four stars

The Truth About Keeping Secrets by Savannah Brown | Book Review

aquapages // eline4 Comments

Pages: 336

Genre: young adult, lgbt characters

About the book

Sydney loses her dad abruptly in a car crash. He was a therapist, helping a lot of people. But with the job came keeping a lot of secrets. After the funeral June, a popular girl Sydney has never talked much to, starts to show interest and they become friends. Their sudden bond doesn’t make much sense to Sydney or anyone else. It’s a story about grief and how differently people deal with it, about friendship and relationships, and discovering who you are and what your limits are.

My thoughts

Rating out of five: four

I started out this book with high hopes and immediately loathing how slow it felt.. So far I’ve liked Savannah’s poetry, but while the writing in this book is direct and easy to follow, I didn’t like it overall. The book starts with a huge a loss. And if you’ve ever lost someone, you know that pain and emptiness – this book doesn’t described it particularly elegantly or extraordinarily – resulting in how a beginning that felt really bland. It wasn’t before I was halfway through the book that it started to really pick up.

When Savannah Brown stepped up the action, the writing, characters and mystery really came together. This book describes my first experience being drunk nearly perfectly, and I was laughing out loud. Probably because Sydney also likes to have much control, at least over herself. It’s in passages between characters where I really feel how Savannah is my age and a recent teenager. The questioning of sexuality. The use of technology and phones. It was all really well done.

It’s one of those books that is so difficult to pitch to someone without spoiling the plot, as it has mystery-vibes to it as Sydney tries to figure out who’s harassing her and what happened to her dad. I completely recommed it though! Be prepared to perhaps cry (like I did towards the end).

SPOILERS BELOW

Some particularly interesting parts:

  • The inclusion of a webside similar to the recently banned r/watchpeopledie was unexpected, obviously this protagonist becomes obsessed with the macabre as a coping strategy and she walks the reader through her thoughts around that, as well.
  • The relatable moment of an introvert being like “is she this touchy feely with everyone or am I special?” – it’s an issue.
  • The back and forth of whether Sydney’s view of June was something she had created in her head, on a pedestal, or if their relationship was much more real than that
  • Olivia seems like a very shitty friend?? Like I get that there’s some unreliable narration through Sydney’s eyes, but come on. She feels so realistic.
  • The out of body moment Sydney has when she watches the video of her dad was one of the better written parts and while it was harrowing to the character, it was really a moment I’ll remember in this book
  • A very satisfying, but still realistic ending!

Favourite quotes

“This was when I realized why, exactly, I got along with June, and why it was so easy to trust her: she didn’t treat grief like a problem to be solved, but a constant to be endured.”

“I’m worried that I’ve made you out in my head to be something that you’re not.’ June was silent for a moment, then said, in a small voice, ‘I’m worried I did the same thing for you. […} Like looking out of a window of a house I was locked inside.”

The Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan | Book Review

aquapages // eline3 Comments

Pages: 400

Genre: young adult fantasy

Publish date: 2. April 2019

Synopsis

A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself. A prince in danger must decide who to trust. A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings. Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war.

In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light.

My thoughts

Rating out of five: four

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book in one sitting and found it very entertaining and better than I expected. It’s more of a high fantasy than a lot of other young adult fantasy books, especially since it has a magic system tied to what’s seen as gods, something I already really like and hope to see more of.

The writing is fenomenal. It’s really what sold me this book already a few pages in. The dialogue is a bit worse at points, but for the most part it had enough humor and cleverness.

The problems I have with these books think I have a lot to do with the level the beginning was at, and the expectation it created in sense of style and progress. I really felt in the beginning that this book was well thought-through, with a vast world and great, complex characters. A minor problem, but one that irked me, was the names. Like why don’t make the names easier, when you chose to introduce so many places and characters at once, slavic-inspired or not. Like main characters are Malachiasz Czechowicz and Nadezha. Thinking more about this, I think it might also be a problem with the voice of the book chosen as very personal, because it’s young adult, and then Nadezha trying to give a bunch of information about this world as if it was knowledge she just gained. I get that it would’ve taken a lot more effort probably, but I feel that it can be done better with enough tweaking.

