Review: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

"Madness, in my admittedly limited experience, is accompanied by no superpowers; being mentally unwell doesn't make you loftily intelligent any more than having the flu does. So I know I should've been a brilliant detective or whatever, but in actuality I was one of the least observant people I'd ever met."

~p. 133

For a few years now, every time I passed this book at the bookstore or in the library, I would think: I really need to read that, but then I wouldn't pick it up and I would forget. I was finally spurred into action by reading his latest book, The Anthropocene Reviewed, which is nonfiction and which I loved.  Finally, I have completed reading the works of John Green. I have to say that I really loved this book even though I still think of The Fault in Our Stars as my absolute favorite. Aza and her best friend Daisy are loveable, memorable, and perfectly flawed characters. I even enjoyed the nod to Sherlock with Aza's last name being Holmes and her and Daisy's attempt to solve the "case" of the missing local billionaire, whose son Aza happens to know and with whom she might be falling in love. But Aza has more on her plate than a "regular" hormonal teenager--she is also dealing with her own mental health issues, which do not seem to be improving. 

I really did enjoy the stories within stories, the multitude of facts, and the wonderfully selected quotes that are, for me, the hallmark of John Green's prose. I would recommend Turtles to anyone interested in learning more about what living with a mental health issue is like, whether or not you are a regular reader of Y.A.--I think this book has a broader appeal than its target audience. 

Review: The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow

 

When pressed for your favorite or the most memorable character of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, I doubt anyone would mention Mary Bennet. Mary is overlooked by readers, the other characters in the novel, and by the author herself. Thankfully, Janice Hadlow has taken a closer look at Mary and given her a voice and story that is all her own.

You may remember Mary Bennet as being the dowdily-dressed, middle-sister who perhaps desperately wanted to be thought astute and erudite. The Other Bennet Sister explores her background, and what it would really be like growing up with such sisters as Jane and Elizabeth to overshadow you and Kitty and Lydia being young, fun, and boy-crazy. Mary sets out to distinguish herself from her sisters by educating herself, since her mother will not hire a governess. Mary desperately longs for her father's approval--but true to the original novel, Mr. Bennet remains as aloof and unaware of his own family as ever (this is what got him into trouble with Lydia--but with Mary, it is just a bit heartbreaking as she will always clash with her mother and just wanted the approval of at least one of her parents). 

Mary's story begins with events that take place before Pride and Prejudice, then some events that take place during the novel--leading up to Charlotte's engagement to Mr. Collins. However, the bulk of the novel takes place a few years after the end of Pride and Prejudice, Mary finds herself a guest in a series of houses and learns something different from each of them. Finally, she ends up in London with her relations, the Gardiners, and that is where things really begin to happen for Mary.

I have to say that I ridiculously loved and enjoyed this novel! Jane Austen is, of course, one of my favorite authors, even if Pride and Prejudice isn't my favorite of her novels, I was really happy to read about one of her background characters being taken off the shelf, dusted off, and given new life. I liked the little "Easter egg" quotes from Austen and other authors that Hadlow leaves here and there. I have to say that I also enjoyed the return of the vicious Caroline Bingley. She may have been a very minor threat to Lizzie Bennet, who had Wickham and Lady Catherine De Bourgh (who does, also, make a cameo here) to contend with, but to Mary, Caroline is a much bigger bully and I like that eventually Mary finds her fight and stands up to Caroline. 

To me, Mary's journey to finding her courage and her own happy ending was every bit as fulfilling as I had hoped it would be. 

I would recommend this book to fans of Jane Austen or fans of Pride and Prejudice--even if you only like the BBC miniseries from the 90's with Colin Firth. 

Also, if you're interested in reading other Pride and Prejudice spin-offs, I shared some of my favorites with BookTok (on TikTok):

@libraryscience_lemon

#BookTok #bookrecommemdation #janeausten #prideandprejudice #jobaker #longbourn #janicehadlow #theotherbennetsister #book

♬ original sound - Molly Miller

Review: Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

“Nathaniel laughed in amazement. When she looked at him, she found him watching her, his eyes shining, It was the same way he had looked at her at the ball, when he had seen her in her gown for the first time.
‘What is it?’ she asked.
‘I knew you talked to books. I didn’t realize they listened.’
‘They do more than just listen.’ The floorboards creaked as Elizabeth stepped inside. She breathed in and out, tasting the dust in the air, then closed her eyes, envisioning the Royal Library as though it were her own body, its lofty vaults, its secret rooms and countless mysteries, the magic flowing through its halls.” ~ p. 416

Image Source: Amazon

Sorcery of Thorns is everything I never knew I needed from a YA fantasy novel.

There are daring swordfights, feral librarians, books that bite and sing opera, dashing, young sorcerers, a demon with a heart of gold—this book was a pure joy to read from beginning to end.

