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popthebutterfly's reviews
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The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
4.0
Offred is a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, which was once a part of America. As a handmaid, her job consists of going outside once a day to shop for food for the home of her Commander, his wife, and the two Marthas, who are the women who clean and cook for the Commander and his wife. When she does this chore she must wait for another handmaid as they are only allowed to walk in groups of two, and they walk to town where the signs are pictures now instead of words. Women are no longer allowed to read. Offred and her handmaid companions pay for their food by way of tokens, because money is no longer valid in Gilead and women are no longer allowed to have money or make money of their own.
As Offred and her walking companion go home they walk by The Wall, a place were they see the dead bodies of religious priests, people caught engaging in love affairs, and dissents. When Offred returns home she rests until the next days journey to town. Offred and the other handmaids are not allowed to drink, smoke, consume caffeine, or engage in excessive extracurricular activities, because it is thought those would effect their health. They are also not allowed to commit suicide and so their rooms have no glass in them or anything that could be turned into a blade. Baths and toliet times are also regulated.
The handmaids are to undergo health screenings once a month to see if they are pregnant and to make sure they are healthy. The doctors sometimes make offers of sex to the women out of pity. Why? Because the handmaids have an important function in Gilead. They are the fertile few who will help reverse the declining birth rates that effect Gilead. They are to participate in a ceremony each month in which the handmaids lie on their backs between the legs of their Commander's wife while the Commander tries to impregnate his handmaid. This is the reason the handmaids are highly valued, they have viable ovaries and are Gilead's only hope for children. If a handmaid gets pregnant and gives birth, there is a chance the child could be deformed or imperfect. This happens fairly often. If a handmaid is able to give birth they will never risk being sent to The Colonies, a place where people are either forced to clear away the radioactive waste or forced to farm for Gilead.
Offred remembers the time before when she went to college and had a job. She made money on her own, had unlimited access to knowledge and was allowed to smoke, drink, and consume caffeine. She remembers her husband, Luke, and their daughter. She remembers making love with Luke and giving her daughter baths. She especially remembers the day her daughter was taken from her and Luke disappeared. The life she had before is gone now and all she is left with are the memories.
The book, especially at the beginning, mainly focuses on Offred's thoughts and memories. At times it is hard to discern between what is present and what is past. It is also hard to tell what is true and what is made up in her mind, as at times she admits she doesn't remember what happened and what she made up in her mind. As discovered in the end, Offred used fake names throughout the book and didn't speak her own name. The book is presented as a memoir and in the end you leave the book not knowing much more than what you knew going into the book. Offred is a vague, unreliable protagonist and is very scattered at times in her writing.
I loved how Offred presented her story as a back and forth narrative between the present and the past and her hope for the future, but I had issues as her as a protagonist. She did something that not a lot of protagonists in modern books do: she gave up. She didn't fight back or try to escape. She accepted her position and only mildly disobeyed, and even that disobedience was at the insistence of the Commander and/or his wife. The book was also depressing and offered little hope for a good outcome, as I believe Offred died at the end of the novel. This book would definitely not be something I would recommend reading in one sitting. I tried and ended up so depressed I had to stop reading.
Besides those issues, I wholeheartedly believe this book is something that needs to be read, especially in today's time. No matter your views on the future of America, the important aspect of this book is what could happen if people's rights were taken away, something that could happen at any moment either today or 100 years in the future. It's important to read books like these in order to be remembered that our rights can be taken away as easily as they were given to us and that's something all people should be weary of.
As Offred and her walking companion go home they walk by The Wall, a place were they see the dead bodies of religious priests, people caught engaging in love affairs, and dissents. When Offred returns home she rests until the next days journey to town. Offred and the other handmaids are not allowed to drink, smoke, consume caffeine, or engage in excessive extracurricular activities, because it is thought those would effect their health. They are also not allowed to commit suicide and so their rooms have no glass in them or anything that could be turned into a blade. Baths and toliet times are also regulated.
