Review: THE LUCY VARIATIONS by Sara Zarr

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

I picked this book up because I’ve been playing piano my whole life but I’ve yet to read a book about a pianist. The Lucy Variations is a coming-of-age story about Lucy, who was a world-renowned pianist at the ripe age of 16, but then something happened that caused her to quit playing completely, and eight months later, she still hasn’t touched the piano.

I like feeling a sense of connection to the protagonists in the books I read, and while I play piano, I was never in any competitions or upscale performances or anything of the like. I also don’t come from a performance family or have overbearing parents like Lucy does either. So I didn’t really feel like I could relate to her that much. 

Lucy’s brother, Gus, also plays piano, and he takes up the mantle of responsibility when Lucy decides to quit. The book begins with Gus’s piano teacher falling over dead during one of his lessons (this isn’t a spoiler; it happens on page one). A new teacher, Will enters their lives, and the story follows Lucy as she unofficially becomes Will’s student as he teaches her about life and the piano, even though she still refuses to play. We also get flashback scenes to the day eight months ago when Lucy played the piano for the last time. 

This book definitely has the themes of children growing up doing what’s expected of them to please their parents even though they don’t like it and then discovering they have their own dreams and ambitions and rebelling because of that. This is a common theme I’ve seen in many books, so there’s nothing new about it here. Lucy felt pressured to become an award-winning pianist, even though she didn’t really love to play.

You can kind of see where it’s going—Lucy goes through some trials and has to learn what makes her happy and learn to love piano for herself and not only because her parents tell her to. There’s also an attractive guy that helps her to see the truth and learn what she’d been missing. It’s a fine story, but again, it’s nothing new. 

I was a little uncomfortable with the fact that Lucy had a thing for older men. Not just Will but one of her high school teachers also, and that was really weird and creepy to me. 

I liked The Lucy Variations, but it wasn’t a standout book to me. It was enjoyable at the time but also forgettable if I’m being honest. I don’t tend to read young adult contemporary novels anymore because I struggle to relate to the protagonists now that I’m past that age. I thought this book might be different because of the piano aspect, but it still felt very much like the average YA contemporary. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s just not my taste anymore. 

I would like to comment on the audiobook though: Sara Zarr narrates the book herself and she does a great job at it. The audiobook also has music in the background. During scenes when Lucy or someone else was playing the piano or listening to music, we could hear music, and it enhanced the listening experience. I’m not classically versed so I don’t know if the music being played corresponded to the classical movements the characters were talking about, but it was really cool nonetheless. 

Review: TEN ARGUMENTS FOR DELETING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS RIGHT NOW by Jaron Lanier

 Rating: 1.5/5 stars

“Awareness is the first step to freedom.”

I’ve never been a big fan of social media and I rarely use it, so when I heard about this book, I thought it would be something I’d enjoy. Unfortunately, however, that was not the case. 

The book actually started out pretty good, in my opinion. The author communicated his first couple of arguments in an interesting and engaging way, and I had high hopes for the rest of the book. But then he started straying from valid arguments and started talking about his own beliefs, and his arguments became more subjective than objective. 

At one point he talks about how parents who don’t vaccinate their kids are buying into lies put out by bot accounts online, and he wraps up that section by telling us to vaccinate our kids and then literally says, “Save children. Delete your accounts.” Like if that argument isn’t trying to appeal to readers’ emotions rather than use hard facts and logic then I don’t even know. That is neither good writing nor a good argument nor a logical connection to make, and I cannot believe that phrase was allowed to be published in this book. 

The overarching arguments the author makes are actually valid. Among those arguments are that advertisements are manipulating us; social media is addictive, which gives us less free will over ourselves; and social media is undermining truth. I agree with all those statements, and the data he did share with us was rather alarming regarding technology nowadays and what it can do and what kind of information major companies like Google and Facebook are tracking when you’re on their websites. I definitely learned some information here that I didn’t know, but the positives of this book were severely overshadowed by the negatives. 

I’m already someone who doesn’t use social media and thinks it’s a huge waste of time. The only account I have is Facebook, but I haven’t posted on that in over five years, and I almost never log on. I don’t read articles on it, I don’t follow links on it, I barely use it. The only reason I still keep my account open is because it’s the only connection I have to some people in my life from many years ago, and I don’t want to lose touch with them completely. Not that I message anyone with any regularity, but I know the option is there just in case. I definitely do not intend to ever increase my social media usage though.

I felt like this book was more subjective than objective, filled with the author’s personal thoughts and opinions, and it needed to rely more on empirical evidence and data. His arguments were valid, but the way he was going about explaining why just wasn’t sitting right with me. The author is also VERY vocal about his political views and his anti-religion views, which I didn’t like. Those types of opinions shouldn’t have included been in this book about social media. Expressing how social media influences politics and religion is one thing, but it didn’t seem appropriate for him to give us his own views in such a heavy-handed way. 

