The Chaos of Stars

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The Chaos of Stars is a 2014 young adult fantasy novel by Kiersten White. The novel was published by HarperTeen in September of 2014. While I'd known of the author prior to reading, this was the first novel of hers I've written. The cover is what really drew me in, despite the old adage about not judging books by their covers. It can be purchased here from Bookshop.org or here from Amazon.

The novel tells the story of Isadora, the human daughter of the Egyptian deities Isis and Osiris. When she grows tired of her family's treatment of her, she's given a chance to travel to California to live with her brother. Her new life in the United States comes with its own challenges and dangers however, and Isadora struggled to keep her old life and her new life separate.

There's a very interesting cast of characters in this book, as you'd expect for a story focusing on the family lives of gods. Isadora, our narrator, was my favorite character. Raised by gods, she's become disillusioned by her family after learning that, although her parents will live forever, they're going to let her die. She wants a life outside of the Egyptian pantheon and to be defined as someone other than just Isis's daughter. She also has a lot of sass and personality, which I liked. Her parents are, as mentioned, Isis and Osiris. Osiris is the typical emotionally-unavailable father, given that he spends most of his time in the land of the dead. Isis alternates between seeming to care about her children to only being focused on how they're a reflection of her. Neither characters are inherently villains, but they're not meant to be likeable or sympathetic. Other Egyptian gods such as Horus, Anubis and Nephthys make appearances in this story as well. Once the setting changes to California, the reader is introduced to Sirius, Isadora's older brother, along with Tyler and Ry, friends she makes during her stay. Tyler and Ry are by far the two most relatable characters in the story, wanting Isadora to have fun and experience new things. Despite not knowing her for long, they care about her and each help her open up in their own way. I especially liked Ry and how his relationship with Isadora developed. In short, this book has a plethora of characters to enjoy.

I enjoyed the writing in this novel for two reasons. The first is that scenes in the present are interwoven with dreams Isadora is having and trying to figure out the meaning of. Each chapter begins with an anecdote, from Egyptian mythology, as told by Isadora and with a little more candor as a result. The stories really add to the characterization of the deities being discussed. The dreams give the reader a sense of the stakes of the story.Both elements feed into the foreshadowing within the story. The second reason why I enjoyed the writing was because White does an excellent job of setting a scene without going overboard. Whether the scene is describing Isadora's home in Egypt or the museum she volunteers at in California, it's very easy to picture the setting in your head while reading. Lastly, I was genuinely surprised by the main plot twist of the novel. Isadora has this feeling that something bad is going to happen for most of the novel, but the revelation of who is behind these events is executed perfectly.

The Chaos of Stars is a novel that is more character-focused than plot-driven. While there is a clear plot within the story, centered around Isadora trying to keep her life in Egypt separate from her life in California and keep everyone safe, most of the novel focuses on Isadora's growth and her coming to terms with her place within her family. This means that the pacing for the book is a little slow in parts. One event related to the main plot will occur and then a few chapters will pass before something related to that plot-point will come up again. This meant that while this was a quick read for me, I wasn't invested in much of what was going on for the middle of the book. As I mentioned above, I enjoyed the main plot twist/reveal of the story, however some of the earlier and smaller twists were very obvious to me early on. I'm not sure if all of the ones I'm thinking of were meant to be plot twists, but if they were, they didn't really surprise me very much. While I mentioned above that I liked Ry and Isadora's relationship, it was very clear to me early on that they were meant to fit into the friends-to-lovers trope. I don't have a problem with this trope, but it was so clear to me early on that that's what was being set up that I was hoping it wouldn't happen. I liked their friendship, but felt so-so about their romance.

The Chaos of Stars is a solid fantasy novel. The writing overall was pretty amazing. I found the premise interesting and I liked the elements of Egyptian mythology. The pacing and some of the foreshadowing could use improvement in my opinion. I'd recommend this novel to anyone looking for a quick read, especially if they're interested in a character-driven story.

