Kent State

 Tell me a story...about a day that won’t be forgotten 

Kent State by Deborah Wiles

Publication date: April 21, 2020

Date read: January 29, 2022

A novel in verse. This book tells the story of three days at Kent State University - May 2-4, 1970 - that culminates with the killing of four American students by National Guard troops during a Vietnam War protest. The book is told simultaneously from multiple points of view, including students, National Guard members, and adults in the community. 

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Christopher Gebauer, Lauren Ezzo, Christine Delaine, Johnny Heller, Roger Wayne, Korey Jackson, and David de Vries. 

I don’t know how this book would work as a hardcover read, since it almost reads like a stage play. On the audiobook, characters interrupt each other and talk to each other, rather than each character having a chapter. This makes for a great audio experience, but probably wouldn’t be as affective in other forms.

As a reader, I was going into this book as someone who didn’t live through the event, but who was at least vaguely familiar with what took place on May 4, 1970. I thought that the book did a good job of playing to all audiences. The full events were described, so anyone with no knowledge beforehand would understand what happened, but it also wouldn’t be over-explained for those who had been familiar with the events as they happened. I also liked that the story was told as people looking back on the events that they lived through, so you have the first-person account, but with the benefit of hindsight.

Overall, I thought this book was excellent. It’s short - 144 pages and about an hour and a half on audio - but it packs a real punch. It’s written for teens, which it uses to be both informative and also to bring it full circle to give a lesson for teens today. Very well done, and highly recommended in the audio format for both teens and adults.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Trigger warning: murder, arson, rioting, tear gas, war

Under Her Skin

 Tell me a story... that gives me the chills

Under Her Skin by Lindy Ryan and Toni Miller (editors)

Expected Publication date: April 5, 2022

Date read: March 12, 2022

Black Spot Books presents its inaugural Poetry Showcase, featuring the best in never-before-published dark verse and lyrical prose from the voices of Women in Horror. This collection centers on the concept of body horror, specifically focused on the female body. 

When I first started this collection, I questioned the use of the term "body horror" in the synopses, as most of the poems were more about how the female body is treated, and tended to be a bit gory and raw, but not really "body horror". More about body dysmorphia or body image. But as the collection continued, there was definitely more body horror to be found. 

Despite a fair amount of gore and queasy content, this collection is overall very beautiful. I don't read a lot of poetry, but I really liked this collection and the way that these authors find a way to be both beautiful and disturbing with so little word count.

This collection isn't exactly what I was expecting, as I was anticipating more scary content (with the horror genre) than disturbing/gory content, and there really wasn't anything scary in the collection. But I think that was more my naive interpretation of "horror poetry" than anything negative against this collection. 

Overall, I really liked this book. It's a quick read, but there were a lot of poems that really stuck with me (whether for the beauty of the words or for the disturbing feeling left by them). I can't wait to read more collections from this group in the years to come. 

Favorite poems: 

Harm by Emily Ruth Verona

Winnow by Tiffany Michelle Brown

Lilies Left for Mom by Brianna Malotke

The Carrion Flowers by Morgan Sylvia

Rating: 4/5 stars

Trigger warning: body horror, violence, gore, body dysmorphia, rape

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book

The Nice House on the Lake, Vol. 1

 Tell me a story... about a vacation gone wrong

The Nice House on the Lake, Vol. 1 (issues #1-6) by James Tynion IV, Alvaro Martinez Bueno (Artist), and Jordie Bellaire (Colorist)

Publication date: March 1, 2022

Date read: March 14, 2022

They all know Walter - some from high school, some from college, one from more recently - but they've never hung out all together as a group. But after a difficult year, when Walter invites everyone to a week at an idyllic lake house, they all decide that they can put up with Walter's eccentricities for a short amount of time, reconnect, and relax. But when something goes wrong, they're all thrust into a new reality that will make them reconsider who to trust, and figure out how to survive. 

