Review My 17 Book Challenge

[Moonshroom]

Small update: I finished THREE books today and I'm close to starting the fourth. They have all come up swinging and even though a few of them were fence-bitters, most were no-doubters. And one of them featured a scene SO memorable, I can't wait to tell you guys all about it. I'm in PARADISE.

[Kyng]

Small update: I finished THREE books today and I'm close to starting the fourth. They have all come up swinging and even though a few of them were fence-bitters, most were no-doubters. And one of them featured a scene SO memorable, I can't wait to tell you guys all about it. I'm in PARADISE.

Wow, you're on a roll here !

I'll look forward to reading your latest reviews .

[Moonshroom]

Last three!

[Moonshroom]

The unplanned second leg of the challenge is finally here! I couldn't believe it when I realized that the number of books read had jumped from 17 to 30 (or when I became aware that there were still many more stories I wanted to get into), but here we are.

#13 "Shoplifter" by Michael Cho.

I thought long and hard about which book should occupy the bottom step of this second round and none of them came to mind faster than Michael Cho's graphic novel.

The problem I had with "Shoplifter" is that it looked absolutely gorgeous (seriously, I feel like I could hang all those panels on my wall), but had otherwise very little to say. Hell, the shoplifting aspect isn't even brought up that often and the reasons behind it are pretty lame... there is no real need to do it, no higher stakes. It was pretty underwhelming.

#12 "In Real Life" by Cory Doctorow.

Another gorgeous-looking graphic novel with not a lot to say... although, I'll admit that I like it better than the previous one and that I was kind of in love with the idea that the main character manages to mess up royally by showing how unprepared she was to take on a fight that seemed fair and just to her (and it honestly was), because she doesn't know how to the world works.

All these books are making me really appreciate "Black Is For Beginnings" now, because that book at least took the time to tell its story to the fullest, burning as many pages as needed in order to get its message across. I feel that most graphic novels just kind of "quit" and abridge themselves nowadays, which isn't a good look. Still, I liked both "Shoplifter" and "In Real Life" just fine, despite finding them both a tad underwhelming.

#11 "Eliza & Her Monsters" by Francesca Zappia.

I'll start off this by saying that I fully commend the book for taking such an original approach to the "high school outcast" cliche. How? By making Eliza the most bland and underwhelming person possible in her day-to-day life, the kind of chick you wouldn't be caught dead talking to, but also by portraying her as this incredibly famous internet celebrity that the whole world has taken an interest in. Eliza is the creator of the acclaimed webcomic "Monstrous Sea" and has been drawing it for ages, always under the alias of "LadyConstellation"... but when her identity is accidentally revealed, she breaks down amongst panic attacks and a complete need to distance herself from her work. It's actually quite a nice insight into what it feels to create something and offer it to the world... so, why does it rank so low on my list? Simply because this is a terribly slow burner and the advertised conflict doesn't even begin until the book is pretty much done - it's worth it when it happens, but I just don't see many people making it that far on promise alone, to be honest.

#10 "Forgotten: Seventeen & Homeless" by Melody Carlson.

I thought this book would rank a lot higher on my list and it kind of irks me that it didn't.

"Forgotten" starts off great by portraying Adele as a diligent hardworker that has always done her best to keep her head above the water and also by showing us time and again that her irresponsible mother would always sink that boat for the both of them. It is not a huge surprise when her mother loses another job and they get evicted, nor is it a shock that poor Adele ends up living on a beat down van and that she has to keep lying about it to her friends, until the lie itself explodes on her face and renders her friendless on top of homeless.

This book could have been great, but it ends up becoming preachy to the point of making me honestly uncomfortable by the end... and thus, it gets placed near the end of the list as well.

#9 "The First 30 Days" by Lora Powell.

I liked this one a lot because it broke a lot of the "rules" of the Zombie Apocalypse experience: our character isn't a badass, she isn't prepared, she doesn't know what to do and she isn't the owner of her own arsenal... no, our protagonist is caught in the middle of this binging Netflix on her pajamas and quickly becomes so overwhelmed by the whole situation that nearly starves herself to death, refusing to leave the relatively safety of her own bathroom. If this book didn't turn into a bit of a soap opera toward the end, I would honestly think it could redefine the whole genre on its own, but it just doesn't go there... at least, no with full force. Recommended, though.

