July Wrap-Up
Welcome to my July Wrap-Up! July was a very busy month for me, it marked the end of my semester which always comes with the inevitable stress of approaching deadlines and more or less dreaded group work. And I went straight into two weeks of entertaining a bunch of children afterwards. First, one week of arts and crafts (letting me live like my inner art teacher) and then I ran a pen and paper workshop for a group of twelve-year-olds for a week! It was stressful but ultimately very rewarding.
I am surprised at how much I managed to read, but I guess reading is a great way to procrastinate uni work.
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing – Hank Green
This was a reread for me in anticipation of the release of A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing follows April May, a young bisexual graphic designer who stumbles upon a giant robot statue in the middle of New York. She makes a video with her best friend Andy and gets swept up in the viral fame that ensues, as it turns out the statues that have appeared all over the earth are in fact aliens and April has made first contact. It’s both a wonderful sci-fi adventure and an exploration of fame, internet culture and how humans treat each other in context of those.
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor – Hank Green
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor has been one of my most anticipated releases of 2020 and I was not disappointed! April and her friends try to navigate their new world and its mysteries while the dangers that they thought to have passed with the disappearance of the Carls are stronger – and closer- than they suspected. The book picks up where An Absolutely Remarkable Thing left off, but it widens the scope, both in terms of the plot, but also because it features five POV characters! Hank Green manages all of them masterfully and this might be the rare case of the sequel that I loved even more than the first book!
Percy Jackson Series – Rick Riordan
Inspired by Emma from Drinking By My Shelf I decided to attempt a Percy Jackson 24-hour readathon! I failed and only managed to get up to halfway through book four before giving up and going to sleep. And then I got myself into a Percy Jackson slump and still haven’t gotten around to the final book…whoops. I did film the experience though and if I can get myself to edit it that video is going to be online sometime, hopefully soon. Overall, I get why the series is so beloved by many and I certainly would have liked them a lot as a child. Percy is an unlikely hero and I loved that his ADHD and dyslexia were actually strengths for him as a half-blood! Additionally, I just loved the humour of this series, the chapters have weird and funny names and the books don’t take themselves too seriously and subsequently, I had a lot of fun with them.
Some Laneys Died – Brooke Skipstone
The book follows 16-year-old Delaney West, who caught her father cheating when she was just 13. She told her mother and has regretted her decision ever since, imagining countless other ways it could’ve gone. She learns that every decision she makes creates a new universe and starts to wonder if it’s possible to skip to a different universe and change her world.
The premise intrigued me but sadly, it didn’t really deliver.
The plot was too confusing and I didn’t connect with the characters at all, especially Delaney. Her characterization felt inconsistent and her relationships to other characters didn’t manage to make me care about any of them.
Sadly, I was not the biggest fan of the writing as well, which might be a personal style preference, but some descriptions were either too cliché or just bland and I never fully got into the rhythm of the story.
Overall, I felt that Some Laneys Died might have benefitted from at least another round of edits to truly bring out the potential the premise has. Ultimately this was a 2,5 star read for me.
The Sound of Stars – Alechia Dow
Continuing my recent journey into the world of sci-fi, I couldn’t miss this. The Sound of Stars is a dystopian sci-fi about the importance of art, kind of. And it has asexual representation which just made my heart sing! The world has been taken over by aliens who forbid all art, including music and books. 17-year-old Ellie lives in a centre controlled by the aliens and runs a secret and very illegal library. She meets M0Rr1S (Morris), one of the aliens who loves music. They form a reluctant friendship that turns into a romance as they embark on a road trip to save the world. I loved the way music was woven into this book, it elevated the story and created a unique experience and man, I wish the songs from the book were real! However, the third act disappointed me a bit and the ending wasn’t what I had hoped for, but overall it was a fun sci-fi romance I enjoyed!
You Should See Me in a Crown – Leah Johnson
You Should See Me n a Crown is the kind of book I’d want to be a Netflix movie. The main character Liz lives in a small prom-obsessed town and is working towards attending a renowned university. But when her scholarship falls through, the only option she has to raise the money she needs to attend is to enter the race for prom queen.
I listened to the audiobook in one go (during a trip to IKEA) and had a blast! Liz was such a relatable, complex character and her developing romance with Mack, the new girl in school, warmed my little queer heart. It’s a wonderful coming of age story about owning your identity and being proud of it.
Karmen Part 1 – Guillem March
TW: death, suicide
Karmen is a graphic novel about death, specifically suicide, but not quite in the way you might think. The main character Catalina is somewhat self-absorbed and has just taken her life, heartbroken over a lifelong friendship crumbling to pieces. This is where Karmen enters. She’s a kind of grim reaper, a guide to whatever comes next.
I was immediately drawn to both the themes and art style of this graphic novel but it ended up being just alright. I would have wished for more nuance. I think there’s space for a discussion about suicide and what it does with the people who remain, but blaming the victim just didn’t sit right with me. Lastly, the story ended too abruptly. This is most likely because it’s only the first volume in a series, but it left me with a lot of questions and I didn’t feel like any of the narrative arcs was sufficiently explored or brought to a close.
And that’s it from me for today, how has your July been?
Do you have big reading plans for the summer? I hope you have a lovely day,
2 Comments
linesandlifemiriam
Okay, this was definitely the finally push I needed to pick up An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. It is now on my TBR!
A bit sad to hear you didn’t really enjoy Some Laneys Died, it does have a super fun sounding premise!
Also, highly impressed how much you’ve managed to read!
bookshelfsoliloquies
I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it! And yeah, it was a bummer because the premise was so unique, but it just didn’t work for me. Believe me, I am very impressed with myself as well, doing the Percy Jackson readathon definitely helped (but at what cost…).