fiction

Goodness, I’m on a Roll!!

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I had quite the time with reading this last week! I was on a mission to get some Goodreads Challenges done before the September 14th deadline and boy did I!

Up first: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Rating: all 8 tentacles

What started as a book that I wasn’t sure I was going to finish, became a book that made me cry over it. Wow. What a story, about grief, about loss, about aging, about finding family. Just stunning. Marcellus was by far the best part of that story. His brief narrations were amazing. Tova’s story was so sad but she was a superstar. And Cameron, once I stopped being annoyed by him, really was just a guy who had a bunch of crap luck. The town and the area of Puget Sound seemed like just the perfect setting and I longed to be there so many times. This was just such a genuine and heartfelt book. I loved listening to it, the audio narrators were amazing. I chuckled, I gasped and I cried.

I really do want to watch this now, knowing that Sally Field is playing Tova.

Then: Dead Eleven by Jimmy Juilano

Rating: 5 out of 5 VCR’s

Now THIS is the creepy horror I was looking for this past weekend. Whew. I might be dreaming about dead things for a while. Willow and her grief…honestly, I’m not sure I wouldn’t be acting the same if it were me. My kiddo is my life. Clifford Island is a super creepy place. To be stuck in 1994 is a…choice. It kind of reminded me of the Wayward Pines trilogy, except you can come and go as you please on the island. The real creepy factor is the psychological aspect of it all. Of something evil preying on your grief and misery. Of never being able to escape it or move on from it. Lily was a firecracker of a character. I enjoyed her time with Willow. I loved the way the book was written, almost epistolary, which is my favorite way to read a book. Truly a great horror novel.

Finally: Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

Rating: 3 out of 5 pierogies

Well dang it all. This was an emotional gut punch the whole way through. I really enjoyed reading this as flashbacks and present time, with the present being at an age I could at least somewhat relate to, as I’m in my 30’s. A story about growing up and young love, and making mistakes and owning up to them, this had it all. I actually really appreciated seeing the growth that our FMC (Percy) had. I also appreciated seeing apologies happen and that they were meant, not just said to say them to be absolved. Percy and Sam really went through it and absolutely had some devastating things happen to them. I wish we had seen a little more of Delilah and Chantal, especially Chantal, because I think Percy really needed to have people on her side. Either way, this was such a beautiful story, some amazing lines that I HAD to highlight/tab, which I only really do on some books, but this one had some doozies. I think this was the author’s debut work and she really hit it out of the park.

*I ended up editing this review on Goodreads and I want to add that edit here*

editing my review once I’ve had some time with this…I realized that while I liked it, I liked it precisely because it was very similar to another book and I kept thinking “I know romances tend to be similar but this is another thing entirely, why does it seem familiar?” and BOOM – because it’s just like Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren, which I LOVED (I still think about it occasionally too). I also have to agree with others that the twist was kinda…there in plain sight, though I disagree with readers that it’s SOLEY on Percy…Charlie had a hand in that too. But the end was definitely rushed, and I feel like, even though Sam forgave a long time ago, there should have been just a little more in the present, since Percy didn’t know. The makeup was just…to swift, I think. So rating moved to 3 stars from 5. Also, I’m noticing that for the show, I feel like the actors they chose look SO YOUNG, and I thought they were supposed to be in their 30’s?? And why does the guy who plays Sam look…nothing like the description in the book??? Same with Charlie? Am I missing something?? (edited review ends here).

I did not realize that this was a series on Amazon Prime and now I am intrigued and want to watch it…

Now, I am currently listening to I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy, and it’s…whew. That’s going to need it’s own review when I’m done. Everyone let this poor woman down. I’m surprised she is still standing.

More books, more fun!

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Hey there! Here’s some more fun! I have a few books (ok, more than a few), but I swear, I’m going to get better at this!

