The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

When I heard that Suzanne Collins was writing a prequel to the Hunger Games, I was excited. What would we get to see? Haymitch's times in the arena? A view into another district? The times before the war? There were so many exciting possibilities to choose from. When I found out it would be about a young President Snow, I was disappointed. We don't really need to know more about him because we know he is the worst, and we don't really need to hear any more tales of sad white man woe leads to justification for murder. I still decided to read the book because I loved the original trilogy, I love Collins' writing, and I was curious about what we'd get to see and about the girl from District 12 that was featured in the book trailer. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes place shortly after the end of the war between the districts and the Capital, right before the 10th Hunger Games. Even in the Capital, things are not good. People are poor, hungry, and suffering. Coriolanus Snow is a young student about to graduate. His once great family is in dire financial trouble after his father died in the war. They try to keep up pretenses, but Snow, his cousin Tigris, and his grandmother are often hungry, eating nothing but cabbage soup and beans to survive. He still aspires to succeed and hopes to find a way to get to university and help his family become great once again. The interesting thing we find out is that even the Capital isn't a fan of the Hunger Games. In order to generate more interest, students from Snow's school are paired with the tributes. They will plan strategy, train them, introduce them, etc. Snow hopes to get a strong tribute, preferably from 1 or 2, but is disappointed to receive the female tribute from District 12. Lucy surprises him by making a splash at her reaping, and Snow decides he might be able to use her just yet. Throughout the book, we see the starts of the Hunger Games we know from the original series come into shape. Katniss was treated to luxury when she entered the Capital, but these tributes are starved and kept in an old zoo while surrounded by rats. Snow ends up coming up with the ideas of betting on the tributes and sponsoring the tributes throughout the games. Telling the origin story of a known villain is always going to be tricky. Make them too sympathetic, and it might not be believable, but there also has to be something that started it all. Nobody is born evil, right? Snow has some moments of decency, but he is ultimately shifty and calculating even when good. He's motivated by purely selfish gain, all that "Snow rises on top" stuff he spews. In the end, I hate him just as much, though I do wonder if maybe the obsession with roses was also to cover up the smell of all his inevitable cabbage farts.

Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare

Kettle Springs, Minnesota seems like your average Midwest town. It's very rural, surrounded by a lot of corn fields and farms. The town is small and dying after the local corn syrup factory, Baypen, closed its doors. A lot of residents blame the problems on one thing: teenagers. These kids these days are always filming crazy pranks on their phones, disrespecting elders and traditions, commiting arson (Okay, that one actually is bad). Certain members of the community have had enough, but they came up with a plan that will get rid of the kids and save Kettle Springs at the same time. Quinn and her father just moved to Kettle Springs. He is taking over the medical practice after the previous doctor moved away, and they both need a change after her mother died. On her first day at school, Quinn is lumped in with Cole and his gang of troublemakers after they are punished by a vindictive teacher. Cole is the son of the owner of Baypen, rich but also sad and troubled. He was basically abandoned by his father after the accidental death of his sister. At Founders Day, Cole's friends set off firecrackers during the parade. It was supposed to be a harmless prank, but it snowballs into a disaster. After that, the plan is set in motion. Cole's friend Janet planned a big Founder's Day party out in a corn field while the owners are on vacation. There's music, bonfires, and lots of alcohol. It's an amazing party...then the clown attacks. Frendo, mascot of Baypen and beloved icon of Kettle Springs, takes out teenagers left and right with a crossbow. When they run for cover in the barn, Frendo sets the building on fire and shoots anyone who tries to escape. After they manage to take the clown out with some very helpful guns courtesy of Quinn's neighbor Rust, they discover there are more Frendos trying to kill them, armed with more weapons. There's no cell service out in the corn fields, and all the cars have had their tires slashed and engines removed. It comes down to teenagers versus killer clowns as the kids have to fight and kill for survival. Clowns in a Cornfield was definitely appropriate for spoopy season (Note: I read it in October). It's like reading one of those teen slasher movies. There's some suspense and a fairly good amount of gore and death. I was pretty surprised to find myself siding with the teenagers in this story, because like the band My Chemical Romance, teenagers scare the living sh*t out of me. But the adults in this story are dumbasses, with their stupid murder plan and their "Make Kettle Springs Great Again" slogan, and yes, it is meant that way. So, yeah, it's a bloodbath, and a good portion of Kettle Springs' youth are murdered, but in the end, they *SPOILER* still win, the young still come out on top, although they are left with raging amounts of PTSD and a bunch of therapy all around. I also really appreciated the resolution of the Quinn/Cole/Rust triangle thing...that was fun.

