Book Review: A DEADLY EDUCATION (The Scholomance # 1) by Naomi Novik

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Am one of those who absolutely ADORED Novik's UPROOTED and SPINNING SILVER. Loved loved LOVED them!!

It's a testament to the skill of Novik that this first book in a new series "sounds" so different from the previous books... because it is, after all, a totally different world.

It's about a school of magic, yes, but it's as different from HARRY POTTER as night is from day.

Rowling's world was pretty fleshed out, spells and all. Novik manages to build an entirely different magical school so unlike Hogwarts that no one can accuse her of being less than original!

I feel like I should warn YA readers (and their parents) that if you come into this expecting something like Harry Potter, you will be bitterly disappointed.

Novik's world is ever so much deadly and cruel. This is a school where students die every day, either from being attacked by one of hundreds of malicious creatures who want to eat all the students inside a shabbily protected campus, or from one of their own selfish schoolmates (of the "Better you than me" variety).

The bloodthirsty viciousness of the book truly SHOCKED me!

But perhaps this speaks of our changing times. These are less gentle days, and Novik managed to put that dog-eat-dog-world in the REAL world inside the pages of this fantasy book, which makes it all the more "realistic" despite all the magic.

I was also struck by how she showed parallels about privilege and race in our real world, in this book. And heck, even sexual assault showed up, thinly disguised as an attack by a maw-mouth.

Novik is known for her feminism, and El (short for Galadriel) is one of the most foul-mouthed, tough heroines I've ever come across. She's so bad-ass, she says things like "Reader, I ran the f*** away" and throws around references to LOTR along with Bronte, all while kicking monster-butt and doing her best to keep the darkness within drowned out by the light of goodness.

This is a very promising first book. Please oh please, will the second magick itself into my bookshelf pretty soon??

View all my reviews

Book Review: IT'S WHAT I DO (A Photographer's Life of Love and War) by Lynsey Addario

It's What I Do: A Photographer's Life of Love and War by Lynsey Addario
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It takes a special kind of person to run towards conflict, instead of away from it. Moreso if that person is armed with nothing but a camera, and if she is female.

"IT'S WHAT I DO" has to be one of the most moving books I've ever read, describing how multi-awarded war photojournalist Lynsey Addario did her job in places like Darfur, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya.

From being embedded with G.I's and facing Taliban gunfire, to being kidnapped and tortured by Qaddafi forces, Addario's book reads like a thriller, except that it is a true account of the challenges that journalists all over the world face when they try to be the bridges that show what's happening on the ground to civilians and policy makers alike.

We share her heartache when an editor decides from the comfort of a plush New York office not to run a story, because it would be too critical of the War on Terror. We share the horrors of narrowly being missed by bullets and bombs. We share her wrath when she faces the unique assaults and threats inflicted on women, that her male counterparts are spared from.

Throughout, Addario's respect for all people and passion for truth shines through. She speaks almost lovingly of the Muslims she encountered who, despite belonging to the opposite side in battle, would graciously protect her and serve her tea and every courtesy. Likewise, she wrote of the cruelties of other Muslims who would hit a bound and defenseless woman in the face with fists. She acknowledges common humanity and kindness wherever she found it, knowing that it was her calling "to experience the worst in people but to remember the beauty."

"Under it all, however, are the things that sustain us and bring us together: the privilege of witnessing things that others do not; an idealistic belief that a photograph might affect people's souls; the thrill of creating art and contributing to the world's database of knowledge... when I am doing my work, I am alive and I am me. It's what I do."

Reading this makes one grateful for the relative peace and quiet we have at home, but also makes us more aware of the threat to our journalists, especially in the Philippines (we are the 7th most dangerous country for them, being beaten by Somalia, Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Mexico.)

Photojournalists are ambassadors for truth, and while not all of us have the means nor desire to risk our lives on the front lines, Addario's book inspires us to cherish our many peacetime gifts, and to be grateful to those who make that peace possible. While smartphones allow us mere citizens to document events, Addario's example reminds us that real journalists are a rare breed very much apart from us mere mortals, and we would do well to honor and follow their brave quest to expose Truth.

View all my reviews

Book Review: PROMISE ME, DAD by Joe Biden

Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose by Joe Biden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"So how do I want to spend the rest of my life? I want to spend as much time as I can with my family, AND I want to help change the country and the world for the better. That duty does much more than give me purpose; it gives me something to hope for. It makes me nostalgic for the future."

Beautiful. This is more than a tribute to a much-loved son whom the father considered the better version of himself, who sadly passed away ahead of his time.

This is more than a summary of the most pressing national and international issues Joe Biden had to face as Obama's VP.

This is the very honest account of how a decent man did his best to serve his country AND his family, during a very difficult time.

I feel that, as is the case with every other book, the reader partly MAKES the book when we bring who we are into the reading. If one is a cynic, one could read this as sheer propaganda or a defense against political actions with imperfect consequences.

