I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself is a debut novel by Marisa Crane from an indie publishing company. Though this is a debut novel, Crane has plenty of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry pub credits. It's a literary speculative novel.
In an alternate world, a department exists that assigns an extra shadow to a person who has committed a crime (however, the definition of crime is quite malleable). Kris and her wife have a baby, but her wife dies in childbirth, and the baby is assigned an extra shadow. Kris already has an extra shadow, the story behind which is kept secret for maybe 2/3 of the novel. Kris works her way through grief while their child ages and surrounds herself with other outcasts or misfits of society. It's written in first person with extremely short scenes and often has a stream-of-consciousness feel. The title comes from Kris's habit of naming things with exoskeletons to manage anxiety attacks. I liked some aspects of this book. It was obviously allegorical, pretty clearly about discrimination (especially against members of the LGBTQIA+ community) and I liked the message. I liked the list of exoskeleton-having creatures when Kris would fight anxiety because the technique of listing items in a category is a real and effective way (one of many) to combat an anxiety attack. I'm not a literary fiction person, though, so the very short scenes, the tight focus on grief and character instead of plot, and the lack of explanation about the speculative elements were not for me. I couldn't get over wondering how an extra shadow was special because if light hits you from more than one angle, you have an extra shadow anyway. It didn't make sense to me as a literal plot element. This book is for you if you enjoyed the literary feel of This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, if you're big into allegories, or if you're in the mental space to read about working through grief. It is not for you if you're still working through grief/loss of a partner or if you want more scifi than literary elements. Have you read I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself? Let's discuss in the comments!
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Paper book means Clue gets to pose with the gorgeous cover! Photo by Kate Ota 2023 This post was a bit delayed, but I'm finally reviewing Anastasia by Sophie Lark. It pubbed (Indie!) in December 2022 and is far from this author's debut. The reason my review is delayed is because I originally read in as an ebook and loved it so much I bought the paperback. I would have bought the hardcover if that was an option. I wanted to wait for that to arrive before posting.
Anastasia is about the famed Grand Duchess Anastasia, but in a dark fantasy setting. There are familiar faces from history/the animated movie: the Romanov sisters, Tsarevich Alexi, Tsar Nicholas and the Tsarina, and Rasputin. In this world, people can have powers, and the royal family is known for time walking, which is actually kind of like super speed rather than time travel. Anastasia is the only child who inherits that power, and being a patriarchy, that's frowned upon. There's also Damian, the son of the Cossack ruler, who was taken as a prisoner/foster as an early teen. He and Anastasia develop a friendship as the country spirals toward revolution. And let's not forget Rasputin, who is even more sinister in the book than reality. When the famed night of the revolution hits, it's nothing like our history books. I loved this book. I loved the occasional illustrations (a huge reason why I bought the paperback), I loved the plot, I loved the romance, and I went rabid for the twist. I hit the twist at the end of my commute to work and wouldn't shut up about wanting to get back to reading the book for the entire work day. The enemies-to-friends-to-lovers felt organic and the sense of doom knowing it would end in revolution added so much great tension. I think this might be my new favorite book. I'm struggling to think of negatives. I guess I wish the illustrations were in color, because the amazon page had some color ones which I loved. It's also incredibly long, so buckle up. Otherwise, I see myself reading this over and over and over again. This book is for fans of the animated Anastasia who loved the magical and romantic aspects, fans of the Broadway play Anastasia who liked the incorporation of more of the history, people who enjoy historical documentaries about the Romanovs, fans of enemies-to-friends-to-lovers/slow burn romances, and fans of unique magic. It's not for you if you are looking for a direct retelling of the animated movie or the Broadway play--those focus mostly on post-revolution events and this book is largely pre-revolution events. (Also, certain characters were likely covered by copyright due to being fictional, like Bartok the bat or Dmitri.) This book may also be hard to read for anyone who recently lost family members, especially to violence. Have you read Anastasia? What did you think? Which is your favorite: animate movie, Broadway show, or book? Did you know that the author made a Spotify playlist that matches certain scenes? (The ebook has links in the prose when you should listen to the songs!) Lessons in Chemistry is the debut novel by Bonnie Garmus, which has earned a ton of recognition and acclaim (including the Barnes and Noble Book of the Year) since it hit shelves in 2022. It's my work-based Diversity and Inclusion Book Club pick for this quarter, since this quarter includes Women's History Month.