The handmaids are to undergo health screenings once a month to see if they are pregnant and to make sure they are healthy. The doctors sometimes make offers of sex to the women out of pity. Why? Because the handmaids have an important function in Gilead. They are the fertile few who will help reverse the declining birth rates that effect Gilead. They are to participate in a ceremony each month in which the handmaids lie on their backs between the legs of their Commander's wife while the Commander tries to impregnate his handmaid. This is the reason the handmaids are highly valued, they have viable ovaries and are Gilead's only hope for children. If a handmaid gets pregnant and gives birth, there is a chance the child could be deformed or imperfect. This happens fairly often. If a handmaid is able to give birth they will never risk being sent to The Colonies, a place where people are either forced to clear away the radioactive waste or forced to farm for Gilead.
Offred remembers the time before when she went to college and had a job. She made money on her own, had unlimited access to knowledge and was allowed to smoke, drink, and consume caffeine. She remembers her husband, Luke, and their daughter. She remembers making love with Luke and giving her daughter baths. She especially remembers the day her daughter was taken from her and Luke disappeared. The life she had before is gone now and all she is left with are the memories.
The book, especially at the beginning, mainly focuses on Offred's thoughts and memories. At times it is hard to discern between what is present and what is past. It is also hard to tell what is true and what is made up in her mind, as at times she admits she doesn't remember what happened and what she made up in her mind. As discovered in the end, Offred used fake names throughout the book and didn't speak her own name. The book is presented as a memoir and in the end you leave the book not knowing much more than what you knew going into the book. Offred is a vague, unreliable protagonist and is very scattered at times in her writing.
I loved how Offred presented her story as a back and forth narrative between the present and the past and her hope for the future, but I had issues as her as a protagonist. She did something that not a lot of protagonists in modern books do: she gave up. She didn't fight back or try to escape. She accepted her position and only mildly disobeyed, and even that disobedience was at the insistence of the Commander and/or his wife. The book was also depressing and offered little hope for a good outcome, as I believe Offred died at the end of the novel. This book would definitely not be something I would recommend reading in one sitting. I tried and ended up so depressed I had to stop reading.
Besides those issues, I wholeheartedly believe this book is something that needs to be read, especially in today's time. No matter your views on the future of America, the important aspect of this book is what could happen if people's rights were taken away, something that could happen at any moment either today or 100 years in the future. It's important to read books like these in order to be remembered that our rights can be taken away as easily as they were given to us and that's something all people should be weary of.
Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee
1.0
Rating: 1/5
Recommended Age: 18+
Favorite quote: none. DNF-ed
Cheris is a Captain of the Kel. When she decides to make unconventional decisions during battle, she becomes disgraced by her people. She has one chance to redeem herself: take control of the Fortress of Scattered Needles from the heretics. If the fortress completely falls, the whole hexarchate might be next. Her best chance of winning lies in relying on a man named Jedao who is undead. He has never lost a battle... But he did kill his whole command once. Can Cheris trust him and his unconventional ways to win this war?
This book is an excellent example of good writing and the book did something I often wonder about when I read other sci fi books: it creates its own calendar and time keeping system. Unfortunately that's the only things the book did good in my opinion. I'm really sorry, but I did not like this book. It was like I was missing the first 4 chapters of the book. I had no idea what was going on or what these names or things meant. I spent the whole book guessing the meaning behind people's words. I made it to about 100 pages left in the book before I finally had to give up. At that point in the book, random characters were being introduced without proper explanation or being mentioned again in the future. If you had to ask me what I believed was happening when I stopped reading, I'd have to honestly say I didn't know.
Don't let my review sway you to not try this book. I am not a voice for everyone and because I couldn't get into a book doesn't mean you won't be able to. This book is an excellent sci fi war book and to someone who can understand what is happening in this book, I bet this would be the best book ever.