It is set in Austermeer, a nineteenth-century European-inspired world where sorcerers draw their magic by striking bargains with demons (of the Otherworld).

In Austermeer there are also the Great Libraries—not ordinary libraries, but those that house grimoires or books of magic imbued with demonic power.

Elisabeth is no stranger to these books—in fact, as the only person who grew up in one of the Great Libraries since infancy (she was abandoned on the library’s doorstep), she counts the grimoires among her friends.

However, after Elisabeth defeats a Malefict (a grimoire that has basically lost its marbles and has become a book monster) and loses her beloved Director all in one night, she finds herself declared an enemy of the libraries and must leave her beloved Summershall.

Although she has been raised to be deeply prejudiced against sorcerers, Elisabeth finds herself befriending the young, brooding, handsome, and mysterious sorcerer Nathanial Thorn and his demon butler (Silas) who would put Carson from Downton Abbey to shame with his fastidiousness. 

As Elisabeth spends more time in the capitol, she uncovers an evil plot involving all of the libraries and must fight to defend her world and everything she holds dear—but along the way realizes that her time with Nathanial and Silas has changed her and her view of sorcery forever.

Sorcery of Thorns was beautifully written and such fun to read. I do not think this book will have sequels (which is okay—YA fantasy tends to over-do it on long series; don’t get me wrong—I love a good series, but not everything needs to be a Harry Potter-length epic), but it has a deliciously open ending and I definitely would not say no to learning more about Silas and the Otherworld.

Also, I have to say that Nathanial Thorn’s character being somewhat based on Lord Byron was

Image Source: The British Library

probably one of my favorite things about this novel. When he jokes that unrequited love would not have worked out for him and that he probably would have started writing poetry, which would have been so much worse than necromancy (p. 406) I had a bit of a former-English-major laughing fit. Elisabeth and Nathanial are my new favorite fictional power couple.

She brings the sword-fighting, librarian badassery and he brings the dark magic and the sass.

10 out of 10 would recommend!

Review: Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman

Favorite Quotes:

"Such was the contrarian nature of Tess--especially against Seraphina--that she would have tossed out ten babies and drunk their bathwater rather than take a hint. She would have cut off someone else's nose and swapped it with her own, the better to spite everybody's face. She would have walked twenty miles backward through a snow storm for a bowl of bitterness if there were a proverb about that--and maybe even more so if there wasn't. The proverbs were going to have to keep up with Tess. She outstripped them at every turn." ~ p. 84

"Even though she knew, or thought she knew, that the little quigutl was humoring her, Tess clasped a hand to her heart (she felt it beating even through Florian's jacket) and wished with all her might. Not for the classical piratical standbys--vengeance, fame, or fortune--but that she might shed the past like a skin and walk on with nothing, empty and new. The breeze tickled her newly shorn scalp, as if in answer. It seemed a good sign. She would walk on one more day." ~ p. 152

Synopsis:
Tess of the Road picks up a few years after the events of Shadow and Scale. It is set in the familiar world of Seraphina--with dragons who can take human form and the quigutl (a subspecies of the great dragons that have hands instead of wings). Our intrepid heroine is Tess Dombegh, the younger half sister of Seraphina, who has a cameo role in the novel. Tess's story is very different from Seraphina's. Tess is troubled, prickly, and refuses nearly all of Seraphina's attempts to help her. She may be very young, but she has already lived through quite a lot. Her backstory unfolds slowly throughout the novel, though it's clear from the beginning that she is viewed as "ruined" or a fallen woman by her family, especially her mother. Finally, with the help of a new pair of boots from Seraphina, Tess does exactly what she needs to do--run away from home. She is joined by her childhood friend, a quigutl, Pathka, and together they set off to find one of the World Serpents--part of quigutl storytelling and mysticism, but Tess believes in Pathka and his dreams of the giant serpent. On the road, Tess will find more than giant serpents. She will find pain and hunger, embarrassment, but also kindness and understanding, until she will eventually find her calling and herself.

My Two Cents:
This book features some heavy subject matter (not that Seraphina or Shadow Scale did not, but Tess much more so than the other two). You can tell right away that Tess is someone who has known great loss--and eventually her story is told. I appreciated the slow revelation of Tess's devastation, her out of wedlock, teenage pregnancy, the loss of her baby, and her realization that she is strong enough to keep moving no matter what has happened to her or what she has done in the past. One thing I could not get off my mind while reading this book was the connection to another Tess--Tess of the D'Urbervilles. At first I thought there would be no other connection besides the very tenuous similarity in the title and the application of "fallen woman" to the main character, but more and more similarities popped up as I read on. However, I will say that this is definitely not a straight retelling of Tess of D'Urbervilles. It seemed more like Hartman creating a new Tess to reclaim some of the themes of previous one and setting it in the world of the great dragons, quigutl, and giant serpents. Maybe if Hardy's Tess had had a talking, reptilian, childhood friend and a half-dragon older sister, things would have gone a bit better for her. Also...there was no reiteration of Angel Clare for our Tess of the road. THANK GOODNESS. (Unless you count Brother Jacomo, who is not a love interest, but like Angel skips out on seminary).
All in all, I absolutely loved Tess and her story. Hartman deftly weaves sorrow and loss into a tale of adventure and talking reptiles.

