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Book Club: Shutter Island
Originally this was going to be the book club pick of the month, buuuut we finished it in six days. It was gripping! So here are my thoughts:
You may recognize the title because it spawned a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, so you may already have an idea that Teddy Edwards, the protagonist, is an unreliable narrator. I did but it’s been awhile since I saw the movie so I couldn’t remember why Teddy was insane.
Let’s back up a bit. Marshal Edwards has been assigned to capture an escaped inmate on the infamous Shutter Island, home of Ashcliffe Asylum where only the most violent and deluded criminals reside. But as he ventures deeper into the mystery of how one patient could escape the most secure institution, he starts to suspect there’s a conspiracy hiding what’s really going on, and he may never leave.
Like I said, I think the movie is well-known enough that you already know going in that Teddy isn’t reliable, but the reasons he isn’t reliable aren’t quite clear and Lehane does a wonderful job in creating scenes that can be interpreted one way as a completely valid truth in Teddy’s mind while also seeming completely sane when the reveal is explained. Each character, while innocuous at first end up playing a part to the real reason why Teddy is trapped on the island.
It is part psychological thriller, part WW2 trauma coming home to roost and it was a fun puzzle as a reader to figure out what parts of Teddy’s past were distorted to create this elaborate, false narrative.
I do have questions about the choice to “kill off” Teddy’s partner since it don’t see how it could aid the reality breakthrough that they were trying to achieve. By gaslighting a man who is already paranoid and distrustful and telling him the hoax is a hoax, isn’t that going to dig him deeper in his delusion?
Plus the ending is either heartbreaking or a surprising twist as you must decide the newfound state of Teddy’s sanity and whether he is conscious of what he’s doing or not.
Wow, it’s hard trying to discuss this without spoilers. But I’d recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of Gone Girl or The Women in White.
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Alex & Eliza Review
Ah yes, Alexander and Eliza, America’s now most famous and beloved love story. De La Cruz takes us to 1777 at a midwinter’s ball where the Schuyler Sisters are the envy of all. Eliza is the quintessential middle child of the Schuylers, although she takes after her father’s reserved, practical independence, she is not as pretty as Peggy nor bitingly witty as Angelica much to her mother’s charign. But Eliza has loftier goals with the war going on. Sewing for the soldiers, inoculations, anything to help their burgeoning country.
But that same midwinter’s ball changes the course of her life as she meets her future husband, an ambitious aide de camp, Alexander Hamilton.
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Plans for 2024
Hello everyone, I hope the New Year is treating you well.
Since last year was super productive on the reading front, it’s tempting to shoot for another 100 but I’m dialing back this year. I have two grad programs to get through and I really want to get back to my own writing.
So I’ll be updating a lot less often. I’m planning on rereading my 500+ Archie digest collection and other shorter books that are less than 100 pages. Something easy to skim and I don’t really have to review.
But that doesn’t mean I’m planning to not read anything substantial. In the two weeks I have before school starts up again I plan to reread Rachel Bloom’s memoir as well as Joya Goffney’s works. Read Samira Ahmed’s entire YA catalogue and begin De La Cruz’s Alex and Eliza trilogy. This will continue with one Hamilton book a month including Cobb’s The Hamilton Affair and Elliot’s Hamilton . . . and Peggy! Maybe the Hamilton musical companion for good measure.
In March, I have my women’s history nonfiction to get through. It’s nearly at 30 so that will make it easy to read once a day. Maybe throw in Ngio Adichi’s Why You Should be a Feminist for good measure.
Somewhere in April I want to reread Donnelly’s Deep Water quartet since I think it has been literally years, and maybe get to Rita Moreno and Sara Saedi’s memoirs again. I also might look into Avi’s old works again for nostalgia.
Also I’m now in a book club, and the first pick is Dennis Lehane’s Shutter Island so I’ll probably post my thoughts on that too.
Some new books I look forward to getting into include Weisman’s new Gargoyles paperbacks coming in Feb and April. I know it came out last year but I liked to read them in a complete volume than issue by issue even if it means I’m woefully behind on all the news. Same with Wei’s Loveboat Forever which I wanted to finish last year but someone was hoarding it in the library.
