The Biased Bibliophile

Memorable Mondays: The Book Thief

“People observe the colors of a day only at its beginnings and ends, but to me it’s quite clear that a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations, with each passing moment. A single hour can consist of thousands of different colors. Waxy yellows, cloud-spat blues. Murky darknesses. In my line of work, I make it a point to notice them.”
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Genre: YA Historical Fiction, YA Fantasy

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ve been putting off reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak for years, because honestly, aren’t we all a little tired of WWII historical fiction? This year however, I decided to do the Words & Whimsy 3 Degrees of Difficulty Challenge, and one of the prompts is to read a WWII historical fiction. So, I figured it was as good a time as any to finally read The Book Thief, and I’m so happy I did!

If you don’t already know, the novel is narrated by Death, as he recounts his memories of a young German girl, Liesel Meminger. While many of the stories throughout the novel are technically ordinary, they are told in such a meaningful way. By the end of the novel I felt like I knew Liesel personally. I should also mention that I listened to the majority of the book on Libby, so the narrator, Allan Corduner, is also very talented in my opinion.

Obviously I don’t want to spoil the book if anyone else has put off reading it like I had, but I will warn you that I cried. I take that back… I sobbed, while reading the end of this book. Overall The Book Thief was so much more than another WWII historical fiction novel. I was truly taken by surprise by how much I cared about the characters by the end of the book. Markus Zusak is certainly a creative genius for conceptualizng and executing such a wonderful novel!

May TBR

I only read 8 books in April, so I have a lot planned for May! What’s on your May TBR list? Here’s mine:

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

Cujo: The Untold Story of My Life on and Off the Ice by Curtis Joseph

The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan

I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Disability Visibility edited by Alice Wong

Wherever You Go There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn

We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen

The Stolen Kingdom by Jillian Boehme

Vampires Never Get Old edited by Natalie C. Parker & Zoraida Córdova

Strangers by Dean Koontz

Sing Me Forgotten by Jessica S. Olson

With You All the Way by Cynthia Hand

April Wrap Up

Books Read This Month: 8 Books Read This Year: 46

The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by Eugene Yelchin & M.T. Anderson ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wilder Girls by Rory Power ⭐⭐

Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Unchosen by Katharyn Blair ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab ⭐⭐⭐

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Divided Fire by Jennifer San Filippo ⭐⭐⭐

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Top 3 Books

Overall I read a lot of fantastic books this month, and even found a couple new favorites! I already bought the Bookish Box edition of Unchosen, and I also plan on buying The Grace Year and The Book Thief to add them to my personal library. Unchosen is a wonderful YA Fantasy novel that put a feminist spin on the story, which made it stand out to me. The Grace Year is a YA Dystopian that has a compelling premise and a plot that will have you compulsively reading the book. The Book Thief is a modern classic in my opinion that is told from Death’s point of view, and tells the story of a young German girl in Nazi Germany.

Wilder Girls Book Review

Genre: YA Dystopian Rating: ⭐⭐

It’s always fun to write excessively positive or harshly negative book reviews. Unfortunately, Wilder Girls by Rory Power fell into neither category for me. I’ll preface my review with the usual suggestion to check the content warnings on The StoryGraph, as this book did have some graphic violence, illness, and overall gore.

The premise of the novel is that our protagonist, Hetty, is trapped at her boarding school due to a contagious outbreak called the Tox. The illness killed most of the teachers at the school and left the girls with strange deformities that flare up occasionally and eventually kill them. Most of the novel revolves around Hetty’s closest friend, Byatt going missing, and Hetty using another girl, Reese, to help find her.

I found the relationships Hetty had with both Byatt and Reese confounding and shallow. Hetty has an odd attachment to Byatt that is never fully explained in my opinion. On the other hand, Reese only becomes part of Hetty’s and Byatt’s friend group because they need her help with a school project. Similarly, Hetty goes on to use Reese both physically and emotionally, failing to acknowledge the other girl’s emotions and viewing her as a means to an end, despite claiming to have romantic feelings for her.

This book was so overrated! I’ve been looking forward to it for a while now and have heard nothing, but great things, but it simply didn’t live up to the hype. I was also probably influenced by the fact that Rory Power is close friends with Emily A. Duncan, who made some extremely racist and anti-Semitic comments. Power herself was rumored to help Duncan in bullying minority authors, so this certainly had an influence on my opinion of the book too.

