Katharine's June and July Books
Aug. 12th, 2019 09:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
katharhino posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
christianreaderI'd better post my book reviews before it's halfway into August already. [insert existential crisis about time passing and the new academic year starting]
Luna, Julie Anne Peters - During Pride Month my library download site had featured some LGBT-related fiction and I downloaded a couple in the interest of broadening my reading choices. This one is a YA coming-of-age novel like an old-school "teen issues" book. The protagonist is a girl whose brother is trans but not out. Regan's known about Luna, her brother's true self, for years but keeping her secret weighs heavily as Regan navigates typical high school stresses. I get what the author of this book was trying to do - deal with the impact of secrets and judgment on a family, and place the experience of a trans kid in a realistic context. But unfortunately the writing and particularly the characterizations were super uneven and choppy, and the result was weirdly counterproductive. Regan, the sister, reacts inconsistently to her trans sibling so that although she is described as loving and supportive, the reader mostly sees her raging and wishing it would all go away. Also depicting trans girl Luna through Regan's eyes distances the reader so that although I assume the author wanted to promote understanding, the book sort of works in an opposite direction. Ultimately disappointing. [2/5 stars]
The Better Sister, Alafair Burke - I looked up this author because ofmoredetails's reviews. This is a contemporary suspense/mystery that deals with complicated family relationships and loyalties. Ambitious and accomplished sister Chloe finds her husband murdered. Flaky sister Nicky is also the husband's ex and the two sisters have to question the "roles" imposed by their family upbringing in order to hold their lives together as the investigation and trial proceed. I thought the writing was decently sharp and well paced. The depiction of the sisters' relationship was believable and added some depth to a basic suspense plot. My only complaint was that I thought the final twists of the ending get revealed in a rush and there's not enough development of the characters' reactions. [4/5]
Becoming, Michelle Obama - I've been waiting for what feels like ages on the library queue to get Michelle Obama's memoir, and I finally got to find out what the fuss is about. Somewhat to my own surprise I absolutely loved this book. I often find that celebrity memoirs fall flat for me, but not this one. Obama's voice and personality shine clearly through her telling of her early life, her family background, and the motivations that shaped her ambitions and achievements. She's honest about struggling to balance career and family, about her dislike of politics and uneasy acceptance of her husband's goals, and about mistakes she made as she learned to deal with life as a first lady. She's compassionate and tactful but also unapologetic where strength is needed. I found her relatable and inspiring. [5/5]
The Whole-Brain Child, Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson - I've seen this book recommended multiple times on parenting groups I frequent, but sometimes I just feel reluctant to pick up yet another parenting book. I finally requested this one on ILL and it was worth while after all. The premise is that by understanding the way developing brains work, we can understand kids' behavior better and relate to them in ways that reinforce integrating their minds. So for instance helping them recount what they're feeling integrates the logical, verbal part with the instinctive emotional part. Each chapter includes a brief summary written in kid-friendly language with illustrations and I actually read some of them out loud to my daughters. Lena especially was fascinated and we have been using some of the metaphors to help "check in" during tense moments. Highly recommend. [5/5]
Tell the Wolves I'm Home, Carol Rifka Brunt - This was the second LGBT-related novel I read. Like Luna it's a coming-of-age story in which the LGBT character is seen through the eyes of a straight protagonist. But this novel manages so much better than Luna. It's written beautifully and lyrically but the lovely prose does not get in the way of allowing the characters to move and breathe believably. The setting is depicted in loving detail that doesn't distract from the plot either, so it feels both extremely specific and also universal. At the beginning of the book we find out that awkward young teenager June is mourning the death of her uncle Finn, an artist, whom June intensely loves and admires. It's the 1980s and Finn died of AIDS which is still very imperfectly understood. June's family seems to accept Finn's identity but only uneasily, so she only gradually realizes that Finn left behind a partner her family is pretending doesn't exist. At the same time June's relationship with her sister Greta is breaking down. In a brief summary it sounds very gritty and depressing but actually the book is full of compassion and even hope although the subject matter is definitely sad and grim. This one may make my best-of-2019 list. I can't even think of a single criticism about it. [5/5]
Nine Perfect Strangers, Liane Moriarty - I've also been waiting for months in the library queue for this latest release by Moriarty. If you've been reading my reviews for a while you may remember I've been a big fan of Moriarty's writing. It's funny, insightful, the characters are believable and strongly drawn, she manages to deal with serious topics in fascinating ways. Some of her work is stronger than others but I've always found her writing engrossing. Unfortunately, this one is the first Moriarty book I've found majorly lacking. It's uneven and strange. Ultimately I think the author just tries to cram too much into a plot and setting which are not fleshed out enough. The framework is that the title nine strangers show up at a health spa for a "detox" which turns out to be a lot more extreme than they thought they were signing up for. Each of the characters has secrets and/or neuroses, obviously, because this is a Moriarty book. That alone might have worked if she kept her focus on how the initial nine interact, but halfway through the author chooses to turn her focus increasingly on the motivations of the spa owner and the entire plot just gets bizarre, while the problems of the guests get a surface skim. There are so many POVs you don't get to fully invest in any one of the characters. The writing choices just feel distracting and hyper. [2.5/5]
The Ex, Alafair Burke (DNF) - I enjoyed The Better Sister enough to request another novel by Burke. But I didn't enjoy this one nearly as much and I ended up not finishing it. I think this is Burke's first book and if so, maybe her writing has improved and I'd still consider trying another. But I just found it written very clunkily, and when I skimmed to the end, the plot twists seem to happen for the sake of suspense rather than out of believable motivation.
