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BOOK REVIEW – Tonight the Streets Are Ours by Leila Sales

September 20, 2015 /
BOOK REVIEW – Tonight the Streets Are Ours by Leila SalesTonight the Streets Are Ours by Leila Sales
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

From the author of This Song Will Save Your Life comes a funny and relatable book about the hazards of falling for a person you haven't met yet.

Seventeen-year-old Arden Huntley is recklessly loyal. Taking care of her loved ones is what gives Arden purpose in her life and makes her feel like she matters. But she's tired of being loyal to people who don't appreciate her—including her needy best friend and her absent mom.

Arden finds comfort in a blog she stumbles upon called "Tonight the Streets Are Ours," the musings of a young New York City writer named Peter. When Peter is dumped by the girlfriend he blogs about, Arden decides to take a road trip to see him.

During one crazy night out in NYC filled with parties, dancing, and music—the type of night when anything can happen, and nearly everything does—Arden discovers that Peter isn't exactly who she thought he was. And maybe she isn't exactly who she thought she was, either.

“Other people matter hugely. But you have to matter to yourself, too. There has to be a balance. I’m still figuring out that balance, myself. But I know this one thing : sacrificing everything that you care about in order to make another person happy is not love.”

Nobody can deny that internet – and others in general, for that matter – influences our lives in a way or another. As soon as judgments aren’t shoved down my throat, I’m okay with that, but what happens when the boundaries between what we think and what we show are so blurred that everything we’re told can cause us to lose our groundings?

Can we really lose ourselves when what we presumed about our personality was – maybe – a lie in the first place?

Tonight the Streets Are Ours takes us on a journey through multiple characters’ life. In that aspect, the story is strictly contemporary, sometimes not completely believable (aka. going to New York) yet it didn’t bother me because let’s face it, I was engrossed and understood what Leila Sales was trying to say. To be frank, I have absolutely no desire to spoil the story for you, because my enjoyment was linked with my complete lack of knowledge. I know, I know, Anna, meet blurb. Anyway – instead of going on and on about what you will find in this journey, I’m going to offer you some questions (it’s Saturday! Enjoy!)

Perhaps this book brings its share of unbelievability, yet it always stays fundamentally HONEST, and if I can’t say that I loved every part of it, its brilliant characterization and flawless writing will leave their mark on me.

The writing has .. voice-over vibes that I really appreciated. In all honestly, I realize that readers could feel quite disconnected to the characters because of it but I never did, and what happened was actually the opposite. Arden, who could have annoyed me in the beginning, benefited from the sensation I got that I was scrutinizing her life through a screen. More than the main character whose thoughts I shared, she became important – dear – to me.

I should warn you : if you expect a book where you’ll like the characters, turn the other way. *waves*

Now, if you can enjoy a story in which every single character recreates events in its own fashion and where complexity comes out of imperfection in a splendid manner, fasten your seatbelts and be prepared for the ride.

Can I get a FUCK YEAH?

What is wonderful is the way their complexity is handled : you know how infuriating a book where everything is told is, right? Here we get both : now enjoy finding the difference between what’s real and what’s not –
What we’re told or what we see or tries to see?

Call me pessimist, but the tension before Arden breaks apart – or not – stole my breath. Why can’t I imagine her not being resentful of every “good deed” she does? WHY? I don’t know, but what I can say is that Leila Sales gradually unraveled inner thoughts until … You know what? Just wait – don’t let the beginning convince you that Arden is some special snowflake, because she’s (fortunately) way more complex and yes, unlikeable than she appears at first.

The characters here are hard to like at times, albeit never hateful. Let’s be a little honest, okay? The story is told through Arden’s POV. We are in her head. She does nice things, and less kind ones. She especially shares comments that can be seen as selfish but… in her head, people. I don’t know about you, but my inner thoughts are sometimes bitchy, sarcastic, definitely not nice. Perhaps you would hate me if you spent a whole book in my head. Perhaps I would hate you. Perhaps we’re all fucking hypocrites when we complain about this kind of characters.

I guess we’ll never know, won’t we?

These characters are so realistic that despite the fact that some parts made me cringe, I would recommend this book to teenagers, because real people NEED to read about characters who don’t seem to come straight out of a fairytale and where relationships are sometimes messed-up and filled with resentment and misunderstandings.

Well done, Leila Sales.

