Books read in 2021

 That time of the year again, when I post all about the books and movies that I consumed over the year.

As always, after I talk about the book, I'll have the final sentence, with all of it whited out except the final word.
And for the third year in a row, I've attempt the Across The Year challenge from Goodreads.com, wherein 52 different topics are given, one for each week of the year. I managed to complete all 52 (although not necessarily all in order). 

Here we go:

 

THE 2021 LIST

1. ATY Challenge week 1) A book related to “In the Beginning...”

Reborn by Mark Millar

This graphic novel is labeled as “Book One”, but I doubt I’ll continue on with the series. It’s just too generic.

The gist of this is that instead of the afterlife that Christians believe in, when you die in our world, you find yourself ‘reborn’ into a fantastical other realm called Adystria, which is stock full of all the boring fantasy tropes you can shake a stick at - dragons with lion heads, fairies who love to gossip, mountains where (only negative) wishes are granted…
Anyway, Bonnie Black is 80-something years old, and has lived a good long life. She dies of a stroke, and is ‘reborn’ in Adystria, thus fulfilling a (sigh) prophecy of the chosen queen who will lead the good folks to freedom against the evil folks next door. Her dad is there, as well as her childhood puppy (yep. Animals get reborn too. That’s actually sort of neat.)

Like I said, this is all rather generic, and doesn’t bring anything exciting or new to the table. It’s been picked up by Netflix, apparently, but I couldn’t find anything stating when it will premiere. Can’t really recommend this, since it’s all mostly been done before. The artwork is the best thing this has going for it. Just all around an average piece. (But your grandmother was a good person...I’m sure she’s in a better place.)

2. ATY Challenge week 2) A book by an author whose name doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y

FKA USA by Reed King.

An epic dystopian road trip novel set in the 2090s where America has been broken up into multiple countries that are owned by different corporations. Truckee Wallace is a 17 year old employee/citizen of Crunch United, where he works in a factory making various “food” items. He gets chosen by the President/CEO to deliver a genetically altered goat to San Francisco to prevent a brilliant but evil Russian scientist from using mind controlling drugs from taking over the world. Joining him on this quest are Sammy, an android who wishes to be granted full citizenship; Tiny Tim, a “scarecrow’ (basically an indentured slave who has been lobotomized as part of their punishment), and Barnaby, the aforementioned talking goat.

This was well written, and humorous (and bleak) but it also felt… like too much? I don’t know. There’s a fine line between being smart and just plain showing off. I felt like this book straddled that line and maybe crossed it a few times. This novel had footnotes, maps, and appendices to help navigate the timelines of various disasters that befell the country between the 2020s and 2090s. While it was obviously meticulously plotted out and the world-building was impressive… sometimes it felt like someone just explaining a really cool dream they had, if that makes sense. It also DEFINITELY could have been tighter. At 438 pages, there were absolutely a side quest or two that could have been cut which would have made things better, in my opinion. I didn’t hate this, but I don’t know that I could really give it a strong recommendation, either. (But maybe, if I hurried, I could still take her dancing.)

3. ATY Challenge week 3)  A book related to the lyrics for the song "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon - Neat premise, a bit sloppily executed. We bounce around in time, from 1908 to the present day, with the 1908 storyline focusing on Sara Shea, her husband, Martin, and their young child Gertie, who live on a cabin out near Devil’s Rock. Sara’s aunt has a history of knowing witchcraft, and has reportedly been known to do spells involving the dead. Present day storyline had multiple main characters, most of whom were still sort of flat. 19 year old Ruthie lives with her mom, Alice, and young sister, Fawn. Alice is a hippie type who shuns modern technology. They reside in the same house that Sara lived in. When Alice goes missing, Ruthie tries to hunt her down, while also discovering some secrets in the house that make her question how much she really knows about her mom. Additionally, Katherine is a recently widowed young woman who, upon researching her husband’s passing, discovers he spent his last day alive with Alice.

So, there were multiple mysteries playing out simultaneously, along with the backstory of the Shea family. I feel like it would have been a stronger novel if it had focused on one of them instead of trying to mush them all together. That being said, once it was revealed what was actually going on with the 1908 storyline, I was pretty intrigued. The payoff fell flat, but it was still enough to hold me to the end. (My child by birth, and my sleeper awakened.)

4. ATY Challenge week 4) A book with a monochromatic cover

Final Girls by Riley Sager -

Evidently this book’s cover isn’t *exactly* monochromatic, but tough. This thriller about Quincy Carpenter, the lone survivor of a mass-killing ten years prior, started off enthralling and unique. And then the final third of the book decided, “I haven’t had enough twists, let’s see if I can fix that by overdoing it.” Quincy survived the butchering of all her friends a decade ago. Two other young women in other parts of the country (around the same time? The timeline is a little unclear to me to be honest) also experienced similar trauma. Lisa Milner and Samantha Boyd also managed to survive the onslaughts of deranged killers. The media has dubbed the trio the Final Girls. Quincy has moved past her ordeal and has made a rather nice life for herself. She has a cooking blog, and a defense attorney boyfriend, and although she has no memories of the night at Pine Cottage, she’s managed to not let that horrific night define who she is. But maybe her life isn’t as perfect as it seems on the outside. She doesn’t appear to have any friends, aside from Coop, the police officer who found her bloody and terrified ten years ago. And her relationship with her mother is severely strained. And she has a dependency on Xanax to help with her anxiety. I’m probably being unfair. I think really, she *does* have things pretty well put together, considering what she went through. And the first portion of this book was an interesting look at how grief and mass trauma can (and do) affect a person. Things get shaken up when Lisa Milner, one of the other “Final Girls” takes her own life, and Samantha Boyd shows up on Quincy’s doorstep.

It’s obvious from the moment we meet her, that Samantha is bad news, and hasn’t dealt with her issues in as positive a way as Quincy has. But I kept screaming at Quincy to wake up and get her out of her life. To no avail.

I do wish that the answers given to what was going on with Sam and what happened at Pine Cottage were ...better. It certainly seemed like the book could have been more grounded, and I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had been. Oh well. It was still a *mostly* enjoyable ride. And apparently Riley Sager has written several other thrillers, and this wasn’t so awful that I’m not opposed to checking them out. (“I’m here,” she said, “to teach you how to be a Final Girl.”)

