I actually started reading this a couple of days ago and it’s only meh
What I’m Reading Now: Recreated by Colleen Houck
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Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne
***Spoilers***
Whatever you feel about the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows there was a sense that it was a beginning of a story and not an end like we thought. The play in two parts, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in the continuation of Harry’s story starting right at the epilogue. Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione are taking their children to the Hogwarts Express at the start of a new school year. Albus Severus Potter, Harry and Ginny’s middle child is full of anxiety over many things but most of all of being the son of Harry Potter. How can he possible live up to the legend of Harry Potter, who with his friends saved the wizarding world? On the Hogwarts Express, Albus meets another new student who also has to deal with shadow of his parent, Scorpius Malfoy. Without giving away more spoilers less just say that Albus has Harry stubbornness and his penchant to dive right in without thinking of the consequences. He and Scorpius travel back and time but they truly didn’t think about all the possible outcomes and well drama unfolds. We see everyone struggle, from trying to find their place in the world to how to relate to their children. I was able to understand Albus frustrations but I didn’t like him as I did with Harry. Honestly, the best character in the play of Scorpius. He was funny, optimistic and kind. Pretty much the opposite of Draco from the books. He had Ron’s heart and Hermione’s brain. He was the perfect friend for Albus. Harry is older but not necessarily wiser. Hermione was great as always and Ron was great too. While it was great to revisit the Wizarding World and Harry I think I’m ready to let go of them. It was a beautiful story and the ending was heartbreaking. I really want to see it performed because there are many things that happen that I’m not sure how they do on stage. Like when a couple of characters take polyjuice potion and change into other characters on stage. That’s just one example. I really hope this comes to Broadway or it’s get filmed because I don’t think I’ll be making it to London anytime soon.
Review: The Reader by Traci Chee
A world without books sounds terrible. Who would ever want to live like that. I know there are people in this world who can read but choose not and it’s baffling but that has nothing to do with this book. Books can really change a life. For Sefia, her life was simple until her father is murdered and she is forced to go on the run with her Aunt Nin. For years, her parents have been hiding a mysteriously item and people are hunting down Sefia and Nin for it. When Nin gets kidnapped, Sefia finally decides it’s time to find out what she’s carrying and why people murdered her father and how she can get Nin back. It is a book. It tells her. In Sefia’s journey she is joined by another orphan, Archer and pirates. Meanwhile there are dual narratives of Lon, an apprentice to the Master Librarian. A secret society that is tasked with gathering all the knowledge of the world and controlling it. They spend their time recopying texts from one manuscript to another and learning to see people’s pasts in vision. Lon proves to be a fast learner and with the help of the Second, a assassin apprentice he begins to see things are not as they seem. We also meet Captain Reed and his crew first in Sefia’s book and then for real. At first it was confusing with all these story lines going on at the same time. I could tell that they were all meant to tie together but it just didn’t jive. I started to guess that one of the story lines wasn’t happening at the same time as the others and then things started to make sense for me. It was an exciting first book to a new series. Sefia is strong and resourceful. She is resolute in finding the ones she loves. She teaches herself how to read and discovers the secret of the book. Archer has an equally tragic backstory. Taken from his family at a young age, he is raised in violence and forced to fight to the death. It’s all mixed with tension and intrigued. I can’t wait to read the next one.
