Posted on by Catherine

Rating and Ranking: June and July

With the end of the school year and the beginning of summer, I thought I’d merge the two since June didn’t give me much time to read but July definitely did! I wanted to read a lot of romance and just live a little vicariously through these books and I of course had to include a lot of LGBTQ+ books since it was Pride Month in June. So, without further ado, here goes!

Gulliver’s Travels – Johnathan Swift

Gulliver’s Travels is a book about a man named Gulliver who travels around the world to fantasy lands of all sorts. First he goes to a place called Lilliput where everyone there is essentially human but really tiny, like only six inches in height. They treated Gulliver like a god and were very accomodating. Gulliver also had to help them with a neighbouring land who was an enemy of Lilliput.

The second land he went to, called Brobdingnag, was the complete opposite: everyone there were huge: something around 60 feet tall. Again, Gulliver was accomodated for and was well respected, but since he was small compared to the Brobdingnags, he couldn’t do much.

In all honesty I didn’t end up paying much attention to the end of the book because it was almost the same thing just different font, so to speak. Another new land with another new people, and not much plot just explanations, infodumping of how everything worked.

I gave this book a 3 stars because I really enjoyed the first half but then the second half was pretty boring.

The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass – Adan Jerreat-Poole

This is a book about a girl named Eli, who isn’t quite human. She may look human, but she was actually made by witches to hunt ghosts.

One day, she’s supposed to be dealing with a ghost but ends up just murdering a living man, and now she’s worried she’s going to be unmade. Teaming up with humans who know just a little too much about the witch world and who have some special plans of their own, Eli learns a strong message about what makes you human, what makes you alive.

I give this book a 4/5 stars. It didn’t hook me as much as I thought it would but it was a great read nonetheless and I greatly enjoyed it.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe – Benjamin Alire Sàenz

This book is a reread but it’s the first time I’m writing about it here on my blog. I LOVE IT.

This is a masterpiece of writing, philosophy, romance, existentialism, coming-of-age, self-acceptance and personal growth… I cannot say enough good things about this book.

It’s about two Mexican-American boys, one named Aristotle (but he goes by Ari) who lives with his mom, a professor, and his father, a Vietnam war veteran. Ari has two older sisters who have already moved out, and an older brother in prison that his family doesn’t talk about. He’s bit of a loner, doesn’t trust anyone very much and isn’t ready for adulthood.

Dante, on the other hand, has two very loving parents, lives in a safe household, and is a very optimistic, loving boy.

When the two meet at a community swimming pool, Dante starts teaching Ari to swim and the two of them become fast friends… and even more.

5/5 stars. Beautiful writing, an incredible plot, amazing characters, and lots of great life lessons while not being preachy or moralising, set in Texas, 1970s. Will recommend to just about anybody. Do look up content warnings though.

Ophelia After All – Raquel Marie

Ophelia After All is a book about a girl named Ophelia Rojas, a Cuban-American high school girl. She likes boys, Cuban food, and her garden of roses.

But then as prom season rolls around, she meets Talia, and the two friend groups start slowly merging. Ophelia finds herself falling for Talia, and doesn’t know really how to deal with this newfound sexuality: after all, she’s always thought she was straight.

This is a book about self-discovery and acceptance, and it’s very cutely written with characters you can’t help but love. And a surprise at the end of the book (or at least my copy)? Two playlists that match the vibes of the book. If this book wasn’t already a 5/5 stars, that made it even better.

Now Entering Addamsville – Francesca Zappia

I won this book the second time I won the Ghost Story Contest, and it was the first book I annotated. (I didn’t actually write in it, I just put sticky notes. I can’t handle writing in a book with ink or graphite.)

Zora Novak already lives a pretty troubled life. Her mother is gone (likely dead, but there wasn’t any body or anything when Dasree Novak ran away into the Addamsville woods, so as far as we know she could be alive). Her father is in prison. Her older sister and her boyfriend are essentially in charge of raising her and getting enough money to support the family in their small town of Addamsville.

To make matters worse, Addamsville has ghosts in it. Not everyone can see them, and most think it’s just a hoax for tourists to come and be spooked (“ooh, haunted small town”). But Zora can see them. A while ago, a special kind of ghost called a firestarter, burned down a house and killed some people. Zora went to help, but ended up losing two of her fingers in the process.

So after more firestarters arrive on the scene and start causing drama, people are accusing Zora of arson, who now has to team up with her rich cousin Artemis to solve who is actually doing the murders. And to add to the problems, a film crew is in Addamsville to shoot a silly ghost-hunting show.

