‘Normal People’ Book Review

“”Normal People” by Sally Rooney follows the intricate relationship between Connell and Marianne as they navigate through adolescence into adulthood. Connell is a popular athlete while Marianne is an aloof and intelligent loner. Despite their differences, they form a deep connection that persists through various stages of their lives. Set in Ireland, the novel explores themes of love, class, power dynamics, and the complexities of human relationships. Rooney’s insightful prose delves into the intricacies of emotional intimacy, making “Normal People” a compelling and deeply affecting read.”

The characters are the highlight of the novel, which one would hope for when a word like “people” is used in the title. Marianne started out as my favorite; she was not a perfect character, and the flaws of the characters do seem to be a main part of the novel. Marianne was what I thought of myself or wished that I was in high school. Connell had some red flags for me, but nothing too serious. Throughout the course of the book, my thoughts on characters would take a 180-degree turn, seeing how someone can change at different stages in their life. That being said, the characters did develop in this story. I loved exploring the dynamics of the relationship of our two main characters but also how they interacted with other people in their lives like parents, siblings, lovers, or friends.

It was a shock that the atmosphere did not play a huge part in the novel. I say this as most Irish authors or books that I have read really take advantage of that setting. I cannot say that it completely did nothing for me as there were some paragraphs that really hit the nail on the head with descriptive writing on the atmosphere in which the scene was taking place.

The prose itself was great. I have seen some people having an issue with the lack of quotation marks, but with this book itself, that did not bother me. The story did move at a fast pace even if there were long chapters and paragraphs. I usually hate those things, but the fast pace made it a better reading experience. However, I do think this could have been condensed a lot, even though the paperback copy is less than 300 pages in length.

This was obviously a character-driven book. The plot was a quiet one as we were mainly exploring the relationship of Connell and Marianne. After the first quarter of the book, the plot did start to go into circles of repetitiveness. Again, this would not have happened if the story had been condensed. I will say, ‘Normal People’, did do something that no book has done to me before. I was reading a chapter and expecting to turn the page to the next chapter. The next page was the acknowledgements. That had me shocked. Take that as you will.

The characters are the highlight of the novel, which one would hope for when a word like “people” is used in the title. I loved exploring the dynamics of the relationship between our two main characters and also how they interacted with other people in their lives like parents, siblings, lovers, or friends. It was a shock that the atmosphere did not play a huge part in the novel. I cannot say that it completely did nothing for me as there were some paragraphs that really hit the nail on the head with descriptive writing on the atmosphere in which the scene was taking place. The prose itself was great. However, I do think this could have been condensed a lot, even though the paperback copy is less than 300 pages in length. This was obviously a character-driven book. After the first quarter of the book, the plot did start to go into circles of repetitiveness. This was a great book and I would recommend it to others, but it is not an all-time favorite.

4 out of 5 stars.

‘Nightcrawling’ Book Review

“Kiara and her brother, Marcus, are scraping by in an East Oakland apartment complex optimistically called the Regal-Hi. Both have dropped out of high school, their family fractured by death and prison. But while Marcus clings to his dream of rap stardom, Kiara hunts for work to pay their rent–which has more than doubled–and to keep the nine-year-old boy next door, abandoned by his mother, safe and fed.

One night, what begins as a drunken misunderstanding with a stranger turns into the job Kiara never imagined wanting but now desperately needs: nightcrawling. Her world breaks open even further when her name surfaces in an investigation that exposes her as a key witness in a massive scandal within the Oakland Police Department.”

Kiara is a character that you can root for. She is finally realizing that she has to stand up for herself after years of trying to help others around her, that she herself is also important. Even if she is coming to terms with this, she is still constantly trying to be of help to those that she loves. How can you not want what is right for her? Marcus, her older brother, has been the caregiver for Kiara since the abandonment of their parents, but he too, is wanting to do something for himself after all these years. The two siblings go about it in totally different ways. Kiara is a realist and Marcus is a dreamer. If you are someone who loves to read about familial dynamics, this is a book for you.

The atmosphere is gritty, that of a truly American city. It depicts the life that so many Americans are living, a reality that many people don’t even want to think about. The setting is East Oakland, California, where so many people are just trying to get by every day, to survive.