UP FIRST: Student Union by Julie Murphy

Rating: 4 out of 5 fake marriages

I really needed this palette cleanser, a HEA after the roller coaster of emotions I’ve been on the last week and half. Bennett Graves is a snotty Rich Kid and Clover Walsh is decidedly not. But their history is something that Clover decides to lean on when she realizes that her housing situation at college needs to be changed and quick. So she asks him to marry her for the housing perk. Thus begins the whole trope of former friends to lovers, one bed, forced proximity, etc. I did enjoy seeing the characters fully fleshed out, though sometimes they acted both older than their ages and exactly their ages. Bennett was definitely a dick for a good portion of the book, but I think he was also just trying to protect himself from more pain. Clover gave as good as she got though. They both hurt each other but Bennett needed to grow up to learn how to apologize to Clover for the pain he caused her when they were young. I did really enjoy this though. It was a quick read for me (finished in a day, few hours at most) and I will likely go ahead and read the next book in the series.

NEXT UP: Where You See Yourself by Claire Forrest

Rating: 5 out of 5 ADA Compliant Colleges

As a non disabled person, I will never have to navigate the challenges of the world they way those that are will have to. I am very grateful and thankful for that. Reading this, though, made me so much more aware of all the way we let our disabled community down. I work at a university. A MAJOR university, where I know we still have plenty of work to do to make people of all backgrounds feel seen and supported and valued. This book highlighted challenges that I would have never even thought of. I want to be challenged and I want to be able to be a better ally. I never want to make someone feel the way Effie did about navigating the world. She shouldn’t have to feel that way. I loved her little community, her parents and her sister were quite possibly the best humans in the world. I loved that she fought and made up with her bestie, Harper. I did that in high school too and now I’m still friends with mine 20+ years later. And I love that she figured out (with some nudging) how to truly advocate for herself and for future students. She was amazing. Wilder was great too, that he saw her chair but didn’t see it as something negative, it was just a part of her. He never made it seem like it was a burden. He was an amazing young man. I honestly would love to see this as a sequel, her first year in college, maybe coming home for the summer and seeing her friends and family. Just so we can see her growth and her view on the world. This was a phenomenal book. 100/10 would read again and again.

NEXT: Heated Rivalry and The Long Game by Rachel Reid

Ratings: 3 out of 5 Stanley Cups (HR) and 5 out of 5 GOALS (TLG)

Heated Rivalry: Well I have to say, I definitely think the second half of the book made up for the absolute mess of the first half. I’m all for smut and smut for smut sake but this was supposed to also be them like falling in love and stuff and…we didn’t really get there? Like I loved their banger and some of the sex was super hot but really it was all lust and anger and then BOOM they love each other and I just…didn’t buy it. I wish the slow burn that happened at the end had happened in the middle. It would have given the story more substance. I’ll probably still go read their next part of the series, but this one wasn’t as strong as other hockey romances I’ve read, or even other MM romances.

The Long Game: Ok I liked this one WAY MORE than the first one. There is so much more character development and the dive into mental health and homophobia with hockey culture was so good. Ilya is a precious cinnamon roll and I will hear no slander. Also, Anya is the best puppers. I also appreciated that Shane got his mess together, because he was really starting to get on my nerves but again, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT! It was all here in this one. The smut and spice was still hot but it was also so tender. I just really really liked this one so much more. I’m glad I read the first one so that I could get here to this part of Ilya and Shane’s story. I can’t believe I have to wait until June for the next one. 😩

ALMOST DONE: In Stormy Weather by Chelsea Curto

Rating: 5 out of 5 crazy storms and podcasts

OBSESSED. I love a good “guy is ultimate simp for FMC” and LORDY IF SEBASTIAN WASN’T THE BIGGEST SIMP! 😍😍😍Quincy and Sebastian’s banter with each other had me cracking up laughing and sometimes just blushing-I can’t believe it took her so long to figure it out! I knew my boy was down bad for her from the beginning! This was like the ultimate pulling on the pigtails because he likes you. There were a few times in the beginning that I was like “ugh he better not be a huge jerk that has some crazy turn around and boom we have to like him”. No. No he was just obsessed with Quincy the whole dang time. I really loved, though, how much time we get with each Quincy and Sebastian with their friends. It really fleshed out the friend and friend group too, which I loved. Yes, they are side characters, but they also had substance. I really hope we get more books with Harlow and Mia and Cooper and Nate. Above all, I’m always down for a good disaster movie or documentary and having all that sprinkled into the plot?! Sign. Me. UP! I absolutely devoured this. It’s definitely on my favorite list for summer reading. Maybe even the year so far. If only all the world loved like these two did. 💜 What a story.

