Book 19 A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson fulfilled the category “A BookTok Recommendation” for the PopSugar 2022 Reading Challenge. I don’t remember where I viewed the recommendation, but it’s absolutely on BookTok.

Here is another category where I shifted books around to fit prompts. I think I originally chose Circe for this prompt. After reading two witch books I did not enjoy, I moved Circe to another category and re-choose for this one. So again, I read multiple books for one prompt. (Do we see a terrible pattern in this blog? Yes, yes, we do. Sigh.)

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is a YA mystery/thriller. A high schooler, Pippa Fitz-Amobi, must create a senior capstone project. She chooses to write about the press impact on a five-year-old murder in her town. Well, that’s what she tells her teacher. In reality, Pippa plans to solve the mystery and redeem the person accused. The crime involved the death of a young woman by her boyfriend, who committed suicide shortly after the murder. Allegedly. Pippa doesn’t believe it and sets out with the accused man’s brother to find the true killer.

The junior detective in the book discovered many things the police did not. I think using race as a barrier worked in the novel. A few times, the author hinted the authorities and the town found it easier to blame the “brown” people for the problems and closed the case. Pippa’s unique heritage and family added to the atmosphere, showing the reader how important it was to not judge people by their skin color.

The story reminded me of Truly Devious, another book where a high schooler solves a cold case as their senior project. There are many similarities. The books were published about the same time. I wondered if one influenced the other. (Truly Devious was published a year before A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.) Or is this a new trend in YA mysteries? Either way, I like it.

This was a debut novel for author Holly Jackson. For a first book, she hit a home run. The twists and turns were well-executed, though the novel’s pacing felt off. With a tiny romantic subplot and teenage issues, the story dragged in a few spots. And a horrific event occurred towards the end of the book. I won’t say what it was, but it could trigger some people. The ending was written beautifully and kept me on my toes.

I listened to the audio, but the paper and digital have more details with maps, written-out text messages, and pictures. The reader was amazing. Maybe grab both formats.

I give A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson Five Smart and Determined Female Teens.

 

 

Book 18 Parasite

 

Parasite by Mira Grant fulfilled the category “Book about a Man-Made Disaster” for the PopSugar 2022 Reading Challenge. In this story, genetically modified tapeworms become our primary source of health care. What could go wrong? 

I also read Radium Girls by Kate Moore for the prompt, a nonfiction that fits well.

Here was my problem. I read Parasite and loved it. Then I read for the duology prompt two books about zombies attacks during the Civil War. Spoiler, in Parasite, the tapeworms are turning people into zombie-like creatures. I wondered how many zombie books were too many for the blog? Three might be too much. I read Radium Girls, and though it was a tough, important topic, the writing and the narration paled compared to Parasite. 

Here are both, and I’ll find another duology. I hope.

As I mentioned, Parasite is about using tapeworms to deliver health care. Scientists genetically modified the worms to live with us for two years. They are harmless, according to SymboGen. The worms can deliver medication, help with weight control, and other medical issues. Fantastic, right? I know I hate taking meds day and night. With this system, you never need to take daily pills again.

What could go wrong? I already asked that.

Everything can go wrong. The author followed one person through the entire process of the system breaking down. The chapters/scenes are cut with old interviews, articles, blog posts, and personal essays to give a rounder picture of the story. It worked well, except in my humble opinion, the big reveal was obvious right from the start. I won’t spoil, but it’s right there, people. We all see it, but we ignore it until the end. 

One other issue I had with the story was the age of the character. She was in her twenties and medically fragile from a near-fatal car accident years ago. The tale sounds YA because a grown woman is treated like a child the entire time. It frustrated me that the novel unrolled that way. That and how many people knew the big secret but refused to speak about it. The characters who hold back information are annoying.

Let’s talk about Radium Girls for a few. This is an important historical issue. The topic of medical hazards in the workplace should be standard reading for anyone in a corporate job. These women suffered horribly because their companies had no regard for human rights, safety, or anything else but profit. I’ve always wondered why we have so much company loyalty in this country. The story is from the 1920s. In one hundred years, we’ve failed to do better for our employees in many places. But the radium use, knowing it was dangerous, knowing they taught women to ingest it, and then lying about it. I don’t have faith in these businessmen.

I had trouble with the narrator. She spoke in a flowery voice when telling the women’s back story. It created a flowery atmosphere, inappropriate for the book.. Not great for a book about the poisoning of thousands of people.

(I’m being super critical this week, bear with me)

I also didn’t like how it was organized. Two different companies with two sets of employees/victims were presented. I quickly became confused about who was who and where they were. I feel that if the author focused on one or two of the women’s stories, it would’ve been more impactful. Perhaps they could’ve had a series of essays explaining about the other women. I’m not trying to downplay anything about the horror wrought by this inexcusable abuse of power. But a focused human-interest angle might have sold me more on the book. Regardless, I would highly recommend reading the print version of Radium Girls.

I give Parasite by Mira Grant Four Genetically Modified Tapeworms.

I give Radium Girls by Kate Moore Four Winning Lawsuits to make those people pay.

 

 

 

 

Book 17 Doomsday Book

 

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis fulfilled the category “A Hugo Award Winner” for the PopSugar 2022 Reading Challenge. The Hugo is a literary award for best science-fiction or fantasy works from the previous year. Doomsday Book won for 1993.

Why did I choose an older book for this category? First, my husband has been encouraging me to read Connie Willis for years. Second, it won the Hugo and fit the category. Third, I already read Network Effect by Martha Wells. Last, it’s about a pandemic. Oh boy how, it’s about a pandemic.

It’s 2054, and the world has moved forward in two key ways. One, they can time travel, but only for use for studying history. The author doesn’t discuss time travel except for the use at universities for getting historical details correct. Some centuries have been labeled ten on the risk scale as in too dangerous to visit. The Middle Ages have recently been downgraded, and an expedition to 1320 is planned.

Second, the world has suffered some major health crises over the past sixty years. Health care in England is stringent and prepared for outbreaks of deadly viruses and diseases. Why are they so prepped? Because there was a pandemic in 2018. (Remember, she wrote the novel in 1992.)

Kivrin Engle (shout out to Madeline Engle, perhaps) is the student chosen to travel to the Middle Ages. She’s been vaccinated and had her T-cells enhanced just in case she runs into the plague. She shouldn’t though because they send her decades before the disease hit Oxford. Should is a funny word.

In 2054, a mysterious virus runs rampant on the Oxford campus. It hits the technician who sent Kivrin back to 1320 first. He is unable to tell if the transfer was a success. Chaos erupts, and her favorite professor, James Dunworthy, cannot discover if Kivrin is safe or not.

For the next 400 pages, we go back and forth between the future and the past. Many people in 2054 are short-sighted and concerned for only their priorities, Professor Dunworthy included. Interestingly, no one will comply with health code restrictions or wear masks. People constantly harass Professor Dunworthy about toilet paper, canceled concerts, and their child’s health (versus the hundreds in the quarantine). Also, since our technician’s name is Badri Chaudhuri, the contemporaries call the disease the “Indian Flu.”

It’s as if Ms. Willis had her own time machine to see 2020. She portrayed the quarantine and human nature perfectly. It was spooky.

I enjoyed the book, but I honestly don’t think a publisher would allow it to pass through editing with the same number of pages. The constant nagging of Professor Dunworthy and the repetitiveness of Kivrin’s sections got old fast. With a good editor, the book could have been down to 350 pages, faster paced, and more exciting. The writing was excellent but overly long.

I give Doomsday Book by Connie Willis Four Fur-Lined Blue Cloaks (but not real fur—that’s cruel).