Lessons in Chemistry focuses on Elizabeth Zott, a young woman in the 1950s/60s California who works as a chemist at a research center. She meets fellow chemist Calvin Evans, they fall in love, and--scandalously for the time--live together unmarried. After Calvin suddenly dies, Elizabeth learns she's pregnant and loses her job. The book follows her journey through grief, child rearing, and her massive success as a TV show host where she teaches chemistry and cooking. Warning: the book contains on page sexual assault, mention of another sexual assault, and an attempted sexual assault. The book offered interesting, though not surprising, insight into being a woman in the late 1950s/early 60s. Sometimes being a woman in science can still feel the way Elizabeth felt. I thought the cooking/chemistry show was interesting, a bit Bill Nye meets Alton Brown. Elizabeth was, for the most part, a character with agency, which I really liked. I also think it was written quite well in general, and the non-linear timeline was handled well, so it was very clear what was going on when. I had so many problems with the book. I want to say upfront that despite the long list of complaints below, I totally recognize that I'm not the only person who matters when reading a book and it's totally fine to disagree with me. Not every book is for every person and that's okay. I'm probably in the minority with my complaints (based on how many Best of 2022 lists it made) but I still want to air my grievances because maybe there's a reader out there like me who will realize this is not the book for them. The POV didn't work for me. I suspect it was meant to be omniscient, however there were scene breaks (example: the cafeteria proposal) that seemed intended to transition from close third POV to another close third POV, except the book still ducked between those perspectives within a single scene anyway. It didn't follow its own rules for POV which was infuriating. I also don't think Elizabeth was a chemist, because she was either a biochemist or a biologist based on what she was studying. (I consulted with a chemist, who agrees with me.) It would have been so easy to change her topic of study to something else, since abiogenesis didn't impact the plot line itself (swap in any other word for abiogenesis and nothing changes.) Another complaint is how Elizabeth spoke. I hate the trope of scientists always using the most scientific language possible (example: her first show when people had to call in to ask what the chemical formula she said was and it was vinegar). As someone who was surrounded by scientists (mostly chemists thanks to my dad) my entire life, I can confirm that even the most eccentric ones would have just said vinegar--acetic acid MAYBE, but only in the lab. When similar writing was used on The Big Bang Theory for the male characters, it was always making fun of them (the joke being "they're so smart but so socially awkward and unable to communicate, isn't that funny? So lame! Haha!") When used in this book, I felt like it was similarly mocking Elizabeth, like "Elizabeth is so smart she only uses a way of speaking that others can't understand, isn't she odd? A smart women? Haha!" It really rubbed me wrong. My last complaint is the ending, which didn't work for me at all. I won't post spoilers, but I'll just say it didn't fit the theme of the book or Elizabeth's character arc. Overall, not my favorite reading experience. I liked the concept of the story, but not the execution. It's for readers who enjoy omniscient POV (mostly), historical fiction about women (especially in science), and tragic romance. It's not for readers who will be distracted by the POV being weird, readers looking for a story about a real-life historical celebrity chef or scientist, or readers who are not in the emotional headspace to read about car accidents, partner loss, unplanned pregnancy, or sexual assault. Have you read Lessons in Chemistry? How did you feel about it? Let's discuss in the comments! All Systems Red by Martha Wells is a scifi novella that starts the Murderbot Diaries series. Series is made of nine novels, novellas, and short stories. All Systems Red won the 2018 best novella Nebula and Hugo awards, the American Library Association's Alex award, and was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award. It's also frequently cited on agent wish lists for its voice.
The main character of the series is a security unit (SecUnit) who calls herself Murderbot. She was able to disengage her governing programming which would essentially keep her obedient so that she can watch space soap operas in her free time. She's still excellent at her job though; she's in charge pf protecting a team of scientists and surveyors who are exploring part of a planet. However, when they realize their maps are missing data and they were lied to about the planet's dangers, things quickly take a turn. I see why this novella won so many awards and is big for agents. The unique perspective of Murderbot was funny and snarky without coming off as mean. The world was well built and the action was super clear. It's exactly the kind of scifi that I hope I'm writing! Downside was my complaint for every novella: I wanted more! It felt like it wrapped up so quickly and easily to fit into the size of a novella. You'll like All Systems Red if you enjoy funny/quirky scifi like Scalzi, or if you enjoyed the voice in Gideon the Ninth. It's not for you if you are looking for a novel length read (although with so many other entries in the series, you could just read more). Have you read any (or all!) of the Murderbot Diaries stories? Let's discuss in the chat! A very cute cover. Can't forget the little dog, a staple in cozies! Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala is a cozy mystery centered around Lila and her family who own and operate a small Filipino restaurant. It's a fun read and includes recipes for most of the dishes in the back. It's the first book of the Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery series, which also include Homicide and Halo-Halo (2022), and Blackmail and Bibingka (2022). Arsenic and Adobo won the 2022 Anthony Award and 2022 Agatha Award, both in the category Best First Novel. The author was a 2017 PitchWars mentee, which shows just how powerful that program was in launching authors' careers.