This book is 5/5 stars, I normally don’t read mystery, much less murder mystery, but I really enjoyed this one and it was pretty tame. (Also as a side note, Zora is canonically asexual and it’s the perfect kind of casual representation we love to see!)

You Should See Me In A Crown – Leah Johnson

This book follows the story of Liz Lighty, a girl living in a small town in Indiana where the one thing that almost everyone is obsessed with in school is prom season. It’s been the highlight for generations. Liz, living with her grandparents and sick younger brother, wants to go to Pennington for university and is relying heavily on getting a certain scholarship.

She doesn’t get it.

Now she has to run for prom queen, because whoever wins gets money, so she’s not completely without hope. Except Liz had zero intention of running before this catastrophe, and she’d almost rather do anything else. But at this point, it’s worth a shot.

Liz’ campaign goes pretty well, but there’s soon a bit of a catch. She starts falling for her competition, a new girl named Mack. Will this hurt her chances of winning in this small high school… or boost them?

This was a 5/5 star read, with a satisfying ending and a plot that just keeps you hooked from page 1 till the end.

Some Girls Do – Jennifer Dugan

Morgan: star track athlete, forced to move out of her Catholic School after coming out as a lesbian.

Ruby: following her mother’s footprints being a pageant queen, but doesn’t want to be. She prefers working on her 1970 Ford Torino.

Both fall for each other, but while Morgan wants a fresh start at her new school, Ruby isn’t ready to come out. How will they resolve their issues? Will the relationship survive?

This was a great book. The ending is satisfying, the writing is easy to follow and it keeps you hooked, but the only reason I’m giving this a 4/5 stars is that I felt there were a lot of issues that could have been avoided, and some parts made me really annoyed. But overall it was a great book!

Red, White, and Royal Blue – Casey McQuiston (Reread)

Yes, I reread RW&RB because I heard of the movie coming out, as I assume a lot of people did. Sue me.

If you’re new and want to know my opinions on it, you can find that information here.

Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster – Andrea Mosqueda

It’s almost time for Maggie Gonzalez to find a date for her younger sister’s quinceañera, but there are three problems.

One: Her on-and-off boyfriend, Matthew, who he’s still kinda-sorta friends with.

Two: Her best friend Amanda, who Maggie has been crushing on essentially forever.

Three: The new girl, Dani, who’s cute, and Maggie’s starting to develop new fun feelings.

For her end of year art project, Maggie decides to make a collection of private Instagram posts (her medium of choice being photography, of course) to decide on a date. What could possibly go wrong?

This was a 5/5 star read. I loved how it presented the problem of ‘too many feelings for too many people’ and didn’t make it a horrible cliché. Maggie herself even expresses concern about it, and about her friend’s boundaries. And while the issues definitely show up throughout the book, it’s resolved in a respectful and satisfying manner.

I also didn’t think I was going to enjoy the friends-to-lovers arc (I’m an enemies-to-lovers girl myself) but it was very well-written.

The Red Scrolls of Magic – Cassandra Clare

Part of the Shadowhunter Chronicles, this book tells the tale of Magnus Bane and Alec Lightowod on vacation in Europe… until they get word of a cult called the Crimson Hand that Magnus may or may not have started by accident, and said cult is wreaking havoc. What a way to have a vacation.

I gave this book a 4/5 stars because while the world is great and I love the Shadowhunter Chronicles, this one didn’t hit as much as I thought it would. I’m also reading it for the second time so maybe that affected my rating.

Iron Widow – Xiran Jay Zhao

Xiran Jay Zhao is a wizard with words. I am still reeling with awe from having read this book.

Wu Zetian wants revenge for the death of her sister in a Chrysalis, a metal monster that is piloted by men to defeat Hunduns, invaders of the land of Huaxia. When the Chrysalises go to fight, the men essentially suck up the spirit energy from the girls and use that to kill Hunduns, but that ends up killing the girls, called concubines, as well.

When Zetian enlists, she ends up taking over her Chrysalis and killing the male pilot instead of the other way around, she gets the title of an Iron Widow. She is now piloted with one of the most powerful yet controversial pilots, Li Shimin, nicknamed the Iron Demon.

In a Hunger-Games-esque series of events, the two of them have to work together to defeat Hunduns and maybe, just maybe dismantle the sexist system along the way.

A sci-fi retelling of the story of the real Wu Zetian, the first female Chinese Empress, this book is everything I wanted it to be and more, infused with feminine rage and power. I am in love with this book. 5/5 stars. Do look up content warnings for this book, however.