Ever Cursed by Corey Ann Haydu

Five years ago, the princesses of Ever were placed under the Spell of Without by an impulsive young witch. Every year on their 13th birthday, the princesses will be cursed to go without one vital thing. The eldest Jane was cursed to be without food. Therefore, she hasn't eaten or drank in five years. Nora is cursed not to love, Alice is cursed not to sleep, Grace is cursed not to remember. Now that the youngest princess, Eden, is turning 13, the witch will tell them how they can break the spell. The witch, Reagan, had not been of age when she cast the spell. Young witches can only cast Slow Spells, which means that the curses will not kill the princesses until Reagan turns 18, when the spell becomes True. She recklessly cast the spell in hopes of punishing the King on behalf of her mother. Reagan expects to see the King suffering and in pain, but he is none of those things. In fact, he is fairly happy. She starts to regret casting the spell, especially when she realizes there are only four days between Eden's 13th birthday and her own 18th. It seems daunting, but the princesses and Reagan must work together to break the curse. She tasks them with gathering four items: a thimble of tears from the saddest person in Ever, a clock from the oldest, a lock of hair from the most handsome, and the crown of a King. The last seems fairly simple. After all, their father must want them to break the spell. The other objects are trickier. The princesses have never left the castle. A moat separates the royals from their subjects, and once they get to the other side they are in for a rude awakening. The kingdom has been suffering. Worst of all, their father may not be the Good and Gentle King they thought he was. Ever Cursed is pretty heavy with allegory. You have your princesses and their spell, plus their mother who was cursed into a glass box with the same spell. What's kind of perverse is how princes and princesses from other kingdoms fetishize the cursed princesses, saying how rare they are because of the curse, because of what they are lacking. Then we get to the King, who seems like a good man and a good father at first glance. He didn't even mind that Alice was originally a prince or that Grace wants to marry a princess. Then Jane and the others start to see what was always in front of them, what they had been looking away from the whole time.

"Kings and princes have been doing the same things to princesses and witches for ages... It was a king's kingdom and we all suffer for it..."

They want a quiet and pretty Queen stuck in a glass box. They want a Princess who can't eat who wastes away to nothing. They want a witch who protects the kingdom from the top of the highest mountain. What they don't understand is that all the girls are witches and queens/princesses all at the same time. They have the ability to be vulnerable, but they also have power. That power scares them. The front cover of Ever Cursed looks like a typical YA fantasy. The pretty flowers don't convey the feminist fairy tale within. It definitely made me angry as a woman, especially the aforementioned scene where the sisters and Reagan are assaulted by the other princes and princesses. I'm even more motivated to smash the patriarchy now.

"It would be nice, to be given everything we deserve. But it's not necessary. And if he won't give it, we'll just take it. We're goddamn witches. Don't tell us we can't..."

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

It's rather daunting to approach a review of The Starless Sea. It's a winding story that weaves inside and out, and I've heard (and personally believe) that it benefits from multiple reads. Alas, I am approaching this review having only read the book once. Still, I shall try my best. Zachary Ezra Rawlins once discovered a door painted on the side of a building. He did not go through the door that day, but he remembered it. When he finds a mysterious book in his university's library, called Sweet Sorrows with no author and donated by a particular person, he is surprised to find that he is featured in the story. There are also tales of acolytes and guardians and keepers, bees and keys and swords. He is lead to a party in New York where he meets an intriguing man who calls himself Dorian, a man who tells him stories and talks him into helping steal back another book. He also meets a pink-haired woman called Mirabel, though Zachary calls her Max. Max rescues Zachary when their heist goes bad and takes him to the Harbor, an underground series of rooms full of books and cats. The Harbor (And Max) is responsible for the doors, for leading people to the Starless Sea. There are also people, led by a woman named Allegra, who paint over the doors to keep people out. Thus, the central conflict. Anyways, it's all very complicated. There is the main story, and every other chapter are different stories from Sweet Sorrows and Fortunes and Fables, stories that have nothing to do with the main storyline until they do. Yeah, it's one of those books. I loved The Night Circus, so I was extremely excited to finally get a new book from Ms. Morgenstren. Despite the complicated nature of the story, I enjoyed The Starless Sea, and I look forward to understanding it even better when I finally get around to reading it a second time.

P.S. I Still Love You and Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

In To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Lara Jean Song Covey's life is turned upside down when her younger sister sends out a series of love letters that she had written to the boys she had overwhelming feelings towards. One letter, to the popular and handsome Peter Kavinsky, led to a fake relationship that sparked real romance. The second book starts with Lara Jean deciding to make a play for Peter, for real this time. They get back together, or rather finally get together, and all is well...or is it?