The writing was the first thing that stood out to me as I flipped through and read the first few pages of the novel. It features beautiful prose that is full of metaphors and vivid scenes. Some chapters read like poetry, even through truly brutal scenes. However, after the first third of the story, the momentum did start to fall back, and scenes began to get repetitive. It was not enough of a hindrance to my reading experience, but it’s worth mentioning and something that I can see the author improving on as her literary career takes off.

This is truly a story of survival in the modern sense of the word: doing whatever it takes to keep a roof over your head and food in your belly. It’s a rough read that will make your jaw drop and make you need to take a breather every so often. Then, you have to realize there are likely hundreds of thousands of people living this story every day. It is a lot to take in, in less than 300 pages. Other themes included are finding yourself, the modern iteration of the American dream, police misconduct, and poverty. I love that in the author’s note, Leila Mottley, mentions hearing stories similar to Kiara’s in the news but she wanted to create “a world beyond the headline, and for readers to have access to this world”. Such a powerful way of showing what is truly happening beyond what the media portrays, and that everyone has a story and reasoning for why they did something that you might find as shameful. Please know the full story before making a judgment of a person.

Kiara is a character that you can root for. If you are someone who loves to read about familial dynamics, this is a book for you. The atmosphere is gritty, that of a truly American city.The setting is East Oakland, California, where so many people are just trying to get by every day, to survive. The writing was the first thing that stood out to me as I flipped through and read the first few pages of the novel. t was not enough of a hindrance to my reading experience, but it’s worth mentioning and something that I can see the author improving on as her literary career takes off. This is truly a story of survival in the modern sense of the word: doing whatever it takes to keep a roof over your head and food in your belly. Please know the full story before making a judgment of a person. A new favorite book for me.

5 out 5 stars.

‘The Queen’s Fortune’ Review

“From the lavish estates of the French Riviera to the raucous streets of Paris and Stockholm, Desiree finds herself at the epicenter of the rise and fall of an empire, navigating a constellation of political giants and dangerous, shifting alliances. Emerging from an impressionable girl into a fierce young woman, she discovers that to survive in this world she must learn to rely upon her instincts and her heart.”

I really loved the character work presented in the novel. Desiree comes from the merchant class in post-revolution France. She soon becomes the lover of Napoleon, who falls out of love with her. She then becomes a confidant of his new empress. Eventually, Desiree ends up marrying Napoleon’s rival and becoming queen of Sweden. What a life, and to think I had never heard of her before I picked up this book. My favorite part was probably reading about the dynamics of her relationship with Josephine. Another thing I found really interesting was seeing Napoleon through the eyes of someone close to him, rather than from his own perspective. In that sense, the book reminded me of ‘Booth’ by Karen Joy Fowler.

The atmosphere was great, and the world-building was amazing, especially if you don’t know a lot about this time period, which I didn’t. I never felt lost or confused because the author put so much research into this book and its setting. Also, the early chapters reminded me of ‘The Count of Monte Cristo,’ and we see Dumas mentioned, which I thought was pretty cool.

The writing was the downside for me. This is such a long and slow-paced story. We follow Desiree for the majority of her life, but it just felt too slow for me. I think part of this was my personal problem because I had a lot of interruptions and had to put this book down for extended periods. However, I believe that if I had been able to read it continuously, I probably would have enjoyed the writing more.

The plot was pretty good. I think this was very much a character-heavy novel, which I do prefer. It was so informative, and I learned so much about a European era that I didn’t know much about before. I had no idea that the current modern-day Swedish royal family is descended from an installment of Napoleon. There is so much to be learned from the plot of the story.

I found it really interesting to see Napoleon through the eyes of someone close to him, rather than from his own perspective. In that sense, the book reminded me of ‘Booth’ by Karen Joy Fowler. I never felt lost or confused because the author put so much research into this book and its setting. However, the writing was the downside for me. Overall, there is so much to be learned from the plot of the story. This was a great book but not a new favorite.

3.7 out of 5 stars.

‘The Indigo Girl’ Book Review

Based on historical documents, including Eliza’s letters, this is a historical fiction account of how a teenage girl produced indigo dye, which became one of the largest exports out of South Carolina, an export that laid the foundation for the incredible wealth of several Southern families who still live on today. Although largely overlooked by historians, the accomplishments of Eliza Lucas influenced the course of US history. When she passed away in 1793, President George Washington served as a pallbearer at her funeral.

The characters, heroes and villains alike, were all one-dimensional; flat. For the first seventy-five percent of the book, I had no issue with Eliza, but by the last quarter, I did not like her. She’s another example of a Mary Sue and whines like no other when things don’t go her way. Flat characters.

