sad that the partners took so long to figure it out and *they* are supposed to be professional detectives. Really, the story started to fall apart for me around the same time that I’d figured out what the detectives hadn’t put together. I would’ve given the book 4 hearts until that point. Now, I cannot give it more than 3. And yet, I’ll look forward to the sequel because I hear it’s really terrific.

I listened to this audiobook. I enjoyed the voice acting of Steven Crossley. However, there was a bit too much saliva audible at times so I have to knock him down to an A-. Ew.