Short & Sweet: The Shadow Society and Drowning Anna

The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski

I found this to be an entertaining read, but not of the same caliber as Rutkoski's Winner's Trilogy (which is not too surprising, considering this book was written before that series). The plotting in the Winner's Trilogy is more clever, and there's a lot more complexity in the political maneuvring. It's also darker and more mature than this book. Nevertheless, I liked the protagonist Darcy and her hot-cold relationship with Conn, and the whole notion of these two parallel universes based off of one historical event. There are definitely some questions around worldbuilding that never get answered (where did Shades come from in the first place, for one), but that didn't bother me a whole lot.


3.5 shooting stars. 

Drowning Anna by Sue Mayfield

This book took me back to my high school days, and I really felt for Anna here. The sheer nastiness of the bullying she endured was despicable. I do feel like the book ended quite abruptly, and without resolution of the storylines (why did Hayley begin bullying Anna in the first place? Did Anna and Melanie patch up their friendship?). But certainly it was an honest look at how hurtful and destructive bullying can be, and how often it is dismissed as "teasing" or overlooked by teachers.

 3.5 shooting stars. 

 

All These Things I've Done: A Rambling Review

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

I really liked Anya's voice and personality -- she's pragmatic, extremely dedicated to and protective of her family, and bold. She also (at least at the start of the book) really doesn't want to be involved in the criminal activities of her mafia-style family. (She lies a lot, too, which I don't approve of, but I guess that kinda comes with the territory.)

I did find it rather unrealistic that a bunch of the adults treated Anya like an equal, considering she's just sixteen. I mean, I know it's YA, but still. 

The premise of chocolate being illegal is also a bit ridiculous, but I guess the author wanted to make something contraband that has never been illegal in our world. 

I particularly liked the family relationships depicted here; Anya cares so deeply for her brother and sister, and her brother himself is a complex character who plays a very important role in the story. 

While I won't be rushing out to get the next book ASAP, I'll probably try to pick it up at some point to continue.

3.5 shooting stars.

 

The Piper's Son: A Rambling Review

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

I liked really getting to know Tom well in this book, but overall I didn't enjoy it as much as Saving Francesca. It felt darker and heavier than that first book. The story just sort of meanders, lacking momentum/drive, and though I felt like it was slowly building up to something, the actual climactic scene (if you could call it that) felt underwhelming and unsatisfying. Also, Tom takes a long time to learn anything, so it ends up feeling kinda repetitive as he has the same sorts of inner monologues over and over again as he tries to figure things out. The characterization is a strong point -- Tom is most certainly a flawed character, but sympathetic and redeemable. You have to feel for him, while at the same time wishing he made different choices. 

I do wish we had gotten to see more of what the other characters from Saving Francesca are dealing with. We get little glimpses, but because it's from Tom's and Georgie's perspectives, we don't really get to know the whole of what's going on with the others. I also didn't feel like Georgie's perspective added that much; I wasn't as interested in her storyline and partway through I began looking forward to the next Tom chapter instead. I think perhaps we didn't need quite as many characters in here either; I know that family is a very important aspect of this novel, but I had some trouble remembering who was who. 

Marchetta depicts friendships and relationships incredibly well, and that is on display here. I find it fascinating how quickly and easily Tom makes friends, even with those people he took a disliking to at first (like Ned). He rebuffs people just as easily, unfortunately, but nevertheless it's clear he keeps searching for connection with others. It's interesting, too, that Marchetta tackles the issue of repairing and rebuilding friendships that have faded; it's a subject that isn't all that front-and-centre in a lot of novels, and yet it's a subject that many people face at some point in their lives.

3 shooting stars.

 

2019 Reading Challenges

All right, it is past time for me to post about what reading challenges I'll be attempting this year!

Of course, I've signed up for the Goodreads challenge again -- it worked out well last year to start with a goal of 40 books (which I surpassed!) so that's what I'm doing again this year.

I'm also joining the Mount TBR Challenge (hosted by Bev at My Reader's Block) again this year. I knocked off 25 books on my TBR last year and I felt really good about it! Hoping to have the same kind of success again this year.

