Hi friends! Today I wanted to share some of my thoughts on a couple stories that I managed to read during Bout of Books. I figured that rather than writing individual reviews and getting overwhelmed by the number of posts I had to format, I'd do a shortened version because I do have some thoughts I'd like to share about these recent reads. :) 

pages: 464 | source: NetGalley

publication date: June 2, 2020

genre: young adult, historical fiction, retelling of Les Misérables

pages: 384 | source: NetGalley

publication date: June 2, 2020

genre: young adult, contemporary fiction

There have been many less than stellar reviews circling the internet about this novel but I was still holding onto the hope that I might somehow enjoy the story. Iris Wang has got to be one of the most irritating characters I have ever read about - she's incredibly self-obsessed with the intelligence, common-sense, and emotional depth of a rock (and that's an insult to rocks). I kept waiting for a moment where something would click in her brain and she would start to show some character development. While Iris claims to have "developed" and "experienced growth," I honestly could not pinpoint where exactly that happened. 

This ultimately damaged the reading experience for me because the story was so heavily character-driven. Iris' voice is so prominent which could be a testament to Lindsay Wong's ability to craft her characters, but because she was so unlikable, I couldn't get past that to enjoy the other elements of the story. Iris inherently represents the negative reaction many people face when trying to reconcile their dual culture - she has little to no respect for tradition and doesn't really care to learn her parents' language (only going on to later complain about why she can't understand people). While I'm glad that we are getting more stories by Asian authors, the portrayal of her character feels damaging to the narrative that many Asian American readers like myself are hoping to find.

Ok, so what are some good things - I did enjoy the portrayal of Beijing culture. There's a good introductory conversation about the rich, nouveau rich, and the poor - the very polarizing class systems in Beijing society. I almost wish this could have been expanded upon more especially when Iris realizes the luxuries of her middle-class American lifestyle in comparison to her cousin's origins. There's also an immersive introduction to Chinese culture - the food, the art, the history which Iris, unfortunately, doesn't appreciate for  95% of the book. Despite that, I had to admit that Lindsay Wong is skillful at bringing her culture to life through her words and that did make the reading experience slightly more bearable.

pages: 346 | source: own/e-book

publication date: January 7, 2020

genre: young adult, magical realism, retelling of Thumbelina 

There was something about this story that has stayed in my mind ever since I first read the synopsis before its release and I'm so glad I finally picked it up. When Stars Burn Bright reads like a fairytale. The writing is very easy to read and the plot is relatively fast-paced, enough so that it doesn't feel like an almost 350 page book. In this world, there are Symrics, people with diluted fae blood that give them magical powers and our main character Lina has the gift of a beautiful and addictive voice. This leads to her getting kidnapped by another Symric who whisks her away to New York City in hopes of securing a position for himself in a vaudeville troupe.

Everything about this story felt like watching a black and white movie. It almost feels reminiscent of something familiar but I'm not able to accurately put my finger on what exactly. On one hand, the writing feels very simplistic and again, easy to read, but on the other, there are a lot of complex layers amongst the characters themselves. The vaudeville business is a dying one and you see the human desperation play a key role in the motivations of the characters. Lina and Nik become bound together by their desire to break free, putting aside the fame and glory that comes with their Symric abilities and show business, in order to be reunited with their family. There's definitely an interesting juxtaposition between the complexity of human greed and the simplicity of genuine relationships.

That was fun! I definitely didn't expect to read so many books in May so it's nice to get to share some of my thoughts. On a side note, Blogger recently changed their format and I can't get the book summaries to text-wrap around the cover 😑so apologies for how clunky the formatting might look, I'm still trying to figure out solutions.

isbn: 978-0-06-295727-6 | pages: 414

publication date: January 07, 2020 | source: own/physical

genre: young adult, contemporary fiction

I started this book in February and put it down because I was scared of all the drama I could feel was going to happen. As someone who also attended a Taiwanese summer-immersion camp in high school, I'd be a liar if I didn't recognize the familiar conflicts that occurred, but personally, my experiences were a lot less "intense". Regardless, this has all the teenage parents-aren't-here type of drama so you've been properly warned in advance.

