Jess > Recent Status Updates

This one is also a little more spicy than I like in books, but I figured it would be, coming after A Marvelous Light.
Everyone being trapped aboard an ocean liner gives it a bit of a dinner mystery flair.

Swallows you right up. Immediately captured by the POV character.

This one starts out a little slow but you can’t help but care about the main characters.
Slightly more explicit than I expected but never for long so far.

I read a few of the short stories and then DNF d

I DNFd at about page 100

Weird. The narrative and the changing voice. I’m interested though.

First pages..a little slow, and then our POV character starts taking action. Only on p 54 and already this is a ride!

This one is fun…and a bit in the style of Terry Pratchett. I’m sad that logging in this book says it is the third in a series, so I may miss something.

I expected this to feel trite, but it is engaging and well-written. I enjoy her use of language.

moving quickly now - are the mysterious deaths murder? if so, who did it?

Good start so far. All of our focus characters are on the move

I don’t super love this story, but I do like how passionate and frantic and very teenager-y our POV character is. It’s a fine bit of literature..I just don’t think I like the story - and I definitely don’t think I would like the POV character; maybe teenage me might have, but old me does not have patience for her.

Sad to say I set this one aside. I couldn't do it. The timeline seems to be maybe in and out of a fugue state and the dialogue sometimes is not dialogue? I have no idea what is happening. DNF

I ended last night just before the section "Unmade"

I'm faced with the challenge of not reading too much tonight because I can't pick up the next book from the library until Monday!

A huge big thing has been revealed (that readers probably guessed already) and the end of this book looks like a lot of action and luck are required to get us out of the dark place and onto something with hope (and path to book 3)

This is an interesting construction. It’s as if we are reading these stories in class. The author doles little pieces out with lessons.

Still weird. One phrase really caught me - “her anger was a creature now, and it walked behind her, pushing her along”

This one sucks you in quick with short chapters and forward momentum.

Simon is a mess.
I love these characters.

This book, so far at least, is even funnier than the first one. I nearly died laughing when Baz started listing things he hates about America. Penny is shocked that it takes so long to drive across the county - something like, “I didn’t know the bits in the middle were all the size of France; I’ve never even heard of Nebraska.” But say that again sounding like an exasperated English girl. Baz is still my favorite.

The sections covered discussions of how people classified themselves-having to get more and more clear or creative to somehow protect white purity. And then, we discuss the absurd behavior of poor whites encouraging continued subjugation of blacks even though there lot is essentially the same. I’m not summarizing well here. Isabel is so much better spoken.

So far, it is a compelling dissection of the American caste system based on race. She draws some comparison with the well-known Indian caste system. The most shocking thing that I have learned so far is that white people used to keep and display parts of lynched black people AND they would take photos with lynching victims that were sent around like greeting cards. BLECH! Recently-in the 20th century.

Such a well written story. You can’t help but love these kids.

Off to a good start! The POV character (kiddo) has just moved to Australia, but he doesn’t know English, so he is having a tough time. And he has an annoyingly little brother, so he has to handle that, too.

Moving fast. So much could happen in the next chapter. I hope for the best.