Scan barcode
nothingforpomegranted's reviews
574 reviews
A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I love Sarah MacLean’s writing and the worlds that she builds, but while the set up here was excellent (with a lost childhood friendship turned into a marriage of convenience), I didn’t think the characters actually had the chemistry that they needed to have to make this story truly excellent. Nonetheless, the characters were fun, and I was happy for Penelope to get her own story after she was so jilted in the previous series. And this ended on a great note: the epilogue had me laughing out loud and immediately downloading the next book in the series.
South by Frank Hurley, Fergus Fleming, Ernest Shackleton
Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.
I have some regret that I don’t intend to continue reading this because so many of the reviews are five stars, citing the unbelievable story, as well as Shackleton’s surprisingly effective writing. However, as I listened to the narration that I got as an educator ALC from libro.fm, I’m just not actually that engaged or interested in Arctic exploration. I am sure that the story is fascinating, but I think I’d rather listen to an hour long podcast and read the wWikipedia article than listen to the 15 hours of Shackleton’s first-person account.
Graham Greene by Percival Everett
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I’m just on a roll with reading Percival Everett’s short stories, and I’m looking forward to exploring the rest of his backlist.
This story was surprising and heartbreaking and so beautiful. As Levar Burton explained, he is a master of pulling the wool over our eyes and then letting the plot unravel. A 102-year-old woman shows an engineer a photograph of her son who she hasn’t seen in at least fifty years. The search feels like a wild goose chase, especially because no one even knew that Roberta had a son. Rather, they think the photograph looks like Native American actor Graham Greene or perhaps another actor. The engineer goes through the town and eventually returns to the home of Roberta, defeated and dismayed to have to tell her that he did not succeed just before she dies. Upon his return, Roberta is grateful and promptly identifies him with her son. She strokes his hand, and he declined to correct her misimpression. However, the true twist of the story occurs when the engineer exits the room to Roberta’s caretakers. He updates them on her response, and met with their surprise upon discovering his mission, they inform him that Roberta’s son died when he was a boy. The story ends there, leaving the reader to wonder what happened to this young boy, how Roberta coped, and who precisely was in the photograph of a 40-something year old man.
This was beautiful written and sparse in just the right ways. Levar Burton’s narration was perfect, as always, and I look forward to reading more and listening to more!
This story was surprising and heartbreaking and so beautiful. As Levar Burton explained, he is a master of pulling the wool over our eyes and then letting the plot unravel. A 102-year-old woman shows an engineer a photograph of her son who she hasn’t seen in at least fifty years. The search feels like a wild goose chase, especially because no one even knew that Roberta had a son. Rather, they think the photograph looks like Native American actor Graham Greene or perhaps another actor. The engineer goes through the town and eventually returns to the home of Roberta, defeated and dismayed to have to tell her that he did not succeed just before she dies. Upon his return, Roberta is grateful and promptly identifies him with her son. She strokes his hand, and he declined to correct her misimpression. However, the true twist of the story occurs when the engineer exits the room to Roberta’s caretakers. He updates them on her response, and met with their surprise upon discovering his mission, they inform him that Roberta’s son died when he was a boy. The story ends there, leaving the reader to wonder what happened to this young boy, how Roberta coped, and who precisely was in the photograph of a 40-something year old man.
This was beautiful written and sparse in just the right ways. Levar Burton’s narration was perfect, as always, and I look forward to reading more and listening to more!
Belle Greene by Alexandra Lapierre
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This was such a fascinating exploration of a fascinating character in history. I appreciated that the author classified this as a fiction book, though it seems highly researched and a mostly historical account. It always irks me when nonfiction pretends to know the inner thoughts of the characters, and this didn’t do that at all, despite the author’s clear research and assertion that most of the dialogue was based on letters from the characters.
I decided to just accept this as a biography with invented dialogue rather than a novel, and that definitely had a positive impact on my rating. I was able to accept the paragraphs of straight information, just telling us about the characters rather than letting us get to know them. There was a lot of explanation in this for a novel, but as narrative nonfiction, it was excellent.
