reallyradreviews2020

[reallyradreviews2020]

The Song of Achilles - Review

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, has been on my TBR for nearly a year and I hadn’t ever heard anything but raving reviews about it, having read it now I can only give it yet another raving review.  From the beautiful writing style, to the pacing to the romance, this is definitely one of my top books I’ve read this  summer!

The story of Achilles is one of the more popular Greek myths, the son of a sea nymph and a great king, who is claimed to be the best warrior in all of Greece leads the siege on Troy to save the beautiful Helen of Sparta.  Those who enjoy reading about Greek mythology likely have read about Achilles and his exploits before, but this particular adaptation gives the tale a different feeling, a more heartfelt spin that humanizes the characters in a way that satisfies without losing their core personality traits.  A beautiful new take on the myth worth the read even after knowing the hero’s tale through and through.

Even those who have never heard of Achilles or Patroclus or the battle of Troy should pick up this book.  Aside from the odd googling of a name pronunciation, this can easily be read as an epic romance adventure story that anyone can jump into.

The writing style is beautiful, vivid descriptions of scenery and feelings alike that don’t lose the reader in overly flowery paragraphs, there’s not an abundance of fancy words that require a dictionary to understand, and the novel is a comfortable 352 pages long. As well as having gorgeous wording, the Song of Achilles also has surprisingly great pacing. This book was never boring, though the beginning seemed a little slow to start (as would any book set in a foreign world) it soon picked up after a chapter or so and kept on climbing from there in both action and romantic tension, until it ended in a stunning finale that I’ll definitely be thinking about for a while.  All in all, a perfect summer read for anyone looking to be swept away into a world of Gods, romance, danger and glory. 

[reallyradreviews2020]

Wayward Son - Review

Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell is the second addition to the Simon Snow series.  In the first book, we leave Simon and Baz to their happily ever after, they’ve defeated the evil Mage, saved the magical world and finally realized their feelings for each other.  All seemed well.  However given the fact that the series continues, we know that things aren't going to stay that way, and sure enough that’s exactly how this second novel begins. 

As someone who has not-so-happily read multiple variations of the chosen one trope, I was instantly refreshed with this take on classic tale.  Whereas normally in the Chosen one stories, our hero must face task after task to earn his happy ending, Simon Snow eats his villain in the first book and in the second, deals with the resulting fallout.  In traditional Rainbow Rowell fashion, the POV from which the story is told changes frequently, giving us the thoughts of every character.  In Wayward Son we get to see from every outside perspective that Simon is falling apart, and it brilliantly illustrates through their individual inner monologues that in order to fix their situation they need to communicate, as they each only have a piece of the puzzle.  I also loved the way we get to see Simon’s thoughts on everything, from how he feels about having defeated the Mage in the last novel, to how he sees that his relationship with Baz is crumbling before him.  Each character has a unique voice and an important perspective on their situation, even if at times their lack of communication with one another may be frustrating since we as readers know their thoughts.

Though I wasn’t necessarily in need of a sequel to Carry On, this book was a welcome addition to the story as it expands on the magical universe set up in the first book and it develops the characters even further, especially Agatha’s character.  This second part focuses heavily on the emotional aftermath of the first book.  Simon is dealing with no longer being the chosen one, and how to live his life without magic, Penny is trying to have a normal life by going to university, though it’s obvious she’s bored without the constant excitement of being the chosen one’s sidekick, and Baz is watching Simon pull away from everyone and everything, and struggles with trying to help Simon get through his new found depression.  While the emotional aspect is definitely heavy in the first half, by the middle of the book there’s a whole new adventure for our characters to go on, complete with new monsters, new friends and a cult of new age vampires. 

Wayward son is the kind of book you read in one sitting, it’s fast paced, emotional and funny.  And even though it’s a fantasy type genre, it’s surprisingly relatable.  I’m definitely going to pre-order the next one.

[reallyradreviews2020]

The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek - Review

The Lost Causes Of Bleak Creek, By Rhett Mclaughlin and Link Neal, who are known best for their internet talk show, Good Mythical Morning, is an unexpectedly good read.  As a casual fan of the duo, I was naturally interested in the fact that they were writing a novel and even more so when they claimed it to be a sort of YA horror novel. 

The story of the Lost Causes of Bleak Creek, follows two teenaged boys named Rex and Leif, who are very obviously characters based on a young Rhett and Link, and their friend Alicia who all grew up together in the small bible belt town of Bleak Creek North Carolina.  It’s implied heavily throughout the early chapters of the book that Bleak Creek is a typical charming southern town, but since the novel is classed as a horror, we as readers know that something sinister is afoot, or soon to be.  Sure enough, several chapters in, Alicia’s character is kidnapped from her home and brought against her will to the notorious reform school that looms over the small town.  This is where the story really begins. 

Admittedly up until the point of Alicia’s abduction, I felt the novel was too young for me, meant more for a 10 - 14 year old audience.  The first few chapters focus heavily on the dynamics of the core friendship between three 14 year olds, who are all written to sound and act exactly like fourteen year olds do in reality, which is an unexpected change from the typical young protagonists who act like adults on their adventures. The characters often argued and bickered abut trivial things, and when Alicia is abducted it’s revealed that both of the remaining protagonists have feelings for her, which leads to the general save the girl arc. Thankfully later on Alicia is given more character development, elevating her from the status of “Love interest”   For the first half of the book, it’s heavy sense of humour and young protagonists felt dramatic and predictable and I seriously considered putting the book down with a strong “Not for me.”