Rating: 3.6 Stars

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10 Bookish Pet Peeves

I've been thinking a lot about the tropes I do and don't like in books. Thinking about this quickly turned into me realizing that I have some literary pet peeves that I need to get off my chest. Here are my ten biggest book pet peeves that no one asked for. These aren't in any particular order.

Watered Down Tolkien

I'm not going to sit here and pretend like all high-fantasy isn't compared to Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings had huge influence on the development of the genre and authors who would go on to write high-fantasy. I won't, and can't, fault an author for taking inspiration from Tolkien. My issue is when it's clear an author is trying to be the next Tolkien. You can have all the elves, dwarves and orcs that you want, but if you don't do anything new with those races, if there isn't something unique about the story, it feels like you're just ripping off Tolkien.

Non-sensical (Or Unneeded) Plot Twists

Plot twists need to make sense. There need to be breadcrumbs spread throughout the story giving the reader a sense of foreshadowing. If a happy-go-lucky side character changes for the last three pages to suddenly be a jerk because the bad guy shapeshifted to look like him, that's a bad twist. If the same character gets separated from the rest of the group halfway through, and when he's reunited he's been acting "strange" or seems less happy, that same twist works a little better. Plot twists also need to be crucial for the story to move forward. A book can have multiple plot twists, but the story needs to justify it. Either the thriller's two POV characters are actually the same person from different points in time or the main character is suffering from dissociative identity disorder. You can't have both just for shock value. Don't have a twist just to have a twist.

Bad Allegory

I feel like people want to write an allegorical novel, or have an aspect of their story be an allegory to something else, but they aren't willing to commit to it. In a science fiction novel, the treatment of one alien population by another is meant to be an allegory for racism, but the author doesn't go deep enough into the idea by exploring or expanding upon the in-universe consequences of the idea. So, the "racism" allegory falls apart and the message becomes very surface level. That's just an example, but I think we can all name at least one book where the author meant for it to be deep and thought-provoking, but failed.

Mean Girls Who Don't Make Sense

This one might need an explanation. I don't have a problem with "mean girl" characters, if it makes sense to have them in a story. They fit YA coming-of-age stories or contemporary fiction, maybe even in romance. Mean girls in fantasy or science fiction though? That's where I have an issue. If the protagonist is already dealing with an evil wizard, why do they also have to encounter Regina George?

Everyone Ends Up Married

I'm not the only person who has problems with this one, but I thought it should feature here. I'm not saying that a book can't have romance. I just hate it when the last chapter or two of a book consists solely of giving every character a partner. Especially for books that are not primarily romances. Please don't waste my time pairing people up. I don't care that much about the romantic subplots.

Jerky Love Interests

I mentioned this in my post about my feelings about romantic subplots, but I thought I should mention it here. You can write a bad boy without needing to make him a misunderstood outcast with a heart of gold. If he's a jerk for most of the book, and then does one nice thing, that doesn't make him a viable love interest. Enemies to lovers is one thing, if done well. But if I'm actively wishing that the protagonist ends up with anyone else, the romantic tension is actually complete and utter disdain.

Excessive Unanswered Questions

I know that some books are meant to make you think. Some authors end books the way that they do to make the reader want more. But sometimes, there are a boatload of unanswered questions at the end of a book because there wasn't enough world-building or the author didn't show/tell the reader enough information in the text to understand. "What happens next?" is very different than "I know what I read, but I have no idea what it's supposed to mean". Even if I don't know everything about the world, I should know enough or be able to fill in the blanks enough so that the cliffhanger/set up for the sequel, is actually a cliffhanger and not result in me wondering why I should suddenly care about this new character/threat.

Inconsistent or Unrealistic Dialogue

People are inconsistent. It's a fact of life and realistic characters might have inconsistencies. However, when characters speak a certain way, whether it's an absence of slang terms or not using contractions, or sounding like they stepped out of a Shakespeare play, for most of a novel and then suddenly the dialogue pattern changes, it becomes glaringly obvious and it feels weird to the reader. Likewise, who a character is needs to be taken into account when writing dialogue. A teenager's dialogue should sound like a teenager, not a 40-year-old housewife. It's very obvious when characters in specific groups are being written by people who've haven't spoken to members of that group in a while.

