Read Harder - February Check-In

A Good Kind of Trouble and The Breakaways...February is middle grade month, y'all! I've got a review on the way for The Breakaways, so for now I'll just say it was solidly middle of the road for me. A Good Kind of Trouble was excellent...definitely a bit frustrating reading it as an adult and being like "please communicate, it would solve so many problems!" but also...vividly remember being in similar situations when I was that age, and that's just what it's like when you're that age! It was a great read, and I really enjoyed it.

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March challenges, what are we getting ourselves into? Nothing good. We've got challenge #5: Read a completed webcomic and challenge #6: Finish a book you've DNFed. Which. I mean. Webcomic. Fine. I guess I can find a webcomic to read. I don't know if it's completed or even a cohesive story, but Joel has a book that's a compilation of a pretty funny webcomic series. To my shame, I can't remember the name of it right now, but it's got birds. What more could you ask for in a webcomic? (False Knees. That's the comic.)

Finishing a book I've DNFed, on the other hand...I don't DNF books lightly, so I'm not sure if this is a "read harder" challenge or a "force yourself to read something terrible" challenge. I'm gonna take a pass on that. So. Wow. Exciting update, I guess. I'll let you know how False Knees goes.

The Luminaries - Susan Dennard

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Winnie Wednesday wants nothing more than to join the Luminaries, the ancient order that protects Winnie's town - and the rest of humanity - from the monsters and nightmares that rise in the forest of Hemlock Falls every night. 

Ever since her father was exposed as a witch and a traitor, Winnie and her family have been shunned. But on her sixteenth birthday, she can take the deadly Luminary hunter trials and prove herself true and loyal - and restore her family's good name. Or die trying.

But in order to survive, Winnie enlists the help of the one person who can train her: Jay Friday, resident bad boy and Winnie's ex-best friend. While Jay might be the most promising new hunter in Hemlock Falls, he also seems to know more about the nightmares of the forest than he should. Together, he and Winnie will discover a danger lurking in the forest no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for.

Not all monsters can be slain, and not all nightmares are confined to the dark."

This book holds a very special place in my heart. During the pandemic, Susan Dennard used the premise of a story that had never been picked up to start a "Sooz Your Own Adventure" on Twitter. Her followers, now known as "Hivemind Winnie," voted on options and guided the story, and it went on for months, growing followers the whole time. I participated in the adventure and loved it, so when running the adventure inspired her to rework the story and submit to publishers again, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it when after she announced it had been picked up. Now it's here, it's real, and I loved every minute of it. There were so many little nods to the Twitter adventure, which were a delight, and the ending left me wanting more, more more. Also, sidenote, but I have to say for the record, if I ever got the chance to play Dungeons & Dragons with Sooz as the DM, I would LEAP at it.

While I loved the story and thought it was incredible, one thing I am curious about is if there's enough backstory and connecting information for someone who didn't participate in the adventure. It kind of reminds me of when the Harry Potter movies started coming out and I went with someone who hadn't read the books. I was like "yessss, brain melting, this is amazing!" while they were like "sure, it's a solid movie, but there were lots of things that I didn't quite understand." Would The Luminaries be as enjoyable for someone who doesn't have the additional background that came from Sooz Your Own Adventure? Or would it leave them pleased but mildly confused at times? (Taking volunteers to determine this, for science!)

Futureland: Battle for the Park - H.D. Hunter

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Rounding up from 3.75)

From the cover:

"Everyone wants a ticket to Futureland, the extraordinary flying park where you can literally live out your wildest dreams. Want to step inside your favorite video game? Go pro in a sports arena? Perform at a real live concert? Grab your ticket and come right in.

Yet with all its attractions, Futureland has always just been home to Cam Walker, the son of the park's famous creators. And when Futureland arrives at its latest stop, Atlanta, Cam is thrilled for what promises to be the biggest opening ever...

But things aren't quite right with the Atlanta opening. Park attractions are glitching. Kids start to go missing. And when his parents are blamed, Cam must find the missing kids and whoever's trying to take down his family...before it's too late."

