"Ghosted"

"Ghosted"

Written by Rosie Walsh

Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

Ghosted or alternatively known as The Man Who Didn't Call, is a romantic thriller that piqued my interest when looking for a new audiobook to listen to. Instantly, I found myself entranced in the story, narrated by the wonderful Katherine Press. Rosie Walsh, the writer, has created an interesting story, with likeable characters more developed than most in both the romantic and and thriller genres. 

In the story, Sarah and Eddie have had a seven-day whirlwind romance after meeting. Sarah, recently divorced from her business partner, and Eddie, single, learn more about each other than they ever could have anticipated. After Eddie leaves to go on a pre-planned vacation, he stops responding to calls, messages, and is inactive on social media. Has he 'ghosted' her, by ignoring her like a ghost, or could he possibly be in danger?

The story progressed to have multiple perspectives, from Sarah's, Eddie's, and through letters. Sarah's fear for Eddie's safety stems from an accident that she caused, leaving us to wonder more about the mystery. Could Eddie have been involved, more than she knows? Additionally, due to Eddie's disappearance, Sarah's career is faltering. As a CEO of a company that brings clowns to patients in hospitals, her career relies on her responsibility and communication with her ex-husband and his new girlfriend. Coupled with a bit of drama between her and her best friends, Tommy, Jo, and Jenny, Sarah's life feels out of control.

By the time we receive all of the facts, it is up to us readers to decide who is right, wrong, and who deserves forgiveness. The question of mercy brings the reader in more, making the story seem more realistic and relatable, depending on the morals of those turning the pages.

I personally loved this book. There were many reveals that I could not expect but there were enough I saw coming, so the plot did not seem far-fetched. I also loved the writing style, characters, and overall message. It sheds a light on today's society and the change that one must undergo to be forgiven.

I rate this novel as 5 stars out of 5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I recommend listening to the audiobook. It provided a great listening experience, as I have begun daily walking, yoga, and running. I look forward to reading more by Rosie Walsh, even though I think I have accidentally already owned this book but didn't realize due to the title change. One of those things, eh?

"Love, Unscripted"

“Love, Unscripted”

Written by Owen Nicholls

Reviewed by Diana Iozzia of Bookworm Banter 

“Love, Unscripted” is a romantic comedy in which Nick, a person obsessed with film and pop culture, experiences an extremely difficult break-up. Nick fell in love with our second main character, Ellie, at the beginning of the Barack Obama presidency campaign in 2008. The story splits when Ellie breaks up with Nick. We have a small third person narrator that explains some details about the two, similar to the narration in “500 Days of Summer”. The other two perspectives are told by Nick: one in real time and one in a fictional film world in which Ellie and Nick are still happily together. All too soon, Nick grows and realizes that in neither world would he be truly happy without Ellie, so he makes conscious efforts to win her back.

The story is told in a typical Nora Ephron-type romance novel, which is a quite enjoyable format. The characters have faults, flaws, make quite a few modern jokes, and spend time with their families. We find out early on that Ellie experienced a tragic death involving a family member when she was very young, so Nick’s reaction to this news was a great response, and it showed a positive element to his character.

As far as the characters, unfortunately, Nick is insufferable for nearly every chapter. We understand his plight, but he comes off in a bit of an obnoxious way. “Why doesn’t she want me? We were so great. I’m so great”. He just cannot possibly fathom why they do not work as a couple, when nearly every example of love he knows from films is doomed. He does not take time to look retrospectively at his relationship, only to look forward and try to fix what he doesn’t think is broken. Ellie is only told in a third person, which I felt was a choice that could have been different. I like Ellie. She’s smart and she’s funny, but her character is heavily limited by what Nick thinks of her, like “500 Days of Summer”. We do not know how to understand her or truly like her, because everything is told secondhand to us. She’s idolized, which allows for no room to criticize her. I feel this happens all too often in romances told through the man’s perspective, so I felt disappointed by this portrayal of Nick.

Additionally, a very difficult glaring element of this novel was the pop culture references and film references. I understand that this story is about two characters with a strong love for film and television, but my God, the threshold for “too much” was stomped over numerous times. We received about 7 references to “It’s a Wonderful Life”, one of my favorite films of all time. If I’d like to hear about it that often in one piece of work, I’d rather just watch the film. Nearly every page has at least one to two references. This overabundance of nods to films and actors felt far too difficult to overcome. It absolutely impacted my liking for this book and ruined it a bit. It seemed that it made the characters quirkier but to the point of causing annoyance, not nuance.

To continue, the plot was not as well-executed as I would have liked. I felt that it took far too many chapters to kick off. Most of the novel is told in memories and flashbacks. There are many chapters that do not provide any interesting plot elements or details about the characters and feel more like filler than interesting content. The real and the imaginary perspectives are told one after the other, which can blur the lines and cause confusion. Also, I am highly confused as to why the Obama campaign is used to mark time, since neither character cares much for politics. The only time we see the characters interacting with anything Obama-related is the two parties to announce his winning term. I felt that it detracted from the story just slightly, disconnecting us. I felt if the story just used November 2008 and time-marked it without including the campaign, it would have made just the same amount of sense.

Lastly, although this was not a favorite book of mine, I did enjoy most of the elements. I wish however that Nick was a little more interesting and that Ellie was more than two dimensional in character. I do recommend this novel, because although Nick was not a favorite, there are interesting enough moments, side characters, and a few great chapters. I find this novel similar to: David Nicholls’s work, “The Two Lives of Lydia Bird”, “Maybe in Another Life”, and many other slightly fantastical romantic comedies from which the novel seems to draw inspiration.

I rate this novel at three out of five stars.

I thank Ballantine Books at Penguin Random House for an advance uncorrected proof. I also received a corrected proof, which I plan to compare for any small changes. Thank you for the opportunity.