Murder at the Flamingo, Rachel McMillan - This author is an online friend/acquaintance of mine so I've followed her career for awhile. I think her work keeps getting stronger. She excels at setting and character - this mystery novel brings us to 1930s Boston and McMillan depicts the smells, sounds, and flavors of the city with obvious affection. She also draws two misfit main characters, society girl Reggie whose dissatisfaction with her role leads her to run away from her home, and lawyer Hamish who deals with anxiety and panic. Both wrestle with family expectations in believable ways and the author refrains from making it too clean cut, as when Reggie realizes that her ex-boyfriend is actually not that bad, she just found it easy to use him as a scapegoat for her reactions to her social life. The author's weak point is actually the mystery plot. Motivations for the murder that shows up are not super clear, and any detecting that happens feels like an excuse to let the characters roam. As I prefer to read mysteries for the characters anyway, that doesn't bother me as much as it might, and I found the relationships to be strong enough to make the reading worth while. [4/5]
Luna, Julie Anne Peters - During Pride Month my library download site had featured some LGBT-related fiction and I downloaded a couple in the interest of broadening my reading choices. This one is a YA coming-of-age novel like an old-school "teen issues" book. The protagonist is a girl whose brother is trans but not out. Regan's known about Luna, her brother's true self, for years but keeping her secret weighs heavily as Regan navigates typical high school stresses. I get what the author of this book was trying to do - deal with the impact of secrets and judgment on a family, and place the experience of a trans kid in a realistic context. But unfortunately the writing and particularly the characterizations were super uneven and choppy, and the result was weirdly counterproductive. Regan, the sister, reacts inconsistently to her trans sibling so that although she is described as loving and supportive, the reader mostly sees her raging and wishing it would all go away. Also depicting trans girl Luna through Regan's eyes distances the reader so that although I assume the author wanted to promote understanding, the book sort of works in an opposite direction. Ultimately disappointing. [2/5 stars]
The Better Sister, Alafair Burke - I looked up this author because of
moredetails's reviews. This is a contemporary suspense/mystery that deals with complicated family relationships and loyalties. Ambitious and accomplished sister Chloe finds her husband murdered. Flaky sister Nicky is also the husband's ex and the two sisters have to question the "roles" imposed by their family upbringing in order to hold their lives together as the investigation and trial proceed. I thought the writing was decently sharp and well paced. The depiction of the sisters' relationship was believable and added some depth to a basic suspense plot. My only complaint was that I thought the final twists of the ending get revealed in a rush and there's not enough development of the characters' reactions. [4/5]Becoming, Michelle Obama - I've been waiting for what feels like ages on the library queue to get Michelle Obama's memoir, and I finally got to find out what the fuss is about. Somewhat to my own surprise I absolutely loved this book. I often find that celebrity memoirs fall flat for me, but not this one. Obama's voice and personality shine clearly through her telling of her early life, her family background, and the motivations that shaped her ambitions and achievements. She's honest about struggling to balance career and family, about her dislike of politics and uneasy acceptance of her husband's goals, and about mistakes she made as she learned to deal with life as a first lady. She's compassionate and tactful but also unapologetic where strength is needed. I found her relatable and inspiring. [5/5]
The Whole-Brain Child, Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson - I've seen this book recommended multiple times on parenting groups I frequent, but sometimes I just feel reluctant to pick up yet another parenting book. I finally requested this one on ILL and it was worth while after all. The premise is that by understanding the way developing brains work, we can understand kids' behavior better and relate to them in ways that reinforce integrating their minds. So for instance helping them recount what they're feeling integrates the logical, verbal part with the instinctive emotional part. Each chapter includes a brief summary written in kid-friendly language with illustrations and I actually read some of them out loud to my daughters. Lena especially was fascinated and we have been using some of the metaphors to help "check in" during tense moments. Highly recommend. [5/5]
