Book Review: The Rebel Wife by Taylor M. Polites (2/5)

I heard about Polites from an essay collection I read a while back, Knitting Yarns. I really enjoyed Polites’s essay and remember him talking about knitting a dog sweater (the collection was authors who knit so this is very in line with the collection). I added this novel to my TBR and there it sat for two and a half years. I found an audiobook copy of it and decided to give it a go.

Cover image via Amazon

The Rebel Wife by Tyler M. Polites

Summary from Amazon:

Augusta Branson was born into antebellum Southern nobility during a time of wealth and prosperity, but now she is left standing in the ashes of a broken civilization. When her scalawag husband dies suddenly of a mysterious illness, she must fend for herself and her young son. Slowly she begins to wake to the reality of her new life: her social standing is stained by her marriage; she is alone and unprotected in a community that is being destroyed by racial prejudice and violence; the fortune she thought she would inherit does not exist; and the deadly fever that killed her husband is spreading fast.

Augusta needs someone to trust if she and her son are to escape. As she summons the courage to cross the boundaries of hate, The Rebel Wife presents an unforgettable heroine for our time.

I started this audiobook as I was making a long drive. Usually, this is a great time for me to pay attention to a book and dive into it. Something about the beginning of this book confused me and it started us off on the wrong book and we never made it back. I was confused about all of the characters, who was alive or dead, and who was family, friend, or servant. I was then focused on sorting all of those things out and didn’t really grasp what was going on in the story for a while. This made it hard for me to be invested in Augusta and her search for Eli’s money and left me confused about the two different stories she was being told. In the end, it was hard to get into since nothing really felt explained.

I think a lot of the folks in this story were good reflections of their time and location. The economy of the South went through huge changes following the Civil War and the anger, confusion, and hostility we hear from the characters felt very real. I think the different voices we hear, Judge and Simon especially, really highlighted how bad things were at the time and what a long road it was going to be for that region to see any real change.

I didn’t particularly like any of the characters in this book. Augusta bothered me the most so having her as a narrator was frustrating. She starts the book off having resented her husband and everything he did to her and behaving as if she has the true ‘rebel’ mentality we see in her friends and suspect her family held. It was confusing to me what changed her mind in the story. It didn’t seem really believable to me that she would have such a shift in opinion and moral guide without much having moved her in that direction. I thought maybe I missed something for a while. I think it was too sudden and extreme to really seem believable.

There are some aspects to what Augusta was going through that resonated with me. I think there are a lot of folks of my generation today that see a change in opinion about gender and sexuality. I’m thinking back to the “OK, Boomer” fad and the concept that the ideas that some generations hold are written off by younger ones as being outdated. Augusta seemed to feel that Judge (and possibly her parents) were too stuck in their ways and they should embrace the changes that were happening and find a new way forward.

Taylor M. Polites
Image via Amazon

There wasn’t a part of this book I really liked, honestly. When I wasn’t confused, I was sad for the characters and what they were experiencing. I thought some of the scenes with the society ladies were a bit more light hearted and liked those more, but I still never got to a point with this book that I would say was a stand out favorite.

The beginning of this book didn’t get me off on the right foot, and that made it hard for me to read the rest of the story. I wish there’d been a little slower introduction to all the people in the house and maybe a little less chaotic start to the story. I didn’t know who was dying and who was killing a snake and if the two things were related.

The audiobook was narrated by Johanna Parker. Honestly, I wasn’t a big fan of her reading, but I don’t know much of that was that I wasn’t a fan of Augusta. Augusta seemed weak more than once and it Parker put a waiver in her voice when she was scared or meek that frustrated me. For having a mind-shift that seemed very modern, her ability to stand up for herself was quite in line with the times. Her accent and voice differentiation seemed right to me, but I’m not from that part of the country so I can’t say too much about how accurate she was to Alabama.

Losing the Civil War was a huge blow to the South. The end of slavery made their agrarian economy a delicate system that couldn’t continue. Folks like Judge suffered economically and blamed everyone but themselves. This isn’t a transition I remember learning a lot about in school which is probably my Northern bias. I can see why there was so much tension at the time and I thought Rachel and John were smart to pack up and get out. I think this is a time ripe with tension and made for an interesting backdrop for the story.

Writer’s Takeaway: Writers are always advised to start the story with action and to make things move from the start. Polites did this with a very action-packed scene with a lot of folks involved. I think the number of people introduced was too much for the opening chapters. I was confused about who was dying, which made it hard for me to understand who was sad and who was unaffected. By the time that was sorted out, I was trying to figure out who I had missed being introduced to while I sorted out who was dying. I’m not sure there needed to be so many folks in the house or visiting the house so early and I think slowing that down could have helped with the confusion.

I struggled to get into this book and that kept me from being able to enjoy it. Two out of Five Stars

This book fulfills the 1800-1899 time period of the 2023 When Are You Reading? Challenge.

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Advertisement

Book Review: Lágrimas en el mar (Salt to the Sea) by Ruta Sepetys (4/5)

It took me two months, but I finally finished my 2023 Spanish Language Read! If you’re new here, I have a degree in Spanish but I don’t have a job or lifestyle where I get to use that skill often. So every year, I read a book in Spanish. Usually, it’s YA because that’s about my reading level. This book was recommended to me by my sister in law and I thought it was a good opportunity to read it and get through my Spanish read of the year.

Cover image via Amazon

Lágrimas en el mar (Salt to the Sea) by Ruta Septetys

Other books by Sepetys reviewed on this blog:

Out of the Easy
Between Shades of Grey

Summary from Amazon:

Winter 1945. WWII. Four refugees. Four stories.

Each one born of a different homeland; each one hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies, war. As thousands desperately flock to the coast in the midst of a Soviet advance, four paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom. But not all promises can be kept . . .