"Tin Man"

“Tin Man”

Written by Sarah Winman

Review written by Diana Iozzia

 

“Tin Man” is one of those fragile, complicated, and beautiful books that you only come across maybe every five years. It’s hard to read in some devastating parts, but so simple and carefree in others. In many English fiction books, characters are told in both perspectives equally. We see them at their strongest and their most vulnerable. The juxtaposition of true happiness and true emptiness plays out like a pianist’s symphony.

“Tin Man” is about Ellis Judd, a man who has loved and lost: his first love and his second love. His first love was Michael. Ellis’s difficult relationship with his father led to an impossible relationship for Ellis and Michael. It simply couldn’t flourish, with Ellis’s father pulling him into a more masculine and tougher narrative, leaving Michael behind. Ellis eventually marries their friend Annie, causing the three to be in a strange friendship.

The metaphor of a Tin Man is lost on me. I think perhaps it’s meant to signify a person who can love but hides their love away, as if they have no heart at all. Perhaps it is represented by Ellis’s tough, false exterior he has to portray, a straight, happy man.

We are told the story of Ellis, Michael, and Annie in small flashbacks, nearly vignettes. We see the before, the during, and the after of all their dynamics. There are so many parts of this book that left me absolutely speechless, my heart torn into pieces.

Without giving too much away about this story, I think this is one that everyone should read. It gives important insight into the LGBT community, especially in the era of the HIV / AIDS crisis. Sarah Winman’s writing is just enchanting.

I received an advance reader’s edition of this book in exchange that I read and write an honest review.

"The Goodbye Summer"

"The Goodbye Summer"
Written by Sarah Van Name
Review written by Diana Iozzia


"The Goodbye Summer" is a fun young adult romance that takes on many different aspects but fails to fully address its most important topics. As this book's demographic is female teenagers, we should consider how female teenagers could read this.

Our main character is Caroline, who is spending her time working at a local aquarium's gift shop, trying to save money for the fall. She's in a relationship with boring and slightly abusive Jake, who plans to convince her to drop of out high school and work on his father's farm in a different state. I did not like him from the start, but his personality gets worse throughout the book. Caroline befriends a group of counselors who work at the aquarium's summer camp. She becomes closest with Georgia, who is from a wealthy family but feels neglected by them.

Georgia and Caroline strike up one of those unbelievable teen friendships, and it's lovely. In the back of my mind the whole time reading, I just kept thinking, "wouldn't it be nice if they turned out to be gay or bisexual?" I felt this book would have been a really nice entry for young girls wanting to read about LGBT, but I was disappointed. Now, there was not any inclination that this book would turn out that way, but I felt the characters had a really cute friendship and hoped they would date.

The other characters are stationary but fun to read about nonetheless. This is a great summer read, but I'm glad that it touches on neglect, manipulation, and more importantly consent. There is a very uncomfortable scene in which Caroline does not want to have sex with Jake in any circumstance. She does not say no, so he continues. She does not say yes. She does not say that he raped her. However, I think this should have been a more important note to touch upon, rather than brush it off as 'bad sex' as Caroline referenced.

In conclusion, I did enjoy the book, but I beg those who read it to realize that the serious topics addressed should have been explained better, rather than the thousandth reference of the girls eating gooey pizza.

"The Hate U Give"

“The Hate U Give”

Written by Angie Thomas

Review written by Diana Iozzia

 

“The Hate U Give” is an intense, character and action-driven young adult novel, encompassing many themes such as racism, ageism, sexism, and especially police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement. Our main character, Starr Carter, speaks in first person present tense, bringing an “in the moment” intensity to the story line, as if we are in the room where it happens. She is a teenage girl who chooses to go to the wrong party on the wrong night. While speaking with a childhood friend, Khalil in his car after the party, a policeman pulls them over. There is a strange friction in the air as Officer 115, or Brian, asks for the license, registration, and uncomfortably talks to Khalil. Officer 115, as Starr calls him, kills Khalil by shooting him thrice, without any clear threat or instigation. This is clearly an act of racism and police brutality, which causes a firestorm of events in the small community of Garden Heights.

I think this book was interesting to me, as a white girl from the suburbs. I learned a lot about a different culture then mine in an interesting and understandable way. It was interesting to see how the characters acted differently in front of certain groups of people. For example, Starr refers to herself as Williamson Starr when she is at the wealthy boarding school with her white friends. To continue, it was hard to read the mixed messages, the blurred lines, and the grey area that follows during riots and violence for the Black Lives Matter movement. I think this book opens a great dialogue for those who read to see how they would act and where their morals lie.

Additionally, this was a very well-written book. For the subject material, I had wished the book focused a bit more on this rather than Starr’s high school ‘drama’. I understand that this book is aimed at a teen audience. As it’s well written for a teen audience, I would have preferred it to be equally as enjoyable for older generations. This felt very modern and that it will be dated in ten years with the Beyonce and Taylor Swift references. I guess for the teen drama and romance, I enjoyed the more serious topics that are the foundation for the fights and the disagreements. First and foremost, my favorite part of this story is the family relationships.

Lastly, I think this book would have been more interesting if it focused on more than Starr, family, friends, and riots. Although my favorite character is Starr’s uncle Carlos, I felt the book centered too much on Starr’s family. One of the main background aspects is the gangland environment of the community. Seven, Starr’s brother, is scouted to join the gang, and Khalil was also involved in the gang. It would have been interesting to have more of an influence by the antagonist, King, the crime lord in the community. He felt like an afterthought, rather than one of the main forms of conflict in the book. His followers appear every now and then to threaten. We hear how terrible a father he is to Seven, Kenya, and Lyric. I plan to see the movie, and I am curious to see how the film portrays the balance of all these aspects.

