Author: Amy Casey

Book Review: My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris

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My Favorite Thing Is MonstersMy Favorite Thing Is Monsters by Emil Ferris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In My Favorite Thing is Monsters, Emil Ferris creates a visual atmosphere that places this 400-page beast of a graphic novel into some truly special territory. As she weaves dual narratives of a young girl living on a tough side of the tracks in late 1960s Chicago and the abusive past of a woman coming of age under the Nazi regime in Germany, Ferris makes absolute magic on the page, serving a whole lot of sorrow and mystery on a zany, frenetic, cartoony plate. This volume (the first of a two-part series) showcases the author’s artistic virtuosity as she blends styles of 1960’s pulp horror artwork, traditional cartooning, caricature, classical fine art, and everything in-between. The story itself is demanding—it does not shy away from pain or inner demons, and in fact goes out of its way to help us understand how the world takes easy advantage of children without the means to defend themselves. And yet, the heroine’s voice is humorous, plucky, and determined: a trustworthy guide on a gritty voyage. The book can definitely hold its own with other masterworks of the graphic novel genre—Ferris’ visual voice is an important one, and I’m so glad that she decided to publish her first graphic novel in her fifties. It is a gift.

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Book Review: Smoke by Dan Vyleta

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SmokeSmoke by Dan Vyleta
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In a broad pool of dystopian stories, Dan Vyleta’s Smoke stands out as unique. The story is profoundly dark; an alternative early 1900s London provides the backdrop for a culture where virtue and vice determine social status. And vice is particularly easy to spot, since people literally give off smoke whenever they commit–or even consider–a sin. This dazzling concept propels Vyleta’s slowly unfolding tale of three young people who get tangled up in the political and moral battles that govern this world of smoke, which is (as you might guess) not exactly what it seems to be. While the shifting point of view that Vyleta employs was at times disorienting or unnecessary, I enjoyed this book. The main thing to be impressed by here? The imagery is insane. The imagined particulars of this world are fresh, deliciously disturbing things to consider. Vyleta also succeeds at creating opportunities to consider moral quandaries without leading to an oversimplified righteous path–there’s social commentary present, but zero assumptions made, other than that of an intelligent reader. I always appreciate that. Another cool touch: there’s much homage to Dickens. The quotes from Charles Dickens and other authors of his era that precede each section of Smoke really add a nice extra dose of gravity to each turn of this soot-soaked story.

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Book Review: Montana 1948 by Larry Watson

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Montana 1948Montana 1948 by Larry Watson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Larry Watson shows us what extremely clean, precise literary writing looks like in Montana 1948. Watson’s narrator takes the defining secret from his Montanan family’s past and slowly unfolds it for us, remembered through the lens of his twelve-year-old self’s point of view. The result is a quietly explosive look at a family’s sudden breach of normalcy, and their response to a challenge of values. The brightest moments are in the little characterization touches that are stunning in their nuance, and the overall sense of place that permeates this Western parable. The story is simple, but gets to that place where fiction feels true. Watson effectively explores what the idea of freedom means to different kinds of people when they live in a place wild enough to allow the space to commit any deed one might be able to dream up… at least until somebody else finds out about it.

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Book Review: Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon

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Everything, EverythingEverything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Nicola Yoon’s Everything Everything is compulsively readable candy for lovers of the young adult literature love story genre. And while its characters are a generally too witty beyond their years to be believable, and things work out a bit too cleanly to be called realistic, anyone who has ever been young and fallen disastrously in love won’t be able to resist this quick read. There is tension, intrigue, and humor here, too. Yoon’s writing is extremely enjoyable, and makes this book the perfect sugary reading snack. I read it and swooned by accident before I even knew what happened. Also: loved seeing a multiracial heroine! We need more of this.

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Book Review: Coach Wooden and Me by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the CourtCoach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s written tribute to his 50-year friendship with legendary basketball coach John Wooden is a gift to sports history. While the author may be the NBA’s reigning all-time leading scorer (with scores of other athletic accolades also to his name), this memoir about his basketball career veers away from stats and records. Instead, it drives straight into the core of one of the most incredible mentor relationships ever seen in sports. The writing, honest and witty, is the linguistic equivalent of a subtle, knowing smile. Abdul-Jabbar reminisces about Coach Wooden’s aphorisms and Midwestern quirks, his winning strategies, and his quiet struggles. Most of all, through the kaleidoscope of Abdul-Jabbar’s memories, we see the vision of a unique friendship where two men were perfectly suited to learn from each other, challenge each other, support each other, and become masters not just of their sport, but also of living a life that fills each “minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run.”