Anyway, there’s DeSefano’s The Lost Ones coming from Disney-Hyperion as well as the new Twisted Tale by Rochon. I’m also looking into getting their UK-only Twisted Tales from ebay at some point cuz I’m a completionist like that. Lyla Lee and Joya Goffney have new books coming out this year too but I’m not sure when, eager to get to those. As well as Burkhart’s sequel series to Canterwood Crest, Saddlehill Academy.
That’s it for the update, look forward to my Alex and Eliza review tomorrow!
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Reading Log 2023
Last year, I read an amazing 500 books so this year it was only reasonable that I reach a little more and try to get to 600.
I didn’t.
I got to 700 books!! And yes, maybe it’s considered “cheating” if you count those graphic novels and lower grade books that are easy to read through but they’re still books, and they still count. This year’s special focus was early 2000s dystopian YA and fantasy as well as fractured fairytales.
So if you want to see the breadth of my reading I split them into categories like YA Contemporary, Regency Romance, Adult, Comics etc.
You can check out my reviews and thoughts of the books by clicking on the author tag. I’m pretty sure I got most of them.
So I feel very satisfied and hope this will inspire some new reads. I can’t wait to see what’s coming in 2024. Happy reading.
(more…)#abigailhingwei, #adrianneherrera, #alexandramonir, #alisakwitney, #allycarter, #allycondie, #amandabrice, #amandabridgeman, #angelacarter, #angiethomas, #anitakunz, #annaseawell, #annm.martin, #antlucia, #archiecomics, #auralewiw, #awjantha, #beckyalbertalli, #beverlybond, #biancaturetsky, #bradmeltzer, #brendajanowitz, #brittalundin, #bryankozentino, #camryngarret, #candiceiloh, #cassandraclare, #cathleendaley, #charitytahmaseb, #charlessstrong, #cheriedimaline, #chriscolfer, #chrisduffy, #christopherhealey, #claireforrest, #comics, #contemporaryromance, #courtneysheinmel, #crystalsmithpaul, #danparent, #darcyvance, #dawnwells, #dccomics, #deborahgregory, #deliaadhler, #deliaowens, #delilahs.dawson, #denenemillner, #dhonielleclayton, #dianaquincy, #dianawynnjones, #dianebiller, #dianeknapp, #disneyhyperion, #dorisschroeder, #dortheajsnow, #e.d.baker, #earnestthompsonseton, #elisabettagnone, #elizabethacevedo, #elizabethlim, #eloisajames, #emilymidorikawa, #emmabradford, #emmaclairesweeny, #emmatheriaut, #evaleigh, #faitherinhicks, #fantasy, #fcyee, #fernandoruiz, #fracturedfairytale, #francescosedita, #francinelewis, #gabrielgarciamarquez, #gabriellecharbonnet, #gailcarsonlevine, #georgeo’connor, #girlhoodjourneys, #gloriachao, #gracelin, #graphicnovels, #gregorymaguire, #gregweisman, #haleyneil, #harpercollins, #hbgilmour, #heathernuhfer, #helenhale, #herberta.libby, #hiromuarakawa, #historicalromance, #j.c.cervantes, #j.elle, #jadeadia, #jamesdashner, #jamesriley, #janfields, #jarrettjkrosoczka, #jblynn, #jeffyang, #jencalonita, #jenniferdeleon, #jenniferdonnelly, #jennifermathieu, #jennyeldermoke, #jerrycraft, #jessicabrody, #jessicaspotswood, #jilliambrooks, #jimcolucci, #jimmybeason, #joanholub, #jodipicoult, #johannakerby, #johngreen, #josephbruchac, #judyblume, #juliadao, #juliaquinn, #julieberberg, #juliemurphy, #julioanta, #kamigarcia, #karencantwell, #kellythompson, #kennethplume, #kieracass, #kirstengier, #kodykeplinger, #l.l.mckinney, #laurenmarino, #levacrosen, #lianadelarosa, #linseymiller, #lisapapademetriou, #liviablackburne, #lmmontgomery, #loisduncan, #louisamayalcott, #lowergrade, #lylalee, #mackenzilee, #madonna, #maggiethrash, #manga, #marciamartin, #margaretstohl, #margueritebennett, #marimancusi, #marnibates, #marshallsaunders, #marvelcomics, #marywilcox, #maurenegoo, #meganmccafferty, #megcabot, #megmedina, #melissadelacruz, #michaelbuckley, #middlegrade, #mikedimartino, #mollymuldoon, #monicaahanou, #morrisgleitzman, #nandinibajipai, #nataliasylvester, #neilgainman, #nicolayoon, #nicolekozer, #nicstone, #nonfiction, #oliviaabhati, #omarhassan, #patricklawson, #paulruditis, #penguinrandomhouse, #peters.beagle, #pgkain, #poetry, #rachelreads&reviews, #rachelreneerussell, #rachelvail, #rainatelgemeier, #randireisfield, #realisticfiction, #regencyromance, #renemartin, #retellings, #rikatanaka, #robinbenway, #robinha, #robinwasserman, #rogerleamcbride, #rozellakennedy, #rupikaur, #rutasepetys, #samanthavanleer, #samellis, #sandhyamenon, #sarahmaclean, #saulausterlitz, #scottwesterfeld, #shannonhale, #sherisinykin, #shonarhimes, #sibylmiller, #simon&schuster, #skali, #somanchainani, #stephaniecook, #stepheniemeyer, #stephenlee, #stevekluger, #susankorman, #suzannecollins, #suzannewilliams, #taherehmafi, #tatsuyaendo, #taylorjenkinsreid, #terrilibenson, #terrryblas, #tessadare, #thortonburgess, #tommyjenkins, #tonimcgeecausey, #tonyviehmann, #troynesbit, #vcandrews, #verabrosgol, #veronicaroth, #victoriaaveyard, #victoriajamieson, #vivianalcock, #wendymass, #whitmanclassics, #williamgoldman, #YA, #zoraidacordova -
Dec Books
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
I know, I know this was a sensation years ago which like the contrary person I am avoided it but eh, why not. I already seen the movie back in college and again, it was such a hit I already knew the major points and Augustus dying. Perhaps all the foreknowledge made this a meh experience for me.
Not that Green isn’t an engaging writer, he is. He is able to get into teen’s head that it seems realistic enough. The feelings of knowing everything yet knowing nothing existing simultaneously with cyncism especially in their circumstances. Honestly, they can get obnoxious but also sympathetically vulnerable, they’re human even though their conditions make people walk on eggshells sometimes, they want to be heard and treated as normal as possible.
So yeah, I found some of their dialogue to be pretentious like they read one AP lit book and now they think know everything especially Augustus but it makes sense as they’re dying kids wanting to make their marks and wanting to be love and loved in return. The difference between Hazel being content with what she has, enjoying the time she has and trying to minimize the pain for her loved ones (though we all know its not possible) and Augustus’ dreams of a legacy are both so real.
So yeah, it was a good one-time read, I can see why others like it.
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
I know, I know, it’s such a famous book but I only read it this month. It’s pretty well-known so I knew the tragic end to Leslie and Jesse with the broken swing. I found it cute and realistic, transporting readers to the 70s down south or the present day when it had been published. There’s something so wholesome about Jesse learning to embrace his imagination and the two creating the kingdom of Terabithia, a place where they rule instead of being the outsiders at school.
But I’m not sure what was so groundbreaking for its time. Is it that Paterson showed the kids being kids which I know was revelatory in some child lit circles where the books primarily focused on moral messages and treated the kids as vessels for those messages, not relating to them but talking down to them.
That’s one theory but maybe I would have understood if I read when I was a kid instead of now. Oh well, it was cute.
The Golden Screen: The Movies that Made Asian America by Jeff Yang
This comprehensive book details the record-breaking, the conversation-starting, good and ugly of Asian Americans on film from the nasty portrayals of xenaphobia and stereotypes in Flower Drum Song and The Son of the Dragon to ones that celebrated Asian American history and love like Crazy Rich Asians, Chutney and The Joy Luck Club. Separated into seven chapters (generational divide, monstorous other, across borders, romance, gender etc), Yang details the history of Asian American depictions in a historical and film-making contexts and its influence on its audiences.