5.  ATY challenge week 5) A book by an author on USA Today's list of 100 Black Novelists You Should Read

Everywhere You Don’t Belong by Gabriel Bump  - Story about Claude, who was abandoned by his parents at a young age and is being raised by his grandmother in a less than great part of Chicago. The writing was good, and the story was okay, but it just didn’t quite gel together completely for me. It was interesting to get more insight into life as an African-American in the early 2000s, though. (Right where we belong.)

6. ATY challenge week 6) A love story

Be More Chill: The Graphic Novel by Ned Vizzini and David Levithan - This was a little bit of a stretch for “a love story” but I’m going with it nonetheless. I haven’t read the novel that this was adapted from, but I have listened to the soundtrack of the broadway musical that was adapted from the novel, and I really liked that. I gotta say, I liked the soundtrack more than the graphic novel. The story was essentially the same, but the stakes were definitely higher in the musical, and the characters felt more real to me. The GN felt sort of flat and rushed a bit. If I had no prior experience with this story, I’d probably not know exactly what was going on, and I doubt that I’d care. Finding out that this was more of an adaptation of the novel (and I guess stuck closer to that material than the musical did) makes me a lot less inclined to seek that out. Huh. Anyway, the basic story is that Jeremy Heere is your standard loser teen, until he takes a SQUIP - a supercomputer in pill form that teaches Jeremy how to “be more chill”. He becomes popular, but largely at the cost of his former friends. (I hope you like it.)

7. ATY challenge week 7)  A book that fits a prompt suggestion that didn't make the final list

The Witches Are Coming by Lindy West  - (theme of women overcoming systemic obstacles) Collection of essays from feminist and all around awesome person, Lindy West. This was at turns depressing and amusing. Lindy does have a great wit about her. But, good grief, the patriarchy just SUUUUUUUUUUCKS. While she tried to shine some light on some hope near the end, it is increasingly difficult to feel much optimism about our chances of things changing for the better. Sigh. (We are coming for our future)

8. ATY challenge week 8) A book set in a state, province, or country you have never visited

Death and Other Happy Endings by Melanie Cantor - this takes place in England. Although the location isn’t really vital to the story, so whatev. Anyway. This was about Jennifer, a 43 year old woman in HR who is told by her doctor that her routine bloodwork exam revealed she has a fatal disease giving her about 3 months to live. She takes the time that she has left to make amends, and decides to write letters to her ex-husband, her ex-boyfriend, and her sister, laying out their faults, and letting them know what she really thinks of them and how she wishes their relationships could have been different. Things get more complicated as she begins to hear back from them and they interact with her telling them the truth. This was a nice breezy novel that wasn’t my normal choice, but it’s nice to get outside of your comfort zone every once in a while. (Please direct any flowers to her.)

9. ATY Challenge week 9) A book you associate with a specific season or time of year

The October Faction: Open Season by Steve Niles -

I wanted to like this more than I did. The concept, while not super original, felt like it had potential, but just fell pretty short. It focused on the Allen family: Fred and Deloris, who used to be monster hunters, and their children, Geoff and Vivian, who, now that they’ve left high school, decide that they want to follow in their parents’ footsteps.

The idea of a world where monsters are real and there are people who specialize in taking care of them to protect the rest of us is fine, but, again, it felt like the worldbuilding was mostly left off the table. Like, who is paying for these people to kill zombies and demons? Is it the government? Do they get paid by the people they save?

The relationship with Fred’s ex-partner, Lucas, is another semi-dropped ball. Lucas got bitten by a werewolf during one of their outings, and he now has the ability to change at will. He later finds out that he’s got terminal cancer, except when he’s in wolf-mode. Neat twist. Except, being a werewolf doesn’t really seem like a hindrance. So, it’s like, ...what’s the big deal? Just stay a wolf. There’s no drawback.

And sadly, the artwork made it difficult at times to tell who was who or what was going on. All in all, this was just a missed opportunity. Apparently there are (at least) five other volumes, and I suspect that it *could* get better with time, but I’m unlikely to seek them out to find out. (Look out monsters and bad guys, here we come.)

10. ATY Challenge week 10) A book with a female villain or criminal

An Eldery Lady Is Up To No Good by Helene Tursten - a collection of five short stories that were interconnected. Maud is an 88 year old Swedish woman who takes no shit from anyone. If you ever get on her bad side, you’re quite likely going to end up murdered. These were breezy and enjoyable. The author has a series of mystery novels focused more on the detectives who later investigate one of Maud’s crimes. Maybe I’ll check some of those out later. I don’t know if Maud is involved in those, so they might not be quite as enjoyable, but the writing was quite good with these, so who knows. As I do with story collections, here are the final sentences from each one:

An Elderly Lady Has Accomodation Problems - Maud deals with an intrusive neighbor. (She moved away from the window and into the darkness.)

An Elderly Lady On Her Travels - Maud sees that an ex-fiance of hers is planning on marrying someone that is obviously a gold-digger. That won’t do. That won’t do at all. (Only time will tell, thought Maud.)

An Elderly Lady Seeks Peace at Christmastime - Maud’s neighbors are having some domestic issues. (At long last the peace of Christmas descended on the old apartment block.)

The Antique Dealer’s Death - Maud comes under a little bit of suspicion. (And what police officer would listen to a theory cooked up by two old men?)

An Elderly Lady is Faced with a Difficult Dilemma - a bit of a different look at the events from The Antique Dealer’s Death. (You got away with it, Embla said to herself with an ironic smile.)

11. ATY Challenge week 11) A book to celebrate The Grand Egyptian Museum

Cairo by G. Willow Wilson -

graphic novel about a Djinn who is freed from his imprisonment in a hookah, the magician who wants to capture him, and the lives that are impacted by falling in between the two. This was an entertaining ride into a world that mixed realism and magic in an enjoyable manner. (I do understand.)

12. ATY CHallenge week 12) A book eligible for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation

The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa -

The residents of an unnamed island have to deal with the fact that life on this island comes with periodic disappearances of things. You’ll wake up one day, and “hats” will have disappeared. The actual hats themselves will still be there - for now. But all residents are required to destroy anything that could remind anyone of the thing that has disappeared. So, in the hat example, you’d have to bring all the hats you own (and any pictures of you wearing a hat, I suppose) to the town center where it would be either burned or dumped into the ocean. And as time went on, the memory and concept of hats would fade away.

However, certain individuals are able to still retain memories of things that have disappeared. And, of course, there are people who would not be okay with parting with all things. (Say, maybe, a hat was given to you by a loved one, and you wanted to be able to remember them through it) If you keep a contraband item, or are a person who remembers them, you’re in danger of The Memory Police arresting you. The Memory Police are an organization whose sole purpose is to make sure that things which have disappeared are all forgotten.

