Book Review – Page 6 – Talk Nerdy Book Blog

September 23, 2020

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Series: Standalone

Release Date: June 4, 2019

Synopsis:

A poignant and suspenseful drama that untangles the complicated ties binding three women—two sisters and their mother—in one Chinese immigrant family and explores what happens when the eldest daughter disappears, and a series of family secrets emerge, from the New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Translation

It begins with a mystery. Sylvie, the beautiful, brilliant, successful older daughter of the Lee family, flies to the Netherlands for one final visit with her dying grandmother—and then vanishes.

Amy, the sheltered baby of the Lee family, is too young to remember a time when her parents were newly immigrated and too poor to keep Sylvie. Seven years older, Sylvie was raised by a distant relative in a faraway, foreign place, and didn’t rejoin her family in America until age nine. Timid and shy, Amy has always looked up to her sister, the fierce and fearless protector who showered her with unconditional love.

But what happened to Sylvie? Amy and her parents are distraught and desperate for answers. Sylvie has always looked out for them. Now, it’s Amy’s turn to help. Terrified yet determined, Amy retraces her sister’s movements, flying to the last place Sylvie was seen. But instead of simple answers, she discovers something much more valuable: the truth. Sylvie, the golden girl, kept painful secrets . . . secrets that will reveal more about Amy’s complicated family—and herself—than she ever could have imagined.

A deeply moving story of family, secrets, identity, and longing, Searching for Sylvie Lee is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive portrait of an immigrant family. It is a profound exploration of the many ways culture and language can divide us and the impossibility of ever truly knowing someone—especially those we love.

Ending:

Tragedy; HFN

Representation

• Chinese main and supporting characters

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Racism
• Statutory r@pe
• Discussion of suicide
• Emotional and physical abuse
• Infidelity

Mature Themes

• Childhood abandonment
• Missing person (the resulting grief that goes with that)
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Hardcover

Rating: 4.75/5 stars

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Calming and Genuine: The Secret Women by Sheila Williams

By Sarah

In 5-stars, Book Review

September 19, 2020

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Series: Standalone

Release Date: June 9, 2020

Synopsis:

Elise Armstrong, Carmen Bradshaw, and DeeDee Davis meet in a yoga class. Though vastly different, these women discover they all have one thing in common: their mothers have recently passed away. Becoming fast friends, the trio make a pact to help each other sort through the belongings their mothers’ left behind. But when they find old letters and diaries, Elise, Carmen, and DeeDee are astonished to learn that each of their mothers hid secrets—secrets that will transform their own lives.

Meeting each month over margaritas, the trio share laughter, advice, and support. As they help each other overcome challenges and celebrate successes, Elise, Carmen, and DeeDee gain not only a better understanding of the women their mothers were, but of themselves. They also come to realize they have what their mothers needed most but did not have during difficult times—other women they could trust.

Filled with poignant life lessons, The Secret Women pays tribute to the power of friendship and family and the bonds that tie us together. Beautiful, full of spirit and heart, it is a thoughtful and ultimately uplifting story of unconditional love.

Ending:

HFN

Representation

• Black biracial main character
• Black main and supporting characters

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Mental Illness — Bipolar disorder
• Attempted suicide and murder of children
• Death of parent

Mature Themes

• Death of parent
• Allusions to teenagers drinking
• (Amicable) divorce
• Children (who are late 40s to early 60s) lashing out at parents who start dating after their spouse dies
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Paperback

Rating: 5/5 stars

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Outstanding and Insightful: Family in Six Tones by Lan Cao and Harlan Margaret Van Cao

By Sarah

In 4-stars, ARC, Book Review

September 15, 2020

O

A Refugee Mother, An American Daughter

Series: Standalone

Release Date: September 15, 2020

Synopsis:

A dual first-person memoir by the acclaimed Vietnamese-American novelist and her thoroughly American teenage daughter

After more than forty years in the United States, Lan Cao still feels tentative about her place in her adoptive country, one which she came to as a thirteen-year old refugee. And after sixteen years of being a mother, she still ventures through motherhood as if it is a foreign landscape. In this lyrical memoir, Lan explores these two defining experiences of her life with the help of her fierce, independently-minded daughter, Harlan Margaret Van Cao.