I won’t ruin the ending in case you’re still wanting to read Wilder Girls, but I promise you, it is just as disappointing as the rest of the book. However, I used this opportunity to find new books I wanted to read by minority authors, so in a way, the negative accusations about Duncan and her friends has led to more publicity for authors they have victimized. I haven’t had a chance to read them yet, but I highly recommend supporting Hafsah Faizal and Rin Chupeco!

Divided Fire Book Review

Genre: YA High Fantasy Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

When I received Divided Fire by Jennifer San Filippo in a grab bag from my local library, I was so excited because the synopsis honestly sounds epic. The story takes place in a world where some people are gifted with voices that can control the elements, but it is dangerous for these singers because they are often drafted into the military since the two major countries in the novel are at war. The protagonist, Miren, has always wanted to be gifted with a voice, but becomes preoccupied with bigger problems when her sister, who is a singer, is kidnapped by pirates.

Overall, neat concept, but poorly executed. I rarely DNF a book, but I really considered abandoning this one multiple times. While the plot definitely improved throughout the novel, the characters were one-dimensional and problematic.

First off, the author focuses so much on the plot of the novel that the character development is practically nonexistent. At the outset of the story when Miren’s sister is kidnapped, I knew as a reader that I was supposed to care, but I didn’t. By the end of any book, if one of the main characters almost dies, the reader should feel something, but I felt absolutely nothing when I thought one of the main characters might not make it.

The other main issue I had with the book is that Miren’s sister, Kesia, supposedly avoided the singer draft by spreading the rumor that she lost her voice from an illness. Numerous times throughout the novel Kesia’s frequent illness and overall fragility are referenced. The problem arises when the author puts Kesia through many physical hardships and she has zero issues. The entire time I was reading the book I was so frustrated by this because it was so unrealistic. I wanted to talk to the author and say, “Yes, thank you for including someone with a chronic illness, we are definitely under-represented, but you did it all wrong!”

All in all, there are certainly better books to spend your time reading. More importantly, this book truly highlights the need for more diverse and ACCURATE representations of sick and chronically ill people in novels.

Memorable Mondays: Unchosen Book Review

Genre: YA Dystopian, YA Fantasy Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

After reading an ARC of The Beckoning Shadow by Katharyn Blair a couple years ago I was stoked when I heard her second novel was coming out in January of this year! After binge reading Unchosen in just a day, it quickly became one of my all-time favorite books. As always, please check out the trigger warnings on The StoryGraph before reading.

Basically, the novel revolves around Charlotte, who is surviving a plague that is transmitted by sight, alongside her older sister, Harlow, and her younger sister, Vanessa. Those left in the world that have not been infected carry all their hope with “The Chosen One,” that was named in the legend of Anne de Graaf, while those who are infected hunt down the curseclean with a harrowing singlemindedness. So, what’s the catch? Not only is Charlotte in love with her best friend, who happens to also be her older sister’s boyfriend, her younger sister is The Chosen One, and must be protected at all costs.

I adored so many aspects of this novel. Charlotte, the protagonist is definitely rough around the edges, but at the same time extremely likeable. Her development throughout the novel was fantastic and fun to read. Additionally, there was a charming romance between Charlotte and another character (I won’t spoil who it is!).

The tumultuous relationships Charlotte has with her sisters are both uncomfortable to read, but deeply endearing. Harlow doesn’t take a moment to see Charlotte as she is since she is too involved in running the militia of her community. While Charlotte pines away for Dean, Harlow’s boyfriend, Harlow is oblivious to Charlotte’s feelings and simply wants her to toughen up. On the other hand, Charlotte has an intense urge to protect her younger sister, Vanessa. She knows Vanessa is the key to ending the curse of the plague, but she believes keeping her safe in their small community is the best way to protect her.

You will not choose my end, for this heart is mine.

