REVIEW: Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

*Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a fair review*

Expected publication: May 16, 2017

The daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has long known her place—she may be an accomplished alchemist, but because she is not a boy, her future has always been out of her hands. For political gain, Mariko is promised to Minamoto Raiden, the son of the emperor's favorite consort. But on the way to the imperial city of Inako, Mariko narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by a the Black Clan, who she learns has been hired to kill her before she reaches the palace.

Disguised as a boy, Mariko seeks to infiltrate the Black Clan, determined to track down the person responsible for the target on her back. But she's quickly captured and taken to the Black Clan’s secret hideout, where she meets their leader, the rebel ronin Takeda Ranmaru, and his second-in-command, his best friend Okami. Still believing her to be a boy, Ranmaru and Okami eventually warm to Mariko, impressed by her intellect and ingenuity. As Mariko gets closer to the Black Clan, she uncovers a dark history of secrets, of betrayal and murder, which will force her to question everything she's ever known.

Ahdieh excels at writing a detailed, compelling narrative a cut above that typically found in YA fiction.  While the story is steeped in Japanese tradition and history, she's able to blend an air of modernity through fantasy and budding romance that will appeal to many readers. Mariko is a fantastic female protagonist who years to be seen as more than just a girl whose body and dowry will provide her father with power and standing. 

I did feel as if the pacing slowed a bit toward the middle; however, the ending was solid with plenty of action, secrets and betrayals. There are several cliffhangers that will have readers clamoring for the next book. 

Final rating: 4 out of 5 stars

REVIEW: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

The Bell Jar is Sylvia Plath's amazing novel following a young woman's decent into insanity.  Esther Greenwood is young, beautiful and talented.  However, she is slowly sinking.  Readers follow her path into darkness with fear that this decent will be her last. This novel is haunting in its echos of Plath's own feelings and experience with crippling depression.

This has always been on my radar as a classic I wanted to and should read.  I'd missed it or delayed reading it for one reason or another.  With the 2015 Popsugar Reading Challenge, I finally committed to get to this powerful and amazingly written classic since it fit the "Book You Should Have Read in School" catagory.

Plath certainly didn't pull any punches while depicting Esther's decent into madness or while exploring the stark truths for women at that time.  It's pretty horrifying that this is fiction based in fact but its an important aspect of the past that should not be forgotten. What I liked most about the novel was the ambiguous ending.  Does Esther flourish once she gets out of the santatarium or is it just a reprieve before she begins the decent once more?

I thought a lot about how some students read this in high school. I know the accelerated students did when I was in school.  I'm the last one to advocate challenging a book but I'm pretty shocked it was part of the curriculum given the graphic nature of the descriptions and themes. I don't think a teenager can grasp the whole importance of the narrative that would come with more maturity and life experiences. I wish I would have read it in undergrad or grad school since it would be a powerful book to discuss and write about within an academic setting.

Overall, I enjoyed the book because of the stellar writing but it was rather emotional, especially to read it in a time of year that's supposed to be happy. I recommend the audio as narrated by Maggie Gyllenhaal. She's exactly who I might picture as Esther.

Final rating: 5 out of 5 stars


#classic #depression #suicide #feminism #SlyviaPlath #BellJar #audiobook