Book Review: Crazy Rich Asians

TITLE: Crazy Rich Asians
Book 1 in the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy
AUTHOR: Kevin Kwan
PUBLISHED: 2013
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Romance, Contemporary
PREMISE: A woman finds out the man she is dating is in fact a member of one of the richest families in Singapore....
MY REVIEW: Unless you've been living under a rock or something, chances are high you've at least heard about Crazy Rich Asians. The movie has been big this summer. I saw it, and honestly, I get the hype. Seriously, the movie is gold, go see it if you adore rom coms or any kind of family drama stuff.
I read the book right before seeing the movie it was honestly just as delightful. I will warn, the writing...is not the best. It kind of jumps from POV to POV and is awkward in some places. But the characterization, the self-aware humor, and entertaining family drama all make up for it. There's also some pretty interesting commentary on things like classism, racism, and various other topics. I also actually liked the footnotes. They provided some interesting information that I wasn't aware of. So not only are you getting an entertaining read, you actually get some interesting tidbits about Singapore and its culture.
So count me in on the Crazy Rich Asians hype train. I can't wait to read the rest of the books and see the sequel, whenever we get it. Also: if you have not seen the To All the Boys I've Loved Before movie yet....do so. It's wonderful.
WHO SHOULD READ: Rom com fans, Jenny Han fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five wacky families

Book Review: Undead Girl Gang

TITLE: Undead Girl Gang
AUTHOR: Lily Anderson
CATEGORY: YA
PUBLISHED: May 8th, 2018
GENRE: Urban Fantasy. Mystery
PREMISE: A girl raises her best friend back from the dead to find out how she died, but...she winds up bringing back two other girls as well.
MY REVIEW: I normally am not interested in zombies. I don't know why, but they just honestly bore me. There's usually not really much you can do with them. But this one interested me, because there was a mystery and female friendship attached to to it.
For the most part, it's a fun ride. You have to suspend a lot of disbelief while reading it. The main character is a bit prickly, but I personally enjoyed her. But I find all the characters the YA crowd deem "unlikable", are characters whom I wind up liking a lot. Go figure. If you were picking this up because you heard rumblings about there being "great" LGBT rep...there really isn't. The rep is just two adult female side characters who barely get any screen time and it's just mentioned that they're in a relationship. I found them interesting, and would honestly love a book about them. But I'm not sure why it was advertised as great rep as honestly...the characters don't really do anything.
That disappointing bit aside, this was a decent read. I particularly liked where the mystery went. After this, I went and picked up Lily Anderson's debut book, and wound up loving that one as well. The review is coming soon. I think I have a new author to enjoy now.
WHO SHOULD READ: Buffy fans, those looking for books with witches/zombies
MY RATING: Four out of Five female friendships

Book Review: Aru Shah and the End of Time

TITLE: Aru Shah and the End of Time
Book 1 in the Pandava Quartet series
AUTHOR: Rhoshani Chokshi
PUBLISHED: March 27th, 2018
CATEGORY: Middle-grade
GENRE: Fantasy
PREMISE: A girl goes on a quest after she accidentally causes time to freeze after lighting a lamp....
MY REVIEW: I have been meaning to read this for awhile now. I adore Rick Riordan's books, and this new imprint he has going on with his publisher is frankly awesome. I want to read every book that he has previewed so far. Sadly, some of them don't come out until 2020 ;pouts;
If they are anything like this though, we're in for some good stuff, guys. This is very Percy Jackson like, so I understand why Riordan picked it for his imprint. But it does its own thing. I confess...I don't really know anything about the poem that this book is drawing inspiration from. So I can't tell you how well Chokshi is using the mythology or anything like that. I can tell you, she spins an entertaining story, with delightful protagonists.
This is a great start to a new series. The ending is very interesting and I can't wait to see what happens next.
WHO SHOULD READ: Percy Jackson fans, Rhoshani Chokshi fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five sassy birds

