Book #37 of 2020: The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad Another book that I wanted to love more than I actually did. In theory, this 2019 fantasy novel with #ownvoices Muslim protagonists and mythology should be a bright gem amid the common eurocentric tropes of the genre. In practice, it’s a tad aimless …
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Book #35 of 2020: The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones (Chrestomanci #2) I still think the debut volume Charmed Life is the best place to start this series, but this prequel surpasses it on just about every level. We actually get to visit other worlds in the multiverse that makes this setting …
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Book #27 of 2020: Infinity Son by Adam Silvera (Infinity Cycle #1) I feel similarly about this YA superhero novel as I do Marissa Meyer’s Renegades trilogy: it’s neat for the genre exploration and representation — which in this case includes a gay Latino protagonist written by a gay Latino author — but somewhat underwhelming …
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Book #26 of 2020: Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb (The Fitz and the Fool #1) When I first read this novel in 2015, I gave it the following lukewarm review: “Ideally, any sequel should justify its own existence. Why are we returning for another chapter of this story? What new developments require plucking these characters …
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Book #25 of 2020: Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly Less a retelling than a continuation, this novel takes the standard version of the Cinderella fairy tale and imagines a possible redemption story for one of her wicked relations. But it really doesn’t work for me, on just about any level. Worst of all are the under-explained …
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Book #24 of 2020: Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin (Serpent & Dove #1) A reader’s enjoyment of this fantasy debut may depend on their fondness for certain fanfiction tropes about nemeses forced to fake a relationship for appearance’s sake. In this case, it’s a church witchfinder and a secret witch, whose dynamic of grudging …
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Book #22 of 2020: Lalani of the Distant Sea by Erin Entrada Kelly I like the idea behind this wandering maritime adventure — think The Voyage of the Dawn Treader crossed with Disney’s Moana, roughly — but I feel like it would have been stronger if the point-of-view had stuck with the title heroine throughout …
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Book #21 of 2020: Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (Akata Witch #1) This middle-grade series debut has some terrific #ownvoices African-inspired fantasy worldbuilding, but it lags behind in matching that with any significant narrative development or character arcs. So much of the novel consists of either pure exposition about the setting or else the protagonist …
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Book #16 of 2020: Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones (Chrestomanci #1) The start of a long-overdue reread to this fantasy series that I loved as a child, pre-Harry Potter. (And indeed, there are some definite similarities between Harry and this novel’s hero even beyond their distinct Britishness, from the wide-eyed entrance into a world …
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Book #14 of 2020: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #5) The action in this series finale is suitably epic, and the parallels to the Trojan War are cute if a little distracting. (These characters all either know a lot about Greek mythology or are the actual mythic figures themselves. …
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