Hey Y'all. Welcome to another rousing round of Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme sponsored by That Artsy Reader Girl. This weeks topic is Books That Take Place In Another Country.
SO, I am picking books I enjoyed that take place in another country. Here you go:
Title: What I Lost
Author: Alexandra Ballard
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4.5 Stars
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What sixteen-year-old
Elizabeth has lost so far: forty pounds, four jean sizes, a boyfriend,
and her peace of mind. As a result, she’s finally a size zero. She’s
also the newest resident at Wallingfield, a treatment center for girls
like her—girls with eating disorders. Elizabeth is determined to endure
the program so she can go back home, where she plans to start
restricting her food intake again. She’s pretty sure her mom, who has
her own size 0 obsession, needs treatment as much as she does. Maybe
even more. Then Elizabeth begins receiving mysterious packages. Are they
from her ex-boyfriend, a secret admirer, or someone playing a cruel
trick?
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What I Lost is a book about a young girl who develops anorexia. She doesn't believe she has an eating disorder though - or rather, she's happy about it, and doesn't see what the big deal is. In fact, a friend asks her if she is anorexic, and she denies it, all the while thinking that she is happy people that she is anorexic, and says in her head that "I'm just a little anorexic.
I really enjoyed this book. I like the fact that this book gets into a lot of the medical things that can happen when people become anorexic, like growing lanugo, amenorrhea, and other issues. It's important for people to realize that there is so much more to eating disorders than just not eating, or purging, and all that. There are some serious medical issues that go hand in hand with ED's.
I think the author did a great job of covering the seriousness of anorexia with tact. The story is well developed, and the characters are each very unique and each show how their eating disorders affect them in their own way.
I appreciate that the story shows how hard it can be to overcome an ED. I have no experience with this, but know people who have struggled with ED's in the past, and have watched them struggle, and overcome, and talk about how they will struggle with that for a long time. The author does a great job of delving into what that struggle is like for people.
I like that there is not much of a romance aspect to this book. There is some talk about how Elizabeth has just broken up with her boyfriend, and a few moments in the book where she thinks maybe he wants her back. There is also a discussion about how Elizabeth and another boy, but she is very upfront about the fact that for the time being, they can only be friends because Elizabeth needs to focus on her recovery.
One thing I found absolutely shocking is that there was a 12 year old at the inpatient center Elizabeth went to. A 12 YEAR OLD! What the hell is happening to these children that they are developing eating disorders?! Also, while reading this book, I learned that there are people who run pro-anorexic websites, claiming that anorexia is a lifestyle choice, not an eating disorder. I AM DISTURBED BY THIS! Like, no, people, no - anorexia is not a lifestyle choice. No.
I give a CW for anyone who has or had an ED, because this book does delve pretty deeply into that world, and that could trigger some people.
Title: American Street
Author: Ibi Zoboi
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 2.5 Stars
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The rock in the water does not know the pain of the rock in the sun.
On the corner of American Street and Joy Road, Fabiola Toussaint thought she would finally find une belle vie—a good life.
But
after they leave Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Fabiola’s mother is detained by
U.S. immigration, leaving Fabiola to navigate her loud American
cousins, Chantal, Donna, and Princess; the grittiness of Detroit’s west
side; a new school; and a surprising romance, all on her own.
Just
as she finds her footing in this strange new world, a dangerous
proposition presents itself, and Fabiola soon realizes that freedom
comes at a cost. Trapped at the crossroads of an impossible choice, will
she pay the price for the American dream?
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American Street is a book that follows a Haitian immigrant, Fabiola Toussant, who arrives in America with her mother, only to have her mother detained by US immigration. Fabiola, who was born in the US and raised in Haiti, then goes to live with her aunt Jo and her cousins, Chantal, Princess (Pri), and Primadonna (Donna), in Detroit.
Fabiola is expected by her aunts, by her cousins, by pretty much everyone she encounters, to assimilate to American ways immediately - her aunt Jo even says that Fab can't speak her Haitian creole at all, even though Jo uses many Haitian creole phrases in her language regularly. Being a white lady who was born and raised in America, I can't even imagine what it must have been like for Fabiola to move to this new country and then be expected to just assimilate right away.
Things I love about this book:
* I love love love that this book has a primary focus on black people, and on an immigrant struggling to find her way in a new country. There are so many books that focus on white people, and that's not bad, but other people deserve to have their cultures and backgrounds shown positively in our books and movies, etc, as well.
*The characters are very well rounded, and well developed. They are distinct from each other, and it is very easy to tell the characters apart from each other.
*I love that the author weaves in Fabiola's belief and background in vodou. I think it's important that this is included, because it is such a part of who Fabiola is.
*I love that the author does tackle some pretty heavy shit in this book, like what it's like to be around drug dealers, or becoming a drug dealer, or living in such harsh poverty, and the violence that is tied into many of those things. The author tackles those issues well. (We'll talk about the one issue that wasn't handled well in a minute.)
What I didn't like about this book:
*The abuse of Donna by her boyfriend Dray. This is the reason I rated this book as only 2.5 stars. The abuse Dray inflicted upon Donna was so normalized, and everyone just shrugged it off like "Hey, that's just what happens." They made it seem like this abuse was all okay, because he buys her shit, so it's okay to abuse her. No. I don't care who you are, I don't care what shit someone buys you, you do not deserve to be abused.
Other than that one thing, I loved this book. I think you'll love it.
Beneath the Sugar Sky
returns to Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children. At this magical
boarding school, children who have experienced fantasy adventures are
reintroduced to the "real" world.
Sumi died years before her
prophesied daughter Rini could be born. Rini was born anyway, and now
she’s trying to bring her mother back from a world without magic.
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Beneath the Sugar Sky, the third book in Seanan McGuire's Eleanor West series lives up to it's predecessors in the best possible ways. Although this book is marketed as a standalone, it works best if you've read Every Heart a Doorway, because there are references to and characters from the first book here. (Nancy, for example, makes a return.)
So, a quick rundown: Cora and Nadya are swimming when Rini lands in the lake with a splash. They talk with her, and eventually end up on a little quest to revive Rini's mother Sumi.
I don't want to give too much away because I really want you all to go read this book! Let's move on to some thoughts:
* I love that this book is dark. (Apparently, the author also writes darker fiction under the pseudonym Mira Grant. I find myself curious as to how much darker the books could be, because the Eleanor West books are dark.)
* When Rini fell out of the sky into the lake and her cake dress dissolved, I thought it was so hilarious that she kept asking if Nadya was uncomfortable with her vagina. I think it was interesting to have that in the book, because so many people born or raised in America are so uncomfortable talking about or looking at our bits, or at others bits. So, to have someone who was so refreshingly comfortable being naked was cool.
* I like that they actually left the school and went on an adventure in this one. It was nice to seem them explore a little bit of Nancy's world and see what Confection is like.
As with the previous two books, the plot in this book is well developed and works the whole way through. The author does a great job of writing a story that holds together well, even when the characters are fighting their way to the cake queen, or staring at Nancy in the hall of the dead. The story works.
The characters in this story are also well developed, and distinct from each other. They each have their own traits, their own characteristics, and they stand apart from each other. They have stuff in common, but they are distinct from each other and have their own quirks and characteristics.
I've heard that the author plans on doing more books in the series, and I can't wait. If you haven't read this book, or the books before it, go do that right now - you won't be disappointed.
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Click the pics below to read my reviews for the first two books in the Eleanor West Home for Wayward Children Series:
Title: Otherworld
Authors: Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller
Rating: 1 Star
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The company says
Otherworld is amazing—like nothing you’ve ever seen before. They say
it’s addictive—that you’ll want to stay forever. They promise Otherworld
will make all your dreams come true.
Simon thought Otherworld
was a game. Turns out he knew nothing. Otherworld is the next phase of
reality. It’s everything you’ve ever wanted.
And it’s about to change humanity forever. Welcome to the Otherworld. No one could have seen it coming.