Book Review: Freshwater

TITLE: Freshwater
AUTHOR: Akwaeke Emezi
CATEGORY: Adult
PUBLISHED: February 13th, 2018
GENRE: Er....Magical Realism...I guess?
PREMISE: A young woman grows up with different selves living inside of her...
MY REVIEW: You ever read a book, think to yourself "Like...I'm sensing this is a really good book...but I'm not getting it at all?" Well, that is me and Freshwater. I feel like I maybe needed more information on some sort of myths or something in order to enjoy this. Because I mostly just read this book, feeling confused as hell through out the whole thing.
I'm honestly not sure if this is the fault of the book or just me not giving it the attention it needed or something. The writing is fine, I get what is going on. I just don't understand the why of what's going on. I feel like there's some sort of piece of the puzzle that I'm missing and that kept me from getting fully invested in the book.
I will say, the writing is lovely. There are some gorgeous lines here and there in it. The story however is just weird and doesn't seem to go anywhere. But according to literature people, it did go somewhere. So...I guess I just missed something.
WHO SHOULD READ: Um....not sure, really, literature fans maybe?
MY RATING: Three out of five I just don't get you books

Book Review: Heart of Iron

TITLE: Heart of Iron
Book 1 in a new series
AUTHOR: Ashley Poston
PUBLISHED: February 27th, 2018
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Science-Fiction
PREMISE: A sci-fi retelling of Anastasia.
MY REVIEW: So I got this book in my OwlCrate box awhile back. I wasn't really anticipating it or anything, but after enjoying Geekerella, I figured I would at least be reading it. For those wondering about the Anastasia factor...it is definitely there. If you're reading this for the hopes of some Russian inspired sci-fi or something though...you'll probably disappointed. It just takes the bare bones of the movie Anastasia and sets it in space and takes liberties.
Luckily, I liked the liberties. World building wise...this isn't really hard sci-fi or anything. If you're someone who likes the science part of sci-fi, I guarantee the science in here will probably bug you. But story wise and character wise, it was pretty good. It's fast paced and entertaining. I don't mind the relationships that much either. There's a cute side M/M relationship as well as the main one. There's also quite a bit of diversity. I wish the book had advertised those facts more. I bet people looking for those things would like to know the book has it.
Story wise...it goes pretty predictably. But there are some pretty good twists here and there. Particularly at the end. The characters are all enjoyable and it's very readable and entertaining. I'll probably be picking up the next book.
WHO SHOULD READ: Anastasia fans, sci-fi fans, fans of things like These Broken Stars
MY RATING: Four out of Five lost princesses

Book Review: An American Marriage

TITLE: An American Marriage
AUTHOR: Tayari Jones
PUBLISHED: February 2018
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Contemporary
PREMISE: A detailed look at a marriage and its ups and downs as the husband gets convicted of a crime he didn't commit and goes to prison.
MY REVIEW: I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book. On one hand: the writing is great. There are a lot of topics brought up in this book that make you sit and think about things and I loved that aspect of it. The characters are well developed as well.
On the other hand....it was really slow. And I really did not like the ending. I felt like there was all this big amazing build up that...just fizzled out at the end and I was just left there going "that's it? Really?". Which...is unfortunately a thing that often happens with me in literature books.
So I'm torn on how to rate this. It was really good and I liked it. For the first two thirds of the book I thought I might have a five star read on my hand. But then the ending happened. But I don't want to rate a book low just because of the ending. The ending is just one factor of a book. I like to look at all the factors. For most of it...this book was really good. So...yeah, I'm not sure what to rate this one, really.
WHO SHOULD READ: Oprah's Book Club fans, those who like gut-punching kind of books
MY RATING: Three and a half to four out of five troubled marriages

Book Review: Anger is a Gift

TITLE: Anger is a Gift
AUTHOR: Mark Oshiro
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Contemporary
PUBLISHED: May 22nd, 2018
PREMISE: Moss' life gets turned upside down when his school starts getting metal detectors and a heavy police presence...
MY REVIEW: Some of you may know Mark Oshiro from Mark Reads or Mark Watches or his general Mark Does Stuff website. I've been a fan of his for awhile now. I used to actually comment on his readalongs/watchalongs but stopped and now mostly just lurk. So I was pretty excited to hear that he had written a book.
I am pleased to say: it is great. There are a lot of comparisons being made to The Hate U Give and that is definitely apt. This takes a lot of the issues brought up in that book (as well as the book Dear Martin) and builds on it in a wonderful way.
This book does not play. To quote Mark himself: shit gets real. Very fast. There's a bit in the middle and end that is especially gut-punching. Basically, this book is just damn good. Read it. Especially if you need something to tide you over until THUG movie or Angie Thomas' new book in February.
WHO SHOULD READ: THUG fans, Dear Martin fans, Adam Silvera fans
MY RATING: Five out of Five tear stained tissues

Book Review Catch Up Post Part 2: First Half of July 2018

Here are some of the things I read in the first half of July:

