Category: Reviews

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Review: Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob

Posted on by Jennifer

Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob

Recommended: yep
for hard conversations in an easier to follow format, for that insight children can sometimes give to complex issues

Summary

Mira Jacob’s touching, often humorous, and utterly unique graphic memoir takes readers on her journey as a first-generation American. At an increasingly fraught time for immigrants and their families, Good Talk delves into the difficult conversations about race, sex, love, and family that seem to be unavoidable these days.

Inspired by her popular BuzzFeed piece “37 Difficult Questions from My Mixed-Raced Son,” here are Jacob’s responses to her six-year-old, Zakir, who asks if the new president hates brown boys like him; uncomfortable relationship advice from her parents, who came to the United States from India one month into their arranged marriage; and the imaginary therapy sessions she has with celebrities from Bill Murray to Madonna. Jacob also investigates her own past, from her memories of being the only non-white fifth grader to win a Daughters of the American Revolution essay contest to how it felt to be a brown-skinned New Yorker on 9/11. As earnest and moving as they are sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, these are the stories that have formed one American life.

Thoughts

I originally read this in 2020, and it was a lot harder at that point to get through it because a lot of the pain of racism and horridness in the United States was closer at hand and pressing all the time. I think things are still kind of politically and socially horrid, but in different ways now. So this still wasn’t super easy to read. Granted, it probably never will be.

The art is a sort of collage style that totally fills each page. It’s occasionally a bit more abstract, with skylines or symbolic aspects overlaid with the conversation bubbles of text. I found it really effective in conveying location and tone, and it often felt like it had a surprising amount of movement to it.

Continue reading “Review: Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob” →
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ARC Review: Twelve Hours in Manhattan by Maan Gabriel (4/18/23)

Posted on by Jennifer

Twelve Hours in Manhattan by Maan Gabriel

Recommended: if you know what you’re getting into
For a complex and expansive story that covers years of pain and grief and hope and fear. NOT for a lighthearted story or any kind of rom-com tale

Summary

Bianca Maria Curtis is at the brink of losing it all when she meets Eric at a bar in Manhattan. Eric, as it turns out, is the famous Korean drama celebrity Park Hyun Min, and he’s in town for one night to escape the pressures of fame. From walking along Fifth Avenue to eating ice cream at Serendipity to sharing tender moments on top of the Empire State building, sparks fly as Bianca and Eric spend twelve magical hours far away from their respective lives. In that time, they talk about the big stuff: love, life, and happiness, and the freedom they both seek to fully exist and not merely survive.

But real life is more than just a few exhilarating stolen moments in time.

As the clock strikes the twelfth hour, Bianca returns back to the life she detests to face a tragedy that will test her strength and resolve—and the only thing she has to keep going is the memory of a man she loves in secret from a world away.

Thoughts

Overall this was a decent story, but my experience reading it was tainted in two key ways (more below). For quick reference, this is what I think is important to know before reading this book:

Things to know:
– this actually takes place over the course of three YEARS and the titular twelve hours are only the first quarter or so of the book
– this is NOT a romcom or lighthearted read
– this book has a lot of pain and grief that characters have to sort through
– this book is a good read, but best if you know what you’re going into

I had two main issues with this book: expectations and confusion. This book gave the impression with the title, cover art, and summary, that it is more of a rom-com lighthearted story when it absolutely is not. Being something deeper and darker isn’t a bad thing, but it was extremely jarring to adjust to that on the fly when it was way more grim and pained than I had believed it would be from the media introducing it. In particular, it was compared to Susan Lee’s Seoulmates which is so incredibly incorrect a comparison that the only thing they have in common is a Korean character and some elements of romance.

Continue reading “ARC Review: Twelve Hours in Manhattan by Maan Gabriel (4/18/23)” →
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Review: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty

Posted on by Jennifer

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty

Recommended: yes!!
For an actiony adventure, for a lovable crew, for incredible escalating magic

Summary

Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean’s most notorious pirates, she’s survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.

But when she’s tracked down by the obscenely wealthy mother of a former crewman, she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse: retrieve her comrade’s kidnapped daughter for a kingly sum. The chance to have one last adventure with her crew, do right by an old friend, and win a fortune that will secure her family’s future forever? It seems like such an obvious choice that it must be God’s will.