I fully recommend this book. I felt that if you’d like to know more about the Black Lives Matter movement, this isn’t the best book for it. Perhaps a nonfictional account would be more informative. However, this book makes learning about the movement accessible and age appropriate for young teens, without shying away from uncomfortable actions and decisions.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free as a giveaway prize to promote the film’s release. I did not receive this book in exchange for writing the review.

"No Exit"

“No Exit”

Written by Taylor Adams

Review written by Diana Iozzia

“No Exit” was a surprising thriller for me. I have not read a thriller in a while in which I felt my heart pounding and my eyes wanting to shut to hide from the horror. Let’s begin.

Darby Thorne is a young woman driving home to see her mother who is very ill in the hospital. A major, dangerous snowstorm forces her to pull over, into a quiet rest stop, in which four other people are holed up: Susie, Ed, Lars, and Ashley. She feels apprehensive to all the people in the rest stop, but she tries to ignore her niggling suspicion. Outside in the parking lot, she notices that one of the trucks has a little girl kidnapped in the back. Darby kicks into super hero, action speed and decides she will fight to save this little girl, Jay.

Once Darby discovers who the kidnappers are out of those in the rest stop, she begins to fight for her life and Jay’s. In many fantastic and cinematic action sequences, we see Darby protect herself and the others, while kicking some butt. She’s tough physically, but she is also very clever. Now, she is a new role model for young adult women. Be like Darby.

I have to say, there are some gruesome, grotesque parts. Although this is an action-packed thriller, do not be surprised by the horrific parts. This book reminded me a bit of Stephen King’s writing style, the loud and vivid and gross imagery. Do we need to know what everyone’s breath smelled like? No. Do we find out? Yes. I read this all in one night. It was pretty dang good. I could imagine this as a fun suspense film, certainly helped by the great dialogue and vivid descriptions. I have to say, I would have hoped for more of a psychological thriller type mystery, but this action payoff was a breath of fresh air.

We are absolutely rooting for Darby and Jay at all costs. I have to say, I’d love to see more of Miss Darby Thorne. Cool gal.

I received this book as a complimentary advanced review copy for honest reviewing purposes. Thank you to William Morrow and Harper Collins.

"Friday Black"

“Friday Black”

Written by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Review written by Diana Iozzia

I am absolutely struggling to decide how I’d like to rate this book. My favorite stories from this collection are absolutely fantastic. I was enthralled by them. Entranced. Bewildered and horrified. This book is compared often to “Black Mirror”, and I can understand why. This collection of short stories centers around modern and past struggles that black Americans face often, mixed and twisted with false presents and futures, allowing a very fitting “Twilight Zone” meets “Get Out” collection. I feel that most of his stories are very uncomfortable, eerie, but also very captivating. We receive an objective perspective, in the sense where our writer asks us our own morals in each story, showing us that humans can truly be monsters. To further review this book, I feel like a separate explanation and my thoughts on each specific story would be the best method.

“The Finkelstein Five” is a devasting look into the mob mindset, of someone who sat on the fence but is pulled into the insidious side of justice. The themes of justice and honesty gone too far are prevalent through this short story collection. Our main character explains a trial in which a white man is acquitted after brutally killing five children with a chain saw, claiming self-defense. Black teens and adults begin killing white people, shouting the names of the five children. This present action is also wrapped around the dialogue of the trial. This was easily my favorite story of this collection. It was utterly jarring, but most of all; it was absolutely petrifying to watch a young man become entangled in the group of killers.

“Things My Mother Said” does not make any sense to me at all. I will have to look into further explanations of this.

“The Era” follows our main character in a society where parents choose certain genetic qualities for their future children. This allows certain people to be intelligent in ways that we deem but also renders people without these additions to be stupid and useless. We also see his character become more acquainted with a friend whose parents run a house they call “The Era” in which it is kept to the similar society style that we know today. It was also interesting in this story to learn a bit about the history between the life we know and when this story takes place. We learn about wars based on truth and honesty, which provide science fictional satire and dystopia but allow the reader to inquire further by not providing enough information. This was my second favorite story.

“Lark Street” personifies unborn children as animate fetuses as they slowly die outside women’s bodies. They interact with their mother and father as they decay quickly into dust. I can understand the political and satirical stances that provide backing for this story, but I personally just did not find it interesting or entertaining.

“The Hospital Where” is a strange story. Strange and bizarre. We read through the mind of a mentally unstable man who sacrifices his soul and tongue to a demon who creates cures for those who enter a specific hospital. I can imagine the intent: a man who would sacrifice everything to save his father; however, this comes off as confusing and completely passable.

“Zimmer Land” is brilliant. We are thrown into the mix of an employee of an amusement park themed around justice. There are interactive sections where people are able to engage in a George Zimmerman type scenario, in which people approach a black teen in a hoodie with a weapon. The patrons of the park choose to engage the black teen, an employee, in the manner they wish to execute justice, sometimes killing him. Sometimes, there are repeat patrons who pay just to simulate killing the teen. The impetus of the character arises when his bosses decide to create a new amusement in the park which asks young patrons to find a bomb in a school simulation. This was my second favorite story.

“Friday Black” is a gruesome tale of horror set in a society in which murder is excused in order to find the best sale during Black Friday. This provides no further detail about what society would excuse this. I personally did not enjoy this story, because it felt too unrealistic.

“The Lion and the Spider” confused me as well. I believe it is a sort of fairy tale or fable connected to the life of a man working in a hardware store. That’s all I understood.

“Light Spitter” features two characters, a boy and a girl. The boy kills her in a school shooting type scenario and then himself. They meet in an afterlife, in which she is an angel setting out to save another teen from completing a school shooting.

“How to Sell a Jacket as Told by IceKing” was really boring to me. Basically, imagine how to sell a jacket, told by an eager employee. This seems to take place in a similar society or the same one as “Friday Black” does.

“Through the Flash” is one of the more interesting but barely explained stories in this collection. We have our narrator who experiences the same day over and over again. However, she and others have noticed glitches or anomalies that are occurring that would lead us to believe that the day experience repeatedly is for a greater purpose, not just a scientific cataclysm.

