The Vault of Dreamers: A Review

I finished this book in 24 hours. Ten years ago this would not have been such a feat. Back then I had the flexibility and leisure to spend a whole day reading without coming up for air. But now with my writing schedule, appointments, meetings, 3 kids and their various schedules, spending time with my wonderful husband and making sure my house doesn't look like a tornado hit it, devoting an entire day to reading a book sounds like a fanciful vacation I would love to take, but have no idea when that will actually happen. So, the fact that I did not spend the entire day curled up in an armchair with my nose in a book, but rather found nooks and crannies and re-purposed time to devour this book is what makes it so extraordinary.

The Vault of Dreamers explores both the high level concept of mining (read stealing) people's dreams from them while they sleeping, while also telling a tale as old as time -- that of two teenagers falling in love. And rather than one story distracting from the other, or the stories awkwardly co-mingling and being apart from one another, they feed into each other. It's really a beautiful thing to watch/read.

The other part of this book that made me really happy was the diversity of the characters. O'Brien includes characters of all sorts of ethnic, racial, familial and socio-economic statuses, without it feeling forced. What comes across is a natural reflection of the world we live in-- one that includes all sorts of people.

The aspect of the book which I may have found the most fascinating (though I am not entirely sure as there are many amazing details) is the idea of who we are in the public eye, versus our true selves. The main character, Rosie Sinclair, attends an institution called "The Forge School." At this school every waking hours (literally every hour that the students are awake) is filmed. Viewers at home can select their favorite student and follow the student's specific feed to watch them as they go about their day. The number of people that watch a student's feed initially determines whether the student can remain at the school, and later determines how much ad sponsorship they'll receive, which for economically disadvantaged students means a lot.

The constant presence of the cameras forces the students to make decisions about what aspects of their life they want the world to be privy to, and creates a situation where the students have to take extraordinary measures to keep some things private. It was a really interesting dynamic and seemed like a commentary on our current world which is engrossed in social media. Is who you are on Facebook who you really are? How much of that is a persona? How much do you post? How do you decide what to post and what not to post? How much do you let people see?

The hardest part of reading this book was knowing the next one doesn't come out until February. Usually, I wait until most or all of the books in a series are out before I start reading for precisely this reason, but The Vault of Dreamers was worth it. In the meantime, I may reread O'Brien's previous Birthmarked trilogy, which is another set of books that should make it onto your To-Read list.

Stay tuned for the review of the next book on my list Octavia's Brood, and until then, Happy Summer & Happy Reading!

A Year in Books

Last summer was the first time I created a reading list (and subsequent reviews)  for every season, and with the close of this spring, it has officially been one year since I began. I thought it would be a good time to look back over all the books, and choose my top ten (though narrowing this list to just these was quite the feat I'll have you know, and I cheated a bit, as #2 is actually a trilogy). Here they are!