Recommended Age: 18+
Favorite quote: none. DNF-ed
Cheris is a Captain of the Kel. When she decides to make unconventional decisions during battle, she becomes disgraced by her people. She has one chance to redeem herself: take control of the Fortress of Scattered Needles from the heretics. If the fortress completely falls, the whole hexarchate might be next. Her best chance of winning lies in relying on a man named Jedao who is undead. He has never lost a battle... But he did kill his whole command once. Can Cheris trust him and his unconventional ways to win this war?
This book is an excellent example of good writing and the book did something I often wonder about when I read other sci fi books: it creates its own calendar and time keeping system. Unfortunately that's the only things the book did good in my opinion. I'm really sorry, but I did not like this book. It was like I was missing the first 4 chapters of the book. I had no idea what was going on or what these names or things meant. I spent the whole book guessing the meaning behind people's words. I made it to about 100 pages left in the book before I finally had to give up. At that point in the book, random characters were being introduced without proper explanation or being mentioned again in the future. If you had to ask me what I believed was happening when I stopped reading, I'd have to honestly say I didn't know.
Don't let my review sway you to not try this book. I am not a voice for everyone and because I couldn't get into a book doesn't mean you won't be able to. This book is an excellent sci fi war book and to someone who can understand what is happening in this book, I bet this would be the best book ever.
The Idea of You by Amanda Prowse
4.0
Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: Adult Contemporary
Recommended Age: 16+
Favorite Quote: "I paid from the dress they had located, and watched as they wrapped it in tissue, before placing it inside little bag. I didn't want to bring it home, in case anyone found it, so I carefully laid it on the wall of the car park where I had left my car. I hoped, I still hope, that someone found it and a little girl got to wear it. A little girl like you."
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley. This did not influence me in any way.
As Lucy approaches her 40th birthday, she seems to have the perfect life. A great marriage, a cozy home, a successful career, and now a chance to begin trying for her own baby. Life couldn't be anymore perfect. But when conceiving is harder than Lucy thought and when her stepdaughter comes to stay with them, Lucy is constantly reminded of what she feels she'll never have: a child of her own. When her own failing dreams and her step daughters attitude combine, the results make Lucy feel as if she's losing everything she's ever worked towards.
I don't typically read adult novels, especially adult contemporary novels, but something about this book drew me to it so I decided to give it a try. Generally, this book was an enjoyable novel. The quality of writing was excellent, albeit it was wrote by an author I assume to be British so some of the terms the characters used were a bit unfamiliar to me, but I dug deep to my Doctor Who vocab and came out knowing most of the phrases used lol. The plot development is well thought out and it keeps you guessing til the end. The book is also very insightful. It's primary objective is to shed light on miscarriages, which is something not a lot of people talk about. It's a hard subject to approach, which is why a lot of people refuse to discuss it, but the women and men who have had to go through miscarriage shouldn't have to suffer in silence. More acceptance on the matter is needed and I think this book does a good job at showing how miscarriage can effect everyone. The book also offered insight on what it means to be a mother. A few years ago I stumbled upon this YouTube video featuring women who were walking different paths in their life. Some were mothers who had children of all ages. Some of the mothers were old, some were young. Some of the women were grandmothers and some were stepmoms. Some were pregnant or were trying to conceive. Some had miscarried and some had experienced a still birth. The message was clear: no matter your walk you are a mother. If you've wanted, tried, or had a child you've been a mother. You've also been a mother if you've been a stepmom, a surrogate, or a grandmother. Motherhood isn't defined as the ability to have children, it's defined by the ability to love the children in your life, love the child who hasn't come yet, or love the ones who couldn't stay long. This book is a perfect companion to that YouTube video in that it teaches you about the different types of mothers you can be.