River of Teeth Book 1 by Sarah Gailey
Category: Adult
Genre: Alternate History
Published: May 2017
This is a short novella that takes an interesting what if idea and just runs with it. The result is a really fun and fast adventure story. Need to get my hands on the second book.
Rating: Four out of Five hippos (the reference will make sense when you read it)

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Category: YA
Genre: Verse/Contemporary
Published: March 6th, 2018
Contemporary verse novel about a girl finding her voice through slam poetry. I liked most of it, but the ending with the mother left a lot to be desired for me. If it wasn't for that, this would be five whole stars from me, because it's beautifully written.
Rating: Four out of Five let down endings

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
Category: Adult
Genre: Contemporary, literary fiction
Published: January 9th, 2018
Everyone and their mother has been raving about this book and honestly...I don't get it. Half of it was good, the other half...not so much. Also I was really not into the way it stereotyped people a lot.
Rating: Three out of Five side-eyes

Caraval Book 2: Legendary by Stephanie Garber
Category: YA
Genre: Fantasy
Published: May 29th, 2018
Oh Caraval, I have so many mixed feelings about this series. I gave the debut a four out of five, but after much reflection...I would probably rate it lower now. I enjoy this series, it's very readable and everything. There's nothing really bad in it...it's just not really good either. If you like it, I get it. I like it too. But...I also fully acknowledge that quality wise...it's not the best.
Rating: Three and a half out of Five generic, but enjoyable fantasy reads

American Panda by Gloria Chao
Category: YA
Genre: Contemporary
Published: February 6th, 2018
Cute and fluffy contemporary about a girl finding her way while dealing with controlling parents.
Rating: Four out of Five satisfying reads

Magic Misfits Book 1: The Magic Misfits by Neal Patrick Harris
Category: Middle-Grade
Genre: Contemporary/Adventure
Published: November 2017
Yes, NPH wrote a book. It was...just okay. The thing with middle-grade books is that there are two kinds: ones written with a general audience in mind...and one just written for tweens. This was written for tweens and they should be happy with it. I am not a tween, therefore, I was not really the target audience for the book.

Graphic novels read:
Generation X (2017) series (yes, the whole thing, I recently got a Marvel Unlimited subscription and have been putting it to use)
America Vol. 1: The Life and Times of America Chavez
Runaways (2017) Vol. 1

Book Review Catch-up Post Part 1: June 2018 Reads

Yeah...I'm woefully behind on reviews on here. I have been reading...I just haven't been terribly motivated to post reviews. So I'm going to do a catch up and try to get back into the swing of reviewing/posting stuff this month.

Here are the rest of the books that I read in June:

Rebel Mechanics Book 3: Rebels Rising by Shanna Swenson
Category: YA
Genre: Steampunk/Historical Fantasy
Published: April 2017
Rating: Three and a half out of Five steampunk outfits
Okay ending. Everything tied up a little too quickly and neatly for my taste. A bit of a let down after how great the second one was.
Rating for series: Three and a half out of Five

Tyranny of Petticoats Book 2: The Radical Element by various authors
Category: YA
Genre: Historical Fiction/Historical Fantasy, Short Stories
Published: March 13th, 2018
Rating: Four out of Five awesome female leads
If you've read Tyranny of Petticoats, this is just more of the same. Lots of good stories in this one.

A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi
Category:YA
Genre: Contemporary
Published: January 23rd, 2018
Rating: Three and a half out of Five
I like the overall message in this book, and there were some beautiful passages of writing in it. But the story overall...just fell a little flat for me for some reason.


The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
Category: Adult/Classics
Genre: Contemporary
Published: 1905
This was...interesting. It was a bit slow for my taste, but overall I liked it. I find that Wharton's books tend to subvert expectations and I really like that aspect of her books.

Numair Chronicles Book 1: Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce
Category: YA
Genre: Fantasy
Published: February 6th, 2018
Rating: Four out of Five
I adore the Tortall books and pretty much everything Pierce writes. So it was a given, I was going to read and enjoy this. However, even as I enjoyed it...I think the series is unnecessary as most prequels are. It gives good insight to Numair's character...but that's honestly about all it does. But this was mostly just build-up, I think I suspect the next book will be where everything I actually care about happens. Such as Numair meeting Alanna and co.

