Bookish Review: The Cuckoo's Calling

I think the cat's out of the bag and we all know this book was really written by J.K. Rowling. I have to say, I vastly preferred this one to her other post-Potter tome, A Casual Vacancy. I have to wonder if she used the pseudonym on this one because she thought it would sell anyway, and she thought the other one wouldn't. At any rate, I found this to be a very enjoyable read, and I hope it is the start to a series--I really liked the characters and it was a solid mystery that kept me guessing. I would not have guessed Rowling wrote it, I don't think, but it is certainly well-written and I am glad she decided to step into this genre. I happen to enjoy the down-and-out-PI-just-needs-one-big-case kind of mystery, especially with his surprisingly clever temp/sidekick. Really good, and I hope there is a "next one" soon.

Bookish Review: Good Night, Mr. Holmes

Good Night, Mr. Holmes weaves a mystery using characters (and some overlapping plotlines) from the Sherlock Holmes books. The story focuses on Irene Adler, with Sherlock and Watson as ancillary characters. As a big fan of the new BBC Sherlock mini-series, I was looking forward to reading this, and I was not disappointed. Irene has her own "Watson" in Nell, who helps her in her cases and chronicles the story. The book uses the plot from the Sherlock story A Scandal in Bohemia, but extends it and includes other mysteries. This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, and I look forward to more from the author.

Bookish Review: Advent

I really enjoyed reading Advent. I think they are  promoting it as an adult novel, but the main protagonist is 15, so I think teens would enjoy it too. It is a twist on the legend of Dr. Faustus. As Faust is  trying  to wield all of the magic in the world, his ship sinks and he is buried, powerless.

Hundreds of years later, a young boy sees things that he is told are not real. He is sent by his parents to stay with his aunt, when weird things continue to happen. Soon, Dr. Faustus is unleashed on the world again, magic is back, and ordinary people start to see extraordinary things. A few powerful children willl have to fight Faust as he attempts to control all the magical power in the world--no matter the cost.

This is the start of a trilogy, and was quite a compelling read. Recommended.

Atria Books sent me a free galley copy of this book for review. Their generosity did not affect the content of the above review.

Bookish Review: Mathilda Savitch

This book is not a beach read. I took it on vacation without really remembering/knowing what it was about. It's not light-hearted, it's not fun, and consequently I did not enjoy it very much. It is not poorly written, just depressing. Mathilda is an unreliable narrator, trying to deal with her family falling apart in the wake of her sister's death. Mathilda can no longer make sense of her life and doesn't know who to blame for her sister's death. Her mother is a depressed alcoholic, her father doesn't know what to do, and Mathilda is caught between crying out for attention and wanting to destroy herself.

This is not a fun read. But it's not poorly written. If you like depressing books, you may enjoy it.

Bookish Review: Imperfect Bliss

There have been many novels inspired by the works of Jane Austen and many modern-day "retellings," and perhaps no Austen novel is more often flattered by this treatment than Pride and Prejudice. Imperfect Bliss is another such novel, set in modern-day America and featuring a bi-racial family, the matriarch of which wants nothing more than to see her daughters marry well. This is an inventive re-telling: Bliss (parallel of Lizzie Bennett) is a divorced mother, a reality TV show is involved, and this American family is headed by an English father and Jamaican mother.This is an extremely light and fluffy read, but it is funny and a perfect beach read. It was a great take-along on my vacation. Austen fans who don't take riffs on her work as offensive, but rather enjoyable, should find this a fun, fast read.

Atria Books sent me a free galley copy of this book for review. Their generosity did not affect the content of the above review.

Bookish Review: A Discovery of Witches

A Discovery of Witches is the story of Diana, an American witch in England, who tries to ignore her powers and  live life as  a normal human. However, when she inadvertently summons a magical tome that has been lost for centuries she attracts the attention of witches, vampires, and daemons--and such a gathering of magical creatures starts to attract human attention as well. One vampire in particular starts paying special attention to Diana, but she soon realizes he's a friend, not  a foe, and all her beliefs about magic and supernatural creatures may be wrong. But  witches and vampires are not supposed to be friends--so this starts a whole new mess of trouble...

An enjoyable romp; good vacation read. First  in a trilogy.

Bookish Review: The Weird Sisters

The Weird Sisters is the story of 3 approximately 30-something sisters whose lives have not turned out the way they wanted. Daughters of a prominent Shakespearean scholar, their semi-dysfunctional family communicates in the language of the bard. But it is hard to find the words when mom is battling cancer, the eldest is worried about her engagement falling apart, the middle daughter is a disgraced thief, and the youngest is a pregnant wanderer. All 3 are home together again for  the first time in years.

Some of the characters are annoying because they have gotten themselves in some stupid messes, but  the Shakespeare references are fun and you do come to care for the characters and hope they turn their lives around. Good read overall, nice ending.

Bookish Review: A Dance with Dragons

The 5th book in the Game of Thrones Series (I know that's not the official series name, but it's how everyone knows it) was confusing, but good. I had forgotten that the book overlaps with the 4th, so I was very confused about the timeline at first. Once again, Martin introduces dozens of characters, so it's a challenge to keep them all straight. Despite the fact that I know no one is safe in Martin's books, he surprised me yet again with who he seemingly killed off in this one (can't be completely sure,but I'm 99% confident the person is dead). He always makes me want to throw the book across the room in a rage when he does that, but I keep reading! I was happy to see more of Arya,Tyrion, Bran, and John Snow in this one. Martin better get writing--I want #6!

