Spellslinger is a rather quirky book, which I enjoyed very much. A young mage who’s struggling with magic, a traveller passing through who can’t keep her hilarious social commentary to herself, and a snarky talking squirrel cat? This combination was most peculiar, making me laugh and smirk throughout.
THE GOOD IMMIGRANT edited by Nikesh Shukla
Initially I meant to write a pure book review, assessing the merits of The Good Immigrant. Considering how much of my own existence is reflected in these essays, I felt compelled to go beyond that.
DIVERGENT (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth
The first time round I read Divergent in 2013, I devoured it. I loved it to bits. For most of my teen years I read contemporary fiction and to finally delve more into science fiction, specifically dystopian fiction, was exhilarating. Since then I’ve read more dystopian books, some of which impressed me more and some less. Also, this time round I tabbed the pages with post-it notes, annotated and cross-referenced. This close reading forced me to be more critical (in the analytical sense) as I read.
LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR by Stephanie Perkins
What do you make of a book that everyone has already loved to shreds? How do you pick up those pieces and see what others saw before you? Hype has a way of bringing awareness to certain books. At the same time, it can negatively impact one’s enjoyment. Without the hype I wouldn’t have loved Lola and the Boy Next Door. With the hype, I came to feel indifferent.
EVERY DAY by David Levithan
If there is one thing I adored about Every Day, it’s the prose. The prose was so fluid, it bordered on poetic. It captured many of the ideas so beautifully, it was nothing short of thought-provoking.
