The Sun Is Also a Star

The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (2016)

It's Natasha's last day in the United States. She's lived here since she was 8 and it's the only home she knows, but her family is here illegally and they're being deported tonight. Daniel is the son of immigrants who want the best life possible for him, so he's on his way to an interview for Yale even though he doesn't especially want to go there or become a doctor like his parents want him to. When Natasha and Daniel meet, spending time together becomes more important than anything else they are supposed to do, but the clock is ticking.

Told in alternating points of view by Natasha and Daniel, there are occasional chapters told by those around them including Natasha's father, Daniel's brother, a security guard at the immigration office, and an attorney. The way their lives intersect will make you think about destiny, fate, coincidence, and how everything in the universe leads up to a single moment.

Natasha is ruled by logic and reason. She loves science and math and believes that everything happens for a reason, but those reasons are cause-and-effect and coincidences, not magical. Daniel is a poet, and although his parents have already decided he'll go to Yale and become a doctor, he would rather follow his passions. He feels like he and Natasha were meant to meet today, and had they not met the way they did, surely they would have just crossed paths later. He believes in destiny. Despite their very different views they are inextricably drawn to each other, and watching how this plays out is pretty delightful.

Among the issues tackled are race and immigration. Daniel's Korean family own a store that sells black hair-care products, though his family members are fairly racist. His brother is simply horrible when he meets Natasha, and his father isn't much better. Natasha has bigger problems than these assholes though, since she's about to get kicked out of the country by a system she sees as unfair. She says "If people who were actually born here had to prove they were worthy enough to live in America, this would be a much less populated country." She also points out: "America's not really a melting pot. It's more like one of those divided metal plates with separate sections for starch, meat, and veggies." I felt so bad for Natasha, and of course it's worse to think about how real this situation is for so many people in America. I can't imagine being forced to leave the country I grew up in for a place that is considered dangerous and devoid of opportunities to have a fulfilling life.

The short chapters, short sentences, and snappy dialogue propel the reader through the story quickly, and because of the tension surrounding Natasha's impending deportation you'll just want to keep turning pages to find out what happens. This story asks a lot of big questions about the direction our lives take. It will give you a lot to think about, and I suspect you won't forget these characters or their stories anytime soon.

My Sister Rosa

My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier (2016)

Che is from Australia, but his family has been moving around for years, and now they are going to New York. His parents start up socially responsible companies and sell them, and his ten-year-old little sister is a psychopath. Literally. Che has been trying to keep her in check for years, alone, because nobody else will believe him that she is dangerous. With her blond hair and dimples, she's a picture of innocence and knows how to charm everyone. But Che isn't fooled. He just hopes he can keep her under control before she really hurts someone.

Just released in November, I've had my eye on this book for a while. The premise is incredibly intriguing, and I'm happy to report that Larbalestier does an amazing job delivering on it. Rosa is creepy! Super creepy! And there's more going on in the family that makes it even more complicated than it seems at first. I loved everything about it.

This is supposed to be a book for teens, and it definitely has teen appeal. Che is seventeen, and in addition to his problems with his sister, he's going through some typical teenage boy issues. He's really into boxing, but his parents think it's too violent so they've made him promise not to spar. But he really wants to and knows it will improve his overall skill at the sport. He also desperately wants a girlfriend and has a huge crush on Sojourner, another boxer at his gym. But she's super religious and said up front that even though she likes him, she won't date someone who isn't also religious. So, typical teenage boy struggles on top of the atypical ones. But the writing is more dense than is typical in a teen book and it's not as quick to read. Still, I read the last 150 pages in one sitting because I couldn't put it down.

The way the story of Rosa progresses is incredibly well done. She manipulates everyone around her to her advantage and it was totally believable. Her conversations with Che, who she is pretty honest with about her peculiarities, were positively chilling. He tries to teach her to have empathy for other people, but all she is doing is trying to appear like a regular person and it's clear she's been honing her acting skills since she realized that she's different from most people. I was so worried for Che and the people he cared about, and wanted to smack his parents for being so disinterested, and so convinced that Rosa is just precocious.

