Reviews in Review 2016

e-books sadly not included. 

Another year, and another stack of incredible books! I'm a little late on this post, but better late than never. I think I was a little too eager to put 2016 behind me (aren't we all), but I got the chance to read some really awesome books and work with some incredible artists this year. I can't let the year slip away without a bit of reflection. As well as being a bit of my "Best Books of 2016," this list serves as another look at my reviews. Feelings can sometimes change on books; some that impacted me greatly while reading become hardly memorable, while something about a mediocre book could stick with me for months.

I made a goal of reading 25 books this year, same as last year. I made it much closer to my goal this year with 19 books, and so I'm setting my goal against for 25 in 2017. I'm confident that I'm going to make it this year, and not just because of short books. (Though I'm having deja vu of saying this last year, hah.)

I found it really hard to narrow down a list this year, which I suppose is a great sign. Without further adieu, let's get this rock show started!

Most Class

Life of Pi by Yann Martel 

Nothing classier than a classic. I figured I should get the obvious choice out of the way first. Life of Pi rocked my summer reading in a way only excellent literature does. For months after I found myself flipping through passages and looking up quotes, still enamored with the story and its storytelling. One of the main reasons why I loved this read so much was because I learned a lot about writing from it. Not only about tension and execution, but as an incredible in-depth character study. The reader gets to know Pi as intimately as themselves, and that's something I haven't seen done so well before or since.

Delightfully Different

The Migrant Report by Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar

I was offered a chance to read this book in exchange for a review, and I was so glad that I did. It's one of the books that sticks out most for me this year, if only because of the rich culture and characters. Though there was a large cast of POV characters for this novel, the author balanced it well and kept each character vivid and original. I was a little turned off by the sequel baiting, but months later I'm still delighted thinking back on the characters and all their interwoven problems. It is an #ownvoices book, as it is staged in the Arabian Gulf where the author lives and writes. My only real complaint comes back to wanting more from the book, yet it's one I often end up recommending, mostly because I feel like it is an awesome story that deserves the love. 

A Bad Aftertaste

The Outliers by Kimberly McCreight

I was probably a little too forgiving in my review of this book. Then again, it's probably just that the few good parts I enjoyed have faded from memory, leaving only the bad. I call this book a bad aftertaste as it perfectly describes the feeling I get when I think of it. The main character was such an unlikable jerk, the romance was highly unbelievable, the beginning fluctuated between a "telling" backstory and break-neck tension and pacing, and the end is a string of bad fantasy tropes, all disguised in a contemporary. The main character is the "chosen one," it ends on a cliffhanger of people hunting after them, along with the reveal that we've got super special powers. It almost felt like a bait and switch of a book-- painting itself to be a contemporary story about character and growth, instead turning into the epitome of urban fantasy cliches. 

Most Warm Fuzzies of the Year

Something in Between by Melissa de la Cruz

This book delighted me from beginning to end. Perhaps it was because I read it right after an especially dark book, but the tone and writing of Something in Between was so positive, so bubbly and fun that it really lightened my spirits. It is a bit of the quintessential love story, but focused on a Filipino family and their struggle of impending deportation. The book balanced the love story with an #ownvoices look at Unites States immigration. It tackled the issues with the seriousness they deserve, but kept the story hopeful and fun right up until the end. It was such a breath of fresh air to read. 

Best Let Down of the Year

Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor

Ah, Night Vale. After hearing about this book, I was so excited to immerse myself in the world of weird. A couple of my friends read it and encouraged me to pick it up, so I was fairly hyped up about what I was getting into. But after diving in, I found myself quickly bored of the strangeness without direction, and a plot hastily tied together at the end. There were tiny glimmering aspects of the book that I really fell in love with, which made the book even more of a let down to me. It may simply come down to personal preference, but I really felt like this book could have been so much more. It was the first book I read of the year and that disappointment still rings as strong as the day I finished it. 

Surprise Delight

Death of a Scratching Post by Jackson Dean Chase

I'm not usually one for cute coffee table books, but I picked up this poetry collection on a whim, mostly because I love cats. I was surprised and delighted by how much I fell in love with the author's prose. Yes, every poem was about a cat, but held a lot of passion and depth that I wasn't quite expecting. I really enjoyed the author's approach and even now I find myself flipping back to the poems and reading through. It's a short but sweet read and has stuck with me for longer than I expected. 

Honorary Mention: Holy Shit Technology

Between Worlds by Skip Brittenham

I felt like I couldn't go without mentioning this book. The story itself was pretty standard and didn't actually wow me-- it was the augmented reality app that did it. This is a middle grade book, and in an attempt to engage kids who might be a little too attached to their electronics, an app was constructed as a "how to" guide for all the creatures the main characters discover in the new world they're transported to. Using the phone's camera, the app projects a 3D creature standing on the book (think Pokemon Go). As you read through the book, the reader discovers more pages that show new creatures. I was impressed because I felt like the app helped to facilitate reading and encouraged the reader to get more into the story, instead of taking away from it with too many flashy add-ons.

