Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See (Book Review)

Title: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Author: Lisa See
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: Library Binding
Pages: 254
Publication Date: 6/28/2004
Publisher: Random House

Goodreads | Amazon

★★★★☆

Lily is haunted by memories–of who she once was, and of a person, long gone, who defined her existence. She has nothing but time now, as she recounts the tale of Snow Flower, and asks the gods for forgiveness.

In nineteenth-century China, when wives and daughters were foot-bound and lived in almost total seclusion, the women in one remote Hunan county developed their own secret code for communication: nu shu (“women’s writing”). Some girls were paired with laotongs, “old sames,” in emotional matches that lasted throughout their lives. They painted letters on fans, embroidered messages on handkerchiefs, and composed stories, thereby reaching out of their isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments.

With the arrival of a silk fan on which Snow Flower has composed for Lily a poem of introduction in nu shu, their friendship is sealed and they become “old sames” at the tender age of seven. As the years pass, through famine and rebellion, they reflect upon their arranged marriages, loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their lifelong friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a brilliantly realistic journey back to an era of Chinese history that is as deeply moving as it is sorrowful. With the period detail and deep resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha, this lyrical and emotionally charged novel delves into one of the most mysterious of human relationships: female friendship.

My friend and I saw the trailer for the movie version of this book, and I instantly said to myself "I want to read that" while she said at the same time "I want to see that." 

Ironically, she read the book first, after checking it out from the library, and I borrowed it from her to read once she was finished. We still haven't watched the movie yet.

The book did not, for me, live up to the promise of the movie trailer. I have the sense, after having skimmed some reviews of the movie, that this could be because the movie itself doesn't live up to the promise of the book, or even of its own trailer.

I wanted to love this book. In the end, I think that I did love this book. It's just that it took me a long time to get to that point. I'm not a fan of books that take me a long time to finish them. 

My experience with this book was unusual. When I was reading it, I didn't want to put it down. I was entirely immersed in the world of nineteenth-century China. When I wasn't reading it, I wasn't compelled to pick it up. There just wasn't enough movement in the story to make me interested.

I admit that this could be a side effect of reading a lot of young adult fiction for a long time. This is precisely the sort of book I ought to love.

Rot & Ruin, by Jonathan Maberry (Book Review)

Title: Rot & Ruin
Author: Jonathan Maberry
Genres: Horror, Young Adult
Format: Paperback
Pages: 458
Publication Date: 5/3/2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Goodreads | Amazon

★★★★☆

In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn't want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash, but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human.

Well this one was definitely not what I was expecting. I don't read reviews prior to reading a book due to concerns that I'll spoil the book for myself, and the synopses of this book didn't begin to do it justice.

I'm tempted to type up the text on the back cover for you, but that seems somehow silly. 

So let me emphasize: This book was not what I expected it to be.

I've discovered recently that I love zombie fiction. What's wonderful about it, for me, is that every zombie book (or series) that I've read has been different than the books that I read before it.

Everybody has a different take on zombies, and that's pretty cool, if you ask me. Sorry, I shouldn't use that word. Benny Imura would cringe. How about I say it's pretty fascinating?

Jonathan Maberry's take on zombies is that they were people once, too. Or at least that's Tom Imura's take on zombies. For me, this perspective was life-changing and not at all in the least bit what I expected to get from this book.

Okay, maybe life changing is strong wording for how this book affected me. The point is that it did affect me.

The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, by Stephanie Oakes (Book Review)

Title: The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly
Author: Stephanie Oakes
Genres: Suspense, Young Adult
Format: Paperback
Pages: 400 Pages
Publication Date: 11/01/2016
Publisher: Speak

Goodreads | Amazon

★★★★☆

A hard-hitting and hopeful story about the dangers of blind faith—and the power of having faith in yourself. Finalist for the Morris Award.

The Kevinian cult has taken everything from seventeen-year-old Minnow: twelve years of her life, her family, her ability to trust. And when she rebelled, they took away her hands, too.

Now their Prophet has been murdered and their camp set aflame, and it's clear that Minnow knows something—but she's not talking. As she languishes in juvenile detention, she struggles to un-learn everything she has been taught to believe, adjusting to a life behind bars and recounting the events that led up to her incarceration. But when an FBI detective approaches her about making a deal, Minnow sees she can have the freedom she always dreamed of—if she’s willing to part with the terrible secrets of her past.

