Book Review: Americanah.

via Goodreads.

Americanah

By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

4 stars.

"You should never ever let the boy be in charge of your own protection. If he does not want to use it, then he does not care enough about you and you should not be there." -Adichie

Ifemelu is a Nigerian woman who moves to America in order to get a better college education than she can get in Nigeria. She realizes how different and difficult life in is America for immigrants, and after building a successful platform for herself decides to move back to her hometown in Nigeria.

This book is really great. Adichie is a fantastic author, and I was really excited to start this book after I read The Thing Around Your Neck last year. This book is sort of autobiographical, as it parallels Adichie's life in a sense. 

Looking at race and immigration in American through the lens of someone that isn't my own was so eye-opening. I am a white woman who was born in the United States, so I have no idea of the experiences that happen to others unlike me. It's really great to see all of that through Adichie's eyes.

One thing that was rocky with me in the story was the way that divorce and marital affairs are discussed in the book. While I could see the reason behind the situation, I also felt uncomfortable with the narrator expecting her love interest to just leave his wife and small child behind to be with her. 

Overall, I really liked this book. It's extremely insightful, and the writing is fantastic. I recommend it to everyone, especially if you haven't read a lot of African authors and you want to reach more into that genre. 

"It terrified her, to be unable to visualize tomorrow"- Adichie.

Thanks for reading! I'll see you all next week with my review of Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan. 

Book Review: Written on The Body.

Hey There Internet! This week we're discussing love and loss with Written on the Body, by Jeanette Winterson.

via Amazon.

Written on The Body

By Jeanette Winterson

4 Stars.

"As a friend, I had been amusing. As a lover, I was lethal." 

The narrator has no name or gender. They explain their exploits with many boyfriends and girlfriends, most of them married people. Then, the narrator meets Louise, who will change her perception of love forever. 

I thought this book was really interesting and compelling because the narrator has no gender. I think the author was trying to take gender out of the equation in order to focus on her point that love has no gender. The writing is very poetic and the story is sad and ironic, but I did find it enjoyable. However, the writing makes it easy to get lost while you're reading, and I do wish the ending was different. Overall, I enjoyed the book and recommend it to readers interested in gender theory. 

The best parts of this book are the quality of writing and the characters, and the weakest parts are the ease of reading and the pace of the story. 

Thanks for reading another one of my reviews! Join me next Friday when I review Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Audiobook Review: Ashes to Ashes

via Goodreads.

Ashes to Ashes (Burn for Burn #3)

By Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

4 stars. 

In the final book of this trilogy, Kat and Lilia are trying to deal with a significant loss in their lives, and Mary has realized her new powers, and intends to use them to inact revenge on those who hurt her. 

Like the first two, I listened to the audiobook of this book and I think the performances on the audiobook make the book as good as it was. Madeline Maby, Joy Osmanski, and Rebekkah Ross do a fantastic job at narrating this book. 

I thought this book was a perfect ending to the trilogy. Most of the loose ends were tied up at the end, and there was a cute lesson that the villan learns in the end. This book was probably my favorite book in the trilogy, however I am upset that the two characters I adore didn't end up together. They've been through so much together, at least give them this! Overall, the book is a 4/5 and I recommend it to fans of YA and paranormal books. 

Thanks for reading another one of my reviews! Join me next week for my review of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. 

Top Five Books of November 2017

Hey There Internet! It's another month, and another awesome list of new releases! From sci-fi to women's lit, November is going to see a lot of cool new books!

1. Almost Midnight by Rainbow Rowell.

via Goodreads.

This book is a collection of festive short stories with beautiful illustrations laced in them. It's a sweet, feel good read that is perfect for the wintery months! I love Rowell's other works, so I'm really excited to pick this one up as well!

Almost Midnight is available now from Macmillian Children's Publishing.

2. Renegades by Marissa Meyer.

via Amazon.

The Renegades are humans with superhuman capabilites. They provide peace to everyone, except their enemies. A sci-fi twist from the author of The Lunar Chronicles, I'm really excited to read this new world that Marissa Meyer is opening up for us!

Renegades is available Nov. 7th from Feiwel and Friends.

3. Future Home of the Living God by Louise Edrich.

via Goodreads. 

This book is a dystopian novel about an America where women who are pregnant out of wedlock are hunted down, and there's a price on their heads for anyone who turns them into the police. Oh, also the world is ending. This book looks super entralling and exciting and I'm really excited to read it!

Future Home of the Living God is available Nov. 14th from Harper. 

4. The Whole Towns Talking by Fannie Flagg.

via Amazon.

This story is told in the same style as Thorton Wilder's Our Town, and centers around a town with something strange happening at the cemetary. Flagg also wrote Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, which is a classic and great read. 

The Whole Town's Talking is available Nov. 29th from Random House.

5. Artemis by Andy Weir.

via The Nerdist.

On the first lunar colony, a poor girl is in the buisness of smuggling contraband here in there to make ends meet.  Then she gets wrapped up in a conspiracy to overthrow Artemis itself. A sci-fi space thriller by the author of The Martian.

Artemis is available Nov. 14th from Crown Publishing Group.

And there you have it! A lot of science fiction this month, but we haven't had any good sci-fi in awhile. I'm certainly excited! Comment below what November release you're most excited for, and I'll see you all Friday with my review of Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han and Sioban Vivian!

Book Review: Fire with Fire by Jenny Han and Sioban Vivian.

via Goodreads. 

Fire with Fire (Burn for Burn #2)

Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

4 stars.

The girls had a simple plan. To get revenge and then go their seperate ways. But that didn't work out so well. The girls haven't been caught for what they've done, so now they are just going their seperate ways. Kat and Lillia are looking forward to their end of senior year. Mary, though, knows something is wrong with her. While her aunt is being weird around her, Mary is still not able to get over what Reeve did to her in middle school. 

This book was everything that a good sequel should be. In this book the series goes from a 'quirky teen novel to a tense and crazy paranormal adventure. This book ties up loose ends from the first one while at the same time introducing new questions to keep you guessing and leave you ready to get your hands on the last book in the triology. 

Thank you guys for reading another one of my reviews! Join me on Monday for my list of November books that you need to read!