Scythe (Arc of a Scythe #1) by Neal Shusterman

 

Amy   

young adult, fantasy

Scythe takes place in a future world where the secret to life has been discovered and no one dies naturally anymore.  In fact, even unnatural deaths are easily reversed.  Additionally, people can remake themselves younger.  Therefore, to control the world population, special people knowns as scythes have the job of ending lives. Scythe Faraday selects two 10^th graders to be his apprentices—Rowan and Citra.

This novel’s premise was difficult for me to accept at first.  It’s one of those worlds that was manufactured by the author, Neal Shusterman, in order to pose “what if” questions, draw caution to possible extreme outcomes of today’s troubles, and investigate human nature.  In fact, the only other Shusterman novel I had read (Unwind) was so implausible to me that I could not enjoy it and I only gave it 1-1/2 stars. However, his novels are widely admired. They just aren’t my cup of tea. So, I did my best to accept this unlikely world in order to enjoy the story and mostly succeeded. 

I was able to enjoy the characters and their dilemmas in this one. I never felt any of it was real, but I was able to appreciate Citra and Rowan as characters and wanted to know how things would turn out for them.  It did take me a long time to get through it but not because I was bored. I just didn’t like wasting too much of my time in Shusterman’s imagined world. The novel’s storyline picked up for me at about the 25% mark and then really kicked into high gear for the last 25% (although it became even MORE implausible in a way at that point).  Yet, I was definitely rooting for the characters and looked forward to finding out how the story ended.  In this regard, I was satisfied. Of course, there are two more novels in the series and I’m still undecided about whether or not to read them.  

Light Years From Home by Mike Chen

Lynnie

contemporary science fiction

 

I read, and enjoyed, Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen earlier in the year so I was eager to read another book by him and amused to find that I had already put a few in my "to be read" queue in the library. Light Years From Home is Chen's newest novel and while there is an undercurrent of science fiction, at its core, Light Years From Home is a story about family.

The Shao family has been through some stuff. Fifteen years ago, Jakob and his father disappeared while on a camping trip. The elder Shao returned a few days later with tales of an alien abduction, but Jakob was never found. The fallout splintered the Shao family; youngest daughter Evie pursued her father's alien abduction theory into adulthood and is estranged from Jakob's twin sister, Kass, who has grown up to be the consummate professional, taking care of the family home, their mother who has dementia, and trying to hold all the pieces together. When Jakob suddenly reappears in their lives, the reality of all they have lived through and avoided in those 15 years comes crashing through the door.

This is a wild tale, and you have to jump in with both feet or not bother reading. I found myself thoroughly enjoying the family drama and cheering for all of the characters throughout. Even when they were at their worst, there was something about them that made me want to hope for the best. Maybe it's the need to hope that the world is worth saving or maybe I just needed a story to escape into and someone else's drama to focus on for a few days, I don't know. But if you're looking for true science fiction- I would skip this book. If however, you're looking for a story about family, and forgiveness, with a little bit of sci-fi on the side, jump right in to Light Years From Home, you won't regret it.

 

 

South of the Buttonwood Tree by Heather Webber

Amy  

magical realism, women's fiction

Blue and Sarah Grace are both in their mid-20s, both grew up in Buttonwood, AL, and both don’t have many friends.  Their families have a long-standing animosity towards each other.  They are both going through some personal difficulties when Blue finds a baby in the woods.  This causes both women to re-evaluate their lives and uncover some deep-seeded secrets.

Now that I’ve read three of Heather Webber’s novels, I can safely say that she follows a formula.  She centers the stories around one or two southern families with longstanding mutual hatred or long-held stubborn beliefs, the stories are centered around young women who need to overcome hurdles and transition to another phase in their lives, there is wonderful magical realism, there’s an unhappy marriage, and there’s a very kind man (or two) who turns out to be exactly who the protagonist(s) needed. There are domineering parents. There are caring people who step up to support the children in need. The young women need to depend on each other to find peace. Places/houses hold significance. There is often a minor character who is positioned to give the reader the pulse of the community around the issues at hand, giving some background about the major characters. Despite the formula, the individual novels each have their own charm. And I’m planning to keep reading Webber’s novels because I find them heartwarming. 

Of the two Webber novels I’d already read before this one, my favorite (Midnight at the Blackbird Café) is most similar to South of the Buttonwood Tree. But the premises of SotBT seemed a bit more manufactured/unlikely than MatBC. Plus, I was able to guess all but one of the major plot resolutions near the front of the novel. So I still prefer MatBC over this one.  But I did enjoy the characters within this novel.

