Review: Wild Beauty

Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: October 3rd, 2017
Source: Macmillan
Date Read: 8/16/17 to 8/22/17
320 pages

For nearly a century, the Nomeolvides women have tended the grounds of La Pradera, the lush estate gardens that enchant guests from around the world. They’ve also hidden a tragic legacy: if they fall in love too deeply, their lovers vanish. But then, after generations of vanishings, a strange boy appears in the gardens.

The boy is a mystery to Estrella, the Nomeolvides girl who finds him, and to her family, but he’s even more a mystery to himself; he knows nothing more about who he is or where he came from than his first name. As Estrella tries to help Fel piece together his unknown past, La Pradera leads them to secrets as dangerous as they are magical in this stunning exploration of love, loss, and family.

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I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Quotes taken from ARC may or may not be in the published edition.

I finished! My thoughts! Well. I didn’t really think of any while I was reading. Which sometimes happens when I’m into a book and its characters. For one, I don’t think I could adequately describe the plot of this book, except flowers, and a strange boy, and a family full of women, who can magically grow the flowers.

Oh, and they can’t leave their home, La Pradera, for fear of being branded witches. And for the fact that their flower magic goes completely out of control.

Before I say anything else, you should read this book if you love elegant writing. I literally can flip to any random page and I’ll find something like this:


“…the ground was whispering, the grass and the flower beds giving up strange things Estrella could not name.”

or

“Their mothers did not notice the other moments that made color bloom in their daughters’ cheeks.”

or

“She imagined pressing her lips to Bay’s so lightly the wind would find its way between them.”

As you can see, it’s extremely well-written. And, the writing is really flowery, literally and figuratively.

I also did enjoy reading about the characters, but I didn’t really have many feelings. It didn’t help that it was hard to differentiate between all the characters introduced. Also, the plot didn’t pick up until the second half of the book, so I ended up being quite bored until then. These reasons are partially why I have no words for this review.

Other cool things I liked about this book:

• It’s beautifully written. I wish I could write like that.

• All of the daughters have a secret crush on Bay, who’s a girl. And there is no backlash at all whatsoever.

• The culture. It’s a breath of fresh air compared to what I have been reading recently, in regards to the fantasy genre.

• SO MUCH FOOD. AND DESCRIPTIONS OF FOOD. Most of it was in Spanish though, so I can’t even repeat it here because I have 0 experience with Spanish and remember nothing.

• And of course, all the flowers. Can’t forget those. This is magical realism at its finest (unless I'm wrong and I'm getting the genre wrong). 

• I say I was bored with the first half of the plot, but it did pick up and I like where it went! Also conveys a really deep message that is pretty relevant to current and social issues.

But yes, don’t get me wrong. I did enjoy this a lot. 4 stars in fact! I just don’t have much to say about the characters and the plot unfortunately.

Review: Vassa In The Night

Vassa In The Night by Sarah Porter
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: September 20th, 2016
Source: Book Expo America
Date Read: 8/24/16 to 8/25/16
352 pages

Rating: ✰✰1/2

In the enchanted kingdom of Brooklyn, the fashionable people put on cute shoes, go to parties in warehouses, drink on rooftops at sunset, and tell themselves they’ve arrived. A whole lot of Brooklyn is like that now—but not Vassa’s working-class neighborhood.

In Vassa’s neighborhood, where she lives with her stepmother and bickering stepsisters, one might stumble onto magic, but stumbling out again could become an issue. Babs Yagg, the owner of the local convenience store, has a policy of beheading shoplifters—and sometimes innocent shoppers as well. So when Vassa’s stepsister sends her out for light bulbs in the middle of night, she knows it could easily become a suicide mission.

But Vassa has a bit of luck hidden in her pocket, a gift from her dead mother. Erg is a tough-talking wooden doll with sticky fingers, a bottomless stomach, and a ferocious cunning. With Erg’s help, Vassa just might be able to break the witch’s curse and free her Brooklyn neighborhood. But Babs won’t be playing fair. . . .

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I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Quotes taken from ARC may or may not be in the published edition.

I am really upset that I didn't like this at all. Really upset. I mean sure, I understood that this would be magical realism, based off a fairy tale that Spirited Away is based off of (If you haven't seen that film, what are you doing with your life? Haha), and include a talking wooden doll. But uh...I haven't got a clue as to what I just read.