Bookish review: Triangles

Triangles is by a best-selling YA author, but this book is for adults--mostly middle-aged women, to be precise. I'm surprised she didn't shoot more for the 20s-30s audience, to get some of the readers who started with her YA and grew up a bit, but there you go. The book is written in verse--an interesting format that I haven't read too often in books for adults. I'm not really the right demographic for this book, and it's all about broken and breaking marriages, which is not my favorite topic. Still, it is well-written, the format is interesting, and it is rather compelling. The problem is that most of the characters are not very likeable. (one of the main characters is a bored housewife who decides to cheat on her faithful husband in some odd and kinky ways, neglecting her children in the process. I pretty much wanted to punch her in the face, which one of the other protags does, too, so she justifies to herself sleeping with her cheating friend's husband--so then I wanted to punch her in the face, too.) So, like I said, I don't think I was really the audience for this book, but there definitely is an audience for it. So if you like femme-midlife-crisis stories, this is well-written and in an interesting format.

Thanks to Atria books for sending me an ARC of this title. Receiving a free copy did not affect my review.

Bookish Review: The Mostly True Story of Jack

I picked up an ARC of this at  some conference, so thanks to the publisher! It did not affect my review.

I was expecting this book to be some sort of twist on Jack and the beanstalk, but it's not. Jack is a boy who doesn't believe in magic. He has no friends and no one seems to pay him any attention--even his parents don't really see him. When his parents start divorce proceedings, they bring him to stay with his aunt and uncle in a small town in Iowa, and strange things start happening. He makes friends for the first time and he starts to believe that maybe his parents aren't his parents after all, and maybe magical things can be non-fiction.

A fun read. Good for kiddos who like magic and nature. A little scary (souls are being stolen), but with a happy ending.

Bookish Review: One of Our Thursdays is Missing

I'm a big fan of the Thursday Next, but be warned: this one is really for only hard-core book nerds. It's kind of meta-fiction, drowning in literary allusion and even typesetting humor--if you only occasionally dip your toe into reading, it's really not for you. The books are very complex, so make sure you start with the first one.

In this one, the real Thursday Next is missing and it is up to the written Thursday to figure it all out. She races through the Book World and even makes a foray into the real world to try to uncover the mystery--all while trying to keep control of her series.

Another fun one from Fforde. Fans of Thursday will enjoy it.

Bookish Review: Falling for Hamlet

Falling for Hamlet retells Shakespeare's "Hamlet" from Ophelia's point of view, set in the present day. In this one, Ophelia is not crazy and doesn't kill herself, just pretends to. The book is sprinkled with lines from the play (and some from other Shakespeare plays), but the majority is re-written prose. Hamlet is a college student and Ophelia is a modern-day high schooler who lives in the building with the royal family. They're together, though their families do not approve. When Hamlet's father dies, things start to fall apart. The book was an enjoyable read, and the transition of the classic story to the present-day is pretty well done. It seems this could be used to pique teen's interest in the play.

Bookish Review: Seven Sorcerers

Seven Sorcerers is the start to a series, so don't expect a very tidy ending. This middle-grade novel involves a girl, Nim, who wakes up to find that every trace of her brother has disappeared and she is the only one who remembers him. He's been snatched by a bogeyman, and she is the next on the list. She joins up with another kidnapped child who managed to escape the bogeyman's grasp and goes on a quest to find her brother and return everyone's memories of him and her. They travel through a magical world fueled by human's hopes and fears that is slowly dying, encountering magical creatures and danger along the way. Nim is a very likeable character, and it's a pretty good read. Recommended for fans of Fablehaven. (It is not, as one person told me it was supposed to be, "the next Harry Potter.")

Bookish Review: Second Glance

I think this may be my favorite Jodi Picoult novel yet (she's written a lot more than I've read, but I have read a few). Her books are usually somewhat hard to read and tackle difficult topics. This one focuses on a ghost story, which was an interesting departure. It also touches on suicide, eugenics, selective breeding, rare diseases, discrimination against American Indians, and love--so, you know, nothing too complicated or controversial! It's set in Vermont and weaves together stories from the 1930s through today, mainly focusing on the impact loved ones can have on us, what family means, and some paranormal activity. Quite an enjoyable read and not as bleak as some she's written. Oh, and the eugenics information she includes is based on real-life happenings in the 30s, which I had not heard about. Pretty interesting--and scary.

Bookish Review: One Day

One Day is a book that was made into a movie; I watched the movie first, I am sorry to say. I can't resist Anne Hathaway. At any rate, I have now read the book, too! First, I'll tell you that the movie actually sticks remarkably close to the plot of the book, which doesn't often happen, so well-done to the filmmakers. The story is about Emma and Dexter, two college acquaintances who hook up on the night of graduation and then become friends. The story is told by focusing on the same date every year and tracing their friendship, more-than-friendship, not-even-friendship saga. It is pretty well-written and enjoyable, but bittersweet, as might be expected. Both the book and the movie are recommended; read the book first. 

Bookish Review: The Family Fang

The Family Fang is an interesting book about the damage parents can inflict on their children and whether those children can overcome the damage. Mr. and Mrs. Fang are performance artists and when they have children, the children become an integral part of the art. They refer to their children as Child A and Child B more often than their actual names and the question becomes whether they actually love their children or just love what they can do for their art. When their parents disappear, Annie and Buster must determine whether something has actually happened to them or if this is just another piece of art, and whether they should go along with it this time or not.

I wouldn't call this a fun read, but it is interesting and pretty well-written.

Bookish Review: The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag

Flavia DeLuce is one of my favorite characters. First seen in The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, she returns in this book to solve another mystery. A precocious 11-year-old, Flavia is ever trying to poison her older sisters, who torment her in many ways, under the nose of their inattentive philatelist father. Flavia misses nothing and her observations and machinations are always entertaining. This one is highly recommended, and I hope to find the time soon to read the others in the series.