Kadi P > Recent Status Updates

- Forgot about aliens kidnapping the girl, this book sounds like it was written by aliens who have never interacted with human teenagers. There’s something so odd about the writing. It completely takes you out of the story. It’s like the author is being held hostage and must feign enthusiasm or else it’s over for them.
- I swear this better not be aliens or a monster kidnapping because that will ruin it for me.

- The writing is a bit clunky but I could probably get behind this. It has a nostalgic feel to it which works in its favour.

- On the one hand I’m completely disgusted by the way the Americans are treating the Japanese community, especially the Japanese Americans amongst them. On the other hand, I’m surprised they still allow letters to be sent from the internment camp. I suppose things could always be worse.
- I thought we would encounter this problem sooner or later. How can Alex send letters when he doesn’t know where Charlie is?

- Reading this whilst I can hear the planes overhead in the city of Dubai due to the American-Iran war is quite apt.
- “Decades of thoughts and hopes and feelings turned to ashes, forever disappeared.” Truly tragic, the history we have lost due to censorship during wartime.
- I love the letters. I could read a whole book of just the letters. The rest is still very well-written and compelling anyway.

- Ok so we’re dancing and we’re eating. Can we get to the hunt please?
- I’m so geared up for this hunt. It’s like a year in the making for me to get to this part of the book. I hope it’s epic and I can’t wait!

- I just can’t believe this book is not over yet. I feel like it’s finished but it’s still going! I can see that there’s more to explore but save that for the sequel surely😩

- “Whoever he was, I wanted to find out.” Same, girl, same.
- I’m sorry but it’s so frikking cute and sweet and young romance but he’s an old soul and she’s so enamoured by him. I want to eat it all up it’s so CUTE.
- I love that the writing is simplistic but the characters still have so many layers.
- Love the protagonist’s sarcasm. It’s exactly my kind of wit haha!

- Ugh we’re not going on a long traipsing journey again, are we?
- Grimalkin is the only one making this book slightly bearable. Ash was interesting but he dipped in and out for literally 2 seconds.
- The protagonist is useless. She just stood there waiting to die instead of getting out of the way.
- The Seelie Court was boring. Hopefully the Unseelie Court is more interesting when we eventually get there.

- So my guess is Robbie is fae and knows Meghan is the King’s daughter. 2 dead giveaways: he found the place in the woods which was never found again and he calls Meghan Princess constantly. Maybe he means it literally and not sarcastically.
- I think it takes me time to warm up to protagonists because I’m not a huge fan of Meghan right now. She’s very whiny and pick me, yikes!

- I’m going to put this back on my TBR because I’m not feeling it and I don’t know why I started it

Do you see me prattle on about the August MG Reading Challenge every year and still wonder what it’s about?
Well, this year it may be bigger (and hopefully better) than ever before!
Vote for your thoughts on a longer Challenge this year, but please only if you plan on participating in the Challenge:
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/3...

- I didn’t think this book would take me so long to read because it’s quite short. It does seem to drag.
- I like the premise, the characters, and even the execution. But it’s intense and a bit dry in the mouth like burnt crackers.
- Matti acts like a stubborn child but there’s not many interactions between other teens so it doesn’t really feel mg.
- The mystery of the boy’s identity is dragging now.

- I can’t figure out the age of the protagonist. I also can’t figure out if the immature narration is supposed to be indicative of the protagonist’s trauma due to physical abuse or if it’s just for comedic effect. And it is funny! But sometimes it’s also really draining and drags the topic on when there’s little happening. It’s also kind of confusing, you have to pay attention to understand what things really are.

- Why would they have a school with no windows? Valid question.
- Shocking revelation about Jackal Boy, I never would’ve guessed.
- ‘‘Defiant’ means, um—he was defying me, he was—”
“Offering a challenge,” Luke said aloud. And then he stepped out from behind the tree.’ LET’S FRIKKING GO!!! Automatic 5 stars from me! Absolutely fantastic and I’ve never liked Luke more than in this moment.

Thoughts after reading chapters 6&7:
- I get it now. Veronica sees being a party girl as her liberation. But choosing to not sleep around isn’t any weaker if she’s genuinely doing it for herself and not because her parents/boyfriend are forcing her.
- The dad is horrid. I feel sorry for her!
- This manga makes my head spin. I thought Nicola was nice but then he tried to take advantage of her when she was drunk.

Thoughts after reading chapters 1-5:
- This is so infuriating! This idiot Lorenzo assaults her and then she’s apologising to her boyfriend for it when it’s not her fault. I hate the boyfriend because now he’s run to her parents even though she specifically asked him not to. He’s controlling whilst pretending to do it for her own good.
- Veronica is not a girl’s girl and thinks way too highly of herself.

