Chaos & Confetti

Sorry for not posting as much this last month, but life has been a bit busy lately for both myself (Chaos) and Confetti.  Yeti (our son) has been hospitalized three times. Hopefully, things will settle a bit soon and a more regular posting schedule can reemerge.  

On the bright side, I was still able to find time to read.  In fact, I somehow fit in nine entire books during the month of May.  I also made good on my promise of making sure to read some comics too.  I only read three paperbacks, but that’s an improvement and hopefully the start of fitting some more back into my schedule soon.  

My original plan was to make May my month of sequel reading, but somewhere along the line, that theme fell out.  However, five and a half of this month’s still count as sequels (The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England isn’t a sequel but it’s the second of Sanderson’s secret projects).  Not too bad.  Do expect a few more sequels for next month though, along with plenty of non-sequels as well.

Anyways…  

As always, books will be rated on a 1 – 5 star scale with 1 being bad, 2 being meh, 3 being good, 4 being great, and 5 being absolutely excellent.  If you enjoy what you see and don’t want to wait until the next book post, please follow us on Goodreads.  We’ll stay consistently updated there before compiling our month’s reading and thoughts here.

The comics I have read will also be included at the end of the post.  Those will just be listed and not officially reviewed.  However, if you ever want to hear about any specific comic in particular or want my thoughts, don’t be afraid to ask.  I enjoy discussing everything I read. 

Let’s go!

The Silver Stranger by Daniel Sherrier – 4/5 Stars

Alyssa Henderson’s life has amounted to less than she hoped for.  Now, she must also exist in a world where superheroes and other oddities are starting to become the norm.  She hates it and what it might mean for humanity.  Then, she finds her own life turned upside down.  Instead of embracing the new possibilities before her, Alyssa sees that she might finally have a way of setting the world right again.  It may mean teaming up with a super villain, but Alyssa trusts the ends will justify the means.

The Silver Stranger is the worthy sequel to The Flying Woman, which out does the first in many ways.  Bringing in Alyssa as the new perspective character allows for a fresh take on the previously built world and she also allows readers to get quite a few answers that may have been left over from the first novel.  Alyssa is an interesting character and her goals provide something a little different from the traditional superhero story.

The Flying Woman, which followed a more traditional superhero origin story path, set the stage for The Silver Stranger to have more fun in the established world.  The hijinks are able to be a bit more wild and the stakes are able to be raised even higher.  The established characters were all able to get some more development in this book as well, which should please readers of the first novel.

The Silver Stranger continues to build the world of emerging powers and irregularities that the Terrific Trio inhabit.  This is an entertaining superhero romp told through a unique lens and with a conflicted heroine, who you’ll want to root for and against.

The Last City by H.J. Nelson – 3/5 Stars

In this sequel to The Last She, Ara and Kaden make their way to the Last City, a place where the plague has not taken hold and a bright future actually seems possible.  The two must now figure out if things can be as good as they seem or if the city is actually built on a foundation of deception.  Meanwhile, Kaden’s brother Sam, who everyone thinks is dead, finds himself on an adventure with a mysterious girl named E.  The four will also soon discover that there are secrets all around them, just waiting to blow their world views apart.

Like in the first novel, The Last City succeeds with its characters.  They are well-defined and interesting to follow.  They ring of young-adult protagonist traits but that is part of the fun.  Ara and Kaden remain heavily focused on their “special” love and their need for a place to belong.  This novel promotes Sam to a perspective character, and thankfully he is a welcome addition, providing a more naive and hopeful view to contrast the deeper hardships that Ara and Kaden have experienced.

Where The Last City wobbles a bit is with its premise.  It tries to tackle a lot: society-destroying plague, the not-so-last girl, family secrets, mysterious city, mutated animals, and a few things that can’t be mentioned because of spoilers.  This prevented some aspects from getting enough focus and made the handling of others inconsistent or inconsequential.  The novel opens many possibilities for the next book to delve into, but a more focused on specific issues might have been nicer.

The Last City should be a good pick for those who enjoyed the first book in the series, and for those who like young-adult, post-apocalyptic stories, where love and belonging are the ultimate goals.  The story can be unsubtle and silly at times, but the journey is worth the ride.    

Miles Morales: Suspended by Jason Reynolds – 3.5/5 Stars

Suspended is the follow up to Reynolds previous Miles Morales novel from 2017.  The story picks up immediately after the first novel, with Miles’ actions landing him in detention.  Of course, not even detention is safe for Spider-Man as he must deal with evil termites that are looking to destroy books, with a special taste for those that involve black and brown stories.  Miles must stop this threat while continuing to figure out how he fights against a system that feels rigged against him.