My absolute favorite part of the novel is the feminist twist Blair added to it. The legend in the book really drove the story. Anne de Graaf’s ship was overtaken at sea and the captain of the ship that overtook Anne’s decided he was going to take her back with him. Knowing that a life with the captain would only be a life in a figurative cage, Anne climbed up on the bow of the ship and the captain yelled at her to look at him when he was speaking. Hence the plague caused by the curse is passed on through sight. Perhaps the most powerful parts of the novel are Anne’s last words before she jumps into the ocean: “You will not choose my end, for this heart is mine. Come find me in the depths! Write redemption on my bones. What bid my heart now turn to stone.” Truly powerful words that are relevant throughout the novel!

Overall, this book was definitely fantastic! There are so many YA novels about plagues, dystopian societies, The Chosen One, etc., but Blair crafted Unchosen in an especially unique way by focusing, not on The Chosen One, but on her sister and putting an emphasis on feminism. Honestly more YA books need themes of feminism in my opinion. I hope you get a chance to read Unchosen! Trust me, you won’t regret it!

Lost in the Never Woods Book Review

Genre: YA Fantasy, YA Retelling, YA Mystery Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Do you ever just buy a book solely based on the cover? Well, I certainly do! That’s how I ended up with Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas. Of course, I was even more excited when I found out that it is a retelling of Peter Pan. I love fantasy books in general, but I especially adore retellings.

Thomas does a fantastic job of recreating the childhood bond between Wendy and Peter, which ultimately develops into a cute romance. I also enjoyed how Thomas made the central storyline about missing children, and more specifically, Wendy’s missing brothers. The mystery in addition to the fantasy aspects made the book hard to put down.

While I didn’t love the ending because I felt like it was left a little too open-ended, the rest of the book was riveting. I was constantly wondering about Wendy’s lost memories, which added more suspense to the novel.

But honestly, this novel was so much deeper than a suspense story or a cute romance. It had powerful messages about living with guilt and the importance of closure and family. It’s not exactly rare that I cry when reading a moving book, but all the same this book definitely brought a tear to my eye. So, if you’re looking for a book that has fun and fantastical aspects, but also has deeper meanings, then you can’t go wrong with Lost in the Never Woods!

Highlights from the St. Louis Teen Book Festival

The St. Louis Teen Book Festival wrapped up this past Sunday. This amazing virtual event was presented by The Novel Neighbor, St. Louis County Library, and HEC Media, and featured 39 Young Adult authors. If you think you missed out, don’t worry, St. Louis County Library has the videos available here!

The Keynote speaker for the 11 day event was Marissa Meyer, author of The Lunar Chronicles, The Renegades Trilogy, Heartless, and Instant Karma. Honestly, they couldn’t have picked a better author to kick off this fun event! In her interview Marissa Meyer was adorable as always, sharing her enthusiasm about her books and promoting her newest fairytale retelling Gilded, which will be released this November!

While there were so many great panels, I will just mention my favorites here. There were 3 different panels that had authors from anthologies including Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy, Vampires Never Get Old: Tales With Fresh Bite, and Come On In: 15 Stories About Immigration and Finding Home. All three panels offered a unique take on different topics.

The authors on the Body Talk panel included I.W. Gregorio, Kelly Jensen, and Anna-Marie McLemore. These talented authors discussed the anthology and explained that it is intended to address aspects of our bodies that we aren’t necessarily comfortable talking about. Kelly Jensen, the editor of the anthology, expressed her wish to create a novel that discussed anatomy in a more open way.

The authors on the panel for Vampires Never Get Old were Zoraida Córdova, Natalie C. Parker, Mark Oshiro, and Laura Ruby. While I first thought this anthology was simply a collection of short stories about vampires, I was ecstatic to hear that the authors tried to reimagine “classic” vampire stories into something unique and modern. Perhaps the most interesting part of the interview was when Córdova said that she really wanted the authors contributing to the anthologies to think about who has power in their stories. She really focused on the importance of power and how we can use our power.

One of my absolute favorite panels was Come On In, which featured Adi Alsaid, Varsha Barjaj, Maurene Goo, and Misa Sugiura. Each author shared a piece of themselves by sharing their stories of immigration. It was touching to hear about their experiences and it made me want to pick up the book immediately. I particularly enjoyed listening to Barjaj’s and Goo’s stories, as they felt so personal. Furthermore, since Barjaj immigrated from India to, my hometown, St. Louis, it was truly both enthralling and moving to hear her struggles with culture shock. Out of all the interviews, this panel certainly tugged at my heartstrings the most!

