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cas_reads_anything's reviews
408 reviews
Shackled: A Tale of Wronged Kids, Rogue Judges, and a Town that Looked Away by Candy J. Cooper
4.0
Well-done, well-researched, well-written look at the Cash for Kids scandal out of Pennsylvania, Shackled looks at the case over a decade later to explore how it ever could have happened in the first place and the results.
This is a very approachable book, for non-fiction, and covers a variety of angles around the case. At first, I was a little unsure where the author was going with the coal mining history, and I still think the connection is a little tenuous. The mob history, however, was obviously very relevant. I particularly appreciated the chapters on how the kids were treated within the detention centers and the long-term impacts on them, though I would have preferred that to be expanded on and earlier in the narrative. I also think they were too scattered throughout the text. I appreciate the deep dive into the financial web and found it easy to follow. I loved the inclusion of some more restorative justice models as a comparison as well.
Overall, a great read for anyone interested in the ways in which the justice system can fail those it should be serving.
I recieved a review copy of this book at no charge from the publisher but all opinions are my own.
This is a very approachable book, for non-fiction, and covers a variety of angles around the case. At first, I was a little unsure where the author was going with the coal mining history, and I still think the connection is a little tenuous. The mob history, however, was obviously very relevant. I particularly appreciated the chapters on how the kids were treated within the detention centers and the long-term impacts on them, though I would have preferred that to be expanded on and earlier in the narrative. I also think they were too scattered throughout the text. I appreciate the deep dive into the financial web and found it easy to follow. I loved the inclusion of some more restorative justice models as a comparison as well.
Overall, a great read for anyone interested in the ways in which the justice system can fail those it should be serving.
I recieved a review copy of this book at no charge from the publisher but all opinions are my own.
Six Truths and a Lie by Ream Shukairy
3.25
As a contemporary YA thriller, I think this is a success. The characters each have a distinct voice and none of them have the information that is needed to figure out what happens with the central mystery, so you are forced along for the ride to try and piece things together. The prose starts off a little in its own head; overly purple at first and repetitive, but gets stronger and clearer as the text goes. The plot itself has twists and turns and was quite interesting, and everything is wrapped up in the end in a way that was satisfying.
However, it also falls short in a few areas. Obviously this is fiction, so you should not expect legal accuracy, but some of the glaring inaccuracies regarding how the (very flawed) real criminal justice system works were a distraction, particularly where how things were depicted made little sense. My biggest issues were with the cartoon-esque FBI villain; not only were her actions confusing, but I actually think they would have been more impactful if she had been less exaggeratedly evil and instead more banal. The second was the main defense attorney, whose representation throughout had me scratching my head. I really don’t understand why she, in particular, would have been in the post-trial phase at all. I also struggled with the prose in a number of places, particularly when it was trying to emphasize the dramatic nature of events or keep something from the reader for the sake of the future twist in the story. Some of that got a little over the top or convoluted.
Overall I enjoyed the twists and turns of this. If you struggle in the first few chapters, I would say it gets better (but not TOO different) as it finds its stride so it may be worth giving the book a bit more of a chance.
However, it also falls short in a few areas. Obviously this is fiction, so you should not expect legal accuracy, but some of the glaring inaccuracies regarding how the (very flawed) real criminal justice system works were a distraction, particularly where how things were depicted made little sense. My biggest issues were with the cartoon-esque FBI villain; not only were her actions confusing, but I actually think they would have been more impactful if she had been less exaggeratedly evil and instead more banal. The second was the main defense attorney, whose representation throughout had me scratching my head. I really don’t understand why she, in particular, would have been in the post-trial phase at all. I also struggled with the prose in a number of places, particularly when it was trying to emphasize the dramatic nature of events or keep something from the reader for the sake of the future twist in the story. Some of that got a little over the top or convoluted.
Overall I enjoyed the twists and turns of this. If you struggle in the first few chapters, I would say it gets better (but not TOO different) as it finds its stride so it may be worth giving the book a bit more of a chance.
Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell
4.5
I actually think if it weren’t for the last handful of chapters, this would have been a 5 star book. Overall, it was weird, horrible, and absolutely delightful. Just the best sapphic body horror romantasy I can imagine.
Worldbuilding: The world here is fairly sparse. We visit a single city in some sort of europe-like fantasy world, without much of a deep dive into the politics or any of the surrounding area. Most of the worldbuilding is based on the wyvern (if that’s what Shesheshen is), with many questions unanswered for reasons that make sense in the context of the book. Her existence and way of shape shifting was utterly unique and fascinating.
Characters: I would die for Shesheshen. I just absolutely loved her. I think there is something to be said for comparing her to Murderbot; both are confused by human behavior and emotion but spend plenty of time studying it, both have a very dry sense of humor, and both are absolutely charming. Homily is a complex character that I didn’t always agree with but do understand the motivations for, and I appreciated her character arc.
Plot: At no point during this book did I know what would happen next. In retrospect, the plot arc makes sense and is fairly traditional in some ways; while it was happening, it was a delightful rollercoaster. I do think the pacing was overall very consistent with only some mild dragging towards around 60-70% of the book. However, the ending was… not my favorite. I felt like we had a delightful ending which wrapped up the story well and then it just kept going for a few more chapters. I didn’t hate Epilogue as a character but some of the dialogue around it was too on the nose and I just didn’t particularly love it either. It was fine. I do wish the book had ended earlier.
Recommend/Read More? Absolutely recommend, this was fantastic. Though I will have quite the time trying to describe what exactly I just read. I would read more from this author as well.
Worldbuilding: The world here is fairly sparse. We visit a single city in some sort of europe-like fantasy world, without much of a deep dive into the politics or any of the surrounding area. Most of the worldbuilding is based on the wyvern (if that’s what Shesheshen is), with many questions unanswered for reasons that make sense in the context of the book. Her existence and way of shape shifting was utterly unique and fascinating.
Characters: I would die for Shesheshen. I just absolutely loved her. I think there is something to be said for comparing her to Murderbot; both are confused by human behavior and emotion but spend plenty of time studying it, both have a very dry sense of humor, and both are absolutely charming. Homily is a complex character that I didn’t always agree with but do understand the motivations for, and I appreciated her character arc.
Plot: At no point during this book did I know what would happen next. In retrospect, the plot arc makes sense and is fairly traditional in some ways; while it was happening, it was a delightful rollercoaster. I do think the pacing was overall very consistent with only some mild dragging towards around 60-70% of the book. However, the ending was… not my favorite. I felt like we had a delightful ending which wrapped up the story well and then it just kept going for a few more chapters. I didn’t hate Epilogue as a character but some of the dialogue around it was too on the nose and I just didn’t particularly love it either. It was fine. I do wish the book had ended earlier.
Recommend/Read More? Absolutely recommend, this was fantastic. Though I will have quite the time trying to describe what exactly I just read. I would read more from this author as well.
Court Of Wanderers by Rin Chupeco
adventurous
medium-paced
2.75
at times this felt like a relationship counseling session on the titanic. all around a boat is sinking, people are screaming and dying, and things are on fire, and our MCs are just looking deeply into each other’s eyes and asking, “but where do YOU see this relationship in five years? I still have baggage and low self esteem from my childhood and I am afraid you’ll get tired of me” meanwhile the world is on fire and everyone may not survive long enough to have any of this even come up. like, maybe worry about if you will live another 5 years before we worry about whether a throuple can all get married to each other or…?