March 2020 Reading Tracker

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Books I Read:

  1. We Are the Wildcats by Siobhan Vivian
  2. Shirley and Jamila Save Their Summer by Gillian Goerz
  3. Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman (audio)
  4. Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust
  5. Every Reason We Shouldn’t by Sara Fujimura
  6. Palace of Silver by Hannah West
  7. Don’t Go Without Me by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell
  8. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab
  9.  Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-Pérez (audio)
  10. Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman (audio)
  11. Text Me When You Get Home: The Evolution and Triumph of Female Friendship by Kayleen Schaefer (audio)
  12. Romanov by Nadine Brandes (audio)
  13. The Light Between the Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth (audio)
  14. The Kingdom of Copper by S. A. Chakraborty

Books I Had Planned to Read:

Books Bought:

  1. The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski (signing)

ARCs Received:

  1. Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth (Vine)

You can also see what I read in February.

Don’t Go Without Me: A Graphic Novel Review

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Don't Go Without Me by Rosemary Valero-O'ConnellDon’t Go Without Me (2020) by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell is a triptych collection of three comic stories.

In “Don’t Go Without Me” there is a rumor that when you stand in a certain place at a certain time, you can be transported to a different realm–one that exists next to ours in secret. When two lovers cross over, they find themselves separated and forced to barter stories in exchange for clues that might bring them back to each other. But when every trade costs something, how much do either of them have to lose?

“What Is Left” starts when a ship crashes. The ship runs on memories, but when the engine malfunctions the lone surviving engineer finds herself awash in memories of someone else’s life.

For years in “Con Temor, Con Ternura” (With Fear, With Tenderness), a small ocean-side town has watched the sleeping giant at the edge of their town. While they wait for the predicted date when the giant is supposed to wake, the town decides to greet their future head on with a party. But they soon learn that preparing for an expected outcome is not the same as meeting it.

Don’t Go Without Me is an excellent collection of speculative fiction graphic novels exploring human relationships stretched outside of typical norms. Unique restricted color palettes differentiate between each story here and allow Valero-O’Connell’s distinct style to shine in each panel.

Intricate backgrounds and lush artwork offset characters dealing, in each story, with themes of isolation and connection as best they can. Although Don’t Go Without Me can be grim, it is also beautiful and meditative. Valero-O’Connell continues to demonstrate that she is an artist and author to watch.

Week in Review: March 28: Quarantine Week 2: In which I mend a doll and listen to many audiobooks

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Blog Posts of The Week:

Tweet of the Week:

Instagram Post of the Week:

How My Week Went:

I keep forgetting what day of the week it is. Not surprising, I guess, since I haven’t left my house in days. My mom and I are going through her doll collection and finding things to resell on eBay. Today I restrung an Effanbee Patsy doll whose strings had worn away. But we are keeping her as the doll and I are now bonded on a deep level. I have not had a lot of focus for reading but have been listening to lots of audiobooks.

Loveboat, Taipei: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

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Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing WenThe last thing Ever Wong wants to do is spend her summer in an educational program in Taiwan learning Chinese and preparing to start at Northwestern’s pre-med program in the fall.

But Ever is used to not having a say in her own life and isn’t surprised when her parents ship her off and ruin her plans to spend one last summer dancing before she gives up (like always) and does what her parents want (like always).

But the program isn’t what ever expects. Instead of rigorous study with Chien Tan Ever finds herself in a program with minimal supervision and her exuberant roommate Sophie Ha egging her on, Ever is ready to break every one of her parents rules–especially when it comes to no dating.

With its reputation as a party program to meet up (and hook up), there’s no shortage of cute guys–most notably including Xavier Yeh the sexy heir to a fortune who’s already caught Sophie’s eye and has a secret he’s reluctant to admit. Then there’s Rick Woo who, as the bane of Ever’s existence and object lesson of how she’ll never be good enough for her parents, is totally not dating material. No matter how much he gets under Ever’s skin.

