maxgardner's reviews
366 reviews

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was so close to being 4 stars or higher for me, but ultimately, there was just a little more romance than I wanted, and it got to the point where it distracted from the main plot and interrupted the flow of the story. I wanted Isabel Cañas to lean more into the horror and action elements because she does them so well. She builds excellent tension in all of the scenes before, during, and after vampire interactions as well as the conflicts with the Yanquis. The vampires have a terrifying, unique design compared to their more human-like counterparts common in general lore. I also love the way Cañas weaves in Mexican folktales as well as real historical communities and battles; the world she recreates feels very rich and well realized.

But the romance becomes overpowering, especially in the middle of the story, and it feels like we spend too much time in both Nena and Nestor's heads going through circular thought patterns about how they can't live without each other but also can't indulge those feelings and can't get over the past but also maybe they can and should because they actually can't do anything but that because of how strong their connection is. I don't mind some of this, but it gets annoying when it interrupts the more interesting moments of horror with the vampires and themes of familial duty versus free will, classism, and exploitation. Unfortunately, it also is to the detriment of Nena's character, who becomes unbearable for a good stretch of the book leading up to the climax. It ends on a strong note, though, and I really enjoyed the finale.

All in all, I'd definitely read another by her, maybe just with different expectations now that I understand she leans more into the romance than the horror elements, though I hope maybe future books have better balance.

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

This was exactly what I expected and wanted. She doesn't delve into everything quite as much as I would have liked. I think she could have performed longer thought exercises on some of the things she reflects on, but at minimum, she addresses everything she needs to. She demystifies a lot of the bullshit we've only ever seen from one perspective, like her relationships with Justin and Kevin, the era shortly after she gives birth to her sons when she's recording Blackout and struggling with her mental health in a very public way, and the conservatorship. I think she does an excellent job of giving grace where it's maybe deserved while refusing to do so where it absolutely isn't and providing a pretty comprehensive, thoughtful analysis of what exactly happened that led to a total loss of her rights, including taking accountability for her own shortcomings and mistakes. I love Britney, I will continue to support her, and I'm just glad she finally got to talk about her experiences.

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I've heard mixed things on some Grady Hendrix books, but this is my second one after My Best Friend's Exorcism, and I really liked both of them. Puppets and taxidermy already are creepy (to me, anyways), so the vibes were there off the bat, but Hendrix definitely elevates that and really maximizes the horror factor. There were scenes in this that had me on the edge of my seat, wincing, wide-eyed—great pacing, solid action writing, and good tension. I was and am truly terrified of Pupkin. I also like that he explores the impact of unresolved family trauma and secrets, and that we get two central characters that ultimately end up being likable and fallible in unexpected ways. I do think the writing sags a bit in the third act—there are a lot of repetitive phrases and thoughts going through Louise's head and it got on my nerves a bit, but I think the ending is strong and works well. Hendrix's writing style appeals so much to me—he blends this wry humor into these moments of solid, wacky horror, and he's got some really wild, strange metaphors at times that just for some reason work. I look forward to reading more from him.

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This had a really rocky start for me and for the first 1/3 of the book, I wasn't sure I wanted to continue. There were interesting ideas and solid moments of creepiness with the demons getting introduced and the insane party scene, but the characters all seemed uncannily non-human, behaving and talking abnormally (and we hadn't even gotten to know them yet, so that made it harder as I wasn't sure if Tingle was just unintentionally writing these characters poorly). It felt sort of like the start of season 5 of Buffy—I had the sense I had missed something significant, but when I double checked, I hadn't, which was only more baffling. But similar to Buffy, you realize soon enough that this was all intentional and things very much are off in this town. Once I got past that and we get to the meat of the story, I really got into it. In spite of Tingle having some clunky sentence structures and odd metaphors and adjectives throughout, I found the story was enough to drive me through to the end. The side characters are loveable, the demons are genuinely terrifying, and the finale is epic (how can it not be when Tingle combines heavy metal with demons and a conversion camp?!). Highly entertaining and a pretty quick read as well.