Unlike the first novel in his series, Suspended is a book mostly written in narrative verse.  Reynolds does a fantastic job of sharing his story in a way that is both easy to follow and artistic feeling.  Coupled with the fun art throughout the book, readers should enjoy the visual and rhythmic presentation of Miles’ next adventure.

Being aimed at a younger audience, the messages on racism and censorship are not very subtle but they do a good job of raising important questions.  Of course, Miles can’t magically fix these bigger issues, but he does get to fight a bad guy stand in for them.

Suspended is not a typical superhero adventure.  Much of the story is spent with Miles in his civilian persona, with a slow build towards the climax.  This is less action-adventure and superhero-y and more of a poetic exploration of a young man’s wrestling with issues bigger than himself.  There is some superhero action, but it is more minimal.

Reynolds’ book is a good pick for those who love creative verse, are fans of Miles Morales, or are interested in some of the systemic obstacles set up against minorities.

The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson – 4/5 Stars

A man awakens to what appears to be medieval England.  Who is he?  Why is he there?  What are his goals and motivations?  Good questions!  Unfortunately, he doesn’t know either.  With his memories gone and the guidebook he came along with blown to pieces, our potentially time traveling hero has a lot to figure out.  Now he just needs to make sure he does it before those trying to capture him catch up.  

The story takes a path of slowly revealing who the main character is and what his new world has to offer.  The narrator is hopeful about what his past contains but slowly begins to realize that it is not all sunshine and roses.  This allows Sanderson to play with character exploration and motivations, which creates a fun dynamic. 

Meanwhile, the romp around a version of medieval England that plays by its own rules should keep readers entertained in its own way.  Thankfully, the setting comes with several other characters to invest in, even if most of them are never delved into too deeply.  Sanderson forgoes his normal deep delve into how things work with this novel and instead says a bit more surface level with his magical land.

As a whole, Frugal Wizard’s Handbook is a silly book, looking to have some fun while also trying to deliver a few deeper messages.  They might not all land, but the adventure itself stays enjoyable.  

Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong – 3/5 Stars

The sequel to These Violent Delights rejoins Roma and Juliette in the wake of their first adventure, taking on a monster that threatened life and balance in Shanghai.  Juliette has ensured that Roma has lost all trust and faith in her, but can it really stay that way when their hearts yearn for one another?  With five monsters now active in the city and tensions mounting even higher between the feuding families, it’s only a matter of time until the entire city goes up in flames if resolutions aren’t found soon.

Like Gong’s first novel, Our Violent Ends often felt stronger when stepping away from its Romeo and Juliet inspirations.  The story’s issues extend well beyond two star-crossed lovers, and those become the most interesting, including the many side characters that are also dealing with the city’s faction-based woes.  

The story presented here is interesting.  However, the pacing of the book remained slow.  Instead of wanting to race to the conclusion, I often had to push myself through long conversations and descriptions, when I would have been much happier simply seeing the story progress and the characters take action.

Gong’s Our Violent Ends is a decent book that might have shined more as a completely original piece instead of one tied to other source material.  For those who loved the first novel, this one should hit all the right notes.  

The Woman Inside by Anna-Lou Weatherley – 2.5/5 Stars

The Woman Inside is the fourth book in the Dan Riley series.  A mysterious murderer is on the loose, but this time things played out a little differently.  Daisey Garrett survived having her neck slit, but unfortunately has no memories of the event.  As images slowly begin to resurface, Daisey must also contend with trouble at work, an ex-husband who is only looking out for himself, and a new roommate who means well.  Daisey survived the attack but she knows that doesn’t mean she is safe now.  Meanwhile, Dan Riley is on the case and hoping to stop the killer before they can strike again.

This novel felt like a bit of a step down for the Dan Riley series.  The original premise is intriguing, but the story lacks any big reveals or twists.  Instead, the story feels a bit too predictable while also feeling a tad far fetched.  The final “reveal” is obvious from early on in the book, and while it can possibly be seen as problematic or like a plot point from a bygone era, the novel quickly mumbles out some it’s-not-quite-that’s and then moves on quickly.  Weatherly’s plot pattern rings of her previous novels but without as much of a hook to keep the story riveting.