With drama comes the ugly side of people. There's so much girl-hate and trash talk as soon as the characters arrive on the Chien-Tan campus. Ever's roommate Sophie becomes the instant target for this petty girl-hate as well as the one initiating the rumors. Her character is so dichotomous - she's boy-crazy to the max but also had a killer brain and extreme negotiating skills that show a glimpse of her potential. In some ways, she got the short end of the stick. While definitely a complex character, her moments feel glossed over without a conclusive resolution that she deserves.

There's also a love triangle / square that appears, I think, just for the sake of adding in more dramatics. However, I found myself skimming over those moments because I didn't care too much for the logistics behind who likes who and all the emotional mess. There's a lot that I could unpack about the relationship drama but simply put, I kept reading because the characters were dynamic and not because I wanted to see the final ships. I do think this is a testament to the author's ability though, to take stereotypes (i.e. perfect Asian boy, brooding bad boy, boy crazy girl, etc.) and make them interesting to read about.

There are lots of great themes that get introduced, the only downside is that they're only introduced. Circling back to the girl-hate and petty drama, there's the issue of a leaked nude that occurs due to jealousy over a boy. This is a devasting experience and while we got a great scene where the character stands up for her own dignity and we're reminded a couple of times about the repercussions, it doesn't hold the same weight we all know it does in the real world. The perpetrator who spread the photo receives a reconciliation without bearing any consequences and the friendship resumes as normal which definitely irked me.

Another theme that is mentioned is the Asian American definition. This one was a little more fleshed out and another point that I appreciated. All the students at Chien-Tan come with varying perspectives of balancing their parental expectations and their own personal desires. It was really interesting to delve into so many different perspectives that part of me wishes the space in the novel that focused on the romance could have been swapped out to explore these narratives more.

Ever is a great main character. She took some getting used to, but she was given the space to grow and develop her own sense of identity. I was so grateful that Abigail Hing-Wen gave Ever a relationship with her parents that despite the ups and downs, strict rules, and neverending expectations, there was still love and respect. I don't discredit anyone's experiences of fighting with their parents over personal aspirations and parental projections, but I sometimes feel like we lack the depth of the immigrant familial relationship and why our parents have such high expectations.

With that said, I did want more conversation about reconciliation. Ever enters the Chien-Tan program with certain stereotypes about her parents, herself, and her dual-culture. Throughout the novel, she learns to embrace and explore the boundaries of these stereotypes, going so far as to break some of them which allow her to develop herself as a character. This in turn, gives her the ability to have a mature conversation with her parents, but it feels almost abruptly ended. That seems to be a recurring theme in the structure and delivery of the story, there's this great introduction and build, but it isn't concluded in the same manner as its delivery.

Regardless of all of that, I enjoyed this more than I thought. I let the negative and somewhat polarizing reviews that I read influence my enjoyment and motivation to read this book, but I'm glad I took the time to make my own decisions. As a debut novel, I'm impressed by how easy this story was to read once I got back into the swing and how it manages to portray an experience that is different from my own, but at the same time feels very familiar.

Hi friends! By now I'm sure everyone's heard the AMAZING news that we're getting the PJO adaptation of our dreams. If you haven't, Rick Riordan announced that Disney has bought the rights to the movie franchise and that he'll be taking part in writing the series that will be exclusive to Disney+ 

*cue all the excited screams*

Since then, there's been so much love for the Percy Jackson series that makes my little 5th grad heart so happy. I reread the series last year and it brought me back to all the fun adventures and amazing relationships that make up this memorable series. Therefore, in honor of this life-changing proclamation, I found this fun tag from May @ Forever and Everly and I thought I'd give it a go. Fun fact, she made these beautiful graphics and I cannot even begin to comprehend the level of skill that took~

         

I have currently only rated one book 5-stars this year so this was a pretty easy choice. Despite this being a reread for me, I fell in love with the writing style and story and was left with so many nostalgic and beautifully sad feelings.

I've been staring at this trilogy on my shelves recently with the desire to reread and re-experience this fantastic masterpiece. It's been almost 5 years since I've delved into the world of Allomancy and experienced the journeys of Vin and Kelsier. Just talking about it here makes me want to go and pick these up again.