So this is a summary I’m really glad I didn’t read. And I’m unsure how to keep this review spoiler free so read ahead at your own risk, though I’ll try my hardest. I did end up spoiling the ending for myself because I peeked at the references at the end and one of the movies on the topic she recommended tells you the historical events in the title. So, whoops! One of the things I really liked about this book was the short chapters. Especially reading in a language that’s not my native language, having short chapters with easy stopping points for when my brain inevitably needed a break was wonderful. The four points of view were very distinct and I never mixed the characters up. I think the way Sepetys set this book up was great for the ending we drove toward.

I kept forgetting that these characters were so young. If we got exact ages, I’ve forgotten them but I think we’re looking at people 16-22. The things they had to see and endure at such a young age seem unthinkable, but war is unimaginable and that’s how we got there. The things that they did and saw seemed to age them faster than one would normally imagine. So while at times I had to remind myself that their level of maturity was in line with their lived experiences, I think it was appropriate.

Joana was my favorite character. She seemed to lead in a way I admired and she was very selfless. I think in the situation she as in, it would be hard to think of others before yourself so I admired this about her. She was very practical and kind. While Florian seemed cold at times, Joana never did and her emotions were raw and rang true to me.

Luckily, there wasn’t a lot in this story I could relate to. These characters were in an insanely bad situation and they were never allowed to rest for a moment. I thought Emilia might be the most relatable to me because I’ve been pregnant, but her pregnancy was a very small part of her story in the end.

Ruta Sepetys Image via the Between Shades of Gray website

The end of this book was very well written and I flew through it. Once they got on the boat, things didn’t slow down for a second. We learned a lot about the characters through their travels and waiting to get on the boat, but it wasn’t until they were onboard that I struggled to put this book down. The relationships they’d built and the love we had between them was incredible and the ending came like a rush that I wasn’t ready for. I was captivated.

I felt like the traveling section of this book, about the first third, was a bit duller. While we saw the three refugee characters come together, Alfred always seemed like a lost soul and he didn’t add anything to this part of the book. It set up well the situation we’d find on the Gustloff but I’m not sure that was something that couldn’t have been explained quickly when they got to their destination.

[Spoilers ahead] Sepetys has written WWII stories of people whose stories are not commonly told. This is no exception. As a fan of Titanic history, I thought I knew my other maritime disasters well. I’d never heard of the Gustloff. To this day, it’s the largest maritime disaster in history. The picture Sepetys paints in this book is heartbreaking. Filled with wounded soldiers and refugees, the Russians clearly torpedoed the ship thinking they were killing some high-ranking Nazi officers. They didn’t account for the other lives they would ruin. Reading this during another Russian war seems very timely and it makes you consider the civilian cost. If even one innocent person dies, isn’t it too much?

Writer’s Takeaway: The alternating points of view was unique in this book. Keeping the chapters short meant we were never in one person’s head for too long. I always find that in multiple POV books, there’s one person I care less about. It was Alfred in this book. However, with the short chapters, I didn’t inwardly sigh when I got to one of his letters to Hannelore because I knew it would be short and over soon. It also allowed us to see a single scene from more than one person’s point of view. I liked this, especially in scenes between Joana and Florian. It was a great tool.

This was a solid read and I might have enjoyed it more in English when I would have been able to read in longer sections. Four our of Five Stars.

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Related Posts:
MV Wilhelm Gustloff | Wikipedia
Salt to the Sea (Ruta Sepetys) | A Bolt Out of the Book
Salt to the Sea Review |BookLoversBlog
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys | Megan’s Musings

Book Review: The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett (4/5)

I’ve loved the Kingsbridge series and I was excited to see a prequal was released. Follett’s books are always a commitment, but it’s one I’m willing to make!

Cover image via Amazon

The Evening and the Morning (Kingsbridge #0) by Ken Follett

Other books by Follett reviewed on this blog:

Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge #1)
World Without End (Kingsbridge #2)
Column of Fire (Kingsbridge #3)

Summary from Amazon:

It is 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages. England is facing attacks from the Welsh in the west and the Vikings in the east. Those in power bend justice according to their will, regardless of ordinary people and often in conflict with the king. Without a clear rule of law, chaos reigns.

In these turbulent times, three characters find their lives intertwined. A young boatbuilder’s life is turned upside down when his home is raided by Vikings, forcing him and his family to move and start their lives anew in a small hamlet where he does not fit in. . . . A Norman noblewoman marries for love, following her husband across the sea to a new land, but the customs of her husband’s homeland are shockingly different, and it soon becomes clear to her that a single misstep could be catastrophic. . . . A monk dreams of transforming his humble abbey into a center of learning that will be admired throughout Europe. And each in turn comes into dangerous conflict with a clever and ruthless bishop who will do anything to increase his wealth and power.

This was a great story. It had highs and lows and it spanned years. One of the things I like about Follett is that he doesn’t make it easy for his characters. When your opening scene is a deadly Viking raid, you know it’s not going in a great direction. The audiobook was over 24 hours and I enjoyed the entire time. I don’t think this had quite the same joy to it as the first and maybe second in the series, but that’s an almost impossibly high bar and this was still a delightful read.

Follett draws wonderful characters. His villains are a bit stereotypically evil, but they have motivation if not morals. It was fun to hate Winston and his ambition. But it was also easy to cheer for Edgar and Ragna. I had some favorite side characters along the way, especially Aldred and Edgar’s mother. It was fun to see those we loved succeed.

Ragna was my favorite character. I loved her commitment to her children and how strong she was. She was smart, which was almost a disadvantage in this time period. She was a great heroine to cheer for and I could see why everyone loved her so much.

Ragna was also easy to relate to. I think as a mom and someone who has to deal with family politics (though thankfully not as devilish!), it was easy to put myself in her shoes and think like she did. I was cheering for her happiness all along. I only wish it didn’t take so long for it to arrive.