The Collected Poems by Langston Hughes
Category: Classics
Genre: Poetry
Published: This edition, was published in 1995. It includes all of Hughes poems written over the the years, going as far back as the 1930s.
Still very new to poetry, so I can't comment on the quality. But I personally loved these. I also found some that were written over fifty years ago that are still relevant today. Part of me thinks it's because Hughes was just that good and part of me also thinks its because our society has not evolved as much as we like to claim.

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
Category: Classics
Genre: Non-Fiction/Philosophy/Politics
Published: 1513
If you're into history, you'll probably like this. As a lot of it is Machiavelli talking about politics and drawing from examples of history to back up his ideas. I just honestly found it dull.

Graphic Novels read:
Ms Marvel Vol.s 7 and 8
Batman and the Outsiders Vol. 1
Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe
Hawkeye: Kate Bishop Vol. 2

Book Review: Before the Devil Breaks You

TITLE: Before the Devil Breaks You
Book 3 in the Diviners series
AUTHOR: Libba Bray
CATEGORY: YA
PUBLISHED: October 2017
GENRE: Historical Fantasy/Paranormal
PREMISE: The Diviners all come together for their training as their lives become more difficult and the enemy comes closer and closer...
MY REVIEW: I think I've been pretty up front about the fact that I adore this series. So it probably won't come as a surprise to any of you, that I adored this book.
As with the other books, the characters in this series are the best. I love how they all come together. I love the snark, I love how their personalities clash and also mesh well. I love the setting in this. Far too many historical novels that take place in the twenties focus on the glamour part of it. This book does that, but also points out all the gross stuff that went on during this time as well such as deep racism that still existed well after slavery had ended, sexism, classism, and a whole bunch of other funky things we tend to try and brush under the rug when we go on about the "good old days".
This was a phenomenal continuation. There were twists I wasn't expecting (and some that downright broke my heart, even though the twists were damn good), and it leaves on a big question mark. I'm sure we'll probably have to wait awhile for the next book in this series as well and I'm honestly okay with that. Just please, publishers: stop changing the damn covers.
WHO SHOULD READ: Libba Bray fans, those that have read the first two books
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five almost perfect books (it was a tad slow in the beginning, that's the only reason it's not getting five full stars from me)

Book Review: Leah on the Offbeat

TITLE: Leah on the Offbeat
Companion book in the Simon VS the Homo Sapiens Agenda series
AUTHOR: Becky Albertalli
CATEGORY: YA
PUBLISHED: April 24rth, 2018
GENRE: Contemporary, Romance
PREMISE: Simon's friend Leah goes through her own set of troubles as she deals with the looming of college, dealing with her sexuality, and a crush on a girl that she thinks is hopeless...
MY REVIEW: I love Becky Albertalli's books, so I should probably give a bias warning for this review. She's basically an auto-buy author for me now. So whenever there are more Albertalli books in the future, I will be reading them.
As with all of Albertalli's books, this one was just cute. It is fast paced, there's some great lines in it that just nail things, and there's a romance I actually don't mind. I will admit that story wise...this was all over the place and I kind of think it lost focus too much. Quality wise...I think it's not as good as her first two books.
But it is still very enjoyable. At the end of the day, it was mostly what I wanted from it, so I'm not complaining too loudly and don't think it's bad or anything like that. I can't wait for whatever she has in store for us next. The only one I know of coming out is the one she's writing with Adam Silvera that's coming out later this year. I am thrilled about it and have my money and my tissues ready.
WHO SHOULD READ: Simon VS the Homo Sapiens Agenda fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five happy reads

Book Review: Gunslinger Girl

TITLE: Gunslinger Girl
AUTHOR: Lyndsay Ely
CATEGORY: YA
PUBLISHED: January 2nd, 2018
GENRE: Dystopian
PREMISE: A girl escapes her home life and goes on a journey to a town where she becomes a sharp shooter for entertainment...
MY REVIEW: These James Patterson imprint books have been a real mixed bag for me. Much like how James Patterson's books are, now that I think about it. This latest book is no exception. I do give the author many points for creativity factor and readability factor. But story-wise...it was just okay all across the board.
The world-building is really interesting and where I see most of the creativity. She also writes nicely and cleanly and manages to spin a fast-paced tale. But other then those things...nothing much about this stood out for me. The characters were all the usual types that you see in YA these days. The story was okay...but not what I'd call a must read. Even the writing, which I mentioned was nice...is just okay. Everything is just...okay. Nothing, aside from some creative world-building, really stands out in this book.
So I don't know how I feel about this one to be honest. I enjoyed it as I read it. There's nothing particularly bad about it or anything. It's just...very average. I basically finished it, shrugged, and then promptly moved on to the next book in my pile. But I've seen some people love this. So...I don't know. I say check it out from the library, and see if it's for you, before buying it.
WHO SHOULD READ: James Patterson fans, dystopian fans, Hunger Games fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five shrugs

