Mike > Recent Status Updates

I do kind of like this book on a conceptual level - this is a nice twist on the mystery genre, and it's nice to see something that explores what it's like to be publicly hated. But Cook doesn't do a good job of writing about either one convincingly. I don't see any chance Jill would actually go to jail, and I don't buy that this case became as ridiculously famous as it did.

This is pretty modest in its impact. But it is worth noting how well almost every emotional beat works. This just feels like an exceptionally realistic book.

This has to be the limpest, least exciting thriller I've ever read. I'm almost a third of the way in, and jack shit has happened so far. All I've been graced with is Cook's terrible prose and dialogue. Like, it's not just the cheesiness that's a problem - Cook literally can't even write a believable and natural scene that flows well. This isn't just bad, it's amateurish.

It's kind of interesting how much genuine tension there is building up. This is a very good use of subtlety and a slow burning pace.

This maybe isn't quite as fun and whimsical as it wants to be, but it's still pretty enjoyable. My fear is that the eccentric characters are going to feel more gimmicky than human. But if Stewart plays his cards right, I'll really like this. Certainly, he has a lot of interesting story and character ideas.

I can't tell if I'm supposed to think Jill is a dick when she interacts with Anna, or if Cook is just kinda racist. The scenes are pretty awkwardly written either way.

And speaking of awkward writing, these have to be the worst internal monologues I've ever read. Cook is terrible at getting across a character's mental state through narration.

This isn't the best thing ever like I thought it was when I was thirteen. But it's not bad. The writing is pretty good so far. I'm a little worried that Drew is going to be a gay stereotype, but I recall being worried about that the first time I read this book and it turns out not to be true, so I'm not too concerned. I'm enjoying this so far.

Boy, this prose is terrible. It's cheesy as hell, and it shoehorns in tons of extraneous details. Simple conversations and scenes go on forever because Cook keeps getting off-topic. Also, it's terrible at evoking Jill's mental state. She should be extremely confused and overwhelmed by everything that's happened, but all I'm getting is that she's a little tired and irritable.

I've always said that Summers is a more pessimistic version of Laurie Halse Anderson, and this in particular seems like her take on Speak. And I actually think the aspects that directly deal with rape are even better here than they were in Speak - I agree with most of the people who like this book in that this aspect works. It's just that... well, that's basically the only good thing about this novel.

This is essentially just an exhibition of Romy suffering. There's no variance in mood, unless you count fluctuation between 'depressing' and 'very very depressing'. The only things that ever happen to Romy are painful, and they're never, ever her fault. After a while, it gets exhausting, and it stops feeling realistic.

This is largely a rewrite of Some Girls Are. But while I don't love this book, it works way better than Some Girls Are, because it has its priorities straight. Some Girls Are treated rape as a trope to make the situation more horrifying, and was fine with ignoring its consequences in favor of warfare between popular girls. Here, the rape is the main focus, and the popularity stuff is secondary, which feels better.

This book does have its moments. This is shaping up to be a good exploration of femininity and bodily autonomy. It's still pretty unrealistic, but at least, unlike a lot of Summers' other books, she actually has something to say here.

The further away Summers gets from writing about popularity and bullying, the better her writing is. This isn't as bad as Some Girls Are, but it's still surreal how little this has to do with my experiences, or those of anyone else I know. Everyone is so uniformly and ridiculously awful that it feels like Summers was going for edginess more than realism. She's good at making me bad, but bad at evoking reality.

Lots of other perspectives with identical voices that contribute little-to-nothing to the story. Augusts's chapters are great, Jack's were okay, everything else was bad. I understand the emotional reactions to this book, but I'm just barely of the opinion that it's good. It would've been far, far better if it had just stuck to Augusts's perspective.

Man, I forgot just how cynical and depressing the worldview of these books is. Summers always writes basically the same narrator for each of those books, and it's like every single narrator has depression.

Just as I was starting to warm up to the idea that I'm gonna really love this book, we switch to another character's perspective and the whole thing goes to shit. I have zero interest in the struggle of knowing August being framed as equal to the struggle of being him.

I kind of like this so far. It reminds me of A Series of Unfortunate Events, and while I'm not very far into the plot yet, it's pretty intriguing so far.

The scenes of violence just feel out of place, like they weren't originally supposed to be here. And they're not very well-written. This was such a good book early on, it's a shame it's kind of falling apart toward the end.

This is really well-written, and August is a great character. There are some moments I don't like, but for the most part, I am enjoying this.

'Goodreads romance week' is the most redundant thing I've ever seen.

This book does have flaws - lack of focus in the plot, the narrative gives Gabe's friends and relatives way too much credit for doing the bare minimum, I don't feel Gabe's fear of violence very strongly. But I'm not gonna pretend I don't love basically every part of this.

Okay, this is getting a little weaker. Gabe is remarkably blase and comfortable going out, considering that people have threatened to kill him. I felt his fear more strongly when he was going on a date. Also, that scene gave Gabe's mom way too much credit - she was a shitty parent, but it's okay, because she said she's sorry, right? I still like this a lot, there are just some flaws becoming apparent.

While this is pretty sensationalist, I still appreciate how well-researched it is. Maybe this is because I mostly read fiction, but my mind still boggles at how much time and effort goes into writing a book like this.

Going into a book like this, I have a lot of worries. So far, it doesn't seem to be setting itself up for inspiration porn, which is good. But I don't know, something about the voice feels too... adult to me. Like, this feels more like a book about a kid written for adults than a real MG book. Not sure if I can describe it, but I can't picture many kids relating to August.

This isn't quite as good as Sex and Violence was, but it works for the same reason: it's realistic in ways that I hadn't realized other books were unrealistic. I also loves that it tells trans kids that it's okay and natural to be afraid, as long as you're still doing things that you're afraid of. I was not expecting to like this book so much, guys.

I guess what I want most from this book is more context. I'm convinced that Nixon was highly corrupt, but I'm not at all convinced that Nixon was especially corrupt, or more corrupt than anyone else in Washington. (Johnson still strikes me as far worse, to be honest.) It would help Summers' case if I had some reason to believe that Nixon was especially bad, rather than just a typical politician.

Tigerclaw is a boring villain, Yellowfang's actions make no sense, and I don't buy Bluestar as a wise leader if she can't clearly see that Tigerclaw is abusive and gunning for her position. There's all this talk of the Warrior Code and clan loyalty, but it doesn't ever build up into a coherent message - it's just an excuse to force some conflict. This sucks, guys. Makes me feel like I was too hard on Pendragon.

I legitimately have nothing to say about this book except that it's phenomenal and I love it.

I've already read this, so I know how it ends, but even if you didn't, that foreshadowing completely gave it away. The plot is still pretty unfocused, and Firepaw is still really bland. I like Yellowfang, and the writing is okay, but that's about it. This is generally predictable and uninspired.

I am so attached to Gabe, you guys. Like, I haven't even spent that much time with him, but I'm already getting genuinely excited for him when he gets a date. I have no idea why I like this book so much, I barely have anything to say about it. The only thing I can think of is that it's making me nostalgic for Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.