book review

Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder | Review

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Pages: 390
Genre: young adult, fantasy

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Summary

In hiding Avry struggles not to use her healing gifts and invietably she breaks. Her conscience gets the best of her, but she underestimates the villager’s fear and brutality. She ends up in the hands of a band of rogues who have other uses for her than the bounty on her head. They’re taking her to her enemy’s leader, the prince who’s frozen in the last state of the plague, to use her gifts to cure him. Only then she might die herself.

My thoughts

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A healer who instead on healing the wounds transfer them to herself. How can that be a bad idea (cue nervous grimaces). 

Most people seem to love this book. I have no idea why. I really liked the (Poison) Study series by Snyder and still wish to read her other series Insider and Glass. But where I found the Poison Study entertaining and original enough, this book just felt chaotic and dull. The healer idea could have been brilliant, but it wasn’t developed enough. The dilemma between where the line goes as to which people Avry should heal felt non-existent. Avry is brought up to see carrying others’ pain as normal and even her purpose.

I feel like I’ve seen this before; Here’s a kind of people who can heal, but the ignorant narrow-mided citizens see their magic as unnatural and lays the blame on them so their only hope is to run for their lives. It’s used as an almost “ironic” turn of events, but it’s just adding unecessary hate, not to talk about growing quite boring. I just read another story that fell through in the same way: Finnikin on the rock by Melina Marchetta. To quote my Finnikin review; “If only they hadn’t killed all their healers…” Who knows, maybe the healers are hiding in a cave somewhere as a twist, but I won’t read the next books to find out.

Most of the book is written around what Avry will do when she gets to the dying prince, after the (way too) long journey. But Avry is a very mild person, which isn’t a bad thing, but I never doubted for a second she wouldn’t sacrifice herself for the prince. Everything else seemed out of character. That takes away a quite bit of the suspense. And I didn’t really care if she died because things were bad for her already. Which says an awful lot about my feelings for this book. Leave the girl alone and stop using her selflessness against her or just kill her, I’m over this.

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli | Review

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Pages: 90

Genre: science, physics

okay, I’ll admit I chose this book because of its beautiful cover. I mean look at it:

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In this book you get basic concepts and breakthroughs in physics described in a poetic way. It’s a short book with seven brief lessons (who would’ve guessed), well-written and focused on keeping the reader interested. At points the explanation is overly simplified, even for someone who’s about to take (basically) her first physics class, but I understand how more information might’ve destroyed the flow of the writing. It would’ve been better with footnotes (or something similiar) leading to more in-depth sources so you can actually understand the thing being explained.

The book got better the further into it I got, and lesson five on heat was perhaps the most interesting. Maybe because that was the one I knew the least about beforehand? Rovelli’s explanations was mostly good, but I was frustrated more than once at the tendency to mention a concept or name and never explain it further. I basically had wikipedia open, which I don’t feel should be this necessary.

It’s a good book for the person who’s not into physics and don’t usually think about the concepts on how tiny/big the world are and so on. It’s clear that the author knows what he’s talking about, both in the subject and the writing. Not to mention the beautiful cover and marketing. Personally the book was a nice read, but I didn’t feel I got much out of it. Made me realize I might as well open my actual physics textbook, if only I remember where I’ve buried it.

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour | Review

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Pages: 312

Genre: young adult, contemporary, lgbt

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“There is a calm in this room that assures me that we are exactly where we are meant to”

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This book was a whole lot more than I thought it would be. It’s a lovely story of a girl who works with decorating movie sets falling in love with a mystery and then the girl underneath it. It’s weird how this book can be summarized in one sentence, while I sat there with a shocked, comical expression after finishing it. There’s nothing life-changing, wow-factor about the story. But it got to me anyway. How dare this book mask itself as an innocent contemporary book and then ruin me like this?

It has a sweet relationship, if perhaps not the full-blown romance some people might be expecting. I expected it too, but I found myself pleasantly suprised by what we got. The only thing I was itching my head over, was how I usually like these kickass, strong-willed girls. And this is rather the contrary. But while the main character wouldn’t be my pick, her sole-focusness and (perhaps wrong) feeling of being superior in what she does, that her way is the right one, really fits with the story. It would be completely different if she hadn’t had her head in the skies, for example she might have never meddled with someone else’s life. And then there would be no story. It’s a different kind of romance than most young adult books I’ve read. Perhaps it’s because of the wonderful writing and pacing, perhaps because of the slowness of the characters and the mystery.