The big problem I had was the composition of the book and the plot in that it tried to do a lot. I usually never complain about this! But the introduction and reader’s connection with the characters, which turned out to be so interesting, was swallowed by the need to move on with the plot in the story. It succeeded in going straight into one life-and-death conflict, but then it did so again, without yet having given the slower moments in between where you get to know the characters. It was too obvious that the plot needed to progress at a fast pace, especially in how characters – especially Nadezha who is the “outsider” – suddenly puts together things they shouldn’t have been able to! It happens enough times that it became a big problem for me.

I would recommend giving it a try, because there’s things this book does really well, out-weighing what I see as the more awkward parts. Nadezha dealing with conflicts towards her gods and how the gods worked in this world was a favourite part of mine. Still, of the alternatives given to her towards the end, one seemed much less preferable than the others, and I wonder if that was like a flaw in how unbalanced the portrayals actually were or like a very personality based opinion. So if anyone has read the book – I would really like to discuss the Nadezha’s choices at the end!


In general, I liked this book and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the trilogy.

Six Easy Pieces by Richard Feynman | Book Review

aquapages // eline8 Comments

Genre: physics, nonfiction

Pages: 140

About the book

Richard Feynman is a well-known physicist, he was awarded the Nobel Prize of physics in 1965 for his developments to the quantum field theory. This book isn’t lying when it claims he’s one of the most brilliant physics teachers as well, particularly well-known for this introduction series of lectures from Caltech university in 1964, that this book is based on.

My thoughts

Rating out of five: four

My background going into this book: one and a half year into physics classes. I read this book a while ago and just now decided to post the review, the day after I sent my application for a physics bachelor at university!

The only reason this isn’t getting five stars are that the lectures are older. This book was first released in 1994, it’s an abbreviated form of the 1964 Feynman Lectures, which has been edited later. I just feel as an introduction this should have more side-notes on later development (just a couple words) and where to find more information on them, because it’s meant as an introduction.

The way Feynman talks about physics de-mystifies it, and makes it accessible. As someone who is going into physics, I’ve already learnt to love formulas. They say so much in so few sentences! It’s like abreviations, but you got to have an understanding of what they mean. Feynman is so aware of this, and instead put physics concepts into words, very elegantly. I really do get why he’s so looked up to. He’s up there with Stephen Hawking, in the quality of his writing. I’ve read parts of Einstein’s biography, and while he was a incredible scientist, his lectures were known from the beginning for jumping straight to the top-level difficult problems, leaving most of his students behind. I think Feynman explains really well concepts of physics, that we look at the universe and create certain rules or theories through observations and experiments that explain what we see. But also gets into more specifics, where my favourite parts were comparing physics to other science fields, the history of finding particles that everything in the world is made of, about the strangeness of fluid physics (especially turbulent fluids, Smarter Every Day made a great video about it that I’ll link to down below) and conservation of energy as a great intro to the concept of energy that everyone hears so much about, but usually don’t understand.

What I felt reading this book: not so weird for loving physics, and that more people would if this was the type of intro they got

A great bit of info on the questions around laminar and turbulent flow (fluid physics) with some nice fontains)

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo | Review

aquapages // eline6 Comments

Pages: 370

Genre: Poetry, young adult, lgbt characters

Synopsis


A young girl in Harlem discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion and her own relationship to the world. 

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself.

So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out, much less speak her words out loud. But still, she can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.

Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent. 

The audiobook

The narrator was fantastic, some of the best I’ve ever heard. And of course she was, I thought as I realized towards the end it was the author and slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo narrating the audiobook as well. I fully recommend listening to it! As the book is written in verse/poems (hard to say having only listened to it), it’s “only” three and a half hours as well, completely worth it.

My thoughts

Rating out of five: four

fire

It’s a strong and beautiful story of a quiet girl finding her voice, letting out all the thoughts she’s not been allowed to tell and finding good friends, through slam poetry. She’s growing and finding her way to deal with romance, family, religion and need for a bit of freedom. 

It’s obvious reading/listening to the book that the author knows what she’s writing. She’s a slam poet, she’s seen people find their voice through it most likely. The way she tells the story is stunning, from the first page I was sold. This is the way to tell that story. 

