Random Collection of Short Reviews

Mother of Eden
by Chris Beckett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Such a fascinating world, with so much to say about humanity, society, power, politics, etc. But it never says anything in an in-your-face sort of way. It just presents the world and people and lets you draw your own, educated conclusions, based on how things occur.

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Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal

by Conor Grennan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was so caught up in this that I stayed up until 2 AM on a work night to read is straight through.

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The Hating Game
by Sally Thorne

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book tackles a lot of common romance tropes in the most enjoyable fashion, including office place romance and enemies to lovers. It’s funny and quirky, which makes it stand out in the deep sea of romance.

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Children of Virtue and Vengeance
by Tomi Adeyemi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is magnificent and emotionally brutal. I ugly cried not once, but twice while reading this story. I should write an entire novel about how much I enjoy this series, but I’m exhausted and wrecked. So this is all for now.

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The Astonishing Color of After
by Emily X.R. Pan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gorgeous writing. Difficult topic, handled well. Elements of magical realism. Lots of insight into Taiwanese culture. Overall, this was a good read with a unique format and a lot of moving parts, but it all came together beautifully in the end.

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Internment by Samira Ahmed
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*still sobbing*

10 stars.

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Orange Is the New Black

Orange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoy the show, so I figured it was finally time to read the book and see how the two compare. I thought it was interesting and well-written, and the book actually made prison seem less scary than I expected.

It was interesting comparing this to the show, which obviously moves in a different direction and carries on for far longer. It also gave me a lot to think about, in terms of how ineffective the penal system can be.

Overall, and I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I actually prefer the show over the book. Yes. Blashphemy. I did just speak words that almost no librarian will ever utter, but it's true. The show shares information from a lot of different perspectives, which just gives it more depth and grit than you get from only Piper's POV.

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