First Books of the Year

It's only been seven days of 2016, and I've already finished two books and am working on a third.

The book that I'm working on is Ron Chernow's Hamilton biography. After spending my whole semester with Hamilton: An American Musical on repeat, I felt it was only fitting to read the book it was based on (especially since it's been sitting on my bookshelf unread for years). And so far, it's been fascinating - although I have gotten bogged down in a lot of banking and economic terminology that isn't exactly the most exciting of reading.

The two books that I've finished are Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo, and Landline, by Rainbow Rowell. From this point on, please be warned: I will be discussing the whole novel, so spoilers are possible. 

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Okay, now that that's out of the way...

Shadow and Bone

Leigh Bardugo

The premise of Shadow and Bone is one that has become incredibly familiar - a young girl must save her people from certain disaster, all while being torn between two attractive men. In this case, the girl is Alina Starkov - a mapmaker from the First Army of Ravka, a country literally torn in two by the Shadow Fold, an area of darkness so deep that those who wander in don't see the creatures who kill them until it's too late. After saving her regiment's skiff from destruction in the Shadow Fold, it is revealed that Alina is actually a Grisha, one of the upper echelon of society who have magical abilities. Not only is Alina a Grisha, but she is the long-awaited Sun Summoner - the one who can remove the Shadow Fold.

Reading the novel was, as I read it, fascinated by the story and the characters. Everything kept me pulled in and I could not put the book down.

Looking back on the novel, there were two major issues for me that would keep me from buying this or rereading it. The first was the unmasked use of Russian culture; the second, the lack of character development.

First, the novel is set in Ravka, which is practically a fictional version of Tsarist Russia. A building is described as having onion domes (a distinctly Eastern European and Asian trait often seen in Russian architecture); characters fear being sent off to a Siberia-esque area called Tsibeya, where people live in work and prison camps; and a shadowy priest hides beside the throne, echoing Rasputin, the monk who befriended Nicholas II and Alexandra. Not only this (and these are only the ones that come to mind), but the names of characters are all incredibly Russian. Take the main character, for instance. Alina Starkov is a Russian name - with the one exception that, if it were truly in Russian, her last name would be Starvoka or Starkovna. This use of Russian culture is so obvious that I can replace Ravka with Russia and the story still makes sense (although the story becomes a strange historical fiction/fantasy amalgam).

Second, the characters are not fully formed. All I really know about Alina is who she is in relation to other characters in the story. There is not a moment where I can fully define Alina as a solid person, her own woman. Instead, she spends the novel divided by her need to help her people and her love for two different men, who are just as caricatured as she is. Her childhood friend, Mal, is the "nice guy" - always there for her, lovable even though he sleeps around, and the best tracker in Ravka. The Darkling is the dark, mysterious "bad guy" - practically Kylo Ren with a little Mr. Rochester thrown in. Neither of their relationships with Alina is defined enough for me to either get to know them or to really care about them as people.

Overall, I would suggest this novel for people who want a quick, fun read, but aren't interested in a deep, thought-provoking read. Excellent beach reading.

Landline

Rainbow Rowell

Georgie and Neal's marriage is falling to pieces - and it couldn't happen at a worse time, since it's both Christmas and the chance for Georgie's tv show to be picked up by a network. As Neal and their two daughters head off to Nebraska for Christmas without her, Georgie discovers a link to Neal in the past - and her actions might affect what happens with their relationship in the present.

I really loved the use of time travel here - it wasn't actual time travel, but vocal time travel through a telephone. And Georgie was incredibly aware of the repercussions of time travel - there were plenty of sci-fi references to show that she was definitely a nerdy teen growing up. What I enjoyed the most here (and what I found sadly lacking from the first novel) was the character dynamics - between Georgie and Neal, and between Georgie and Seth, her best friend from college. I actually felt chemistry between these characters - they came off of the page and seemed like real, breathing people to me. And for fans of Rowell's novel Fangirl, there's an appearance by some of the novel's characters (I won't say where - I don't want to ruin the surprise!).

I really enjoyed reading Landline - I would recommend it, and any of Rowell's other works, to people looking for strong narrative style and intriguing plots.

Have any thoughts on these books? Ideas on how to improve my reviewing style? Leave me a comment below!