In conclusion, I absolutely loved the stories I enjoyed. The stories I did not like were just not my type of writing. I feel that with short story collections, I understand if I do not enjoy every one of them, as long as I connect and love a few of them. I enjoyed the satire, the short spurts of dystopia, and the grim horrors. I felt though as this is branded as a collection that talks about black experiences in America, there was also a certain element of how those who want to fix those experiences could turn the tide in a different way. I felt a certain equilibrium between the political spectrum and the racism elements. This is a well-created and balanced book.

Thank you to Quercus Books for the advance reader’s copy, which was provided in exchange for an honest review.

"If We Were Villains"

“If We Were Villains”

Written by M.L. Rio

Review written by Diana Iozzia

 

To write a review of a newly favorite book is a daunting task. To read a book and decide that it is a new favorite is equally as daunting. How do you push hundreds of other books to the side, in favor of this? Will this always be your favorite, or will something new be published and usurp the throne?

I read “If We Were Villains” during a very stormy and cold October week. I did not know much about this book, before I had borrowed it from the library and dug in. I had recorded it down while shopping, because I knew I had to read it. Sadly, I did not realize how much I would have liked it, or I would have bought it then on the spot.

As you begin reading “If We Were Villains”, you start reading through our narrator, Oliver’s perspective. Oliver is a meek, mild, and quiet young man. He is a student at a prestigious arts college, trying to keep up with the rigorous academia he and his fellow students have to endure. We see him as a man as well, released from prison for a crime he might not have committed. Knowing this allows us to feel suspense until the very moment of the murder.

This book draws very similar comparisons to books in this genre. Book reader communities as of late have created the genre name “dark academia”. The dark academia genre mainly incorporates darker, thriller-like stories, taking place at boarding schools and colleges. Similar titles among this genre are “Dead Poet’s Society”, “S.T.A.G.S.”, “A Secret History”, “Black Chalk”, “Long Black Veil”, and more. This genre is a personal favorite of mine.

The narratives in this book are half-prose, half-poetry. The narrative also takes place over five acts. The characters study art and drama program, which surrounds the work of William Shakespeare. The influence of the Shakespearean tragedy and drama heavily affects the themes, the narrative, and the characters of the story. When I first looked at the description of the book, I was sold on the idea of these characters at a drama school beginning to act more like their characters onstage. This was what I expected, but I received more than just that. The students take place in many plays and scenes from William Shakespeare. They participate in a cut-throat production of “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”, “A Midsummer’s Night Dream”, “Macbeth”, “King Lear”, and “Romeo and Juliet”. Watching the characters as they prepare for each performance, as they complete each performance, is like reading a play, but imagining it flawlessly in your mind. It’s absolutely incredible to read through this story, if you are a fan of theatre.

To continue, I also found myself enjoying every scene. Like a fantastically well-written book, there are no scenes that seem superfluous. There are no scenes where the only point is a character making breakfast. We have characters in seemingly minor scenes, but the conversations and motives are mysterious and secretive, like a Shakespearean play. I have to admit, if you’re not familiar with the plays, it may help to do a refresh before beginning this book. The symbolism of the Shakespeare, reflected in the characters’ actions is well-implemented and may not be appreciated in the same light, if you do not know much about the plays.

This is not a spoiler-free review. Please do not continue on, if you fear any spoiled plot points.

To begin, we are launched back into time, as Oliver navigates through a tough regime of practicing, strict teachers, and an intriguing friend group. I began reading, not liking Oliver as a character. Something struck me as his character being similar to Nick Caraway’s from “The Great Gatsby”. Oliver seemed conceited and judgmental, as he watched from the sidelines. I believe I misinterpreted this. I quickly stopped disliking Oliver. I was right in thinking he is not the center of attention, but this does not make him an unlikeable character.

To continue, the book has an intensity that is absolutely gripping and draws you in, like quicksand. The characters are well-developed, but they fall into a stereotype which feels natural. I understand these stereotypes, because our characters begin to act like their fictional counterparts. The characters are:

Oliver, the quiet observer

Wren, the quiet, mousy but mysterious character

Richard, the cruel, boisterous bully

James, the sensitive, caring anti-hero

Alexander, the flirty, fun friend, with a drug problem

Filippa, the sweet, caring, mothering friend

Meredith, the seductress

An early surprise is that in conversation with the police officer who arrested Oliver years ago, we read “he” in reference to the murder victim, indicating that Oliver could have killed either Richard, James, or Alexander. Early on, I predicted that James and Richard, two cutthroat rivals, would be involved in the murder. I also correctly predicted that James, the anti-hero, would kill Richard. Out of secret (but not subtle) love for James, Oliver would take responsibility for the crime. James has an accidental violent streak at first, but we seem to watch him build towards a more aggressive but protective hero. The rivalry between James and Richard kick-starts, as James is cast as Macbeth, a surprise.

To be honest, one of my favorite scenes is the Halloween performance of Macbeth. Without a shred of doubt, my mind was transported to this lake, with wooden logs as seats, as our characters perform some of the most vital scenes of the play. It’s intense and uncomfortable, as we start to worry more and more when the murder will occur. Act One eerily culminates in a game of chicken, in which Richard and James fight, Richard holding’s James’s head under the water for too long.

In Act Two, we see Filippa picking up Oliver from prison, after his release. She informs him that Alexander and Meredith are doing well, eliminating Alexander from our list of possible murder victims. This does not dismiss him as a possible murderer, however.

We launch back into the past, to read of the horrific lead-up to “Julius Caesar”. We are absolutely on the edge of our seats, as we see the rivalry between Richard and the other characters continue. Richard seems more abusive towards Meredith, his girlfriend. Richard injures Oliver and James, as they practice the assassination scene from “Julius Caesar”. The play performance of this is absolutely incredible, the reader fearing that there will be an accident on stage, killing Caesar, not just figuratively.

