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haveamagicalday · 1 year

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My 2022 Reading List

Here are my ratings and reviews of the books I read in 2022. You can read my top ten reads of the year here.

Five Stars

Shine Your Icy Crown by Amanda Lovelace

Another great book of poetry by Amanda Lovelace!

Working on a Song by Anais Mitchell

A must read for any Hadestown fans!

Four Stars

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

Alice Feeny writes what I have dubbed, Fast Food Thrillers. They are quick, you enjoy them but they don't hold as much value as a three course meal at a 5 star restaurant (or a 5 star critically acclaimed book). Often predictable with outlandish circumstances, these fast food thrillers are purely entertainment and much more enjoyable if you take it for what it is and try not to think too hard about it. With that said, this book surprised me! It went in a way different direction than what her other books do and I was pleasantly surprised by the twist.

The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon

I think this was the first book I read in 2022 so I don’t remember all of it but I remember I liked it! It’s a slow novel with not a lot of thrills or chills but it was an engaging read nonetheless

The Counselors by Jessica Goodman

Goldie is a camp counselor with a dark secret. When a body turns up at the camp, she discovers that she isn’t the only one with secrets. This took more risks than a YA thriller usually does and I really appreciated that about it!

A Forgery of Roses by Jessica S. Olson

I got this in an Owlcrate and probably wouldn’t have picked it up otherwise but I’m glad I read it. I was really interested in the world of this book where some people are able to alter other’s appearances by painting them. Myra is one of these people and she finds herself in the middle of a gothic murder mystery when she is asked to paint a portrait of the governor's son. The mystery was intriguing and the world building fantastic.

The Mad Women’s Ball by Victoria Mas

This was a quick little read that focused on an interesting time in history. Asylums would sometimes throw their patients balls where the wealthy could come and gawk at them. Eugenie‘s bourgeois family sends her to the asylum for her ability to speak to the dead. She is determined to escape and sees the ball as her chance to freedom.

Nothing More to Tell by Karen M. McManus

Karen M. McManus’s books have been hit or miss for me. This was a hit in my opinion! Brynn’s favorite teacher was murdered four years prior to the start of the story and Brynn’s ex best friend, Tripp, was one of three students who found the body. Now Brynn is interning with a true crime show and she is determined to solve the case of her school’s infamous murder.

These Deadly Games by Diana Urban

Crystal gets a mysterious message one day that says she must play a game in order to save her little sister’s life. The dares start off innocent enough but slowly Crystal realizes that these tasks are meant to hurt her friends. This is definitely a book you have to suspend your disbelief for and just enjoy what it is.

Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young

I’m not going to lie, I don’t really remember this book all that well but I liked it enough to give it 4 stars.

Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier

This is a sequel to Daughter of the Forest. This time we follow the daughter of our heroine from the first book. Daughter of the Forest is a retelling of The Six Swans but this and the other sequels are not based on fairytales.

The Swell (Also known as The Bay) by Allie Reynolds

Kenna is a surf boarder that gave up the sport after her boyfriend drowned. Now Kenna is visiting her best friend Mikki in Australia after she announces a sudden engagement. Mikki brings Kenna with her to a secluded beach where a cult-like group of surfers live for months on end. Kenna is intrigued by the place but other surfers have gone missing and Kenna can’t help but look to the others in suspicsion. I was on board for most of this but what was kind of bizarre was half way through it is revealed through another character’s point of view who was making the others disappear. So basically the twist was revealed to the audience halfway through but not the heroine until the end which made for a weird reading experience.

Unlock Your Storybook Heart by Amanda Lovelace

I didn’t love this one as much as Shine Your Icy Crown but still another fantastic read!

The Wicked Remain by Laura Pohl

This is a sequel to The Grimrose Girls which I freaking loved! Unfortunately, I did not like this one as much but it was still a solid read. What I liked about the first one was missing here and there was a lot of time spent figuring out what to do next with the plot not really going anywhere.

