All posts by Superfast Reader

Healing Paradise by Gay Courter

American Literature 3 Comments

Synopsis: As WWII encroaches, Rozy braves judgment and trials, both personal and professional, to be one of only 4 women in her class at Cornell Medical School, finding passion for her work and a love that may not survive the rigors of her life as a doctor. Review: In Healing Paradise, Gay Courter has done a great job developing a most fascinating world, that of medical school in the late 1930s/early 1940s. I loved seeing the inner workings of medical school, and the ways in…

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Speak Out With Your Geek Out!

On Reading

You don’t start a blog called Reading is my Superpower without have a strong geek contingent in your DNA strands. So I was delighted to see that my dear friend and geek goddess RPG editrix Amanda Valentine was one of the masterminds behind Speak Out With Your Geek Out, an internet confab to celebrate all things uncelebrated except by people who get why dragons make books better. I hid my geek for a long time because I moved in a world where I didn’t know…

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The Magician King by Lev Grossman

American Literature

Synopsis: Now a king in the magical land of Fillory, Quentin still fights with the demons of depression and purposelessness, so he goes on a quest and risks losing Fillory forever. Review: You have to understand what Fillory means to Quentin to truly understand his position at the outset of The Magician King. He has literally gotten everything he has ever wanted–he is a king in the magical country from the books he loved as a kid. It’s as if you grew up loving Narnia,…

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The Magicians by Lev Grossman

American Literature 3 Comments

Synopsis: Plucked from Brooklyn to attend an elite college for magicians, Quentin hopes that his life will be an adventure like those he read about as a kid, but the drama of real life and his own penchant for melancholia keep getting in the way. Review: The Magicians was almost crazy-making thanks to Lev Grossman’s unmatched talent for letting emotional suspense simmer behind the already awesome plot. I was so caught up in the drama of Quentin’s love life and friendships that I wanted as…

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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

American Literature

Synopsis: A coming of age story about a girl growing up in Williamsburg in the first half of the 20th Century. Review: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is one of the most wonderful books of all time. It’s almost too perfect in its humor, poignancy, and wisdom. I’ve read it countless times since I was a bookish kid like Francie Nolan, wishing I could buy penny candy and sleep in the front room on a cool fall night. My heart broke for her all over…

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The Space Between by Alexandra Sokoloff

American Literature

Synopsis: A girl fears that her dreams of a brutal school shooting may come true, and an outcast dwarf and the most popular boy in school seem to hold the key. Review: Alexandra Sokoloff is the Lois Duncan of the new milennium. I love her brand of paranormal thrillers, which feel fresh and familiar at the same time. Her heroines are intriguing, with many hidden depths, and Anna in The Space Between is no exception. I tore through this novella, which reminded me of both…

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Enchanted, Inc by Shanna Swendson (Katie Chandler, Book 1)

American Literature 1 Comment

Synopsis: An ordinary New York City girl gets recruited by a magical agency precisely because she is immune to magic. Review: Cute, light, and fun, Enchanted, Inc. was exactly the palate cleanser I needed after gorging on A Dance With Dragons. I especially loved that Shanna Swendson didn’t feel the need to make Katie klutzy or ditsy. She wasn’t afraid to have Katie be outspoken and assertive. She was my kind of girl and I really enjoyed spending time in her head.

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Dark Parties by Sara Grant

British Literature

Synopsis: In a dystopia under a sealed dome where inbreeding has left everyone looking very similar, one girl looks for the truth about the world outside. Review: Dark Parties has a decent enough concept, and is executed well enough, but Neva’s plight didn’t strike a chord with me. Perhaps it was the world-building which felt thin and undercooked. I love dystopian YA, but am growing fearful that the genre has played out. It’s not enough to have an idea and be able to write. When…

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Another Kind of Paradise by Trevor Carolan, Ed.

Chinese Literature, Japanese Literature, Southeast Asian literature

Synopsis: Short Stories from the New Asia-Pacific. Review: Another Kind of Paradise is a collection of stories from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma, Thailand, Viet Nam, Cambodia, and more. My favorite was “Their Son” by Hong Ying from China, which takes expectations about parents and children and totally upends them. It was sad, sweet, funny, and provocative. “Third Meeting” by Mi-na Choi from Korea had a narrator that really grabbed me, even though the story was heartbreaking beyond words.

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Cold Light by Jenn Ashworth

British Literature

Synopsis: When a body is uncovered near a memorial site for a dead teen, her former best friend reflects on the events of a decade ago that culminated in tragedy. Review: Cold Light was tremendously depressing. Lola, the narrator was mopey, passive, and largely unappealing. Her best friend Chloe is described as having a charisma that draws people to her, but she just seemed angry and petulant to me. I think that was the point, though, and that I’m just in a place where these…

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