Recent Reads 1-5

Recent Reads: 1-5

1. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

The last 100 pages of this book was a roller-coaster and had me so shook

"I want to survive in this world that keeps trying to destroy me." Ninth House, Leigh Bardugo

While many say that the beginning was slow I found it to be perfect since Bardugo had to set up world building and introduce characters and develop backstories. Do everything that involves creating a new world that intertwines with ours but is not so outlandish that we couldn't believe it. Did I have to forgo some sense of disbelief, yes, but not by much.

The book follows our main character Galaxy "Alex" Stern--and honestly if a badass name like "Galaxy Stern" doesn't make you want to pick up this book then I don't know what will. Alex is a high school drop-out, drug addict, ghost seer that is dragged into the world of Yale. Yale, with its rich frat boys, playing with old, dark and powerful magic that they will never understand. After a near-death experience Alex is offered a deal with the ninth secret house of "The House of Veil" that resides on the campus of Yale University. She attends college there to blend in but her main purpose is to oversee the use of ritual magic throughout the year, to make sure no ghost gets lose during the rites.

But that is only the beginning of the story. The magic that Ninth House holds is dark, gritty, full of potential that is far beyond the capabilities of its rich young and dumb power-hungry uses can barely understand.

Everyone has a secret in this book and no one tells the truth. Bardugo wrote a book that is never dull, predictable, or over showy. She also never attempts to make us love Alex, a girl who has been through hell and back and has a knack for getting into trouble. She never tries to beautify Alex or her anger or actions. Alex is a bad person and a very unlikable one at that, but it is also what makes her so refreshing in a world where everyone is lying and trying for a fake self to get ahead.

A user I follow on Goodreads described Alex perfectly in her review: "[...] she is as magical as she is ragged, as resigned as she is determined, as accepting of the ghosts she sees as she is lacking the understanding of the nastiness of the magic she is charged with keeping (Robinson)."

In the beginning, all of the pieces that are introduced seem unconnected and you start to wonder where Bardguo was going with this. It is confusing and seemingly unrelated sub-plots all mixed in with blurry haze of drugs fulled on magic, and a convoluted and twisted reality forms the overall plot--and in the center of it all is Galaxy Stern.

order Ninth House: Bookshop

2. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I read this book because my younger cousin asked me to after saying that it was her favourite. I had been meaning to read it for a while now, hearing everyone rave about it made me excited but extremely nervous to buy into all of the hype.

I like this book more than I had planned but not as much as everyone else had seemed too. It broke my heart in a soft and quite way, when I had been expecting to have it ripped from my chest, thrown to the ground and stomped on by a god.

My heart was not thrown on the ground, nor stomped on by a god, but sat in my chest and quietly fell apart. You can decided which one is more powerful.

I do not have much to say about it other than that and I am sorry.

order The Book Thief: Bookshop

3. Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

"Being clever was, after all, my primary source of self-esteem. I'm a very sad person, in all senses of the word, but at least I was going to get into university."

Radio Silence, Alice Oseman

I do not have enough words in my vocabulary to explain how much I love this book. I do not even know where to begin, because I have so many feelings for every character in this book.

I have heard so many great thing about this book and was afraid to buy into the hype. But let me tell you, the hype is there for a reason and is deserved.

The novel centers around these two best friends and the year they have together before they go off to university. Their relationship is strictly platonic and no one is ever forced into a relationship by the end of the novel. The one relationship that does happen has been building since the two were children.

One of the many things I loved about this book was the diversity. There is so much of it without it being their main characteristic and some are still trying to figure out their sexuality. I feel like with a lot of YA novels or New Adult novels the characters know what they identify as from the start and we don't see their process and growth throughout it.

Aled Last identifies as demisexual/asexual but it is not until the end of the novel that he realizes this and mentions it to his boyfriend, Daniel. Their relationship is not perfect and they fight and struggle with communication--they go through difficulties that real couples go through. It is not some fairy tale relationship.

(Quick sidenote: I, myself, identify as asexual/demisexual and had yet to see any representation until I read Radio Silence. And to have it be so accurate and spot on made me cry. Tears of happiness, of course, but still tears.)

Another big theme in this book is university. It battles the idea that you have to go to university and get a degree in some traditional subject to get a good job and make a lot of money. Or that you have to go to university at all.

"'You're an idiot,' said Mum, when I relayed to her the entire situation on Wednesday. 'Not an unintelligent idiot, but a sort of naive idiot who manages to fall into difficult situations and then can't get out of it because she's too awkward.'"

Radio Silence, Alice Oseman

Our narrator and main character Frances Janvier is a study machine with her head set on getting into Cambridge University. But not her heart. She becomes best friends with Aled when he messages her fan art account on Twitter for Universe City, asking if she will do visuals for the podcast. Both of them work under fake names so they have no idea who each one is until a drunk incident at a party one night.

As they become best friends ans drift apart and deal with mental health and abuse, they learn that you don't always have to follow the set path that everyone else is taking. That it is okay to do your own thing, and be happy on your own terms.

order Radio Silence: Bookshop

4. Exit Wounds by Monica Robinson (re-read):

Exit wounds is the debut poetry, photography and art collection from Philadelphia based poet Monica Robinson. If you read any of my past post over this poet or her collection then you will know that Monica is one of my favouite poets.

In the sea of todays' Instagram poets Monica is a fresh breath if air, she writes if a million natural shocks in which the flesh is heir to. Her work is at its simplest heartache spilled onto 44 pages of a perfect bound paperback. Robinson writes with an unflinching sadness and pain that everyone feels at some point in their young life.

Check out this poet: mrobinsonwrites.com

Order Exit Wounds: Amazon

5. EARTH IS FULL; GO BACK HOME by Monica Robinson

This being the second poetry collection by the Exit Wounds author and possibly my highly anticipated releases of 2020 I could not even begin to explain how excited I was when I saw that the pre-orders were available. I filled out the form immediately and waited very impatiently for my order to arrive. I was surprised I had enough self -control to finish writing my paper when I received my order a few weeks back in the mail. Personally I was expecting to give the collection a 5/5 stars and while it did not receive the expected 5/5 I still gave it a relatively high rating of 4.5/5 stars. To me it was just missing a certain je ne sais quoi to it.

Still I highly recommend anything by this poet.

Check out this poet: mrobinsonwrites.com

Order EARTH IS FULL; GO BACK HOME: Amazon

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Robinson, Monica. “‘Ninth House’ by Leigh Bardugo - Dark Fantasy Review”, Steemit. https://hive.blog/bookreview/@mrobinsonwrites/ninth-house-by-leigh-bardugo-dark-fantasy-review.