Review of The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey

I received an ARC of The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey. It is a dystopian novel about a small walled- off community that lives in fear of trees and other dangerous creatures beyond their borders. Koli, a boy of fifteen finds out a secret that threatens to change the hierarchy of the community and is exiled by the leaders to prevent the secret from coming to light. We then follow the adventure outside the walls.

This had the misfortune of being read as I learned the pandemic was spreading to my country. Due to the anxiety and fear of the pandemic, reading a dystopian was not the best idea for me and therefore it took me almost a month to finish. I will try to be as objective as possible.

This story has a very slow start. While the blurb mentions that Koli will leave the safety of the walled community, it doesn't happen until nearly halfway into the book. Once he does, the story picks up and is actually quite thrilling. One stylistic choice I didn't care for is the way Koli and the others talk.
They constantly speak with poor grammar, similar to a toddler. I "et" instead of "ate" or I "shooted" instead of "shot." I did get over this after a while but it did impact my enjoyment. On the other hand, one thing I think Carey did well was his world building. He invented new creatures, plants, and technology which helped me envision the world. Overall, I gave this book three stars. It is the first in a series and I will most likely pick up the next one. Thanks to Netgalley for giving me an ARC. This book will be published on April 14th, 2020.

March Wrap Up

This month has been odd. At the start, I read 5 books, but ever since March 17th, I've been self-isolating at home due to COVID-19. One might think that I'd read more than ever, but my anxiety has been too high. I don't think I'll pick up another book until April so I'm going to review the books I read.

The first was Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones. I'd seen the movie before but still really enjoyed the book. It was slightly different but I felt some motivations were not entirely fleshed out. In that respect, I felt the movie was better. I gave it 3.5 stars.

Then I picked up The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis. It follows a young girl living in Afghanistan during the Taliban rule. Women and girls are not allowed to be outside until dressed in a full burka and accompanied by a man. After her father is arrested, Parvana cuts her hair and dresses as a boy to earn money to support the family. The writing was engaging and quite illuminating for a middle grade. I gave it 4 stars.

The last middle grade book I picked up was The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix. This was a fun mystery about three children whose mother goes missing after hearing news that children with their same names were abducted. The children pair up with a friend to find out what's going on. This is the start to a series and I enjoyed it a lot. I gave it 4 stars.

After those books, I was ready to get back to the Expanse series. I picked up Caliban's War by James S.A. Corey (the 2nd book in the series) and was enamored with the bad-ass female characters who joined the main crew to save people from twisted bioengineering . The plot of this one would spoil you for the first so that's all I say. I gave it 5 stars.

The last book I read was The River by Peter Heller. To be honest, I was feeling a tad slumpy and thought a fast-paced thriller would be great. But this was not that. Two college-aged friends decide to canoe a river and whilst doing so, they hear a man and woman arguing on the banks. Later only the man shows up so the two friends go looking for the woman. Everything that happens afterward is fairly straightforward, no twists or huge surprises. I guess I'd call it more an adventure story but it was dull. I gave it a generous 2 stars.

Update: I finished an ARC of The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey on the last day of March. I will post a review of that separately.

March TBR

Once again I will be participating in the readathon Middle Grade March. However, I am only aiming to complete 3 of the 5 challenges.

Read a book with a tv or movie adaptation- Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones

Read a book set in another country- The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis

Read a mystery- The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Additionally I plan to read:

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey (an ARC)

Caliban's War by James S.A. Corey

Salt House by Hala Alyan

Three Flames by Alan P. Lightman

February Wrap Up #2

In the latter half of February, I read 4 books.

For a book club, I read The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. This story details the crushing loneliness of the Alaskan wilderness in the 1920's. The woman despartely wants a child but is unable to have one. They build a snow child out of snow and the next day, a little girl appears. Is she real or is she magic? The book keeps you guessing the whole time, providing evidence for both. I wished it had been conclusive one way or the other. For that, I gave it 3 stars.

For one of my challenges, I read the picture book Sulwe by Lupita Nyong'o. This is a cute story about a black child who is "as dark as midnight" and wishes for her skin to be lighter. In the end, she learns acceptance. The illustrations were awesome and the story was good. I gave the book 4 stars.

