Ben Rosner

I had to sit with this one for a bit to understand its meaning, which means I enjoyed it.

Although it's far from pristine literature, this is some of the most fun I've ever had reading. Just a barrel of laughs and joy all the way through.

Really dug this, much more than I thought I was going to initially! Kell and Lila are both very likable characters. By the end I was pining for more, and kind of wished I had picked up the sequel instead of Project Hail Mary to read next.

It's rare that I read a book that I truly do not like, but The Grapes of Wrath fits that description. While I did mildly enjoy the “descriptive” chapters, as I call them, the more narrative chapters that follow the Joad family were a chore to read. The ending was truly bizarre and felt like it had completely out of nowhere. 

This book started off kind of slow, and I wasn't sure I was going to like it enough to finish. Thankfully, I did finish, and by the end I was totally sold. Tree of Smoke is one of the best books I've read so far this year.