2017 Challenge Check-In

I joined 4 reading challenges (including the general Goodreads challenge) in 2017. How'd I do?

Goodreads challenge: met! This the first time I have actually set a Goodreads challenge goal and met it (surpassed it, actually!), so *pats self on back*. I had set the goal of 50 books in the previous year and didn't even come close to that, so in 2017 I decided to be a little more realistic and hey, it worked! (It also was a little less stressful, because usually when I looked at the progress bar on the challenge image, it told me I was ahead of schedule, rather than constantly trying to catch up.)

The "Rock My TBR" challenge: met! This challenge (hosted by Sarah K from The YA Book Traveler) requires you to read a book each month that has already been published (i.e. not published that year). I actually ended up reading 19 books! Plus I only counted books that I already had physically on my shelves that I'd gotten before the start of 2017, because I really needed to make a dent in those. (All this excellent reading of books actually in my possession was kinda counteracted by me buying a TON of books this year from Book Outlet, but let's just ignore that part.)

The books I ended up reading for this challenge were:
- Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott
- Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis
- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (yes, finally!)
- Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
- Blackwood by Gwenda Bond
- The Wrap-Up List by Steven Armtson
- This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
- Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
- A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge
- The Fairest of Them All by Carolyn Turgeon
- Goodbye, Rebel Blue by Shelley Coriell
- Jewel of the Thames by Angela Misri
- The Midnight Rose by Lucinda Riley
- The Midnight Queen by Sylvia Izzo Hunter
- Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington
- A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz
- God Is in the Pancakes by Robin Epstein
- Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones
- Ingo by Helen Dunmore

The Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: met! This challenge was hosted by Passages to the Past. I decided to aim for a level I knew was attainable (the "Victorian Reader" level of 5 books), and yep, I attained it! I counted historical fantasy books as well as dual-timeline (contemporary/past) books, which totalled 11 books.

The books I ended up reading for this challenge were:
- Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis
- Renegade Magic by Stephanie Burgis
- Stolen Magic by Stephanie Burgis - Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl
- Jewel of the Thames by Angela Misri
- The Midnight Rose by Lucinda Riley
- The Midnight Queen by Sylvia Izzo Hunter
- Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
- Rose Cottage by Mary Stewart
- The Light-Keeper's Daughters by Jean E. Pendziwol
- The Other Me by Saskia Sarginson

The Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge: unmet. This challenge was hosted by Alexa from Alexa Loves Books and Rachel from Hello, Chelly. I joined this one unofficially midway through the year, when I saw that I already had 15 fantasy books under my belt. I thought I could get to 25 by the end of the year, but sadly, only made it to 20 (and that's stretching the definition of fantasy to include more paranormal and sci-fi types of reads).

The books I ended up reading for this challenge were:
- Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis
- Renegade Magic by Stephanie Burgis
- Stolen Magic by Stephanie Burgis - The Midnight Queen by Sylvia Izzo Hunter
- Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
- Blackwood by Gwenda Bond
- The Wrap-Up List by Steven Armtson
- This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
- Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones
- Ingo by Helen Dunmore- Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
- A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge
- The Fairest of Them All by Carolyn Turgeon
- Cress by Marissa Meyer
- Gilded Cage by Vic James
- The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon
- The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso
- Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
- The Forgotten Book by Mecthild Gläser
- The Power by Naomi Alderman

How did you do on your reading challenges in 2017?

Everything I Never Told You: A Rambling Review (Adult)

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng 

I found this to be a really fascinating look at a family that slowly disintegrates into strangers. From a psychological perspective, watching these interpersonal relationships fall apart was compelling, but from a story standpoint it was also depressing (I mean, you know right from the start that one of the daughters has died, it's literally the first sentence). You just watch as things get worse and worse and the characters all make such poor choices and you want them to do better. And communicate – they all needed to learn how to communicate with each other! Nevertheless, their faults felt very human. The theme of parents trying to live vicariously through their children and pinning all their past hopes and dreams on them was so true to life.

The writing was simple – no overwritten, purple prose here — but powerful. The choice to jump back and forth between past and present, while occasionally confusing, was a smart one; the jumping around between characters' heads in 3rd-person worked to let the reader in on what each character's mindset was (although I will confess I sometimes briefly got confused about which person's head I was in now).

My biggest quibble was with a scene towards the end (I guess, kind of the climactic scene?) in which a character behaved in a way that didn't seem all that realistic. Spoiler, highlight to read: Lydia jumping into the water and thinking she could "save" herself. I mean, I get that she was thinking symbolically, and that it was tied to this memory, but still. She knew she couldn't swim. Surely she'd have a better sense of self-preservation than that? Especially given that she'd made up her mind to stop letting her mom decide what she was going to do in life, and figure it out for herself.

I also found that the beginning was pretty slow-moving, and I was itching for things to happen in the present-day storyline, instead of flashing back to the past. But soon enough I became used to the format and all the drama started happening (past and present!) which kept me engaged.

Overall, a realistic look at the perils of keeping feelings boxed inside — just be prepared for everything to keep getting worse for the family before it gets better.

4 shooting stars.  

 

The Midnight Rose: A Rambling Review (Adult)

The Midnight Rose by Lucinda Riley

I quite liked Anahita's voice and the historical chapters; in particular, the sections set in India felt fresh to me (I've read very few books with that setting). However, the modern-day sections dragged and I just found the conversations so boring and wordy. The dialogue seemed stilted and inauthentic at times. Generally, I think the book could have been pared down a lot more, to streamline the plot and avoid needless repetition.

I also found the story took a weird turn into the Gothic at the climax (spoiler, highlight to read: the whole scene where Rebecca is abducted by Lord Astbury) — I enjoy Gothic atmosphere and storytelling when that's what I'm expecting, but here it seemed a little out of place. There was also a psychological element that was explained in a confusing and potentially inaccurate way (spoiler: Lord Astbury was referred to as having schizophrenia, but then Dr. Trefusis kept mentioning his alter ego/personality, which sounds more like dissociative identity disorder. They are two very different disorders!).

Overall, the historical chapters told through Anahita's voice felt real and compelling, but the story was let down by the modern-day counterpart. Given that I picked this up since it's a similar style of storytelling to Kate Morton's novels, I have to say: this book suffers for the comparison. 

3 shooting stars.

 

2017 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

This is a new challenge for me, but since I normally read at least a few historical fiction books a year, I figured why not join a challenge for that?

This challenge is hosted by Passages to the Past, and I'm choosing the Victorian Reader level of 5 books, which is both:

a) attainable (I hope!), and
b) appropriate since the Victorian Era is one of my favourites.

Here are a few books on my shelves that would work for this challenge:

- Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
- Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama
- In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters
- The Mirk and Midnight Hour by Jane Nickerson
- The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth
- The Midnight Rose by Lucinda Riley
- The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

If you'd like to join in, you can sign up for the challenge here, and tweet about the challenge using #2017HFReadingChallenge!