Top Ten Unique Books I’ve Read
/30 Comments/by SuzanneTop Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Of The Most Unique Books I’ve Read (with some possible variations: top ten unique sounding books on my TBR, top ten most unique books I’ve read in X genre, etc.) I do love a unique read, one that when you try to describe it to someone you’re almost at a loss for words because it’s so unlike anything else you’ve ever read. Unique narrators always tend to stick with me, so many of my selections this week made the list because they have unique voices telling the story.
Top Ten Unique Books I’ve Read
1. THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morganstern
The Night Circus makes my list because I truly can’t recall reading anything like it before. Not to be corny or cliche, but it’s truly magical. The whole story just envelopes you in its atmosphere of smoke and mirrors and mystery and illusion. Just thinking about it makes me want to read it again. (Goodreads Synopsis…)
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2. THE BEAR AND THE NIGHTINGALE by Katherine Arden
The Bear and the Nightingale makes my list of unique reads because of its focus on Russian folklore. Like The Night Circus, I can’t ever recall reading anything quite like this book. So far it’s my favorite 2017 release. (Goodreads Synopsis…)
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3. WICKED: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST by Gregory Macguire
I have to confess that I didn’t particularly enjoy this book. I guess nothing can compare to the Broadway musical, but the book was just a letdown for me overall. So why am I including it on this list? Because disappointment or not, it’s still one of the more unique books that I’ve read in that it turns the original Wizard of Oz story on its head and instead focuses on the story from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West. I haven’t seen many retellings that focus on such an unexpected character and especially the villain of the original tale. (Goodreads Synopsis…)
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4. THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak
The Book Thief is such an incredible read, probably one of my favorites. What gives it a slot on this list is its unique point of view. It’s not often that I read a book where Death is the narrator. (Goodreads Synopsis…)
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5. THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME by Greg Haddon
The Curious Incdient of the Dog in the Night-Time is another beautifully written book that makes my list because of its unique narrator. In this case, the narrator has Asperger’s Syndrome. As the Goodreads synopsis states, however, “Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, for fifteen-year-old Christopher everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning. He lives on patterns, rules, and a diagram kept in his pocket.” Seeing the world through Christopher’s eye and following him as he tries to solve a mystery definitely makes for a supremely unique read. (Goodreads Synopsis…)
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6. CINDER by Marissa Meyer
I gush about this book all the time because it’s just so fabulous and it makes my list this week by virtue of being the most unique fairytale retelling I’ve come across, to date. I mean, seriously…Cinderella as a Cyborg?! Enough said!
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7. THE MAGIC STRINGS OF FRANKIE PRESTO by Mitch Albom
I had mixed feelings about this book when I first started reading it, but it makes the Top Ten list this week because it’s another story that has a unique point of view. The story is about Frankie Presto, the greatest guitar player who ever lived, and we learn about Frankie’s life and his musical gift from the narrator, who in this case happens to be Music personified. It took me a while to buy into that, but once I was on board with it, it was a lovely read. (Goodreads Synopsis…)
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8. THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins
Although The Hunger Games has inspired its fair share of dystopian stories, the world building (both with the districts and with the terrain in the arena), the contests where teens fight to the death, the costumes, and so much more make The Hunger Games stand out for me as the most unique of the dystopian reads. (Goodreads Synopsis…)
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9. STALKING JACK THE RIPPER by Kerri Maniscalco
I’m actually reading this right now and am fascinated by how unique the premise of the story is, which is why it made my list this week. The story is set in 19th Century London and the protagonist is a young woman, who is way ahead of her time. She has a keen interest in forensic science and spends much of her time sneaking off to apprentice with her uncle, where she helps perform autopsies. When Jack the Ripper goes on his murderous rampage, she takes it upon herself to try to track him down and bring him to justice. (Goodreads Synopsis…)
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10. READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline
Ready Player One makes my list because of its unique setting. It’s 2044 and basically everyone is doing most of their living inside of a video game.
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Question: What are some of your most unique reads? Do we have any in common?
Book Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
/10 Comments/by SuzannePublished by Balzer + Bray on February 28th 2017
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 464
Source: Purchased
Amazon
Goodreads
Goodreads Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.
Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.