BOOK REVIEW – We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

September 14, 2015 /
BOOK REVIEW – We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieWe Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

What does “feminism” mean today? That is the question at the heart of We Should All Be Feminists, a personal, eloquently-argued essay—adapted from her much-viewed Tedx talk of the same name—by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the award-winning author of Americanah and Half of a Yellow Sun. With humor and levity, here Adichie offers readers a unique definition of feminism for the twenty-first century—one rooted in inclusion and awareness. She shines a light not only on blatant discrimination, but also the more insidious, institutional behaviors that marginalize women around the world, in order to help readers of all walks of life better understand the often masked realities of sexual politics. Throughout, she draws extensively on her own experiences—in the U.S., in her native Nigeria, and abroad—offering an artfully nuanced explanation of why the gender divide is harmful for women and men, alike. Argued in the same observant, witty and clever prose that has made Adichie a bestselling novelist, here is one remarkable author’s exploration of what it means to be a woman today—and an of-the-moment rallying cry for why we should all be feminists.

The fact that feminism is often considered as a negative concept is rather new to me, simply because I’ve internalized my anger/my annoyance for years and started to point what shocked me to people only recently.

Why is that? Did my family raise me in the belief that we women shouldn’t speak up? Hardly. Not once did my parents implied that I shouldn’t be ambitious because I was a woman. Every day of my teenage years my mother repeated to me that I should never do something – including sex – that I didn’t want to do to fulfill other’s expectations and for that, I’m grateful. I am a thirty years old woman who’s successful in her work, has been in a fulfilling and loving relationship for 6 years and we don’t intend to have children just quite yet. My family is okay with that and never implied that I should start a family because that’s what people do.

So, why? What can explain that until a few years ago I used to not stand up when faced to situations where my being was judged by gendered standards? I could say that I don’t know, but it wouldn’t be true : I genuinely think we are the products of our society and that I had internalized so many biased statements about what I can do as a woman and what I can’t that I didn’t even notice them anymore. This is why I find this kind of books important.

Short and highly readable but powerful and yes, needed. Because I’ll always remember the first time I expressed out loud my anger and bewilderment about a sexist situation : people (including women) told me exactly what the author has been told : “ugh but you’re a feminist”. And yes, feminist was quite the insult here. So I started reading books. Researching. Noticing more and more generally admitted stereotypes in my everyday life. Now, when I hear someone saying things like (last week in an official meeting), “children can stay here if their mum is busy or their father is at work“, I frown and speak up. I’m annoying, but the fact is, I don’t fucking care if I am.

“Anger, the tone said, is particularly not good for a woman. If you are a woman, you are not supposed to express anger, because it is threatening.”

I’ll add : because if you’re angry people say that you’re “making a scene”, and god forbid you answer when you’re insulted! Earlier last week my little sister was publicly insulted in broad daylight because she was wearing a dress. She called me, baffled to see that nobody reacted and that people told her to calm down because “it was how things were” when she answered angrily in a situation where she had every right to be mad. Don’t tell me it’s not true that we women are supposed to be kind and pleasant : it stays, in 2015, how most people think, and you’re quickly called a – sexually frustrated – bitch when you dare to say that no, thank you, I don’t want to be insulted for no reasons.

“We teach females that in relationships, compromise is what a woman is more likely to do.
We raise girls to see each other as competitors – not for jobs or accomplishments, which in my opinion can be a good thing, but for the attention of men.”

As a teacher, I can’t agree more with the author’s statement about how we raise children. If I’m sure that many of you are progressive in that subject, it remains that wrong ideas about what are – and more often than not in people’s heads, must be – masculinity and feminity are spread every day and I see it in my pupils’ behavior on a daily basis. These stupid expectations hurt both men and women.

“What if, in raising children, we focus on ability instead of gender? What if we focus on interest instead of gender?”

That’s why I urge you to read this short essay and I’m going to shove this book in my friends’ throat gently and nicely advice my friends to read it. If it can make people more interested in these issues, it would already be a positive step.

BOOK REVIEW – Sacred (Kenzie & Gennaro #3) by Dennis Lehane

September 13, 2015 /
BOOK REVIEW – Sacred (Kenzie & Gennaro #3) by Dennis LehaneSacred (Kenzie & Gennaro #3)
by Dennis Lehane
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Dying billionaire Trevor Stone hires private detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaroto find his missing daughter. Grief-stricken over the death of her mother and the impending death of her father, Desiree Stone has been missing for three weeks. So has the first investigator Stone hired to find her: Jay Becker, Patrick's mentor.

Patrick and Angie are led down a trail of half-truths and corruption into a world in which a therapeutic organization may be fronting for a dangerous and seductive cult, a high-tech private investigation firm may be covering up lethal crimes, and a stolen cache of millions in illegal funds may be tied to both disappearances and a tanker full of heroin. Nothing is what it seems as the detectives travel from the windblown streets of Boston to the rum-punch sunsets of Florida's Gulf Coast. And the more Patrick and Angie discover, the more they realize that on this case any wrong step will certainly be their last . . .

Snappy dialogue, explosive action scenes, and original characters have become Dennis Lehane's trademarks. With Sacred, Lehane confirms his status as today's hottest young author of first-rate mysteries that are also smartly written literary novels.

