Thursday, July 14, 2016

Mini-reviews: What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours and Summer Days and Summer Nights

Helen Oyeyemi is known for writing novels that are unexpected, a bit dark, and based on fairy tales. In What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours, the stories concern doorways and keys, sometimes in minor details and sometimes as an integral part of the story. Some characters jump stories, showing up as a protagonist in one and a minor character in another. As with many short story collections, I read some stories I adored and some that I really had to commit to finishing.

books and roses is amazingly executed and one of those stories I wished would spark a whole novel. It follows a young woman who was left on the steps of a monastery as a baby with a note and a key. She now works in a hotel doing laundry, where she encounters a wealthy painter who wears a key around her neck too. Their lives will intersect in incredible and magic ways. Oyeyemi seems to shine brightest when she is writing of the past, of fables and fairy tales like in drownings. But I also enjoyed the modern story a brief history of the homely wench society,where a group of young women prank a fraternity, and presence, in which a couple undergoes an experiment and sees the son they never knew. Helen Oyeymi is inarguably an incredibly talented writer and I will gladly explore any magic land she creates.

What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours
By Helen Oyeyemi
Riverhead Books March 2016
325 pages
From the library


YA writer Stephanie Perkins edited a story collection entitled My True Love Gave To Me, which features stories about falling in love during the magic of winter. The collection was so popular that a second one was released this May, which focused on summer flings. Summer Days and Summer Nights is a great way to find new YA authors and it features a wonderfully diverse group of characters.

In "Head, Scales, Tongue, Tail," a boy and a girl start a tentative romance in a summer town where a monster supposedly swims in the lake. It was the perfect start to a bunch of stories about summer. Libba Bray's "Last Night at the Cinegore" might be more of a horror homage than a love story, but it's a lot of fun. Perkins checks in with her characters from the winter book with "In Ninety Minutes, Turn North" and I loved seeing how the relationship between Marigold and North had changed. "Souvenirs" is the tale of two boys breaking up before going off to college at the amusement park where they both work. This is the perfect collection to relive the joy of your first summer love, while sitting on your porch with a cool glass of lemonade.

Summer Days and Summer Nights
Edited by Stephanie Perkins
St. Martin's Griffin May 2016
400 pages
Read via Netgalley

8 comments:

  1. I'm adding What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours to my goodreads. It definitely sounds interesting. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

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    1. Wonderful! Please tell me what you think when you read it.

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  2. Thanks! I like mini reviews and have wondered about both these books. Have a good week.

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    1. I'm happy to give you some more information. I rather love writing mini-reviews. I can write just as much as comes to mind!

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  3. I've been wanting to pick up What is Not Yours so badly, but I can't justify it when I have Oyeyemi's Boy, Snow, Bird waiting to be read. Soon!

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    1. That's fair. I tend to read one book by an author at a time too. I hope you love them both!

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  4. Ok, I really need to read both of these now. I've been itching to try Oyeyemi's book even though I often struggle with her novels liking parts but feeling like there are too many balls in the air. The YA collection looks like something I'd really enjoy...and LIBBA BRAY! :)

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    1. I'm pretty sure I've jumped on the "I will read all the things Oyeyemi writes" even if I don't always understand or adore every part. She's such a fascinating writer.

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