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stateofgrace's reviews
266 reviews
Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian
5.0
Chloe was a gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss icon! I loved the characters. I loved the dynamic between Chloe, Charles, and Andre.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
5.0
A story so beautifully written that I wish I wrote it myself. The way that Ann Patchett writes her setting is so masterful — there is a transportive quality to her writing that makes you feel like you are there. All of the settings in this book, from the cherry orchards to the little family cemetery to the shore of Lake Tom, are so lovingly written.
The narrative is slow, but in a purposeful way. The slowness of the plot really did remind me of the early pandemic months, when the days did tend to drag on and on, and yet they all felt the same.
The fact that Meryl Streep narrated the audiobook was the cherry on top, so to speak. There is a tender quality to her voice that perfectly matches the tender quality of the writing.
The narrative is slow, but in a purposeful way. The slowness of the plot really did remind me of the early pandemic months, when the days did tend to drag on and on, and yet they all felt the same.
The fact that Meryl Streep narrated the audiobook was the cherry on top, so to speak. There is a tender quality to her voice that perfectly matches the tender quality of the writing.
You Shouldn't Have Come Here by Jeneva Rose
2.5
The twist wasn't all that interesting. There were so many moments throughout the book that either didn't make sense at all or only existed to be red herrings: the mountain lion attack, Grace falling into the pit of dead animals, Calvin being able to change the guestbook seemingly instantaneously, the police only investigating one of the four missing girls, Grace falling off of the horse, Uncle Albert's strange behavior. The beginning and middle were SO SLOW! The book really didn't get interesting until Grace tried to leave the ranch, which was 90% of the way through the book. The writing was very juvenile and Calvin's perspective didn't read like an actual adult man.
I was not impressed at all by this book. I have another Jeneva Rose thriller on my TBR but at this point I'm considering whether or not it would even be worth it to give it a chance.
I was not impressed at all by this book. I have another Jeneva Rose thriller on my TBR but at this point I'm considering whether or not it would even be worth it to give it a chance.
Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink
3.75
An extremely well researched account of what happened at Memorial Hospital during and after Hurricane Katrina. The way that the author lays out the context behind the decision to involuntarily euthanize patients during the evacuation makes a very clear case for unethical behavior on the part of the physicians, Anna Pou in particular. The book was a lot more dense than I think it needed to be, which made it difficult to read and difficult to differentiate which details were actually important.
She's Not Sorry by Mary Kubica
4.25
Interesting thriller with a mindblowing twist! Of the two major plotlines, I thought that the Caitlin plotline was leagues more interesting than the Luke plotline, so it was a little disappointing that the Caitlin plotline was wrapped up first.
The author did an excellent job at foreshadowingthe duel timelines. The little details about a Christmas tree being put away versus Meghan going shopping for Christmas gifts hinted at the story taking place in both November and January, but I truly didn't put it all together until after the bridge scene.
Overall I was intrigued from start to finish!
The author did an excellent job at foreshadowing
Overall I was intrigued from start to finish!
Finding Lexie by Susan Stoker
3.5
Cute romance with likable enough characters. I really liked having Lexie as a POV character — she has such a big heart and it really shows through her perspective.
I wish we had gotten more tension and mystery out of the Magnus plotline. I never actually felt like Lexie or Midas were in any danger since it was pretty clear that Magnus wasn't going to be an actual threat. I also wish that the setting was more vibrant. Hawai'i is such a beautiful place and I would have liked to explore more of the island through the characters. However, all of the dates that Lexie and Midas went on were glossed over instead of fully explored, so we never got much out of the setting.
I wish we had gotten more tension and mystery out of the Magnus plotline. I never actually felt like Lexie or Midas were in any danger since it was pretty clear that Magnus wasn't going to be an actual threat. I also wish that the setting was more vibrant. Hawai'i is such a beautiful place and I would have liked to explore more of the island through the characters. However, all of the dates that Lexie and Midas went on were glossed over instead of fully explored, so we never got much out of the setting.
Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein
5.0
A riveting explanation into the post-Covid conspiracy world. This book provides an insight into the state of today, framed through the dramatic transformation of Naomi Wolf, from a respected liberal feminist into an alt-right Covid conspiracy peddler. There's no one particular focus of this book, but all of the topics feel relevant, from the discussion of individualism versus collectivism, to the comparison between the two Canadian trucking convoys, to the written work of Phillip Roth. In particular, I found it very enlightening when Klein discussed how the history of genocide in Africa and the Americas informed the Holocaust in Europe and the genocide against Palestine in the twenty-first century.
For me, personally, the past four years have felt like such a nightmarish blur, but this book really helped me make sense of what the world has gone through in the last four years.
For me, personally, the past four years have felt like such a nightmarish blur, but this book really helped me make sense of what the world has gone through in the last four years.
The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
3.5
My problem with short story collections is that the genius of the best stories feels dragged down by the banal, middle of the road stories. This collection had a strong theme of the psychological horror of normalcy, which helped to tie all of the stories together. My favorite stories were "The Lottery", "The Tooth", and "Colloquy".
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
3.75
A very interesting premise that drew on the conventions of the slasher genre but also managed to subvert those conventions to center the voices of women. Still, the depiction of women within this book feel victim the genre conventions that turn women into props. Specifically the character of Adrienne doesn't sit right with me, considering that she is the only character of color and is killed off-screen.
I guessed the final plot twist within the first fifty pages of the book. I wouldn't even say that it was foreshadowed, since it was explicitly revealed if you were reading close enough.Stephanie Fugate is one of the killers. This was extremely clumsily foreshadowed — one of the Reddit users complaining about their hatred of final girls is u/fu(bar)gate. The connection is very obvious.
As a thriller, I enjoyed it. I liked the homages to the various horror franchises of the 70's, 80's, and 90's. As a subversion of the horror genre, I think that it needed to show the empowerment of its female characters, rather than just telling the audience that they are empowered now.
I guessed the final plot twist within the first fifty pages of the book. I wouldn't even say that it was foreshadowed, since it was explicitly revealed if you were reading close enough.
As a thriller, I enjoyed it. I liked the homages to the various horror franchises of the 70's, 80's, and 90's. As a subversion of the horror genre, I think that it needed to show the empowerment of its female characters, rather than just telling the audience that they are empowered now.
Educated by Tara Westover
4.5
I couldn't put this book down! Tara Westover's story of her struggle to obtain an education within a survivalist family is so powerful. The writing is raw and emotional, and the story is heartwrenching and powerful.
Westover writes about her family in a very nuanced way. Her father is a survivalist, who ironically cared very little about the survival of his children and placed their safety up to God, yet Westover is still able to understand that his actions stem from an undiagnosed mental illness and strong paranoid delusions. Her mother is complicit in the actions of her father and brother, yet Westover writes about her mother urging her in her quest for a college education. Her siblings too, fall into this grey area, as each occupies a different level of obedience to their father and loyalty to their sister.
My only criticism is that I don't think Westover wrote enough about the religious aspect of the trauma of her upbringing. Although Westover is able to criticize her family's extreme version of Mormonism, I wish she had delved deeper into the religion as a whole, and the ways in which some people utilize religion enables abuse.
Westover writes about her family in a very nuanced way. Her father is a survivalist, who ironically cared very little about the survival of his children and placed their safety up to God, yet Westover is still able to understand that his actions stem from an undiagnosed mental illness and strong paranoid delusions. Her mother is complicit in the actions of her father and brother, yet Westover writes about her mother urging her in her quest for a college education. Her siblings too, fall into this grey area, as each occupies a different level of obedience to their father and loyalty to their sister.
My only criticism is that I don't think Westover wrote enough about the religious aspect of the trauma of her upbringing. Although Westover is able to criticize her family's extreme version of Mormonism, I wish she had delved deeper into the religion as a whole, and the ways in which some people utilize religion enables abuse.