Reviews in Review 2018

Another year has gone past and another stack of books has been read. Every year I like to look back on the books I've read and the reviews I've written to see if feelings have changed, which books have staying power, and pick out my favourites and not-so-favourites. 2018 has not been my greatest reading year, but I fared better than previous years by getting to 17 books out of my goal of 25. I've had this goal for the past few years, which if you've been reading my blog you'll know I have yet to actually reach. I did better than in 2017 where I read 15 books, though just shy of 2016 where I read 19 books. And finally there was 2015, where I only got through 14 books. As always, I'm setting my goal for 25 again next year, and 2019 is going to be THE YEAR. YOU HEAR ME, UNIVERSE? I'M SERIOUSLY SERIOUS THIS TIME.

2018 saw a lot more contemporary novels about mental illness and gender identity. 10/17 of the books I read this year were review requests, either from publicists, publishers, or authors themselves. I tried to focus a little more on the books I picked out rather than requests, though obviously I was still leaning into the requests. My reading in 2019 will be more focused on fantasy and sci-fi, and I'm itching for books that feature diverse casts. But before we can focus on the future, let's take a look back at what really rocked or flopped this year.

Fabulously Freaky

Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter

I love, love, love this book! Though it was the first book I read in 2018, it has stuck out the hardest, mostly because of how creatively fantastical the story is. It's urban fantasy, so we're still set in the familiar, while being introduced to this wonderful world of magic that's based in Russian folklore and adapted to the modern age. The result feels original when held up against the usual werewolves, vampires, and demons of urban fantasy. I also love how surreal the story feels too; night is personified and has been kidnapped, and reality warps and changes in Babs Yagg's bedroom. It's a story of metaphors interwoven in metaphors like petals interlocking to form a rose. I love how this book pushed at the limits of the fantasy genre and brought fresh blood into a genre that tends to reheat the same story like never-ending leftovers. A lot of people seem to be put off by just how truly weird this book is, which makes me a little sad at times, but it's also understandable because this book is weird, the weirdest of weird, which is what makes it so good.

Biggest Let Down

Vengeful by VE Schwab

When I first started doing these Reviews in Review in 2015, I included Vicious on the list, the predecessor to this book, because I was blown away by it. It is still one of my all-time favourite books. I was so thrilled that there would be a sequel; I even got in on the pre-order campaign and swag contests. Then this book finally arrived in my mail and... it was not the book I asked for. I thought I was getting a sequel to Vicious, but in fact, Vengeful was more of a spin off, like hoping to get more seasons of "Friends" but instead ending up with "Joey," except 'Joey' is actually some rando character we've never met before who won't shut up about how amazing they are. I got to see some 'cameo' appearances of Victor (that's sure what it felt like) but it wasn't a sequel in the way I wanted it to be. I waited years for this book only to be given SOMEBODY ELSE'S STORY. I'm still angry about this and it's been a couple months since I've read it, so I have a feeling I'll be angry for a while. It's the ones you love that hurt you the most. And while I do love Schwab, this one hurt more than others.

Powerful Poignance

What I Leave Behind by Allison McGhee

What an incredibly beautiful book. I still find myself thinking about this book because of how much it nailed those emotional notes. The book is written in 100 chapters of 100 words long, and so every word has a very purposeful intent to it. The author gets across so much in so little time that it almost felt like the spaces between the words-- what wasn't being said instead of what was-- made the book feel so heavy. I think too I could really relate to Will's feelings of powerlessness in the face of tragedy, and the hope that comes when he starts to gain some control and autonomy over his life again. I just seriously want to hug this book all day long. It finds beauty and meaning in the details of living and uses it in impressive ways. 

Please Stop Writing For Children

Full Fusion by NJ Damschroder

Some books you read and wonder why the author ever decided to write for children. Full Fusion was definitely one of those books. At first, it appears to be like every other uncreative YA trope factory -- boring and flat characters, simple plots, ultimately a lack of tension outside of the romance, and filled with cliches-- but this book took it one step further by incorporating horrible messages throughout. There was a slew of anti-feminist and anti-woman messaging that seemed dangerous in a book aimed towards young girls. It also included the main character cheating on her boyfriend and then instantly being forgiven, and it was implied that cheating was okay since the MC and her love interest were "really in love" and "meant to be" etc, etc, cue barfing everywhere. If you're going to have a predictable piece of garbage, at least don't fill it full of toxic messages aimed at the vulnerable readers that make up your audience! This is one of those books that if I saw a kid reading it, I'd snatch it out of their hands and replace it with a GOOD angel romance story, like Unearthly. Ain't nobody got time for anti-feminist rhetoric. 

Set the Scene

The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill

Historical novels can be difficult as there are so many facets of life that have changed over the years humans been around. It's easy to miss details or provide inaccurate ones, so historical fiction has always intimidated me. I'm impressed by the writers who can do it well and are able to transport readers across time. The Book of Negroes is one of those books that firmly plants you back into the 19th century and gives you a real sense for how people lived in worlds lost to us through time. Even a couple months later I'm really captivated by the settings and world-building that the author was able to get across. Little scenes like Aminata's wedding where they "jumped the broom" stood out as sweet and yet historically accurate, and allows the reader to see what living actually looked like in these environments. I wish I could bottle up this historical world-building, cause that shit is like fine wine. 