One of the strongest aspects of the Dan Riley books has been the progression of Riley’s personal life.  This time he must make some big choices about where he sees his relationship going.  That dilemma creates more interest, but it got left on the backburner too much.  This might have been fine with a stronger mystery, but here, the personal drama should have taken more of the spotlight.

This misstep isn’t enough to turn me off from the series as a whole and is enjoyable enough as a by-the-numbers mystery, but I do hope that the next book returns to a stronger, less predictable mystery and gives Riley’s personal story some more forward momentum.

Activism and the School Librarian: Tools for Advocacy and Survival by Deborah D. Levitov – 2.5/5 Stars

Levitov emphasizes the need for school librarians to advocate and speak up for their programs in a world that is no longer seeing their value.  Her book provides resources and strategies on how librarians can become better advocates and how to take actual steps towards progress.

Activism and the School Librarian is full of great information, resources, and strategies, but it is a very dry book at times.  Levitov does present important information and solid ideas that can help any librarian, however, the short and efficient manner in which it is presented makes the book feel a bit crammed with knowledge and a continuous raining of citations and references.  

This is definitely a book meant for librarians and not one that should really be on the radar of those not looking to help library programs in an active and meaningful way.  Overall, a solid text that could have been written in a way to better reach potential readers.  

The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz – 4/5 Stars

When a woman arranges her funeral service and is then murdered hours later, it’s up to Daniel Hawthrone to figure out exactly what happened.  He won’t be working alone though.  Reluctantly along for the ride is Anthony Horowitz (yes, the author of this book) to follow Hawthrone around and record his adventure.  Who killed the mother of a famous actor, and what hidden away past secrets may tie into the evil acts done today?

By inserting himself into his novel, Horowitz creates a fun twist on the detective novel genre.  The story melds the fictional case with many factual pieces of Horowitz’s true life.  He is able to interact with his characters in a unique way, having a chance both to praise and critique them on their own level.  The novel also gives Horowitz a chance to share quite a bit about his writing style and his views on storytelling.  All of this keeps the novel fresh and entertaining.

As an actual mystery, The Word is Murder also does a pretty strong job of delivering.  The premise and case are intriguing and should have readers trying to puzzle things out alongside Horowitz.  Despite the case being set in the “real-world,” many standard mystery genre tropes and cliches are followed.

For fans of Sherlock Holmes, aspects of this book will feel familiar.  Hawthorne is a master of perception and small details, able to piece together information like no other (except Holmes).  Everything is worth paying attention to and you never know when something might point to an even greater piece of information.  

Hawthorne himself is not supposed to be the most likable character, a bit disconnected from the normal human element, even if he is good at what he does.  His extreme focus on his cases does put him at a distance from others.  However, he does a larger and more troubling aspect to him that Horowitz points out as problematic, but then mostly brushes aside.  It would have been good to see that addressed more in-depth and with more of a firm stance taken.

As a whole, The Word is Murder is a quick paced and engaging mystery told in a fresh way.  Readers should enjoy the journey Hawthrone and Horowitz take, even if they can’t quite piece all the clues together themselves.

A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul E. Miller – 3.5/5 Stars

Paul E. Miller explores the power of prayer and its impact on our lives.  He looks at prayer through both a biblical lens and through its presence in his own life, especially in relation to his experiences with his daughter with autism.

There is a lot I like about A Praying Life.  Miller approaches prayer in a realistic manner, knowing that humans are flawed, and that it’s better to pray imperfectly than not at all.  He provides a lot of good advice for building prayer habits and for actually praying.  His book is a solid resource for those looking to improve their prayer life or for those wondering why prayer might be important.

While not exactly a memoir, Miller fills his books with stories from his own life, relating them to his points on prayer.  These stories provide good touchstones and examples to help emphasize his points.  However, some of his stories can be a bit hit or miss for me.  This may simply be personal preferences, but while I liked many of his illustrations, others felt unrelatable or felt so different from how I would approach things that they felt a bit distracting (parents will raise their kids differently, and that doesn’t mean either of us are doing things incorrectly).  

Overall, I found A Praying Life to be a good resource and a strong reminder of the importance of prayer.  It may not be the most thrilling book to pick up but it should be beneficial to most readers.    

Comics Read:

• Amazing Spider-Man vol. 3: Hobgoblin by Zeb Wells
• Ant-Man: Ant-versary by Al Ewing
• Immortal Hulk vol. 1: Apocrypha by Al Ewing