Book review - The Republic of Birds

 

Title: The Republic of Birds

Author: Jessica Miller

Genre: fantasy

Similar books: A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat

                      The Cartographer's Daughter by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Rating:

 

creative but slow moving

Summary (provided by publisher): In the land of Tsaretsvo, civil war has divided the human kingdom from the Republic of Birds. Magic is outlawed, and young witches are sent to a mysterious boarding school, from which no one has returned. Olga and her family live a life of dull privilege in the capital until her father displeases the tyrannical tsarina. The family is sent off into exile at the Imperial Center for Avian Observation, an isolated shack near the Republic of Birds. Unlike the rest of her family, Olga doesn’t particularly mind their strange new life. She never fit into aristocratic society as well as her perfect younger sister, Mira. What does worry Olga is her blossoming magical abilities. If anyone found out, they’d send her away. But then Mira is kidnapped by the birds, and Olga has no choice but to enter the forbidden Republic, a dangerous world full of iagas, talking birds, and living dreams. To navigate the Republic and save her sister, she’ll need her wits, her cunning—and even her magic.

My opinion: We've got a unique set-up here. Sure, we see books with magical kingdoms at war. It's the quasi-tsarist Russia setting that stands out. Especially since it begins with the central characters being sent into exile. It is that exile that allows Olga to experience life, magic, and her family in new ways. She's learing that her father and her step-mother are not exactly what she's always assumed. On the whole, though, I feel like I wanted a little more. It's already a lot, all the elements at play here. But we don't go into depth on anything. I wanted to understand the interplay between the humans, birds, and yagas, their motivations and resentments. Their history and culture is simply never addressed. There's some hints of the careful tightrope of the politics in this kingdom, but it doesn't get much landscape. It might benefit from a second volume, to allow more exploration of those ideas.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Kindle cover

I made myself a Kindle cover years ago. It's held up pretty well but the duct tape occasionally wears thin. Here's how it's looked lately. You can see the tape curling, especially along the spine.

 Usually I just add on a new layer of random tape but sometimes i like to do something creative. And since it's Star Wars day, I thought it would be fun to do something in the Star Wars universe. I settled on my favorite character from the new trilogy, the droid D-0.

 

Tank top

 After a fruitless search for a patterned tank top, I figured I'd make some of my own out of ill-fitting t-shirts. I had planned a whole tutorial for you using this t-shirt.

 After just a couple of wears, it got to be uncomfortable. A bit too tight around the arms and neck. I started by cutting off the sleeves and collar. At this point you want to try the shirt on again. That gives you a sense of where the shirt needs correcting. Usually, the arm holes are too large and the shoulders are too wide. With this shirt, though, it was perfect after cutting. A great length and not too revealing around the armpits. You could go a little narrower on the straps, maybe scoop the neckline a little more, but I favor more of a muscle shirt style so I'm happy with the result.

 I feel a little guilty about such a short tutorial, so as a bonus here's a decoration I made for my favorite hat for Earth Day and which I continue to wear.

 

Book review - Vicarious

 

Title: Vicarious

Author: Rhett C Bruno

Genre: sci-fi

Similar books: Landscape With an Invisible Hand by MT Anderson

                      The Vault of Dreamers by Caragh M O'Brien

Rating:

 

great premise, but ran a bit long

Summary (provided by publisher): The real world is only where you breathe…
In High Earth, digital entertainment is everything. Shows. Virtual Worlds. Simulations—there’s something for everybody in a city where working for a living has been rendered obsolete by technological advancements. Even a short walk outside to visit with others is no longer necessary. Just load into the network and you can be with anyone, anywhere.
For Asher Reinhart, nothing compares to Ignis: Live, a reality show that pushes human beings to their very extremes. As a volunteer director, Asher closely monitors the lives of those living on an interstellar ark, believing they're the last of humanity.
But when it's determined that the life of the show’s brightest star, Mission, must be put in danger to boost declining ratings, Asher is forced to choose: the show he loves, or the woman whose existence has been the focus of his attention since the day he was born.

My opinion: I was intrigued by the premise here - combining the predatory nature of reality television with a dystopian reality. My feelings for the book on the whole are a bit mixed. At turns it was utterly charming; other times it was obvious and tiresome. Bruno explains just enough of the world's structure for us to accept most of the plot developments without going into excessive detail. Over-explaining can destroy a novel. So too, though, can indulging in too many side plots. And that's the failing here. There are too many complications, too many side obsessions. As the book wore on I became more interested in speculating on what drove odd character behavior than in where the plot was actually headed.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Non-fiction book review - The Way of the Hive

 

The Way of the Hive by Jay Hosler

Ever since the emergence of colony collapse disorder, we've seen a big push to educate people about the importance of bees. We can be inclined to think of them as simple creatures that serve a single function or as an annoyance. Books like Hosler's show us the complexity of bee society. We follow a bee from it's metamorphosis through a series of jobs within the colony. The book's structure is something of a mix between "A Bug's Life" and an entry in the Science Comics series. There is a narrative structure, following Nyuki as she grows and learns more about her colony. It's these lessons about the jobs she will hold that teach the reader. We get a fair amount of detail without being overwhelmed by technical language and there's enough plot to keep the reader engaged.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Blog Tour book review - Hurricane Summer

Title: Hurricane Summer

Author: Asha Bromfield

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

                      The World on Either Side by Dianne Terrana

Rating:

 

a challenging, complex read

Summary (provided by publisher): Tilla has spent her entire life trying to make her father love her. But every six months, he leaves their family and returns to his true home: the island of Jamaica.
When Tilla’s mother tells her she’ll be spending the summer on the island, Tilla dreads the idea of seeing him again, but longs to discover what life in Jamaica has always held for him.
In an unexpected turn of events, Tilla is forced to face the storm that unravels in her own life as she learns about the dark secrets that lie beyond the veil of paradise—all in the midst of an impending hurricane.

My opinion:It doesn't take more than a few chapters to realize that this is more than just a simple culture clash story. It could easily have been a story of Tilla realizing that she is sheltered, coming to understand the culture that her parents came from. Instead it's a complex exploration of both Jamaican culture and of Tilla's own relationship with her parents. It takes a hard look at racism, classism, and sexism, the opportunities that are denied to people based on the circumstances of their birth, and the stigma and double-standards around abuse. It is by no means a comfortable read. Some chapters will tear at your heart or make you squirm but they're absolutely worth reading as they'll raise important topics of discussion and consideration for teen readers.

More information: Hurricane Summer releases May 4. As a part of the blog tour, I'm pleased to also be able to provide for you an excerpt from this compelling novel.

 

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Garden gnome

 I have a fondness for off-kilter decor. The weirder the better, as far as I'm concerned. And that tends to mean that I am gifted with weird decor kits. Like this garden gnome I got for Christmas.

With warmer weather on the way, it felt like the perfect weekend to paint my gnome. This is the color scheme I came up with.

 
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