Three Stars

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

This book confused me. It’s based on the Island of Doctor Moreau but this time around, he has a daughter. My biggest issue with this book is I don’t know what it was meant to be. It is described as historical sci-fi. If you know the original story then you know there are animal mutants. They are here in this book but they act completely normal. It’s almost mundane and not the focus so I wouldn’t even classify this as sci-fi. Then with certain plot points, I figured it was about the romance. Wrong again! That went nowhere. Was it a coming of age story? Maybe, but I didn’t think there was enough of that either. This book just felt so random and I was pretty disappointed as I love this author’s other work.

His and Hers by Alice Feeney

This was a fast food thriller through and through. TW: animal cruelty

I’ll be You by Janelle Brown

I loved Janelle Brown’s debut novel but this one fell a little flat for me. Sam and Elli were twin child stars that often shared the same role. Now as adults, Elli has made herself the perfect homemaker while Sam struggles with addiction. But when Elli goes on a mysterious spa trip leaving behind an adopted two year old daughter, Sam is determined to get to the bottom of things. I really liked the flashbacks in the book to the twins' life as tv stars and found that the most interesting part of the book.

The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke

If you are expecting witches that live in a lighthouse, this ain’t it. This is told from 3 different povs. One of them is Liv, a single mother of three who is commissioned to paint a mural for a lighthouse. Liv and two of the daughters go missing and the third daughter, Luna, is left on her own for twenty two years. But then Luna is informed that her sister Clover was found. She is thrilled until she goes to pick her up and discovers that Clover hasn’t aged since she’s gone missing. A third pov takes the form of an old manuscript found and read by the eldest daughter that gives some insight into the lighthouse’s past. All three storylines eventually collide in a somewhat underwhelming conclusion.

Verity by Colleen Hoover

This was my first and last Colleen Hoover. Was this book good? No. Was it entertaining? Yes! And that’s why I put it in the middle because it did keep my attention and I wanted to know how it was all going to end. Was it worth it? Eh, you’d have to read it for yourself.

The Witch in the Well by Camilla Bruce

Two former friends reunite as adults but not as friends this time around. The two have a shared fascination with the town’s legend of the witch in the well. Honestly, this book was just underwhelming to me. I thought there’d be more witchy goodness but it really wasn’t and it left me wondering what the point of the story was.

Two Stars

The Maid by Nita Prose

This was a very popular novel and I’m honestly not sure why. A clueless maid finds a dead body while cleaning and gets sucked into the investigation. Right from the start, it is pretty obvious what happened and who did it but our main character has no idea so the rest of the novel is spent being angry at her for not figuring it out. I’m still not sure if the mystery was supposed to be so obvious to the reader but it clearly is. Now, the thing about this book is that the maid, Molly, while never outright stated, is portrayed as having stereotypical traits of autism. I can’t speak to whether or not it’s a good portrayal but looking at other reviews, the consensus is no. This whole read was just frustrating and surprisingly slow for a short book.

Unrated- I have come to the decision as a 29 year old, that I will no longer be rating YA books unless it is a 4 or 5 star rating. My reasoning for this is that I am not the target audience. If I don’t fully enjoy a YA book, that’s on me for picking it up in the first place. I don’t need to bring the rating down for a book that was never intended for me in the first place. Some of the other books in this category I just couldn’t decide on a rating.

Dead End Girls by Wendy Heard

Maude is a teenage girl that is determined to fake her own death and escape to Europe. Her plan almost goes off without a hitch until her step cousin catches. Surprisingly, she demands that Maude take her with her and the two embark on an adventure to escape their unhappy lives. I picked this up because I liked the author’s first book but this one just came off as a little silly and non plausible. I think you can enjoy it if you suspend your disbelief but this just wasn’t for me.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Participated in Dracula Daily this year. I really liked the first third with Jonathan stuck in the castle but everything else was underwhelming for me. I found myself skimming a lot towards the end but I’m glad that I read.

Even if We Break by Marieke Nijkamp

I was kinda onboard with this until the end where it turned into a goofy cartoon-esque murder mystery. The twist was really just not well done.