Do I even know how to summarize this? Let me try. Vassa has stepsisters, and among them she's known for stealing all their things. Little do they know, it's really Erg the wooden talking doll playing tricks on all of them. But Vassa promised her mother to never let anyone know about Erg, because who could believe her? Well for one, I'm pretty sure her sisters (and they aren't evil by the way, only one of them actually has an attitude) would be fine with it seeing as 1) Their convenience store has legs and beheads anyone who shoplifts and 2) The nights last for a real long time. Speaking of nights, what was the deal with that? Since it was never clearly explained, I didn't know if it just lasted longer, or never turned to day. I have no idea.

And speaking of having no ideas, what even happened in this book? Vassa heads into the store, is forced to work the cashier for a duration of three nights (again how long is this?). She befriends a "hand", the ones that protect the store from shoplifters. Then there's that motorcycle guy that circles the store like a watchman.

The events and the characters weren't the problem for me. It is the lack of an explanation as to WHY Vassa was constantly surprised at moving hands or a person (lizard?) with scales and all that shit when this convenience store is moving and has legs. Her classmates go in there and make shoplifting a game. So why did the book make it seem like the world was anything but normal? (Because news flash! It was not!).

Don't get me started on the ending. I don't even remember what I skimmed (whoops). Someone got cut up and murdered? I don't even know.

Did I enjoy reading this? I mean, ehhhhh. I think I would have been okay if I had not. This was just a whole mess of confusion for my poor brain. I just think this would have been a better read for me if the explanations were clearer.

Review: Devil And The Bluebird

Devil And The Bluebird by Jennifer Mason-Black
Publisher: Amulet Books
Release Date: May 17th, 2016
Source: ALA Midwinter
Date Read: 7/2/16 to 7/5/16
336 pages

Rating: ✰✰✰

Blue Riley has wrestled with her own demons ever since the loss of her mother to cancer. But when she encounters a beautiful devil at her town crossroads, it’s her runaway sister’s soul she fights to save. The devil steals Blue’s voice—inherited from her musically gifted mother—in exchange for a single shot at finding Cass.

Armed with her mother’s guitar, a knapsack of cherished mementos, and a pair of magical boots, Blue journeys west in search of her sister. When the devil changes the terms of their deal, Blue must reevaluate her understanding of good and evil and open herself to finding family in unexpected places.

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I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Quotes taken from ARC may or may not be in the published edition.

Devil and the Bluebird is full of magical realism, so much that I wasn't actually sure if it was all make believe, or if it actually happened. Making a deal with the devil, getting your voice stolen, seeing the devil in different people, riding in ghost buses. It all sounds so unbelievable, so much that even the main character didn't believe it herself.

Blue Riley meets a devil at a crossroads, one in an image of a beautiful woman, to discover the whereabouts of her runaway sister. In exchange for her voice, Blue's hiking boots receive the ability to lead her to the right direction. However, with the devil changing all the rules as the journey goes along, Blue can't afford to risk being around anyone she becomes close with. Also, she has 6 months to find her sister, or she loses her voice forever. Basically everything is a huge gamble, and Blue loses hope many times but still keeps trudging on.

Honestly, I did not mind reading this. At times, I felt like it was a lot for me to take in. For one, this isn't a fast read at all, the print is pretty tiny, and it is pretty slow paced. But on the other hand, I really loved the musical element surrounding our characters. Blue Riley herself was pretty determined herself, regardless of the entire situation being bleak and hopeless. I don't know what I would do with myself if I only had $60 in my name, stuck in a city I don't recognize.

Speaking of cities, Rochester was mentioned! Yeah go Rochester!

If I were to sum it up, Devil and the Bluebird reads more like a cross country trip, revolving around music. As the story progresses, we discover and meet a bunch of new characters, one that end up becoming family to Blue. This includes one of her companions, Steve, who is transgender.

As beautiful as the writing was, this didn't end up being something for me. Just from reading the synopsis, I was under the impression that there would be some romantic relationship between the devil and Blue, which wasn't the case here. Also, the ending itself made the whole deal kind of pointless. Sure, Blue met so many new people along the way, but she went through so much trouble for nothing. Lastly, I think everything went over my head by the end, especially when it came to who the devil actually was. Even now I'm still not sure what to make of this story, and I'm wondering if it's because I'm not a very musical, grassroots-type person. Whatever that even means.