Up next I will be reading The King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo. I can't wait to return to the world of the Grisha! Nikolai was one of the more intriguing side characters of the Grisha trilogy, so it will be interesting to now follow the thread of his own story.

Review: Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman

**Note: all of my reviews have some spoilers**

Favorite Quotes: 

"'And you?' she said, leering. 'What do you do?'
'I do what I have always done,' I said, suddenly realizing the truth of it. 'I reach across and bring the worlds together.'" ~p. 581-2

"We produced the most unholy cacophony, like fighting tomcats or the blast furnaces of the Infernum, The music brought tears to my eyes, not because it was teeth-grindingly dissonant but because they were all so swept up by it. They reached for each other as they sang, with hands and tails--one wrapped around my ankle--and with their crooning notes. If I closed my eyes, I could hear what they were doing, tendrils of sound curling and responding to each other, like pea shoots spiraling around a stake....This was art, quigutl art, and in some oblique fashion it was what I'd been looking for, what Dame Okra had once mocked. I'd found my people and they weren't even mine." ~p. 427

"'Soft-mouthed Mootya, you mean,' said the serving girl in Goreddi...'If you expect us to roar at each other, you'll be disappointed. We've transposed Mootya into sounds our soft mouths can make, but it's the same language.' Kiggs was enough of a scholar to know this already, but he bowed his head politely. The girl stared at him, her eyes bulging, 'That's why you know our names for things, like Tanamoot or ard,' she continued unnecessarily, 'whereas in hard-mouth Mootya, ard sounds like this,' She threw her head back and screamed. The circle of saarantrai, who'd been chatting together, went silent. 'You're screaming at a prince of Goredd,' said Ikat, crossing the lawn and taking the girls by the shoulders as if to lead her away, 'It's all right,' said Kiggs, trying to smile, 'We were discussing linguistics.'" ~p. 349-350


Synopsis:
Shadow Scale is the sequel to Seraphina and chronicles her journey across the continent to find the other half-dragons that she has been able to see in her "garden" and in visions all her life. Seraphina is running out of time to find her own kind and finding them is not easy--half-dragons technically shouldn't exist and must essentially remain in hiding except for in the city-state of Porphyry where they are accepted and/or revered. Seraphina sets out to find them all for the mounting war effort between the Old Ard (a group of extremist dragons that wants to wipe out humans, half-dragons, and any tolerant dragons) and the Southlands--apparently they can make together what is called St. Abaster's trap, which would repel the attacking dragons and save many lives. However, she is also looking for each of them to hopefully connect, to find the family and acceptance that she never knew--always living in fear of being discovered. Seraphina's journey takes her through the Southlands and Porphyry and even Tanamoot. What she does not account for is the one half-dragon she never wanted to find. Jannoula--who had invaded her mind as a child and has now begun to control the minds of the other half-dragons and everyone Seraphina loves and cares for. Seraphina must save her world not only from the extremist group, but from an enemy within--an enemy that dresses herself in light and sets herself up as a Saint. To do this, Seraphina must change her way of thinking about her own mind and unleash powers she was never aware of before.


My Two Cents:
The world of Seraphina, continued and expanded in Shadow Scale, is truly one of the most interesting and compelling fantasy worlds centered around dragons that I have ever read. Goredd, the other countries, their history, culture, and languages--are all fascinating. My absolute favorite characters in this sequel were the quigutl (essentially they are a techie, lisping, lizard-like, sub-species of dragon and wholly adorable). I wouldn't mind reading a quigutl novella. I enjoyed Seraphina's journey through the world immensely and her constant, continual struggle against Jannoula (Abdo's as well). I loved the transformation of Seraphina's "garden of grotesques" to the living breathing inhabitants, rather than the avatars, and their stories. And of course, I just love the dragons--Ardmagar Comonot, Eskar, the hatchling Brisi (featured above in the quote about the dragon language Mootya). My only complaint is that the writing and plot weren't quite as tight as Seraphina. Well, with a 587 page book I know that may be a tall order. Maybe it was just me, but I felt like there could have been enough material in there to split it and make it two books--and then maybe we could have seen a bit more of Tanamoot, the quigutl, and the other fabulous places/people that Seraphina meets. I have to say that the final showdown between Jannoula and Seraphina and the other half-dragons was epic. It's not every day that I giant metallic slug (?) saves the day, but that's Goredd for you!

Next up, I have decided to read Rachel Hartman's latest, Tess of the Road, which was nominated for a Hugo. I can't wait! (Hoping for more quigutl!)