There are real historical letters immersed throughout the book, and the author had the dialogue and overall personality of Eliza spot on, transitioning from historical records to a fictional novel.

The atmosphere came right off the page. The author did a great job of depicting the area of coastal South Carolina and making it easy for the reader to picture the locales of the scenes.

The writing itself was fine, but bits and pieces of the dialogue did get repeated quite a bit, even within a page of each other. Also, I wonder how many times the author used the word ‘blue’ or some variation in the book. We get it, the book is about indigo!! This book does read young, and I think it would be great for young adults to read.

As an idea, the plot sounds pretty good. On the page, it just wasn’t executed properly. I was not gripped or intrigued by what would happen next, and that ultimately led me to skim-read the last quarters of the book. This story sounds unbelievable, but it’s a real story. However, some of the plot points were unnecessary and would have caused an uproar if genders had been reversed. However, as historical fiction, I do believe this was a well-researched story.

The characters, heroes and villains alike, were all one-dimensional; flat. The author did a great job of depicting the area of coastal South Carolina and making it easy for the reader to picture the locales of the scenes. The writing itself was fine, but bits and pieces of the dialogue did get repeated quite a bit, even within a page of each other. However, as historical fiction, I do believe this was a well-researched story. Overall, this book didn’t do a lot for me, and I really wouldn’t recommend it

3 out of 5 stars.

On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in a variety of ways, while the young century marches on towards its second cataclysmic world war.

I did love the characters. They were very reminiscent of the cast of ‘Betty’ by Tiffany McDaniel. I relate it to that book because of the dynamics of the Todd family in this book. However, with the ebb and flow of the story, I had a hard time forming that true connection that would make these characters deserving of a five-star rating rather than a four-star.

My favorite part of ‘Life After Life’ was the atmosphere and setting of the story. The reader is taken through the first half of twentieth-century England. The writer did a great job of showing the terrors of war in such a unique way that I have not seen in any other World War II book.

This is another book where I struggled with the writing. As mentioned before, the flow and setup of the story were very hard to follow. It could have been edited better to make it more accessible and easier for the reader. However, I did love the prose itself and tabbed several different quotes. The story was gripping and medium-paced, with the second half definitely being better than the first. I managed to get through it in one day

The plot was so confusing. I still do not have a firm grip on what was truly real and what was not. This whole story is based on time being a construct, and there was no real closure on what actually happened here. I have so many more questions after finishing this book, but funnily enough, I am not hating that. I usually hate not knowing everything about what I have read, but I am somehow intrigued. Besides that main plot point, I loved a review of this book that said Atkinson puts history on a human scale. That is so true.

I did love the characters. However, with the ebb and flow of the story, I had a hard time getting that true connection that would make these characters get a five star rating rather than a four star. My favorite part of ‘Life After Life’, was the atmosphere and setting of the story. The writer did a great job at showing the terrors of war and did it in such a unique way that I have not seen in any other World War II book. This is another book where I struggled with the writing. The second half was definitely better than the first and I got through it in one day. The plot was so confusing. Besides that main plot point, I loved a review of this book that said Atkinson puts history on a human scale. After finishing this book, I am somehow loving it. It is not a new favorite but I would still highly recommend it.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

‘The Lady of the Rivers’ Review

“Philippa Gregory brings to life the story of Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, a woman of passion and of legend who navigated a treacherous path through the battle lines in the War of the Roses to bring her family unimaginable power.”

The character development was my favorite aspect of this story. We witness Jacquetta’s evolution from a young and innocent girl in a noble family to the wife of a much older man who objectifies her due to her supposed ancestor – a girl who only seeks love but cannot find it. Eventually, she becomes a lover and a woman in her own right, playing a prominent role in English politics. The development of her character is fantastic. Additionally, I thoroughly enjoyed the dynamics among all the nobility throughout the book. Gregory did a great job showcasing each character.

The atmosphere was fairytale-esque and witchy, another part of the novel that I highly enjoyed. While this is historical fiction, it almost felt like a fantasy novel. Many people may not like the book for these elements, finding them too outlandish. However, later in life, Jacquetta was indeed accused of bewitching Edward IV. I believe there must have been some basis for that, even if it was innocent, like the magic depicted in this novel. The story was atmospheric in the best way!

