Recently Read: This Darkness Mine

Author: Mindy McGinnis
Genre: Young Adult/Thriller
Publication Date: 2017
Page Count: 376
Rating: 3.5/5

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Also by this author:
The Female of the Species  

Sasha Stone is the perfect girl. She's a gifted clarinet player destined to play for a top college, a straight A student, and has a perfectly polite boyfriend. But a bad-boy named Issac seems to have control of her heart, even more-so than she does. Sasha learns that before birth, she had a twin sister who was never born, but her sister may have found a way to get what, and who, she wants through Sasha. 

McGinnis is a brilliant writer. Her writing is so captivating and intense, and even though her stories are uncomfortable at times, I just can't look away. The Female of the Species really shocked and consumed me when I read it, and I knew I had to read more from McGinnis after finishing that one. I picked this one up at my library as soon as I saw it, and flew through it.

McGinnis is brilliant at writing unhinged characters. Her characters are so unlike anything else in YA. I love a well-done unreliable narrator, and McGinnis has the best in YA. This story is weird, mysterious, shocking, and at times uncomfortable, but McGinnis' story-telling makes it impossible to look away. I really didn't know where this story was headed and was surprised at every twist-and-turn. 

While I really enjoyed being immersed in this book, I don't think it was as strong of a novel as The Female of the Species. To me, The Female of the Species read like a very sophisticated literary fiction, and it dealt with themes and ideas that were vast and complex. This one read more like a typical YA thriller, but with a brilliantly well-done main character. I thought the first half of the book was a lot stronger than the second half, but I was still completely hooked the whole way through. 

McGinnis has made her way on to my 'auto-read' list, and I have picked up another one of her books since finishing this one. If you are looking for a book that will completely absorb you, or get you out of a slump, I recommend checking out McGinnis' works. What she's doing feels unique, and she's very good at what she does.  

If you have any recommendations for YA books with unreliable narrators, please let me know! 

January Wrap-Up: T.V. Books and Movies

I had a really great month of consuming! Here's a quick look at what I read and watched this month.

T.V and Movies

I watched the first season of Glow on Netflix in two days. It's been in my list since it came out, and I was just craving a new show to binge and started it on a whim. I really, really liked it! It was funny, smart, and full of beautiful 80s leotards. I loved the majority female cast, and the concept of female wrestling. I really liked Alison Brie in Mad Men and loved seeing her in a leading role. I'm really exited for season two. I recommend checking this one out if you're looking for a quick and entertaining watch.

This was my first time watching this 80s cult classic and I loved it! If you've been here before, you know that I LOVE a well-done satire, and that's exactly what this is! This was a super smart and hilarious satire of the typical 'teen-movie.' Winona Ryder is brilliant of course, and I'm already itching to watch this one again! If you have ever watched a typical teen-movie, you'll love how this one pokes fun at them. It also holds up extremely well, as teen-movies haven't changed much in the past thirty years. This one is on Netflix U.S.  

Carol has been on my to-watch list since the Oscars last year, and it finally came to Netflix. This was a quiet but powerful movie, and I have a feeling that the book it is based on is even better; it was immediately added to my TBR after finishing the movie. This movie is beautiful to look at, and both Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett give great performances. This would make a great Valentine's Day watch.  

I LOVE Robert Redford (who doesn't?) so I always pick up his movies when I see them out and about. I love 'classic' and older movies and have a pretty large collection of them. This is one that I bought during the summer last year and then never watched, so I figured it was about time. This movie was a lot more than I expected it to be. Streisand's character was so interesting and the ending was a lot different than I expected. This isn't your typical romance movie, and it has a lot to say about love and compromise. 

Books 

I had a really great reading month in January too! I read six books, and really enjoyed them all. I would love to keep up this pace for February, as I want to concentrate on reading the books on my shelves. In January, 4/6 books I read came from the library, which is great, but doesn't help me reduce my physical TBR. 

Bird Box. Josh Malerman-- 3.5/5 REVIEW

The Miniaturist, Jesse Burton-- 4/5 REVIEW

Weave a Circle Around, Kari Maaren-- 3/5 REVIEW

Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers who Changed the World, Rachel Ignotofsky-- 4/5 REVIEW

The Art of the Affair, Catherine Lacey and Forsyth Harmon-- 3/5 Quick thoughts: I don't think I'm going to officially review this one on the blog because I don't have that much to say. This is a small coffee table book that chronicles the connections (romantic and otherwise) between famous people of the 20th century. The layout was a bit confusing at times, and a lot of the information was scattered. I didn't know a lot of the people in this book, which made it less interesting at times, but I loved the art and it introduced me to some new super interesting people. It's worth checking it out from the library or browsing through at the bookstore.  

All the Crooked Saints, Maggie Stiefvater-- 3.5/5 REVIEW: to come

I Also Posted...

Some 2018 Intentions

TBR Spotlight: Books Set in Africa

Under the Radar 2018 Releases

Updated Women Writers List TBR

Hope you had a great January and good luck on your February goals and plans! You can see what I plan to read in February here!

Recently Read: Bird Box

Author: Josh Malerman
Genre: Adult Thriller/ Horror
Page Count: 262
Publication Date: 2014
Rating: 3.5/5

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Something outside is making those who see it lose their minds. It starts with a few alarmingly violent cases throughout the world and then quickly spreads. Don't open your eyes because what you see will drive you crazy. Bird Box follows a house of strangers trying to survive this new world with their eyes shut. 

I have seen some buzz about this book lately, and although it's not my usual type of read, the concept sounded so interesting to me that I couldn't resist picking it up. I had no idea of what to expect from the plot or the reading experience, and that made the book even more fun to read. I couldn't put this book down. From page one, Malerman sucks you into a world of suspense and uncertainty and you need to find out what happens next.

I thought the writing style fit with the plot and genre perfectly. You really don't get to know any of the characters all that well, but you don't need to. The plot is constantly moving towards something unknown and that drives the narrative. I also really loved that the book wasn't told in a linear fashion as both the past and present were so interesting that I was equally invested in what was happening in both times, which is not always the case with books that switch back and forth between times. The novel has the perfect amount of "shocks" and suspense, but still keeps an interesting plot and substance. Once you pick this book up, you won't put it down until it's finished.

A lot of the negative reviews on Goodreads are the result of readers being unhappy with the ending of the novel. While this book does leave a lot of questions unanswered, I prefer it that way. I think that's what makes good science fiction or horror so good. The unknown is what scares us as humans, we need to sort and classify everything we see in a logical fashion, and when we can't, that's when we are threatened. Unanswered questions in the real world, and fiction such as this, is what makes horror scary. I don't want to reveal too much about the plot or the ending, but I respected the ending and enjoyed it. It does what the end of a good horror plot should do: make you think about it even after you have finished it. And I agree that some details of the novel are unrealistic, but it's a novel with a supernatural plot; I'm willing to suspend belief for the smaller details as well as the larger ones in an entertaining novel such as this one. 

If you're not usually a reader of this genre, I really recommend this one. I raced through it and really enjoyed not knowing what was going to happen next. I'm interested to explore the thriller/horror genre more in the near future, so leave me your favorites!