The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

This is the thread where you can submit reviews for the Best Review contest. The thread is open for submissions and will close at Midnight EST on August 17, 2019. Voting will start the next day and run until the end of the GR day on August 31. The person whose review gets the most votes will get to design a 20 point task for the Fall Challenge.

To be eligible for this task opportunity you must have achieved at least 100 points on the Summer 2019 Challenge Readerboard by midnight Eastern Time on August 16, 2019.

Just a reminder that each person can only submit one review - but you can make edits to your review up until the end. The review does not have to be any particular length and doesn't have to be a positive one (i.e. you can choose to review a book you didn't like).
Please include your Readerboard Name.

PLEASE DO NOT comment on people's reviews in this thread - this is for submissions only - you will be able to comment when voting begins.

SPOILER ALERT!- These reviews may include spoilers

The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden

Reviewed by trishhartuk. Five stars.

I’ve spent a lot of the Summer SRC reading the Hugo Award nominees prior to the World SF Con in August. This year, there seem to have been an inordinately large number of young adult books nominated across the various categories, far too many of which followed a similar basic plot: young outsider or disadvantaged person (usually female, often an orphan), either with unusual abilities or being taught to fight the Big Bad (aliens, fae, zombies, etc), survives against the odds/becomes the best/stands up to the oppressor, and saves the world (or at least their small part of it).

Among the deluge of rather similar books of varying quality, The Bear and the Nightingale, by Katherine Arden (who is nominated for the John W Campbell best new writer award), stood out as something different. Yes, it uses some of those standard YA tropes: young female protagonist – check; with unusual abilities – check; who saves her small corner of the world - check. However, the author takes those elements and makes something different, and rather magical, out of them.

Despite it having YA as an MPG (presumably because of the teenage protagonist), to me the book is much closer to straight Historical Fiction/Fantasy, using the wealth of Russian fairy tales/mythology – a subject I knew very little about – as a basis. The main character, Vasilisa, is the youngest daughter in the household of a Russian boyar in the early 1300s. Due to her grandmother being a witch, she is something of a “wild child”, who loves nature and horses, and talks to the various spirits living around her home (the bannick in the bathhouse, the domovoi who guards the household, etc). As the story progresses, she meets characters out of the fairy tales her nurse has told her, and ends up having to save her village from the rise of an ancient and malevolent demon, and the obsessive, charismatic priest who falls under its sway.

The writing is detailed and evocative, with home, hearth and family at the centre, unlike so many YA books, where the main character is alone in the world. The Medieval Russian setting and less-familiar mythology lend it an exotic air, and the geographically small area where the majority of the story takes place gives it an intimacy and personal feel, which is missing from so many of the YA books I’ve read recently.

It is the first in a trilogy, and the scope widens out in the second book, much of which takes place in Moscow (the third is still on the TBR list). However, The Bear and the Nightingale is, for the most part, complete in itself, and comes to a logical conclusion.

I would recommend it to people who enjoy historical fiction, fantasy with a fairy-tale feel, or are looking for something a bit different in a “Young Adult” book.

Ceelee Sunshine.s review of 100 NAMES by Cecelia Ahern

One Hundred Names

One Hundred Names is an intriguing title for a book and because of that title I was curious to find out wheat it was all about. I had heard of Cecelia Ahern and . I had seen the movie "PS, I Love You" but I never read any of her books. I am so glad I read this book because i LOVED it! A terrific summer read and one of the best of many "best" books I have read in 2019! I am sure I drove everyone crazy when I was reading the novel because my excitement and enthusiasm knew no bounds!

The story is about an Irish journalist named Katherine "Kitty" who worked for a news feature TV show called 30 MINUTES. She wrote a piece about a popular teacher who had an affair with one of his students that produced a child, based on evidence told to her by the girl in question and her best friend. It turned out they had lied to Kitty and when the truth came out it ruined Kitty's career and she lost her job at the show and was about to lose her job at ETCETERA magazine. The man accused of the affair was also ruined by the story but after the truth was revealed the anger shifted to Kitty who experienced harassment everywhere she went and constantly met with threats, stinking shit, paint and firecracker damage in front her apartment.

Her friend Casandra who was the editor of the magazine was in the hospital undergoing cancer treatment and one day they were discussing a story she wanted as a special; feature. She didn't give Kitty the details but asked her to go find a file in her office with details of the story and she would explain her idea on Kitty's next visit. Unfortunately, Casandra never got to explain the story she wanted because she died that night. Kitty was left to figure it out on her own with only a list of one hundred names to go on and no hint as to what to do with it and with only a couple weeks in order to have the story included in the magazine's tribute issue for Casandra. She started making phone calls but ran into brick walls. Either people didn't want to talk to her (her bad reputation as a journalist preceded her), they had left the area or were too ill or too busy to talk to her. She finally got a break with a woman named Birdie who was living in a nursing home and that was the basis of the story, and an adventure where she not only met a group of interesting people and fascinating stories but figured out the common thread of the one hundred names on the list.

At first I didn't like Kitty. She was a pretty typical journalist who didn't care much about the people she was writing about or the consequences after the story was out because she was all about getting the story at all costs. As she got more into the story of one hundred names, I could see her finally changing into a more compassionate person and a better writer who focused on the true human heart of the people she was writing about. The various characters she met along the way in her quest to honor her friend was so real and emotional but also funny and sweet and true to life.

Everyone has a story whether you are famous or an unknown and everyone is unique yet still we are all the same in that we want to be respected, loved and remembered. To me, that is the theme of the story and it is something we should all work on as we make our journey in this life. I am always interested in how and why an author writes a book. I love the backstory and hearing about their inspiration. For Ms Ahern , she was watching an awards show when an actress came onstage to introduce her film "One Hundred Names" . She liked the title and started thinking about what a story about one hundred names could be about and came up with the story in a matter of minutes. It turns out the movie "One Hundred Names' was actually "The Hunger Games"! I was delighted by that reveal and am pleased to know that a misheard movie title brought the world such a wonderful, heartwarming novel that I will treasure forever.

I am also thrilled to know that she is the person who wrote the TV show "Samantha Who?" because I loved that show when it first aired and I am now watching it again on ABC network app!

LAURENJODI

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
5 Stars

Three women at crossroads - Jane who has moved to town with her small son hoping the sand, sea and sun can still their anxious hearts; Celeste whose seemingly perfect life of beauty, wealth and love hides a terrible secret, and Madeline who is a force to be reckoned with, but struggles with her teenage daughter's rebellion.

Seemingly innocuous, the small community of Pirriwee is a hotbed of gossip, innuendo, and bullying, which all comes to a head on Trivia Night when tragedy strikes leaving one parent dead and several injured. Was it a terrible accident brought on by excessive alcohol or did someone have a grudge against the victim?

This is an amazing book!

The characters come to life on the page and are very easy to identify with. Their secrets and lies, both big and small, are realistic and believable. Some events had me rolling with laughter and others had me seething.

Written in non-traditional format with a mix of regular chapters and interview sections, the style is engaging, amusing and heart-wrenching. The interview parts also ratchet up the tension by providing teasing hints at the mystery, which had me guessing right up until the very end.

The book has been adapted into a television series and I can't wait to see the characters and story come to life on screen.