In chapters that both reflect and refract her mother’s narrative, Harlan describes the rites of passage of childhood and adolescence, as they are filtered through the aftereffects of her family’s history of war, tragedy, and migration. Lan responds in turn, trying to understand her American daughter through the lens of her own battles with culture clash and bullying. In this unique format of alternating storytelling, their complicated mother-daughter relationship begins to crystallize. Lan’s struggles with the traumatic aftermath of war–punctuated by emotional, detailed flashbacks to her childhood–become operatic and fantastical interludes as told by her daughter. Harlan’s struggle to make friends in high school challenges her mother to step back and let her daughter find her own way.

Family in Six Tones is at once special and universal, speaking to the unique struggles of refugees as well as the universal tug-of-war between mothers and daughters. The journey of a refugee–away from war and loss towards peace and a new life–and the journey of a mother raising a child–to be secure and happy–are both steep paths filled with detours and stumbling blocks. Through explosive fights and painful setbacks, mother and daughter search for a way to accept the past and face the future together.

Ending: Nonfiction

N/A

Representation

• Vietnamese-American author
• Vietnamese biracial author

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Discussion of war crimes
• Discussion of r*pe
• Discussions (including memories) of PTSD episodes
• Discussion of suicide
• Memories of racism and xenophobia

Mature Themes

• War
• Death
• PTSD
• Allusions to sex
• Allusions to drug use (by other teenagers)
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: eARC

Rating: 4.75/5 stars

Note: I received Family in Six Tones through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to FSB Association for the opportunity.

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Clever and Bold: The Body Politic by Brian Platzer

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

September 11, 2020

C

Series: Standalone

Release Date: March 3, 2020

Synopsis:

New York City is still regaining its balance in the years following 9/11, when four twenty-somethings—Tess, Tazio, David, and Angelica—meet in a bar, each yearning for something: connection, recognition, a place in the world, a cause to believe in. Nearly fifteen years later, as their city recalibrates in the wake of the 2016 election, their bond has endured—but almost everything else has changed.

As freshmen at Cooper Union, Tess and Tazio were the ambitious, talented future of the art world—but by thirty-six, Tess is married to David, the mother of two young boys, and working as an understudy on Broadway. Kind and steady, David is everything Tess lacked in her own childhood—but a recent freak accident has left him with befuddling symptoms, and she’s still adjusting to her new role as caretaker.

Meanwhile, Tazio—who once had a knack for earning the kind of attention that Cooper Union students long for—has left the art world for a career in creative branding and politics. But in December 2016, fresh off the astonishing loss of his candidate, Tazio is adrift, and not even his gorgeous and accomplished fiancée, Angelica, seems able to get through to him. With tensions rising on the national stage, the four friends are forced to face the reality of their shared histories, especially a long-ago betrayal that has shaped every aspect of their friendship.

Elegant and perceptive, The Body Politic explores the meaning of commitment, the nature of forgiveness, the way that buried secrets will always find their way to the surface, and how all of it can shift—and eventually erupt—over the course of a life.

Ending:

HFN… I guess.

Representation

• Black-Thai biracial supporting/main character
• Latino biracial supporting character
• Latina side character
• Trans woman side character
• Challenges ableism: the MC is working through living with chronic dizziness

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Witnessing the murder of a parent by another parent
• Depression
• Parental abandonment
• Physical abuse
• Rape
• Alcoholism
• Death of parent

Safety Rating (of the married couple, Tess and David): Not Safe

• Does have cheating (Tess has cheated on David multiple times and with little regret)
• Does have OM drama
— OM is David and Tess’s best friend, Tazio, who is a main supporting character
— Tess also recently cheated on David with a co-star
• Does have OW drama
— Tess brings up feel like David’s business partner wants to get with him… but decides to trust David (it’s left unresolved)
• Does have the Hero and Herojne pushing each other away
• Does have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Hardcover

Rating: 4/5 stars

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Compelling Yet Tedious: Here She Is by Hilary Levey Friedman

By Sarah

In 3-stars, ARC, Book Review

August 28, 2020

C

Series: Standalone

Release Date: August 25, 2020

Synopsis:

A fresh exploration of American feminist history told through the lens of the beauty pageant world.

Many predicted that pageants would disappear by the 21st century. Yet they are thriving. America’s most enduring contest, Miss America, celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2020. Why do they persist? In Here She Is, Hilary Levey Friedman reveals the surprising ways pageants have been an empowering feminist tradition. She traces the role of pageants in many of the feminist movement’s signature achievements, including bringing women into the public sphere, helping them become leaders in business and politics, providing increased educational opportunities, and giving them a voice in the age of #MeToo.