Ken Follett Image via the author’s website

I enjoyed the front half of this book best, when Edgar was playing a larger role. The second half seemed to be where Ragna took over a bit more and while I liked her, Edgar’s adventures were more fun to me. I liked his solutions to problems and how he managed to deal with bullies and set backs. I was a bit disappointed when he left the story for a while and I think that’s part of what made this book only Four Stars for me.

This is a bit of a spoiler so skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to read it. When Ragna and her boys were kidnapped, I grew really uncomfortable with the book and wasn’t enjoying that part. It seemed to me like the King was being very neglectful and the lack of law and order to be followed was frustrating. Seeing a strong and smart woman like Ragna reduced to nothing was infuriating and that she saw no justice for it enraged me. I understand why it happened, but as a modern reader, it was really uncomfortable.

The audiobook was narrated by John Lee who has done the other books in the series as well. I love when there’s consistency like that! He was a brilliant narrator and I loved listening to him read to me. His inflections for Wilf and his brothers were great. I thought his women’s voices were very appropriate and I enjoyed listening to the story unfold. It’s good to have such a talented narrator for a 24 hour book!

There was always someone to get in Edgar’s way. If it wasn’t Dreng, it was his own brothers or other women. The same can be said for Ragna and her ongoing feud with Winston and all his hangers-on. It wasn’t easy, but so few things are. It was great to see them fight and push forward and finally see the just rewards they deserved come their ways. It’s a good reminder that the end is far off and if we’re suffering, hopefully we’re in the middle of our stories and there’s room for things to change.

Writer’s Takeaway: This book was a nail biter for 24 hours. That’s a huge accomplishment. Follett had ups and downs in the story and there were times things looked bleak. But there were also moments of triumph and joy and genuine happiness that were great to experience. There’s an overall arc to the story, but there are so many side plots and minor arcs that it felt something was always starting and something else ending so I was engaged the entire time.

This was a great read, but hard to hold a candle to the original book in the series. Four out of Five Stars

This book fulfilled the Pre 1200 time period in the When Are You Reading? Challenge 2023.

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Related Posts:
The Evening and the Morning | My Reading Journal
Historical Fiction Readathon: The Evening and The Morning by Ken Follett Mini Book Review | Sohinee Reads & Reviews
“The Evening and the Morning” by Ken Follett | Swift Coffee Book Blog
The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett ~Audiobook Review~ | Amanda’s Book Review!

Book Review: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (5/5)

I’ve liked and disliked Weir’s books. I was nervous about this one but decided to give it a go. When my Reading Buddy and I decided to pick up again after our kids got a little older, it seemed like a fun option for us to pick up and explore. We wanted something pretty light that we would move through quickly. Well, we hit that nail on the head.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Other books by Weir reviewed on this blog:

The Martian (and movie review)
Artemis (and Book Club Reflection)

Summary from Amazon:

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.

Or does he?

I’m glad I’d forgotten this summary by the time I started the book! Because Ryland has amnesia, you don’t even know he’s Ryland at the start. Granted, by chapter three or four, I was caught up and the rest was still a surprise. There are a lot of things in this book that you wouldn’t expect and I’m sure I’ll spoil something for those who plan to read this. Since there’s a movie in development, I’m hoping this one becomes a popular choice for folks who want to read the book first!

I thought Ryland was very believable. I loved how we learned about his backstory and then ultimately learned why it was revealed in the way it was. His motivations were very real and his I could empathize with his distress over his situation. I think most people would feel the same way! I was reminded a lot of what I loved in The Martian without what I disliked in Artemis so this was a great relief to me. Weir writes great first person narration.

Though there was little competition, Ryland ended up being my favorite character. He was easy to empathize with and his humor kept the book moving along well. I thought he was really resourceful and while at times his knowledge seemed to be too convenient, it made sense with the educational background we were presented with.

While I’ve never been in a situation like Ryland before, I could empathize with him because his reactions and emotions feel very real to me. I understood his fear, sadness, and motivations. He felt like a very real person to me.

Andy Weir. Image via The Daily Californian

This next paragraph has spoilers so skip ahead if you want to avoid that. My favorite part of the book was when Ryland and Rocky were first getting to know each other. I have a language degree so the bits about language development and finding mutual words for things was fascinating to me. The idea that both species have a verbal spoken language is a bit convenient but it made for a much more entertaining book. The speech pattern development through the book was really fun as well. At the beginning, there are a lot of disruptions as common words are developed and learned. Then there’s a stilted but fluent speech pattern. Finally, in the final chapter, there’s a level of fluency that we haven’t seen before after a long period of practice. It was incredible to see that detail and I really appreciated it.

I can’t really think of a part of this book I disliked. It was really well paced and a delight to read throughout. I had trouble putting it down and found myself reading until I was almost asleep. It’s been a while since I read something this engaging.

What would you do to save the world? That’s a big question for Ryland. He’s gone to great lengths to e where he is and be in a position to be the savior of humanity. It’s a big sacrifice and also a big honor. Nothing about it is pretty, but it’s so necessary. I hope we never find Earth in a situation like the one in the book. I hope we never have to make decisions that Stratt and Ryland are faced with. But if we do, I hope we have folks equally intelligent and bold to do what needs to be done.

Writer’s Takeaway: The flashback element of this book was my favorite. I loved how we learned about the time before Ryland woke up on the Hail Mary slowly. I think it was fun to learn it with him. There were parts that surprised me and parts that didn’t and I loved being surprised along with Ryland in real time. It was a technique I can’t remember reading before and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This was an incredible read and one I was glad I got to enjoy with my Reading Buddy. A full Five out of Five Stars.