I know that description was vague, but I really believe that the less you know about the plot going into this one, the better. I knew absolutely nothing when I started this, and I'm happy about that.

However, not being able to talk a lot about the plot does make writing a review a bit harder... but I'll do my best.

As far as the plot goes, I really loved it. In horror, it's hard to come up with a completely new idea, and the "group of people brought to an isolated location" troupe is nothing new. But I wasn't expecting the direction this story quickly took, and I enjoyed being along for the ride. This is only Volume 1 of a series, so nothing is wrapped up at the end, but I can't wait to read more. 

I thought that the art in this collection was also great. It is drawn in a somewhat realistic style (as opposed to a cartoonish one). I loved the expressions that the artist was able to create on the characters, and the scenery was gorgeous when it needed to be, and disturbing at other times. Both artist and colorist did a great job. (I will also freely admit that I picked this one up based on the cover art, which is wonderful.)

I did, on a few occasions, have a difficult time telling characters apart or remembering which was which, but I don't feel that I can blame the artists for this so much, because I read it on my phone (as an advanced digital copy) as opposed to a larger physical copy. I am purchasing a physical copy to have now, though, and plan to read it again to see if I have an easier time keeping them straight. (In the back of the volume is a page showing each character, their name, and their nickname, but it wasn't easy for me to move back and forth between the pages on the digital copy).

Overall, I loved this story. It went in a direction that I really wasn't expecting, but that I was completely on board with. If you like horror comics (a little gruesome, but not so realistic that it was hard to look at), I definitely recommend this one. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Trigger warning: gore, death by fire

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book

Beasts of a Little Land

 Tell me a story...of early 20th century Korea

Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim

Publication date: December 7, 2021

Date read: February 22, 2022

With Korea under Japanese control, much of the country is starving. Jade’s family sells her to a courtesan school in the city, setting her life on a course that we will follow from her training, to her successes, and finally to the horrors of war. We also follow a young beggar boy, two Korean businessmen with very different political views, and two Japanese military officers. Spanning from 1917 to the end of the Korean War, this is an epic story about destiny and love, both for individuals and for a country. 

This is a hard book to rate. It’s very well-written with some beautiful prose. The characters had a lot of depth and felt very real. Just like in real life, even the characters we were rooting for were both good and bad, and everyone went through their share of highs and lows. I also liked that the life of the courtesan was not overly glamorized in this story. It showed how success in the profession led to money and power while in their prime, but none of the courtesan characters had a typically happy life once their prime was past. 

I also loved how we got multiple points of view throughout the book, from alternating chapters. And I enjoyed how some characters interacted from the start, but some didn’t fit into each other’s lives until the end. This was a fascinating time in history to learn about and one about which I knew very little. And I thought the decision to have some chapters told from the POV of Japanese characters added to the story, and helped establish the Japanese rule of Korea as the main villain of the book. 

I’m not sure how I felt about the Epilogue - I almost wish it wasn’t there. It’s not that it’s bad, but ultimately felt to me that it belonged in a different book.

This is not a fast read. It’s about difficult topics and is a very slow burn. I don’t think there are a lot of readers I would recommend it to, although I thought it was very good. You have to have a real desire to learn about the history of this part of the world. A beautiful book, but not for everyone. 

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Trigger warning: sexual assault, rape, physical assault, murder, war, mass death, violent death, torture, masterbation, mysogeny, drug addiction, necrophilia, starvation

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. 

Anatomy: A Love Story

 Tell me a story...about a woman ahead of her time 

Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz

Publication date: January 18, 2022

Date read: March 13, 2022

Set in a slightly alternate version of Edinburgh in 1817. Hazel Sinnett has always wanted to be a surgeon - but as a woman, it’s all but impossible. She is supposed to marry well and not get her hands dirty, especially not in such a gruesome profession. After she gets kicked out of surgical lectures for being the wrong gender, she becomes determined to pass the physicians exam all on her own. Meanwhile, resurrection man, Jack Currer, is trying to make enough money to survive, buy digging up bodies and selling them to the medical schools. But he’s got troubles of his own. In addition to the new outbreak of Roman fever, and the general problems of being caught digging up graves, Jack learns that the poor seem to be be disappearing. What’s going on in Edinburg? And can Hazel and Jack figure it out in time to stop it?