During a cast party to celebrate the finished run of “JC”, the characters get wildly out of hand. Meredith and James become drunk and too flirty. Richard and Wren, who are cousins, had fought. James and Richard begin to argue. Alexander is nowhere to be found. Filippa is all over the place, like always. Act Two concludes with our characters, watching Richard, lethally injured, floating in the lake. His neck appears to be broken, and his face was smashed in.

Act Three has us wonder if Richard can be saved. Alexander convinces the rest of them to let Richard die. They arrange their stories for the police investigation, that they had all come to the lakeside, and found him floating. I was quite surprised that the book did not take a turn, where the characters buried the body and tried to hide the evidence. The characters’ reaction does not often occur in thrillers.

It appears very clear that James has killed Richard, but our narrator, Oliver is not sure. He is secretly in love with James, and there might be some love requited. However, Oliver is grasping at straws to believe that James is innocent. I absolutely love James, so it hurts me as a reader to imagine that this poor young man could have killed Richard. Like most Shakespearean plays, it does beg the question: is justice served, if the murdered was quite evil? Often, William Shakespeare poses this question. Tybalt, in “Romeo and Juliet”, is ruthless and driven by rivalry, but does that excuse Romeo for killing him? We do not want to empathize, when we suspect James, but we can’t help it. Tell me, would you kill someone who could very likely kill the person you love? I don’t know that I wouldn’t.

We continue reading to see Richard’s memorial. For a moment or two, I was suspicious that Wren could have killed Richard. We receive little red herrings, like her dry eyes, her “tragic” laugh. I soon shook that thought out of my mind, because it wouldn’t make sense for her to kill her cousin, even if he was a terrible bully. Later in act three, we also see some foreshadowing or red herrings for Wren. There is significant mention of “Hamlet”, with a dead sparrow reference. Wren / sparrow / bird. Birds are foreboding messengers of death; this is a red herring done correctly. Her last name is also Stirling, which is close to the bird breed, Starling.

I have to mention that the way the characters are portrayed. As I mentioned, we have our stereotypes. Alexander is gay and a drug addict. However, he is not over the top in any sense. He seems very natural and realistic. If he didn’t speak about seeing the character, Colin, you wouldn’t think he’d be gay at all. This is refreshing, because all too often, we have gay characters that are outrageous and offensively stereotypical. To continue, Filippa is a kind, mothering character. We see her carefully take care of Wren and soothe her as she mourns her cousin.

Act Three concludes as we see the characters perform in the Christmas ball, a fantastic set of scenes. The performance is “Romeo and Juliet”, but it is performed in the audience as well. During the major scene of the ball at the Capulet house, where Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time, characters dance with audience members and interact on the ballroom floor. I imagine this scene in my mind, and it looks incredible. This entire book would be executed phenomenally, in film form. I would even encourage a dark mini-series.

Act Four begins. We really see the insanity inside James now. He accidentally breaks Oliver’s nose, during a failed combat scene for the killing scene in “King Lear”.  Alexander overdoses, from the stress of the murder and his cocaine addiction. Oliver’s jealousy and equal love for James is completely consuming him.

Act Five shows James absolutely insane. This is a true Shakespearean hero turned villain. He fights with characters, practically drags Wren to bed with him. Oliver discovers a rusted, bloodied boat hook under James’s mattress. Oliver realizes that this weapon could be the weapon that was used for killing Richard. Out of devotion to James and fear for James’s livelihood, Oliver admits to the crime.

Sadly, we find out from Filippa years later, that James had killed himself six years prior to Oliver’s release. However, his body was never found…

Conclusion

As I mentioned earlier, this has become my new favorite book. This book is utterly incredible. I have never read anything that I have liked as much. I can understand why readers of this book can be a bit divided. Like “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”, we readers question our own morals. Would we kill out of protection and fear? Would we protect those who we love? How do we protect them? We start sympathizing with the villains in this book, based on our own moral codes. I think that is one of the most fear-inducing elements of this story.

"The Lies They Tell"

“The Lies They Tell”

Written by Gillian French

Review written by Diana Iozzia of Bookworm Banter

            “The Lies They Tell” follows our main protagonist, Pearl Haskins, as she discovers the mystery of why the house of one of the richest families in town has burned to the ground. Nearly all of the Garrison family perished, except their eighteen-year-old son, Tristan.

            Pearl is stuck in a love triangle, or square, I guess, as she tries to help her father and his alcoholism. Pearl works as a waitress at a country club during the summer, still planning her way out of the town to college in the fall. Pearl befriends a group of rich kids from the club, soon starting to fall for Bridges and Tristan, while still sort of pining for her co-worker, Reese.

            This book reminds me of 90210 meets “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote. Who killed the Garrisons? Was it their surviving son? Was it Pearl’s father, who was there working as the caretaker that night? Could it have been someone else entirely?

            I enjoyed some of this book, but not much. I think I would have enjoyed this more if I was younger. As a twenty-two-year-old, sometimes it can be difficult for me to get into the mindset of a teen to read young adult fiction. Most of the characters, barring Bridges, were a little too unrealistic for me. I really enjoyed the dialogue, it is very realistic and representative of teens. Often in young adult fiction, we’re “treated” to talk of Facebook and Snapchat and Instagram and Kim Kardashian, so it was nice to have a break from “teens”.

            There’s a bit of uncomfortable sexual harassment in this book, but the characters did call out the harassment which I appreciated. As for the alcoholic father premise, this pops up in too many teen fiction novels. I’m tired of the teens having to be responsible and fix their parents. The names are very glamorous and of course make sense for the novel. Bridges, Tristan, Hadley, Quinn. They all sound a bit like the author researched wealthy teen names.

