3.5

Mini Reviews: YA Summer Reading

August 10, 2018 Leave a Comment

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Just like it’s namesake,When Dimple Met Rishi has all the hallmarks of a 90’s rom-com and so much more. Taking place entirely during a web developer summer program, the plot felt a little claustrophobic at times, but the relationship was developed wonderfully. Both narrators on the audiobook give great performance, though Vikas Adams’ voice for Dimple had a tendency to sound shrill. This book is everything you’ve heard and I want this movie. I want it now. – ★★★★

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

After experiencing a violent encounter with the police, high school senior Justyce McAllister begins writing letters to Martin Luther King, Jr. to unpack his newly developed complex feelings about race and policing. Dear Martin is definitely an important book because so few YA novels are explicitly written and marketed for black teen boys the way this book has been but the story left me wanting more. I was annoyed that the white love interest got to explain the complexities of race in America, the MLK portrayal felt sanitized and Justyce reads as younger and more naive than a 17-year-old from the hood at an elite boarding school about to study policy at Yale. Author Zetta Elliot has made some criticisms of this books portrayal of black women and I agree with a lot of what she says. I think Dear Martin would have made a great middle-grade book, but as a YA it felt like a missed opportunity for a more nuanced discussion. – ★★★ + .5

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Around The Way Girl by Taraji P. Henson

July 24, 2018 Leave a Comment

7 hours and 27 minutes | Simon & Schuster Audio | Memoir | 10/11/2016

I’ve been a fan of Taraji P. Henson since she played Raina Washington on Lifetime’s The Division when I was younger, it was one of the first “adult” shows I watched. The show was ahead of its time and I sometimes think about how Henson was playing a Black female police officer with lesbian moms in the early 2000’s. I can only imagine if they put that on TV nowadays it might be called “too diverse.”

Anyway, this memoir begins with Henson’s childhood in Southeast DC during the crack epidemic and the years of hustle and hard work that lead to her Hollywood success in her mid-thirties. Henson is a trained actress who worked with some of the best at Howard University and there is a lot of craft talk in this book. Henson really digs into the minds of the character she plays. The title of the book comes from her concern of always being typecast as the around the way girl from the hood and her hesitation to take the role of Cookie Lyon–the role that has brought her the most notoriety.

This book shares a lot of DNA with the two other memoirs of black women in Hollywood I’ve read, Last Black Unicorn and We’re Going to Need More Wine. They all touch on the importance of having a support system and other black women helping them navigate the Hollywood scene.

I especially liked what Hensen had to say about the stigma of a single black motherhood and how these mothers aren’t afforded the same considerations and respect as married mothers.

Around The Way Girl is an inspiring and insightful look into the making of an actress and some of Henson’s most memorable moments.

Non-Fiction Review: Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish

June 9, 2018 Leave a Comment

Rating: ★★★ +.5 | Non-fiction | 6 hours 29 minutes | Gallery Books | 12/05/17

Tiffany Haddish was the breakout star of 2017 following the success of the film Girl’s Trip. The Lasst Black Unicorn delves into how she went from a broke stand-up comedienne living in her car to having a first look deal with HBO.

This memoir is an absolute must listen on audiobook. Haddish writes like she talks and it flows so much better when listening to it. Also, all of the dialogue is written in script format and sounds much better when Haddish is “acting it out.” She’ll say things that aren’t in the book like “and then I was like” or “he was like” before launching into the words that are on the page. Also, there are some updates and asides that aren’t in the printed book so trust me, you want this on audio.

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Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough

May 20, 2018 Leave a Comment

298 pages | Dutton Books For Young Readers | Historical Poetry? | 3/6/2018

Trigger warning: Rape / Sexual Assault

In her debut novel, Joy McCullough gets inside the head of 17-year-old Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi, a real historical figure, as she struggles against the overbearing patriarchal society she was born into. Written mostly in verse from Artemisia’s perspective it blends in prose stories of the biblical figures Susanna and Judith–two figures featured prominently in Artemisia’s work.

I think it is really helpful for readers to have some context about Artemesia before going into this book because I’m not sure how much teens know about art history and the art world during the Baroque period. But also, it’s helpful if you are like me and have taken art history classes but just never heard of Artemisia *side eyes college syllabi*or her infamous rape trial. I felt like I was only getting half of what was going on and it wasn’t until I used some Google-fu that is all clicked.

This book is actually an adaptation of a play also written by McCullough, this book is so cerebral and really focuses on Artemisia’s internal emotions and senses like a play script. If anyone doesn’t understand why women need feminism just go ahead and throw this book at them because holy crap, it was difficult to be a woman back in the day. Needless to say, this is not a happy time book.