Then finally my hold of Long Bright River by Liz Moore came in. I had heard it described as a "literary thriller." I wouldn't describe it as a thriller at all. There is a central mystery plot but it is quite slow. The story focuses on a woman police officer looking for her missing sister who is an addict and prostitute. There is a serial killer targeting prostitutes and she is concerned that her sister may have been a victim. I found the information of opiate addiction interesting but felt the sister mystery was a bit too slow. I gave the book 4 stars.

Lastly, I read the graphic memoir  I was Their American Dream by Malaka Gharib. Malaka is born to a Filipino mother and an Egyptian father and raised in the U.S. In the memoir, she highlights her feelings of never belonging to any of the groups. The art style is not my favorite but the story held my attention. I gave the book 3 stars.

February Wrap up # 1

In the first half of February I've read 6 books and DNF'd 1.

The book I decided to DNF was The Girl with No Names by Serena Burdick. I read around 100 pages but felt the pace was too slow, the author used unnecessary slurs for the Romani people, and none of the characters were well-rounded or likable.

The first book I finished was Anger is my Middle Name by Lisbeth Zornig Andersen. This was an ARC that I've given its own review and I gave it 3 stars.

Then I picked up 2 poetry collections. The first was Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky. The poems have an over-arching narrative of soldiers killing a small deaf boy and as a result, all the citizens go deaf. Some of the poems were really moving and some had weird sexual overtones that seemed unnecessary and unrelated. I gave it 3 stars.

The other poetry collection I read was Homie by Danez Smith. I loved their previous collection titled Don't Call Us Dead and had high hopes for this. They had a friend who died by suicide and the whole collection was about friendships and what they mean to Danez. The poem to the friend was exceptional as were a few others, but most of the rest were just fine. I gave the collection 3 stars.

After reading some "meh" books, I decided to read The Dry by Jane Harper. The mystery kept me intrigued although I definitely predicted some of the reveals. The audiobook was particularly enjoyable as it was narrated by a man with an Australian accent. I awarded it 4 stars.

Completely on a whim, I chose to listen to Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson. This is a funny book of essays, mostly focusing on the author's anxiety and depression. She definitely has a wacky sense of humor but it really worked for me. I gave the book 5 stars.

Lastly, I finished Cleanness by Garth Greenwell. This book is a series of vignettes of an American teacher working in Bulgaria. The writing was incredibly beautiful but because of something triggering in the second chapter, I found myself not really wanting to pick it back up. Every time I did, I enjoyed myself. He is an incredibly skilled writer but I was definitely not in the best mindset to read some horrific things the character endured. Because I feel that I read it at the wrong time, I decided not to rate it.

ARC Review of Anger is my Middle Name by Lisbeth Zornig Andersen: A Memoir

I received an ARC of Anger is my Middle Name by Lisbeth Zornig Andersen translated by Mark Mussari. This is Lisbeth's memoir of growing up in Denmark in a very dysfunctional household, dealing with neglect, sexual abuse, and physical violence. Her story was difficult to read for two reasons, the first because the content was hard to stomach. The people in her life who were suppose to protect her were the ones either putting her in harm's way or directly hurting her. Immediately, I bonded with her and felt protective of her. The other reason this book was difficult to read was the uneven narrative structure. I'm not sure if it was a translation issue but several times I would need to reread sections to try to understand what I had read. Additionally she would bring up people she had only briefly mentioned earlier without reminding the reader who they were, which I found confusing.

Lastly, I found as a reader not familiar with Danish institutions, I needed a little more information. She tells us she is put in an orphanage. (Both of her parents are alive but they are neglectful so this seems the best option.) Later she mentions she is embarrassed at the orphanage because they are hosting Parent's Day and all the parents show up except hers. I need more understanding as to how Danish orphanages work. Why are all the parents showing up? Why are they putting their children in the orphanages if they are capable of showing up? I need background information. This is just one tangent but there were a few times I was confused. Her story is dark. It reminded me thematically to The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls or Educated by Tara Westover but overall the writing was a bit clunky. I gave it 3 stars.



This book will be published March 1, 2020. Thanks to Netgalley for my ARC.

February TBR

1. Anger is my Middle Name by Lisbeth Zornig Andersen
2. The Girls with No Names by Serena Burdick
3. Cleanness by Garth Greenwell
4. Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky
5. Caliban's War by James S. A. Corey
6. Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
7. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
8. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
9. Sulwe by Lupita Nyong'o
10. Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo