whathillarygraceread's reviews
34 reviews

Bunny by Mona Awad

challenging dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

I saw people post about this on Booksta, but I didn’t let myself look at any other reviews until I’d finished this and whoa…this book was a ride. A wild, sometimes not so pleasant, but sometimes wildly enjoyable, constantly asking yourself wtf just happened ride. I also understand why other reviewers have had trouble talking about this plot. It’s wildly, but as I mentioned previously, in a mostly good way.
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I was an English major who also dabbled in creative writing as an undergrad and the satire (before I went to law school) of MFA creative writing programs feels pretty spot on to me. The story also works well as a larger metaphor for art creation. If you’re interested in reading this, I would go in as blind as possible, but also recommend going down the internet theory rabbit hole on what happened in the plot and what it means once you’re finished. There are a TON of theories out there, some of which I think are very shallow reads of this book (the mental illness theory) to much more sophisticated and nuanced takes. 
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Regardless of where you come down on what you think the book represents and how many layers of satire you think it contains, I got a huge kick out of thinking that this is just the kind of writing that the MFA students in Bunny would sit around discussing ad nauseum. 

Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect going into this book. I generally go into books fairly blind, but I had heard an interview with Talty, who is a Penobscot citizen, and looked at quite a few reviews before my hold came up at the library and people seemed to have a LOT of opinions about this collection of short stories. I LOVED it. The stories depict life on the Penobscot reservation in Maine. I don’t read a ton of short story collections and I’m always pleasantly surprised when an author creates a through line in compilations like this (I don’t want to name it because I don’t want to spoil it because it’s not readily apparent until about three stories in). While the Goodreads and Storygraph reviews are mixed, don’t let any of those reviews scare you away from this book. It is SO good. Talty’s writing is so beautiful and I was sad when I finished this. I didn’t realize until I reached the end that many of these stories have been published elsewhere, so it’s possible that many are already familiar with his work. I am eagerly awaiting whatever Talty does next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Racism

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This was a re-read for me and I think I might have loved it the second time around even more than I did the first time. I understand why this book seems to be really polarizing, but the ending is worth sticking with the rest of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest

Shadow of a Broken Man by George C. Chesbro

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was written in the  mid 70s and I think it's a madcap thriller that reflects the politics of the day. I originally picked this book up because I was looking for books that feature disabled lead characters and I didn't know much about Chesbro or the Mongo series. I was a little bit apprehensive about an average height person writing a dwarf character (I have a form of dwarfism), but I think Chesbro mostly does a good job. I was initially conflicted about Mongo's past as a circus performer, but it actually serves as a fairly empowering plot device later in the book. I did, however, chuckle every time Mongo was able to rent a car without adaptations or hassle. This is not my reality nor that of any of my friends who have a form of dwarfism.

The story itself is what I would classify as international espionage with a side of low tech sci fi. ESP features prominently in the story and I found out after I finished the book that Chesbro was very interested in the occult and what I would kindly categorize as conspiracy science. These interests all collide for a fun book with a loveable main character. 

Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

adventurous mysterious reflective tense 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

5.0

One of my reading goals for 2022 is to read more Colorado authors and not only is Winter Counts written by a Denver author, but the story is partially set in the Mile High City. David Heska Wanbli Weiden nails the vibe of a rapidly gentrifying Denver with a sense of wry humor that I really enjoyed. His description of a visit to a cannabis based wellness center had me laughing out loud as did his description of the barista in the hipster coffee shop. It was also fun to see him give shout-outs to places that I've loved for years.

As much as I enjoyed the Denver portion of the book, the majority of the story takes place in South Dakota. Weiden manages to write a book that is both engrossing thriller and a critique of the U.S.' treatment of indigenous people. I particularly appreciated the afterword that provided additional reading suggestions and the thoroughness of the further learning resources provided on Weiden's website.

The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.

reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

This is such a beautiful book that is both masterfully crafted and profound. The symbolism and emotion are both deftly layered (my reading experience was enhanced by doing a quick brush up on Biblical characters since the book is structured as books of the Bible). Every description I've read of this book focuses on the queer love story - as they should - but in some ways, this book is as much about gender roles and expression as it is about queerness (and maybe that's the definition of queerness itself). It's also a book about oppression, colonialism and entrenched systems. I'm still processing it several days after finishing it and think that I will likely still be thinking about it months from now.

 This book was a 2021 NBA finalist in fiction, but I don't know how it didn't win. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Child death, Death, and Death of parent

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

This review contains spoilers

Ok, I didn't hate this book, but I didn't think it was that great either. I figured out that Chloe was Eliza almost as soon as Chloe was introduced. I also figured out that Amma's boyfriend was the drunk driver pretty early on as well. Given that, the only real reveal left was what Lux would do when confronted with the truth and clues to the fact that she chose herself were dropped pretty obviously throughout the book. It also annoyed me that there are some pretty glaring holes in the plot. Chief among them is how Lux got away if she didn't have a radio? Wasn't the missing radios the whole reason they stayed on the island longer than they expected to? 

I will say that I think the premise and setting of this book are great. I was just disappointed that it wasn't twistier and was kind of obvious

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Death of parent

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
Did not finish book. Stopped at 18%.

I'm not abandoning this forever, just moving it a little lower in the stack until I'm in the mood to finish it.

The Magic of Marie Laveau: Embracing the Spiritual Legacy of the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans by Denise Alvarado

informative medium-paced

4.0

I picked up the audio edition of this book during an Audible 2 for 1 sale around Halloween. I knew almost nothing about Marie Laveau and even less about voodoo when I added this to the cart, but it looked interesting (when I say I’m a hardcore mood reader, I’m not lying). The historical part of this book is fascinating. The second third-half of the book is a guide on how to incorporate Laveau’s practices and teachings into your own life. Had I realized that before I bought it, I might not have and I ended up skipping a significant portion of this part of the book. BUT  even if you, like me, are not interested in creating a practice for yourself, the historical section of the book is worth a read. 

Peril by Bob Woodward, Robert Costa

challenging dark informative medium-paced

5.0

I have read all three of the Woodward Costa books (Fear, Rage and Peril) and I think this is the best of the three. A lot of what's in this book has been fairly widely reported, but it's eye opening and sobering to have Woodward and Costa put it together in a cohesive timeline with additional details. For me, the most interesting part of the book was the last third which details January 6th-ARA passage and Biden's decision to leave Afghanistan.