It’s the first Wednesday of a new month, which means it’s time for another batch of quick reviews of some of the stuff I read last month that I haven’t already told you about. I’ve got another three for you this month – covering essays, Young Adult and romance.
Fence: Striking Distance by Sarah Rees Brennan
I’ve mentioned the Fence graphic novel series before – the first one was a BotW back in 2019 in fact – and this is the first novelisation to go with the series. If you haven’t come across the graphic novels, it’s about a fencing team at an all boys boarding school some where in America (I want to say New England, but I’m not 100% sure about that!) and the rivalries and romances that ensue. This follows the members of the team (switching point of view between them) as they complete a team building exercise set by their coach to try and bring the very different personalities on the squad together and make them a closer unit. I really enjoyed it – and liked getting a glimpse what is going on with each of the team members beyond what you can see in the panels of a graphic novel.
Crane Wife by C J Hauser*
I still can’t quite work out what I think of this. Yes, it took me a while to read it, but I did go back and start again at one point so I don’t think you can really count that. There are some essays that I found really powerful, but as a whole I wasn’t sure it quite worked. I found that I was left a little frustrated at the end by a lack of conclusion. But perhaps that is what the author wanted. I also didn’t really like the author – or at least the way she portrayed herself – so maybe that played a part in it all. Still there are some really good high points in this – not just the Crane Wife essay that people may have encountered before.
I Like You Like That by Kayla Grosse
Our heroine is Birdie, a plus sized woman and successful musician – complete with industry accolades like Grammys – who has a problem: it seems someone is stalking her. When her record company and team insists she gets a body guard she is not enthusiastic – but when the guard in question turns out to be her former school friend, Liam, she’s outright angry. They haven’t spoke in a decade – after Liam rejected her. Can they find a way forward together? So firstly: do not let the cover fool you, the stalker in the blurb is not an idle threat, this does have a strong element of romantic suspense running through it, despite the drawn cover and the pastels. That’s not a reservation- that’s just a note to expect peril! My reservations on this were revolved around Liam’s rejection of Birdie back in the day, which for reasons I can’t really explain without spoilers was either completely un fixable or something that should have been solved immediately by having a simple conversation. In any event: don’t confess your love via DM/IM.
And that’s your lot for this month – a reminder that the Books of the Week in August were Chef’s Kiss, Small Miracles, Dating Dr Dil and Forget Me Not.
Happy Wednesday
Verity Reads Books (lots of them) 