Not me finding five-month-old mini-reviews in my drafts! **insert cringe emoji** Honestly, I was tempted to just delete these instead of editing (they were very messy) and posting it since it’s been so long, but I figured you all need to hear how much I enjoyed these to books even if the reviews are long overdue.
Title: The Sound of Stars
Author: Alechia Dow
Series: N/A
Pages: 400
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Release Date: February 25th 2020
“Can a girl who risks her life for books and an alien who loves forbidden pop music work together to save humanity?
Two years ago, a misunderstanding between the leaders of Earth and the invading Ilori resulted in the deaths of one-third of the world’s population.
Seventeen-year-old Janelle “Ellie” Baker survives in an Ilori-controlled center in New York City. Deemed dangerously volatile because of their initial reaction to the invasion, humanity’s emotional transgressions are now grounds for execution. All art, books and creative expression are illegal, but Ellie breaks the rules by keeping a secret library. When a book goes missing, Ellie is terrified that the Ilori will track it back to her and kill her.
Born in a lab, M0Rr1S (Morris) was raised to be emotionless. When he finds Ellie’s illegal library, he’s duty-bound to deliver her for execution. The trouble is, he finds himself drawn to human music and in desperate need of more. They’re both breaking the rules for love of art—and Ellie inspires the same feelings in him that music does.
Ellie’s—and humanity’s—fate rests in the hands of an alien she should fear. M0Rr1S has a lot of secrets, but also a potential solution—thousands of miles away. The two embark on a wild and dangerous road trip with a bag of books and their favorite albums, all the while making a story and a song of their own that just might save them both.”
Alechia Dow’s The Sound of Stars is a fun sci-fi adventure with two likable leads on an against-all-odds mission to save the world. Ellie has spent the last two years imprisoned by the Ilori, the alien race who invaded earth. One of the few things that bring her joy is the underground library she runs. Books have always been a refuge for Ellie and she knows people more than ever need a momentary respite from the world. When one of her books goes missing, Ellie meets M0Rr1s, a labmade Ilori, who is a little too human for her liking. Despite being from opposite sides of an intergalactic war, Ellie and Morris find a rare connection with one another. Ellie is a Black teen with an anxiety disorder that she has had to find ways to deal with without medication ever since the invasion. While the story does not focus on race, racism has still played a part in Ellie’s life. She understands that humanity isn’t necessarily worth saving because of its prejudices and in many ways humankind hasn’t necessarily earned its salvation. I loved the deep love shown to art in The Sound of Stars. For Ellie, it’s books that have helped her find who she is. For Morris, it’s his love of music that has moved him. I loved the affection these two characters have for one other. At its core The Sound of Stars is a celebration of the human spirit and the power of stories. I was pleasantly surprised to find how much these characters wormed their way into my heart by the end.
★ ★ ★ ★
(4/5)
Title: 10 Things I Hate About Pinky
Author: Sandhya Menon
Series: Dimple and Rishi, #3
Pages: 368
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: July 21st 2020
“The follow-up to When Dimple Met Rishi and There’s Something about Sweetie follows Pinky and Samir as they pretend to date—with disastrous and hilarious results.
Pinky Kumar wears the social justice warrior badge with pride. From raccoon hospitals to persecuted rock stars, no cause is too esoteric for her to champion. But a teeny-tiny part of her also really enjoys making her conservative, buttoned-up corporate lawyer parents cringe.
Samir Jha might have a few . . . quirks remaining from the time he had to take care of his sick mother, like the endless lists he makes in his planner and the way he schedules every minute of every day, but those are good things. They make life predictable and steady…
Pinky loves lazy summers at her parents’ Cape Cod lake house, but after listening to them harangue her about the poor decisions (aka boyfriends) she’s made, she hatches a plan. Get her sorta-friend-sorta-enemy, Samir—who is a total Harvard-bound Mama’s boy—to pose as her perfect boyfriend for the summer. As they bicker their way through lighthouses and butterfly habitats, sparks fly, and they both realize this will be a summer they’ll never forget.”
Sandhya Menon delivers her most enjoyable novel since When Dimple Met Rishi with this companion novel 10 Things I Hate About Pinky. Readers were first introduced to characters Pinky and Samir in There’s Something About Sweetie. Pinky Kumar has embraced the fact that she will never be the kind of goody-two-shoes daughter her parents hoped for. But she knows who she is and knows that standing up for what she believes is more important than having your entire future planned out. Samir Jha likes predictability, in fact, he thrives off of knowing what to expect at all times. When a summer internship falls through, leaving Samir desperate for another opportunity, Pinky proposes an arrangement. Be her fake boyfriend for the summer and prove to her parents she isn’t as irresponsible as they think and she’ll help him land a new internship. But the more Pinky and Samir spend time together, the animosity they once felt begins turning into something more like attraction. Though much of the novel focuses on the potential romance between these very different characters, it’s Pinky’s tumultuous relationship with her mother that drives the story. Pinky isn’t always great at communication but it’s easy to see how desperate she is for her mother’s approval. Samir makes an fantastic foil to Pinky, especially as an ally. He challenges her and isn’t afraid to call her out. He is secure in who he is and finds it far easier than Pinky to admit how he feels. Also worth noting is Pinky’s relationship with her cousin Dolly, who her mother always seems to praise compared to herself. I loved that neither of these characters fell into a rivalry with one another. They were always supportive and saw the best in each other. Fans of the fake dating and hate-to-love tropes, rejoice! Sandhya Menon’s latest, 10 Things I Hate About Pinky was written for you.
★ ★ ★ ★
(4/5)
A Kernel of Nonsense 