Rating: ★★★+.5 | 15 hrs 14 mins | Brilliance Audio | YA Fantasy | 09/29/2015
I’m on a mission to read the Grishaverse series before the Netflix show comes out and right now I have Crooked Kingdom and King of Scars left.
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Audiobook review
Non-Fiction Review: Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish
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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The Luster Of Lost Things by Sophia Chen Heller
Audiobook Review: Saint and Misfits by S.K. Ali
Release Date: 07/11/17 | Contemporary | 8 hours 5 minutes
High school sophomore Janna Youself feels like a misfit; at home she’s boxed out by her brother and mother’s relationship, at school she’s the only hijabi Muslim. In her mosque’s youth group she is surrounded by perfect Muslim saints–including Farooq. Farooq is held up as a golden boy but what no one knows is he’s really a monster who tried to sexually assault her.
We follow Janna through the last weeks of her sophomore year and at the heart of the book is Janna learning how to open up about her sexual assault. There is a ton going on in this book; including an Islamic quiz bowl competition, Janna’s crush on a non-Muslim, bullying from mean girls, her brother’s sudden engagement, her parents divorce and also a there’s a new boy at the mosque who’s caught her attention.
Audiobook narrator Ariana Delawari has this great bright, sharp voice that fits the nervous energy of Janna but she does read slow, this was the first time I’ve ever listened to an audiobook at a faster speed.
This book is from Salaam Reads, an imprint at Simon & Schuster created specifically to publish Children’s/YA featuring positive portrayals of Muslim characters.
Saints and Misfits is a voice-y, coming of age story and I’m curious to see what debut author Ali does next.
Book Review Bundle : Grit by Gillian French
Book Review/ Audiobook Review : A Psalm For Lost Girls by Kate Bayerl
Book Review
If someone were to ask me what it means to have a book with
a strong sense of setting I would 100% point to A Psalm For Lost Girls. New Haven, MA is a small
immigrant city where everyone knows everyone and some secrets just can’t be
kept.Callie da Costa wants to believe her sister Tessa, whose
untimely death she is still grieving , wasn’t the miracle making saint the
town and church think she might have been. That maybe the fortuitous voices her
sister heard where. . . just in her head?
But when a missing girl miraculously appears on a shrine to Tessa, Callie has to rethink what she truly believes. This is a great read for those who, like me, don’t think
contemporary is for them. While the story has hints of magical realism the
events in the novel are grounded in grief and loss.
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