Two Minute Battles

I may have mentioned this in some of my reviews, but how the antagonist is stopped is just as important as writing a compelling villain. Don't spend 290 out of 300 pages telling me how evil and powerful the bad guy is only to have him be defeated in two pages. Unless this is a fake-out, and the heroes were fighting an underling disguised as the bad guy, it's a letdown. If the conflict with the antagonist isn't the main focus of the story (say, the romance comes first), don't build the villain up to be a huge threat.

Everything-But-The-Kitchen-Sink-itis

I know that's a long name for it, but it fully encapsulates how it feels while reading something that falls into this category. There are a few books I can name where the author clearly had too many ideas and not enough pages to devote to them. Instead of cutting some ideas out, and saving them for a sequel or another story entirely, they decide to include everything. As a result, all of these ideas are thrown in and there's not enough time to do each idea justice. To use The Hunger Games as an example, there's a reason why the 74th Games and the war against the Capitol didn't happen in the same book. It allowed the author a chance to give each one the attention it deserved. By having too many "big events" happen in one book, each one suffers.

Those are my ten biggest bookish pet peeves. Or at least the ten biggest I can think of at the moment What are some of your literary pet peeves? Are there any I mentioned that you like?

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The Knight's Daughter

The Knight's Daughter is a 2020 middle grade fantasy novel by S. H. Cooper. The novel is a sword and sorcery fantasy. It's the first book in the Lady Knight trilogy. I was provided with an advanced copy in exchange for a review.

The novel follows a 14-year-old girl named Mary McThomas who has spent her life dreaming of becoming a knight like her father. After an ambush on their village leaves Mary's father in critical condition, Mary's willing to do whatever it takes to save him. Together with her older brothers and a mysterious fae, Mary finds herself entering a world of danger and magic. While Mary searches for a cure, dark forces search for Mary, seeking her for their own gain.

The Knight's Daughter has four major characters: Mary, Drake and Joseph, her brothers, and Torren, the fae who approaches Mary, claiming she knows a way to save her father. Mary begins the novel as being very unsure of herself and she's not entirely sure about who she is and where she fits into the world. Drake and Joseph, both seventeen, are on the cusp of adulthood and the attack leaves them trying to fill the role their father usually holds in terms of protecting their family. I enjoyed reading the dynamic between the siblings and how their relationship grew and changed over the course of the novel. Given that this is a middle-grade novel, there isn't much character development to speak of, and the development that is there is mostly centered around the three McThomas siblings learning more about themselves and their place in the world. Torren is a fae who initially helps Mary because the man behind the attack on the village, Meverick Conan, had previously attacked her people. Conan serves as the story's main antagonist, who has people hunting for Mary for unknown reasons. He's filled with a desire for revenge and believes Mary is the key to achieving it. Along the journey, Mary and her traveling companions meet a plethora of people, both good and bad. My personal favorite was Reena, who belongs to a nomadic group. I thought she was the funniest minor character.

I found the story to be rather amusing. I enjoyed reading about the fae and the magic within the world. Cooper did an excellent job with the world-building, giving the reader plenty of information and exposition without making it feel like a lot. I also liked the theme of family that is present throughout the story. Mary's brothers join her on the journey, not to have a fun adventure, but to make sure nothing happens to her. The plot itself is centered on their family, which was refreshing because a lot of younger fantasy involves separating the main character from their family and having them go on a journey alone. I appreciated the explanation of why Mary was both the only person who could help her father and why Conan was hunting for her. I'm not a big fan of "chosen ones", which Mary is in a way as she finds out late into the story, but the in-universe reason given fits with this story.