Another problem I had was that the author constantly degrades people who use social media. He writes about it in a way to make the reader think they’re not included in that category of “people,” but it's clear he means anyone who uses social media in any facet. He constantly calls people who use social media a--holes, and I was just tired of hearing that language throughout the entire book. 

I think the majority of social media is really toxic and a waste of time (it’s not all bad but the benefits don’t outweigh the detriments, in my opinion), but there are other sources out there than this book that I think would better explain its effects in an objective manner, and I would much rather read an unbiased article about why social media is harmful than a book like this one. 

Overall, I really disliked this book. I didn’t even disagree with what he was saying in the majority of the book, but I hated the way he explained it all and his arrogant attitude that came across while I was reading. This read like an unprofessional opinion piece rather than a legitimate book. I will say, though, that the narrator did a great job; I enjoyed his voice even though I didn’t enjoy the book. 

Review: ALL SYSTEMS RED (Murderbot Diaries) by Martha Wells

 

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

I liked this novella. It’s a sci-fi story about a robotic android whose main purpose is to protect people (by way of murdering enemies), but all it wants to do is be alone and watch the entertainment feed.

Murderbot, it calls itself, is not really a robot, although that’s what it wants the humans to believe. It is made up of half organic and half inorganic materials, like a person inside an armored suit it never takes off. I’m curious to know, as it was never stated, if Murderbot is a different species or if it is entirely manmade. Like is its organic matter human-like, or what does it look like inside its armor?

This story was a little confusing to me, and I sometimes honestly think I’m just too dumb to read science fiction because I have yet to read a story in this genre that really clicks with me or that I fully understand. There was a lot about the world and technology in this book that wasn’t explained, and there’s even information in the synopsis that wasn’t blatantly explained in the story (either that or I just missed it), which is a problem because I shouldn’t have to read the synopsis to learn stuff that the book itself didn’t cover. I’ve always had a hard time reading novellas because of the lack of worldbuilding and information present in the narrative, but this story is, at its core, about the character of Murderbot, so maybe there doesn’t need to be more information for me as a reader to still connect with its character.

This book was pretty funny but also emotionally relatable. I liked All Systems Red enough that I’m interested in reading the other novellas in this series. I don’t know if they will follow the same crew that Murderbot works with in this book or if each book will follow different side characters, but I feel like, regardless, I will enjoy the series more the further I read.

Review: BITTERBLUE by Kristin Cashore (reread)

 

Rating: 5/5 stars

I love this book so much. It truly is one of the most well-written and satisfying books I have ever read.

I reread Bitterblue in preparation for Winterkeep coming out next week, which is my most anticipated book of 2021. I remember when I originally read this series that I liked Graceling and I didn’t like Fire, but part of me now wishes I had reread those two books also. I’m especially interested in rereading Fire to see if I might like it more now; I forgot just how many references to that book are in Bitterblue, and it’s actually quite important. In my original review, I said that you could skip both the first books and read Bitterblue as a standalone. While that statement remains true as you would not be confused about the story in any way, you would still be missing out on so much world-building and history and character development found in the first two books, so my new stance is to read the whole trilogy in order without skipping ahead. 

I can’t believe how much I forgot about this story though. I remembered there were a ton of ciphers and a ton of betrayals, and that’s still true, but I forgot most of the plot and the minor characters, including Hava, who I believe becomes a POV character in Winterkeep. I’m so so glad I reread this book to refresh my mind before starting the fourth installment. The ending leaves it open for new birth and regrowth of Bitterblue’s kingdom, and I cannot wait to see how she has developed as a queen and also to see what she has done with her kingdom. The end of Bitterblue talks about what she would like to see done in the future, so it’ll be interesting to see how much she followed through on. I really really hope that Cashore does not let us down in tying threads of the new book back to the stories in the original trilogy.

In my original review, I mentioned that the book is left open-ended about Bitterblue’s romantic future, but upon reread, it almost seems obvious what the outcome could be (we’ll see if I’m right when I read Winterkeep). I obviously wanted it to go a certain way during my initial read, so I was refusing to see the signs that were right in front of me during the last third of the story, my now my opinion has changed. (Leaving it vague to avoid spoilers.) 

I cannot emphasize enough how much I love this book. Bitterblue is one of the best young adult books out there, and it has THE BEST political intrigue I’ve ever read in a fantasy novel ever, adult or young adult. There is just so much in here that I don’t see in other books. Cashore does not pull her punches one bit, and I love it. I love her writing and her character work and her twisty threads that all tie together. I will reread this book every few years until I die; it will always be one of my favorite stories.

