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Unexpectedly heartfelt, insightful, and engaging

Reviewed: 04-29-22

I expected this book to be fluff, but I gave it a chance because it seemed entertaining. Instead I found it very moving and deeply thoughtful. To be honest, I think I'm also reading it at just the right time in my life for some of the situations to resonate. The pacing was good, and I never felt bored or frustrated with the narrative.

The story is entertaining, but it strikes at deeper questions about what motivates us as humans, both selfishly and socially. It deals with race, sexuality, sexism, homophobia, and many other heavy topics without being weighed down or buried under them. Despite the introspection and the dilemmas the characters deal with, it never feels overly moralizing. I love a story with a strong and complex woman protagonist, and this has several.

While I don't agree this is a low quality beach read, as some reviewers implied, I do think some of the author's choices are designed for a certain type of female audience, and these were the only notes that I found a bit offputting. There's an emphasis late in the book on how despite her fame and stardom, becoming a mother was Evelyn's greatest achievement. That felt a bit saccharine, as if the book needed to apologize for focusing so long on a woman's career and accomplishments.

Overall though, I liked it a lot and I'll probably read it again.

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Good idea, mediocre execution, tedious protagonist

Reviewed: 04-16-22

This book touches on depression, self harm, and suicide. There ought to be more of a warning in the description, as readers who struggle with depression may find it triggering. The handling of these topics is empathetic but occasionally irresponsible. Despite this, it maintains a fairly light tone overall, and I would say the ending is positive.

If you want a mildly entertaining listen while you're doing chores, this is decent. It brings little new to the trope of exploring other possible lives, but the scaffolding is whimsical and mostly fun. It aims to leave you feeling better, and mostly succeeds.

My main feeling about the book is wishing the author had done some heavier editing and workshopping. There are some really exciting and well done moments, but the story repeatedly bogs down in monologues, tedious circular conversations, and strangely long lists.

The message is overall positive, but I found myself liking the protagonist less and less as the story went on, because she seems unable to learn or plan. Watching Nora bumble around in a new life while the people she knows in that life question her in confusion and concern is actually a huge part of the book, which is both boring and anxiety inducing. It's not what I hoped for.

If you're the type of person who notices and is bothered by plot holes, this book may frustrate you. There are some really silly flaws in the way the author chose to implement Nora experiencing other lives that ruined the fun for me.

Very mild spoilers follow.

We learn early on that anything Nora does in these other lives is permanent for those Noras. And she repeatedly does some very stupid things that will certainly harm the relationships and careers of her other selves. The book doesn't acknowledge or deal with this issue. Nora herself never gives it a second thought, which started to strike me as a bit sociopathic after a while. I ended the story glad that there was an uplifting ending, but kind of disliking Nora.

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Empathetic yet cutting, and deeply humorous

Reviewed: 11-17-21

For this book, I think it's relevant to preface my review with some info: I'm a middle class white woman. For myself and other white women, I think this book has immense value because of the way it spotlights how we need to be critical of our own "good intentions" when it comes to race and class issues. Are we really helping, or are we just helping ourselves feel better? The book poses this question without malice and with a hefty dose of empathy, humor, and kindness.

I've seen some reviews from Black women who see the Black characters as stereotypical, and I've tried to sit with that and think about my enjoyment of the book from that lens. It didn't seem that way to me, but my perspective is limited, so take it with a grain of salt. My assumption while reading was that the author leaned into depictions of Emira's friends as both career-minded but also fun-loving and into dancing and drinking to make a point about respectability politics. But as a white reader it's worth thinking about as you read this book.

I thought the author did a great job of depicting the harms of white saviourism, wokeness, and respectability politics through the lens of the characters who wanted to "fix" or "help" Emira.
The book centers the white characters' voices and feelings at the expense of exploring Emira's experience more deeply. That may be intentional, but it's important info for readers who may not want that.