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Book Review: Do Not Bring Him Water by Caitlin Scarano

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Do Not Bring Him WaterDo Not Bring Him Water by Caitlin Scarano
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Caitlin Scarano’s debut poetry collection Do Not Bring Him Water is a master class in exploring the rot of trauma and the dissonance of need. Each poem shows us a speaker who will not be held down, clawing her way to the surface to breathe, scratching everything that gets close along the way. At turns hollow, luminescent, bloody, and frozen, the collection’s fragmented voice is wrought together with indelible image threads—the white dog, spoiled milk, bowl and spoon, the ghost of a son. These graceful, violent poems are not written for the faint of heart, and you might end up crying hot tears in a coffee shop if you read them all in a row like I did. But most of all, this book shows us how to write without flinching–to tell the truth. I’m convinced that this poet’s real name is She Is Not Afraid. Caitlin Scarano is one to watch.

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Book Review: The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel

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The Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth's Children, #1)The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jean M. Auel’s The Clan of the Cave Bear spent over a year on the New York Times bestseller list when it came out in 1980. The book also made its way, along with the rest of the series, to my mother’s bookshelf. When I discovered it as a young middle schooler sometime in the 90’s, I wasn’t allowed to read it. So I thought it was about time! This novel is still captivating, and its power comes from the meticulous, extensive research about ancient people groups that comes through so clearly in Auel’s prose. The writing is not particularly artful in craft, and I wouldn’t say that the book is without pacing problems, but it’s still an addicting (almost guilty) thrill for the modern reader. This book set my imagination on fire. It prompted me to do a bunch of research of my own on neanderthal people, their technologies, and their relationship with early humans. Also: holy cow was I emotionally invested in these characters! This book has that wonderful transportative effect that takes you into the adventure and makes you want to fight, love, and feel alongside the characters. If you missed The Clan of the Cave Bear the first time that it was a big deal, and you have any degree of fascination with a world where people hunted mammoth and lived in caves, do yourself a favor and take this ride with Ayla, Creb, Iza, Brun, and the celebrated Jean M. Auel.

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Book Review: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

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The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Name of the Wind, if you are late to the party like me, is probably the fantasy read you’ve been looking for. Wisconsin author Patrick Rothfuss brings us a gorgeously layered world, sharp humor, hard times, a sensible dose of the fae, realistic romance, truly scary darkness, a lot of good sense and a lot of good sense ignored. The novel is deeply satisfying, and sheer fun to read. Kvothe as a hero is everything we hope for him to be, and yet still many things beyond our reach–a believable hero of legend whose legends aren’t always true, but the truth, once revealed, is even better. The Name of the Wind will make you chuckle, cheer, sigh, and startle. I now understand the cult following of this series-in-progress. Demons! Taverns! Dragons! Troupes! Magic! Miss the childlike wonder that accompanied your reading of the Harry Potter series? Read this, and be convinced that J.K. Rowling isn’t the only wizard living among us.

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Book Review: The Circle by Dave Eggers

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The CircleThe Circle by Dave Eggers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Circle is an uncanny parable for our times, and it leaves a disturbing metallic taste as well as a sense of bewildered confusion. Eggers’ compulsively readable novel provides much food for thought, even while skimping on character substance. The main character, Mae, is endlessly naive and effortlessly manipulated, not to mention fairly soulless. Most of the characters are similarly empty, or act in erratic, senseless ways. I wonder if Eggers intended them to be so vacuous… maybe it’s a commentary on the type of people created by a society that is obsessively driven by views, likes, and comments. I’m glad I read this novel–despite its flaws in craft, it offers a dystopian vision that deserves consideration. What happens when we no longer put a value on our personal privacy, on our freedom from being plugged into faux-social participation at all hours, on our division between our personal and work lives? What happens when you distill human beings into just so much information that can be bought, sold, and harnessed? If you want to see these scary, scary things… read The Circle. But you can take comfort in the fact that real people with free will would never behave like the majority of these characters do. At least, I have to hope so.

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Book Review: The Ship by Antonia Honeywell

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The ShipThe Ship by Antonia Honeywell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I absolutely inhaled Antonia Honeywell’s The Ship, reading it in just two days. All its strength comes from its disturbing premise, which did fascinate and disturb me. The enclosed society of this ark-like ship has promises that are unnervingly simple and sweet–the reader tears along with the main character through the first half, working furiously to uncover the secrets of the cult. Ultimately though, once the mysteries are solved, there’s not a ton of substance to give the book any lasting power beyond the turning of the final page. It’s less of a story, and more of a ride. A cool ride! But a temporary thrill. The characters, especially our heroine, are simple at best and off-putting at worst. I wish Lalla would have been pushed way further in her capacity to understand, manipulate, and resist her surroundings–she was so inert as to be frustrating. However, the ending was right, and that counts for something.

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