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Related Posts:
“Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir | NardiViews
“Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir | The Saturday Reader
Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir/**** | Umney’s Alley
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir | Luce [is Reading]
Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir (some plot spoilers) | A Reader of Else

Book Review: The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo (3/5)

Each year for Christmas, my sister-in-law gets us books. This is one she got me a few years ago and I’ve been working down my TBR until I got to it. She picked it for me because of the setting, I’m sure. I have a Spanish language degree and I did my thesis on Basque National Identity. So a book set in Basque Country piqued my interest immediately!

Cover image via Amazon

The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo

Summary from Amazon:

When the body of a teenaged girl is found on a riverbank in a remote area, the crime appears all too similar to a murder committed only months prior, igniting the worst fears of the small community of Elizondo. Homicide inspector Amaia Salazar, a strong, borderline-obsessive investigator, is assigned to the case. After all, this beautiful, peculiar backwater steeped in the blood of the Spanish Inquisition, where pagan beliefs still flourish under a thin veneer of modernity, is a space she knows better than anyone. Forced to return to Elizondo, a town she has always sought to escape, Amaia is tasked with finding a serial killer on the loose.

As the murders in the area grow increasingly violent, the locals come to believe only one creature could possibly be responsible: a creature of Basque mythology known as the basajaun, or Invisible Guardian. But Amaia is logical—a professional—and she refuses to let local superstitions distract her from her careful detective work. As the investigation deepens, a troubling secret from Amaia’s past plagues her with nightmares and soon her findings seem to transform myth into reality. Everything she believes to be rational and verifiable is called into question. Now Amaia must fight her demons and determine if these murders are the work of a ritualistic killer or something even darker.

I was back and forth on this book most of the time I was reading it. I liked the mystery, but at times the plot seemed to get away from it and focus a lot on Amaia. I had mixed feelings about the incorporation of mythology and science here as well. I liked learning about the regional folklore, but wasn’t ready for it to play such a role in the plot. The story was fun and I can see why it’s sold so well. I wonder how much the other elements are typical of stories in that region and how much is uniquely Redondo.

I loved the characters in this book. The family relationships were complicated and dynamic. They felt very real and you could tell how deep-seeded some of the feelings these characters shared really were. I was glad to hear that this was the beginning of a series because there’s a lot left to explore in this family.

Flora was my favorite character. This might be a spoilers so skip this paragraph if you want to avoid that. I knew she was up to something but I had no idea what. I had no idea how she might get pulled into the plot or what she knew. I loved the complications her personal relationship with Amaia was adding to the plot and while Amaia’s ghosts seemed to take over the story at times, Flora’s addition to that plotline was always dynamic and fun to follow.

There wasn’t a character I particularly identified with, but having Amaia’s husband be an American helped me some. He was lost and confused about some of the same things I was so it gave a reason for Amaia to explain parts of Basque culture and folklore for someone who might not be familiar with it. James helped make something very regional accessible to those outside of it.

Dolores Redondo. Image via Wikipedia

I thought the ending of the book was really well done. I thought I knew what was going to happen, but I was still caught off guard and was surprised. I thought the ending was satisfying and riveting. I’m trying hard not to give away any spoilers here so I’ll only say it kept me guessing until the very end!

I felt like the basajaun was pretty unnecessary to the plot. It seemed obvious to me when he was described that there was no way a basajaun, if they were real, would have been murdering young girls. All the stories about it being real and people encountering one were fun, but didn’t seem to align with either Amaia’s personal journey or the mystery. Involving it more and more seemed oddly distracting and confused me. The book had been so grounded in fact and science and then dipping into folklore seemed a bit odd.

It’s hard to escape our past. Amaia’s past and her family history caught up to her in a very real way. She had to face the trauma she blocked out of her childhood and share it with her sisters who had no idea and didn’t know how to react to it. Her aunt had to help facilitate a lot of healing and we have to assume she’ll continue to do so as this family moves on. I thought the mystery and the Salazar family were wound well together and appreciate how it was complicated, like real life can be.

Writer’s Takeaway: Looking back, the clues in this book were very well spaced apart. I wouldn’t have realized it at the time though one or two things stuck out. I enjoyed watching all the pieces fall into place when they did. I liked how Amaia’s personal and professional lives ran together in this book and how it was hart to separate one from the other at times. It made for a very character-driven mystery, which doesn’t always happen.

Overall, enjoyable but a lot of elements didn’t sit well with me. Three out of Five Stars.

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Related Posts:
THE INVISIBLE GUARDIAN by Dolores Redondo | What Has Been Read Cannot Be Unread
About Time I Read It: The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo | Maphead’s Book Blog
The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo | Reader Dad
“The Invisible Guardian – The Baztan Trilogy, Book 1” by Dolores Redondo | Mike Finn’s Fiction

Book Review: Mexican WhiteBoy by Matt de la Peña (3/5)

I’m going to be getting into a lot of audiobooks that I got through the summer YA program at my library. It’s a really good way to build up my TBR and I haven’t been great at getting them knocked off. I’m hoping to take a chunk of them down this year, starting here.

Cover image via Amazon

Mexican WhiteBoy by Matt de la Peña

Summary from Amazon:

Danny is tall and skinny. Even though he’s not built, his arms are long enough to give his pitch a power so fierce any college scout would sign him on the spot. Ninety-five mile an hour fastball, but the boy’s not even on a team. Every time he gets up on the mound, he loses it.

But at his private school, they don’t expect much else from him. Danny is brown. Half-Mexican brown. And growing up in San Diego that close to the border means everyone else knows exactly who he is before he even opens his mouth. Before they find out he can’t speak Spanish, and before they realize his mom has blond hair and blue eyes, they’ve got him pegged. But it works the other way too. And Danny’s convinced it’s his whiteness that sent his father back to Mexico.

That’s why he’s spending the summer with his dad’s family. But to find himself, he may just have to face the demons he refuses to see–the demons that are right in front of his face. And open up to a friendship he never saw coming.

