Parachutes by Kelly Yang

Claire Wang never thought she’d be a parachute- a teenager left to live and study in the US while their wealthy parents remain in China. Suddenly she finds herself living in a stranger’s house and enrolled in high school in California, with no one to tell her what to do for the first time in her life. She soon embraces her newfound freedom, especially when the most eligible parachute, Jay, asks her out. Dani De La Cruz, Claire’s new host sister, strongly dislikes the idea of renting out a room to Claire. An academic and debate-team star, Dani is determined to earn her way into Yale, even against privileged kids who are buying their way to the top. When she receives extra help from her debate coach, it becomes more than just making it. Desperately trying to avoid each other under the same roof, Dani and Claire find themselves connecting through the issues that fight against. 

I understand the necessity of writing this book, however I just didn’t like it.  

The characters fought against the injustices that were important- equality, racism, immigrant prejudices, and classism. They dealt with problems relevant to being a woman in the context of sexual abuse. Yet, I disliked the characters. Their mindsets swung intensely from one chapter to the next. A problem that impacted their mind for 10 chapters straight would not be mentioned again even when it was never resolved. They were also so annoying. I couldn’t connect with any of them due to this. And it made me not care about their problems. 

A majority of the plot is centered around the two main characters not communicating with each other. Their monologues kept preaching that they were such understanding people, but they never took a minute about the other person’s situation. The one time they did, it was an issue of so little importance that it didn’t change anything in the long run. And the plot was predictable enough that I knew as soon as the debate coach entered the picture where the story was going. 

I did like how the ending was more open-ended, reflecting the ongoing fight and how the trauma of sexual abuse is everlasting. There isn’t necessarily a resolution to the problems mentioned in the book, and the book’s ending takes this into consideration. 

So, while I personally didn’t like the book, I understand the importance of the messages produced; especially since this was written with the author’s personal experience with the themes in mind. 

Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper

Amari’s life was perfect- engaged to the handsomest man in her tribe, adored by her family, and fortunate enough to live in a beautiful village- when her village was invaded by slave traders. Her family was brutally murdered, she was forced onto a slave ship and sent to be sold in the Carolinas. Now, survival is all Amari can dream about. As she struggles to hold on to her memories, she also begins to learn English and make friends with a white indentured servant named Molly. When the chance to escape appears, Amari and Molly seize it, fleeing South to the Spanish colony in Florida at Fort Mose. The hope of a new life is all that keeps them going, but Florida feels so far away and sometimes Amari wonders how far hopes and dreams can really take her. 

This book was pretty good and very surprising in the stark reality of slavery. 

While written at a middle school level, the themes and events presented are decisively high school level. 

The viewpoints shown were interesting. Most authors don’t try to understand the mind of someone who believes in slavery because it was all they know. That character learns of the cruelty of slavery and grows as a person. Her perspective made me not the character in the beginning, but by the end of the book I had come to care. 

I was surprised by how harsh some of the scenes were. But it helped emphasize the ho bad slavery was and what truly happened yet isn’t told. 

This book was a good read. 

Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay

In June 1993, a group of young, novice filmmakers spent four weeks making Horror Movie, a notorious, disturbing, art-house horror flick. Only three of the film’s scenes were ever released to the public, yet its fanbase blossomed. Three decades later, Hollywood is pushing for a big budget reboot. The man who played “The Thin Kid” is the only surviving cast member. He remembers the secrets buried within the original screenplay, the bizarre events of the filming, and the lines crossed on set that resulted in tragedy. As memories flood back in, the boundaries between reality and film, past and present start to blur. But he’s going to help remake the film, even if the reason stays shadowed. 

I loved this book so much. Better in the psychological horror than ‘Frankenstein’ (and with the added bonus of there not being two chapters of nature descriptions). 

The way it was written was very unique. Written as if the narrator is doing an audiobook (which is part of the plot) interspersed with the script of Horror Movie. While I normally hate reading script, this wasn’t written like a regular movie script. Instead, it was written with what the audience watching the movie would be feeling and thinking. It made it feel more immersive with the introspective of the mind of the viewer. And with the script going in time with whatever happened in the chapter, it gives more clarity to ideas brought but provides murkiness again by giving the reader no clue of what is to come. The only writing critic is that some paragraphs are really long with one going on for 7 pages. Yet this can be forgiven because usually this is when the narrator is telling one collected story of an event that happened. 

I love the themes written about and the confusion of what is reality and what is fiction. The plot is so twisty-turny that I truly thought the book was lying to the reader for about 20 pages. 

The ending was brilliant. Yet it is done in such a way that the reader still doesn’t understand what exactly happened. I had a debate with two of my friends who are in book club, and we all had different interpretations of what truly happened. That is the beauty of this book. It is covered in shadows even at the end. 

I highly recommend this book. It was such a short and immersive read I was very sad that there wasn’t more. 

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and stolen away with her two sisters to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. To win a place at the Court Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself. 

This book wasn’t for me. I knew it going in, having heard about it for years but declining to ever exactly read it. However, it was better than I thought it was going to be. 

I dislike books about romance between mortals and faeries, especially if the faerie love interest is a mean character; though I recognize this is a pulling factor for many. This plot holds no interest to me. Fortunately, this book had more than just that storyline. The political aspects were fascinating to read about. 

I didn’t like any of the characters. I get that was on purpose, but this caused me not to care about the events of the book until about the last 100 pages. I didn’t care about what could happen to the characters because I didn’t care for them. I couldn’t connect. 

The opening chapter and the ending were the best parts of this book. The rest of the book dragged on in pace, none of the actions really seemed substantial. 

Overall, it was an interesting month for book club! Stay tuned for February!