I was very happy that, just like in Liar, Larbalestier included diversity elements, but even more so in this book. Sojourner is black and has two moms, another friend is gender fluid, and another is Korean-American and a lesbian. But none of this is a big deal, or even especially surprising to Che, though he is slightly confused about the gender fluid character. (Not confused in a bad way though, he totally likes Elon, he's just unsure what gender this person is and has to have it explained to him.) I hate to even mention these elements because it shouldn't be a big deal, but I think it's important to give a shoutout to books that normalize non-white-heterosexual-cisgender characters. In this book they are all just people who are well-rounded and have hobbies and interests and just happen to be a minority. There was a great conversation between Che's friend Leilani and her girlfriend about whether or not she is "really" Korean since she was born in America and doesn't look very Korean, and because her Korean dad was adopted by a white American couple. There are so many conversations like this in real life and it's so important to talk about this kind of thing.

In summary, you should read this right now! Just go immediately to a bookstore or library and get it as soon as possible.

Top Ten Books I'm Looking Forward To For The First Half of 2017

Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is books we're looking forward to for the first half of 2017. This usually means news books that are coming out during that time, but I honestly haven't been paying attention because I'm so wrapped up on what I want to read in the near future and the books I've been wanting to read and haven't gotten to. I mostly can't even think about the books that haven't been published yet that I might want to read.

However, I do have things I plan to read in the first half of 2017. I'm participating in the Classic Book a Month Challenge, and I'm also planning to do a TBR Pile Challenge again. There are also some other books I've been wanting to read and I don't see myself getting to them in the next few weeks. So let's see what I'm most interested in reading in the first half of 2017!

1. The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian
This will be published in January and is the only book on this list that hasn't been published yet. I don't even know what it's about and it doesn't matter because I'll read anything that Chris Bohjalian writes.

2. Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I've wanted to read this for years and it was on my TBR Pile Challenge at least once and I didn't get to it, but now it's on the Classic Book a Month Challenge and I'm determined to read it this April.

3. The Painter by Peter Heller
I loved his novel The Dog Stars but have been wary of reading another of his books out of fear that it won't compare. But a coworker read this one and loved it.

4. To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey
Similarly, I loved The Snow Child but hadn't heard much about this one so I wondered if maybe it wasn't as good. Recently though I've a few reports that it is, in fact, excellent.

5. A Little Life by Hanya Yanigahara
Again I've avoided reading something that sounds really good because it is long. I'm going to try and tackle it this winter. Somehow I think I have more time in the winter.

6. Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
This nonfiction book was already a big deal before the election, but now even more people are reading it to try and understand the people who voted for He Who Shall Not Be Named. I've wanted to read it ever since I heard about it but since I have to pace myself with nonfiction I still haven't gotten to it.

7. Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson
Ok, I lied. This comes out in January also. So there's two on my list to be published in 2017. The Kind Worth Killing was so good!

8. The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
A classic that I haven't read, this title keeps popping up recently. I've been reading a lot of articles about race and this sounds like a must-read for understanding racial issues in the U.S.

9. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
This is the May pick for the Classic Book a Month Challenge and is also about race in America. I don't know much about it though of course I've heard of it. I'm very interested to read a play that isn't by Shakespeare.

10. In Your Dreams by Kristan Higgins
There are a number of romance authors I want to read more of - Sarah MacLean, Courtney Milan, Beverly Jenkins - but I'm not sure what I'll read next from each of them. I know the next Kristan Higgins book I want to read though, because it's next in the Blue Heron series that I've been enjoying.

Hopefully I'll use this list to guide me this winter and spring so I don't have to put any of these books on my list for the second half of 2017!

Highly Illogical Behavior

Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley (2016)

Three years ago, Solomon Reed stripped out of his clothes and lay down in a fountain at his school in front of everyone. He hasn't left his house since. Lisa Praytor is determined to get out of her town, and her escape route is getting into the second-best psychology program in the country. To do so, she needs to submit an essay about a personal experience with mental illness. She remembers Solomon, and when she learns he's agoraphobic she decides he'll be her project and she sets out to befriend him, dragging her boyfriend Clark along with her. Lisa is surprised when she meets Solomon and genuinely likes him. He hasn't had a friend since he left school and is a bit suspicious but soon the three become good friends. But hanging over them all is the fact that Lisa befriended him deceitfully for a project because of her own ambitions.