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I first came across Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller as authors when I read their book Nightmares. When I heard they had a YA book coming out, I read the description and thought, "Hey, that sounds good." Once again, I found my initial thought about a book to be wrong.
Okay, so, here we go. I was wrong because:
The main character, Simon, was even more self obsessed than even the most arrogant teenager. He didn't seem to really care about anyone other than himself, and maybe, MAYBE Kat. He never thought about how his actions might affect others, and it didn't appear to me that his parents really worked hard to teach him that his actions have consequences. Instead, when he did something they didn't like, they would yell at him for a couple minutes, then leave the room. THEN, all of a sudden they would leave and fly off to a foreign country and leave their apparently delinquent son home alone with no parents. Um, great idea parents!
Simon also has a pretty messed up idea of what it means to stand up for the one person he does seem to care about. Example: When Simon arrives at school one day, he overhears these two girls talking about Kat and saying she's a slut, etc. So, in what first appears to be an act of feminist allyship, he walks up to these two girls and tells them that they shouldn't be slut shaming Kat like that. THEN, THEN, THEN - he goes and fucking ruins the moment by telling them that if they continue to call Kat a slut, he will leak their nude photos all over the internet. He clearly is not a feminist ally like he thinks he is (and if this is the kind thing Segel thinks is okay to write about, neither is he.)
The idea of a world where they add a sticker sort of chip to your head is intriguing. However, I thought it was weird that Simon didn't see any red flags for this thing. Kat gets this thing put on her head after an accident at a former glue factory. Now, to be fair, Simon did think it was weird that so many people in his town have suddenly been declared as having locked in syndrome. He didn't think twice about putting on his own sticker chip thing though when one just arrived at his house. So, he puts it on, then he CAN'T get it off because it paralyzes your human body while you are in Otherworld. But sure, go ahead and put it on Simon!
I thought that the secondary characters were a bit uninteresting and underdeveloped. They were just there for Simon to reach his goal - and yes I understand that Simon is the MC in the book. But a story should have better developed secondary characters as well. Otherwise, why are they there? They aren't going to add anything to the story of they are just flat and uninteresting and contribute nothing to the story.
Simon also seems extraordinarily obsessed with the size of his nose. This is piddly compared to the poor plot and bad characters, but it just seemed strange to me that he couldn't stop talking about his huge fucking nose.
I didn't care for the actual story either because it didn't feel original. It felt like recycled stuff taken from other books and changed just ever so slightly to make it seem like a cool original story.
So, there you go. If you want to read this book, or you've already read it and you loved it, cool. I just think there are other books I'll spend my time on.
Have you ever said to yourself "Hey that book looks good, I think I'll read it?!" Of course you have! You've probably also had cases where you've started reading a book you thought looked good, then thought to yourself, "What the hell was I thinking?!"
So, in that case, welcome to
Splintered - A. G. Howard - I love retellings of fairy tales and classics. This one, however, felt like raking my eyes over a pile of hot coals. The writing was terrible, and the story didn't really feel like a decent retelling of Alice in Wonderland. I DNF'd this book at a little over halfway through.
Spelled - Betsy Schow - See above comment about loving fairy tale retellings. I wanted to love this book so hard. I really did. However, the writing was juvenile, the characters were sucktastically poorly written and about as deep as my pinky finger, and right off the bat there was incredible sexism in the form of a prince who basically told Dorothea that she was going to marry him no matter what and that she didn't have a choice in the matter. Bye, Spelled!
The Magicians - Lev Grossman - The Magicians has been touted as a Harry Potter for grownups. If, by that, they mean that the book is full of sexism, intolerance for others, and pitiful writing and magical talent that could make even the worst writer in the world want to scratch their eyes out, then sure, this book is just like fucking Harry Potter. This was another book I just had to DNF.
Otherworld - Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller - I plan on doing an actual review of this book later this week, so I won't go into a ton of detail about this book here. Let's just say, I found myself wondering why the hell I thought this would be such a good book.
