David
Inspired by the death of her great Uncle at the Dozier School for Boys back in the 1930s in Marianna, Florida, Tananarive Due delivers a gripping and harrowing tale of survival in the face of extreme adversity and cruelty.
Set in the 1950's, this is a propulsive page turner that combines engrossing drama and the supernatural while shedding light on the system of dehumanization that, as evidenced by our current prison system, sadly exists to this very day.
Highly recommend!
I almost gave up on this book during the first few chapters because the story seemed so preposterous.
Glad I stuck with it though as this book gave me some serious whiplash with it's various plot twists.
All is not what it seems!
This marks my final book for 2023. It was a crazy year so I didn't come close to finishing by Goodreads 2023 Reading Challenge. Only 36 of 60 books or 60%.
I'll try to do better next year. Probably lower the challenge to 50!
Happy New Year everyone!
A very compelling and meta look at the publishing industry, race and identity from the perspective of a struggling author. An author who is accused of stealing the work of her late friend. Towards the end, the tone of the book shifts in a way I was not expecting.
If you like books about books, this is definitely one for you.
3.5 rounded up to 4.
With her job on hold and word from her brother that “Mom seems off”, Samantha Montogomery decides to pay mom a visit to see what exactly is going on.
This is my first book by T. Kingfisher and while this is a horror story, the horror is offset by the wisecracking Samantha and her wry personality which I truly enjoyed. While it does get a bit silly at times, it was an engrossing and imaginative tale.
Could not put this down! Very unsettling psychological horror about a family who takes in their dying matriarch. The ending, which I will not spoil, wasn't what I wanted nor what I expected...and that's a GOOD thing!
This book really resonated with me as my mother moved in with us a few months ago.
And she brought a pretty stone with her.
Okay, this is the 4th book by S.A. Cosby I've read and he does not disappoint.
He has become a “must buy” author for me.
This time around a former FBI agent turned small-town sheriff must track down a serial killer that lives in their midst.
I love Cosby's “take no BS” protagonists who, like in his previous books, usually has to battle with the local racist Neanderthals. In this day and age, those confrontations are very cathartic and satisfying.
A gritty, violent and propulsive page turner!
Who would have thought a 640 page book about evil apples would be this entertaining? Well, it was!
At first I thought this seems a tad corny, but then Wendig quickly pulls you into the lives of various characters in this small rural town. He weaves in history, folklore and the supernatural. Its gruesome and gory at times, but never dull.
Coincidentally, I got a shipment of Harry & David apples in the midst of reading this book. I never eat apples. But somehow I was compelled to do so. They were delicious. I need MORE!!!!
If you are looking for a spooky short story collection for the Halloween season, look no further.
Writer/Director Jordan Peele has collected 19 short stories from black authors you might already know and some you don't.
While some stories are better than others, you'll definitely be entertained...and a little creeped out.
I mean, the book cover alone!
Some standouts for me:
Reckless Eyballing
The Rider
A Bird Sings by the Etching Tree
Dark Home
An American Fable
Happy Halloween!
3.5 stars rounded up to 4
There is a lot going on in this book which at times made the story feel convoluted, but never dull.
With a past and present story structure, this tale examines mother-daughter relationships, sibling relationships, toxic relationships, friendships, a missing black girl, ghosts and a creepy haunted house.
And trauma. Lots of trauma.
I told you it was a lot.
If you are looking for a Stephen King novel that does not have a supernatural element to it...this would be a good pick.
Random people are disappearing and King's beloved investigator Holly Gibney is back on the case.
While the time jumps were a bit confusing at times and the ending was a tad unsatisfying, this was a compelling (and slightly stomach churning) read.
“On Tuesday, Adelaide Henry had been a farmer. On Wednesday, she became a fugitive.”
Adelaide Henry sets out to escape her past in rural Montana in 1915. But she's not traveling alone.
Victor LaValle has written another page turner with this Lovecraftian female driven tale that grabs you from page one and doesn't let go.
3.5 stars (why can't Goodreads give 1/2 stars?!)
The author known for his ambiguous endings strikes again with this collection of short stories and one novella (the titular title) told in free verse of anthropomorphic animals living in an allegorical Trumpian world.
Not a fan of ambiguous endings, but somehow, Tremblay continues to draw me into his fascinating and bizarre worlds.
It's difficult to discuss this book without spoiling the story.
With that said, as usual, I knew nothing of the story or the genre going in (I assumed it was horror. It is not.).
It is a sprawling sci-fi tale set in a dystopian world dealing with class struggle, family, love, loss and some shocking twists and turns along the way.
At times I found it confusing, but it was never dull.
I was in high school when this book came out yet never read it until now.
BEE's debut novel that put him on the literary map rings of authenticity and the sense of hopelessness that is common amongst the teenage set.
While I thought The Shards was better, this stream of consciousness tale was a quick and engrossing read.
As with movies, the original is usually better than the sequel that follows.
Unfortunately, Deathless Divide adheres to that axiom.
The plucky wise-cracking Jane I loved in Dread Nation is now this dark and brooding character with little warmth or humor. She spends the book dead set on hunting down the villain whose actions, if you look at the big picture, aren't wholly villainous, at least not to the extent that warrants Jane's obsessive desire to kill him at any cost.
Also, not a lot happens here. I felt like I was stuck on a wagon train waiting for the final destination.
In short, I enjoyed revisiting this world, but I was ready to leave.
In a revisionist history where the Civil War was interrupted by the rise of zombies, a young
black girl trained to fight zombies is sent to a frontier town where she must contend with a
mercurial and racist Sheriff who runs the town with an iron fist.
Utterly engrossing YA novel (didn't know it was YA!) that I could not put down.
Book 1 of 2!
I laughed, I cried, I was terrified!
This book has everything....1980's, San Fernando Valley (where I grew up and live), high school life, 80's music, sex, queerness and a serial killer! I mean, I can like...totally relate (minus the serial killer part, of course.).
This 1980's time capsule is a suspenseful and intense work of metafiction that kept me fully engaged throughout its 600+ page count. The prose is detailed enough (without being verbose) that you are able to easily picture the scenes. Of course I travel on the roads he mentions every day and those descriptions are spot on.
After reading this, my first novel by Ellis, I can now say I am a fan!
For an added bonus, check out the Spotify playlist that contains every song mentioned in the book!
(Trigger warning for extreme violence and animal death/cruelty)
Exploring themes of guilt, complicity and grief, Boyne's follow up to The Boy In The Striped Pajamas is a beautifully written and compelling tale.
Jumping between the past and the present, 91 year old Gretel (the sister of Bruno from TBITSP) finds herself befriending a young boy from a troubled household and reflecting back on the years after the war.
Boyne continues to be one of my favorite authors.
3.5 rounded up to 4.
I loved the sense of dread and the 80's nostalgia infused into this story that takes place over one Halloween night. It's stories like these though that make me wonder how we ever lived without cell phones, because they surely would have come in handy here!
I didn't love what seemed to be a story bloated with too many underdeveloped characters that, at times, I found difficult to keep track of.
That being said, it was a fun, creepy read.