They Both Die in the End by Adam Silvera

Saturday, June 25, 2022--San Antonio

They Both Die in the End by Adam Silvera is an young adult novel that seems to be written for the 16+ age group.  It is science fiction based on the idea that somehow people who sign up for it can get a phone call letting them know they are going to die within 24 hours.  In addition, an app has been created that can be used to have a Last Friend for the day for those who don't want to be alone or spend the last day with those they already know.  The two main characters (17 & 18 years old) have both received their notice and have never met.  One is somewhat of a recluse, and the other has friends who are fulfilling his wish for a funeral early in the morning on his last day, but has to quickly leave the funeral when the cops show up because he beat up his former girlfriend's new boy friend the night before.  Therefore, he is alone on his dying day, too.  The book follows the characters as they hesitantly meet (not knowing whether to trust the other) and gradually get to know each other as the day continues filled with shared experiences.  I found the book a bit boring at first and considered quitting it.  But as more characters were introduced, it became more interesting.  By the end, I was enjoying the book and curious to see how it would end (beyond the fact that I knew the big news about the ending from the title of the book itself.  Reviews for the book range from 1 star to 5 with the former apparently being from trolls worrying about the book including topics that they think children should be protected from reading (death, cursing, homosexuality [not even hinted at until about 50% of the way through the book and then not acted on until about 85-90% of the way with that being limited to kissing and expressing love verbally], skipping school, etc.) and the latter being raves probably from young readers because it seemed so realistic in terms of matters of importance in their own lives.  I gave the book 3 1/2 stars out of 5 (due to being about 2 stars at the beginning and moving into 4-star range by the end).

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

Monday, June 19, 2022--San Antonio

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall was so much more than I expected it to be.  I was laughing aloud sometimes as much as 3 times a page.  And the book is well written.  I kept reading and reading.  Then when I got near the end, I kept putting it down because I didn't want it to end.  The protagonist is a young man who is is emotionally messed up because his famous rock star father abandoned him and his mother  when he was 3 years old and because he has had bad relationship experiences.  He is hounded by paparazzi because of his peripheral association with his famous father and cannot trust potential boyfriends because 1) They may be interested in him only because of that association, and 2) The one good relationship he had experienced ended with the former boyfriend deciding to sell their story to a tabloid for tens of thousands of pounds.  The paparazzi keep finding him in embarrassing moments and publishing pictures that have a negative affect on his reputation and his job.  A friend develops a plan for him and another friend of hers to have a fake relationship for a couple of months which would benefit them the both in terms of getting past life problems.  But things don't always turn out as expected.  It's a fun book even though life is not always easy.  I gave the book 4 1/2 stars out of 5; it's really that good of a read.

Edinburgh by Alexander Chee

Thursday, June 16, 2022--San Antonio

Edinburgh by Alexander Chee deals with topics that are not easy to read-child molestation, child depression, child suicide, consensual sex between an adult and a 17-year-old, etc.  It is difficult to read at times and heartwarming at others.  The author has woven into the story aspects of Korean folk beliefs, since a set of the characters or Korean immigrants.  He also seems to have collected lots of facts that he wanted to use in the story whether meaningful or not. (It's my impression that a number of authors fall into the trap of including extraneous information that isn't needed for the story, but let's the author show how intelligent he is.)  I enjoyed reading the parts of the book that carried the story of its main characters forward.  I gave the book a rating of 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara

Saturday, June 11, 2022--San Antonio

To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara is the best book I have read so far this year.  It's also the scariest--not due to being a horror tale but because of its prediction of the future of the U.S. based on events already happening; it all seems so realistic and possible (and even probable)!  The book begins in the late 1800s with an alternative history of how what we know as the United States actually consists then as the "Free States," the "Southern Colonies," and the "Western Colonies."  At another point in the novel, it is indicated that Texas has remained as a separate country.  That opening section introduces two families who are among the wealthiest in the Free States--the Bingham's and the Griffiths.  The book continues through separate time periods up to the 2090's.  At each stage, the same last names crop up.  It is implied that the characters are from continuing generations of those two original families, although jumps in the time periods leave out generations and therefore, do not tie them together; the reader never knows what has happened in the generations in-between which means we never know how the newest generations are actually tied to the previous characters we have met.  The intention of the author isn't to tell the stories of these families, but to tell the story of how a country changes as time passes and the factors that influence those changes--creation of wealth and the effects of it being redistributed and becoming diminished through generations, attempts to create a better life for the future, the effects of rebellious family members who are insistent on going their own way in terms of living life, the disconnect between branches of a family that develops in various locations as members have immigrated elsewhere, the way that varying laws affect different family members' lives  according to where they live, the affect that global warning has on the lives of the people and the government, the effects of new viruses developing every few years creating crises, the effect global traveling has on increasing the spread of such viruses, the effect that various crises can have on governments, the tendency for governments to become more autocratic when dealing with a population that is becoming more and more resistant to rules related to continuing crises, the ways that life changes for everyone due to the cumulative affects of all of these events, etc.  The Bingham and Griffith characters, rather than being what the story is about, are just a way to allow the reader to reflect on how the passage of time and circumstances has resulted life being so different for everyone as represented by the Binghams and Griffiths of different generations.  The book has caused me to reflect on how likely it is that the future of our country may NOT be very bright.  I gave the book a rating of 5 stars out of 5 although there are readers who have disliked it because they wanted it to be the story of the families rather than of a changing country or because they did not like the implication that our country is possibly facing a downhill slide in terms of quality of life.