MY REVIEW
The Hate U Give tells the story of Starr Carter, a teenager who is basically caught between two completely different worlds, the economically depressed community she has grown up in and the affluent, mostly white high school that she attends. In Starr’s mind, these two worlds are incompatible and so she has compartmentalized each and crafted two separate identities for herself so that she can exist in each world. Although she switches back and forth between these identities with relative ease, she still spends the majority of her time pretending in an effort to fit in. The end result is that she can’t really be herself and, at the point we meet her, has begun to question if she even knows who the real Starr is anymore. What brings Starr’s struggle to figure out who she is to a head is when she witnesses her childhood friend Khalil being killed by a police officer during what appeared to be a routine traffic stop. Protests erupt and soon the shooting garners media attention. Everyone wants to know what happened that night and some are starting to fill in the blanks themselves, maligning Khalil’s character and referring to him as little more than a drug dealing thug. Once the media begins reporting on the shooting, Starr’s two worlds collide because now even her rich, privileged schoolmates are talking about it.
Starr, as the sole witness, is the only one with the power to speak up and secure justice for Khalil, who was unarmed and did absolutely nothing to warrant being shot. Will she remain silent and continue to hide who she really is because it’s easier that way or will she be brave enough to find her voice, step up into the spotlight, and try to get justice for Khalil?
LIKES
The Hate U Give is, by far, one of the most powerful books I’ve read in recent years. It’s powerful not just because it’s inspired by and shines a light on the the importance of the Black Lives Matter Movement and because it exposes the systemic racism that continues to pervade our society, but also because it does so much more than that. It’s a beautifully crafted coming of age story as well, and it’s also a book about the importance of family and community. Angie Thomas beautifully weaves all of these elements together into a compelling story that hooked me from page one and that I can’t stop thinking about now that I have finished reading it. I don’t even think I really have the words to do justice to how wonderful a read this is. All I can say is that it’s one of the few books I’ve read in my life that I wish I could hand out copies of to everyone I come across and encourage them to read it and then share it with someone else.
I tend to measure how good a book is by how many emotions it makes me feel while I’m reading and The Hate U Give is off the charts in that respect. It made me sad and brought me to tears several times, it made me frustrated and angry, and it even managed to make me smile and laugh a few times along the way as well. I also felt the love between Starr and her family, as well as the love that held her community together. When I say it’s a powerful read, that’s what I’m talking about. This book is just so real and honest and raw that you feel EVERYTHING the characters are going through.
I fell in love with Starr right away. She’s immensely likeable right from the start – funny, smart, sassy, and also a wonderful daughter and sister — and it broke my heart to watch her feel like she always had to hide half of herself in order to fit in. It also broke my heart to learn that she has already witnessed so much violence and death in her sixteen years. I mean, seriously. She is 16 years old – her biggest concerns in life at that point should be where she’s going to college, who she is going to date, what color dress she is going to wear to the prom. Having to decide whether or not to speak out to defend her friend who was shot by a policeman should not be a part of her reality. The fact that it is the reality for some young people makes Starr’s journey all the more poignant.
Speaking of Starr’s journey, I loved watching her change and grow throughout the novel. She has some hard decisions to make. I don’t want to give away any specific details here but I’m just going to say that watching her decide what she’s going to do and then finding her own voice and true self was one of the most beautiful parts of the story for me.
It wasn’t only Starr that I fell in love with though. I loved her family too and I loved how important their role in the book was too. Her parents are so supportive of her every step of the way and vow to stand by her no matter what choice she decides to make. Their love, support, and the lessons they have taught Starr and her siblings are what ultimately help Starr make her choice: “Brave doesn’t mean you’re not scared, Starr. It means you go on even though you’re scared. And you’re doing that.”
In many ways I connected with the parents even more than I connected with Starr, I guess because I’m a parent too. I cried when I read the passage about how there are two important lessons that Starr’s parents taught her and her siblings: 1) the birds and the bees, and 2) how to behave if you are stopped by a police officer so that no harm comes to you. As a parent, it just ripped my heart out to think there are fellow parents out there who have to teach their kids that second lesson. As a mom, I have always taught my son that the police are who you go to when you need help. No parent should live with the fear that their children are in danger if they come into contact with the police.