Overall, I think this is an excellent book. I'm stunned that this is Kiley Reid's first novel. She writes each character's internal monologue so well -- with small details and nuances that make them feel real and deeply relatable. The plot is well paced and keeps the reader interested to see what happens next. I got the sense that the author meant for the reader to really understand and empathize with the characters, even when they make truly selfish or questionable decisions.
I especially liked how the child characters were written. They speak and act like real children, not plot devices. They're neither overly precious nor treated as set pieces.

The narrator is excellent. Nicole Lewis' voicing of the upper class women in Alix's friend group is so spot on that it's hilariously painful at times. She brings the camaraderie of Emira's friends and the random weirdness of kids to life really well. She does a good job with male characters also, which I have seen other AFAB narrators struggle with.

The story itself explores class and race with blunt honesty, but without really villainizing anyone. The author captures the internal thoughts and hesitations of a privileged, oblivious and selfish but well-meaning white woman so well that at times it made me cringe. Emira's struggle to find her passion and a path forward for herself was also relatable. The friend groups of both Alix and Emira are endearing and frustrating in a very realistic and charming way.

Some readers might be frustrated, but I liked that the author didn't have a neat wrap-up where everyone learns their lesson and fixes their mistakes. The characters are complex, and they stay that way. The reader is left thinking about their own reaction to Emira and their hopes for her, which I think may be the author's intent.

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Good Concept, frustrating execution

Reviewed: 10-18-21

The "twist" in this story was really interesting, and I wish it had been explored more.

Most of the book focuses on the internal life and struggles of Nella, who is the only Black woman in an editing role (or any position of power) at her publishing company. The first 2/3 of the novel reads like a slow and thoughtful exploration of her daily routine, with themes of social commentary on race, colorism, and class in America. As a white woman who has worked in similar workplaces, this was a window into a different experience than mine, so I found it interesting for that reason. The white characters' obliviousness or careful attempts to project an air of wokeness while doing no real work were painfully accurate -- especially the leadership seeming confused or annoyed when asked to really support diversity goals.

Despite my interest in these topics, I still found myself wishing the story would move faster. Over the course of the novel, the main theme is one of slowly growing frustration. Nella seems stuck and unable to effect action in her own life. The reader knows there is more explanatory plot coming because of the other threads that the story cuts to occasionally, but it takes a long time to be explored. The reveal of the actual conflict of the book is startling, because it happens late in the story, and reads like a wholly different genre. As one other reviewer mentioned, the secret cause of the antagonist Hazel's backstabbing is... almost satirical? And difficult to suspend belief for given the serious realism of the rest of the book. The story deals with such heavy themes of the daily traumas that Black folks experience in America that the twist seemed almost flippant, though I'm sure it wasn't intended that way.

I wish the author had revealed the twist earlier, and taken more of the book exploring the moral struggle Nella has with it, and the social and political ramifications of it. The author gives the antagonist a compelling argument, but there is so little time given to any of her points or the larger movement she is part of that I ended the book feeling unsatisfied.

Overall I enjoyed the book, but I wish the plot had been more balanced.

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Tedious and frustrating. Barely science fiction.

Reviewed: 08-26-21

I don't usually mind stories whether nothing much happens, but the excruciating pace of this book made me give up halfway through. The breathless critical praise must have been written mainly by people who don't actually like science fiction. This story explores nothing new in the realm of speculative fiction and brings no fresh insight to any of the topics covered.

The closest nod this gives to sci-fi is the overwrought attempts at explaining how the android's visual processing works, which manages to be both boring and vague while taking up a lot of time. The main plot point hinges on the Artificial Friend having a bizarre lack of basic understanding of the world that is simply not believable or even very interesting.

The author is clearly talented, but the pacing and concept is not there in this book.

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Rich and unique world building, engaging story

Reviewed: 07-28-21

This author has incredible skill with world building. She manages to make believable, unique cultures and settings that surpass the crowded field of fantasy and steampunk stereotypes without resorting to lazy grimdark themes.