There’s not much else for me to say about this book, which is rare. It’s more young adult novel than I realized going into it, and I would absolutely recommend giving it to young girls. I became a bit frustrated in the middle part of the book, when Xiomara wasn’t doing poetry out of fear, and nothing moved along. Had to realize the story isn’t something unexpected – the plot is only going one way – but it’s still important and told great. What really brought me in again was Xiomara and the mom coming to the height of their conflict, and how impactful the writing was in that moment. The ending was very wholesome, setting the tone of the whole book’s message. It’s so tough being a kid with little control over your own life, trying to find it as you’re becoming older, with opinions of your own. This book conveyed that.   

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg | Review

aquapages // eline2 Comments

 

Pages: 375

Genre: nonfiction, psychology

 

Synopsis

The official synopsis of this book should be reworked, it makes it sound three times more boring than the book actually is. So here it is in short –

There’s many areas in your life habits show themselves. It’s shown that people that changed patterns, habits, in their lives for the better also fudementally changed patterns in their brain. Marketing people study people’s habits and use psychology to sell new or more effective products and develop advertising, manipulating you. Habits at work and how to make more effective and safer employers. In general people bettering something by focusing on the patterns that shape every aspect of our lives – transforming habits. Why is some able to change more easily than others? What parts do habits play in Olympic successes, social movements and CEO’s? What are unhealthy habits and what effects can they have?

“In The Power of Habit, award-winning New York Times business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. With penetrating intelligence and an ability to distill vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives, Duhigg brings to life a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential for transformation.”

The Audiobook

The narrator’s voice is a bit annoying, something about the ups and downs as he talks. I played it at 1.2 to 1.5x speed and it went fine. The biggest downside is that there’s a lot of passages and tips in here that you’re going to want to mark down, which is more diffcult without any visual copy.

My thoughts

“Once people learned how to believe in something, that skill started spilling over to other parts of their lives, until they started believing they could change. Belief was the ingredient that made a reworked habit loop into a permanent behavior.”

Rating out of five: four

fire

I’ve read some bullshit productivity book, but not many good ones, which I realized a couple chapters into this one. In short, this book gave me a different view of habits, even though I had put some research into them already. In the beginning I was a bit disheartened, as it was mostly things I knew, but then it picked up and got more in depth.

Not everything in this book is equally compelling. I thought first that it might be my stage in life – I’m a student, not a business-owner – but it seems like more reviewers agree to this. My biggest issue with the writing is that the author wants to turn everything into a habit to justify the title and theme. Why couldn’t he just reconcile with some of the things he’s discussing being different types of behaviour and spare me from automatically counting the amount of “habits” said in a chapter. It’s a part of the bigger picture in that the author needs to always be painfully clear and repeats things like he’s certain the reader is dumb.

It’s a lot of good things and lessons in here, and I’ll get to that later promise, but I also want people to be critical reading this. I’m going to look further into willpower because I know there’s been discussion and questions around of the fact given here that willpower can be used up in the span of a day. Also, I’m not sure if I agree with the views on how social movements and social habits are made and upkept, he’s giving a lot of different components needed, but it sounds off to me.

This book is meant introductory, to make people think about their habits in a different way, that they’re something under their control if they pay them enough attention and work on them. Which is very positive, so of course I recommend this book. I got a couple lessons from it, along with simpler ways to explain what I’ve been knowing already.

A couple things I liked and took from this book:

  • “Rather, to change a habit, you must keep the old cue, and deliver the old reward, but insert a new routine.” 
  • His take on the marketing campaigns of big brands and supermarkets and how they dig into and use people’s habits was really interesting – that it has been funded so much it’s almost become its own science
  • Importance of organizational habits
  • The monkey experiments on how cravings are built, watching his brain respond to a task and the reward he got after. And after time when the habit had become ingrained the scans show the reward happens right after the cue (the task), but before the actual reward – he’s anticipating it, which creates a craving for the reward and keeps the habit strong.
  • The story about institutionalized unhealthy habits. In particular hospitals and other high risk jobs where they make checklists because everything needs to be done in order, and how giving nurses the authority to speak up when finding mistakes is important for cutting deaths under operation.
  • Learn from crisis and if the aftermath use them to make sure it doesn’t happen again
  • If you want to go down in weight, generally it helps to make a list of what you eat because it makes you more aware of your habits surrounding it