Gone to See the River Man by Kristopher Triana

I read this book in one sitting. Found it on reddit and was being described as one of the most disturbing books of the year. It was disturbing but it was also kind of ridiculous. We find out that our main character did some pretty horrific things in the past but she comes off as very normal in the present. Even her reasoning for the bad things she did felt very mundane and out of left field. For those that are curious I will save you time and provide spoilers under the cut. TW: Rape, incest, gore

Lakesedge by Lyndall Clipstone

Described as gothic, this was more of a fantasy about our main character having special powers and using them to defeat a big bad. I felt that the majority of this book was just dedicated to training for the big fight and ending on a cliffhanger. Nothing wrong with this book, it just wasn’t for me.

Long Live the Pumpkin Queen by Shea Ernshaw

A sequel to Nightmare Before Christmas from Sally’s pov. It was cute and I probably would have loved it in middle school. My only problem was Jack (and the rest of Halloweentown) are in a cursed sleep for most of it so we don’t get to see much interaction between the two.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

I love the concept of this book but I found it weird how these kids reacted to be shipwrecked. They were so nonchalant about it. It felt weird and the escalation into them being wild felt very off to me.

Not Good for Maidens by Tori Bovalino

A modern retelling of Goblin Market. One of the POV was May who is a witch that must dedicate her life protecting mortals from the goblin market. For some reason she falls in love with one of the goblins who are portrayed more like the fae. This ends poorly and her and her sister must move to New York. The second POV is her niece, Lou, who has no knowledge of her heritage but must venture back to England to help save her other aunt from the Goblin Market. I found May’s story much more interesting than Lou’s. Lou’s story almost felt unnecessary. I felt like May’s story could have just been fleshed out more and made the main storyline. Like I said, she falls in love with a goblin but the two barely share any time together and there’s no reasoning behind them being in love other than the story demands it.

The Witch Haven by Sasha Peyton Smith

Frances is a poor seamstress in 1911 who due to an unfortunate accident, is whisked away to a school for witches. Here Frances learns about her past and how to control her magic. I don’t think this was a bad book and I might have enjoyed it more when I was younger. There was an annoying love triangle and an annoying twist villain that I saw coming. This wraps up in the end but hints at a sequel (which has since come out) but I didn’t like it enough to read it.

You’ll be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus

This was a miss. Again, not bad, just not for me.

Gone to See the River Man spoilers

Lori is in love with a serial killer and sends him letters. Why? I don’t know, she just does. One day the killer gives her a task to go see the river man. Lori does so eagerly and brings along her sister who suffers from brain damage. This is portrayed (poorly) as her sister acting like a child. Via flashbacks we find out that her sister was once very popular and that she started to date the boy that Lori had a crush on. She sees them having sex on day and this inspires her to start raping their little brother. Yes, you read that right. How did we get from point A to point B? No idea. That’s just what she decided to do. Her little brother doesn’t want this and his increasing desperation and depression is hard to read about. One day the sister catches them doing the deed and Lori pushes her down a cliff to stop her from telling their parents causing the brain damage. And then the little brother commits suicide. How does this all affect Lori? I don’t know and neither does the author apparently. And that’s the problem because the Lori we know and the Lori in the past don’t match up. Lori is too normal despite all this and she really has no motivations for anything she does. The rest of the book is a bizarre journey down the river (complete with a racist portrayal of a boatman that helps for a time) and ends with an encounter with the river man. Is it supernatural or is Lori just insane? Doesn't matter, the book is almost over. She sacrifices her sister to the river man and then goes back home to find the serial killer had broken out of jail and is in her apartment (with the decapitated head of some random girl he murdered on the way). She happily goes to him as he prepares to kill her. The end. Do with this synopsis what you will.

#books #book recomendation #books recommendations #book reviews #my post

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megberger-art150 · 3 years

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Fresh Off the Boat - Multimedia Journal Entry 1

Set in the late-90s, Fresh Off the Boat is a popular sitcom that revolves around the Huangs, a Taiwanese-American family struggling to fit in after relocating from Chinatown in DC to Florida to open a cowboy-themed restaurant. Starring incredible Asian-American actors like Randall Park and Constance Wu, the show became the first sitcom on American network tv to feature an Asian-American family in over twenty years.

