"The Mother-Daughter Book Club" by Heather Vogel Frederick

I thought I would include something more lighthearted than the previous two reviews on this blog. In August, I picked up The Mother-Daughter Book Club at my local library. It was such a heart-warming read, that I definitely recommend it to all mothers and their daughters. The book is set in Concord, MA, the birthplace of Louisa May Alcott. There are a lot of references to Little Women (one of my all time favorite classics) and in fact this is the book the newly established book club picks to read.

Even though the book is truly lighthearted and cute, it also explores some tricky situations that middle school aged girls find themselves dealing with. Issues such as cliques, popularity, friendship and bullying are discussed in a very approachable and easy to discuss with kids manner. I think this could be a great audiobook for the entire family to listen to on a road trip, or if your daughter, little sister, granddaughter or niece likes to read, this is a perfect book to read and discuss together. 5 out of 5 stars - I definitely recommend it.

The Classics Challenge: "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Dostoyevsky is an intimidating name in the world of literature. Readers tend to avoid him for fear of not being able to understand his ideas. This is a pity. When I read The Idiot this past month, I was struck by how contemporary his prose was. Granted I read it in Russian, however his language is not archaic or hard to understand. Moreover, the subjects, the characters, the issues are all timeless and still relevant today.

The main theme in The Idiot is society's inability to take seriously an adult who conducts himself with childhood innocence and trust, who constantly gives people the benefit of a doubt and is always ready to see good in everyone. For others, such an individual (in this novel it is Prince Myshkin) is a subject of ridicule. His manner is not refined, his speech is not sophisticated, and he is very far from being street smart. He is always genuine and frank, compassionate to a fault, and is the absolute opposite of cynical. This is not compatible with our worldly notions of wisdom and maturity. Dostoevsky is a master of writing unforgettable characters. Each one is truly a masterpiece. Each one is complex and meticulously thought out. 

It is truly impossible to describe the depth of this novel in a blog post, so I will focus on one other theme which struck me as quite relevant today. The main female character Nastasya Filippovna was molested as a young girl by her benefactor and guardian. When she comes of age, she is basically a kept woman; or a fallen woman in the eyes of all upstanding citizens. What Dostoyevsky zeros in is her brokenness. Her mind and soul are a gaping wound that would not heal. She yearns for love and goodness. She never lost her innocence, but she is unable to understand that what happened to her is not her fault. She defies all notions of propriety in any way she chooses, except one: she cannot allow herself to become "good". I thought it was fascinating that she alone understands Prince Myshkin and makes her mission to see to it that he is happy. And he, for his part, understands how confused and damaged she is. He refers to her as "mad" and feels deep compassion for her. The love he feels towards her is what King James Version of the Bible calls "charity" in I Corinthians Chapter 13. 

Dostoyevsky is always true to his Christian ideals. His protagonist, who is always an idiot in the eyes of the world, is the author's Christian ideal of a man: innocent, forgiving, always seeing good in his neighbor. In the end, the world rejects this ideal man, just like it refused to accept and chose to crucify instead the one perfect man: the Son of God. Those parallels are clearly there. And in fact, in early drafts, Prince Myshkin was Prince Christov (Christ's). 

This book was entertaining, frustrating, profound, never boring, in many ways surprising, and so very readable. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 5 out of 5 stars - could it be any other rating?

"Hunger" by Roxane Gay

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body is a deeply personal, heart-wrenching and powerful story of a woman whose life has been a perpetual struggle of a kind I never experienced myself. Roxane Gay was raped by a group of boys when she was only 12 years old. She then found solace in food and built around herself a fortress of a 500+ pound body.

This book undid me. I hated listening to it while driving to work and I hated listening to it on my way back home. It filled me with sympathy, pain and depressed me to no end. It also made me feel angry and helpless. Gay is very frank about the reality of her life: about our society's inability to accept people "of a certain size" and our unwillingness to give them opportunities to live with dignity and respect. Before reading this book I never thought about the size of chairs in our public spaces, booths in restaurants, or ill suitability of doctor's offices (out of all places) to accommodate obese bodies. This is to say nothing of the cruelty she has to endure from complete strangers who feel they are at liberty to call her names, stare and offer unsolicited advice.

Gay describes the way that initial childhood trauma affected her romantic relationships, her sense of self-worth, her ability to connect with others, her family life, and pretty much every other aspect of her existence. This book was painful to consume, but it provided me with a perspective I would not have otherwise had. I can honestly say that for me there is a "before I read Hunger by Roxane Gay" and "after". This book is exactly why I read. It gives me the ability to see the world through the eyes of someone whose reality has been so unlike my own. This is a must read for everyone. I gave it 5 out 5 stars, which is an immeasurably inadequate way to describe how I feel about this book.

"Foundyside" by Robert Jackson Bennett

Foundryside is the start of another epic fantasy trilogy (I do realize I keep reading a lot of firsts-in-series and need to be better at continuing and finishing the various trilogies that I start). The world as I picture it in my head is somewhat medieval and all the technology is powered by "scriving" (a type of magical writing on objects that "convinces" them to perform certain tasks or behave in a certain way). For a example, bricks would have sigils written on them that convince them to stick to each other, and thus a wall would be created.

The author does a good job setting up the world and explaining how things work without boring the reader. In fact, this book is anything but boring. Every time I sat down to read, I could not help but zoom through 50 to 100 pages at a time. It is that action-packed and suspenseful.

Our main character is Sanchia, a street urchin and a thief. We first meet her as she is about to steal an  highly-priced item from a well-guarded safe. Sanchia has an unusual ability: she is able to touch objects around her and "hear" their history. For instance, by touching the floor, she'll get information on who and when passed there and get details on where a weak or rotted through floorboard might be located.