Book Review: This Will Be My Undoing

TITLE: This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America
AUTHOR: Morgan Jerkins
PUBLISHED: January 30th, 2018
CATEGORY: Non-Fiction
GENRE: Essays
PREMISE: A series of essays by Morgan Jerkins diving into things like feminism, racism, pop culture and so much more.
MY REVIEW: Lately I've found that I really enjoy essays. Particularly I like listening to them via audiobook. Which is what I did with this one and I highly recommend it. The author does the narration herself and she's pretty good at it.
I personally really liked this one. As with most essay collections, some are better then others. One or two go a little too long for my taste, but she still makes her point. The subjects raised are interesting ones that not many people talk about. For instance, she talks about a trip to Japan and the differences between how she was treated there, versus the United States.
I think it was a pretty solid collection. I hope we see more from this author in the future.
WHO SHOULD READ: those that like essay collections, Roxane Gay fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five interesting essays

Book Review: The Belles

TITLE: The Belles
Book 1 in The Belles series
AUTHOR: Dhonielle Clayton
CATEGORY: YA
PUBLISHED: February 6th, 2018
GENRE: Fantasy
PREMISE: In a world where beauty is everything, one girl competes to be the favorite Belle and learns that there is more to her world then there seems...
MY REVIEW: I admit it...I wasn't sure how much I was going to like this. People kept comparing it to The Selection and I kind of loathe that series. But thankfully, this turned out to be ten times better then The Selection (and frankly, nothing like that series) and I wound up really enjoying it.
It is not really groundbreaking stuff. YA fantasy that does social commentary happen all the time. But this is very enjoyable and very readable. I love the world Clayton has built here. Like with The Cruel Prince, it's one of those worlds that has me itching to get out my drawing supplies, it's so vivid. The main character is enjoyable, there's plot intrigue, some good twists at the end, and I honestly kind of love the villain in this.
This was just a very nice, solid, YA fantasy. I think YA fantasy and I are starting to get our groove back. I've really enjoyed the last few I've read and that has been a nice change from the past year of just okay to boring fantasy books.
WHO SHOULD READ: Dhonielle Clayton fans, if you enjoyed all the descriptions of the Capital in Hunger Games (this place is like the Capital on steroids)
MY RATING: Four out of Five solid starts to a series

Book Review: Stay With Me

TITLE: Stay With Me
AUTHOR: Ayobami Adebayo
CATEGORY: Adult
PUBLISHED: August 2017
GENRE: Contemporary
PREMISE: A couple talks about the difficulties in their marriage.
MY REVIEW: This book was honestly just a case of not for me. I didn't click with it at all. I didn't personally find it engaging, but did see why others liked it. The writing is beautiful, the story is interesting. It just personally fell flat for me.
Part of it is just personal taste I think. Books dealing with marriages just don't really interest me that much. I will say, it's a very quick read. You can probably finish it in like two days. There is a lot going on and it's very dramatic.
It just wasn't for me.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of Americanah, An American Marriage fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five good books that weren't for me

Book Review: The Hazel Wood

TITLE: The Hazel Wood
Book 1 in a new series
AUTHOR: Melissa Albert
CATEGORY: YA
PUBLISHED: January 30th, 2018
GENRE: Fantasy
PREMISE: A girls mother disappears and finding her requires looking into an old book of fairy tales....
MY REVIEW: This is a book that will probably not be for everyone. Hence all the mixed reviews on Goodreads. It's a very quirky type of story with whimsical writing and a slow pace. If you loved the prose in stuff like Strange the Dreamer and The Raven Boys, you'll probably love this. If you wished those had moved a little quicker...it might not be your thing.
Luckily, it was my thing. I love dark fairy tales. This had that in spades. The best parts in the book happen near the end, where there's a pretty good twist. It's not a mind-blowing twist (I kind of saw it coming early on) but when it happens, it changes things and gets very meta and look, I like meta things okay?
This is not a perfect debut. There are pacing issues, and a lot of conveniences and what not. But it is the first fantasy debut in a while that really spoke to me and didn't feel like a redo of something I'd seen before. I loved it. I can't wait for more.
WHO SHOULD READ: Alice in Wonderland fans, fairy tale fans
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five really promising debuts