I also connected with the parents because even when they were at odds with each other about how to best raise their family, I understood exactly why they each felt the way they did. Starr’s mom desperately wants to get her babies out of this community and into a safer one. She’s a momma bear protecting her cubs all the way and I was right there with her. That said, however, I was also right there with Starr’s dad, Mav. What he said make perfect sense too. He doesn’t want to abandon his community. His view is how is anything ever going to change for the better if everyone just leaves and he has made it a crusade to save the community one child at a time. If he hears of a teen who has gone down the wrong path and ended up in a gang but then wants out, Mav makes it his mission in life to get them out of that life and back on the right path. I thought Angie Thomas did an amazing job of bringing these real parental fears to life and making it so easy for any parent to relate to and to sympathize with. Every parent can understand that fierce need to keep their babies safe, whether it’s by moving them somewhere else or by trying to change the community itself so that all kids are safe.
DISLIKES
I have absolutely no complaints about The Hate U Give. My only dislike is reading the character of Hailey and knowing that there really are people out there in the world like her, who are either racist or just completely oblivious about how hurtful and stupid some of the things they say are. I cheered when she finally got the smackdown she deserved, although she clearly still learned nothing from it. I really hope that everyone will read this book and learn from it and that we’ll end up with a few less Haileys in the world going forward.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I’ve barely scratched the surface on why I think this book is so incredible. All I can say at this point is GO READ THIS BOOK! It’s eye opening and sobering, honest and raw, riveting and sometimes painful, but it’s also filled with love and hope, and I promise you that it’s one of the most important books you’ll ever read. Its message will stick with you long after you’ve finished the last page.
RATING: 5 STARS
About Angie Thomas
Angie Thomas was born, raised, and still resides in Jackson, Mississippi as indicated by her accent. She is a former teen rapper whose greatest accomplishment was an article about her in Right-On Magazine with a picture included. She holds a BFA in Creative Writing from Belhaven University and an unofficial degree in Hip Hop. She can also still rap if needed. She is an inaugural winner of the Walter Dean Meyers Grant 2015, awarded by We Need Diverse Books. Her debut novel, The Hate U Give, was acquired by Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins in a 13-house auction and will be published in spring 2017. Film rights have been optioned by Fox 2000 with George Tillman attached to direct and Hunger Games actress Amandla Stenberg set to star.
Beat the Backlist Book Review for Jellicoe Road
/7 Comments/by SuzannePublished by Penguin Australia on August 28th 2006
Genres: Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 419
Goodreads
Goodreads Synopsis:
I’m dreaming of the boy in the tree. I tell him stories. About the Jellicoe School and the Townies and the Cadets from a school in Sydney. I tell him about the war between us for territory. And I tell him about Hannah, who lives in the unfinished house by the river. Hannah, who is too young to be hiding away from the world. Hannah, who found me on the Jellicoe Road six years ago.
Taylor is leader of the boarders at the Jellicoe School. She has to keep the upper hand in the territory wars and deal with Jonah Griggs – the enigmatic leader of the cadets, and someone she thought she would never see again.
And now Hannah, the person Taylor had come to rely on, has disappeared. Taylor’s only clue is a manuscript about five kids who lived in Jellicoe eighteen years ago. She needs to find out more, but this means confronting her own story, making sense of her strange, recurring dream, and finding her mother – who abandoned her on the Jellicoe Road.
The moving, joyous and brilliantly compelling new novel from the best-selling, multi-award-winning author of Looking for Alibrandi and Saving Francesca.
MY REVIEW
I think I’m probably the last person on the planet to read Melinas Marchetta’s Jellicoe Road. I’ve always heard wonderful things about it and actually know a couple of people who say it’s one of their favorite books. But yet, there it still sat on my TBR pile, getting buried deeper in the pile by newer books as the years went by. Well, finally, thanks to the BeatTheBacklist challenge, I can finally say that I’ve read this beautiful book as well.