Yet the deeper Amina dives, the more it becomes alarmingly clear there’s more to this job, and the girl’s disappearance, than she was led to believe. For there’s always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savor just a bit more power… and the price might be your very soul.

Thoughts

This book had a lot to overcome in order for me to enjoy it since sailing and ship-based stories usually bore the heck out of me, but the reason I went for it was that it’s by Shannon Chakraborty, the same author of the City of brass trilogy that I absolutely fell in love with last year and devoured in the course of about 2 weeks the entire 1500 page series. Once I realized it was the same author for this book, the fact that it’s piratey and ship-based was something I was willing to overlook and at least give a try.

It did take me a little bit to be truly invested in the story, but once the crew was together and the adventure really began I was very quickly along for the ride. Once the action starts, it pretty much doesn’t stop. I can think of maybe one scene where Amina is able to catch her breath but that’s about it. It was balls to the wall chaos pretty much the whole way.

Continue reading “Review: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty” →
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ARC Review: How to Win a Breakup by Farah Heron (3/21/23)

Posted on by Jennifer

How to Win a Breakup by Farah Heron
Expected Release Date: March 21, 2023

Check out the Goodreads Giveaway, open until March 21!

Recommended: sure
For a sweet story with some actual mystery to it, for a fun integration of nerdy gamer things that you’ll be in on the joke for if you’re a gamer, for characters who support being their true authentic selves

Summary

First, math genius and gamer-nerd Samaya gets dumped by her boyfriend. Then he sabotages her job and hooks up with her frenemy. What could be worse? Clearly, her golden-boy ex is winning the breakup. The only way Samaya can get some rebound cred is to find someone new. Even if she has to fake it.

At a volunteer bake sale, Samaya meets a sweet opportunity. Daniel is a handsome hockey jock and a whiz when it comes to lemon squares and brownies. And he agrees to play along. Quid pro quo. He’ll pretend to be the boyfriend of her dreams if Samaya helps him pass calculus.

This may well be the recipe for the best revenge, but Samaya has no idea how complicated it will get. As they whip up an imitation romance, and a bumbleberry pie, resisting each other’s very real charms proves impossible. Samaya finds herself on an unexpected journey of secrets, self-discovery, and the true meaning of moving on.

Thoughts

This starts off with a premise that could easily fall to the lazy, boring trope where the conflict is driven by people simply not talking to each other. Happily, that lazy boring trope is not where this book draws from. Instead, there’s a well-developed sense of identity and authenticity, as well as mutual support. Considering this is a fake-dating trope, it’s really impressive that it still felt very genuine for the characters!

I loved that they were pretty honest with each other from the start. Even though there’s the one obvious lie of pretending this guy is an excellent gamer, they both focus on staying true to themselves and encouraging each other to do the same. Daniel’s interactions with Samaya’s friends was focused a lot on who he genuinely is, rather than solely on his assumed persona. They even call that out to each other after, which was a heartwarming moment of clarity. This is a critical basis of any relationship, so I was quickly invested in them, regardless of if romance came or it stayed as a strong friendship.

Continue reading “ARC Review: How to Win a Breakup by Farah Heron (3/21/23)” →
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Review: Everyone Hates Kelsie Miller by Meredith Ireland

Posted on by Jennifer

Everyone Hates Kelsie Miller by Meredith Ireland


Recommended: eh…
If you can be ok with an MC / narrator who is actually an unlikeable dick, if you enjoy academic rivals, if you enjoy mini road trips, then this might work for you. If any of that turns you off… probably pass

Summary

Today Tonight Tomorrow meets A Pho Love Story in this whip-smart young adult novel about a girl who embarks on a road trip with her long-time rival to win back her best friend and his girlfriend.

There’s no one Kelsie Miller hates more than Eric Mulvaney Ortiz—the homecoming king, captain of the football team, and academic archrival in her hyper-competitive prep school. But after Kelsie’s best friend, Briana, moves across the country and stops speaking to her, she’ll do anything, even talk to Eric, to find out why.