I had to go back and find my review of this book because I couldn't remember what exactly made me give this 5-stars when I read it (back in 2016) - that probably means it's time for a reread, but my thoughts summed up was basically a lot of feels and being blown away by the depth of relationship dynamics.

Granted, I didn't love this book but I was almost certain that I wasn't going to enjoy it. Whether I fell for the hype that was surrounding this series or not, I had a lot of fun bingeing the books across a couple of months and it was definitely an enjoyable reading experience. 

         

While I haven't experienced the same things as Leigh, reading about her growth and experience reconciling her American and Taiwanese heritage resonated so much with me. The story reminds me of my favorite things about Taiwan and the beautiful meaning behind defining one's self-identity.

Fox and Tea were the first names that popped into my head and how could you not love them. Tea literally discovers her powers when she raises Fox from the dead and he's the reason for the whole adventure. I love everything about this duo - they truly have each other's backs through all the ups and downs of this series.

I have distinct memories of sitting in Barnes and Noble and just reading the entire novel in one go. With that said, this book also broke me and I admit to sniffling in the corner of the bookstore because I was so devasted and overcome with emotions. 

High school me adored this iconic trilogy and everyone else on the internet did too. It's got one of the most beloved love triangle trio as well as one of the most satisfying conclusions. I recently picked up the entire series for my physical bookshelves and I am so excited to give them a reread.

         

Just to be clear, I'm talking about the entire trilogy which shouldn't be a surprise. I've talked about my love for Winternight ad nauseam and it has yet to be beat as one of my favorite series ever. The writing, the world, the characters, everything about these books just fill me with so much love and joy. 

As one of my most anticipated sequels of 2020, I literally shed a couple of tears when I was selected to participate in its blog tour (hosted by Caffeine Book Tours) in July. I fell in love with the characters and mythology of the world and I'm honestly so excited to see how the story continues to unfold - I can't wait to be reunited with everyone.

There isn't even a listing for this book on Goodreads but I've been watching Katherine Arden's Instagram livestreams (every Wednesday, 6pm EST) and she mentioned that she's working on a new novel. She summarized it as World War II meets Dante's Inferno and I'm instantly sold.

Here's another book that I desperately want to reread. I picked up Vicious in 2015 after hearing so many bloggers and booktubers talk about it and I fell in love with the morally gray characters and VE Schwab's writing style. I need to pick this up again because I really want to read the sequel. 

      

This isn't the funniest book per se but I've realized that I don't pick up many books in the comedy genre or laugh out loud in general. However, one character who'll always put a smile on my face is Zuzanna, I freaking love her character so much.

I adore this book. According to Goodreads, I've read it at least twice and each time I remember falling in love with the characters and story all over again. There's just something so precious and nostalgic about this book that warms my heart even by just staring at it on my shelves.

The entire time I was reading this book, I was holding my breath. As the culmination of the series, there were so many things that could possibly go wrong and go wrong it did. It was fast-paced (almost too short for my liking) and left me with a couple of unshed tears.

      

I don't think everyone hates this book, but I honestly couldn't think of another answer. It has a 3.92 rating on Goodreads which isn't bad by any means but I remember reading a couple of bloggers whom I really love voicing their disappointment for this book. Personally, I read this book on Halloween in one sitting and the atmosphere was simply golden for me.

I finished this one a couple of days ago and I have never met a more infuriating character. Just looking at the cover raises my blood sugar a little bit. The synopsis promised a fluffy light contemporary and an exploration of one's Chinese heritage but instead, I got a massive migraine and an eye-rolling workout.

I tried really hard to find a pair that I haven't raved about in a while. All of the pairs from His Fair Assassins are some of my favorites - while it's been a couple of years since I've read these books, I remember really loving how the relationship dynamics was explored and how all the female characters were so strong and incredibly badass.

Ahh I had so much fun doing this tag so once again a huge thank-you to May for creating these great questions! I would be a horrible sibling if I didn't tag my younger sister to do this - she's an absolute PJO fanatic and I think it'll be fun to see her answers. She has also been experimenting with a book blog which is giving me so many flashbacks to when I first started.

If you've done your own rendition of this tag I would love to check out your answers!