But the more time Ever spends doing all of the things her parents would hate, the less sure she is what she wants for herself in Loveboat, Taipei (2020) by Abigail Hing Wen.

Find it on Bookshop.

Loveboat, Taipei is Wen’s debut novel. Although Ever’s narration sometimes skews towards hyperbolic metaphors (“But why did you let me dance when I was little? I want to cry. Why give me honey when you knew my future was diabetic?”) her struggle to reconcile her own desires with honoring the sacrifices her parents have made to give Ever so many opportunities.

Ever is a complex, fully realized heroine with her own strengths and flaws. What starts as a summer of rebellion becomes a chance for her to learn how to articulate and pursue her dream to become a dancer and choreographer instead of the doctor her parents always wanted her to become.

Loveboat, Taipei shines when the focus is on ever and her own journey. The other characters, in comparison, often feel one-dimensional. A tertiary character’s struggle with depression becomes a plot device in the final act and does not receive as thorough a treatment as it should have. In contrast another character’s dyslexia is addressed much more conscientiously.

Over the course of the summer, Ever travels through Taipei’s glittering nightlife and tourist destinations while negotiating her identity as an American visitor in Taiwan compared to her life as the only Asian American in her small Ohio town. With clubbing, loads of drama, and a messy love triangle, Ever’s summer is more than she bargained for and forces her to confront her best and worst qualities before she can figure out what comes next.

Loveboat, Taipei is as thoughtful as it is sensational. Recommended for readers looking for a splashy romance with soul searching in equal measure.

Possible Pairings: Practically Ever After by Isabel Bandeira, Our Wayward Fate by Gloria Chao, The Revolution of Birdie Randolph by Brandy Colbert, Anna K.: A Love Story by Jenny Lee, Tweet Cute by Emma Lord, This Time Will Be Different by Misa Sugiura, Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar

Making Friends: Back to the Drawing Board: A Graphic Novel Review

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Making Friends: Back to the Drawing Board by Kristen GudsnukDany finally feels like she’s getting the hang of middle school. Her best friend Madison has found her own place in town after her confusing start as a drawing in Dany’s magical sketchbook.

With their school opening again after being destroyed in no small part by Dany’s shenanigans at the start of the school year, it’s a busy time. So busy, in fact, that Dany decides it might be time to duplicate herself so she will have someone to help her with mounting homework and figure out how to navigate the still confusing waters of middle school social climbing.

When Dany and … Dany accidentally let a magical dog loose in town, chaos unsurprisingly ensues before Dany, Madison, their other friends, (and the other Dany) work together to try and stop the dog and save the school dance in Making Friends: Back to the Drawing Board (2019) by Kristen Gudsnuk.

Find it on Bookshop.

Making Friends: Back to the Drawing Board is the second installment in Gudsnuk’s wacky graphic novel series.

Gudsnuk takes the humor, friendships, and zaniness from book one and turns it up to twelve in this flashy, full color, graphic novel.

Things you’ll find in these pages: five Solar Scouts, one Pikkiball, one mean girl, several magic flying rings, a dog genie. Do I even need to say more?

Making Friends: Back to the Drawing Board positions Gudsnuk as a must-read for anyone who enjoys their graphic novels tempered with great humor, good friends, and a whole lot of silly pop culture references.

Possible Pairings: Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol, Friends With Boys by Faith Erin Hicks, All’s Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson, All Summer Long by Hope Larson, Invisible Emmie by Terri Libenson, Lumberjanes by Noelle Stephenson, Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi, Audrey’s Magic Nine by Michelle Wright, illustrated by Courtney Huddleston and Tracy Bailey

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration at BookExpo 2019*

Week in Review: March 21: In which I survive one week of quarantine

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Blog Posts of The Week:

Tweet of the Week:

Instagram Post of the Week:

How My Week Went:

This week was three years long. My library system finally made the right decision and has been closed this week which has been extremely strange but is a relief. If you are considered essential staff where you work, I hope you are staying safe and healthy. If you are not, I hope you are doing your part by staying home to protect the people who can’t.