This book had a lot going for it, but I don’t think it really delivered what I wanted on any of it. It had sports psychology, racial tensions, complicated family relationships, family secrets, and identity issues. I didn’t feel like any of them had a solid resolution and there were a lot of things left gaping when the book wrapped up. It had a good way of wrapping up the plot line of Danny’s father, but there was a lot that was left very open and didn’t give me a way to think it would be resolved. It was almost as if things got cut to keep the book shorter, but they weren’t cut completely. Also, it felt like it took a while for the book to get started. Maybe it’s because it took me longer to get through the beginning of this book since I didn’t feel engaged with it for a while.

I liked the characters in this book. The teens felt authentic and the ways they talked and interacted felt real. There weren’t many adults in the story and many of them seemed aloof. Danny’s uncles were very interchangeable to me until the very end and I felt silly because I couldn’t remember who was who. There wasn’t a good maternal example in this book. Both Uno and Danny’s moms were very easily dismissed and seemed very out of touch with their kids. It was a little frustrating.

Danny grew a lot in this book and I liked him more as the story went on. He was very emotional but he kept everything inside and wrapped up tightly. At the beginning, I couldn’t understand why he was so closed off, but it begins to make more and more sense as we learn about how out of place he feels and how disconnected he feels to an identity that he also clings to. His friendship with Uno helps him thrive in a way he couldn’t have back home. I worry about how disconnected he seems from school and his mother and that when he goes back to school, he’ll revert to how he was before the summer.

I felt like the most relatable part of Danny’s story was his crush on Liberty. I remember having a crush on a boy at first sight and being too terrified to talk to them. Friends pushing you together can be frustrating and exhilarating at the same time. It was a childhood throw back for me for sure.

Matt de la Peña Image via NPR

ñ

ñ

Danny’s relationship with his father was the most interesting part of the book to me. He idealized his father and his life for so long that he wanted to be just like him. Finding out more about his dad seemed difficult for Danny. He didn’t want to know anything outside of the idealized man he remembered. I don’t want to spoil the ending, but it seemed like things came full circle for Danny in this regard. I thought this plotline had the most closure. Though the letters he was sending seemed to pop up in the middle of the book and seemed a bit odd at first until I got used to that style.

Uno’s story seemed really incomplete to me. I wanted more and it just wasn’t there. I wanted to hear more about Manny and his relationship with his brother. I wanted to hear more about his dad and why Uno wanted to live with him so badly. I wanted to hear more about the trouble he was getting into that he was so desperate to get away from. For being a major character, Uno felt a bit roughly drawn.

My audiobook was narrated by Henry Leyva. I thought he was a good choice for Danny. When I started, I thought there was going to be a lot more Spanish in the book than there ended up being but it was great that Leyva was able to vocalize that well. I liked when Leyva did the voices of the young men as they ragged on each other. The inflection he gave their taunts and boasts was wonderful.

Danny’s stuck in a lot of ways. He’s stuck between his parents and the identities that they both have. He’s also stuck mentally when it comes to baseball. I thought this manifestation of his identity was a bit on the nose, but it was also cleared up and I’m not sure if Danny felt any kind of closure when it came to his dual identity. I think his relationship with Sophia will help him feel more tethered to both sides of his family and I hope it’s a part of himself he doesn’t struggle with as much in the future.

Writer’s Takeaway: This book tried to do a lot and I think it did a disservice to some of those things by not narrowing its focus. I thought it would talk a lot more overtly about identity because of the title and description. Danny didn’t seem to feel as out of place because of his ‘Mexican Whiteboy’ identity but more because of his education. We hear very little about the education or schooling of the other teens because it’s the summer, but we hear a lot about Danny’s education. It seemed to be a divide but without much context. I only wished that the title was a little more indicative of the content.

An enjoyable read, but not a standout to me. Three out of Five Stars.

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Related Posts:
Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Pena | Young Adult Lit Reviews
Educator’s Guide: Mexican Whiteboy | Vamos a leer
Matt de la Peña’s ‘Mexican Whiteboy’ | Library Mix Archive
What It Means To Be Biracial (A Discussion of “Mexican White Boy”) | The Misfortune of Knowing

Book Review: Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui (3/5)

This book got a lot of press in my circles when it was published. I’ve been swimming since I was nine and having a book talk about why humans love water and why so many are drawn to it was appealing. Add to that the fact that it came out around the beginning of COVID when I was reading a lot more and aching for lakes to warm up enough I could swim again, and it made it to the list… eventually. It took a virtual event where Tsui was in conversation with one of my favorite runners, Des Lindon, to finally push it onto my list.

Why we Swim by Bonnie Tsui

Summary from Amazon:

We swim in freezing Arctic waters and piranha-infested rivers to test our limits. We swim for pleasure, for exercise, for healing. But humans, unlike other animals that are drawn to water, are not naturalborn swimmers. We must be taught. Our evolutionary ancestors learned for survival; today, swimming is one of the most popular activities in the world. Why We Swim is propelled by stories of Olympic champions, a Baghdad swim club that meets in Saddam Hussein’s former palace pool, modern-day Japanese samurai swimmers, and even an Icelandic fisherman who improbably survives a wintry six-hour swim after a shipwreck. New York Times contributor Bonnie Tsui, a swimmer herself, dives into the deep, from the San Francisco Bay to the South China Sea, investigating what it is about water that seduces us, and why we come back to it again and again.

Tsui is very drawn to water and easily explains how much it’s been a part of her life since childhood. In many ways, she’s like a lot of friends that I have and teammates I swim with. There were parts of this book that interested me more than others. Some spoke to my own love for the water and others were harder to connect with. I wonder if other swimmers had a similar take on this book. It seemed like it was trying to connect with all people who love the water, but my impression is her major audience was those who participated in organized swimming. Maybe that’s my bias because of who I know.