I loved getting to see more of this character, who was a side character in a previous book. It has the same quality as the other stories in this universe -- almost a slice of life while at the same time being about a supernatural monster hunting cleric. It combined the charm of a comedy of manners with the fun of a detective story without relying on cliches or becoming silly. It wasn't stressfully dramatic but I was always eager to hear what happened next. I can't wait for the next book in this universe!

The narrator for this book does a good job, though sometimes he sounds almost like he's voicing a nature documentary rather than reading a novel. I found it endearing rather than annoying though.

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1 person found this helpful

Passable story with tedious and weak protagonist

Reviewed: 07-16-21

The book starts strong, with enticing glimpses of history and lore, but quickly bogs down. The tension in the story is driven mostly by the main character's inability to communicate with others or make decisions. It becomes obvious there is a prequel (though it wasn't advertised in the blurbs), and I must assume that some of the many plot holes in this book have been explained there.

I quickly lost interest in the main story thread. The plot hinges on the reader rooting for the protagonist to accomplish a deeply selfish task that the book fails to prove is even truly needed. The book also fails to deal with the moral weight or consequences of her decision in any way, making for a very unsatisfying and fairly cliche ending.

The narrator was decent, though she made some strange character voice choices that were occasionally grating.

The elements of this book could have been turned into an incredible story, but ultimately it just falls flat.

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Inaccurate and outdated science, tepid humor

Reviewed: 07-04-21

This book was written in 1990 and it shows. I know a bit about language and human evolution and before the end of the first chapter it was obvious that this book was either poorly researched, or based on research we now know to be wrong. It was too painful to listen to the entire book so I gave up after a few chapters.

The humor feels like you're being forced to listen to your slightly racist uncle who doesn't believe in political correctness attempt to summarize a linguistics textbook. There are numerous jokes where the punchline is racism, slavery, or sexual assault. The jokes about other languages are often based on incorrect facts and have a feeling of punching down.

I've loved Bryson's other works but this one is cringe-worthy and falls flat in every aspect, failing to deliver either education or humor.

The narrator's performance is perfectly fine, though possibly chosen under the mistaken belief that this is a more educational book than it is.

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Entertaining Supernatural twist on Sherlock-verse

Reviewed: 06-29-21

One of the things I love about this author is that she takes the creativity, queerness, and woman-centered qualities of fanfiction and uses sophisticated and witty prose, and what I assume is a healthy amount of research, to incorporate them into rich and believable worlds and stories. I wouldn't have expected anyone to be able to provide a fresh take on the Sherlock Holmes characters at this point, but I think she did it well.

The narrator did a good job with voices overall, but she chose to infuse such an over-the-top amount of drama into some of the dialogue that it frequently grated on my nerves. Despite that it was an enjoyable listen, and I'd be happy to read more books in this universe.

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Entertaining and well-researched space caper

Reviewed: 06-13-21

It feels a little bit like Weir writes stories to get paid for his hobby of doing research into space and chemistry, but the story was decent. It's a lunar caper with smugglers and corporate sabotage, and a diverse cast of characters from many countries and backgrounds. I liked that many of the main characters and power players were women from non-European countries with interesting backstories. The story being set in lower gravity with environmental restrictions we don't have on Earth was handled well, and Weir does a lot of math and engineering legwork for the reader to help you understand why such and such thing might be designed a certain way, which is fun and interesting.

I think we're supposed to like the main character -- she has a gutsy wise-cracking attitude and lots of quips, and she's an incredibly skilled genius in a number of disciplines. I found the snark a little annoying at times, but fans of superhero comics would enjoy it. Overall I liked seeing a petite Arab woman get to be a genius action hero.

The narrator did a great job with the voice acting. She conveyed the attitude of the characters well and did a good job with male and female voices and a range of accents. Not my favorite sci-fi story ever, but I enjoyed it.

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