Thoughts after reading chapter 2:
- I was laughing out loud when she said she wanted to eat him up with no context. What’s even better is that I’ve never seen a guy say “You’re so weird.” in such a romantic way. They are truly suited for each other.
- This manga is TOO MUCH!! It’s all “I got wet because of you” after jumping in the pool and now he’s holding her foot to paint her nails!

Thoughts after reading chapter 1:
- I think this might be the only time I’ve read a manga that’s ridiculously over the top in its romance and yet it actually feels genuine and is totally adorable.
- We need to ban the use of the word “stan”. This reminds me of 2018 when everyone was saying it but then it died down thankfully. It makes this manga feel a bit dated. But it’s probably just a translation issue.

- I’m really sorry but I can’t feel bad for Cassia. 1. She did an honourable thing by telling Xander the truth but what did she expect? A gold medal? His gratitude? Get real! 2. She literally did this to herself by catching feelings for Ky. 3. If you’re going to fall for someone else fair enough, just don’t try to hold onto the first guy at the same time or guilt trip him when you feel bad. Pick a lane!

- She’s such a hypocrite! I love the idea that she loathes loving someone only because they told her to look at him, but she found some convoluted reasoning to escape that, so why can’t he too?
- I can’t excuse the mum for dobbing those two people in. If it’s true and the tides are turning then she did it for nothing.
- Cassia is a soft rebel. She rebels because she wants something, not for freedom for all.

- “He knows exactly how to play, and that’s why he loses every time.” This reminds me of Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse when Miles purposefully failed the test to try and get kicked out of the school he hated. That’s a great parallel.
- So what happened to Ky was basically the end of Hunger Games Mockingjay?
- I’m starting to feel bad for Xander with how she keeps pining for Ky. It’s not right.

- Wow so she’s thinking that she’s falling for Ky. I have a feeling he is the endgame but I don’t believe that she really loves him yet. She knows that what she loves about him is that he makes her think of freedom.
- “You think there’s nothing here because we’re not putting up a fight. But there are words in our heads that no one else knows.” I’m so proud of the fight she’s got in her now.

- I wish she hadn’t destroyed the only evidence of 2 poems she hadn’t fully memorised yet. But I understand the pressure and the fear. When I was her age at high school our history teacher told us to cut out the pages of a textbook because they contained details of a dictator our country didn’t acknowledge. I blindly followed, but I think about it often and I regret it deeply. I wish I’d refused to do it.

- “Do not go gentle into that good night.” Very fitting poem choice.
- “There’s a reason they didn’t keep this poem. This poem tells you to fight.”
- From what I remember, I always thought this book was a YA romance love triangle story and nothing much more, so I’m thoroughly surprised and happy to see it’s really leaning into the classic dystopian literary oppression trope.

- Ten years ago I joined goodreads and this is one of the first books I added to my TBR shelf.
- Ten years ago I would pick up any book with an interesting cover from the high school library and read it without reading the blurb or the online reviews. And I used to love it.
- So in honour of that, ten years later I’m reading this book without having read a single review or even the blurb. And I am enjoying it!

- Ellery always acts calm and collected but I could tell Leroux really got to him more than anything. And his scream for Poe no😭
- Its been four volumes and I’m fully invested in these characters. I kind of can’t believe any of this has happened. I keep expecting them all to just pop up like surprise it wasn’t real!
- The more time that passes, the less I believe the Seiji is still alive theory.

- Things are really hotting up now!
- I’m liking the shift of focus to more of the island because that’s the bit that interests me a lot more. Conan and her mainland escapades don’t seem relevant but I know at some point they will become crucial.
- 2 down! 5 more to go! The second murder was fairly surpassing, I did not expect that character to die! The first seemed so much more disposable than the second.

- I don’t trust this random guy hanging around Conan. He’s the little brother’s only alibi, but how do we know he’s not lying?
- It’s not escaped my notice that none of the murder club knows what Seiji looks like. The theory that Seiji and the gardener swapped is brilliant and I have a theory that the random guy could be Seiji. But the gardener’s wife would have recognised him so maybe plastic surgery?

- I had the pleasure of colouring not one but two pages of this manga back in 2021:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CWOtULysu...
https://www.instagram.com/p/CWi0e7GM0...
- I’ve just tried to start colouring a new page from this volume and it’s actually a lot harder than I thought it would be and I’m quite impressed with my old works. It’s a skill you have to practice!

- Let’s enter the Decagon House again for the first time since 2021!
- The first time I read this the series was still ongoing which can be an issue for two reasons:
1. I’m not sure how many volumes there will be so I don’t know how much of a commitment I’m making by starting the first vol.
2. I have to wait for new volumes to come out by which time I’ve usually forgotten everything that happened.