2019 book 152

Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed's Yes No Maybe So
Do you need a super cute YA romance about progressive politics in your life? Yes, yes you do. This co-written novel focuses on a Jewish teen boy, plagued by social anxiety, and a Muslim girl, dealing with newly separated parents, who pair up to canvas for a state senatorial candidate in Atlanta. I love both characters and their relationships with friends and families (I was obviously partial to the sassy Jewish grandma and the sassy Jewish little sister). They felt like real kids, even if I did find the romance stuff to be sliiiiightly cheesy. Still, I was rooting for them! This was so cute and super relevant to our modern times! A/A-.

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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in January.

2019 book 151

Sylvia Townsend Warner's The Corner That Held Them
I keep reading things about Warner, and liked her book Lolly Willowes a lot, so though I’d check this out. It’s the story of a convent in 1300s England, and some parts are interesting and some are tiresome and not much really happens. I guess it’s an interesting concept from a literary point of view, but I didn’t really enjoy the reading experience. B/B-.

2019 book 150

K.B. Spangler's Stoneskin

This was a very compelling start to a sci-fi series that also includes some magical elements—namely, a sentient force in the universe that can communicate with certain people, called Witches, who can use it to teleport people and things all over the galaxy. Now it has chosen a little girl as a Witch, much younger than its usual selections—but why? Lots of adventure and learning to use powers and action and different kinds of humans, etc. I really liked the characters, relationships, and world building here, and will definitely read more of this series whenever it comes out. A-.

2019 book 149

Scarlett Thomas' Oligarchy
After writing the first three books in an excellent middle-grade series, Thomas is back to adult fiction with her latest. Though it does revolve around teen girls at a boarding school in England. Protagonist Natasha, daughter of a very rich Russian man, is sent to a weird school where the girls are all preoccupied by eating disorders and little learning seems to actually happen. I will say that I liked the disparate strands of this story a lot—the relationships between the girls, the relationship between Natasha and her aunt, the sort of mystery element that comes into play—but I felt like I wanted more meat to build the story out. Still, it has a sort of raw urgency that I appreciated; I read it all in one go. A-.

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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in January.

2019 book 148

Audrey Coulthurst's Inkmistress
This was described to me as a story involving magic, lesbians, and dragons, and I like all of those things, so figured I'd check it out. It centers on a young demi-god with various powers, but most importantly (and secretly): whatever she writes in her blood comes true. But not always in the ways she intended. So when her girlfriend needs help, she does some blood-writing, and things go very badly. Now she has to leave her isolated mountain and journey around to uncover the secrets behind her powers, etc. I liked the way the author uses magic here, but the writing was kind of awkward, I was not invested in the romance, and I found the protagonist really frustrating and clueless. I also found the ending disappointing on a number of levels. It kind of renders the entire rest of the book pointless. Just . . . not great. B-.

2019 book 147

Kate DiCamillo's Beverly, Right Here
In the final book in DiCamillo's trilogy, tough and practical Beverly gets the spotlight. She's fourteen and leaves home (her beloved dog has died) to make a new life for herself. Like its predecessor, this one had me struggling a bit. It's great for kids to read stories about found families sometimes being superior to birth families, but life isn't always this easy or convenient. I mean, it's not an overly optimistic view of the world; Beverly's mother is an alcoholic and her father abandoned them. I guess I just wish these stories went a little deeper. B/B+.

2019 book 146

Kate DiCamillo's Louisiana's Way Home
The second book in DeCamillo's Raymie Nightingale series focuses on her friend Louisiana--a talented singer from a family of performers, who is prone to fainting, and whose grandmother whisks her away in the middle of the night. I will say that I find the characters here likable--it's nice to have some warm-hearted people in the world--but the plot strains incredulity for an adult reader. It's a very sweet story but it doesn't really hold together for me. B.

2019 book 145

Kate DiCamillo's Raymie Nightingale
I'm reading this middle-grade novel for two reasons: 1) I saw Ann Patchett speak a couple weeks ago, and she spoke very warmly about DiCamillo and her work; and b) the third book in this series just came out to stellar reviews, and I am nothing if not a person who will always read a series from the beginning. Anyway, the titular Raymie is a ten year old in 1975, who wants to win a local beauty pageant type thing in the hopes it will bring her father back (he has left her mother for another woman). So she enrolls in baton-twirling lessons, where she meets two other girls who also have plans for the contest. I thought this was really sweet and enjoyed seeing how things worked out--DiCamillo does a great job with the structure here. The narrative voice reads a little young, but that works for a ten year old character in a book aimed at ten year olds. A-.