Meanwhile, another letter finally reaches its recipient: Jon Ambrose McClaren. He used to live in their neighborhood when they were in junior high, and he and Lara Jean start a correspondence. In these letters, she conveniently never mentions that she is dating Peter now. For his part, Peter is always hanging out with his ex, Lara Jean's former friend Gen. He claims that she is going through something, a family issue that he doesn't want to divulge. To make matters worse, Peter and Lara Jean's infamous hot tub video from the school ski trip is still circling around. Lara Jean is certain that Gen is responsible for putting out the video, but Peter denies it.


In less dramatic news, Lara Jean starts to volunteer at the local nursing home. She spends a lot of time with a sassy resident named Stormy. Stormy is always trying to set Lara Jean up with her great-grandson, who turns out to be none other than Jon Ambrose-McClaren! They have some romantic moments between them, especially when Peter and Lara Jean break up for a bit.

I also watched the Netflix version of P.S. I Still Love You. I really enjoyed their To All the Boys I've Loved Before, especially Noah Centineo as Peter Kavinsky. The second movie was a pretty decent adaptation. The kids are still cute, and I enjoyed the romance. Jordan Fischer made for a charming Jon Ambrose, and made it a little hard to be completely Team Peter, though I still completely am. Even though the movie won't be released for a bit, I also read the third and final book in the series, Always and Forever, Lara Jean.

At the start of the third book, Lara Jean and Peter are together and better than ever going into their senior year. They even plan to stay together in college. Peter was accepted to UVA to play lacrosse. UVA is also Lara Jean's top choice, her dream school since childhood. It seems inevitable that she'll get in...but she doesn't.

Lara Jean decides to go to her second choice school, William and Mary. It's a bit of a drive, but still somewhat manageable. Plus they decide that Lara Jean can always try to transfer to UVA after Freshman year, and everything will be perfect again...then Lara Jean finds out she got into UNC. She had been waitlisted at first, so she never gave it a second thought. He best friend makes her take a road trip to check out the campus. They end up having a big adventure with a concert and burritos, and Lara Jean falls in love with the school.

Alas, UNC is much farther than William and Mary. What should Lara Jean do? Their mother told Margot (LJ's older sister) not to go to college obsessing over your high school boyfriend. Margot keeps telling Lara Jean to give whichever college she picks a fair chance, to choose what's right for her and not what's best for her relationship. Peter's mom even secretly asks her to break up with Peter. She worries that Peter will give up his full scholarship to stay with Lara Jean, and Lara Jean would never let him destroy his future for her.

It's sort of nice that there is less "I'm worried you're going to cheat on me" drama in this book. It adds a certain maturity. Part of me was very proud and excited for the kids heading off to college, but I was also jealous because they are young, in love, and looking forward to the future while I am none of those things. Anyways, my sad life aside, I am looking forward to seeing the movie adaptation when it comes out and more of my inappropriate crush Noah Centineo.

Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz

Sick Kids in Love boasts the tagline, "They don't die in this one." This snort-inducing line was a big selling point for me, along with how much I enjoyed Moscowitz's Teeth. It sounded like a refreshing change of pace from weepy dramas about terminally ill teens from Five Feet Apart to vintage Lurlene McDaniel to The Fault in Our Stars (Although that book is amazing and I love it, and I will hear nothing bad about it or John Green).

Isabel, AKA Ibby, is sixteen years old and has rheumatoid arthritis. It's not fatal, but it is a lifelong illness. She writes an advice column for her school newspaper where she asks her friends, family, and even strangers questions and compiles all the answers. Her pseudonym for the column? Sick Girl. One person she always gets an answer from is Claire, her imaginary best friend who died of cancer. It's a little strange, but it makes sense later. Otherwise, Ibby is normal, and has normal friends and a normal dad who works too much at his hospital.

One day at her treatment for RA, Ibby meets a boy. Sasha is receiving treatment for his Gaucher disease. It's a not very fun genetic disorder that means fatigue, easily broken bones, and a possible future ruptured spleen, but is mostly not fatal. They have a very charming encounter, but don't exchange contact information. Ibby counts out how long until their paths cross again when they come in for future treatments, but is surprised to meet Sasha while volunteering at the hospital. She brings him water, and they talk and make plans. Of course, Ibby has to warn him that she doesn't date.

Soon, though, they are "not dating" a lot. The two are in the same boat in that they are sick. Ibby's normal friends don't understand how difficult her RA can be. They invite her to go skiing, even though she can't do a lot of physical activity without suffering for it later. She counts out how far she has to walk to get from the subway to her apartment, how many stairs to climb, etc. She wants to just take a taxi sometimes, so she can just be dropped off at her building, but she never does. Her legs sometimes give out under her, and Sasha urges her to get a cane to help, but she can't do that. She can't let other people see her with a cane, can't let her dad see her with a cane, because she doesn't want a big billboard letting people know she is sick.