This challenge is for reading books we have added to our shelves prior to 2019. I'm setting my goal at the next level this time around, Mount Blanc (24 books).

Books I might read for this challenge:

- The Hate U Give
- The Language of Thorns
- Split
- Shadow Study
- Mistress of Rome
- Illusion
- The Last Summer
- The Book of Lost and Found
- For Darkness Shows the Stars
- Sweet Damage
- In the Shadow of Blackbirds
- Ultraviolet
- The Ballroom

(So far this year, I've already read 9 books from my TBR shelves, so I'm off to a good start!)

I completely failed at the Finishing the Series challenge last year (hosted by Celebrity Readers), and so I am giving it another try for 2019! I have got to finish some series (or alternatively, decide I am going to discontinue them and get rid of the sequels...) I am aiming for the lowest level again, C-List Series Finisher, 1-4 Series.

Some sequels I've got hanging around on my shelves that I have not yet read:

- Mortal Heart
- Outpost
- Prized
- Enshadowed and Oblivion
- Reached


I completed about half of the categories for the Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge (hosted by Anne at Modern Mrs. Darcy) last year -- perhaps I'll do better this year? (We can hope...) Here's the checklist for the challenge:

I kinda like to add a new challenge each year, just so things are a little different, so this year I'm also signing up for the Putting Wings on Words Reading Challenge, hosted by Isa at Putting Wings on Words. I like the set-up of the challenge, which splits the items into 6 sections: Classics, Friends, Formats, Diversity, Seasons, and Bonus: Challenge Yourself. Seems like a neat way to approach picking out books to read!

I don't think I'll be able to get to all of these (reading a book in another language? O_O) but we'll see how many I can check off.

What 2019 reading challenges have you signed up for?

2018 Challenge Check-In

I joined 3 challenges last year (4 if you count the Goodreads challenge), so let's see how I did with them...

Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge: got about halfway there

This challenge encouraged participants to read books from a variety of categories, so it was a very eclectic challenge. I fulfilled some but certainly not all of the categories:

- A classic you've been meaning to read: check! I read Alias Grace.

- A book recommended by someone with great taste: check! I mean, I could pick any number of books for this one. But I'll go with Eleanor & Park, as a friend IRL recommended this one (and lent me her copy of it!)

- A book in translation: fail. 

- A book nominated for an award in 2018: fail. (I read some books nominated for awards in other years, but it doesn't look like I read any with 2018 nominations.)

- A book of poetry, a play, or an essay collection: fail. 

- A book you can read in a day: check! I think there were a number of books this year I finished in the same day, but I'll go with Glass Houses. 

- A book that's more than 500 pages: check! I read The Tea Rose, which is 675 pages long.

- A book by a favourite author: check! I re-read Emma by Jane Austen, who is one of my favourite authors of all time.

- A book recommended by a librarian or indie bookseller: fail. 

- A banned book: fail. (This kinda surprises me, because I thought surely one of the books I read in 2018 would be banned somewhere! But not that I can find...)

- A memoir, biography, or book of creative nonfiction: fail.

- A book by an author of a different race, ethnicity, or religion than your own: check! I read The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet by Bernie Su and Kate Rorick.

2018 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge: complete and utter failure. I did not get ANY series finished in 2018. Instead, I read a lot of standalones (and the first books of a few new series)! I did start Sever by Lauren DeStefano, but decided to DNF, so that is one series I won't be finishing. But there are so many more that I need to either finish or give up on!

Mount TBR Reading Challenge: success! This challenge was to read 12 books (I picked the lowest level, "Pike's Peak") already owned prior to 2018. I not only met this objective, I exceeded it! I read 25 books already on my TBR shelves, which means I got to the next level of the challenge, Mount Blanc.

Goodreads Challenge: success! I surpassed my goal of 40 books (which I intentionally set at a fairly realistic number, as it seems to work better for me that way).

How did everyone else do with their 2018 challenges?