This is the story the author wanted to convey. Simple as that. As Emi with her movie sets, every detail is the perfect backdrop for having two girls slowly fall in love with each other. This book is filled with special moments, but it’s the in-passing ones that really count. I think that focus is what makes this book stand out.

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This next quote gives me “Looking for Alaska” vibes:

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A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver | Review

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Genre: poetry

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A collection of contemporary poems, the first one I read by Mary Oliver. And it’s fantastic, bringing out the magic in everyday things and small moments.

I’ve seen reviews saying that they wish this was how they lived their life, noticing details and the world this way. But you can? Take this for a normally stressed, pessimistic (I call it realistic) person who, while reading the poem about the white heron, remembered the grey heron I was chasing down a danish river in a canoe the week before. Everytime I gave up, the damn heron flew out from the bushes and the chase was on again. It was probably not the intention of the poem, which probably has some hidden symbolism, but a nice coincidence.

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I got a bit sidetracket – Anyway, I love the sea and the quietness of mornings. So I was bound to love this collection, even though some poems was a better fit for me than others.

Here’s “I go down to the shore” which I’ve memorized by now. Lastly, let me say I’m not an usual poetry reader, but the simplicity of some of the poems (some are longer and more intricate, and I adore them as well) makes it makes it easier for someone new to pick this up. It’s similiar to “milk and honey” in how easy it is to read, but so many levels better.

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black | Review

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Pages: 380

Genre: fantasy

“I don’t think he realizes just how angry I am or how good it feels, for once, to give up on regrets.”

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Synopsis

At seven years old Jude is watching her parents getting murdered and is, along with her two sisters, kidnapped by the murderer Madoc to live in the High Court of Faerie. At seventeen she’s used to the life among the faeries, the murderer is also the fairy father of her half-sister Vivi and he’s provided for them, even if they don’t fit in. Some fairies enjoys pointing it out, especially a group of friends with prince Cardan in the middle of them. Jude wants to claim her place in the Court, but the intrigues are bigger than imagined and as a human she needs to become the best. Soon they’re on the brink of bloodshed and civil war.

 

My thoughts

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Everyone down to little kid Oak is morally grey, even Jude comments on it. They’re all traumatized, it seems like, for different reasons. Jude and her sisters watched their parents get murdered by the Madoc, which they currently live with and has a father role for them. But the Faerie Court is also troubled by violence and conflicts and the faeries are affected as well. But that isn’t used as excuse, which was great, because after this plot there is none.

The character development was above all hope. Here you got dimensional, untypical characters. It’s also not a typical young adult fantasy, I wouldn’t even call it ya, because there’s so much blood and civil war. I did not expect it, but I’m definitely here for it. It still has the obvious heroine Jude, but even kids are involved in the intrigues to get to power. I love Jude, she’s terrifying and a new favourite character. Someone seems to think of her as unlikable, but you don’t have to agree with her decisions, or any character’s, to think they’re well-written and awesome. What a darling.

“Little did Prince Dain know that my real skill lies in pissing people off.”

Bullying was real problem and something Jude had to deal with. It’s a good thing to portray, it also gave some legitimacy to Jude and the idea that she could fight the prince and his friends, but at a cost. She could tell her “father” Madoc and send him at them, but blood would be spilled and she would risk chaos. And later she has to get to know them as people, and they her, as the plot unfolds and it’s still not a redemption story.

“There is a pleasure in being with them,” he says. “Taking what we wish, indulging in every terrible thought. There’s safety in being awful.”

It’s a book playing with power dynamics and politics, everyone wants to gain power and it’s a conflict towards who will take the throne. It shows how there’s different ways to wield power, where the strongest isn’t necessarily the most powerful. I like how Jude needs to be smart as an underdog in that struggle, and the moral dilemmas she has at the beginning, but there’s also a few times too many that the solutions fall into her hands too easily.

“She’s looking around the forest, as though if she can prove it isn’t magic, then nothing else is, either. Which is stupid. All forests are magic.”

– more negative thoughts – 

  • Sister relationship between the twins Taryn and Jude was pretty much sacrificed for the sake of the plot. At the same time it’s understandable, if a bit predictable.
  • Sometimes I wonder if a book or tv series is smart or if it’s “fake smart”, where the writer is throwing something in your face to distract you, instead of having an actual twist or clever plot. I think this book had both, but it was apparant that it sometimes relied too much on diverting focus with romance and side quests, then tying it back in. I also think that’s the reason of a complaint I’ve seen from others –
  • Lack of structure in the story. Personally I usually don’t have a problem with this. But it made the book longer than needed to, with a lot of action in some parts and long stretches with planning and trying to distract the reader, as mentioned above.
  • I know Holly Black has a long history with faeries, but this book seemed different than the rest. It felt more Cassandra Clare inspired, and actually less unique than usual in how the world and its creatures are like. The world-building in general seemed bad, and lacking.