            There were scenes that I enjoyed. I enjoyed the boat sailing scenes, because it offered a new location / setting that’s not often incorporated into teen fiction. I felt a little “Talented Mr. Ripley” in some parts, which I liked. The climax and the reveal behind the murders was good, but I don’t think it was a shocking enough plot twist that made the book feel worthwhile. The book is slowly paced, and I don’t mind a slow paced book if it eventually builds to a fantastic reveal, with great little tidbits in the middle. I recommend it for teens, but if you’re above the age of 20, perhaps this book may be a little too young for you.

I received an advanced review copy for my honest reviewing purposes.

"Orphan Monster Spy"

“Orphan Monster Spy”

Written by Matt Killeen

Review written by Diana Iozzia, at Bookworm Banter, @bookwormbanter

“Orphan Monster Spy” is my favorite read of 2018 so far. This book is engrossing, adventurous, and so vivid I can imagine every second of it as a film in front of my eyes. I do not often visualize books as I read in depth the way that I did while reading this book.

For a debut novel from the author, Matt Killeen, I was deeply impressed. The book hits me in all of the best emotion, intrigue, suspicion, fear, adventure, action, breath-stopping, and it can be a bit violent. All of this is completely justified in the pages that unfold. This book reminds me of many different novels and books. I feel reminiscent of “The Book Thief”, “The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo”, “Schindler’s List”, “Never Let Me Go”, “The Golden Compass”, and “Cabaret”. For some reason, I pictured the relationship between Lyra and Lord Asriel and pictured the characters in my mind being played by both actors. The best way I feel to relate this book would be “The Book Thief” at a boarding school with a kickass young girl. The note from the executive editor at Viking Books had actually compared the book to “Inglorious Bastards” for teens, and I can definitely see the similarities, but I hadn’t drawn the conclusions to that myself, nor the ‘“Mean Girls” for Nazis’ from the note as well.

We follow Sarah and her companion, the Captain. They rescue each other on a ferry in Nazi Germany. Sarah is young, but fierce and independent at fifteen. Not often do you read characters who are supposed to be strong, intelligent, and savvy at a young age without them seeming over the top, but I do not feel that way about Sarah. She hits all of the emotional sides that a fifteen-year-old would, but she’s also smart enough to survive an adventurous book as this. Sarah becomes a spy at the Rothenstadt Academy, a boarding school that teaches and trains the sons and daughters of the elite National Socialist Party members. Sarah pretends to be Ursula Haller, as the Captain pretends to be her uncle. As Ursula, she is instructed to spy on and find intel on a young classmate of hers whose father is possibly creating a bomb. I personally love books that take place at certain, slightly unnerving locations, like colleges, private schools, and boarding schools. The narration and the plot lines at the boarding school hit the nail on the head and definitely left me fulfilled with what I was hoping for.

We have a saga, an epic of events that unfold through this book. As Sarah survives the cut-throat, ruthless boarding school, she proves herself to be worthy of the terrible, controlling, and violent classmates. She also befriends a girl everyone calls Mouse, because she’s afraid, but secretly Mouse is spying for her parents. Then, at Christmas time, we find Sarah spying on her classmate’s family and father, and we continue the intrigue. Without giving away any spoilers, the last third of the book, in which Sarah is away for Christmas is incredibly gripping and fascinating.

I’d like to go over some of aspects I enjoyed most about this novel. This book is intriguing. We read through Sarah’s perspective which is riddled with strange narrative devices. We hear her mother’s imaginary voice, we read Sarah’s terrible nightmares from the events leading to and the night of Kristallnacht. In addition, we also have letters, journals, all of the chapter title pages look like old fashioned newspapers or war documents. However, sometimes, her narration can be a bit much. Like an ordinary teen, she repeats certain words or phrases to herself, which can be a bit repetitive, but it didn’t detract from the novel. To continue, I liked the dynamic between Sarah and the Captain. They’re cute and funny and he can be a wonderful father figure to her as he protects her. I appreciated how this was written, although the amount of times she refers to herself as a “dumb slut” can make me gnaw my teeth a little.

As I mentioned earlier, Sarah is extremely clever and intelligent for her young age. We see her navigate many encounters with National Socialists who could easily kill her or arrest her for treason. She can tell from hundreds of feet away from danger how she will make her next move.  We have an incredible race sequence where to prove her trust and loyalty to this clique she joins, she must compete in a race through the woods. It’s thrilling and fascinating, and it’s so beautifully visualized. I can just see every breath she takes as she moves, every branch that she runs past. This would be an incredible film. Sarah can pick locks and find hidden objects, even better than James Bond could. This book can be so intriguing for young readers, perhaps we can have a renaissance of young readers interested in espionage. I like that this book was published by a children’s book company, for young adults, but this book does not feel it’s only for young adults. Lately, I’ve fallen out with young adult books, because they often have too many troubles with relationships or romance or things that I just don’t care to read about anymore at 22. This book could be incredible for all ages.

There’s a fascinating section, in chapter twenty-six that used an amazing level of juxtaposition. Sarah and Elsa, who Sarah is spying on, are riding in the car taking them to Elsa’s home for Christmas time. We have Sarah notice many uncomfortable things, juxtaposed by wonderful luxuries. This is reminiscent of “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe”. Think, Lucy meeting Mr. Tumnus, Edmund being spoiled by the White Witch. Sarah smells the wonderful car, how clean, how cozy with all of the nice warm blankets, but the driver is wearing an SS uniform. Elsa has wonderful sour, delicious sweets that she shares with Sarah. Then, we notice a machine gun sitting on the passenger’s seat. Beautiful books sitting in the back of the car, with wonderful adventure stories. Then, Sarah notices a book that was about warning children of all of the dangers of Jews. This was one of the most memorable scenes, and I think it really stuck with me.

