book – Slanted Spines

Queenie: A Book Review

July 31, 2020April 26, 2023Posted in Books - Adult FictionTagged book, book analysis, book review, Candice carry-Williams, queenie, queenie reviewLeave a comment

Each month of 2020 has a specific Slanted Spines Book pick, and the July novel is Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams! My book review is an in-depth discussion about the book, but I include some spoiler warnings in case anyone hasn’t read it yet!

Queenie is a novel written in first person about Queenie Jenkins, a twenty-five-year-old woman living in London and working a job at a newspaper. It begins with a “break” in her relationship, which is initiated by her boyfriend Tom, who asks her to move out of their apartment. Thus begins somewhat of a downward spiral for Queenie, as she struggles to understand herself and where she belongs. Although proud of her Jamaican-British ancestry, she is often mistreated by co-workers and harassed by men because of her outward appearance, causing her to question if she can even be loved for who she is. In this incredibly engaging, entertaining, and deeply emotional book, Queenie embarks on a journey of self-empowerment.

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In a Dark Dark Wood: A Book Review

June 26, 2020April 26, 2023Posted in Books - Adult FictionTagged Blog, book, book blog, book review, critique, horror, in a dark dark wood, novel, review, Ruth ware, scary story, thriller5 Comments

At the beginning of the year, I curated a Slanted Spines reading list for 2020, designating a book for each month. The June pick is In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware, and this is my book review!

In a Dark Dark Wood is a story about a young woman named Nora who attends a bachelorette party in a cabin in—you guessed it!—a dark, dark wood. However, the bachelorette party is for her ex-best friend Clare, who she hasn’t spoken to in ten years. Unsure why she was invited because she wasn’t invited to the actual wedding, yet curious all the same, Nora accepts the invite. But during the weekend, various bizarre conversations and events occur, and if I say much more, it may ruin the suspense of reading the book! This is Ruth Ware’s debut novel, and she’s gone on to write many other thrillers such as The Turn of the Key and The Death of Mrs. Westaway.

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Life of Trees: A Book Review of The Overstory

June 12, 2020April 26, 2023Posted in Books - Adult Fiction, Personal BlogTagged activism, book, book review, conservation, earth, forest, forests, nature, Richard powers, the Overstory, tree, trees, writingLeave a comment

Have you ever read a book that speaks directly to the essence of your soul? A book that rips you apart and leaves you wondering how you can continue on with your life in the same way?

The Overstory by Richard Powers did that to me. Maybe it was the peculiar timing of the book in my life, or maybe it was destined, but this novel both wounded and healed me, and perhaps redirected my entire future.

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The Night Watchman: A Book Review

May 29, 2020April 26, 2023Posted in Books - Adult FictionTagged book, book blog, book club, book review, Chippewa, Erdrich, fiction, Louise erdrich, native Americans, the night watchman, turtle mountain band1 Comment

Note: This book review contains plot spoilers, but I will denote **SPOILERS** for any section containing secret plot info!

For the month of May, the Slanted Spines Book List reading is The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich, which is about a handful of characters who live within a Native American reservation in North Dakota in the early 1950’s. In this story, Thomas, one of the main characters, receives word of a new bill that would terminate their reservation and effectively ruin an entire Chippewa community’s lives. Many of the residents are poor as it is, but the government—and one senator in particular—is determined to seize their land. While also working a job as a night watchman, Thomas goes to work writing letters and organizing the community in hopes that they can put a stop to this bill.

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Carrie Pilby: A Book Review

April 24, 2020April 26, 2023Posted in Books - Young AdultTagged book, book blog, book club, book review, books, bookworm, Caren Lissner, Carrie Pilby, critique, lit review, literary analysis, literary review, literature, reader, reading, review, writer, writing, ya lit, young adult, young adult lit1 Comment

This book review is intended for readers who have already read Carrie Pilby or for people who haven’t read Carrie Pilby but would rather just read my book review about it! Which is all to say that there are spoilers ahead!

Carrie Pilby, by Caren Lissner, is a novel about a 19-year-old young woman living in New York City. Having skipped three grades and graduated Harvard at age eighteen, she is now a lonely genius living by herself, as afforded by her father who works abroad; although she is financially well-off and intellectually gifted, Carrie has no friends and a slew of self-imposed morally rigid rules. In an attempt to improve her social capabilities, her therapist Dr. Petrov gives Carrie a list of five things to do, including go on a date and celebrate New Year’s Eve. Throughout the novel, Carrie acquires a few strange friends from her part-time legal proofreading job, and another few from local spots. Ultimately, Carrie begins to realize her own hypocrisies as life reveals its complexities, moral ambiguities, and hidden pleasures.