I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman | Review

aquapages // eline12 Comments

Pages: 400

Genre: contemporary young adult, lgbt characters

 

Synopsis

Angel Rahimi does not know what she wants to do with her life, but she knows she loves The Ark, a famous pop-rock trio boyband. She’s very involved with the fandom, which is seen to have its positive and negative sides as we also experience Jimmy Kaga-Ricci’s opinions about it. He’s one of the members of the trio boyband, playing with his childhood friends. The music is what makes him like it, being on stage and performing. But he can’t go out on the street alone without being assaulted by fangirls, he barely have any free-time with their busy schedule and his anxities are getting worse as he feels his privacy is invaded. When they started to get popular he was accidentally outed as trans, so he knows a couple things about privacy concerns. His dream has turned into the beginning of a nightmare, caging him in. Angel and Jimmy is forced to figure out the balance together, as one helps the other.

 

The Audiobook

There’s two narrators for the two different main characters, Angel and Jimmy. I really liked both of them, the accents were lovely, but sometimes they got on my nerves as well which was strange. Jimmy’s narrator voices all the guys though, and the voice he gave Mac (a minor character) is the most douchy and annoying voice, which made me laugh and grin my teeth together at the same time. Didn’t surprise me when he was starting to act a bit douchy as well, it fit well.

 

My thoughts

Rating out of five: four

fire

“Most adults see teenagers as confused kids who don’t understand much, while they’re the pillars of knowledge and experience and know exactly what is right at all times.
I think the truth is that everyone in the entire world is confused and nobody understands much of anything at all.”

Writing books about internet and fan-culture seem to be a difficult thing based on the books I’ve read that has gotten it wrong. There’s many reasons for that, most of all how fast it’s changing, making it difficult to capture even one particular moment in time. Alice Oseman does it so well, describing it as well as dvelving deeper into the pros and cons of idolizing groups and celebrities and how much space and influence to give them in our own personal lives. And she does all this in anentertaining way! Alice has some really on-point thoughts on it, with different sides conveyed through Jimmy and his other bandmates Rowan and Lister, along with their “biggest” fans Angel and Juliet.

idolization

I’ve always had a difficult time idolizing people, like I’ve always known that on some general level all those people have flaws as well. Also I’m very scared about meeting people I look up to, in case I have to experience those flaws first-hand. I’ve not been a big fan of artists, even though I wished I was at times. The community I saw friends building, bonding over their favourites, going out and promoting their records, waiting in line for their concert. All this is things Angel would do, and during this book she goes out of her way to help the guys of her favourite band. To an almost comical degree, because she finds herself in weird situations with them. But it wasn’t unrealistic enough to break the fun it was to see these characters interact and the questions, prejudices and reactions they all had to each other. Angel and Jimmy especially had some hilarious and cringy scenarios together, where the characters goes a bit meta and describes how much it’s seeming to turn into a fanfic, but it’s always done cleverly and tastefully.

characters & plot

Through this light and fun story Alice serves, there’s also greater themes pointing to internet and fandom culture, as well as indentity and how we might use things we enjoy both to escape and to connect with others. There’s always lines between interests being healthy and unhealthy, losing yourself in it. Still, I did not appreciate Jimmy’s grandpa telling Alice how things were and that she needed to focus more on herself and stop thinking she was in love with the guys from the band. Okay, some of it made sense, but when he started his speech I realized how much Alice grew on me through the book. I didn’t like Jimmy very much, I thought he should’ve reached more out to his friends, but I also wanted to defend his anxiety and the need of a good support system, which none of them had. So there’s proof that he had his place in this story as well. They all did. I thought I knew where this book was headed for a while, but the ending was a (kind of) pleasant surprise.

Feelings I had reading this book: enjoyed it, clapping my hands at the well-written characters and their personal struggles coming to terms with their popularity or identity, want to read more Alice Oseman books right away

 

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness | Review

aquapages // eline3 Comments

Pages: 320

Genre: contemporary young adult, lgbt characters

Synopsis

What if you aren’t the Chosen One? The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death?

What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again.

Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.

Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions.

The Audiobook

Narrated by James Fouhey, which had a good and fitting voice. It was just good in general.