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Mhairi Morrison and Tim Campbell. 

I first want to say that this is one of the most beautiful covers I’ve seen in years. Props to the people who created the cover art.

I enjoyed this one. Hazel is a great character. A little naïve about what can be accomplished, because she has money and is used to things just getting done, but she also works really hard for what she wants. Her belief that she can accomplish the impossible is actually endearing in this case. She’s tough as nails, but also seems to fit in with the times and not feeling too idealized. 

I did like Jack, but I felt that Hazel and Jack’s relationship fell a little too close to the YA insta-love trope. This aspect, plus the age of the characters (Hazel is supposed to be seventeen or eighteen), are really the only reasons this book is classified as YA. 

As mentioned at the top, this book is set in a slightly fictionalized version of early 19th century Scotland. It reminded me a little of the Pendergast books by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, which are police procedurals, but which often have a somewhat fantasy twist to the mystery. I wasn’t expecting this when I first started, but I didn’t mind it. 

Overall, this was a fun read. Great characters, interesting science, and a creepy mystery all rolled into one. I’d recommend for any fans of historical mysteries, as long as you can handle a little bit of medical gore. The author also said she may write a sequel, which has me intrigued. 

Rating: 4/5 stars

Trigger warning: death of a sibling, desecration of corpses, blood, surgical procedures, autopsies, misogyny, kidnapping, forced medical procedures, hanging

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

Dear Justyce

 Tell me a story... about two boys and the paths they took

Dear Justyce (Dear Martin #2) by Nic Stone

Publication date: September 29, 2020

Date read: November 24, 2021

Incarcerated teen Quan sits in a holding cell, awaiting trial for the murder of a police officer. Through a series of flashbacks and letters to old friend Justyce, Quan’s story beings to come to light. This book is a sequel to Dear Martin, which is Justyce’s story. 

I listened to the audiobook, read by Dion Graham. 

I first want to state that it’s not completely necessary to have read Dear Martin  to understand the story being told here, but there are a large number of overlapping characters and plot points of the first book will be spoiled by reading this first. 

When I read Dear Martin, I thought it was a good story, but I didn’t love it. It felt, to me, a little forced and not as authentic as some of the similar books I had read around the same time. But I was curious about Quan, and when I saw that he had his own book, I decided to read it anyway. I’m glad I did. I actually liked Quan’s voice a lot more than I did Justyce (maybe I just thought the narrator - who was the same on both audiobooks - played Quan’s character better; I’m not sure.) 

I also thought that Quan’s story was more dynamic and I really wanted to know what happened. There is a BIG difference between Justyce’s story in Dear Martin and Quan’s story in Dear Justyce: Justyce is the smart boy who avoids the gang life in order to go to college and make good on his potential, while Quan makes his mistakes and ends up in prison. These are both important characters to see, because they both exist. I also want to emphasize that I am a 30-something white female, and while that doesn’t invalidate my opinions, I recognize that I am not the audience that this book was written for, and I would recommend seeking out reviews by teens of color if you’re on the fence about either of these books.

I overall liked Quan’s story and wanted to see how it turned out. I wasn’t as big a fan of the later parts of the book, but only because I didn’t love the reintroduction of Justyce and his friends (especially SJ), not because of the direction the plot took. (I can’t put my finger on why I don’t like Justyce as a character all that much, but I’m sure others will be fine with his reintroduction.) In the end, I liked this well enough, but didn’t love it, although if you’ve read and enjoyed Dear Martin, I would certainly check this one out as well.

Rating: 3 stars

Trigger warning: Murder, racism, police brutality, use of “n word”, PTSD, gun violence, incarceration, cancer