And like any good movie book, it includes blurbs from prominan movie critics and actors of what these movies mean to them which are sometimes contradictory but show how films hit people in different ways. Plus it gives you a lot to add to your TBW pile.
Yang also has interviews at the end of each chapter with actors and filmmakers like Michelle Yeoh, Kal Pen and Daniel Kwan reflecting on the topic of each chapter which adds even more to the experience and appreciate how far we’ve come in diversity and what more that can be achieved.
Rosewood by Sayatani DasGupta
While DasGupta’s first Austen-inspired book was inspired by P&P, Rosewood is inspired by Sense and Sensability and a whole lotta Shakespeare. Plus Bridgerton for good measure where the sisters sign up for a regency acting camp inspired by Bridgerton to include POC teens to enjoy regency romps and a chance to get on the show, so-called, Rosewood.
Much like in Sense and Sensibility, Eila is the elest daughter whose sense of responsibility has made her repress her actress dreams to go for a more suitable career in the sciences and has taken upon herself to watch over her little sister, Mallika since their dad’s death so not to overburden their mother in her grief. Eila is very stern about this and so she finds this whole regency acting camp even more ridiculous because it feels like they’re dismissing the regency era’s colonial past and revising it to something madeup and even more vapid.
But Mallika’s plan works as Eila gets into the acting that she so enjoys and is swept away in the fantasy of it all. She starts to understand why people enjoy play-acting the era despite the societal resitrictions and protocle because breaking them is so much fun. Especially since she’s breaking them with the sweet yet reserved Rahul.
It has all the storybeats of S&S like being rescued by a charming Whilloughby type, the snooty Ferrera’s girl trying to drive a wedge between and by pointing out their financial/class differences and painting Eila as a social climbing gold-digger which leads to more miscommunication and lying that drags on because of Eila’s pride. A bit predictable in the last quarter where the third act break up dragged on to the point of irritation because Mallika is right, Eila seems like she doesn’t want to let herself have fun or pleasure.
Honestly, the romance was meh (minus the incredibly romantic lantern boat scene, just swoon!) but Eila devcelopment and the sisterly bond was great as she realizes is more capable than she thought and she should stop neglecting herself and pursue her dreams despite the doubts and fears of failure. Also I just like how the Willoughby-stand in didn’t turn out to be a jerk like in the original. He remains his charming albeit suspicious self throughout.
(more…)#alihazelwood, #avonbooks, #avonromance, #bridgetoterabithia, #candiceiloh, #dearmartin, #everythingeverything, #fruitsbasketanother, #harpercollins, #jeffyang, #johngreen, #katherinepaterson, #kilalaprincess, #lovefromatoz, #lovefrommeccatomedina, #loveinenglish, #lovetheoretically, #mariae.andreu, #natsukitakaya, #nicolayoon, #nicstone, #nonfiction, #ourbraveforemothers, #queenofexiles, #rachelreads&reviews, #rikatanaka, #rosewood, #rozellakennedy, #saltthewater, #sayatanidasgupta, #simon&schuster, #skali, #thefaultinourstars, #thegoldenscreen, #thesunisalsoastar, #tokoyopop, #vanessariley, #vizmedia, #women's books, #workmanpublishing, #YA -
Wicked Review
Alright, I knew this wasn’t going to be like the movie or the musical but I hadn’t expected how political or dark this was going to be.
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Tokyo Ever After/Tokyo Dreaming
After reading The Princess Diaries, this duology also got on my radar of similar themes of an American girl suddenly finding out that she’s the illigitimate daughter of a prince and heads over for a crash course in protocol, paparazzi and romance.
And yes, those similarities do pop up as there’s a lot Mia, and Izumi (sometimes Izzy during a stint where she tried to assimilate in her majority white town) as they navigate jealous cousins that seek to make them look bad, the press intrusion and the feeling of hopeless averageness when the world wants you to be a perfect princess.
But Izumi’s journey is different as she tries to reconcile the sudden life change with getting to know her father, the Crown Prince of Japan. He seems to want to get to know her but is formal and hampered by constant engagements. And she doesn’t really feel an insta-bond at first, inf act she feels somewhat defensive at what she percieves to be slights against her mother’s parenting and his overompensating ways to be a parent when he hadn’t known she existed till a few weeks ago.