Tsui inserts herself into as many swimming and water-based traditions as possible. She swims in cold water without a wetsuit, tries her hand at a Japanese water-based martial art, dives for food, and speaks to a shipwreck survivor. She was a great voice to share these experiences because of her own connection with the water. Of course, there’s some bias as she’s someone very passionate about aquatics speaking to those who are passionate about it and writing for an audience who is going to be primarily focused on it as well. I found her swim background relatable and she felt genuine to me.

There were parts of Tsui’s story I related to more than others. I also swim on a masters team, I enjoy open water swimming, and watching Katie Ledecky race fires me up. I saw a lot of my relationship with water and swimming in Tsui’s own. My love for the water wasn’t as heavily influenced by my parents as hers, but we both had early exposure to water and swimming to fuel our passion.

Bonnie Tsui. Image via the New York Times

I thought Tsui’s visit to Iceland was really fun. I’ve been once myself and visited the local public pool so I was familiar with the Icelandic community surrounding pools and swimming. I thought it was fun how she dug into the shipwreck survivor being a folk hero and the community that’s really banded together and focused on swimming as a survival skill. That’s something that’s important to me with a young child. I think the comedian Demetri Martin said it best. “Swimming is a confusing sport because sometimes you do it for fun and sometimes you do it to not die.”

Oddly, I was least engaged with the segment Tsui wrote about competitive swimming. It’s something I’m so close to, that I felt a lot of the things she shared were a bit too common knowledge and didn’t engage me. Other parts of it were really close to personal experiences I’ve had so her view of them felt ‘wrong’ to me. It almost felt like someone else was telling my story and got some of the details wrong.

Humans were not born to swim. We have to learn and be taught while other animals take to the water immediately. There are a lot of reasons why humans learned to swim and why they continue to do so. There are few things that I feel are as universally loved as the water. I’ve been in oceans, lakes, and pools around the world with people I had no common language with but we all understood the joy and serenity we had found in the water. A huge part of our world is covered in water so it’s something that had to develop as a part of almost every culture. Water can never be mastered and should always be respected.

Writer’s Takeaway: I was a bit disappointed in this book. I guess I was looking for something a bit less autobiographical. Tsui put a lot of her own story in the book and her own reasons for swimming. While some of them resonated with me, I didn’t feel it kept with the title and my expectations. It was a bit more of a memoir for a few stretches. I know there’s a fine balance for nonfiction writers between including yourself in the work and it feeling like a textbook. I think this one was a bit too personalized for my taste. I would have liked to get at least one other voice in the book, talking about their personal reasons for swimming and love of the water. Tsui’s voice seemed to dominate too much.

Enjoyable, but not the profound message I was waiting for. Three out of Five Stars.

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Related Posts:
Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui (2020) | Beans Books and Beyond
FIFI Book Club: Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui. This Week: Flow | Fit is a Feminist Issue

Book Review: Sophie’s Choice by William Styron (3/5)

I started this book thinking I needed to finish it for a 2022 challenge, but realized I could take my time with it. I was glad because it was a much slower (and longer) read than I’d originally anticipated. It took me almost three months.

Cover image via Amazon

Sophie’s Choice by William Styron

Summary from Amazon:

Three stories are told: a young Southerner wants to become a writer; a turbulent love-hate affair between a brilliant Jew and a beautiful Polish woman; and of an awful wound in that woman’s past–one that impels both Sophie and Nathan toward destruction.

I had a lot of friends who were shocked I didn’t know how this book ended. I’m very thankful that it wasn’t spoiled for me. I had no idea what I was getting into. However, it took me forever to get there. The first chapter of this book was almost insufferable to me. Stingo is working a dead-end job that he hates and complains about it for 40 pages. It was a rough start and I still don’t know why the book would have started that way. I wish it had moved forward faster. I started finally being interested when Sophie talked about her past, but even those parts seemed to drag a lot at first. There were a lot of side-characters I found frustrating (Leslie!) and didn’t seem to add to the plot at all. It felt like a lot of things were there to distract me from Sophie and her titular choice. The scene in question happened so fast and took me by surprise. I read it twice. In a five hundred page novel, it’s shocking something would happen so fast.

Styron drew some amazing characters. Nathan was a great creation. I think knowing what I know about him by the end, it would be interesting to revisit the scenes with him earlier in the story and see if I can pick up any hint of it. Sophie was great as well. She carries so much sorrow and grief and is also so loving and joyful. Human’s aren’t flat and these characters weren’t either. I thought that development was the highlight of the book for me.

Though I didn’t like him, Nathan was my favorite character. I thought he was the most interesting and he always kept the scenes moving along well and could be counted on to add color and character to whatever was happening. Seeing how he grew in Stingo’s eyes and then how that changed from things Sophie and his brother shared was really interesting and very well written.

If I’d read this book two years ago, I don’t know if I would have reacted to the ending in the same way I do now. Spoilers here for the ‘choice’ so skip this paragraph if you don’t want to read those. Before I’d had a child, this would still have been gut wrenching, but after giving birth and raising my kid, even for their short time here with me so far, this hit differently. Knowing that your child was going to die and suffer and that you were forced to choose that for them, is unbearable. There wasn’t a good choice for Sophie. Anything she did was going to be impossible to live with. Choosing nothing was worse. I hugged my toddler extra close the morning after finishing this book.

William Styron Image via Wikipedia

I thought the book picked up when Sophie revealed the truth about Nathan’s moods. Knowing some of the reasoning for his highs and lows and why he would go between happiness and joy to anger and angst and seem to forget things made a lot of sense and I was interested to learn about Sophie and Nathan’s history together and how their relationship had changed and evolved. It made me angry with Sophie so accompanying that with her history and the anguish she’d been through helped me understand her and her relationship with Nathan.