FINALLY: Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

Rating: 4 out of 5 skating rinks

I almost gave this a 5, and I did really enjoy it. It was a fun, easy read. I think the big reason why it’s not a 5 is because I kind of feel like there are some plots that don’t really get resolved. Like, we get a hint of Nate’s dad and him talking out what happened but then…nothing. Same with Anastasia and Aaron. Like, there’s sort of a resolution but it wasn’t satisfying for me. There were definitely parts of the book that were a little tedious (honestly, Anastasia annoyed me sometimes) but I did appreciate the mental health inclusion and the body image/food issues that women face. Having that worked out in a healthy way was amazing. I honestly think there were some parts that seemed excessive to the story, but overall, it was a decent book.

OK – I swear, I’m not going to leave this so long again! I’m currently listening to the audiobook of Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt and I am loving it. Hope to have a review for that soon!

And now, back to some romance…and maybe some spice…

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So after being gone for FAR TOO LONG (I’m sorry, please forgive me), I have a few book reviews to give you. I also just went to the Emily Rath book tour here in Detroit for her new release DEVOUR ME and OMG it was the best time! I love her books so much. Was able to get some signed books and chat with both her and B.B. Reid, it was amazing! Now, on to the reviews!

Willing Prey by Allie Oleander

Rating: 4 out of 5 lawyers

I have to admit that I wasn’t sure what I expected from this book but boy did I like it! Came out swinging right out the gate and it was HOT!🥵 The first time we meet Shane, I was ready to be just like Claire! Then as the story goes, and we see these two figure out that they are falling for each other, you realize that yea, these two work in a fun way. Keith is a jerk and Claire was too good for him. Margot and Gretchen though were hilarious. I wish we would have had more of Claire’s bestie but since Claire was “living” with Shane, it makes sense to have just had those in that household. I feel like the ending was a bit rushed but I’m glad we got an epilogue…not gonna lie, I wish some of the epilogue showed some of the aftermath of Keith but I also understand that that storyline was done.

Good book and I will most likely read the next one when it’s out!

First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison

Rating: 4 out of 5 late-night radio calls

I loved this book. The four stars instead of 5 are for two reasons: 1) I struggled with the MMC name bc…it’s my son’s name. So that was hard to get around lol. 2) there was all this build up between Aiden and Lucie, and we got to see Lucie interact a TON with her side crew (Maya, Greyson, Mateo, even the guys at the shop) and we got like…barely anything with Aiden and his crew until the end, nor did we get much interaction between him and Lucie’s crew or vice versa. As someone who dates while raising a kid, that interaction is SO important and I feel like it was just barely included. I know women shouldn’t all be reduced to being a mom but like, dating someone, bringing them around? That’s usually HUGE for a parent and I really feel like we missed out on some golden opportunities for Aiden to not just fall in love with Lucie, but with Maya and even the silly family they have with Greyson and Mateo. Watching Lucie and Aiden fall together was so worth it though.

Overall, this was very sweet and I definitely smiled pretty much the whole way through. It is definitely also a slow burn with not a ton of smut, so if you’re looking for that, this isn’t really your book. I will absolutely venture and read the others by this author and would recommend this to someone who believes in the magic of love or who needs to find that magic again. 💜

And Now, Back to You by B.K. Borison

Rating: 5 out of 5 post it notes

This is everything I wanted First Time Caller to be. More development of the characters, more interactions with their respective friends and families, more…everything. Again, if you’re looking for a tone of spice, you won’t find it here but this is such a great love story. Jackson is the epitome of a hot nerd and I loved, nay, absolutely adored, Delilah. Her personality was just what Jackson needed to help him realize that it is ok to have life be a little chaotic. His sisters were hilarious though. And the tv crew that Delilah worked with (minus Keith, that absolute jerk) were the best kind of found family.

All in all, a fantastic and heartwarming story. 10/10 would read again.

Note: I got all of these as part of my Probably Smut monthly subscription, so I had to find these pics of those covers specifically because LOOK AT THEM!!!!

Now I am off to go read a MASSIVE backlog of books I have. Toodles!

