Review of The Perfect Liar by Thomas Christopher Greene

Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC I as given in exchange for my fair and honest review.

I feel like I should give a disclaimer before I get into my review: I'm getting really sick with the trend (if you can call it a trend since there doesn't seem to be an end in sight) that has been popular in thriller for the last few years  of making the main characters as despicable as you possibly can. As I mentioned in an earlier review on this blog, I'm not one of those people who needs to like the main characters; I agree that many of the most well-written fictional characters of all time have been just awful. Having said that, there's a difference between making developed well-rounded characters that happen to have some truly gross and disturbing traits (pedophilia, abuse, etc.) and just seeing which character in your story will be more morally bankrupt. This was the main problem I had with The Perfect Liar; while I believe there are many selfish, dishonest narcissists in the world, I have a problem when everyone is the book is similarly awful to sociopathic levels because it's just not believable. It's the same as when everyone is portrayed as a saint: most people are gray.

That said, many of the themes in this book are important ones, particularly the way abuse is handled. Susannah goes from an obviously abusive husband to a more subtly abusive one, which I think is something that happens a lot; people who have been abused are so happy that there partner isn't as bad as the last one, they don't see the glaring warning signs. Max, who is extremely opportunistic, hones in on Susannah quickly and a perfect storm of toxic marriage begins. It's a sad story, but one that feels totally authentic. Truth be told, the sub plots of murder and the whole "thriller" aspect is far less interesting than this very human one: the descent that manipulation causes in their marriage is more interesting than some notes that come from an unknown source.

My last complaint is I wish we saw more of Freddy. I know that his absence is kind of the point; his isolated, sullen teen boy nature hides the complicated dynamic between he and his mother. Still, I think there should be something a reader can grasp, some signs of what's to come when a story is finished. The relationship between Susannah and Freddy turns out to be a pretty huge plot point and I'd loved it if that relationship was explored in more depth. It might have also humanized Susannah a bit more and let's face it: that would have been a welcome addition.

Overall, this is a fine read, if one that could use a little more depth. 3.5/5. 

All that was Lost by Alison May

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC of All that was Lost in exchange for a fair and honest review.

All the was Lost by Alison May is a generational story of loss and redemption. Basically. There's obviously more to it than that and, actually, no one gets redeemed, but I think there's hope.  Maybe it's about three people who have all lost loved ones and have struggled with how and whether to move on. Yes, that's more correct.

So, it's the second book I've read this month that was about a psychic. With The Winter's Child, the psychic was maybe real; our psychic, Patrice Leigh, is most assuredly not. In fact. as we find out, there is almost nothing real about Patrice. She is basically a construct to deal with the losses of youth.

I'm just going to be blunt: what's with books lately? I know it's not me because I've read several I just loved, but there have been far more books that are truly well written, well thought out, but absolutely fail to interest me at all. This is another one of those. With this one, though, I can easily pinpoint the cause: the characters are dull as dishwater. None of the characters have any development at all and, for those who seem to be confused, living through a trauma does not, in and of itself, develop a character. Patrice has no personality; she loves a boy named Charlie with attractive eyes. We know nothing else about him. Leo loved Marnie, but now that there son is gone, he has become absent from life. Louise's son was murdered and she feels nothing. That's it. Why should I be invested in characters that are so flat just because they're described as living through pain?  I need more and it's just not there.

3/5. Just okay. You won't regret reading it, but you won't miss much if you don't.

Review of That Time I Loved You by Carrianne Leung

First and foremost, thank you to Net Galley for the ARC I was given in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Second, thank you to Carrianne Leung for writing what was easily the most compelling, intimate short story collection I have ever read.

Confession: I was a little hesitant when I started reading this. In my experience, shorty story collections tend to live in a zone that's reminiscent of Cds:  there are a few standout pieces, but there's a whole lot more that feels like filler. Spoiler (not really): that was not the case here as every single story was intensely raw and human.