I liked her character development. She grows a lot throughout the novel, learns many things about the world and herself, and really by the end of Book 1 has all preconditions to become the real hero of an epic story.

The world that Bennett weaves is gradually revealed to the reader and is unimaginably intricate and large. The world building includes not just the immediate surroundings and how thing work, it also encompasses a centuries-long history, lore, and beliefs. As our characters encounter new larger problems, we gradually get a wider-lens view of the world, and by the end of the book, the setup for a conflict of an epic proportions is complete. If anything, in reading the last chapter, I was stunned by the vastness of the world that Bennett succeeded in revealing.

Being a fast-paced and engaging read, it is also a novel that requires deeper thinking. It tackles social and economic issues, morality, people's insatiable hunger for power and the concept of a just and fair society. I really enjoyed this book. 5 out of 5 stars. The sequel comes out in January 2020.

"Trail of Lightning" by Rebecca Roanhorse

Trail of Lightning is the first book in a Navajo mythology inspired Sci-Fi series. The book has been nominated for both Hugo and Nebula awards and has been lauded by critics and readers alike. I'd been wanting to pick it up for a while and now finally had a chance to read it.

Overall, I think the book would appeal to readers who like post-apocalyptic settings, strong female warrior characters and Native American mythology. Personally, I enjoy all three so in many ways this was a great book for me. It is on a shorter side, action-packed and not overwhelming with world building. In fact, I thought the author did a great job gradually introducing the backstory and history of the world without inundating the reader with information.

This book is quite violent with multiple descriptions of fights and killing. So if this is something you try to avoid in books, this one is probably not for you. I loved the magic in this novel. The premise for the novel is that Navajo gods and monsters have left the spirit world and now walk the earth. To counteract their powers, some humans have received "clan powers," i.e. supernatural abilities specific to their clan. Our main character Maggie, for example, is super fast and is great at killing monsters. The one thing I thought would be helpful is a glossary of Navajo words used throughout the book.

In addition to the main character, I also really like the Coyote or the trickster. In some ways, he reminds me of Loki. I did not love the ending of the book. Without spoiling anything, one of the so called plot twists just seemed way too predictable to me. But overall, still a very enjoyable read. 4 out of 5 stars. I do already have book 2 and will probably read it next month if not earlier.

2019 Mid-Year Reading Goals Check-In

Since we are halfway through 2019, it is a good time to check on my reading goals for the year and see how I am doing. This year, I decided to keep it pretty simple and have only set 3 goals for myself. So let's see how I've done so far!

Goal 1: Read the books I want to read
I have definitely tried to read only the books I was excited about. I have been pretty selective about the ARCs I request and read. I have also stopped pushing myself to read bookclub picks that I was not particularly interested in. So I would say, I've been doing great in this area.

Goal 2: Read 80 books in 2019
As of the end of June, I've read 50 books so I am definitely on track to meet the overall goal for the year. I do, however, have plans to read some large books in the second half of the year.

Goal 3: Read more classics.
For this goal, I have 12 specific challenges to help make this goal more achievable, and I have so far met 7 of them (and read 7 classics!). Here is the full list of challenges and progress to date:
1. 19th century classic - not yet
2. 20th century classic - DONE, Jack London Call of the Wild (1903)
3. Classic by a female author - DONE, Elizabeth Gaskell North and South
4. Classic in translation - DONE, Charles Dickens Great Expectations (I read it in Russian)
5. Classic comedy - not yet
6. Classic tragedy - DONE, Alexander Kuprin Olesya
7. Very long classic - no yet
8. Classic novella - DONE, Alexander Kuprin The Garnet Bracelet
9. Classic from the Americas (includes Caribbean) - not yet
10. Classic from Africa, Asia, or Oceania (includes Australia) - DONE, Miles Franklin My Brilliant Career (Australia)
11. Classic from the place you've lived - DONE, Alexander Grin The Scarlet Sails (USSR)
12. Classic play - not yet.

"Spin the Dawn" by Elizabeth Lim

Spin the Dawn is the start of a new Chinese-inspired YA fantasy series (US publication date is 7/9/2019). The main character Maia Tamarin is the youngest child of a famous tailor. Her three older brothers are not really interested in sewing and besides all three of them end up going to war. Two never return and one comes back injured and unable to walk. Maia is a talented seamstress, but unfortunately, in her world, girls do not become tailors. So when a representative from the imperial court arrives to summon either her father or brother to sew for the emperor, Maia dresses up as a boy and journeys to the capital to compete with other famous tailors for the title of the Imperial Tailor.

I was skeptical about this book. So many YA novels are filled with tropes and are basically variations of the same rags-to-riches/nobody-to-a-hero story. Spin the Dawn does have the same overall theme, but it had several elements that I like in YA books and that instantly drew me in. First, it reads like a fairy tale, and is filled with luscious descriptions of exotic settings. Second, the main character is a spunky female who perseveres no matter the odds and always insists on making her own decisions. Third, it is a very fast read. At just over 400 pages, I finished it in less than 3 days. Finally, it has a slow-burn romance that many readers will appreciate.

If I have to pick a thing that I did not like about the story, it will have to be the ending. To me, the final resolution felt rushed and a bit illogical. If Maia was going to put a request in front of a powerful goddess, why didn't she word it in a way that would make her happy? Instead, the wish that was granted to her led to much bigger problems.... I am definitely curious to see what happens next, but am very worried about the direction the novel is taking. I think I would have been happy with a well-rounded stand-alone.

A very enjoyable read overall. 4 out of 5 stars.

An e-ARC was provided by NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review.