Final June Wrap Up: Some summer spookiness

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Now to finish off my June reads (I know, I know, I’m so late AND I have actually read a couple books in July already, I’m SLACKING), I present: some summer spooks. I’m going to add my one spooky one from July simply because…it fits the theme, ok? Gosh. *insert epic silly face here*

First up: Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker (author of Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng)

Rating: 5 out of 5 Samurai

“She had killed someone too. She understood, at least in part, the torrents that he carried inside him. She looked him in the eye and didn’t run away. Perhaps someone like his father would have thought the situation romantic, but Lee wasn’t interested in Sen’s body. He wanted to hopelessly entangle her soul with his until they were one and the same, to follow her to the bottom of the sea, to rot beside her when death devoured them both.” (Japanese Gothic, pg. 234)

Oh my goodness. I really like Baker as an author. She creates such imaginative stories and really shows parts of Asian folklore or mythology that I would have never searched out on my own. The way she weaves these in with the horror of humanity is just incredible.

This book incited so many feelings in me. There was spookiness, there was horror, mystery, mythology, intrigue, and there was even sadness and frustration. Lee, he seemed so uncertain about everything but could tell that there was some kind of trauma he was suppressing. He talks about always being in a fog, drug induced, so he simply didn’t have to feel or to be a “good son” for his dad. Sen, in her own way, was so alone and so afraid to disappoint a father who was a coward and had gone back on his own beliefs. To have them find each other, this wall that would connect them in the same home, hundreds of years apart, was certainly fate. I think for me, most off all, this story was just sad, a sad tale of two lost, young souls, who found each other, and it was not a romantic love story but it was a love story in its own way, I think.

I would absolutely read this again, find the hints that maybe I missed as I read it the first time. Fantastic storytelling as usual, by Baker.

“She didn’t want Lee Turner to kiss her, or marry her, or fall in love with her. She wanted him to sit beside her on this porch and watch the stars with her for as long as she was still alive. She wanted to exist beside him, to be real and whole in someone else’s eyes, to bare her soul to someone and have them stay beside her anyway.” (Japanese Gothic, pg. 271)

Up next: Morsel by Carter Keane

Rating: 5 out of 5 Appalachian Monsters

The description was so spot on, The Ritual meets Blair Witch Project, that I was completely stunned. Lou is a desperate young woman trying to help her mother pay bills, becoming more and more stressed. Close to being fired, her boss Ellis, gives her a job: go out to the rural hills of Ohio, survey and take pics of some land, and report back. Already, I knew that this was going to go south. When her truck is completely sabotaged, Lou, with her dog Ripley, have to rely on the generosity of a stranger. Does she pick the nice house or the beat up house? That choice sets off a series of events that spiral into darker and darker territory. When she realizes that she is truly stuck, the terror truly begins.

I have to say, I was completely in awe of the writing. For this being a debut, the story flowed so nicely, the twists weren’t super obvious, and the imagery was par none. I can’t tell you how many times I had to just put the book down and think and shudder from some of the gruesome scenes. If you don’t like dead wildlife, this book might not be for you. I would definitely recommend this to those who like gruesome horror, body horror, and books about crazy cults. Perfect horror for the summer!

And finally: Bodies of Work by Clay McLeod Chapman (July read)

Rating: 5 out of 5 Butterfly Girls

“Don’t apologize. Never apologize. We need to hold on to our stories. Don’t forget.
We are though, aren’t we? Forgetting? Fading? What’s going to happen to us?
Only time will tell.” (Bodies of Work)

Wow. Wow. Wow. This was wild and so heartbreaking. I know it says horror but I’m only thinking it’s that because of the gore more than anything. Winston is a gross old man but his life was one of those “is it nurture or nature?” things. His home life as a child was full of trauma and abuse, and he was growing up in a time when things like autism and depression and such weren’t really talked about. So it’s not like he would have been able to receive and mental health support. However, he still becomes this awful human being. His butterflies, however, their stories are just as devastating. But the story in the story? What fantastical imagery and prose. I honestly think that this was a gorgeous story about disturbing and vile behavior and it doesn’t glorify it. But it does give peace and some semblance of justice or balance for the girls. 10/10 would read again.