The main characters of the story are an unnamed novelist, her editor named R, and an old man who is a friend of hers. When they realize that R is someone who has the ability to remember things that have disappeared, the trio concoct a plan to hide him from the Memory Police in a secret room in the main character’s apartment.

This was an interesting dystopian novel that unfortunately didn’t quite come together for me. I think the hows and the whys were something I needed to know more of in order to fully comprehend the story. Although the writing was beautiful, and I did appreciate the struggles that the characters went through - especially when having close calls with the Memory Police - the world building felt incomplete. And I didn’t really “get” the ending, as it seemed to become far more abstract than it had been up to that point. Was an interesting read, though. (Closed in the hidden room, I continue to disappear.)

13. ATY challenge week 13) A book written by an author of one of your best reads of 2020

Growing Things by Paul Tremblay -

I will undoubtedly read most of what Paul Tremblay writes in the future. But. I think this collection of short stories made me a bit more wary. His novels that I’ve read have been good, but it seems like he has a pattern: He writes great characters, he uses beautiful language, and he excels at creepy situations. But a lot of his stuff ends ambiguously. A LOT. And while I’m a fan of an ambiguous ending… having it happen 19 times in a row can be a bit much. Plus, with this collection, he’s apparently doing the Stephen King thing of tying other stories into one another (although I guess he may have had hints of Head Full of Ghosts in Disappearance at Devil’s Rock, and they slid past me…). Anyway. These stories were all mostly good, but with varying degrees of “I don’t get it”-ness.

Or, put another way. Paul Tremblay writes novels (and stories) that combine literary and horror. I just wish he’d focus more on the horror, and a little less on the artsy side, if that makes sense. Okay. Onto the stories!

Growing Things - we started off very strongly. This quick apocalyptic tale of out of control plants growing everywhere and ruining civilization was sufficiently creepy. It went over my head that apparently THIS story was referenced in Head Full of Ghosts multiple times, so there was a meta-aspect to it that I didn’t get. I still enjoyed it, though. (What if it is?)

Swim Wants To Know If It's As Bad As Swim Thinks - Something that Paul does well, and does it multiple times in this collection, is to have an apocalyptic event going on, but focusing on a particular character going through it. In this instance, a meth-addicted mother, who has lost custody of her young daughter. When news reports of gargantuan creatures emerging from the ocean and rampaging nearby towns start causing everyone to panic, she goes to pick up her daughter and take her someplace safe. (Your mom’s here.)

Something About Birds - A waiter working part time for a horror zine interviews William Wheatly, an elderly, reclusive writer who is most famous for his short story, “Something About Birds”. At the end of the interview, the writer gives him a dead bird’s head as an invitation to a gala. The writer posts pictures of it online, to both tease the upcoming interview before it’s published, and also to brag about having talked to the guy. He gets visited by Wheatley’s bodyguard/lawyer/personal assistant, who makes him remove the posts/pictures of the bird head, and also intimidates him into keeping mum about anything not previously agreed upon talking about. The next morning, he wakes up to find a HUGE bird head mask left in his bedroom. Things get slightly more weird from there. (The voice of Mr. Wheatley say, “You cannot choose wings.”)

The Getaway - 4 friends - Greg, Henry, Mike, and Danny - decide to rob a store.The robbery does not go as intended, and when making their getaway, they begin to vanish one by one. This was a short tale, but one of my favorites of the collection. (I might pick it up, and then fade away.)

Nineteen Snapshots of Dennisport - The narrator of this story is looking at old photographs of a family vacation from 20 years previous, and recalling some dark memories from that time. This was another good one. No supernatural aspect to this, just a good, albeit ultimately grim, short story. (Then maybe, at the very least, you’ll admit who you are and what you did to him and what you did to me.)

Where We All Will Be - When *something* happens that affects most of the city’s population, turning them essentially into moths drawn to a flame, Zane finds himself immune due to his brain chemistry. But is being spared a horrible fate such a blessing? (Then, in the new silence of the world, he will sit and listen for the high-pitched feedback sound, the one that will continue to be beyond his reach.)

The Teacher - A “cool” teacher teaches his class about life’s dark side. Some of his students have already had lessons. (I’m the video with an ending I won’t ever watch.)

Notes for "The Barn In the Wild" - This just didn’t work for me. Footnotes irk me most of the time, and this short story is full of them. It’s supposed to be a sort of ‘found footage’ type thing - it’s a notebook that a writer who was investigating another writer’s disappearance? I think? - anyway. Just didn’t like this. (It is labeled, simply, BARN.)

_____ - Yep. Just a blank line is the title of this story. A father is sitting at the beach while his two young kids are swimming. A woman who he may or may not know strikes up a conversation. I wanted to like this one, but, again, feel that his ambiguity powers overwhelmed me into not really caring for it. (I don’t know about you guys, but I’m starving.)

Our Town's Monster - it’s like a metaphor for racism or something. (What will not be debated or questioned by the future us is the moral of the town’s newest official monster story: don’t worry, we’ll all be saved and everything will be all right.)

A Haunted House Is A Wheel Upon Which Some Are Broken - Utilizing “choose your own adventure” stylings for this short ghost story was a neat little gimmick, although I read it in order, rather than skipping around. Most ghost stories don’t work all that well, in my opinion, but this one wasn’t bad. You truly got the sense of Fiona’s plight as she made her way through her childhood home revisiting all the spirits that resided there. (THE END)

It Won't Go Away - The idea that ideas are contagious is not a new or original concept. It’s still a scary one. Or it can be. I think this actually suffered from being too short, and not allowing the dread to build longer. Basic premise is that a writer’s friend (another writer) committed suicide, but before doing so, had been obsessed with dark shadows he was seeing in photos of himself. Guess what the protagonist starts seeing. (It won’t go away.)

Notes From The Dog Walkers - This is one of those polarizing stories that people either hate or love, apparently. I lean more toward the loving side, although I can see where the other camp is coming from. This is a very meta- story. It starts off with the author, P, hiring a service of dog walkers. Each of the employed dog walkers leaves a short note for the owner. The story is composed of notes from Jane, Elisa, Geoff, and KB. Each of them has a unique personality and relationship with the dog, Holly. As the story progresses, KB begins to get into P’s personal life, and begins criticizing his work (other books that Paul Tremblay has written in real life, including some of the stories in this collection) and voicing his fears. Neat gimmick, if somewhat self-indulgent. (And your little dog too.)