#8 "Kiss The Broken Glass" by Madeleine Kuderick.

This was by far the shortest book on the list and thus, I really didn't think I had time to get to know "bird-like" Skylar, rebellious Donya or even Kenna, our protagonist... but the book also acknowledges this and tells us that the main character doesn't think that 72 hours are really enough to change anything and the world would continue to be a massive trigger for her once she's discharged from the hospital. I think there's merit on that, on underlying the fact that "as long as your insurance covers your stay" isn't a solution for anything. I liked that a lot.

#7 "A Movie Making Nerd" by James Rolfe.

It is really weird to be reading the autobiography of someone I met through the internet... and also learning that I really didn't know much about this person at all, despite seeing him on screen for most of my life.

"A Movie Making Nerd" explores a lot of pretty cool details about the life of James Rolfe, probably the most influential person to ever grace the internet and I believe it to be a must-read for anyone who has ever been inspired by his work. Trust me, he doesn't shy away from any topic and even describes the darker side of internet fame a bit, which is something you wouldn't expect to see here and is all the more interesting as a result.

#6 "Please Stop Laughing At Me" by Jodee Blanco.

Depending on which side of bullying you have been on (whether you have been the victim, a mere observer or a bully yourself) this should be a pretty tough read, but that's precisely why I commend it... its rawness and honesty are what makes this book shine and no amount of praise would be enough to fully describe the magnificent body of work put out there by author Jodee Blanco as she tells us what kind of hellish landscape her tween and teenage years were as a result of being picked on constantly and how that shaped her entire life, even as she became a successful author and businesswoman revered by her former and current peers alike. Truly a masterpiece in honesty.

#5 "Damned" by Chuck Palahniuk.

I didn't expect this book to rank as high as it did, mostly because it grossed me out and offended me to the point where I only finished it not to let it win.

... But dang it, it is HILARIOUS and once I got into the groove of learning about Hell's inner workings (I loved that its chief export is telemarketers that call people around the world at dinner time), I just couldn't stop laughing.

I also really liked seeing Maddie, our protagonist, going from nicety-nice Swiss boarding school girl to hellish warrior princess, beating the absolute crap out of history's vilest and then being joined by them. It's an absolute trip, but it would offend the deeply religious among you and I can't say I blame you if you decide to burn it.

#4 "Girl In Pieces" by Kathleen Glasgow.

At first I was ready to dismiss "Girl In Pieces" as a carbon copy of Patricia McCormick's "Cut" (down to the selected mutism, and everything), but then the book went its own way and sort of became an unintended sequel to McCormick's work, with "Cut" taking part mostly during Callie's hospital stay and "Pieces" really only starting after Charlie had been discharged from her mental health prison. Both books ended up working really well together as a result of me reading them in this specific order and I enjoyed drawing parallels and comparisons between the two. Really solid individually, strong as a missile when combined with "Cut".

#3 "My Heart And Other Black Holes" by Jasmine Warga.

This is probably the most serious book on the entire challenge: Aysel and Roman are two teenagers who want to kill themselves as a result of a complicated past, but are afraid that they won't be able to pull the trigger alone, so they meet through a website called "Smooth Passages", which specializes on suicide partners and begin planning their mutual offing.

This book is really well-written and I like how the relationship between our death-bound characters evolves from a place of desperation and mistrust.

#2 "Wild Bird" by Wendelin van Draanen.

This book... this ****ing book.

With a lot of books, I can kinda see where the characters are coming from or the motivations behind their actions... not with "Wild Bird", though. You know why? Because I have LIVED Wren's story.

I was just like her when I was fourteen-years-old and while I didn't do drugs myself, I certainly drank a fair bit and was just a massive ball of rage as she is. I also ended up being vanished to a remote part of the country "to work out my issues" like Wren here.

"Wild Bird" is also home to the most memorable scene on the whole challenge so far and I wanna share it with you:

By the time this happens, we have known Wren for nearly 50 chapters and know that she is a drunk, a raging machine, a liar, a shoplifter and many other bad things, but this is the point where she finally crosses the line and she knows it.

