Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

Our return to school is rapidly approaching!  It seems we will be going back half-days, five days a week.  The Library will still be open during study hall, but sign in will be QR code rather than laptop.  I moved the tables and chairs to be 6 feet apart. We will have some new roommates this year.  Ms. Eburg, a new English teacher, will be taking the Conference Room where Mrs. Pazsak was. Five different teachers will rotate through with their Academic Labs.  I also heard Mr. Pistone will have a class or two in our space, but that's not definite yet.  Ms. Deninger and the English Department's Book Closet will be in our back room temporarily.  A full house!  

So, today's review.  This was recommended to me by Amazon.  I've been on a supernatural/witch kick as of late, so I'm guessing that's where this came from.  This was...interesting.  Think The Giver and Gathering Blue meets The Grace Year, The Handmaid's Tale, and The Crucible.

Which is my problem with it.  Nothing was really original.  Readable for sure.  Even enjoyable.  But I wasn't shook the way I was reading Gathering Blue or The Grace Year.  I'm finding originality lacking in some new books, as evidenced by my last THREE reviews.  Is it my own fault for reading similar books?  Perhaps.  Which is why my next is completely out of the genres I've been stuck in (The Field Guide to the North American Teenager).  The book that'll follow is the book club selection Just Mercy.  Unrelated, I suggested Tigers, Not Daughters for October, and I will moderate. 

In this story, Immanuelle is the mixed-race, illegitimate daughter of a suspected witch and poor man from an ostracized family.  Her mother was betrothed to The Prophet, a Pope-like figure leader of their village.  Her parents were burned at the stake.  Living under the care of her grandmother, the Dark Wood calls to her, and it appears her first menstrual period brings about a curse from the Witches of the Dark Wood.  The Prophet's Son, a secret disbeliever, tries to help her break the curses and plagues.  Immanuelle knows change is coming, and it comes with her power.

Like I said, readable and enjoyable.  Not original.

I'll be heading in tomorrow to hopefully process all these donated books from me!  My book order for this year has not been approved yet, so I do not know when or if we will get any new books (sad emoji)!

Please stay safe!

 

Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven by Bella Forrest

 Hello all.  It seems we will definitely see each other in two weeks.  There will be many changes, not all of which I am a fan of, but let us evaluate how things go once they start.

Anyway.

Today's review is for my next book club selection.  A reminder this is only my 2nd book as a part of the group.  I am hosting the gathering, and Ms. Corrado (that's Mrs. Paredes's secretary) is moderating the discussion.  I believe she is who chose this novel.

Bella Forrest is a widely popular "author".  I put the term in quotes because I don't think she's a real person.  She has no biography, no back story, no social media presence outside publishing info.  I am leaning toward "Bella Forrest" actually being several ghost writers in an anonymous group.  The vast majority of "her" work is paranormal series in YA.  This is listed as book 1 in a new serial, that of Harley Merlin.  

In addition, I am thinking "her" works are based off fanfic ideas.  There are several Twilight and Harry Potter connections that are too coincidental to be oops or common threads.  I would also draw attention to the Skull and Bones (Yale) reference and how similar the Kid City in the novel is to the one in Middletown.  A CT-based writer?  

Plot-wise, this is base novel in that there is a LOT of description--this is X and her job is Y, this is A and his specialty is B.  Introductory stuff to lay a foundation.  In short, the long lost last descendant of Merlin was hidden at birth and now finds herself part of a secret society of witches and warlocks looking for another long lost witch out for world domination.  Where have we heard this before?  Yeahhhhhh.  Looking at you Voldie.

Decent enough, but I have no intention of picking up anything else in the series or anything else of "Ms. Forrest"'s.  

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. 

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

I hope you are all safe and well.  I spent two weekends in New Hampshire (masked and socially distanced), which was fantastic.  I finished this before we left for Loudon, and promptly forgot to do the review before we left for LinWood.  

I wanted to like this.  I really, really wanted to like this.  It is set in Fairview, which is really Fairfield, CT. But, unfortunately I found it too similar to a mix of Dark Places (seriously, the ending is wayyyyyyy too similar), My Sister's Grave, and One of Us is Lying or All Eyes on Her (perhaps if I hadn't just read All Eyes, I might feel differently?).  There were also some glaring geographical mistakes that someone from Southern CT would notice right away. 

Andie Bell was beautiful and popular.  5 years ago her AP student boyfriend Sal Singh (read: brown skin, different culture than most in town) killed her.  He then killed himself. 

Now Pip, a senior, has decided to complete her capstone project on media literacy (didn't I say that in the review for All Eyes?) using the Bell/Singh murder-suicide as a case study.  She breaks her privacy commitment and reaches out to the families (wouldn't that disqualify her anyway?), befriending Sal's brother.  

The two reinterview witnesses, read transcripts, look at photos, etc.  Everything that happened in Dark Places and My Sister's Grave.  By the time I got to the end I was rolling my eyes and the ridiculousness of the plot twist, since I'd already read it! Ugh. 

Would this be a good murder mystery had I not read the aforementioned books so recently?  I'm not sure.  My bias in reviewing might be clouding my judgement.  Also, this was actually published BEFORE All Eyes, I just read it after.  Well, find it on the new shelf when we go back and decide for yourself!

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.