That's not to say there weren't standouts; "Sweets" was, in my opinion, the best by a longshot. It was heartbreaking, had the kind of character development that many writers fail to achieve in a 600 page novel and wrapped up in an aesthetically flawless way. Seriously: beautiful story. It outlined the development of a relationship between a Chinese immigrant grandmother and the granddaughter she sees as frivolous (June, who is the focus of three stories and, to some extent, the "glue that holds it all together," if you'll pardon the cliche there), as well as the bond that develops between the grandma and a neighbor child over their shared complicated relationship to gender . It tackles the issue of identity in a way that read as being effortless: it wasn't like there was some message being spoon fed to the reader, it was simple and nuanced. It was a story that says "here. This is what people are. They are a puzzle of pieces and sometimes those pieces fit, and other times they don't." I feel like I'm failing to capture this story without giving spoilers and while I'm not inherently opposed to spoilers in a book review, I really am for this story because I think I really think it's worth having a somewhat open mind when you go into it. Rambling. I'm rambling. Just read it.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC of this book that I was provided in exchange for a fair and honest review!

I want to start off by saying that in some ways this review may be a bit unfair for the sheer fact that I was so excited about this book when I started reading it. I don't mean excited in the normal "oh, wow, this book sounds so good" way, either: I mean I was excited about this book's very existence. There is such a tendency to downgrade the teenage girl's experience as frivolous and shallow that I think we've become dismissive: learning that there was a book that was nothing but an outlet for these young, female voices thrilled me!

having said that, there were times during my reading of this book when I was pretty disappointed. This book told the stories I wanted to read: immediately from the jump there were stories reflecting real issues with things like identity, sexuality, race, and religion. It was incredibly powerful to read these heavy complicated thoughts from such young minds. So what disappointed me wasn't the content: it was the writing.

Here, again, I think I'm being unfair: these are teenage writers and, frankly, most of them write much better as teenagers than I ever could have, so I'm aware that the problem is potentially a me problem: I want too much. Even knowing that, though, I can't help but be sad that so many of these essays read like college entrance essays: they cover the introduction and many make huge revelations at the end, but there's no middle. There's no real showing how they got there. That's what I most hungered for and that absence, ultimately, made me wholly unsatisfied.

There were other really predictable issues (namely a ton of overwriting and some weirdly mixed metaphors), but those things are so not even blips. They're easy to ignore and totally normal. The missing middles, though, just weren't easy to ignore for me. I couldn't get over it because it happened in essay after essay. I was excited to read this book because I so desperately wanted to hear these teenage voices: voices speaking for my daughter, her friends, my little cousins. I'm still excited by what Write Now is doing to provide that for young girls and think it's incredibly empowering . . . but for right now I'm left still craving those voices.

Book Review: The Winter's Child by Cassandra Parkin

First, a big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC I was given in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Boy, do I have some thoughts on this one.

Anyone want to guess how long it took me just to decide on the star rating on Goodreads? Short answer: I'm still deliberating over whether I made the right choice.

Here's my problem: this is one those rare books where I legitimately don't know if I want to give it a four or a two, so I split the difference, give it a three, and feel really off about it because I know that whether I skew positive or skew negative, it doesn't deserve a three. Let me break this down for you: the book was well-written. There are beautifully crafted (but not overdone) descriptions, the characters are mostly very well-developed (and when they're not, I recognize that it's my own personal feelings that make me want more of Nick, but it would've been a bad plot move), and a lot of the moments feel very authentic. The central conflict--which I'd ay revolves around the protagonist's self doubt about her relationship with her ex-husband more than anything to do with her missing son--feels incredibly authentic. So much can most parents relate, in fact, that at times even that authenticity can't save us because it's too familiar. It's familiar enough that it's in basically every book ever: the mom is too lenient and doesn't support the dad, who wants more discipline. Okay. We've got it. It's not a bad book, but this particular problem is not even close to original.

"Then," you ask, "Why the desire to give it two stars?"

Well, I'll tell you: the book was mostly boring and it ended by going off the rails. For a relatively short book (under 300 pages), the pacing felt super slow, especially towards the end. The climactic scene, the one where Susannah finally sees how wrong she'd been about what she assumed happened, felt like it would never end. Seriously, no spoilers, but if that daggone psychic said he was scared one more time, I would've been tempted to lose my mind. I want my thrillers to be thrilling; I don't want to be constantly checking my percentage to see how much more I have to plow through to get to the totally unsurprising ending. I have read some reviews that said that ending was surprising and I have constructed a list of reasons to explain that phenomenon:

1) Those reviewers have never read (or seen) a thriller.
2) Those reviewers skipped the last third of the book that gave giant, flashing warnings about the upcoming ending.
3) Those reviewers are lying.

In short, I wouldn't really recommend this book as it just wasn't very entertaining. After really working through my thoughts in this review, I'm skewing more towards 2/5 stars.