But I, for one, was deeply moved by the authenticity of Joe Biden's voice in the passages that mattered the most: the ones involving his family, or outlining his core beliefs (such as when he championed LGBTQ+ rights and marriage equality).

Simply put: it is a wonderful tale of decency, at times very painful to read but always, always hopeful. And it should come with a warning to keep a box of tissue close by for the tears that surely will come.

Decency matters. Perseverance through hard times matters. There is much to learn, much to love, between these pages.

"I had come to understand that all good things are hard and take time. It might take a generation or more..." Joe Biden wrote. The important thing, no matter how much time there is left for us, is to "keep things moving in the right direction."

How wonderful that finally, in 2020, Joe Biden's time has come.

View all my reviews

Book Review: REAPER AT THE GATES (An Ember in the Ashes # 3) by Sabaa Tahir

A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The book got delivered around lunch time, and I had devoured it come dinner time.

Possibly the weakest of the three books in the series thus far, but because it's Sabaa Tahir, this is still pretty, pretty strong compared to other YA books! We still have the trademark "un-put-downability," strong female characters, heroes who do vile things and villains with streaks of nobility, and soooo much *kilig*!

(Sorry Laia and Elias, but I'm firmly Team Helene/ Avitas now!)

And I hear the next book is coming out next month, what a wonderful Christmas it's going to be!!!

View all my reviews

Book Review: THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"In the eyes of the hungry there is a growing wrath.
In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage."

I read this book with a storm screaming outside, to match the tempest of emotions stirred up by my least favorite of Steinbeck's works so far. Although undoubtedly a masterpiece, it truly will break your heart.

This was my 3rd Steinbeck. In the appendix of my previous Steinbeck book, he wrote that "When THE GRAPES OF WRATH (TGOW) got loose, a lot of people were pretty mad at me." And he proceeded to tell of a warning given him by the sheriff of Santa Clara not to go anywhere alone, because there were concrete plans to set him up with a rape case.

What book could rile people up enough to want to destroy the author? I wondered.

And now I know.

For if EAST OF EDEN was Genesis, with the hope and promise of new beginnings despite all the tragedy, then TGOW is Exodus, down to inhumane slavery and the baby floating downriver in a box.

It is the Exodus of thousands of migrant worker families from Oklahoma to California in the 1930's, looking for work, BEGGING for bread. Not seeking to enrich themselves, but only to feed themselves and keep their children from starving.

It is Exodus with modern day serfs, where masters and landowners and banks would rather soak oranges in kerosene than let ravenous children eat the excess. Because the food must rot so prices of produce can remain the same.

It is the Exodus of humanity and decency. Reading this book made me realize that the hatred that some whites show to coloreds is no suprise, because of the hatred they showed fellow white "Oakies."

It is the hatred for the Other, for those with a different accent, a different way of life.

It is hatred borne from fear that the new group will take what precious jobs they have.

Corruption abounds... within the police force, and the moral corruption of religious zealots quick to damn others for little joys, exulting in the spread of Misery, mistaking it for the Gospel.

There's plenty here to rile plenty of people up.

Still so relevant and true, nearly a century later. TGOW is necessary reading, but I don't think I shall be rereading it again. Ever. It hurt too much the first time.

But then, lacerating the heart is a sign of great literature. And this is truly, truly great.

View all my reviews

Book Review: A TORCH AGAINST THE NIGHT (An Ember In The Ashes Book # 2)

A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"So long as you fight the darkness, you stand in the light."

I loved that line from the novel... made extra special because I read this book the same weekend that Biden won the US elections. :)

Imagine a fantasy world where a Rome-like empire tries to maintain control over a Middle Eastern-inspired people called The Scholars. One of its sons falls in love with a daughter from the other side. Romeo and Juliet meets The Gladiator, and 1001 Arabian Nights, but with a dash of Game of Thrones' politicking and backstabbing. Oh, and don't forget to add a superhuman, godlike being out to destroy basically all of mankind.

The second book in the series is waaaaay better than the first! Sabaa Tahir has such a gift for plot! The twists I never saw coming, the vile betrayal leaves one gasping! And the romance... hihihi.... makes one giggle like a school girl. Love triangles are trope-y and one can't find a YA novel without this key element... but Tahir makes it fresh and "kilig" and I AM ONE HAPPY CUSTOMER.

This book went down easily on a Sunday afternoon, the sort of weekend treat you savor over two cups of coffee and you finish immediately because it grabs you from page 1 and doesn't let up!!

It's soooooo good, I ordered Book 3 when I was in the middle of it. And now I can't wait to see what becomes of these characters!

I also like that Book 2 explained the titles of both books thus far. I can't wait to find out who "The Reaper At The Gates" is, although I have a suspect in mind.

