Mini Book Reviews for The Towering Sky, The Hunger Between Us, & Convenience Store Woman
Hi everyone! So far this year, I have read three books! I decided to write mini reviews for all of them in this post, so let's get into it!
The Hunger Between Us By Marina Scott
This was the first book I read in 2023 and wow, was it quite the book. This is a YA historical fiction book set in Leningrad during the Siege of Leningrad in WWII. I knew nothing about this time period before going into this book so I was shocked quite a bit. To preface, this is a very dark and devastating book with trigger warnings for lots of death, starvation, themes of sexual abuse/physical abuse, and cannibalism. If you don't know, the Siege of Leningrad was when the Nazis blocked off Leningrad from the rest of the world, making it impossible to get food and other necessities imported in. People died of sickness and starvation. A very dark time. The main character is a girl whose mother had just died and her beloved best friend has gone missing. The main character goes on a tumultuous journey to find her best friend and discovers the depths and depravity of the city. This had several plot twists and excellent character development. The ending was brutal and just completely devastating, so much so that it shook me. Don't read this if you're in a dark place, but I really do recommend this book to learn about the time and place and all the souls that were lost. Excellent writing, I gave this 4 stars out of 5. To get 5 stars I usually rate it if the book is one that I will reread but I have to say, this book was so sad, I don't think I'll reread it.
The Towering Sky by Katharine McGee
This book is the final book in the Thousandth Floor trilogy, so I'm not going to talk a lot about the plot. This series is basically Gossip Girl set in futuristic ritzy New York City. This series was so fun and glamorous to read, I have loved it. The last book wraps everything up so nicely and ends things perfectly, just how I wanted everything to go. That was really satisfying to read! I gave this 4 out of 5 stars simply because the middle of the book dragged and it could have been shorter. However, it was super fun and a great read besides that!
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, Ginny Tapley Takemori (Translator)
This book was the latest that I have read. It was originally a Japanese book and later translated into English. This was an odd book and vaguely unsettling. A VERY short book! Less than 130 pages. It's about a woman in Japan who has worked in a convenience store for many years, which is considered odd and frowned upon in Japan. She says frequently that she doesn't feel human and constantly copies people in order to fit in. There's a lot of commentary on being an outcast in Japanese society and how hard it is to not be the "norm" there. I gave it 3 stars out of 5 because it was too short in my opinion and the ending was strange and super rushed. But it was an okay read and good for reading if you need a short book!
Those are the mini book reviews for the all the books I have read lately! I hope y'all enjoyed!
Alette
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