Before I go into some criticism I have of The Knight's Daughter, I do want to briefly touch on how this book works as a middle grade novel. I don't do this for young adult works because YA and adult have a lot more overlap than middle grade and adult. From a technical perspective, this is an excellent middle grade book. The story and world aren't too advanced for younger readers. The writing itself is very easy to digest. Other than a few fight scenes, there isn't anything within the story that's too heavy or advanced for middle grade.

While I enjoyed The Knight's Daughter, there were a few aspects to the story that didn't quite work for me. As mentioned above, the writing is very straightforward, which as an adult reader is a negative, but as I said, it's great for the intended audience. As a result of the writing being so easy to digest, I don't really have an opinion on the author's writing style. I was a little confused by the pacing. There were parts where the narrative seemed to slow down more than it should've and then it took a while for things to pick back up. Conversely, there were parts towards the end that felt needlessly rushed. Lastly, there was a particular reveal/plot twist that seemed kind of tacked on. I don't want to give any spoilers, but to me, it felt like the twist had been added to set up the second book, and that wasn't needed since there was enough of the main plot was unresolved for the second book already.

The Knight's Daughter is an entertaining, quick read. It has relatable characters, magic and an overall good story. While I had some issues with pacing and the writing itself, I don't want that to deter others from reading it. I think it's great for middle grade readers who are trying to figure out what genres they like. I'd also recommend it to reader who enjoy Arthurian or medieval fantasy specifically.

Rating: 3.1 Stars

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My Professor Made Me Read It!

Back in November, I posted a discussion post called "My English Teacher Made Me Read It" where I discussed the books I had to read in middle school and high school as part of required reading. This post is a continuation of that one, discussing the books that were required reading when I was in college. As with the first post, I will be giving a brief, overall opinion of each book.

• The Great Gatsby- Yes, this book was also on the high school list. I also had to read it in college. Twice. I didn't like this book the first time. I didn't like it the second or third time. In fact, I'm pretty sure I liked it even less the second and third times. I don't understand why people think this book is so great.
• Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas- I actually really enjoyed this book. It was weird, and insane things happened. The plot was hard to follow at times (when it had a plot) but given what the story is about, that makes perfect sense. It kept me engaged because I wanted to see what else would happen.
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks- This book taught me more about the medical field than I ever intended to learn. It tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, as the title says, but it also tells the story of how the cell samples gathered from her body, the HeLa cells, have been used in research since they were first collected in 1951.
• Native Son- This book does a very good job of conveying the message the author is trying to send. While not the first or most well known book to discuss the topic of race and racial division in the early 20th century, it is one of the best that I've read.
• Sister Carrie- I didn't like this one at all. I reread it to see if I might've misjudged it. I didn't.
• Miss Lonelyhearts- The entire tone of this book is depressing and nihilistic, which is what the author was going for. I commend him for achieving that, but since I don't enjoy books that are flat-out depressing, I wouldn't recommend it. 
• The Glass Menagerie- This is a play by Tennessee Williams. Williams is known for plays with dysfunctional families. Reading his work is a bit like watching a trainwreck. While this doesn't have the most dysfunctional family he's ever written, the dynamics certainly are entertaining. 
• Invisible Man- This is not the H.G. Wells novel about a man who is actually invisible. This novel, written by Ralph Ellison, gets it's titled from how its main character is invisible in society. I don't remember much about this book to be honest, so I'd say it was okay.

And that's the list of books I had to read in college. I thought plenty of them were fine. There were a few duds and a few I didn't expect to like, but really enjoyed. 

Have you read any of the books mentioned above? What did you think about them?

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Empress of All Seasons

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Empress of All Seasons is a 2018 young adult fantasy novel by Emiko Jean. It was released in Novemeber 2018 and published by Gollancz. The novel is heavily influenced by Japanese mythology and folklore. The novel can be purchased here from Bookshop.org or here from Amazon.