I have a bit of a spoiler section I’d like to include, but I won’t give too many details. I have to mention that in many young adult storylines, there can be plots including sexual assault or harassment. There was a certain section of the plot including this. All too frequently in books lately, I feel very uncomfortable and disheartened when a writer decides to include this in female-driven young adult books, because it feels a cheap way to have a plot be driven, but I’m glad it resolved itself the way it did. Another aspect I need to mention here, I do often also notice that young girls in young adult fiction novels are a little sexualized. This can make me completely distant and start disliking a book, but this only popped up after the racing chapter where Sarah’s “armpits and nipples were rubbed raw”. Not necessary for the narrative at all, but I’m still glad there wasn’t more of this.

Also, I swear this is my last spoiler, but I find in books relating to children and violence, that these books in the action / adventure genres do not have the children feeling sad or disheartened about the negative choice they have to make. For example, when I read the Chronicles of Narnia series as a child, the characters, who were all children (until Peter and Susan grew older), were involved in battles and sadly had to kill. I never felt they regretted or felt sad afterwards about their first kill. This happens all too often in material digested by children and teenagers. In other examples, “The Vampire Diaries”, “Twilight”, “Harry Potter”, quite a few Disney movies, and more. We have a bit of a near death / near kill experience in “Orphan Monster Spy” and I really appreciated Sarah’s response to this.

I think this book would make for a fantastic film as I mentioned earlier. However, I think the best thing in the world would be to have a sequel. I’m so curious to read on to see Sarah’s next move and where she will go after this. We see her make her decision, who she would like to protect.

I received an advanced reader’s copy of “Orphan Monster Spy” to participate in Viking Books’ and Penguin Random House’s book blogger tour! Thank you very much for inviting me to participate. Please consider following me on Instagram, @bookwormbanter   for photographs of books and my beloved doggy, Luna! Thanks for reading!

"Let Me Lie"

 “Let Me Lie”

Written by Clare Mackintosh

 

          As a person who frequents charity shops, thrift stores, library sales, and many independent book stores, I’ve come across Clare Mackintosh’s name many times. I’ve looked at her books on shelves, considered many times. When I was offered the chance to read her newest book as an advanced reader’s copy, I was very thrilled.

          “Let Me Lie” is a very complex plot, but it begins when a new mother, Anna Johnson, receives mail that seems to insinuate her late parents were murdered, rather than dead by committing suicide. Anna becomes terrified and entangled in this plot, working with Murray, a little old soon-to-be retired police officer.

          See, the great thing about this book is the amount of plot twists and turns. However, this also makes for a really hard line to tread while writing a review. Clare Mackintosh includes about four to five main plot twists. Some of them are surprising, some of them are easy to figure out as the book progresses. I always think that a good mystery lets you find out who can be behind it all, before the main character realizes. This is situational irony, but Mackintosh does a bit more foreshadowing than I would like.

          I liked the characters. The narrative style is very interesting, as it follows four different perspectives, Anna, Murray, and I can’t really tell you who the other perspectives follow. Mainly because they change when you realize more information and it would spoil a bit of the plot. I would recommend if you do not want to be spoiled in reading my review, you should probably not read any further.

          Spoilers now. Anna Johnson is an interesting and likeable character. All too often, the narrator or main character of a psychological thriller can be unlikeable. Think, Amy Dunne of Gone Girl, Rachel of Girl on The Train, (the widow’s name from The Widow. I can’t remember, it’s been at least 8 months since I’ve read it). We also wonder for a bit of time if Mark, Anna’s husband, could possibly be in on it. I have to say there are some great red herrings in this book. Is that person involved, who could actually be behind this? I was very happy that the main person I was concerned about was not actually involved in this suspenseful plot.

          Can I also just say how often I’ve read psychological thrillers where the main characters are Mark, Anna, Claire, Tom? If you’re writing an English psychological thriller, pick something else. I haven’t heard of a recent psychological thriller with a main character named Adam, or Jacob, or Thelonious. I might be a bit cynical, but if I read too many of these books in this genre, I won’t be able to decipher characters, sooner or later.

          I have quite a few points to make that are full of spoilers, so like I said, pleeeease don’t read on if you’re wary of spoilers. I always tab my pages with Sticky Notes or bookmarks, so I will be looking now to see the points that I wanted to make sure were said in my review.

          The plot progresses as expected for a larger psychological thriller. I think that the extra bits about Anna’s life or Murray’s home life are interesting, but sometimes, they feel a bit extraneous. Murray’s wife suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder. I know not much of this disorder, but his wife’s storyline is a bit clichéd for my liking. Murray’s plot line makes sense and is necessary to the plot, but I don’t think I would have enjoyed it less if his perspective was not included.

          The narrative is separated into three parts, similar to the three act play structure. At the end of part one, we receive a huge shock, whoa, how on Earth did that play out? (It’s really not that shocking, we knew it was happening, but Anna did not, of course). Because we receive perspectives of the villains, we know exactly how each plan is going to be executed. It’s as if we knew the janitor was scaring people away from the school in a werewolf costume the whole time, and now we’re waiting to see how Scooby Doo is going to find that out. I think if we only had Anna’s perspective throughout this story, it would have been more effective, shocking, and compelling. I would definitely have enjoyed it more, because I am not the type of person to enjoy knowing the villains’ intentions the whole time. I like finding out everything as a shock at the end.