In this timely debut, McCollough develops a sharp feminist perspective to the life of Artemesia, a talented young woman who shows the patriarchy exactly what a woman can do.

Between this book, Jason Reynold’s Long Way Down sweeping award shows and Kwame Alexander’s new verse only imprintI wonder if verse novels are about to become the next trend in YA ? If anything, I like that they can be read in one sitting.

Audiobook Review : Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines

December 28, 2017 Leave a Comment

320 pages | Brilliance Audio | Sci-Fi | 3/12/2013

Everything I know about comic book culture I’ve picked up from Wikipedia, Twitter and listening to Glen Wheldon on Pop Culture Happy Hour where–during a discussion of Justice League–he talked about how altruism is at the core of iconic and popular superheroes. I think that promise internal altruism is what makes Peter Cline’s motley crew of post-apocalyptic LA superheros ring true.

We dive right into a decimated Los Angeles, nearly two years after a devastating virus that causes the dead to rise has taken over the world. That’s right we’re talking zombies vs. superheroes.

Barricaded in an defunct studio lot, a corner of civilization is trying to prosper with the help of a few surviving superheros, who began showing up just before the outbreak. The compound is run by the illusive Stealth and lead by Superman expy, St. George , and slew of other heroes and humans

Clines make the choice to not tell you everything you need to know in the first few pages, he just slowly rolls it out in a way that 100 percent works. Clines no doubt has what it takes to write comic books with the way he builds arcs and backstories for all his creative characters . He has the difficult job of telling a compelling survival story, while also providing origin stories for his heroes.

This is where the dual audiobook narrator model really shines. Jay Snyder and Khristine Hvam tag team this one with Snyder narrating and Hvam voicing the female characters. The pair are tightly edited in the main storyline, then they get a chance to perform individually whenever we switch over to an origin story. Hvam fully dedicates herself to the reprise of Cerberus’, a government scientist turn mech operator’s origin story.

Clines post apocalyptic LA is inclusive (Though the ‘villians’ are a Latino street gang, so yeah) and features dynamic female characters. Though it is noticeable that the two main female heroes Stealth and Cerberus are extremely intelligent women, while St. George the iconic uberman … was just a maintenance man. Yes, at times it was difficult to keep track of who was who with everyone having code names and real names (some even change their hero names) but you get used to it.

There are a few Torchwood and Dr. Who mentions and St. George gives this huge monologue about how Dr. Who inspired him to be the hero he is. This kind of surprised me because I didn’t quite see the comparison.

This book was written in the early 2010s and boy can you feel it with all the Heroes and House references. The book itself was obscure to me but here are a couple of books in the series and I’m curious to see where Clines goes with this.

I picked this audiobook up because there was a 4.95 BOGO sale at Audible and because Hvam is a favorite of mine –also I thought Peter Clines was Ernest Clines– anywho, it was a random pick that paid off. Entertaining, a little gory but with a great mythology and surprising twist and turns.

Marvel is missing out on Peter Clines

I was clicking through some different versions of this book on Goodreads and it looks like this book was orginally published by indie Sci-Fi publisher, Permuted Press then it picked up by Random House for book 3. I read about his happening all the time in YA and Romance,so it’s interesting getting a look at how it works across other genres

Narrator Jay Snyder is AKA Dan Green is the dubbed voice of Yugi from Yu-Gi-Oh!A show I remember watching as a tween but not really understanding (probably because of the translation).

They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

November 25, 2017 Leave a Comment

Release Date: 09/05/17 | Contemporary-ish ? | 8 hours 29 minutes

They Both Die At The End is the Final Destination meets The Sun is Also A Star you didn’t know you needed.

It’s a little after midnight in New York City when 17-year-old foster kid Rufus Emeterio and 18-year-old Mateo Torrez get the phone alert from Death Cast, a mysterious service that somehow knows that within 24 hours you will meet an untimely death. When they both find themselves unable to be with their loved ones on their End Days they connect on the The Last Friend app. With less than 24 hours left to live these two unlikely strangers are going to have to try the best last day and they’re doing it together.

I’m a little conflicted over this book. Silvera is an great storyteller; his characters are interesting and he creates this great alternate universe that is only a few ticks off from our own world but you never feel confused or like you are getting an info dump. He just eases you into his imagination perfectly. But there were times when the story felt slow and stagnant and the over earnestness levels were at an all time high. Like at one point these New Yorkers bury a dead bird on the street and later they sing American Pie at karaoke, which if you aren’t familiar is a song with the chorus “Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die.”

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