The writing is where I struggled. The words themselves were fine; I had no complaints with that part. My issue comes with the pacing and repetitive nature of the writing. The first two-thirds of the book were medium-paced, and I had no major issues. However, the last third of the book was slow, and I wanted the story to end already. Many plot points were repeated. Yes, these events are historical, but I wish that some had been glossed over. The way the story was told was fine, but it became lengthy and repetitive.

The plot was great. The Lady of the Rivers is a woman who has yet to have an actual historical biography written about her. This account is fiction, but I still enjoyed learning about her. She was around many influential people of her time and was a major player herself. The story showed what it was like to be a woman in Medieval Europe and the trials that came with it.

The character work was my favorite part of this story. The story was atmospheric in the best way! However, I struggled with the writing. The story effectively depicted the challenges faced by women in Medieval Europe. Overall, it was a great book, but it didn’t become a new favorite.

4 out of 5 stars.

‘Torch’ Book Review

“Work hard. Do good. Be incredible!” is the advice Teresa Rae Wood shares with the listeners of her local radio show, Modern Pioneers , and the advice she strives to live by every day. She has fled a bad marriage and rebuilta life with her children, Claire and Joshua, and their caring stepfather, Bruce. Their love for each other binds them as a family through the daily struggles of making ends meet. But when they received unexpected news that Teresa, only 38, is dying of cancer, their lives all begin to unravel and drift apart. Strayed’s intimate portraits of these fully human characters in a time of crisis show the varying truths of grief, forgiveness, and the beautiful terrors of learning how to keep living.

These characters are the most authentic I’ve read in a long time. Teresa and Joshua were the ones I connected with the most. Teresa is a mother who falls ill, and I’ve never read from a character who receives a terminal diagnosis. Joshua, her teenage son, deeply affected me because I saw how his mother’s diagnosis, and ultimately her death, impacted his life, and what loss can do to a person. I didn’t really connect with the character of Claire, which is a shock as she’s the character I’m closest in age with. I didn’t like her, but when you go through such a traumatic event, you’re often not a likable person. Ultimately, I just wasn’t drawn to her chapters. Bruce is a character who grew on me throughout the novel. I think he’s a good person, but loss can change us as individuals and transform us. Great character work!

The atmosphere is what blew me away, I wasn’t expecting it to be so powerful. This book is set in a small town in Minnesota, and the author masterfully brought that town to life, along with the Mississippi River, making those settings almost characters in their own right. I love reading about the changing of seasons, and I think the author did a fantastic job portraying this.

While the first chapter initially enamored me with Cheryl Strayed’s choice of language, it eventually felt as though she was using an excess of words, as if she had a certain word count to reach for the book to be published. The story began to drag on and became quite tedious, turning what was once an enjoyable reading experience into something of a chore, especially with chapters that spanned over 20 pages. The overall story was hard to follow, as the way time jumps were all over the place, taking me out of the story as I had to figure out if we were in the past or present.

The author’s portrayal of themes such as loss and grief was commendably done. These are universal experiences that all humans must endure at some point in their lives. While these experiences can be painful, they also hold the transformative power to shape us, often for the better. Not only do they bring us closer together, but they also allow us to grow as individuals. The authenticity and humanity within the story were palpable, truly underscoring the author’s skill in encapsulating such complex emotions and experiences.

These characters are the most authentic I’ve read in a long time. Great character work! The atmosphere is what blew me away, I wasn’t expecting it to be so powerful. I love reading about the changing of seasons, and I think the author did a fantastic job portraying this. While the first chapter initially enamored me with Cheryl Strayed’s choice of language, it eventually felt as though she was using an excess of words, as if she had a certain word count to reach for the book to be published. The overall story was hard to follow, as the way time jumps were all over the place, taking me out of the story as I had to figure out if we were in the past or present. The author’s portrayal of themes such as loss and grief was commendably done. The authenticity and humanity within the story were palpable, truly underscoring the author’s skill in encapsulating such complex emotions and experiences. This was a good and I would still recommend it even if it did not live up to my five star expectation.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

January Book Haul

In 2024, I am allowing myself to buy as many books as I read the month before. In January, that number is eleven. However, you will see more than eleven books included. Why is that? I did receive one gift, aka I did not buy that book, and all my Book of the Month subscription books will only count as one. Let’s get into the haul!

Jezebel by Megan Barnard

When Jezebel learns she can’t be a king like her father simply because she’s a girl, she vows never to become someone’s decorative wife, nameless and lost to history. At fifteen she’s married off, despite her protests, to Prince Ahab of Israel. There, she does what she must to gain power and remake the dry and distant kingdom in the image of her beloved, prosperous seaside homeland of Tyre, beginning by building temples to the gods she grew up worshipping. As her initiatives usher in an era of prosperity for Israel, her new subjects love her, and her name rings through the land.

I picked up ‘Jezebel’ at Barnes and Noble. It caught my attention after reading ‘The Red Tent,’ a book I loved in 2023. I wanted to add more biblical retellings to my TBR list!

The Prospectors by Ariel Djanikian

Bringing the Klondike and turn-of-the-century California to vivid life, Ariel Djanikian weaves an ambitious narrative of claiming the American Dream and its rippling effects across generations. Sweeping and awe-inspiring, The Prospectors is an unforgettable story of family loyalties that interrogates the often-overlooked hostilities and inequities born during the Gold Rush era.

I’ll be honest; the cover drew me in when I saw the sun reflecting on the gold at Barnes and Noble. Upon opening the book, I discovered it’s a family saga with two timelines, and of course, I was sold. Funny thing is, I had no idea this was on my ‘want to read’ list on Goodreads! I guess I know my taste well.

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch

Ireland is falling apart. The country is in the grip of a government turning towards tyranny and when her husband disappears, Eilish finds herself caught within the nightmare logic of a society that is quickly unravelling.

This is the book I set out to buy on my Barnes and Noble trip. I aim to read as many Booker Prize-nominated books as possible. The bonus here is that it’s a dystopian novel with an Irish setting!

Flight of Icarus by Caitlin Schneiderhan

Recording costs money. Money Eddie doesn’t have. But he’s willing to do whatever it takes, even if that means relying on his dad. Al Munson has just stumbled back into Eddie’s life with another dubious scheme up his sleeve, and yet Eddie knows this is his only option to make enough dough in enough time. It’s a risk, but if it pays off he will finally have a one-way ticket out of Hawkins.

This one caught me by surprise. I had no idea this book existed until it popped up on Amazon one day. Having read all the other Stranger Things books and generally enjoyed them, I’ll be continuing the series with this one. My expectations aren’t high, as it seems like this book may be more of a fan service for Joseph Quinn fans. However, I hope I’m wrong and end up enjoying it!

Elvis and Me by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley

Decades after his death, millions of fans continue to worship Elvis the legend. But very few knew him as Elvis the man. Here in her own words, Priscilla Presley tells the story of their love, revealing the details of their first meeting, their marriage, their affairs, their divorce, and the unbreakable bond that has remained long after his tragic death.

In late December, I watched the movie ‘Priscilla,’ which is based on this book. It was an alright film, but I believe the book will offer much more insight into Priscilla’s life!

The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James

A dazzling magical realism western in the vein of Cormac McCarthy meets Gabriel García Márquez,The Bullet Swallower follows a Mexican bandido as he sets off for Texas to save his family, only to encounter a mysterious figure who has come, finally, to collect a cosmic debt generations in the making.

We’ve reached the Book of the Month books. This one was my January pick. I’m a fan of a good western and family saga. Plus, being compared to Gabriel García Márquez – need I say more?

Mercury by Amy Jo Burns

The Joseph brothers become Marley’s whole world before she can blink. Soon, she is young wife to one, The One Who Got Away to another, and adopted mother to them all. As their own mother fades away and their roofing business crumbles under the weight of their unwieldy father’s inflated ego, Marley steps in to shepherd these unruly men. Years later, an eerie discovery in the church attic causes old wounds to resurface and suddenly the family’s survival hangs in the balance. With Marley as their light, the Joseph brothers must decide whether they can save the family they’ve always known—or whether together they can build something stronger in its place.

I noticed that ‘Mercury’ is set in the 1990s. I love books from that time period; they always evoke a sense of nostalgia for me. Being a nostalgia chaser, I couldn’t say no to this ‘historical’ novel.

The End of October by Lawerence Wright

At an internment camp in Indonesia, forty-seven people are pronounced dead with acute hemorrhagic fever. When epidemiologist Henry Parsons travels there on behalf of the World Health Organization to investigate, what he finds will have staggering repercussions. Halfway across the globe, the deputy director of U.S. Homeland Security scrambles to mount a response to the rapidly spreading pandemic leapfrogging around the world, which she believes may be the result of an act of biowarfare. And a rogue experimenter in man-made diseases is preparing his own terrifying solution.

