2016 Tournament of Books

teresakayep: A good family saga with a lot of elements I appreciated, especially regarding the way the siblings related to each other. But the haint story didn't quite hand together, and the family was maybe a little too large. (On a different day, I could switch this was The Whites, but it's flaws are bothering me more today.)

teresakayep: This has grown on me more and more as time has passed. I especially loved the way the myth built up at the beginning is undercut by the true story at the end.

teresakayep: I gave up on this one. The young voice and limited perspective seemed realistic, and I appreciated what the author was trying to do. But there's a reason we don't generally read books by 10-year-olds.

teresakayep: I don't have any major objections to this, but I also didn't see any reason to love it. Could tie with Teeth and Bats.

teresakayep: So much fun! I have a tin ear for satire, but this made me laugh and laugh.

teresakayep: In a different mood, I might have liked this more, but the narrator got on my nerves, and the section titles felt like a gimmick. There are some funny parts. (Tied with Sympathizer and Bats.)

teresakayep: MY NEMESIS! The plot is just ridiculous. Some of my agitation is at the near-universal early praise when I disliked it so much right out of the gate. I can see why some would find it moving, but I don't get the extreme heapings of praise it got and found it a relief this fall when more critical views surfaced. I might have hated the Irving more if I finished it, but he didn't manipulate me into wanting to finish even when I was miserable reading it. I could see right away to put it down.

teresakayep: It's a solid piece of crime fiction, well-written, with no major flaws or annoyances.

teresakayep: I could only manage three chapters. Everything about it got on my nerves. It's not ranked last because maybe something in it wouldn't get on my nerves if I read more of it.