After they run into each other—literally—at the last high school party of the summer, Eric admits he’s been ghosted by his girlfriend, Jessica. Kelsie tells him she’s had zero contact from Briana since she left their upstate New York town.

Suddenly, a plan is formed: they’ll go on a road trip to the University of Pennsylvania the following week when both Briana and Jessica will be on campus. Together, they’ll do whatever it takes to win back their exes.

What could go wrong?

Used to succeeding in everything, Kelsie and Eric assume they’ll naturally figure out the details on the drive down. What they don’t expect is that the person they actually need may be the one sitting next to them.

Thoughts

The main problem here is that I finished this book 4 days ago and I’ve already almost forgotten it. That alone tells me that it’s not anything wildly special to me, if four days have already let it slip away. I acknowledge as part of that, though, that two things went against this for me immediately:
1. I’m not a fan of road trip stories, which this is like 35% a road trip story
2. I’m not a fan of enemies to lovers where it’s really that one person is just an asshole and there was never actually any animosity needed or present for the other person

The road trip portion is blessedly short, which I was super grateful for because a story entirely in a car is a hard sell for me. Once they get out of the car again I was more into it and able to sink in to the characters a bit more. There were definitely a few moments that made me smile in mild amusement, but there were also moments that were so legitimately unbelievable that they just seemed stupid and forced.

Continue reading “Review: Everyone Hates Kelsie Miller by Meredith Ireland” →
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A-Z Challenge 2022 Complete!

Posted on by Jennifer

Hey y’all!

It’s February, and I’m just starting some of my “2022 wrap up” kinds of posts, because I’ve been procrastinating a lot. These posts take a tonnn of formatting which often bores the heck out of me. But finally, it is done: my list of books for the A-Z title challenge, where I read a book that begins with each letter of the English alphabet. Below is the gallery of my 26 representative books from 2022, as well as some notes on each in the section below the gallery!

“But wait!” you cry. “What about those crazy end letters, like V and X and – my god – Z?!“

Yep, I got those covered too. This year, I only read two F books and two R books and yet there was a shocking abundance of H books. And Z? I read TWO Z books this year! Wild!

The Gallery of A to Z

The Summary of A to Z

  • C: The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty was a book I had planned to read for a while, and I finally did. And I LOVE IT. Enough to buy the second and third books and immediately read them back to back, finishing the whole ~1500 page series in about 2.5 weeks

  • E: Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng is one that I honestly don’t remember why I read it, but I think it was for a challenge. My overall thoughts at this point are “meh” since I don’t really remember it.

  • F: Factory Girls by Michelle Gallen was a book from Aardvark book club, a new one I joined! It was about Northern Ireland in the 90s and a girl graduating high school and trying to figure out what she wants to do, or at least what she’s able to do in the shitty life she has.

  • H: A Hundred Silent Ways by Marie Jojie was an incredibly emotional hit with a really well-done deaf main character and a love story that’s equal parts pain and harsh truths mixed with genuine “I’d do anything for love” moments. I adored it so much, and I want everyone to know about it.

  • I: I Named My Dog Pushkin by Margarita Gokun Silver is one of those long-time TBR lingerers that I finally bought after admitting that no library was going to have it, for some reason. It was SO FUNNY! I enjoyed it quite a lot, and got a lot of unique insight to Russian culture that I’ve never encountered before.

  • K: Kiss & Tell by Adib Khorram was not honestly my favorite, but it was available on a long train ride home when I had finished my other book.

  • M: My Inner Sky by Mari Andrew was an excellent therapeutic read with it’s combination of beautiful words and a beautiful physical presentation through the whole book. I think this will become a mental health re-read for me each year, similarly to Jenny Lawson’s Furiously Happy.

  • Q: Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf made me feel smart about the words I knew that were touted as the “impressive” words, plus it had an unexpected touch of realism in the murder-mystery plot.

  • S: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty made me think about death a lot, but in a good and healthy way. I will probably re-read this one every few years for both it’s pratical knowledge and the way it makes me reflect on where I’m at

  • T: Take It From Me by Jamie Beck was overall decent, but was unique in it’s handling of a main character with kleptomania, which I have not often seen and especially not in a serious manner (as opposed to being used as a laugh).