In January, I focused on reading science fiction so I did want to buy more of those as my stack has dwindled. One of my favorite sci-fi tropes is pandemic fiction. And then I lived that in real life… that only makes it more fun (?) to compare how a pandemic is on paper versus in person.

Cataclysm by Lydia Kang

After five years of conflict, the planets Eiram and E’ronoh are on the cusp of real peace. But when news breaks of a disaster at the treaty signing on Jedha, violence reignites on the beleaguered worlds. Together, the royal heirs of both planets—Phan-tu Zenn and Xiri A’lbaran—working alongside the Jedi, have uncovered evidence that the conflict is being orchestrated by outside forces, and all signs point to the mysterious Path of the Open Hand, whom the Jedi also suspect of causing the disaster on Jedha.

As mentioned earlier, I delved into a lot of sci-fi in January, and one of those books happened to be ‘Convergence,’ the prequel to this one. I’m determined to do a better job at getting through series instead of letting the plot fade and the book sit there for years. Here’s to doing better in 2024!

City of Dreams by Beverly Swerling

In what will be the greatest city in the New World, the fortunes of these two families are inextricably entwined by blood and fire in an unforgettable American saga of pride and ambition, love and hate, and the becoming of the dream that is New York City.

It’s pretty obvious that I love big chunky historical novels. This is the first book of a series, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to go down that rabbit hole. I found it at a used bookstore called Books and Moore in Calabash, North Carolina.

The Physical Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

A spellbinding, beautifully written novel that moves between contemporary times and one of the most fascinating and disturbing periods in American history – the Salem witch trials.

It’s kind of crazy how I found this one. The night before my trip to Calabash, I was scrolling through Goodreads and came across this book with dual timelines and about witches. I added it to my ‘want to read’ list and had no idea I would find it the next day. It’s so rare to discover a book you just heard about at the used bookstore the next day!

Fortunes of War: The Balkan Trilogy by Olivia Manning

The Balkan Trilogy by Olivia Manning

The Balkan Trilogy is the story of a marriage and of a war, a vast, teeming, and complex masterpiece in which Olivia Manning brings the uncertainty and adventure of civilian existence under political and military siege to vibrant life. Manning’s focus is not the battlefield but the café and kitchen, the bedroom and street, the fabric of the everyday world that has been irrevocably changed by war, yet remains unchanged.

I discovered this trilogy through the YouTube channel Hard Cover Hearts. I’m intrigued to learn about a new place in a time that I have already learned so much about. I purchased this book at the best independent bookstore I have visited in South Carolina, and that is Book Ends in North Myrtle Beach.

Mister Hockey by Lia Riley

For fans of Icebreaker—sparks fly between a hockey player with a dirty mouth and an awkward bookworm in this spicy hockey romance.

A hockey book set in the NHL and not at the collegiate level? Oh my! Yeah, I had to grab it off the shelf at Target. It’s short, so it will be perfect for adding to my reading list of romance books for February, and it was on sale!

The Employee by Olga Ravn

Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize, The Employees reshuffles a sci-fi voyage into a riotously original existential nightmare. Aboard the interstellar Six Thousand Ship, the human and humanoid crew members complain about their daily tasks in a series of staff reports and memos. When the ship takes on a number of strange objects from the planet New Discovery, the crew becomes deeply attached to them, even as tensions boil toward mutiny, especially among the humanoids. In chilling, crackling, and exhilarating prose, The Employees probes into what makes us human, while delivering a hilariously stinging critique of life governed by the logic of productivity.

Lastly, we have the book that was gifted to me by Ben. Thank you! This is our only piece of translated fiction on the list, and it is coming to us from Denmark. I have seen several reviews for this book on YouTube and cannot wait to give it a try. I plan on reading it this week!

Five Star Book Prediction Project 2024

Each year, I select twelve or so books that I think will be the best of the best. These books do not have to be published in that year, 2024, to make the list. In past years, I tried to choose a book from each genre, but this year, I am just choosing whatever calls to me, so there might be more of one genre than the others. That being said, here are the books that I think will be my favorite books in 2024!