Tell the Wolves I'm Home, Carol Rifka Brunt - This was the second LGBT-related novel I read. Like Luna it's a coming-of-age story in which the LGBT character is seen through the eyes of a straight protagonist. But this novel manages so much better than Luna. It's written beautifully and lyrically but the lovely prose does not get in the way of allowing the characters to move and breathe believably. The setting is depicted in loving detail that doesn't distract from the plot either, so it feels both extremely specific and also universal. At the beginning of the book we find out that awkward young teenager June is mourning the death of her uncle Finn, an artist, whom June intensely loves and admires. It's the 1980s and Finn died of AIDS which is still very imperfectly understood. June's family seems to accept Finn's identity but only uneasily, so she only gradually realizes that Finn left behind a partner her family is pretending doesn't exist. At the same time June's relationship with her sister Greta is breaking down. In a brief summary it sounds very gritty and depressing but actually the book is full of compassion and even hope although the subject matter is definitely sad and grim. This one may make my best-of-2019 list. I can't even think of a single criticism about it. [5/5]
Nine Perfect Strangers, Liane Moriarty - I've also been waiting for months in the library queue for this latest release by Moriarty. If you've been reading my reviews for a while you may remember I've been a big fan of Moriarty's writing. It's funny, insightful, the characters are believable and strongly drawn, she manages to deal with serious topics in fascinating ways. Some of her work is stronger than others but I've always found her writing engrossing. Unfortunately, this one is the first Moriarty book I've found majorly lacking. It's uneven and strange. Ultimately I think the author just tries to cram too much into a plot and setting which are not fleshed out enough. The framework is that the title nine strangers show up at a health spa for a "detox" which turns out to be a lot more extreme than they thought they were signing up for. Each of the characters has secrets and/or neuroses, obviously, because this is a Moriarty book. That alone might have worked if she kept her focus on how the initial nine interact, but halfway through the author chooses to turn her focus increasingly on the motivations of the spa owner and the entire plot just gets bizarre, while the problems of the guests get a surface skim. There are so many POVs you don't get to fully invest in any one of the characters. The writing choices just feel distracting and hyper. [2.5/5]
The Ex, Alafair Burke (DNF) - I enjoyed The Better Sister enough to request another novel by Burke. But I didn't enjoy this one nearly as much and I ended up not finishing it. I think this is Burke's first book and if so, maybe her writing has improved and I'd still consider trying another. But I just found it written very clunkily, and when I skimmed to the end, the plot twists seem to happen for the sake of suspense rather than out of believable motivation.
Murder at the Flamingo, Rachel McMillan - This author is an online friend/acquaintance of mine so I've followed her career for awhile. I think her work keeps getting stronger. She excels at setting and character - this mystery novel brings us to 1930s Boston and McMillan depicts the smells, sounds, and flavors of the city with obvious affection. She also draws two misfit main characters, society girl Reggie whose dissatisfaction with her role leads her to run away from her home, and lawyer Hamish who deals with anxiety and panic. Both wrestle with family expectations in believable ways and the author refrains from making it too clean cut, as when Reggie realizes that her ex-boyfriend is actually not that bad, she just found it easy to use him as a scapegoat for her reactions to her social life. The author's weak point is actually the mystery plot. Motivations for the murder that shows up are not super clear, and any detecting that happens feels like an excuse to let the characters roam. As I prefer to read mysteries for the characters anyway, that doesn't bother me as much as it might, and I found the relationships to be strong enough to make the reading worth while. [4/5]
no subject
Date: 2019-08-12 02:06 pm (UTC)You are really good about trying new books and new topics. I'm NOT good at it, because I know myself (the short answer since I know I've explained the longer one before). I also find it cool and interesting that you read some of the parenting book to your girls--that's really neat.
no subject
Date: 2019-08-12 06:03 pm (UTC)And thanks! It would not have occurred to me to read the parenting book to the girls if it weren't set up that way, which I have never seen before. I thought it was cool too.
no subject
Date: 2019-08-12 07:29 pm (UTC)What's been your favourite so far?
no subject
Date: 2019-08-13 12:10 pm (UTC)This last one is the only one I've genuinely not enjoyed.
no subject
Date: 2019-08-23 10:22 am (UTC)I agree that The Last Anniversary was okay but not brilliant - haven't read The Hypnotist's Love Story or Three Wishes yet.
no subject
Date: 2019-08-24 10:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-08-26 12:43 pm (UTC)