The novel centers around a once-in-a-generation tournament which is held to find the next empress of Honoku. The participants must conquer the palace’s enchanted rooms, each designed after a season, to win the competition and marry the prince. All women are eligible to enter except yokai, supernatural monsters and spirits who are being oppressed by the emperor. Mari, a yokai girl, has spent her life training for the competition. If her status as a yokai is revealed, her life will be forfeit. While struggling to keep her own secret, her fate becomes entwined with that of Taro, the crown prince, and Akira, a half-human, half-yokai boy she’s known for years. The choices of Mari, Taro and Akira, as they navigate the competition, will decide the fate of Honoku.

First, let’s discuss characters. As mentioned above, this novel has three main characters, Mari, Taro and Akira, who serve as the narrators for the story.  Mari was by far my favorite character of the three. She’s an Animal Wife, a yokai who seduces men into marriage and then runs off with their fortune. When others in her village conclude that she’s not pretty enough to woo men outright, they begin training her for the contest with the goal of her winning, marrying the prince and escaping with the imperial fortune. Mari is by far the most complex and interesting character. She’s a skilled fighter, but has moments where she shows a great deal of humanity. She wants to win the competition, and fulfill the task she’s spent her life training for, but at the same time, she also seeks to find a way to help the oppressed and enslaved yokai in the capital. Taro is the prince who is also Mari’s love interest. I didn’t really know how to feel about his character. He wasn’t very committed to what he wanted, seeming to decide he wants something very impulsively, which contrasted well with Mari. At the same time, he was rather entitled, which was annoying. Lastly, we have Akira, a halfblooded yokai. He was one of the most straightforward characters in the story and by far the most noble. He follows Mari to the capital to watch out for her during the competition, and gets swept up into the yokai resistance. Unlike Mari and Taro, he’s fully committed to his goal, but along his journey comes to realize that saving one person means nothing if the yokai are allowed to remain oppressed and enslaved. The conflict within Akira is the most relatable, as he finds himself torn between his self-assigned mission to help Mari and his mission for the resistance. I also enjoyed the dynamic Asami, another competitor, developed with Mari and her character in general, but I can’t really explain why without spoiling some important moments of the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed the magic and mythological elements in this story. A number of different types of yokai are introduced in the story, from Animal Wives to oni to yuki-onna. I don’t know much about Japanese mythology and folklore, so it was nice to be introduced to characters and creatures I hadn’t encountered before. Fantasy could always benefit from more diversity and authors pulling inspiration from different sources and cultures. Interspersed throughout the story are scenes explaining the world and how the competition for the Empress of All Seasons originated. My favorite aspect, however, was the magic of the four seasonal rooms. Each room contained its own world, based on the season it was named after, but with different elements and threats.  The danger of this competition becomes apparent in the first room, and the magic built into each room only adds to the tension and danger. I enjoyed Emiko Jean’s writing style, especially her depictions of events within the seasonal rooms.

While I liked the characters and the magic in the story, I’m torn about whether I enjoyed the plot or not. The competition itself was a fascinating idea and I liked reading about the events of Mari competing. There were some parts that I felt were very predictable, such as what happened with the emperor after the competition ended and the truth behind it. For a story this unique, I was hoping for a plot twist that was a little more surprising. The beginning of the story was a bit slower than I would’ve liked. It took about 100 pages for the competition to even begin. At the same time, the ending felt a bit rushed. The big, climactic conclusion was over almost as soon as it started. The behavior of certain characters also changed at the drop of a hat to fit the narrative, which didn’t make sense to me. I found the romance in this story to be bland as well. Taro seems to instantly fall in love with Mari the moment he sees her and I’m not a fan of insta-love. I wasn’t sold on Taro’s character and his romance with Mari didn’t interest me in any way.

Empress of All Seasons is a book with one of the most interesting worlds I’ve read so far this year. The premise behind the story felt unique and I liked the overall writing. While I enjoyed aspects of the book, it failed to deliver on others, such as the romantic subplot, and I felt that the pacing needed some improvement. I think this novel is a good book and I’d recommend it to fantasy readers, especially those looking to branch out some and try new authors. I’m excited to read other works by this author.

Rating: 3.4 Stars

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