“This happens everywhere. Women vanish. People forget their names, and their disappearances barely demand our attention.” (Bodies of Work)

Ok, that is all for now. I’m currently working my way through the Read Harder Challenge and the various Goodreads challenges, I’ll make a post to update where I am there! Off to reader land for me!

SPACE! The Final Frontier! A tale of two reviews!

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Alright, I missed a couple here, and so I am making up for it. Forgive me!

First we have Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Absolutely phenomenal, if I do say so myself.

Rating: 5 out of 5 missions

I am fairly certain that this is my first book by this author and holy moly did I pick a good one. Atmosphere is just as much about the 1980’s NASA space missions as it is about love and family and friendship. I truly cannot fathom anyone giving this less than 4 stars. This was an emotional rollercoaster. So much of the highs from finally having women in NASA, to women on space flights, to the lows of family not being who you want them to be and of the old thinking of queer people being “deviant”. The whole gamut of feelings were expressed in this book. I appreciated that the author tried to both keep the NASA language as technical as it needed to be and show how high pressure it truly was, with making sure we actually knew what was going on. That she did so much research, even going so far as to interview and work with former NASA folks, is amazing. Obviously, some liberties are taken but honestly it seemed pretty true to form for the 80’s. I was rooting for Joan and Vanessa and Frances the whole book. Barbara could kick rocks, I’ve never wanted someone to fall off a cliff as much as I needed her to. You have this amazing kid and you do all that to her?! Ugh. I had my kid young and he just graduated high school with honors. I was there for EVERYTHING. I hated Barbara.

Gosh, but the ending? THE ENDING?! I sobbed. Full out sobbed. Had to blow my nose and everything. What a punch. But my god was it beautiful. I can’t wait to read more work by TJR.

Next up, we have Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. I was trying to finish this BEFORE it left theatres but alas, I missed the deadline on that one. HOWEVER, my partner actually read this before me which is a MAJOR WIN!

Rating: 4 out of 5 astrophages

Ok. Ok. I can see why there is a wide range of reviews on this one. I have watched The Martian, read Artemis, and now have read Project Hail Mary. I have to say, this was very science-y, moreso than I feel that Artemis was, so there were definitely large chunks of the science that my mind just glossed over. That didn’t take away from the story though, so I am not mad about it. Overall, I enjoyed the plot. I definitely felt like this one had me suspending my disbelief so much more (because who is truly going to learn a language that fast??)
but I did enjoy the pacing of the book. The flashbacks of learning what is happening to Earth and why Ryland was out in space, really helped to flesh out his character in a way that I found to be more believable. Was he still written like a weird science nerd? Sure, he also felt a little bit like a self insert character, but he was…tolerable. I definitely enjoyed his relationship with Rocky and their banter definitely made me giggle a few times. Overall, this was an enjoyable book, I would likely read it again, but I wouldn’t say I loved it, mostly because there was a lot more science mathing that frankly, I didn’t care about.

Ok, here is my space page reviews, and from here, I will be back with some horror reviews!! See you on the flip side!

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

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Rating: 5 out of 5 Twitter mentions

WHEW CHILE! I am still reeling from how good this book was! I listened to this on Libro.Fm, if you haven’t used them, you should!!!

Wow. I have never, and I mean NEVER, hated a protagonist more in my life. Which is a testament to how much I loved this book and the author, that I still rated it 5 stars because of that. It’s like hating the evil villain so much in a movie but it makes the movie SO GOOD because of it!

Juniper Hayward is a mediocre white woman writer who is friends with Athena Liu, a rising Asian woman author. She has seen so much success, it’s actually made June jealous. When she witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she manages to also steal the last manuscript that Athena was working on. It’s about Chinese laborers in France during WWI, but June believes she can publish it-as her own-and that no one will know. She finds a publisher and lets them rebrand her as Juniper Song, ambiguous enough, and the story skyrockets her into fame. Juniper is on cloud 9 and attending workshops and speaker series and all kinds of things. Sure, there’s some pushback, but she is good at deflecting and lying her way through why she thought a white woman could tell this story. It isn’t until a blogger finds some *interesting* similarities that suspicion falls on Juniper and so to combat it, she writes another story….which becomes her downfall.

