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I didn't really get into this author's debut novel, it didn't stick with me. However, this one was wonderful and I identified with the story and characters more heavily. I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrators did a good job.

I found this book while browsing hoopla and the premise intrigued me. It was also billed as the Haunting of Hill House meets Nina LaCour, both of which I am a fan of. I like YA novels and this is about two Arab girls on a spring break road trip visiting colleges. They get into an accident and have to stay in a small town while their car is being repaired. The motel they check into has one room left: 9, and bad things have happened in it.

What I liked: great narration; one for Mira, one for Layla, and one for the unnamed spirit. I also liked the representation of Arab girls with a queer inclusion. The cast of supporting characters were fine, nothing special. The researching in the library was interesting to me as was the mystery needing to be solved. However, I didn’t like how the mystery played out and it was never really solved, which was unsatisfying. I understand how the spirit fed off people’s guilt, but I still didn’t get where it came from or where it may go next. Wish that part was resolved.

Overall, I appreciated the diverse representation and the lack of cops in this book dealing with mysteries.

I got this audiobook from Libby because I like one of the narrators. The premise sounded interesting too, didn’t realize it’s an adaptation of a Jane Austen novel.

This story centers around Funke, who is half Nigerian and half English, and a tragedy that occurs when she is 9. She is sent to live with her maternal aunt and her two children, and experiences culture shock as well as blatant racism and malice. I felt for Funke aka Kate as she struggled to adapt but with time, she found her way. Liv, her cousin, forged a bonding relationship to her and they were close, until the night of Funke’s 18th birthday. A series of events causes our main character to be back in Nigeria and adapting to a new/old environment.

I was mad at Liv and her family for what they did and was looking forward to seeing how the story would play out. It tied up very nicely and overall I liked this book.

I love this author and was excited she had a new book. I got the audiobook from hoopla and the narrator did an excellent job with the different characters and accents. I like that the main character in this story is an aunty who recently became a widow and goes back to Toronto to help her daughter, who is accused of murder.

There were a lot of characters so it was hard to keep track of everyone, but I did appreciate the diverse cast and the inclusion of Islamic concepts. The characters were written well and I liked seeing them interact. It was interesting to try and solve the mystery as the story went along, and there were a few redirections, but in the end the turns straightened out and most of the questions were answered. I enjoy mystery novels but don’t like the inclusion of cops, so I can’t rate any of them 5 stars out of principle. Looking forward to the next book in this series.

Excellent collection of stories from Palestinians who are connected to Gaza. The two narrators did a good job, some of the Arabic words were not pronounced 100% correctly but overall I appreciate getting narrators who know the language. The topics ranged from agriculture, AI, architecture, and included many personal stories of surviving bombardments. It made me sad hearing Dr Refaat Alareer’s story as he was assassinated on December 6, 2023. It was also difficult to listen to his good friend Yousef Aljamal’s entry years before this tragedy. I do wonder how the authors are and how many of them are still alive, death to “israel” soon inshaAllah. I was also pleasantly surprised to hear about a family member in Shahd Abusalama’s piece and my college town mentioned in Mosab Abu Toha’s story; the world is a small place.

I really enjoyed this book and am glad I finally got to consume it, even better in audio form. I’ll probably read it again since I have the ebook.

Excellent collection of stories from Palestinians who are connected to Gaza. The two narrators did a good job, some of the Arabic words were not pronounced 100% correctly but overall I appreciate those who know the language. The topics ranged from agriculture, AI, architecture, and included many personal stories of surviving bombardments. I really enjoyed this book and am glad I finally got to consume it, even better in audio form.

Loved this book. Rereading it for a class helped solidify this feeling.

Update: read it for the third time, still love it. Suh a haunting take filled with so much meaning and ideas to reflect.

I've been on a memoir kick lately, and I finished the recent season of SLOMW within the last few months. So when I saw that Mayci's book is out, I knew I had to get the audiobook from my library. I was on hold for a few months and once it was ready, I listened to it in one day (7 hours at 1.6x speed). It's not fair to judge memoirs based on content, but style is another thing. It was not written well and it did feel choppy - too long of a pause in between chapters. It does read like a journal, which she did say she used to help remember events, but it didn't make for a deep read. There were a few things that didn't make sense, some things that I wish would've been talked about more, and I had some difficulty keeping the timeline straight. I liked Mayci on the show and was interested in learning more about her life, which I did. But she does come off as privileged and very much "woe is me". I didn't realize that IVF was used not just for couple struggling with the fertilization process, but for those with genetic concerns. It kinda gives eugenics vibes though? I had hoped there would be more about her time on the show and her relationships with the other women (only a little at the end). Overall, a very quick listen and I like when authors narrate their own books - even if they're not the best narrators - because I think it makes for a more authentic experience.

I found this audiobook on hoopla and had to listen to it. I love Palestinian fiction stories, especially those that weave together multiple generations of families. This particular book focuses on three of them: Baladi, Ammar, and Salameh. I appreciated how the author connected the characters to each other and my only gripe is that the book is too short. I wanted more from the characters. Another thing I didn’t care for is the inclusion of a cop, I never want to read about them. Otherwise, this was a great debut novel and I look forward to more from this author.

The only reason I got this is because it was just released as a tv series. I got the audiobook from hoopla and Elle Fanning, the star of the show, narrates it. An interesting concept and she did a fine job. The premise of this book didn’t really interest me but I like reading/listening to books before watching their screen adaptation. I didn’t like the mention near the end of the characters eating Mediterranean food and getting violently sick. What was the point of that? Felt racist, honestly. I didn’t feel like the author addressed the seriousness of Margo having a relationship with her professor, even though they’re both adults. There is still an unfair power dynamic there and it was just yucky. Also Margo’s mom was awful as was Kenny. I had hoped more from Jinx but I understand portraying addiction in a realistic manner. Overall, just an okay book for me.

I’ve been consuming YA lately and I remember why I like them. I’ve had this book on my list for a bit and got the audiobook from the library. The narration was good and I liked following Simone and her journey. I did feel like she overreacted in some parts but she was going through a lot. Overall this was educational and a worthwhile listen.

Super good book! I feel like I haven't rated a book 5 stars in a while but this was worth it. I listened to the audiobook and the two narrators were wonderful: one for Marcellus the octopus and the other for the rest of the characters. I was cheering right along when certain plot points happened and there was a nice balance of different emotions being conveyed. Highly recommend!