Featuring The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky, What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo, Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward + more
I read 11 books in March 2021! I definitely picked up the pace this month, and I got to read a few ARCs and some great books! My TBR is still as long as ever, unfortunately (whoops), but I’m already starting April off with some books I’ve been waiting to read forever. I also have a bunch of my ARCs on my TBR, so stay tuned for more of those reviews ✨
Miss Meteor by Anna-Marie McLemore + Tehlor Kay Mejia | ✿✿✿❀❀
I love all things magical realism, but I think it’s incorporation was a bit messy here. I loved the representation, and I did love the re-development of the friendship between Lita and Chicky and the bond between Chicky and her sisters.However, the antagonists felt flatter, especially Kendra—I wish there had been more exploration into why she was so prejudiced despite her brother Cole being transgender. It was a sweet novel about challenging stereotypes and finding friendship in the face of self-doubt, but it didn’t really have the magical depth I was expecting.
Because I am a girl worth the space I take up. I am a girl this world, this town, and most of all, the people who love me, will not let go of. Because I am a star they won’t let the sky take back.
Anna-Marie McLemore + Tehlor Kay Mejia, Miss Meteor
The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky | ✿✿✿✿❀
Despite the length of this book, I flew through it. The pacing kept me on my toes the entire time, and although some of the plot twists at the end became predictable, the novel was addicting. I liked the scenes between Rachel and her mother and Rachel and her friend Saundra. Although these scenes were fleeting, their relationships felt loving and genuine. Toward the end, I had a hard time believing the sudden twists concerning some of the side characters while other reveals felt predictable. If you’re interested in hearing more, I wrote a whole review about this book!
Fear strips that away. It’s the great equalizer. And when you’re truly scared, there’s nowhere to hide—no private school, no popularity, no trust fund. It’s just you and your most base emotion. Fear is where the truth lies.
Goldy Moldavsky, The Mary Shelley Club
All The Names They Used for God by Anjali Sachdeva | ✿✿✿❀❀
I love flash fiction, and there’s something so dreamy about Sachdeva’s writing—it’s lyrical yet very disturbing, which applies to the subject matter as well. There were some stories/chapters that I loved and others that I thought fell flat. Thematically, the stories did feel a bit disconnected from one another, especially because of how they seemed to alternate between historical and futuristic. Still, this novel was thought-provoking, and I feel less sure of life than I did before I began reading.
Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward | ✿✿✿✿❀
I reread this book for my book club at school, so this wasn’t a new read. I will say that I love Jesmyn Ward’s writing style; I’ve read some of her fiction as well, and she always uses tragically lyrical writing. This memoir is about death as much as it is about family and poverty and growing up. Jesmyn is also unique in how she braids imagery with essay-like information. Together, this builds a searing depiction of life in the rural South for Black people and how various institutional failures led to the deaths of many Black men in Jesmyn’s life.
What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo | ✿✿✿✿❀ (3.5)
First, something I adored: the writing style. The family dynamic was also fascinating, although I was sometimes a bit thrown by their relationships. To be honest, although I adored the writing style, I had to acclimate to it to reach that point. However, as I moved through the story, the vagueness grew on me and started to feel natural. Overall, What Big Teeth is a bizarre yet beautiful read for fans of paranormal fantasy (and hints of horror) in the vein of Wilder Girls, and I recommend going into it with an open mind.
My love is a haunted house, a ghost possessing his own body, a fire that burns itself alive.
Rose Szabo, What Big Teeth
The Project by Courtney Summers | ✿✿✿✿❀
This book played with my mind the entire time. Although I wasn’t too invested in the characters at the beginning, my connection with them picked up once Bea’s perspective was introduced. Although I’ve never experienced the sorts of traumas that the main characters are healing from, I could feel their vulnerabilities and how these vulnerabilities propelled their actions. The Project was an emotional thriller about religion, abuse, and two sisters trying to find each other.
But where is the line between what circumstances have turned you into and who you choose to be?
The Project, Courtney Summers
Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas | ✿✿✿❀❀
First, what Lost in the Never Woods did exceptionally well: the depiction of grief. The original versions of Peter Pan offer subtle commentaries on childhood innocence and the subsequent loss of innocence that accompanies “growing up.” In Lost in the Never Woods, the consequences of this maturity are put in the spotlight. However, I think the overall pacing of the novel was a bit off; the first 60% or so felt slow. Even so, I loved the darkness of the ending—Aiden Thomas’s reinvention of the original tale is most ingenious at the conclusion. For more of my thoughts on the book, check out the full review I wrote.
But that’s what happens when you grow up; you forget about the magic you’ve seen.
Aiden Thomas, Lost in the Never Woods
For the sake of my sanity (and my laziness), I’m not going to write out mini reviews for the other books I read this month (though you can check out my full review of House of Hollow). However, I will quickly drop the titles and their respective ratings here:
Crush by Richard Siken: ✿✿✿✿❀
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland: ✿✿✿✿✿
Angel of Greenwood by Randi Pink: ✿✿✿❀❀
The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore: ✿✿✿✿❀
What books are on your TBR next month?
P.S. If you want to track more of my reading progress, you can find me on Goodreads!
The Book Garden 