Final Ranking:

5/5 stars: 

  • Aristotle And Dante (Benjamin Alire Sàenz)
  • Ophelia After All (Raquel Marie)
  • Now Entering Addamsville (Francesca Zappia)
  • You Should See Me In A Crown (Leah Johnson)
  • Red, White, and Royal Blue (Casey McQuiston)
  • Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster (Andrea Mosqueda)
  • Iron Widow (Xiran Jay Zhao) ❤ ❤ ❤

4/5 stars:

  • The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass (Adan Jerreat-Poole)
  • Some Girls Do (Jennifer Dugan)
  • The Red Scrolls of Magic (Cassandra Clare)

3/5 stars: Gulliver’s Travels (Jonathan Swift)

I noticed I was reading a lot of books about intersectionality, unintentionally, but then as June and July went on, I decided to seek out books that had intersectionality in them. Intersectionality is a concept that is basically when a person fits into two marginalized groups and has different types of discrimination. For example, Liz Lighty (You Should See Me In A Crown) is black, poor, and a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Ari and Dante are Latino boys who are also gay.

It’s important to read stories from people who have different lived experiences. That way you can get to understand people better and open your mind to different worldviews. I’m not an expert, but books are a great way to learn and share stories.

Let me know how your summer is going and how your reading or writing is going, down in the comments below, and don’t forget to check out my novel, Scarred!

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Life is a story. How will you write yours?

Until next time,

Catherine Khaperska

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Rating and Ranking: December (Last Post of 2022!)

December was a very busy month for me, so I didn’t get much reading in. But I ended up reading some really high-quality books, even though I had so many other projects running side by side. 

Circe – Madeline Miller

I read The Song Of Achilles (also by Madeline Miller) about a year ago and really enjoyed it. I picked up Circe at my school’s library and I have to say it felt quite different from reading The Song of Achilles!

While TSOA focused on the peril and the adventures of Achilles and Patroclus, and had romance and cute scenes (and other sadder, more heavy scenes) that made reading it a rollercoaster of emotion, Circe was calmer and more internally focused. 

Circe is a nymph, the daughter of Helios, the Titan of the sun, and Perse, an oceanid, which is an ocean nymph and a child of the Titan of the sea, Oceanus. From the day she was born, she was not necessarily outcast, but ignored, or left aside. She wasn’t as unearthly beautiful as most nymphs are (at least, according to her family) and didn’t have the booming godly voice that the others in her family had. She had the voice of a mortal.

Because she was more like a mortal than her family, no one really had any high expectations for her, which meant she could get away with more things. For example, she was kind to the Titan Prometheus (if you need a reminder who he is, he’s the guy who brought fire to the humans and was punished for it). When Prometheus was tied up and bleeding, she talked to him, brought him food and water. 

After a long series of events in which the treatment from her family inspires her to turn to witchcraft, she decides to use it on another nymph, Scylla, who ends up turning into the man-eating, ship-destroying sea monster we now know her as. The gods and Titans, afraid of her new power, exile her to the island of Aiaia, where most of her story takes place. One of the most iconic and well-known stories involving Circe is when Odysseus, the hero from the Trojan War, comes and stays with her for a year.  

Circe’s story is one of love and family and isolation, but has also become a bit of a feminist story as well. Circe manages to make a life of success and prosperity on her island, with her skills and her determination to not let the gods’ exile bring her down. 

I rate this book a four out of five stars. I have always loved Greek Mythology, and it was incredible to see the references to other stories and hear the names of old such as grey-eyed Athena or talks of the famous Paris and Helen of Troy. I’ll admit the majority of my Greek Myth knowledge comes from Percy Jackson, but nonetheless it helped me truly connect with the world. 

The reason it’s a four and not a five stars is because even though it was great, I found it to be quite slow-paced in the beginning, and even though it sped up and became intriguing later, I found it hard to get attached to the characters, and there was a lot more internal monologuing than I expected. 

I would definitely recommend this book to any fans of Madeline Miller’s other book, or any Greek Mythology fans in general. And even if you don’t understand Greek Myth, this book is still understandable and enjoyable. Circe is a wonderful, kind but stubborn, generous but proud, well-rounded character whose story deserves to be heard.

Red, White and Royal Blue – Casey McQuiston

Where do I even begin with this book? It’s absolutely incredible. I have to consult a thesaurus to find the words to describe this literary masterpiece. Stunning. Extraordinary. Fabulous. 