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I get the hype around Fredrik Backman now. I do think the first 20 or so pages of this book are kind of rough and teeter right on the edge of being too much and a little forced, but Backman reigns it in after that point as we move into the apartment with the hostages and start getting to the meat of the story. He's great at dropping in these paragraphs of insightful, incisive prose that get to the heart of the human experience, touching on fears, struggles, and questions that all of us can relate to and expressing them in a very relatable, heartfelt manner. He also does an excellent job of tying together these 3-4 different narratives, and though the way they come together is pretty contrived, it works so well in the context of the story and in execution. I loved the writing and all of the characters, and I was just consistently excited to get back to reading the book every time I had to put it down.

Lone Women by Victor LaValle

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I overall enjoyed this book. Part I is really strong with a lot of tension as we follow Adelaide from a really wild opening sequence through her journey to Montana to claim land and start anew. I could not put it down; I just had to know what was in the trunk and what happened at her family's farm, why her parents were dead and why she burnt their home to the ground. Part II is where the story starts to drag and meander a bit, and I think there was some room for stronger character development and foreshadowing here with regards to side characters, including the surprise one and the random two people who live on the mountain and seem to be in the know (seriously, what was the deal with that? that felt so undercooked). Because of this, I do think the big finale in Part III suffers a bit, though I still found it highly entertaining and ultimately satisfying as the pace picks back up in Part III and the book finishes on a strong note.

This Is Why They Hate Us by Aaron H. Aceves

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is a really fun, humorous, heartwarming coming-of-age story that manages to channel that chaotic, angsty energy of the teenage years into a narrative that is fresh and poignant. Aceves has a sharp voice that feels confident in what he's going for; the story is rooted in reality, tackling mature themes, but relishes and thrives in the absurd, as some of the best coming-of-age stories do. It's also always refreshing to read a story about a queer kid where the primary dramatic plot points don't hinge on identity acceptance. I liked all the characters, laughed out loud quite a bit, and definitely teared up at times too.

The Girl with Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

5.0

An excellent story of Hyeonseo Lee's accidental defection from North Korea and her journey afterward into the unknown. I loved the writing style—direct and to-the-point while still giving us a strong sense of Lee's personality and inner dialogue—and the pacing, which leaves you consistently hooked wondering what will happen next. Though there is, understandably, a lot of sadness to Lee's story, there's also joy and redemption and beauty, especially in seeing Lee discover the world, the concept of human rights and freedom, and come into her own as a free woman and human rights activist.

Hiroshima by John Hersey

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.0

John Hersey is an excellent journalist who takes us into the lives of six people affected by the Hiroshima bombings and explores the aftermath on the city and its people. This is top-notch long-form journalism; Hersey takes his time to develop well-rounded features of each of these people and does not shy away from describing the grisly result of the United States' direct actions against Japan just one year after the attacks occurred. He also does a great job of capturing the nuance in the conversation that followed around nuclear warfare, both within the immediate communities affected by the bombings as well as globally. This is short and a must-read for anyone who enjoys good journalism.

Tenth of December: Stories by George Saunders

challenging emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

What isn't to love about George Saunders' writing. With a lot of the stories in this collection, I wondered at the start if I was reading from the perspective of an alien, but as the story progressed, I got a better understanding of the character and realized the inner voice, though odd, just clicks and works well. He's got such a distinct voice that makes the stories in this collection feel fresh and unique, even if the concepts aren't necessarily new, and he skillfully weaves in these emotional gut punches and laugh-out-loud moments between often odd prose. Many of the stories explore the idea of family—the different forms that can take, what we owe to the members of it, how those relationships can affect us for better and worse—as well as what responsibility we have to those around us. Some of my favorites from the collection are "Victory Lap", "Escape from Spiderhead", "The Semplica Girl Diaries", and the titular "Tenth of December".