– all in all –

If there’s something I haven’t said enough in this review, it’s how great I think Holly Black’s books are. She writes fantasy and young adult books incredibly well in that she follows trends, but in her own way. That is maybe some of what this book lacked, though the plot was enjoyable and the whole book overall. Would recommend it if you’re looking for a character-driven story, with a good plot.

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– a few more thoughts *spoilers below* –

Continue reading →

More by T. M. Franklin | Book Review

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I don’t know if I’ve seen a worse cover. I don’t like that look at all

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Every time I thought this book would get better, the plot took another predictable turn. I really wanted this to be good, but it just fell through too many times.

Synopsis

It starts out with the usual. Ava’s a college student and when she was younger she claimed to have magic powers. She could make things happen that should’ve been impossible. In college, Ava’s struggling with physics and gets help from this guy called Caleb. Turns out he’s more than a regular college student and is there observing her, he’s a Protector for this ancient race. Cue the cringy standard fantasy names with capital letters. Guardians, Council, it’s all there. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of time and “random” attacks for Ava to find this out. Even with dreams and weird memory losses she can’t seem to connect any dots whatsoever.

My thoughts

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The book goes slowly downwards from there, except for a few surprises. I’m not going to get into the things that annoyed me, except for *SPOILER* Caleb gives up everything to protect Ava although it’s told he’s given up other suspected untrained Race members to be executed. Why? Is the next book’s plot how he’s been good from the beginning or something? I can’t say if some parts are predictable or just bad. This book had it’s good points, but as a whole it seemed unfinished.    

Mary Oliver’s New and Selected Poems vol. 1 | Book Review

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Genre: poetry

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It was my birthday a while ago and I wished to read poetry on my daily hour-long busride, even with only a couple hours sleep. So I read this collection from my current favourite poet. Might be the lack of sleep, but I’m pretty certain it’s was literally magical. Like the sun was out for the first time in months. 

Short disclaimer: I haven’t read as much poetry as fantasy books, but still more than romance novels so here we go.

Mary Oliver’s poetry is nearly always connected with nature: animals, forest, bodies of water, plants. It creates this really lovely atmosphere as you read, and then you can go over again and try to catch the meaning and slowly dread sets in. Not really, it’s mostly light poems, soome with an darker or more serious undertone. Which fits me perfectly.

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The poems feels very tied to the author, and I can’t stop myself from trying to figure this person out. Mary Oliver is a bestselling poet and this collection contains poems from different times in her over eighty years of life. I liked to notice interests tied to specific periods as well as commonalities. It that threw me a bit off having read only her “recent” ones. She writes at one point that no one wants to hear about her childhood and I’m sitting there saying “NO IT’S WHAT I AM HERE FOR”. To be honest, I’m really here for the detailed descriptions of various flowers, but it’s a close second. I just needed stories about people who knows how horrible life can be, but still see beauty in it, just a little bit of hope. And this collection is that, along with weird descriptions of eating animals, but generally talks about how nice the sun is on her skin and various description of how the waves crashes against the shore.

If anyone has recommendations for poets who write a lot about nature/detailed descriptions of anything really or simply favourite poets, send them my way! I just need beautiful words in my life, and when they come with interesting, intelligent thoughts that’s a bonus. 

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Crush by Richard SIken

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I don’t get it and I’m so confused.

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Synopsis

Richard Siken’s Crush, selected as the 2004 winner of the Yale Younger Poets prize, is a powerful collection of poems driven by obsession and love. Siken writes with ferocity, and his reader hurtles unstoppably with him. His poetry is confessional, gay, savage, and charged with violent eroticism. In the world of American poetry, Siken’s voice is striking. In her introduction to the book, competition judge Louise Glück hails the “cumulative, driving, apocalyptic power, [and] purgatorial recklessness” of Siken’s poems. She notes, “Books of this kind dream big. . . . They restore to poetry that sense of crucial moment and crucial utterance which may indeed be the great genius of the form.”

My thoughts

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Usually, when I don’t understand poetry or other fiction, I know there’s a deeper meaning and I’m simply missing some connection that I need to completely understand it. Not with this book. The great goodreads ratings (4.3 average) tilts towards me being the one left out in this scenario, but I’m not sure everyone else is not just playing along (jk).