Lisa connects with Solomon through his mother who is a dentist. The first day Lisa has an appointment with her, she goes home and tells Solomon that she met a former classmate of his who was asking about him. This immediately put me off because it's such a breach of privacy - haven't you heard of HIPPA, Solomon's mom? But apparently Lisa said to tell Solomon she said hi, so I guess I'll accept that. Anyhow, I got over it and that was really my only criticism of the book.

I really thought I was going to dislike Lisa because of her initial deceit. She was just using Solomon, but she genuinely liked him and wanted to be his friend once she got to know him a little. I also understand the desperate need to get out of your hometown. And she did actually help him quite a bit, mostly through her supportive friendship, but also through some more professional means. For instance, when he had a panic attack she sat with him and walked him through a breathing exercise that helped him quite a bit. I'm not sure where she picked it up, but it seems a pretty basic strategy (which, come to think of it, begs the question...why didn't Solomon already know to do that?) Lisa and Clark's relationship was troubled and without giving anything away I'll just say that the way it developed was not what I expected.

Solomon was a pretty good character, with a great sense of humor and a deep love of Star Trek: Next Generation. I liked his insights regarding his mental illness. "Most people would rather do nothing than risk doing the wrong thing - that's something Solomon learned a long time before shutting them all out." His family was very supportive, even to the point that his parents no longer made him see a therapist. He convinced them he did better without therapy, and they accepted that, though they continued to worry and hope he would go outside again someday. I especially liked his grandmother, who was a huge gossip.

This was a very short quick read which I read most of in one day, but it was also quite satisfying. It's probably not the sort of book that will stick with me, but I enjoyed it a lot while I was reading it and I'd recommend it to those looking for representations of mental illness in teen books.

My True Love Gave To Me

My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories edited by Stephanie Perkins (2014)

This is a collection of short stories, mostly Christmas themed, and all with a bit of romance, written by some of the most popular authors who write for teens. Out of the twelve authors in the collection, I've read books by six and have heard great things about four others, leaving only two authors I hadn't heard of before. What a treat! These stories run the gamut from realistic fiction to fantasy, with many somewhere in between.

One of the new-to-me authors I was excited about was Kelly Link and her story "The Lady and the Fox" did not disappoint. Miranda's mother is in prison in Thailand so Miranda spends every Christmas with her godparents, the Honeywells. Every time it snows on Christmas a mysterious man appears outside the house and Miranda is determined to find out who he is. Matt de la Peña, another author I'd heard of but never read, wrote one called "Angels in the Snow," which I think was one of my favorites in the collection. A young guy is housesitting over his college Christmas break because he can't afford to go home, but he also can't afford to eat. He befriends a young woman in the building but tries to hide his hunger from her. "The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor was a fantasy, fairy-tale like and totally beautiful and kind of weirdish in a really good way. She's the author of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series, which has just jumped up a few notches on my imaginary TBR list.

Those were all on the more serious side of the collection, comparatively. "Welcome to Christmas, CA" by Kiersten White (who I hadn't heard of before) takes place in a diner when a new, magical, and definitely good-looking cook is hired. The food bits were super fun, although there was a fairly serious subplot, and a pretty touching story about Maria's family. Another great one was "Star of Bethlehem" by Ally Carter in which a teenage girl impulsively trades plane tickets with a similar-looking girl from Sweden who wants to fly to New York instead of going to Oklahoma to visit her long-distance boyfriend. For reasons we learn later, our protagonist is trying to escape her life and although she knows her scheme is not going to work she's willing to try. So she goes to Oklahoma and meets the Swedish girl's boyfriend and his family.

So far, all these great stories I've mentioned were by authors I hadn't even read before. But there are also authors in this collection that I already knew I liked! "Polaris is Where You'll Find Me" by Jenny Han is about a human living among elves at the North Pole and doesn't quite fit in. It sounds like the movie Elf, but it's totally not. (Although I also love Elf.) It was fun and light and festive. "It's a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown" by editor Stephanie Perkins is about a somewhat-accidental acquisition of a Christmas tree by a teenage girl, and the boy who helps her bring it to her apartment that doesn't actually have room for it. Rainbow Rowell's "Midnights" began the collection with a romance that takes place on several New Year's Eves and, like her books, it's hard to describe why it is so wonderful.

