New Books Read
Wrath of the Triple Goddess by Rick Riordan
Trying to earn the rest of his college recommendation letters, Percy takes on perhaps his most dangerous quest yet: pet sitting for Hecate. Still enjoying these. Sad that I’m now caught up and have to wait for the next one.
3.75/5 hellhounds
Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane by Andrew Graham-Dixon
Super fascinating biography of one of the most interesting and skilled Renaissance painters, Caravaggio. Graham-Dixon does a good job of blending art historical analysis with biographical information, evaluating the various sources we have about Caravaggio’s life. My only complaint is not a fair one; I appreciated Graham-Dixon’s commitment to only verifiable facts supported by documents, but I would have liked to hear the salacious rumors and conspiracy theories too.
3.5/5 duels
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler***
**Book Hangover Alert
CW: slavery
This was really good. An expert in octopus behavior gets the opportunity to study octopuses on a remote island where strange happenings have given the island a reputation for being haunted by some kind of monster. The scientist discovers the octopuses have their own language and culture and must figure out how to communicate with them raising questions of what it means to be human. I loved the multi-POV (a shocker, I know) and the way the storylines built into one another, giving us little nuggets of information together with the quotes from fictional books written by two of the characters before each chapter. The quotes and timelines all build his themes of intelligence, communication, isolation, humanity, memory, and sustainability. The only thing I thought was not great was the dialogue. I know it’s hard to have expert scientists talking and make it so the reader (who is not an expert in octopus behavior, AI, or human communication) understands what’s going on. But there were places where the dialogue felt unbelievable because I was like that character doesn’t need that explained to them. I do, but they don’t, so why would you say that? Also, why was this the title? I think they could have done better on the title.
4.5/5 octopuses
Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin***
I read this because I needed a translated novel for my StoryGraph challenge and this book said it was an LGBTQIA+ cult classic. A queer coming-of-age set in 1980s Taipei. I did not like it. It was about sad adults in bad relationships, which is my least favorite genre of adult novel. I liked the parts about Lazi’s friendships and the parts about the crocodile, but thought all the parts about Lazi’s romance were awful. Maybe it was the postmodern structure. I tend not to like postmodern novels.
3/5 crocodiles
The Morningside by Téa Obreht*
**Book Hangover Alert
CW: war, genocide (implied), war crimes
I loved Obreht’s The Tiger’s Wife so I was excited about this one. In a not-so-distant future, refugees Silvia and her mother come to live at the Morningside, a once-luxury apartment building in a city slowly being swallowed by rising seas caused by climate change. Silvia doesn’t know much about the Old Country’s history or why they’ve been running for so long. Her aunt Ena, the super at the Morningside is the only person who will talk about it, sharing impossible stories from their homeland which transform the way Silvia sees her world, bringing magic and folklore into their very building. (That blurb was hard to write and didn’t nearly do justice to this book.) I loved the way it blended folklore and magical realism. I love her prose.
4.5/5 black dogs
The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag***
A sweet LGBTQ+ graphic novel. When Morgan meets a selkie who says they’re destined to be together, Morgan must confront her homosexuality and learn to stand up for herself and what she believes in. Lovely art and a super cute story.
3.5/5 selkies
Outlawed by Anna North***
**Book Hangover Alert
This was so good. Like The Handmaid’s Tale if the handmaids became outlaws in an alternative history Wild West. Driven from her home for being barren, Ada joins the Hole in the Wall Gang of other misfit and outcast women led by the charismatic Kid. Ada dreams of helping other women like herself and the Kid promises to help with this dream, if the gang can pull off the heist of the century. This book was so unique and so salient.
4/5 outlaws
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros*
The Empyrean book 1 of 5 (?)
I wasn’t crazy about this. After training her whole life to be a scribe, Violet must enter the Riders’ Quadrant where only the strongest survive. Violet must figure out how to survive the cutthroat military college, which involves bonding with a dragon. For me, this book would have been better without the romance. Now, I know that’s what drew many people to this book, so if that’s what does it for you, that’s great. But for me Violet’s mooning over Xaden was frankly annoying and got in the way of all the far more interesting things that were happening at the school. Clearly there was more going on with the war than the cadets were being told. There was more going on with the rebellion from 5 years ago than is taught in history classes. There was something really important about that folklore book Violet’s dad gave her before his death. And Violet wasn’t paying attention to any of those things! For supposedly being super smart, she seemed slow on the uptake to me. The story also felt very predictable. I kept seeing things about readers being surprised by twists in this book, but I was like what twists? Yarros’s language is also very repetitive, which is especially noticeable in the audiobook. I counted 11 “my chest tightens” (and one “my chest tightening”). There were also 11 “his jaw flexes.” And that doesn’t include all the other slight variations of those phrases (“my chest squeezes tighter,” “my chest draws tight,” “his jaw works,” etc.) Not to mention how much Violet’s shoulders dipped and scalp tingled. There were a few characters I liked (and Andarna, of course) but not enough to read the rest of the books. Also I just have to note the audiobook narrator for Xaden. What in the Matthew McConaughey frat boy was that voice?? So I don’t know if the last chapter didn’t land for me because it was bad or because of the narrator. I would have been interested in Xaden’s perspective earlier in the novel because he actually had shit going on, but I think in that final scene it actually would have made more sense to be in Violet’s head for reasons I won’t say because spoilers.
