#10 Sisters Before Misters
Most would die for their family but would you kill for them?
I have definitely slowed down with the reading, at the beginning of the year I was doing 3 at once but now I’m reading chunkier books which take me longer to finish so it’s a one at a time vibe.
How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie 5/5
“How awful it must be to know in your bones that those around you were being picked off one by one and to realise that you must therefore be next. Even worse, it seemed like nobody was listening to him — a terrible thing for a powerful white man to experience.”
This book had such a simple premise — a classic revenge story — but I bloody loved it. I don’t give out 5 stars very easily but with the mood I was in, the story, the spot on pacing and the writing just made the perfect storm.
It focuses on a girl who was born out of wedlock to a very rich father that had tossed he mother aside and denounced and refused to acknowledge the illegitimate daughter. It describes how her mother tragically dies and she’s left with no family and to fend for herself so she vows she will kill her whole dad’s side of the family.
She wasn’t an assassin or killer, she was essentially a normal girl fueled by hatred. Mackie explores how and why she kills each family member and leaves her dad for last, despite the very vindictive and cruel ways in which she does this you can’t help but root for her because the rich family are the worst.
It’s a classic tale about grief and forgiveness wrapped in riches.
Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi 3.75/5
“People don’t really want to know how you’re doing. They want to wait until you’re done telling them so they can tell you how they’re doing.”
This is another of those ‘no plot just vibes’ books — there are two sisters that have a very complicated relationship with each other and their parents which informs their issues and triumphs they are currently having in their life.
They both live in New York but one sisters has a big secret that is revealed which changes their relationship. The sisters were written really well — without explicitly stating- Choi details why they are how they are the way they are and there is a satisfying resolution by the end.
It’s more for readers that love a character based story whereas I’m more of a plot girl but I enjoyed it for what it was. Also if you have a sister it will probably hit deeper.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins 3/5
“People don’t really want to know how you’re doing. They want to wait until you’re done telling them so they can tell you how they’re doing.”
Not everything needs a prequel. Everyone needs to learn to leave classic series alone because 9 times out of 10 they ruin it.
The Hunger Games trilogy are near perfect YA dystopian novels — they are the blueprint for those that came after and none have been able to replicate they tension, drama and chaos. I didn’t know there was a prequel being made, I stumbled across it months after it has been out.
It follows Snow as a mentor in his younger years for the 10th Hunger Games. I didn’t like that Snow was the protagonist because we know how he turns out so it was very hard to root for him, he came across naive and selfish but wasn’t situated as the main ‘villain’. Because Snow is a mentor it mostly takes place outside off the arena with the reader watching the games as an audience member, which is significantly less interesting. It made sense in the original series to show us that tough the eyes of Katniss’ loved ones so we can feel their helplessness and anxiety but I didn’t care about Snow falling in love with his mentor at all. Also when he *SPOILER* betrays her it’s not a shock.
The 3 stars all came from the second half of the book once the games have finished and the aftermath. It seemed like the book wanted to cover so much ground and was too long — unlike the original series which honed in on one girls experience. There are a lot more interesting secondary characters that I connected with more in the second half that I would be more intrigued to see a full novel for.
It’s not bad. But it wasn’t needed.
You ever have a long TBR but none of the books on there are fitting the vibe you want to read? I’m looking for a long, immersive read — i’m reading Jane Eyre and a non-fiction about Ebola hat is fascinating at the moment but I’m still on the look out.