Thankfully I didn’t stop there, brcause with the introduction of the character of Janine, a film student fresh from NYU and running from a bad breakup, who stumbles upon the lore of the mysterious reform school while making a documentary about kidney stones, my interest was piqued once more.  Janine was a nice third perspective to the story, giving a more adult point of view on the town and the situations that the characters were going through. she was by far my favourite character. 

With this new adult perspective that Janine brings,also comes the more sinister elements to the story, which though I still wouldn’t consider them “Horror” had I been reading this at 13 years old, I would have been very excited to see something so scary in a book meant for younger audiences. I wouldn’t say that any of the things in this book are more than pg-13 save for a single F-bomb, and the mystery can be unraveled quite easily by readers ahead of the characters in the book again pointing to the fact that this is clearly a YA novel.  Still, despite being meant for kids primarily, there were still a few parts that had my heart beating faster than normal, so it can definitely be enjoyed by adults as well. 

Overall, I felt the book was pretty enjoyable.  It deals with life as an awkwardly new teenager and the feelings that can accompany that, as well as the way friendships can change as we grow up, the scary parts of the story weren’t too terrifying, but just enough so for it to still be readable for adults.  The way they set up the main villain and then expanded on his life story in the final chapters was pure genius and in my opinion the best part of the book. 

I’d say this is a good book for ages 10 - 16, for people who like an element of mystery, some friendship drama, and a dash of humor all set in the early 90′s.  All in all, I’d say Bleak Creek was a great debut YA novel and should Rhett and Link ever put out a sequel, I’d probably still buy it and read it in a heartbeat. 

[reallyradreviews2020]

BLM Booklist

Support black creators and celebrate black stories.

Unapologetic, A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements  By Charlene Carruthers

I Am Alphonso Jones, By Tony Medina

The Hate You Give, By Angie Thomas

You Can’t Touch My Hair, By Phoebe Robinson

Queenie, By Candice Carty - Williams

When They Call You A Terrorist; A Black Lives Matter Memoir,  By Asha Bandele and Patrisse Cullors 

All American Boys, By Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds 

When We Were Reaped A Memoir, By Jesmyn Ward

From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation, By Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor 

These are only a few of the titles that tell Black stories, there are countless more only a google search away! We at RadReviews highly encourage you to diversify your reading with some of these exceptional stories!

[reallyradreviews2020]

The Ocean at the end of The Lane - Review

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, was an unexpectedly important read for me.  I had picked the book up in a dusty old second hand bookshop that I often frequented.  It was 25 cents.  The cover was already coated in dust and there were water stains on nearly every page, but I needed a book to take with me on my trip, and this one looked like it had already been through plenty. 

I had read Gaiman before, and was a big fan of his work, but somehow I had never really heard about Ocean, I didn’t know what it was about and had no preconceptions of it’s plot, essentially I went in blind, which is not something I usually do. Soon I ambled through the first forty or so pages and still didn’t have a clear image of what the book was going to be about, which only made the realization I felt at the end even more rewarding.  

It was a shock when the seven year old protagonist of this book was faced with several very adult situations, some fairly early on, he dealt with things that adults often struggle with themselves; things such as death, adultery and sacrifice.  It was definitely something surreal to see those situations through the eyes of a child.  With Gaiman’s perfectly idiosyncratic descriptions that while obscure they may be, translated perfectly into my own sense of childhood nostalgia and hit in just the right way to remind me of my own feelings about such things.

Of course the novel also had it’s typical Gaiman flair, there was a fantasy element to the story as well; including witches, monsters, evil nannies and a magical ocean. The fantasy is incorporated in a way that leaves no room for doubt that these things are really happening to this boy, in fact it wasn’t until after I’d completed the book that it dawned on me that it all could have just been in the boy’s imagination, though we’ll never know for sure as there are hints to the contrary.  Anyway, it was only after I’d finished the novel that I really realized what it was about, at least what I myself had taken it to be about.  The book to me, was about growing up and losing that childlike innocence and imagination.

In the very start of the novel, we see the protagonist returning to his childhood home as an adult, where he remembers the events of the book, he remembers his first experiences with death, remembers the dread he associated with his new nanny, who he later recalls seeing in an intimate position with his father, and he remembers the girl only a little older than him who taught him all about her magical world.  All of the big fantastical events in the novel, are also tied to a serious problem occurring in the boy’s real life, however at the end of the novel, it is clear that he struggles to remember the more magical elements to the tale, inclining me to believe that the fantasy element was all a fantasy he’d come up with, his way of coping with growing up and the realization that the world isn’t all magic and spells with clear lines between good and evil. 

 The Ocean at the End of the Lane, deals with the struggles that accompany that initial loss of innocence, all wrapped up in the fantasy of a young boy’s imagination as he battles monsters and learns the rules of a magical world from the young girl he befriends down the street.  This book is a must read for fans of Neil Gaiman, or for anyone who wants to remember what the world was like when seen through the eyes of a child, when there was magic around every corner and in every fairy ring.