Manuscript Musing

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The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan

SPOILERS BE HERE I was wandering around my new library when I saw this on a shelf and grabbed it on a whim because I love Amy Tan. Sadly, it wasn't my favorite, although I did enjoy it quite a bit. It was overly long, although thinking back on it now, I'm not really sure what could be cut. I suppose just some of the details? There were a lot of them but they helped make the book so rich. I think my main issue with the book was I went in blind. I didn't expect there to be graphic details of a child being forced into the sex trade, so that was pretty shocking and might have deterred me from reading the book. I enjoyed the other parts, but the sex scenes were fairly horrifying to me. And silly me read that part of the book on a plane, so I felt very uncomfortable. I read this a while ago so can't really remember names, but the main character (Violet?) had such a heartbreaking story. To finally find love and escape from her situation only to have her husband die, child tak...

Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline

SPOILERS BE HERE Trash. This book was trash. I had no idea what it was about beyond it probably being a sequel to Ready Player One , which I really enjoyed. But this was just a rehash of Ready Player One , and done really badly. Wade was awful. The relationships were awful. The story was awful. That Prince segment was sooooooooooo overly long. It would have been much better if we could have followed a different set of characters on the quest (those five who called themselves something I can't remember). Or if it had just been about how the winners were using their money to try to help the world. Or a prequel. Anything but what it was. That's it. That's the review. It doesn't deserve anything else. Parts were fine but overall it was just plain bad. Completed: 7 March 2021 Rating: 1/5 Recommend: Absolutely not

Dear Emmie Blue by Lia Louis

SPOILERS BE HERE I've been remiss about writing reviews lately. A new puppy, super busy time at work, company—I'm about three or four books behind, and they may not all get done! This book was cute. There really isn't a better word to describe it. Everything was predictable—of course Emmie's landlord left her the house. Of course she ended up with the brother (whose name is escaping me, but I want to call him Emmett. I know that's not right). Of course he came back just in time for the meteor shower. Of course Lucas kissed her and someone saw them. Of course her dad wasn't some French rock star. But it was charming enough that it worked. I can't describe why I liked it so much, but it was just a comforting read. Sometimes it's nice knowing what's going to happen. The two things I didn't like were the France aspect and her sexual assault. There just seemed to be no rhyme or reason to have Lucas in France. They could have easily been as distanced ...

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

**SPOILERS BE HERE** I love to hate watch The Bachelor/ette . It's a guilty pleasure I've watched for three or four seasons now, and every time a new season starts, I say I'm not going to waste my time with it. I waste my time with it. In that respect, I really enjoyed this book. The Bachelorette in book form? Yes, please! It could have used more focus on what the men were up to throughout the week, who the secret (to the bachelorette) villains were, who was the most catty, who was actually decent to everyone, etc., but it's not a book about them, so I understand why we didn't get that. The "winner" was pretty obvious from the start, but that's fine--I sometimes find it more interesting to know that so you can watch the relationship develop without any mystery. I read this in about three days because I was so into The Bachelorette story. I also really liked the epistolary segments--they're my jam. That's about where my enjoyment stopped. Th...

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

**SPOILERS BE HERE** Honestly? Meh. I expected a lot (too much?) since I enjoyed The Vanishing Half so much, and it did not live up to those expectations. It was kind of boring. The characters didn't experience any growth, and none of the characters resonated with me. There were really random things thrown in (the Marine and Aubrey's flirtation comes to mind). It was just fine . Some parts were interesting to hear about, like Nadia's mom's suicide, Luke struggling to come to terms with the abortion, and Nadia getting away from California, but in the end...meh. She didn't change. Luke didn't really change and there wasn't enough focus on him coming to terms with the abortion. And we never really got to hear why Nadia's mom maybe committed suicide. The setting confuses me too. Why a church? Just so Luke could be the cliche preacher's son? It really didn't matter. If it was just because of the abortion (which, again, what a cliche), maybe that sh...

Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots by Deborah Feldman

**SPOILERS FOR BOOK AND NETFLIX SERIES** I knew I'd probably like this book but I didn't know how much I'd end up enjoying it. What a compelling story. I was riveted. I think that's mostly because I kept waiting for her to run away to Germany as in the Netflix series, but that never happened; honestly, I prefer the book. The series was spectacular but after reading the book, I came to the realization that it was a quite over dramatized. My favorite parts were reading about her childhood. Her school, sneaking out to secular libraries, listening to illicit music—it seemed so other worldly, but then there would be a bit about her running to the cornerstore for some ice cream that made me realize, "Oh, she's a relatively normal girl living in modern times." I said those were my favorite parts but I don't really think I had a least favorite part. Maybe the ending? Her going to college was a little boring, but overall I was captivated but her tale. Like I ...