This is the problem with short story collections. I just end up summarizing what the stories are about as briefly as possible and take up a ton of space just with that, without even going into everything I like about them. And that's not even all of them. (I didn't even tell you about "Krampuslauf" by Holly Black or "Your Temporary Santa" by David Levithan even though I liked both of them a lot.) I liked that there was a variety of styles and genres included, and that the stories covered Christmas, New Year's Eve, Advent, and Hanukkah, and some of the characters were Jewish and the romances were between a girl and boy or a boy and another boy or a girl and someone who is maybe not quite human. And although they're mostly festive and fun and light they also touch on serious issues, and one asks a question that I keep thinking about and can't answer. ("Would you rather be great at something you like, or just ok at something you love?" Man, I don't know!)

If you just like fantasy or just like realistic fiction you'd have to pick and choose from this collection, which I recommend if you recognize the authors from your most-loved genres. But if - like me - you read in various genres you'll probably enjoy the whole thing as much as I did.

Top New-To-Me Authors I Read in 2016

Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. Today's topic is the top ten authors I read for the first time in 2016. It's always fun to look back at my Goodreads list for the year, because I'm often surprise by what I find. It turns out I read a lot of authors for the first time this year, so it was just a matter of narrowing it down to the ones I liked the most and who I'm most likely to read again.

As it turns out, there were eight that really stood out. I spent some time waffling around trying to pick another two - and there were definitely other books by authors I read for the first time and really liked - but they didn't stand out nearly as much as my original list, so I'm sticking to eight.

1. Kate Morton: I read The Forgotten Garden
Historical family saga and mystery set mostly in the English countryside. Immersive and atmostpheric.

2. Taylor Jenkins Reid: I listened to One True Loves
A young woman finds love for the second time, only to learn that her presumably-dead husband is still alive. Angsty contemporary that I couldn't put down.

3. Jennifer Crusie: I listened to Bet Me
Older contemporary romance/chick lit with wonderfully amazing main character and a ton of humor.

4. Peter Swanson: I read The Kind Worth Killing
A guy decides to murder his wife and a woman he meets in an airport offers to help him, but his wife has her own agenda they don't know about. Excellent psychological novel that's full of surprises.

5. Courtney Milan: I read The Suffragette Scandal
Historical romance full of feminism and hilarity. Courtney Milan is also excellent to follow on Twitter.

6. Beverly Jenkins: I listened to Forbidden
Another historical, this one about a black woman making her way in post-Civil War America. Really interesting issues addressed, but also great main characters and a sweet romance.

7. Nicola Griffith: I read Hild
Difficult but excellent historical about a strong young woman. Dripping with detail of life in seventh-century Britain. Not quick or easy to read, but definitely worth it.

8. Elizabeth Gilbert: I read Big Magic
Inspiring part-memoir, part-self-help book about creativity. Recommended for all creative types or creative wannabes.

I'm hoping to read more by all of these authors, each of whom impressed me in a different way.

Did you discover any new favorite authors this year?

The Tempest

The Tempest by William Shakespeare (1610)

Although I'm technically finished reading plays for my Bardathon Challenge, I'll be seeing a performance of The Tempest in December so I decided to read it ahead of time. In this play, the magician Prospero has been living in exile on a remote island with his daughter Miranda. He conjures a storm which brings to the island several people who had conspired together to oust Prospero. His complicated manipulations result in the marriage of Miranda to the son of the King of Naples, and Prospero's own restoration as the Duke of Milan.

My experience reading this was pretty meh. I enjoyed some of the wordplay and humor, such as when a ship was described as being "as leaky as an unstanched wench." When Trinculo notices the monster caliban he remarks: "What have we here, a man or a fish? Dead or alive? A fish, he smells like a fish - a very ancient and fishlike smell, a kind of not-of-the-newest poor-John. A strange fish." Later, that same character says, again to Caliban, "Monster, I do smell all horse piss, at which my nose is in great indignation." So that was all amusing.

Again I read the Folger edition, as I've been reading with the other plays. This time I noticed that some unfamiliar words and phrases weren't explained, though "maze" was defined, which seemed a bit odd. I also had a hard time keeping track of the characters since so many of them seemed interchangeable. And I had a tough time understanding what was happening near the middle, but when all was said and done I think I get the idea.

At this point I sort of think if you've read one Shakespeare play, you've read them all so I probably won't be making a point to read any more. I'm looking forward to this play though - the island setting, storm, shipwreck, monster, and various spirits should lend themselves to a more visual experience.