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Recent Reads: Four Brief Book Reviews

April 17, 2020April 26, 2023Posted in Books - Adult NonfictionTagged Blog, book, book blog, book review, books, buddhism, Buddhist, eastern literature, haiku, japan, Japanese, Matsua Basho, read, reading, review, reviews, the other shore, Thich Nhat Hanh, what to readLeave a comment

Are you searching for the next book to read? Looking to read about something different? This week, I’ve written brief book reviews about my four latest reads! Keep reading to discover something new:

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An American Marriage: A Book Review

March 27, 2020April 26, 2023Posted in Books - Adult FictionTagged an American marriage, book, book blog, book club, book discussion, book review, comment, currently reading, novel, opinion, Oprah’s book club, reader, review, Tayari Jones1 Comment

This book review contains plot details and spoilers from An American Marriage by Tayari Jones. It is intended for readers who have already read this book. You have been warned!!

The Slanted Spines 2020 Booklist reading for March was An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, a 2018 selection for Oprah’s Book Club. In this novel, Celestial and Roy are living out their childhood dreams of success. They’ve been married for just a year when a Roy is arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, and due to a faulty justice system, he spends five years in prison despite his innocence. However, during Roy’s absence from free life, Celestial forms a relationship with their mutual friend, Andre. When Roy is finally released, Roy, Celestial, and Andre find themselves in a complicated love triangle. What is love, and to whom do we owe what?

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Everything I Never Told You: A Book Review

February 28, 2020April 26, 2023Posted in Books - Adult FictionTagged book, book blog, book club, book review, Celeste Ng, everything i never told you, family, family issues, opinion, review, Story, writingLeave a comment

This book review is intended for readers who have already finished Everything I Never Told You! My analysis contains several spoilers.

The Slanted Spines February book was Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng! In this haunting portrait of the Lee family, Ng illustrates a web of complicated relationships and unspoken emotional turmoil between the five members of a Chinese American household in smalltown Ohio during the 1970’s. Everything I Never Told You is a novel that begins with the death of Marilyn and James’ middle (and favorite) child Lydia, and as her mom and older brother Nath swear to discover the root of her senseless death—her body having been discovered in the nearby lake—and as her dad and younger sister Hannah struggle to cope with her absence, a myriad of secrets within her family are unveiled.

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Where the Crawdads Sing: A Book Review

January 31, 2020April 26, 2023Posted in Books - Adult FictionTagged book, book blog, book club, book review, commentary, Delia Owens, opinion, reader, review, where the crawdads sing, writingLeave a comment

[A Note from the Reviewer on 10/21/2021:

It has been almost two years since I read this book. At the time, I was incredibly taken by it, and as you’ll read in this review, I spoke highly of its craft and contents. However, in the time since, I have read significantly more books, and I have learned some disturbing information.

Although I will leave my original blog post intact (for now), I would like to comment that I no longer stand by my previous praise. It was an enjoyable read for me at the time, but in hindsight, I now feel that it is a very mediocre book. True, the writing is pretty strong in many cases, but it is not as strong a work of fiction as many other books I’ve read more recently.

Moreover, I have discovered some information regarding Delia Owens and her husband Mark Owens. In a very thorough The New Yorker piece, their complicated actions in Africa allegedly connect them with the hunting and killing of poachers. Though a theoretically just cause, the methods employed are quite ethically questionable and perhaps even racially motivated. All in all, the information makes me feel uncomfortable lauding this book, and while I would typically leave this blog post to collect dust and forget it in the abyss that is the Web, it appears that viewers are still clicking on this post to this day, so I wanted to add this disclaimer.

Do what you will with this insight.]

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The Slanted Spines 2020 Booklist

January 3, 2020June 14, 2021Posted in Book ListsTagged 2020, an American marriage, Blog, book, book club, book list, book review, booklist, books, everything i never told you, i am Malala, queenie, read along, reader, reading list, review, the immortalists, the night watchman, where the crawdads sing6 Comments

Happy New Year, Slanted readers! I have exciting (read: nerdy) plans for this year!

Slanted Spines is starting an informal book club! So, my fellow bookworms, get your notepad and paper out (or open a new tab on Goodreads) and take note! I’ve selected twelve books that Slanted Spines will be reading this year, and on the last Friday of the month I’ll post a book review featuring that month’s book. Hopefully, my Slanted Spines readers will join me in reading these books and discuss their thoughts following each book review!

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