The audiobook narrators were Hallie Ricardo and Stephanie Willis, the same people who narrated the last Webber audiobook I heard. They both are terrific voice actors with diverse repertoires.  I give them both an A.

   

Graphic Novels! Moon Knight, Parenthesis, Runaways, and Radiant Black

Well, I'm realizing I've read several graphic novels since I last blogged about them- sorry about that. The good news is I'm reading more of them this year, the bad news is that I'm doing a terrible job of adding them to the blog as I'm trying to do it in batches. Better late than never! 

 

Moon Knight: From the Dead (Volume 1)

Warren Ellis, Declan Shalvey 

 

I hadn't previously read Moon Knight and like many people I suspect, decided I should check with out with the new Marvel show about to be released. I'd heard of Moon Knight before, but it always seemed a little out there for me and yes, it is. A friend recommended I start with this volume and while I wasn't lost to what was going on, I'm not sure I really understood anything either. But perhaps that's the point- Moon Knight has multiple personalities (in this version it's due to brain
damage, I understand in other versions there are other reasons), is unable to die thanks to the Egyptian moon-god Khonshu and spends his evenings bringing vigilante justice while the police generally look away with a wink and a nod. I'm sort of fascinated by the whole thing.

Overall, I enjoyed it and I'm definitely curious to continue the series and watch the show. Maybe I'll even eventually understand it.

 

 

 

 

Parenthesis

Élodie Durand

 

 

 

 

Outside of Fun Home (which I read long before I started Goodreads or blogging),  I can't think of another autobiographical graphic novel that I've read until now. Parenthesis was fascinating, as Elodie Durand tries to understand her own trauma and confusion resulting from tumor-induced
epilepsy.

She has “spells” that she doesn’t remember; lost time that her friends and family tell her about. Only after it truly begins to effect her daily life does she start to seek help. This graphic novel is her attempt to piece together the lost time- years- and figure out what really happened from the perspective of those whose memory was more reliable than her own. I can only imagine how terrifying the entire
experience must have been for her. It’s a genuinely moving story & Durand’s journey is inspiring.

I was fascinated by the choice to use cursive as the main text- I kept thinking that my 20-year old can’t read cursive in 2022- they didn’t learn it in school! I wonder if younger folks will have difficulty because of that? Personally, I loved it, but it did stand out to me as a potential issue keeping future readers from accessing this powerful story. But it’s a tremendous story of self discovery, perseverance and acceptance. I’m so glad I read it. Definitely a strong contender for my favorite graphic novel of the year. 

Radiant Black, Vol. 1

Kyle Higgins, Marcelo Costa, Cherish Chen, David Lafuente, Becca Carey

Wow! Well it's been a while since I've been so completely impressed with a new series!

Broke and a complete failure at his chosen career Nathan moves back home to live with his parents when he and his best friend Marshall stumble onto a small black hole floating in the air. Clearly, it turns him into the super-powered Radiant Black. Shenanigans ensue.

It was fun and surprising from beginning to end and clearly has the potential for lots of stories and world-building moving forward. I was definitely entertained which is all I ask for in my comics & I enjoyed most of the artwork (though the big man-hands on the women didn't thrill me- I'm guessing it's a particular style based on how stylized some of the other drawing in that section was? It was just weird for me but I got over it).

I'm definitely eager to read the next volume and hope that it can continue to hold my attention with the bar set so high out of the gate.

 

 

 

Runaways, Vol 3: That Was Yesterday

Rainbow Rowell, Kris Anka, Matthew Wilson

Runaways, Vol 4: But You Can't Hide

Rainbow Rowell, Andres Genolet

I continue to love this run by Rainbow Rowell! 

Alex is back & he's still a jerk (no surprise). I have to force myself not to fly through the existing issues and I find myself wondering why I waited so long to read them. Well, better late than never. 

I'm glad to see the Runaways finally explore some of the issues that anyone their age, who has experienced a fraction of what they have endured would be going through emotionally. I was most impressed by Molly's story throughout Volume 4 along with Gert and Chase who finally had the conversation that they needed to have. It was heartbreaking and reaffirming, and satisfying and entirely not all at the same time. Meanwhile the other stories continue to roll along. I'm eager to watch how the Runaways lives continue to unfold and eager to see what mess Alex brings to their doorstep next- because now that he's back, and clearly not going anywhere, of course he will.

 

 

 

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Amy  

fiction

Ifemelu and Obinze were planning their future together in Nigeria when Ifemelu left to attend school in the United States.  From there, their lives followed different paths. Americanah chronicles their lives and experiences.