I get that it’s good poetry, somehow. It has a nice flow, and some phrases that paints very endearing and engaging pictures. I even like and understand some poems. But suddenly I don’t get how one part of a poem connects to the next? Or what it’s about, always? heeelp. The poems are mostly about love and obsession, as the synopsis says, along with being gay and crushing on guys. There’s also a “burn it all or die” feeling to some, where the promised apocalyptic theme comes in.

So, besides the all over the place feeling, the rows of rewritten lines all saying the same thing, angsty images of everything ending in bodies, death and twisted love, besides all that it has some beautiful moments. And I have to say I enjoyed a bit of the angst and death as well, it just flowed too much together and was repetitive in a way I can’t say I prefer. Maybe I will like it better the third time I read through? Hmm. He’s undoubtedly a brilliant writer and I think I’ll rather check out other of his collections to see if they fit me better.

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My favourite poems of this collection: scheherazade, little beast, unfinished duet, wishbone and you are jeff. There’s something in all of them I don’t understand, in “wishbone” that part is almost everything.

Halfway to the Grave by Jeanie Frost

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Pages: 360
Genre: fantasy, paranormal

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This book made me laugh;

“His lips brushed over my knuckles, impossibly soft. He looked into my eyes and killed me”. (Not literally I think???)

The expression on his face melted me completely. I knew I had the goofiest grin plasteret on my lips, and didn’t care. “There”, he said as he finished tying the laces on my left shoe. “Now you won’t fall.” Too late. (It’s so cheesy it hurts my pitch black soul)

Summary

It’s an thrilling and easy read with half-vampire Cat who teams up with the powerful vampire Bones to hunt down other vampires. She goes from stopping attackers at bars to trying to unravel a network similiar to human trafficking, only for blood. A half-vampire is apparently the perfect vampire hunter as she can be used for both bait and weapon, but that doesn’t keep them from sinking their fangs into her throat. Ouch, I felt for that girl.

My thoughts

tre

No one warned me this would be a vampire romance kind of book, but I should’ve guessed. It wasn’t the worst I’ve read (that would’ve deserved an award), but I got tired of it towards the end. The relationships in this book is heated and a good balance between “i want to protect this person” and “they have to choose themselves”. There’s no pretense, which I liked, but nothing very special either in my opinion. A lot of flirting and bickering, if that’s your thing.

You should read this book for the romance and action, more than for an amazing plot. As a whole, “Halfway to the Grave” is good enough, but I’m more excited to see how the story continues from here on!

– more (good? not sure) quotes –

“No, I took precautions,” he replied, searching my eyes. It was then that I noticed he was so tense, a single blow might have shattered him. “I stripped you and hid your clothes so if you woke up angry about what happened, you wouldn’t be able to run out without talking to me first.”

Not for a minute did I believe that this wasn’t goodbye. Still, I had loved and been loved in return, and there was nothing greater than that.

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

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somewhat similiar to “aristotle and dante discovers the secrets to the universe” and “we are the ants”, with the good feeling, but at the same time thought-provoking content

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“When is the right time for anything? Who knows? Living is an art, not a science.” 

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This beautiful young adult book is about growing up, family and dealing with serious shit. It’s a lot of crazy going on in every character’s life, but the way they stand together makes it seem like they could handle everything. I love Sal as a main character and his way of thinking, even if he doesn’t completely know himself yet, or those around him. His friend Sam is a strong girl, even with her sense of drama, and I love how it’s acknowledged. Not to forget Fito, he’s got too many jobs trying to survive until he can get to college, and he grew on me and the other characters. Sal’s dad is the definite winner. *MINOR SPOILER* “My dad grinned. ‘Some people collect stamps. Me? I collect seventeen-year-old kids.’” That sounded weirder than intended out of context. Trust me when I say he’s the best family father ever. And gay. And hispanic. I felt that should be mentioned somewhere.

I can’t really explain how magical this book feels. Benjamin Alire Sáenz also wrote “Aristotle and Dante discovers the secrets of the universe” which is a fantastic book, and this has the same feeling to it, especially the writing. It’s still two very different books, the topics and plots are not alike, but I would absoloutly recommend both. They’re something special. The one thing that irked me was how smoothly everything solves itself in the end. Sure, they have a lot of dilemmas and questions, but the dad is almost too nice of a person it seems unreal. At least as we see him through Sal’s eyes. But without the sometimes dreamy feeling the story has, it wouldn’t be what it is. And that’s a brilliant and warm book I’m so happy I read.

“’I’m proud of you,’ he said. ‘You’re a good kid. You’re gonna be somebody.’ We’re all somebody. That’s what I thought.”