Further Questions For The Somnambulist - More poetry than actual story, and one that I didn’t care for. Three “characters” are asking questions of Death (I think?). Rather forgettable, either way. (Tomorrow.)

The Ice Tower - an enormous ice tower is discovered in Antarctica, and a team is sent to climb/explore it. Starts off creepily, but that trademark ambiguity creeps in, ruining it. (And that’s when I hear Roger ask me again if I’ll save him.)

The Society of the Monsterhood - A group of bullied teens befriend a monster who conveniently takes care of those who have wronged them. (What if all those who went missing before me are walking around in their somewhere-elses carrying their own busted-up monsters, too?)

Her Red Right Hand - A tribute to Hellboy, apparently. Having not read the comics, and only seen bits of the movie(s), that aspect was more or less lost on me. I liked the bits that focused more on the little girl and her father’s relationship instead. Overall, this was a bit of a dud. (Gemma writes a capital G, her signature, there on that last panel, hiding it down by the grass on a fallen stone.)

It's Against the Law To Feed The Ducks - another “apocalypse takes place, but only focusing on one set of people during it” story. This time, a family on a vacation at a remote cabin. The story is mostly from the 5 year old child’s point of view, so whatever is really going on is even more removed than if it were being told to us via an adult perspective. Mostly we just get a sense that the adult world that doesn’t always make sense to kids is starting to make even less sense than normal. (The ducks flinch and scatter toward the water, but they come back and feed.)

The Thirteenth Temple - A followup to Head Full of Ghosts. Unfortunately, it’s been so long since I’ve read that, that the references to plot points from the novel were lost on me. Mostly this ...sorta bored me. (From behind the door you say, “Good-bye, M.”)

I still generally like Tremblay, but, yeah, this collection was a bit of a mixed-bag.

 

14. ATY challenge week 14) A book set in a made-up place

Cinderella is Dead by Kaylynn Baron - This takes place In the made up kingdom of Mersailles, where evidently, 200 years ago, the fairytale that we recognize as Cinderella actually happened. Or, well, maybe not quite the way that the story says. This was a YA book about Sophia Grimmins (sigh), our plucky sixteen year old heroine who lives in a severely patriarchal society. Women have NO rights, and are forced to attend an annual ball to be chosen like cattle. This unfairness causes Sophia to rebel, and blah blah blah, meeting of one of Cinderella’s step-sister’s descendants happens, and they fight to take down the Man. This had an interesting premise - a society obsessed with an actual fairy tale is a sorta neat way of doing a retelling - but it was a woefully awful execution. The characters and dialogue and plot were all cardboard and boring. And there is no reason it needed to be nearly 400 pages. Even with the larger size font, and spacing that many YA books employ, this could easily have lost a fourth of that page count and not suffered for it. Everything was wrapped up in a nice bow, so at least it wasn’t set up as a series. Although there was that 10 page “discussion” of a kingdom that was Snow White’s domain. Ugh. (Be a light in the dark.)

15. ATY Challenge week 15) A book that features siblings as the main characters

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Fowler -

So good. Rosemary Cooke tells us the tragic story of her family: Mom, Dad, her older brother Lowell, and her sister, Fern. For the first five years of Rosemary’s life, things were great. Rosemary was extremely talkative as a child, and made it her mission to learn (and use) large vocabulary words. But after a particular set of events take place, the family is a bit fractured. Rosemary ends up preferring silence to her previous loquaciousness. Lowell winds up leaving home, and ends up on the run from the FBI. And Fern...well…. Fern’s fate (and the writing, and the situation, and just *LIFE*) ended up making me cry hysterically. Seriously. I shed tears at least twice while reading this, and one of those times was just an uncontrollable sob over ...just lots of things. Fern and Lowell’s final interaction was particularly difficult.

This novel was a gut punch (or three) and was just incredible. I suspect that it’s best to go into it without knowing much, as there are a few twists that might diminish your enjoyment if you know them ahead of time. Just know that this novel does an amazing job examining memory and language - written, spoken, and the language of love itself. This was hands down one of the best books I’ve read this year. Highly recommended. (As if I were looking in a mirror.)

16. ATY Challenge week 16) A book with a building in the title

The Sun Down Motel by Simon St. James -

A combination ghost story/mystery. In 1982, Vivian Delaney was working the overnight shift at the Sun Down Motel in Fell, New York. Fell has had a rash of young women ending up dead recently. Vivian, instead, winds up missing. Her car and belongings were left at the motel, she simply ...disappeared. Thirty-five years later, in 2017, Vivian’s niece, Carly, has taken the same job at the same run-down motel. She has made it her mission to find out what, exactly, happened to her aunt. While investigating this, though, she starts to uncover the other secrets that The Sun Down Motel holds.

This was a pretty solid murder mystery. It alternated POV between Vivian and Carly, with each of them solving bits of the Sun Down Motel’s mysteries. It was a neat balancing act to have Vivian discover information which impacted things that Carly would find out later, and then to have things happen in Carly’s point of view that made you question events from ‘82. (I watched the snow fall for a long time before I finally fell asleep.)

17. ATY Challenge week 17) A book with a Muslim character or author

Internment by Samira Ahmed - 

A sort of “what if Donald Trump and his ilk went just a LITTLE bit further” scenario, where Muslims are rounded up and put into internment camps. I just wish that it had connected with me more. The leader of the camp was too over the top, and the possible romance subplot between Layla and the guard was all sorts of unnecessary. (I don’t look back.) 

18. ATY Challenge week 18) 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 1

Then by Morris Gleitzman -

this book was the second in a trilogy about a couple of orphans on the run in Nazi Germany during World War II. It’s a middle-school book, so the writing was a little “young” for me, but the subject matter and the characters were intriguing nonetheless. (Let’s see what they do then.)

19. ATY Challenge week 19) 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 2

Our Time is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America by Stacey Abrams -

Sigh. Voter suppression. (I believe in us.)

20. ATY Challenge week 20) 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 3

Later by Stephen King -

“The Sixth Sense” mixed with, well, Stephen King. Jamie Conklin can see and talk to ghosts. A neat twist is that when he talks to them, they have to tell the truth. For the most part, Jamie’s ability stays under the radar. It’s not like he’s hunting down spirits on the regular or anything. Things get really interesting when he ends up speaking with a ghost who doesn’t play by the rules - he can lie to him, and doesn’t disappear after a few days like most ghosts. Oh, and that ghost also was a serial bomber while he was alive and may or may not have another bomb set to go off somewhere. This was a short King novel that I mostly enjoyed, although there was a late-addition twist that came out of left field and was ...puzzling. (Later.)

