Navigating Solutions and Darkness

"The only true form of freedom, the only ethical form of freedom, is through self-limitation. It's not the privilege of choosing everything you want in your life, but rather, choosing what you will give up." - Everything is Fucked by Mark Manson 

Times change. We are not who we were. We are not threatened by the same things anymore. We do not need the techniques of the past - we need new techniques adapted to surviving and thriving in the   present . Sigmund on Unsplash

Skyward was a wild ride, a coming of age story for a stubborn, determined and special girl, and an imaginative science fiction endeavour. I do really love a happy ending. I also love Sanderson's ability to write great, engaging characters, and the fact that so many of his books feature amazing female protagonists.

The Blackcoat Rebellion  continues with its characteristic incompetence and worthlessness. Boredom, predictability, and frustration ensues.

Title: Captive Author:  Aimee Carter Year of Publication: 2014 Series:  The Blackcoat Rebellion Series #: 2 Goodreads Rating (Avg.): 3.77 Goodreads Rating (Mine): 2 Spoilers Plot Description:  Kitty is supposed to continue pretending to be Lila Hart, but her rebelliousness gives Daxton Hart, the Prime Minister, reason to publicly disown her and send her Elsewhere. In  Captive,  Kitty navigates survival in Elsewhere and continues her efforts to further the Blackcoat Rebellion. The word Blackcoat is unnecessarily grandiose and superficial, just like everything in this book. I mentioned in my review of  Pawn  (Book 1 in this series) that the story could easily have been wrapped up by the end of that book. But Carter sacrifices good writing in favour of world building (and the mandatory YA trilogy) and  Captive  suffers the brunt of that choice. In a word,  Captive is as superficial and redundant as the name Blackcoat ...

Title:  Pawn Author:  Aimee Carter Year of Publication: 2013 Series: The Blackcoat Rebellion #:  1 Goodreads Rating (Avg.):  3.80 Goodreads Rating (Mine): 2 SO MANY SPOILERS Plot Description:  Kitty Doe lives in a world where everyone takes a test at the age of 17 which evaluates their worth in society. She receives a 3, rather than the average 4 on her test. Just when she thinks she's doomed to a life of menial work, she's whisked off to be a doppelganger for the Prime Minister's dead niece, Lila Hart. As Lila Hart, Kitty is supposed to help stop a rebellion against the current regime - a rebellion Lila had secretly been fostering. Disclaimer: I didn't want to read this book, but it was lying around at home and I was starved for options. Since I was going into this book with no expectations whatsoever, I actually ended up pleasantly surprised at times. It was only after I started reading YA almost exclusively that I came across the ...

Title:  Dawn of Wonder Author:  Jonathan Renshaw Year of Publication:  2015 Series:  The Wakening Series #:  1 Goodreads Rating (Avg.):  4.35 Goodreads Rating (Mine):  4 Synopsis:  Aedan’s carefree life at the Badgerfield farm is rudely disrupted when Lekrau pirates attack, and kidnap his best friend Kalry. Rumours about his involvement in the attack force his family to leave their home and journey to the mighty city of Castath. Once there, he catches the eye of the great general Osric, and joins a group of students training to be Marshals of the kingdom. All the while, mysterious happenings unfold inside and outside the city, and Aedan nurses his desire for revenge against the Lekrau. Good writing shows. It is unhurried, and care is given to the placing of every word. It is difficult to attain that balance between humour and gravity, but Renshaw manages it by quietly slipping it into even the most mundane of sentences, making the reading ...