Overall, I really enjoyed this, though it was certainly slow at points.
I decided to just accept this as a biography with invented dialogue rather than a novel, and that definitely had a positive impact on my rating. I was able to accept the paragraphs of straight information, just telling us about the characters rather than letting us get to know them. There was a lot of explanation in this for a novel, but as narrative nonfiction, it was excellent.
Overall, I really enjoyed this, though it was certainly slow at points.
Education Across Borders by Jalene Tamerat, Marie Lily Cerat, Patrick Sylvain
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
This was very interesting, but definitely not what I was anticipating. I was hoping for an exploration of multicultural classrooms with insights from the teachers who have been successful in that context. While certainly there were references to the classroom (and I admire Sylvain and Tamerat for their role in the classroom and their commitment to their students), this was more of a history of Haitians in America. I learned about the waves of immigration, tensions with Dominicans, and the overlap and distinctions with African Americans. I appreciated the way that the authors placed Haitian immigrants in the context of American blackness and culture. The relevance of education is mostly in the fact that all of these adolescents go to school and experience the classroom, often racialized as Black, assumed to be English language learners, and assigned special education status.
The authors referenced several education authors I was familiar with, including Marc Lamont Hill, Thomas Delong, Jonathan Kozol, and several others. It was meaningful to have this put in conversation with other books I’ve read, even if those are not authors I’m intensely familiar with.
There were definitely interesting takeaways here about making connections with students and their families, and I loved how the authors clearly articulated the funds of knowledge that these students often come to school with, particularly with regard to family events, group dynamics, and planning. In addition, there were some important lines about the significance of support students’ bilingualism and creating opportunities for their success within an English speaking school environment, particularly emphasizing using student strengths for greater learning. I think this would have been significantly more relevant and beneficial to me if I were still teaching in New York. Because I am now teaching in Israel, this was mostly just an interesting summary of a subset of the American (urban) school system.
Elements of this reminded me of…
Americanah - Black immigrant experience in Black America
Teach Like Your Hair is on Fire - commitment to the classroom and the cultures of the students, willingness to do something different for student success, high expectations
The authors referenced several education authors I was familiar with, including Marc Lamont Hill, Thomas Delong, Jonathan Kozol, and several others. It was meaningful to have this put in conversation with other books I’ve read, even if those are not authors I’m intensely familiar with.
There were definitely interesting takeaways here about making connections with students and their families, and I loved how the authors clearly articulated the funds of knowledge that these students often come to school with, particularly with regard to family events, group dynamics, and planning. In addition, there were some important lines about the significance of support students’ bilingualism and creating opportunities for their success within an English speaking school environment, particularly emphasizing using student strengths for greater learning. I think this would have been significantly more relevant and beneficial to me if I were still teaching in New York. Because I am now teaching in Israel, this was mostly just an interesting summary of a subset of the American (urban) school system.
Elements of this reminded me of…
Americanah - Black immigrant experience in Black America
Teach Like Your Hair is on Fire - commitment to the classroom and the cultures of the students, willingness to do something different for student success, high expectations
The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I expected to love this, but I just didn’t find myself enthralled with the characters or the story at any point. Florence Green decides to open a bookshop in Hardborough, England, despite the facts that no one seems particularly desirous of such a shop (in fact, some citizens are actively antagonistic) and that she herself seems to possess no real affinity for literature. Ultimately, the narrative just felt like I was reading about a grumpy town that had hit upon hard times and refused to embrace change or surprise.
Anne of Manhattan by Brina Starler
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Honestly, this was perfect. Anne and Gilbert make me giddy, and I credit them with my continued love of rivals to lovers with a MMC who has actually been pining the whole time. This whole book made me so happy, and I was blushing with the ways that Gilbert just loved Anne so much and everyone knew it the whole time. I could have done with a little more Manhattan, just because I love it, but this was exactly what I was looking for—Anne of Green Gables fanfiction that got just the right amount of sexy.