The first few hundred pages were a drag. I already mentioned the first chapter. But the next few weren’t much easier to read. Meeting Sophie and Nathan was nowhere near as great as really getting to know them as we did later. I was so bored with it. It took me going on vacation and having limited internet to really focus on this book and get into the story enough to power through it. I started to like the story more and it was interesting but it was still a chore.

We never really know another person. Sophie was very transparent with Stingo and told him a lot about her life so that we could know her and understand what she’d been through as much as possible. It’s hard to know why someone does what they do. As we get to know Nathan and Sophie, the end of their story becomes more and more clear and we’re less shocked by it when it happens. It’s hard to get into someone’s head. While it’s a little surprising Stingo could get to know someone as well as he does in a summer, it’s a good example of how many layers a human can have.

Writer’s Takeaway- There were too many times I found myself thinking “How is this relevant to the plot?” while reading this. It took me out of the story and I would lose interest and pick up other things or not read at all. In the end, many times it wasn’t relevant and I felt vindicated. It can be hard to cut out scenes or characters you’re proud of or have an emotional attachment to for some reason. I feel like Styron didn’t want to cut working at McGraw Hill or Leslie Lapidus. I would have enjoyed the book much more without them.

An amazing ending, but far too much buildup to get there. Three out of Five Stars.

This book fulfilled the 1940-1959 time period of the When Are You Reading? Challenge 2023.

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Related Posts:
Sophie’s Choice by William Styron | The Quiet Voice
Sophie’s Choice by William Styron | Lois Weisberg Book Reviews
Top 100 Novels #40: Sophie’s Choice | News from the San Diego Becks

Book Review: Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell (3/5)

This is the first in a run of middling book reviews for me. I haven’t found anything that’s blown me away for a while and I’m in a run of ‘Meh, I guess 3 Stars.’ This is the only one that’s in a series so the only one I can consider is based on my expectation and enjoyment of the first two. The others will have to speak for themselves.

Cover image via Amazon

Any Way the Wind Blows (Simon Snow #3) by Rainbow Rowell

Other books by Rowell reviewed on this blog:

Carry On (Simon Snow #1)
Wayward Son (Simon Snow #2)
Attachments (and Book Club Reflection)
Eleanor & Park
Fangirl
Landline

Summary from Amazon:

In Carry On, Simon Snow and his friends realized that everything they thought they understood about the world might be wrong. And in Wayward Son, they wondered whether everything they understood about themselves might be wrong.

In Any Way the Wind Blows, Simon and Baz and Penelope and Agatha have to decide how to move forward.

For Simon, that means deciding whether he still wants to be part of the World of Mages — and if he doesn’t, what does that mean for his relationship with Baz? Meanwhile Baz is bouncing between two family crises and not finding any time to talk to anyone about his newfound vampire knowledge. Penelope would love to help, but she’s smuggled an American Normal into London, and now she isn’t sure what to do with him. And Agatha? Well, Agatha Wellbelove has had enough.

Any Way the Wind Blows takes the gang back to England, back to Watford, and back to their families for their longest and most emotionally wrenching adventure yet.

I wasn’t really taken in by this story. It seemed to really float around for the first third or so, not much direction going on and the characters didn’t seem to have any direction. Smith wasn’t even introduced for ages and ended up being a major character. It was a long time to define the problems the characters were going to be facing without really bringing them to the forefront. When the main problem did come to light, it seemed far too easy for the characters to overcome it. This book was more about relationships than anything else, but seemed to want to have a central ‘villain’ for the characters to rally around defeating. Compared to the second book (which I remember best), it seemed really forced.

I love Rowell’s characters and they will forever be my favorites. Baz stands out to me. I love the conflict he faces in this series and how he deals with it. He has a life at home that’s challenging and rich. You almost feel like Simon didn’t realize his roommate was two dimensional until the first book and then this series has been a great character development story for Baz. Penny still seems a bit unbelievable to me, but she’s so fun that I can still enjoy her plot line.

Baz had to deal with a lot in this book and I think he handled it well. His relationship with Simon is new so they’re still figuring things out. I loved how patient he was with Simon and how he was able to deal with some of his own insecurities without having them affect his relationship with Simon. I also thought he was really sweet in helping so much in his family crisis. With his age difference to his half siblings and step-mom, it might have been easy for him to go back to London and focus on school and his relationships instead of staying with his father and helping to find Daphne. The layers to his character in this book were great.

I related most to Simon in this book. When I’ve started new relationships, I’m always so unsure of myself. This applies to romantic, platonic, and professional relationships. I’m always unsure of how everything I do will be perceived and if I’ve overstepped any boundaries or forgotten to do something, etc. Simon’s insecurities and questioning in his relationship with Baz resonated with me a lot and I empathized with him.

Rainbow Rowell Image via Goodreads

The last third of the book, where there was the most action, was my favorite part. I think the characters are best when they’re interacting with each other so when they were all off on their own, dealing with their own subplots, I wasn’t as invested. This group make a great team and when they came together, it was fun and hard to pause.

The beginning, when everyone was apart, was really dull to me. I wasn’t too invested in Penny or Agatha’s plotlines and I felt these were focused on more in the beginning. Agatha’s personality has always seemed flat to me and Penny seems like a caricature. I enjoyed the parts where Simon and Baz came together and talked about their problems. But with each character on their own, without the chemistry, I couldn’t get into it.

Euan Morton narrated this audiobook and wow. Just wow. He was amazing. I’m glad he’s been consistently narrating this series because his take on each character is part of my mental picture of them now. His differences in tone between Simon and Baz are great and made it easy to remember who was narrating when I’d pick the audiobook back up. If there are more in this series and if I decide to listen to them, I hope Morton is the narrator.