Title:  The Autobiography of a Sex Worker  Author:  Nalini Jameela Year of Publication:  2005 Series:  NA Series #:  NA Goodreads Rating (Avg.):  3.19 Goodreads Rating (Mine):  5 Synopsis:  An autobiographical work by a sex worker and activist from Thrissur, Kerala. I read the revised edition translated into English (it would have taken me forever and a giant dictionary to read it in the original Malayalam.) Autobiography of a Sex Worker  is in one word, mind blowing. The author’s narrative voice is strong and dispersed with wry humour. She comes across as well aware that her matter-of-fact narrative holds up an uncomfortable mirror to society. It’s hard to review such a book. Any recommendation I can give pales in comparison, when the book speaks for itself so assertively. It is revolutionary on countless planes and for numerous reasons, for Kerala boasts an extremely conservative culture. Keralite women from well off, up...

Cover Image: The Annihilation of Caste by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Crossposted from  Feminist Quill , written May 6, 2019 I do not care for the credit which every progressive society must give to its rebels. I shall be satisfied if I make the Hindus realize that they are the sick men of India and that their sickness is causing danger to the health and happiness of other Indians. It is with these words that Dr. Ambedkar begins the second edition of his famous  Annihilation of Caste,  a book that began life as a speech. For entirely unsurprising reasons that are detailed in this edition of the book, Dr. Ambedkar’s speech never actually came to be given. He was uninvited by the organization that had originally called him to speak, and he printed the speech at his own expense in the end. I say unsurprising because Dr. Ambedkar was a man far ahead of his time, and one who has made significant and extensive contributions to resolving the problem of the Indian caste system. ...

Crossposted from Feminist Quill : June 4, 2017 Title: The Ruby Circle Author:  Richelle Mead Year of Publication:  2015 Series: Bloodlines #: 6 Goodreads Rating (Avg.): 4.22 Goodreads Rating (Mine): 5 Business As Usual for Spoilers I really dislike this cover art version of Sydney. Neither this Sydney, nor this Adrian match how I imagine they look. Plot Description:  A ten book saga winds to a close. Nearly all the pieces are in place, and this thing only needs a bit of basic ass-kicking to seal the deal. Simply put, Sydney, Ms. Terwilliger, Eddie Castile and Adrian go off on a magical scavenger hunt in an attempt to find Jill. And there's a magical baby hogging plot space. I began this blog with Mead's VA universe. And now it's finally coming to a conclusion. All of our favourite heroes have been in on the action for a while now, even though I haven't been giving them any mention in the reviews. Now it's time. Lissa and Christian ...

Crossposted from Feminist Quill , dated June 4, 2017. Title: Silver Shadows Author:  Richelle Mead Year of Publication:  2014 Series: Bloodlines #: 5 Goodreads Rating (Avg.): 4.37 Goodreads Rating (Mine):  4 I Don't Do Spoiler Free Reviews Plot Description: Sydney has been kidnapped by the Alchemists, the human organization she works for. Their methods for dealing with rogue Alchemists involve imprisonment, torture and brainwashing designed to make their victims more pliable towards their objectives and methods. While she attempts to navigate the various pitfalls of "re-education," Adrian, Jill, Eddie and the rest desperately search for her. Silver Shadows is all action. The only scenes that seem to slow the pace down are - predictably - the ones that involve Adrian's depression following Sydney's kidnapping. Even as she spends months in the dark, resisting torture, Adrian falls off the wagon, spending his days depressed and disoriented. In ord...

Written June 4, 2017, at Feminist Quill Title: The Fiery Heart Author:  Richelle Mead Year of Publication:  2013 Series: Bloodlines #: 4 Goodreads Rating (Avg.): 4.41 Goodreads Rating (Mine):  4 Spoiler Alert Plot Description:  As Sydney's sister Zoe is assigned as her partner on the Palm Springs assignment, Sydney finds her instinct to bond with her sister warring with her need to keep her new relationship with Adrian a secret. She continues to work towards finding a magical means of breaking the bond of compulsion used by the Alchemists on all their agents, and must keep from making any mistakes that might end with her sent back to Alchemist 're-education'. Although Mead meant for this series to have two narrators from the start, The Fiery Heart  is the first book to actually implement that plan. The first chapter takes place from Adrian's POV, and the POVs alternate between the two protagonists after that. For someone who'...