“Everyone is suspect. Everyone is suspect.
It was starting to become my mantra.”

I’ll tell you this : Read this series, because it’s basically awesomeness in a bottle.

You’ve got Patrick, sarcastic and clever detective who stole my heart (I mean – just marry me already), Angie, his partner who shows more and more strength, Bubba, their psychotic friend who’s always there when action starts (and blows off things), Cheswick, the coolest lawyer ever (yes, I quote)… and several really interesting new characters, including Jay, Patrick’s mentor (hehe). I missed Oscar and Devin, though, because these cops are all kinds of awesome (most of the time).

Angie and Patrick? BEST. TEAM. EVER.

Even if this book isn’t as incredible as Darkness, Take My Hand (but let’s face it : there aren’t many), I found the story compelling and really greatly created, as in : you better follow all the clues because there’s no such thing as a plot hole here.

Nobody can be trusted, layers must be unraveled, and again, you’re blown away by the inherent darkness of the plot who shows perfectly the wickedness of human nature… But there’s love, too. So much love, I may grow a second heart or something.

If you have a thriller series to read, it would be this one. As for me, I’m going back to school and the kiddos so, you know, it will probably be the only “review” this book gets. Sorry, Patrick, I know you deserve better. I still love you.

BOOK REVIEW – Darkness, Take My Hand (Kenzie & Gennaro #2) by Dennis Lehane

September 9, 2015 /
BOOK REVIEW – Darkness, Take My Hand (Kenzie & Gennaro #2) by Dennis LehaneDarkness, Take My Hand (Kenzie & Gennaro #2)
by Dennis Lehane
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

The master of the new "noir," Dennis Lehane magnificently evokes the dignity and savagery of working-class Boston in this terrifying tale of darkness and redemption.

Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro's latest client is a prominent Boston psychiatrist running scared from a vengeful Irish mob. The private investigators know something about cold-blooded retribution. Born and bred on the mean streets of blue-collar Dorchester, they've seen the darkness that lives in the hearts of the unfortunate. But an evil for which even they are unprepared is about to strike as secrets long-dormant erupt, setting off a chain of violent murders that will stain everything--including the truth.

Tell me, what are all-time favorites made of? Perhaps we all have a different definition for them, but mine? I read so much that a great, even amazing book can get sidelined if it doesn’t leave a mark on me. On the contrary, a flawed one can earn its stripes if the emotions it makes me feel are unforgettable.

I’d say that if there were one lesson to be learnt from this experience, is that Darkness, Take My Hand will linger. Oh, yes, it will.

➊ a fucked-up male lead I grew to adore and for whom I care so much it hurts : multi-layered, morally ambiguous, sarcastic, wounded, loyal – he’s everything I want in my favorite characters. EVERYTHING.

➋ a kickass heroine I want to hug, because, really, Angie, you rock.

➌ a frightening and captivating suspense in an investigation where nobody is innocent and everyone can be guilty…. See, I’m not easily frightened. A clown, a doll and I’m hiding under the blankets, but a serial-killer? Nope. Darkness, Take My Hand, though? It was chilling.

Just a thing : DON’T FUCK WITH MY FEARS. Like, really – there was an expected twist that scared me to death.

➍ Secondary characters I’m not supposed to like but… I do anyway, because of reasons, I guess.

Yeah, I saw this gif and I thought… Oh, Bubba. You psycho. How in the world can I like you? *hides in shame*

➎ a writing whose ability to express both depth and sarcasm blew me away.

➏ a ending that made my jaw drop on the floor… But unfortunately I guessed who the mastermind was around 50%. It didn’t prevent me from enjoying the book, not really, but it did annihilate a great part of the intended shock factor, and for a moment there I thought that it would cost it its fifth star.

But the fact is, Darkness, Take My Hand deserves its 5 stars nonetheless, because of the impact this book had on me. Here I am, staring at the wall, disturbed in my own core feelings, and I know that I would never forget this book.

See you, friends. I’m going to hug myself now.

BOOK REVIEW – A Drink Before the War (Kenzie & Gennaro #1) by Dennis Lehane

August 31, 2015 /
BOOK REVIEW – A Drink Before the War (Kenzie & Gennaro #1) by Dennis LehaneA Drink Before the War (Kenzie & Gennaro #1)
by Dennis Lehane
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro know their home, rough neighborhoods of South Boston. Their first PI job seems simple - find Jenna, a black cleaner, and confidential state documents she stole. Extortion, assassination, and child prostitution extend from the ghetto to the government. The worst atrocities are closest to home, and committed in the name of love.

Dark and addictive, A Drink Before the War is probably one of the best thrillers I’ve ever read, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the other books in the series.