Review: Wink Poppy Midnight

Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke
Publisher: Dial Books
Release Date: March 22nd, 2016
Source: ALA Midwinter
Date Read: 1/12/16 to 1/14/16
352 pages

Rating: ✰✰✰

Every story needs a hero.
Every story needs a villain.
Every story needs a secret.

Wink is the odd, mysterious neighbor girl, wild red hair and freckles. Poppy is the blond bully and the beautiful, manipulative high school queen bee. Midnight is the sweet, uncertain boy caught between them. Wink. Poppy. Midnight. Two girls. One boy. Three voices that burst onto the page in short, sharp, bewitching chapters, and spiral swiftly and inexorably toward something terrible or tricky or tremendous.

What really happened?
Someone knows.
Someone is lying.

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I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Quotes taken from ARC may or may not be in the published edition.

I read this awhile ago, back in January, and it is definitely safe to say that it was quite different from what I was expecting. As the release date for Wink Poppy Midnight came closer and closer, I kept seeing a lot of positive reviews, which made me think "Yay that's really awesome for them, BUT HOW ABOUT ME? Did we both read the same thing?"

I think my main problem with it all, was the point. Apparently it flew over my head.

You see, Midnight used to like Poppy, but was done with her after realizing she was just using him. Yet, once he moves on to Wink, Poppy becomes jealous and tries to win him back, by oh you know sneaking into his room to do the naughty. Even though he is somewhat already involved with Wink.

For some reason, Wink sees all of this as a fairytale, where Midnight is the hero and Poppy is the Wolf. Or something. Which yes, does make sense. Especially since Poppy is such a bully and convinces Midnight to tie Wink to a piano in an abandoned mansion. WHO DOES THIS?

I'm not exactly sure where to start with this. I could probably say I was confused. And if you did read this, then I can tell you that I just did not get the point of it all. Why go through all of that if it's only going to be a lie? What was the point? I understood the book until I did get to that point where everything fell apart for me. Yes, I get HOW it happened, but WHY?

I suppose I could say that I liked Wink Poppy Midnight because it was different. The story itself wasn't written in a straightforward manner, in that it could be interpreted in a number of ways. Sadly I do not think I understood any interpretation. But maybe you will? I'll probably head over to Goodreads and read some reviews to see if I can wrap my head around it.

So, review is short today. I don't think I have anything else to add on here.

Review: I Crawl Through It

I Crawl Through It by A. S. King
Publisher: Little, Brown Books
Release Date: September 22nd, 2015
Source: Netgalley
Date Read: 12/18/15 to 12/20/15
336 pages

Rating: ✰✰✰

A boldly surreal novel from one of the best YA writers working today.

Four talented teenagers are traumatized-coping with grief, surviving trauma, facing the anxiety of standardized tests and the neglect of self-absorbed adults—and they'll do anything to escape the pressure. They'll even build an invisible helicopter, to fly far away to a place where everyone will understand them... until they learn the only way to escape reality is to fly right into it.

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I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Quotes taken from ARC may or may not be in the published edition.

I'm not exactly sure how I should go about my review of I Crawl Through It. It is an interesting read, one that I'm sure completely flew over my head. Nevertheless, it was eye-opening (I think??), and I think I can say I got the overall concept. Maybe?

Stanzi, Gustav, China, Lansdale. One has completely swallowed herself, so at most times you can only see her organs. Another is a compulsive liar. I'm not exactly sure what were the problems of the other two, but I know it all has to do with the pressures of society. Either way, it is enough to cause all of them to seek ways to escape their problems. Like, for example, building an invisible helicopter.

Throughout the entire novel, I tried to figure out the metaphor. Believe me, I put all my efforts into this, because I knew that this would be a little weird. But every time I got even a little bit close to, for example, figuring out the symbolism behind China swallowing herself, something new would pop up telling me otherwise. And the invisible helicopter? Being able to only see it one day but not the other? I'm just not exactly sure what to think of it? I think the closest I can get in an explanation is that every single event, every character, even the adults themselves, are metaphors.

Now that I think about it, the synopsis itself is what this book is symbolizing. And the whole book is a metaphor in itself.

Yeah I don't know. I have no idea.

So, let me get back to the review and out of metaphor-land. I Crawl Through It isn't for the weak-hearted. It's not an easy read, and you need to have a grasp on the symbolism of the book in order to fully understand what is going on. Or you can just read it literally, that works too.

I don't regret reading this, but I would like to be enlightened. I understand the overall message, but I want to know what the characters and their actions represent. Off I go to read other reviews!