My thoughts

Rating out of five: four 

fire

“Not everyone has to be the Chosen One. Not everyone has to be the guy who saves the world. Most people just have to live their lives the best they can, doing things that are great for them, having great friends, trying to make their lives better, loving people properly. All the while knowing that the world makes no sense but trying to find a way to be happy anyway.”

It’s a good read if you don’t go into it expecting a fantasy story. You get a “normal” coming of age story, of a teenage boy Mikey who are worried about what to do after high school, but mostly just trying to survive the year. Aren’t we all? (Like seriously, I have nine long months left). It’s definitely a surreal experience reading Mikey’s description of the special “indie” kids (aka with powers) disappearing and dying in the fight against monsters and green lights. It’s explained by a clear separation between who is a indie kid, one of the heroes of a regular fantasy novel, and who is the cilivians. His town is definitely a warzone. And as a reader you just have to go with it, to not ask too many questions or it will fall apart.

I don’t know what I think about a book where asking to many questions about their situation will dig enough plot holes until it’s mostly holes and not much left to enjoy. I feel like Patrick Ness often seem to keep to the line of “is this real or the main character’s imagination” until about half the book has passed, when action start to set in. Still, I couldn’t stop myself asking questions. Like why don’t they move out of town, if it’s overrun by monsters? Why haven’t they found weapons that work? Lots of these questions aren’t even asked in the book, the reason I suppose is that Mikey isn’t a part of that world. But he is, constantly seeing and choosing to ignore or investigate it. They all are, which makes it interesting.

The balance between having a normal highschool life – being with friends, parties, schoolwork, drama, relationships – and the monsters wrecking shit in town and endagering humans is a really funny and heartwrenching one. It’s a bit too relatable, as while I was reading it dealing with major health concerns that come in like one of those monsters. A lot of this book is about contrast and responsibility. While the basic plot of the friendgroup was enjoyable, with camping and relationship and friend drama, everything else brought added dimension, perspective and funny satire of the stereotypical fantasy hero novel. For example, the “indie” kids have apparantly chosen, maybe just been born for, fighting against the monsters alone. They insist that it’s their job, and the civilians are happy to comply.

Last thing worth mentioning is the vivid descriptions of Mikey’s anxieties and OCD, I haven’t read many books about it, but he describes being trapped in thoughts and actions and it seems very real. It does not help having anxiety that feels like something bad is going to happen soon, when monsters are roaming, but that seems to be the point.

Feelings I had reading this book: trying to survive the schoolyear is relatable af, i also want to go camping with friends (it’s never supposed to go well is it?) … also sometimes monsters has to be talked about and dealt with i guess?

The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden | Review

aquapages // eline2 Comments

Pages: 260

Genre: realistic fiction, middle grade

Release date: 4. september 2018

Synopsis

“Some people can do their homework. Some people get to have crushes on boys. Some people have other things they’ve got to do.”

Seventh-grader Zoey has her hands full as she takes care of her much younger siblings after school every day while her mom works her shift at the pizza parlor. Not that her mom seems to appreciate it. At least there’s Lenny, her mom’s boyfriend—they all get to live in his nice, clean trailer.

At school, Zoey tries to stay under the radar. Her only friend Fuchsia has her own issues, and since they’re in an entirely different world than the rich kids, it’s best if no one notices them.

Zoey thinks how much easier everything would be if she were an octopus: eight arms to do eight things at once. Incredible camouflage ability and steady, unblinking vision. Powerful protective defenses.

Unfortunately, she’s not totally invisible, and one of her teachers forces her to join the debate club. Even though Zoey resists participating, debate ultimately leads her to see things in a new way: her mom’s relationship with Lenny, Fuchsia’s situation, and her own place in this town of people who think they’re better than her. Can Zoey find the courage to speak up, even if it means risking the most stable home she’s ever had?

This moving debut novel explores the cultural divides around class and the gun debate through the eyes of one girl, living on the edges of society, trying to find her way forward.

My thoughts

Rafting out of five: four stars

I did not realize this was a debut novel, that’s even more impressing. This book says it’s important, and it’s right. It’s about one girl, Zoey’s, experience and daily life, the struggles she goes through as she’s taking care of her siblings, trying to survive school and making tough choices.