While this book is so beautiful, I did find issue with the pacing, some of the characters, and the ease of reading. I felt the pacing was a bit awkward at times. There were random shifts in time throughout the book and sometimes it wasn't stated how long of a jump the reader made, which left me confused as to the time line. Lucy and Jonah's character development also confounded me at certain points. I was amazed at how a nearly 50 year old man could behave like a child and how a nearly 50 year old woman could have thought that secrets were something she could keep in a marriage. I felt both of these characters were childish at times and I sometimes wondered how reliable the narrator (Lucy) was thoughout the novel. I felt some of the things that happened were biased in Lucy's favor, but this bias was resolved at the end of the novel. This is why I gave the rating a 4.5 rather than a 4, the characters did develop and some of my issues were resolved by the end of the novel. The ease of reading was also an issue I found with the book. It's not that the writing is bad, quite the opposite, but I felt the material was that in which it might be very hard for some people to read, especially those who've suffered the lose of a child at any stage. So, just to forewarn you, you might cry.
Overall I liked the book! This is a new release and I believe you should check it out if it sounds interesting to you! Definitely a must read for anyone who's had kids or is thinking about having them.
Genre: Adult Contemporary
Recommended Age: 16+
Favorite Quote: "I paid from the dress they had located, and watched as they wrapped it in tissue, before placing it inside little bag. I didn't want to bring it home, in case anyone found it, so I carefully laid it on the wall of the car park where I had left my car. I hoped, I still hope, that someone found it and a little girl got to wear it. A little girl like you."
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley. This did not influence me in any way.
As Lucy approaches her 40th birthday, she seems to have the perfect life. A great marriage, a cozy home, a successful career, and now a chance to begin trying for her own baby. Life couldn't be anymore perfect. But when conceiving is harder than Lucy thought and when her stepdaughter comes to stay with them, Lucy is constantly reminded of what she feels she'll never have: a child of her own. When her own failing dreams and her step daughters attitude combine, the results make Lucy feel as if she's losing everything she's ever worked towards.
I don't typically read adult novels, especially adult contemporary novels, but something about this book drew me to it so I decided to give it a try. Generally, this book was an enjoyable novel. The quality of writing was excellent, albeit it was wrote by an author I assume to be British so some of the terms the characters used were a bit unfamiliar to me, but I dug deep to my Doctor Who vocab and came out knowing most of the phrases used lol. The plot development is well thought out and it keeps you guessing til the end. The book is also very insightful. It's primary objective is to shed light on miscarriages, which is something not a lot of people talk about. It's a hard subject to approach, which is why a lot of people refuse to discuss it, but the women and men who have had to go through miscarriage shouldn't have to suffer in silence. More acceptance on the matter is needed and I think this book does a good job at showing how miscarriage can effect everyone. The book also offered insight on what it means to be a mother. A few years ago I stumbled upon this YouTube video featuring women who were walking different paths in their life. Some were mothers who had children of all ages. Some of the mothers were old, some were young. Some of the women were grandmothers and some were stepmoms. Some were pregnant or were trying to conceive. Some had miscarried and some had experienced a still birth. The message was clear: no matter your walk you are a mother. If you've wanted, tried, or had a child you've been a mother. You've also been a mother if you've been a stepmom, a surrogate, or a grandmother. Motherhood isn't defined as the ability to have children, it's defined by the ability to love the children in your life, love the child who hasn't come yet, or love the ones who couldn't stay long. This book is a perfect companion to that YouTube video in that it teaches you about the different types of mothers you can be.
While this book is so beautiful, I did find issue with the pacing, some of the characters, and the ease of reading. I felt the pacing was a bit awkward at times. There were random shifts in time throughout the book and sometimes it wasn't stated how long of a jump the reader made, which left me confused as to the time line. Lucy and Jonah's character development also confounded me at certain points. I was amazed at how a nearly 50 year old man could behave like a child and how a nearly 50 year old woman could have thought that secrets were something she could keep in a marriage. I felt both of these characters were childish at times and I sometimes wondered how reliable the narrator (Lucy) was thoughout the novel. I felt some of the things that happened were biased in Lucy's favor, but this bias was resolved at the end of the novel. This is why I gave the rating a 4.5 rather than a 4, the characters did develop and some of my issues were resolved by the end of the novel. The ease of reading was also an issue I found with the book. It's not that the writing is bad, quite the opposite, but I felt the material was that in which it might be very hard for some people to read, especially those who've suffered the lose of a child at any stage. So, just to forewarn you, you might cry.