Book Review: Between Worlds

Book Review: Between Worlds by Skip Brittenham 

Goodreads Description: Immersive augmented reality brings this action-packed fantasy to life. 

The town of Eden Grove has a legend: In the center of a pine forest there is an aspen grove, and in the center of the aspen grove is an ancient, magnificent tree. A tree that grants wishes.

Mayberry and Marshall have heard the stories about the Wishing Tree, but they know nothing like that could really exist near their dreary town. Misunderstood and restless, the teenagers wish for a lot of things, including being on another planet altogether. Somewhere with magic and adventure—someplace where they can be heroes.

And then the unlikeliest thing happens: On a hike through the forest, they find the Wishing Tree. The pair make their wish, fall asleep . . . and wake up on Nith, a world that is exactly what they asked for. The alien landscape is beautiful, but it’s also full of dangerous and fantastic creatures, and almost without exception, the creatures are hungry. Soon Mayberry and Marshall learn two very important facts about their wish: First, that magic comes at a very steep cost; second, that they can only be heroes if they can survive. The journey that follows will test the limits of their courage and strength . . . and change them in ways they haven’t begun to imagine.

My Review: I received an advanced reader’s copy from MB Communications in exchange for an honest review. 

Between Worlds is the story of Marshall and Mayberry, two teens that stumble upon another world through a Wishing Tree. They head out into their town’s Mystery Forest, which is a thick aspen grove steeped in legend. After falling asleep beneath the wishing tree, Marshall and Mayberry wake up in Nith, a parallel world filled with fantastical creatures and magic. In a world rich with beings Marshall and Mayberry could have only ever dreamed of, it becomes difficult to tell friend from foe. But they’ll have to figure it out fast—as well as their newfound magical abilities—for there to be any hope of getting home. 

When I first heard about Between Worlds, the thing that caught me was the supposed ‘Augmented Reality’ that can be achieved with this book through an app. I raised an eyebrow at first, as these gimmicks can at times take away from the actual story. Before I even began the book, I opened the app and directed it at the cover. Basically, the app works through your camera, and when you point it at the book or certain pages within (any artwork page), 3D creatures pop up on the app. It looks as though they’re standing on the book, which I admit I was impressed by. There are, at times, more than one creature per page, and each comes with a diary style entry written by one of the characters to describe the creature and what it can do. The creatures also move and fight back if you poke them, which was very cool. It added a lot of information that is needed in heavy fantasy, but isn’t always easy to incorporate into the narrative without boring the reader. Not to mention that it brought the book to life in a way I’ve never before experienced. You had to read the book for these creatures to have any meaning to you, and as you read each artwork page you stumble upon gives you something new to look at through the app. So I was very pleased to see how the augmented reality complimented the story and encourages kids to read through, and not just sit on the app poking creatures all day. 

As for the story itself, the writing was very solid. The thing that really caught my breath, as is probably expected, was the world building. I loved the richness of creatures, as well as the fact that nothing in Nith looks human, even those that have intelligence or human traits. It felt fresh in the way that it explored the “kids falling into another world” idea. I find a lot of YA and MG that follow that trope have their main characters almost immediately find someone that wants to help them. Not so is the case in Between Worlds. Mayberry and Marshall had to struggle and survive very much on their own strength throughout the whole story, which really helped to build them into the kind of heroes you want to see in this type of world. 

The prose flows nicely and steadily, offering just enough background without slowing down the pace of the story. At the same time, the story doesn’t rush anything, allowing us to see Mayberry and Marshal’s world before  they travel to Nith, which I believe is so important when you want to establish character growth. How do we know how the characters have changed if we don’t see how they lived before their harrowing adventure? It’s nice to see the contrast later, after Marshall and Mayberry return, and how much confidence they’ve gained. 

The only thing I could have asked for when it came to Between Worlds would have been something more for my heart to grab onto. The prologue starts off with Aaron dealing with the conflict of his sister’s death, but aside from that there wasn’t much inner conflict or motivations that really tugged at my heart. Mayberry goes off into the forest partly to help her mother in getting samples, but as we never get a chance to see her mother or their relationship, it’s hard to feel connected to her motivation on an emotional level. Even Marshall’s main motivation to go was because was he was her friend. Even when they struggled to get home, it was Aaron who brought on the heart wrenching idea of home baked cookies. There didn’t seem to be as much driving Marshall or Mayberry to get home. 

TL;DR: All in all, 4/5 stars. A gripping creature fantasy complimented by amazing augmented reality.