By focusing on the family's struggle to assimilate into their community, the show showcases a common struggle that immigrant families face when they first arrive in America: trying to maintain one's culture while also trying to "blend in." For example, look at this scene from the pilot episode:

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Following Eddie's first day at school -- after a group of boys started making fun of his Chinese food and saying "Ying ding's eating worms!" -- he starts to throw away his mom's lunches until she finally starts buying him "white people lunch." Scenes like this emphasize the difficulty for Asian-Americans -- especially children -- to "fit in" while also holding onto their culture (without being made fun of). Through moments like this, the show focuses on the struggle Asian-Americans face and raising awareness that we should instead be supporting different identities and cultures.

Similar to the Hapa Project, the show recognizes the importance of identity formation and emphasizes remembering your heritage. While the Huang family is struggling to assimilate into their community, it's also important for them to remember their history and culture. In the season one finale (below), Jessica comes to the realization of how far her family has assimilated after their neighbors describe them as a "regular old American family." This scene especially emphasizes the importance of recognizing your identity and remembering where you've come from, while also struggling to "fit in" with those around you.

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Fresh Off the Boat also generates a conversation about diversity in media. In an interview with the New York Times, Wu talks about how the show changed her, shifting her focus from "self-interest to Asian-American interests" (Hess). In recent years, many Asian-American actors have begun fiercely advocating for Asian-American visibility and calling out Hollywood for "whitewashing" Asian roles and stories. This show is an example of how Asian-led entertainment can be incredibly successful without the need for whitewashing. Throughout its six seasons, the show details the struggles that immigrants face while showing the importance of representation, specifically embracing Asian-American identity and culture. The show also challenges the harmful Asian stereotypes we discussed in week three. In an interview with TIME, Wu talks about how her use of an accent is meant to focus on the fact that many immigrants have accents, and not to perpetuate the harmful stereotype.

Overall, Fresh Off the Boat not only emphasizes the importance of identity, but also starts a conversation about visibility and representation in media. With the unbelievable amount of whitewashing that is still happening in Hollywood, this show is an example of how important (and successful) Asian-led entertainment can really be.

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References:

Feeney, Nolan. "Fresh Off the Boat Star: I Don't Need to Represent Every Asian Mom Ever." TIME, 10 Feb. 2015, https://time.com/3696111/fresh-off-the-boat-constance-wu/.

Fulbeck, Kip. "The Hapa Project - 10 Years After." The Asian American Literary Review, 2011, pp. 1-22.

Hess, Amanda. "Asian-American Actors Are Fighting for Visibility. They Will Not Be Ignored." The New York Times, 25 May 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/movies/asian-american-actors-are-fighting-for-visibility-they-will-not-be-ignored.html?login=email&mwrsm=Facebook.

Show & Episodes:

Khan, Nahnatchka, creator. Fresh Off the Boat. ABC Domestic Television, 2015.

"Pilot." Fresh Off the Boat, season 1, episode 1, ABC, 4 Feb. 2015. Hulu, https://www.hulu.com/watch/3ecda132-7410-4403-849b-c06ba948dafd.

"So Chineez." Fresh Off the Boat, season 1, episode 13, ABC, 21 Apr. 2015. Hulu, https://www.hulu.com/watch/98c22d39-ee2e-4f8c-aef6-0707444ee3f6.

Media:

"Finally Getting "White People Lunch" | Fresh Off The Boat." YouTube, uploaded by Comedy Central UK, 29 Aug. 2018, https://youtu.be/0VHxriyAr1o.

"Fresh Off the Boat." IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3551096/.

"Huangs Reconnect with their Culture - Fresh Off The Boat." YouTube, uploaded by ABC, 21 Apr. 2015, https://youtu.be/C7vb9mkyRo8.

#Youtube

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