T5W (On a Thursday, Again) | Books You Want to Read Before the End of the Year

Top 5 Wednesday was created by gingerreadslainey and is moderated by Sam of Thoughts on Tomes.


Here we are again, on a Thursday instead of a Wednesday, and I have the same excuse as last week. BUT. It seems I am not the only one with this problem, as evidenced by a variety of booktubers and posters in the T5W goodreads group, so I won't fret about it too much.

This week's topic is a tricky one because how do you only choose 5 books that you want to read before the end of the year? My TBR list is so long. Like really, it's absurd. I don't think I have any chance of reading every book on that list by the time I die. But here we go:

1) Ash by Malinda Lo

I've wanted to read this book for so long. A Cinderella retelling with LGBT elements? It's like this book was written specifically with me in mind, as silly as that sounds. I have the book sitting on my dining room table right now, rented from the library, and I plan to read it right after I finish What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi.

2) Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown

Another LGBT book. I just need more of them in my life, I feel like all I read is hetero romance and that just isn't cutting it for me anymore. This comes out on the 30th and I am stooooked! I already ordered it through my library.

3) Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

This book won't be released until September, plus I've only read one book by Blake and I did not like it, but the premise sounds so good, and look at that cover!!! Gorgeous!!!

4) Any Book By Lang Leav

I've been wanting to read something by Lang Leav for a long time, ever since I saw one of her books in the running for the Goodreads Choice Awards. I don't know what it is that draws me to her because I've never heard anyone talk about her writing before. But I love poetry and I love the covers for her books and her name is weirdly cool, and what more reason do you need to read a book?

5) In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park

I don't remember specifically where I heard about this book; it was either a gifset on tumblr or a TED talk, but either way the story intrigues me. North Korea is such an elusive country. It feels like the information we do know is just the tip of the horrific iceberg. I think this book will give a lot of insight on what it's really like to live there.

T5W | Authors You Are Waiting on Another Book From

Top 5 Wednesday was created by gingerreadslainey and is moderated by Sam of Thoughts on Tomes.


So I am aware that I'm posting this on a Thursday instead of a Wednesday but I have been dealing with symptoms that seem to have no cause, at least none that the doctors can find. So I am tired and grumpy, too tired and grumpy to be writing a blog post. And yet, here I am.

5) Alwyn Hamilton

I finished reading Rebel of the Sands a few days ago and of course only then found out that it had been published in February and that a new book wouldn't be out until 2017! Don't you hate that? Already, I'm feeling impatient for Traitor to the Throne. 

4) Noelle Stevenson

Nimona is one of the best, cutest, and most clever graphic novels I (and probably you) have ever or will ever read. I still feel that book hangover and I need something new from her ASAP. I know she's busy with Lumberjanes but I mean something epic, more like Nimona. More weird monsters and shady government organizations. 

3) Marissa Meyer

Now that the Lunar Chronicles has come to a close, I'm interested to see what Marissa Meyer does next. Her book Heartless is coming out this November and I'm definitely not the only one anxious to get my hands on a copy. 

2) Kristin Cashore

Queen of Worldbuilding and Magic Systems, when will you again grace us with a masterpiece akin to the Graceling series? I hope you know I love and appreciate you but I am waiting (im)patiently for your next book.

1) Gillian Flynn

I'll be honest with you: if I had to sacrifice any chance at future books from the above authors just so Gillian Flynn might write a new book in the next 10 years, I would do it in a heartbeat. She is my all-time favorite author and she hasn't written a book since 2012! Yes, she wrote that novella thing but it was only 64 pages long and I am insatiable. 

Review: Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Published: February 4th 2016

Goodreads Summary:

"Dustwalk is an unforgiving, dead-end town. It's not the place to be poor or orphaned or female. And yet Amani Al'Hiza must call it 'home'. Amani wants to escape and see the world she's heard about in campfire stories. Then a foreigner with no name turns up, and with him she has the chance to run. But the desert plains are full of dangerous magic. The Sultan's army is on the rise and Amani is soon caught at the heart of a fearless rebellion... An epic story of swirling desert sands, love, magic and revolution."

Review:

I won this book from a contest on goodreads and I'm so glad I did! I haven't read a book this fast in a long time. I think it took me about 5 days and the average time that it usually takes me to read a book is maybe a month if I'm lucky. I usually do all of my reading on the toilet (perhaps I shouldn't admit that on the internet) but I found myself taking this book out on the couch or to bed because it had so captured my attention.

Probably the best thing about the book is the pacing! The pacing is phenomenal. Never a dull moment in Rebel of the Sands. Pacing is such an issue in so many books. There are large chunks of absolutely nothing that could have been cut out or changed to make the plot move faster. But Alwyn Hamilton knows what you want to read and gives it to you. Thank you, Ms. Hamilton!

I was not totally pleased with the setting - it's sort of a mix between the Wild West and an Arabian country. The fictional country itself is called Miraji, not the most creative name if you ask me, but I digress.  I can't put my finger on what I didn't like about it - a desert country is certainly an interesting place to set a book, as I feel like most fantasy books are based in countries that closely resemble the UK or North America. Maybe it was that the people of Miraji seemed like caricatures, what a Westerner would assume an Arab population is like: uncles that look to prey on their nieces, the stoning and hanging of women that are raped, marrying young girls off against their will, etc. The Mirajin citizens are portrayed very negatively and it felt as if the author had a narrow-minded view of what Arabian countries are actually like. Of course, I myself know very little about the Arab world, so it's not like I'm an authority or anything. But it did affect my enjoyment of the book itself.