Red, White, and Royal Blue is from the point of view of Alex Claremont-Diaz, a Mexican-American First Son of the United States. To my non-American readers, this means that one of his parents (in this case, his mother, Ellen Claremont) is the president of the United States of America. Another very important key character is Henry Wales, the prince of the United Kingdom.

These two characters live two very different, yet very similar lives. While one is a more extroverted, confident, fun-loving American, the other is a quieter, less rebellious, British royal. Yet both have a media presence as they are both at the heart of their respective countries’ political situations and systems. Both have to be careful so as not to ruin their reputations online or in real life, knowing there is media coverage pretty much everywhere they go out in public. 

Did I mention they both hate each other?

Since the 2016 Rio Olympics, Alex and Henry have hated each other. Alex thinks that Henry has been snobby to him and that leads to him being snobby back… it’s been four years and they still do not have the best opinion of one another, however polite they have to act on international television to keep the allyship and friendliness between countries alive. 

But an unexpected event forces them to pretend to be best friends in the public’s eyes. At first, it was only supposed to be for a little while, but it doesn’t take long for them to realise this has to last essentially forever.

The more they hang out and the more they get to learn about each other, the more it becomes less and less platonic… secrets are everywhere, whether revealed or kept behind doors. No, I will not specify which type of doors but I think we can all guess at this point. 

I absolutely LOVED this book. It’s quickly become one of my favourite standalones of all time. Casey McQuiston, you are a genius with words! 

I would recommend this to anyone in high school. It’s definitely a more mature book in both language and content but it’s nonetheless a freaking amazing book that I will treasure for the rest of my days. The amount of times I squealed, laughed, and fangirled over that book cannot be counted on both my hands! 

Five star read. Easiest rating of my life. 

Lore – Alexandra Bracken

This book follows the story of Melora ‘Lore’ Perseous, who is a descendant of the great hero Perseus. In this book, there are family trees where people are descendants of heroes and have a specific god that they honour from Greek Mythology. 

Every seven years, the Agon is an event where people can hunt gods and gain their powers and immortality for the next seven years. For example, this time the new Ares has named himself Wrath, and plans to end the Agon, keeping his powers forever. But that’s not all. With the help of a specific ancient poem that only Lore knows and has access to because of her bloodline, Wrath will not only be able to end the Agon, but will be able to gain ultimate power and be the only god left.

The story begins with a bang as Lore, after a wrestling match, finds someone she thought was long dead, as well as finds the goddess Athena broken and bleeding in an alleyway of her neighbourhood near Harlem, New York City. Lore has been using wrestling as an escape from the world of gods and danger. Lore is hiding from all this because one of the members of another bloodline killed her family when she was young, and now she would rather do anything else than reclaim her birthright as the last Perseide (descendant of Perseus). But when Wrath begins the search for the poem in order to gain this unlimited power and be the sole god left, Lore has no choice but to team up with Athena, her friend Miles, her long-thought-dead friend Castor who has taken the powers of Apollo, and Castor’s cousin Evander (or Van, for short). 

I will give this book three-and-a-half stars. I didn’t find it exciting enough to be given a four, but it’s not bad as a premise and there were even some interesting scenes and some perilous moments. The twists that I didn’t see coming didn’t seem to hit as hard as I thought they would, and there were almost too many characters with too much happening. 

But in the end it turned out well and I can definitely see the appeal of this book as a next step after reading Rick Riordan’s works (it has mild language to watch for as well).

So my final rankings for December (and my last ranking of 2022!):

  1. Red, White, and Royal Blue – Casey McQuiston (5/5 stars!)
  2. Circe – Madeline Miller (4/5 stars!)
  3. Lore – Alexandra Bracken (3.5/5 stars!)

This post, however, is not only about my book reviews. Since we are going into a new year, I want to talk a bit about my plans for the new year. 

I have the next four blog posts planned (not drafted just yet) and they are going to be once a week. I want to try to get 50+ posts this year (one a week, if I can). 

I want to try to get my novel published (so stay tuned for that!).

I want to get myself verified on Instagram (is that even possible in a year? Let’s see! Also follow me @catherinekwrites if you haven’t yet!). 

I have lots more plans that I hope will come to fruition in 2023, but for now, these are all the spoilers you get!

Thanks for reading! Subscribe so you can see future posts as they come out, and leave a comment and tell me your literary plans for the year, or any other New Year’s Resolutions that you may have (if you feel so inclined).

Life is a story. How will you write yours?

Until next time,

Catherine Khaperska