Review: LORE by Alexandra Bracken

 

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

“It’s not always the truth that survives, but the stories we wish to believe. The legends lie.”

I was rather skeptical starting this book—I’ve always had a tenuous relationship with Greek mythology. Ever since we had to read Edith Hamilton’s Greek Mythology in ninth grade, I hated it. That book ruined mythology for me, and unfortunately, it has tainted my view of any type of mythology since. But I desperately do want to like mythology. It is obviously so influential in our culture, probably way more than I even realize. I want to like it, and the only way to do that is to embrace the stories that talk about it and actually bother to learn what the myths are even about.

Enter this book, Lore. I received an advanced copy of it, and at first I was just like meh? But then I showed it to my husband and he thought I would really like it. It’s described as if The Hunger Games were written by Madeleine Miller, who’s known for her Greek mythology retellings. I thought, “Okay, why not?” and I decided to give it a try. I’ve gotta start somewhere, right?

In this book, for seven days every seven years, the Agon occurs. During that week, the Greek gods become mortal and are hunted by the descendants of ancient Greek heroes, who will gain the power of the god they slay and become immortal until the next Agon.

Lore Perseous is the last one left of her bloodline, and she chooses to no longer participate in the hunt, not wanting the responsibility and danger that come with attaining godly power. But this year, she’s offered the chance at an alliance that may allow her to escape the Agon forever, but it may come at too high a cost for her to bear. Is it worth it?

“An oath was, after all, a curse you placed on yourself.”

This book was pretty good, better than I expected it to be, at least. It was fast-paced with lots of action scenes. I don’t tend to like action scenes in books (or movies), but I think they served this story well.

My favorite character was Miles, the human friend who got roped into the whole adventure simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I do appreciate that he had some answers that neither Lore nor the gods nor the other hunters had, though. Like he was still useful even though he wasn’t supposed to be involved in the Agon.

I will say that not knowing hardly anything about Greek mythology had me a bit of a disadvantage with this book, but I slowly learned some of the facts along the way. If you are a fan of the Greek myths, I think you will really enjoy Lore. I did learn some facts about Greek mythology that I didn’t previously know, but I still don’t consider myself a fan. 

Because I don’t know much about Greek mythology, I did have to refer to the glossary in the back to see which god had control of what. I’m very glad a cast of characters was included because it was very helpful to me.

There were flashbacks in this book from seven years ago during the previous Agon, when Lore would have been ten. While those were interesting moments in the book, I did have a hard time believing some of the stuff she was doing because no ten-year-old is that smart. I do think Lore would make a great movie, though. Almost every chapter ends on a suspenseful note, leaving the reader wanting to keep reading to find out what happens next, and the book has a fast-moving plot. 

Overall, Lore was a fun urban fantasy that fans of Greek mythology will love. It has feminist undertones, a great cast of characters, and a quick pace with lots of action. 

2021 Reading Goals

My main goal this year is to read books that I own. I have WAY too many books on my TBR, and despite reading more books in 2020 than I ever have in any year prior, my TBR pile was somehow larger at the end of the year than it was at the beginning of the year at 390 books. (I bought a lot of books last year. . . .) So my primary focus this year is to decrease my TBR pile as much as possible. To help me do this, I have decided that I will not buy a book unless I read three books that I own first. Obviously, this rule does not apply to gifts, since I can't control what presents I receive or when, and I'm not counting the ARCs I get from work either. So read three TBR books to purchase one. We'll see if I can follow that rule all year long. (I may already have my doubts. . . .)

I also have set a Goodreads goal of 100 books. I hope I can reach that. We'll see as the year progresses how I'm doing and if I need to adjust that, but for now, it's at 100. 

I also have a list of specific series I would like to read in 2021. These are the books that are at the top of my list that I'm currently the most enthusiastic about, and the good news is I own all of them already. 
1. The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden
2. The Themis Files by Sylvain Neuvel
3. The Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer
4. The Nine Realms Series by Sarah Kozloff
5. Trylle Trilogy by Amanda Hocking
6. The Blood and Ash Trilogy by Jennifer L. Armentrout
7. Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians Series by Brandon Sanderson
8. The Mara Dyer Trilogy by Michelle Hodkin

Besides the above series, I have five standalone titles I hope to read as well.
1. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab
2. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christoper Paolini
3. The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
4. Steel Crow Saga by Paul Kreuger 
5. Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

There are, of course, other books I have my eye on, but the series and titles listed above are the ones I am currently the most excited about reading next year. Once again though, my main goal is to read books I already own, so even if I read none of these titles but still have over 80% of my books read be from my TBR list, I would call that a success.