I’m not going to lie, listening to her downfall had me cackling with glee the whole time. Juniper was SUCH a horrid person that I literally could not wait for her to be “canceled” as they call it. She was the epitome of white savior complex and just didn’t want to take accountability at all. You would think this would make me hate the book, but I think, as a Latina woman who sees this happen all the time, I was so gleeful to FINALLY feel like I was seeing justice. I believe that the point of the book is to hate her, that her place in the narration is to be unreliable and unlikeable. I think there tries to be sympathy, but I just could not muster any. I was so invested in seeing her complete and utter destruction. I felt almost bad about it, but I also felt safe enough in the narration to feel ok about feeling those feelings.

The last few chapters though, she becomes completely unhinged. At first, I’m so invested in like, WHO is doing this? To what end exactly?? She is masterfully manipulated, and it was by someone I definitely did not see coming. It was pretty cruel…but also, she needed to just let the lie out. Her delusion was getting to be so much. June Hayward was a terrible and fantastic character.

This is definitely high on my list so far this year!

ARC: Finding Northlane by D.M. Henderson

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Rating: 4 out of 5 guitars

Romance instalove, which is pretty normal in the romance genre, so I’m not mad at it! We begin by meeting Dallas Northlane and his pregnant wife, Samantha, having a picnic by the water. We then fast forward a few years, and Dallas and his daughter are heading to a funeral. A few more years, and we are in the present, Dallas is taking his daughter to school and he meets her music teacher, Annabeth Harrington. And what a Meet Cute (or Meet Lust!) it is! They are both completely enamored with each other right away. Dallas is nervous for a variety of reasons, one of which is the age gap between them, and Annabeth is scared because, well, he’s the parent of one of her students! But they just can’t seem to stop running into each other all over this small town. The side characters are also fleshed out to give them some substance, which I appreciate. I loved Dallas’s brother Colt, and Annabeth’s friend group, especially Ella, her roommate and best friend. I loved the setup of the POV’s for this, I think books where we get both MC’s perspectives are my favorite. The spice was SPICING and Dallas definitely knew what he was doing in the bedroom…whew! Made me almost blush! I also loved how vulnerable Dallas was when he finally talked to Annabeth about his past, especially about his wife. That vulnerability and willingness to open up is so sexy to me. Honestly, the only thing that made this not a 5 star for me was the incredibly fast time they took to say I love you. That took me right out of the story. I thin kif they had said something like “I could see me falling in love with you” that would be one thing, but they barely knew each other-I think the timeline is something like 2 weeks-so that was just so unrealistic, especially given the emotional trauma both Dallas and Annabeth had gone through in their lives. Plus, as a dad, he was very clearly thinking with his dick and not his brain. As someone who is a single parent (though I’ve been with my partner for a decade now), it took me almost 3 years before I said anything along those lines and it was almost a year before he even MET my kid. Granted, Annabeth knows his daughter, but still. That’s a big shake up for an 8 year old. His daughter was also written as if she was a teenager, not a child, so that threw me a little. Occasionally, there would be some dialogue that would show her age, but not always. Either way, these issues were not so egregious that I needed to rate this any lower than a 4 star for me. This was certainly a great story and I cannot wait to get into the second book!

*I received this ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review*

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

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Rating: 4 out of 5 fathoms

Well that was certainly something. I haven’t listened to an audiobook in a long while, but I am glad I did for this one. Having the two narrators was a fantastic choice, since it really gave us the sense of the two women and their struggles. I do wish that the book touched more on Leah in the “after”. I liked getting the “during” but we only get Miri’s version of the “after” and it’s skewed. I would have like to know how Leah was feeling…even if it was gibberish…I think it would have added to the horror element. Which, honestly, only really happened toward the last 20% of the book, which was kind of a let down. The book stayed mostly on the topic of the two women and their dissolving relationship in the wake of Leah coming back from her research trip down in the sea and how she had changed. Miri was not really someone I cared too much for, I feel like she was kind of shallow, but I could tell that she did love Leah a lot. There was definitely a lot of repetition when it came to the water elements of the book, lots of water imagery, which could be a bit much (I saw that comment in a lot of reviews), but overall, by the time I was done, I was kind of staring into space and feeling. It was a good way to end, I think.

(art from Elizabeth von Oehsen/The Washington Post)

Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones

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Rating: 5 out of 5 wine coolers

“Everything makes sense if you look at it long enough.”