1. White Oleander by Janet Fitch The best way to describe this book would be, beautifully tragic. It follows the all-encompassing relationship between a single mother, Ingrid, and her adolescent daughter, Astrid, as well as Astrid's own rocky relationship with herself.
2. The Irin Chronicles (The Scribe, The Singer & The Secret) by Elizabeth Hunter If you have not heard of the amazing self-published author, Elizabeth Hunter, do yourself a favor and go to her website right this minute. This is a story of fallen angels, the children of forgiven angels and the battle between the two, but most of all this is a story about love. Despite it being a trilogy, when you come to the end, you know even three books, just weren't enough.
3. Americanah by Chimamanda Adichie You could easily finish Americanah in a single weekend, or a single evening if you had the time. It's just that compelling. But, something about it forces you to exercise restraint. The words beg to be drawn out and savored rather than chugged. Adichie bounces between past and present, America and Nigeria seamlessly. By  the end of the book you have the sense that you've known Ife and Obinze, the star crossed lovers that drive Americanah, for your entire life.
4. Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones Silver Sparrow broke my heart in the best way possible. I sat there with the book in my lap turned to the last page feeling like I was going to cry, but also feeling like I understood something about myself that I hadn't before. The book centers around a girl who grows up knowing she is a "secret," because her father is married with another family. This book explores love, and betrayal and the complexities of legitimacy. This is a book that lingers in the corners of your mind long after you've put it down.
5. (1)ne drop: Shifting the Lens on Race by Dr. Yaba Blay Every once in a while I'll read a piece of non-fiction that blows me away, but I am a fiction girl at heart. However, I stumbled upon the amazing Dr. Yaba Blay in an article about the Pretty Period project, a visual tribute to brown skin, and visional testimony of Black beauty, and I knew I needed to read her book. Nuances of identity and colorism are handled masterfully in this book. I devoured it like I would a fast-paced thriller, and found myself hoping there would be a second volume one day.
6. God Help the Child by Toni Morrison  Toni Morrison inspires me because she lives outside of any one particular genre in a space all her own that she has created, and she does it beautifully. One of the characters says "What you do to children matters," and it is amazing how that statement is carried throughout the entire book.
7. The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow  I think I knew I would love this book from the very first page. From that very first page I didn't want to put it down. The story of how this little girl fell from the sky, the lives her falling touched, and her own life post fall are incredibly intricate and interwoven.
8. Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez Wench explores the relationships between four slave women and each other , as well as their masters. The atrocities suffered by all of the women: Mawu, Reenie, Sweet and Lizzie seem too awful to bear, and caused me to wonder more than once at the resilience of not only their spirits, but the spirit of my own ancestors. Perkins-Valdez writes about these women as though she walked among them, and the result is a story that is truly captivating.
9. Balm by Dolen Perkins-Valdez Perkins-Valdez imagines America in the period immediately post-slavery and does so with a meticulous attention to detail. The world created in Balm is one where hope leaves alongside loss, and love co-mingles with despair.

Wench and Balm - Reviews

I am sorry to say that a couple of weeks ago, I didn't know who Dolen Perkins-Valdez was, and it was entirely by accident that I stumbled upon her. I'd long since finished all 3 of the books on my Spring Reading List, and was trying to decide on a bonus book or two to tide me over until summer, when I came across this list 12 Books by Black Women that Will Keep You Turning Pages All Summer Long on For Harriet. Perkins-Valdez's sophomore novel, Balm, was number 12 on that list, and after reading the premise for both Balm and Wench, I knew I had to read them. I completed both books in barely over a week.

Wench explores the relationships between four slave women and each other , as well as their masters. In particular it looks at the relationship between Lizzie and her master Drayle. For the better portion of the book, Lizzie is in love with Drayle and believes Drayle reciprocates that love, and that love colors the way she looks at her circumstances and the circumstances of those around her. Lizzie's mindset allows for a whole new level of understanding of the horrifying predicament of the slave. The atrocities suffered by all of the women: Mawu, Reenie, Sweet and Lizzie seem too awful to bear, and caused me to wonder more than once at the resilience of not only their spirits, but the spirit of my own ancestors. Perkins-Valdez writes about these women as though she walked among them, and the result is a story that is truly captivating.

When I began reading Balm, part of me was yearning for a sequel to the stories of the women left behind in Wench and while I was initially sad to realize that was not the case, that disappointment lasted but a second before I was swept up by a whole new host of characters: Sadie, Madge and Hemp. I don't think I've ever read a book set immediately post slavery before. I have often wondered how America made that transition, and what that transition looked like for people, particularly former slaves in their daily lives. Perkins-Valdez imagines that time, and does so with a meticulous attention to detail. She weaves in supernatural elements so seamlessly, that you barely raise an eyebrow. Sadie communing with the dead and Madge's magical hands feel natural within the world Perkins-Valdez has created. The world created in Balm is one where hope leaves alongside loss, and love co-mingles with despair.

If you are new to Dolen Perkins-Valdez as I was, remedy yourself of that immediately and pick up both of her books. I can't wait to see what she writes next.