          As a few of the plot twists go, I was okay with some of the reveals, but some of them just seemed extraneous and unnecessary. We find out near the end exactly how everything has occurred, and who are the people behind it all. However, did we have to sit through 150 pages incorrectly wondering how one of the villains is going to come destroy Anna? The bogeyman isn’t so scary when you find out why he’s creeping around. I don’t enjoy reading psychological thrillers where I’m believing something for a large portion of time, and BAM the spoiler is that it’s something else entirely. It feels like a cheap cop out of a plot twist. In addition, we have two little end bits to wrap up Mark’s story and Murray’s story. Murray’s story wrap-up is very expected, but I don’t think it was necessary for this book. A separate book on Borderline Personality Disorder maybe, but it felt like the season finale of “Degrassi” or another teen soap. Mark’s story ending makes a lot of sense for the book, I just wish we cared a little more about him the entire way. I remember reading a psychological thriller over the Christmas break, and I just found myself loving the main love interest, so much that I didn’t really care what happened to the main character. Will her life come to a crazy crashing halt? Nah, just the husband matters. Mark would have been a much more interesting character if Anna involved him in the story.

          Finally, I thoroughly enjoyed the last 75 pages or so. Once the climax began, it just kept going through a high-speed car chase, a crazy showdown in an apartment building. The first 2/3^rds of the book weren’t hard to put down, but the last act was. And the best part of the book, the family pet was not murdered. (Why does this always happen in psychological thrillers? Not cool!)

          Last page, I mean come on already, we’re finished up. No cliffhanger wanted or needed, thank you though.

* I received an advanced reader’s copy for reviewing purposes. *

"One of Us Is Lying"

"One of Us is Lying"
Written by Karen M. McManus
Review written by Diana Iozzia


I read this book a couple of days ago, after finding a ruined, beat up copy with the red paint from the pages leaked out all over the cover. Needless to say, I wasn't bothered by the condition. I had heard some negative reviews of this book, and I was curious when I saw it severely inexpensive at a charity shop. 

"One of Us Is Lying" follows four characters who are investigated after their classmate is poisoned in the detention in which they were all in attendance. All are suspects. Simon was the outsider. Bronwyn is the smart, but secretive student. Nate is the bad boy. Cooper is the baseball star. Addy is the pretty princess of the school. Who killed Simon?

This is a very obvious cut and dry young adult mystery in all of the Breakfast Club-soaked stereotypes. There's lots of timely jokes and mentions of popular social media. Tumblr, 4chan, Reddit forums, Instagram, and Facebook are full of curious insiders and intrigue into the mystery. 

I read this in about three hours on an empty afternoon, and it didn't disappoint. There are some irritating bits about sexism and mental illness, but I got over them. You know, "Oh, the boys are more popular in the news, because people like boys more". Okay, whatever, sure. I guess the book has to appeal to some feminists too. 

The ending was more surprising than I figured, but I figured the ending out right about the time that I think everyone else did. Some people I've read reviews by mentioned that they figured it off right off the hat. I felt that when reading "Murder on the Orient Express" in December, my entire focus was solving the murder, rather than soaking up the mystery. With this book, I just enjoyed it and had suspicions towards the killer, but I wasn't too worried about solving it myself. The ending is good, surprising, and necessary. As I mentioned, there are lots of story elements that fit in with the social climate nowadays, lots of political correctness and tropes of the past years, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, but it was just a good YA mystery.

"Needful Things"

“Needful Things”
Book written by Stephen King
Review written by Diana Iozzia

Be prepared, because this review of “Needful Things” is going to be a very honest, very long, and kind of mean one. “Needful Things” by Stephen King had a lot of promise in my mind. I was really hoping to like this, because if I had to pick a favorite author, I’d pick Stephen. Can I call him Mister King? Can I call him Stephen?

The plot follows the small town of Castle Rock, the infamous Castle Rock that appears in a large percentage of his books (I can’t be bothered to look up the exact percentage). Castle Rock is famous for being a small, little strange town created by King. The characters are numerous, some have appeared in “Needful Things” when they have appeared elsewhere. For example, we are reintroduced to Alan Pangborn from “The Dark Half” and Ace Merrill from “Stand by Me”. With a book having at least 20 characters to remember, you can imagine that it might be hard to keep track of certain characters. Alan, Polly, Leland Gaunt, Brian Rust, Lettie, and a few others are most memorable, but it becomes difficult in Part Two of the book to remember many of them. Part 3 is absolutely atrocious for mentioning characters. The main ones were easy to remember, but I lost track of certain plot lines.

Mr. Leland Gaunt, a peculiar fellow, opens a shop called Needful Things. He begins selling items to townsfolk that could be an item they’ve always lusted over or an item that symbolizes their main desires. From baseball cards to fox tails to a framed picture of Elvis, they are not ordinary objects that you’d imagine people would be driven insane over. Mr. Gaunt accepts money, but he also creates an agreement with the customer to do him favors and “pranks”. These favors and pranks eventually pit the citizens of Castle Rock against each other, ensuing in crimes, violence, and different types of murder.

This was a fantastic premise, but the book could have done well with having 50 percent of its material cut. The copy I have has about 500 pages in very small print. This took me a month to struggle through. The first part was great. It set up an interesting plot, that became less interesting the less I read.

I think this book reminds me of “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”, an episode of the television show, “The Twilight Zone” where aliens pit neighbors against each other and cause havoc on one small street. Stephen King seems to “take inspiration” from many different stories, but this one felt eerily familiar.

I’m glad I read this book, because I had wanted to read it for some time. But I’m much gladder that I finished it. I could say I recommend it, but I can also say that you should steer very clear. Proceed with caution. I still can’t tell how I actually view this book, if in a positive light or negative light. I have heard that the short story “It Growns on You” in King’s book, “Nightmares and Dreamscapes” is a sort of epilogue to “Needful Things”, so perhaps I can find some closure there.

The aspects I liked:

Polly Chalmers and Alan Pangborn were great main characters.
The feud between Wilma Jerzyck and Nettie Cobb was a great storyline.
The climax and resolution.
“Answered Prayers”
Leland Gaunt’s Faustian personality.

The aspects I didn’t like:

Ace Merrill, terribly rotten in personality and plot line.
About 75 percent of the book. It was very descriptive to a fault.
Too many characters to keep track of.

The aspects I’m not sure on:

Danforth Keeton
The Rust Family