thebookrebellion

Chinese student refugees traveling across the country in the midst of a war against Japan. With them is a 500-year-old collection of myths and folklore known as the Library of Legends. And some characters might not be who we think they are.⁣

“It was a girl. She stood with her back to Lian. Her head was turned up to gaze at the heavens and her slim silhouette gleamed with a cool, clean radiance. She lifted one hand to the sky as if in greeting. Then a scattering of clouds dimmed the constellations and light drained from the courtyard as the girl walked away, vanishing into the shadows.
Lian climbed back into bed and pulled up the blankets, wondering what she’d just seen, or if she had seen anything at all. By the time she fell back into sleep, it seemed to her that the shining figure was merely the memory of a dream, brought on by syrup of poppies.”

Based on true events, this novel takes us in a wild journey of survival, friendship, loyalty, trust, and an ancient romance. Mixing historical fiction with mysticism and with characters we would root for, this book is an experience you wouldn't what to miss.⁣ I devoured this book. The pacing is, surprisingly, fast. Usually, I tend to find historical fiction a bit of a task to read, but not in this case. And of course, the storyline in itself is interesting. The characters are solid, although I wouldn't mind a couple more pages for some of them. (I love me some solid character development) ⁣

Would I read another of Janie Chang's books? I definitely will.⁣

“Myths are the darkest and brightest incarnations of who we are. They slip into our dreams and underpin our reality. Perhaps that’s why the gods judged the Library of Legends worthy of special protection.””

🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Chill by Scott Carson

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📚📚 Synopsis 📚📚

In this terrifying thriller, a supernatural force—set in motion a century ago—threatens to devastate New York City.

Far upstate, in New York’s ancient forests, a drowned village lays beneath the dark, still waters of the Chilewaukee reservoir. Early in the 20th century, the town was destroyed for the greater good: bringing water to the millions living downstate. Or at least that’s what the politicians from Manhattan insisted at the time. The local families, settled there since America’s founding, were forced from their land, but they didn’t move far, and some didn’t move at all…

Now, a century later, the repercussions of human arrogance are finally making themselves known. An inspector assigned to oversee the dam, dangerously neglected for decades, witnesses something inexplicable. It turns out that more than the village was left behind in the waters of the Chill when it was abandoned. The townspeople didn’t evacuate without a fight. A dark prophecy remained, too, and the time has come for it to be fulfilled. Those who remember must ask themselves: who will be next? For sacrifices must be made. And as the dark waters begin to inexorably rise, the demand for a fresh sacrifice emerges from the deep…

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👻👻Review👻👻

The writing style on this book reminded me a bit of, dare I say, Stephen King, especially when it comes to the characterization. The main character in this book, I thought, is well fleshed out. I, particularly, enjoyed reading about his past in the marine and everything that came after that. His commentary, I find compelling out of all the characters. His relationship with his father, especially, I find well-written and realistic.

“How did that happen? You could dream something so real that it made your heart race and sweat spring from your pores—so real that you woke with a raised hand and a turned head as if expecting a blow… and then the dream was gone. How could that happen so fast?”

The creepy atmosphere in here is so well done as well. Consistent from the very first page up to the last one. The problem, though, is it never really evolved into something more than just feeling creeped out. I never really got that ‘scared to shit’ experience reading the book and that, kind of, disappointed me. The build up was there, I was anxiously waiting for the climax to burst into something ‘full on horror’, but it never really did. In the end, it felt more like a disaster/survival read rather than a horror book. And I get it, it was actually marketed as that but it did promise to deliver with the ‘horror element’. And boy! The disappointment.

“Those were the memories, at least. But memory was a shifting thing, fluid and deceptive, and it had a way of carrying facts from one place to another so subtly that you didn’t recognize the redistribution until too late. One summer the sandbar had been over there, and the next summer you were running aground on it over here. That was memory. You navigated with it, but it was shifting all the while.”

Did I feel like I wasted my time? No. Not at all. I, genuinely, enjoyed the writing style in here. I only wished it never stayed stagnant to that creepy tone. I wished the horror factor was showcase aggressively, if that makes sense.

Do I want to read more from this author? Probably, yes. We’ll see.

A solid 3-star read. A Creepy and Character-driven book.

🌟🌟🌟

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Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven

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📚📚 Synopsis 📚📚

Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed “America’s Fattest Teen.” But no one’s taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Following her mom’s death, she’s been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby’s ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for every possibility life has to offer. In that moment, I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything.

Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he’s got swagger, but he’s also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can’t recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He’s the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can’t understand what’s going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don’t get too close to anyone.

Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours.

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📖📖 Review 📖📖

As usual with YA, I’m not the biggest fan of the ‘Romance’. I thought it downplay the issues the book is trying to tackle, especially in the second half of the book. Everything is all pointed to having that ‘love interest’ work. Did it ruin the book for me? A little bit, but I get the message and I’m all for it. I’m all for self-love and positivity.

People are shitty for a lot of reasons. Sometimes they’re just shitty people. Sometimes people have been shitty to them and, even though they don’t realize it, they take that shitty upbringing and go out into the world and treat others the same way. Sometimes they’re shitty because they’re afraid. Sometimes they choose to be shitty to others before others can be shitty to them. So it’s like self-defensive shittiness.

This book has so much to offer with its message of resilience, self-discovery, love in many forms, etc. . . The bullying aspect of this book, however, I find rather too convenient if that makes sense at all. I don’t really know how to explain it, but I find myself not convinced with how the bully acted. Or how the person at the receiving end reacted. Unrealistic, probably is the right word. 😅✌️ On top of that, there were moment of inconsistency on the part of Jack when in one of the scene he described Libby as the largest girl in the campus when in fact she isn’t. To prove my point, Iris was describe by Libby as larger than her. So Jack saying Libby is larger when Libby and Iris were always together kind of irked me. This is me overanalyzing things so. . . 🙄 (Small details matter!!!)

On a more positive note, I learned something new reading this book. And that is about a condition Jack have called Prosopagnosia. It’s always great to learn something new from a book, something I would have not known in my daily life. 💚 Jack’s character, I find interesting. I would have loved it if it explore more aspect of his life in details rather than just telling us this or that. For example, the affair. It is a major situation in their household, but it wasn’t really resolved in the end. And I blame it all in the romance, because once it worked out everything just falls into place. Typical YA. LOL

Prosopagnosia (pro-suh-pag-NO-zhuh) noun: 1. an inability to recognize the faces of familiar people, typically as a result of damage to the brain.

2. when everyone is a stranger.

All that being said, I would personally rate this book 3 stars. I enjoyed it still. And the fact that I finished it in less than 24 hours with me being in a major book slump spoke volume. Solid read. ☺️

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