BookWyrm

schauch rated The Archive of the Forgotten: 3 stars

A. J. Hackwith: The Archive of the Forgotten (Paperback, 2020, Ace)

The Archive of the Forgotten by A. J. Hackwith

schauch rated Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family: 4 stars

No cover — Robert Kolker: Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family (2020, Doubleday Books)

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker

The heartrending story of a midcentury American family with twelve children, six of them diagnosed with schizophrenia, that became science's …

schauch reviewed The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

Helen Hoang: The Heart Principle (Paperback, 2021, Berkley)

Review of 'The Heart Principle' on 'GoodReads'

5 stars

What an adorable, wonderful story. I'm happy to have waited for it. Totally worth it.

schauch rated Storm and Fury: 3 stars

Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout (The Harbinger, #1)

schauch reviewed A reaper at the gates by Sabaa Tahir

Sabaa Tahir: A reaper at the gates (2018, Razorbill)

The Blood Shrike, Helene Aquilla, is assailed on all sides. Emperor Marcus, haunted by his …

Review of 'A reaper at the gates' on 'GoodReads'

4 stars

3.5 stars. Still enjoyed most of the story, but it definitely dragged a bit in the first half. Also, was disappointed in how the author treated the Blood Shrike in this book. She came off as criminally stupid against Keris, and it seemed to be solely in service of the trope of making the enemy seem almost impossible to defeat. But honestly, I'd much rather not have that trope if it meant the Blood Shrike not stupid just for the plot.

schauch rated A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes): 5 stars

Sabaa Tahir: A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes) (2017, Harper Voyager)

A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes) by Sabaa Tahir

schauch rated Pho Love Story: 4 stars

Loan Le: Pho Love Story (2021, Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers)

Pho Love Story by Loan Le

schauch reviewed Lifting as We Climb by Evette Dionne

Review of 'Lifting as We Climb' on 'GoodReads'

4 stars

This is a good introduction to how Black women have helped fight for the right to vote and how others - mainly white women - have discriminated against them. It's not a terribly indepth book, and I especially wish it provided more information on just the discrimination that Black women continued to face after the 19th Amendment and their work to pass the Civil Rights Act. But otherwise, I learned a lot.

schauch reviewed We Free the Stars by Hafsah Faizal (The Sands of Arawiya, #2)

Hafsah Faizal: We Free the Stars (Hardcover, 2021, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR))

Review of 'We Free the Stars' on 'GoodReads'

5 stars

It wasn't a perfect book (some story lines got dropped midway through and quickly picked up again at the end), but I loved this book. Such a satisfying ending to the first one and for the characters. Zafira remains a great protagonist - strong but flawed - and Nasir got over his poutiness, which made him even more enjoyable. And man, could feel the steam coming from those two!

schauch reviewed Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender

Review of 'Queen of the Conquered' on 'GoodReads'

5 stars

4.5 stars. What a fascinating book. Kacen Callender did such an amazing job creating an incredibly sad but complex world where no one is innocent, even those who have been horribly wronged. The story takes place in the Caribbean-inspired islands of Hans Lollik, which were colonized centuries ago by the Fjern, who have enslaved the native Islanders. The story starts with the slaughter of one Islander family that was rare in their ability to earn freedom and work their way to some power and then evolves into a mystery as someone starts killing off the ruling Fjern one by one.

The story is partly about revenge and how corrupting it can be. The main character, Sigourney, was a child during the massacre and the only one who managed to escape alive. She's since been forced to live her childhood on the run but has slowly been working on a plan …

4.5 stars. What a fascinating book. Kacen Callender did such an amazing job creating an incredibly sad but complex world where no one is innocent, even those who have been horribly wronged. The story takes place in the Caribbean-inspired islands of Hans Lollik, which were colonized centuries ago by the Fjern, who have enslaved the native Islanders. The story starts with the slaughter of one Islander family that was rare in their ability to earn freedom and work their way to some power and then evolves into a mystery as someone starts killing off the ruling Fjern one by one.

The story is partly about revenge and how corrupting it can be. The main character, Sigourney, was a child during the massacre and the only one who managed to escape alive. She's since been forced to live her childhood on the run but has slowly been working on a plan to return and seek vengeance on the Fjern who killed her family. But while it's easy to apologize for her actions to start with, especially as they target the Fjern who have terrorized the Islanders, it's quickly apparent that she's willing to allow the rest of the Islanders to continue to be terrorized and enslaved if it means she can get her revenge. She's not a character who really can be loved, but Callender still does a wonderful job of getting the reader to at least want her to seek some redemption.

The other characters are all also compelling, whether the Fjern who are terrible but still have some shred of humanity, or the Islanders who have suffered so much and yet are still ignored.

My one problem with this book was the mystery, partly because it was very slow in coming, and partly in frustration with how Sigourney went about trying to solve it (basically making no headway and never really seeming to do anything to find answers even though it's what she kept claiming to be doing). It made the story a bit frustrating to read, especially as I could start to figure out the answer myself and got frustrated with Sigourney (which I suspect was what the author wanted, but still frustrating). But really, this is a fairly minor complaint, and overall I think the reveal still held enough surprises to make it worth it. I'm excited to read the second book.

schauch reviewed Ties That Tether by Jane Igharo

Review of 'Ties That Tether' on 'GoodReads'

4 stars

Really like the first half, although the second half sadly relied on the two main characters not telling each other important things for plot, which always annoys me. But overall, a good book with a great look at the experience of an immigrant woman.

schauch reviewed Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor

Fernanda Melchor, Sophie Hughes: Hurricane Season (2020, Norton & Company Limited, W. W.)

The Witch is dead. And the discovery of her corpse—by a group of children playing …

Review of 'Hurricane Season' on 'GoodReads'

4 stars

This was a hard read, both in terms of subject matter (big ol' CW for rape and child abuse and other stuff) but also the technical writing style. Melchor definitely knows what she's doing in how she writes this book - her use of stream of consciousness and run on sentences definitely has a sweeping feel to it, evoking that sense of chaos you would get in a hurricane. On the other hand, it definitely makes it hard to follow what is happening. I think for the most part that the work on the reader's part is worth it - although it does take time to get used to the flow of the writing, ultimately the story that's slowly unraveled is a worthy one. I do wonder if so many run-on sentences were needed, though.