August Wrap-Up and September TBR

I previously just did this on tumblr to display all the links to my reviews, but I think I'm going to also do it here, especially because I'm not planning on writing a full review (at least not anytime soon) for To Kill a Mockingbird. So, here is a summary of my reading this month because I don't write a review for everything, but if I did, I'll link it. I'm also attempting to put ratings but I've got to say, I'm bad at them.

 Overall this was a pretty good reading month considering my time became limited by school.

1. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (review has spoilers): I can't say this is going to be a tip-top favorite of mine or anything, but I really enjoyed reading it. I personally thought it was a much quieter story than the hype suggested, and so while it wasn't what I expected I was actually pleasantly surprised by what it really turned out to be. 5/5


2. "Nothing O'Clock" by Neil Gaiman: This is that Doctor Who ebook short story written for the 50th anniversary and is the last one featuring the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond (in really early pre-Rory travels, actually). It's Neil Gaiman, Doctor Who, Eleven and Amy, and less than 50 pages, so how could I resist? It was really fun to read and I loved how creepy and abstract it was (really just tradition Gaiman, though). 5/5

3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: I don't know if I'll actually write a review for this one sometime. I'm still puzzled. This was one of the more widely-loved classics, even among the younger crowd. And yet...I didn't really feel it. Certainly very important points were made, it was well-written, and I loved the courthouse scene, but I wasn't a fan of the ending and how it handled childhood. Scout hardly developed and consequences weren't addressed, with the end seeming to imply that it's okay, you're just children, and you're going to stay that way. I guess I was expecting the punch-in-the-gut feeling I get from good books, especially about the growing up subject matter, and I didn't get it. 4/5.

4. Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King (review to come): Definitely a new favorite. This was my first read of King's and while it may be the consensus best, I'm going to be checking more out. I really wish her books (or at least this one) was more popular. This one is about bullying, problems with parents and relationships with others in general, and a loved one who has been forever MIA from the Vietnam War. I am going to be writing a full review, so for now I will just say that I loved the themes, the nuanced portrayal of the adults, how the relationship spanned and alternated between more than one kind of love, the plot/character twists, and the amusing description of the metaphorical ants. 5/5.

As for the books I'm planning on reading next month/the future:

• Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor: I've just started reading this. I also have the sequel, Days of Blood and Starlight, which I expect I'll be reading afterward.
•  Brave New World by Audious Huxley: I'm going to be reading this one for a class.
• The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown: Because I still have it on my shelf and haven't gotten around to it.
• I'm going to Barnes and Noble in a few to pick up their leatherbound Ray Bradbury edition, because I adore Fahrenheit 451 but haven't read anything else by him, but they really intrigue me. It is an omnibus of The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, and The Golden Apples of the Sun, though they are all short story collections anyway.
• On my Kindle I have barely started reading two ebooks that were free when I had downtime: War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells and Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout.
• This month I have also acquired Cinder by Marissa Meyer, The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima, and Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas because they were cheap on Kindle, and I hope to get to them eventually.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart: I think we were lied to

THIS REVIEW IS NOT SPOILER FREE. THERE ARE SPOILERS. DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE READ THE BOOK. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION. DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU. (Sorry I just want to talk about the ending and what that means for the book as a whole. If you want to know what I thought: I loved it, and it probably won't be a favorite but I don't have much to complain about either.)

(Also I would like to point out that I am going back to school tomorrow, and I know my blogging and reading time will severely decrease. I'll still be around, just not as frequently. It's been a great blogging summer, so thank you all!)

They lied to us.
They said this was a different kind of book.
It wasn't.
I'm pleasantly surprised.

Okay background first: I first heard about this book near the beginning of the year on Barnes & Noble's blog, where it was listed among the most anticipated releases of the year. I think it had an original release date of February something? Anyway, I can't say I was very up-to-date in the YA world (and now that I have a little more knowledge, this doesn't change), but it sounded right up my alley. Lockhart's other books didn't really interest me and I did pick up The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, but had some issues with that one that I should really definitively write up somewhere. It didn't deter me from really wanting to read this, though.

From all the descriptions--which were all vague--this sounded like a tightly-plotted thriller with a twist ending where everything would fall into place. Lockhart in an interview even cited Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me as an inspiration because of how everything clicks into place. When You Reach Me also happens to be one of my favorite books of all time, and I can verify that its plot is expertly complex and multiple events come together at a particular point. Code Name Verity was also well-done like that. (I suppose they both of "twists," but perhaps with less emphasis.) So, I was expecting a complex thriller about deception.

Instead, We Were Liars is a very different book. And it rightly should be.

