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moholub's reviews
89 reviews
Girlfriend on Mars by Deborah Willis
2.0
The premise of this book intrigued me and it definitely started out strong- the plight of Amber and Kevin was a great hook and the competition had an originality to it. I enjoyed Willis' more casual writing style- I usually stay away from books that flip between character POV's, but I think switching writing perspectives as we switched characters helped me keep with this one. I do think the book fizzled out about halfway through- by the time I hit part 2, I was dragging myself through the last few chapters. The lack of character development tested my patience and both storylines became quite draining. While I liked Willis' descriptive style, I don't need to read another book with characters who spend 90% of the book high on weed anytime soon.
The Enterprise War by John Jackson Miller
5.0
Another great space adventure from Miller, takes all the things we love about the shows and expands on them ten-fold. Thoroughly enjoyed the world-building and Miller's writing of our lead characters was on point, especially for a prelude/bridge story with a cast we hadn't truly met yet on screen. Couldn't stop reading but also did not want it to end.
Dead Astronauts by Jeff VanderMeer
5.0
“Dead astronauts were no different than living astronauts. Neither could shed their skin. Neither could ever become part of what they journeyed through."
"Dead Astronauts" is Jeff Vandermeer's surrealist "New Weird" genre at its newest and weirdest. Experimental, hypnotic, all-consumingly weird. The trippy, poetry-prose style is on the surface an eco-horror apocalyptic epic trailing characters through a hopeless wasteland, and underneath an abstract exploration of how we form bonds with the people (or things, or creatures, or blue foxes and ducks with broken wings) around us, especially in processing grief. The disjointed, non-linear storytelling feeds into the confusing tone of the world...none of them really know who they are fighting or why or for how long they have been trapped in this cycle, which itself is commentary on war, conflict, and the blind following of orders.
To me, this book is less about what it means and more about the experience of reading it, of engaging with the emotion and horror of the world these characters have found themselves in. The abstract ideation and open interpretation of any given part of this book--full of religious allegory and apocalyptic warnings--make reading it an immersive exploration of our own humanity.
Even if you are apathetic towards the book as a whole, parts of this story will stay with you long after the final page. I have thought about this quote at least once a week for the last five years: "In the end, joy cannot fend off evil. Joy can only remind you why you fight."
*Full disclaimer, this is my second time reading "Dead Astronauts," and I've spent the last five years contemplating how to explain it to people. Sorry Jenny.
"Dead Astronauts" is Jeff Vandermeer's surrealist "New Weird" genre at its newest and weirdest. Experimental, hypnotic, all-consumingly weird. The trippy, poetry-prose style is on the surface an eco-horror apocalyptic epic trailing characters through a hopeless wasteland, and underneath an abstract exploration of how we form bonds with the people (or things, or creatures, or blue foxes and ducks with broken wings) around us, especially in processing grief. The disjointed, non-linear storytelling feeds into the confusing tone of the world...none of them really know who they are fighting or why or for how long they have been trapped in this cycle, which itself is commentary on war, conflict, and the blind following of orders.
To me, this book is less about what it means and more about the experience of reading it, of engaging with the emotion and horror of the world these characters have found themselves in. The abstract ideation and open interpretation of any given part of this book--full of religious allegory and apocalyptic warnings--make reading it an immersive exploration of our own humanity.
Even if you are apathetic towards the book as a whole, parts of this story will stay with you long after the final page. I have thought about this quote at least once a week for the last five years: "In the end, joy cannot fend off evil. Joy can only remind you why you fight."
*Full disclaimer, this is my second time reading "Dead Astronauts," and I've spent the last five years contemplating how to explain it to people. Sorry Jenny.
Transient and Strange: Notes on the Science of Life by Nell Greenfieldboyce
4.0
As the kid of two scientists, reading Greenfieldboyce's collection of musings felt like another night at the family dinner table: the warmth of the personal, but you're also going to learn something. Her journalistic voice seamlessly layers science-fact with the soft moments of the day-to-day, equal fascination and reverence granted whether she is discussing conversations with her kids or the biological make up of a flea.
The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers
4.0
An enchanting story of gods and girls, promises and debts, doors and keys and dreams of stars. The story of the Everly family is enchantingly woven into a fairy tale with the worlds-building prowess to match. I enjoyed Summers' Morgenstern-esque approach to storytelling, moving back and forth between time and place and including the different versions of the Everly story from the different perspectives, never quite revealing the truth...the openness of the ending was appealing despite the plot holes. Loved Violet's character and development, though the romantic subplot didn't fit for me.
Heartstone by Elle Katharine White
4.0
Your favorite drama queens of the English moors, this time with dragons. White has put together a wildly entertaining adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice," her original elements adding a fun new layer to familiar characters. This book stands on its own as an enjoyable fantasy read even for the non-Austenians out here with action, adventure, angst, and great world building.
The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed
4.0
The only person to ever return from a dark enchanted forest is forced to venture back into the monstrous, murky depths. Woven together with fairytale prose and twisting, rooting riddles is a story about grief, war, and the nature of innocence. And, at the end, a glimmer of light through the trees.
Heartstopper: Volume Five by Alice Oseman
5.0
Really enjoying the direction Oseman is taking with Nick and Charlie's stories- her knack for breaking down and making manageable the big, complicated feelings and deep, important conversations cannot be overstated. Can't wait for volume 6!
Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
4.0
"In the car park, Ged had asked me if I had thought about what would happen after this. I had and I hadn't. I'd imagined as far as Durham and Cleveland, but then there was a wall. Now I was inside the wall, and all I could do was stay in it."
Eleven-year-old Gopi relies on the game of squash--the rules, the training regimen, the observing and anticipating the next move--to navigate the slow implosion of her family, adrift and directionless in the wake of her mother's death. Squash supplies Gopi both an avenue for processing her grief and a tenuous connection with her struggling father, especially as she feels increasingly lost and alienated from her sisters. "Western Lane" is a slim but powerful novel on moving through the world when nothing seems to make sense anymore, while also a story about finding your own strength to push through the darkness.
Eleven-year-old Gopi relies on the game of squash--the rules, the training regimen, the observing and anticipating the next move--to navigate the slow implosion of her family, adrift and directionless in the wake of her mother's death. Squash supplies Gopi both an avenue for processing her grief and a tenuous connection with her struggling father, especially as she feels increasingly lost and alienated from her sisters. "Western Lane" is a slim but powerful novel on moving through the world when nothing seems to make sense anymore, while also a story about finding your own strength to push through the darkness.