The other panel that I especially enjoyed was the Strange Worlds panel with Amie Kaufman, Marie Lu, and Scott Reintgen. It was certainly not a surprise that I loved this panel considering fantasy and sci-fi are my favorite genres! I already knew and adore Amie Kaufman and Marie Lu, but I had not heard of Scott Reintgen prior to watching this interview, and I think I was definitely missing out. He had me at “Completed Duology.” Anyone that knows me knows I abhor reading a series that isn’t complete. On top of that, hearing Reintgen talk about his writing made me want to read his books right away. He also seemed extremely down to earth and humble, which I always admire in authors. Kaufman and Lu were also endearing as always!

This post may seem like I just summarized the entire 11 day event for you, but I promise there are more exciting books and interesting authors to discover from the panels! Here is the link again if you’re interested in watching! I hope you find at least one new favorite book or author!

The Grace Year Book Review

Okay, so you know that whole process you go through when you decide to read a widely popular book? It usually starts out with seeing seemingly endless posts on social media about how great a particular book is. You start off by maybe thinking the cover is interesting and by the thousandth time you’ve seen a post about the same book you’re determined NOT to read it, but that 1,001st review is the one that pushes you over the edge and convinces you to cave in and put a hold on it at your library. Sometimes those books turn out to fall far short of all the hype, but every now and then you come across a book that actually lives up to all the high praise it’s been getting. Well, The Grace Year by Kim Liggett definitely falls into the latter category!

So the premise of the book is that all the 16-year-old girls in this community are sent to an island for their grace year, presumably to dispel all of their “magic” that can supposedly lure men to commit sins. I’ve seen countless reviews describing this book as a cross between The Handmaid’s Tale and Lord of the Flies, and that description couldn’t be more accurate. I highly recommend checking out the book’s trigger warnings on The StoryGraph because there is a lot of graphic content.

The novel tackles so many toxic messages that are both explicitly and implicitly perpetuated by the patriarchy (both in the book and in real life). Honestly I feel like I could reread the book right now and probably take away many more valuable messages. Perhaps my favorite message portrayed in the book is that women don’t need magic to reclaim our power. So often I see authors turn to magic in order to put a feminist spin on their book, but what hope does that give women who are living in the unmagical, and frequently sexist, real world? Yes, I know the magic is supposed to symbolize the power women have in real life, but isn’t it so much more moving to read a story where the women make a difference in society without magic? Isn’t the bond between those who are opposed stronger when we can see the magic of that bond, without the necessity of superpowers? I would argue that it is and I think Kim Liggett would agree.

I don’t want to give away too much of the book so you can discover it’s greatness on your own, but if you’re looking for a dystopian novel that highly focuses on feminism, has a little romance, and a lot of gore, then this is the book for you!

True Story Tuesday

Welcome to the first True Story Tuesday, where I will recommend remarkable and moving nonfiction books!

Not only am I an avid reader, I am also a huge hockey fan. Since I’m from St. Louis, it’s basically required to be a fan of the St. Louis Blues, which was never an issue for me considering one of my first words was “hockey,” likely due to watching Blues games with my dad. In honor of the passing of the Truest Blue, Bobby Plager, the first book featured in True Story Tuesdays is Tales from the St. Louis Blues Locker Bench: A Collection of the Greatest Blues Stories Ever Told by Bobby Plager and Tom Wheatley.

This book will always hold a special place in my heart, as it is the first book I ever got signed by the author. Plager compiled numerous short stories about Blues players and tells them in a hilarious and heartwarming way. You don’t need to be a Blues fan, or even know the first thing about hockey, to feel connected to this book. While reading the book I often felt like Bobby Plager was talking directly to me. It felt like two friends exchanging funny hockey stories.

The last time I met Bobby Plager, he exclaimed disappointment over not being able to write a second book filled with wonderful Blues stories because he didn’t have permission to release some of the stories he had. With a smile he ensured me that he had plenty of stories to tell though!

There will be many more nonfiction titles to come in the following Tuesdays, but I saw it only fit to dedicate this first Tuesday’s post to the great Bobby Plager. May his book continue to bring laughter to people, hockey fan or not!