Book Review: Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann

TITLE: Let's Talk About Love
AUTHOR: Claire Kann
PUBLISHED: January 23rd, 2018
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Contemporary, Romance
PREMISE: An asexual girl's life gets hectic as her friends start to drift and she finds a new guy to crush on...
MY REVIEW: This is yet another book published by Swoon Reads I have read and I am kind of enjoying them. I do sometimes think their almost adult teenage characters sound WAY too young (and the issue persists in this book), but I find I am enjoying their books.
Like Queens of Geek, this is just super cute and very inclusive. Again, I love that we're getting more representation for asexual characters. Again, I ask why is there not also representation for demi-sexuals? Even in this book there was a scene where they could have mentioned demi-sexuality was a thing, but it never came up, As a demi-sexual, I find this endlessly frustrating. But the book is still very cute and very enjoyable. Again, it sometimes felt like the characters were too juvenile for people who were supposed to be entering their second year of college, but it didn't hinder the enjoyment of the book at all.
If you just want a cute, fluffy romance to read by the pool or something, absolutely pick this up.
WHO SHOULD READ: those who want cute contemporary romances
MY RATING: Four out of Five cute romances

Book Review: Beneath the Sugar Sky

TITLE: Beneath the Sugar Sky
Book 3 in the Wayward Children series
AUTHOR: Seanan McGuire
PUBLISHED: January 9th, 2018
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Fantasy
PREMISE: We return to Eleanor West's Home for Wayward to join a new group of people who go on a journey to a land made of candy...
MY REVIEW: I should probably just go ahead and put up a bias warning whenever I review these books. Because I honestly just love them. Sometimes there are series where you feel like the author peeked into your head and wrote your ideal series. This series is one of those for me.
As with the other books, this is fairly short. It's a novella, so it's just under two hundred pages. As with the other books, it's very whimsical, has a very fairy-tale like writing style, a diverse group of characters, and a nice and satisfying plot.
If you liked the other two books in the series, I would absolutely read this one as well. It looks like we will be getting at least two more books in the series and I can't wait.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of Every Heart a Doorway, fairy tale fans, fantasy fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five series I adore

Book Review: Halsey Street

TITLE: Halsey Street
AUTHOR: Naima Coster
PUBLISHED: January 1rst, 2018
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Contemporary/Realistic Fiction
PREMISE: A woman returns to her old street to help take care of her ailing father as the neighborhood goes through gentrification...
MY REVIEW: How much you like this book will depend on how much you can deal with flawed characters. I don't mind the flawed character stuff, I did however mind the cheating. Sorry, cheating is not something I'm into. At least here however, it comes and goes very quickly and isn't condoned. So I could deal with it, even if I didn't particularly like it.
The rest of the book I did mildly enjoy. It's a very slice of life type of story that goes into how gentrification can hurt the people who already live in the neighborhood. That aspect of it is very eye-opening. The character stuff was okay. There's a plot about an estranged mother that was good, but never seems to go anywhere until the very end.
For a debut this was rather good. I was reminded very strongly of Swing Time by Zadie Smith, though this book at least didn't have two main plots competing with each other. I do definitely see a lot of promising stuff here and will probably be picking up more of the author's books in the future.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of the book Swing Time, Americanah fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five very promising debuts

Book Review: If Beale Street Could Talk

TITLE: If Beale Street Could Talk
AUTHOR: James Baldwin
CATEGORY: Adult
PUBLISHED: 1974
GENRE: Contemporary
PREMISE: A husband and wife try to figure out how to get him out of prison when she discovers she is pregnant.
MY THOUGHTS: This is the first James Baldwin book that I've read. I've been meaning to read him for years, but best laid plans and all. This was a random read. I had a few hours to kill at the library while waiting for someone, so I picked up a small book I could find and read it. This turned out to be that book. It is under two-hundred pages. You can read it in one sitting.
It is a short book that packs a powerful punch. As with most literature, it covers a lot of subjects: racism, prison, classism, family issues and so much. There is a lot in this under two hundred page book. As with most classics, the way it deals with women leaves something to be desired (there's a moment of abuse with a husband that basically gets dismissed by everyone. Which...no. Not okay). But other then that, this was a damn good book. I definitely get why Baldwin is a thing.
I'll probably be picking up more Baldwin in the future. I don't know when exactly. But it will be soon.
WHO SHOULD READ: James Baldwin fans, contemporary fiction fans