Boy Snow Bird - A Review

I decided to try something new this reading list and post reviews as I finish the books instead of posting them all at once at the end of the season. I just finished reading Boy, Snow, Bird earlier this week, and finished writing up my review last night. Oh! and please note I tweaked my Spring Reading List. Check it out here :)

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Boy, Snow, Bird - A Review

*Spoiler alert! It will be impossible for me to talk about this book without giving several things away. You have been warned.

This book is weird. I didn't like it, but I didn't not like it either. I wanted to know what happened next, but it was a kind of morbid fascination, rather than a deep investment in the story (like why people still watch Law and Order: SVU even though Stabler's gone). I wasn't rooting for any of the characters, but I wasn't waiting for them to fail either. I keep thinking back on all the books I've read, trying to liken this experience to another, but I can't think of a single one.

The story centers around Boy Novak, who runs away from her abusive father dubbed "the rat catcher" in New York City, to a tiny little town where everybody knows your name up in Massachusetts. Once there she meets a widower, with a child, marries said widower, has a child with him, and then casts his original child out of their home to live with her aunt. She and her stepdaughter eventually reconcile in the end. That is the story in a nutshell told on the most basic of basic levels.

During all of that, Oyeyemi weaves a tale that is just enough Snow White for you to notice (with Boy being the wicked stepmother), but not so much that it is overdone or irritating. The story takes its most interesting turn when the concept of passing is introduced. Unknowingly Boy marries into a family of Black people that has been passing for years bordering on generations, and the the only reason she finds out is because she gives birth to a daughter with unmistakably ethnic features. Beauty as it relates to Blackness becomes a very interesting focal point for a large chunk of the book, and while I believe Oyeyemi could have gone further with it, it was still fascinating all the same.

There is also a preoccupation with mirrors that is highly disturbing but also very intriguing. Boy sees different versions of herself in mirrors, and Bird, her daughter, occasionally doesn't see herself in mirrors at all. I was puzzled every time the issue came up, and kept hoping it would be explained or further explored later on in the book. As it so happened, there was an explanation, but I found it highly problematic.

In the last 20 pages of the book, literally, we find out that "the rat-catcher," Boy's father, was actually born a woman, was raped when she conceived Boy, after which when she looked in the mirror she saw a man, and from then on assumed that identity. It was hard to tell if Oyeyemi was saying that Boy's father was trans, or was suffering from an identity disorder, but it seemed to lean toward him being trans. Aside from this part of the book being extremely rushed, it felt to me like Oyeyemi was saying that Boy's father being transgender was some kind of mental illness that was passed down to Boy and then Bird, which is pretty messed up. I could be totally wrong about where Oyeyemi was going with that spin-off of the stories, but that's how it felt to me.

If after reading this you still decide to read Boy, Snow, Bird, and I'm not saying you shouldn't, but if you do, don't read it alone. This is a book you need to talk about with someone, and debrief once it's done. Trust me.

Spring Reading List

Every season I create a reading list for myself. So far there have been Summer Reading List 2014, Fall Reading List 2014, Winter Reading List 2015, and now we have arrived at the Spring Reading List for 2015. 2015 is proving to be an excellent year for books, and choosing what to read was a challenge.

But! I've made my list, am excited to start reading, and have plenty of titles ready to step in as bonus books in the event that I speed through this list as quickly as I did the Winter Reading List.

Spring Reading List 2015*

(I always feel like I'm reading nominations for the Oscars when I write these, "And the nominations for the Spring Reading List of 2015 go to..." hehehe. Don't mind me).

Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi

God Help the Child by Toni Morrison

The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow

I'm excited! If you've reading any of these books before, or would like to join me in my spring reading, comment below, and stay tuned for reviews!

* I amended this list on 4.18.15. I decided The Vault of Dreamers fit in better with all the other fantastical books I have planned for my Summer Reading List, so I swapped it out for The Girl Who Fell From the Sky.