Crosstalk (by Connie Willis)

I tagged this "give-up" because I definitely would have given up on this book had it not been for the RHC category "a genre-blending book."  But so many of the other suggestions I'd looked at were a blend of fantasy and something, and I don't really love fantasy, so I stuck with it.

First off, Crosstalk is a blend of romcom (really, romantic farce) and speculative fiction.  The premise is that a woman named Briddey agrees to get a new procedure to get emotional closeness to her boyfriend - and it accidentally connects her to someone else. She has a really intrusive family with absolutely no boundaries (they call her constantly and show up at her work and at her house) and she seems really stupid at the outset - her boyfriend is obviously a douche (he's even named Trent, for god's sake) but also she doesn't even really seem to like him all that much? Why is she getting brain surgery!?

Between her family bombarding her and the results of the brain surgery, she's constantly feeling massive anxiety and the pace of the book is frenetic and it gave me secondhand anxiety to read.  I also think her sister, a massively neurotic helicopter mom, is supposed to be a funny character but honestly she came off as so awful and abusive to her child, it wasn't fun to read.  

Once Briddey finally started to figure out stuff that had been obvious to the reader for like THE ENTIRE BOOK, it got less annoying (happened at around the 70% mark, so, not ideal) and the ending was definitely better than the beginning. The romance was semi-problematic but whatever, it was cute.  I didn't hate it the whole way through, but I didn't totally enjoy it either. At least another category is checked off - only 5 more to go. 

Ungifted (by Gordon Korman)

I love Gordon Korman's YA novels, have read them all a dozen times or more, and recently read them out loud to my teenager. She also loves Gordon Korman's new work, and I had the RHC category of "the first book in a completed young adult or middle grade duology" so I figured we'd both enjoy this!

It was... fine. I expected more Gordon Korman magic, I'm so used to being delighted by the ineffable vibe of his books, and that was missing for me.  I didn't like our protagonist very much - he was an obnoxious troublemaker who stayed that way, except suddenly at the end nobody minds anymore? I'm sure it's me - I'm not a middle grade reader, and I've avoided all of Korman's middle grade books for this reason.  

I bought the second book in the duology but I'm hoping we can pick something else for our next readaloud. I think she might be ready for some Scalzi except she doesn't love bad language and John doesn't hesitate to include it.  I think she'd love the humor though, so maybe I'll go dig up my copy of Agent to the Stars and see what she thinks. 

Glaciers (by Alexis Smith)

I have another goal this year, to get through some of my unread books on paper, and probably Glaciers is the book I was thinking of when I made this resolution.  I bought this novella a dozen years ago from a display at Powell's Books - deckled edges, matte blue color, lovely cover,  pleasing form factor, and published by Powell's imprint - who could resist?  And yet somehow, I never managed to actually read it.

Once I did determine to read it, it went  fast! It's a novella about a day in the life of our main character, Isabel. Very Mrs Dalloway in its interiority, and how Isabel's reminiscences of childhood flesh out the narrative. It reads very "this is my MFA thesis" in that it's consciously poetic, very writerly, as opposed to organic, and is more about mood than any major plot happenings. 

I truly don't know what took me so long to read this - I hope whoever discovers it in our Little Free Library enjoys this poetic little novella.  

The Do-Over (by Lynn Painter)

It may surprise you to know that this YA novel was actually also a RHC novel - for the category "a holiday romance that isn’t Christmas."  In this novel, Emilie relives the same Valentine's Day over and over, which places her in the path of classmate Nick instead of her not-so-perfect-after-all boyfriend, Josh.

The novel features familiar time loop tropes with a fun twist (no spoilers) and although it's predictable and the third-act breakup is a bit forced, it still wraps up sweetly.  Lynn Painter seems to have a lot of fans and this was cute - I will probably give her novels another shot. 

Silent Parade (by Keigo Higashino)

I should have a tag just for Japanese mysteries at this point, but here we are again. Part of the "Detective Galileo" series that includes The Devotion of Suspect X. 

As usual, kept me turning the pages - and I wondered how Higashino was going to twist the ending, considering that a lot of things are known at the outset.  Is this a whodunit or a howcatchem? I thought to myself more than once. 

I wouldn't go to this as my first Higashino - I think Malice is my favorite so far - but it's another compelling, complex, satisfying mystery.

Shubeik Lubeik (by Deena Mohamed)

Read for the RHC category "a comic in translation." This was originally written in Arabic and is presented back to front, right to left. It was nominated for a Hugo, among other awards, and takes place in Egypt, in a world where wishes are real and can be bought and sold.

The book follows three "first-class" wishes and the stories of who uses each one.  A woman who has lost her husband, a college student (majoring in wishes) who is dealing with depression, and the man who sells wishes and, for religious purposes, doesn't believe in using them. 

Fascinating glimpse into a culture I know very little about and a unique premise. I didn't think the stories were all super successful - the second one, about Nour, resonated with me the most. I hoped the final story would end a bit more satisfyingly, but maybe the point is - life is life, and there is no perfect way to use a wish.   

Summer Girls (by Jennifer Dugan)

A queer YA about two girls - one ridiculously rich who is in a beach town for the summer, the other lower middle class who works as a lifeguard there - who get together. Their conflicts are about their class differences, including the fact that one girl's dad is a real estate developer gentrifying the town.

I almost DNF this despite it being a quick read - the central relationship just didn't make sense or feel believable to me. They got together too quickly in the story and their romance seemed to pretty much just be based on the fact that they found each other hot. I closed the last page thinking, "Well, that will never last." 

Not exactly what you want from a young adult romance!  

 

This Is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch: The Joy of Loving Something - Anything - Like Your Life Depends On It (by Tabitha Carvan)

I loved this, and not just because there's a whole chapter addressing Johnlock fanfiction. It's a memoir that uses the author's obsession with Benedict Cumberbatch as a lens to explore identity and motherhood.  In fact it's so entertaining that the message sneaks up on you - until you realize you're reading about how the desires, passions, and interests of girls and women are dismissed and criticized in a patriarchal world. This memoir could just as easily be about Twilight, or romance novels, or Disney princesses, or makeup, or Harry Styles, or anything else coded as female and therefore, immature or disposable. 

“When you’re a girl who really loves a thing, it’s never just about you and your thing. Everyone else makes it their problem. You can’t love the thing unseen, not even in your bedroom, alone. You either point-blank love the wrong thing, or you love the right thing but in the wrong way or for the wrong reasons.”

So the book is a great read, but also hits at a really core truth about what it means for girls and women to embrace our passions and how that can be a subversive, feminist act.  Highly recommend!