My library also put out a new podcast episode about all of the virtual programming we have on offer and I talk about a booklist I made with some titles that might help put this moment in context. You can find the podcast here (I’m near the beginning): https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/social-distancing-were

You can also find the list here: https://bklyner.com/germs-viruses-and-other-books/?mode=list

If you are at home and need some book recommendations you can also still submit a BookMatch request for personalized suggestions from a librarian like me (or actually me): https://www.bklynlibrary.org/bookmatch

And since this has become a self-promotion recap, if you have time at home, now might be a great time to organize your books with some of the tips I shared with Apartment Therapy: https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/book-organizing-tips-librarian-36721739?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=managed

The Girls at the Kingfisher Club: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

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“You can’t expect people to give you the things you love, unless you know how to ask.”

The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve ValentineBy 1927 there were twelve girls who danced all night and never gave names. By then, the men had already given up asking and called them all princess.

Jo, the oldest, is the closest thing the younger ones have to a mother. She taught them all to dance cobbling together lessons from the steps she saw at the movies. Jo makes sure the girls all make it out every night and she makes sure they make it back before their father knows they’re gone. That’s why she’s always been “The General.”

It’s not a good life or an easy one. But it seems like something they can all survive while they wait for something better. That is until their father decides to marry them off. Jo always feared they would have to escape their father’s townhouse but she didn’t realize they’d do so separated, with no resources, and no way to find each other again.

Jo is used to setting things aside to take care of her sisters. What she still has to figure out is how to make a life for herself as she tries to find them again in The Girls at the Kingfisher Club (2014) by Genevieve Valentine.

Find it on Bookshop.

This standalone novel blends an evocative 1920s setting with an inventive retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses. The third person narration shifts between sisters with a primary focus on Jo and Lou, the second oldest, in electric prose that is replete with incisive observations and witty parenthetical asides.

Quick pacing, snappy writing, and hints of romance immediately draw readers into Jo and her sisters’ journey filled with both second chances and new beginnings.

The Girls at the Kingfisher Club is a story about agency, choice, and the difference between surviving and really living wrapped up in a jazzy retelling readers won’t soon forget. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin; The Guest Book by Sarah Blake; The Diviners by Libba Bray; Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton; Speak Easy, Speak Love by McKelle George; Button Man by Andrew Gross; The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman; The World of Tomorrow by Brendan Mathews; Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi; China Dolls by Lisa See; Bachelor Girl by Kim Van Alkemade; The Wicked City by Beatriz Williams; Dust Girl by Sarah Zettel

Havenfall: A Review

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Havenfall by Sara HollandHavenfall is a world unto itself–an inn situated at the gateways between worlds offering neutral ground for the Last Remaining Adjacent Realms. It’s also the one place where people believe Maddie Marrow when she tells them what really happened to her brother all those years ago.

Maddie knows that this summer is her last chance to prove herself to her uncle Marcus and earn her spot as his successor running the inn. She’s up to the challenge. But when Maddie gets to Havenfall she realizes that things have started changing. Her best friend Brekken is a Fiordenkill soldier, Marcus is keeping secrets, and then there’s the new girl–Taya–who is supposed to be temporary help for the summer but draws Maddie’s attention more than she cares to admit.

When a body is found on the grounds and Marcus is attacked, Maddie is left to pick up the pieces and figure out the truth before Havenfall and the tenuous peace it represents is ruines in Havenfall (2020) by Sara Holland.

Find it on Bookshop.

As the start of a new series, Havenfall lays a lot of groundwork introducing readers to Maddie’s world at the inn and the adjacent realms Fiordenkill and Byrn as well as Solaria, a rogue realm whose portal was sealed off years ago. While the premise is interesting and offers a unique spin on traditional portal fantasies, the world building is one of the bigger problems with this book.