It's bound to be controversial because of a) the hype, b) the experimental writing style (I didn't mind, and I liked some of the crazy metaphors), and c) the twist. Because a lot of people believe that once you know the twist or if you figure it out, it's not any good. For some things, this may be true, but I think when done right, it gives you a whole new perspective on the story. And that is what We Were Liars does.

I'm going to be honest with you and admit I never saw the twist coming like some others because I was under the impression for some reason that Gat saw her right after the accident and then sort of sullenly walked away, not speaking to her again. Well, there is a reason my mental image of "I never heard from him again" is one where he is still present

But the twist in We Were Liars isn't something that just suddenly makes sense, the key to the mystery. It just slowly unveils itself. And it puts a spin on everything you've read before, but more more subtly than "oh now suddenly all those disparate parts make sense!"

It reveals that this book is actually about grief, guilt, loss, tragedy, and maybe even mental illness.

It is carefully written so that nothing contradicts., though I wouldn't call the careful editing "clues". No one else explicitly mentions the other Liars as if they are present like Cady describes. Which brings us to perhaps the biggest question: what were they? My original idea was that they were a coping mechanism, inserted in her writing so she could help herself deal with it. I still kind of like that idea. I also really like Ariel Bissett's theory about hallucination. If it is all in Cady's head, then I like how Gat's feelings are more ambigious: did he actually really like her, or does she just wish that? The appearances are much more detailed than you'd think hallucinations would be, but not quite as contrived and convenient as ghosts. Maybe it's a combination of all three. I'm not sure it matters at all, either. The book informs you from Page 5 with a very violent metaphor that not everything should be taken literally.

In essence, actually, We Were Liars is an episode of The Twilight Zone.  It has a twist ending. It is an amplification of a fear, and it is ambiguous. The question of whether or not it's supernatural is kind of trite. Sure, it isn't a perfect metaphor; there is a creepy, mysterious tone to it all, but not quite to the "this is so wrong!" extent of The Twilight Zone. Still, I think the comparison points out how much of a small-scale story We Were Liars really is.

Perhaps I am struggling  to convey my appreciation for this little story, but I've got to say, I read it at the end of a summer that was probably my worst yet. I had hardly anything to do and when I thought about what I wanted to do, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It got bad near the end, climaxing just before I finished this book. And I know this isn't about depression, not quite. But I could really sympathize with the way she behaved at times, and Mirren was also ill.

We Were Liars also touches a bit on classism and families, and how those with so much can be unhappy at the core--almost like The Great Gatsby in that way. It's a small story with a lot to say, none of which I expected, and none of which is overstated. Some people won't feel like it lives up to the hype, but I just think the hype was misguided.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Another spoiler-free review (this may become a regular thing for books I don't need to pick apart). I was going to add a marked spoiler section at the bottom to gush about the plot twists, but I'm not sure I really have much to add that would be more than a recap and fangirling.

This historical fiction is about two young women in England who become a pilot and a spy during World War II, and this is the account of a their mission in Nazi-occupied France that becomes a disaster. I really can't say much more than that. The historical atmosphere is lovely and the author even wrote a "debriefing" at the end explaining what liberties she did take, and a list of sources is also included. While female roles in the English military during this time were few, there were some of them, and I really liked how this book uncovered that instead of defaulting to the traditional all-male cast. It made the story much more unique.

I admit I had a bit of trouble reading this in places. I got a bit lost over the aircraft and spy descriptions sometimes and then couldn't visualize what was going on. This doesn't take away from my appreciation of the book, though. It's purely my fault and this one is already on my "should reread sometime" list.

The diary style that Code Name Verity is written it naturally lends itself to some suspension of disbelief: I know my diary is a jumbled mess of getting feelings and events down as quickly as possible. I don't take the time and write in prose form--I wouldn't trust myself to remember a lot of dialogue, for one--and in some places of the book you would think the narrator would be in a position to write something briefer, and certainly much of the story is closely tied to what is being written. Personally, for me, I didn't mind the style, but others may feel otherwise.

Now to the things I am not going to spoil. At the beginning it is easy to get caught up in the backstory--which is why I took a bit longer reading that because I didn't feel much momentum--but eventually you begin to realize that there is danger in the present tense. She is a prisoner, after all. And then there is a FANTASTIC use of an unreliable narrator and it takes off from there. I can't say I've read a lot of unreliable narrator books, but I did really enjoy these plot twists. Not all of them are related to the unreliable narrator trope anyway.

And at the core of all of this was a lovely friendship between well-drawn, amusing, and inspiring female characters. Amidst the twists and thrills, there is a true emotion to it all.

So I DEFINITELY recommend this. You may follow it the best if you're into history and/or aircraft, but there is an expertly plotted thriller that can hold anyone's attention.