Alluvial Deposits by Percival Everett
dark
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The writing here is sparse and beautiful, but the plot and character development in this one didn’t pull me in quite as much as it did in The Appropriation of Cultures. The exploration of race and anger wasn’t quite as satisfying for me here without the humor and wit. Nonetheless, I appreciated the connections between characters, and overall I thought the story was well-built.
In general, I am finding that Percival Everett’s writing reminds me of Barbara Kingsolver’s, and this in particular reminded me of Flight Behavior.
In general, I am finding that Percival Everett’s writing reminds me of Barbara Kingsolver’s, and this in particular reminded me of Flight Behavior.
Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O'Neal
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.75
This was fun and enjoyable, but also pretty stupid, and I felt like the majority of the tension happened and was resolved in the first thirty percent of the book.
Priya is a sophomore at Stanford on medical leave from her premed degree after being diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease. Lonely and frustrated by her condition and by her status as a young adult stuck in her childhood home, Priya relies on Tumblr to develop a new sense of community, and she befriends Brigid, who introduces her to a group of other users who decide to create a support group for the chronically ill. The story is told in a mix of first-person narrative and chat exchanges, and it is impressive how much personality O’Neal manages to communicate in just a few lines of typed dialogue for the most of the characters in the novel.
When Brigid goes offline and out of touch after posting a dramatic entry about how sick of everything she is, Priya gets worried and, Lyme be damned, decides to drive to Pennsylvania from New Jersey to check in on her friend. Turns out, the chronic illness Brigid has been so cagey about is lycanthropy—Brigid is a werewolf. Priya finds her in her wolffish state and manages to feed her and calm her until Spencer from Animal Control arrives, and they both discover Brigid the girl groggy on the bathroom floor.
The rest of the story proceeds with the development of Priya, Spencer, and Brigid’s friendship, especially as they run around town trying to keep Brigid’s identity under wraps as she turns more and more frequently, creating local lore all based on sightings of the creature. This part became pretty repetitive, and, though I enjoyed the development of Priya and Spencer’s friendship and banter, as well as the bricks of the people in the chat group, I think the book definitely could have been about fifty percent shorter.
Priya is a sophomore at Stanford on medical leave from her premed degree after being diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease. Lonely and frustrated by her condition and by her status as a young adult stuck in her childhood home, Priya relies on Tumblr to develop a new sense of community, and she befriends Brigid, who introduces her to a group of other users who decide to create a support group for the chronically ill. The story is told in a mix of first-person narrative and chat exchanges, and it is impressive how much personality O’Neal manages to communicate in just a few lines of typed dialogue for the most of the characters in the novel.
When Brigid goes offline and out of touch after posting a dramatic entry about how sick of everything she is, Priya gets worried and, Lyme be damned, decides to drive to Pennsylvania from New Jersey to check in on her friend. Turns out, the chronic illness Brigid has been so cagey about is lycanthropy—Brigid is a werewolf. Priya finds her in her wolffish state and manages to feed her and calm her until Spencer from Animal Control arrives, and they both discover Brigid the girl groggy on the bathroom floor.
The rest of the story proceeds with the development of Priya, Spencer, and Brigid’s friendship, especially as they run around town trying to keep Brigid’s identity under wraps as she turns more and more frequently, creating local lore all based on sightings of the creature. This part became pretty repetitive, and, though I enjoyed the development of Priya and Spencer’s friendship and banter, as well as the bricks of the people in the chat group, I think the book definitely could have been about fifty percent shorter.
The Appropriation of Cultures by Percival Everett
funny
reflective
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? No
5.0
This was brilliant, and the perfect foray into reading Percival Everett, who is currently the peak of the American literary zeitgeist. Daniel is a black pianist, artist, and thinker who is pushed to play “Dixie” at a show. He challenges his own instinctive resistance and chooses to not only play the song but also to embrace its resonance with him, a Southern man. He is inspired to take that pride and extend it to the Confederate flag, to claim it as his own, appropriate it, and view it as a symbol of Black power. The rest of the story follows Daniel as he buys a truck with a flag decal and encounters people who question him. The humor in the story is clear but not overhanded, and the sense of strength was meaningful and powerfully distinct from the sense of victimhood that I think pervades the current climate.