This book had a lot of highs and lows for me. Overall, I found the premise and the actual adventure of it all very intriguing and engaging, and I really enjoyed the inclusion of comic panels and the interview transcripts. It gave me Illuminae vibes, and I almost wish those had been used a little bit more...not for storytelling purposes, just for my own enjoyment. I also thought some of the characters - Cam, Dooley, Angel, and Yusuf, primarily, were very vibrant and felt realistic. Other characters, particularly Cam's grandma and the bad guy, fell a little flat, especially in comparison to the three-dimensionality of most of the characters. 

With Cam's grandma, it seemed like even in situations where any rational person would have been concerned, her character fell back on "oh hell no, I'm not about that technology. Come on, I'm going to make you a home-cooked meal." It was fine when she was first introduced, but at a certain point it just stops making sense that she's so unwilling to engage with what Cam is saying when so much shady stuff is clearly going on. And the bad guy was just...so openly and obviously evil. I mean, fine, I guess, if that's what you're into, but given that this is meant to be a mystery, it made it a little hard to buy into everyone being unsure what was going on when there was no subtlety to the character at all. I know I'm an adult reading a middle grade book, but I kept thinking about how my students would engage with this, and from the moment the character was introduced there might as well have been a giant neon sign that said "NEMESIS" pointing to the antagonist. Isn't part of the fun in reading a mystery having to guess at who it might be?

My last gripe with the book was that the plot seemed so jumpy. The big reveals were solid, but it seemed like Hunter wasn't sure what to do with the in-between. It was like...gaaaaasp, this huge thing just happened! Oh my god, we need to get to the bottom of this, it is URGENT. Ah well, gotta go to school, I guess. <<fast forward>> gaaaaaasp, another huge thing! We all love big exciting moments, but I wish there had been more buildup and cohesion. Instead of the story beginning with Futureland's arrival in Atlanta and things immediately getting weird, we could have seen his family getting ready for the opening, and then as we started getting comfortable with the story, BAM, things start going wrong. Instead of BIG REVEAL - go to school/Grandma's house and get shut down - BIG REVEAL, a better flow with investigation and breaks in the case. 

All that said...it was a solid book, I think the different elements would be engaging for kids, and I give it points for not being super duper long. I think the one benefit to it jumping from action to action is that it grabs your interest and makes for a quick read. Plus, a mystery involving a futuristic amusement park featuring super advanced AI? Pretty cool.

Whiteout - Dhonielle Clayton, et al

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"A snowstorm like this hits Atlanta only once every hundred years. As the city grinds to a halt, a group of teens band together to help a friend pull off the most epic apology of her life. But will they be able to make it happen, in spite of the storm?

A mall full of holiday spirit...and a confession under the twinkling lights.

A deserted aquarium...and secrets that keep bubbling to the surface.

A stalled road trip...and a car full of bittersweet memories melting in the ice.

A whole city blanketed in snow...being warmed from the inside out.

No one is prepared for this whiteout. But then, we can't always prepare for the magical moments that change everything."

 

I just finished this book, and it took me on a journey. I don't know if this will be a real REVIEW review, but I'm going to share my thoughts as they come in, riding on the waves of sadness over finishing a lovely book and wishing I could be in it for just a little longer, even though that isn't how books work.

I understand why we couldn't, but I wish we got more time with each character. Most of them are so loveable, the ones that I had moments of hesitation about I feel like it was just because I didn't have much time to get to know them, and also, like I said, I want to live in this world for a little longer. Please? 

I got so frustrated with some of the miscommunications and overreactions and indecisiveness, but only because it was SO true to teenage life, and it weirdly made me nostalgic for when I was that age, even though you could not pay me enough to deal with all that angst again. Like, Evan-Rose? So many crushes, so little time...I empathize, E.R. I remember the days where I had multiple crushes and was like oh god, is something wrong with me? I like more than one person? How can feelings be real if you feel them for more than one person? It messes with you.

The morale of basically every story in this book is that open and honest communication is key. Talk to each other, friends. It will always bring more clarity than avoiding people and stewing.

I can't decide if Jimi and Teo's story is my favorite or Ava and Mason's. Or Jordyn and Omari's.

I hope this author group writes more books together. I will read them all.