What I’m Reading Now: The Darkest Magic by Morgan Rhodes
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Review: The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore
For a superhero who has outlasted all by Superman, Batman and Captain America, she doesn’t get the recognition she deserves. She was created to inspire young woman to take up their rightful place in society as her creator William Moultan Marston once stated that in the next 1,000 years, Woman will rule the world. He wanted a superhero that embody female strength can be just as strong as any man if not stronger. To truly understand Wonder Woman and her place in history, you really have to know who origins and the man (and the women who inspired) who created her. William Moultan Marston was an heir to a family with a long history. An only child who was doted on by his mother and four aunts. His wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, was just as educated as he was and was often the breadwinner of the family and his other wife, Olive Byrne (yep, he had two wives) was once his student and the caretaker. He was a lawyer and academic. He invented the lie detector. He wrote screenplays and worked for Universal Studios during the earlier days of Hollywood. He was a little bit of everything and a little bit of a mess. He failed as more then he succeeded but all of it culminated in creating Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman’s lasso of truth was an extension of his life work of seeking truth through his own lie detector machine and research. Wonder Woman’s bracelets were inspired by his second wife’s, Olive Byrne,bracelet that she wore instead of a wedding ring. Speaking of Olive she was the niece of Margaret Sanger. Champion for birth control and founder of Planned Parenthood. Feminism was strong in the family. Actually the suffragist movement very much influenced Wonder Woman as the stories and imagery can be seen all over the the early Wonder Woman comic book. This was a very easy read that goes into the great detail of William Marsters life and highlight moments in his life that he drew upon to create his Amazonian. It may take a while before you get the actual creation of Wonder Woman but Jill Lepore does a great job of showcasing how people, situations and politics would influence Moultan Marsters and how they ended up in his work. How an old professor turned into Dr. Psycho. Or how the art of Lou Rogers inspired story lines. How the likes of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady shaped Wonder Woman’s character and how his own wives and children breathed life into her as well. Sadly, it also shows how the Wonder Woman changed after Marster’s death. Like many women after World War Two, Wonder Woman was forced back into the kitchens even if it went against her origins. She may have gone completely by the wayside if it wasn’t for Women’s movement in the 60’s and 70’s but even then she wasn’t the same. It’s sad to see that many of the issues that Wonder Woman faced in the late 30’s and 40’s we are still facing today. The criticism of her is still charged against many female protagonist of any genre. Progress has been made but we are still so much to go. You to like this book you don’t know need to know anything about Wonder Woman or even comics to enjoy it. You just need to have an appreciation for a good story and kick ass woman.
What I’m Reading Now: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne and John Tiffany
Based on an original story by J.K. Rowling as we all know. You might not know that Jack Throne is also adapting the screenplay for Maggie Stiefvater’s The Scorpio Races.
Review: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
In terms of format, this is a really neat book. It is part text and part drawings. Junior, the narrator (and the part-time Indian) is an artist. He lives on the Spokane Indian reservation and, after an incident where he throws a textbook at a teacher after he feels the world collapsing in on him, he enrolls in the school in the next town over. The mostly white school. He’s a smart and funny kid with a lot of artistic talent. I was really taken by the voice of the narrator, who inhabits this in-between place. He’s Spokane, but because he’s left the reservation school and at least one of his friends feels abandoned he doesn’t always feel at home when he’s at home anymore. But, he’s always the outsider at his new school. Junior’s experiences highlight a lot of problems on reservations. There is crushing poverty and we see that through Junior and his family. There is lack of access to resources and we see that through his first school and through his interactions with his best friend and with his sister (who used to dream about being a romance author and now just lives as a shut-in in his parents basement.) There is racism when he leaves the rez and there is a high instance of alcoholism. There is cultural appropriation and cultural theft. We see all of these things in Junior’s story. While he has a lot of high points in his first year at his new high school, he has some terrible low ones. This book had me in tears more than once. But, it was an interesting read. In particular, it was really interesting to see this character struggle with and work through his identity moving between these two worlds that he inhabits.
And, while I have no doubts that things really are that bad (lack of access to resources, poverty, alcoholism, racism, troubling representations of native peoples, violence towards indigenous people, in particular indigenous women), I… I felt like towards the end of the novel that I was maybe being told things that someone may have thought I wanted to hear? Or, maybe like I was voyeuristically looking in on someone else’s tragedy and pain that was set up in a manner particular for my consumption? I don’t know. The characters were real and believable, the text was believable. I just…felt like I was being sung a sad song because that was the theater I’d walked into.
That being said, the book really is a neat format and the characters were really likable and if you know going into it that this book is going to make you cry and that’s something you don’t mind I recommend it.
This book counts as my book with a character who is Native America, Indigenous Mexican or First Nations in the Diverse Stacks, Diverse Lives Challenge.
Review: Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Everyone, I have a confession to make. I don’t think I like Margaret Atwood’s writing. (Although, I’ve been told I’ve only read the meh ones). I’ve read Oryx and Crake and The Penelopiad and now the(I think I may have also read The Handmaid’s Tale in high school but I don’t remember how it ends so I’m not counting it.) And, I’ve not been super enthused about any of them.
The Blind Assassin seems to be going for a certain kind of style and I think it succeeds. So, I can recognize that it is technically a good piece of writing. But, the main narrative which was focused on the lives of two sisters, did not keep my interest at all. The story is told by Iris, an old woman recounting her life in letters. She tells the story of her childhood as the daughter of button magnate in Ontario. World War I happens. The business booms. the depression happens. The business fails. She and her sister fall in love with a communist or anarchist or writer or artist. Iris marries another manufacturing giant to help the family stay afloat. Her sister Laura publishes a book called The Blind Assassin that becomes a huge scandal and therefore a huge hit.