Using her unique perspective as a NOW state president, daughter to Miss America 1970, sometimes pageant judge, and scholar, Friedman explores how pageants became so deeply embedded in American life from their origins as a P.T. Barnum spectacle at the birth of the suffrage movement, through Miss Universe’s bathing beauties to the talent- and achievement-based competitions of today. She looks at how pageantry has morphed into culture everywhere from The Bachelor and RuPaul’s Drag Race to cheer and specialized contests like those for children, Indigenous women, and contestants with disabilities. Friedman also acknowledges the damaging and unrealistic expectations pageants place on women in society and discusses the controversies, including Miss America’s ableist and racist history, Trump’s ownership of the Miss Universe Organization, and the death of the child pageant-winner JonBenét Ramsey.

Presenting a more complex narrative than what’s been previously portrayed, Here She Is shows that as American women continue to evolve, so too will beauty pageants.

Ending: Non-fiction

N/A

Representation

Interrogates:
• racism
• ableism
• homophobia
• transphobia
• antisemitism

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Slut-shaming
• Objectification of women (and children)
• Discussion of rape and sexual assault
• Death (including of a child)
• Murder of a child

Mature Themes

• References to and discussion of underage drinking, drug abuse and sex
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Note: I received Here She Is through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to FSB Association for the opportunity.

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Crucial and Authentic: Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

August 20, 2020

C

Series: Standalone

Release Date: January 21, 2020

Synopsis:

Two-time Edgar Award finalist Lamar Giles spotlights the consequences of societal pressure, confronts toxic masculinity, and explores the complexity of what it means to be a “real man.”

Del has had a crush on Kiera Westing since kindergarten. And now, during their junior year, she’s finally available. So when Kiera volunteers for an opportunity at their church, Del’s right behind her. Though he quickly realizes he’s inadvertently signed up for a Purity Pledge.

His dad thinks his wires are crossed, and his best friend, Qwan, doesn’t believe any girl is worth the long game. But Del’s not about to lose his dream girl, and that’s where fellow pledger Jameer comes in. He can put in the good word. In exchange, Del just has to get answers to the Pledgers’ questions…about sex ed.

With other boys circling Kiera like sharks, Del needs to make his move fast. But as he plots and plans, he neglects to ask the most important question: What does Kiera want? He can’t think about that too much, though, because once he gets the girl, it’ll all sort itself out. Right?

Ending

 HFN

Representation

• Black main character
• Black supporting characters
• Black side characters
• Gay supporting character

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Slut-shaming
• Discussion of r@pe and sexual assault

Mature Themes

• Sex, including unprotected sex
• Masturbation
• Porn
• Teen pregnancy
• Underaged drinking
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Kindle

Rating: 4/5 stars

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Brilliant and Indispensable: What We Talk About When We Talk About Rape by Sohaila Abdulali

By Sarah

In 5-stars, Book Review

August 15, 2020

B

Series: Standalone

Release Date: October 25, 2019

Synopsis:

Thoughtful, provocative and intelligent, this game-changing book looks at sexual assault and the global discourse on rape from the viewpoint of a survivor, writer, counsellor and activist.

Sohaila Abdulali was the first Indian rape survivor to speak out about her experience. Gang-raped as a teenager in Mumbai and indignant at the deafening silence on the issue in India, she wrote an article for a women’s magazine questioning how we perceive rape and rape victims. Thirty years later she saw the story go viral in the wake of the fatal 2012 Delhi rape and the global outcry that followed.

Drawing on three decades of grappling with the issue personally and professionally, and on her work with hundreds of other survivors, she explores what we think about rape and what we say. She also explores what we don’t say, and asks pertinent questions about who gets raped and who rapes, about consent and desire, about redemption and revenge, and about how we raise our sons. Most importantly, she asks: does rape always have to be a life-defining event, or is it possible to recover joy?

Ending: Non-Fiction

  Powerful

Representation

• Author describes herself as: “A brown bisexual middle-aged atheist Muslim survivor immigrant writer without a Shame Gene”
• Discusses the rape culture of India (as well as many other non-Western countries)

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Discussion of rape culture
• Discussion and description of Rape including,
– Gang rape
– Child rape
– Marital rape
– Casual rape (Perpetrator wants sex)
– Damage rape (Perpetrator wants to cause pain)
• Child brides
• Suicide
• Violence

Mature Themes

• Sex work
• Alcohol and drug abuse
• BDSM
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Paperback

Rating: 5/5 stars

Trigger Warning: This review discusses topics that can be triggering for some. Please read the ‘Possible Triggers’ tab above for details.