2019 book 144

Nona Fernandez's Space Invaders
This is a short but powerful novel about a group of friends who are haunted by dreams and memories of one of their childhood classmates in 1980s Chile, a girl who disappeared suddenly, and whose father was part of the Pinochet regime. (Kind of a Virgin Suicides vibe, but more interesting.) I did wish some parts of this were a little bit more fleshed out, but that would maybe defeat the purpose from a literary perspective. Anyway, a knockout of a book, and one of the best book covers I've seen in a long time. A/A-.

2019 book 143

Terry Pratchett’s Maskerade
This volume of the Discworld witches series finds our elder witches trying to recruit a local girl with talent—only she’s run off to the city to try and make it as a singer. Soon all three are in a pastiche of Phantom of the Opera, to endless hilarity. I will say I wish there were fewer comments about Agnes' body, though the book does seem to be sympathetic to her. Still an excellent and entertaining read.

2019 book 142

Margaret Wilkerson Sexton's The Revisioners
The Revisioners is the story of a woman in modern day New Orleans, a biracial woman who goes, with her black son, to live with and take care of her ailing, rich, white grandmother. It's also the story of the woman's great-great-something-grandmother, who was born a slave and built a new life for herself--until new neighbors come and complicate things. And mostly it's the story of families, the stories we tell ourselves, and racial and class tensions in the South. A bittersweet and moving story. A-.

2019 book 141

Terry Pratchett's Lords and Ladies
Cozy weather season has commenced which means I am all in on cozy reads, and apparently am just rereading all the Discworld Witches books as a result. This one is a lot of fun, as Elves start to break through into their town and the witches have to stop them! Plus one is about to get married! All three get some really good moments here, which is nice; obviously I adore Granny Weatherwax, but it's nice to see Nanny Ogg and Magrat getting into the action too. Just an all around funny and exciting book.

2019 book 140

Maggie Stiefvater's Call Down the Hawk
Considering all the book news I follow, I am amazed and a bit embarrassed that I didn't know until last week that Stiefvater a) had a new book coming out and that it was b) set in the Raven Cycle universe, focusing on Ronan! On the plus side, I only had to wait a week to read it. :) Anyway, this is really about all three of the Lynch brothers, plus a cast of new characters—another dreamer, some art forgers, a group tracking down and /killing/ dreamers to forestall the apocalypse. You know, the usual. I did wish these characters crossed paths a little earlier, but once they started interacting I was fully on board. Occasionally Steifvater's slightly mannered writing took me out of the story, but for the most part I suuuuuper enjoyed this and can’t wait to read the next one. In a year or so. Siiiiiiigh. A-.

2019 book 139

Steph Cha's Your House Will Pay
Cha is the author of the Juniper Song mysteries, which are not really my bag, but I wanted to read this stand-alone from her as it was getting great reviews. It's set in LA and focuses on two families--one African-American, one Korean-American--in the early 90s and in the present day. And I was totally caught up from the first page--just super compelling characters and narrative voices, and the suspense really draws you in. The murder at the heart of this story is based on a real murder (which I think I learned about from OJ: Made in America) and Cha does a lot to bring it back to life and show how the issues it raised are just as relevant now. This dragged a teensy bit for me in the middle but on the whole was a really powerful meditation on race and community and family. A-.

2019 book 138

Terry Pratchett's Witches Abroad
This Discworld book finds our three witches caught up in a mess of fairy tales—mainly Cinderella by way of New Orleans (the race stuff here is maybe problematic??). Lots of hilarity and magic ensue, of course! Seriously, there are so few books that make me actually cackle out loud, but this one definitely does.

2019 book 137

Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters
IS there anything better than Terry Pratchett messing with Shakespearean actors and Macbeth and throwing his witches into the mix? No, there is not. Tons of action, laugh out loud moments, and sensible ladies saving the day. What more could you want in a book?

2019 book 136

Terry Pratchett's Equal Rites
Halloween may be over, but I still wanted to read about witches, and few literary witches are as good as Pratchett's. Do you know, I have actually never read this one! It centers on a little girl who, as a newborn, is given a wizard's powers (and staff) (he thinks she is the eighth son of an eighth son), and so local witch Granny Weatherwax has to deal with this girl and her magic. But it's wizard magic, so she has to go to wizard school, and what will they even let her learn?? This was a lot of fun, though the end left a little to be desired for me (I think this is like the third Discworld book, so he was obviously still fine-tuning). Still, hilarious and awesome for sure. A-/B+.