The sub-plot (sub-story?) about the Blind Assassin was awesome. I wanted to read the Blind Assassin. More of that, please. But, the main narrative itself…well, I could see where it was going and I wasn’t interested enough to be excited that as the plot revealed itself and I was right in my guesses.
So, there you have it. I feel like I should have loved this. And, I didn’t. It wasn’t terrible. But, it also wasn’t life-changing. I don’t recommend it but I also don’t not recommend it.
Review: Marvel 1602 by Neil Gaiman
It’s the Marvel Universe! Written by Neil Gaiman! Set in Elizabethan England! Nick Fury is John Dee! Stephen Strange is the Court Magician/Doctor! Magneto is basically the Spanish Inquisition!
I cannot use enough exclamation points. That’s how much I enjoyed it. It was great to fun to recognize characters (or not recognize them at first).
Anyway, There are disturbing storms and signs and omens that the world may be at its end. The Queen puts her best men on it. Meanwhile, the Spanish Inquisition is hunting down mutants and Virginia Dare (who has a terrible secret) accompanied by Rohjaz, her Native American caretaker, is coming to visit Queen Elizabeth to ask for more resources for the colony her father is governor of back in the New World. Von Doom is, unsurprisingly, trying to kill the Queen. And, James in Scotland’s is patiently awaiting the death of the Queen so he can rid the world of magic and super people.
Can everyone come together to keep the universe from ripping itself in half? Will the survive these terrible storms? Can Magneto and Professor X work together in this incarnation? SO MANY QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED.
This was a delightful book. I am so very happy that a friend recommended it to me. So, if you’re looking for a fun twist to superheroes and/or you like history, che
Review: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I started this audio book on a road trip. At first I thought it was going to be too heavy for the drive. (You have to be careful with the books you pick. If the text is especially dense or the story doesn’t move along at a decent clip you can find yourself frustrated with the story in a way that you wouldn’t be frustrated if you weren’t also in the middle of a really long drive). But, by the beginning of chapter two, I was hooked. The book centers on Ifemelu, a woman from Nigeria who at the opening of the story has been living in the US for a while and is now preparing to move home to Lagos. The narrative switches between her current life and her preparations for (and arrival in) Lagos, posts from her blog on being a Non-American Black in America, and the story of her past. And, the whole thing was so beautifully written. I cared so much for the cast of characters in this book. Ifemelu was so likable. She broke my heart and made me laugh and I cheered for her. She met a lot of white people who made me cringe. Sometimes I cringed because I saw myself in their behavior. Other times I cringed because their behavior was just so surprising because it violated Ifemelu’s person or autonomy and it is surprising to me (although it probably shouldn’t be) that it’s 2016 and we don’t treat everyone with respect for their person and their autonomy. Let me give you an example: WHY WOULD YOU TOUCH A STRANGER’S HAIR???? EVER???? WHY???? Or, even a friend/lover/family member’s hair outside of them saying, “Oh my god my hair is so soft today! Feel it!” or otherwise inviting you to do so???? Or, why would you speak really slowly and loudly to someone who is not from here after they’ve told you that they’re from a former British colony where English is currently an official language? I get it, Americans aren’t good at geography and Africa is a huge freaking continent but… Nigeria, while being a place with incredible linguistic density and diversity, is also full of English speakers. And, most American universities require that you demonstrate English proficiency before you enroll. (For potentially obvious reasons, that kind of stuck in my craw and annoyed me long after the story had moved on.) Ifemelu’s observations on American race relations, on Americans and charitable organizations and on Obama’s 2008 campaign alone made this book worth the read.
I’ve seen Adichie’s TED talk and I’ve read articles that she’s written for various publications but this is the first book by her that I’ve read. It won’t be the last. She has a singular voice. Her characters are real and vivid and this story tackled big topics without feeling like it was preachy and also without making them the center of the story. Racism and anti-racism were woven into the narrative and it gave me so much cause to think (See: the cringe worthy white people) without shouting at me that I should be thinking. That right there is a hallmark of an awesome book. I was still thinking about issues it eluded to long after I finished the book.
So, if you’re interested in reading a contemporary African author but, for some reason, you’re worried that an African author will have nothing to say to you that will be relevant to you or that you’ll understand, well, you should probably examine why you think that. But, while you’re examining your thinking, you can read Americanah. It’s a book written by an African author that is largely set here in the States. It’s amazing. You’ll love it.
This is my book by an African author for the Diverse Lives, Diverse Stacks Challenge
2 Women, So Many Books 