So that’s it for 2022’s alphabet challenge! I have some ideas for 2023, but we’ll see where my reading takes me first!

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Review: This Is How Your Marriage Ends: A Hopeful Approach to Saving Relationships by Matthew Fray

Posted on by Jennifer

This Is How Your Marriage Ends: A Hopeful Approach to Saving Relationships by Matthew Fray


Recommended: yes!!
For anyone who interacts with other humans, for anyone who wants to have better relationships of all kinds with others (friendship, coworkers, roommates, etc), for anyone in a long-term relationship or who wants to be, for anyone who shares a living space with other humans

Summary

Good people can be bad at relationships.

One night during his divorce, after one too many vodkas and a call with a phone-in-therapist who told him to “journal his feelings,” Matthew Fray started a blog. He needed to figure out how his ex-wife went from the eighteen-year-old college freshman who adored him to the angry woman who thought he was an asshole and left him. As he pieced together the story of his marriage and its end, Matthew began to realize a hard truth: even though he was a decent guy, he was a bad husband.

As he shared raw, uncomfortable, and darkly humorous first-person stories about the lessons he’d learned from his failed marriage, a peculiar thing happened. Matthew started to gain a following. In January 2016 a post he wrote–“She Divorced Me Because I left the Dishes by the Sink”–went viral and was read over four million times.

Filtered through the lens of his own surprising, life-changing experience and his years counseling couples, This Is How Your Marriage Ends exposes the root problem of so many relationships that go wrong. We simply haven’t been taught any of the necessary skills, Matthew explains. In fact, it is sometimes the assumption that we are acting on good intentions that causes us to alienate our partners and foment mistrust.

With the humorous, entertaining, and counterintuitive approach of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, and the practical insights of The 5 Love Languages, This is How Your Marriage Ends helps readers identify relationship-killing behavior patterns in their own lives, and offers solutions to break free from the cycles of dysfunction and destruction. It is must-read for every partner no matter what stage-beginning, middle, or even end–of your relationship.

Thoughts

Thoughts:
I found this book and author, probably like many, through a New York Times article about his blog post titled “She Divorced Me Because I Left Dishes By The Sink” which he even acknowledges in his book as being part of what got him known. He has an updated version in the book which I appreciated, as it toned down and removed some of the bitterness that still lingered at the original time of writing as well as the man-woman dichotomy presented. He makes room for relationships of all kinds in his book, and that was critical because it’s truly applicable in so many ways.

Look, y’all, I’m not married and frankly I don’t ever plan to be. BUT, I am in a long-term monogamous relationship sharing a house and finances and stuff so it’s basically marriage just without the government being involved. So for me, reading this book was a way to get some advice and more formal tips on being in a relationship. I think I’m doing okay so far, but it’s a skill, and not one I’ve ever had teaching on. I decided to change that, and goddamn was it awesome.

Continue reading “Review: This Is How Your Marriage Ends: A Hopeful Approach to Saving Relationships by Matthew Fray” →
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Review: Have I Told You This Already? by Lauren Graham

Posted on by Jennifer

Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don’t Want to Forget to Remember by Lauren Graham

Recommended: not really…
If you know you really like her style of humor, if you’re interested in acting/filming minutiae

Summary

With her signature sense of humor and down-to-earth storytelling, Lauren Graham opens up about her years working in the entertainment business–from the sublime to the ridiculous–and shares personal stories about everything from family and friendship to the challenges of aging gracefully in Hollywood. In RIP Barneys New York, she writes about an early job as a salesperson at the legendary department store — and the time she inadvertently shoplifted; in Ne Oublie she warns us about the perils of coming from an extremely forgetful family; and in Actor-y Factory she recounts what a day in the life of an actor looks like (unless you’re Brad Pitt).

Filled with surprising anecdotes, sage advice, and laugh-out-loud observations, Graham’s latest collection of all-new, original essays showcases the winning charm and wit that she’s known for.