Still, you can see how important family and familial history is to Izumi as she studies up on her paternal and maternal sides, feeling more connected to who she can be instead of the constant feeling of “in between.” Too Japanese for America and to American for the Japanese.
Yes, the culture shock is real and while Izumi is learning, she does make several huge faux paus in a combination of following her heart and ignorance as people seem to expect her to “just know” certain scandals and feuds while shaking their heads at the ignorant American, waiting for her to fail. This also comes from the Imperial Household and several cousins like “The Shining Twins” who seem to take an instant dislike to the ursurper of popularity even though she’s ursurping in negative popularity.
Nonetheless, you can see the clear appreciation Izumi starts to gain for Japan when she was initially confused by the seemingly incomprehensible idioms and archaic traditions. Japan’s always evolving but it’s beauty in combining tradition, resilience and duty is beautiful.
As for being a princess, sometimes being an American does pave good press as she advocates for more gender equality, using her history studies to point to precedences in the royal household which was just such a badass moment. Same with standing up for her mother as well as other household servants.
Which brings me to her bodyguard romance with Aiko. He’s 20 to her 18, and though they seem to have a negative first impression. He with the stick up his butt and her as the naieve American who makes his job harder for him, the bodyguard romance trope is in full force as the enforced proximity leads to bonding and backstory talk. They were wonderful in the first book but I felt their relationship flagged in the sequel where they break up to ease the pressure on Izumi’s parents’ unpopular engagement. From there, she engages in a fake relationship turned love triangle where Aiko loses out in my opinion as the distance left him off-the-page for the story and Eriku was so charming, I ended up rooting for him. I just felt it would be an interesting subversion if Izumi and Aiko moved on to show that your first love isn’t your true love but oh well.
As for Izumi’s other relationships, Jean creates believable three-dimensional personalities for each even though their arcs aren’t as fleshed out as Izumi’s and her mother’s. Her “lady-in-waiting” Mariko gives such Grandmere vibes only a lot less eccentric, operating as both a stern teacher and reserved big sister. Reina, her second bodyguard was so cool and I wish she had more page time. As for Izumi’s cousins, one is as charming yet backstabbingly connving as cousin Philip and I was disappointed that he didn’t appear much in the sequel. I’m not suggesting he return as a antagonist but I expected him to put more of a wrench in the debate over Izumi’s parents’ marriage especially as it could concern his succession to the throne.
As for Izumi’s other cousins, they operate as mean girls in the first even though Izumi is told they have more hidden depths, and are products of their enviroment, she is understandably reluctant to feel bad for them. However, the sequel gives them a slight niceness upgrade or at least they reach a place of understanding as they bond over the scrutiny female royals have to deal with in the media and the slander printed against both their moms. It actually reminded me of bit of the scandal regarding the real princess of Japan Mako who recently gave up her titles to marry a commoner.
Izumi’s relationship with her mother could arguably be the heart of the book as they stand by each other and support one another in this difficult transition especially in the second book as Izumi reminds her mother of her worth after months of the Japanese press deriding her lack of pedigree to marry the royal prince. The way they both resolve to be themselves again and make compromises to ease the pressure to conform in order to be their own family and their own sense of space. This is aided by Izumi’s best friend, Noor, who provides a much needed reality check when Izumi gets in too deep in her conforming role, and I love how they continue their friendship despite all the craziness.
While there are some parts that could have been done different (see love triangle, and cousin), Jean creates a glittering, semi-realistic look on a girl becoming a princess with a dose of escapism that readers will be sure to enjoy.
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Ranking Hotel for Dogs trilogy
Lois Duncan is best known for her horror and supernatural mystery work that has spawned countless movie adaptations like I Know What You Did Last Summer but after the tragic unsolved murder of her daughter, she pivoted to lighter fare in children’s literature. Most notably, the Hotel for Dogs trilogy, so let’s get ranking.
- News for Dogs: This one was my favorite (mainly cuz I read it out of order so that may have colored my rankings) as Andi, Bruce, and their friends start up a newspaper for the neighborhood, cycling through news for dogs but end up stumbling into a dognapping mystery. Faster than you can say Scooby Doo, Bruce deducts that it’s the town bully who is desperate for revenge and their dog, Red Rover (whom he still thinks is his even though he’s a horrible dog owner and abuser) and plot a way to expose him. It may have also briefly inspired my dog journalism phase.