When Lila's toxic ex dies at her family's restaurant, Lila is a suspect. Knowing her innocence, she tries to solve the murder before her family restaurant has to close forever. In the process, she learns there's more than just murder happening in their small town, and every restaurant has been a victim. I liked this story a lot. It flowed smoothly and was a fast read. While I didn't know any of the foods at the family restaurant, there was enough description to keep me oriented. There were also a couple love interests that made things exciting beyond the mystery. I could tell this was the start of a series, but it still had closure at the end. My list of dislikes is pretty short. Mainly, as with many cozy mysteries, I didn't understand why Lila went rogue to solve this alone. Yes, she's a suspect who wants to clear her name, but she wasn't taking any advice from her lawyer, and all the evidence she would would have been inadmissible in court. However, this is my main complaint with almost every cozy, so perhaps it's just a trope I need to let slide when reading this genre. You'll like Arsenic and Adobo if you like cozy mysteries, books with recipes for the food it describes, and a dash of (PG) romance. It may not be for you if you prefer detective mysteries or expect a higher spice level with your romantic subplots. Have you read Arsenic and Adobo or the other books in the series? Have you read other novels by PitchWars alums? Let's discuss in the comments! You know I'm a sucker for a pretty cover! Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine was longlisted for the 2023 Joyce Carol Oats Prize. The book is her debut novel, though she also published an acclaimed collection of short stories and articles for major publications. Woman of Light is about a young Hispanic woman, Luz, in 1930s Denver. It's this quarter's pick for my work's Diversity and Inclusion Book Club, and yes, the author does share a Hispanic background with the main character and majority of side characters.
Luz comes from a line of women with a very vague gift for seeing the future, and Luz uses tea leaves to do so. Luz deals with racism, sexism, and poverty as she navigates a time period after her brother is kicked out of their home. She experiences first love, first lust, and a change in career. There are some time jumps, some of which are visions and some of which aren't, to show the last few generations of women. This book covered a time period in which I didn't know much about Denver. Growing up in Colorado, our 4th grade Colorado History unit skipped from the frontier to current times, as if nothing interesting happened in between. (After reading Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, I suppose I understand why that era isn't taught to 9- and 10-year-olds.) I found it interesting to see Denver from that era, though sad to see the pervasive racism and sexism. I had two problems with the book that made it harder to read. First, the time jumps didn't fit into the story for me, and introduced so many characters that I had trouble remembering who was when. It also felt like a lot of things happed to Luz rather than because of Luz. Even in the climactic moment of the book, she doesn't initiate or resist it, she just goes with the flow. Since I prefer active characters (especially ones who are women) this was a major drawback for me. Aside from those issues, a smaller complaint was that Luz's gift, which felt so important in the blurb I read, had little impact on the story and in my opinion, might as well have not been included. This book is for you if you're into historical fiction, especially the 1930s or the not-so-wild West, or if you're into literary fiction. It's not for you if you like your speculative elements to have a more central role, if you're looking for active characters, or if you're not in a good mindset for reading about racism, racially-motivated violence, or sexual assault. Have you read Woman of Light? What do you think? Let's discuss in the comments! The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert is a Pulitzer Prize winner (2015) for general non-fiction. I picked it up because the summary available from my library's website said it discussed the current extinction events by focusing each chapter on a specific species, and I'm a sucker for animal facts. It was the first book I finished in 2023, and it was fascinating.
Like I wrote above, the book has one chapter focused on a different species, either extinct or endangered, and discusses not only that species' predicament, but how it fits into the larger tapestry of our understanding of the current extinction event. The title is a reference to the five prior major extinctions (think meteor killing dinosaurs, which is discussed!) and how the current die-off is similar in scale. I learned so much, including that extinction wasn't even a thing people thought could happen until the 1800s. There used to be a penguin-like species in the northern hemisphere until the 1840s and I'd NEVER heard about it! Pros for this book, it was very well written (hence the Pulitzer), and I mean that it wasn't a dry, slow, jargon-heavy monster. It included deeper history as well as the author's own adventures in going to the places where the extinctions took or were taking place. Based on my summary of the book, you can also tell that I loved learning all the little details about the animals. There was even a Neanderthal chapter, which is dear to my heart as the topic of my current #amquerying project. There wasn't much I disliked about the book. Perhaps it was depressing thinking about all the species at risk or vanishing. But it's also vital to know it's happening in order to prevent it. The ebook ended at the 74% mark, and after that was all the bibliography type information non-fiction books include. That unfortunately left me in the lurch on my commute, as I'd expected at least two more chapters worth of reading. I'd recommend this book to animal lovers, people who are looking for science non-fiction that is accessible to non-scientists, and history lovers. It's not for climate change or science deniers or anyone who would be too upset about dying animals. Have you read any good non-fiction lately? Let's discuss in the comments! The cover of The Matzah Ball. Why yes, I am looking forward to the movie (rights were optioned in Feb 2022!) The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer is a Hanukkah romance. Basically, take the tropes of any Hallmark Christmas movie and make it Hanukkah. If you've seen any of those movies, you'll love the little nods to those plot beats. The main character, Rachel, is the daughter of a famous rabbi, but she has a secret--she writes Christmas romance novels. Living with her Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, she must constantly measure how much energy she's willing to spend and how much recovery time each action will cost. Her bubble of normalcy is burst when her pre-teen summer camp rival, Jacob, comes to town to throw a ritzy Matzah Ball on the eighth night of Hanukkah. Not only that, but her publisher wants her to pivot from Christmas romance to Hanukkah romance, and she needs a ticket to the sold-out Matzah Ball to get in the spirit. Jacob, still healing from his mother's death, needs Rachel's famous father to make his Matzah Ball feel like an authentic, and celebrity-scale party. However, seeing Rachel sparks old feelings and he goes about courting her all wrong. In the end, he needs his party to be a success to keep his business afloat.