Torch by Cheryl Strayed

“Work hard. Do good. Be incredible!” is the advice Teresa Rae Wood shares with the listeners of her local radio show, Modern Pioneers , and the advice she strives to live by every day. She has fled a bad marriage and rebuilt a life with her children, Claire and Joshua, and their caring stepfather, Bruce. Their love for each other binds them as a family through the daily struggles of making ends meet. But when they receive unexpected news that Teresa, only 38, is dying of cancer, their lives all begin to unravel and drift apart. Strayed’s intimate portraits of these fully human characters in a time of crisis show the varying truths of grief, forgiveness, and the beautiful terrors of learning how to keep living.

I have added ‘Torch’ to this list because I devoured the author’s nonfiction book, “Wild.” This one has themes of familiar relationships, which is something that I love to read about, as every family always has such a different dynamic but then underlying similarities. Grief is also a theme that I have come to enjoy — that sounds morbid — to read, as it is something that every person will go through at some point in their life.

Kindred by Octavia Butler

Dana, a modern Black woman, is celebrating her 26th birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back repeatedly through time to the slave quarters, and each time the stay grows longer, more arduous, and more dangerous until it is uncertain whether or not Dana’s life will end, long before it has a chance to begin.

Time travel is one of my favorite tropes when done properly, and Kindred has to be a classic for some reason. I have faith that it will be done well. I also love historical stories that take place in the American South. I am curious about how the themes will be handled in this story.

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

In A Day of Fallen Night, Samantha Shannon sweeps readers back to the universe of Priory of the Orange Tree and into the lives of four women, showing us a course of events that shaped their world for generations to come.

“Priory of the Orange Tree” is one of the best fantasy novels that I have ever read, and I cannot wait to be placed back into that universe. This story follows four women and how they shape future generations, another kind of plot that I love. This story was also nominated for ‘best fantasy of 2023’ at Goodreads, so that gives me high hopes that it will be as good as the other book set in the same universe.

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, this is the story of a boy born to a teenage single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. In a plot that never pauses for breath, relayed in his own unsparing voice, he braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities.

I am drawn to stories set in the mountains of Appalachia. One of my favorite books of last year, “Betty,” has a similar atmosphere and theme. This is also a Charles Dickens retelling, in a sense. Dickens is one of my favorite classic writers, so I am eager to see Kingsolver’s take on it.

North Woods by Daniel Mason

Traversing cycles of history, nature, and even literature, North Woods shows the myriad, magical ways in which we’re connected to our environment and to one another, across time, language and space. Written along with the seasons and divided into the twelve months of the year, it is an unforgettable novel about secrets and fates that asks the timeless how do we live on, even after we’re gone?

”North Woods” is a newer release by an author that I have not read from. Those two things can be intimidating as a reader, but I am here to conquer them. I love books that show what history is, how everything and everyone are connected. The thought of that blows my mind. This book is also set at one house, throughout the centuries. I love stories where the location becomes a character in itself, and I believe that will be done here.

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner braids a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American history.

When an object has a history, there is always a story to be told, similar to the house being a character in North Woods. I will also admit, I was a horse girl when I was in elementary school, and I have made several trips to bluegrass country in Kentucky. The atmosphere and plot are what drive this pick.

Eileen by Otessa Moshfegh

The Christmas season offers little cheer for Eileen Dunlop, an unassuming yet disturbed young woman trapped between her role as her alcoholic father’s caretaker in a home whose squalor is the talk of the neighborhood and a day job as a secretary at the boys’ prison, filled with its own quotidian horrors. Consumed by resentment and self-loathing, Eileen tempers her dreary days with perverse fantasies and dreams of escaping to the big city. In the meantime, she fills her nights and weekends with shoplifting, stalking a buff prison guard named Randy, and cleaning up her increasingly deranged father’s messes. When the bright, beautiful, and cheery Rebecca Saint John arrives on the scene as the new counselor at Moorehead, Eileen is enchanted and proves unable to resist what appears at first to be a miraculously budding friendship. In a Hitchcockian twist, her affection for Rebecca ultimately pulls her into complicity in a crime that surpasses her wildest imaginings.

Otessa Moshfegh is great at character work, and I learned that through one of her previous works that I loved but did not become a new favorite. I am hoping that Eileen will push through and be the one that becomes a five-star. The mentions of this book taking place at Christmas time piqued my interest, and I have had several people recommend this book to me.

Matrix by Lauren Groff

Cast out of the royal court by Eleanor of Aquitaine, deemed too coarse and rough-hewn for marriage or courtly life, 17-year-old Marie de France is sent to England to be the new prioress of an impoverished abbey, its nuns on the brink of starvation and beset by disease.