"Most people are nothing but glimmers in the great darkness of time. But you... you are no swift-burning spark. You are a torch against the night -- if you dare to let yourself burn."

(Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5, rounded up!)

View all my reviews

Book Review: AUXILIARY (LONDON 2039) by Jon Richter

Auxiliary: London 2039 by Jon Richter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"All these interactions that infused modern human lives; behind them, a single entity, a massive, sprawling intelligence."

(NOTE: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

If you like your dystopia hopelessly bleak and black as sin, then this book should be at the top of your Halloween list. (For mature readers only!!!)

Tautly written and compact, Richter's part-mystery, part-scifi novel about a woman who gets murdered by the robotic arm of her boyfriend... something that is supposed to be impossible. Cybernetics gone wrong? Hidden murderous tendencies? Our hero, tortured policeman Dremmler, is out to find the truth.

I suppose, more than the murder, what I found particularly chilling in Richter's 2039 was the idea that children would no longer be taught by teachers, but by TIM (The Imagination Machine), which basically controlled every aspect of human life. Humans would walk around wearing spex or glasses powered by superb artificial intelligence. The book gets its title from the job of the murdered girl, who was one of the "auxiliaries" or non-teaching staff in a school where kids sat placidly all day, being fed information by computers inside glasses.

"Everything was meticulously organized and controlled. Human life, shepherded.
Like cattle."

Would have given the book a 4 star rating but the ending, quite frankly, I felt violently against. It's got nothing to do with the skill of the author and everything about who I am as a reader: a dreamer who looks for hope and light in her usual book fare.

Richter knows how to tell a tale. Suspenseful and well-imagined, his is a world that we've seen glimpses of in other sci-fi movies and stories, but he brings his own special brand of gloom and doom to it. No wonder he calls his work "dark fiction!" His work makes Black Mirror seem white!

Richter's 2039 is a warning of what could happen if we allow ourselves to be consumed by the AltWorld and not reality (and as a recent convert to the immersive online game SWTOR, I feel that I should take heed!). Of the humanity we lose when we give more power to technology.

Guaranteed to make you seriously think about throwing away anything electronic in your home. I shall never look at a printer the same way again.

Will definitely keep the lights on tonight!!!!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Relevant links below:

Here is the link to the book:
https://geni.us/auxiliarym

Here is their website:
https://www.tckpublishing.com/

And here is the author’s website:
https://www.jon-richter.com/

View all my reviews

Book Review: HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY by Richard Llewellyn

How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Each word a laden fire-boat, each sentence a joy of craft, the whole a glory of art... written by the hand that through long, hungry years, had wielded its golden sickle in the chartless wilderness of Words."

There are books that we read to refresh our souls and rekindle beliefs that may have been giving a beating by the morass of incivility to be found everywhere in 2020.

This is such a book! There is a jewel of a novel it was. (And yes, I deliberately phrased it thus... to show how delightful the Welsh flavor was!! One of the chief charms of this book)

Huw Morgan and his wonderful family showed that life in the Welsh countryside in the Victorian era, too, had its share of evil. But Llewellyn's masterpiece highlights the hope that comes from good men and women doing honest work, with shining spirits that blaze from the page as brightly as Anne of Avonlea or the Marches did, which no sling nor arrow of misfortune could fully erase.

It reminds me a great deal of Elizabeth Gaskell's NORTH AND SOUTH, because of its themes of country versus city, the genteel values of a gentler age pitted against the cold hearts of commerce in a new century. There was also a great deal of moralizing in that book, hehe. (But then, being a teacher, I enjoy books with moralizing DONE RIGHT.)

Llewellyn passionately wrote about the injustices done to Welsh miners, as well as the hypocrisy and moral stagnation to be found in small rural towns. I particularly enjoyed how he handled the differences of opinions within one family, which would have torn it asunder had it been a lesser one. But the Morgans are an immortal family of an entirely superhuman moral fibre, and I am not ashamed to confess that I teared up several times at the brave sacrifices that the family members made for one another. *sniff*

Mind you, this book gets pretty dark at times, so this is DEFINITELY not for children. Llewellyn does not shirk from details of the worst possible crimes imaginable, but his gift for description blesses us with musical prose about the beauties of the grass and the nightingales, with dialogue that you thrill to "hear." Some of the loveliest bits on love and morals that I have ever come across lie in this book, passages to savor and re-read with delight.

And my goodness, so many beautiful bits on singing!!

"Sing, then. Sing, indeed, with shoulders back, and head up so that song might go to the roof and beyond to the sky. Mass on mass of tone... singing and singing, until life and all things living are become a song. O, Voice of Man, organ of most lovely might."

This classic is definitely in the SHOVE-DOWN-THE-FACE-OF-YOUR-BOOK-CLUB-FRIENDS category! Be sure to grab a copy if you come across one! It's one that will CLEANSE YOUR SOUL!!!


View all my reviews