Book #233 of 2019: The Red Tent by Anita Diamant I really enjoyed this biblical retelling, which takes the minor figure of Jacob’s daughter Dinah from Genesis and presents a possible version of her life’s story. In the process, author Anita Diamant goes far beyond what scripture has to say about either the heroine or …
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Book #232 of 2019: Defy the Fates by Claudia Gray (Constellation #3) I still enjoy the debut of this sci-fi YA trilogy enough that it’s fun to spend more time with the characters, but the action of the next two volumes feels far more rote by comparison. In this final book especially, our protagonists don’t …
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Book #231 of 2019: Little Weirds by Jenny Slate I have a newfound appreciation for actress Jenny Slate’s command of figurative language, but I confess that this collection of her writing is too disjointed for me. I think I was expecting either essays or short stories from the book, when in fact most of its …
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Book #230 of 2019: Homerooms & Hall Passes by Tom O’Donnell (Homerooms & Hall Passes #1) This middle-grade adventure story is lightweight but pretty fun, tracking a band of thirteen-year-old heroes who get magically trapped in the setting of their favorite tabletop roleplaying game, which happens to resemble a middle school of our reality. I …
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Book #229 of 2019: The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #3) I still sort of feel like I’m waiting for the Percy Jackson series to really hit its stride, but this third novel offers enough character growth and plot progression amid the latest romp through Greek mythology that I’m happy …
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Book #228 of 2019: The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware I think this novel has my favorite protagonist and premise of any Ruth Ware thriller yet, but the major twists are telegraphed so early that I feel I’ve spent most of the book impatiently waiting for the characters to catch on. It doesn’t …
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TV #37 of 2019: Veronica Mars, season 3 Aging a television setting up from high school to college is a tricky prospect, with inevitable cast turnover, different plot beats to work out, and more mature storytelling possibilities. And for the most part, Veronica Mars manages that transition well. The heroine herself is recognizable yet played …
Book #227 of 2019: Steel Crow Saga by Paul Krueger This incredible anime-inspired fantasy novel is a breath of fresh air for the genre and a pure delight from page one, with a Sandersonian magic system that features metalbending alongside giant daemons that can be summoned to fight like Pokémon. The characters are clever and …
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Book #226 of 2019: Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavić This is one of the strangest books I’ve ever encountered, and I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about it — or if I would have reached the end if it hadn’t been selected for me to read and review by one of …
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Book #225 of 2019: Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza (Empress of a Thousand Skies #1) This YA space opera unfortunately doesn’t work for me. The setting feels nowhere near as expansive as that great title implies, and the character relations aren’t built up enough for any of the plot twists to land …
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