After being banned to her room for disrespecting her family once more, Wren begins to drink from her secret stash and soon becomes drunk, so she decides to "get back" at her mother by sliding down the stairs and carving a swastika on her mother's piano, the same one her family brought back from Europe after having survived WW2, hiding from the Nazis.

Naturally, her mother is heartbroken when she finds this and begins breaking down upon the realization that her own daughter would such a terrible thing. Wren's father pretty much snaps her arm off as he drags her down the stairs to demand an explanation for this vile act and, when the usual lying and redirecting fails, the drunk and angered Wren grabs a baseball bat and starts destroying the house, only stopping after she gets tackled by her father and passes out from the all the alcohol she had consumed before her rampage. When she comes to, Wren finds herself on her bedroom floor, with her hands tied behind her back and her parents wailing and crying, all whilst she considers that night a "victory" because her parents and sister were now afraid of her. I became enamored of the book after that.

And honestly, if the book had pushed the "flashbacks" that got Wren sent off to a wilderness survival camp to "fix her attitude" more, this would have been the winner of the challenge in a heartbeat. Every time the book focused on Wren's strained relationship with her family (particularly with her sister, Annabella, "the narc") or with her toxic best friend, Meadow, this became an absolute highlight of the story and a reason to keep going in and on itself. A few more chapters of this would have been enough to push it over the top... or maybe not, because #1 really was something special.

#1 "Runaway" by Wendelin van Draanen.

"Runaway" is probably the best-written book on the whole challenge and an absolute joy to read.

The book tells the story of Holly, a twelve-year-old orphan, homeless girl that runs away from the foster home in which she's basically a slave and aimlessly wanders across the western US, stowing away on trains and buses and shoplifting to get by.

What makes this book such a poignant read is the fact that the world is relentlessly cruel to this dirty, ragged kid that obviously hasn't slept in a real bed in months and that clearly isn't eating on a daily basis. Seriously, anyone from bored goth kids at a fast food joint to other homeless people give chase to Holly and relish on the fact that they might harm her somehow. It's a thing of madness... and also an honest portrayal into what is like to be a homeless person: invisible only when asking for help, absolutely visible when not, obvious as a stain on your best jacket and something to be dealt with.

Another highlight of the book for me is the fact that while Holly is a competent shoplifter with a ton of experience, her technique begins to fail her as her situation deteriorates and she becomes less and less successful at it, which gets her kicked out of many places and even confronted with the possibility of getting the cops called on her (and since she's reported as "missing" since running away, that would be a fate worst than death for her).

The final thing that makes this book a masterpiece is the fact that, to keep her sanity, Holly unloads her heart and anger on a journal she keeps throughout her entire adventure, expressing anger and regret at every step of the way and slowly turning her character around, from hate-filled to regretful, and then hopeful. It's not a jarring shift, but a natural flow.

"Runaway" is a fantastic book and one I cannot recommend enough.

[Moonshroom]

Currently wrapping up book #32, final number still unknown.

[Moonshroom]

#32 was a disaster, but I'm FLYING through #33.

What a much-needed break this was.

[Kyng]

Well, it sounds like the second batch was more successful than the first batch! There seemed to be a couple of gems there - and even the worst of those 13 were merely mediocre, rather than truly terrible.

(But, my book was only #5... how could you ???)

[Moonshroom]

Well, it sounds like the second batch was more successful than the first batch! There seemed to be a couple of gems there - and even the worst of those 13 were merely mediocre, rather than truly terrible.

(But, my book was only #5... how could you ???)

"Your" book lost a lot of points fot this weird attack on both the UK and Argentina:



There are only three books left on the entire challenge (although 50 were picked, only 37 made the cut - of which I would "recast" four if I could). I'm kind of proud of myself for tackling this gigantic task, ngl.

[Kyng]

Okay, then I can absolutely see why it's lost points ! I mean, what the heck is that ?

[Moonshroom]

The final book on the challenge (#35) hails from the pile of those that had been previously discarded and now has entered the competition as a legit candidate for the top stop. I ****ing love literature.