21. ATY Challenge week 21) A book whose title and author both contain the letter "u"

Adjustment Day by Chuck Palahniuk -

It’s interesting how this writer can write some amazing intriguing powerful stuff (Lullaby, Fight Club, Survivor) and ALSO some absolute horrible garbage (Beautiful You, Pygmy, Er..The Book of the Damned? I forget the exact title). This ...was sort of a combination of both. It was a bit like Fight Club (there were meta-mentions of it, actually) taken to an extreme. I read reviews that said he was “taking the piss” from both liberals and conservatives with this, and, yeah, maybe. But overall it just didn’t quite gel, I don’t think. I should have written these thoughts closer to when I originally read the book, because now, four months later, I’m having difficulties remembering what happened, what I liked, and what I didn’t. So, you know, there’s how I feel about recommending it, I guess… (Grouse hunting season had been only days away.)

22. ATY Challenge week 22) A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix - 

I’ve read most of Grady Hendrix’s other books, and enjoyed them a great deal. This was, sadly, his weakest work thus far. The first half was fantastic, but the second half, after the time-jump, was just way too much gaslighting of the main character and I felt like the magic was lost in the backhalf. Still, I wouldn’t mind seeing this adapted for either a movie or tv series, if done properly. The story was essentially about a group of southern women in the mid-90s who have their lives upturned by a new mysterious gentleman moving into their neighborhood. Is there more to him than meets the eye? Of course there is. (She needed to get to her book club.)

23. ATY Challenge week 33) A collection of short stories, essays, or poetry

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green -

John and Hank Green are two very smart, very interesting dudes. I enjoy their vlogbrothers videos, as well as their crash course series. John writing a book that is a series of essays “reviewing” different aspects of modern life (covering a range of topics such as “sunsets”, “air conditioning”, “QWERTY keyboards” and “googling strangers”) and rating them on a scale of 1 to 5 stars was something I was totally on board for. (What a blessing to be Earth loving Earth.)

24. ATY Challenge week 23) A cross genre novel

Nutshell by Ian McEwan -

A pregnant woman plots her husband’s murder alongside her lover, who happens to be her husband’s brother. All of this is told from the point of view of her unborn baby. This short novel was interesting, if a bit too abstract at times. (The rest is chaos.)

25. ATY Challenge week 24) A book about racism or race relations

Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby -

Eh, this wasn’t really about race relations, although there was some of that in there, since the protagonist was a person of color. The book was more about father and son relationships, and the tried and true trope of getting out of a life of crime. It was a decent enough book, although nothing truly groundbreaking. (Finally, he whispered, “I don’t know if I can.”)

26. ATY Challenge week 25) A book set on an island

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs -

This was ...okay? It’s mostly left my mind at this point, so I guess it wasn’t anything remarkable. As I recall, it was essentially the X-Men, but also...some time travel was involved? Eh, like I said, not anything that great. The pictures scattered through were a neat addition to the story. (We rowed faster.)

27. ATY Challenge week 26) A short book (<210 pages) by a new-to-you author

Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls -

super short novella about a housewife who has an affair with an intelligent froglike humanoid creature who has escaped from a lab that her husband works at. (But he never came.)

28. ATY Challenge week 27) A book with a character who can be found in a deck of cards

The Joker: A Memoir by Andrew Hudgins -

What do you get if you cross a moderately interesting memoir of a white boomer with a shit load of racist jokes? This book! Analyzing jokes and especially ‘edgy’ (racist/sexist/tasteless) jokes and what makes us uncomfortable about them is an interesting topic, but Hudgins takes every opportunity he can to retell racist diatribes. And he’s also the type of dude who uses the “it’s just a joke” excuse which so doesn’t work anymore. On top of that, none of the jokes in this book were funny. Blah. Overall this was just an example of everything that’s wrong with the boomer generation in general, and white males of that generation in particular. (So, yeah, I’ll pull the damn dead dog’s dewclaw - and then look into heaven or the void and listen hopefully for laughter.)

29. ATY Challenge week 28) A book connected to ice

The Ice Twins by S. K. Tremayne -

Angus and Sarah decide to move to a secluded island a year after one of their twin daughters died in a horrible accident. The day before moving there, the surviving twin claims she is, in fact, the one who died. I think this book wanted to be far creepier than it actually was. I was largely annoyed with the lack of communication in the family, and some of the twists near the end were beyond belief. I think the author wanted to have elements of supernatural possibilities as answers, but also wanted it to remain ambiguous, and it just hurt the story. (And yet a cold wind still whips off those beautiful hills.)

30. ATY Challenge week 29) A book that you consider comfort reading

The Boys: Dear Becky by Garth Ennis -

I mostly enjoyed The Boys, so when I saw that a prequel/sequel had been written, I figured, okay. That’ll be “comfort” reading to go back to that world. And it was...sorta. The prequel stuff was somewhat dull, since, you know, that story was done. And the sequel stuff actually felt a little like, “Man, can’t poor Hugie get a break and be DONE with Butcher?” So...I guess maybe not quite as ‘comfort’ as I’d hoped. (You were with him all the way.)

31. ATY Challenge week 30) A long book

Wanderers by Chuck Wendig -

an epic dystopian novel that owed quite a bit to The Stand. A strange illness seems to be infecting a small group of people in the US. Once they become infected, they enter a sort of sleepwalking trance where they just start …walking. As others become infected, they join up with one another, forming a sort of herd. Loved ones (as well as curious onlookers, scientists attempting to figure out what’s going on, and of course, the media) trail along. It doesn’t take long for fear to play a part and for people to start blaming the Wanderers for… everything. Especially when a SECOND plague begins to spread - this one much more contagious, and much more deadly. There’s also a plot involving an AI that is becoming self-aware, and possibly has some insight into where the Wanderers are going. This was extremely engrossing, and while it was mostly self-contained, there is a sequel coming out (next year, I believe), which I’m very much looking forward to. (The future was a question, and she had no answer for it.)