This book talks about how some children are forced into adulthood earlier than others with the amount of resposibilities they have. There’s a gap between kids who have a different amount of support at home, like having healthy food prepared for them, help with homework, not having to worry about family’s financial situaiton, that shapes so much what their experiences are like and what amount of stresses and stability they have in other aspects of their life, like school. This book communicates that in a very direct, but appropriate way. It has a language that works both for adults and kids. It shows Zoey experience in hopes that more stories of kids like her will be told, increasing empathy and the discussion with them.

The octopuses (thank you for not forcing me to read octopi over and over it’s not as fun) are a really fun and heartbreaking way to convey Zoey’s emotions and thoughts going through things. I appreciated all the facts, being a nerd, and the method of process it brought her. Something that confused me was reading Zoey’s thoughts and trying to match them with the reflective opinions and conclusions she draws. She noticed things that the other classmates don’t, like Silas stopping talking and why, and has suddenly can debate gun reform from both views. And that’s not major things, but I got this feeling that I never saw the process behind developments like that.

Debates at school is tough when you’re more invested in it personally and sits on more “insider” details than others who are debating for the sake of it, because that’s basically the task. I thought it was relatable the way Zoey’s hands were shaking and she had to find her courage. It was pretty obvious that the author chose the gun reform subject because of own interest, it did not quite match with the rest of the book.

What I was feeling reading this book: sad, but mostly proud, for kids like Zoey and thinking back on other now nearly adults I know raising their siblings and having those invisible struggles

Thank you to the publisher for receiving this copy through NetGalley in exhange of an honest review.

Does this book sound interesting? Btw, what’s your view on guncontrol (i am honestly really curious)?

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller | Review

aquapages // eline5 Comments

Pages: 320

Genre: fantasy, pirates

 

Synopsis

There will be plenty of time for me to beat him soundly once I’ve gotten what I came for.

Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map—the key to a legendary treasure trove—seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship.

More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has only one thing standing between her and the map: her captor, the unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive first mate, Riden. But not to worry, for Alosa has a few tricks up her sleeve, and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King.

 

My thoughts

Rating out of five: four 

fire

This is a fun and enjoyable book. It’s fantastic to have girls who kick ass in fantasy, especially when it’s someone as cunning and dangerous as Alosa. I was hesitant to pick this book up because I noticed how it seemed to be talked about like “this princess isn’t sitting around in her ballgown, she cares about her clothes and appearance AND is a pirate captain who kills a lot of men”. I read this book fast, it was entertaining, but I am certainly a bit worried about why and how people are praising it. There’s not a lot of deeper world-building or truths, for a lack of a better phrase, in this book. It’s pirates, and it’s bloody and it’s fun – and better than a lot of similiar books I’ve read.

the main character Alosa

Alosa seems too overconfident at times as she tells herself over and over that she could get out of the captivity of the other pirate ship anytime, she just needs to get the map first. I mean, she was still in the middle of the fucking ocean. And then there was a revelation that made all of it make sense, she had a plan out, and I was impressed. I saw it coming a couple pages before the reveal, but it still was done in a really clever way. Alosa is the definition of cold, she reminded me of the character Katsa in “Graceling” by Kristin Cashore. Katsa also had an king relative who basically tortured her and gifts that enhanced that coldness. Also she’s one of my all time favs, so of course I would like Alosa.

plot and romance

The plot of this book is simple, but it’s well executed. Alosa is captive to find a map, she’s faced with challenges, both in searching creative hiding spaces, trying to not hook up with Riden and trying not to be tortured by the captain Daxen. The romance with Riden is what it seems, he’s her nicer-than-most guard after she escapes for the hundreth time, a lot of banting and suddenly they’re sharing stories and making out. It wasn’t as exciting as other parts of the book, but it’s obvious that they both have ulterior motives and know what they’re getting themselves into so.

What I was feeling reading this book: entertained and a bit concerned for everyone in Alosa’s path. Also I was laughing when Alosa ended up trashing a particular room and was found drawing octopuses on the maps.