And there you have it! Another year of bad-ass books and overly long reviews to go with them. I hope you'll hang out for this year's round of reviews and discover which ones will be the stand outs for 2019. 

Here's to another year of good reads, y'all. 

Book Review: The Book of Negroes

Book Review: The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill 

Goodreads Description: Based on a true story, "The Book of Negroes" tells the story of Aminata, a young girl abducted from her village in Mali aged 11 in 1755, and who, after a deathly journey on a slave ship where she witnesses the brutal repression of a slave revolt, is sold to a plantation owner in South Carolina, who rapes her. She is brought to New York, where she escapes her owner, and finds herself helping the British by recording all the freed slaves on the British side in the Revolutionary War in The Book of Negroes (a real historical document that can be found today at the National Archives at Kew). Aminata is sent to Nova Scotia to start a new life, but finds more hostility, oppression and tragedy. Separated from her one true love, and suffering the unimaginable loss of both her children who are taken away from her, she eventually joins a group of freed slaves on a harrowing odyssey back to Africa, and ends up in London as a living icon for Wilberforce and the other Abolitionists. "The Book of Negroes" is a page-turning narrative that manages to use Aminata's heart-rending personal story to bring to life a harrowing chapter in our history.

My Review: The Book of Negroes is an incredibly odyssey story featuring Aminata Diallo, who at 11-years-old is abducted from her village and trafficked into slavery. She is taken onto a slave ship that heads out to South Carolina where Aminata is sold into slavery to an indigo plantation owner. The novel follows Aminata's life as she gains more and more freedoms and eventually makes her way back to Africa. The book tackles ideas of colonialism, imperialism, assimilation, racism, (of course) slavery, all the little shades of grey that fall between those concepts, and most importantly, how real people tried to live their lives within the framework of systematic oppression. 

Something many writers might pick up on while reading this book was how the author utilized the concept of 'show don't tell.' The narrator, Aminata, tells us a lot about the story and characters point blank, and though at first glance it would seem like Hill is breaking a pretty big writing rule, it's a necessary evil. The Book of Negroes is incredibly long and detailed, and in order to get the story out, some parts are simply told to us without any attempt to show we might "see" it play out. We can see this a lot in dialogue scenes where the writing would go from using dialogue and tags to just telling the reader what was said. Alternatively, there is a lot that is shown to us, usually the things related to the bigger themes rather than the plot. Hill shows us how white people sometimes rationalize racist behaviour through characters like Soloman Lindo, who asserts that he's different from slave owners, and calls Aminata his servant instead of slave, yet still participates in the systems of oppression and has no problem using them to his benefit. Hill shows us the realities of racism by showing why other slaves refused to run away for their own safety, and how those that did often didn't find a good life. He shows us arguments against abolishment by using what the audience would consider "good" characters to express the anti-abolishment concerns, and shows us how slavers at the time hid the truth of the inhumane conditions in order to keep the trade alive. All of this adds up to a pretty balanced use of both "show" and "tell," and the book is a great example for when to use each angle. On a personal level, I found the way Hill used his "telling" to be a little intrusive at times and took me out of the story, but I recognize it as a necessary evil to tell such a long story. 

The novel tackles some very difficult ideas and subjects, and does it with an incredible amount of tact and fairness that makes the book feel very authentic. The book is obviously anti-slavery and anti-racism, but Hill approached these subjects with a very balanced portrayal. Instead of pushing any sort of agenda, the book presented the history as thoroughly as possible and let the truth speak for itself. As well, the horror was nicely balanced so the book was not unbearable to read. Hill addressed the violence and horror appropriately and did not shy away from the awful truths, but also didn't linger over them or fetishize the violence. The book gets progressively easier to read content-wise the more freedom that Aminata gains. 

As for the characters, they were all incredible. Aminata is truly a courageous and resilient main character. Chekura really stole my heart; at the beginning I was rolling my eyes at the idea of him and Aminata getting together, but a few hundred pages later and I couldn't imagine them without each other. Even all the other characters that came in and out of the story were very consistent and had very clear personalities and motivations. 

Overall, the book was an incredible piece of historical fiction. I can't say I was completely blown away by the characters or plot, and if not for my college class I don't think I ever would have picked it up (mostly due to the violence), but I really valued it for the accurate and detailed portrayal of life for slaves and free blacks. I really appreciate that it took the time to look at slavery from every angle and even actively dispute common racist myths. The Book of Negroes is an important read for people hoping to learn more about the history of slavery in North America and understand how the framework of that systematic oppression still exists in our society today. 

TL;DR: 5/5 stars. The Book of Negroes is an important piece of historical fiction that paints a thorough picture of life for people of colour trapped in the slave trade.