REVIEW: Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism: A Memoir (nonfiction book) by Sarah Wynn-Williams

Careless People is the author's memoir of her time working at Facebook. I bought my copy new.

Review:

Back in 2009, Sarah Wynn-Williams was convinced that Facebook could play a powerful and important part in world politics. The problem was that, at the time, no one at Facebook seemed to realize it. She ended up having to pitch her own job (she was initially hired as Manager of Global Public Policy), and it wasn't until about 2011 that she convinced anyone to give her and her ideas a shot. 

Even then, there were communication hurdles. While Wynn-Williams (who'd previously worked in New Zealand's embassy in Washington, D.C.) was used to focusing on government policies and talking to people who represented whole countries, none of that was clicking with the folks at Facebook, who were primarily concerned with whatever might help Facebook expand its user base. Many times, it felt like Wynn-Williams was still thinking of herself as working for a government when, in fact, she was working for a business.

REVIEW: Parable of the Sower (book) by Octavia E. Butler

Parable of the Sower is science fiction. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This was written as near-future science fiction. Readers follow Lauren Olamina from the age of 15 to 18. At the beginning of this period, she lives in a gated community with her family, painfully aware of the violence just outside the community's walls. As things become more unsettled, Lauren's driving force becomes a religion she calls Earthseed.

I read this for my local book club. I knew, going in, that it was going to be pretty dark. It was more readable than I expected, but the almost unrelenting grimness was more than I was in the mood to handle, most days, and I didn't actually finish the book until shortly after my book club meeting. 

There were technically hopeful aspects to Lauren's Earthseed ideas, but, in a world with rape, murder, and occasional cannibalism everywhere, it seemed utterly impossible that the eventual escape into space that she envisioned would ever happen. 

Extras:

Includes an essay by N.K. Jemesin, an interview with Octavia E. Butler, and reading group discussion questions.

REVIEW: Fake Dates and Mooncakes (book) by Sher Lee

Fake Dates and Mooncakes is a YA m/m romance. I bought my copy new.

Review:

A year ago, Dylan had hoped to enter a Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake-making contest with his mother. Then she got sick. Now that she's gone, Dylan lives with his aunt and cousin and helps out at his aunt's Chinese takeout place, Wok Warriors. He still wants to enter the mooncake-making contest in his mother's memory, but another benefit of the contest would be the possibility of getting Wok Warriors some desperately needed publicity. His aunt does her best to hide it, but Dylan's painfully aware she can barely make ends meet.

One evening, Dylan fills in for their delivery guy and gets yelled at by a customer for bringing an incorrect order. The one bright spot was that he got an eyeful of the guy's rich and hot boyfriend, Theo. It surprises Dylan when Theo stops by to apologize for his friend Adrian's behavior. The two of them get to talking, and Dylan happens to mention Wok Warriors' money issues...only for Dylan's aunt to later get a surprise "small business grant" for exactly the amount Dylan mentioned. Dylan doesn't feel comfortable accepting the money, so Theo tells him he can be his fake date to an upcoming family wedding if that will make him feel better about it.

REVIEW: Scythe & Sparrow (book) by Brynne Weaver

Scythe & Sparrow is a dark romantic comedy. I bought my copy new.

Review:

In this final book of the Ruinous Love Trilogy, Doctor Fionn Kane and circus performer Rose Evans, who had previously seemed like the least murdery characters in the trilogy, reveal themselves to have murdery tendencies. Because of course.

When she isn't doing death-defying stunts with her motorcycle, Rose does tarot readings. More specifically, she is a mysterious woman known as the Sparrow who will, after doing readings for abused women who want to escape their abusers, provide those women with the means to kill their abusers. However, after one of her attempts to help has unintended consequences, Rose decides that it's time for her to take more direct action. This, unfortunately, also does not go as planned, leaving Rose with a broken leg and a very angry pursuer who is now minus one eye.

Fionn is no stranger to violence. He helps Rose get her leg taken care of and, skeptical of her "I was in a motorcycle accident" explanation, offers her a place to stay while she heals up. He's more than a little stunned when Rose immediately starts befriending neighbors he has barely spoken to since he moved to the area to get away from his almost-fiancee. He can't help but find himself charmed by and attracted to her. At the same time, he's worried about what might happen if the monster inside him, the one even his brothers don't know about, finally gets free.

REVIEW: Pikachu's First Friends (picture book) by Rikako Matsuo

Pikachu's First Friends is a fantasy picture book. I bought my copy new.

Review:

Pikachu sets off on a journey to find the perfect place to live. Along the way, it meets several new friends and gets to know a little more about the island on which it has found itself.

The illustrations were, as expected, super-cute. Readers get scenes with Pikachu, Dedenne, Evee, Mime Jr., Smeargle, and Ludicolo, and cameo appearances from Wingull, Gyarados, Krabby, and possibly a few other Pokemon I don't know well enough to name. (Forgive me, I've only played a couple Pokemon games.)

In most cases, the various Pokemon could have been swapped out with just about anything else that might live in a similar environment and it wouldn't have made a difference. I was a little disappointed that the Pokemon didn't get more (or, in most cases, any) opportunities to show off their abilities. 

That said, I'll probably still read Pikachu's Nighttime Adventure at some point.

REVIEW: I'm Sorry for My Loss: An Urgent Examination of Reproductive Care in America (nonfiction) by Rebecca Little and Colleen Long

I'm Sorry for My Loss is nonfiction. I bought my copy new.

Review:

I knew, going into this, that Little and Long had both experienced late-term pregnancy loss, so I was expecting this to be an exhausting, grief-filled read. Although there were definitely some horrible/sad stories here, this wasn't nearly as exhausting of a read as I expected, in part due to the authors' flashes of dark humor. 

The book started with a look at how pregnancy loss would have been viewed by earlier generations, particular prior to the existence of easily obtainable pregnancy tests and prenatal ultrasounds. Then the authors looked at the many circumstances that could lead to pregnancy loss, the legal complications surrounding pregnancy loss, and the ways in which people who have been through pregnancy loss have processed their experiences.

I don't really feel qualified to write a lengthier review for this, so I'll just say that, for all the humor in this, the anger and frustration was still palpable.