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Sentimental and Perfervid: Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

August 8, 2020

S

Series: Twilight Saga*

Release Date: August 4, 2020

Synopsis

When Edward Cullen and Bella Swan met in Twilight, an iconic love story was born. But until now, fans have heard only Bella’s side of the story. At last, readers can experience Edward’s version in the long-awaited companion novel, Midnight Sun.

This unforgettable tale as told through Edward’s eyes takes on a new and decidedly dark twist. Meeting Bella is both the most unnerving and intriguing event he has experienced in all his years as a vampire. As we learn more fascinating details about Edward’s past and the complexity of his inner thoughts, we understand why this is the defining struggle of his life. How can he justify following his heart if it means leading Bella into danger?

Ending

  HFN

Representation

• Quileute side characters

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Violence (Blood and gore)
• Torture (Psychological and physical)
• Planning of murder
• Murder
• Death
• Allusions to rape
• Allusions to pedophilia

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• Does have OW and OM drama
– Tanya has been into Edward for decades and thought him going to Alaska was for her (nothing happens though)
– Rosalie is upset that Edward never wanted her and yet he falls for unremarkable Bella
– Bella is asked out repeatedly be three boys, all of whom she turns down
• Does have the Hero pushing the Heroine away
• Does have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Hardcover

Rating: 4.75/5 stars

*Companion to Twilight (told in Edward’s perspective)

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Brilliant and Kickass: Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

August 5, 2020

B

Series: Dread Nation

Release Date: April 3, 2018

Synopsis:

Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.

But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.

Ending

 
• Plot – Cliffhanger
• Character – HFN

Representation

• Black biracial main character
• Black biracial (white passing) supporting character
• Black side characters
• Bisexual main character
• Asexual supporting character
• Lenape side character

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Violence (Blood and gore)
• Torture (whipping)
• Corporal punishment (of children)
• Allusion to sexual violence and assault
• Racial slurs
• Unwanted experimentation (“vaccination”)

Mature Themes

• References to sex
• Allusions to drug use
• Discussion of prostitution
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Kindle Unlimited

Rating: 4.25/5 stars

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Important and Transformative: Sex and World Peace by Valerie M. Hudson et al.

By Sarah

In 5-stars, Book Review

July 28, 2020

I

Also by Bonnie Balliff-Spanvill, Mary Caprioli and Chad F. Emmett

Series: Standalone

Release Date: April 7, 2012

Synopsis:

“Sex and World Peace” unsettles a variety of assumptions in political and security discourse, demonstrating that the security of women is a vital factor in the security of the state and its incidence of conflict and war.

The authors compare micro-level gender violence and macro-level state peacefulness in global settings, supporting their findings with detailed analyses and color maps. Harnessing an immense amount of data, they call attention to discrepancies between national laws protecting women and the enforcement of those laws, and they note the adverse effects on state security of abnormal sex ratios favoring males, the practice of polygamy, and inequitable realities in family law, among other gendered aggressions.

The authors find that the treatment of women informs human interaction at all levels of society. Their research challenges conventional definitions of security and democracy and shows that the treatment of gender, played out on the world stage, informs the true clash of civilizations. In terms of resolving these injustices, the authors examine top-down and bottom-up approaches to healing wounds of violence against women, as well as ways to rectify inequalities in family law and the lack of parity in decision-making councils. Emphasizing the importance of an R2PW, or state responsibility to protect women, they mount a solid campaign against women’s systemic insecurity, which effectively unravels the security of all.

Ending: Non-Fiction

  • Impactful

Representation

• BIPOC representation
– Including people (and cultures) from the Middle East, India, Africa as well as Asia

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Rape (including of children)
• Female genital mutilation
• Physical abuse
• Psychological abuse
• Forced marriage

Mature Themes

• Teenage pregnancy
• Teenage marriage
• Polygamy
• Prostitution
• Pornography
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Paperback

Rating: 5/5 stars

Trigger Warning: This review discusses topics that can be triggering for some. Please read the ‘Possible Triggers’ tab above for details.

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CategoryBook Review

Striking Yet Harrowing: Searching For Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok

Calming and Genuine: The Secret Women by Sheila Williams

Outstanding and Insightful: Family in Six Tones by Lan Cao and Harlan Margaret Van Cao

A Refugee Mother, An American Daughter

Clever and Bold: The Body Politic by Brian Platzer

Compelling Yet Tedious: Here She Is by Hilary Levey Friedman

Crucial and Authentic: Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles

Sentimental and Perfervid: Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

Brilliant and Kickass: Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Important and Transformative: Sex and World Peace by Valerie M. Hudson et al.

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A Refugee Mother, An American Daughter

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