While this novel was too long and slow-paced for my liking, I really appreciated reading the experiences of African immigrants living in the US.  Africans living in America have different histories, cultures, and issues than African Americans, with whom they tend to be lumped. I found the characters’ perspectives and explanations enlightening and eye-opening—both those perspectives when coming to the US from Africa as well as those when returning to Africa from the US.

While I have read a lot about citizens of other countries, I haven’t read too many contemporary stories about immigrants coming to the US.  Even though the US accepts immigrants as students, sufficient resources for those students are not always provided.  Ifemelu really struggled upon her arrival. The novel’s descriptions of Nigerian culture were vivid and mostly new to me. I had previously read about impoverished Nigerians rather than the wealthier variety around whom this novel is centered.

The author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, was definitely not subtle in making her points. She displayed her opinions on many topics, mostly related to race in America, in the form of blog posts written by Ifemelu. There were also several long conversations among groups of gathered people in which Adichie further relayed her thoughts on culture and racism. For me, these group conversations grew tedious and went on for way too long.  I tended to zone out while listening to these sections in the audiobook.   

The audiobook narrator, Adjoa Andoh, had a very pleasant voice and was a good voice actor. I sometimes had trouble understanding some of the heaviest African accents, especially in the beginning before I got used to them. But that’s not her fault. My main complaint about Andoh’s narration was that she mispronounced many American proper nouns which the characters, living in the US, would not have done. Andoh’s true accent is British and I’m not normally a snob about non-American voice actors attempting American accents, but I felt she should have done the homework to pronounce some of these proper nouns (like the state of Maryland—she pronounced Mare-ee-land instead of Mare-uh-lind) in the same way these characters would have pronounced them.  She had a good repertoire of voices and accents so I’ll give her an A-.

   

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xóchitl González

Amy  

fiction

Olga is self-made, strong, smart, determined, supportive of her loved ones, and generally seemingly content with life.  She seems to have everything she wants—a successful catering business with public recognition, a sex life that satisfies her, a loving brother of whom she is very proud, and professional challenges that allow her to use her creative mind. She is of Puerto Rican descent and her brother, Prieto, is a US Congressman.  However, Olga and her brother are not without damage caused by their parents. Their mother left them in the care of their grandmother when Olga and Prieto were teenagers so that she could follow her own dreams in the fight for Puerto Rican independence.  Olga Dies Dreaming by Xóchitl González  is mostly Olga’s story but is told from the viewpoints of her brother, one of Olga’s boyfriends, and the letters her mother sent throughout the years.

After deciding I really liked Olga, I spent the rest of the novel wondering when/how she was going to die, because of the title, and was dreading it.  She was young and hopeful with so much to look forward to. She had persevered through much and come out seemingly satisfied.

The pacing of the story was perfect and I was never bored or tired of listening to the audiobook. I was forced to face my horror with American colonialism.  It also disheartened me to learn how easily men with significant wealth are able to buy whatever/whomever they want so that they can keep building their own wealth without regard to how that goal harms others.  I’m not against wealth. I’m against taking ridiculous advantage of that wealth to, literally, negatively change the lives of innocent, normal people while they simply seek to increase their power, control, and bank accounts. It’s truly sickening.  I’ve known about this in the abstract most of my life but only in the last decade have I paid enough attention to politics to learn of specific situations, and the resulting harm that has been done.  Governments are no longer so much by the people and for the people but, rather, by the rich and for the rich.  This novel just cemented my disgust about those who seek to conquer and the hatred that sadly still exists toward people of color.

The narrators were awesome.  It took me a while to realize that the narrator voicing Olga’s mother was different than Olga’s narrator. I would have preferred a greater differentiation of vocal tone since the production bothered to have separate narrators.  The narrators were all terrific. The most significant role was Inés del Castillo. She was a terrific voice actress with a variety of voices and vocal tones.  Unfortunately, she does not pronounce the “t” sound when a vowel sound comes after it in words like “button” and “important”.  This is known as t-glottalization and bugs me. Also, she did not use any hint of a Puerto Rican accent unless she was using Spanish words, whereas the narrator voicing her brother did speak with a slight accent.  I would have believed either situation but not a difference from two members of the same family.  This is a production flaw so I won’t hold it against either of the narrators but it needs to be said. Prieto was voiced by Armando Riesco and Olga’s mother was voiced by Almarie Guerra.  They were both very good actors--Riesco having the meatier role with opportunities to use his vocal repertoire. I will give them all an A-.