Gorgeously written, breathlessly page-turning and sprinkled with moments of unexpected humor, this harrowing debut is perfect for readers of Emily Murdoch's If You Find Me and Nova Ren Suma's The Walls Around Us, as well as for fans of Orange is the New Black.

This book was so good. 

It has all of the components of a book that I ought to be slapping straight onto my immediate "favorites." 

I'll start by telling you what those things are, then I'll get a bit more personal.

But first, a trigger warning. If you plan on purchasing this book, please note that it contains a lot of potential triggers. It probably stands out as having that potential, as the book is religious in nature to begin with, but I also want my readers to be aware that this book contains graphic depictions of horrific physical violence and terrible, awful racism.

This book also has many excellent qualities that will have me recommending it for the next year. I'm quite sure that this is going to be on my list of best books that I've read in 2017.

Engaged in Danger, by Barbara Venkataraman (Book Review)

Title: Engaged in Danger
Author: Barbara Ventkataraman
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Format: Kindle Edition
Pages: 263 (Print)
Publication Date: 09/11/2015
Publisher: Amazon Digital Servies

Goodreads | Amazon

★★★★☆

Finally, life is good for reluctant family law attorney, Jamie Quinn--her father may get his visa soon, her boyfriend is the bomb, and her law practice is growing like crazy--but when she agrees to take on a high-profile divorce case, everything falls apart. What looked like an opportunity to work with her friend Grace and make some serious bucks has turned into a deadly game, one that could destroy their friendship and tear their town apart. Why couldn't Jamie just leave well enough alone?

Let me start by saying that not that long back, I reviewed the Jamie Quinn Mystery Collection. You need to know before I say anything else, that I absolutely love this series. I've been in communication with the author and feel very fortunate to have had this opportunity to get to know this series.

This book hit for me in a time when cozy mysteries have been falling flat. I've read a number of them in the past two years where the events of the story don't follow a logical pattern, the mystery is either impossible or too easy for the reader to solve, and the characters are flat rather than fun.

Jamie Quinn brings us back to a time when cozy mysteries were everything they were supposed to be. So let me talk about the things that are great about this book, since I can't find fault with this novel at all, really (seriously, it's a 4.5 star book for me but I always round down on those so that the 5-star books really stand out).

The Bone Witch, by Rin Chupeco (Book Review)

Title: The Bone Witch
Author: Rin Chupeco
Genres: Young Adult, Horror, Amish
Format: Protected PDF via Netgalley
Pages: 432 (in print)
Publication Date: 03/7/2017
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Goodreads | Amazon

★★☆☆☆

In the captivating start to a new, darkly lyrical fantasy series for readers of Leigh Bardugo and Sabaa Tahir, Tea can raise the dead, but resurrection comes at a price...

Let me be clear: I never intended to raise my brother from his grave, though he may claim otherwise. If there's anything I've learned from him in the years since, it's that the dead hide truths as well as the living.

When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she's a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training.

In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha―one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles...and make a powerful choice.

Memoirs of a Geisha meets The Name of the Wind in this brilliant new fantasy series by Rin Chupeco!

Well. Where do I start? 

This is going to be a tough review, in a number of ways.

I want to start out by being as fair as I possibly can about this review, so I'll start out with telling you the most important thing: I didn't like this book. You need to know that going forward, because it's important to me to be as constructive as possible and to provide my readers with information about the reasons that I did and did not enjoy a novel.

So out of fairness to the author, I want to say this: I have not been a fan of fantasy novels for quite a number of years, and this book might actually have changed that. 

Surprising, considering that I didn't like the book.

Let me give you a few other positives about this book (for me, anyway). The leading character (a witch-come-geisha known [called an asha] known as Tea) is a woman of color. Excellent representation in a fantasy novel. One of her friends, who works in one of the shops, is a cross-dressing adolescent whose story I won't spoil for you.

So in terms of representation, this book has done an excellent job of providing adequate representation of these marginalized groups. I like that. It felt good, and it wasn't forced. I like it even more that it was noticeable without being forced.

These are good things that I think might appeal to a young adult audience. 

Unfortunately, for me there were just too many things I hated about this book.