32. ATY CHallenge week 31) A book by an author whose career spanned more than 21 years

The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz -

time travel vs. the patriarchy! A lot of this has faded from my memory now that I write this 4 months after having read it, but at the time I greatly enjoyed this sci-fi novel with a lot of philosophical implications. When the timeline can be edited pretty much like a wikipedia page, edit wars are gonna happen. This was unique, intelligent, and a good time. (Let’s schedule your sacrifice.)

33. ATY Challenge week 32) A book whose cover shows more than 2 people

Generation Gone vol 1 by Ales Kot -

This graphic novel was extremely generic. Three millennials, each with a chip on their shoulder, end up getting super powers when they hack into a government website and read a document that ...does that. NONE of the characters are worth rooting for, and while anti-hero stories can work, this one fell super flat for me. (It’s all going to be okay now.)

34. ATY Challenge week 50) A book published in 2021

Billy Summers by Stephen King -

This epic character study was pretty great (I mean, it’s Stephen King, so it’s gonna be absorbing), although I wanted the first half to have more of an impact than it did on the second half’s plot. Once Billy meets Alice, the first half of the book and the interactions he had with people while living under cover was just thrown out the window. And, yeah, I get that it had to be that way, I just ...thought it wouldn’t be? And the second half is definitely weaker. Still enjoyable, overall, but there were nitpicks that were very visible. And having every address or safe combination add up to 19 was cute the first time, but doing it repeatedly has gotten quite stale. Still, I would say that there are certainly worse ways of spending your time. And I just got the sense that King has plans for Alice in future books, and if that’s the case, I’m on board. (She is found.)

35. ATY Challenge week 34) A book with a travel theme

Sparrow Hill Road by Seanan McGuire - 

Turns out you CAN have too much world building. The afterlife in this novel was interesting at first, but at some point just became… too much to keep track of. I mean, there’s a glossary in the back to help you determine what all the different types of ghosts and phantoms and whatevers are. If it had been pared down somewhat, and just focused on Rose and Bobby Cross...well, I don’t know that I would have enjoyed it more, but it would have been slightly less exhausting than having to go “there’s ANOTHER style of ghost you can become?” every fifteen pages or so. (And in all the Americas, from midnight to noon and in-between, the truckers roll out, and the diners stand like cathedrals of the road, and the beat… the beat goes on. )

36. ATY Challenge week 35) A book set in a country on or below the Tropic of Cancer

Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani -

a YA book based loosely on the real-life events in Nigeria where the group Boko Haram kidnapped a group of young girls. This was dark, without being explicitly graphic. Knowing that it actually happened made it all the worse. Humans can be some fucked up animals, yo. (To think that I will soon hear “Ya Ta” again.)

37. ATY Challenge week 36) A book with six or more words in the title

Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir -

Short, snarky fun little tale about a princess put at the top of a tower with 39 different obstacles on each flight for princes to battle. With the aid of a fairy named Cobweb, Floralinda uses her wits (and a bit of luck) to make her way down herself. (Floralinda.)

38. ATY Challenge week 37) A book from the Are You Well Read in World Literature list

The Room by Jonas Karlsson -

Another short novella that I read in a day and a half (would’ve finished even sooner if life hadn’t interfered). This is about Bjorn, an arrogant office worker who does have skills when it comes to his job, but is a bit of a judgemental dick. When he transfers to a new job, he doesn’t quite click with any of his coworkers. While still getting his footing at the new workplace, he discovers a doorway to a room that is set in the middle of a hallway. The room leads to an office that nobody is evidently using. Bjorn starts to decide to use it to focus on his job, since he can go there to recharge his batteries without dealing with his coworkers. Problem is… the room doesn’t exist. Whenever he goes to it, his coworkers see him simply standing in the hallway staring into space. This was an interesting read, and with Bjorn being an unreliable narrator kept me wondering exactly how I should feel about both him and his coworkers. (I could hear them calling my name outside, and I thought: You’ll never find me here.)

39. ATY Challenge week 39) A book involving an immigrant

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah -

Granted, this memoir wasn’t really about an immigrant’s story - he didn’t move to the US until 2011, and the story goes from his birth up until 2009; but he IS an immigrant, and I wanted to read this, so there ya go.

Trevor Noah is super funny, and he seems like he’s got his act together. It’s obvious his mother played a gigantic role in shaping his worldview, and she sounds like an amazing woman. I’m not normally into memoir’s, but Trevor’s was written in a manner that was easy to get into and quite interesting as well. It served as not only a memoir, but also a bit of a history lesson on apartheid.

(But He blessed me with the son who did.)

40. ATY Challenge week 41) A book by a new-to-you BIPOC author

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass -

YA novel about Jake Livingston who attends a private school as one of only three Black students. This puts him as an outsider already, but add to that the fact that Jake can see ghosts, and is gay...and Jake’s social life is a disaster. After Sawyer, a troubled teen from a nearby school, goes on a shooting spree and takes his own life, Jake begins to be bullied by Sawyer’s ghost. Jake has to investigate Sawyer's life to try and find a way to stop him from taking over Jake’s body. This was intriguing, and bits of it were decent, but overall, I just didn’t enjoy it completely. I appreciated that it was willing to go dark - Sawyer’s home life is a complete nightmare, and even though he ends up a murderer as a result of it, you do develop some sympathy for him - but it truly felt like this wasn’t “cooked” long enough. The world building with regard to Jake’s ability and the ghost realm was extremely unclear. There was real potential with this, I just feel like it didn’t coalesce for me like it could have.(Like the jolt I get after an astral glide, when my body reminds my soul that it’s alive.)

41. ATY Challenge week 40) A book with flowers or greenery on the cover

Wool: The Graphic Novel by Hugh Howey -

Sigh. I have read the Wool trilogy and greatly enjoyed it. The graphic novel adaptation, though, left a lot to be desired. If I hadn’t read the books before hand, I don’t think I’d have a clear sense of what was going on. Granted, the novel also works as a mystery with a lot of things that take time to figure out, but they allowed you to develop a better connection with the characters and the world that it’s set in. The graphic novel felt more rushed, and less substantial. It began to pick up and sort of “find it’s voice” between halfway to 3/4s of the way through, but even then, there were bits that weren’t clear as to whether they were flashbacks, or happening in different sections of a different Silo or what. All in all, a rather poor adaptation of a pretty great series. (I sent him to clean.)

42. ATY Challenge week 38) A book related to a word given by a random word generator

The Random Word Generator (randomwordgenerator.com) gave me the word: foot.

Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks -

Greenloop is an experimental commune set in the woods of Oregon near Mt. Rainer. After itr erupts, they are cut off from society, and have to ACTUALLY survive on their own. This turns out to be tough, but manageable. Until a group (tribe? herd?) of Sasquatch(es) show up as well. Essentially, what Max Brooks did with zombies in World War Z, he does here with Bigfoot. This was super entertaining, and at times actually quite tense. (You hear that?)

43. ATY Challenge week 42)  A mystery or thriller

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky -

Absolute dreck. So badly written, and at 705 pages, it was way, way, WAAY too long. The first 50-ish pages? Yeah. You drew me in. It was intriguing - not necessarily well written, I could see some signs even then - but as it went on and on and on (and on) it just became tedious. But by the point that I had gotten 300 or 400 pages in, I was like, well… I’m not going to stop NOW. I wish I had, because, UGH. Such a damn waste. The *only* reason this novel was published is because it was written by Stephen Chbosky who 20 years ago wrote “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, and has directed some movies in the meantime. If any non-famous person had written this garbage it would have been rejected by any publisher. In some fictional city 50 years ago, David Olson went missing in the woods behind his house and was never seen again. Jump to present day, and Christopher Reese and his mother, Kate (except when she’s referred to as “Christopher’s mother” - seriously, there’s a 15-20 page section where that’s all he calls her. It’s “Christopher’s mother walked down the hall. Then Christopher’s mother turned on the light. Christopher’s mother watched TV”… it’s weird and badly written and just...UGH! He does it with other characters as well. “The sheriff” alternates between his name and just that title. I suppose it’s probably a writing quirk he has, but once you notice it, it’s impossible to NOT see it, and it drove me crazy.) ANYWAY. Kate and 7 year-old Christopher flee from Jerry, because he’s an abusive drunk asshole. They don’t have any money, but she manages to get them into a small town miles away from Jerry to start over. Everything is going well, for a few weeks, but then Christopher starts listening to his imaginary friend who directs him to the woods. Same woods that David disappeared in all those years ago. Nobody sees Christopher for 6 days. On the 7th, he re-emerges, and while he appears unharmed, he has no memory of what happened or how he survived, other than the fact that “the nice man” helped him. No trace of any one else is found by law enforcement. After his return, Christopher suddenly has his dyslexia cured, and the kids who were bullying him previously are now his friends, and he also starts to be able to read minds. All of this is ...intriguing set up. Unfortunately, it’s squandered for several hundred pages of repetitive crap that becomes muddled and unclear - there’s a “hissing lady” and the nice man, and David Olson (or his spirit?) are all fighting each other for the fate of the town… Blah. I’ve rambled enough about this crap book. Bottom line is that there’s a lot of Christian imagery thrown in for the last 2/3rds of this, and there is NO payoff for any of the story that was set up. 700 pages of shit. Avoid this one. (You are having a Son.) 

44. ATY Challenge week 43) A book with elements of magic

A House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman -

Amelia and James are both 17. On their first date together they go out on a lake using a canoe owned by James’ uncle. The date is nice enough, but they decide to investigate a hidden part of the lake which leads to a more remote area where they discover another lake. As they are floating along on this isolated lake, they notice a roof below them. Diving down, they discover what seems impossible - an entire house is just sitting there, at the bottom of the lakebed. Naturally, they decide to explore it. Weirdness ensues, as does the couple falling in love with each other. This novella was well written and engaging, although the ending had a bit of a “huh?”-factor. (“Where the lights have come on…”)

45. ATY Challenge week 44) A book whose title contains a negative

Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump -

Two quotes essentially sum this memoir up: "Hurt people hurt people". And "All happy families resemble each other, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way". It was both enlightening and boring to delve into the history of the Trump family’s dysfunction. While this didn’t exactly tell us HOW the family created the world’s most dangerous man, it did give proof that fathers have an enormous impact on how children end up. And that some psychological damage can be severe. I mean, we all know that Trump has daddy issues. This just showcased some of how that came to be. Fred Trump (Donald’s father) was a fucked up dude. He passed it along to his kids. And undoubtedly all of Donald’s children are inheriting their own neuroses and so on and so on. (Right, Toots?”)

46. ATY Challenge week 45)  A book related to a codeword from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet

Whiskey & Charlie by Annabel Smith -

Charlie and William are identical twins who have very different personalities. The start of their lives, they are inseparable - they play together, get into trouble together, and using walkie-talkies develop an obsession with the NATO alphabet (which is how William develops his nickname of Whiskey). As they grow older, their personalities lead to different lifestyle choices, and the two grow apart, with an eventual estrangement. However, when Whiskey has a near-fatal car accident that leaves him in a coma, Charlie and the rest of the family put that behind them to be there. This was emotional, and very relationship forward, not my typical book choosing, to be sure. And while a bit of the middle did drag, the early parts of Charlie and Whiskey’s life, as well as the final three or four chapters were extremely engrossing. The characters all felt very real and they all dealt with the situation in believable ways. (The last letter of the two-way alphabet.”)

47. ATY Challenge week 46) A winner or nominee from the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards

I Will Judge You By Your Bookshelf by Grant Snider -

This was a collection of comics that had the theme of reading or writing or just books in general. It was not very interesting or amusing or offer up anything profound to say about any of those topics. It was essentially “books are great to enjoy and collect”. Which, sure. And? I don’t know. The artwork was simplistic, and could, I suppose, be described as ‘charming’, but it didn’t win me over. This was a book that could easily have been read in a couple of hours, and it took me about a week because I just couldn’t force myself to read more than a few pages at a time due to the sameness of it all. One or two of the pieces might be something you’d clip out of the newspaper and have hanging in your office as a sort of motivational type thing. But overall, this was just pure bland. (The end of one story… is the start of another.)

48. ATY Challenge week 47) A non-fiction book other than biography, autobiography or memoir

As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes -

The Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies ever. So, getting some behind the scenes scoop was …neat. But not really mind-blowing or anything. Basically I learned that Cary Elwes loved EVERYONE he worked with on set, that he and Mandy Patinkin had to go through a shit-ton of practicing for the sword-fight, that Cary actually broke his foot on set, and that Andre the Giant was quite possibly the world’s kindest human being ever. All cool info, just not AS cool as the movie, I guess is what I’m trying to say. (Well…you know.)