With none of the stereotypical crap I’ve learnt to dread, the characterization constitutes the greatest achievement of A Drink Before the War. Indeed I’m so tired of the one-dimensional archetypes which are often served to us on a silver platter. None of that here, but more nuances : none of them can be described in one word, and that’s for the best, trust me.

▨ Patrick : what a sarcastic little shit (of course I love him) : His nonconformist and dark humor had me giggling at every page, balancing perfectly the darkness lurking at every turn. Smart-ass an arrogant but strangely endearing, he isn’t perfect but faces his flaws with a lucidity I adored. Wandering through his cutting inner comments was simply fantastic. He’s conflicted, scarred, and so, so loyal to his partner, Angie. Oh, and he’s badass with a gun.

Let me 2 seconds to smile weakly okay? Sigh. I loved the guy.

▨ Angie : Despite the difficulties she faces in her marriage (her husband is a violent asshole, so yes, that’s an understatement) by no means can she be defined by them. Don’t you know persons who are strong in every aspect of their lives except when it comes to their love relationships? I do. Trapped in her memories of better times and her love for her husband, Angie, as kickass as she is, struggles to escape from this situation and yes, it was heartbreaking. I found that the way Lehane pictured domestic abuse was sadly realistic and can I say? The moment she acted on it was fucking GLORIOUS.

The friendship between the two of them gave me so many heart-warming feels (of course I ship them, duh).

As for the secondary characters, I grandly appreciated that none of them was one-dimensional. Really, a wonderful characterization in my opinion.

(Oh, and there’s a panda.)

“Once that ugliness has been forced into you, it becomes part of your blood, dilutes it, race through your heart and back out again, staining everything as it goes. The ugliness never goes away, never comes out, no matter what you do. Anyone who thinks otherwise is naive. All you can hope to do is control it, to force it all into one tight ball in one tight place and keep it there, a constant weight.”

Patrick and Angie’s investigation leads to the depiction of a dark and realistic world, whose undercurrent of hopelessness reminded me of Dos Passos at some points.

Racism. Hypocrisy. Politician corruption. Prostitution. Just name it. Between justice and self-preservation, what will you choose?

Every issue is dealt with without never simplifying it into snap judgments. So much depth and shades. Patrick is neither knight in shining armor nor selfish asshole, but his behavior embraces everything in between, and if it can be uncomfortable, it stays really believable and realistic.

You should know that the issues dealt with are pretty heavy, and more than once I felt like Lehane took my heart and squeezed it forcefully : all in all, this book isn’t for the faint of heart, and it seemed important to notice it to possible readers. Violence is everywhere, sometimes lurking, sometimes graphic.

But in the end, I thought that A Drink Before the War asked the right questions and showed how much our opinions can be biased by our prejudices. Do we all see life through double standards, depending on the subject in question? Are we sure that we’d realize it if that was the case? For example, I had a discussion with people about the way some music lyrics can appear to condone sexual violence and violence against women in general. Everybody could quote some hip-hop song and … that was it. When I quoted Alt-J, an Indi-rock band for their (repeatedly) violent songs nobody agreed and people told me that the group wrote pieces of art and nothing else (Fitzpleasure, for example, is based on a gang-rape scene from Last Exit to Brooklyn). I’m sorry but no. If you don’t want your lyrics being interpreted as glorifying abuse like these :

She may contain the urge to run away
But hold her down with soggy clothes and breezeblocks
Germolene, disinfect the scene
My love, my love, love, love
But please don’t go, I love you so, my lovely

or these :

She bruises, coughs, she splutters pistol shots
Hold her down with soggy clothes and breezeblocks
She’s morphine, queen of my vaccine
My love, my love, love, love, la, la, la, la

(“Breezeblocks”)

… You take the time to publish a public statement to condemn it AT THE VERY LEAST, because I’m not private to your mind and I don’t have a clue if you’re glorifying or denouncing that kind of behavior as it is. Sorry, I digress, but all of that is to say that without even realizing it, people assumed that this catchy song written by a rock band was a piece of art and that the only problematic songs were from hip-hop. I don’t agree and find it hypocritical, for crying out loud. The world isn’t a simple place, and Lehane shows it perfectly.

As for the writing, what can I say except that it was addictive? Indeed after a rather slow beginning, the story picked up and became a real page-turner for me. Moreover, as I said earlier, I absolutely adored the sarcastic tone of the book.

Concerning the settings, I thought that they were splendidly described : rarely authors manage to bring a city to life as Lehane does with Boston here – making it almost as if the city itself was a character. Each neighborhood, each slice of life appear tainted with too much distrust and hopelessness – even when it comes to ‘rich’ ones, which ambience is less claustrophobic but just as dark.

► Next one, please?

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