That said, it did give an intriguing look at what it's like to live in an occupied land, which I assume would feel like being an unwanted guest in your own country. The Gallan - the people intruding on or assisting the Mirajin people, depending on which character you ask - felt like a thinly veiled allusion to Europe, thus creating an interesting allegory for the British Empire and its occupation of places like Egypt and Iraq.

The magic system was refreshing. It was obviously mirrored after Arabic mythology, so it had an Eastern base. It's rare to see that in fantasy (or at least popular fantasy). I am fascinated with how the people of Miraji learned to live alongside the magical beings that inhabited the country. What I was also thrilled about was the implication that magic existed in every region of the world. 

That leads me to another great part of Rebel of the Sands: the world! What fantastic worldbuilding. Honestly top-notch. It addressed things as small as the religious customs and government of Miraji to bigger things such as the terrain of the other countries and the relations between Miraji and its neighbors. I love, love, love when international relations of a different world are fleshed out. I could read an entire book dedicated to the history of the world and the modern political climate in Rebel of the Sands. Are you listening, Alwyn Hamilton?! I need it!

I wasn't too fond of the main character, Amani. Her characterization as the tough, smart-mouthed girl felt a little forced; a lot of her sarcasm fell flat for me. I liked her more in the beginning but as the book went on I related to her less and less. 

The romance was also something that I wasn't thrilled about, although there were parts of it that I enjoyed. What I did like about Amani's relationship with her love interest, Jin, was that before they became romantically involved, the story cemented the idea of them as friends and more importantly, a team. So many books take the leap from first meeting to love without establishing any sort of rapport between the characters. Most of the couples I know are also each other's best friends, which means they got to know their partner first and liked what they learned instead of diving into the relationship head first. Amani and Jin certainly worked well together and that's something that's encouraging to see in YA. However, the romance itself didn't make my heart flutter or anything like that. Though that might be because I'm a lesbian, who knows.

Overall, the book is definitely worth the read. I criticize it so much because I liked it and I want to keep liking it. While I think there are things that could be fixed, the series has a good foundation in this book and I'm looking forward to the next one. 

T5W | Books You Feel Differently About

Top 5 Wednesday was started by gingerreadslainey!


The topic for this Wednesday revolves around books that you read and felt differently about a little while after reading them, whether you liked them at first and then realized you actually hated them, or disliked at first and realized you actually loved them! This topic is great for me because I find myself in this exact situation a lot, although it's usually me realizing later that I didn't like a book as much as I initially did.

By the way, these are in no particular order.

5) Twilight

I think this is a book that will be featured a lot in lists this Wednesday. Twilight is one of those lightning-in-a-bottle books, that took the world by storm and then gradually faded away. I started reading it in middle school after having it recommended to me by people who usually didn't read at all. I do have to admit that it's one of the books that really got me into reading - it captivated me and I tore through it in a few days. 

At first, I was totally in love with the series. I talked about it with all my friends who also read it and argued about whether we were Team Edward or Team Jacob. (I was Team Jacob.) But of course, after a while, I started to see all the flaws of the series: the gaping plot holes, the fucked up relationship between Edward and Bella, and the tediousness of the next few books. Then, Breaking Dawn came out and I fell out of love in a snap. It was so bad, and thus I realized that I thought the whole series was bad, like a bucket of cold water thrown on me. 

 

4) House of Night series

I honestly can't explain why I ever thought these books were good. my only excuse was that I was young and I couldn't recognize the difference between good and bad writing. And the writing in these is bad. It's also one of those books where the main character has an absurd amount of love interests - I think that she had four at one time, which is hilarious to me, because honestly what real-life teenage girl can even handle two guys being interested in her at one time? The magic system made no sense, and the main character was bland and boring. I shudder to think back on the time when I spent actual money on these.

I think I might have one or two of the books still in my closet. I gotta get rid of those suckers.

3) Gone series

Admittedly, I was never a huge fan of this series. The writing wasn't great and the characters weren't likable at all. But, it was one of the big YA series at the time and I was pretty neutral about the books. But now with clearer eyes, I can declare how utterly boring they are. I'm glad I only read three.

2) Maximum Ride series

Oh, Maximum Ride. What a let down you are. You started off so well, why did you have to take a turn for the ridiculous?!

James Patterson is one of my mom's favorite authors but I can't see why. Maybe when I was younger and more naive I could agree but as I've grown older and wiser, his writing seems more and more formulaic and stale. 

The first book in the series really sold me on the series and so I blindly read book after book, even after they became campy and, frankly, stupid. Reading them were sort of like watching a slow plane crash. By the fifth, I had to give up, for my own sanity. I still don't know how the books went so wrong. What happened, Mr. Patterson?

1) Cirque du Freak series

Probably one of my biggest regrets as a reader. These books are classic middle-school-boy bait. I guess people think that that demographic isn't catered to enough (which I would have to disagree with) and is the reason why so many of them don't read. (If a kid doesn't want to read, don't force them. They'll only end up hating books!)

I can't honestly tell you what the plot was of the first three books I read; maybe I'm blocking out the memory because they were so bad. All I know is that thinking about them makes me want to roll my eyes, hard. 

Maybe I shouldn't regret so many of younger me's reading choices. I really do wish I had developed a better taste in books sooner. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20!