49. ATY Challenge week 49) A book with an ensemble cast

The Alex Crow by Anderew Smith -

Kinda out there YA novel, 4 different narratives are juggled - an Arctic expedition in the 1880s; a dying schizophrenic man who has built a bomb is driving it cross country; and Ariel, the main protagonist, is telling his past to his adoptive brother, Max, and also experiencing a summer camp with him. It didn’t ALL work, but for the most part, once I got into this, I was on board with the whole kit and caboodle. There were some really intriguing ideas mixed in here, and a lot of the writing gave me Vonnegut vibes. This was a strange novel, and it was absolutely a bleak one (Ariel’s life before getting to America is essentially one horrific tragedy after another. And even after getting adopted by the Burgesses, his life isn’t rainbows and puppies) but it was definitely unique, and enjoyable enough that I am glad I read it. (Here is an immigrant kid, a second son named Ariel, who has lived, and lived, and lives again, in a place called Sunday.)

50. ATY Challenge week 51) A book whose title refers to person(s) without giving their name 

Bad Man by Dathan Auerbach -

Ben was 15 years old when his 5 year old half-brother, Eric, disappeared from a grocery store trip the two were on together. Five years later, and Eric has not been found. Ben is a twenty-year old with some severe anger issues, and is consumed with guilt over that day, and the fact that no leads have been generated in the search for his brother. The local police consider him a nuisance, and there is a possibility that the officer in charge of the case is covering things up. Ben’s family is barely holding together, as his stepmom has become a shut-in after Eric’s disappearance, and his father isn’t much of a role model. Ben attempts to get a job to help contribute to the family’s income, and, with not much of a choice of employment anywhere else, winds up getting hired at the same grocery store that Eric disappeared from. While there, Ben begins to discover that the manager of the store, along with his co-workers, are some …suspicious individuals.

I felt like this author really was extremely talented with creating atmosphere, and characters, but that the plot was a bit slow. Also, especially in the final third of the book or so, “creepy” things happened that only really seemed to be happening in order to be creepy. And WHAT exactly was happening near the end was a bit difficult to follow. All that being said, this was not a bad book at all, and I’d probably read other stuff from this guy. (No one ever does.)

51. ATY Challenge week 48) A book that might cause someone to react “You read what?!?”

Have You Eaten Grandma? By Gyles Brandreth -

essentially this was a textbook about grammar, punctuation, spelling and language. It also worked in humor (in varying degrees of success). A lot of the stuff in here was interesting, but alas, most rules of language fly right out of my head a few seconds after reading them. But, if you’re going to have a reference book on hand, this might be an enjoyable one to use. (Enough said.)

52. ATY Challenge week 52) A book related to "the end"- 

Violent Ends - This ‘novel’ was a collection of 17 short stories from 18 different YA authors, each with a different perspective about Kirby Matheson, a (fictional) high school student who goes on a shooting spree, killing 5, before turning the gun on himself. The book itself was a bit of a mixed bag, having come from so many various voices, but there were a handful that were outstanding, and only a couple that didn’t work for me. Onto the stories!
Miss Susie by Steve Brezenoff - focused on when Kirby was a preteen, and was more about a neighborhood girl, although it did foreshadow that Kirby had a dark side to him, and was occasionally bullied, even in his youth (Darker than the boy in black Who’s chasing after me.).

Violent Beginnings by Beth Revis - a kid that knew Kirby at camp three years before the shooting reflects on his limited interactions with him. (He knows exactly what he wants to paint.)

Survival Instinct by Tom Leveen - Kirby had friends at the school - he wasn’t exactly a loner. One of his friends was a girl named Zach who is being abused by her father. (You have to be just a little immortal to survive.)

The Greenest Grass by Delilah S. Dawson - one of the uber-popular cheerleader girls in the school had some run-ins with Kirby. (I wonder if he can fly now, all by himself.)

Feet First by Margie Gelbwasser - Kirby’s ex-girlfriend, and the last person to have a conversation with Kirby before the shooting. He took her to a coffee shop to grab some coffee, then left her there, so that she’d be safe from the massacre. (I put one foot in front of the other, close my eyes, and follow the beat.)

The Perfect Shot by Shaun David Hutchinson - we get the perspective from one of Kirby’s victims. (And I take the perfect shot.)

The Girl Who Said No by Trish Doller - a girl who rejected Kirby pre-shooting, and a look at her life a year post-shooting. (“No.”)

Pop by Chrstine Johnson - told from the perspective of a kid who bullied Kirby. (Katelyn.)

Presumed Destroyed by Neal Shusterman and Brendan Shusterman - this was the first story in this collection that felt like a misstep. It was told from the perspective of the gun. It felt just as gimmicky as it sounds. (And I am terrified.)

The Second by Blythe Woolston - This one is, I think, the closest we get to an account of the actual shooting. Most of the stories take place before or after. This one focuses on a girl who was there, and survived by hiding in one of the bathrooms. (It’s my job to be in control.)

Astroturf by E.M. Kokie - The girl who lived in Kirby’s house before his family bought it, and had an unrequited crush on him. (It’s family.)

Grooming Habits by Elisa Nader - Erm… this one was also about a girl who was crushing on Kirby? I think? I think this one just didn’t connect with me. I don’t recall much about it. (“And will you please close the door behind you?”)

Hypothetical Time Travel by Mindi Scott - oh! Hey! I know Mindi!! :) This was easily the best story of the novel, and I’m not just saying that because of who wrote it. This focused on Kirby’s sister, Carah, and how the family had to cope with such an unimaginable situation. The grief that they all were feeling, and how it was tearing all of them apart was palpable. They wanted the world to stop, of course, because of something so horrific that took place, but life goes on. Very very good stuff. (Do you think they allow dogs in there?”)

All’s Well by Cynthia Leitich Smith - followed up by a story I hated. Ugh. This one just felt like …you know how YA can be just condescending and unenjoyable? This was that. (All’s well.)

Burning Effigies by Kendare Blake - another great one. Very dark. This was from the perspective of a stoner girl named Alice who had a crush on one of Kirby’s victims. Alice is in a bad place mentally, but it makes for some compelling reading. (All of this is permanent, and ont of it will ever go away.)

Holes by Hannah Moskowitz - a subtle commentary on media coverage of tragic events like this. Laura lived near Kirby when they were both 9, but moved away to a different neighborhood. Now, after the shooting, her school paper wants to interview her since she “knew the killer beforehand”. I liked this one, too. (They couldn’t get out.)

History Lessons by Courtney Summers - told from a perspective of one of the kids who bullied Kirby repeatedly when they were younger, and the guilt he feels over if that played a role in Kirby’s decision. (My reflection, faint in the glass.)