 

a mini rant

I don’t like the reviews saying how “feminist” or girl-empowering this book is. There’s little in this book that I find feminist??? It’s set in a world with very clear patriarchy and where Alosa has carved out her mainly female crew, but we barely see them all book and don’t interact much with them, as she’s held capture on another ship because she’s the daughter of a pirate king. The fact that Alosa has certain skills, and that her father trained her to use them, does not overwin the fact that she has to avoid getting raped throughout this book and is constantly underestimated because she’s a girl, to the point where it’s almost comical because they know she’s the damn pirate princess. Alosa killed three guys without flinching to get her dresses when she was captured, she does not have much of a conscience. And that’s fine, especially as we learn more about her and what she’s been through, but she’s not the good person in this book. None of them are, Alosa and Riden discussed so at one point. They are pirates for a reason. I do think Alosa’s treatment is choices made deliberately by the author, and I don’t have a problem with that, just the way this book seemed to be discussed.

 

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch | Review

aquapages // eline6 Comments

Pages: 340

Genre: Science fiction, thriller

 

Synopsis

“Are you happy with your life?”

Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious.

Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits.

Before a man Jason’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.”

In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.

Is it this world or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could’ve imagined—one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.

 

My thoughts

Rating out of five: four stars

fire

This is a thriller, playing on a scenario that has always haunted me of trying to find your way back home. Still it’s difficult to recommend or talk about this book without spoiling it. So I’m just going to say reading this book is like watching a movie in the way it’s written and even if the book is called “dark matter” the physics parts of it isn’t something you need to know or be interested in to enjoy it. If the synopsis sounds interesting and you are in to read about some kidnapping and weird and absurd, out of the ordinary things, this is a good book. If you are in the mood to question your existence and life, this book didn’t really feel that deep.

 

SPOILERS BELOW

So we have our main character Jason Dessen being kidnapped by famous scientist Jason Dessen who have managed to find a way to send him to his alternative universe, so that they can switch lives and places. Multiple universes exist btw. It’s a really shitty plan, first of all, especially for one who’s supposed to be a genius. It was also obvious pretty early on what had happened, that he was kidnapped by himself.

The visuals I got from this book, of a person running down corridors trying to find his home world and getting nowhere was so satisfying and creepy. The “uncanny valley” feeling of meeting a world that’s similiar to your own, but small details doesn’t match up until you realize it’s not yours is horrifying. My own nightmare would be trying to escape and find that your surroundings are endless and not-changing, you’re stuck in a pattern or world. This book reflects that very well. Another thing that’s taken straight out of my nightmares is the part where Jason Dessen slowly comes to terms with being in another universe in the first place and others trying to get him commited to an psychiatric ward by force. With all the worlds and scenarios Jason meets, like his family dying in front of him in this apocalyptic world of illness, I had to like this book. Even if it’s a bit of every cliche movie thrown in a pot and crossing fingers that it will be fast-paced enough for the reader not to question it.

Still, this book also feels like a smart stupid TV show, that tries to appear brilliant until you dig deeper. To be fair, I am interested in physics, but have never looked deeply into the multiple universe theory. This book is not reality bending, question inducing, it does not make me think deeply about my existence or life like it tries to market itself as. But it’s still fun & horrifying, it’s absurd and action-filled. 

Especially towards the end it becomes apparent that not every question is going to be asked or answered, that the action has taken priority over pondering about what this means about the universe and worlds, even though most of the versions of Jason Dessen are scientists. As Jason Dessen the main character meets the other versions of Jason Dessen, a few moral questions are brought up in who should be able to get back to the wife and if it’s unmoral to kill each other. They have varying views on that. But the time-limit created by the action and the versions hunting each other doesn’t give possiblities to dive into things like who the “real Jason Dessen” is and what that means. Or really the fact that the famous real physics scientist version of him chose to kidnap “our” Jason and why. All the other versions of Jason doesn’t seem as alive and three-dimensional, when at least some of them shouldn’t really be that much different.

I really wanted to know what happened to the nurse after she left. I was happy for her when she found out Jason’s mission wouldn’t get her anywhere safe. So I felt some connection to the characters, even though I found myself liking Jason less and less throughout the book. I felt that all the alternative world-hopping could’ve changed him more and been a good way for character development, but in the end I don’t get what changed and how he found the right universe. The sole focus of getting back to his family is understandable, but also boring after a while.

What I was feeling reading this book: excited about the action and absurd parts, sometimes seeing my own nightmares played out