The saddest part of Ibby's story is how long it took her to get diagnosed. Doctors said it was growing pains, even accused her of lying. That uncertainty was where Claire came from, a proxy who had a defined illness and was always the same age as Ibby when she died. Sasha was diagnosed much earlier than Ibby, though his doctors believed he had leukemia. As if it wasn't bad enough that Ibby has to pretend to feel okay for her dad and her friends, she also doesn't feel as though she can complain about being sick because Sasha is always sicker.

Sick Kids in Love was a very good book that brought up a lot of important issues. The romance could be sweet, but those kids were also very cringe-inducing at times. I very much liked how Ibby ended up growing through the book. She learned to stand up for herself with her friends and with her dad. True to the tagline, neither one of them dies. What more can you ask for?

Carry On and Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

I've been working on this review for a while, and I was finally going to polish it and publish it, but I ended up deleting it, so I'm going to quickly do a new one. I read Carry On back when it first came out (I would normally link to my review, but I never actually reviewed it). I loved it back then, so now that the sequel was being released, and with a bit of time to kill waiting for my fancy copy to arrive from England, I decided to do something I never do: reread the first book. *Gasp* *Scream* *Sirens* I enjoyed it just as much the second time, maybe even more! *Reader faints* And I'd read it again too!

Okay, now that all that silliness is out of the way, Simon Snow is a character from the Simon Snow series that Cath and Wren read in Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl. Carry On isn't those books, and it isn't Cath's fan fiction. It's basically Rowell's own fan fiction, but since it's her universe, it's canon.

Simon Snow is the Chosen One, the one the prophecy says will save magic. He was a skinny little orphan when he came to Watford School of the Magick Arts, and now he is the Mage's Heir. Over the years, he has gone on countless adventures and quests, defeated enemies, slain dragons. He has done all this with the help of his best friend, genius Penelope "Penny" Bunce, and with his loyal girlfriend Agatha waiting for him. These adventures were somewhat complicated by his roommate and nemesis Baz.

Now that their final year at Watford is started, Baz is nowhere to be found. Simon believes that he is off plotting against the Mage, or something equally dastardly. He was actually kidnapped so that his mother's ghost couldn't reach him. Instead, she reaches out to Simon and asks him to find Nicodemus, find the person responsible for letting the vampires into Watford, the person responsible for her death.

Once Baz is back at school, he teams up with Simon and Penelope to solve the mystery. It's during the Baz-narrated chapters that we learn that while Simon sees Baz as an enemy, Baz is in love with Simon. He's also a vampire, turned as a child during the attack that killed his mother. Can two enemies ever have a future, especially a vampire and the Chosen One? It might be more likely than you'd think.

I really liked the world Rowell created in Carry On, the spells created out of song lyrics, movie quotes, nursery rhymes, etc. Using famous magicians as curse words also made me laugh. I remember having trouble keeping track of the narrators when I first read the book, so it was easier the second time. It was a lot of fun hearing about all the adventures Penny and Simon have been on over the years, and I wish I could read those books too. The characters are all great, from brave Simon to pining Baz to awesome, feminist Penny to poor, confused Agatha.

Wayward Son takes place not too long after Carry On. Simon and Baz are dating, and they share a flat with Penny. Penny and Baz go to university, but Simon is a bit lost. He's no longer the Chosen One, and he's stuck with dragon wings and a long tail. He has plans to break it off with Baz before Baz breaks up with him, but it's put on hold when Penny decides they should all travel to America. She has been keeping in touch with Agatha, and she senses that something is wrong. They will fly to Chicago to visit her boyfriend, and then the three will drive out to California to check on Agatha.

Once they get to America, Penelope is devastated to learn that she no longer has a boyfriend. He thought he broke up with her, but she didn't listen. They set off in their fancy rental convertible for a much longer trip than anticipated. Along the way, they encounter some unfriendly vampires and are helped by a non-magical young man named Shepard. He offers his guidance for their trip, and the three witches accept his help, then proceed to wipe his memory and dump him. He comes back, because the memory wipe didn't take.

Shephard has travelled the United States seeking out all sorts of cryptids and magical creatures, and making friends with them. One of these friend points them towards Agatha, who has gotten involved with something called NowNext. On the surface, it seems like some New Age business seminar, but it's really a group of vampires with a goal: to learn how to wield magic. They travel to the city of vampires, Las Vegas, so that Baz can cozy up to some vampires and get some information.


Baz does cozy up to a vampire, much to Simon's displeasure. He also comes dangerously close to drinking human blood, a line he has never crossed before. America ends up surprising all of them. Spells are different there- the words come from non-magical people, and people talk differently in America. There are all sorts of dead spots they accidentally wander into, and threatening new enemies they encounter. What started as a fun vacation gets super intense! I'm very excited to read the third book to see what's next with Baz, Simon, Penny, Agatha, and Shepard.