2.75/5 dragons
Counterfeit by Kristin Chen
Such a fun unreliable narrator! Ava is dealing with a rocky marriage and a difficult two year old when Winnie, an old roommate from college, reappears in her life. Before she knows it, Ava’s been pulled into Winnie’s counterfeit handbag scheme, which seems like very little risk for high rewards. What could go wrong? This one was so fun. So readable, such good characters. Because the narration is Ava talking to a police detective, the dialogue seems summarized and like telling the action when it really is showing. I got used to this eventually, and I can see why the author did it this way, but at the beginning it kind of bothered me.
3.5/5 Birkin bags
Homebody by Theo Parish***
A lovely graphic memoir about Parish’s journey to discover their nonbinary identity. I love the graphic medium for memoirs. I really enjoyed this one. Very sweet, inspiring, and likely just what some young person needs.
3.5/5 homes
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo***
In colonial Malaysia, Li Lan the daughter of a respectable Chinese family looks forward to her marriage to a handsome, kind young man from the Lim family. But when the heir to Lim family dies under suspicious circumstances, the Lims suggest Li Lan become a ghost bride for the dead heir. His spirit plagues her in dreams and she must journey to the Plains of the Dead to unravel the mystery and gain back her freedom. This was so cool! I listened to this right after Fourth Wing and it was hard not to compare them. Choo’s prose is so lovely and evocative, and not a bit of this story was predictable. I loved learning more about ghost marriages and funeral practices in this time and place.
4/5 horses for the dead
Icarus by K. Ancrum***
**Book Hangover Alert
I loved this. I almost cried on a plane reading it. Icarus has been helping his father steal and replace all the art in Mr. Black’s house with forgeries for years. But when he’s caught by Helios, Mr. Black’s son, Icarus must reevaluate what’s important: money and his father’s ancient vendetta or friendships and the childhood he’s missed. I have to say it again: I loved this. Gorgeous, spare prose. Unputdownable. I loved Icarus and all of his friends, and I loved Helios. Such a cool take on the myth.
5/5 art heists
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins***
**Book Hangover Alert
Hunger Games prequel
CW: death of children, corrupt governments
Poor Suzanne Collins out here screaming into the void for people to wake up and notice that their government is corrupt and the power is held by those who control the narrative. In this prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy, we see the 50th annual Hunger Games and 2nd Quarter Quell, in which Haymitch Abernathy was reaped. It was very, very good. Very sad, obviously, but very good. I still love that reading Collins’s prose doesn’t even feel like reading at all.
5/5 mutts
*This book only includes straight white cis people. The Morningside is all just straight white cis people as far as we know, but also there’s no romance and it’s in an invented country. Gives eastern European vibes. Fourth Wing technically does have one nonbinary person and I think several gay or bi people, but all of the mains are straight, white, and cis.
**Book Hangover Alert indicates the kind of book that will leave you full up on love. Satisfied, but wishing the book never had to end. You’ll be laying on the floor with no idea what to do with yourself (other friends have called this feeling Good Book Depression or say that certain books necessitate Floor Time). This is the kind of book that gets its teeth in you and won’t let go easily. After the last page you’ll be thinking about this book for a long time. You’ll bother all your friends trying to get them to read it so that you won’t be alone in your Hangover.
***This book is part of my Books for a Social Conscience series! Read The Mountain and the Sea for a meditation on humanity, sustainability, AI, and communication. Read Notes of a Crocodile (if you want to, I guess) for a cult LGBTQIA+ classic and view of what it was like to be gay in Taipei in the 80s. Read The Girl from the Sea for a sweet fantasy coming out story. Read Outlawed for feminism and LGBTQIA+ rep in an alternate Wild West. Read Homebody for a nonbinary memoir. Read The Ghost Bride for a Chinese inspired fantasy. Read Icarus for a queer coming of age. Read Sunrise on the Reaping to understand propaganda and authoritarian governments.
Reads marked as part of the Books for a Social Conscience series will regularly address topics like race and racism, colonialism and post-colonialism, LGBTQIA+ experience, feminism, BIPOC experience, social and political issues, history, identity, class, disability experience, immigration, gun violence, poverty, colorism, environmentalism, and more! The goal of these books is to diversify the stories we’re reading, grow our empathy for those who are different from us, and amplify voices who are often silenced.