One of the tenets of the story is that that the porous nature of the portals between realms is part of why we have myths with magic even though Earth does not have magic of its own. Solarians–the main villain for a significant part of Havenfall–come from a world that is associated with mythology including djinn, vampires, demons, and soulstealers. This choice is problematic because djinn are also the only non-white/non-western mythology named in the entire story. It’s also the only mythos associated with a specific religion/culture which, again, here is being coded as villainous.

I won’t get into spoilers explaining Maddie’s history with Solaria but suffice to say that her hatred of the entire Solarian race informs a lot of her character. Does Maddie eventually see the error or her ways? Yes. Are reparations being made? Kind of. Did we need to spend an entire book vilifying an entire race (which although presented as white in the novel is the only group in the book associated with a nonwhite culture)? Absolutely not. What’s worst, the only notable person of color in the entire cast of characters is Marcus’s husband who is from one of the other “good” worlds.

Holland’s ambitious world building never gels enough to transcend this messy foundation. Similarly, the plot never quite comes together despite ample time spent setting up the story with an incredibly slow beginning. Maddie is bisexual–a fact that is refreshingly a nonissue for her family and friends but which also hints at a love triangle that frustratingly never leads anywhere interesting.

Havenfall is a mystery wrapped in a portal fantasy setting that centers an ambitious if often naive heroine. Recommended for readers who prefer slow building suspense to quick action and are willing to overlook messy world building entirely.

Possible Pairings: Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber, A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer, Last of Her Name by Jessica Khoury, Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus, Mister Monday by Garth Nix, Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige, The Archived by Victoria Schwab

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

Week in Review: March 14: In Which Things Go Sideways

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Blog Posts of The Week:

Tweet of the Week:

Instagram Post of the Week:

How My Week Went:

I did not expect to add “living through a global pandemic” to the list of things that have happened to me. But here we are. I hope you’re all staying safe, staying home, and staying healthy.

Young Jane Young: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

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Young Jane Young by Gabrielle ZevinWhat if the worst mistake you ever made is the only thing anyone remembered about you?

Aviva Grossman never planned to have an affair with a married congressman. She certainly never planned to become the center of the scandal that might end his political career and definitely stops hers before it has a chance to start.

But a scandal doesn’t happen to just one person, or even two. It has a much wider orbit drawing others into the fallout.

Rachel Grossman doesn’t know what her daughter did or didn’t do. But she does know that Aviva’s heart is in the right place. She knows she wants to protect her daughter even if she has no idea how to do that when Aviva’s private life becomes front page news.

Jane Young always thought she could keep her head down, focus on raising her daughter Ruby, and everything would work out. She’s wrong, it turns out, and soon finds herself drawn into the Maine political scene as she runs for local office.

Ruby knows her mother is hiding something and she knows being thirteen isn’t as easy as her mom thinks. But she doesn’t know what to do about either of those things and hopes her online pen pal Fatima might be able to help.

Then there’s Embeth Levin. Embeth has built her life on being a congressman’s wife and cleaning up his messes. But who will be there to clean her up when things start to spin out?

Five women, lots of secrets, one scandal, and one way to move forward in Young Jane Young (2017) by Gabrielle Zevin.

Find it on Bookshop.

Young Jane Young is a story told in five parts–each focusing on one of the women above. Zevin plays with different narrative forms and styles to tease out a complicated story about feminism, identity, reputation and the dangerous moments when all three intersect.

The less you know about this story going in, the better. Part of the magic is the way in which Zevin weaves these five seemingly disconnected narratives together into one cohesive and powerful story about all the ways to be a woman when it feels like the entire world has an opinion on who you’re supposed to be.

Young Jane Young is as smart, funny, and incisive as the woman at the center of its story. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, Finding Yvonne by Brandy Colbert, Unclaimed Baggage by Jen Doll, Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu, A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza, The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed, Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration at BookExpo 2017*