Wow. I’m really glad I did not read any of the reviews on this book. Like The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, it took me a bit to get into it because of SGJ’s writing style. But once I was hooked, it was over. I simply devoured this book (no pun intended). The story of the unnamed narrator as he navigated growing up as, essentially, a nomad with his aunt and uncle, was made more exciting by the twist of them being werewolves. There then became this underlying tension of will he or won’t he also come into his wolfness. Darren and Libby, his uncle and aunt, are not married, they are twins, and our narrator’s mother died in childbirth, and was their sister. Grandpa was their father, and most of what we know about werewolves come from stories told by him and Darren. Like most stories, these were embellished but held some truth to them. And thus, this is how our narrator saw the world. The family moves frequently because once you cause havoc, you can’t stay in one place. Too many animals dying can make people suspicious, as can human body counts. When you are the outcasts, the first fingers pointed are pointed at you. Libby and Darren take on jobs when they can, and they are pretty good about trying to be good citizens too, paying taxes (even if it’s with falsified identification) and sending the narrator to school. I think what I loved best was the chapters calling him a name based on what he was in that moment (mechanic, reporter, biologist, etc.). The narration of the book is very disjointed, but at the same time, makes so much sense, because you can tell it is coming from the voice of someone who is trying to remember events as they happened but also will remember when something happened at a different time of life. So the age jumps around, sometimes we are reading when he was 8 and sometimes 12, then sometimes 16, then 8 again. It is not a linear story, but we get all the necessary parts to capture the whole of his life with his family and his feelings about becoming a werewolf. There is high school romance, cut short, but there nonetheless, and even some growing pains of boyhood.

All in all, this wouldn’t be one of my favorites of his, I’m not a HUGE coming of age book reader, but it was still very good and I did enjoy it a lot. I am really enjoying going through SGJ’s body of work, as this is my 3rd by him, and I have more to go.

See my reviews of The Buffalo Hunter Hunter and I Was a Teenage Slasher on Goodreads.

“That’s how it is with werewolves. You have something, then you just have the story of it.”

On: Reading

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I read. A lot. Hence the blog, and the many other avenues of social media attempts to become more bloggerish. I’ve been a huge reader since about the third grade. I was introduced to chapter books then, and I fell in love. Finally, I could read LONG STORIES!!! From there, I read just about anything I could get my hands on. When I was 10, my mom died. Books were my only solace. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Sorry UK folks), was my lifeline (fu*k you, JK Rowling). I still re-read that in my darkest of times, when I’ve had other losses. But I would go on to read all the major books like Twilight, The Maze Runner, Divergent, Fifty Shades, etc. I even manage to get my hands on Flowers in the Attic and Forever, way before I probably should have been able to read them. I read Goosebumps, RL Stine, Ask Alice, Animorphs, Tamora Pierce…the list goes on. Safe to say, no genre was off limits, I even read the Dear Diary series and the American Girl books. Nancy Drew? Yep. Baby Sitters Club? You got it! SO many books, so little time in life.

All this is to say: I read books yes. I listen to them, I e-read them. But I also am a voracious Fan Fiction reader. I will NEVER let anyone besmirch fan fiction. I think it is such an integral part of reading and the art of creative writing. Many books start, occasionally, as fan fics (notably Twilight and Fifty Shades, from my list above). I started in Live Journal, moved to FFnet, and have been with Archive of Our Own (AO3) since 2013. AO3 is FINALLY out of Beta!!! I can’t believe I’ve made it through all these years of different versions of Fan Fic, and have lived to see the biggest archive of them all make it here. It’s been such a privilege to read these amazing authors, some who I follow religiously, and some who I find for the first time, very frequently!

So for this musing, I say: be a reader. Be a voracious, hungry reader. Read everything. Go out of your comfort zone. Find new authors. Indulge in your tried and true authors. Do reading challenges. Participate in the Dewey 24hour Readathon! Check out local book clubs. Hold authors accountable for their morals, because reading IS political. Hold YOURSELF accountable to your own morals. Expand your horizons. Listen to an audiobook, read an e-book, read a paperback or a hardcover. Support your local libraries! Support your local indie bookstores! Read new; read old. Just READ.