I have read half of Lauren Groff’s catalog and have loved each of those books. She is one of my favorite authors, and now we are throwing in a historical setting that I love. Lauren Groff’s writing and then this medieval times setting sound like a go for me!

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala’s Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time. From this unforgettable new beginning, the young girl—and future matriarch, Big Ammachi—will witness unthinkable changes over the span of her extraordinary life, full of joy and triumph as well as hardship and loss, her faith and love the only constants.

This book has my favorite trope, and that is following one family through multiple generations throughout the years in a historical setting. It also looks like it has the theme of generational trauma and how it has an impact on us, something that I am always keen to learn about. I also do not know a lot about Indian history and am intrigued to learn more from this story.

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

The author of award-winning Hamnet brings the world of Renaissance Italy to jewel-bright life in this unforgettable fictional portrait of the captivating young duchess Lucrezia de’ Medici as she makes her way in a troubled court.

This is the wild card of the bunch. When I first read Hament, I honestly thought of donating the book, but I realized I kept thinking about it all the time. Maybe it would be better to reread. Now, one might question why I add a book by the same author to this list? The Medici are a family who fascinated me, and I research quite often. I will take any book I can find about them. This one is especially intriguing because it is about a lesser-known member of the family. One of the themes is also womanhood, which is always interesting to see how womanhood has not changed much in the centuries and then how there are blasting differences.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

The Bell Jar chronicles the crack-up of Esther Greenwood: brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under—maybe for the last time. Sylvia Plath masterfully draws the reader into Esther’s breakdown with such intensity that Esther’s insanity becomes completely real and even rational, as probable and accessible an experience as going to the movies. Such deep penetration into the dark and harrowing corners of the psyche is an extraordinary accomplishment and has made The Bell Jar a haunting American classic.

I wanted to have one classic on the list, and this is it. A modern classic. Mental health is the biggest issue in the United States and it needs to be shown in media more. I have heard tremendous things about the work of Plath and how authentic and sometimes relatable her work is. That says a lot with this being a classic and comparing it to being a woman today.

‘Migrations’ Book Review

Franny Stone has always been the kind of woman who is able to love but unable to stay. Leaving behind everything but her research gear, she arrives in Greenland with a singular purpose: to follow the last Arctic terns in the world on what might be their final migration to Antarctica. Franny talks her way onto a fishing boat, and she and the crew set sail, traveling ever further from shore and safety. But as Franny’s history begins to unspool—a passionate love affair, an absent family, a devastating crime—it becomes clear that she is chasing more than just the birds. When Franny’s dark secrets catch up with her, how much is she willing to risk for one more chance at redemption?

Franny, I have a hard time saying I loved her as a character. She is not a good person, but I felt some kind of love for her as a person. I would not want to know her personally, but I do love her soul even if she sees it as a curse. I loved the wanderer that she was. I loved the journey of life that I got to read in ‘Migrations’. I did have some fault with the side characters; I was scared at the start of the story that there would be too many characters in too little of a space to develop them fully. My reservations were only a tiny bit correct. Two of the men on the ship, Dae and Mal, had no layers at all. The other four crew members were more developed, but I don’t understand what their motivations were. There was great characterization with the main character, but the side characters were a bit lacking.

The atmosphere was absolutely the best part of the novel. It was enchanting. Ireland is a land of stories, and we see the impact that Irish culture had on other parts of the world, such as Australia and Canada. This setting has led me on a chase to find other stories with a similar vibe. It was all new but left such an impact on me.

A quote on the back of the book stated that the story is enchanting but not in the manner of a fairy tale. It is haunting in some ways. There’s this knowing of something bad in the past and that it could impact the present at any moment. This novel was also very informative on birds and the impact that humans have on nature. I was enchanted and informed by this book.

The plot is not just what you see in the summary on the flap of the cover. To be honest, I think that is more of the background story. The forefront being that life, in general, is a migration of our soul, going from one stop to the next until we meet our meaning. I just loved how that theme was handled. There was plenty of symbolism between our main character, Franny, and the arctic terns that she was tracking. A great and subtle story that brings out more than you expect from it.

There was great characterization with the main character, but the side characters were a bit lacking. The atmosphere was absolutely the best part of the novel. I was enchanted and informed by the writing of this book. A great and subtle story that brings out more than you expect from it. I loved this book but it is not a new favorite book.

4.4 out of 5 stars.