It's been a bit of a slow (print) reading month, but my audiobook game has been strong, y'all. I can't think of why I've been so busy, but I'm sure it was work related! Oh! And I had a show. Duh. I might be able to sit down and do full reviews for a couple of these but I doubt it, so I'll just do a quick mini-review highlight thing. You know how I do it!
I'm going to do a separate post for the children's lit rereads I did this month. There were four of them. A little teaser: A Wrinkle in Time is crazy.
Half- Resurrection Blues by Daniel Jose Older
Mr. Older is one of my favorite Twitter presences. He gets excited about things, he talks shit, he loves his wife. The whole thing is gold. I read his first YA offering last year, Shadowshaper, which was a definite must- read for 2015. I didn't realize that it was his first YA novel; I just assumed that's what he does. So, enter this little gem. HRB is an urban fiction novel about a man who is mostly dead who hunts down spirit- bad guys, who stumbles into a hot mess when he's sent to kill another half-dead person and then falls in love with that halfie's Halfie sister. Then, crazy stuff starts happening.
Once I got on board with the fact that Mr. Older was not aiming for the corruption of young children, I fell in love with the world- building and his style. Again. Then I sent him a strongly worded tweet about the hell he put me through with the ending. Luckily, the second one just came out. So, I don't have to hunt his ass down and lock him up like that chick from Misery. But don't think I won't.
King of the Screwups by K.L. Going
I read this for my #RocTBF2016 challenge (to read each author who will be present at the Rochester Teen Book Festival). King of the Screwups is about a teenager who is desparate for the love of an emotionally abusive father. Liam has many strengths, just not the kind that a high-status politician businessman father really cares about. So, Liam goes to stay with his Uncle and finds out what it means to be who you are and love yourself, anyway. The majority of the main characters are privileged and "basic." In fact, Liam takes some getting used to. But the themes and the supporting cast of characters earn this an ALMOST #diverse book distinction. I'll creat a half We Need Diverse Books sticker later! #goals
His Illegal Self by Peter Carey:
This story is told from the perspective of 8-year- old Che, the offspring of political extremists, and the adults around him who are taking care of him while trying not to go to jail. Oh, and they are in the Australian outback. Of course. The imagery was beautiful but I'm not sure I cared enough about the story to really love the book.
I think I'll save my discussion of Crossed by Allie Condie, the second in a YA Dystopian trilogy until I complete the whole series. I started the series as part of my Rochester Teen Book Festival challenge for 2015. I had sworn I wouldn't read it because of the girl in a big dress cover. Does anyone else hate those? But I LOVE this series so far. The picture links to a review overat Benson Street (which I didn't read, #NoSpoilers!)
[I did a separate review for Notes from the Internet Apocalypse.] Brief version. It was pretty interesting.
[See my Goodreads activity for Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson] I had total mixed feelings while reading this, which makes sense given the varied content. And that essays are not really "meant" to be read in one go.
Come back later to see my outbox for:
The Great 2016 Classic Children's Lit ReRead Extravaganza! You want to. Don't even bullshit yourself.
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