Jellicoe Road is not an easy book to read, by any means. It starts off very confusingly, tossing out a lot of seemingly random information that doesn’t appear to fit together in any meaningful way. There are territory wars taking place between townies, military cadets, and the students at a boarding school, which is located on the Jellicoe Road. Add to that dreams of a boy sitting in a tree, flashbacks to a car accident that appears to have decimated a family, throw in a hermit who kills himself, and a mysterious, somewhat creepy brigadier. Top all of that off with a protagonist who was abandoned at a nearby convenience store at the age of 11 and who ends up living at the boarding school on Jellicoe Road and a caretaker who mysteriously goes missing, a manuscript about a group of kids who lived at the Jellicoe Road school decades ago and you have the ingredients that make up this wonderful puzzle of a story.
LIKES
The beauty of the book lies in the way that Marchetta is able to take all of these seemingly random elements and weave them together into one of the most heartbreaking and poignant stories I think I’ve ever read. Taylor Markham is definitely the glue that holds the story together and it is through her eyes that we finally break through all of that initial confusion and start to make sense of the various elements that have been thrown at us. Marchetta makes Taylor such an interesting and sympathetic character that I found myself instantly wanting to know more about her – how could her mom just leave her like that, why is she having these odd dreams about the boy in the tree, why are her classmates opposed to her being a leader in the territory wars? Because many of my questions mirror Taylor’s own questions about her life, it made me very willing to wade into the chaos looking for answers.
At its heart, Jellicoe Road is a book about relationships – family, friendships, even in some cases, an absence of relationships. I don’t want to give away too many details because I think this book is best enjoyed if you follow along Taylor’s journey and discover the connections as she discovers them, but I will say that Taylor’s journey is a very personal one and often a heart-wrenching one. She knows next to nothing about her own life. There is no real mention of her father, and aside from the fact that her mother left her at a Seven Eleven and that she has been living at the Jellicoe Road School ever since, she has no real sense of self. Taylor is desperate to know who she is, why she was left behind, and even tried to run away from the school when she was 14 in hopes of getting some answers.
The closest thing to family Taylor has ever known is Hannah, a caretaker who lives on the school grounds. Hannah is the one who found Taylor at the Seven Eleven and brought her back to the school to live. When Hannah up and disappears one day without a word, Taylor is beside herself because now, in her mind, she has no one left to care about her. She desperately searches for clues as to Hannah’s whereabouts and in doing so, starts to unravel the mystery of not only Hannah’s past, but her own as well. Both of their pasts are filled with pain and plenty of angst, seemingly too much at times, but yet still completely realistic. I think what I loved most about the story was that even though there is so much pain and angst revealed throughout, Jellicoe Road still ends on what I would consider to be a very hopeful note.
DISLIKES
I did find all of the confusion at the beginning of the novel to be a little off putting. If I hadn’t liked Taylor so much right from the start, I think I probably would have just given up on the book. It was a pretty fascinating way to start a story though as I imagined all of those same elements swirling around in Taylor’s head just like they were swirling in mine. Both of us sitting there like WTF is going on, haha!
One other issue I had was why all of the secrecy. At the time the story takes place, Taylor is about 17 years old. She’s more than mature enough to handle the truth about her past, so why torture her by hiding it from her for all of these years? I know the people involved had their reasons, but I think all of the secrets probably just made things a lot more complicated than they needed to be.
FINAL THOUGHTS?
I would definitely recommend Jellicoe Road to anyone who likes a good mystery. Although the story focuses on relationships and angsty family history, much time is also spent following the clues and connecting the dots. Jellicoe Road is a beautifully complex read that will just keep tugging at your heartstrings from start to finish.
RATING: 4 STARS
About Melina Marchetta
Melina Marchetta was born in Sydney Australia. Her first novel, Looking For Alibrandi was awarded the Children’s Book Council of Australia award in 1993 and her second novel, Saving Francesca won the same award in 2004. Looking For Alibrandi was made into a major film in 2000 and won the Australian Film Institute Award for best Film and best adapted screen play, also written by the author. On the Jellicoe Road was released in 2006 and won the US Printz Medal in 2009 for excellence in YA literature. This was followed up by Finnikin of the Rock in 2008 which won the Aurealis Award for YA fantasy, The Piper’s Son in 2010 which was shortlisted for the Qld Premier’s Lit Award, NSW Premier’s Lit Award, Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, CBC awards and longlisted for the Miles Franklin Award. Her follow up to Finnikin, Froi of the Exiles and Quintana of Charyn were released in 2012 and 2013. Her latest novel Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil is an adult crime novel.