- Movies for Dogs: We all love our canine companions in movies. Here, Duncan exposes the fun and the shady side of animal-trainers in Hollywood when the kids enter a contest and get the chance to put Red Rover onscreen and must contend with the animal abuse of a fellow contestant vicariously chasing success through his “talking dog.” Cute, and a light way of introducing a serious topic.
- Hotel for Dogs: I guess it’s not a surprise that the intro gets the bottom ranking as its simple premise is predictable with boy wants dog, boy loves dog, said dog is owned by abusive bully, kid finds a way to get the dog while helping all other strays through dog hotel. Okay, maybe not the classic premise but it’s predictably heartwarming.
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Spy x Family
A spy. An assassin. A telepath. Just your average family.
In Endo’s world, Ostania and Westalis are on the constant verge of civil war and after the last civil war, the government’s SS and the WISE agency do their best to route out dissenters and other individuals that threaten fragile peace.
Twilight is the best spy in WISE and master of disguise, but his latest mission threatens to test the best of his skills. Top government official, Donovan Desmond is a linchpin to the civil war grenade, he has to get close but the man is famously reclusive and paranoid. So he has to infiltrate Desmond’s inner circle by getting a child into Eden Academy, befriend Desmond’s son and get into that mansion.
With the application deadline looming, Twilight (now known as Loid Forager) adopts a kid and manages to finagle a wife just in time. Unbeknowst to him, his child, Anya, is actually a telepath and his wife, Yor, is an assassin, alias Thorn Princess.
None of them know the other’s real skills. Well, except Anya but she’s terrified of revealing the facade in fear that Loid will take her back to the orphange so she has to do a fragile dance of playing along with the ruse while using her skills to help Twilight save the world. Yor has her own reasons for eloping with the man she knows as Loid since single women are considered very suspicious in this communist-esque society, she’s grateful that the marriage makes her seem normal and provide cover for her assassin activities. However, she comes to love the new family bonds she creates with Loid and Anya and will stab anyone who threatens their safety.
That’s the highlight of this series as the trio start to form real affection for the others, making them doubly certain of keeping their secret identities so they can keep their little family and try to incorporate it as long as they can with their “regular” lives.
Endo’s world has shades of the 60s/70s with present day technology, creating a vintage James Bond atmosphere with the humor that comes from these highly trained spies and assassins struggle in acting like regular human beings especially Twilight whose new role as a father is endearingly fraught with his overanalysis of everything and determination to be the most normal father ever. Which Anya uses to her advantage in convincing him that buying her candies and dressing in tacky tourist shirts is the best way to do so.
Plus the side characters are quite fun too. There’s Franky, Twilight’s tech guy who is sometimes wrangled as a babysitter and whose attempts at flirting with anyone is pathetically funny. There’s Yor’s brother, Yuri, whose love for his sister veers into creepy but provides drama as his role as Head SS agent and interrogator threatens Twilight’s mission since Yuri is ready to execute Loid the second he hurts his older sister and he doesn’t even know that Twilight is the infamous Twilight.
Anya’s own mission in befriending Desmond is adorable as she’s a truly weird kid among all the trust fund brats but her imagination and empathy (with a side helping of telepathy) make her attempts and failures fun to read.
Plus there’s characters introduces later on that provide new obstacles and revelations for the trio to become more immersed in their lies and point them to reconsider their priorities like Twilight’s protege, Nightfall who has a huge crush on her mentor and seeks to ursurp Yor, and the Bond the future-seeing dog.
Not to mention the obvious slow-burn between Loid and Yor that point to them developing real feelings and I can’t wait for the storm that will happen when their real identities are revealed.
But until that happens, I’m looking forward to volume 11 and 12 and watching the netflix adaptation.
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Ranking The Land of Stories
I have finally finished my fractured fairytale TBR pile! Yay me!! And this one took awhile because damn this series is popular, someone was always checking it out. But I finished and now it’s time to rank em.
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Rachel Reads & Reviews 