Overall I liked the book! This is a new release and I believe you should check it out if it sounds interesting to you! Definitely a must read for anyone who's had kids or is thinking about having them.
Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History by Rose Fox, Daniel José Older
3.0
Rating: 3/5
Genre: Fantasy/ Historical Fiction
Recommended Age: 16+ (mature scenes, language, and some gore)
Favorite Quote: "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul"
"In 1514 Hungary, peasants who rose up against the nobility rise again – from the grave. In 1633 Al-Shouf, a mother keeps demons at bay with the combined power of grief and music. In 1775 Paris, as social tensions come to a boil, a courtesan tries to save the woman she loves. In 1838 Georgia, a pregnant woman's desperate escape from slavery comes with a terrible price. In 1900 Ilocos Norte, a forest spirit helps a young girl defend her land from American occupiers.
These gripping stories have been passed down through the generations, hidden between the lines of journal entries and love letters. Now 27 of today's finest authors – including Tananarive Due, Sofia Samatar, Ken Liu, Victor LaValle, Nnedi Okorafor, and Sabrina Vourvoulias – reveal the people whose lives have been pushed to the margins of history. " - back cover blurb provided by Amazon
This might not be everyone's cup of tea, but for those who love to read about history whether it be fictional or nonfictional. This book is a series of short stories that are historical fiction and also blur the lines between reality and fantasy. For the most part I loved this book. I loved the different takes on different historical points and I loved how the authors Incorporated fantasy elements into the stories, but I had a lot of issues with this series.
Some of the stories were really really well written and could have easily been made into full books, but some of the others were really bad. The characters weren't developed and the stories were confusing. The pacing was off on a lot of stories, but this is a collection of short stories.
Overall about half of the stories were very enjoyable and exciting and you might like some of the ones I didn't! That's the joy of books: no one reads the same book twice.
Genre: Fantasy/ Historical Fiction
Recommended Age: 16+ (mature scenes, language, and some gore)
Favorite Quote: "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul"
"In 1514 Hungary, peasants who rose up against the nobility rise again – from the grave. In 1633 Al-Shouf, a mother keeps demons at bay with the combined power of grief and music. In 1775 Paris, as social tensions come to a boil, a courtesan tries to save the woman she loves. In 1838 Georgia, a pregnant woman's desperate escape from slavery comes with a terrible price. In 1900 Ilocos Norte, a forest spirit helps a young girl defend her land from American occupiers.
These gripping stories have been passed down through the generations, hidden between the lines of journal entries and love letters. Now 27 of today's finest authors – including Tananarive Due, Sofia Samatar, Ken Liu, Victor LaValle, Nnedi Okorafor, and Sabrina Vourvoulias – reveal the people whose lives have been pushed to the margins of history. " - back cover blurb provided by Amazon
This might not be everyone's cup of tea, but for those who love to read about history whether it be fictional or nonfictional. This book is a series of short stories that are historical fiction and also blur the lines between reality and fantasy. For the most part I loved this book. I loved the different takes on different historical points and I loved how the authors Incorporated fantasy elements into the stories, but I had a lot of issues with this series.
Some of the stories were really really well written and could have easily been made into full books, but some of the others were really bad. The characters weren't developed and the stories were confusing. The pacing was off on a lot of stories, but this is a collection of short stories.
Overall about half of the stories were very enjoyable and exciting and you might like some of the ones I didn't! That's the joy of books: no one reads the same book twice.