This story was adorable. We read it for Diversity and Inclusion Book Club at work, and it was a perfect choice. Easy reading, festive for December, Jewish author and characters, disabled author and main character, and no sex--perfect for a work-based book club. I loved the nods to tropes; for example, instead of running into a "Santa" type figure who propels the plot in a secret way, like Christmas movies always have, she runs into an Orthodox Jewish man, who also helps move the plot forward by letting Rachel know about the Matzah Ball by leaving his newspaper behind. There's also a very sweet Grandmother with a Holocaust story unlike I'd ever heard. (And yet someone in book club had heard a very similar survival story. What are the odds?) On the downside, it was quite long--400 pages. We almost didn't choose this book because of it's length. Some of Jacob's choices were also so cringey. What adult thinks his ideas would be good ideas to woo a woman? The two of them just needed to talk. You'll enjoy this book if you're looking for a no-sex romance, a Hanukkah setting, or a rivals-to-lovers story. You may not enjoy this book if you want sex in the book or if you are going to be frustrated by the many holiday romance tropes. Side note: my library didn't have an ebook copy of The Matzah Ball, but when I requested it, they bought it! Shout out to the library! Have you read The Matzah Ball or any other non-Christmas holiday romances? Let's discuss in the comments! The cover of Iron Widow, which is a pretty badass cover Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao is a secondary world fantasy and start of a series, though the rest of the series isn't out yet. The book has won a lot of best of fiction awards and hit best sellers lists. Iron Widow follows Zetian, a scifi version of Wu Zetian, the only female Chinese Empress in her own right. In this world, giant magical mecha-suits piloted by a male-female pair fight off attacking alien-esque mecha-suit-material bug things. The male pilots often drain the female pilots of their energy until they die. One pilot did that to Zetian's sister and now Zetian is out for revenge.
This book required quite a bit of world set up for me to get it, but once things clicked, I was in. I wanted Zetian to enact her revenge and boy oh boy, I was not disappointed. Even knowing that, I didn't predict most of this book, which is great because with all the research I've done about plotting I don't get surprised often anymore. My list of downsides is really short for this one. Neither of the love interests made me root for them a ton until the end. One was a little too self-hating (ala Edward Cullen) and one was a little too entitled/clingy (ala Edward Cullen). You see the issue. But they both became better toward the end of the novel, which I suppose is the point of character growth. This book is for you if you liked the vibe of the Cinder series by Marissa Meyer, the magic is present but there's so much more happening situation in the Green Bone saga by Fonda Lee, and the sister out for revenge plot of The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh. It's not for you if reading about the loss of a sister or romantic partner isn't for you, or if the mention of rape (not of an on-page character) isn't for you either. Have you read Iron Widow? Are you excited for the sequel Heavenly Tyrant in 2023? Let's discuss in the comments! This past week I finished You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo. I first came across Cat's work because of their website full of resources, tips, and classes for SFF writers. They have a ton of short stories published and You Sexy Thing is not their first novel, although it is the start of a new series. It's about a found family of space mercenaries, recently retired, who run a restaurant on a space station. But when the station is blown up, they steal a sentient ship to survive, and the ship has mixed feelings about that.
This book certainly has its sense of humor front and center naming the ship You Sexy Thing. It was a fun adventure with pirates and cooking and the concept of a living thing being a space ship was really interesting to me. I flew right through the book. On the downside, because of how many characters were on on the team, I mixed them up very frequently. Small complaint though, since I knew who the most important crew members were to the plot, and the book focused on them well. It's for you if you like things in the vein of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, or other space epics, but have wondered what characters aside from the ones saving the universe are up to. It's not for you if you don't like aliens or space ship sci-fi. Have you read You Sexy Thing? What did you think about the big reveal at the end? Let's discuss in the comments! |
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