Thoughts

Boy, I did not like this. What a surprise! I guess I don’t like her style of humor? It just wasn’t humorous to me, if it was meant to be. A lot of these were annoying, and frankly a lot of the topics felt superficial and shallow and that’s not always terrible, but in this case it just didn’t work for me. I ended up skimming several of the stories, and in completely skipping one or two of them.

Continue reading “Review: Have I Told You This Already? by Lauren Graham” →
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Review: Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni

Posted on by Jennifer

Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni


Recommended: sure
for learning about Armenian (or Armenian-American) culture, for an LGBTQ character embracing who she is for the first time, for lovable characters (except maybe the MC sometimes)

Summary

When Nareh Bedrossian’s non-Armenian boyfriend gets down on one knee and proposes to her in front of a room full of drunk San Francisco tech boys, she realizes it’s time to find someone who shares her idea of romance.
 
Enter her mother: armed with plenty of mom-guilt and a spreadsheet of Facebook-stalked Armenian men, she convinces Nar to attend Explore Armenia, a month-long series of events in the city. But it’s not the mom-approved playboy doctor or the wealthy engineer who catch Nar’s eye—it’s Erebuni, a woman as immersed in the witchy arts as she is in preserving Armenian identity. Suddenly, with Erebuni as her wingwoman, the events feel like far less of a chore, and much more of an adventure. Who knew cooking up kuftes together could be so . . . sexy?
 
Erebuni helps Nar see the beauty of their shared culture and makes her feel understood in a way she never has before. But there’s one teeny problem: Nar’s not exactly out as bisexual. The clock is ticking on her double life—the Explore Armenia closing banquet is coming up, and her entire extended family will be there, along with Erebuni. Her worlds will inevitably collide, but Nar is determined to be brave and to claim her happiness: proudly Armenian, proudly bisexual, and proudly herself for the first time in her life.

Thoughts

Shockingly, the main character is actually my least favorite character in this one. She’s generally okay, but the other characters really really shine. I love her mother. I love Diana. I love Erebuni, SO much. I think I’d rather read some things from her perspective, really! Maybe it’s the slight age difference with Erebuni being a few years older, but she seemed WAY more mature (or perhaps Nareh is just particularly immature in some ways). Erebuni was full of grace and compassion and love for all around her and it was beautiful to watch.

Continue reading “Review: Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni” →
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Review: The Dalai Lama’s Cat by David Michie

Posted on by Jennifer

The Dalai Lama’s Cat by David Michie


Recommended: heck yeah!
For a cute series of anecdotes narrated by a cat, for relatable parables and advice, for a gentle introduction to Buddhism

Summary

“In the months that followed I watched His Holiness working on a new book . . . I began to think that perhaps the time had come for me to turn my paws to a book of my own . . . one that tells my own tale . . . How I was rescued from a fate too grisly to contemplate, to become constant companion to a man who is not only one of the world’s greatest spiritual leaders and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, but who is also a dab hand with the can opener.”

Not so much fly-on-the-wall as cat-on-the-sill, this is the warmhearted tale of a small kitten rescued from the slums of New Delhi who finds herself in a beautiful sanctuary with sweeping views of the snow-capped Himalayas. In her exotic new home, the Dalai Lama’s cat encounters Hollywood stars, Buddhist masters, Ivy-league professors, famous philanthropists, and a host of other people who come visiting His Holiness. Each encounter offers a fresh insight into finding happiness and meaning in the midst of a life of busy-ness and challenge. Drawing us into her world with her adorable but all-too-flawed personality, the Dalai Lama’s cat discovers how instead of trying to change the world, changing the way we experience the world is the key to true contentment.

Featuring a delightful cast of characters, timeless Buddhist wisdom, and His Holiness’s compassion pervading every chapter, The Dalai Lama’s Cat is simply enchanting.

Thoughts

When I decided to read this, I didn’t realize how much of a focus on Buddhism there was. I’m so happy for it though, because it was a wonderful way to learn about it and many of the ideas resonated with me. It was a very gentle approach, and was made entertaining by the narrative perspective of a cat. I loved it so much that I’m probably going to look up other similar books in this series as well as ones mentioned in the book itself.

Continue reading “Review: The Dalai Lama’s Cat by David Michie” →