There was a lot of romance and romantic relationships in this story. A lot of them were unlikely pairings. Simon and Baz are a known ‘enemies to lovers’ entity, but there are two more romances in this story that are new and I’d argue also very unlikely. I was a little frustrated at Agatha’s romance because it seemed a lot like Simon’s and I think that cheapened it. It was something she didn’t see coming until it smacked her in the face and then she took to it without question. I think that’s rare and seeing it happen to two main characters in a series was a bit too much for me. I liked Penny’s romance better. I thought it had a nice build and seemed to fit her personality well. Early 20s is a time I know most of my peers were seeking companionship so this didn’t seem forced to me. It was nice to see people finding someone they could share a part of their lives with. Though I’m not sure I liked the pivot from previously action-driven plots.

Writer’s Takeaway: What made these characters work for me was how they balanced each other. When they weren’t together, it seemed ‘off.’ Agatha was apathetic, Penny was neurotic, Simon was self-defeating, and Baz was stressed. When they’re together, Penny’s energy lifts Simon and Baz’s stress is calmed by Agatha. Having characters feed off each other and create a community is part of the story and keeping them apart affected that for me.

My least favorite of this series, unfortunately. Three out of Five Stars.

This book fulfilled the 200-Present time period of the When Are You Reading? Challenge 2023.

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Related Posts:
Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell | Bickering Book Reviews
Any Way the Wind Blows Review | Fangirl Fury
Book Review: Any Way the Wind Blows | Lil’V AKA Viv Lu

Book Review: Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline (4/5)

I was skeptical of this one. I often find the sequel to fun stand-alone books are huge disappointments. In my mind, the bar was set low for this one. And it didn’t change my skeptical mind, but it still delighted me. When I needed a book for my vacation, this seemed like a good one to pick up and I’m glad I did.

Cover image via Amazon

Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline

Other books by Cline reviewed on this blog:

Ready Player One (5/5)
Armada (3/5)

Summary from Amazon:

Days after winning OASIS founder James Halliday’s contest, Wade Watts makes a discovery that changes everything.
Hidden within Halliday’s vaults, waiting for his heir to find, lies a technological advancement that will once again change the world and make the OASIS a thousand times more wondrous—and addictive—than even Wade dreamed possible.
With it comes a new riddle, and a new quest—a last Easter egg from Halliday, hinting at a mysterious prize.
And an unexpected, impossibly powerful, and dangerous new rival awaits, one who’ll kill millions to get what he wants.
Wade’s life and the future of the OASIS are again at stake, but this time the fate of humanity also hangs in the balance.

Part of the magic of the first book was learning about the OASIS. Now that we know it and how it works, there wasn’t that element of surprise with this book and I knew that lack would make this one feel a little hollow. I wasn’t wrong. As much as Cline tried to inject new elements into the OASIS and Wade with the ONI, it wasn’t the same. There were new worlds and a new adventure, but it was also the same thing all over again.

Wade and Samantha’s relationship seemed really forced. I thought the breakup they spoke about (not a spoiler, it’s in the first chapter) seemed realistic, but the ways they interacted as the book went on seemed more and more forced. Wade himself seemed hollow this time around. He didn’t have the same motivations we saw in the first book and he seemed to be [ironically] more of a static videogame character than a dynamic person. His feelings were lacking and his emotions were minimal. Aech, Soto, and Samantha seemed more real to me this time around while Wade felt like a mouthpiece to describe the changes that had happened since the first book.

Og was a great character in this book. He didn’t appear much, but when he did, his voice of reason was welcome and he was just what Wade and the others needed. He was the ‘wise and trusted advisor’ to the team- like Gandalf. I wished he got more screen time, but I think given his condition, what we saw of him was appropriate.

Wade was a bit robotic in this book and it made it hard to sympathize with him. Add on top of that how often it felt like he was explaining technology to us and it made him feel more and more like a mouthpiece. Soto, Aech, and Samantha felt a bit more human to me, but I think that was really in comparison. The characters were not a focus in this book; it was much more about the plot. As someone who likes character development, that wasn’t great. However, the fast paced plot did help me enjoy it more despite this.

Ernest Cline Image via G4TV.com

The fast paced nature of this book was fun. There was a time limit and that pushed the characters to act and it kept me feeling like I was on the edge of my seat. The beginning felt like too much backstory to me. But once the clock started, I loved the pace the book moved.

The ending was a bit odd to me. This might be a little spoiler-y so please skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to hear about it. I wasn’t ready for such a hard shift to artificial intelligence. I thought the focus on the ONI was a final step in virtual reality was cool, but I wasn’t ready for brain copying. These books are a fun Sci-Fi to me with a lot of nostalgic throwbacks. This was a little more Altered Carbon than I was ready for and it took me out of the fun nature of the book. It wasn’t a bad ending, per say, but it seemed out of line with the other parts of the book to me.

Very often with technologies, we don’t know exactly what the consequences can be. I don’t think anyone ever thought social media would become the political and reporting tool it has today. Similarly, Wade didn’t know what the ONI could do for people, either positive or negative. The book showed a good balance of both, but I think the focus was on the intended consequences and risks of a new technology. The ONI required users to give up a lot of themselves to use it and one glitch put a lot of people in danger.

Writer’s Takeaway: Parts of this book fell into a major ‘telling’ spell to me. Cline was describing what the new technologies could do and how they worked to a point where it sometimes felt like reading a news article on a new discovery. It was very heavy at the front of the novel, catching the reader up since the first installment. This is a hard balance when you’re writing a different time period or different reality and I would have preferred to see it woven in more through Wade’s eyes.

An enjoyable read, but nothing like the first book. Four out of Five Stars.

This book, my first of 2023, fulfills the Future time period of the When Are You Reading? Challenge.

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Related Posts:
Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline | Pages Unbound Reviews
*Spoiler Free Review* Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline | The Bookish Kirra
Ready Player Two, by Ernest Cline | Bibliotropic
Book Review: Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline | Reading with My Eyes
Ready Player Two. Ernest Cline’s Sequel to Ready Player One | Cherylcan’s Blog